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An Analysis of John Calvin's Criticism of Premillennialism in The Institutes Dr. Mike Stallard, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry Pre-Trib Study Group, Irving, Texas – December 7, 2021 Introduction Most modern premillennialists speak fondly of the great Reformers of the sixteenth century. Many dispensational premillennialists have often considered themselves heirs of the strong biblical recovery that occurred in those days. 1 In particular, the Reformers had begun to embrace literal, grammatical-historical interpretation of the Bible to a much greater extent than the medieval approach they had inherited. Yet, their implementation of proper hermeneutics was incomplete. This is seen rather easily in the fact that the great Reformers maintained the Augustinian framework for amillennialism. Thus, they held that the Church is the kingdom and promoted supersessionism in which the Church has replaced Israel to the extent that there is no national future for Israel. A more literal understanding of both Old and New Testament texts pushes against this amillennialism that was accepted by both Luther and Calvin. Premillennialism was the overwhelming view of the kingdom in the early Church. 2 Over time, due largely to the School of Alexandria in the east and Augustine in the West, amillennialism ruled the church for centuries. However, premillennialism, which never went away completely, was held by a growing number of believers at the time of the Reformation. 3 Although a small minority in European Christianity, they nonetheless constituted a serious opposition to Luther and Calvin's view of the kingdom. As a result, John Calvin attempted to refute premillennialism briefly in The Institutes. 4 Calvin's Disdain for Premillennialism 1 Christopher Cone and James I. Fazio, eds, Forged From Reformation: How Dispensational Thought Advances The Reformed Legacy (El Cajon, CA: Southern California Seminary Press, 2017). 3 Today in North America, premillennialism is the most prevalent view among evangelicals. 2 Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, (reprint ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), 2:614. Schaff strongly notes, "The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is he prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment." This conclusion is disputed by some historians. See Louis Berkhof, The History of Christian Doctrines (reprint ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1981), 262-64. Nonetheless, the dominance of premillennialism in the early church cannot be understated. 4 The edition of Calvin's Institutes used in this study is John T. McNeill, ed., Calvin: The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 2, translated by Ford Lewis Battles; The Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 21 (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960). The shortened common form The Institutes or Institutes will be used throughout. In the notes we will use the acronym ICR to make the reference easier. The section where Calvin gives his critique of premillennialism is 3.25.5. Calvin referred to premillennialists with the older term chiliasts. 5 He does not hide his disdain for those who hold to a coming one-thousand-year reign of Christ. The Reformer calls their view a fiction that is "too childish either to need or to be worth a refutation." 6 Calvin proceeds to give a full page of repudiation nonetheless. Toward the end of his analysis of premillennialism, he remembers that he said they were not worth responding to and notes, "But let us pass over these triflers, lest, contrary to what we have previously said, we seem to judge their ravings worth refuting." 7 The chiliasts bring reproach upon Christ and his kingdom. 8 They spout "stupid nonsense." These opponents of Calvin's view are either "utterly ignorant" or filled with "devious malice." In the end, Calvin's assessment is that chiliasts blaspheme God. 9 So much for collegiality with brothers in Christ who disagree with your position! It is possible that the Reformer believed that many if not all of the premillennialists were unsaved. Calvin's tone is actually a bit worse than what is found in Origen's famous statement about the chiliasts in the early third century. At least Origen called chiliasts believers who, however, could not rub two thoughts together (this author's summary). 10 Just who did Calvin have in mind in these stinging criticisms? Those of us today who are premillennial react to Calvin's words as if he is painting a caricature of what we really believe. But what is going on in his day that he is countering? There can be little doubt that the chiliasts he is dealing with come from the group the culture called Anabaptists. While not all Anabaptists were premillennial, the majority held that position. 11 Calvin married a widow who had been an Anabaptist and carried on many discussions with prominent Anabaptists especially during his stay in Germany from 1538-1541. 12 Calvin responded with sermons and treatises against the Anabaptists dealing with many issues. 13 5 The word chiliast refers to the person who holds to chiliasm, the view that Christ is returning to earth to set up a one thousand-year kingdom. This word comes from the Greek word χίλια (chilia) for the number one thousand which occurs six times in Rev. 20:1-7. Throughout church history the term millenarianism has also been used, but the common term used at the present time is premillennialism. These words all refer to the same truth. 7 Ibid., 996. 6 ICR, 995. 8 Ibid., 995. 10 Origen, On the First Principles, 2.11.2. 9 Ibid., 996. 11 For a brief summary of Anabaptist views on the Second Coming, see Mike Stallard, "The Eschatology of the Anabaptists," Our Hope; Online; https://our-hope.org/blog/biblical-studies/systematic-theology/historicaltheology/eschatology-of-the-anabaptists. 13 John Calvin, Treatises Against the Anabaptists and Against the Libertines translated and edited by Benjamin Wirt Farley (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001). One of the problems of historical analysis is that the culture of that day lumped disparate dissident groups under the category of Anabaptists or Re-baptizers. This included more biblical Anabaptists like the Swiss Brethren who broke off from Zwingli, inspirationists including more radical, mystical, and sensationalizing groups such as those involved in the Münster fiasco of 1534-35, and the rationalists like Michael Servetus who were unitarian. For the best historical summary of the various Anabaptist groups, see William R. Estep, The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism (3 rd ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996); Hans J. Hillerbrand, ed., The Reformation: A Narrative History Related by Contemporary Observers and Participants (Reprint ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1978), 214-97; Hans J. Hillerbrand, The World of the Reformation (Reprint ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1981), 58-71. It is quite unfortunate that the culture 12 Schaff, History, 8:363-424. That John Calvin did not favor the Anabaptists is evident to any cursory reading of his works. From several treatises, three of which were devoted to his perception of the theology of their radical movement, to multiple references and colorful flourishes through his various editions of the Institutes, Calvin appears to have hardly published a single positive word about them. His often pejorative rhetoric about the group at times even rivaled the visceral language regularly used by Martin Luther against his own detractors. 14 It is also tragically true that Calvin colluded in the death of Michael Servetus, a rationalist, although there is great controversy in this matter and in other possible executions with Calvin's blessing. 15 Guilt by Association Argument Calvin was not above using a guilt by association argument against his theological opponents. One of the plainest examples is his coupling of the so-called error of the chiliasts with pagans who deny the resurrection. The two issues on the face of things do not seem to be related. Chiliasts of that time period did not normally deny the resurrection as did pagans. The Reformer's argument reminds of one of my relatives decades ago telling me they could never be a premillennialist because that's what Jehovah's Witnesses believe! Calvin writes this way in a larger section on the doctrine of the resurrection which is normally quite good. However, he notes that the denial of the resurrection had "crept into the church itself, for the Sadducees dared publicly assert that there is no resurrection, in fact, that souls are mortal." 16 Two further issues are presented by Calvin relative to pagan denial of the resurrection. First, he argues that the custom of burial should convince pagans about the truth of resurrection: "and God willed that the same custom [burial] remain among the Gentiles so that the image of the resurrection set before them might shake off their drowsiness." 17 The problem with this is that the eastern practice of cremation, while not popular, was fully known in the labeled anyone who did not follow either Roman Catholicism or the main Reformers as Anabaptists without proper qualifications. 14 Brian C. Brewer, "'Those Satanic Anabaptists': Calvin, Soul Sleep, and the Search for an Anabaptist Nemesis" in Calvin and the Early Reformation edited by Brian C. Brewer and David M. Whitford (Boston, MA: Brill, 2020), 125. 15 Schaff, History, 8:681-798; Roland H. Bainton, Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus 1511-1553 (Revised ed., n.p.: Blackstone, 2005); Arnold Huijgen, "The Challenge of Heresy: Servetus, Stancaro, and Castellio" in John Calvin in Context edited by R. Ward Holder (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 258-66. 16 ICR, 995. This statement shows that Calvin believed that the Church existed prior to Pentecost. Most likely, he holds that Israel is the OT Church. The word Church refers to the collection of the saved of all ages or at least since Abraham in keeping with the later expressions of covenant theology. 17 Ibid. West by the sixteenth century. 18 It is not clear that all the Gentiles had the image of the resurrection portrayed for them through burial of the dead. Calvin is apparently analyzing the issue from within his own culture without consideration of others. He then moves from one issue to the other in the following way: "But Satan has not only befuddled men's senses to make them bury with the corpses the memory of resurrection; he has also attempted to corrupt this part of the doctrine with various falsifications that he might at length destroy it…but a little later there followed the chiliasts, who limited the kingdom to a thousand years." 19 Thus, in some way, pagan denial of the resurrection is in Calvin's mind similar to chiliasts limiting the kingdom of God. Premillennialists Limit the Kingdom to a Thousand Years To accuse premillennialists of limiting the kingdom to a thousand years seems a bit odd to Bible-believing Christians who hold that position today. Premillennialists believe that, after the millennium, God's kingdom continues with God, Christ, and the saints reigning forever (Dan. 7:13-14, 18; Rev. 22:5). Nonetheless, Calvin fleshes out his allegation with several lines of thought as he responds to his understanding of what the Anabaptist chiliasts of his day were teaching. We will address Calvin's comments under four categories: (1) Revelation 20, (2) the charge of universalism, (3) the immortality of believers, and (4) eternal punishment. 20 Revelation 20 First, he notes that the chiliasts misunderstand the key passage of Revelation 20:1-7: "For the number 'one thousand' does not apply to the eternal blessedness of the church but only to the various disturbances that awaited the church, while still toiling on earth." 21 Apparently, Calvin does not want the debate to be about whether the term one thousand points to the eternal destiny of the church or to simply a one-thousand-year period. His comments suggest that he does not believe that the Anabaptist chiliasts are interpreting the thousand years as symbolic of an indefinite period of time. That would not fit his complaint that they limited the kingdom to a thousand years. Instead, following the Augustinian model for history, he places the thousand years, which he holds as an indefinite period of time, before the Second Coming and makes it coextensive with what most premillennialists call the Church Age. 18 The travels of Marco Polo (1254-1324) were being disseminated in Western Europe by the early 1300s. He regularly mentions cremation of the dead in his The Travels of Marco Polo. 20 Ford Lewis Battles organizes Calvin's discussion of the error of the chiliasts into three categories: Revelation 20, a terminal thousand-year reign means Christ's kingdom is terminal; God's justice and majesty are eternal. See Ford Lewis Battles, Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1980), 275. 19 ICR, 995. 21 Ibid. He gives no attempt to exposit the passage in context and merely states the position. It is unfortunate that Calvin did not leave us a commentary on the book of Revelation. Since the Reformer does not tell us his basis of interpretation on Revelation 20, one can only surmise the probability that he follows the traditional Augustinian recapitulation view of the Apocalypse. 22 This view is still a major approach to the book of Revelation used by many modern amillennialists. 23 Revelation is broken down into seven literary sections (1-3, 4-7, 8-11, 12-14, 15-16, 17-19, and 20-22) each of which covers or recapitulates information about the present age. Conveniently, there is a section break between chapters 19 & 20 which prevents the Second Coming (chapter 19) from preceding the thousand-year reign of Christ (chapter 20). This overall understanding of the book of Revelation cannot be maintained for several reasons: 1. It does not fit with the outline of the book itself given in 1:19. This verse highlights the three segments of the book: the things which you have seen (the portrait of Christ in chapter 1), the things which are (the seven letters in chapters 2-3), and the things which will take place after these things (chapters 4-22). This outline does not fit the amillennial recapitulation view of the book. 2. The frequent use of the Greek word καὶ (and), sometimes called kaimeter, demonstrates the chronological flow of the narrative of the book which goes against the amillennial recapitulation view. 24 If the entire book is flooded by the use of narrative language and flow (although admitting to possible interludes), it is impossible to see the book as divided up into seven sections each of which presents the Church Age. 3. There is a unity to chapters 19-20, specifically the destruction of the unholy trinity of Antichrist, the False Prophet, and Satan. To break these chapters apart leads to distortion and a non-contextual understanding. 4. There is the ever-present theological problem of the binding of Satan in Rev 20:2-3. While various answers have been given by amillennialists, it is virtually impossible to say that Satan is bound in the present age. During the Church Age, the devil attacks believers (Rev. 2:9; 3:9; Eph. 6:11-12; 1 Pet. 5:8) and deceives unbelievers (Acts 13:10; 2 Cor. 4:3-4). 22 This approach is sometimes called progressive parallelism. 24 Edward Hindson, The Book of Revelation: Unlocking the Future (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2002), 9. Using Logos Bible Software, the word kai is found 1,123 times in the book of Revelation in NA28. 23 See Mike Stallard, "A Review and Refutation of Sam Storms' Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative," (presented at the Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics, Calvary Bible College and Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO, September 2014). A version of this article was also given at the Pre-Trib Study Group. The paper is available at the website (www.pre-trib.org). In light of these reasons, the interpreter should avoid using the amillennial recapitulation view of the Apocalypse. The Charge of Universalism The second line of thought in Calvin's discussion of chiliasm's limiting of the kingdom is found when he shifts from the statement on Revelation 20 to this perplexing affirmation: "On the contrary, all Scripture proclaims that there will be no end to the blessedness of the elect or the punishment of the wicked." 25 Geneva's spiritual leader suggests a couple of things. First, he may indicate that the chiliasts ended the ultimate happiness of the saved after the thousand years are over (this will be addressed more fully in the next section). In Calvin's mind, perhaps the chiliasts ended the history of man at the conclusion of the millennium. This is probably a straw man since the very thought of such teaching is absurd, even for those in the Radical Reformation. More importantly, Calvin's focus on "no end…of the punishment of the wicked" points to the charge that chiliasts of his day were teaching universalism, that everyone gets saved in the end. There is no hint in the interaction that the chiliasts were teaching some form of annihilationism. Instead, the focus is on God's ultimate decision to end judgment so that all creatures enjoy the benefits of salvation. The editor of The Institutes lists four Anabaptist teachers who held to universalism that Calvin has in mind: John (Hans) Denck, Balthasar Hubmaier, Sebastian Franck, and Melchoir Hofmann. 26 There are two factors in assessing this possibility. One is that the Anabaptists tended to accept unlimited atonement. Calvin would perhaps see this as universal salvation since atonement in his limited sense is automatically applied once it is supplied (to the elect). Concerning Hans Denck, Estep notes, "Denck did not teach that all people would eventually be saved. Instead, he taught that Christ's death was an atonement sufficient for all humankind but efficacious only to the believer. His theology is not so much an echo of Origen as an anticipation of Jacobus Arminius." 27 Denck himself made the following statement: You might say, 'Yes he may well have died out of love, but not for all, but only for some.' Answer: since love in him was perfect, which hates or envies no one, but receives everyone, though we were all his enemies, he could not exclude anyone…Should it not be true, nonetheless, that he died for all even though not all were saved? 28 25 The editor adds the verses Matt. 25:41, 46 to this statement. 27 Estep, Anabaptist Story, 111. 26 ICR, 996. 28 Morwenna Ludlow, "Why Was Hans Denck Thought To Be a Universalist?" Journal of Ecclesiastical History 55 (April 2004): 261. Ludlow cites the following reference for the quote, but I have not found it in my English edition: Edward J. Furcha and Ford Lewis Battles, eds., Selected Writings of Hans Denck translated by Edward J. Furcha (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 1976), 201. The pagination in my copy only goes to page 156 including endnotes. It seems from such language that Denck was simply arguing for unlimited atonement and not universalism. 29 If this is the area that Calvin is thinking through about various chiliasts, he certainly does not analyze their teaching about the atonement based upon their categories but based upon his own. On the other hand, could it be that there were Anabaptist chiliasts who clearly taught universalism? Article 17 of the Lutheran Augsburg Confession of Faith (1530) appears to generalize that Anabaptists were universalists: "They condemn the Anabaptists, who think that there will be an end to the punishments of condemned men and devils." 30 We will limit our discussion here once again to Hans Denck, a leading Anabaptist in Southern Germany whom Estep defended against the charge as shown above. 31 In the historical literature, Denck is almost always the chief Anabaptist poster child raised in this discussion. 32 Often, his is presented as a newer version of the third-century universalism of Origen. Modern Universalists themselves claim Denck as one of their own. 33 The Christian Universalist Association promotes a statement supposedly by Denck on the final end of sin: "For sin is over against God to be reckoned as nothing; and however great it might be, God can, will, and indeed already has, overcome it for Himself to His own eternal praise without harm for any creatures." 34 Perhaps the phrase "without harm for any creatures" is the language suggesting universalism, although something stronger would be clearer. In addition, the same group cites and debates a poem written by the alleged universalist about ultimate reconciliation: Oh, who will give me a voice that I may cry aloud to the whole world that God, the All Highest, is in the deepest abyss within us and is waiting for us to return to Him 29 In this matter, Denck is clear and unambiguous: "Through His suffering Christ has made satisfaction for the sin of all men." See Hans Denck, "Recantation" in Selected Writings, 124. 31 Hubmaier may have made the editor's list because he baptized Denck. I have not found any universalism in Hubmaier's teaching. However, it appears that Hubmaier was not a chiliast ("Hans Hut" in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online; Accessed 20 November 2021). While I have read many Anabaptist writings, I have certainly not read them all. Therefore, my analysis is preliminary at this point. 30 Article 17 is entitled "Of Christ's Return to Judgment." The article also condemns chiliasm with the somewhat enigmatic statement: "They condemn also others who are now spreading certain Jewish opinions, that before the resurrection of the dead the godly shall take possession of the kingdom of the world, the ungodly being everywhere suppressed." See Book of Concord, online; https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/articlexvii/; accessed 13 November 2021. 32 In his own day, Denck (who died in 1527) was the victim of false attacks without faithful analysis of his writings as a formal evaluation of his particular writing titled Confession demonstrates: "A brief analysis bears out this observation, for the Evaluation by the preachers shows clearly that they must have responded to a caricature of the man rather than to specific matters he stated in the document" (Furcha, "Preface" in Selected Writings, 4). 33 See the summary article entitled "The History of Universalism (Part Two)," Christian Universalist Association; online; https://christianuniversalist.org/resources/articles/history-of-universalism-part-2/; Accessed 13 November 34 Ibid. 2021. Oh, my God, how does it happen in this poor old world, that You are so great and yet nobody finds You, that You call so loudly and nobody hears You, that You are so near and nobody feels You, that You give Yourself to everybody and nobody knows Your name!" 35 Does this poem actually teach a universalist perspective? Perhaps the two expressions "God…is waiting for us to return to Him" and "You give Yourself to everybody" can be stretched to entertain thoughts that everyone is saved in the end. The poem, however, does not clearly express what the universalists wish it did. It is uncertain what universalism has to do with a belief in a premillennial coming of Christ to earth. After all, Origen (d. 254) is the preeminent example in church history of a universalist, but he was amillennial not premillennial. The two issues are simply not linked in the way presented by Calvin. It is possible that the terms Anabaptist and chiliast were just grabbag labels for all alleged heresies from Calvin's point of view. Further, writers like Denck at certain individual points have affinity with Pelagius and Origen even though their overall theological system was different. This would have turned the Reformers against them even if the evaluation was confused. After Calvin mentions the problem with the thousand years, his mind goes to other areas of doctrine he thought totally wrong in the same group of people. However, the fact remains that a belief that all men will be saved has no logical connection with chiliasts limiting the kingdom of God. If anything, one could argue that the kingdom is expanded in terms of the number of people who would enjoy it, but Calvin is focused on time. The Immortality of Believers After this terse statement about universalism, Calvin returns to the issue of the thousand years. Earlier we noted that Calvin had hinted absurdly that the chiliasts end the positive blessings for believers at the end of the thousand years. In some way, they do not continue into eternity with the blessings of God. Now, he states clearly and strongly that this is exactly what he believes about chiliasts! Note his words: "Those who assign the children of God a thousand years in which to enjoy the inheritance of the life to come do not realize how much reproach they are casting upon Christ and His Kingdom." 36 How do they cast such reproach? Calvin goes on to state his main concern: "For if they do not put on immortality, then Christ himself, to whose glory they shall be transformed, has not been received into undying glory." 37 The key word is immortality. If the thousand years is all that is to come, then believers do not possess immortality. Nothing else makes sense. In the next section after the discussion of 35 Ibid. 37 Ibid. At this point the editor suggests the passage 1 Cor. 15:13ff. 36 ICR, 995. chiliasm, Calvin addresses resurrection of the flesh and immortality of the soul. He considers the heresy of those who denied the future bodily resurrection of believers and accepted only a spiritual body throughout eternity. 38 In his thoughts here about chiliasts, Calvin's mind is moving in the same general territory. Calvin's misunderstanding here could be why he conjoins pagan denial of resurrection with the chiliasts. The immortality of believers is at stake in his mind. Beyond that, Calvin teaches that limiting the kingdom to a thousand years is a grave injustice toward God and Christ: "If their blessedness is to have an end, then Christ's Kingdom, on whose firmness it depends, is but temporary. In short, either such persons are utterly ignorant of everything divine or they are trying by a devious malice to bring to nought all the grace of God and power of Christ, the fulfillment of which is realized only when sin is blotted out, death swallowed up, and everlasting life fully restored!" 39 According to this statement, Calvin criticizes the chiliasts for making Christ's kingdom temporary, nullifying the grace of God and the power of Christ, and destroying the concept of everlasting life where sin and death are removed. The only way to take Calvin's statement is that he thought chiliasts ended the future of believers at the end of the millennium. In essence, Calvin says that the chiliasts cannot be right because everyone knows God's kingdom lasts forever. What is our assessment of Calvin's analysis? On the face of it, it does not apply to the premillennialism that has been taught throughout church history even into modern and postmodern times. Based upon current premillennial teaching, Calvin's analysis is mostly a caricature. I have found no premillennialists of any time in history who have taught that the thousand years ends the blessedness of the saved and stops the ongoing kingdom of God and Christ. Perhaps some sect or individual taught it, but I have not seen it. In this light, Calvin's assessment remains problematic. Eternal Punishment In the next and last section of Calvin's discussion of chiliasts, he returns to their alleged belief that there is an end to the punishment of the wicked: "Even a blind man can see what stupid nonsense these people talk who are afraid of attributing excessive cruelty to God if the wicked be consigned to eternal punishment." 40 This is probably a continuation of the issue of universalism discussed above. 41 However, if the millennium is the end of it all for the chiliasts, then both the saved and lost cease to exist. That appears to be what Calvin is thinking about chiliast doctrine on this point. It is not clear, however, if the Reformer views the chiliasts as denying any form of hell as too cruel or if they are denying the eternality of the punishment as excessive cruelty. He may be leaning toward the latter, since he goes on to say that the chiliasts teach that eternal hell would make God unjust since "their sins, they say, are temporal." 42 38 The editor suggests that this is probably a reference to the unitarian Laelius Socinus (ICR, 996). 40 ICR, 996. 39 ICR, 996. 41 Calvin seems to write in a sort of spiral in his section on chiliasts, coming back to issues previously raised. 42 ICR, 996. Calvin responds correctly I believe to this argument when he notes, "God's majesty, and also his justice, which they have violated by sinning, are eternal." As a result, eternal punishment is not out of line and does not make God cruel and unjust. The language of the Reformer is quite strong as he speaks of the value of God versus the value of one individual soul: "This blasphemy is not to be borne, when God's majesty is so little esteemed, when the contempt of it is valued less than the loss of one soul." 43 The debates over eternal punishment have plagued the Church for almost two thousand years. Even modern day professing evangelicals have an array of positions on the subject. 44 Calvin's own view on the matter in this section simply affirms the fact of eternal punishment but does not deal with its nature. In a later section of the Institutes he speaks about the lot of the reprobate and describes his understanding of the seriousness of the judgment: Now, because no description can deal adequately with the gravity of God's vengeance against the wicked, their torments and tortures are figuratively expressed to us by physical things, that is, by darkness, weeping, and gnashing of teeth, unquenchable fire, an undying worm gnawing at the heart. By such expressions the Holy Spirit certainly intended to confound all our senses with dread…As by such details we should be enabled in some degree to conceive the lot of the wicked, so we ought especially to fix our thoughts upon this: how wretched it is to be cut off from all fellowship with God. 45 Thus, Calvin holds to the metaphorical view of hell. However, he still sees the experience of hell by unbelievers to be so beyond the pale that its pain and suffering is horribly real. This section is the least egregious part of Calvin's overall critique of chiliasm. However, it still wrongfully assumes that chiliasts of his day generally taught the end of eternal punishment in some way. The teachings of the Anabaptists on this score are not precise and developed. In general, most Anabaptists did not dwell on their eschatology, but focused on the present time and issues of Christian living. Thus, Calvin is out of bounds if he is dealing with an unnamed individual but applies his analysis across the board for all chiliasts. Summary and Takeaways We will finish our comments on Calvin's analysis of premillennialism in two parts, assessing both Calvin and the Anabaptist chiliasts that he was apparently analyzing. First, relative to Calvin's section on chiliasts, we see that its brevity prevents serious interaction on 43 Ibid. Calvin may have in mind those like Felix Manz of the Swiss Brethren who has been accused (along with those like Michael Sattler) of teaching conditional immortality or annihilationism. See, for example, "Felix Manz's View of Death—No Soul or Hell," Radix Anabaptist; Online; Accessed 20 November 2021. My own analysis is that Manz does not express in detail any eschatological view on this matter. The interpreter must tread with caution. The temptation to overstate is ever present. 44 William Crockett, ed., Four Views on Hell (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992). My own position is consistent with the literal position of eternal torment and suffering in hell defended by John Walvoord. 45 Institutes, 3.25.12; ICR, 1007-08. his part with his adversaries. As a result, there is a lack of clarity in the Reformer's remarks. This should not be surprising since Calvin has been accused of possessing little lucidness in his own eschatology beyond standard amillennialism. 46 Second, Calvin tends to overgeneralize by lumping several ideas together with chiliasm without mentioning names of those he is addressing. The fact is that he appears to combine chiliasts with Anabaptists without distinction. The broad nature of who the culture called Anabaptists thwarts the simplistic analysis that Calvin left us. Third, some of the doctrines he addressed such as eternal punishment and universalism do not have a direct connection to whether one believes that Jesus is coming to set up a thousand-year reign called the millennium. At best, Calvin deals with a small minority of teachers in his critique who are often vague. At worst, the Genevan Reformer borders on wild caricature. It is hoped that modern followers of Calvin's teaching would not read his words and assume that he has given a valid critique of today's premillennialism. Finally, and perhaps most clearly, the narrative that the chiliasts of Calvin's day limited God's kingdom to a thousand years is a false narrative. One illustration expresses this truth clearly. Hans Schlaeffer was a Roman Catholic priest who became an Anabaptist (for which he paid with his life in 1528). 47 He joined himself to the movement of chiliast Hans Hut. In a letter, he states, Thus the Holy Scripture is now fulfilled, so that the punishment with which the world is to be visited, is ready and at hand; hence no one ought to be negligent; for the sword is drawn, the bow is bent, the arrow laid upon it, and aim is taken. By this I do not mean that we are to seek refuge, than that whereunto He has sealed us that we may be assured of the eternal and imperishable kingdom with Him, and forever to possess it with Him in life everlasting; to this may God strengthen us all. 48 It does not sound like this Anabaptist chiliast was limiting the future kingdom of God to a thousand years. He expected an eternal, unending kingdom and the enjoyment of forever life with God. When reading such statements, one wonders what Calvin was thinking. Now with respect to the Anabaptist chiliasts themselves, we can make a few observations. First, because of the persecution of various forms of Anabaptists, the leaders rarely lived long enough to produce detailed commentaries on books of the Bible or to write substantial systematic theologies as Calvin was allowed to do. The information from the chiliasts of that day is sketchy. There is certainly no clarity and no consensus on details of 46 LeRoy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers: The Historical Development of Prophetic Interpretation Vol. 2 (Washington, D. C.: Review and Herald, 1948), 426-42. , 47 H. Frank Eshleman, Historic Background and Annals of the Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and of Their Remote Ancestors, from the Middle of the Dark Ages, Down to the Time of the Revolutionary War (Lancaster, PA: Dalcassian Publishing Company, 1917), loc 727-46. 48 Cited in Estep, Anabaptist Story, 266. eschatology other than belief in premillennialism. Second, what we do know is that Anabaptist chiliasm was similar to the Christian chiliasm that began to emerge in the second century. Jewish elements are diminished or altogether absent as Christian forms overtake the promised kingdom ideas from the Old Testament. There is no Zionism, no future for national Israel in its land. So, even though we can be a bit harsh in our critique of Calvin, most of the premillennialists among the Anabaptists had not yet arrived to the proper destination of dispensational premillennialism. Third, the Anabaptists debated among themselves. One particular example is the somewhat apocalyptic branch of Anabaptists under the leadership of the more mystical Hans Hut over against the more reserved and biblical Swiss Brethren. 49 Calvin's assessment does not do justice to such distinctions. Calvin should be greatly revered for his Reformation stance on biblical authority and justification by faith. However, the exercise of studying Calvin's critique of premillennialism in this section of The Institutes was somewhat of a disappointment. But one issue that came to my mind as I studied was the fact that many dispensational premillennialists speak and write as if the millennium is the fulfillment of the covenant (Abrahamic, Davidic, and New) and kingdom promises. But how can a thousand years fulfill a forever promise? That is why I speak of the millennium as the "kick-off party" of God's forever kingdom. Eternity is the fulfillment of the promises. The millennium is merely the beginning. We must not forget that Calvin is basically correct when he says that God's kingdom lasts forever even if his view of that kingdom is not fully biblical. 49 Gottfried Seebass, "Thomas Müntzer (c. 1490-1525)" in The Reformation Theologians edited by Carter Lindberg (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2002), 348-49.
WNBA Draft Monday, April 11, 2022 Indiana Fever Emily Engstler Q. What does it mean to be part of a franchise that is obviously in rebuilding mode and has four picks in the first round, so you and some of your other draftees will be able to build this franchise back to where it needs to be? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I'm really excited. I think that's an amazing opportunity for us. One, you get to go with three other girls who you've built these relationships the past couple days, who I previously knew. Secondly, it's close to Kentucky, which I've been at for a year, which I think is pretty dope. But I'm super excited. I think rebuilding is okay. It has to be done, and I'm really grateful to be a part of it. Q. When you look at who else Indiana has taken so far, NaLyssa Smith and Lexie Hull, what are you looking forward to about playing with them specifically? EMILY ENGSTLER: I'm just excited. I'm excited to play with them. They're both good people. That's my number one thing. I got to know these girls a little bit. I think everybody here is dope people, so that will be awesome. And they're just great basketball players. We're all here for that reason. So I'm excited. Q. Do you find it almost poetic that you've now been drafted into one of the best leagues in the world in your hometown? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I got a little emotional up there for a second because I think it all hit me at once. Yes, it is. This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I'm super grateful, and I feel very blessed. Q. You talked at the Final Four about your relationship with Coach Walz. Could you talk about how you're the third-highest draft pick in the history of the program, what that means to you and what this season has meant to you at Louisville? EMILY ENGSTLER: Ooh, we need some more time. Louisville meant everything to me. You've got to start with the fan base; it's just amazing. It's a rush when you walk on the court, and they're really genuine. The program is everything you can ask for in a program. They took me in for one year and it really felt like a home. Coach Walz has meant the world to me. Coach (Stephanie) Norman, Coach Sam (Purcell), Coach JP (Jonneshia Pineda), everybody on the staff. My teammates were super great to play with, just the fiery-ness in all of them. You don't always get to find that when you feel like you have it in yourself, but I got to find it in them, and they brought out the best in me. I think that's what mattered the most. Q. Angel McCoughtry and Asia Durr are the only two draft picks that are higher than you. What does that mean to you? You got to know the program. EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, it's pretty cool when you think about it. I didn't even really think about that. But it means everything. Asia Durr and Angel McCoughtry are phenomenal basketball players. They support us. They've supported us all year. They've come back and I've gotten the pleasure to meet them. Dope people. It just means the world. I'm extremely excited. Q. Being drafted by Indiana has not been a guarantee to stay there in the long term in the past few years, even for the highest picks. What makes you confident you'll be able to take root in Indiana? EMILY ENGSTLER: Well, I'm really hardworking, and I'm extremely dedicated to staying in this league for as long as I possibly can. My start year will be at Indiana and I'm a very loyal person. I think that I'm going to do whatever I can to fit in the best that I can and build relationships with the organization staff and teammates. I'm going to do the best that I can. That's really all I can do. Q. For this moment, they kind of mentioned that this happens 30 minutes from where you used to play on the park courts over on Roosevelt Island. What would you tell that young girl about the journey she was going to go on and ultimately ending up here? Page 1 of 3 119440-2-1015 2022-04-12 00:19:00 GMT EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I would tell her what I've been saying for the past couple days now: Be yourself, keep playing on the courts with the guys and follow the right people and don't be afraid to let go of toxic relationships and keep your circle very small. Trust the process. I think a lot of people get lost and they need to put their feet on the ground and get grounded again. I just think that people need to understand, basketball we play because we want to have fun. We forget that sometimes. So just love what you do. Q. We talked about this a little bit at the Final Four, but just your defense as a game changer, would you take me through what, if anything -- how often that came up in your conversation with your new team and how much you think your ability to generate the kind of steals you did, north of four per game, is going to translate right away at the WNBA level? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I played zone for a really long time. I also lost a lot of weight, which was giving me the ability to be faster. And when I got this Louisville program, they were very patient with me and taught me their man-to-man defense. I owe them a lot because it's one of the main reasons I'm up here today. My defense has brought me a long way. I've really taken pride in loving to do it. I think some players like to do it, but a lot don't. It's a really fun thing to play defense, get a blocked shot and get a steal. I think in the previous NCAA Tournament, it was the definition of wins and losses. So I think that it'll translate to the WNBA perfectly. I think a lot of teams in this draft have been speaking about wanting more defenders. I think I can bring that to the league, and I'm super excited to do so. Q. As long as you've been following the Indiana Fever franchise, what was always your thoughts about them, and how does it feel to actually play for the team in your first season in the WNBA? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I'm definitely still learning about the program. But following the WNBA as I was growing up, I think every team is unique in their own way. I knew that they needed some players, so I thought it would be pretty cool if I got picked up by them and I could help them out. Q. This is a Fever frontcourt that is going through some retooling. I wonder how you can fit with NaLyssa Smith going forward and what type of defensive impact do you feel like you can have in year one? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I think me and NaLyssa will actually work well together. She is an amazing player. She's hard to guard and she can play defense, which is dope. I think she has a motor. You want to play with girls who have motors, who want to be there. That will be very exciting, and I think we'll bring a lot to the program. Q. Can you just talk about what the one year at Louisville meant to your development as a player and the raising of your draft stock all the way to No. 4? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I'll be honest with you, it probably was raising my draft stock to No. 4. It was a very smart decision. I made it because I thought it was the best decision at the time in my life, and I'm very blessed. Going there has taught me so much on and off the court, and I'm going to bring that with me into the league. Q. What are your expectations for the next season, and what are your goals that you've set for the next season? EMILY ENGSTLER: I mean, my main goal is to get up there and get signed. We might have gotten drafted, but we didn't get a contract yet. That's my first step. I want to live in the moment. I think it's important for us to do that or it becomes a little too much. My main goals after that would be just to be the best teammate that I can be and be at a program that is building but eventually win a championship. That's everybody's goal: win. I like to win, so I can help them out. Q. I know you've made yourself into a significantly better three-point shooter, around 37 percent senior year. I'm wondering how much further you think you can get to and what, if anything, is a kind of goal you've set for yourself when it comes to three-point accuracy in year one in the W? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I did. I have been working on my three-point shot. I think it's important for a versatile 3-4 player to have. I think there's more to work on, for sure. I think that I can become a 45 percent three-point shooter, if I really just lock in and allow the game to come to me. Q. Have you had any talks with current players or just coaches as far as how to make the adjustments, getting prepared for the league as far as the speed of the game, the intensity of the game and being able to be, like you said before, physically prepared but also mentally prepared? Page 2 of 3 119440-2-1015 2022-04-12 00:19:00 GMT EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I've been talking to coaches, my Louisville coaches all year about that. They're just looking out for you, and I've been listening because it's important. The adjustment -- the college game is very different from the WNBA game. I think it's a little more physical, stronger, stronger women. Got to get in the weight room. You've got to do it. I'm excited to continuously work hard in the gym and get my body right and get my body right for the game. Mentally, I think just again, what I said earlier, live in the moment. Q. To follow up a little bit on your one year, you talked about the fans and how they are. Now you're not going to be very far away in Indianapolis. Have you even thought about that, that a lot of those fans do travel, this fan base, and you know how they are at Louisville, and what it would be like to now have those fans become Indiana Fever fans? EMILY ENGSTLER: Yes, I have thought about it. All my stuff is in Kentucky, so it's definitely a way less far commute to move. Yeah, a hundred percent. I think our fans, they're so loyal. I think they'll follow me. It also gives an opportunity for people in my program to come see me play and for me to go back as an alum and see my people play at Louisville. I think it's a really awesome situation, and I'm extremely excited. FastScripts by ASAP Sports. 119440-2-1015 2022-04-12 00:19:00 GMT Page 3 of 3
Heat treatment of wood in France –state of the art Michel Vernois Centre Technique du Bois et de l'Ameublement Paris, France Heat treatment of wood in France - state of the art M Michel Vernois Centre Technique du Bois et de l'Ameublement, Paris The poor dimensional stability of wood under variable atmosphere and the low durability of many species have originated research for stabilization treatment inducing the limitation of moisture absoption of the lignocellulosic material. One of the process under study for the last decade in France and in Europe consists in submitting wood to heat treatment ranging from approximately 180°C to 250°C depending on the type of species and the physico-mechanical characteristics to reach. The main objective is to reduce the hydrophilic behavior of wood by the tridimensional modification of the chemical structure of some of its components through heat treatment in controlled atmosphere as a soft pyrolysis reaction. The way the pyrolysis is conducted and the selection of the various parameters involved in the process have an influence upon the characteristics of the final product. Operating conditions are essential, and such parameters as atmosphere- temperature - processing time - rate of heating - species - weight and dimension of the pieces - original moisture of the wood should be taken into account for they can strongly affect the final properties. The aim is to reach the optimum balance between the improvement of the moisture resistance and the decrease of the mechanical characteristics depending on usage. It has been observed that when submitted to heat treatment at high temperature, the kinetics of humidity absorption is noticeably modified resulting in a major reduction of the volume retraction and a lowering till a certain extent of some mechanical properties depending on the treatment applied. Improved durability results from the combination of two factors induced by thermal treatment: A noticeable reduction of moisture absorption. Rot fungi need a minimum of 20% of humidity to develop. Elimination of some of the nutrients required by wood rotting fungi. It should be noted that heat treatment induces chemical modifications in the wood which darken original color over the whole material. Mainly two processes are in use at the present time in France. The first one called Retification (Retified wood) has been developped by Ecole des Mines de SaintEtienne and operating licences and patents have been acquired by the Company NOW (New Option Wood) (Also known as RETITECH). The process consists in starting from wood previously dried around 12 % in humidity and to heat slowly in a specific chamber up to 210 – 240°C in a nitrogen atmosphere with less than 2 % in oxygen. The Industrial oven has been developed by the Company Four et Brûleurs REY, near SaintEtienne. Three Industrial Units are already in operation with a capacity of 3 500 m³/year for each corresponding to a heat chamber of 8 m³. One more plant is already ordered and should be in operation new April 2001. A few others should be implemented next year in France. The second Process is named "Le Bois Perdure" and the oven has been developped by the Company BCI-MBS. Instead of starting from dry wood such a process allows to use fresh wood. The first step of the process consists in an artificial drying in the oven. Then the wood is heated up to 230°C under steam atmosphere (steam generated from the water of the wood). Temperature used during the Process In both cases there is a compromise between durability and mechanical properties-higher the temperature, better the durability and lower some mechanical properties as strength to rupture. The treated wood at 230 – 240°C is much more durable but can loose up to 40 % in Modulus of rupture and is more brittle. At 210°C, the material, depending upon the species, can be less brittle with mechanical characteristics close to the original values but the durability could be improved only slightly. It means that the heat treatment shall be adjusted in terms of rate of heating, duration of treatment and maximum temperature to reach according to the application on usage. The processes are very sensitive to slight changes in temperature which shall be controlled with accuracy. For example, in the Retification Process it has been observed and published recently that 230°C corresponds to a define modification of the lignin leading probably to crosslinking. Under such a temperature the treated wood does not show the same behavior, in terms of durability, that at a temperature above 230°C. Heating medium The Retified wood is processed under inert nitrogen atmosphere, with the residual content of oxygen lower than two percents. The "Bois perdure" is processed under saturated water vapor atmosphere. Costs Costs are very dependent upon the production level. The reprocessing of byproducts generated in some cases (for example: in the Retification process) should be taken into account in the cost as some of these byproducts constitute a certain pollution. It is generally assumed that the cost of the Retification process is in the order magnitude of 150 – 160 EURO per treated cubic meter. In the case of "Obis perjure" the supplier of the oven mentions costs of 100 EURO per treated cubic meter. However, the yield is not the same for these two processes. We can easily understand that due to a better control of the raw material at the inlet of the oven and due to the fact that the wood is maintained under pressure during the process by a special device, the final yield is much higher in the Retification process than in the "Bois Perdure". Plant – purchase cost For the Retification process, with and oven of 8 cubic meters in capacity, which means an annual capacity of 3 500 cubic meters the total investment is in the range of 750 000 EURO. The "Bois Perdure" process seems to be less costly of 500 000 EURO. Plant operation cost The main operation costs are as follows: * investments * nitrogen consumption (for the Retification process) * energy consumption * maintenance * cost related to licence fees (patents) * treatment of effluents * labor costs. Retification process uses electrical energy "Bois Perdure" uses gas energy. It should be noticed that, in that case, the VOC gases are reinjected in the burner to minimize air pollution as well as to improve the global energy consumption. Documented properties All properties are very dependent upon the wood species, the type of process, the final temperature reached. However, in all cases, the material turns brownish in color, higher the temperature reached, darker the final product. Smell Wood treated at high temperature has always a strong smell just after treatment. After few days, such a smell decreases in intensity but could remain for several months. Mechanical properties As mentioned above, mechanical properties are very dependent upon the control of the process, the final temperature, the wood species etc. The parameters to take into account are numerous and very sensitive to slight modification. In any case, the material becomes more brittle. At 230°C, quite often, a decrease of MOR in the range of 30 to 40 % can be measured with a very brittle behavior. (Catastrophic failure, without creep). According to previous testing, mechanical properties after heat treatment are not strongly affected for poplar as they are for other species like pine trees. This means that the density is not the only parameter involved. Paintability Surface tension of the wood is drastically affected after heat treatment. Any kind of painting and finishing usually used for untreated wood cannot be used. However, it is possible to find some formulation and paints adequate on a surface of heat treated wood. If needed surface tension can be adjusted by additives. The main problem can arise from exudation of the resin from the resinous species. Gluability Proper glues have to be applied with heat treated wood. Research projects are presently carried out in CTBA Bordeaux on that topic. Weathering properties Wood treated at high temperature turns grey in colour after exposition to sun and UV, for few weeks. It is generally assumed that such grey colour is more homogenous than for untreated wood. Cracking, due to dimensional motion is reduced in comparison with natural wood. Hygroscopicity Wood treated at high temperature has less hygroscopicity than natural wood. It stabilises around 4 – 5 % in humidity instead of 10 to 12 %. This low hygroscopicity is of importance on biological durability (rot, stains, mould). However, the material presents a certain porosity and when dipped in water it can absorbe more than 20 % of water. But when dried again the water can take out quite easily. Such behaviour is of importance for building materials. Dimensional stability and cracking It is known that heat treatment at a temperature above 200°C reduces by factor two dimensional movements. However, dimensional stability is largely dependent upon the process, the final temperature, the wood species. Wood species Species of high density are more difficult to process than low-density species. With species of high density (mostly hardwood) heat treatment has a tendency to induce cracking lowering drastically mechanical properties. Poplar seems to be interesting to process giving good results in terms of physical properties and durability. A large study on maritime pine has been carried out in France and the main results will be commented. Durability Durability is very dependent upon several factors: * wood species * control accuracy of the process * type of process * process time maximum temperature reached and duration of time at such temperature. Should we refer to natural durability or durability induced by chemical additives? CTBA decided to refer to natural durability in terms of testing, standardisation, and requirements. Industrial production If plants have a theoretical capacity of 3 500 m3/year most of them are producing at around 50 % of their capacity. Total present industrial production in France is in the order of magnitude of 8 000 m3/year. How many plants are in commercial use? Six units are already in operation. Two others are expected and already announced for 2001. Quality control and quality assurance Each production unit has its own quality control. There is no quality assurance up to now and CTBA has been asked to insure such quality assurance in a future. Production control of the plant The raw material is checked according to internal specifications (dimension – moisture content) for each process. Each step of the process is recorded (heating time, percentage of oxygen, heat plateau, maximum temperature etc). External control Up to now there is no external control. However, such an external control could be part of quality assurance in the future. Marking/labelling requirement There is no marking and labelling today. There is a real need for such a labelling taking place after full quality assurance. Quality testing after leaving the plant In any case, we will have to find a non-destructive testing after heat treatment to insure that the treatment has been carried out properly according to the specifications required for the final usage. A simple test has to be found for industrial use. Few labs in France are already working on that topic. R&D projects Most of these projects are related to a specific process (for example: Retification). Hereunder are the present R&D topics: * heat treatment of new wood species * understanding of physico-chemical modification of lignin at high temperature. * understanding of heat transfer in the material * machinability of heat treated wood.
03: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND CANCER A lthough Cancer develops at a cellular level it is known to be influenced amongst others, by genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors via a number of interacting biological mechanisms. A sedentary lifestyle is now widely recognised as a key component in the risk factors of several cancers. There is clear data for the positive effects of physical activity both on the prevention of some cancers and on clinical outcomes after diagnosis. Physical activity and primary prevention The leading authority on the links between physical activity as an independent risk factor for the primary prevention of cancer is the World Research Fund's Continuous Update Project. 1 The evidence here is for physical activity as the only independent risk factor, some cancers also have weight as a risk factor. \| Strong convincing evidence \| \| Limited – no conclusion \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Colon \| \| Prostate \| Pancreatic \| \| Strong probable evidence \| \| Rectal \| Skin \| \| Breast (post-menopausal) \| \| Ovary \| \| \| Breast (pre-menopausal) if vigorous exercise \| \| Mouth/throat \| \| \| Endometrial \| \| Bladder \| \| \| Limited - suggestive \| \| Kidney \| \| \| Liver \| Oesophagus \| Unlikely effect on risk \| \| \| Lung \| Breast (pre-menopausal) \| None identifei d to date \| \| Physical activity pre-treatment: * Rates of incontinence in prostate cancer Pre-surgical exercise, through aerobic, resistance or pelvic floor training, may benefit cancer patients through effects on function and cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness with significant improvements shown in: 2-5 * Functional walking capacity * Reduced hospital stays * Cardiorespiratory fitness Physical activity during treatment: * Significantly improves fitness and muscle strength Although patients often feel unwell before or during treatment for cancer, we know that physical activity during treatment: 6-8 * Shows small improvements in anxiety levels and self esteem * Increases lean muscle mass * Shows no worsening of fatigue levels and some small evidence of an improvement * Improves arm function with no worsening of lymph-oedema in breast cancer patients 9,10 Physical activity after treatment: * Increase in cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength Patients often experience loss of physical function as a result of their cancer treatments, but evidence shows that physical activity after treatment can improve several aspects: 6-8,11 * Reduced fatigue * Some reductions in body fat and increase in muscle mass * Improvements in quality of life, anxiety and depression Physical activity has been shown to improve cancer patients' quality of life during the rehabilitation phase and should therefore be encouraged. 12-16 Physical activity and palliative care: Despite a small evidence base, intervention studies are promising and support the use of physical activity in patients with advanced stages of cancer. 17-20 Benefits demonstrated include: * Preserved functional outcomes (e.g. walking ability, muscular strength) * Slowed decline in quality of life * Less severe symptoms (dyspnoea, appetite loss) Physical activity and survival rates: An increasing number of studies have studied the relationship between physical activity and cancer survival. There have been reviews and studies across breast, colorectal, prostate, ovarian, lung and glioma brain cancer. 21-29 Although, this is still emerging evidence, these studies have shown an inverse relationship between physical activity and mortality in patients undertaking post diagnosis physical activity. Risk reduction rates varies on these studies, from 15-67% for cancer specific mortality and 18 -67% for all-cause mortality. 24 However, the dose of physical activity to reduce cancer mortality varied between studies from 9 MET-hr (metabolic equivalent time) to 27 MET-hr, equivalent to approximately 180 to 500 minutes per week respectfully, of moderate intensity physical activity. It is suggested that the association between physical activity and cancer-specific mortality is not uniform and may vary according to the volume of physical activity and between different cancer types. 24 NICE guidelines NG101 (2018) 30 and CG81 (2014) 31 back up the advice to patients with early and advanced breast cancer, that we should provide the information and access to an exercise programme to help with cancer related fatigue, lymph oedema and quality of life. Planned Review Date: December 2019 03: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND CANCER Safety considerations during and after treatment 32 \| To avoid symptom exacerbation To prevent falls \| \| \|---\|---\| \| • Modify exercise • Start moderately and progress slowly \| • Practice balance exercises • Practice strength exercises \| \| During immunosuppression \| For patients with lymph-oedema \| \| • Avoid high load/intensity • Monitor bloods for neutropenia \| • Progress slowly • Wear compression garments \| Key message: x Exercise is an important part of any treatment plan for a patient with cancer at all stages. It can improve their quality of life, contribute to the management of their disease, mitigate against co-morbidities and complications and lead to better treatment outcomes. Contraindications 33 In disease or treatment avoid activities that: * Require high intensity in patients with low Hb < 8.0g/dl * Involve contact sports if platelets < 50 x 10 5 * Entail an increased risk for bacterial infection in patients with a low wbc < 0.5 x 109/l Benefits to health professionals: x Reduced drug costs, appointments and visits. Extracted from the Wales HEIW CPD module on physical activity Motivate2Move. Now part of the RCGP Clinical Priority on physical activity and lifestyle. (Planned review date Dec 2021) Consider: x 1. Auditing your cancer patients to see if they have been offered any physical activity advice. 3. Signpost to Macmillan support resources here 2. Advising on diagnosis of the importance of this lifestyle approach for their own well-being. REFERENCES 1 World Cancer Research Fund. Continuous Update Project findings and reports. (cited 2019 Jul 03) Available from: https://www.wcrf.org/sites/default/files/Physical-activity.pdf 10 McNeely ML, Campbell K, Ospina M, et al. Exercise interventions for upper-limb dysfunction due to breast cancer treatment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 6. Art. No.: CD005211. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005211.pub2. 2 Singh F, Newton RU, Galvão DA, et al. A systematic review of pre-surgical exercise intervention studies with cancer patients. Surgical Oncology. 2013 Jun 30;22(2):92-104. 3 Cavalheri V, Granger C. Preoperative exercise training for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2017;6 4 Hijazi Y, Gondal U, Aziz O. A systematic review of prehabilitation programs in abdominal cancer surgery. International Journal of Surgery 2017;39:156-62 5 Chang JI, Lam V, Patel MI. Preoperative pelvic floor muscle exercise and post-prostatectomy incontinence: a systematic review and metaanalysis. European Urology 2016; 69:460-67 6 Speck RM, Courneya KS, Mâsse LC, et al. An update of controlled physical activity trials in cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Cancer Survivorship. 2010 Jun 1;4(2):87-100. 7 Mishra SI, Scherer RW, Snyder C, et al. Exercise interventions on health-related quality of life for people with cancer during active treatment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD008465.DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008465.pub2. 8 Cramp F, Byron-Daniel J. Exercise for the management of cancer related fatigue in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD006145. DOI: 10.1002/14651858. CD006145.pub3. 9 Chan DN, Lui LY, So WK. Effectiveness of exercise programmes on shoulder mobility and lymphoedema after axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer: systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2010 Sep 1;66(9):1902-14. 11 Fong DY, Ho JW, Hui BP, et al. Physical activity for cancer survivors: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ. 2012 Jan 31;344:e70. 12 World Cancer Research Fund, American Institute for Cancer Research . Colorectal Cancer: Food, nutrition, physical activity, and the prevention of colorectal cancer. 2011. (cited 2019 Jul 03) Available from: https://www.wcrf.org/sites/default/files/Colorectal-cancer-report.pdf 13 Doyle C, Kushi LH, Byers T, et al. Nutrition and physical activity during and after cancer treatment: an American Cancer Society guide for informed choices. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2006 Nov 1;56(6):323-53. 14 Thorsen L, Skovlund E, Strømme SB, et al. Effectiveness of physical activity on cardiorespiratory fitness and health-related quality of life in young and middle-aged cancer patients shortly after chemotherapy. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2005 Apr 1;23(10):2378-88. 15 Thune I, Smeland S. Can physical activity prevent cancer? Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2000 Nov 10;120(27):3296-301 (article in Norwegian) 16 Courneya KS, Mackey JR, Bell GJ,et al. Randomized controlled trial of exercise training in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors: cardiopulmonary and quality of life outcomes. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2003 May 1;21(9):1660-8. 17 Oldervoll LM, Loge JH, Lydersen S, et al. Physical exercise for cancer patients with advanced disease: a randomized controlled trial. The Oncologist. 2011 Nov 1;16(11):1649-57. Version 4 – July 2019 Planned Review Date: December 2019 03: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND CANCER REFERENCES 18 Oldervoll LM, Loge JH, Paltiel H, et al. The effect of a physical exercise program in palliative care: a phase II study. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2006 May 31;31(5):421-30. 27 Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci E, Chan JM. Physical activity and survival after prostate cancer diagnosis in the health professionals follow-up study. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2011 Jan 4;29(6):726-32. 19 Albrecht TA, Taylor AG. Physical activity in patients with advanced stage cancer: a systematic review of the literature. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. 2012 Jun 1;16(3):293. 20 Heywood R, McCarthy AL, Skinner TL. Safety and feasibility of exercise interventions in patients with advanced cancer: a systematic review. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2017 Jul 25:1-20. 21 Ibrahim EM, Al-Homaidh A. Physical activity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis: meta-analysis of published studies. Medical Oncology. 2011 Sep 1;28(3):753-65. 22 Je Y, Jeon JY, Giovannucci EL, Meyerhardt JA. Association between physical activity and mortality in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. International Journal of Cancer. 2013 Oct 15;133(8):1905-13. 23 Schmid D, Leitzmann MF. Association between physical activity and mortality among breast cancer and colorectal cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Oncology. 2014 Jul 1;25(7):1293-311. 24 Betof AS, Dewhirst MW, Jones LW. Effects and potential mechanisms of exercise training on cancer progression: a translational perspective. Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity. 2013 Mar15;30:S75-87. 25 Schmid D, Leitzmann MF. Association between physical activity and mortality among breast cancer and colorectal cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Oncology. 2014 Jul 1;25(7):1293-311. 26 Richman EL, Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, et al. Physical activity after diagnosis and risk of prostate cancer progression: data from the cancer of the prostate strategic urologic research endeavour. Cancer Research. 2011 Jun 1;71(11):3889-95. 28 Jones LW, Hornsby WE, Goetzinger A,et al. Prognostic significance of functional capacity and exercise behaviour in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Lung Cancer. 2012 May 31;76(2):248-52. 29 Ruden E, Reardon DA, Coan AD, et al. Exercise behaviour, functional capacity, and survival in adults with malignant recurrent glioma. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2011 Jun 20;29(21):2918-23. 30 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, London. Early and locally advanced breast cancer. (cited 2019 Jul 03). Clinical guideline 80. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng101 31 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. London. 2014.Advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment. (cited 2019 Jul 03). NICE Clinical guideline 81. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg81 32 Macmillan Cancer Support. Physical activity evidence review. (cited 2019 Jul 03) Available from: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/documents/aboutus/commissioners/physicalactivity_ evidencebasedreport.pdf 33 Thune I. Cancer Ch 19. Swedish National Institute of Public Health. Physical Activity in the prevention and treatment of disease. 2010. (cited 2019 Jul 03). Available from: http://www.fyss.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/19.-Cancer.pdf Version 4 – July 2019 Planned Review Date: December 2019
COMMUNICABLE DISEASE PREVENTION PLAN WCCMT's Health and Safety Sub Committee monitors the risk of communicable disease for our college, in conjunction with local public health authorities. WCCMT has established this Communicable Disease Prevention Plan to monitor all relevant information for our college, oversee our response plan and to provide updates to students, faculty and staff as these become available. The members of the WCCMT Health and Safety Sub Committee are: - Nicole Freesman, Executive Director & SEA - Dr. Cidalia Paiva, Director of Compliance - Maria Clemente, Director of Operations - Amy VanSickle, Curriculum Coordinator - Keith Bootsma, Practical Education Advisor - Debbie Lizee, Clinic Administrator: Scheduling & Logistics - Cecile Pama, Clinic Administrator: Internal & External Relations - Lisa Fletcher, Clinic Coordinator, Victoria Campus - Kadauna Wilkes, Campus Director, Victoria Campus - Samantha Maegard, Admissions & Operations Coordinator, Victoria Campus What is WCCMT doing to prepare for a pandemic or outbreak? WCCMT's Health and Safety Sub Committee has considered the impact an outbreak or pandemic might have on WCCMT. Since the emergence of H1N1 in 2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Health and Safety Sub Committee has met on several different occasions to: * Review and revise our infection prevention and control plans * Implement infection prevention and control measures based on current recommendations by the public health authorities, including: o Providing and installing signs for recommended hand washing techniques and proper mask use in WCCMT washrooms and around campus o Providing and installing hand sanitizing stations at key public areas and in all classrooms o Providing and installing Plexiglass barriers at the reception desk o Investing in the audio-visual technology required to support remote class attendance * Prepare for potentially high levels of absenteeism * Support program continuity planning Understanding the Risk The Chair of the Health & Safety Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing communicable disease-related information issued by the regional medical health officer and/or the provincial health officer. Sources with information relevant to the WCCMT community include: Information from these sources will be monitored and reviewed as needed, and during times of elevated risk for communicable disease transmission including cold and flu season in the fall and winter months, and in the event of an outbreak at the College or in the region. Reducing the Risk The College has established policies to support infection prevention and control on campus, and to support students, faculty and staff who have symptoms of communicable disease so they can avoid being on campus when sick. In general, any student, faculty or staff who has symptoms of communicable disease should avoid coming to campus while ill. Students are allowed up to 20% absence from a course in cases of illness or emergency. Students may be allowed to attend remotely with the provision of a doctor's note or confirmed diagnosis of communicable disease. Additionally, fees for exams/quizzes missed due to illness with a communicable disease will be waived, upon provision of valid documentation attesting to the illness. Students are advised to consult with the Student Services Coordinator in New West and with Student Services and the Campus Director in Victoria as soon as possible in the event of prolonged illness or absence. Faculty & staff who are experiencing symptoms of cold or flu should send notice to their supervisor as soon as practicable to report their illness. If practicable as determined by the relevant supervisor, the option to work from home may be available. In instances of short-notice (less than 24hrs notice) absences due to illness, paid sick leave for those eligible will apply. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to follow precautionary measures including: Immunization; daily self-monitoring for symptoms; staying home when sick; wearing masks when recommended by public health; and good hand hygiene and cough etiquette. Individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested immediately. Ongoing risk reduction measures in place include the provision of hand washing and hand sanitizing stations in all classrooms and throughout the campus with relevant signage; regular janitorial service with frequent cleaning of high tough surfaces; regular maintenance and optimization of the building ventilation system; free on-site flu clinics each year at the New Westminster campus. 2022 In circumstances of elevated risk, additional measures may be implemented. For example, increased use of personal protective equipment and/or social distancing measures such as reduced seating in common areas, staggered lunch breaks, grouping students into cohorts etc., depending on level of risk and guidance from local health authorities. It is to be noted that the College's public clinic is identified as an area of elevated risk, given the high number of members of the public accessing the clinic on a daily basis and the close contact between student interns and their patients. It may be necessary at times to implement additional infection prevention and control measures in the public clinic beyond those that apply to the other areas of the campus. Communication of Infection Prevention Policies & Procedures Information on the College's infection prevention policies and procedures can be found in the WCCMT Health & Safety Manual. The Health & Safety Manual is provided to all incoming students, faculty and staff electronically, and hard copies are available in the student services office and in the faculty lounge. Further information is also included in the Student Clinic Handbook and the Clinic Instructor's Manual. Students will receive further training during their Term 2 Clinic Orientation. During times of elevated risk, relevant updates will be sent out via e-mail to all stakeholders and notices may be posted on the bulletin boards and digital displays on campus. Information about mandatory measures is posted at all entrances to the building. The following information on communicable disease prevention is collected from WorkSafe BC online resource. For more information visit https://www.worksafebc.com/ What is Communicable Disease? * A communicable disease is an illness caused by an infectious agent or its toxic product that can be transmitted in a workplace from person to person. Examples of communicable diseases that may circulate in a workplace include COVID-19, norovirus, and seasonal influenza. * Communicable disease prevention focuses on basic risk reduction principles to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. The fundamental components of communicable disease prevention include both ongoing measures to maintain at all times and additional measures to be implemented as advised by Public Health: o Ongoing measures — maintain at all times: - Implementing policies to support individuals who have symptoms of a communicable disease (for example, fever and/or chills, recent onset of coughing, diarrhea), so they can avoid being on site when sick - Promoting hand hygiene by providing hand hygiene facilities with appropriate supplies and reminding everyone through policies and signage to wash their hands regularly and to use appropriate hygiene practices 2022 - Maintaining a clean environment through routine cleaning processes - Ensuring building ventilation is properly maintained and functioning as designed - Supporting students, faculty and staff in receiving vaccinations for vaccinepreventable conditions to the extent that we are able o Additional measures — implemented as advised by Public Health: - Being prepared to implement additional prevention measures as required by a medical health officer or the provincial health officer to deal with communicable diseases in the College or region, should those be necessary. What are the responsibilities of all students, staff and faculty? All members of WCCMT are asked to: * Follow recommendations provided by the health authorities and WCCMT to help stop the spread of infection. Local health authorities include the Provincial Health Officer; the BCCDC, Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health. * Stay at home if you are sick. Remain at home until at least 24 hours after you are free of fever (100° F [37.8°C]) without the use of fever-reducing medications. * Advise the Clinic Administration, if you are staying home due to a possible illness. Information relating to any individual's medical status is to remain confidential and kept to a need-to-know basis. * Develop strategies for college and program continuity in anticipation of high absenteeism. * Have a personal preparedness plan should you or a family member become ill. Note that WCCMT requires a medical certificate for illness absences unless the student, faculty or staff member has met with the Clinic Administration, and they have advised that individual to go home based on their professional assessment of the symptoms that the individual has communicated to them. Student Responsibilities: * Consult with the Clinic Administration if you are ill * Advise Student Services if you are ill or suspect you may have the flu or other illness. * Remain away from class and WCCMT until you are well enough to return (see paragraph above). Clinic Staff Responsibilities: * Consult with the Clinic Administration. * Remain flexible in your job function and responsibilities. * Advice your department head if you are experiencing or are caring for someone who is ill. Faculty: 2022 * Support students who require special accommodation due to illness, including offering options for completing course requirements. * Provide information to students on where they can obtain resources and support. * Advise Student Services and department heads of any illness-related absenteeism. * Consider ways in which you can offer course material, including assignments and exams, in alternate formats, in the event that students are not able to participate in or attend classes. * If you believe you may have contracted a communicable disease, consult with your department head. Department Heads: * Assist WCCMT by promoting infection control practices recommended by WCCMT to your staff. * Support your staff and provide accommodation to those who are absent due to illness or acting as a caregiver for an ill family member. * Monitor, track and report all illness-related absenteeism to the Student Services Coordinator. * Develop or review your department's continuity plans by identifying critical functions, resources and determining minimum staffing levels to maintain operations. * Consider training additional staff to perform key functions should there be high absenteeism in your department. * Alert the College's Health & Safety Officer to any health and safety concerns in your department immediately. What is influenza? Influenza, often called the flu, is an infection of the upper airway caused by an influenza virus. Getting sick with influenza also puts you at risk of other infections. These include viral or bacterial pneumonia which affect the lungs. The risk of complications, which can be life-threatening, is greater for seniors 65 years and older, very young children, and people who have lung or heart diseases, certain chronic health conditions, or weakened immune systems. Healthy pregnant women in the second half of their pregnancy are at greater risk of being hospitalized following infection with influenza virus. In Canada, thousands of people are hospitalized and may die from influenza and its complications during years with widespread or epidemic influenza activity. How can influenza be prevented? You can reduce the risk of getting influenza or spreading it to others by: * washing your hands regularly; * promptly disposing of used tissues in the waste basket or garbage; * coughing and sneezing into your shirt sleeve rather than your hands; * staying home when you are ill; and * getting an influenza vaccine. Getting an influenza vaccine can help prevent you from getting sick with influenza and from spreading it to others. How does influenza spread? Influenza spreads easily from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or having face-to-face contact. The virus can also spread when a person touches tiny droplets from a cough or a sneeze on another person or object and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands. An infected person can spread the influenza virus even before feeling sick. An adult can spread the virus from about 1 day before to 5 days after symptoms start. Young children may be able to spread the virus for a longer period of time. What are the symptoms? Influenza symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle pain, runny nose, sore throat, extreme tiredness, and cough. Children may also experience nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Although infections from other viruses may have similar symptoms, those due to the influenza virus tend to be worse. Symptoms can begin about 1 to 4 days, or an average of 2 days, after a person is first exposed to the influenza virus. Fever and other symptoms can usually last up to 7 to 10 days, but the cough and weakness may last 1 to 2 weeks longer. What is the home treatment? If you get sick with influenza, home treatment can help ease symptoms. Follow the self-care advice below: * Get plenty of rest. * Drink extra fluids to replace those lost from fever. * Avoid smoking and ask others not to smoke in the house. * Breathe moist air from a hot shower or from a sink filled with hot water to help clear a stuffy nose. * Anti-influenza drugs or antivirals are available by prescription, but these must be started within 48 hours of the start of your symptoms to work best. These will shorten symptoms by about 3 days if given within 12 hours and by about 1.5 days if given within 2 days of the start of symptoms. * Non-prescription cough and cold medications are available for relief of influenza symptoms but these are not recommended for children less than 6 years of age. * Acetaminophen or Tylenol® can be given for fever or soreness. ASA or Aspirin® should NOT be given to anyone under 20 years of age due to the risk of Reye Syndrome. For more information on Reye Syndrome, see HealthLinkBC File #84 Reye Syndrome. 2022 When should I see a health care provider? Consult your health care provider early if you develop flu-like symptoms and you have a condition that puts you at higher risk of complications. You should also call your health care provider if your symptoms get worse, such as shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chest pain, or signs of dehydration (such as dizziness when standing or low urine output). What is COVID-19? Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It emerged in December of 2019, and went on to cause a worldwide pandemic. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The coronavirus can pass from person to person and is spread through droplets and virus particles released into the air when an infected person breathes, talks, laughs, sings, coughs or sneezes. Getting immunized, staying home when sick, visiting others outdoors or in small groups, wearing masks in indoor public spaces, increasing ventilation, and cleaning your hands are all important measures that will reduce transmission. Symptoms of COVID-19 The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to other respiratory illnesses including the flu and common cold. COVID-19 symptoms can range from mild to severe. Sometimes people with COVID-19 have mild illness, but their symptoms may suddenly worsen in a few days. Research shows that some symptoms are more likely related to COVID-19 than others. Key symptoms of COVID-19 include: * Fever or chills * Cough * Loss of sense of smell or taste * Difficulty breathing Other symptoms may include: * Sore throat * Loss of appetite * Extreme fatigue or tiredness * Headache * Body aches * Nausea or vomiting * Diarrhea Go to an urgent care clinic or emergency department if you: * find it hard to breathe * have chest pain * can't drink anything * feel very sick * feel confused What to do if you have symptoms that may be COVID-19 Use the B.C. COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool to see if you need to be tested for COVID-19: http://bc.thrive.health See the BCCDC page on COVID-19 Testing for more information: http://www.bccdc.ca/healthinfo/diseases-conditions/covid-19 Once you have been tested you should self-isolate while you wait for the test results. If your test is negative you should not return to work or school until you are feeling better. If you feel unwell and are unsure about your symptoms, contact your health care provider or call 8-1-1. You should continue to seek care for other medical conditions as needed, even if it's not related to COVID-19. Where can I get more information? Students, faculty and staff can check the following websites for the latest information available locally and across the province: Fraser Health Authority https://www.fraserhealth.ca/ Vancouver Coastal Health Authority https://www.vch.ca Vancouver Island Health Authority https://www.islandhealth.ca The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) BC Centre for Disease Control (bccdc.ca) Public Health Agency of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health.html
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CASE NO. 8:15-cv-1417-T-23AEP E.M. SYSTEMS & SERVICES, LLC., et al., Defendants. ____________________________________/ ORDER The Federal Trade Commission and the Florida Attorney General sue (Doc. 58) sixteen defendants under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, and Sections 13(b) and 19 of the FTC Act. The plaintiffs and the E.M. Systems defendants stipulate to the injunctive and monetary relief in this order. 1 DEFINITIONS A. "ACH Debit" means any attempted or completed debit to a person's account at a financial institution that is processed electronically through the Automated Clearing House Network. B. "Acquirer" means a business organization, financial institution, or an agent of a business organization or financial institution that has authority from an organization that operates or licenses a credit card 1 E.M. Systems & Services, LLC; Administrative Management & Design, LLC; KLS Industries, LLC, d/b/a Satisfied Services Solutions, LLC; Empirical Data Group Technologies, LLC; Epiphany Management Systems, LLC; Steven D. Short, and Karissa L. Dyar comprise the E.M. Systems defendants. system (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) to authorize a merchant to accept, to transmit, or to process a payment by credit card through the credit card system for money, goods or services, or another valuable item. C. "Chargeback" means a procedure in which an issuing bank or other financial institution charges all or part of a person's credit or debit card transaction back to the acquiring or merchant bank. D. "Client" means a person who obtains directly or indirectly from an E.M. Systems defendant a merchant account or a person for whom an E.M. Systems defendant acts directly or indirectly as a sales agent. E. "Credit card laundering" means: 1. Presenting or depositing into, or causing another to present or to deposit into, the credit card system for payment a Credit Card Sales Draft if the underlying transaction is not between the cardholder and the merchant; 2. Employing, soliciting, or allowing a merchant, or an employee, representative, or agent of a merchant, to present to or to deposit into the credit card system for payment a Credit Card Sales Draft if the underlying transaction is not between the cardholder and the merchant; 3. Obtaining access to the credit card system through a business relation with a merchant when the access is not authorized by the merchant account or by the applicable credit card system. F. "Credit Card Sales Draft" means any record or evidence of a credit card transaction. G. "Debit Relief Product or Service" means any product, service, or plan represented to re-negotiate, to settle, or to alter a term of payment or another term of the debt between a person and an unsecured creditor or debt collector, including a reduction in balance, interest rate, or fee. H. "E.M. Systems defendants" means all of the E.M. individuals and E.M. LLCs individually, collectively, or in any combination. I. "E.M. individuals" means Karissa L. Dyar and Steven D. Short. J. "E.M. LLCs" means E.M. Systems & Services, LLC; Administrative Management & Design, LLC; KLS Industries, LLC, d/b/a Satisfied Service Solutions, LLC; Empirical Data Group Technologies, LLC; Epiphany Management Systems, LLC; and their successors, assigns, and any fictitious business entity or name used by the entity, including Applied Budgeting; Bigger Budget; Competitive Budgeting; Complete Budgeting; Conserved Budgeting; Consigned Savings; Containing Expenses; Debt Smart Solutions; Decisive Budgeting; Efficient Budgeting; Insightful Budgeting; Intuitive Budgeting; Less Costly Living; Living Competitively; Lowered Expenses; Prepared Budgeting; Reduced Expenses; Resourceful Budgeting; Sensible Budgeting; Skilled Budgeting; Spend Less Monthly; Total Budgeting; Today's Financial Living; Your Household Budget; and Your Next Financial Step. K. "Independent sales organization" ("ISO") means a person who enters into an agreement with a Payment Processor to sell or to market payment processing services to a merchant and who holds full or partial liability for a loss related to the payment processing activities conducted by or on behalf of the merchant. L. "Outbound telemarketing" means any plan, program, or campaign to induce the purchase of a good, service, or charitable contribution by phone and which involves a phone call initiated by a telemarketer even if not covered by the Telemarketing Sales Rule. M. "Merchant" means a person who may, under a written contract with an Acquirer, honor or accept a credit card, or transmit or process a credit card payment, for the purchase of a good, service, or charitable contribution. N. "Merchant account" means an account with an Acquirer that authorizes a merchant to honor or to accept a credit card, or to transmit or process for payment a credit card, for the purchase of a good, service, or charitable contribution. O. "Payment processing" means providing a person with the means to charge or to debit an account through a payment mechanism, including a Remotely Created Payment Order, an ACH Debit, or a debit, credit, prepaid, or stored value card. Payment processing includes reviewing and approving a merchant application for payment processing services; providing the means to transmit sales transaction data from a merchant to an acquiring bank or to another financial institution; clearing, settling, or distributing a proceed of a transaction from an acquiring bank or from a financial institution to a merchant; or processing a chargeback or returned Remotely Created Payment Order or ACH Debit. P. "Payment processor" means a person providing payment processing services in connection with a charitable contribution or in connection with another person's sale of a good or service. Q. "Person" means an individual, group, unincorporated association, limited or general partnership, corporation, or entity. R. "Receivership defendants" mean the E.M. Systems defendants, One Easy Solutions, LLC, and Christopher C. Miles. S. "Remotely Created Payment Order" means any check, draft, payment instruction, or payment order drawn on a payor's account, initiated or created by or on behalf of the payee, and deposited into or cleared through the check clearing system. An account includes any financial account, credit account, or another arrangement that permits drawing of a check or payment instruction through or at a bank. T. "Sales agent" means a person who matches, arranges, or refers a prospective client to a payment processor or ISO for payment processing but holds no contractual liability for a loss related to a payment processing activity conducted by or on behalf of a client. A sales agent may recommend a particular payment processor or ISO to a prospective client, may forward to the payment process or ISO a prospective client's merchant application, and may negotiate the fee charged by a payment processor or ISO, but a sales agent may not act as an ISO. I. Ban on outbound telemarketing The E.M. Systems defendants must not conduct or assist another in conducting outbound telemarketing. II. Ban on marketing a debt relief product or service The E.M. Systems defendants must not advertise, market, promote, or offer for sale any Debt Relief Product or Service and must not assist another in the preceding acts. III. Ban on misrepresentation The E.M. Systems defendants, and an officer, agent, employee, or attorney of an E.M. Systems defendant, must not misrepresent or assist another in misrepresenting either expressly or impliedly in connection with the advertisement, promotion, or sale of a good or service: A. The total cost to purchase, to receive, or to use a good or service; B. That a person is affiliated with, endorsed or approved by, or connected to another person; C. A term of a policy about a refund, cancellation, exchange, or re-purchase; D. A material aspect of the product or service's performance, efficacy, or nature. E. A material fact. IV. Ban on credit card laundering The E.M. Systems defendants, and an officer, agent, employee, or attorney of an E.M. Systems defendant, must not launder a credit card in connection with the advertisement, marketing, promotion, or sale of a good or service. But an E.M. Systems defendant may open, operate, and utilize a merchant account to accept a credit card, to transmit, or to process for payment a credit card in connection with the sale by an E.M. Systems defendant of a good or service. V. Ban on unsubstantiated claims The E.M. Systems defendants, and an officer, agent, employee or attorney of an E.M. Systems defendant, must not represent expressly or impliedly a claim about the performance, efficacy, or benefit of a good or service unless the E.M. Systems defendant relies upon competent evidence to substantiate the claim's truth. VI. Ban on acting as an ISO or sales agent An E.M. Systems defendant must not act as an ISO or Sales Agent for a client. VII. Monetary relief The clerk is directed to enter a judgment in the amount of $12,365,731 for the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Department of Legal Affairs, and against the E.M. Systems defendants jointly and severally. To satisfy partially the judgment, within ten days of receipt of this order Bank of America, N.A., must transfer the asset or account below to the Receiver, who must instruct Bank of America about the form of the asset transfer. 1. Account ending in 6626, held in the name of Karissa L. Dyar and Steven D. Short; 2. Account ending in 5777, held in the name of Steven D. Short; 3. Account ending in 3460, held in the name of Karissa L. Dyar; 4. Account ending in 2032, held in the name of Karissa L. Dyar. The E.M. Systems defendants relinquish legal and equitable right, title and interest in an asset surrendered to the Receiver, including the money in the above accounts, and the E.M. Systems defendant may not seek return of a surrendered asset. The Receiver may move for reasonable compensation. The Receiver must transfer to the plaintiffs any asset remaining after the Receiver is compensated. An asset described in this section applies to the judgment ordered above. The remainder of the judgment is suspended in accord with the following conditions. Plaintiffs agree to the partial suspension of the judgment against the E.M. Systems defendants only if the financial representations in the following documents are truthful, accurate, and complete: 1. June 22, 2015 financial statement of Karissa Dyar and attachments to the statement; 2. June 22, 2015 financial statement of Steven D. Short and attachments to the statement; 3. June 22, 2015 corporate financial statement of Administrative Management & Design, LLC; 4. June 22, 2015 corporate financial statement of Empiracle [sic] Data Group Technologies, LLC; 5. June 22, 2015 corporate financial statement of Epiphany Management Systems, LLC; 6. June 22, 2015 corporate financial statement of KLS Industries, LLC; 7. June 22, 2015 corporate financial statement of E.M. Systems & Services, LLC. If an order finds that an E.M. Systems defendant materially misstated, or failed to disclose, either a material asset or an asset's value, the order will re-instate the judgment. If re-instated as to an E.M. Systems defendant, the judgment is due immediately as to that defendant. For this section only, the parties stipulate that the judgment amount represents the alleged consumer injury plus post-judgment interest less a payment ordered in this section. In any civil litigation by or on behalf of plaintiffs, including a proceeding to enforce the judgment and a non-dischargeability claim in a bankruptcy action, the E.M. Systems defendants may not dispute the truth of the complaint's factual allegations. The E.M. Systems defendants permit the use, in accord with 31 U.S.C. § 7701, of a Taxpayer Identification Number, i.e., a Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number, for the collection and the reporting of a delinquent amount of the judgment. The plaintiffs may deposit money paid in satisfaction of the judgment into a fund administered by the FTC or its designee and used for equitable relief, including consumer redress and the expenses of administering the redress program. If redress is impracticable or if money remains after completion of the redress program, the plaintiffs may use the money for other equitable relief, i.e., a consumer information remedy, that is reasonably related to the E.M. Systems defendants' allegedly deceptive practices. The plaintiffs may divide equally any money not used for consumer redress or for equitable relief. The FTC must deposit its half in the U.S. Treasury and the Florida Attorney General must deposit its half in the Florida Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs' Escrow Fund. The E.M. Systems defendants may not challenge any expense under this section by the plaintiffs. VIII. Removal of asset freeze The freeze of the E.M. Systems defendants' assets is lifted to permit the transfer of assets in accord with this order. The asset freeze will dissolve after the completion of the asset transfers ordered above. A third party may rely upon a letter from the plaintiffs stating that an order lifts the freeze on the E.M. Systems defendants' assets. IX. Receivership The Receivership established by the June 30, 2015 order (Doc. 28) continues. In accord with the June 30 order, the Receiver may seek reasonable compensation from the Receivership for performing his duties. X. Customer information The E.M. Systems defendants and an officer, agent, employee, or attorney of an E.M. Systems defendant must provide within fourteen days of a plaintiff's written request any customer information relevant to redress. For information obtained (before entry of this order) by an E.M. Systems defendant in connection with a Debt Relief Product or Service, the E.M. Systems Case 8:15-cv-01417-SDM-AEP Document 130 Filed 01/17/17 Page 10 of 14 PageID 2794 defendant and an officer, agent, employee, or attorney of an E.M. Systems defendant must not disclose or use customer information, which includes a name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, Social Security number, or any data that permits access to a customer's credit card, bank, or other financial account. And, if directed in writing by a plaintiff, an E.M. Systems defendant must destroy any of the above information within thirty days of receipt of the directive. But a defendant need not destroy, and may disclose, customer information if required by law to preserve or to disclose the information. XI. Cooperation The E.M. Systems defendants must cooperate fully with the plaintiffs in this action and in any investigation related to this action. The E.M. Systems defendants must provide truthful and complete information, evidence, and testimony, and must appear (and must direct an officer, employee, representative, or agent of an E.M. Systems defendant to appear) for an interview, hearing, discovery, trial, or another proceeding if the plaintiff provides at least five days' written notice and if the subject of the proceeding relates to the allegations in this action. If appropriate, an E.M. Systems individual may invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. XII. Acknowledgment Within seven days of receiving this order, each E.M. Systems defendant must submit to the plaintiffs a sworn acknowledgment that the defendant received the order. For five years after entry of this order, each E.M. individual, for any business that he owns individually or collectively with another E.M. Systems defendant and for which business the defendant owns or controls a majority share, must deliver this order to the business's principals, officers, directors, and LLC managers and members, to all employees, agents, and representatives who participate in conduct related to the subject of this action; and to any business entity resulting from a change in structure (as explained in the compliance reporting section of this order). For current personnel, the defendant must deliver this order within seven days of the order's entry. For all others, the defendant must deliver this order before assuming responsibility. For each person described above, the defendant must obtain and deliver within seven days an acknowledgment that the person received the order. XIII. Compliance reporting A year after entry of this order, each E.M. Systems defendant must submit a sworn compliance report which includes: 1. The defendant's telephone number and primary physical, postal, and e-mail address. 2. For the E.M. corporations, a designated contact; 3. A list of the defendant's businesses and the names, telephone numbers, and physical, postal, e-mail, and Internet addresses of the business; 4. For each business listed in accord with the instruction above, a description of the business's activity, including the good or service offered; the means of advertising, marketing, and sales; and a list of every other E.M. Systems defendant involved with the business. 5. A detailed explanation whether and why the defendant is compliant with this order. Also, each E.M. individual must identify all of the individual's telephone numbers and physical, postal, e-mail, and Internet addresses; identify all business activities; and describe in detail the individual's involvement in the business, including the individual's title, role, responsibilities, and ownership interest. For twenty years after entry of this order, each E.M. Systems defendant must submit a sworn compliance notice within fourteen days of any change in: 1. The designated contact; 2. The structure of the E.M. LLC or an entity in which the E.M. Systems defendant has or acquires an interest, including a merger, sale, incorporation, dissolution, or any of the preceding that involves a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate engaged in any act that is the subject of this action. 3. For an E.M. individual, the individual's name (including an alias) or residence; and the role in any business activity or the individual's title in any business. Each E.M. Systems defendant must notify plaintiffs about the filing of a bankruptcy petition or an insolvency proceeding by or against the defendant within fourteen days of the petition's filing. Unless a plaintiff requests differently, a defendant must submit a document or statement required by this order to the FTC at email@example.com with subject line "FTC v. E.M. Systems, X150051." Or the defendant may submit the document by overnight courier to the Associate Director for Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., 20580. Also, the defendant must submit the document or statement to the Florida Attorney General at firstname.lastname@example.org or mail the document to the Office of the Attorney General, Director of Consumer Protection Division, 3507 East Frontage Road #325, Tampa, Florida 33607. Any sworn statement to the plaintiffs must comply with 28 U.S.C. § 1746. XIV. Recordkeeping For a business owned or controlled in majority share by an E.M. Systems defendant, the defendant must create the following documents for twenty years after entry of this order: 1. An account record that shows the revenue from all goods and services sold; 2. A personnel record that shows each employee or contractor's name, address, telephone number, job title, dates of service, and if applicable the reason for termination; 3. A record of every consumer complaint and refund request received by the defendant and the defendant's response; 4. Any record necessary to demonstrate compliance with this order, and; 5. A copy of each unique advertisement or other marketing material. XV. Compliance monitoring Within fourteen days of a written request from a plaintiff, an E.M. Systems defendant must submit a sworn compliance report or other information requested by the plaintiff and must produce a requested document. Without requesting leave of Case 8:15-cv-01417-SDM-AEP Document 130 Filed 01/17/17 Page 14 of 14 PageID 2798 court, a plaintiff may obtain discovery under Rules 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 45, and 69, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, if the discovery request relates to this order or to the complaint in this action. Also, the FTC may invoke compulsory process under Sections 9 and 20 of the FTC Act. The E.M. Systems defendants must permit a representative of a plaintiff to interview any employee or another individual affiliated with an E.M. Systems defendant if the person agrees to the interview. The person's counsel may appear at the interview. After written request from a plaintiff and in accord with Section 604(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer-reporting agency must provide the plaintiff a consumer report about an E.M. individual. XVI. Jurisdiction retained Jurisdiction is retained to enforce this order. ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on January 17, 2017. - 14 -
LÍA D. KAMHI-STEIN California State University, Los Angeles ANNETTE AAGARD Palomar College ANGELICA CHING California State University, Los Angeles MYOUNG-SOON ASHLEY PAIK La Puente Hacienda Unified School District LINDA SASSER Alhambra School District Teaching in Kindergarten Through Grade 12 Programs: Perceptions of Native and Nonnative English-Speaking Practitioners I This study compared the perceptions of two groups of kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) practitioners, native Englishspeaking teachers (NESTs) and nonnative English-speaking teachers (NNESTs), in relation to their professional preparation, their level of job satisfaction, and their degree of comfort teaching various skill areas. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of a survey administered to 55 NESTs and 32 NNESTs in Southern California showed that a complex set of similarities and differences characterized the K-12 NESTs and NNESTs who participated in this investigation. The similarities identified included the positive views of the two groups about their professional preparation and the support received from formal networks (e.g., mentoring programs) and informal networks (e.g., colleagues, friends, and relatives). The two groups were also similar in their positive self-reported level of job satisfaction and their positive perceptions of their English language skills. One of the differences was the grades they taught, with a higher percentage of NNESTs teaching early elementary grades. Additionally, NNESTs were slightly more negative than NESTs in their evaluation of school administrators, exhibited more positive self-perceptions about their instructional abilities, and saw their nonnative status as contributing to their professional abilities. The results of this preliminary investigation suggest the need for further research on NNESTs and for the development of collaborative projects between master of art (MA) degree programs in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and K-12 programs designed to benefit future teachers, regardless of their language background. Over the past few years, interest has grown in issues related to language and ethnic minority practitioners in the field of TESOL. Recent publications have looked at the perceived advantages and disadvantages of NNESTs in English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) classrooms (e.g., Medgyes, 1992, 1994; Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999), perceived attitudes toward NNESTs (e.g., Amin, 1997; Tang, 1997), and the struggles and triumphs of NNESTs (e.g., Braine, 1999; Connor, 1999; Thomas, 1999). Much of the research cited above has focused on NNESTs in EFL contexts (Medgyes, 1992; 1994; Tang, 1997), adult ESL classes (Amin, 1997), or college-level courses (Braine, 1999; Thomas, 1999). The present study was designed to focus on practitioners in K-12 contexts, specifically K-12 practitioners from a language minority background. The focus on this group was motivated by two factors. First, there is limited research on NNESTs teaching at the K-12 level. Second, prior research (Kamhi-Stein, Lee, & Lee, 1999) and informal interviews of MA TESOL students suggest that U.S.-based NNESTs seem to favor teaching at the K-12 level over other levels. Therefore, we designed the current study to compare the perceptions regarding professional preparation and job satisfaction between K12 NESTs and NNESTs. The study was also designed to look at the perceptions of K-12 NESTs and K-12 NNESTs regarding their English language skills and teaching preferences. Background This investigation included four broad areas of research: (a) teacher confidence, (b) self-perceived language needs, (c) self-perceived prejudice, and (d) mentoring concerns. Following is a summary of research in each of the four areas. Teacher Confidence A few studies have focused on factors affecting the confidence of teachers from ethnic and language minority backgrounds. For example, Freeman, Brookhart, and Loadman (1999) investigated beginning teachers in highdiversity schools and concluded that these teachers "tend to encounter a complex and challenging teaching environment, struggle to form meaningful relations with their students, and be less satisfied with their jobs" (p. 107). In another study of five novice Cantonese-dominant secondary English teachers in Hong Kong, Pennington and Richards (1997) reported that the teachers discarded a communicative methodology in favor of a product-oriented approach to instruction. Possible factors explaining this finding include the following: a heavy teaching load, large class sizes, students' low proficiency in English and lack of discipline, closeness in age between the students and beginning teachers, personal experience of the new teachers while in school, low job satisfaction, low perceived effectiveness in their first year of teaching, and the school culture. Another factor affecting the confidence of NNESTs is challenges to their credibility (Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999; Thomas, 1999). According to Thomas, NNESTs are challenged by professionals in the TESOL field, by professional organizations, and by students. Self-Perceived Language Needs The self-perceived language needs of NNESTs is another area of research that has received some attention within the literature. Specifically, several studies have identified pronunciation (Barkhuizen, 1997; Tang, 1997), writing, vocabulary (including idioms and slang), and cultural knowledge as areas of perceived difficulty (Kamhi-Stein, Lee, & Lee, 1999; Liu, 1999; Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999; Tang, 1997). While two studies (Kamhi-Stein, Lee, & Lee, 1999; Samimy & Brutt-Griffler, 1999) have shown that lack of English proficiency does not have a negative effect on the instructional practices of NNESTs, another study (Li, 1998) has concluded that, in some cases, NNESTs view their variety of English as deficient and argue that lack of English proficiency constrains them when implementing communicative methodologies. Self-Perceived Prejudice Research has also shown that another area of concern for NNESTs is self-perceived prejudice based on ethnicity, nonnative status, or both (Amin, 1997; Canagarajah, 1999; Kamhi-Stein, Lee, & Lee, 1999; Thomas, 1999). Montemayor (1991) also identified a few critical issues that minority teachers face as they begin teaching, some generic to all teachers and some specific to their situation: 1. They may face isolation and separation from their ethnic group culture. 2. They may experience teacher bashing and the media's distrust of public education. 3. They may be expected to advocate for their ethnic group and solve emerging problems. Also, they may be relied on to communicate with parents, especially when language is a factor. 4. They may "burn out" trying to meet the needs of bilingual programs while working under the stigma of teaching in a "bilingual" rather than a "regular" program. 5. They may feel they were hired to fill a quota and provide a minority presence, thus making them feel conspicuous and out-of-place. Mentoring Concerns According to Stallworth (1994), it is critical that the teaching profession attract qualified minorities, including those who come from fields outside the teaching profession, since these professionals "bring with them a larger repertoire of life experiences and skills learned in the field and not just from academic preparation" (p. 27). While the mentoring of NNESTs has received no attention in the TESOL field, research suggests that the lack of availability and low quality of mentoring are barriers frequently faced by minority teachers. For example, Stallworth (1994) found that novice teachers from a minority background feel "isolated and incompetent" in their new environment; however, they tend to feel less intimidated when they secure at least one colleague as a mentor to assist them in answering questions "in a nonjudgmental manner" (p. 29). 1 Novice teacher support—in the form of conferencing with mentors, being observed by mentors, and receiving tuition-free graduate courses—has been reported to be helpful and to promote teacher retention (Smith, 1989-90). Blankenship et al. (1992) outline a set of principles for effectively inducting all beginning teachers while focusing particularly on minority teachers' needs, including the following: (a) the need to meet with other teachers to reflectively discuss classroom experiences, (b) the need to observe experienced teachers, (c) the need to incorporate new and innovative instructional methodologies and resources, (d) the need to learn how to manage time and paperwork wisely, and (e) the need to develop classroom management ideas with diverse student populations. In summary, the studies reviewed in the above sections suggest that ethnic and language minority teachers face challenges to their professional credibility and prejudice based on ethnicity or nonnative status. Additionally, while so far very little if any research has focused on NNESTs and mentoring issues, some research suggests that lack of quality mentoring is a barrier faced by minority teachers in general. Still missing from the literature is research designed to compare the perceptions of K-12 NESTs and NNESTs in relationship to their professional preparation, their level of job satisfaction, and their teaching preferences. Research Questions This study was guided by three research questions. 1. To what extent, if any, are there differences in the perceptions of K-12 NESTs and NNESTs regarding their professional preparation? 2. To what extent, if any, are there differences in the perceptions of K-12 NESTs and NNESTs regarding their job satisfaction? 3. To what extent, if any, are there differences in the perceptions of K12 NESTs and NNESTs regarding their English language skills and teaching preferences? Method Participants Participants in this study were selected according to two criteria: (a) language status (NESTs and NNESTs) and (b) the type of institution in which they taught (K-12). The participants in this study were 55 NESTs and 32 NNESTs teaching in K-12 programs in Southern California. All of the 55 NESTs reported being born in the U.S. Additionally, nearly 65% of the NESTs reported being Caucasian, 13% reported being Asian, 7% reported being African-American, Latino, or other, and the remaining 16% did not provide information on race or ethnicity. Of the 32 NNESTs, 59% reported they were born outside the U.S. Specifically, 31% of NNESTs were born in Mexico, 13% in Taiwan, 9% in Korea, and 6% in El Salvador and Vietnam. The other 41% were born in the U.S. Of the 32 NNESTs, 44% reported being Latinos, 38% reported being Asian, 9% reported being Caucasian, 3% reported being African-American, and 7% did not report race or ethnicity. Additionally, at the time of the study, 88% of the NNESTs reported having lived in the U.S. for 10 or more years. While 41% of the NNESTs reported speaking Spanish as a first language, only 19% reported speaking Spanish at home at the time of the study. Instrument A survey was designed to provide information on the above three research questions. 2 Survey items were developed based upon a national survey of graduates of teacher education courses (Loadman, Freeman, Brookhart, Rahman, & McCague, 1999). A pilot copy of the survey was administered and revised. The revised version of the survey instrument had three main sections requiring participants to respond to questions on a Likert-scale as well as to open-ended questions. The first section, "Demographic Information," contained 14 questions designed to provide information on the participants' age, ethnic background, and degrees completed and in progress. The second section, "Professional Information," contained 66 questions designed to provide information on the participants' schools and their current teaching assignments, the participants' reported job satisfaction and future plans, and the participants' perceptions regarding the quality of formal mentoring they received and the quality of their interactions with school faculty and staff. The third section, "Language Background," contained 21 questions designed to provide information on the participants' perceptions regarding their English language skills as well as perceptions about the NNESTs' strengths and weaknesses. Data Collection and Analysis The survey was distributed and collected in two ways. First, copies of the survey were administered during the summer quarter of 2000 within the Charter College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). Second, copies of the survey were mailed to selected K-12 programs with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Mailed responses were collected over a six-week period. Survey responses were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. Specifically, survey responses were analyzed for descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, overall frequencies, and percentages) using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Version 9.0, 1998). Open-ended responses were analyzed qualitatively by engaging in a process of recursive reading of the survey instruments, identifying recurring responses, and assigning them to tentative themes (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The process was completed by naming the themes. Findings This section presents findings for the quantitative and qualitative analyses. Quantitative Findings General profile of the participants. Table 1 shows that NESTS and NNESTs had a variety of teaching assignments. However, as can be seen in Table 1, a larger percentage of NNESTs reported teaching early elementary grades (NNESTs = 41%, NESTs = 18%). Additionally, while the same percentage of NESTS and NNESTs reported teaching senior high school (16%), a larger percentage of NESTs reported teaching middle school or junior high school (NESTs = 26%, NNESTs = 22%). Table 1 Teaching Assignment by Language Status Table 2 presents information on the participants' length of service in their current positions. According to the results presented in the table, NESTs were somewhat more experienced than NNESTs. Specifically, 75% of the NESTS and 87% of the NNESTs had been in their current positions for four years or less. Table 2 Current Teaching Experience by Language Status Perceptions regarding professional preparation. Table 3 presents descriptive statistics for the participants' perceptions regarding professional preparation. As can be seen in the table, both NESTs and NNESTs viewed their credential program preparation as being between "average" and "above average." In contrast, while NESTs rated their MA program preparation as being between "average" and "above average," NNESTs rated their MA program preparation as being "above average." Table 3 Perceptions About Professional Preparation Note. Scale: 1 = unacceptable, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = above average, 5 = exceptional Perceptions regarding job satisfaction. Tables 4 and 5 present information on the participants' perceptions regarding job satisfaction. As indicated in Table 4, NESTs and NNESTs were similar in their overall job satisfaction. Specifically, the mean for overall job satisfaction for NESTs and NNESTs was closer to "positive" than to "somewhat positive," although NESTs were slightly more positive than NNESTs (M = 3.94, SD = 1.02; M = 3.83, SD = .83, respectively). As shown in Table 5, the job feature that NESTs and NNESTs rated highest (between "positive" and "very positive") was "interactions with students." While "salary/fringe benefits" received the lowest mean rating for NESTs (between "negative" and "somewhat positive"), "general work conditions," including class size and work load, received the lowest mean rating for NNESTs ("somewhat positive"). Table 4 Perceptions Regarding Overall Job Satisfaction Note. Scale: 1 = very negative, 2 = negative, 3 = somewhat positive, 4 = positive, 5 = very positive Table 5 Perceptions Regarding Various Job Features Note. Scale: 1 = very negative, 2 = negative, 3 = somewhat positive, 4 = positive, 5 = very positive Table 6 summarizes the participants' perceptions regarding the quality of faculty-staff interactions. As shown in the table, "respect for minorities" received the highest mean rating. Specifically, both groups viewed faculty and staff interactions to be "respectful of minorities" (M = 4.11, SD = .98, M = 4.11, SD = 1.01 for NESTs and NNESTs respectively). In contrast, the two groups ranked different variables lowest. NESTs gave "networking" a mean rating of 3.67, indicating that the participants' views about facultystaff "networking" was between "somewhat positive" and "positive." The lowest-ranked feature for NNESTs was "clarity of school requirements" (M = 3.34, SD = 1.11), indicating that the NNESTs' mean rating of "clarity of school requirements" was closer to "somewhat positive" than to "positive." Table 6 Perceptions Regarding Faculty and Staff Interactions Note. Scale: 1 = very negative, 2 = negative, 3 = somewhat positive, 4 = positive, 5 = very positive NESTs and NNESTs did not differ in their perceptions regarding their schools' support. As indicated in Table 7, the mean for "quality of formal mentoring" for both groups was "between average" and "strong." Additionally, both groups of practitioners reported meeting with their mentor teachers at least "once a month." However, the slightly higher mean for NESTs (M = 3.61, SD = .92 vs. M = 3.29, SD = .91 for NNESTs) suggests that NESTs meet somewhat more frequently with their teacher mentors than NNESTs. Table 7 Perceptions Regarding School Support Note. Scale, Quality of mentoring: 1 = weak, 2 = average, 3 = strong Scale, Frequency of mentoring: 1 = never, 2 = once a semester, 3 = once a month, 4 = once a week Table 8 presents a ranking of the participants' perceptions regarding the different kinds of support received. According to the table, "support from family and friends" was at the top of the ranking for both NESTs and NNESTs. Following in the ranking in descending order for both groups were "support from school colleagues," "support from school administrators," and "support from pre-service courses." Table 8 Ranking by Type of Support Currently Received Note. Scale: 1 = unacceptable, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = above average, 5 = exceptional Participants' perceptions regarding their English language skills. Table 9 summarizes the participants' perceptions regarding their English language skills. As can be seen in the table, while NESTs viewed their overall language skills as being between "very good" and "excellent," NNESTs perceived their overall English language skills as being between "good" and "very good" (although the mean was closer to "very good"). Additionally, NESTs and NNESTs differed in their individual language skill areas that they rated highest and lowest. Specifically, the highest self-rated skill area was reading for NESTs and listening for NNESTs. In contrast, the lowest self-rated skill area was grammar for NESTs and pronunciation for NNESTs. Table 9 Perceived English Language Skills by Language Status Note. Scale: 1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = good, 4 = very good, 5 = excellent Table 10 summarizes information on the participants' self-reported degree of comfort teaching the different skill areas. As shown in the table, while the means for NESTs ranged from "somewhat comfortable" to "comfortable," the means for NNESTs were within the "comfortable" category. Table 10 shows that NESTs reported feeling comfortable teaching pronunciation, speaking, listening, writing, and reading, in decreasing order, but only somewhat comfortable teaching grammar. In contrast, NNESTs reported feeling comfortable teaching all six skill areas, including reading, listening, speaking, writing, pronunciation, and grammar, in decreasing order. Table 10 Teaching Comfort in English by Language Status Grammar 2.98 0.81 3.25 0.72 Note. Scale: 1 = not comfortable at all, 2 = somewhat comfortable, 3 = comfortable, 4 = very comfortable Table 11 summarizes information regarding the participants' perceptions about their instructional abilities. As can be seen in the table, the mean rating for NESTs was slightly lower than that for NNESTs. While NNESTs perceived themselves to be "better than average" teachers, NESTs perceived themselves to be between "average" and "better than average." Table 11 Self-Perceptions About Instructional Abilities Note. Scale: 1 = inferior, 2 = below average, 3 = average, 4 = better than average, 5 = exceptional Qualitative Findings The open-ended survey questions were analyzed qualitatively in order to identify the perceived difficulties faced by NNESTs as well as their sources of strength. The analysis allowed the identification of two areas of perceived difficulty: "communication skills" and "vocabulary skills." According to the survey respondents, effective communication was sometimes hindered by the "nonnative" status of students and teachers alike. One teacher noted: "Nonnativeness both from students and teachers may hinder effective communication" (#74). However, another participant made the following comment: Sometimes they [NNES teachers] are afraid that they're going to make a mistake when speaking; they need to realize that everyone makes mistakes when speaking and writing. (#35) The respondents noted that "vocabulary skills" were the second area of difficulty for NNESTs. Specifically, survey respondents agreed that lack of an adequate vocabulary might interfere with NNESTs' ability to teach. One commented: "Lack of prior knowledge of vocabulary is a hindrance when teaching." The qualitative analysis of the open-ended survey questions allowed the identification of three sources of strengths for the NNESTs: "cultural awareness," "empathy," and "linguistic advantage provided by the nonnative status." First, the survey respondents agreed that NNESTs can strengthen the school curriculum by bringing to the classroom their "cultural awareness," involving but not limited to an understanding of two or more cultures, multicultural experiences, and a broad world view. A participant summarized this idea as follows: Diverse cultural background contributes to a multicultural learning environment, which can help students broaden their perception of the world. (# 46) Second, many of the survey respondents explained that another feature that characterized NNESTs was their empathy. They explained that second language (L2) students usually see their NNESTs as role models with whom they can identify and relate. Specifically, NNESTs were seen as being able to understand the difficulty of learning a new language since they had gone through the L2 learning process and were, therefore, especially sensitive to the language needs of their ESL students. The following observations reflect these points: NNES teachers tend to be more successful in reaching students who can relate culturally or linguistically to them. (#16) Because of their nonnative status, they had to "rise" above and usually, in my experience, they were better teachers, more sensitive too…(#127) [NNESTs have] the ability to understand the difficulty of learning a new language, different methods of acquiring the English language…and can share personal experiences. (#76) Finally, survey respondents agreed that NNESTs are characterized by what might be called a "linguistic advantage provided by the nonnative status." Many survey respondents teaching elementary grades agreed that the NNESTs' ability to communicate with their students' parents promoted positive parent-teacher rapport. At the same time, survey respondents explained that NNESTs become interpreters of the U.S. school culture for students. They also help immigrant parents understand how U.S. schools operate and how they can assist their children in becoming successful learners. The following two comments reflect what was said about this issue: They provide a communication link to some students; similar to an interpreter…(#37) [They have] good communication skills with parents who speak their language and ability to translate school newsletters, etc.…(#113) Discussion and Conclusions This study provided information on K-12 NNESTs, a group of practitioners that, so far, have received little attention within the literature on nonnative English-speaking professionals. NESTs and NNESTs in this study differed in their teaching assignments. While 41% of the NNESTs in this study reported teaching elementary grades, only 18% of the NESTs in this study reported teaching at that level. This finding suggests that NNESTs find teaching elementary grades to be an appealing career choice (Kamhi-Stein, Lee, & Lee, 1999). This result may be explained by the qualitative findings in this investigation, supporting the notion that when teaching elementary grades, NNESTs have a linguistic advantage both inside and outside the classroom because of their first language (L1) skills. NNESTs may strengthen the school curriculum by bringing a unique world view to the classroom. Outside the classroom, NNESTs who share their students' L1 can easily communicate with parents and can serve as cultural brokers. However, great caution should be taken when making generalizations about these findings since the sample in this study was small and not randomly selected. It is unclear whether the same results would be obtained with a larger, randomly selected sample. The results of this study also showed that NESTs and NNESTs shared positive views of their pre-service and in-service training. Specifically, both NESTs and NNESTs were positive about their preparation in credential and MA programs, although NNESTs were slightly more positive than NESTs. Additionally, both NESTs and NNESTs rated the formal mentoring they received in their schools as being between "average" and "strong." Both groups reported meeting with their mentors at least "once a month," although NESTs reported meeting with their mentor teachers more often than NNESTs did. In any case, this fact did not affect the NNESTs' perceptions about the quality of the mentoring received, as shown by the small difference in mean ratings between NNESTs and NESTs (M difference = .18). The support received by the NESTs and NNESTs in this study came from formal networks, including mentoring programs organized by the teachers' schools, as well as "from informal networks such as their school colleagues." Both NESTs and NNESTs rated this informal support as closer to "above average" than to "average," which supports the notion that novice teachers, regardless of language status, benefit from developing support networks that enable them to deal with the demands of the school culture. Informal support networks, like the ones provided by teacher colleagues, can promote a positive school environment (Stallworth, 1994) and can ultimately contribute to teacher retention. A further similarity between NESTs and NNESTs was their selfreported job satisfaction. Specifically, the mean rating for overall job satisfaction for both groups was closer to "positive" than to "somewhat positive," although the mean rating for NESTs was slightly more positive than that for NNESTs. The job feature that both groups rated highest was "interactions with students." This finding is not surprising given that teachers' responsibilities center on students and their instructional and emotional needs. Other factors contributing to overall job satisfaction for NESTs were "interactions with colleagues," "professional autonomy," "interactions with administrators," and "respect for minorities." On the other hand, overall job satisfaction, for NESTs, seemed to be negatively affected by factors like "salary/fringe benefits," "general work conditions," and "opportunities for professional advancement." In the case of NNESTs, overall job satisfaction seemed to be positively affected by factors like "interactions with parents," "interactions with colleagues," and "respect for minorities," and it seemed to be negatively affected by factors like "salary/fringe benefits" and "general work conditions." Future research needs to be done in this area. Specifically, future studies need to look at larger samples and rely on inferential analysis techniques to determine the extent to which various job features contribute to job satisfaction and ultimately promote the retention of NESTs and NNESTs. NESTs and NNESTs were similar in that neither group perceived their English language skills to be "poor" or "fair." However, when compared to NNESTs, NESTs were found to have slightly more positive views of their English language skills. Specifically, while the mean ratings for the NESTs' self-reported English language skills ranged from "very good" (for grammar) to close to "excellent" (for reading), the means for NNESTs were close to "very good" (for pronunciation) and "very good" (for listening). The findings related to English language skills perceptions confirm prior research on NNESTs that has shown that pronunciation is an area of concern for NNESTs in EFL contexts (Medgyes, 1994). However, unlike typical EFL teachers, most of the NNESTs in this investigation had resided in the U.S. for 10 or more years and their mean rating for pronunciation approached "very good." Nevertheless, pronunciation still turned out to be the skill area with the lowest mean for NNESTs. This study's findings related to grammar confirm a prior study (KamhiStein, Lee, & Lee, 1999) showing that long-term U.S. residence was negatively related to NNESTs' views about their English grammar skills. In the current study, grammar was ranked as the third best skill area for NNESTs and it was ranked as the weakest skill area for NESTs. Additionally, while NNESTs reported feeling comfortable teaching grammar, their mean for degree of comfort teaching grammar was lower than that for reading, listening, speaking, writing, and pronunciation. It would seem that, in the area of grammar, the NNESTs in this study were, in some way, different from EFL teachers in other studies (e.g., Medgyes, 1994; Tang, 1997) who felt that grammar was one of their strongest areas. The results of this investigation could be attributed to the fact that 88% of the NNESTs in the study had lived in the U.S. for 10 years or more. However, it is not certain that the results of this investigation can be replicated with other groups of NNESTs with long-term U.S. residency. The results of this investigation contradict prior findings in the area of speaking skills. In this study, speaking was ranked as the fourth best skill area for NESTs and NNESTs alike. This finding does not support the notion that speaking is an area of concern for NNESTs (Medgyes, 1994) and could be explained by the fact that the NNESTs in the current study differed from the teachers in Medgyes' investigation in their length of U.S. residence, as well as in their opportunities to be exposed to and to use the English language. NESTs and NNESTs were found to differ in more than one way. First, NNESTs were slightly less positive than NESTs in their evaluation of school administrators in the areas of "current support given by administrators" and "interactions with administrators." One possible explanation for this difference could be that a higher percentage of NNESTs had been in their current teaching position for four years or less compared to the NESTs. As already noted, novice teachers benefit from the support of informal and formal networks, including but not limited to relatives, colleagues and, mentor teachers. This finding suggests that school administrators may need to play a more central role in helping novice teachers adapt to and cope with the demands of schools (Kamhi-Stein, 2000). NNESTs' were also slightly more positive about their instructional abilities than were the NESTs. The NNESTs' slightly more positive perception was reflected in the group's slightly higher mean ratings for degree of teaching comfort for various skill areas such as speaking, listening, writing, reading, and grammar. The differences in perceptions could be attributed to the NNESTs' slightly more positive views about their professional preparation. It could also be argued that three other factors—the NNESTs' strong sense of cultural awareness, their empathy, and their ability to communicate with their students' parents—also contributed to the NNESTs' positive perceptions about their instructional abilities. To conclude, the results of this investigation suggest that a complex set of similarities and differences characterize K-12 NESTs and NNESTs. Among the similarities are the teachers' views about their professional preparation, their perspectives on formal and informal mentoring networks, their level of overall job satisfaction, and their perceptions about their English language skills. NESTs and NNESTs in this study differed in the grades they tended to teach (with a higher percentage of NNESTs teaching early elementary grades), in their evaluation of school administrators (with NNESTs being slightly less positive), and in their perceptions about their instructional abilities (with NNESTs having more positive perceptions). Given the findings of this study and our own experiences with NNESTs, four recommendations are in order. First, further research needs to be conducted to provide in-depth information about the career choices of NNESTs in ESL and EFL settings. This line of research would seek to answer questions such as the following: To what extent, if any, do NNESTs favor teaching a particular age group? To what extent, if any, do NNESTs favor teaching in a particular setting (e.g., adult ESL programs vs. community college ESL credit programs)? Finally, what are the reasons for these preferences? Second, future case studies need to be conducted to develop profiles of exemplary K-12 school administrators who have successfully supported newly-hired teachers in general and NNESTS in particular. This line of research would help identify the conditions that must be in place for NNESTs to become an integral part of the school culture and, ultimately, achieve professional success. Some of the questions these case studies should seek to answer about these exemplary administrators include: 1. What kinds of resources do they commit to assist NNESTS in the successful transition from "graduate student" to "novice teacher"? 2. What role, if any, do they play in helping NNESTs develop as professionals? 3. What kind of teaching situation (specifically the teaching load, class size, and class structure) do they assign to NNESTs during their first year on the job? 4. What role do they play in helping NNESTs understand the purposes and consequences of the various types of evaluations? Third, the findings in this investigation support the notion that nonnative status contributes to the development of positive self-perceptions regarding professional practices. Teachers in the current study viewed their nonnative status as a professional asset. Future research needs to investigate NNESTs in different instructional settings in order to help develop an indepth understanding of the relationship among pedagogical practices, selfperceptions about professional preparation, and self-perceptions about English language proficiency. And finally, although not entirely supported by our findings, we wish to argue on the basis of our collective experience with NNESTS that MA TESOL programs should enter into what might be called "partnership relationships" with K-12 programs (as well as with other types of programs in which MA TESOL graduates may eventually teach). Such partnerships need not be limited to courses like the teaching practicum, in which mentor teachers initiate future teachers into the routines, norms, and behaviors of typical classrooms. Instead, these partnerships could take different forms, involving ongoing K-12 and MA TESOL program collaboration that would benefit both parties. For example, MA students could engage in tasks such as observing exemplary K-12 teachers, completing data collection projects designed to provide information on a particular area of need, tutoring ESL students, providing K-12 teachers and students with assistance in innovative instructional technology, collaborating in the development of curriculum materials, and serving as informants about the language-learning process. In turn, K-12 teachers could provide MA students with models of successful instructional practices, assist them in developing classroom management techniques, provide them with informal support networks, and ultimately help them become acculturated to the demands of the school-site prior to being formally hired. Completed research in the arenas outlined above coupled with the establishment of collaborative partnerships between institutions would contribute to the understanding of the complex set of factors that affect the instructional practices of nonnative English-speaking professionals, ultimately benefiting both nonnative English-speaking professionals and their students. Authors Annette Aagard currently teaches ESL at Palomar College and National University in San Diego. She received a master's degree in TESOL from California State University, Los Angeles. Angelica Ching is a candidate for the MA TESOL degree at California State University, Los Angeles. She is currently working on her thesis. Her areas of interest include nonnative English-speaking teachers and the use of technology in the classroom. She is originally from Panama and is fluent in both Spanish and Cantonese. Myoung-Soon Ashley Paik is an English Language Development (ELD) teacher at Los Altos High School in La Puente Hacienda Unified School District. She is also an instructional technology assistant in Academic Technological Support (ATS) at California State University at Los Angeles. Her research interests include contentbased instruction, language testing, and the use of the Web as a communication tool. Linda Sasser is the English Language Development (ELD) Program Specialist for the Alhambra School District where she develops ELD curriculum and contentbased materials for elementary and high school programs and conducts staff development and training for teachers in ELD and in Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE). She serves on the UCLA Writing Project Advisory Board and teaches ESL at Pasadena City College. She currently serves as Past President of CATESOL. Lía D. Kamhi-Stein is an associate professor at California State University, Los Angeles, where she teaches in the MA TESOL program. Her teaching interests are ESL/EFL methodology and the teaching practicum. Her research interests are academic literacy, teacher education, and nonnative English-speaking professionals. She is a co-founding member of the Nonnative English Speakers in TESOL (NNEST) Caucus, of which she is the past Caucus Chair. Currently, she is President of CATESOL. Endnotes 1 See also Carvalho de Oliveira & Richardson, this issue. 2 A complete copy of the survey instrument is available from Lía D. KamhiStein, Charter College of Education, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032. References Amin, N. (1997). Race and the identity of the nonnative ESL teacher. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 580-583. Barkhuizen, G. (1997). Predicted problems of elementary school ESL teachers: Implications for teacher education. TESL Reporter, 30, 17-26. Blankenship, C. S., Burton, J. M., Faltis, C., Lodge, N., Rice, R., & Santos, S. L. (1992). Embracing cultural diversity in colleges of education: Minority recruitment and retention project. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED362469) Braine, G. (1999). From the periphery to the center: One teacher's journey. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching (pp. 15-27). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Canagarajah, A. S. (1999). Interrogating the "native speaker fallacy": Non-linguistic roots, non-pedagogical results. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching (pp. 77-92). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Connor, U. N. (1999). Learning to write academic prose in a second language: A literacy biography. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching (pp. 29-42). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Freeman, D. J., Brookhart, S. M., & Loadman, W. E. (1999). Realities of teaching in racially/ethnically diverse schools: Feedback from entry-level teachers. Urban Education, 34, 89-114. Kamhi-Stein, L. D. (2000). Adapting U.S.-based TESOL teacher education to meet the needs of nonnative English speakers. TESOL Journal, 9(3), 10-14. Kamhi-Stein, L. D., Lee, E., & Lee, C. (1999, March). NNS teachers in TESOL programs. Paper presented at the 33rd Annual Convention of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, New York, NY. Li, D. (1998). It's always more difficult than you plan and imagine: Teachers' perceived difficulties in introducing the communicative approach in South Korea. TESOL Quarterly, 32, 677-703. Liu, D. L. (1999). Training non-native TESOL students: Challenges for TESOL teacher education in the West. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching (pp. 199-212). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Loadman, W. E., Freeman, D. J., Brookhart, S. M., Rahman, M. A., & McCague, G. J. (1999). Development of a national survey of teacher education program graduates. The Journal of Educational Research, 93(2), 76-89. Medgyes, P. (1992). Native or nonnative: Who's worth more? ELT Journal, 46, 340-349. Medgyes, P. (1994). The non-native teacher. London: Macmillan. Montemayor, A. (1991). Retaining an ethnically diverse teaching force. In E. G. Cuellar, & L. Huling-Austin, (Eds.), Achieving an ethnically diverse teaching force (pp. 29-34). Austin, TX: Texas Education Agency. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED340687) Pennington, M. C., & Richards, J. C. (1997). Reorienting the teaching universe: The experience of five first-year English teachers in Hong Kong. Language Teaching Research, 1, 149-178. Samimy, K., & Brutt-Griffler, J. (1999). Perceptions of NNS students in a graduate TESOL program. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching (pp. 129-146). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Smith, A. L. (1989-90). Collaborative induction model to support first-year minority teachers. Action in Teacher Education, 11(4), 42-47. Stallworth, B. J. (1994). New minority teachers' perceptions of teaching. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED383660) Statistical package for the social sciences (release 9.0, 1998). Chicago: SPSS. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE. Tang, C. (1997). On the power and status of nonnative ESL teachers. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 577-580. Thomas, J. (1999). Voices from the periphery: Non-native teachers and issues of credibility. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching (pp. 5-14). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
A Risk Factor Profile for Pre-diabetes: Biochemical, Behavioural, Psychosocial and Cultural Factors. Naomi Hackworth (email@example.com) Susan M. Moore (firstname.lastname@example.org) Elizabeth Hardie (email@example.com) Christine Critchley (firstname.lastname@example.org) Simone Buzwell (email@example.com) Naomi Crafti (firstname.lastname@example.org) Michael Kyrios (email@example.com) Faculty of Life and Social Sciences Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia Abstract In this study a profile is presented of a group of people diagnosed with pre-diabetes and who volunteered to be part of a lifestyle intervention to improve their health. Baseline (pre-intervention) data on biochemical, anthropometric, psychosocial, cultural and lifestyle factors were collected, providing a picture of the extent to which the behaviours of the participants were suboptimal for health. The sample enabled comparison of a Chinese-Australian group with an Anglo-Australian group, as well as male-female comparisons. Participants reported several barriers to healthy eating and exercise, with negative mood, particularly depression, significantly associated with more perceived barriers and weaker motivation to change. Men were less healthy eaters than women. The Anglo-Australian pre-diabetics were characterised by biochemical and anthropomorphic features reflecting the metabolic syndrome, showing risk factors not only for diabetes but also for cardio-vascular disease. The Chinese sample did not reflect metabolic syndrome risk factors to the same extent and, possibly as a consequence, were less motivated to change their behaviour in response to their diagnosis of pre-diabetes. The implications for lifestyle interventions were discussed. (impaired glucose tolerance, IGT), and is widely recognised to be an intermediary stage in the development of Type 2 diabetes (The Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus, ECDCD, 2003). Keywords: pre-diabetes, lifestyle, intervention Introduction Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder where blood glucose levels become elevated due to the body producing little or no insulin or not being able to access or use the insulin properly (NHMRC, 2001; WHO, 2003). Prior to the development of diabetes, there is a period in which the person suffers from impaired glucose metabolism, with blood sugars that are elevated but not yet high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes, a condition known as pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes may manifest itself as either elevated fasting blood sugars (impaired fasting glucose, IFG) or elevated post glucose load blood sugars A clear link has been established between Type 2 diabetes and the development of a number of long term health complications including coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, neuropathy, and blindness (NHMRC, 2001; WHO, 2003). Because the prediabetic state is often asymptomatic, people can go for many years without detection of their condition (Leiter et al., 2001). In fact a number of large scale population screening studies have indicated a 'tip of the iceberg' phenomenon, in that those people with diagnosed prediabetes or diabetes represent only a portion of the true prevalence of the conditions (e.g., Gu et al., 2003; King & Rewers, 1993; Leiter et al., 2001; Welborn, Reid & Marriott, 1997). Furthermore, by the time they are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, many individuals are already experiencing complications such as retinopathy or cardiovascular disease (Barr et al., 2005; Tapp et al., 2000). There is therefore a growing recognition that Type 2 diabetes and its precursors are responsible for a considerable proportion of the disease burden both globally and locally in Australia, and that early intervention is an important part of reducing this burden. Prevalence of Type 2 diabetes world wide is difficult to establish but has been estimated by different studies as ranging from 2.8 to 4%, and is projected to increase to up to approximately 5% by 2030 (Gu et al., 2003; King, Aubert & Hermen, 1998; Wild, Roglie, Sieree, & King, 2004). However, the prevalence and incidence of Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes have been found to vary markedly across cultures. Currently approximately 7.4% of Australians have Type 2 diabetes and a further 16.8% have pre-diabetes (Barr et al., 2005). As has been the case across the globe, the incidence of these diseases in Australia has been consistently increasing with approximately 280 new diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes per day in Australia (Barr et al., 2005). There is evidence to suggest that when Chinese people move away from their indigenous communities, their risk of developing pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes increases. For example, one study in the United States found that Chinese migrant populations were at increased risk of developing both pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes relative to their non-migrant counterparts and the US white population (King & Rewers, 1993). It has been argued that this observation might at least in part, be due to the fact that when Chinese people migrate to westernised countries or move to more industrialised environments, they usually undergo major changes to their diet, occupation and activity levels (Jayne & Rankin, 2001). Taken together these findings indicate that people of Chinese ethnic background may have a particular vulnerability to the development of diabetes and therefore the associated complications. Traditional communities within undeveloped countries (e.g., Africa, South America) have typically been found to have a low prevalence of both Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes, whilst other rapidly developing Asian countries show a much higher prevalence of these conditions (King & Rewers, 1993). Of particular concern has been the increase in prevalence of diabetes in China, which is now recognised as having one of the largest growing populations of people with this disease (Gu et al., 2003; King & Rewers, 1993). A recent large scale population based study in China reported that 5.5% of the Chinese population had diabetes and a further 7.3% had IGT (Gu et al., 2003). Furthermore, Gu and colleagues found that three out of four participants with Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes in their large population based sample were previously undiagnosed (Gu et al., 2003). There are some indications that there may also be gender differences in the manifestations of pre-diabetes. Population studies in China, Australia and Mauritius have found that impaired fasting glucose tends to be more prevalent in males than females, while impaired glucose tolerance tends to be more prevalent in females than males (Dacoda Study Group, 2003; Dunstan et al., 2002; Williams et al., 2003). Whilst there is a large body of epidemiological research that has explored the prevalence of prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes around the globe, there have been fewer studies that have explored cultural or gender differences in the manifestations of diabetes. A number of risk factors have been linked to the development of Type 2 diabetes, including genetic predisposition, metabolic and psychosocial factors (Barr et al., 2005; Fletcher, Gulanick & Lamendola, 2002). In Western/European cultures the development of pre-diabetes has been closely linked to the presence of Metabolic Syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that are believed to have a common aetiology and to lead to a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease and Type 2 diabetes (Anderson, Critchley, Chan et al., 2001; Lakasing, 2005; Wild & Byrne, 2005). The central components of metabolic syndrome include abdominal obesity as characterised by large waist circumference; abnormal blood lipid profiles, characterised by a combination of elevated fasting triglyceride levels, low HDL cholesterol and elevated LDL cholesterol levels; elevated blood pressure and elevated fasting blood glucose (Harvard Medical School, 2006; International Diabetes Foundation, 2006; Lakasing, 2006). The AusDiab study, an Australian longitudinal study that is tracking the prevalence and incidence of diabetes in a large national sample, found that risk of progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes over a five year period was linked to both the presence of metabolic syndrome and to modifiable lifestyle factors, such as obesity and physical inactivity (Barr et al., 2005). In addition to the physiological and anthropometric risk factors, diabetes has been associated with a range of mental health conditions and related problems, including an increased likelihood of anxiety disorders (Kruse, Schmitz & Thefeld, 2003), a higher prevalence of depression and a decreased self reported quality of life (Anderson & Freedland, 2001; Goldney, Philips, Fisher & Wilson, 2004). Furthermore, the co-morbidity of mild or major depression with diabetes has been associated with poorer long term outcomes in terms of the development of diabetic complications (Egede, Nietert & Zhang, 2005; Katon et al., 2005) and with difficulty in maintaining of self-care routines such as healthy eating, exercise and medication adherence (Lin, et al., 2004). Therefore it is important to assess mood as a potential factor in facilitating or acting as a barrier to healthy lifestyle change. A recent six year prospective population based study of Hong Kong Chinese participants aged 25 to 75, revealed that those participants who had Metabolic Syndrome had a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes within the six year time period than did those who did not initially display the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, with fasting glucose levels and central obesity being the strongest predictors in comparison with the other components of the metabolic syndrome profile (Cheung et al., 2007). There is considerable evidence suggesting that lifestyle interventions targeting modifiable risk factors can either prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes. In particular, a number of large scale randomised controlled trials (RCT) have demonstrated that if a person is diagnosed with pre-diabetes and receives and adheres to an appropriate lifestyle intervention, the risk that they will progress to Type 2 diabetes is considerably reduced. In particular, three separate RCTs from Finland, China and the US found that when patients with pre-diabetes were provided with intensive individual intervention promoting weight loss, regular physical exercise and dietary modification, the progression to Type 2 diabetes was reduced by up to 58% (Eriksson et al., 1999; Tuomilehto, et al., 2001; Pan et al., 1997). It therefore seems evident that early intervention relating to modifiable risk factors such as diet and exercise is the key to stemming the flow of the so-called 'diabetes epidemic'. Given the emerging evidence that a large proportion of diabetes world wide goes undiagnosed until the onset of complications (Leiter et al., 2001), coupled with the knowledge that effective intervention programs can significantly improve diabetes and pre-diabetes related self-care and reduce the progression to diabetes, it is important to understand the physical, biochemical and psychosocial manifestations of the early signs of diabetes, so that 'at risk' individuals can be detected early and targeted for prevention programs. While it is widely agreed that lifestyle intervention is a major key to diabetes prevention, readiness to undergo such modifications and self-confidence in one's ability to change (i.e., self efficacy) are also important predictors of behaviour change (Bandura & Adams, 1977; Prochaska, DiClemente & Norcross, 1992). Self-efficacy has been consistently associated with diabetes related self-care in terms of diet, exercise and blood glucose testing across a range of samples (Sarkar, Fisher & Schillinger, 2006; Williams & Bond, 2002). Furthermore empowerment in the form of education about daily self-care requirements, problem solving and the provision of instrumental support has been associated with both improved diabetes-relevant self-efficacy and glycemic control (DeCoster & George, 2005). The aim of our current study was therefore to explore these risk factors by profiling a large sample of Victorians with pre-diabetes who were also prepared to participate in a lifestyle intervention to improve their health (the Healthy Living Course: HLC). The study was part of a larger Department of Human Services (Victoria) funded RCT (still in progress), in which the effectiveness of a group diabetes prevention program is being evaluated. Ultimately, the data being collected in this study will give information on the outcomes of a lifestyle program in relation to pre-diabetes and its risk factors. Specifically we sought to examine the anthropometric, biochemical, psychosocial and behavioural profiles of people with pre-diabetes, and assess gender and cultural differences within this sample. The cultural differences examined related to opportunistic features of the sample population and involved a comparison between ethnic Chinese and Anglo-Australian groups. The purpose was not to conduct a study from which generalisation to the Chinese population at large could be made, but to compare subgroups of pre-diabetics within our sample in order to examine the possibility that different groups could have different pre-diabetes risk profiles. Anthropometric and biochemical indicators were chosen from well established risk factors for prediabetes and included age, waist circumference, body mass index, low density lipid (LDL) cholesterol, high density lipid (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting and 2 hour post glucose load blood glucose levels. Psychosocial factors examined were derived from the literature suggesting the importance of motivation to change, perceived barriers to change (self-efficacy with respect to exercise and diet), mood and knowledge of risks and how to reduce them in facilitating outcomes (Bandura & Adams, 1977; DeCoster & George, 2005; Prochaska et al.,1992; Sarkar et al., 2006; Williams & Bond, 2002). Finally, behavioural variables studied included exercise and eating patterns, linked in previous literature to healthier outcomes (Eriksson et al., 1999; Tuomilehto, et al., 2001; Pan et al., 1997). Method Participants Recruitment of people considered at-risk of diabetes occurred across three regions of Victoria, Australia – two metropolitan regions and a northern Victorian rural population. One of the metropolitan areas was particularly targeted because of their large population of people of ethnic Chinese origin. Having established risk factors for diabetes, participants were considered for inclusion in the study if they also satisfied the clinical diagnostic criteria for pre-diabetes and had agreed to participate in the Go for your Life Diabetes Prevention program (The Healthy Living Course). Diagnosis of pre-diabetes was via an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) applying the World Health Organisation (1985) diagnostic criteria for pre-diabetes. Within this criteria the participant was diagnosed as having pre-diabetes if they demonstrated Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG), as indicated by a Participants were referred to the study by general medical practitioners within the catchment areas, through opportunistic community screening for diabetes risk factors, or through self-reported risk factor assessments based on community mail outs/publicity. While recruitment strategies were varied, there were no systematic differences between strategies used to recruit Chinese and Anglo-Australians –the two samples were predominantly recruited through referrals from their general practitioner. Participants were deemed at risk of diabetes if they had one or more of the following risk factors: (i) over 55 years; (ii) over 45 years and also were overweight, had high blood pressure, or were physically inactive; (iii) over 34 years and from cultural backgrounds known to be at risk of Type 2 diabetes; (iv) had a history of cardiovascular disease, or previously recorded elevated blood glucose (but not diabetic); (v) women who had experienced gestational diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome. fasting plasma glucose (FPG) between 6.1 and 7.0 mmol/l with a non-diabetic (<11.1mmol/l) 2 hour post glucose load plasma glucose (2hPG); Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT), as indicated by a 2hPG between 7.8 and 11.0mmol/l, with a non-diabetic FPG (<6.1mmil/l); or both IFG and IGT. The Chinese and Anglo-Australian groups did not differ on age, F(1, 259) =.01, ns; proportion of males and females, χ 2 (1) =.14, ns; or employment, χ 2 (3) =1.69, ns. Approximately 55% of participants were retired, 20% were in full time work, 19% were in part time work and 6% were unemployed. The two groups did however differ in educational background with a higher proportion of Chinese participants having engaged in post-secondary education than AngloAustralians χ 2 (6) =.21.04, p<.005. For this reason, education was used as a covariate for cultural group comparisons of self-report data. This study reports data from 261 participants, 104 males and 157 females. Forty of the participants selfidentified as coming from a Chinese cultural background (17 males & 23 females), and are referred to in this paper as the Chinese sample. Thirty-eight participated in Cantonese or Mandarin speaking HLC programs, and two were integrated into the English speaking courses. Two hundred and twenty-one participants were from an Anglo-Australian background, classified as such if they were born in Australia or an English-speaking country (e.g., United Kingdom, New Zealand) and self reported an "Anglo" background. Self report was used as the criterion for cultural background as self identification is considered the most basic element of cultural identity (Ashmore, Deaux & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004; Phinney & Ong, 2007). For the total sample, ages ranged from 26 to 86 years (M= 62.77 years, SD= 10.63 years). Measures Measures included the anthropometry assessment (completed by the general practitioner) and a self report questionnaire (completed by the participant) which assessed demographic and health information, diabetes knowledge, eating and physical activity patterns and a range of psychosocial factors including motivation to engage in lifestyle change, self efficacy with respect to diet and exercise, and mood. The questionnaire was translated into Chinese to cater for groups run within Chinese communities. Translated questionnaires were independently back translated and checked for accuracy of translation. Anthropometry/Biochemistry The Anthropometry and Biochemistry Form was a general practitioner (GP) report of diabetes-relevant medical factors including height and weight (for BMI calculation), waist circumference, blood pressure and biochemical indicators including triglycerides, High Density Lipid (HDL) cholesterol, Low Density Lipid (LDL) cholesterol and OGTT (FPG & 2hPG). Motivation to Change The motivation to change measure was based on the Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross (1992) trans-theoretical model of behaviour. A five response option, forced-choice categorical scale was designed to assess whether participants were at the pre-contemplation (scored 1), contemplation (2), preparation (3), action (4) or maintenance (5) stage with respect to lifestyle change in relation to maintaining appropriate weight, eating healthy food and engaging in physical exercise. Higher rating represented a stronger motivation to change. Diabetes Related Self-efficacy This was assessed via two scales, one measuring exercise self efficacy and the other, dietary self efficacy. The scales were based on the concept of self-efficacy as described by Bandura and Adams (1977), who argued that measures of self efficacy need to be specific (rather than general) and closely match the behaviour that is being targeted for change. Items were derived from the Stanford University Patient Education Research Centre (SUPERC) Self efficacy for Diabetes Scale (http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/research/sediabete s.pdf) and the Diabetes Empowerment Scale (Anderson, Funnell, Fitzgeral & Marbero, 2000), and adapted for use with a pre-diabetic population, and to reflect the specific behaviour changes targeted by the HLC (diet and exercise). Participants were asked to rate how confident they felt about engaging in exercise under seven 'barrier' conditions (e.g., 'when I am feeling a bit tired') and how they felt about maintaining a healthy diet under eleven conditions (e.g. 'when I am upset'). Responses were rated on 5-point Likert scales ranging from "not at all confident" (1) to "very confident" (5). Ratings could be averaged to give a mean exercise or dietary self-efficacy score, or treated independently to assess profiles of barriers to change The Cronbach α reliabilities of the exercise selfefficacy and the diet self-efficacy scales were 0.87 and 0.91 respectively for the Anglo-Australian sample and both alphas were 0.87 for the Chinese sample. Diabetes Knowledge Diabetes knowledge was assessed using a 13-item true/false Diabetes Knowledge Scale developed for the current study to assess understanding of risk factors, lifestyle factors and potential consequences of Type 2 diabetes (e.g. "Diabetes is a condition where there is too much glucose found in the blood"). Items were adapted from existing scales (e.g. ,http://www.endocrinologist. com'diabtest.htm), and devised on the basis of diabetes related information provided on relevant websites (Diabetes Australia, SUPERC), and from information provided in the HLC program manual. Correct answers were summed to yield a total diabetes knowledge score (α reliability = 0.76 for Anglo-Australian sample; 0.78 for Chinese sample). Mood Mood was assessed along two dimensions, positive mood state (positive affect) and negative mood state (depression, anxiety, stress). The Positive Affect (PA) sub-scale of the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale - PANAS (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988) was used to assess the degree of positive feelings in individuals. The PA is a 10 item self report scale that asks participants to rate the degree to which they have felt positive emotions (e.g., excited) over the past week. Items are scored on a 5 point Likert scale, ranging from 1 'very slightly or not at all' to 5 'extremely', with ratings from the 10 items averaged to yield an overall PA score. Validation studies indicate that the PA has acceptable internal consistency and validity when used with a range of populations (Crawford & Henry, 2004: Watson et al., 1988). The Cronbach alpha for the scale was 0.92 in this study for the Anglo-Australian group and 0.91 for the Chinese group. Physical Exercise Patterns An adapted version of the International Physical Activity Scale (Craig et al., 2003) was used to assess the frequency and duration of physical activity. Participants were asked how often and for how long they had engaged in five types of activity within the last week, including walking continuously, vigorous household chores, gardening, various sporting/exercise activities and moderate activities such as golf, gentle swimming and lawn bowls. To assess inactivity levels, participants were asked how many hours they had spent watching TV or videos, and using a computer outside of normal work activities. Activity and inactivity overall scores (in hours/week) were calculated by adding the times spent on active pursuits and the times spent on passive activities respectively. The shortened version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale – DASS21 (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) was used to measure negative emotional states. The DASS21 contains three 7-item subscales measuring Depression, Anxiety and Stress with scores on each sub-scale averaged to yield an overall score on each dimension. Further, the DASS21 has been validated with Chinese samples (Taouk, Lovibond, & Laube, 2001), shown to have excellent internal consistency and to correlate well with convergent and discriminant indicators when assessed with both clinical and community populations. In this study, the Cronbach alphas for depression, anxiety and stress were 0.89, 0.78 and 0.86 respectively for the Anglo-Australian sample and 0.73, 0.62 and 0.73 for the Chinese sample. Eating Patterns Eating patterns were assessed using the Food Choices Questionnaire (FCQ), a 16 item measure of eating patterns which aimed to tap the degree to which participants make healthy food choices. It was developed for this study based on the Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults (NHMRC, 2003). Participants were asked to rate on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from 1= "Almost never" to 4 = "Usually/most days", the frequency with which they made certain food choices (e.g., "How many days in an average week would you eat at least 1 cup of cereal flakes, 2 slices of bread or 1 cup of cooked rice or pasta?"). Ratings could be added to give an overall healthy eating score (α reliability = 0.67 for the Anglo-Australian sample; 0.61 for the Chinese sample). Procedure Once participants were identified as being at risk of prediabetes they were referred for an OGTT to determine whether or not they had pre-diabetes. Those participants with pre-diabetes were offered participation in a lifestyle intervention for the prevention of diabetes. Those who agreed completed the questionnaire battery described above, prior to beginning the Healthy Living Course. The volunteer rate of those diagnosed was very high (93%). Analyses Males and females, Chinese and Anglo-Australian groups were compared on the anthropometric/ biochemical variables (waist circumference, BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, FPG and 2hPG), cognitive variables (motivation to change, diet and exercise self-efficacy, knowledge), mood (depression, anxiety, stress, positive affect), activity/inactivity and eating behaviour variables using a series of 2 X 2 MANOVAS or MANCOVAS (and a 2 X 2 ANCOVA in the case of eating behaviour). As mentioned previously, education was used as a covariate in analyses of self-report data. Dependent variables were grouped in sets for MANOVA/MANCOVA (rather than analysed using a large number of ANOVAS/ ANCOVAS) to reduce the likelihood of Type I errors. Although the sample size was relatively small for the Chinese group, cell sizes for the MANOVAS/ MANCOVAS fell well within the criterion of being larger than the number of dependent variables in any set Additionally, partial eta-squared was used as a measure of effect size for significant differences found. Results Anthropometric and Biochemical Profile Mean scores for all anthropometric and biochemical indicators are displayed in Table 1 alongside culture and gender specific IDF (2006) diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. In addition to the IDF criteria, appropriate cultural standards were used to assess waist and BMI in the Chinese group (Ko et al., 2001) As can be seen from Table 1, on average the prediabetic participants from an Anglo-Australian background displayed body mass indices (BMI) in the 'obese' range (BMI>30) and showed a clustering of metabolic abnormalities consistent with the diagnostic criteria for Metabolic Syndrome (IDF, 2006). Both males and females of Anglo-Australian background on average displayed waist circumferences, triglyceride levels, systolic blood pressure measurements and fasting plasma glucose levels above those specified in the IDF definition of Metabolic Syndrome. In contrast, participants from a Chinese background displayed BMIs in the overweight range (BMI 23 - 26kg/m 2 ) and did not on average, meet the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. All participants exhibited impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose or both (as required for diagnosis of pre-diabetes). However, on average, both the Anglo and Chinese males and females displayed mean fasting plasma glucose levels below the prediabetic range, and impaired glucose tolerance as indicated by elevated two-hour post load plasma glucose levels. Whilst the female participants from a Chinese background had waist measurements somewhat in excess of those required for metabolic syndrome, males did not. However, the larger waist measurements of the Chinese females (in comparison with IDF specifications) were not associated with the cluster of other abnormalities indicative of Metabolic Syndrome. Indeed, both male and female Chinese participants on average displayed triglyceride levels, HDL cholesterol levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure that fell outside the diagnostic criteria for Metabolic Syndrome. A 2 x 2 MANOVA with culture (Chinese/AngloAustralian) and gender as the independent variables and waist circumference, BMI, triglyceride levels, HDLand LDL-cholesterol levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting and 2 hour plasma glucose as the dependent variables, revealed that the combined biochemical and anthropometric measures were significantly associated with both culture (Wilks' λ = .79, F(9,160)= 4.83, p<.001, η 2 =.21) and gender (Wilks' λ = .15, F(9,160)= 3.11, p<.01, η 2 =.15) with no significant interaction between culture and gender. Examination of the univariate effects revealed that Chinese participants displayed significantly smaller waist circumferences F(1, 168)=29.54, p<.001, η 2 =.15; lower BMI, F(1, 168)=30.59, p<.001; η 2 =.15, lower fasting blood glucose, F(1, 168)= 4.11, p<.05; η 2 =.024 and lower systolic blood pressure, F(1, 168)= 12.14, p<.005, η 2 =.067, than did the Anglo-Australian participants. The female participants displayed significantly higher HDL-cholesterol levels than males, F(1, 168)=10.41, p<.005. η 2 =.058. Psychosocial Profile Cognitive Variables A 2(culture) x 2(gender) MANCOVA with education level as a covariate and motivation to change, exercise self-efficacy, diet selfefficacy and diabetes related knowledge as the dependent variables, revealed that the combined cognitive measures were significantly associated with culture (Wilks' λ = .915, F(4, 202)= 4.68, p<.005, η 2 =.085) but not gender (Wilks' λ = .95, F(4, 202)= 2.42, ns), with no significant interaction and no significant covariate effect of education. Chinese participants, M=3.42, SD= 1.25, reported significantly less motivation to change than did Anglo-Australians, M=4.09, SD= .87, F(1, 205) = 13.65, p<.001, η 2 =.062. Over half the Chinese participants (59%) were still in pre-contemplation, contemplation and preparation stages of motivation to change, in comparison with only 23% of Anglo-Australians at these pre-action stages. Chinese participants displayed significantly lower levels of self efficacy in relation to maintaining a healthy exercise regime, M= 3.27, SD=.79, than did Anglo-Australians, M=3.58, SD=.81, F(1, 205) =6.09, p<.05, η 2 =.029, but the groups did not differ with respect to diet self-efficacy. Barriers to maintaining an exercise regime were similar for both groups, with small differences in degree only. Major barriers included "Not feeling up to exercise" for which 67% of all participants reporting that they were either ambivalent or not confident as to whether they would exercise in this situation. Busyness (56%) and tiredness (52%) were the next most frequently cited barriers to exercise. In general, participants seemed less concerned about barriers to healthy eating than they were about barriers to exercise. The most often reported barrier to healthy eating related to eating in groups. For example when celebrating (55%), when eating at a restaurant (48%), or when at a party (55%) participants were more ambivalent and less confident as to whether they could maintain a healthy diet. Participants were less concerned about mood factors as a barrier to healthy eating (e.g., Feeling upset, tense, bored or sad). Knowledge scores indicated that Chinese participants displayed significantly lower levels of diabetes related knowledge, M= 8.03, SD= 3.05, than Anglo-Australians, M=8.68, SD=2.73, F(1, 205) =5.50, p<.05, η 2 =.026, although the difference was very small in terms of number of items correct. Whilst participants overall displayed a moderate level of knowledge about the nature, occurrence and prevention of diabetes, with a mean score of 8.40 (SD= 2.80) out of a possible score of 13, examination of item responses indicates that participants lacked knowledge in some areas that are important to the management and prevention of diabetes. The majority of participants (76%) knew that diabetes is a condition that involves elevated blood glucose levels, however they were less certain about the specifics of its occurrence. For example, the majority (53%) incorrectly though the onset was rapid rather than slow. Most were aware of the health risks associated with diabetes (e.g., risk of heart disease was understood by 88% and the risk of blindness by 93%), however they were not as certain about which conditions were not associated with the complications of diabetes (e.g., 73% incorrectly believed that lung disease was associated with Type 2 diabetes). Participants were generally less certain about the risk factors for development of diabetes (e.g., only 61% knew that Type 2 diabetes was more common in people over 30, and only 49% were aware that some ethnic groups are particularly vulnerable), however the vast majority (97%) was aware that the onset of diabetes could be delayed through lifestyle changes. The sample generally had limited knowledge about the dietary recommendations for people with diabetes, and the carbohydrate content of various foods. Mood Positive affect, depression anxiety and stress scores for males and females of Chinese and AngloAustralian cultural backgrounds are shown in Table 2. Overall the majority of participants were within the 'normal' range for depression (79.3%), anxiety (77.5%) and stress (83.5%). Only a small proportion of participants reported severe or extremely severe levels of depression (3.4%), anxiety (3.3%) or stress (3.0%) (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). A 2(culture) x 2(gender) MANCOVA with education level as a covariate and depression, anxiety, stress and positive affect as the dependent variables, revealed that the combined mood measures were significantly associated with both culture (Wilks' λ = .922, F(4, 196)= 4.13, p<.01η 2 =.078) and gender (Wilks' λ = .93, F(4, 196)= 3.48, p<.01, η 2 =.066). There was no significant covariate effect of education, however there was a significant interaction between culture and gender on the mood variables (Wilks' λ = .92, F(4, 196)= 4.45, p<.01, η 2 =.083). Examination of the univariate effects revealed that Chinese participants reported significantly lower positive affect than AngloAustralians, F(1, 204) = 13.73, p<.001, η 2 =.065. The Chinese also reported significantly higher levels of depression than the Anglo-Australians F(1, 204) = 4.63, p<.05, η 2 =.023 and females reported significantly higher levels of depression than males, F(1, 204) = 10.37, p<.005, η 2 =.050. The interaction between culture and gender was significant for depression, F (1.204)=5.15, p<.05, η 2 =.025, with Chinese females being more depressed than any other group. Behavioural Profile Activity Levels A 2(culture) x 2(gender) MANCOVA with education as a covariate and times spent on both physical activity and inactivity as the dependent variables, revealed that the combined measures were significantly associated with culture (Wilks' λ = .96, F(2, 188)= 3.27, p<.05, η 2 =.034 ) but not gender (Wilks' λ = .002, F(2, 221) = .21, ns). There was no significant covariate effect of education., however there was a significant interaction between culture and gender (Wilks' λ = .96, F(2, 188) = 3.77, p< .05, η 2 =.039). Univariate analyses revealed that there were no significant main-effect cultural differences in physical activity levels, however Chinese participants spent significantly less time being inactive ( M = 13.1 hrs, SD = 10.8 hrs) than did the Anglo-Australian participants ( M = 19.5 hrs, SD = 11.4 hrs), F (1, 189) = 6.23, p <.05, η 2 =.032. There was also a significant interaction between culture and gender on level of activity F (1, 189) = 7.56 , p <.01, η 2 =.038. The source of the interaction lay in the observation that AngloAustralian males were more active than AngloAustralian females, while Chinese females were more active than Chinese males. Eating Behaviours A two way ANCOVA with education level as a covariate revealed that there were gender differences in overall eating patterns with males, M= 3.02, SD=.35, reporting less healthy eating habits on average than females, M= 3.18, SD= .31, F(1,248) = 8.35, p < 0.005,η 2 =.033. There was no significant culture difference, no significant interaction between culture and gender on eating patterns and no significant covariate effect of education. Relationship between Mood, Lifestyle and Cognitive Variables Pearson's correlations between the mood, lifestyle and cognitive variables are displayed in Table 3. As can be seen from this table, depression, and to a lesser extent stress and anxiety were negatively correlated with all the cognitive variables (diet and exercise self efficacy, motivation to change and knowledge). However there was no evidence of negative correlations between depression, anxiety or stress and levels of physical activity or inactivity. Insert Table 3 about here Discussion The findings of the current study revealed that there were few differences between the biochemical profiles of males and females. Females displayed significantly higher HDL-cholesterol readings than did males, which is consistent with previous findings (Dobiasova, Urbanova, Rauchova, Samanek, & Fronlich, 1998). However, there were no sex differences in any of the other anthropometric or biochemical indicators. There were also few differences in the cognitive and behavioural profiles of males and females. They did not differ in overall activity or inactivity levels, however there were cultural group differences, with AngloAustralian females reporting less activity, and Chinese females more activity, than males in their cultural group. Overall, females reported healthier overall dietary habits than males. This finding suggests that the focus of diabetes related interventions in relation to dietary changes may need to be somewhat different for males and females, although more research is needed Table 2. Mean Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS-21) scores and positive affect scores (PANASPA) for Chinese and Anglo-Australian males and females with pre-diabetes. Table 3 The relationship between mood, lifestyle, and cognitive variables for people with pre-diabetes. Note: *= p<.001, =p<.01, *=p<.05 into the pattern of eating differences characterising the sexes. On average all participants reported barriers to ideal diabetes prevention practices in terms of both selfefficacy and diabetes related knowledge. Not feeling up to exercise, busyness and tiredness appeared to pose the greatest threat to regular exercise, while eating in groups when celebrating or at a party, posed the greatest challenge to maintaining a healthy diet. While overall participants had an awareness of some aspects of the occurrence of diabetes, they lacked knowledge in some areas that are important to the management and prevention of diabetes, such as the risk factors for the development of diabetes and the dietary recommendations for people with the condition. Of particular interest were the different biological profiles of the Chinese and Anglo-Australian samples in this study. While not necessarily generalisable to these cultural groups overall, the profiles indicate that a 'onesize fits all' lifestyle intervention for people with prediabetes may need to be reconsidered. The AngloAustralian group clearly fit the anthropometric and biochemical profile associated with Metabolic Syndrome, with large waist and elevated triglyceride, systolic blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose levels (IDF, 2006). This implies that they are not only at risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes, but they are also at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (Anderson et al., 2001; IDF, 2006). The Chinese participants on the other hand, while displaying blood glucose levels in the pre-diabetes range, did not display the biochemical and anthropometric indicators of Metabolic Syndrome to the same extent (even taking cultural standards into account), nor were they as inactive as the Anglo-Australian group. This reduced level of overt symptomatology could possibly explain the observation that the Chinese also reported a lower motivation to change than did the Anglo-Australians, although this finding needs to be viewed in relation to possible limitations in the measures used in this study (see below). The lowered motivation to change of the Chinese group could also be associated with reduced exercise self-efficacy and lower diabetes knowledge than the Anglo-Australians, however it needs to be noted that these were small effects and should be viewed with caution. A challenge for future research remains however to explore how best to motivate a relatively asymptomatic group who are nevertheless at risk. Of course it is also important for future research to ascertain the extent to which pre-diabetics who are not particularly overweight or inactive might actually benefit from lifestyle change. In terms of actual lifestyle behaviours, scores on the eating measure suggested eating patterns at the healthy end of the scale, with room for improvement. A detailed analysis of responses to this scale is beyond the scope of this paper, but it would be of value to explore the eating patterns of different groups in larger comparative samples than are currently available. Such an analysis would assist in the development of targeted interventions for different cultural, social or gender groups. With respect to activity/inactivity, an important aspect of this study has been to measure both dimensions of physical behaviour. The cultural and gender groups did not show main effect differences on activity (although the interaction indicated the importance of more fine-grained analysis). However, cultural group differences in levels of inactivity point to the importance of discussion, in healthy living interventions, of alternatives to 'sitting around' as leisure, and antidotes to sedentary lifestyles. There were also cultural differences in mood variables, with Chinese participants displaying lower levels of positive affect than Anglo-Australians. In addition, while females displayed higher overall levels of depression than males, this was particularly pronounced in the case of Chinese women. Furthermore there was a negative association between depression, self efficacy measures and motivation to change, both of which have been shown to be important to successful diabetes self care (DeCoster & George, 2005; Sarkar et al., 2006; Williams & Bond, 2002). While this cross sectional study does not enable assumption of cause and effect, these findings nevertheless support previous research that documents the potential for depression to have a detrimental effect on diabetes self care and maintenance of healthy eating and exercise patterns (Egede et al., 2005; Katon et al., 2005; Lin et al., 2004). Depression in its own right may pose a significant barrier to successful lifestyle changes and needs to be addressed in any generalist or diabetes specific lifestyle interventions. Whilst these findings raise a number of important issues to be considered in the planning and delivery of lifestyle interventions for the prevention of Type 2 diabetes, a number of limitations need to be considered. First, some of the measures designed for this study (e.g. self efficacy, diabetes knowledge, eating behaviours and physical activity) have yet to be validated. While these measures all showed adequate alpha reliabilities, and did successfully differentiate between groups and relate to each other in meaningful ways, future research could involve an increased level of validation of these scales. A further issue for consideration is that the Chinese group was relatively small and highly educated. While education was not found to be a significant covariate, it is not clear the degree to which the current findings will generalise to the wider ethnic group. Finally it is important to note that there was a large variation in the effect sizes for the analyses of cultural differences, with most of the effect sizes being small. The effect sizes of culture on biochemical indicators, diabetes related knowledge and behaviour were small. The effect sizes for mood, self efficacy, and motivation to change were moderate, while the effect size for anthropometric differences were large., These findings indicate that further exploration with a larger and more diverse Chinese sample would be useful. In conclusion, the current study has demonstrated that there are group differences (in this case associated with a cultural group) and some gender differences in the manifestation of pre-diabetes in the current Chinese and Anglo-Australian sample. The main implication of these findings is the need to apply a specific rather than a generalist approach to diabetes prevention programs, and to tailor lifestyle interventions to suit the individual needs of the group being targeted. While not the focus of the current investigation, differences in profiles between regional and metropolitan pre-diabetics also need to be explored in the quest to tailor healthy lifestyle interventions to fit their cultural and social contexts. 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Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070. Wild, S. H., & Byrne, C.D. (2005). The global burden of the Metabolic Syndrome and its consequences for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In C.D. Byrne & S.H. Wild (Eds.), The Metabolic Syndrome. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Welborn, T.A., Reid, C.M., Marriott, G. (1997). Australian Diabetes Screening Study: Impaired glucose tolerance and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Metabolism, 46, 35-39. Wild, S., Roglic, G., Green, A., Sicree, R., King, H., (2004). Global prevalence of diabetes estimates for the year 2000 and projections for 2030. Diabetes Care, 27, 1047-1053. Williams, K.E., & Bond, M.J. (2002). The roles of selfefficacy, outcome expectancies and social support in the self-care behaviours of diabetics, Psychology Health and Medicine, 7, 127-141. Williams, J.W., Zimmet, P.Z., Shaw, J.E., de Courten, M.P., Cameron, A.J., Chitson, P., Tuomilehto, T., Albertis, K.G.M.M. (2003). Gender differences in the prevalence of impaired fasting glycaemia and impaired glucose tolerance in Mauritius. Does sex matter? Diabetic Medicine, 20, 915-920. Wong, T.Y., Barr, E.L., Tapp, R.J., Harper, C.A., Taylor, H.R., Zimmet, P.Z., Shaw, J.E. (2005). Retinopathy in persons with impaired glucose metabolism: the Australian Diabetes Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 140, 1157-9. World Health Organisation (2003). Diabetes Fact Sheet No 312, Retrieved July 2, 2007 from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312/en/ Acknowledgements Our thanks is due to the Department of Human Services (Victoria, Australia) who funded this project, to the personnel from the three Primary Care Partnerships who supported the evaluation and rolled out the Healthy Living Course, and to the pre-diabetic participants who took part in the study. We would also like to acknowledge and thank Dr Nic Kambouropoulos (Deakin University) who was involved in the early stages of the project. Correspondence to: Dr Naomi Hackworth Faculty of Life and Social Sciences Swinburne University of Technology PO Box 218 Hawthorn, Vic, Australia 3122 Research Profile Dr Naomi Hackworth is a psychologist whose major research interests are in the areas of health service evaluation, clinical governance and chronic illness. Professor Susan Moore is a research psychologist whose major interest are adolescence, sexuality and coping with illness. Dr Elizabeth Hardie is a social psychologist with interests in health psychology and psychometrics. Dr Christine Critchley is a social psychologist whose major interests are trust, attitudes and attitude change. Dr Simone Buzwell is a research psychologist with interests in sexuality, successful adaptation to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, adolescence and men's health. Dr Naomi Crafti is a counselling psychologist with interests in psychotherapy, outcome and process research, eating disorders, body image and positive psychology. Professor Michael Kyrios is an academic clinical psychologist whose major interests include high prevalence mental health disorders and chronic medical illness.
PLAN, PREPARE AND RESPOND TO COVID-19 ADAPTED FROM THE INTERIM GUIDANCE FOR ADMINISTATORS OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL Per the CDC, this interim guidance is based on what is currently known about the transmission and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Members of university communities, including fraternity/sorority members and volunteers, should work together with local health departments to assist in slowing the spread of diseases, and protecting vulnerable students, staff, and faculty to help ensure a safe and healthy learning environment. We all have an important role to play. In this document, guidance is organized into three categories based on the level of community transmission: 1) when there is no community transmission (preparedness phase), 2) when there is minimal to moderate community transmission, and 3) when there is substantial community transmission. Guidance is also provided for when a confirmed case has occurred on property. Health officials are currently taking steps to prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19 into US communities. Through collaboration and coordination with local health departments, fraternity/sorority leaders should take steps to disseminate information about the disease and its potential transmission within their community and should prepare to take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among their members should local health officials identify community transmission. WHO ARE YOUR PARTNERS TO ASSIST? Throughout this document, we will refer you to your "partners." In making decisions, partners might be information from the CDC website, local health officials, Institution of Higher Education (IHE), guidance/mandates from your State leadership, International/National organization or Holmes Murphy Fraternal Practice. Partner is the term to help you understand that for every question or incident, you need to think through the partners, resources and expectations. WHEN THERE IS NO COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION (PREPAREDNESS PHASE) The most important thing to do now is plan and prepare. Leaders should reinforce healthy practices among their members. As the global outbreak evolves, leaders should prepare for the possibility of community-level outbreaks in their communities. Here are some strategies: Intensify cleaning and disinfection efforts. [x] Routinely clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that are frequently touched. This may include cleaning objects/surfaces not ordinarily cleaned daily (e.g., doorknobs, light switches, classroom sink handles, countertops). Clean with the cleaners typically used. Use all cleaning products according to the directions on the label. For disinfection, most common EPAregistered household disinfectants should be effective. [x] A list of products that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19 is available here: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-againstsars-cov-2. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application method and contact time, etc.). [x] Provide disposable wipes to staff and faculty so that commonly used surfaces (e.g., keyboards, desks, remote controls) can be wiped down before use. [x] Ensure adequate supplies to support cleaning and disinfection practices. Reinforce healthy hygiene practices. [x] Ensure handwashing strategies include washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. [x] CDC offers several free handwashing resources that include health promotion materials (https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/materials.html) and information on proper handwashing technique (https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html. [x] Ensure adequate supplies (e.g., soap, paper towels, hand sanitizer, tissue) to support healthy hygiene practices. [x] Create handwashing stations. Ensure continuity of meal programs. [x] Consult with local health officials or your food service providers to determine strategies for modifying food service offerings. Consider alternative ways to distribute food to members and have a plan ready. Consider options such as "grab-and-go" meals, no buffet lines, etc. Create plans to communicate accurate and timely information. Include strategies for sharing information with members, parents, partners. Keeping the community informed with accurate information can counter the spread of misinformation and reduce the potential for fear and stigma. Have accurate contact information of members and parents for communication. Develop a plan for your facility. Assume someone tests positive. [x] Do you have the ability to provide a "sick room" and separate bathroom for the individual? [x] Is there a safer alternative (ex. member goes home; university is providing housing for those that have tested positive)? [x] Do you have active cleaning and disinfecting program in order for someone to remain in the facility? [x] Do you have the supplies needed? WHEN THERE IS MINIMAL TO MODERATE COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION If local health officials report that there are multiple cases in the community, organizations may need to implement additional strategies in response to prevent spread in the community, but they should continue using the strategies they implemented when there was no community transmission. These additional strategies include: Implement multiple social distancing strategies. Select strategies based on feasibility given the unique space and needs of the community. Not all strategies will be feasible for all organizations. Leaders are encouraged to think creatively about all opportunities to increase the physical space between members and limit interactions in large group settings. You may consider strategies such as: [x] Cancel large gatherings. [x] Cancel or modify meetings where members are likely to be in very close contact. [x] Consider if and how existing dining services should be scaled back or adapted. For example, an organization may close its open kitchen and offer delivery or grab-and-go options to discourage members from gathering in group settings. Self-serve stations that require multiple members to touch the same equipment (e.g. cereal dispensers, ice cream dispensers) should be scaled back. Consider ways to accommodate the needs of members and staff at higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19. Consider if and how to honor requests of members or staff who may have concerns about being in the facility, at events, or on campus due to underlying medical conditions or those of others in their home. Ensure continuity of safe housing. Work in close collaboration with partners to make all decisions related to your housing. WHEN THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION Additional strategies should be considered when there is substantial transmission in the local community in addition to those implemented when there is no, minimal, or moderate transmission. These strategies include: Continue to coordinate with partners. If local health officials have determined there is substantial transmission of COVID-19 within the community, they will provide guidance to leaders on the best course of action for the organization. Cancel in person events. Review meal program and distribution of food. Implement strategies to continue support for members. [x] Review continuity plans, including plans for the continuity of recruitment, new member education and chapter operations. [x] Consider the following approaches: ◻ Use of existing infrastructure and services (e.g., Blackboard, Skype, Zoom) to support efficient transition of organizational activities from in-person to distance-based formats. This may include using strategies such as advisor check-ins, recorded and live meetings, and virtual social events. Check with partners on resources available for members and ensure the information is widely distributed. Additional resources: JED Foundation Resources https://www.jedfoundation.org/ JED exists to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for our nation's teens and young adults. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ◻ 800-273-TALK (8255) https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ ◻ The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones. Lifeline Chat Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the U.S. to text with a trained Crisis Counselor. Text 686868 in Canada https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/ Find Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment 800-662-HELP (4357) www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline This Helpline provides 24-hour free and confidential treatment referral and information about mental and/or substance use disorders, prevention, and recovery. WHEN A CONFIRMED CASE HAS BEEN IN YOUR FACILITY? A protocol should be established by the group/entity that owns the decision (e.g. Housing Corporation, National organization, etc.) in collaboration with partners. The CDC recommends that someone who tests positive should stay home and self-isolate from other people and pets. This is known as home isolation and members should remain in a "sick room" and use a separate bathroom. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/index.html If the member lives in the facility, some thoughts to consider: [x] Do you have the ability to provide a "sick room" and separate bathroom for the individual? [x] Is there a safer alternative (ex. member goes home; university is providing housing for those that have tested positive)? [x] Do we have active cleaning and disinfecting program in order for someone to remain in the facility? Clean and disinfect thoroughly. [x] Close off areas used by the member that has tested positive. Open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the area and then begin cleaning and disinfection. [x] Cleaning staff should clean and disinfect all areas (e.g., bathrooms, and common areas) used by the COVID-19 patient focusing especially on frequently touched surfaces. [x] If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection. [x] For disinfection, most common EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective. A list of products that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19 is available here: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-againstsars-cov-2. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application method and contact time, etc.). [x] Additional information on cleaning and disinfection of community facilities such as chapter facilities can be found on CDC's website here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/community/disinfecting-building-facility.html . What is the difference between cleaning versus decontamination? [x] Cleaning refers to the removal of germs, dirt and impurities from surfaces. It does not kill germs but by removing them, it lowers their number and the risk for spreading infection. Disinfecting refers to using chemicals, for example, EPA-N list registered disinfects, to kill germs on surfaces. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of infection. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/disinfecting-yourhome.html [x] List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2: All products on this list meet EPA's criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2 Questions to ask a professional decontamination company. [x] Is your company certified/trained to deal with infectious diseases? If so, by whom (e.g. GBAC.org, IICRC.org)? [x] What is training and certification background of the technicians? [x] What EPA N list product will they use? (https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-ndisinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2) [x] Will the product color fast or corrode the household goods? [x] What personal protective equipment (PPE) will they be wearing during the decontamination? [x] What type of system will they utilize to disperse the chemical (e.g. fogger, electrostatic sprayer)? [x] What is the contact time (how long does it take to kill the virus)? [x] When is reentry possible after the treatment? [x] What is the price per square foot? Communicate with members. [x] It is critical that you update members. [x] Consider communicating to parents. [x] Ensure you have updated information for all members and parents. [x] In a circumstance where there is a confirmed COVID-19 case that has been in your facility, it is critical to maintain confidentiality of the student or staff member as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, as applicable. Make decisions about extending event and activity cancellation. Temporarily suspending activities or in person events is a strategy to stop or slow the further spread of COVID-19. Holmes Murphy Fraternal Resources: https://www.holmesmurphy.com/fraternal/resources/resourcessororities-fraternities/ Please check the following CDC website periodically for updated interim guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
GET THE BOX HILL EXPERIENCE! 2021/2022 WEDDING PACKAGES Box Hill 1501 Copper Beach Drive \| York, PA 17403 Phone: 717.428.5210 Email: email@example.com General Information In addition to the per person package price, there is a site fee to include ceremony and reception site. Ask about discounts for Friday, Sunday and off-peak dates. ROOMS CONTRACTED The facility is not considered "reserved" until a $2,000.00 deposit has been paid and a contract has been fully executed, i.e. signed by host and management. MENU SELECTION Menus, site arrangements and other pertinent details for your wedding should be submitted to the Wedding Coordinator at least four (4) months prior to the wedding date. Our office is here to assist you in planning a menu, especially for you and your guests. Our Chef will be happy to assist you with any special dietary requests with prior notice, at least two (2) weeks. Customized menus are always available; simply speak with your wedding coordinator to make arrangements. All catering is provided by the culinary staff at Regents' Glen. GUARANTEES/DEPOSITS Estimates of attendees is required two (2) weeks prior to wedding date. The guaranteed number of attendees is required a minimum of fourteen (14) days in advance of your function. This number will be considered the minimum to be charged. Additional attendees are always accommodated; however, some menu alterations may be necessary depending on the number of additional guests. All food is prepared fresh to order, so it is important that the guarantee be accurate. Final payment is due seven business days prior to your event. There is a 3% credit card transaction fee added to any transactions over $3,000. PRICES Food and rental prices quoted in the menu are subject to 6% Pennsylvania sales tax, unless otherwise stated. All food, beverage and rental costs are subject to 20% service charge. BEVERAGE SERVICE Please note that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board regulates all alcohol and beverage sales and service. The Club, as a licensee, is responsible for proper administration of these regulations. Therefore, you or your guests may not bring liquor, beer, wine or champagne into the club. Qualified service staff will do all dispensing of beverages. Visibly intoxicated guests will not be served. No beverage of any kind may be taken from the Club premises. Management may cease alcohol service to anyone for any reason. DRESS CODE Golf & Business casual attire is permitted in all areas of the Club. DECORATIONS Any decorations must be pre-approved by Club Management. Decorations may not be affixed to any walls in any way. The Club is not responsible for any supplies that are left behind. Confetti, glitter, rice and birdseed are not permitted on the premises. SECURITY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE The Club shall not assume any responsibility for the damage or loss of any merchandise or personal articles brought into the Club, left unattended, or lost. The host is responsible for damage done to the Club by guests, attendees, independent contractors or other agents under your control. We request notification in advance of the names and telephone numbers of all outside professional consultants or independent contractors. If you wish to provide food and beverages for the independent contractors & agents, please let us know so we include them in your final count and can provide an area to serve them. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Regents' Glen can assist you with additional rental needs. MISCELLANEOUS No leftover food or beverage may be removed from the club, with the exception of wedding cake. All Wedding Packages Include… Bridal suite in Box Hill Mansion for your wedding party preparation, up to 4 hours prior to your ceremony. On-site day of coordinator. Reflecting pond and formal landscaped grounds to host your outdoor ceremony with white garden ceremony chairs. Elegant manicured European gardens set against our Georgian – Style Box Hill Mansion. One-hour cocktail reception. Indoor reception with space for up to 250 guests. Linens, china, silverware, and glassware. Tasting prepared by our Executive Chef. Complimentary Cake Cutting. Boxwood Package 55 PER PERSON INCLUDES FIRST COURSE Package includes white linens and white napkins One entree selection served with chef's choice of starch and seasonal vegetable is included. Add an additional entree \| 2 per person Children's meals are available for children 10 and under at 50% of the package price We are happy to accomodate any guest with dietary restrictions ONE HOUR COCKTAIL RECEPTION Seasonal vegetable display with creamy herb dipper accompanied by domestic cheese and crackers PRICING Package prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Garden Salad served with fresh rolls and whipped butter SECOND COURSE Herb Roasted Statler Chicken fresh rosemary and thyme Classic Chicken Piccata lemon caper sauce Chicken Florentine bechamel \| spinach Chicken Cordon Bleu swiss \| ham \| dijon sauce Panko Crusted Haddock charred tomato basil beurre blanc Roasted Pork Tenderloin cracked pepper cream sauce Regal Package 65 PER PERSON INCLUDES FIRST COURSE \| CHOICE OF ONE package includes white floor length linens, your choice of a colored linen napkin and a bottle of champagne for the sweetheart table One entree selection served with chef's choice of starch and seasonal vegetable is included. Add an additional entree \| 2 per person Children's meals are available for children 10 and under at 50% of the package price We are happy to accomodate any guest with dietary restrictions ONE HOUR COCKTAIL RECEPTION Seasonal fruit and vegetable display with creamy herb dipper, Accompanied by Domestic Cheeses and crackers orthree butlered hors d'oeuvres selections from category one from each category PRICING Package prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Garden Salad \| Caesar Salad Seasonal Spinach Salad served with fresh rolls and whipped butter SECOND COURSE Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken brandied jus Chicken Florentine spinach \| sun-dried tomato \| ricotta Chicken Chesapeake prosciutto \| lump crab \| old bay cream sauce Grilled Chicken Bruschetta fresh mozzarella \| balsamic reduction Atlantic Salmon sweet bourbon glaze Bistro Steak Medallions wild mushroom bordelaise New York Strip bourbon bbq glaze Braised Short Rib burgundy demi-glace Elegance Package 80 PER PERSON INCLUDES FIRST COURSE \| CHOICE OF ONE package includes white floor length linens with your choice of a colored overlay, your choice of a colored linen napkin, and a complimentary champagne toast for all your guests One entree selection served with chef's choice of starch and seasonal vegetable is included. Add an additional entree \| 2 per person Children's meals are available for children 10 and under at 50% of the package price We are happy to accomodate any guest with dietary restrictions ONE HOUR COCKTAIL RECEPTION Seasonal fruit and vegetable display with creamy herb dipper, Accompanied by Domestic and Imported Cheeses and crackers And three butlered hors d'oeuvres selections from category one from each category PRICING Garden Salad \| Caesar Salad \| Seasonal Spinach Salad \| Seasonal Chop Salad served with fresh rolls and whipped butter SECOND COURSE Tenderloin Oscar 4 oz. petite filet \| lump crab meat \| bernaise Signature Crab Cake cracked pepper mango pool Bistro Steak Medallions and Sauteed Shrimp basil pesto white wine sauce Seared Ahi Tuna prepared medium rare \| honey-teriyaki glaze Crab Stuffed Lobster Tail and Pan Roasted Chicken Breast old bay cream sauce Package prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Pan Seared Salmon and Crab Cake dijon sauce Romance Buffet Package 70 PER PERSON FIRST COURSE \| CHOICE OF ONE INCLUDES package includes white floor length linens, your choice of a colored linen napkin and a bottle of champagne for the sweetheart table Children's meals are available for children 10 and under at 50% of the package price We are happy to accomodate any guest with dietary restrictions ONE HOUR COCKTAIL RECEPTION Seasonal fruit and vegetable display with creamy herb dipper, Accompanied by Domestic Cheeses and crackers or three butlered hors d'oeuvres selections from category one from each category PRICING Package prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Garden Salad \| Caesar Salad Seasonal Spinach Salad served with fresh rolls and whipped butter SECOND COURSE \| CHOICE OF TWO Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken brandied jus Chicken Florentine spinach \| sun-dried tomato \| ricotta Chicken Chesapeake prosciutto \| lump crab \| old bay cream sauce Grilled Chicken Bruschetta fresh mozzarella \| balsamic reduction Atlantic Salmon sweet bourbon glaze Bistro Steak Medallions wild mushroom bordelaise Braised Short Rib burgundy demi-glace SIDES \| CHOICE OF TWO Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes \| Garlic Whipped Potatoes \| Five Cheese Mac & Cheese \| Rice Pilaf \| Green Beans Almandine \| Steamed Broccoli \| Seasonal Squash Medley \| Honey Glazed Carrots Cocktail Style Reception 75 PER PERSON INCLUDES ITALIAN STATION package includes white floor length linens with your choice of a colored linen napkin. 50 or more guests required with a minimum of four stations open simultaneously for two hours Cocktail style guest seating with a mix of high top tables and limited guest seating Children's meals are available for children 10 and under at 50% of the package price We are happy to accomodate any guest with dietary restrictions ONE HOUR COCKTAIL RECEPTION Seasonal fruit and vegetable display with creamy herb dipper, Accompanied by Domestic Cheeses and crackers or three butlered hors d'oeuvres selections from category one from each category PRICING Package prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Pasta \| Choice of Two penne \| farfalle \| cheese tortellini \| orecchiette spinach ravioli Homemade Sauce \| Choice of Two vodka \| alfredo \| basil pesto \| classic marinara add meatballs \| 2 grilled chicken \| 2 Italian sausage peppers and onions \| 6 served with grated Parmesan cheese and garlic bread CHEF-ATTENDED CARVING STATION Meats \| Choice of Two Roasted turkey breast \| cranberry chutney Honey glazed baked ham \| pineapple relish Herb crusted pork loin \| whole grain mustard Peppercorn crusted bistro beef tenderloin \| horseradish cream sauce served with assorted sliced slider rolls SOUTHWEST STATION Marinated grilled chicken tossed with sautéed onions & peppers Warm flour tortillas \| tri-colored tortilla chips spanish rice \| guacamole \| sour cream \| pico de gallo add beef \| 2 ASIAN STIR FRY STATION Meats \| Choice of One crispy chicken \| teriyaki beef Stir fried julienne vegetables \| broccoli \| sticky rice lo mein \| soy sauce \| general tso \| duck sauce Chinese take out boxes \| chopsticks SALAD STATION CARVING BOARD STATION Pre-carved bistro tender and pre-carved roast turkey breast or honey glazed ham Mozzarella \| swiss cheese \| caramelized onions \| roasted tomatoes \| cranberry chutney \| whole grain mustard grilled asparagus \| marinated baby portobello mushrooms Assorted sliced slider rolls SLIDER STATION \| CHOICE OF TWO Salads \| Choice of Two all dressings are served on the side unless otherwise requested Roasted Vegetable roasted seasonal vegetables \| fresh greens champagne vinaigrette Classic Caesar romaine lettuce \| parmesan \| focaccia croutons house made Caesar dressing Seasonal Garden fresh greens \| tomato \| cucumber \| carrots balsamic vinaigrette Summer Chop Salad (seasonal) peas \| carrots \| red onion \| asparagus \| cheddar green goddess Fall Chop Salad (seasonal) butternut \| apples \| cranberries \| red onion \| carrots blue cheese creamy cider vinaigrette Summer Spinach (seasonal) strawberries \| goat cheese \| red onion \| almonds champagne vinaigrette Fall Spinach (seasonal) cranberries \| goat cheese \| almonds champagne vinaigrette Pulled pork \| angus burger \| chicken sliders lettuce \| tomato \| onion \| pickle \| Swiss \| American hot sauce \| BBQ sauce \| ketchup \| mustard \| bacon slices Served with house made potato chips add crab cakes \| 9 MAC & CHEESE STATION Gourmet five cheese mac & cheese bacon \| blue cheese crumbles \| panko breadcrumbs \|scallions add lobster \| 10 MASHED POTATO MARTINIS Garlic mashed potatoes \| whipped sweet potatoes bacon \| chives \| sour cream \| butter \| shredded cheddar cheese \| brown sugar \| marshmallows FLATBREADS \| CHOICE OF THREE Buffalo chicken \| Hawaiian \| pepperoni \| traditional \| sausage and peppers \| brie apple and red onion margarita \| creole Passed Hors d'Oeuvres 10 PER PERSON INCLUDES CATEGORY ONE Hors d'oeuvres are priced per person based on one hour passed prior to dinner service Choose one item from each category PRICING prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Brûléed Tomato & Feta Tartlette BLT Salad Phyllo Cup Edamame Hummus on Sesame Pita Baked Mac & Cheese Popover Caprese Skewer \| Balsamic Drizzle Toasted Ravioli \| Spicy Marinara Vegetable Spring Roll \| Sweet Chili Sauce Bake Brie in Phyllo with Brûléed Berries CATEGORY TWO Bang Bang Shrimp Boneless Chicken Bites \| Buffalo or BBQ Bacon & Brie Stuffed Mushrooms Philly Cheesesteak Roll \| Spicy Ketchup Chicken Souvlaki Kebobs \| Tzatziki Sauce Chorizo & Cheddar Pinwheels Chilled Margarita Shrimp Spoons CATEGORY THREE Coconut Shrimp \| Cracked Pepper Mango Dipper Crab Stuffed Mushroom Spicy Tuna Tartar in Crispy Wonton Cup Tenderloin & Boursin with Micro Scallions on Toasted Naan Bread Shrimp Cocktail Shooter Smoked Salmon \| Dill Crème Fraiche Cucumber Wrapper Mini Crab Cake \| "Baltimore" Remoulade Cheeseburger Stuffed Mushrooms cheddar cheese \| caramelized onion \| pickle signature sauce Displayed Hors d'Oeuvres INCLUDES CHEESE DISPLAY \| 7 Hors d'oeuvres are priced per person based on one hour displayed prior to dinner service PRICING prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Imported and domestic cubed cheeses wedge of blue and brie cheeses Mustard dipper \| assorted crackers CHARCUTERIE \| 10.5 Prosciutto \| Soppresata \| Mortadella \| Pepperoni whole grain mustard \| toasted naan SEASONAL FRUIT DISPLAY \| 7 Sweet yogurt dipper VEGETABLE DISPLAY \| 5 Creamy herb dipper ANTIPASTI \| 8 Seasonal grilled vegetables \| marinated asparagus & baby portobello mushrooms \| house-made hummus \| assorted olives \| whole grain mustard \| toasted Naan bread CRAB DIP \| 10 Toasted Naan SPINACH & ARTICHOKE DIP \| 8 Toasted Naan BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP \| 8 Toasted Naan SMOKED SALMON DISPLAY \| 11 Capers \| chopped red onion \| chopped egg dill crème fraiche \| crostini MEATBALLS \| 6 Classic Italian \| Greek with Tzatziki Dipper \| Jack Daniels BBQ Bridal Suite Lunch 17 PER PERSON INCLUDES SALAD \| CHOICE OF ONE Chips, Cookies & Brownies and Assorted soda and water PRICING prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge Fresh Seasonal Fruit and Berries Roasted Vegetable roasted seasonal vegetables \| fresh greens \| champagne vinaigrette Mediterranean Pasta Salad WRAPS \| CHOICE OF TWO Turkey & Swiss Wrap bacon \| lettuce \| tomato \| chipotle aioli Gourmet Chicken Salad red grapes \| almonds \| lettuce \| tomato Roasted Vegetable Wrap seasonal vegetables \| balsamic drizzle Sliced Roast Beef lettuce \| tomato \| red onion \| horseradish aioli Ham & Cheddar Wrap lettuce \| tomato \| Dijon aioli Beverage Packages PRICES ARE PER PERSON PER HOUR INCLUDES SODA BAR \| 4 All packages include assorted soft drinks PRICING All prices are per person over 21 years of age Guest's under 21 pay soda bar pricing prices are subject to 6% sales tax and 20% service charge BEER & WINE First Hour \| 9 Each Additional Hour \| 6 Chardonnay \| Cabernet Miller Lite \| Yuengling Lager \| Blue Moon HOUSE BAR First Hour \| 12 Each Additional Hour \| 8 Chardonnay \| Cabernet \| Yuengling \| Miller Lite Blue Moon Svedka \| New Amsterdam Gin \| Old Grandad Cruzan \| Juarez \| Cutty Sark \| Triple Sec PREMIUM BAR First Hour \| 14 Each Additional Hour \| 10 Chardonnay \| Cabernet \| Merlot \| Pinot Grigio Miller Lite \| Yuengling Lager \| Blue Moon Tito's Vodka \| Bombay Gin \| Buffalo Trace Whisky Bacardi Silver \| Captain Morgan Spiced Rum Corazon Tequila Blanco \| Jack Daniels \| Johnny Walker Red \| Triple Sec BANQUET BARPOLICIES In accordance with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board,alcohol cannot be brought in from outside sources. Our serversand bartenders are prohibited from serving alcoholicbeverages to anyone under the age of 21. Management reserves the right to close the bar prior to thescheduled end time if your guests have consumed too much todrink and are being disruptive to guests of the event or eventstaff. Minimum revenue of $300 is required for all bars. If revenuesdo not meet this minimum requirement,The host will be responsible for paying the difference. There is a two-hour minimum on all bars. There will be a $100.00 set up fee for all cash andconsumption-based bars. A 20% service charge will be applied to all consumption bars,plus 6% PA State Tax on the service charge. Prices/Selections are subject to change.
Strategy for the Promotion of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries Strategy for the Promotion of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries Strategy for the Promotion of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries ANP 2004:779 © Nordic Council of Ministers, Copenhagen 2004 ISBN 92-893-1077-4 Nordic Council of Ministers Store Strandstræde 18 DK-1255 Copenhagen K Phone (+45) 3396 0200 Fax (+45) 3396 0202 www.norden.org The Nordic co-operation on industrial policy The Nordic co-operation on industrial policy covers the issues of industrial development, improvement of the Nordic countries' industrial competitiveness, industrial research and development, technical norms and control mechanisms. The Nordic ministers for industry are in charge of this co-operation. A committee of senior civil servants on industrial co-operation prepares and organises the co-operation. The Nordic Council of Ministers was established in 1971. It submits proposals on co-operation between the governments of the five Nordic countries to the Nordic Council, implements the Council's recommendations and reports on results, while directing the work carried out in the targeted areas. The Prime Ministers of the five Nordic countries assume overall responsibility for the co-operation measures, which are co-ordinated by the ministers for co-operation and the Nordic Co-operation committee. The composition of the Council of Ministers varies, depending on the nature of the issue to be treated. The Nordic Council was formed in 1952 to promote co-operation between the parliaments and governments of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Finland joined in 1955. At the sessions held by the Council, representatives from the Faroe Islands and Greenland form part of the Danish delegation, while Åland is represented on the Finnish delegation. The Council consists of 87 elected members - all of whom are members of parliament. The Nordic Council takes initiatives, acts in a consultative capacity and monitors co-operation measures. The Council operates via its institutions: the Plenary Assembly, the Presidium and standing committees. Nordic Council Store Strandstræde 18 DK-1255 Copenhagen K Phone (+45) 3396 0400 Fax (+45) 3311 1870 Contents The trade and industry and consumer sectors' ad hoc working group for electronic commerce and other IT-related issues History In 1999, the Nordic Council of Ministers' Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues set up an ad hoc working group for electronic commerce and other IT-related issues. In December 2001, the working group became a joint working group for the Nordic Committees of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues and Consumer Issues, and its mandate was extended to 31 December 2003. This meant that representatives for consumer issues joined the working group. In the period 2001-2003, the Nordic Industrial Fund functioned as the secretariat for the working group. Object and Objectives The object of the working group has been to ensure the further development of the Nordic co-operation on electronic commerce based on consumer interests and trade and industry policy objectives. An overall objective has been to ensure consumer confidence in e-commerce while taking into consideration IT issues relating to trade and industry as well. The working group has had the role of initiator, consultant and co-ordinator in relation to the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues. Objectives: * To exchange information about electronic commerce (experience and data from national initiatives, reports, studies, etc.). * To initiate and implement projects of relevance to consumers and trade and industry in the Nordic countries in the field of electronic commerce. * To discuss other IT issues relating to trade and industry and consumers. Members The Nordic countries and the autonomous territories have each been represented in the working group by a representative from both the consumer sector and the trade and industry sector. The Secretariat for the Nordic Council of Ministers has participated as much as possible in the meetings of the working group. The chairmanship of the working group has followed the chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Sofia Holmgren (Swedish Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications, Stockholm, Chairwoman 2003) Yvonne Stein (Swedish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Stockholm, Deputy Chairwoman 2003) Cecilie Krogsæter (Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, Oslo) Geir Jørgensen (Norwegian Ministry of Children and Family Affairs, Oslo) Antti Eskola (Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, Helsinki) Ari Luukinen (Finnish Consumer Agency, Helsinki) Søren Jensen (Danish Ministry for Science, Technology and Development, Copenhagen) Susanne Bo Christensen (National Consumer Agency of Denmark, Copenhagen) Tryggvi Axelsson (Icelandic Ministry of Commerce, Reykjavik) Jonina S. Larusdottir (Icelandic Ministry of Commerce, Reykjavik) Jørgen Emborg Pedersen (Danish Greenland Home Rule Office, Copenhagen) Robert von Pfaler (Åland Centre of Technology, Mariehamn) Martin Wilisoo (Nordic Industrial Fund, Oslo, secretary 2001 – 2003) Stefan Kovacs (Nordic Council of Ministers, Copenhagen, contact person) After the termination of the working group's mandate as at the turn of the year 20032004, the working group has continued as an ad hoc network for Nordic issues relating to e-commerce and e-business. Sammanfattning Den nordiska ad hoc arbetsgruppen för e-handel och andra IT-relaterade frågor fick i april 2002 i uppdrag av de nordiska konsument-och näringsministrarna att utarbeta en nordisk e-handelsstrategi. Arbetsgruppen har varit gemensam för ministerråden för konsument- respektive näringspolitik och således behandlar strategin båda dessa politikområden. 1 De nordiska länderna ligger i internationell jämförelse långt framme när det gäller tillgång till och användning av IT och har goda förutsättningar för effektiv användning av e-handel. Mer än 70 procent av de nordiska invånarna har tillgång till en dator och cirka 60 procent har tillgång till Internet i sin bostad. Nästan alla nordiska företag använder datorer och över 90 procent har tillgång till Internet. Ungefär hälften av de nordiska företagen köper varor och tjänster över Internet, men endast cirka 10 procent säljer via Internet. Den totala nordiska Internetförsäljningen 2001 är beräknad till 15 miljarder euro, medan EDI-handeln stod för 69 miljarder euro. Den totala elektroniska försäljningen motsvarar cirka 10 procent av de nordiska företagens omsättning, vilket betyder att det ännu finns en outnyttjad potential för ökad nordisk e-handel, särskilt via Internet. 2 De frågor som arbetsgruppen identifierat som mest relevanta för främjandet av e-handel inom konsumentområdet är synliggörandet av nyttan med e-handel samt konsumenters förtroende för e-handel. Inom det näringspolitiska området anser arbetsgruppen att ehandel bör ses som ett steg i utvecklingen mot e-affärer, d.v.s. effektivt utnyttjande av IT i företagens affärsprocesser i vidare bemärkelse än enbart inköp och försäljning. För främjandet av e-affärer ur ett företagsperspektiv är det IT-kompetens, standardisering och interoperabilitet samt efterfrågan och statens roll som arbetsgruppen valt att fokusera på. Strategin beskriver vart och ett av dessa nämnda områden samt ger rekommendationer inom respektive område till nordiska ministerrådet. E-handel kan innebära många fördelar för konsumenter. Att e-handla kan vara enklare, snabbare och billigare än att handla på traditionellt sätt. Det förutsätts dock att ehandelsföretaget tillhandahåller tillförlitlig, lättåtkomlig och lättförståelig information. Konsumenten bör vara tillräckligt informerad om varan eller tjänsten samt om köpvillkor, pris, frakt m.m. Användarvänligheten på webbsidan är av stor betydelse för kundens val av köpställe. Det är därför viktigt att utvecklingen av e-handelslösningar i ökad utsträckning blir användarorienterad. Konsumenternas förtroende för e-handel är avgörande för e-handelns utveckling. Det är främst förtroendet för näringsidkaren bakom en webbplats som är avgörande, särskilt 1 Den nordiska e-handelsstrategin finns tillgänglig på Nordiska ministerrådets webbplats www.norden.org, under samarbetsområdena Konsument respektive Näringsliv. Där finns också arbetsgruppens rapporter om självreglering, statliga elektroniska tjänster till företag, faktorer för framgångsrik e-handel, elektroniska betalningslösningar samt små och medelstora företags situation vid e-handel tillgängliga. 2 The Economic Impact of ICT, OECD 2004. med avseende på betalnings- och leveransvillkor samt reklamations- och returneringsrutiner, även om den tekniska säkerheten också måste vara tillräcklig. Arbetsgruppens rekommendationer på konsumentområdet tar främst sikte på informationsinsatser till konsumenter och näringsidkare om vilka rättigheter och skyldigheter de har samt uppmuntrar till att samarbetsprojekt skapas på området mellan olika intressenter i de nordiska länderna. Särskilt barns och ungdomars ställning på e-handelsmarknaden behöver stärkas och deras utbildning för att bli kritiska internetanvändare ökas, eftersom de i större utsträckning än vuxna riskerar att vilseledas. En ökad IT- och e-affärskompetens är nödvändig för att fler företag, särskilt mindre, skall lyckas med e-affärer. Särskilt företagsledningens förståelse för och förmåga att utnyttja IT som ett effektivt affärsverktyg är viktig, eftersom det är ledningen som fattar beslut om investeringar. Det är också företagsledningen som initierar organisationsförändringar, något som ofta är en förutsättning för lyckade e-affärsinvesteringar. Satsningar på kontinuerlig kompetensutveckling inom företaget är nödvändiga för att den potential som e-affärer erbjuder skall kunna utnyttjas. Bristen på standardisering och interoperabilitet mellan olika system och program för eaffärer är ett problem för särskilt de mindre företagen. De riskerar att tvingas investera i flera olika lösningar för att kunna leva upp till sina olika kunders varierande krav, vilket kan bli mycket kostsamt. Dessutom kan systemen visa sig vara mindre ändamålsenliga för dessa små företag. Staten har en viktig roll som förebild när det gäller användning av IT- och e-handel. Den offentliga sektorn är en stor och viktig kund på de nordiska marknaderna och bör därför eftersträva en ökad elektronisk upphandling. Arbetsgruppens rekommendationer ur ett företagsperspektiv fokuserar, liksom ur konsumentperspektivet, på informations- och utbildningsinsatser för att öka insikten om nyttan med e-affärer och kompetensen att kunna utnyttja dess potential. Att följa utvecklingen på nämnda områden, uppmuntra till utbyte av erfarenheter och goda exempel är också viktiga insatser som med fördel kan genomföras på nordisk nivå inom både konsument- och näringslivsområdet. Yhteenveto Pohjoismaiden ministerineuvoston elinkeinopolitiikan komitean ja kuluttaja-asiain komitean yhteinen sähköisen kaupankäynnin ja muiden tieto- ja viestintäteknologiaasioiden määräaikainen virkamiestyöryhmä sai huhtikuussa 2002 tehtäväkseen laatia pohjoismaisen sähköisen kaupankäynnin strategian. Työryhmä on muotoillut strategiaa pääasiassa elinkeino- ja kuluttajapolitiikan lähtökohdista. 3 Pohjoismaat sijoittuvat hyvin tieto- ja viestintäteknologian käyttömahdollisuuksia ja käyttöä tarkastelevissa kansainvälisissä vertailuissa. Yli 70 prosentilla pohjoismaiden väestöstä on tietokone ja noin 60 prosentilla kansalaisista on asunnossaan mahdollisuus internet-yhteyteen. Pohjoismaissa lähes kaikki yritykset käyttävät tietokoneita ja yli 90 prosentilla yrityksistä on mahdollisuus internet-yhteyteen. Noin puolet pohjoismaisista yrityksistä ostaa tavaroita tai palveluja verkon kautta, mutta vain 10 prosenttia harjoittaa verkkomyyntiä. Pohjoismaiden sähköisessä kaupankäynnissä myynnin kokonaisarvoksi vuonna 2001 arvioitiin 15 miljardia euroa ja pääosin muiden tietoverkkojen kuin internetin kautta tapahtuvan EDI-kaupan arvoksi 69 miljardia euroa. EDI- ja internetkauppa huomioiden pohjoismaisten yritysten liikevaihdosta noin 10 prosenttia muodostuu sähköisestä kaupankäynnistä. Sähköisellä kaupankäynnillä on siis pohjoismaissakin paljon kasvun varaa, erityisesti internetin kautta tapahtuvan kaupankäynnin osalta. Työryhmä katsoo, että sähköisen, kuluttajille suunnatun kaupankäynnin edistämisen kannalta keskeistä on osoittaa kuluttajille sähköisen kaupankäynnin hyödyt ja vahvistaa kuluttajien luottamusta sähköistä kaupankäyntiä kohtaan. Elinkeinopolitiikan näkökulmasta yritysten sähköinen kaupankäynti on osa sähköistä liiketoimintaa, millä tarkoitetaan tieto- ja viestintäteknologian tehokasta hyödyntämistä yritysten muissakin liiketoiminnan prosesseissa kuin osto- ja myyntitoiminnassa. Yritysten sähköisen liiketoiminnan edistämisen tärkeimmiksi kehittämiskohteiksi työryhmä on todennut tieto- ja viestintäteknologian hyödyntämiseen tarvittavan osaamisen, standardoinnin ja yhteentoimivuuden sekä valtion ja muun julkissektorin roolin voimistamisen tieto- ja viestintäteknologian käyttäjänä. Pohjoismaiden sähköisen kaupankäynnin strategiassa kuvaillaan näitä kehittämisalueita ja esitetään suosituksia ministerineuvostolle. Yhteenveto suosituksista on kappaleessa 4. Sähköinen kaupankäynti tarjoaa monia etuja kuluttajille. Verkko-ostosten teko voi olla yksinkertaisempaa, nopeampaa ja edullisempaa kuin perinteinen kauppa. Edellytyksenä verkkokaupan menestykselle on lisäksi kuitenkin, että verkkokaupan pitäjät tarjoavat kuluttajille riittävästi helppokäyttöisesti luotettavaa ja ymmärrettävää tietoa myytävänä olevista tavaroista ja palveluista, niiden hinnoista, toimitusehdoista jne. Verkkokaupan käyttäjäystävällisyys vaikuttaa merkittävästi kuluttajien ostospaikkavalintoihin. Sen 3 Pohjoismainen sähköisen kaupankäynnin edistämisstrategia on myös pohjoismaiden ministerineuvoston verkkosivujen (www.norden.org) kuluttajia ja elinkeinopolitiikkaa käsittelevissä osioissa. Näille sivuille on koottu myös työryhmän raportit vapaaehtoisesta sääntelystä, julkishallinnon sähköisistä palveluista yrityksille, sähköisen kaupankäynnin menestystekijöistä sekä pienten ja keskisuurten yritysten sähköisesta liiketoiminnasta. vuoksi on tärkeää, että sähköisen kaupankäynnin ratkaisuja kehitetään käyttäjien tarpeista lähtien. Kuluttajien luottamus verkkokauppaa harjoittavia yrityksiä kohtaan on ratkaisevassa asemassa kehitettäessä sähköistä kuluttajakauppaa. Kuluttajien on tärkeää tietää maksuja toimitusehdoista sekä valitus- ja palautuskäytännöstä samalla kun heidän on voitava luottaa siihen, että verkkokaupan tietoturvallisuus on varmistettu. Varsinkin lasten ja nuorten asemaa sähköisessä kaupankäynnissä tulee vahvistaa, koska he ovat aikuisia alttiimpia verkkokaupan riskeille. Työryhmän sähköistä kuluttajakauppaa koskevat suositukset painottavat tiedottamista osapuolten oikeuksista ja velvollisuuksista sekä kuluttajille että verkkokaupan pitäjille. Työryhmä suosittelee, että kuluttajakaupan edistämiseksi käynnistettäisiin pohjoismaisia yhteistyöhankkeita. Jotta nykyistä useammat yritykset, varsinkin pienet ja keskisuuret yritykset nopeuttaisivat siirtymistään sähköiseen liiketoimintaan, on välttämätöntä että yritysten valmiuksia ja taitoja hyödyntää tieto- ja viestintäteknologiaa parannetaan. Erityisesti yritysjohdon tulisi ymmärtää tieto- ja viestintäteknologian merkitys liiketoiminnalle, koska juuri yritysjohto päättää investoinneista. Investointeja tarvitaan paitsi teknologiaan, myös osaamiseen. Yritysjohto myös yleensä tekee aloitteen organisaation muutoksista, jotka usein ovat edellytyksenä menestykselliselle sähköiselle liiketoiminnalle. Puutteellinen standardointi ja yhteentoimivuus järjestelmien ja sovellusten välillä muodostaa esteen sähköisen liiketoiminnan kasvulle. Ongelma koskee erityisesti pieniä ja keskisuuria yrityksiä, jotka saattavat joutua sijoittamaan useampiin sähköisen kaupankäynnin ratkaisuihin tai käyttämään kalliita muunnospalveluita voidakseen täyttää useamman asiakkaansa vaatimukset samanaikaisesti. Toisinaan vaaditut järjestelmät voivat olla sopimattomia pienille yrityksille. Julkinen sektori toimii osaltaan tieto- ja viestintäteknologian hyödyntämisen ja sähköisen kaupankäynnin esikuvana. Julkinen sektori on tärkeä asiakas pohjoismaiden sähköisen kaupankäynnin markkinoilla, ja sen tulisi siirtää kasvava osuus julkisista hankinnoista toteutettavaksi sähköisenä kaupankäyntinä. Työryhmän suosituksissa yritysten, kuten kuluttajienkin osalta korostetaan tiedotukseen ja koulutukseen panostamista, jotta sähköisen liiketoiminnan edut tiedostettaisiin nykyistä laajemmin ja jotta sekä kuluttajilla että yrityksillä olisi riittävät taidot näiden etujen hyödyntämiseen. Työryhmä katsoo, että yhteistyöstä kehityksen seuraamisessa, kokemusten vaihdosta ja tiedosta hyvistä käytännöistä pohjoismaisella tasolla voi olla hyötyä yhtä lailla kuluttajasektorilla kuin elinkeinopolitiikan alueella. Samantekt Norrænu neytendamála- og viðskiptaráðherrarnir fólu í apríl 2002 sérstökum starfshópi um rafræn viðskipti og önnur mál tengd upplýsingatækni að setja saman norræna áætlun um rafræn viðskipti. Starfshópurinn heyrir undir báðar ráðherranefndirnar og þess vegna nær áætlunin yfir bæði þessi svið. 4 Norrænu ríkin standa framarlega hvað snertir aðgang að og notkun upplýsingatækninnar við alþjóðlegan samanburð og því ættu að vera góð skilyrði til þess að rafræn viðskipti dafni vel. Yfir 70% íbúa Norðurlanda hafa aðgang að tölvu og um 60% eru nettengdir heima. Svo til öll norræn fyrirtæki nota tölvur og yfir 90% þeirra eru nettengd. Um helmingur norrænna fyrirtækja kaupir vörur og þjónustu á netinu en aðeins um 10% selja í gegnum netið. Talið er að heildarsala norrænna fyrirtækja í gegnum netið árið 2001 hafi numið 15 miljörðum evra miðað við að heildarupphæð rafrænna viðskipta nam 69 miljörðum evra. Rafræna salan var samtals um 10% af veltu norrænu fyrirtækjanna sem þýðir að hægt er að auka rafræn viðskipti á Norðurlöndum enn frekar, sérstaklega í gegnum netið. 5 Þau atriði sem starfshópurinn telur skipta mestu máli frá sjónarhóli neytenda til að efla rafræn viðskipti er að ábatinn af rafrænum viðskiptum sé sýnilegur og traust neytenda til þeirra. Hvað atvinnulífið snertir telur starfshópurinn að líta verði á rafræn viðskipti sem þrep í þróuninni í átt til pappírslausra viðskipta, þ.e. skilvirkrar notkunar fyrirtækja á upplýsingatækni í öllum viðskiptum, ekki aðeins við kaup og sölu. Hvað snertir eflingu rafrænna viðskipta frá sjónarhóli fyrirtækjanna kaus starfshópurinn að að beina kastljósinu að UT-hæfni, stöðlun og samhæfni svo og eftirspurn og hlutverki ríkisins. Í áætluninni er hverju þessara atriða lýst og settar fram tillögur til norrænu ráðherranefndarinnar um hvert þeirra. Rafræn viðskipti geta falið í sér marga kosti fyrir neytendur. Þau geta verið einfaldari, fljótlegri og ódýrari en að kaupa inn á hefðbundinn hátt. Forsendan er þó að upplýsingar seljandans séu áreiðanlegar, aðgengilegar og auðskildar. Neytandinn á að vera nægilega upplýstur um vöruna eða þjónustuna sem og kaupskilmála, verð, sendingarkostnað o.fl.. Það skiptir miklu máli þegar neytandinn velur söluaðila hve notendavænn vefur hans er. Þess vegna er mikilvægt að lausnir í rafrænum viðskiptum verði í auknum mæli miðaðar við notendur. Traust neytenda skiptir sköpum fyrir áframhaldandi þróun rafrænna viðskipta. Þótt tæknilegt öryggi skipti máli er það aðallega traustið til þess rekstraraðila, sem rekur viðkomandi vef, sem skiptir máli, sérstaklega hvað snertir greiðslu- og afgreiðsluskilmála svo og kvartanir og skilarétt. Tillögur starfshópsins með tilliti til neytenda 4 Norræna áætlunin um rafræn viðskipti er aðgengileg á vef norrænu ráðherranefndarinnar www.norden.org, undir samstarfssviðunum Neytendamál og Viðskipti. Þar er einnig að finna skýrslur vinnuhópsins um innra eftirlit, ríkisrekna rafræna þjónustu við fyrirtæki, mikilvæga þætti til að ná árangri í rafrænum viðskiptum, rafrænar greiðslulausnir og stöðu smárra og meðalstórra fyrirtækja m.t.t. rafrænna viðskipta. 5 The Economic Impact of ICT, OECD 2004. ganga fyrst og fremst út á upplýsingagjöf til neytenda og seljenda um réttindi þeirra og skyldur og að komið verði á fót samstarfsverkefnum á þessu sviði milli ýmissa hagsmunahópa á Norðurlöndum. Sérstaklega verður að styrkja stöðu barna og unglinga með tilliti til rafrænna viðskipta og að kenna þeim að vera gagnrýnin við netnotkun þar sem meiri hætta er á að þau verði plötuð en fullorðnir. Einnig er nauðsynlegt að auka hæfni starfsmanna með tilliti til upplýsingatækni og rafrænna viðskipta til að fleiri fyrirtæki, sérstaklega smáfyrirtæki, nái árangri hvað snertir rafræn viðskipti. Sérstaklega er mikilvægt að fyrirtækjastjórnir hafi skilning á og getu til þess að nota upplýsingatæknina sem skilvirkt tæki í viðskiptum þar sem það eru þær sem taka ákvarðanir um fjárfestingar. Það eru og stjórnirnar, sem taka frumkvæði að skipulagsbreytingum, sem oft eru forsenda þess að fjárfesting í rafrænum viðskiptum heppnist. Stöðug endurmenntun innan fyrirtækjanna er nauðsynleg til að unnt sé að nýta alla þá möguleika sem rafræn viðskipti hafa upp á að bjóða. Eitt vandamál, sérstaklega fyrir minni fyrirtæki, er skortur á stöðlun og samhæfni milli mismunandi kerfa og forrita fyrir rafræn viðskipti. Hætt er við að þau neyðist til að fjárfesta í margs konar lausnum til að geta uppfyllt mismunandi kröfur hinna ýmsu viðskiptavina og það getur orðið þeim mjög dýrt. Þar að auki getur sýnt sig að kerfin séu ekki eins hentug og ætlað var fyrir þessi fyrirtæki. Ríkið gegnir mikilvægu hlutverki sem fyrirmynd þegar kemur að notkun upplýsingatækninnar og rafrænum viðskiptum. Hið opinbera er stór og mikilvægur viðskiptavinur á norrænu mörkuðunum og á þess vegna að stefna að auknum rafrænum innkaupum. Líkt og átti við um neytendur miðast tillögur starfshópsins með tilliti til atvinnulífsins við upplýsingagjöf og fræðslu til að auka skilning á kostum rafrænna viðskipta og hæfnina til að nýta alla möguleika þeirra. Einnig er mikilvægt að fylgjast með þróuninni á þessum sviðum og stuðla að því að menn skiptist á reynslu og dæmum. Þetta er auðvelt í framkvæmd á norrænum vettvangi bæði hvað snertir neytendur og atvinnulífið. Summary In April 2002, the Nordic Ministers for Consumer Affairs and Trade and Industry Affairs assigned the task of preparing a Nordic e-commerce strategy to the Nordic ad hoc working group for electronic commerce and other IT-related issues. As the working group was a joint working group for the Councils of Ministers for Consumer Policy and Trade and Industry Policy, the strategy covers both these policy areas. 6 From an international perspective, the Nordic countries are at the forefront as regards access to and use of IT, and the preconditions for efficient use of e-commerce are good. More than 70 per cent of the inhabitants of the Nordic countries have access to a computer, and approximately 60 per cent have access to the Internet at home. Nearly all Nordic enterprises use computers, and over 90 per cent have access to the Internet. Approximately half of Nordic enterprises purchase goods and services over the Internet, but only approximately 10 per cent sell goods and services via the Internet. Total Nordic Internet sales for 2001 were estimated to amount to 15 billion euro, while EDI trade represented 69 billion euro. Total electronic sales constitute approximately 10 per cent of Nordic enterprises' turnover. There is thus great unutilised potential for increased Nordic e-commerce, particularly via the Internet. 7 The most pertinent issues identified by the working group for the promotion of ecommerce in the consumer area are strengthening consumer awareness of the benefits of e-commerce together with consumer confidence in e-commerce. Within the area of trade and industry policy, the working group finds that e-commerce should be viewed as a step in the development towards e-business, i.e. efficient utilisation of IT in enterprises' various business processes in a wider sense than merely buying and selling goods and services. In the opinion of the working group, the most important issues for the promotion of e-business from a business perspective are IT competence, standardisation and interoperability, together with demand and the role of the State. This strategy describes each of the above-mentioned areas individually and provides recommendations within the respective areas to the Nordic Council of Ministers. E-commerce may have many advantages for the consumer. It may be simpler, quicker and less expensive to trade by e-commerce than by traditional methods. However, a prerequisite is that enterprises that establish and maintain e-commerce web sites should provide reliable and easily accessible information that is easy to understand. Adequate information should be made available to the consumer about the goods or services for sale, as well as the terms of sale, price, delivery, etc. Web site user-friendliness is of great importance to the customer's choice of point of sale. It is therefore important that 6 The Nordic e-commerce strategy is available at the Nordic Council of Ministers' web site www.norden.org, under the areas of co-operation Consumer and Trade and Industry respectively. The web site also contains the working group's reports on self-regulation, state electronic services for enterprises, factors for successful e-commerce, electronic payment solutions as well as the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in connection with e-commerce. 7 The Economic Impact of ICT, OECD 2004. the development of e-commerce solutions is oriented towards meeting the needs of the user to a greater extent. Consumer confidence in e-commerce is vital for its development. Confidence in the enterprise behind an e-commerce web site is extremely important, particularly as regards terms of payment and delivery as well as routines for complaints and returns, while the technical security must also be sufficient. The working group's recommendations for the consumer area are primarily aimed at providing information to consumers and e-commerce web site owners about their rights and obligations and also encouraging the creation of collaborative projects in this area between various interested parties in the Nordic countries. In particular, the position of children and young people in the e-commerce market needs to be improved. There is a clear need to improve their education towards becoming critical Internet users, as they are more susceptible to risks on the Internet than adults. Increased competence in IT and e-business is necessary to ensure that more enterprises, in particular smaller enterprises, will succeed in e-business. It is important that business managers, in particular, appreciate and are capable of utilising IT as an efficient business tool, as business managers are those who make investment decisions. Business managers are also those who initiate organisational changes, often a precondition for successful e-business investments. Committing resources to continuously developing skills within the enterprise is necessary for all enterprises to be able to exploit the potential of e-business. Inadequacies of standardisation and interoperability between various systems and software for e-business are a particular problem for small enterprises. They run the risk of having to invest in several different solutions to satisfy different customer demands. This can prove to be very expensive. Furthermore, systems originally designed for larger enterprises may prove to be less suitable for these small enterprises. The State has an important role as a model for the use of IT and e-commerce. The public sector is a large and important customer within the Nordic markets and should therefore endeavour to implement increased electronic procurement. The recommendations of the working group, from a business perspective and similarly from a consumer perspective, focus on information and education to enhance awareness of e-business benefits and the competence necessary to utilise its potential. Monitoring the development of these areas, encouraging exchange of experiences and providing good examples are also important areas of commitment that it may be appropriate to implement at the Nordic level in relation to both consumer affairs and trade and industry affairs. 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The Nordic countries have many things in common: closely related languages (with certain exceptions), similarities in social structure and well-integrated economies with established cross-border trading. A large and growing number of enterprises operate in several Nordic countries. Nordic business life is based on uniform values regarding sound and generally accepted business practices and consumer protection. The Nordic countries often top IT statistics and are regarded as model countries by many other countries and markets. The Nordic Governments see e-commerce as an important means for welfare and growth. There is great potential for increased co-operation and joint views between the Nordic countries regarding the promotion of e-commerce in the individual Nordic countries and for the expansion of a Nordic market as part of the international market, including the market for e-commerce. On this basis, at their joint meeting in Svalbard in April 2002, the Nordic Council of Ministers for Consumer Issues and Trade and Industry Issues asked the working group to prepare a joint Nordic e-commerce strategy. In support of the work on the preparation of such an e-commerce strategy, the working group has obtained reports in the areas of self-regulation, state electronic services for enterprises, factors for successful ecommerce, electronic payment solutions as well as the situation of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in connection with e-commerce. Summaries of these reports are found in Appendix 2 to this strategy. The full text of the reports is available at the Nordic Council of Ministers' web site 8 , under the areas of co-operation Consumer and Trade and Industry respectively. In order to ensure that the aims of the strategy are communicated to external stakeholders, a workshop was implemented with participation of Nordic representatives from trade and industry, consumer organisations and the academic world in November 2003. Another aim of the workshop was to stimulate Nordic e-commerce and e-business networks. Views presented at this workshop have been incorporated in the strategy. This draft strategy, including recommendations, has been approved by the relevant Nordic Committees of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues, Consumer Issues and IT Issues. The draft strategy will be presented to the Nordic Councils of Ministers for Trade and Industry Issues and Consumer Issues in the autumn of 2004. The working group hopes that the Nordic e-commerce strategy will lead to increased Nordic co-operation on e-commerce issues at various levels and to increased good use of e-commerce in the Nordic countries. 8 www.norden.org, areas of co-operation Consumer and Trade and Industry respectively. 1.2 Definitions The generally accepted definition of the term e-commerce (electronic commerce) is the purchase and sale of goods and services via electronic networks, increasingly via the Internet. For decades, enterprises have been able to carry on e-commerce where commercial data have been transferred between the enterprises' computer systems in accordance with agreed communication standards, in Europe primarily in accordance with EDIFACT standards 9 . E-commerce in accordance with EDIFACT standards, so-called EDI commerce, which still takes place almost exclusively via other networks than the Internet, constitutes the largest share of e-commerce between enterprises. In addition to the term e-commerce, the term e-business (electronic business) has begun to be used both nationally and internationally, especially in connection with ecommerce between enterprises. The concept of e-business covers a significantly wider area than merely electronic purchase and sale of goods and services and comprises all network-based electronic processes that can enhance the efficiency of an enterprise's business activities. In this strategy, the working group has decided primarily to use the term e-commerce for e-commerce between enterprises and consumers and the term e-business for ecommerce between enterprises. The working group's general view regarding enterprises is that it is not sufficient for them to increase their electronic purchasing and sales activities. It is at least equally important that they enhance the efficiency of their business activities both internally and externally through increased and more advanced use of IT. Fact box 1.1. Definition of e-commerce and e-business. \| \| E-commerce \| E-business \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| Purchase and sale of goods and services via electronic media, for example the Internet. \| Purchase and sale of goods and \| E-commerce \| \| \| services via electronic media, for \| \| \| \| \| + Marketing \| \| \| example the Internet. \| \| \| \| \| + Sales \| \| \| \| + Customer handling \| \| \| \| + Purchasing and logistics \| \| \| \| + Finance and invoicing \| \| \| \| + Knowledge Management \| \| \| \| + Product design and product development \| In its work, the working group has focused on e-commerce via the Internet and via other fixed networks. However, the Nordic countries are at the forefront of the development 9 EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange for Administration Commerce and Transport) is a set of standardised messages for interchange of data on, for example, ordering, notice of delivery, specifications, invoicing and payment in EDI format. in mobile and other wireless communication, which is increasingly being used for commerce and enhancement of the efficiency of the enterprise's business activities. The same applies to digital TV transmission networks, which also offer a channel for marketing and commerce. This means that, in the future, enterprises must master commerce and communication via several different channels. One trend is that different communication types converge and merge, but there are still large differences. While noting that a detailed examination of these trends is required, the working group is of the opinion that the issues presented in the strategy also apply to these new sales channels. 1.3 Areas of Focus Many different factors affect both consumers' and enterprises' attitude to e-commerce and their use hereof. In a number of studies, the following factors have been identified, among others: * benefits and gains * user friendliness * confidence and trust * information security * competence * interoperability and standardisation * demand, critical mass * infrastructure, broadband * law * logistics and distribution * competition and business relations * costs * organisation This strategy focuses on the factors that the working group has identified as some of the most important factors based on the working group's mandate and experience, i.e.: * Consumer aspects o Benefits and gains information user friendliness o Confidence and trust * Business aspects o Competence and skills o Interoperability and standardisation o Demand and the State as a model As mentioned above, enterprises' confidence in IT, the Internet and e-business is one of the key factors in the development of e-business. However, the majority of studies show that enterprises do not experience security aspects as a significant barrier. This may partly be explained by a lack of competence in electronic security issues and thus a lack of insight into the importance of these issues (see 3.1 Increasing enterprises' competence in IT and e-business). The Nordic Council of Ministers for Information Technology has identified IT security and confidence as one of its areas of focus. 10 The working group has therefore chosen not to deal further with this issue within the framework of this strategy, but the working group would still like to stress that information security will become increasingly important in line with the increased use of IT and e-business as well as the rapid technological development, for example the increasing availability of wireless solutions. 1.3.1 Questions The Nordic e-commerce strategy endeavours to answer the following questions: * What are the largest barriers to increased use of e-commerce among enterprises and consumers? * What is the role of the State in these issues? * What measures can be implemented at national level and at Nordic level respectively? 1.4 General Outline The report is divided into two main parts: one on consumer aspects and one on business aspects. First, a description is provided of each problem area, followed by specific recommendations to the Nordic Council of Ministers. The working group has not decided on which player would be the best choice for implementing the recommendations, but it is important that the recommendations are implemented in consultation with and between the relevant public authorities, organisations and other parties, regardless of whether this takes place at national level or at Nordic level. The recommendations (both general and specific) are summarised in a separate chapter (Chapter 4). 1.5 E-commerce – to the Benefit of Enterprises and Consumers Compared to the expectations expressed during the so-called Internet boom era, ecommerce has not increased at the same high rate. The use of e-commerce is, however, still increasing, but at a slower pace. E-commerce offers the possibility of doing old things in new ways, and it takes time to change the behaviour of both enterprises and consumers. There is great untapped potential in e-commerce. E-commerce should be seen as a supplementary channel to conventional commerce and offers great potential benefit and efficiency enhancement opportunities for both enterprises and consumers. Some of the 10 Nordisk Ministerråd for Informationsteknologi (MR-IT) – Strategi og handlingsplan for 2002-2004 (Nordic Council of Ministers for Information Technology – Strategy and Action Plan for 2002-2004) reasons why even more consumers and enterprises do not use e-commerce are discussed in this e-commerce strategy. 1.5.1 Consumer Aspects E-commerce offers consumers an easy and flexible way of finding information about products and services via the Internet. The possibility of comparing prices and obtaining product information is improved. The convenience of being able to shop outside ordinary opening hours and the possibility of both electronic ordering and delivery of goods and services, such as music and hotel bookings, ease the stressful everyday life that people lead today and allow them to do their shopping in a place that is convenient for them, for example from home without stress and at a time that suits them best. An important reason why there are not more consumers who choose to buy products and services by e-commerce is that they do not see the benefit of shopping electronically compared with conventional shopping. The advantages of e-commerce are only achieved when it is quicker, simpler and less expensive than conventional shopping. It is important, in terms of both confidence and benefit, that the information offered by ecommerce web sites is correct, adequate, easily accessible and comprehensible for consumers. User friendliness is a key factor in this connection. The development of ecommerce solutions has so far been much too technology and supplier oriented. Greater adjustment to user requirements is needed if the use of e-commerce is to increase. The lack of confidence or trust among consumers is another important reason why consumers do not use e-commerce more. Not having the competence and understanding of how the technology works – what actually happens when you search for information or order a product via the Internet – may cause uncertainty. Electronic payment solutions, especially the provision of credit card details and personal data on the Internet, may also be intimidating when the individual person does not know whether the communication is secure (encrypted or the like). The fear of hackers, computer viruses and other technical problems or of being exposed to criminal activities may prevent consumers from engaging in commerce on the Internet. Uncertainty about consumer rights regarding returns, complaints and refunds may also deter consumers from making purchases on the Internet. Children and youngsters are particularly vulnerable as e-commerce consumers, as they do not have the same understanding and awareness as adults about what you should and should not do on the Internet. Sometimes, it is not enough that the web site itself is technically secure if the consumer is not confident that the delivery and payment process will take place as promised or if questions of liability in various problem situations are unclear. Confidence in the enterprise or the operator that is behind a web site or an e-shop plays a very important role. The perceived risk is probably often greater than the actual risk. One challenge is therefore to try to boost consumer confidence through better information. 1.5.2 Business Aspects E-commerce and e-business are means for growth. For example, use of e-commerce and e-business provides enterprises with opportunities of access to larger markets and results in efficiency enhancement, cost reductions and increased competitiveness through better customer service and supplier relations. Especially for small enterprises, ecommerce may be an effective and relatively inexpensive and quick way of reaching a larger international market. With increased use of electronic processes, the time spent on administrative tasks may instead be used for the enterprise's core activities, for example development, production or sales of products and services. There are, of course, also barriers to e-commerce, perhaps especially for small enterprises. A lack of the competence and skills required to understand and utilise the advantages offered by information technology and e-commerce is a problem for small enterprises, which may not have the necessary human resources or the financial resources to recruit competent staff, provide further training of their existing staff or invest in modern IT equipment. The management's often hesitant attitude to IT investments and, in particular, the potential for return on such investments constitutes one of the greatest barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises' use of e-commerce. A good combination of business competence and technical competence, including knowledge about information security issues, is important. The ability to see the need for and to implement changes in the enterprise is also very important in e-commerce contexts. In order for IT investments to result to the desired efficiency enhancement of the enterprise's business activities, the enterprise's management should have a clear picture of the enterprise's current business processes before the investments are made. Another barrier for enterprises, first and foremost small and medium-sized enterprises, is non-interoperability between different IT systems. The lack of uniform use of standards for software and other IT solutions in the enterprise's business networks risks making it more difficult and more expensive for, in particular, small enterprises to use e-commerce. A small supplier may have to adapt to larger customers' systems, which may be very costly if the customers use different standards. The efficiency enhancement potential of e-commerce thus risks being outweighed by the costs incurred for various systems. A lack of demand – the lack of a critical mass – is also seen as a barrier that prevents enterprises from starting up with e-commerce. Here, the State as a public principal may set a good example through greater use of electronic procurement. This may create increased confidence in and insight into e-commerce and the advantages that it offers, and the State may thus persuade more enterprises to start up with e-commerce by using a "carrot and stick" approach. 1.6 The Nordic Countries Are at the Forefront in the Use of IT and E-commerce In the previous IT policy, the focus was on the actual infrastructure such as the introduction of broadband, etc. Minds were then broadened and use of the IT platform that was built up became of increasing interest to policymakers. E-commerce constitutes part of the IT application. While it is relatively easy to measure quantitative data, such as the number of computers and the number of inhabitants who have access to the Internet, it is more difficult to measure the use of e-commerce and e-business processes, especially their effect on individual enterprises' business activities and result performance. The IT penetration is high in the Nordic countries. Regarding, for example, access to personal computers, the Nordic countries are at the top of the table in international comparisons. According to a study from 2002, the Nordic countries are in the top seven positions. Regarding the number of Internet users, the Nordic countries are in the top six positions. 11 Estimating the volume of e-commerce in the Nordic countries is connected with great uncertainty. The following figures should therefore primarily be seen as indicators, not as absolute figures. The measurements that do exist show that total Nordic Internet sales amounted to 15 billion euro in 2001. 12 The value of Internet sales was 7.6 billion euro in Sweden, 3.3 billion euro in Norway, 2.1 billion euro in Denmark and 1.8 billion euro in Finland. In all the Nordic countries, Internet sales were primarily made on the domestic market. Sweden had the highest share, 22 per cent, of cross-border sales, and Norwegian enterprises had the lowest share, 3 per cent. In 2001, total Nordic EDI sales amounted to 69 billion euro 13 . The volume was 27 billion euro in Sweden, 20 billion euro in Finland, 12 billion euro in Norway and 10 billion euro in Denmark. The volume of EDI sales in Nordic enterprises was more than four times higher than the volume of these enterprises' Internet sales. 1.6.1 Internet Use among Nordic Consumers In 2002, more than 70 per cent of the Nordic population had access to a computer, and approximately 60 per cent had access to the Internet at home. If access to mobile phones, which is approximately 90 per cent in the Nordic countries, is excluded, the IT penetration is somewhat lower in Finland than in the other Nordic countries. The bar chart below (1.6.1) does not include data for Iceland regarding access to mobile phone and home PC. According to a survey conducted by Statistics Iceland in 2002, 95 per 11 Information society statistics, the European Commission, 2003 12 Nordic Information Statistics 2002, Nordic Council of Ministers (Statistics Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden). Internet sales also include sales via XML-EDI, except for Sweden, where Internet sales include sales via EDI browsers. 13 The EDI sales volumes exclude sales via XML-EDI (EDI browsers in Sweden). Nordic Information Statistics 2002 cent of households had a mobile phone and 83 per cent had a home PC. (In this survey, access to the Internet was somewhat higher, 78 per cent, than in the bar chart below). 14 Source: Nordic Information Statistics 2002, Nordic Council of Ministers (Statistics Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) Regarding access to mobile phones, computers and the Internet, there are no significant gender differences, with the exception that men tend to have greater access to the Internet at home. A comparison of age groups shows that the oldest age group, 60–74 years, rarely have a computer at home. Denmark, Sweden and Norway have the largest gender difference in the oldest age group. There are no gender differences in the age group 3059 years. Men use the Internet somewhat more frequently than women in the Nordic countries. Icelanders are the most active Internet users in the Nordic countries, followed by Swedes. 44 per cent use the Internet for shopping (including Internet banking), with Icelanders again being the most frequent users, followed by Swedes. 1.6.2 Internet Use in Nordic Enterprises Computers are today used in nearly all Nordic enterprises. However, small enterprises use IT more rarely than large enterprises. At the end of 2001, more than 90 per cent of Nordic enterprises, except for Norwegian enterprises, had access to the Internet. Access to a high-speed Internet connection was most common in Iceland, where 2/3 of the enterprises had this type of Internet connection. In Finland and Denmark, approximately half the enterprises had access to a high-speed Internet connection, in Sweden the figure 14 The survey covered 2,000 inhabitants. The questionnaire and working method are in accordance with a corresponding survey conducted by Eurostat and were inspired by a survey previously done in the Nordic countries, Statistics Iceland. was 43 per cent of the enterprises and in Norway 1/3 of the enterprises. Having a web site was most common among Swedish enterprises, where nearly four out of five enterprises had a web site. In Denmark, three out of four enterprises had a web site, whereas the share of enterprises with a web site was two out of three in Finland and Iceland. Approximately half the Norwegian enterprises had a web site. Home pages are primarily used for marketing purposes in the Nordic countries. It is still fairly unusual to receive electronic payments via a web site. Internet sales were not particularly common among Nordic enterprises at the end of 2001. Internet sales were most common among Icelandic enterprises, where 16 per cent of enterprises with minimum 10 employees sold goods and services via the Internet. The figure was 8–11 per cent in the other countries. It was more common for large enterprises to sell goods and services via the Internet than for small enterprises. Only 24 per cent of enterprises generated 10 per cent of their total turnover from Internet sales. As previously mentioned, the total Nordic figure for Internet sales amounted to 15 billion euro, with Swedish enterprises making up approximately half this figure. In all the Nordic countries, except Iceland, 80 per cent of Internet sales were made to enterprises and the public sector. In Iceland, 2/3 of Internet sales were made to households. Purchasing goods and services via the Internet is more common than selling goods and services via the Internet. Nearly half of the Nordic enterprises, 1/3 of Norwegian enterprises, purchased goods and services via the Internet at the end of 2001. 15 15 Nordic Information Statistics 2002. New figures for 2003 are available at the web sites of the Nordic national bureaus of statistics (except for Finland, which will publish its figures in the autumn of 2004), but no Nordic compilation of the statistics was made for 2003. Source: Nordic Information Statistics 2002, Nordic Council of Ministers (Statistics Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) Based on the above statistics, it can be ascertained that the Nordic countries are at the forefront of developments and that a certain level of maturity has been achieved, but that there is still great potential for Nordic e-commerce. 2 Consumer Aspects 2.1 Strengthening Consumer Awareness of Benefits of E-commerce From a consumer policy perspective, it is important to point out that increased ecommerce is not an objective per se. E-commerce can contribute to increased competition and increased supply of goods and services. Internet access makes it practical and easy for consumers to orient themselves on the market and to buy goods and services. In terms of consumer policy, it is this value added, this benefit, that is the principal objective. E-commerce is merely a tool that can be used to meet this objective. One reason why more consumers do not shop via the Internet may be that the potential benefit is not made sufficiently clear. In those cases in which goods and services are neither cheaper, easier nor quicker to acquire or are not of a satisfactory quality, the Internet risks becoming a channel that only attracts users with a special interest in computer technology. Surveys from Denmark 16 have shown that the three main barriers to consumers' Internet shopping are: 1) that they do not find that they have any use for it 2) a wish for personal interaction when shopping 3) a concern about security in connection with payment. And, conversely, the three most important motives that consumers have for shopping via the Internet are that: 1) they can save time 2) they can save money/lower prices 3) it is easier to find the required product than when shopping in conventional shops. Certain products are more suitable than others for being sold via the Internet. Books, CDs, travels, tickets and computer products are examples of goods and services that are suitable for e-commerce. Products such as clothing, goods that most consumers want to try and feel before buying them, are regarded as less suitable for being sold via the Internet. Consumers' failure to experience any benefits and gains from e-commerce is primarily a problem from the perspective of unutilised benefit potential. A number of factors may result in a failure to realise the benefit potential for consumers for shopping via the Internet, for example: * lack of Internet and e-commerce competence among consumers * lack of confidence among consumers 16 Danmarks Statistik, Statistics Denmark, 2003 * poor user friendliness at e-commerce web sites * poor Internet access and low data transfer rate for consumers * the total costs, for example for freight, handling charges and Internet connection, may result in Internet shopping not being cheaper for consumers than other shopping * logistical problems, it may, for example, take a long time to have the goods delivered and it may be cumbersome for the consumer subsequently to return goods and complain about goods. 2.1.1 Encouraging Improved Information As mentioned, shopping via the Internet offers consumers a number of advantages. He or she may obtain information and make a decision at his or her own pace without being influenced by any salesperson. It is easy to compare prices, and there are even services available for this purpose. Certain products can also be completely customised. For example in connection with purchases of a car or home computer equipment, various components may be combined completely in accordance with the customer's requirements and wishes. However, a consumer who shops via the Internet is, in many ways, in a weaker position than if he or she purchased the same product in a shop. The customer has to settle for the information that is provided about the product at the web site. In many cases, this information is insufficient and does not include any information about the total cost, contractual terms or terms of delivery or about the country from which the product will be delivered. In those cases in which the consumer decides to enter into a contract, it is not rare for money to be drawn on the payment card before the product is delivered. In a number of cases, it is unclear to the consumer whether or not a contract has actually been entered into. 17 Consumers not only shop via the Internet. Many also use the Internet as a source of information, which they then use to buy the goods or services through other channels. The Internet is an unbeatable source for information about services and products. However, the entry of product-related information is costly, and the information is not in any way complete or well structured, but depends on the individual enterprise's decision on what information to post on the Internet. Unfortunately, the information provided to consumers is therefore often fragmented, and concepts and terms are used in different ways. Sometimes, poor search functions mean that consumers quite simply receive too much information and have difficulty in sorting the relevant data. It would make it considerably easier for consumers who are retrieving information if the properties of goods and services could be described according to uniform criteria through the use of standardised classifications of products and services. There are currently only certain limited initiatives in this field. In order for standardised information to become really useful for consumers, this will require that the product information is complete and subject to some type of quality assurance. 17 For general principles for e-commerce, see OECD Guidelines for Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent and Deceptive Commercial Practices Across Borders, 2003 2.1.2 Encouraging Increased User Friendliness Studies have shown that there are still many consumers who try to shop via the Internet, but who do not succeed. 18 This indicates that Internet shops have focused way too much on technical solutions and from an up-down perspective, and that they have consequently ignored that e-commerce must be adapted to consumers' everyday life. 19 Too one-sided focusing on product development, planning and implementation of production processes may mean that insufficient importance is attached to user or market orientation and that customers' needs, wishes and requirements are thus not sufficiently met. In the field of e-commerce, as in other fields, the experts have great defining power, which may become a practical problem in connection with e-commerce. Compared with conventional commerce, it is even more important that Internet shops provide their customers with a positive shopping experience, seeing that it is easier for the customer to leave the shop (perhaps never to return again) in connection with shopping via the Internet. User friendliness is also important to the actual payment process, because predictability and recognition create confidence. The customer must feel secure that the ordering and payment processes function as expected. Payment services must be easy to understand and use. It is important for the web shops that their web sites are professionally designed. 20 It is convenient for customers if different web shops can handle several different payment methods, especially in a Nordic perspective, where different types of payment methods dominate in the various Nordic countries. In Denmark, debit cards (Dankort) are the predominant method of payment. Internet banking solutions dominate in Finland, including Åland. In Iceland and Sweden, credit cards and, in part, Internet banking solutions are the predominant methods of payment, whereas invoices and cash on delivery (COD) are the predominant methods of payment in Norway. 21 2.1.3 Conclusions In order to achieve good results in e-commerce, it should be obvious for enterprises that importance must be attached to customer requirements, the IT competence of a given customer group, the information that customers demand and require and how users can be involved in the development of e-commerce solutions. The enterprises should thus focus on offering e-commerce solutions, including payment solutions, that are based on reliability, simplicity and user friendliness in order to create benefit for their customers and thus also for themselves. 18 Bommer banalt på nett, kampanje nr. 11 (Banal Failures on the Internet, campaign no. 11), Hoydal, H, 2001 19 Faktorer bak en vellykket e-handel (Factors for Successful E-commerce), SIFO (National Institute for Consumer Research), 2003 20 E-betaltjänster – delrapport, Post- och telestyrelsen (E-payment Services – Subreport, Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency), October 2003 21 Analyse av betalningsløsningar ved elektronisk handel sett i et nordisk perspektiv (Analysis of Payment Solutions in Electronic Commerce from a Nordic Perspective), Teleplan A/S, April 2003 2.1.4 Recommendations * To make consumers aware of the information requirements that may be made in connection with e-commerce. Action o Preparation of a checklist with important items of information. * To encourage representatives of consumers and trade and industry to co-operate on projects aimed at improving user friendliness. Action: o Preparation of guidelines or recommendations for user friendliness. o Initiation and use of user tests for e-commerce to a greater extent. * To continue to develop and offer e-services and information at public web sites with good user friendliness. 2.2 Increasing Consumer Confidence Slowly, but surely, consumers are increasing their shopping via the Internet. Internet shopping may entail increased supply, increased competition and thus lower prices. Shopping via the Internet may also be an advantage to those consumers who find it difficult to visit actual shops, for example because of a disability or because of poor communications for those who live in sparsely populated areas. Consumer confidence in shopping via the Internet is, however, essential for a favourable development of ecommerce. Studies show that even though enterprises have improved both the information provided on the Internet and the handling of consumer complaints, there is still cause for concern among consumers. 22 Enterprises that sell products and services via the Internet have a great responsibility for improving the lack of consumer confidence. According to surveys conducted by, among others, Consumers International, OECD and the network of Euroguichet offices, the greatest problem for consumers is that, once the product has been ordered and paid for, it is not delivered at all, delivered too late or delivered in a poor condition. The enterprise's handling of complaints is essential to building up consumer confidence in shopping via the Internet. However, enterprises that operate e-commerce web sites are lacking in this area. The enterprises' own on-line dispute settlement systems do not always offer consumers access to impartial dispute settlement proceedings. Other problems are related to insufficient or misleading information, terms of payment and delivery, disclosure of personal data and complaints possibilities. Obviously, confidence also plays an important role in connection with electronic payment processes. However, according to a Swedish survey, confidence in the enterprise behind the payment service is the most important factor, not the technical solution or a concern about, for example, hackers. The perceived confidence thus seems to be more important than the actual level of security. Important factors are that the enterprise is 22 Should I buy? Shopping online 2001: An International comparative study of electronic commerce Consumers International, well known and that there are references from friends and acquaintances. In this context, there is great consumer confidence in the payment solutions offered by banks and payment and credit card companies, one reason being that the banks are under government supervision. Fortunately, the respondents in the survey answered that none of them, nor anyone they know, had been the victim of fraud or the like in connection with e-commerce. 23 Increasing awareness about the situation of children and youngsters in connection with ecommerce Like other vulnerable parties on the market, children and youngsters should be protected on the Internet and in connection with e-commerce. Even though parents have the principal responsibility for this, further consumer protection is required. Children and youngsters are entitled to utilise the possibilities that e-commerce offers. By means of ecommerce, youngsters can find product information and develop their awareness and skills as consumers. E-commerce may help youngsters find products that may not be available in conventional commerce. It is therefore important to strive to strike a balance between consumer protection for children and youngsters and promotion of ecommerce and its advantages. Strengthening the position of weak consumer groups on the market promotes sound customs and practices as well as general compliance with rules on the market. This creates confidence in e-commerce, which benefits all parties. Consumer authorities actively monitor marketing practices on the Internet, for example by so-called sweep days. In this connection, and also when it comes to mobile services, it has been observed that, much too often, minors are exposed to improper marketing. From a parental point of view and in terms of consumer protection, the matter of greatest concern is that children and youngsters are often treated as adult contracting parties. This has the effect that enterprises do not ask for confirmation of the purchase from a parent or guardian. Furthermore, marketing directed at children has frequently been difficult to identify and thus becomes misleading. Minors have been tricked into providing personal data on the Internet. In addition, enterprises do not always provide any contact information on the Internet, which makes it difficult to contact them if problems occur. These negative aspects of e-commerce risk hampering children's and their parents' use of the Internet and e-commerce. Self-regulation Self-regulation may be one way of improving user confidence. A general problem in the field of IT is that the regulation lags behind the generally rapid development. Selfregulation may therefore be a supplement to legislation. General omnibus clauses on good marketing practices, good credit granting practices and unreasonable contractual terms may be supplemented with guidelines and agreements between public authorities and representatives of trade and industry. Good self-regulation may result in better consumer protection and more effective supervision as well as increased goodwill for the enterprises. 24 23 E-betaltjänster – delrapport, Post- och telestyrelsen (E-payment Services – Subreport, Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency), Sweden, October 2003 24 Självreglering av elektronisk handel i Norden (Self-regulation of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries), TemaNord, 2001 Effective self-regulation requires access to enforcement and sanctions so that users have an opportunity to assert the rights that the rules provide. This means that there is a need for impartial dispute resolution bodies, so-called Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The EU Commission has adopted a recommendation on extra-judicial dispute resolution. So-called Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) is also something that is being discussed in line with e-commerce becoming increasingly global. At the Commission's initiative, a joint EU network for alternative dispute resolution, the European ExtraJudicial Network (EEJ Network), was set up in 2001. The network consists partly of national contact points (Clearinghouses) in each Member State as well as in Norway and Iceland and partly of alternative dispute resolution bodies in the respective countries. The national contact points work to provide consumers with information and assistance if they become involved in disputes with suppliers in another EEA country. 2.2.1 Conclusions The lack of consumer confidence in e-commerce is probably closely connected with the degree of reliable and sufficient information and user friendliness offered by the web site in question (see sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.2). The lack of confidence may be justified or unjustified, and confidence in the enterprise behind the web shop (and not in the information technology itself) is often the key factor. Many of the problems that consumers experience in connection with e-commerce are not actually e-commerce problems, but traditional consumer problems such as breach of agreement, incorrect delivery or nondelivery as well as difficulties in filing complaints and returning goods. Maverick enterprises are found both on the Internet and in conventional commerce. In particular, the weak position of children and youngsters in e-commerce needs to be improved. This can be achieved if enterprises have knowledge of and comply with the existing rules and thus create a safer and more reliable marketplace and if minors acquire increased knowledge and awareness of their rights as consumers. 2.2.2 Recommendations * To inform consumers about their rights and obligations in connection with ecommerce, including e-payments, and to urge them to be critical in their evaluation of e-commerce web sites. Action: o Preparation of checklists with important items. * To inform enterprises about the existing rules under consumer law. Action: o Arrangement of information seminars (including exchange of good and bad examples) in co-operation with trade organisations. o Inclusion of the information in state IT competence initiatives aimed at enterprises. * To encourage joint Nordic projects on: o Impartial dispute resolution systems. o Market supervision. 3 Business Aspects 3.1 Strengthening Enterprises' Competence in IT and E-business Even though most enterprises today have some degree of knowledge of e-commerce, many studies show that the lack of competence is a great barrier, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. This applies, for example, in situations in which the management of the enterprise is to make a decision on use (or increased use) of ecommerce. In order to increase competence and highlight the opportunities and areas of application of e-commerce, there is a need for better presentation of good examples and potential gains from e-commerce, for example by facilitating and promoting wider exchange of experience and networks between enterprises. Competence is important in order to further strengthen confidence in e-commerce. Enterprises that are considering setting up a web site for e-commerce need competence and skills in how to make it user friendly and ensure compliance with the existing rules. At the same time, users need sufficient competence and confidence in order to understand and utilise the opportunities offered by e-commerce. Competence is a wide concept, and there are many different kinds of competence requirements and problem areas related to enterprises' e-commerce. E-business involves many central functions in the enterprise and thus different competence areas. Advanced use of e-business requires that different competence areas be seen in relation to each other, for example technical competence and business competence. 3.1.1 The Management's Competence and Adaptability The management's competence and understanding of potential gains affect, for example, the willingness to invest. In other words, the management's competence constitutes a central factor in the enterprise's allocation of the resources necessary for investments in e-business activities. This applies especially to small enterprises, of which there are many in the Nordic countries. Demand and pressure from large customers, both public and private, as well as participation in, for example, electronic marketplaces may have the effect that small enterprises choose to make the necessary investments in technical solutions and competence for implementation of e-business in order to survive. These investments may constitute a higher threshold for small enterprises, which do not have the same amount of resources as large enterprises. On the other hand, pressure from larger players may have a positive effect (a push in the right direction), which persuades small enterprises to start using e-business. In order for an enterprise to succeed in reaping gains from e-business, it is important that the management of the enterprise has the competence and will to implement the organisational changes necessary in order to use e-business optimally. Adaptability is important, seeing that e-business is an innovation that may require radical changes in an enterprise's organisation and work processes. For example, the enterprise must have the necessary competence to be able to prepare an e-business strategy and analyse and improve existing activities in the value chain and the organisation and to be able to utilise the potential of e-business so that added value is generated. E-business may also offer opportunities for changed co-operation or new partnerships as well as the exchange of experience with other enterprises locally, nationally or globally. 3.1.2 Competence Development Many small and medium-sized enterprises experience that they lack competence in the field of e-business. In a survey that included four of the Nordic countries, one of the conclusions was that: "There is a general need for enterprises to prioritise competence development in e-business. The reason for this is twofold: firstly, e-business ultimately requires that all staff groups and departments work together in a new way, and, secondly, e-business requires the use of new technology, which changes work routines and interaction internally and externally." 25 Bar chart 3.1. Enterprises' experience of a lack of competence in e-business in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). Source: E-business Norden.com 2003, PLS Rambøll Management The problem of e-business competence seems more extensive in small enterprises than in large enterprises. Employees in small enterprises often only have limited access to elearning and other formal competence-improving activities in IT and e-business. One 25 E-Business Norden.com 2003, PLS Rambøll Management, November 2003. (Iceland did not form part of this survey in 2003, but discussions are being conducted on whether to include Iceland in the survey for 2004. Information on this decision will be posted at the Nordic Council of Ministers' web site under www.norden.org/konsument and www.norden.org/naring respectively). reason for this is that small enterprises have limited focus on this area, and another reason is that they have fewer resources for implementation of activities, for example training, outside their day-to-day operations. Small enterprises have a low level of IT use in their activities, and they primarily use the Internet for information retrieval and financial transactions. 26 The educational sector, trade organisations, etc. offer various types of training and education programmes in e-business in the Nordic countries. In terms of higher education, it would be positive if e-commerce could be included in university and college courses to a greater extent than what is currently the case. More fundamental training and education in the use of e-commerce in business activities, preferably in relation to entrepreneurship and innovation, will undoubtedly contribute to more people realising that ebusiness offers challenges and opportunities. This may constitute a breeding ground for increased entrepreneurship and a stronger focus on the potential of e-commerce for both small and large enterprises. In the previously mentioned Nordic survey, Finland was ahead of the other Nordic countries regarding e-business. One of the reasons for this is presumably that Finnish pioneering enterprises have a marked technical profile and focus on competence development. The above bar chart (Bar chart 3.1.) also shows that Finnish enterprises experience a lack of competence in e-business to a much smaller extent than the other Nordic countries. Information security Information security is one area in which many enterprises (especially small enterprises) lack competence. Even though the basic level of IT security is high in the Nordic countries, there is room for improvements. Many enterprises lack an overall strategy for their information security and have not established a secure electronic payment procedure, encryption of communications and data. The use of electronic signatures is not particularly common either. 27 One explanation may be that the enterprises have much too poor knowledge in this area and have difficulties finding the right security solutions, especially at the right price. Some enterprises have no awareness whatsoever of the safety and security risks that Internet use entails and have too much trust in the Internet as an appropriate medium. Other enterprises may have the opposite view of the Internet and instead harbour an unjustified fear of the risks that use of the Internet may entail. They may completely refrain from commencing e-commerce because of a lack of confidence. Enterprises' occasional lack of confidence in the Internet and e-commerce may thus be either justified or unjustified and should be preventable through information and education. 3.1.3 Conclusions Many small enterprises have a lack of competence in the field of e-business. This also makes it more difficult for them to realise the benefits and opportunities offered by ebusiness and to introduce and use these solutions in practice. This means that both technical competence and business competence in e-business are required, including on information security issues. The management's competence is of particular importance, as 26 Barrierer og muligheder for e-forretninger for nordiske SMV (Barriers to and Opportunities for Etransactions in Nordic SMEs), PLS Rambøll Management, 2003 27 E-business Norden.com 2003, PLS Rambøll Management, 2003 decisions on introduction of e-business or increase in e-business activities are made at managerial level. Investments in e-business require a long-term perspective in terms of return and efficiency gains. Enterprises must be brought to realise that e-business constitutes an integral part of their business activities, a supplement and, in certain cases, a new effective way of carrying on business activities. Enterprises should realise to a greater extent the importance of continuous development of their staff's competence and skills. It should be possible to reduce the justified or unjustified lack of confidence that certain enterprises have through increased public information work. 3.1.4 Recommendations * To continue the implementation of Nordic and national activities aimed at improving IT competence, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Action: o Arrangement of knowledge-improving seminars with the focus on the management's important role in the development and introduction of ebusiness, highlighting the potential for gains offered by e-business and stimulation of increased co-operation between different players. o Inclusion of IT and e-business competence as well as information security aspects in other competence-improving activities for small and medium-sized enterprises. o Exchange of experience from initiatives on support for concrete implementation of e-business activities in small and medium-sized enterprises. o Encouragement of the development of simple tools for calculation of the potentials for gains that e-business offers for the enterprise. * To disseminate information about existing international recommendations and guidelines 28 in the field of information security and to provide advice on how the enterprise can protect itself against the most common security problems. * To promote the dialogue between the educational system, including colleges and universities, and trade and industry on the possibilities and necessity of including IT and e-business competence in educational programmes. 3.2 Promoting Increased Standardisation and Interoperability Non-interoperability between different IT solutions and disagreement on standards may constitute a large barrier to Nordic enterprises' e-commerce activities. A lack of standardisation is not a barrier that enterprises state as a problem in various surveys, but a lack of standardisation may nevertheless be an underlying cause when enterprises complain about high implementation costs, non-interoperability and inflexibility and that IT investments do not result in the expected efficiency enhancements. Many different international standards have been developed in the field of e-commerce. The challenge for 28 OECD Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks: Towards a Culture of Security, July 2002 the Nordic countries is to create national agreement on the information and communication architecture and perhaps also agreement on the standards that are to apply. At the same time, the international standards need to be translated and adapted to the Nordic countries' languages and basic conditions. The problem of a lack of uniform standards may manifest itself in many different ways depending on the standardisation problem in question. Enterprises generally experience that their customers and partners have completely different technical requirements for the enterprise's system and the way in which data are transferred and received. If the enterprise is to meet the different requirements, there is a great risk that the expenses for technical adaptations of system and work processes will exceed the gains offered by ecommerce, especially if small enterprises have to adapt to several different systems and standards used by various enterprises. Non-interoperability may thus prevent enterprises from investing in an e-commerce system because of uncertainty about which standard will become the dominant standard in the future. It may also be the case that enterprises only become aware of the standardisation problem once they have made investments and then experience that the system that they have chosen does not meet other customers' requirements and that the investments will consequently not result in the expected efficiency enhancement. In the field of e-commerce, the working group regards two standardisation problems as being issues of particularly current relevance: standardisation of e-commerce documents and standardisation of e-commerce catalogues, i.e. the actual catalogue structure, see also the fact box below (Fact box 3.1). Standardisation of e-commerce documents In order to be able to reap the financial gains of e-commerce, the enterprise must be able to automate work routines and administrative processes, for example the handling of orders, invoices or payments. However, this automation requires that the information that is received electronically can be retrieved and reused also at other levels of the business process. This also requires that electronic orders and invoices be organised in accordance with clear rules – a standard. The standard may, for example, focus on how the data flow and data contents of a trading process are to be interpreted. It may also contain a more detailed specification of what the individual data fields in the e-commerce document are to be called so that automatic recognition can be achieved. There are thus large savings to be realised from standardised design of central trading processes and e-commerce documents such as orders and invoices. Standardisation of e-commerce catalogues For small enterprises that wish to commence e-commerce activities, the different technical requirements that are made for their electronic product catalogue from different purchasing portals and marketplaces constitute a great barrier. An enterprise that wants to sell its products via different portals and marketplaces that make different requirements for electronic product catalogues will have to design and maintain its catalogue in several different ways. The risk of such double work deters a number of (especially small) enterprises from becoming actively involved in e-commerce. In this area, it is therefore important to promote joint standards so that the administrative savings achieved by suppliers through automated business processes are not eaten up by expenses for system adaptations. Standardisation of e-commerce catalogues – two dimensions Classification Catalogue standard The question of classification concerns the structure of the catalogue so that the purchaser can find the goods on the purchasing portal. There are different classification structures, for example UNSPSC, and, in addition, different versions of the standard are used within each standard. The problem regarding the catalogue standard itself concerns having standardised requirements for how a product is described in an electronic product catalogue. This entails agreeing on the number and type of data fields (for example weight, height, length, width, material, etc.) that are required in order to describe a product and what the names of the different data fields mean. There are today competing catalogue standards, such as eCX and BMEcat, but none of them have been translated or implemented in Nordic contexts. Fact box 3.1 Standardisation of e-commerce catalogues 3.2.1 Conclusions Non-interoperability, primarily resulting from a lack of clear, uniform standards, is a problem, especially for small enterprises, as an adaptation to several different IT solutions, based on the different requirements of customers and marketplaces, is very costly. Standardisation is a highly complex and complicated issue, and, in the working group's opinion, this is primarily the enterprise's own responsibility. However, from a small enterprise perspective, the State should use reasonable means to promote co-operation on uniform standards and interoperability. 3.2.2 Recommendations * To monitor closely the development of standardisation-related barriers to ecommerce. Action: o Preparation of a report on standardisation problems in e-commerce in the Nordic countries. o Promotion of a Nordic dialogue on the experience with different standardisation initiatives and monitoring the possibilities of more in-depth Nordic standardisation co-operation, especially in electronic public procurement. A discussion about the possible application and adaptation of existing international standards to Nordic languages and conditions should form part of such co-operation. 3.3 The State Should Set a Good Example One barrier to increased use of e-commerce is a lack of demand, i.e. the difficulty of attaining a critical mass of customers that are willing to buy goods and services electronically. 29 For small enterprises, it is especially important to adjust to customer requirements for the purchasing process. Unless the majority of customers are willing to switch to e-commerce, the small supplier probably does not dare make such demands out of fear of losing its customers. However, there are examples where large enterprises have demanded that all suppliers are to send their invoices electronically. There are numerous explanations for the lack of demand, and some of them are dealt with in this strategy, for example a lack of competence, the absence of standards, a lack of confidence, etc. One sector and an important customer that should become better at being engaged in e-commerce and thus set a good example for the rest of society is the public sector, which is a major player in Nordic society. It therefore plays an important role as a customer of Nordic trade and industry. In international comparisons, Nordic public authorities are at the forefront when it comes to offering electronic services to enterprises, for example VAT returns, customs clearance, various types of returns, statements and other information. 30 It is important that the State continues to develop and offer electronic services in order to make an increasing number of enterprises and individuals realise the benefits that IT offers. The State should also become better at using IT in its internal processes, such as electronic procurement and invoicing, and thus set a good example. Increased IT use may, generally speaking, result in more enterprises starting to use specific areas of application such as e-commerce. According to a Swedish survey, the view is that the State's main role in e-commerce is to be an active and progressive user of e-commerce itself. Through such use, the State can contribute to creating interest in and a more mature attitude to e-commerce. 31 If such a major customer as the State begins to be engaged in e-commerce on a large scale, this will provide an added incentive for trade and industry to invest in e-commerce solutions. The benefits of e-commerce become clearer once a major customer starts using it and the fact that such an important customer as the State uses electronic procurement may also provide incentives for enterprises, perhaps especially smaller enterprises, to become engaged in e-commerce. The State also acquires increased competence as an orderer of IT systems for e-commerce and can thus make more rigorous requirements for suppliers. By being an active user of e-commerce, the State can also contribute to ensuring that standards are developed and have greater penetration. In addition to promoting the market for e-commerce, the switch to electronic public procurement results in efficiency enhancement effects in the procurement process with resulting cost reductions. 29 Barrierer og muligheder for e-forretninger i Nordiske SMVere (Barriers to and Opportunities for Etransactions in Nordic SMEs), PLS Rambøll Management, 2003 30 Statliga elektroniska tjänster till företag i Norden, Konsumentforskningscentralen, Kuluttajatutkimuskeskus, 2001 (State Electronic Services for Nordic Enterprises, National Consumer Research Centre, 2001) 31 E-handel och statens instrument för att utveckla förutsättningarna, Post- och telestyrelsen, 2002 (Ecommerce and the State's Instruments for Developing the Basic Conditions, Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency, 2002) It is important in this context not to forget the limited possibilities that small enterprises have of adapting to different e-commerce solutions and advanced systems. The State should ensure that it does not make unnecessarily rigorous technical and security requirements for its procurement systems, for example regarding electronic signatures, in order to avoid discrimination against small enterprises. 3.3.1 Conclusions The lack of demand or critical mass is seen by many enterprises as a barrier to ecommerce. The State, which is a major purchaser on the Nordic markets, should be able to use electronic media for its procurements and invoicing to a greater extent than today. This will improve the whole electronic market right from development of ecommerce systems to increased use among suppliers of various goods and services. This will also improve competence in IT and e-business and thus undoubtedly also the confidence in these tools. 3.3.2 Recommendations * To increase the public sector's use and supply of e-services, especially in the areas of e-procurement and e-invoicing, with the dual aim of enhancing the efficiency of the public sector's own activities and promoting the development of ecommerce in the rest of society. * To encourage Nordic exchange of experience in e-procurement and initiatives in this field, including public procurement portals, especially based on the EU Directives on Public Procurement. 4 Recommendations The working group's recommendations are addressed to the Nordic Council of Ministers. It will be up to the Nordic Council of Ministers and the individual Nordic Governments, in consultation with the relevant public authorities and organisations, to decide which player will be given the assignment of implementing the recommendations. 4.1 General Recommendations * To monitor the development in e-commerce and e-business regarding: o Benefits for consumers. o Consumer confidence. o IT and e-business competence in enterprises. o Standardisation and interoperability. o Electronic public procurement. There should be special focus on the situation of children and youngsters as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. * To continue the Nordic co-operation on compilation and production of relevant statistics, analyses and benchmarking in the field of IT and e-commerce for the purpose of closer and more accurate monitoring of the development (see above) and to encourage enterprises to participate in benchmarking activities. 32 * To increase the awareness of the positive effects of e-commerce and e-business for both consumers and enterprises. * That the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic States are seen as setting a good example as users of IT, e-commerce and e-business. * To encourage Nordic exchange of experience and good examples as well as the performance of joint projects. 4.2 Specific Recommendations Strengthening Consumer Awareness of Benefits of E-commerce * To make consumers aware of the information requirements that may be made in connection with e-commerce. 32 For example the Danish initiative for a Nordic e-barometer, www.ebarometer.dk Action: o Preparation of a checklist with important items of information. * To encourage representatives of consumers and trade and industry to co-operate on projects aimed at creating increased user friendliness. Action: o Preparation of guidelines or recommendations for user friendliness. o Initiation and more extensive use of user tests on e-commerce. * To continue to develop and offer e-services and information at public web sites with good user friendliness. Increasing Consumer Confidence * To inform consumers about their rights and obligations in connection with ecommerce, including e-payments, and to urge them to be critical in their evaluation of e-commerce web sites. Action: o Preparation of checklists with important items. * To inform enterprises about the existing rules under consumer law. Action: o Arrangement of information seminars (including exchange of good and bad examples) in co-operation with trade organisations. o Inclusion of information in state IT competence initiatives aimed at enterprises. * To encourage joint Nordic projects on: o Impartial dispute resolution systems. o Market supervision. Increasing Enterprises' Competence in IT and E-business * To continue the implementation of Nordic and national IT competenceincreasing activities, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Action: o Arrangement of knowledge-improving seminars with the focus on the important role of the enterprise's management in the development and establishment of e-business, highlighting the potential for gains offered by e-business and stimulation of increased co-operation between various players. o Inclusion of competence in IT and e-business as well as information security aspects in other competence-increasing activities for small and medium-sized enterprises. o Exchange of experience gained from support for concrete implementation of e-business initiatives in small and medium-sized enterprises. o Encouragement of the development of simple tools for calculation of the potential gains offered by e-business for the enterprise. * To disseminate information about existing international recommendations and guidelines 33 in the area of information security and to provide advice on how enterprises may protect themselves against the most common security problems. * To encourage the dialogue between the educational system, including colleges and universities, and trade and industry on the possibilities and need for including IT competence and e-business competence in educational programmes. Promoting Increased Standardisation and Interoperability * To monitor closely the development of standardisation-related barriers to ecommerce. Action: o Preparation of a report on standardisation problems in e-commerce in the Nordic countries. o Encouragement of a Nordic dialogue on the experience gained from various standardisation initiatives and consideration of the possibilities of more in-depth Nordic standardisation co-operation, especially in electronic public procurement. Discussions of possible use and adaptation of existing international standards to Nordic languages and conditions should form part of such co-operation. The State Should Set a Good Example * To increase the public sector's use and supply of e-services, especially in the fields of e-procurement and e-invoicing, with the dual aim of enhancing the efficiency of the public sector's own activities and promoting the development of ecommerce in the rest of society. * To encourage Nordic exchange of experience gained from e-procurement and initiatives in this field, including public procurement portals, especially with a view to compliance with the EU Directives on Public Procurement. 4.3 Proposals for Continued Work The working group's mandate and areas of focus do not cover all areas of relevance to e-commerce and e-business. The working group therefore encourages other relevant Nordic forums to monitor the development and initiate joint projects in their areas that 33 OECD Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks: Towards a Culture of Security, July 2002 are related to e-commerce and e-business. The following areas are regarded as being of special interest and importance in this connection: * The mobile e-commerce market, including barriers to payment via mobile phone and so-called micropayments. * Information security: justified or unjustified lack of confidence among consumers and enterprises. * Further development of broadband: enterprises' use of broadband in their business activities and the connection between consumers' access to broadband and their use of e-commerce. Relevant IT and telecommunications policy issues should be included in such projects. Existing reports in these areas should be studied. 34 34 The Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Information Technology has, among other documents, obtained reports on broadband and convergence: IT infrastrukturstudie om nordisk bredbåndspolitik (IT Infrastructure Study on Nordic Broadband Policy), PLS Rambøll Management, August 2003 and Konvergensutvikling i Norden (Convergence Development in the Nordic Countries), KPMG Advisory, November 2003 5 Bibliography and References The working group's reports (www.norden.org, under the areas of co-operation Consumer and Trade and Industry) Självreglering av elektronisk handel i Norden, Nordiska ministerrådet Näring, 2001 (Self-regulation of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries, Nordic Council of Ministers Industry, 2001) (TemaNord 2001:559) Statliga elektroniska tjänster till företag i Norden, Konsumentforskningscentralen (Kuluttajatutkimuskeskus), 2001 (State Electronic Services for Nordic Enterprises, National Consumer Research Centre, 2001) (ISBN 951-698-081-3), www.norden.org alt. www.ncrc.fi Faktorer bak en vellykket e-handel (Factors for Successful E-commerce), SIFO (National Institute for Consumer Research), 2003 (TemaNord 2003:553) , Analyse av betalningsløsningar ved elektronisk handel sett i et nordisk perspektiv (Analysis of Payment Solutions in Electronic Commerce from a Nordic Perspective) Teleplan A/S, 2003 (TemaNord 2003:554) Barrierer og muligheder for e-forretninger for nordiske SMV (Barriers to and Opportunities for E-transactions in Nordic SMEs), PLS Rambøll Management A/S, 2003 (TemaNord 2003:551) Other Nordic reports Nordisk Ministerråd for Informationsteknologi (MR-IT) – Strategi og handlingsplan for 2002-2004 (Nordic Council of Ministers for Information Technology – Strategy and Action Plan for 2002-2004) (ANP 2002:754), http://www.norden.org/it/sk/03_1_MR- IT_Strategi_og_HP-FINAL.pdf IT infrastrukturstudie om nordisk bredbåndspolitik (IT Infrastructure Study on Nordic Broadband Policy), PLS Rambøll Management A/S, August 2003, http://www.norden.org/pub/ u ddannelse/forskning_hojereudd/sk/IT-infrastrukturstudiehovedrapp.pdf Konvergensutvikling i Norden (Convergence Development in the Nordic Countries), KPMG Advisory, November 2003, http://www.norden.org/kultur/film/sk/Konv-nord.pdf Bommer banalt på nett, kampanje nr. 11, (Banal Failures on the Internet, campaign no. 11), Hoydal, H, 2001 Elektronisk forretningsdrift – Hindringer og utfordringer (Electronic Business Operations – Barriers and Challenges), Agderforskning, December 2002, http://www.dep.no/archive/nhdvedlegg/01/04/Rappo061.pdf E-handel och statens instrument för att utveckla förutsättningarna, Post- och telestyrelsen, 2002 (E-commerce and the State's Instruments for Developing the Basic Conditions, Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency, 2002), www.pts.se E-betaltjänster – delrapport, Post- och telestyrelsen (E-payment Services – Subreport, Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency), October 2003, www.pts.se E-Business Norden2003.com, PLS Rambøll Management A/S, November 2003 EU documents Information society statistics, the European Commission, 2003 Should I buy? Shopping online 2001: An International comparative study of electronic commerce, Consumers International, 2001 OECD documents OECD Guidelines for Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent and Deceptive Commercial Practices Across Borders, 11 June 2003, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/33/2956464.pdf A Swedish translation is available at: http://www.kuluttajavirasto.fi/user_nf/default.asp?tmf=7953&lmf=10108&mode=readd oc&site=35&id=10112 OECD Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks: Towards a Culture of Security, 25 July 2002, http://www.oecd.org/document/42/0,2340,en_2649_201185_15582250_1_1_1_1,00.ht ml The Economic Impact of ICT, OECD 2004 Statistical sources Nordic Information Statistics 2002, Nordic Council of Ministers, 2003, www.norden.org The national bureaus of statistics in the Nordic countries: Denmark: Danmarks Statistik (Statistics Denmark), www.dst.dk Finland: Statistikcentralen (Statistics Finland), www.stat.fi Åland: Ålands statistik- och utredningsbyrå (Statistics and Research Åland), www.asub.aland.fi Iceland: Hagstofa Ìslands (Statistics Iceland), www.hagstofa.is Norway: Statistisk sentralbyrå (Statistics Norway), www.ssb.no Sweden: Statistiska centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden), www.scb.se Appendix 1: The Working Group's Mandate NORDIC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Appendix 2 The Secretariat 10 December 2001 Mandate for the Trade and Industry and Consumer Sectors' ad hoc working group for electronic commerce and IT-related issues (Short name: "The TI & C IT Group") 1. Objective The objective of the working group is to ensure the further development of the Nordic co-operation on electronic commerce based on consumer interests and trade and industry policy objectives, with the focus on securing the right basic conditions for creating consumer confidence in e-commerce. The working group is also to evaluate trade and industry-related IT issues. The working group will function as an initiator, consultant and co-ordinator in relation to the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues. The working group is given independent decision-making competence for the implementation of new activities, which are to be initiated in accordance with the guidelines laid down in: * the Council of Ministers' budget, , * the working group's annual activity plan (cf. point 4) * any guidelines from the Nordic Council of Ministers for Consumer Issues and the Nordic Council of Ministers for Trade and Industry Issues, * any guidelines from the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues, * general guidelines for the co-operation in the Nordic Council of Ministers. 2. Tasks The working group is to: * exchange information about electronic commerce (data from national initiatives, reports, studies and surveys, etc.), * the working group is to initiate and perform projects of relevance to consumers and trade and industry in the Nordic countries as well as electronic commerce and electronic means of payment. Nordic consumers are uncertain about the rules, customs, payment methods and established practices for rescinding purchases (refunds) in connection with electronic commerce. Issues concerning consumers' and trade and industry's expectations for, experiences with and confidence in electronic commerce are to be studied. The competitiveness of Nordic trade and industry and consumers' position in electronic commerce, in a Nordic perspective and globally, are to be strengthened. The working group will select its work themes in accordance with the enclosed indicative list of project proposals (see Appendix 1 to the mandate). In addition, the working group is to: * focus on other trade and industry and consumer-related IT issues and be a link between the Nordic countries regarding the exchange of information in the form of reports, analyses, etc. on the development in the new knowledge-based economy of relevance to trade and industry in the Nordic countries. 3. Composition of the working group The countries and the autonomous territories will each appoint a representative from the consumer sector and the trade and industry sector respectively. The Secretariat for the Nordic Council of Ministers will participate as much as possible in the meetings of the working group. The Nordic Council of Ministers' general rules on equal gender distribution on committees must be followed (60/40 % distribution). The chairmanship of the working group will follow the chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The chairman will be responsible for handling meetings (notice convening meetings, agenda, chairing meetings, minutes, etc.) and for the work progressing according to plan. The members of the working group must * have competence in electronic commerce from a consumer point of view and a trade and industry point of view respectively. The representative of the trade and industry sector must also have wide knowledge of trade and industry-related IT issues, * be able to communicate information about national conditions and national views, * ensure national rooting of and follow-up on the group's work. Expenses for secretarial assistance will be covered by the funds that are made available for the working group's activities (cf. point 5). The Nordic Industrial Fund, NI, will handle the following tasks on behalf of the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues: * the secretariat function for the working group, * preparation – in co-operation with the country holding the chairmanship – of a draft agenda, meeting documents and draft minutes, * routine assistance in the form of a fixed address, postal service, etc., * project administration and financial management, * NI will make its web facilities available so that the working group can establish an internal web page and a web page for external information, * NI will provide a contact person, who can support the working group. The tasks of the Nordic Industrial Fund do not cover the preparation of reports and analyses. The working group will, moreover, work completely independently in relation to NI. 4. Activity plan and reporting The working group must submit an outline for an activity plan and the projected budget framework for the coming calendar year to the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues (for use for a provisional sector budget) each year by 1 April at the latest. The final activity plan and draft budget must be submitted to the Nordic Committees of Senior Officials by 15 October at the latest. By 15 December at the latest, the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues will provide the working group with any comments that they may have or their approval of the activity plan. Each year, by 15 February at the latest, the working group must report to the Secretariat for the Nordic Council of Ministers on the results of the group's work in the previous calendar year. The report must include information about * policy discussions conducted, * exchange of information in the working group, * report on the activities that have been funded by funds from the Consumer and Trade and Industry Sectors as well as an evaluation hereof, * in addition, accounts for the funds used must be presented. 5. The working group's budget For 2002, an amount of DKK 600,000 will be available for the working group's performance of projects and activities. The Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues will each contribute DKK 300,000. This amount is to be used for reports, analyses, travelling expenses for external speakers, experts in connection with the holding of meetings, etc. The excess amount from the Trade and Industry Sector's ad hoc working group for electronic commerce and trade and industry-related IT issues will be transferred to the working group. By 15 December at the latest, the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues will inform the working group about the amount that will be allocated for the working group's activities for the following year. Each individual participant in the working group will cover his or her own expenses for travels, accommodation, subsistence allowance, etc. in connection with the holding of meetings. No fee is paid to the members of the working group for their participation in the work. 6. Mandate period The working group's mandate will terminate on 31 December 2003. The Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Consumer Issues and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Trade and Industry Issues may decide that the working group is to continue its work beyond the above period, and the Nordic Committees of Senior Officials may also decide at any time to discontinue the working group, for example because of a change in the prioritisation of tasks in the overall Nordic cooperation on consumer issues and trade and industry issues. * * * Appendix 2: Summary of the Working Group's Reports Summary of Reports Produced by the "TI & C IT Group" 2000-2003 Contents 1. Self-regulation of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries 2. State Electronic Services for Nordic Enterprises 3. Factors for Successful E-commerce 4. Payment Solutions in Electronic Commerce 5. Barriers to and Opportunities for E-transactions in Nordic SMEs (The full version of all the reports is available at www.norden.org, under the areas of co-operation Consumer and Trade and Industry respectively). 1. Self-regulation of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries Background One of the reasons why consumers' use of e-commerce has failed to increase by the expected rate may be that users feel insecure about shopping via the Internet. Selfregulation may therefore be one way of increasing consumer confidence. A general problem in the field of IT is that the regulation in this field lags behind the generally rapid development. Self-regulation may therefore be a supplement to legislation. In 2001, the Nordic working group for electronic commerce (the TI & C IT Group) completed the report Self-regulation of Electronic Commerce in the Nordic Countries. Since the report was written, there has not been any significant increase in the extent of selfregulation. Self-regulation of electronic commerce The report shows the importance of increased confidence among consumers if ecommerce is to take off. The conclusion is that good self-regulation is one way of increasing confidence. General omnibus clauses on good marketing practices, on good credit granting practices and on unreasonable contractual terms may be supplemented with guidelines and agreements between public authorities and representatives of trade and industry. Through self-regulation, trade and industry is given an opportunity to become involved in and take increased responsibility for the development. Wide support from enterprises is important. Good self-regulation may result in better consumer protection and more effective supervision as well as increased goodwill for the enterprises. The codes that are drawn up must be open to all those who want to participate and who meet the requirements for joining these systems. Major players must not simply be allowed to dictate the terms and conditions. Otherwise, there is a risk that the codes may result in restriction of competition for small and medium-sized enterprises in particular. Effective self-regulation requires enforcement and sanctions so that users have an opportunity to assert the rights that the rules provide. This means that there is a need for impartial dispute resolution bodies, so-called Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). So-called Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) is also something that is being discussed in line with e-commerce becoming increasingly global. In the European Union, there is a positive attitude to self-regulation of electronic commerce. A joint European ADR system known as the European Extra-Judicial Network (EEJ Network) has been set up with national contact points for dissemination of information and support for consumers who become involved in disputes with suppliers in other member states. Self-regulation of electronic commerce in the Nordic countries is well developed from an international point of view. See appendix 3 for current information about self-regulation in the Nordic countries. Trustmarks Trustmarks for e-commerce are available in several of the Nordic countries (see appendix 3). The objective of trustmarks is to increase consumer confidence in electronic marketplaces. The enterprise undertakes to follow certain guidelines in its activities and is thus given the right to use the trustmark. In addition to providing security for consumers, the trustmark schemes also offer customs, practices and services for enterprises, for example some form of dispute settlement or insurance scheme. The difference between trustmark schemes and industry rules is more practical than theoretical. The trustmark schemes are based on rules that entitle those who comply with them to use a trustmark and the accompanying services. Compliance with industry rules does not give any such rights. However, they are just as important in the creation of good customs and practices for e-commerce. 2. State Electronic Services for Nordic Enterprises Background The IT development in the Nordic countries should generally be managed by the market players. However, the State has a role in regulation and promotion initiatives where this is regarded as necessary. The State also has an important role in setting an active good example in its use of IT in general and in e-commerce in particular. In 2001, the Nordic working group for electronic commerce performed a Nordic analysis of electronic services aimed at enterprises, which resulted in the report State Electronic Services for Nordic Enterprises, which is summarised below. Electronic services for enterprises In international comparisons, Nordic public authorities are at the forefront regarding the provision of electronic services for enterprises. Nordic trade and industry and the general public have great confidence in the public authorities, which provides a sound basis for rapid continued development of the electronic services offered by the State. The development of state electronic services for enterprises contributes to enhancing the efficiency and improving the quality of the activities of the State and the enterprises as well as to improving the international competitiveness of Nordic trade and industry. In the Nordic countries, the central government authorities have developed electronic services for, for example, the submission of returns and other statements, co-ordinated dissemination of information and public procurement (see the report's collection of examples of state electronic services for enterprises). It is important that the services are simple and have a practical aim in order to meet enterprises' requirements. State electronic services for enterprises should have the necessary information security mechanisms, which means that the development of digital signatures and encryption is important in this context. 3. Factors for Successful E-commerce Introduction Trade and industry, the public authorities and consumer organisations in the Nordic countries have expected e-commerce to be more successful than what has actually been the case so far. The Nordic countries have come relatively far in the development of ICT. There is widespread ownership of PCs, and many have access to the Internet. Consumer competence is relatively high. Several thousand Internet shops have been set up in the 5 Nordic countries. So far, e-commerce has first and foremost been successful in business-to-business relations. The basic conditions for a breakthrough on the consumer markets are present, but only a few Internet shops have succeeded in this, whereas most have failed. Based on an assignment from the working group, the Norwegian National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO) has analysed possible reasons for this. The project was implemented in the second half of 2002 – January 2003 and resulted in the report, Factors for Successful E-commerce. Factors for successful e-commerce The report focuses on Nordic Internet commerce and on the question of what contributes to successful e-commerce for consumers. Selected Nordic Internet shops in the travel industry and in the book trade were examined and interviewed. In their replies to the question of what constitutes potential pitfalls, the Internet shops especially mention problems connected with technology and technical solutions, prices and costs, difficulties in reaching customers, that customers have to wait, that they do not understand what they need to do as well as the competition that the shops face. Internet shops generally state that they receive few complaints from customers. Questions from customers are generally of a technical nature and concern the entry of data, payment methods, prices, deliveries, etc. There seems to be surprisingly few questions from customers about protection of personal data and payment security. A majority of the Internet shops think that their earnings meet the expected level. Those who are not completely satisfied with their earnings focus primarily on competitiveness and cost control in their views. The group that is satisfied with their earnings are more concerned with customer-oriented matters: having the right conditions for a favourable and positive transaction, a good purchasing experience characterised by simplicity, that delivery is made as promised, that good support is provided as well as guidance and answers to questions and that information is provided with added value for the customers. It is pointed out that the enterprise must not stop taking customer requirements, wishes and expectations into consideration once the Internet shop has been set up and established, but that these considerations must become an integral part of the enterprise's operations. It goes without saying that a prerequisite for successful commerce today is that business transactions are based on customers' and consumers' competence and knowledge. It may seem as if the Internet shops that have failed have not attached sufficient importance to this. Studies and surveys have shown that there is still a large share of those who try to make a transaction via the Internet who fail to do so. This indicates that there has been too much focus on technical solutions from a top-down perspective and that the enterprises have forgotten that Internet commerce must be adapted to consumers' everyday life. In relation to conventional commerce, it is even more important that the Internet shops provide their customers with a positive purchasing experience, as it is easier to "scare off" customers in connection with Internet commerce. It has turned out that alliances between pure Internet companies and conventionally established shops may be an advantage for both these groups. The expertise of Internet shops may be valuable to shops that have not yet established themselves on the Internet, while logistics, customer service and handling of goods are based on the longstanding experience that conventional shops have in these matters. Brand recognition represents low-cost marketing, and an established parent enterprise may invite confidence and trust, from which the Internet shops may benefit. The report concludes that successful e-commerce is connected with considerations for consumers' interests, wishes and requirements as well as solutions that capture the range of consumers at whom the Internet shops wish to target the products and services that they offer. These are solutions that create consumer confidence and meet consumer requirements in terms of mastering, accessibility, protection of personal data, payment security, etc. Simplicity, predictability and recognition are important factors for customers. Standardised systems and arrangements for e-commerce, including for protection of personal data and payment security, are assumed to be of importance in relation to consumer confidence and mastering of shopping via the Internet. The same applies to correct information to customers at the right time and at the right place as well as good feedback and communication systems. It is pointed out that e-commerce can contribute to customer satisfaction through diversity, flexibility, accessibility and saving of time and money. This may, in turn, provide added value for both enterprises and consumers. 4. Payment Solutions in Electronic Commerce from a Nordic Perspective Background Electronic commerce has not increased at the rate expected during the "Internet boom", especially not for e-commerce aimed at consumers, B2C. E-commerce between businesses, B2B, is considerably more widespread, but small enterprises lag behind the rate of development seen for large enterprises. Mobile commerce, so-called m-commerce, is still in its infancy and currently focuses primarily on logo types, ringing signals and sports results. There is thus a potential that is not being fully utilised. One reason why e-commerce has not really taken off yet may be that electronic payments are still not used to any great extent. This may have the effect that sufficient efficiency enhancement gains are not generated in e-commerce and that the full benefit of e-commerce is consequently not experienced. On this basis, the Nordic working group for electronic commerce gave the Norwegian company Teleplan A/S the assignment of analysing the use of and barriers to electronic payments, both from consumers' point of view and from enterprises' point of view, and both via fixed Internet and via mobile services. This project was implemented during 2002-2003 and resulted in the report Analysis of Payment Solutions in Electronic Commerce from a Nordic Perspective. Payment solutions in electronic commerce The report shows that the use of various types of payment solutions differs between the Nordic countries. It is noted in the report that the market for electronic payment solutions is still relatively immature, despite the Nordic countries being regarded as being at the forefront in this field. EDI solutions and purchasing cards are the most common payment solutions in the Nordic countries for commerce between businesses, so-called B2B. The Nordic countries differ from each other when it comes to commerce between businesses and consumers, so-called B2C. The use of the Dankort debit card dominates in Denmark, whereas there is little use of credit cards and micropayments. Internet banking solutions are the most common payment solutions in Finland, whereas there is moderate use of debit and credit cards. Credit cards are the most widespread payment solution in Iceland. Invoices and cash on delivery (COD), together with debit cards, are the most common payment solutions in Norway. Credits cards are the most common payment solution in Sweden, while Internet banking solutions is gaining ground. Mobile commerce, so-called m-commerce, is still at an early development stage with limited supply of services and limited use. Low margins for content providers may hamper the further development of debitable content via mobile commerce. The Nordic countries are at the forefront when it comes to the focus on safety and security, which the extensive use of Internet banking shows. Digital signatures are an area for further development. The major driving forces for e-commerce have been supply and demand for games, adult entertainment and banking services. Purchases and sales of music, travels, computer equipment and books have also been driving forces behind the market development. These areas are expected to continue to be dominant areas for the increased use of e-commerce. Regarding the increase in use of electronic payment solutions, the driving forces are primarily confidence in the Internet banking solutions. On the supplier side, terminals and systems are of central importance, whereas payment solutions connected with mobile phones are important driving forces regarding telecommunications and content. The view is that barriers to increased use of electronic payment solutions are that the ecommerce solutions themselves are not sufficiently good. There are thus technical barriers and security barriers and, furthermore, the solutions are not sufficiently effective or user friendly. When it comes to end customers, lack of competence and lack of incentives for using electronic payment solutions constitute barriers to e-commerce. 5. Barriers to and Opportunities for E-transactions in Nordic SMEs Background Enterprises' use of e-commerce continues to increase, but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are lagging behind. In political contexts, both nationally and internationally, e-commerce is often mentioned as an important means for promoting competition. For SMEs, e-commerce also constitutes an effective and relatively low-cost tool for gaining a foothold on international markets and for achieving efficiency enhancement gains. However, there are also a number of barriers that are preventing many SMEs from utilising e-commerce. A large number of reports have already been published on this subject – at national, Nordic and European levels and under the auspices of the OECD, etc. On this basis, the Nordic working group for electronic commerce has asked PLS Rambøll Management to analyse, based on existing surveys, the barriers to and opportunities for the use of e-business by SMEs in a wide sense. The project was implemented in 2003 and resulted in the report Barriers to and Opportunities for Etransactions in Nordic SMEs – Analysis based on existing surveys. Barriers to and opportunities for e-transactions in Nordic SMEs The general picture that emerges is one of SMEs benefiting from e-business. In particular, e-business affects the way in which the enterprises conduct their business, with internal work processes being made more efficient. The development of services or products, on the other hand, is affected by e-business to only a limited extent. The report concludes that the very basic IT infrastructure, such as computers, Internet access and web sites, is by now in place in smaller enterprises. In the important area of high-speed connections, however, small enterprises, unlike large ones, are not quite there yet. The rapid growth in the number of high-speed connections from 2001 to 2002 indicates that this will soon change though, and so the question of basic infrastructure will no longer be a major policy issue. Looking at the use of IT in smaller enterprises, the report shows that SMEs mainly use the Internet for information retrieval and financial transactions, whereas the more advanced use of IT for business purposes is still at a low level in SMEs. It is especially in areas such as Internet sales, EDI and advanced systems such as SCM, CRM and Knowledge Management that SMEs are lagging behind larger enterprises. This can be interpreted as unexploited potential for increased business use of IT in SMEs for both cost minimisation and Internet sales, but also as rational financial prioritisation of the limited resources in these enterprises. The most important barriers to IT use are generally lack of security and too slow, unstable data communication. These barriers affect SMEs to the same degree as larger enterprises. What marks SMEs out, however, is that they are more concerned about data protection and security problems than enterprises with 250+ employees. The barriers to e-business can be divided into internal and external barriers. Internal barriers are linked to the enterprises' management, lack of qualified staff and lack of capital. External barriers are mainly linked to a lack of demand. Enterprises experience a lack of readiness among suppliers, customers and partners. There is also still uncertainty on the market regarding central standards and principles. This applies to, for example, catalogue structures and to exchange of e-commerce documents, and there is also considerable excess supply of marketplaces. The lack of standardisation increases the expenses incurred by SMEs and thus constitutes a barrier to the use of e-business. It should be noted that there are differences between the Nordic countries, with Finland and Denmark in particular encountering both internal and external barriers of greater substance than Sweden and Norway. A further analysis of barriers to e-commerce with regard to online buying and selling shows that enterprises perceive customer potential as too small and their products as unsuitable for trading on the Internet. A survey of enterprises that already sell products over the Internet indicates that lack of demand and lack of security are the greatest barriers. The size of enterprises is of no great significance in this respect. 10 points regarding policy consequences of the report: 1: Take the entire value chain as a starting point – E-transactions rather than ecommerce 2: Three explanations for e-business scepticism and their policy consequences: increase knowledge, focus on those industries and business types where e-transactions are actually relevant, and focus on e-transactions in the broad sense 3: Focus on the benefits of e-transactions 4: Match the initiative to the industry 5: Focus on how SMEs can share the benefits of e-commerce 6: Infrastructure will take care of itself 7: Focus on areas where SMEs are lagging behind: the more advanced forms of ebusiness 8: Focus on promoting quality in IT use 9: Focus on general management and skills development 10: B2C e-commerce should be encouraged through consumer confidence and broadband Appendix 3: Nordic National Initiatives – A Collection of Examples Consumer Aspects Confidence Denmark In 2002, the Consumer Ombudsman created a web site, where consumers and enterprises can obtain guidance, for example in the form of a checklist, about the rules for commerce and marketing on the Internet. The Consumer Ombudsman plans to extend and update the web site in the spring of 2004. (www.net-tjek.dk) In September 2003, the National Consumer Agency of Denmark was appointed as the consultative contact point in pursuance of the E-commerce Directive. In addition, the National Consumer Agency of Denmark/the Consumer Centre will open a consumer portal in April 2004, where the focus areas will include e-commerce and the problems connected with commerce on the Internet. (www.forbrug.dk) Finland The Finnish Consumer Agency's web site contains an "Internet Shopping Assistant", the object of which is to help consumers assess how reliable Internet shops are. The guide contains questions through which consumers can easily find out whether the enterprise provides sufficient information about itself, its products and terms of purchase before the purchase is made. By using the guide, consumers can avoid problems. (www.kuluttajavirasto.fi/hjalpreda/) Iceland The Competition Authority in Iceland is responsible for describing and maintaining information about commerce on the Internet. This also involves making the information and guidance accessible to consumers and enterprises. The Icelandic Competition Authority's supervisory work, information and guidance are based on existing Acts and rules that apply to this field. The Competition Authority is in the preparatory stages of the performance of this task. This involves an analysis of the existing web sites on which consumers can buy goods and services. In continuation of the analysis, the Competition Authority will send comments and remarks to the enterprises that do not meet the existing code. The Competition Authority plans to extend and update the web site in the spring of 2004 and thus make the above information more accessible to all users. The objective is to improve security, ensure that all commerce takes place in accordance with the existing Acts that apply to this field and to open up a dialogue on this subject in the population. (www.samkeppni.is) Norway The Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman has been appointed as the national contact point for e-commerce and has prepared information material on the Internet under the title "Shopping on the Internet – Step by Step". This material describes a normal transaction process on the Internet and contains links to the various requirements that apply at each stage. In addition, there are relevant links and references to Acts and to other current practice from the Consumer Ombudsman that is of relevance to e-commerce. National Strategy for Information Security was presented by the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice and Police and the Ministry of Trade and Industry in June 2003. The strategy focuses on measures in three areas: Creation of awareness among households, preparation of a "teaching pack" for use in primary and secondary schools as well as initiatives aimed at increasing competence in IT security in enterprises. (www.enorge.org) SAFT (Safety, Awareness, Facts and Tools) is a new educational programme for children and youngsters on safe use of the Internet. It was launched in Norway on 6 February 2004. SAFT is a European co-operation project initiated under the EU's action plan for safe use of the Internet. The learning programme consists of interactive quizzes and exercises for use in the classroom and at home together with the pupils' parents. The modules comprise themes such as learn how to surf, the Internet as a work of reference, criticism of sources, Internet etiquette and Internet knowledge about personal data, chatting, bullying and commercial pressure. (www.saftonline.no) In Norway, standard terms of sale have been prepared, and they have also been translated into English. These terms of sale will make it easier for consumers to keep up to date. They become recognizable, and consumers know that when a shop uses these terms of sale, this means that the transaction is made in accordance with the guidelines of the existing legislation and Nsafe (for further details, see under Self-regulation below). This requires a system for follow-up, as the existing legislation changes, as well as quality assurance of the implementation of the standard terms. Such a system has not yet been established in Norway. Sweden All the initiatives taken by the Swedish Consumer Agency/Consumer Ombudsman in this field can be found under the subject area of Internet and IT at the Consumer Agency's web site. Here, you will find "Good advice for safe surfing on the Internet", which is a checklist for what consumers should bear in mind before entering into an agreement via the Internet. Consumers are also provided with information about the rules that apply if he or she has surfed on the Internet and has received invoices for services that have not been used. The web site also contains examples of how consumers can be tricked and defrauded on the Internet. The Consumer Agency also provides the so-called "fraud stopper", which is a program that protects telephone modems against programs that call up pay-for-use sites, so-called modem hijackers. The Consumer Agency's web site contains a link to the Nordic Consumer Ombudsmen's views and positions on commerce and marketing on the Internet. (www.konsumentverket.se) The Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency's (PTS) web site on safety and security on the Internet provides information aimed at support for those who search for information and shop on the Internet. The issues that are of the greatest current relevance are presented under "Current issues". A special section provides information about how the user and his or her family can use the Internet more safely. This section also contains the web-based training programme, "Safer Surfing". (www.pts.se) Under the heading E-commerce at its web site, Konsument Europa, the Swedish European Consumer Centre, provides data consisting of information about consumer protection in the EU (with information about rules, consumers' right to rescind from contracts and delivery times) and information about the rules that apply to e-commerce outside EU Member States. The web site also contains information about how to file complaints and examples of notices of cancellation. The web site also contains reports from studies and surveys on commerce via the Internet within the EU. (www.konsumenteuropa.se) The web site of Swedish Customs contains information about the customs and excise duties, etc. that may be levied in connection with commerce in and outside the EU. (www.tullverket.se) International initiatives The Internet Shopping Assistant (see under Finland above) is an example of the international co-operation between consumer authorities. The guide was originally produced by the Office of Consumer Affairs in Canada. The guide is available at the web site www.econsumer.gov/ in English, Spanish, Korean, French and German. At eConsumer.gov, there is also a databank, where consumers can report any problems that they have experienced in connection with electronic commerce. By means of this databank, the supervisory authorities in various countries receive information about maverick ecommerce enterprises, various ways in which consumers are being tricked and defrauded and the most common reasons for complaints. This information enables the supervisory authorities to intervene quickly. eConsumer.gov is also available with information about alternative dispute resolution bodies, about investigations of complaints about purchases made on the Internet, about various types of e-commerce and about the level of consumer protection in different countries. Details are also provided on how to contact consumer authorities in 30 countries. ICPEN (International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network), the international network for public authorities that supervise marketing practices, is behind eConsumer.gov. Finland holds the chairmanship in ICPEN until the spring of 2004. An important objective during the Finnish chairmanship is to increase co-operation between the public authorities that are members of the network and to develop internal network communication. (www.imsnricc.org/) Self-regulation Denmark The Danish E-handelsmærket is administered by E-handelsfonden. The trustmark scheme is supported by the business sector, public authorities and trade organisations and other interest group organisations. The trustmark scheme includes a body that handles disputes about the trustmark scheme itself. Business and consumer interests are represented in this body. At the end of January 2004, 110 business operators used the trustmark scheme. A further approximately 50 Internet shops have applied for registration under the scheme and are being reviewed. (www.e-handelsfonden.dk) Finland The use of the former Finnish trustmark schemes for electronic commerce, SafeShop, which was administered by the banking and insurance group Sampo, and FinSafe (the ScanSafe trustmark in Finland), which was administered by CommerceNet Finland, has been discontinued for the time being. The reason why the FinSafe project has been discontinued is that central players were not willing to show commitment to FinSafe. Another reason was that the volumes of electronic commerce between the Nordic countries are still quite small. Tieke (the Finnish Information Society Development Centre) has examined the need for trustmark schemes in Finland (Irma Rantonen, 2001). According to the report, the need for such schemes is not particularly great. Instead of specific trustmark schemes, general customs, practices and rules in electronic commerce are being discussed by trade and industry in connection with export and e-commerce regulation projects. Iceland There is no trustmark scheme for e-commerce in Iceland. The Icelandic Consumer Agency is working on the preparation of standards for rules on trading aimed at providing information to consumers. Likewise, a set of rules is being prepared for traders that want to sell goods or services on the Internet. In both cases, the rules will be based on the existing Acts in this field as well as international conditions. The Consumer Agency attaches importance to involving trade organisations and other interest group organisations in this work. Norway The Norwegian Nsafe trustmark is administered by the interest group organisations Eforum and Forbrukerrådet (the Norwegian Consumer Council). More than 40 businesses currently use Nsafe. Nsafe has a number of guidelines that the shops must follow in order to safeguard consumer rights. The trustmark scheme includes a tribunal that hears cases in which shops that use the Nsafe trustmark fail to comply with the Nsafe guidelines. Businesses must undergo an extensive process in order to acquire the right to use the trustmark, and no shop has been awarded the trustmark without significant changes having been implemented. Great importance is attached to the neutrality of the trustmark in the relations between the two interest groups of consumers and Internet shops. (www.nsafe.no) Nettnemda, the Norwegian Internet regulatory body, is a self-regulation initiative initiated by IKT-Norge (ICT Norway). The objective of such a self-regulation mechanism is that the industry itself assumes responsibility for and contributes to ensuring that the Internet is not used for spreading illegal and harmful content. The Internet regulatory body, Nettnemda, is an independent complaints body that is responsible for handling ethical rules of conduct for the Internet. These rules are laid down by IKT Norge and Internettforum, and the objective is to provide fundamental rights for consumers and service providers on the Internet. The principal task is to balance considerations for freedom of expression with considerations for privacy and personal integrity. The complaints body can make binding decisions on issues that concern enterprises that operate on the Internet where the service provider is under an obligation to accept the ethical rules of conduct that apply to the Internet. The complaints body can also comment on all issues that fall within its field of competence. All parties who feel that their fundamental rights have been violated by players on the Internet may file a complaint with the complaints body. The complaints body has now existed for more than two years. (www.nettnemda.no) Sweden There is no trustmark scheme in Sweden. The Association of Swedish Chambers of Commerce is, however, involved in numerous projects regarding self-regulation on the Internet. Under a joint European project – "On-line Confidence" – the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce is working on the preparation of rules and a framework for alternative dispute resolution and trustmarks. The ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) is also interested in this field, and the Swedish ICC participates in a group of experts that works internationally on alternative dispute resolution. (www.chamber.se) Competence Denmark Via the action plan for e-commerce, Demark has initiated a pilot project in the form of training and consultancy initiatives aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The initiatives are organised via 6 growth groups, typically regionally based, where the enterprises receive instruction and share experience. 10-12 enterprises participate in each growth group. In addition to the instruction activities, each participating enterprise also receives individual consultancy in the form of 3 visits by a consultant as well as telephone advice. The initiatives focus on realising tangible business gains through IT use and subsequently to communicate these examples of best practice widely to other SMEs. The participants in the initiatives have been found through a screening process, which is to ensure that project participants in each individual growth group are more or less in the same situation in terms of IT maturity and business conditions. The project has a budget of DKK 2.5 million. In addition, in its IT and Telecommunications Policy Action Plan for 2003, the Danish Government focuses on the use of e-learning for competence development and supplementary training in small and medium-sized enterprises and in the public sector. A pool of DKK 10 million has been allocated for e-learning projects. Until 2005, these pilot projects are to gather experiences and highlight how e-learning can be used to improve the level of competence in Danish workplaces. (www.e-kompetencer.dk) Finland The object of the eAskel programme of the 15 Employment and Economic Development Centres (TE centres) is to highlight for business managers the opportunities offered by data networks for the development of the enterprises' business activities. The programme especially aims to identify the central points in e-business that the enterprise can improve. eAskel is an expert service that maps and develops the business activities of enterprises on the Internet. Activities on the Internet comprise utilisation of the Internet and other information networks in the enterprise's internal and external activities. By means of eAskel, the management in small and medium-sized enterprises is provided with tangible information about the development opportunities that exist for e-business. eAskel also contributes to identification of the most important development requirements in the enterprise regarding its activities on the Internet. eAskel is designed for enterprises that plan to take the first steps toward activities on the Internet. The programme comprises two half-day consultation meetings with the enterprise as well as analysis and planning based on these meetings. On the basis of the consultation, a schedule is fixed for the development of the enterprise's e-business. The programme consists of two meetings with certified experts. The programme results in a written report, which is sent to the enterprise. The report contains an evaluation of the points that can be improved and of the enterprise's opportunities for using e-business. eAskel costs 600 euro for the enterprise. If required, the programme can be extended with further consultation for a fee of 300 euro per day. The Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Finnish Ministry of Labour have pooled their regional resources for the TE centres, see the above. These fifteen centres offer enterprises, entrepreneurs and individual citizens a wide range of consultancy and development services. The eAskel programme is marketed at the information portal verkkokaveri.fi, which provides small and medium-sized enterprises with advice and contacts for development of their e-business competence. The Verkkokaveri ("The Friend on the Internet") portal contains news, case histories of enterprises that have implemented IT development projects (approximately 60), manuals on e-commerce and IT application, information about seminars and ongoing national and regional e-business development projects. (www.verkkokaveri.fi) Iceland Since 1996, the Icelandic Government has pursued a national strategy for the development of e-business and e-administration. The objectives have been clear, and good results have been achieved during the process. In March 2004, the Government will present a new strategy for this field. In this new proposed strategy, which is based on the results achieved so far, the Government will attach importance to ensuring that the stratstrategy results in improved competitiveness for enterprises, administrative savings and an increased service level for citizens. The preparation of this comprehensive strategy concerns the whole field, i.e. ranging right from a defined minimum number of PCs in schools and libraries to the fully digital service portal and business portal as well as commitment to designing one point of access to the public sector. The strategy will also include guidelines for e-learning, focus on increasing the use of digital signatures as well as a joint IT security policy at all levels. In close co-operation with trade organisations, other interest group organisations, etc., the Althing (the Icelandic Parliament) has drafted legislation and rules that are based on international conditions and has thus created a clear basis for preparation of a strategy and the implementation hereof. Norway Innovation Norway's e-service (formerly VeRDI) offers services for small and mediumsized enterprises that want to improve their knowledge and have control of their investments in electronic business operations, be it e-commerce, logistics or other areas of their operations. Increased commitment to electronic business operations is one of the means for strengthening the competitiveness and profitability of Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprises. The e-service consists of: * the e-barometer – a benchmarking tool, which enterprises can use to compare themselves with 4000 Nordic enterprises (is also used in Denmark) * Analysis model for use in the enterprise * The e-strategy developer is a simple tool for enterprises that wish to develop their own strategy. It is simple to use and produces tangible solutions and measures for realisation of the e-strategy * Words and concepts are explained, and enterprises can gain inspiration by seeing what other enterprises have done. The actual tool for the strategy work is called the e-strategy developer. More than 1300 Norwegian enterprises have used the e-service. (snd.no/e-tjenesten) The main objective of the BIT programme under the auspices of Innovation Norway (Innovasjon Norge – formerly SND (the Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund) is to contribute to improving the competitiveness and innovativeness of SMEs through more effective electronic business operations and IT solutions. Subobjectives are to develop and increase the use of solutions in electronic business operations and IT in trade and industry and to contribute to effective use of industry solutions and value chain solutions through processes of change and the development of competence. The BIT programme has been in operation for many years, and it currently comprises 25 industries with 200 pilot enterprises and 2500 user enterprises. 30 software suppliers are involved in the solutions. The focus has been on the development of integrated industry solutions (ERP solutions) through co-operation between industries, enterprises and software suppliers. The programme is user-controlled, whereas Innovation Norway has been responsible for the development of models and quality assurance as well as follow-up and communication of experience. In recent years, the BIT programme has developed into comprising e-business solutions at value chain level and tools for efficient use of ICT at corporate level. In the spring of 2004, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research will present its "Programme for Digital Competence 2004-2008". This plan focuses on "digital competence for all". The objective is that, before 2008: * all Norwegian educational institutions are to have access to infrastructure and services of high quality. This includes Internet connection with sufficient band width, * digital competence must be a central focus area in training and education at all levels, * the Norwegian educational system must be among the best in the world regarding development and utilisation of ICT in teaching and learning, * ICT must be an integrated means for innovation and quality development in Norwegian training and education. The budget for 2004 is NOK 140 million. Sweden In March 2001, the Swedish Government decided to contribute SEK 30 million to NUTEK (the Swedish Business Development Agency) for the implementation of a national programme aimed at improving IT competence in small enterprises during the period 2001-2003. The objective of the programme, IT.SME.se, is to create opportunities for development and high competitiveness among small enterprises through the creation of awareness of the strategic benefits of IT. The 80 projects that have been commenced under the IT.SME programme vary in size from regional projects that involve 2,000 entrepreneurs and business owners to small trade associations with 10 participants. The project activities are aimed at a total of 15,000 entrepreneurs and business owners. Most of the projects have now been concluded. The activities have been distributed on a wide range of projects in terms of geographical distribution, distribution on industries and types of activities. The focus of the projects has varied from electronic commerce, security and ASP services to industryspecific activities. Most enterprises have started up basic IT activities after having completed training under the programme. (www.nutek.se) NUTEK has also been given the government assignment under REG-IT, a regional project that is aimed at enterprises located in areas prioritised by regional policy and with a budget of SEK 50 million in the period 2002–2004. The objective is to increase knowledge about modern information technology in order to provide inspiration and incentives for increased strategic use of IT by enterprises. REG-IT is also to provide enterprises with incentives for working together on these issues. The REG-IT programme has been rooted in and marketed at the relevant regions with good response. Standardisation Denmark In Denmark, the Ministry for Science has gathered a group of central e-commerce players via its XML Committee with a view to implementing a joint standard for the most central e-commerce documents such as "order", "invoice" and "credit note". It has been agreed to base the joint standard on the international standard UBL. The development of version 1.0 of the UBL standard is nearing its completion. In Denmark, a decision has been made to use a Danish modified version of UBL version 0.7 until version 1.0 has been consolidated as a standard and until there is a business basis for upgrading to this standard in Denmark. A pilot project has also been performed under which the UBL standard has been implemented in the integration with public procurement systems at The Public Procurement Portal (see The State as a Model below). Finland The Advisory Committee on Information Management in Public Administration (JUHTA) is a body that has been set up with the objective of promoting co-operation on information management between central and local government authorities. The tasks of the advisory committee involve planning the co-operation on information management, preparing reports and studies and drawing up recommendations for public information management. (www.intermin.fi/juhta) The Advisory Committee on Information Management in Public Administration coordinates the central and local government authorities' use of computer technology and the development of information management and electronic services, promotes the use of computer technology in public administration, prepares standards and guidelines in its area of competence and decides on the administrative principles in its area of competence. A large part of the JUHTA recommendations concerns electronic communication. These are recommendations for message-based information services: web sites, e-mail use, search register for contact information, data products, metadata on web documents and forms on the Internet as well as a consumer-oriented register of services. Recently published recommendations concern public sector facilities for sending and receiving electronic invoices to and from parties who are under an obligation to keep accounts. A general target set in the recommendations is that half the invoices sent and received in Finland are to be electronic in 2005. It is recommended that the public administration should have the facilities to receive or send electronic invoices in accordance with two message standards (Finvoice and eInvoice), but the advisory committee is of the opinion that a single standard would be more expedient in the long term. The advisory committee's recommendations have only been published in Finnish. In the recommendations, reference is made to Tieke's Forum for Electronic Invoices. Tieke (the Finnish Information Society Development Centre) keeps a list of enterprises (around 1000 at present) that are able to send or receive electronic invoices. Enterprises can register on the list free of charge. (www.tieke.fi) Iceland In Iceland, the standardisation development process has partly taken place by sectoral development. In Iceland, IcePro, with support from the Ministry of Industry, monitors the international work in the standardisation of e-commerce in order to safeguard Icelandic interests and define each requirement. IcePro communicates information about the international work to the national players. IcePro is currently preparing a comprehensive pilot project on electronic transmission of documents between the customs authorities and transport companies (shipping and air transport). The project will focus on the implementation of ebXML in some large enterprises based on the recommendations in the UN/CEFACT Business Collaboration Framework. The project will run on the basis of an open infrastructure concept and is expected to result in detailed testing of the implementation and use of ebXML in the transport industry with a view to an expansion of this to other enterprises and industries. (www.icepro.is) Norway On assignment from the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, NorStella monitors the international IT standardisation work in order to safeguard Norwegian interests and requirements and communicates information from the international work to national players. (www.norstella.no). NorStella and GEA (the Swedish Alliance for Electronic Business) collaborate on a joint Norwegian/Swedish project on the testing of the experience gained from implementations of ebXML in Norwegian and Swedish enterprises seen in the light of the recommendations in the UN/CEFACT Business Collaboration Framework. This work is also based on NorStella's Open Infrastructure concept as well as an implementation plan for use of ebXML in the transport industry. The results will be available in the summer of 2004. The electronic marketplace for public procurement, ehandel.no (see also The State as a Model below), has been documented on the basis of NorStella's Open Infrastructure concept, among other concepts. The documentation has, for example, been used as one of several bases for an XML project under the auspices of the EU's IDA Programme and for the establishment of trading processes between buyers and sellers. (www.ehandel.no) The work on simplification of processes and procedures is an area of commitment for the Norwegian Government. The Internet portal, AltInn, which was formally opened in December 2003, is a joint electronic reporting channel for the business sector for submission of returns and other statements to the Norwegian Directorate of Taxes, the Brønnøysund Registers and Statistics Norway. ebXML and WebServices form part of the basis used for the development of the AltInn project. (www.altinn.no) Sweden So far, most of the standardisation work in Sweden has been done on a sectoral basis. Above all, large industries handle their own standardisation. Some, such as Odette (automotive industry) and Rosettanet (electronics industry) and EAN (groceries trade) work at a European or global level. Work on the development of joint invoice standards has been commenced in Sweden. In the public sector, continuous work is being done on the development of the industry standard SFTI (Single Face To Industry). This concerns both standards for EDI and simpler electronic invoicing. (See also The State as a Model below). The Swedish State plans to establish a centre for method development of trading procedures in Gothenburg. (See also the Swedish Agency for Administrative Development's assignments under the section The State as a Model). The State as a Model/Public E-procurement Denmark In January 2002, The Public Procurement Portal (DOIP) was launched in Denmark as a central initiative aimed at stimulating public e-procurement. The idea behind the establishment of the procurement portal is to create a meeting place for public procurement officers and their suppliers and to make it easier for both parties to have an overview of supply, agreements and purchases and sales statistics. In addition, the portal will make it possible for all parties to integrate the enterprises' purchasing, sales and payment data with their underlying finance and accounts systems. This will allow the enterprises and the public authorities to achieve administrative savings, because time-consuming manual entries and checks can be reduced considerably. After a relatively slow start in 2002, the turnover at DOIP increased markedly in 2003, and the total turnover for 2003 amounted to approximately DKK 38 million. The Danish Agency for Governmental Management owns DOIP, whereas the private enterprise gatetrade.net runs the procurement portal. (www.doip.dk) Finland Through the JulMa service, enterprises receive information about public procurement in Finland and Sweden. In addition to procurement procedures, the service offers document models and information about procurement units and the procurements of the whole public sector. (www.ktm.fi/julma). The TYVI system offers enterprises a uniform way of submitting returns and other information to the public authorities. It simplifies the submission of returns and other information and reduces the resources used for this. Enterprises, representatives and public authorities can file returns and other information through TYVI. The returns are received by the tax authorities, Statistics Finland, the customs authorities, pension funds and pension insurance companies. The returns are gathered and forwarded by operators. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for the co-ordination and development of the TYVI system. More than 50,000 enterprises currently use the system. (www.tyvi.org/tyvi.nsf) Iceland In response to wishes from the Icelandic business community, the Icelandic State undertook to be in charge of the establishment of an electronic marketplace in Iceland. The Ministry of Finance implemented a tendering procedure and entered into a four-year contract with the company ANZA in March 2002. ANZA is responsible for the operation and marketing of the electronic marketplace for the Icelandic State as a whole, and it performs this task in a partnership with IBX in Sweden. The Icelandic State expects to save around 1% on annual government procurements by using electronic procurement. In order to achieve the projected cost reductions, the Ministry of Finance's plan is that all the Icelandic State's procurements in specific product categories are to be made electronically before the end of 2004. The marketplace has been run in Iceland since June 2002. 27 government institutions and 25 suppliers currently trade via the marketplace. There are plans to increase the number of purchasing institutions to around 90 in 2004 and to increase tenfold the number of catalogue products. With this project on the electronic marketplace, the Icelandic State and ANZA have become pioneers in electronic commerce in Iceland. Norway The marketplace ehandel.no is a central initiative for realising e-commerce in the public sector in Norway. The marketplace ehandel.no is today used for contract-based procurement of goods and services that form part of public corporations' service production and day-to-day operations. Following a tendering round, IBX was chosen as the marketplace operator. The marketplace ehandel.no has been in operation since June 2002. 25 players in the central and local government sectors have entered into contracts on taking the marketplace into use, and several players are now well under way with the implementation and use of the solution. As at April 2004, this means that around 3,400 public employees have received training in how to use the solution and that these users have access to an ever-increasing number of relevant product catalogues from their own contractual business suppliers. It has taken 12 to 18 months longer than expected to get to the current stage in the use of the marketplace. Even though there seems to be steady growth, there is focus on increasing the level of activities and increasing state participation. (www.ehandel.no) Sweden In July 2003, the Swedish Government entrusted the Swedish Agency for Administrative Development with the task of working to increase the use of public e-procurement. The total budget for this work is SEK 6.85 million for the period 2003–2006. The tasks under the assignment include an annual survey of the public use of e-commerce, proposal of changes for increased public e-procurement and strengthening the national and international work on the preparation of e-commerce standards. Consideration must be shown for small enterprises' opportunities of participating in public procurement, and co-operation should, where this is suitable, take place with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities. (www.statskontoret.se) The industry standard SFTI, which is a standard for electronic commerce between the public sector and its suppliers of goods and services, is being developed continuously. It primarily concerns the process for suborders, but two reports have been prepared on electronic procurement, and the implementation of the new EU Directives on Public Procurement is now being followed, as is the international work done in IDA and CEN/ISSS, among other organisations. A large number of municipalities and county councils have introduced electronic commerce. A survey done by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities in 2003 showed that approximately 75 of the 290 municipalities have introduced some form of electronic commerce. Approximately a further 50 municipalities have decided to introduce electronic commerce. Most of the municipalities place orders electronically and receive electronic invoices. Various commercial solutions are used, but the industry standard SFTI is the principal solution used. In the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and the Federation of Swedish County Councils, continuous work is being done to support the implementation of efficient electronic commerce in municipalities and county councils in the form of training, consultancy services, etc. (www.eh.svekom.se)
Course Code DON BOSCO INSTITUTE OF TECHONOLGY, KURLA, MUMBAI Department of Computer Engineering, (Odd Semester, 2020-21) SE Comps Applied Mathematics III CSC301 Faculty Name: Revathy S, Pallavi M & Satyanarayana N \| Year \| 2 \| Sem \| III \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSC301.1 \| Students will be able to i) Obtain Laplace Transforms for a given standard function of 't' ii) Obtain Inverse Laplace Transforms for a given simple function of 's' iii) Define harmonic functions and Orthogonal trajectories iv) Obtain Karl Pearson's coefficient of correlation and Spearman's Rank correlation \| \| \| \| CSC301.2 \| Students will be able to i) Obtain the Laplace Transforms, Inverse Laplace Transforms of combinations of standard functions using the properties of Laplace and Inverse Transforms. ii) Identify orthogonal and orthonormal functions and obtain Fourier series, half-range Fourier series and Fourier sine and cosine series of periodic functions. \| \| \| \| CSC301.3 \| Students will be able to i) Find Cauchy – Riemann equations to verify if a function is analytic ii) Define Conformal mapping and obtain the image under given standard transformation iii) Define and obtain bilinear transformation and its fixed points. iv)Apply Heaviside’s and Dirac Delta functions to obtain Laplace Transforms v) Apply Laplace and Inverse Laplace transform concepts to evaluate integrals, solve initial and boundary value problems. \| \| \| \| CSC301.4 \| Students will be able to i) Obtain the harmonic conjugate and orthogonal trajectories of a given family of curves ii) Develop orthonormal functions from a set of orthogonal functions iii) Obtain Regression coefficient & Lines of Regression. iv) Obtain Fourier series for even and odd functions. \| \| \| \| CSC301.5 \| Students will be able to i) Obtain images of regions under conformal mappings – translation, rotaion, inversion and BLT ii) Obtain an analytic function, given a linear combination of its real and imaginary parts \| \| \| \| CSC301.6 \| Students will be able to i) Apply the concept of Z- transformation and its inverse of the given sequence ii) Find the fitting of the curves to the given data by applying Least square method. iii) Obtain Fourier series for functions in a general interval, Obtain complex form fourier series of functions. \| \| \| \| Course Code \| CSC302 \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Faculty Name: \| Ms. Kalpita Ajinkya Wagaskar \| \| \| \| Year \| 2 \| Sem \| III \| \| CO Number \| \| \| \| \| CSC302.1 \| \| \| \| \| CSC302.2 \| \| \| \| \| CSC302.3 \| \| \| \| \| CSC302.4 \| \| \| \| \| CSC302.5 \| \| \| \| \| CSC302.6 \| \| \| \| Course Name: Data Structures Course Code CSC303 Faculty Name: Dr. Phiroj Shaikh \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \|---\|---\| \| CSC303.1 \| Students will be able to implement Linear and Non-Linear data structures. \| \| CSC303.2 \| Students will be able to handle various operations like searching, insertion, deletion and traversals on various data structures. \| \| CSC303.3 \| Students will be able to explain various data structures, related terminologies and its types. \| \| CSC303.4 \| Students will be able to choose appropriate data structure and apply it to solve problems in various domains. \| \| CSC303.5 \| Students will be able to analyze and Implement appropriate searching techniques for a given problem. \| \| CSC303.6 \| Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to analyze, design, apply and use data structures to solve engineering problems and evaluate their solutions. \| Course Code Faculty Name: Year CO Number CSC304.1 CSC304.2 CSC304.3 CSC304.4 CSC304.5 CSC304.6 To describe the concepts of parallel processing and different Buses. \| Course Name: \| Computer Graphics \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Course Code \| CSC305 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Dipti Jadhav \| \| \| \| Year \| 2 \| Sem \| III \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSC305.1 \| Ability to explain the basics of computer graphics and its applications in various fields. \| \| \| \| CSC305.2 \| Design and implement various algorithms for scan conversion, polygon filling algorithms and their comparative analysis.(Using C/OpenGL) \| \| \| \| CSC305.3 \| Ability to explain, design and implement 2D and 3D geometric transformations on graphics object and their usage in composite form. \| \| \| \| CSC305.4 \| Extract scene with different clipping algorithms and implementing those algorithms using (C/OpenGL) \| \| \| \| CSC305.5 \| Ability to render projected objects to naturalize the scene in 2D view \| \| \| \| CSC305.6 \| Ability to create interactive graphics applications(C/OpenGL) using one or more application programming interfaces. \| \| \| \| Course Name: \| Data Structure Lab \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Course Code \| CSL301 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Dr. Phiroj Shaikh and Ms. Priya Kaul \| \| \| \| Year \| 2 \| Sem \| III \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSL301.1 \| Students will be able to implement linear data structures & be able to handle operations like insertion, deletion, searching and traversing on them. \| \| \| \| CSL301.2 \| Students will be able to implement nonlinear data structures & be able to handle operations like insertion, deletion, searching and traversing on them \| \| \| \| CSL301.3 \| Students will be able to choose appropriate data structure and apply it in various problems \| \| \| \| CSL301.4 \| Students will be able to select appropriate searching techniques for given problems. \| \| \| \| CSL301.5 \| Students will be able to implement the various graph data structure and apply it in required application. \| \| \| \| CSL301.6 \| Students will be able to develop application using various data structure. \| \| \| Digital Logic & Computer Architecture CSC304 Deepali Kayande Sem 2 III Course Outcome To learn different number systems and basic structure of computer system. To demonstrate the arithmetic algorithms. To understand the basic concepts of digital components and processor organization. To understand the generation of control signals of computer. To demonstrate the memory organization. Course Code Faculty Name: Year CO Number CSL302.1 CSL302.2 CSL302.3 CSL302.4 CSL302.5 CSL302.6 Course Name: Course Code Faculty Name: Year CO Number CSL303.1 CSL303.2 CSL303.3 CSL303.4 CSL303.5 Course Outcome To understand the basics of digital components Design the basic building blocks of a computer: ALU, registers, CPU and memory To recognize the importance of digital systems in computer architecture To implement various algorithms for arithmetic operations Understand the principles of design of combinational logic and sequential logic circuits using basic components. Design and simulate the basic digital circuit. CG Lab CSL303 Mayura Gawhane/Dipti Jadhav 2 Sem III Implement various output primitives C/ OpenGL Ability to implement filled area primitive algorithms using C/ OpenGL Apply 2D and 3D transformations algorithms on graphical objects. Ability to implement clipping algorithms on graphical objects. Implementation of curve and fractal generation. CSL303.6 Ability to create interactive graphics applications in (C/OpenGL/P5.js) using one or more graphics application programming interfaces. \| Course Name: \| Skill Based Lab Course - OOPM with Java Lab \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Course Code \| CSL304 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Ditty Varghese \| \| \| \| Year \| 2 \| Sem \| III \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSL304.1 \| To apply fundamental programming constructs. \| \| \| \| CSL304.2 \| To illustrate the concept of packages, classes and objects. \| \| \| \| CSL304.3 \| To elaborate the concept of strings, arrays and vectors. \| \| \| \| CSL304.4 \| To implement the concept of inheritance and interfaces. \| \| \| \| CSL304.5 \| To implement the concept of exception handling and multithreading. \| \| \| \| CSL304.6 \| To develop GUI based application. \| \| \| \| Course Name: \| Mini Project - 1 A \| \| \| \| Course Code \| CSM301 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Dr. Phiroz Shaikh \| \| \| \| Year \| 2 \| Sem \| III \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSL304.1 \| Identify problems based on societal /research needs and apply knowledge & skill to solve societal problems in a group. \| \| \| \| CSL304.2 \| Develop interpersonal skills to work as member of a group or leader. \| \| \| \| CSL304.3 \| Draw the proper inferences from available results through theoretical/ experimental/simulations. \| \| \| \| CSL304.4 \| Analyze the impact of solutions in societal and environmental context for sustainable development. \| \| \| \| CSL304.5 \| Use standard norms of engineering practices and Excel in written and oral communication. \| \| \| \| CSL304.6 \| Demonstrate capabilities of self-learning in a group, which leads to lifelong learning. \| \| \| DLCA Lab CSL302 Deepali Kayande 2 Sem III Course Outcome TE Comps Course Name: Microprocessor Course Code CSC501 Faculty Name: Sejal Chopra Year 3 Sem V CO Number Course Outcome CSC501.1 Ability to explain the various architectures and internal working of x86 processors. CSC501.2 Ability to use and apply appropriate instructions to program a microprocessor to perform various tasks. CSC501.3 Ability to describe the concept and working of Interrupts. CSC501.4 Ability to identify and describe the functions and features of different peripheral chips. CSC501.5 CSC501.6 Ability to appraise the structural modifications of advanced processors. Course Name: DBMS Course Code CSC502 Faculty Name: Priya Kaul Year 3 Sem V CO Number Course Outcome CSC502.1 To understand, define and explain the fundamentals of database management systems CSC502.2 CSC502.3 To convert the conceptual model to relational model and formulate relational algebra queries. CSC502.4 To apply and formulate SQL queries to manage the database system. CSC502.5 To analyze and design a relational database design using the concepts of normalization CSC502.6 To correlate the concept of Transaction, Concurrency and Recovery Management with each other in DBMS. Ability to interface and design system using memory chips and peripheral chips for 16-bit 8086 microprocessor To design the conceptual model for any real-life problem. \| Course Name: \| Microprocessor Lab \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Course Code \| CSL501 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Sejal Chopra \| \| \| \| Year \| 3 \| Sem \| V \| \| CO Number \| \| \| \| \| CSL501.1 \| \| \| \| \| CSL501.2 \| \| \| \| \| CSL501.3 \| \| \| \| \| CSL501.4 \| \| \| \| \| CSL501.5 \| \| \| \| \| CSL501.6 \| \| \| \| \| Course Name: \| Database & Info. System Lab \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Course Code \| CSL503 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Priya Kaul \| \| \| \| Year \| 3 \| Sem \| V \| \| CO Number \| \| \| \| \| CSL503.1 \| \| \| \| \| CSL503.2 \| \| \| \| \| CSL503.3 \| \| \| \| \| CSL503.4 \| \| \| \| \| CSL503.5 \| \| \| \| \| CSL503.6 \| \| \| \| Course Name: Microprocessor Lab Course Code CSL501 Faculty Name: Sejal Chopra Year 3 Sem V CO Number Course Outcome CSL501.1 Ability to explain and identify different instructions of 8086 microprocessor. CSL501.2 Ability to use and apply appropriate instructions to program a microprocessor to perform various tasks. CSL501.3 Ability to perform arithmetic operations using assembly language programming. CSL501.4 Ability to write assembly code based on array operations. CSL501.5 Ability to develop the program in mixed language. CSL501.6 Ability to write and execute assembly code for code conversions. Course Name: Computer Network Lab Course Code CSL502 Faculty Name: Mr. Imram Ali Mirza Year 3 Sem V CO Number Course Outcome CSL502.1 Design and setup networking environment in Linux. CSL502.2 Illustrate the use of basic networking commands in Linux. CSL502.3 Use Network to simulate and explore networking algorithms CSL502.4 Implement programs using core programming APIs for understanding networking concepts. CSL502.5 Communicate technical information verbally, in writing, and in presentations. CSL502.6 Use Network to simulate and explore networking protocols. Course Name: Database & Info. System Lab Course Code CSL503 Faculty Name: Priya Kaul Year 3 Sem V CO Number Course Outcome CSL503.1 Ability to design and create conceptual or relational model for any the real life problem with open source software tool. CSL503.2 Ability to apply SQL commands on database. CSL503.3 Ability to apply Data Integrity and Security to protect the database from unauthorized access and manipulation. CSL503.4 Ability to examine effect of concurrency control on database and implement and execute subquery/complex queries CSL503.5 Ability to apply views and triggers for specific task. CSL503.6 Ability to create database system and access data through front end. Web Design Lab Course Code CSL504 Faculty Name: Deepali Kayande Year 3 Sem V CO Number Course Outcome CSL504.1 Understand the core concepts and features of Web Technology CSL504.2 Design static web pages using HTML5 and CSS3 CSL504.3 Apply the concept of client side validation and design dynamic web pages using JavaScript and JQuery. CSL504.4 Evaluate client and server side technologies and create Interactive web pages using PHP , AJAX with database connectivity using MySQL. CSL504.5 Understand the basics of XML, DTD and XSL and develop web pages using XML / XSLT. CSL504.6 Analyze end user requirements and Create web application using appropriate web technologies and web development framework Course Name: BCE Course Code CSL505 Faculty Name: Ms. Devyani Balasra Year 3 Sem V CO Number Course Outcome CSL505.1 CSL505.2 CSL505.3 CSL505.4 CSL505.5 CSL505.6 Students will be able to evaluate technical reports and technical proposals using the given rubric BE Comps Course Name: DSIP Course Code CSC701 Faculty Name: Dipti Jadhav Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSC701.1 Apply the concept of DT Signal and DT Systems. CSC701.2 Classify and analyze discrete time signals and systems CSC701.3 Apply Digital Signal Transform techniques DFT and FFT. CSC701.4 Explain and implement image enhancement techniques CSC701.5 Compare image segmentation techniques. CSC701.6 Survey on latest research based on Digital Signal & Image Processing. Students will be able to relate to techniques of formal and technical writing and to principles of corporate ethics which includes knowledge of Intellectual Property Rights and ethical codes of conduct in business and corporate activities Students will be able to explain the objectives, format and style of technical report, and technical proposal and the importance of interpersonal skills and paraphrase a technical paper Students will be able to describe strategies for effective meetings and group discussions and techniques for effective preparation for different types of interviewwhich includes resume writing and statement of purpose Students will be able to apply conceptual awareness of interpersonal skills, strategies for effective meetings which includes documentation, and group discussions to complete a mock project Students will be able to make use of the given format while drafting a technical report and a technical proposal and the techniques of effective preparation for interviews while appearing for a mock interview MCC Course Code CSC702 Faculty Name: Dr. Amiya Kumar Tripathy Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSC702.1 To identify basic concepts and principles in mobile communication and computing CSC702.2 To express the components and functioning of mobile networking. CSC702.3 To apply the concepts of WLAN for local as well as remote applications. CSC702.4 To classify variety of security techniques in mobile network. CSC702.5 To apply the concepts of mobility management CSC702.6 To describe Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture and its interfaces. Course Name: AI & SC Course Code CSC703 Faculty Name: Ms. Kalpita Ajinkya Wagaskar Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSC703.1 Students will be able to state the difference between AI and SC CSC703.2 Students will be able to explain IA,KBA,PSA, and illustrate ANN, Fuzzy Logic and Expert system architecture CSC703.3 Students will be able to solve problems using informed, uninformed search methods, optimization techniques and ANN CSC703.4 Students will be able to identify planning types and agents and illustrate t he fuzzy inference system CSC703.5 Students will be able to critique and justify different neural network algorithms and compare the results and infer error percentage CSC703.6 Students will be able to formulate problems and design FOL equation for the problems stated Course Name: ASS & DF Course Code CSDLO7031 Faculty Name: Shafaque Fatma Syed Year 4 Sem VII CO Number CSDLO7031.1 Understand cyber attacks and apply access control policies and control mechanisms. CSDLO7031.2 Identify malicious code and targeted malicious code. CSDLO7031.3 Detect and counter threats to web applications. CSDLO7031.4 Explain the vulnerabilities of Wi-Fi networks and explore different measures to secure wireless protocols, WLAN and VPN networks. CSDLO7031.5 Identify the ethical and legal issues associated with cyber crimes and be able to mitigate impact of crimes with suitable policies. CSDLO7031.6 Use different forensic tools to acquire and duplicate data from compromised systems and analyze the same. Course Name: BDA Course Code CSDLO7032 Faculty Name: Sana Shaikh Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSDLO7032.1 Understand the key issues in big data management and its associated applications for business decisions and strategy. CSDLO7032.2 Apply scalable algorithms based on Hadoop and Map Reduce to perform big data analytics. CSDLO7032.3 Use NoSQL tools to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills for managing large datasets. CSDLO7032.4 Interpret business models and scientific computing paradigms, and apply software tools for big data analytics. CSDLO7032.5 CSDLO7032.6 Discover information from social network graphs and Solve complex real world problems in various applications. Apply various methods and techniques for Clustering, and identifying frequent Itemsets from large datasets. \| Course Name: \| BDA \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Course Code \| CSDLO7032 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Sana Shaikh \| \| \| \| Year \| 4 \| Sem \| VII \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSDLO7032.1 \| Understand the key issues in big data management and its associated applications for business decisions and strategy. \| \| \| \| CSDLO7032.2 \| Apply scalable algorithms based on Hadoop and Map Reduce to perform big data analytics. \| \| \| \| CSDLO7032.3 \| Use NoSQL tools to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills for managing large datasets. \| \| \| \| CSDLO7032.4 \| Interpret business models and scientific computing paradigms, and apply software tools for big data analytics. \| \| \| \| CSDLO7032.5 \| Apply various methods and techniques for Clustering, and identifying frequent Itemsets from large datasets. \| \| \| \| CSDLO7032.6 \| Discover information from social network graphs and Solve complex real world problems in various applications. \| \| \| \| Course Name: \| CSL \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Course Code \| ILO7016 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Dr. Phiroj Shaikh \| \| \| \| Year \| 4 \| Sem \| VII \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| ILO7016.1 \| Outline the concept of cybercrime and its effect on the outside world. \| \| \| \| ILO7016.2 \| Infer the cyber offenses and cybercrimes methodologies and it's probable targets. \| \| \| \| ILO7016.3 \| Understands the various tools and methods used in Cybercrimes. \| \| \| \| ILO7016.4 \| Interpret and distinguish different aspects of cyber law in various legal issues. \| \| \| \| ILO7016.5 \| Understands the Indian IT Act and its amendments. \| \| \| \| ILO7016.6 \| Apply information security standards compliance during software design and development. \| \| \| \| Course Name: \| DSIP Lab \| \| \| \| Course Code \| CSL701 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Dipti Jadhav \| \| \| \| Year \| 4 \| Sem \| VII \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSL701.1 \| Perform Sampling and reconstruction of the signal. \| \| \| \| CSL701.2 \| Implement and apply operations like Convolution, Correlation. \| \| \| \| CSL701.3 \| Implement DFT and FFT on DT signals. \| \| \| \| CSL701.4 \| Implement image enhancement techniques \| \| \| \| CSL701.5 \| Classify and implement image segmentation techniques. \| \| \| \| CSL701.6 \| Survey on latest research and module implementation based on Digital Signal & Image Processing. \| \| \| \| Course Name: \| MADT Lab \| \| \| \| Course Code \| CSL702 \| \| \| \| Faculty Name: \| Dr. Amiya Kumar Tripathy \| \| \| \| Year \| 4 \| Sem \| VII \| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSL702.1 \| To demonstrate mobile applications using various tools \| \| \| \| CSL702.2 \| To articulate the knowledge of GSM, CDMA & Bluetooth technologies and demonstrate it. \| \| \| \| CSL702.3 \| To carry out simulation of frequency reuse , hidden terminal problem \| \| \| \| CSL702.4 \| To develop security algorithms for mobile communication network \| \| \| \| CSL702.5 \| To demonstrate simulation and compare the performance of Wireless LAN \| \| \| AI & SC lab Course Code CSL703 Faculty Name: Ms. Kalpita Ajinkya Wagaskar Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSL703.1 To realize the basic techniques to build intelligent systems CSL703.2 CSL703.3 To formulate a given Problem using rules of AI CSL703.4 Implement First Orer Logic for the given story CSL703.5 Apply the supervised/unsupervised learning algorithm. CSL703.6 To Design a fuzzy controller system. Course Name: Computational Lab - I (ASS) Course Code CSL704 Faculty Name: Shafaque Fatma Syed Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSL704.1 Analyze static code and program vulnerabilities using open source tools. CSL704.2 Explore and analyze network vulnerabilities using open source tools. CSL704.3 Explore and analyze different security tools to detect web application and browser vulnerabilities. CSL704.4 Explore and analyze different tools to secure wireless networks and routers, and mobile devices and perform penetration testing, and analyze its impact. CSL704.5 Understand and implement AAA using RADIUS and TACACS. CSL704.6 Explore various forensics tools in Kali Linux and use them to acquire, duplicate and analyze data and recover deleted data. To create knowledge base and apply appropriate search techniques used in problem solving. \| Year \| 4 \| Sem \| VII \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| CO Number \| Course Outcome \| \| \| \| CSL704.1 \| Analyze static code and program vulnerabilities using open source tools. \| \| \| \| CSL704.2 \| Explore and analyze network vulnerabilities using open source tools. \| \| \| \| CSL704.3 \| Explore and analyze different security tools to detect web application and browser vulnerabilities. \| \| \| \| CSL704.4 \| Explore and analyze different tools to secure wireless networks and routers, and mobile devices and perform penetration testing, and analyze its impact. \| \| \| \| CSL704.5 \| Understand and implement AAA using RADIUS and TACACS. \| \| \| \| CSL704.6 \| Explore various forensics tools in Kali Linux and use them to acquire, duplicate and analyze data and recover deleted data. \| \| \| Computational Lab - I (BDA) Course Code CSL704 Faculty Name: Sana Shaikh Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSL704.1 CSL704.2 Learn to write complex MapReduce programs. CSL704.3 CSL704.4 Derive insights using Data Analytics techniques with Hive/PIG/R/Hbase. CSL704.5 CSL704.6 Develop real-life projects using Hadoop and its Ecosystem. Course Name: Major Project - I Course Code CSP705 Faculty Name: Shafaque Fatma Syed Year 4 Sem VII CO Number Course Outcome CSP705.1 CSP705.2 Students will be able to plan the activities, prepare a schedule and budget, execute and monitor the progress by following project management practices. CSP705.3 Students will be able to demonstrate team work and team spirit and overcome challanges. CSP705.4 Students will be able to demonstrate ethical issues related to project. CSP705.5 Students will be able to communicate effectively their project ideas, literature summary and design engineering solutions through reports and presentations. Use the Hadoop file system, debug and run simple Java programs. Learn how to ingest data using Sqoop or Flume. Implement stream data analysis or predictive analysis using big data tools. Students will be able to identify issues related to social, health, safety, legal etc. and propose technological solutions with due consideration to environment and sustainability.
WHO Tables on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Updated 2010 WHO/EMP/QSM/2010.1 © World Health Organization 2010 All rights reserved. Publications of the World Health Organization can be obtained from WHO Press, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (tel.: +41 22 791 3264; fax: +41 22 791 4857; e-mail: email@example.com). Requests for permission to reproduce or translate WHO publications – whether for sale or for noncommercial distribution – should be addressed to WHO Press, at the above address (fax: +41 22 791 4806; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org). The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. All reasonable precautions have been taken by the World Health Organization to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall the World Health Organization be liable for damages arising from its use. INTRODUCTION The data reported in the ''WHO Tables on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies'' were originally assembled by an expert group appointed during a WHO Consultation held in 2003 and subsequently updated during a WHO Consultation held in 2005 (see References section). As new information became available, the group updated the tables and they now reflect the current status of knowledge about infectivity in body tissues, secretions, and excretions of humans with sporadic or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD); cattle with typical or atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE); sheep with scrapie; and (for the first time), deer or elk with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). It is not the purpose of this document to revise the current ''WHO Guidelines on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies'' published in 2006, which remain valid, but the new information on tissue infectivity distribution reported here is important in the context of potential transmission of variant CJD through human blood and blood products, as well as through medicinal products prepared with bovine-derived materials, and may have implications for future recommendations. Since the publication in 2006 of Annex 1 (Major Categories of Infectivity) in the ''WHO Guidelines on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies'', some tissues (ovary, uterus, mammary glands/udder, skin, adipose tissue, and heart/pericardium) and body fluids (saliva, milk, urine, and feces) in which infectivity had not been detected, have since been found to contain infectivity or PrP TSE and therefore have there been moved from the category of ''tissues with no detectable infectivity'' '' to the category of ''lower-infectivity tissues.'' The inclusion of infectivity data in CWD in these Tables was considered important for three reasons: 1) CWD is continuing its spread to new regions of North America, 2) infectivity has been convincingly demonstrated in several bodily secretions and excretions of infected deer and 3) CWD is the only form of animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) that exists in the wild and, although not presently considered to be an important concern for human, could pose serious problems of control in the future, especially as a potential source of infection in other animal species. MAJOR CATEGORIES OF INFECTIVITY: TABLES IA, IB, IC The assignment of tissues to high, low, and undetected infectivity categories is based exclusively upon observations of naturally occurring disease, or primary experimental infection by the oral route (in ruminants). The Tables do not include results from disease models using strains of TSE that have been adapted to experimental animals, because passaged strain phenotypes can differ significantly and unpredictably from those of naturally occurring disease. However, for tissues and fluids of exceptional public health interest, such as muscle, intestine, skin, secretions and excretions, experimental results have been indicated in footnotes. Because the detection of misfolded prion protein (PrP TSE ) broadly parallels infectivity titers in various tissues [Beekes et al 1996; Andreoletti et al 2004], PrP TSE testing results are presented in parallel with bioassay data. Although a given tissue may be positive or negative in different varieties of TSE, the expert group considered a tissue to be potentially infectious even if a positive result occurred in only a single disease. The categorical assignment of tissues will almost certainly undergo further revision as new data accumulate from increasingly sensitive tests. IA: High-infectivity tissues: CNS tissues that attain a high titer of infectivity in the later stages of all TSEs, and certain tissues that are anatomically associated with the CNS. IB: Lower-infectivity tissues: peripheral tissues that have tested positive for infectivity and/or PrP TSE in at least one form of TSE. IC: Tissues with no detectable infectivity: tissues that have been examined for infectivity and/or PrP TSE with negative results. Data entries are shown as follows: + Presence of infectivity or PrP TSE - Absence of detectable infectivity or PrP TSE NT Not tested NA Not applicable ? Uncertain interpretation ( ) Limited or preliminary data [ ] Infectivity or PrP TSE data based exclusively on bioassays in transgenic (Tg)mice over-expressing the PrP-encoding gene or PrP TSE amplification methods. A word of caution is offered about tissues in Table IB for which positive results are so far limited to either detection of PrP TSE using amplification techniques (PMCA), or infectivity bioassays in Tg mice that over-express PrP. The amounts of pathological protein or infectious agent detected by these exquisitely sensitive assays may well fall below the threshold of transmissibility for normal animals and humans. A good example is illustrated in the studies of urine and feces from deer infected with CWD: bioassays using normal deer as recipient subjects were negative; subsequent bioassays performed in Tg mice were positive. A similar discordance was observed for BSE muscle inoculated into cattle and Tgmice. Until more evidence is compiled showing that positive results in experimental PMCA and Tg mouse assays equate to a risk of transmitting disease under natural conditions, it cannot be assumed that such results imply the existence of a substantial risk to the health of animals or humans. Considering the succession of updated Tables of the past few years, and the fact that inflammation has been shown to result in PrP TSE deposition in tissues that are not normally involved in TSE pathogenesis, it is evident that as testing continues, more tissues will find their way from Table IC into Table IB (but probably not from either Table IC or IB into Table IA). It is also evident that the data generated to date are far from complete, and that a great deal more work needs to be done if conclusions about the tissue distribution and significance of infectivity in a given TSE are to be based on direct measurements rather than by analogy to other forms of the disease. Finally, it is critically important to understand that categories of infectivity are not the same as categories of risk, which require consideration not only of the level of infectivity in tissue, but also of the amount of tissue to which a person or animal is exposed, and the route by which infection is transmitted. For example, although the level of tissue infectivity is the most important factor in estimating the risk of transmission by instrument crosscontamination during surgical procedures (e.g., neurosurgery versus general surgery), it will be only one determinant of the risk of transmission by blood transfusions, in which a large amount of low-infectivity blood is administered intravenously, or the risk of transmission by foodstuffs that, irrespective of high or low infectivity, involve a comparatively inefficient oral route of infection. Table IA: High-infectivity tissues \| Tissues \| \| Humans \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Cattle \| \| \| \| Sheep & goats \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| \| vCJD \| \| \| \| Other TSEs \| \| \| \| BSE \| \| \| \| Scrapie \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| \| \| \| Tissues \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Brain \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| + \| \| \| Spinal cord \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| + \| \| \| Retina \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| + \| \| \| Optic nerve2 \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| + \| \| \| Spinal ganglia \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| + \| \| \| Trigeminal \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| \| \| \| ganglia \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Pituitary gland3 \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| + \| \| \| Dura mater3 \| \| NT \| \| (+) \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| Table IB: Lower-infectivity tissues \| Tissues \| \| \| Humans \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Cattle \| \| \| \| Sheep & goats \| \| \| \| Elk & deer \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| \| \| vCJD \| \| \| \| Other TSEs \| \| \| \| BSE \| \| \| \| Scrapie \| \| \| \| CWD \| \| \| \| \| Tissues \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| \| Peripheral Nervous system \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Peripheral nerves \| \| + \| \| + \| \| (-) \| \| + \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Autonomic ganglia4 \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| (-) \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Lymphoreticular tissues \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Spleen \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| - \| \| - \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Lymph nodes \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Tonsil \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| + \| \| - \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Nictitating \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| + \| \| - \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| \| membrane \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Thymus \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Alimentary tract5 \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Esophagus \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Fore-stomach6 \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| \| (ruminants only) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Stomach/ \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| \| abomasum \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Duodenum \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Jejunum7 \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| + \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| \| Ileum7 \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Appendix \| \| (-) \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| NA \| \| \| Colon/caecum7 \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Rectum \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Reproductive tissues \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Placenta8 \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| (+) \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Ovary3 \| \| NT \| \| - (+) \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Uterus3 \| \| NT \| \| - (+) \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Other tissues \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Mammary \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| \| \| gland/udder9 \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Skin3,10 \| \| NT \| \| - (+) \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| + \| \| [+] \| \| [+] \| \| \| Adipose tissue \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| [+] \| \| NT \| \| \| Heart/pericardium \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Lung \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| + \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Liver3 \| \| NT \| \| - (+) \| \| + \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Kidney3,11 \| \| NT \| \| - (+) \| \| + \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Adrenal \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| - \| \| - \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Pancreas3 \| \| NT \| \| - (+) \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Bone marrow12 \| \| - \| \| - \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| (+) \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Skeletal muscle13 \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| (-) \| \| + \| \| [+] \| \| NT \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| [+] \| \| - \| \| \| Tongue14 \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| [+] \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Blood vessels \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| \| Nasal mucosa15 \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| \| Salivary gland \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| \| Cornea16 \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| \| Body fluids, secretions and excretions \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| CSF \| \| - \| \| - \| \| + \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| \| Blood17 \| \| + \| \| ? \| \| - \| \| ? \| \| - \| \| ? \| \| + \| \| ? \| \| + \| \| ? \| \| \| Saliva \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| + \| \| [-] \| \| \| Milk18 \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| (-) \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| + \| \| [+] \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| \| Urine19 \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - [+] \| \| [+] \| \| \| Feces19 \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - [+] \| \| NT \| Table IC: Tissues with no detected infectivity or PrP TSE \| Tissues \| \| \| Humans \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Cattle \| \| \| \| Sheep & goats \| \| \| \| Elk & deer \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| \| \| vCJD \| \| \| \| Other TSEs \| \| \| \| BSE \| \| \| \| Scrapie \| \| \| \| CWD \| \| \| \| Tissues \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| \| PrPTSE \| \| Infectivity1 \| PrPTSE \| \| \| Reproductive tissues \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Testis \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| - \| \| \| Prostate/Epididymis/ \| NT \| \| - \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| \| \| \| Seminal vesicle \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Semen \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Placenta fluids \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| (-) \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Fetus20 \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| (-) \| \| \| Embryos20 \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| ? \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Musculo-skeletal tissues \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Bone \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Tendon \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Other tissues \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Gingival tissue \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Dental pulp \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Trachea \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| - \| \| \| Thyroid gland \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| - \| \| \| Body fluids, secretions and excretions \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Colostrum21 \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| (-) \| \| NT \| \| (-) \| \| - \| \| (?) \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Cord blood21 \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| (-) \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Sweat \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Tears \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| \| \| Nasal mucus \| \| NT \| \| - \| \| - \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| \| NT \| NT \| Footnotes 1. Infectivity bioassays of human tissues have been conducted in either primates or mice (or both); bioassays of cattle tissues have been conducted in either cattle or mice (or both); and most bioassays of sheep and/or goat tissues have been conducted only in mice. In regard to sheep and goats not all results are consistent for both species; for example, two goats (but no sheep) have contracted BSE naturally [Eurosurveillance, 2005, Jeffrey et al., 2006]. Similarly, most of the results described for CWD were derived from studies in deer, and findings may not be identical in elk or other cervids. 2. In experimental models of TSE, the optic nerve has been shown to be a route of neuroinvasion, and contains high titers of infectivity. 3. No experimental data about infectivity in pituitary gland or dura mater in humans with all forms of human TSE have been reported, but cadaveric dura mater patches, and growth hormone derived from cadaveric pituitaries have transmitted disease to hundreds of people and therefore must be included in the category of high-risk tissues. PrP TSE was detected by immunoblot in the dura mater of a vCJD patient who died in the US after an unusually long incubation period (see also Table IB for other positive tissues: skin, kidney, liver, pancreas, ovary and uterus) [Notari et al., 2010]. It must be mentioned that earlier studies of numerous cases examined in the UK reported all of these tissues to be negative [Ironside et al., 2002; Head et al., 2004]. 4. In cattle, PrP TSE is reported to be inconsistently present in the enteric plexus in the distal ileum, but immunohistochemical examination of tissues from a single 'fallen stock' case of BSE in Japan suggested (albeit equivocally) involvement of myenteric plexuses throughout the small and large intestine [Kimura and Haritani, 2008]. 5. In vCJD, PrP TSE is limited to gut-associated lymphoid and nervous tissue (mucosa, muscle, and serosa are negative). 6. Ruminant forestomachs (reticulum, rumen, and omasum) are widely consumed, as is the true stomach (abomasum). The abomasum of cattle (and sometimes sheep) is also a source of rennet. 7. When a large BSE oral dose was used to infect cattle experimentally, infectivity was detected in the jejunum and the ileo-caecum junction in Tg mice overexpressing PrP [courtesy of Dr. M Groschup]. PrP TSE was detected at low incidence in lymphoid tissue of ileum [Terry et al., 2003] and has been detected at an even lower frequency in jejunal lymphoid tissue of cattle similarly infected by the oral route [EFSA, 2009]. 8. A single report of transmission of sporadic CJD infectivity from human placenta has never been confirmed and is considered improbable. 9. PrP TSE has been detected in scrapie-infected sheep with chronic mastitis, but not from infected sheep without mastitis [Ligios et al., 2005]. 10. Studies in hamsters orally infected with scrapie revealed that PrP TSE deposition in skin was primarily located within small nerve fibers. Also, apical skin 'velvet' from the antlers of CWD-infected deer are reported to contain PrP TSE and infectivity [Angers et al., 2009]. 11. PrP TSE detected by immunocytochemistry in the renal pelvis of scrapie-infected heep [Siso et al., 2006]; and in lymphoid follicles within connective tissue adjacent to the renal pelvis in CWD-infected mule deer [Fox et al., 2006]. 12. A single positive marrow in multiple transmission attempts from cattle orally dosed with BSE-infected brain [Wells et al., 1999; Wells et al., 2005; Sohn et al., 2009]. 13. Muscle homogenates have not transmitted disease to primates from humans with sporadic CJD, or to cattle from cattle with BSE. However, intracerebral inoculation of a semitendinosus muscle homogenate (including nervous and lymphatic elements) from a single cow with clinical BSE has transmitted disease to transgenic mice that overexpress PrP at a rate indicative of trace levels of infectivity [Buschmann and Groschup, 2005]. Also, recent published and unpublished studies have reported the presence of PrP TSE in skeletal muscle in experimental rodent models of scrapie and vCJD [Beekes et al., 2005], in experimental and natural scrapie infections of sheep and goats [Andreoletti et al., 2004], in sheep orally dosed with BSE [Andreoletti, unpublished data], and in humans with sporadic, iatrogenic, and variant forms of CJD [Glatzel et al., 2003; Kovacs et al., 2004; Peden et al., 2006]. Bioassays of muscle in transgenic mice expressing cervid PrP have documented infectivity in CWD-infected mule deer [Angers et al, 2006], and experiments are underway to determine whether detectable PrP TSE in other forms of TSE is also associated with infectivity. 14. In cattle, bioassay of infectivity in the tongue was negative, but the presence of infectivity in palatine tonsil has raised concern about possible infectivity in lingual tonsillar tissue at the base of the tongue that may not be removed at slaughter [Wells et al., 2005; EFSA, 2008]. In sheep naturally infected with scrapie, 7 of 10 animals had detectable PrP TSE in the tongue [Casalone et al., 2005; Corona et al., 2006]. 15. Limited chiefly to regions involved in olfactory sensory reception. 16. Because only one case of iatrogenic CJD has been certainly attributed to a corneal transplant among hundreds of thousands of recipients (one additional case is considered probable, and another case only possible), cornea has been categorized as a lower-risk tissue; other anterior chamber tissues (lens, aqueous humor, iris, conjunctiva) have been tested with a negative result both in vCJD and other human TSEs, and there is no epidemiological evidence that they have been associated with iatrogenic disease transmission. 17. A wealth of data from studies of blood infectivity in experimental rodent models of TSE have been extended by recent studies documenting infectivity in the blood of sheep with naturally occurring scrapie and in sheep transfused with blood from BSEinfected cattle [Houston et al., 2008]; of deer with naturally occurring CWD [Mathiason et al., 2006]; and (from epidemiological observations) in the red cell fraction (which includes significant amounts of both plasma and leukocytes) of four blood donors in the pre-clinical phase of vCJD infections [reviewed in Brown, 2006; Hewitt et al., 2006]. Plasma Factor VIII administration has also been potentially implicated in a subclinical case of vCJD in a hemophilia patient [Peden et al., 2010]. Blood has not been shown to transmit disease from humans with any form of 'classical' TSE [Dorsey et al., 2009], or from cattle with BSE (including fetal calf blood). A number of laboratories using new, highly sensitive methods to detect PrP TSE are reporting success in a variety of animal and human TSEs. However, several have experienced difficulty obtaining reproducible results in plasma, and it is not yet clear that positive results imply a potential for disease transmissibility, either because of false positives, or of 'true' positives that are due to sub-transmissible concentrations of PrP TSE . Because of these considerations (and the fact that no data are yet available on blinded testing of specimens from naturally infected humans or animals) the expert group felt that it was still too early to evaluate the validity of these tests with sufficient confidence to permit either a negative or positive conclusion. 18. Evidence that infectivity is not present in milk from BSE-infected bovines includes temporo-spatial epidemiologic observations failing to detect maternal transmission to calves suckled for long periods; clinical observations of over a hundred calves suckled by infected cows that have not developed BSE; and experimental observations that milk from infected cows reared to an age exceeding the minimum incubation period has not transmitted disease when administered intracerebrally or orally to mice [Middleton and Barlow, 1993; Taylor et al., 1995]. Also, PrP TSE has not been detected in milk from cattle incubating BSE following experimental oral challenge [SEAC, 2005]. However, low levels (µg to ng/L) of normal PrP have been detected in milk from both animals and humans [Franscini et al., 2006]. PrP TSE has been detected in the mammary glands of scrapie-infected sheep with chronic mastitis [Ligios et al., 2005], and very recently it has been reported that milk (which in some cases also contained colostrum) from scrapie-infected sheep transmitted disease to healthy animals [Konold et al., 2008; Lacroux et al., 2008]. 19. A mixed inoculum of urine and feces from naturally infected CWD deer did not transmit disease during an 18 month observation period after inoculation of healthy deer with a heterozygous (96 G/S) PRNP genotype [Mathiason et al., 2006]. However, recent bioassays in Tg mice have transmitted disease from both urine [Haley et al., 2009] and feces [Tamgüney et al., 2009]. In addition, mice with lymphocytic nephritis that were experimentally infected with scrapie shed both PrP TSE and infectivity in urine, when bioassayed in Tg mice [Seeger et al., 2005]. Very low levels of infectivity have also been detected in the urine (and histologically normal kidneys) of hamsters experimentally infected with scrapie [Gregori and Rohwer, 2007; Gonzalez-Romero et al., 2008]. Finally, in an experimental scrapie-hamster model, oral dosing resulted in infectious feces when bioassayed in Tg mice over-expressing PrP [Safar et al., 2008]. 20. Embryos from BSE-affected cattle have not transmitted disease to mice, but no infectivity measurements have been made on fetal calf tissues other than blood (negative mouse bioassay) [Fraser and Foster, 1994]. Calves born of dams that received embryos from BSE-affected cattle have survived for observations periods of up to seven years, and examination of the brains of both the unaffected dams and their offspring revealed no spongiform encephalopathy or PrP TSE [Wrathall et al., 2002]. 21. Early reports of transmission of sporadic CJD infectivity from human cord blood and colostrum have never been confirmed and are considered improbable. A bioassay from a cow with BSE in transgenic mice over-expressing bovine PrP gave a negative result [Buschmann and Groschup, 2005]; and PrP TSE has not been detected in colostrum from cattle incubating BSE following experimental oral challenge [SEAC, 2005]. References The references are updated from those published in 2003 and 2006: WHO Guidelines on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies in relation to Biological and Pharmaceutical Products, 2003; and WHO Guidelines on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, 2006 ISBN 92 4 154701 4 (http://www.who.int/blood products/tse/en). The update was compiled by an expert group composed of Dr. O. Andreoletti, Mr R. Bradley; Dr P. Brown; Prof. Dr H. Budka; Dr. JP Deslys, Dr. M Groschup, Prof. J.W. Ironside; Prof. M. Pocchiari, Dr. C. Sigurdson, Mr G.A.H. 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PrPSc in Salivary Glands of Scrapie-Affected Sheep. J Virol 2007; 81: 4872-4876. Chronic Wasting Disease Angers RC, Browning SB, Seward TS, Sigurdson CJ, Miller MW, Hoover EA, Telling GC. Prions in skeletal muscles of deer with chronic wasting disease. Science 2006; 311: 1117. Angers RC, Seward TS, Napier D, Green M, Hoover E, Spraker T, O'Rourke K, Balachandran A, Telling GC. Chronic wasting disease prions in elk antler velvet. Emerg Infect Dis 2009; 15: 696-703. Browning SR, Mason GL, Seward T, Green M, Eliason GA, Mathiason C, Miller MW, Williams ES, Hoover E, Telling GC. Transmission of prions from mule deer and elk with chronic wasting disease to transgenic mice expressing cervid PrP. J Virol 2004; 78:1334513350. Chang B, Cheng X, Yin S, Pan T, Zhang H, Wong P, Kang SC, Xiao F, Yan H, Li C, Wolfe LL, Miller MW, Wisniewski T, Greene MI, Sy MS. Test for detection of disease-associated prion aggregate in the blood of infected but asymptomatic animals. 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Prion infectivity in fat of deer with chronic wasting disease. J Virol 2009; 83: 9608-9610. Sigurdson CJ, Spraker TR, Miller MW, Oesch B, Hoover EA. PrP (CWD) in the myenteric plexus, vagosympathetic trunk and endocrine glands of deer with chronic wasting disease. J Gen Virol 2001; 82: 2327-2334. Sigurdson CJ, Aguzzi A. Chronic wasting disease. Biochim Biophys Acta 2007; 1772: 610618. Spraker TR, Zink RR, Cummings BA, Sigurdson CJ, Miller MW, O'Rourke KI. Distribution of protease-resistant prion protein and spongiform encephalopathy in freeranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) with chronic wasting disease. Vet Pathol 2002; 39: 546-556. Spraker TR, Zink RR, Cummings BA, Wild MA, Miller MW, O'Rourke KI. Comparison of histological lesions and immunohistochemical staining of proteinase-resistant prion protein in a naturally occurring spongiform encephalopathy of free-ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) with those of chronic wasting disease of captive mule deer. Vet Pathol 2002; 39: 110-119. Spraker TR, Gidlewski TL, Balachandran A, VerCauteren KC, Creekmore L, Munger RD. Detection of PrP(CWD) in postmortem rectal lymphoid tissues in Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) infected with chronic wasting disease. J Vet Diagn Invest 2006; 18: 553-557. Tamgüney G, Miller MW, Wolfe LL, Sirochman TM, Glidden DV, Palmer C, Lemus A, DeArmond SJ, Prusiner SB. Asymptomatic deer excrete infectious prions in faeces. Nature 2009; 461: 529-532. Williams ES. Chronic wasting disease. Vet Pathol 2005; 42: 530-549. The 2010 updated version of the WHO Tables on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies provide evidence based information on the tissue infectivity distribution in humans with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the human disease caused by infection with the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent as well as for other human and animal Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). These tables were first published in 2006 with the WHO Guidelines on Tissue Infectivity Distribution in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (see http://www.who.int/bloodproducts/cs/TSEPUBLISHEDREPORT.pdf). Blood Products and Related Biologicals Quality and Safety: Medicines Essential Medicines and Pharmaceutical Policies Health Systems and Services World Health Organization 20, Avenue Appia CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland Telephone 41 22 791 3892/3667 Fax 41 22 791 4730 http://www.who.int/bloodproducts http://www.who.int/medicines
Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus PLIVA, INC., ET AL. v. MENSING CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT No. 09–993. Argued March 30, 2011—Decided June 23, 2011* Five years after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first ap proved metoclopramide, a drug commonly used to treat digestive tract problems, under the brand name Reglan, generic manufacturers such as petitioners also began producing the drug. Because of accu mulating evidence that long-term metoclopramide use can cause tardive dyskinesia, a severe neurological disorder, warning labels for the drug have been strengthened and clarified several times, most re cently in 2009. Respondents were prescribed Reglan in 2001 and 2002, but both received the generic drug from their pharmacists. After taking the drug as prescribed for several years, both developed tardive dyskine sia. In separate state-court tort actions, they sued petitioners, the generic drug manufacturers that produced the metoclopramide they took (Manufacturers). Each respondent alleged, inter alia, that long term metoclopramide use caused her disorder and that the Manufac turers were liable under state tort law for failing to provide adequate warning labels. In both suits, the Manufacturers urged that federal statutes and FDA regulations pre-empted the state tort claims by re quiring the same safety and efficacy labeling for generic metoclopra mide as was mandated at the time for Reglan. The Fifth and Eighth Circuits rejected these arguments, holding that respondents' claims were not pre-empted. Held: The judgment is reversed, and the cases are remanded. —————— Together with No. 09–1039, Actavis Elizabeth, LLC v. Mensing, also on certiorari to the same court, and No. 09–1501, Actavis, Inc. v. De mahy, on certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Syllabus 588 F. 3d 603 and 593 F. 3d 428, reversed and remanded. JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to all but Part III–B–2, concluding that federal drug regulations appli cable to generic drug manufacturers directly conflict with, and thus pre-empt, these state claims. Pp. 4–14, 17–20. (a) Because pre-emption analysis requires a comparison between federal and state law, the Court begins by identifying the state tort duties and federal labeling requirements applicable to the Manufac turers. Pp. 4–10. (2) On the other hand, federal drug regulations, as interpreted by the FDA, prevented the Manufacturers from independently changing their generic drugs' safety labels. A manufacturer seeking federal approval to market a new drug must prove that it is safe and effec tive and that the proposed label is accurate and adequate. Although the same rules originally applied to all drugs, the 1984 law commonly called the Hatch-Waxman Amendments allows a generic drug manu facturer to gain FDA approval simply by showing that its drug is equivalent to an already-approved brand-name drug, and that the safety and efficacy labeling proposed for its drug is the same as that approved for the brand-name drug. Respondents contend that fed eral law nevertheless provides avenues through which the Manufac turers could have altered their metoclopramide labels in time to pre vent the injuries here. These include: (1) the FDA's "changes-being effected" (CBE) process, which permits drug manufacturers, without preapproval, to add or strengthen a warning label; and (2) sending "Dear Doctor" letters providing additional warnings to prescribing physicians and other healthcare professionals. However, the FDA denies that the Manufacturers could have used either of these proc esses to unilaterally strengthen their warning labels. The Court de fers to the FDA's views because they are not plainly erroneous or in consistent with the regulations, and there is no other reason to doubt that they reflect the FDA's fair and considered judgment. Auer v. Robbins, 519 U. S. 452, 461, 462. Assuming, without deciding, that the FDA is correct that federal law nevertheless required the Manu facturers to ask for the agency's assistance in convincing the brand name manufacturer to adopt a stronger label, the Court turns to the (1) State tort law requires a manufacturer that is, or should be, aware of its drug's danger to label it in a way that renders it rea sonably safe. Respondents pleaded that the Manufacturers knew, or should have known, both that the long-term use of their products car ried a high risk of tardive dyskinesia and that their labels did not adequately warn of that risk. Taking these allegations as true, the state-law duty required the Manufacturers to use a different, stronger label than the one they actually used. Pp. 4–5. Syllabus pre-emption question. Pp. 5–10. (1) The Court finds impossibility here. If the Manufacturers had independently changed their labels to satisfy their state-law duty to attach a safer label to their generic metoclopramide, they would have violated the federal requirement that generic drug labels be the same as the corresponding brand-name drug labels. Thus, it was impossi ble for them to comply with both state and federal law. And even if they had fulfilled their federal duty to ask for FDA help in strength ening the corresponding brand-name label, assuming such a duty ex ists, they would not have satisfied their state tort-law duty. State law demanded a safer label; it did not require communication with the FDA about the possibility of a safer label. Pp. 11–12. (b) Where state and federal law directly conflict, state law must give way. See, e.g., Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U. S. 555, 583. Such a con flict exists where it is "impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements." Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick, 514 U. S. 280, 287. Pp. 11–14, 17–20. (2) The Court rejects the argument that the Manufacturers' pre emption defense fails because they failed to ask the FDA for help in changing the corresponding brand-name label. The proper question for "impossibility" analysis is whether the private party could inde pendently do under federal law what state law requires of it. See Wyeth, supra, at 573. Accepting respondents' argument would render conflict pre-emption largely meaningless by making most conflicts be tween state and federal law illusory. In these cases, it is possible that, had the Manufacturers asked the FDA for help, they might have eventually been able to strengthen their warning label. But it is also possible that they could have convinced the FDA to reinterpret its regulations in a manner that would have opened the CBE process to them, persuaded the FDA to rewrite its generic drug regulations entirely, or talked Congress into amending the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. If these conjectures sufficed to prevent federal and state law from conflicting, it is unclear when, outside of express pre emption, the Supremacy Clause would have any force. That Clause— which makes federal law "the supreme Law of the Land . . . any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary not withstanding," U. S. Const., Art. VI, cl. 2—cannot be read to permit an approach to pre-emption that renders conflict pre-emption all but meaningless. Here, it is enough to hold that when a party cannot satisfy its state duties without the Federal Government's special permission and assistance, which is dependent on the exercise of judgment by a federal agency, that party cannot independently sat isfy those state duties for pre-emption purposes. Pp. 12–14, 17. (3) Wyeth is not to the contrary. The Court there held that a Syllabus state tort action against a brand-name drug manufacturer for failure to provide an adequate warning label was not pre-empted because it was possible for the manufacturer to comply with both state and fed eral law under the FDA's CBE regulation. 555 U. S., at 572–573. The federal statutes and regulations that apply to brand-name drug manufacturers differ, by Congress' design, from those applicable to generic drug manufacturers. And different federal statutes and regu lations may, as here, lead to different pre-emption results. This Court will not distort the Supremacy Clause in order to create simi lar pre-emption across a dissimilar statutory scheme. Congress and the FDA retain authority to change the law and regulations if they so desire. Pp. 17–20. THOMAS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Part III– B–2. ROBERTS, C. J., and SCALIA and ALITO, JJ., joined that opinion in full, and KENNEDY, J., joined as to all but Part III–B–2. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which GINSBURG, BREYER, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. 09–993 Opinion of the Court NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the preliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash ington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES _________________ Nos. 09–993, 09–1039, and 09–1501 _________________ PLIVA, INC., ET AL., PETITIONERS v. GLADYS MENSING ACTAVIS ELIZABETH, LLC, PETITIONER 09–1039 v. GLADYS MENSING ACTAVIS, INC., PETITIONER v. 09–1501 JULIE DEMAHY ON WRITS OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH AND FIFTH CIRCUITS [June 23, 2011] JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court, ex cept as to Part III–B–2. These consolidated lawsuits involve state tort-law claims based on certain drug manufacturers' alleged fail ure to provide adequate warning labels for generic meto clopramide. The question presented is whether federal drug regulations applicable to generic drug manufacturers directly conflict with, and thus pre-empt, these state-law claims. We hold that they do. —————— * JUSTICE KENNEDY joins all but Part III–B–2 of this opinion. 1 I Metoclopramide is a drug designed to speed the move ment of food through the digestive system. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved metoclopra mide tablets, under the brand name Reglan, in 1980. Five years later, generic manufacturers also began producing meto clopramide. The drug is commonly used to treat digestive tract problems such as diabetic gastroparesis and gastroesophageal reflux disorder. Evidence has accumulated that long-term metoclopra mide use can cause tardive dyskinesia, a severe neurologi cal disorder. Studies have shown that up to 29% of pa tients who take metoclopramide for several years develop this condition. McNeil v. Wyeth, 462 F. 3d 364, 370, n. 5 (CA5 2006); see also Shaffer, Butterfield, Pamer, & Mackey, Tardive Dyskinesia Risks and Metoclopramide Use Before and After U. S. Market Withdrawal of Cis apride, 44 J. Am. Pharmacists Assn. 661, 663 (2004) (not ing 87 cases of metoclopramide-related tardive dyskinesia reported to the FDA's adverse event reporting system by mid-2003). Accordingly, warning labels for the drug have been strengthened and clarified several times. In 1985, the label was modified to warn that "tardive dyskinesia . . . may develop in patients treated with metoclopramide," and the drug's package insert added that "[t]herapy longer than 12 weeks has not been evaluated and cannot be recommended." Physician's Desk Reference 1635–1636 (41st ed. 1987); see also Brief for Petitioner PLIVA et al. 21–22 (hereinafter PLIVA Brief). In 2004, the brand name Reglan manufacturer requested, and the FDA ap proved, a label change to add that "[t]herapy should not exceed 12 weeks in duration." Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 8 (hereinafter U. S. Brief). And in 2009, the FDA ordered a black box warning—its strongest— which states: "Treatment with metoclopramide can cause tardive dyskinesia, a serious movement disorder that is often irreversible. . . . Treatment with metoclopramide for longer than 12 weeks should be avoided in all but rare cases." See Physician's Desk Reference 2902 (65th ed. 2011). Gladys Mensing and Julie Demahy, the plaintiffs in these consolidated cases, were prescribed Reglan in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Both received generic metoclo pramide from their pharmacists. After taking the drug as prescribed for several years, both women developed tardive dyskinesia. In separate suits, Mensing and Demahy sued the ge neric drug manufacturers that produced the metoclopra mide they took (Manufacturers). Each alleged, as relevant here, that long-term metoclopramide use caused her tar dive dyskinesia and that the Manufacturers were liable under state tort law (specifically, that of Minnesota and Louisiana) for failing to provide adequate warning labels. They claimed that "despite mounting evidence that long term metoclopramide use carries a risk of tardive dyskine sia far greater than that indicated on the label," none of the Manufacturers had changed their labels to adequately warn of that danger. Mensing v. Wyeth, Inc., 588 F. 3d 603, 605 (CA8 2009); see also Demahy v. Actavis, Inc., 593 F. 3d 428, 430 (CA5 2010). In both suits, the Manufacturers urged that federal law pre-empted the state tort claims. According to the Manu facturers, federal statutes and FDA regulations required them to use the same safety and efficacy labeling as their brand-name counterparts. This means, they argued, that it was impossible to simultaneously comply with both federal law and any state tort-law duty that required them to use a different label. The Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eighth Circuits rejected the Manufacturers' arguments and held that Men sing and Demahy's claims were not pre-empted. See 588 F. 3d, at 614; 593 F. 3d, at 449. We granted certiorari, 562 U. S. ___ (2010), consolidated the cases, and now reverse each. II Pre-emption analysis requires us to compare federal and state law. We therefore begin by identifying the state tort duties and federal labeling requirements applicable to the Manufacturers. A It is undisputed that Minnesota and Louisiana tort law require a drug manufacturer that is or should be aware of its product's danger to label that product in a way that renders it reasonably safe. Under Minnesota law, which applies to Mensing's lawsuit, "where the manufacturer . . . of a product has actual or constructive knowledge of danger to users, the . . . manufacturer has a duty to give warning of such dangers." Frey v. Montgomery Ward & Co., 258 N. W. 2d 782, 788 (Minn. 1977). Similarly, under Louisiana law applicable to Demahy's lawsuit, "a manu facturer's duty to warn includes a duty to provide ade quate instructions for safe use of a product." Stahl v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., 283 F. 3d 254, 269–270 (CA5 2002); see also La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §9:2800.57 (West 2009). In both States, a duty to warn falls specifically on the manufacturer. See Marks v. OHMEDA, Inc., 2003– 1446, pp. 8–9 (La. App. 3/31/04), 871 So. 2d 1148, 1155; Gray v. Badger Min. Corp., 676 N. W. 2d 268, 274 (Minn. 2004). Mensing and Demahy have pleaded that the Manufac turers knew or should have known of the high risk of tardive dyskinesia inherent in the long-term use of their product. They have also pleaded that the Manufacturers knew or should have known that their labels did not ade quately warn of that risk. App. 437–438, 67–69, 94–96. The parties do not dispute that, if these allegations are true, state law required the Manufacturers to use a differ ent, safer label. B Federal law imposes far more complex drug labeling requirements. We begin with what is not in dispute. Under the 1962 Drug Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 76 Stat. 780, 21 U. S. C. §301 et seq., a manufacturer seeking federal approval to market a new drug must prove that it is safe and effective and that the proposed label is accurate and adequate. 1 See, e.g., 21 U. S. C. §§355(b)(1), (d); Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U. S. 555, 567 (2009). Meeting those requirements involves costly and lengthy clinical testing. §§355(b)(1)(A), (d); see also D. Beers, Generic and Innovator Drugs: A Guide to FDA Approval Requirements §2.02[A] (7th ed. 2008). Originally, the same rules applied to all drugs. In 1984, however, Congress passed the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, 98 Stat. 1585, commonly called the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. Under this law, "generic drugs" can gain FDA approval simply by showing equivalence to a reference listed drug that has already been approved by the FDA. 2 21 U. S. C. §355(j)(2)(A). This allows manufacturers to develop generic drugs in expensively, without duplicating the clinical trials already performed on the equivalent brand-name drug. A generic drug application must also "show that the [safety and —————— 1 All relevant events in these cases predate the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007, 121 Stat. 823. We therefore refer exclusively to the pre-2007 statutes and regulations and express no view on the impact of the 2007 Act. 2 As we use it here, "generic drug" refers to a drug designed to be a copy of a reference listed drug (typically a brand-name drug), and thus identical in active ingredients, safety, and efficacy. See, e.g., United States v. Generix Drug Corp., 460 U. S. 453, 454–455 (1983); 21 CFR §314.3(b) (2006) (defining "reference listed drug"). efficacy] labeling proposed . . . is the same as the labeling approved for the [brand-name] drug." §355(j)(2)(A)(v); see also §355(j)(4)(G); Beers §§3.01, 3.03[A]. As a result, brand-name and generic drug manufactur ers have different federal drug labeling duties. A brand name manufacturer seeking new drug approval is respon sible for the accuracy and adequacy of its label. See, e.g., 21 U. S. C. §§355(b)(1), (d); Wyeth, supra, at 570–571. A manufacturer seeking generic drug approval, on the other hand, is responsible for ensuring that its warning label is the same as the brand name's. See, e.g., §355(j)(2)(A)(v); §355(j)(4)(G); 21 CFR §§314.94(a)(8), 314.127(a)(7). The parties do not disagree. What is in dispute is whether, and to what extent, generic manufacturers may change their labels after initial FDA approval. Mensing and Demahy contend that federal law provided several avenues through which the Manufacturers could have altered their metoclopramide labels in time to prevent the injuries here. The FDA, however, tells us that it inter prets its regulations to require that the warning labels of a brand-name drug and its generic copy must always be the same—thus, generic drug manufacturers have an ongoing federal duty of "sameness." U. S. Brief 16; see also 57 Fed. Reg. 17961 (1992) ("[T]he [generic drug's] labeling must be the same as the listed drug product's labeling because the listed drug product is the basis for [generic drug] ap proval"). The FDA's views are "controlling unless plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation[s]" or there is any other reason to doubt that they reflect the FDA's fair and considered judgment. Auer v. Robbins, 519 U. S. 452, 461, 462 (1997) (internal quotation marks omitted). 3 —————— 3 The brief filed by the United States represents the views of the FDA. Cf. Talk America, Inc. v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co., 564 U. S. ___, ___, n. 1 (2011) (slip op., at 1, n. 1); Chase Bank USA, N. A. v. McCoy, 562 U. S. ___, ___ (2011) (slip op., at 8). Although we defer to the agency's interpretation of its regulations, we do not defer to an agency's 1 First, Mensing and Demahy urge that the FDA's "changes-being-effected" (CBE) process allowed the Manu facturers to change their labels when necessary. See Brief for Respondents 33–35; see also 593 F. 3d, at 439–444; Gaeta v. Perrigo Pharmaceuticals Co., 630 F. 3d 1225, 1231 (CA9 2011); Foster v. American Home Prods. Corp., 29 F. 3d 165, 170 (CA4 1994). The CBE process permits drug manufacturers to "add or strengthen a contraindica tion, warning, [or] precaution," 21 CFR §314.70(c)(6)(iii)(A) (2006), or to "add or strengthen an instruction about dos age and administration that is intended to increase the safe use of the drug product," §314.70(c)(6)(iii)(C). When making labeling changes using the CBE process, drug man ufacturers need not wait for preapproval by the FDA, which ordinarily is necessary to change a label. Wyeth, supra, at 568. They need only simultaneously file a sup plemental application with the FDA. 21 CFR §314.70(c)(6). The FDA denies that the Manufacturers could have used the CBE process to unilaterally strengthen their warning labels. The agency interprets the CBE regulation to allow changes to generic drug labels only when a ge neric drug manufacturer changes its label to match an updated brand-name label or to follow the FDA's instruc tions. U. S. Brief 15, 16, n. 7 (interpreting 21 CFR §314.94(a)(8)(iv)); U. S. Brief 16, n. 8. The FDA argues that CBE changes unilaterally made to strengthen a generic drug's warning label would violate the statutes and regulations requiring a generic drug's label to match its brand-name counterpart's. Id., at 15–16; see also 21 U. S. C. §355(j)(4)(G); 21 CFR §§314.94(a)(8)(iii), 314.150(b)(10) (approval may be withdrawn if the generic drug's label "is no longer consistent with that for [the —————— ultimate conclusion about whether state law should be pre-empted. Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U. S. 555, 576 (2009). brand-name]"). We defer to the FDA's interpretation of its CBE and generic labeling regulations. Although Mensing and Demahy offer other ways to interpret the regulations, see Brief for Respondents 33–35, we do not find the agency's interpretation "plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation." Auer, supra, at 461 (internal quotation marks omitted). Nor do Mensing and Demahy suggest there is any other reason to doubt the agency's reading. We there fore conclude that the CBE process was not open to the Manufacturers for the sort of change required by state law. 2 Next, Mensing and Demahy contend that the Manufac turers could have used "Dear Doctor" letters to send ad ditional warnings to prescribing physicians and other healthcare professionals. See Brief for Respondents 36; 21 CFR §200.5. Again, the FDA disagrees, and we defer to the agency's views. The FDA argues that Dear Doctor letters qualify as "labeling." U. S. Brief 18; see also 21 U. S. C. §321(m); 21 CFR §202.1(l)(2). Thus, any such letters must be "consis tent with and not contrary to [the drug's] approved . . . labeling." 21 CFR §201.100(d)(1). A Dear Doctor letter that contained substantial new warning information would not be consistent with the drug's approved labeling. Moreover, if generic drug manufacturers, but not the brand-name manufacturer, sent such letters, that would inaccurately imply a therapeutic difference between the brand and generic drugs and thus could be impermissibly "misleading." U. S. Brief 19; see 21 CFR §314.150(b)(3) (FDA may withdraw approval of a generic drug if "the labeling of the drug . . . is false or misleading in any particular"). As with the CBE regulation, we defer to the FDA. Mensing and Demahy offer no argument that the FDA's interpretation is plainly erroneous. See Auer, 519 U. S., at 461. Accordingly, we conclude that federal law did not permit the Manufacturers to issue additional warnings through Dear Doctor letters. 3 Though the FDA denies that the Manufacturers could have used the CBE process or Dear Doctor letters to strengthen their warning labels, the agency asserts that a different avenue existed for changing generic drug la bels. According to the FDA, the Manufacturers could have proposed—indeed, were required to propose—stronger warning labels to the agency if they believed such warn ings were needed. U. S. Brief 20; 57 Fed. Reg. 17961. If the FDA had agreed that a label change was necessary, it would have worked with the brand-name manufacturer to create a new label for both the brand-name and generic drug. Ibid. The agency traces this duty to 21 U. S. C. §352(f)(2), which provides that a drug is "misbranded . . . [u]nless its labeling bears . . . adequate warnings against . . . unsafe dosage or methods or duration of administration or appli cation, in such manner and form, as are necessary for the protection of users." See U. S. Brief 12. By regulation, the FDA has interpreted that statute to require that "labeling shall be revised to include a warning as soon as there is reasonable evidence of an association of a serious hazard with a drug." 21 CFR §201.57(e). According to the FDA, these requirements apply to ge neric drugs. As it explains, a "'central premise of federal drug regulation is that the manufacturer bears re sponsibility for the content of its label at all times.'" U. S. Brief 12–13 (quoting Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 570–571). The FDA reconciles this duty to have adequate and accurate labeling with the duty of sameness in the following way: Generic drug manufacturers that become aware of safety problems must ask the agency to work toward strengthen ing the label that applies to both the generic and brand name equivalent drug. U. S. Brief 20. The Manufacturers and the FDA disagree over whether this alleged duty to request a strengthened label actually existed. The FDA argues that it explained this duty in the preamble to its 1992 regulations implementing the HatchWaxman Amendments. Ibid.; see 57 Fed. Reg. 17961 ("If a [generic drug manufacturer] believes new safety infor mation should be added to a product's labeling, it should contact FDA, and FDA will determine whether the label ing for the generic and listed drugs should be revised"). The Manufacturers claim that the FDA's 19-year-old statement did not create a duty, and that there is no evi dence of any generic drug manufacturer ever acting pur suant to any such duty. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 19–24; Reply Brief for Petitioner PLIVA et al. 18–22. Because we ultimately find pre-emption even assuming such a duty existed, we do not resolve the matter. C To summarize, the relevant state and federal require ments are these: State tort law places a duty directly on all drug manufacturers to adequately and safely label their products. Taking Mensing and Demahy's allegations as true, this duty required the Manufacturers to use a different, stronger label than the label they actually used. Federal drug regulations, as interpreted by the FDA, prevented the Manufacturers from independently chang ing their generic drugs' safety labels. But, we assume, federal law also required the Manufacturers to ask for FDA assistance in convincing the brand-name manufac turer to adopt a stronger label, so that all corresponding generic drug manufacturers could do so as well. We turn now to the question of pre-emption. III The Supremacy Clause establishes that federal law "shall be the supreme Law of the Land . . . any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." U. S. Const., Art. VI, cl. 2. Where state and federal law "directly conflict," state law must give way. Wyeth, supra, at 583 (THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment); see also Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 530 U. S. 363, 372 (2000) ("[S]tate law is natu rally preempted to the extent of any conflict with a federal statute"). We have held that state and federal law conflict where it is "impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements." 4 Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick, 514 U. S. 280, 287 (1995) (internal quotation marks omitted). 5 A We find impossibility here. It was not lawful under federal law for the Manufacturers to do what state law required of them. And even if they had fulfilled their federal duty to ask for FDA assistance, they would not have satisfied the requirements of state law. If the Manufacturers had independently changed their —————— 4 We do not address whether state and federal law "directly conflict" in circumstances beyond "impossibility." See Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 582, 590–591 (THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment) (suggesting that they might). 5 The Hatch-Waxman Amendments contain no provision expressly pre-empting state tort claims. See post, at 9, 19 (SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting). Nor do they contain any saving clause to expressly pre serve state tort claims. Cf. Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., 562 U. S. ___, ___ (2011) (THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment) (discussing the saving clause in the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, 49 U. S. C. §30103(e)). Although an express state ment on pre-emption is always preferable, the lack of such a statement does not end our inquiry. Contrary to the dissent's suggestion, the absence of express pre-emption is not a reason to find no conflict pre emption. See post, at 19. labels to satisfy their state-law duty, they would have violated federal law. Taking Mensing and Demahy's allegations as true, state law imposed on the Manufac turers a duty to attach a safer label to their generic meto clopramide. Federal law, however, demanded that ge neric drug labels be the same at all times as the corres ponding brand-name drug labels. See, e.g., 21 CFR §314.150(b)(10). Thus, it was impossible for the Manufac turers to comply with both their state-law duty to change the label and their federal law duty to keep the label the same. The federal duty to ask the FDA for help in strengthen ing the corresponding brand-name label, assuming such a duty exists, does not change this analysis. Although requesting FDA assistance would have satisfied the Man ufacturers' federal duty, it would not have satisfied their state tort-law duty to provide adequate labeling. State law demanded a safer label; it did not instruct the Manufacturers to communicate with the FDA about the possibility of a safer label. Indeed, Mensing and Demahy deny that their state tort claims are based on the Manu facturers' alleged failure to ask the FDA for assistance in changing the labels. Brief for Respondents 53–54; cf. Buckman Co. v. Plaintiffs' Legal Comm., 531 U. S. 341 (2001) (holding that federal drug and medical device laws pre-empted a state tort-law claim based on failure to properly communicate with the FDA). B 1 Mensing and Demahy contend that, while their state law claims do not turn on whether the Manufacturers asked the FDA for assistance in changing their labels, the Manufacturers' federal affirmative defense of pre-emption does. Mensing and Demahy argue that if the Manufactur ers had asked the FDA for help in changing the corre sponding brand-name label, they might eventually have been able to accomplish under federal law what state law requires. That is true enough. The Manufacturers "freely concede" that they could have asked the FDA for help. PLIVA Brief 48. If they had done so, and if the FDA decided there was sufficient supporting information, and if the FDA undertook negotiations with the brand-name manufacturer, and if adequate label changes were decided on and implemented, then the Manufacturers would have started a Mouse Trap game that eventually led to a better label on generic metoclopramide. This raises the novel question whether conflict pre emption should take into account these possible actions by the FDA and the brand-name manufacturer. Here, what federal law permitted the Manufacturers to do could have changed, even absent a change in the law itself, depending on the actions of the FDA and the brand-name manufac turer. Federal law does not dictate the text of each ge neric drug's label, but rather ties those labels to their brand-name counterparts. Thus, federal law would permit the Manufacturers to comply with the state labeling re quirements if, and only if, the FDA and the brand-name manufacturer changed the brand-name label to do so. Mensing and Demahy assert that when a private party's ability to comply with state law depends on approval and assistance from the FDA, proving pre-emption requires that party to demonstrate that the FDA would not have allowed compliance with state law. Here, they argue, the Manufacturers cannot bear their burden of proving impos sibility because they did not even try to start the process that might ultimately have allowed them to use a safer label. Brief for Respondents 47. This is a fair argument, but we reject it. The question for "impossibility" is whether the private party could independently do under federal law what state law requires of it. See Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 573 (finding no pre-emption where the defendant could "unilaterally" do what state law required). Accepting Mensing and Demahy's argument would render conflict pre-emption largely meaningless because it would make most conflicts between state and federal law illusory. We can often imagine that a third party or the Federal Government might do something that makes it lawful for a private party to accomplish under federal law what state law requires of it. In these cases, it is certainly possible that, had the Manufacturers asked the FDA for help, they might have eventually been able to strengthen their warn ing label. Of course, it is also possible that the Manufac turers could have convinced the FDA to reinterpret its regulations in a manner that would have opened the CBE process to them. Following Mensing and Demahy's argu ment to its logical conclusion, it is also possible that, by asking, the Manufacturers could have persuaded the FDA to rewrite its generic drug regulations entirely or talked Congress into amending the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. If these conjectures suffice to prevent federal and state law from conflicting for Supremacy Clause purposes, it is unclear when, outside of express pre-emption, the Su premacy Clause would have any force. 6 We do not read the Supremacy Clause to permit an approach to pre emption that renders conflict pre-emption all but mean ingless. The Supremacy Clause, on its face, makes federal law "the supreme Law of the Land" even absent an ex press statement by Congress. U. S. Const., Art. VI, cl. 2. —————— 6 The dissent asserts that we are forgetting "purposes-and-objectives" pre-emption. Post, at 15–16. But as the dissent acknowledges, pur poses-and-objectives pre-emption is a form of conflict pre-emption. Post, at 9, 16. If conflict pre-emption analysis must take into account hypothetical federal action, including possible changes in Acts of Congress, then there is little reason to think that pre-emption based on the purposes and objectives of Congress would survive either. Opinion of the Court Opinion of THOMAS, J. 2 Moreover, the text of the Clause—that federal law shall be supreme, "any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding"—plainly contem plates conflict pre-emption by describing federal law as effectively repealing contrary state law. Ibid.; see Nelson, Preemption, 86 Va. L. Rev. 225, 234 (2000); id., at 252–253 (describing discussion of the Supremacy Clause in state ratification debates as concerning whether federal law could repeal state law, or vice versa). The phrase "any [state law] to the Contrary notwithstanding" is a non ob stante provision. Id., at 238–240, nn. 43–45. Eighteenth century legislatures used non obstante provisions to specify the degree to which a new statute was meant to repeal older, potentially conflicting statutes in the same field. Id., at 238–240 (citing dozens of statutes from the 1770's and 1780's with similar provisions). A non obstante provision "in a new statute acknowledged that the statute might contradict prior law and instructed courts not to apply the general presumption against implied repeals." Id., at 241–242; 4 M. Bacon, A New Abridgment of the Law 639 (4th ed. 1778) ("Although two Acts of Parliament are seemingly repugnant, yet if there be no Clause of non Obstante in the latter, they shall if possible have such Construction, that the latter may not be a Repeal of the former by Implication"). The non obstante provision in the Supremacy Clause therefore suggests that federal law should be understood to impliedly repeal conflicting state law. Further, the provision suggests that courts should not strain to find ways to reconcile federal law with seemingly conflicting state law. Traditionally, courts went to great lengths attempting to harmonize conflicting statutes, in order to avoid implied repeals. Warder v. Arell, 2 Va. 282, 296 (1796) (opinion of Roane, J.) ("[W]e ought to seek for such a construction as will reconcile [the statutes] to Opinion of the Court Opinion of THOMAS, J. gether"); Ludlow's Heirs v. Johnston, 3 Ohio 553, 564 (1828) ("[I]f by any fair course of reasoning the two [stat utes] can be reconciled, both shall stand"); Doolittle v. Bryan, 14 How. 563, 566 (1853) (requiring "the repug nance be quite plain" before finding implied repeal). A non obstante provision thus was a useful way for legisla tures to specify that they did not want courts distorting the new law to accommodate the old. Nelson, supra, at 240–242; see also J. Sutherland, Statutes and Statutory Construction §147, p. 199 (1891) ("[W]hen there is inserted in a statute a provision [of non obstante] . . . . It is to be supposed that courts will be less inclined against recogniz ing repugnancy in applying such statutes"); Weston's Case, 73 Eng. Rep. 780, 781 (K. B. 1576) ("[W]hen there are two statutes, one in appearance crossing the other, and no clause of non obstante is contained in the second statute . . . the exposition ought to be that both should stand in force"); G. Jacob, A New Law Dictionary (J. Morgan ed., 10th ed. 1782) (definition of "statute," ¶6: "[W]hen there is a seeming variance between two statutes, and no clause of non obstante in the latter, such construction shall be made that both may stand"). The non obstante provision of he Supremacy Clause indicates that a court need look no further than "the ordinary meanin[g]" of federal law, and should not distort federal law to accommodate conflicting state law. Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 588 (THOMAS, J., concur ring in judgment) (internal quotation marks omitted). To consider in our pre-emption analysis the contingen cies inherent in these cases—in which the Manufacturers' ability to comply with state law depended on uncertain federal agency and third-party decisions—would be incon sistent with the non obstante provision of the Supremacy Clause. The Manufacturers would be required continually to prove the counterfactual conduct of the FDA and brand name manufacturer in order to establish the supremacy of federal law. We do not think the Supremacy Clause con templates that sort of contingent supremacy. The non obstante provision suggests that pre-emption analysis should not involve speculation about ways in which fed eral agency and third-party actions could potentially reconcile federal duties with conflicting state duties. When the "ordinary meaning" of federal law blocks a private party from independently accomplishing what state law requires, that party has established pre-emption. 3 To be sure, whether a private party can act sufficiently independently under federal law to do what state law requires may sometimes be difficult to determine. But this is not such a case. Before the Manufacturers could satisfy state law, the FDA—a federal agency—had to undertake special effort permitting them to do so. To decide these cases, it is enough to hold that when a party cannot satisfy its state duties without the Federal Government's special permission and assistance, which is dependent on the exercise of judgment by a federal agency, that party can not independently satisfy those state duties for pre emption purposes. Here, state law imposed a duty on the Manufacturers to take a certain action, and federal law barred them from taking that action. The only action the Manufacturers could independently take—asking for the FDA's help—is not a matter of state-law concern. Mensing and Demahy's tort claims are pre-empted. C Wyeth is not to the contrary. In that case, as here, the plaintiff contended that a drug manufacturer had breached a state tort-law duty to provide an adequate warning label. 555 U. S., at 559–560. The Court held that the lawsuit was not pre-empted because it was possible for Wyeth, a brand-name drug manufacturer, to comply with both state and federal law. Id., at 572–573. 7 Specifically, the CBE regulation, 21 CFR §314.70(c)(6)(iii), permitted a brand-name drug manufacturer like Wyeth "to unilater ally strengthen its warning" without prior FDA approval. 555 U. S., at 573; cf. supra, at 7–8. Thus, the federal regulations applicable to Wyeth allowed the company, of its own volition, to strengthen its label in compliance with its state tort duty. 8 We recognize that from the perspective of Mensing and Demahy, finding pre-emption here but not in Wyeth makes little sense. Had Mensing and Demahy taken Reglan, the brand-name drug prescribed by their doctors, Wyeth would control and their lawsuits would not be pre-empted. But —————— 7 Wyeth also urged that state tort law "creat[ed] an unacceptable 'obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.' " 555 U. S., at 563–564 (quoting Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U. S. 52, 67 (1941)). The Court rejected that argu ment, and that type of pre-emption is not argued here. Cf. post, at 16, n. 13 (opinion of SOTOMAYOR, J.). That analysis is consistent with our holding today. The Court in Wyeth asked what the drug manufacturer could independently do under federal law, and in the absence of clear evidence that Wyeth could not have accomplished what state law required of it, found no pre-emption. The Wyeth Court held that, because federal law accommodated state law duties, "the possibility of impossibility" was "not enough." Post, at 10; see also Rice v. Norman Williams Co., 458 U. S. 654, 659 (1982) (rejecting "hypothetical" impossibility). But here, "existing" federal law directly conflicts with state law. Post, at 15 ("Conflict analysis neces sarily turns on existing law"). The question in these cases is not whether the possibility of impossibility establishes pre-emption, but rather whether the possibility of possibility defeats pre-emption. Post, at 10. 8 The FDA, however, retained the authority to eventually rescind Wyeth's unilateral CBE changes. Accordingly, the Court noted that Wyeth could have attempted to show, by "clear evidence," that the FDA would have rescinded any change in the label and thereby demonstrate that it would in fact have been impossible to do under federal law what state law required. Wyeth, supra, at 571. Wyeth offered no such evidence. because pharmacists, acting in full accord with state law, substituted generic metoclopramide instead, federal law pre-empts these lawsuits. See, e.g., Minn. Stat. §151.21 (2010) (describing when pharmacists may substitute ge neric drugs); La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §37:1241(A)(17) (West 2007) (same). We acknowledge the unfortunate hand that federal drug regulation has dealt Mensing, Demahy, and others similarly situated. 9 But "it is not this Court's task to decide whether the statutory scheme established by Congress is unusual or even bizarre." Cuomo v. Clearing House Assn., L. L. C., 557 U. S. ___, ___ (2009) (THOMAS, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (slip op., at 21) (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted). It is beyond dispute that the federal statutes and regulations that apply to brand name drug manufacturers are meaningfully different than those that apply to generic drug manufacturers. Indeed, it is the special, and different, regulation of generic drugs that allowed the generic drug market to expand, bringing more drugs more quickly and cheaply to the public. But different federal statutes and regulations may, as here, lead to different pre-emption results. We will not distort the Supremacy Clause in order to create similar pre emption across a dissimilar statutory scheme. As always, Congress and the FDA retain the authority to change the —————— 9 That said, the dissent overstates what it characterizes as the "many absurd consequences" of our holding. Post, at 18. First, the FDA in forms us that "[a]s a practical matter, genuinely new information about drugs in long use (as generic drugs typically are) appears infre quently." U. S. Brief 34–35. That is because patent protections ordi narily prevent generic drugs from arriving on the market for a number of years after the brand-name drug appears. Indeed, situations like the one alleged here are apparently so rare that the FDA has no "formal regulation" establishing generic drug manufacturers' duty to initiate a label change, nor does it have any regulation setting out that label change process. Id., at 20–21. Second, the dissent admits that, even under its approach, generic drug manufacturers could establish pre emption in a number of scenarios. Post, at 12–13. Opinion of the Court law and regulations if they so desire. * * * The judgments of the Fifth and Eighth Circuits are reversed, and the cases are remanded for further proceed ings consistent with this opinion. It is so ordered. 09–993 SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES _________________ Nos. 09–993, 09–1039, and 09–1501 _________________ ET AL PLIVA, INC.,., PETITIONERS v. GLADYS MENSING ACTAVIS ELIZABETH, LLC, PETITIONER 09–1039 v. GLADYS MENSING ACTAVIS, INC., PETITIONER v. 09–1501 JULIE DEMAHY ON WRITS OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH AND FIFTH CIRCUITS [June 23, 2011] JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE GINSBURG JUSTICE BREYER, and JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting. , The Court today invokes the doctrine of impossibility pre-emption to hold that federal law immunizes generic drug manufacturers from all state-law failure-to-warn claims because they cannot unilaterally change their la bels. I cannot agree. We have traditionally held defen dants claiming impossibility to a demanding standard: Until today, the mere possibility of impossibility had not been enough to establish pre-emption. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits— and, the Court assumes, requires—generic-drug manufac turers to propose a label change to the FDA when they believe that their labels are inadequate. If it agrees that the labels are inadequate, the FDA can initiate a change to the brand-name label, triggering a corresponding change to the generic labels. Once that occurs, a generic manufacturer is in full compliance with both federal law and a state-law duty to warn. Although generic manufac turers may be able to show impossibility in some cases, petitioners, generic manufacturers of metoclopramide (Manufacturers), have shown only that they might have been unable to comply with both federal law and their state-law duties to warn respondents Gladys Mensing and Julie Demahy. This, I would hold, is insufficient to sus tain their burden. The Court strains to reach the opposite conclusion. It invents new principles of pre-emption law out of thin air to justify its dilution of the impossibility standard. It effec tively rewrites our decision in Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U. S. 555 (2009), which holds that federal law does not pre-empt failure-to-warn claims against brand-name drug manufac turers. And a plurality of the Court tosses aside our re peated admonition that courts should hesitate to conclude that Congress intended to pre-empt state laws governing health and safety. As a result of today's decision, whether a consumer harmed by inadequate warnings can obtain relief turns solely on the happenstance of whether her pharmacist filled her prescription with a brand-name or generic drug. The Court gets one thing right: This out come "makes little sense." Ante, at 18. I A Today's decision affects 75 percent of all prescription drugs dispensed in this country. The dominant position of generic drugs in the prescription drug market is the result of a series of legislative measures, both federal and state. In 1984, Congress enacted the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, 98 Stat. 1585— commonly known as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments to SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)—to "make available more low cost generic drugs by establish ing a generic drug approval procedure," H. R. Rep. No. 98– 857, pt. 1, p. 14 (1984). As the majority explains, to ac complish this goal the amendments establish an abbrevi ated application process for generic drugs. Ante, at 5–6; see also 21 U. S. C. §355(j)(2)(A). The abbreviated ap proval process implements the amendments' core principle that generic and brand-name drugs must be the "same" in nearly all respects: To obtain FDA approval, a generic manufacturer must ordinarily show, among other things, that its product has the same active ingredients as an approved brand-name drug; that "the route of adminis tration, the dosage form, and the strength of the new drug are the same" as the brand-name drug; and that its product is "bioequivalent" to the brand-name drug. §§355(j)(2)(A)(ii), (iii), (iv). By eliminating the need for generic manufacturers to prove their drugs' safety and efficacy independently, the Hatch-Waxman Amendments allow generic manufacturers to bring drugs to market much less expensively. The States have also acted to expand consumption of low-cost generic drugs. In the years leading up to passage of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, States enacted legis lation authorizing pharmacists to substitute generic drugs when filling prescriptions for brand-name drugs. Chris tensen, Kirking, Ascione, Welage, & Gaither, Drug Prod uct Selection: Legal Issues, 41 J. Am. Pharmaceutical Assn. 868, 869 (2001). Currently, all States have some form of generic substitution law. See ibid. Some States require generic substitution in certain circumstances. Dept. of Health and Human Servs., ASPE Issue Brief: Expanding the Use of Generic Drugs 7 (2010) (hereinafter Expanding the Use of Generic Drugs); 1 see, e.g., N. Y. —————— 1 Online at http://aspe.hhs.gov/sp/reports/2010/GenericDrugs/ib.pdf Educ. Law Ann. §6816–a (West 2010). Others permit, but do not require, substitution. Expanding the Use of Ge neric Drugs 7; see, e.g., Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Ann. §4073 (West Supp. 2011). Some States require patient consent to substitution, and all States "allow the physician to specify that the brand name must be prescribed, although with different levels of effort from the physician." Expanding the Use of Generic Drugs 7. 2 These legislative efforts to expand production and con sumption of generic drugs have proved wildly successful. It is estimated that in 1984, when the Hatch-Waxman Amendments were enacted, generic drugs constituted 19 percent of drugs sold in this country. Congressional Bud get Office, How Increased Competition from Generic Drugs Has Affected Prices and Returns in the Pharmaceu tical Industry 27 (1998). 3 Today, they dominate the mar ket. See Expanding the Use of Generic Drugs 2 (generic drugs constituted 75 percent of all dispensed prescription drugs in 2009). Ninety percent of drugs for which a generic version is available are now filled with generics. Id., at 3–4. In many cases, once generic versions of a drug enter the market, the brand-name manufacturer stops selling the brand-name drug altogether. See Brief for Marc T. Law et al. as Amici Curiae 18 (citing studies —————— (all Internet materials as visited June 17, 2011, and available in Clerk of Court's case file). 2 In addition, many insurance plans are structured to promote generic use. See Congressional Budget Office, Effects of Using Generic Drugs on Medicare's Prescription Drug Spending 9 (2010), online at http:// www.cbo.gov/ftpdoc/118xx/doc11838/09-15-PrescriptionDrugs.pdf. State Medicaid programs similarly promote generic use. See Kaiser Comm'n on Medicaid and the Uninsured, State Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drug Policies: Findings from a National Survey, 2005 Update 10 (2005), online at www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/state medicaid-outpatient-prescription-drug-policies-findings-from-a-national survey-2005-update-report.pdf. 3 Online at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/6xx/doc655/pharm.pdf. SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting showing that anywhere from one-third to one-half of generic drugs no longer have a marketed brand-name equivalent). Reflecting the success of their products, many generic manufacturers, including the Manufacturers and their amici, are huge, multinational companies. In total, generic drug manufacturers sold an estimated $66 billion of drugs in this country in 2009. See id., at 15. B As noted, to obtain FDA approval a generic manufac turer must generally show that its drug is the same as an approved brand-name drug. It need not conduct clinical trials to prove the safety and efficacy of the drug. This does not mean, however, that a generic manufacturer has no duty under federal law to ensure the safety of its prod ucts. The FDA has limited resources to conduct postap proval monitoring of drug safety. See Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 578. Manufacturers, we have recognized, "have superior access to information about their drugs, especially in the postmarketing phase as new risks emerge." Id., at 578– 579. Federal law thus obliges drug manufacturers—both brand-name and generic—to monitor the safety of their products. Under federal law, generic manufacturers must "develop written procedures for the surveillance, receipt, evalua tion, and reporting of postmarketing adverse drug experi ences" to the FDA. 4 21 CFR §314.80(b); 5 see also §314.98 (making §314.80 applicable to generic manufacturers); Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 6, and n. 2 (hereinafter U. S. Brief). They must review all reports of adverse drug experiences received from "any source." —————— 4 An adverse drug experience is defined as "[a]ny adverse event asso ciated with the use of a drug in humans, whether or not considered drug related." 21 CFR §314.80(a) (2006). 5 Like the majority, I refer to the pre-2007 statutes and regulations. See ante, at 5, n. 1. §314.80(b). If a manufacturer receives a report of a seri ous and unexpected adverse drug experience, it must re port the event to the FDA within 15 days and must "promptly investigate." §§314.80(c)(1)(i)–(ii); see also Tr. of Oral Arg. 8. Most other adverse drug experiences must be reported on a quarterly or yearly basis. 6 §314.80(c)(2). Generic manufacturers must also submit to the FDA an annual report summarizing "significant new information from the previous year that might affect the safety, ef fectiveness, or labeling of the drug product," including a "description of actions the [manufacturer] has taken or intends to take as a result of this new information." §314.81(b)(2)(i); see also §314.98(c). Generic manufacturers, the majority assumes, also bear responsibility under federal law for monitoring the ade quacy of their warnings. I agree with the majority's con clusion that generic manufacturers are not permitted unilaterally to change their labels through the "changes being-effected" (CBE) process or to issue additional warn ings through "Dear Doctor" letters. See ante, at 6–9. According to the FDA, however, that generic manufactur —————— 6 At congressional hearings on the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, representatives of the generic drug manufacturers confirmed both their obligation and their ability to conduct postapproval investigation of adverse drug experiences. See Drug Legislation: Hearings on H. R. 1554 et al. before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, 98th Cong., 1st Sess., 45 (1983) (statement of Kenneth N. Larsen, chairman of the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association (GPhA)) (generic manufacturers "are sensitive to the importance of looking at adverse reactions"); id., at 47–48 ("[W]e will do and provide whatever is required to be performed to meet the regulatory requirement to provide for the safety and well being of those that are using the drug, this is our role and responsibil ity. This is an obligation to be in this business"); id., at 50–51 (state ment of Bill Haddad, executive officer and president of GPhA) ("Every single generic drug company that I know has a large research staff. It not only researches the drug that they are copying, or bringing into the market but it researches new drugs, researches adverse reaction[s]"). OTOMAYOR S , J., dissenting ers cannot disseminate additional warnings on their own does not mean that federal law permits them to remain idle when they conclude that their labeling is inadequate. FDA regulations require that labeling "be revised to in clude a warning as soon as there is reasonable evidence of an association of a serious hazard with a drug." 21 CFR §201.57(e) (2006), currently codified at 21 CFR §201.80(e) (2010); see also Wyeth , 555 U. S., at 570–571. The FDA construes this regulation to oblige generic manufacturers "to seek to revise their labeling and provide FDA with supporting information about risks" when they believe that additional warnings are necessary. 7 U. S. Brief 20. The Manufacturers disagree. They read the FDA regu lation to require them only to ensure that their labels match the brand-name labels. See Brief for Petitioner PLIVA et al. 38–41. I need not decide whether the regula tion in fact obliges generic manufacturers to approach the FDA to propose a label change. The majority assumes that it does. And even if generic manufacturers do not have a duty to propose label changes, two points remain undisputed. First, they do have a duty under federal law —————— 7 The FDA's construction of this regulation mirrors the guidance it provided to generic manufacturers nearly 20 years ago in announcing the final rule implementing the abbreviated application process for generic drugs: "If an ANDA [i.e., application for approval of a generic drug] applicant believes new safety information should be added to a product's labeling, it should contact FDA, and FDA will determine whether the labeling for the generic and listed drugs should be revised. After approval of an ANDA, if an ANDA holder believes that new safety information should be added, it should provide adequate supporting information to FDA, and FDA will determine whether the labeling for the generic and listed drugs should be revised." 57 Fed. Reg. 17961 (1992). FDA's internal procedures recognize that the Office of Generic Drugs will have to consult with other FDA components on "some labeling reviews." Manual of Policies and Procedures 5200.6, p. 1 (May 9, 2001). Consultations involving "possible serious safety concerns" receive the highest priority. Id., at 3. to monitor the safety of their products. And, second, they may approach the FDA to propose a label change when they believe a change is required. II This brings me to the Manufacturers' pre-emption de fense. State law obliged the Manufacturers to warn of dangers to users. See Hines v. Remington Arms Co., 94– 0455, p. 10 (La. 12/8/94), 648 So. 2d 331, 337; Frey v. Montgomery Ward & Co., 258 N. W. 2d 782, 788 (Minn. 1977). The Manufacturers contend, and the majority agrees, that federal law pre-empts respondents' failure-to warn claims because, under federal law, the Manufac turers could not have provided additional warnings to respondents without the exercise of judgment by the FDA. I cannot endorse this novel conception of impossibility pre-emption. A Two principles guide all pre-emption analysis. First, "'the purpose of Congress is the ultimate touchstone in every pre-emption case.'" Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 565 (quoting Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U. S. 470, 485 (1996)). Sec ond, "'[i]n all pre-emption cases, and particularly in those in which Congress has legislated . . . in a field which the States have traditionally occupied, . . . we start with the assumption that the historic police powers of the States were not to be superseded by the Federal Act unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress.'" Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 565 (quoting Lohr, 518 U. S., at 485; some internal quotation marks omitted; alterations in original). These principles find particular resonance in these cases. The States have traditionally regulated health and safety matters. See id., at 485. Notwithstanding Con gress' "certain awareness of the prevalence of state tort litigation" against drug manufacturers, Wyeth, 555 U. S., SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting at 575, Congress has not expressly pre-empted state-law tort actions against prescription drug manufacturers, whether brand-name or generic. To the contrary, when Congress amended the FDCA in 1962 to "enlarg[e] the FDA's powers to 'protect the public health' and 'assure the safety, effectiveness, and reliability of drugs,' [it] took care to preserve state law." Id., at 567 (quoting 76 Stat. 780); see Pub. L. 87–781, §202, 76 Stat. 793 ("Nothing in the amendments made by this Act to the [FDCA] shall be construed as invalidating any provision of State law which would be valid in the absence of such amendments unless there is a direct and positive conflict between such amendments and such provision of State law"). Notably, although Congress enacted an express pre-emption provi sion for medical devices in 1976, see Pub. L. 94–295, §521, 90 Stat. 574, 21 U. S. C. §360k(a), it included no such provision in the Hatch-Waxman Amendments eight years later. Cf. Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 567, 574–575. Congress' "silence on the issue . . . is powerful evidence that [it] did not intend FDA oversight to be the exclusive means of ensuring drug safety and effectiveness." Id., at 575. B Federal law impliedly pre-empts state law when state and federal law "conflict"—i.e., when "it is impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal law" or when state law "stands as an obstacle to the accomplish ment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 530 U. S. 363, 372–373 (2000) (internal quotation marks omit ted). The Manufacturers rely solely on the former ground of pre-emption. Impossibility pre-emption, we have emphasized, "is a de manding defense." Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 573. Because pre-emption is an affirmative defense, a defendant seeking to set aside state law bears the burden to prove impossibil ity. See ibid.; Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U. S. 238, 255 (1984). To prevail on this defense, a defendant must demonstrate that "compliance with both federal and state [law] is a physical impossibility." Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul, 373 U. S. 132, 142–143 (1963); see also Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 573. In other words, there must be an "inevitable collision" between federal and state law. Florida Lime, 373 U. S., at 143. "The existence of a hypothetical or potential conflict is insufficient to warrant" pre-emption of state law. Rice v. Norman Wil liams Co., 458 U. S. 654, 659 (1982); see also Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn., 505 U. S. 88, 110 (1992) (KENNEDY, J., concurring in part and concur ring in judgment). In other words, the mere possibility of impossibility is not enough. The Manufacturers contend that it was impossible for them to provide additional warnings to respondents Men sing and Demahy because federal law prohibited them from changing their labels unilaterally. 8 They concede, however, that they could have asked the FDA to initiate a label change. If the FDA agreed that a label change was required, it could have asked, and indeed pressured, the brand-name manufacturer to change its label, triggering a corresponding change to the Manufacturers' generic la —————— 8 In its decision below, the Eighth Circuit suggested that the Manu facturers could not show impossibility because federal law merely permitted them to sell generic drugs; it did not require them to do so. See Mensing v. Wyeth, Inc., 588 F. 3d 603, 611 (2009) ("The generic defendants were not compelled to market metoclopramide. If they realized their label was insufficient but did not believe they could even propose a label change, they could have simply stopped selling the product"); see also Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U. S. 861, 873 (2000) (describing "a case of impossibility" as one "in which state law penalizes what federal law requires" (emphasis added)). Respon dents have not advanced this argument, and I find it unnecessary to consider. SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting bels. 9 Thus, had the Manufacturers invoked the available mechanism for initiating label changes, they may well have been able to change their labels in sufficient time to warn respondents. Having failed to do so, the Manufac turers cannot sustain their burden (at least not without further factual development) to demonstrate that it was impossible for them to comply with both federal and state law. At most, they have demonstrated only "a hypotheti cal or potential conflict." Rice, 458 U. S., at 659. Like the majority, the Manufacturers focus on the fact that they cannot change their labels unilaterally—which distinguishes them from the brand-name-manufacturer defendant in Wyeth. They correctly point out that in Wyeth we concluded that the FDA's CBE regulation au thorized the defendant to strengthen its warnings before receiving agency approval of its supplemental application describing the label change. 555 U. S., at 568–571; see also 21 CFR §314.70(c)(6). But the defendant's label change was contingent on FDA acceptance, as the FDA retained "authority to reject labeling changes made pur suant to the CBE regulation." Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 571. Thus, in the long run, a brand-name manufacturer's com pliance with a state-law duty to warn required action by two actors: The brand-name manufacturer had to change the label and the FDA, upon reviewing the supplemental application, had to agree with the change. 10 The need for —————— 9 At the time respondents' cause of action arose, the FDA did not have authority to require a brand-name manufacturer to change its label. (It received that authority in 2007. See Pub. L. 110–85, §901, 121 Stat. 924–926, 21 U. S. C. §355(o)(4) (2006 ed., Supp. III). It did, how ever, have the equally significant authority to withdraw the brand-name manufacturer's permission to market its drug if the manufacturer refused to make a requested labeling change. See 21 U. S. C. §355(e) (2006 ed.); 21 CFR §314.150(b)(3). 10 A brand-name manufacturer's ability to comply with a state-law duty to warn would depend on its own unilateral actions only during the period after it should have changed its label but before the FDA FDA approval of the label change did not make compliance with federal and state law impossible in every case. In stead, because the defendant bore the burden to show impossibility, we required it to produce "clear evidence that the FDA would not have approved a change to [the] label." Ibid. I would apply the same approach in these cases. State law, respondents allege, required the Manufacturers to provide a strengthened warning about the dangers of long-term metoclopramide use. 11 Just like the brand-name manufacturer in Wyeth, the Manufacturers had available to them a mechanism for attempting to comply with their state-law duty to warn. Federal law thus "accommodated" the Manufacturers' state-law duties. See ante, at 18, n. 8. It was not necessarily impossible for the Manufacturers to comply with both federal and state law because, had they approached the FDA, the FDA may well have agreed that a label change was necessary. Accordingly, as in Wyeth, I would require the Manufacturers to show that the FDA would not have approved a proposed label change. They have not made such a showing: They do "not argue that [they] attempted to give the kind of warning required by [state law] but [were] prohibited from doing so by the FDA." Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 572. This is not to say that generic manufacturers could never show impossibility. If a generic-manufacturer de fendant proposed a label change to the FDA but the FDA rejected the proposal, it would be impossible for that defendant to comply with a state-law duty to warn. Like wise, impossibility would be established if the FDA had —————— would have approved or disapproved the label change. The claim in Wyeth does not appear to have arisen during that period. 11 Respondents' state-law claim is not that the Manufacturers were required to ask the FDA for assistance in changing the labels; the role of the FDA arises only as a result of the Manufacturers' pre-emption defense. SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting not yet responded to a generic manufacturer's request for a label change at the time a plaintiff's injuries arose. A generic manufacturer might also show that the FDA had itself considered whether to request enhanced warnings in light of the evidence on which a plaintiff's claim rests but had decided to leave the warnings as is. (The Manufac turers make just such an argument in these cases. See, e.g., Brief for Petitioner Actavis et al. 11.) But these are questions of fact to be established through discovery. Because the burden of proving impossibility falls on the defendant, I would hold that federal law does not render it impossible for generic manufacturers to comply with a state-law duty to warn as a categorical matter. This conclusion flows naturally from the overarching prin ciples governing our pre-emption doctrine. See supra, at 8. Our "respect for the States as 'independent sover eigns in our federal system' leads us to assume that 'Con gress does not cavalierly pre-empt state-law causes of action.'" Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 565–566, n. 3 (quoting Lohr, 518 U. S., at 485). It is for this reason that we hold defen dants asserting impossibility to a "demanding" standard. Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 573. This presumption against pre emption has particular force when the Federal Govern ment has afforded defendants a mechanism for complying with state law, even when that mechanism requires fed eral agency action. (The presumption has even greater force when federal law requires defendants to invoke that mechanism, as the majority assumes in these cases.) In such circumstances, I would hold, defendants will usually be unable to sustain their burden of showing impossibility if they have not even attempted to employ that mecha nism. Any other approach threatens to infringe the States' authority over traditional matters of state inter est—such as the failure-to-warn claims here—when Con gress expressed no intent to pre-empt state law. SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting C The majority concedes that the Manufacturers might have been able to accomplish under federal law what state law requires. Ante, at 12–13. To reach the conclusion that the Manufacturers have nonetheless satisfied their bur den to show impossibility, the majority invents a new pre emption rule: "The question for 'impossibility' is whether the private party could independently do under federal law what state law requires of it." Ante, at 13 (emphasis added). Because the Manufacturers could not have changed their labels without the exercise of judgment by the FDA, the majority holds, compliance with both state and federal law was impossible in these cases. 12 The majority's new test has no basis in our precedents. The majority cites only Wyeth in support of its test. As discussed above, however, Wyeth does not stand for the proposition that it is impossible to comply with both fed eral and state law whenever federal agency approval is required. To the contrary, label changes by brand-name manufacturers such as Wyeth are subject to FDA review and acceptance. See supra, at 11–12. And, even if Wyeth could be characterized as turning on the fact that the brand-name manufacturer could change its label unilater ally, the possibility of unilateral action was, at most, a sufficient condition for rejecting the impossibility defense in that case. Wyeth did not hold that unilateral action is a necessary condition in every case. —————— 12 These cases do not involve a situation where a brand-name manufacturer itself produces generic drugs. See Okie, Multinational Medicines—Ensuring Drug Quality in an Era of Global Manufactur ing, 361 N. Eng. J. Med. 737, 738 (2009); see also GPhA, Frequently Asked Questions About Generics, http://www.gphaonline.org/about gpha/about-generics/faq ("Brand-name companies make about half of generic drugs"). In that case, the manufacturer could independently change the brand-name label under the CBE regulation, triggering a corresponding change to its own generic label. OTOMAYOR S , J., dissenting With so little support in our case law, the majority un derstandably turns to other rationales. None of the rationales that it offers, however, makes any sense. First, it offers a reductio ad absurdum: If the possibility of FDA approval of a label change is sufficient to avoid conflict in these cases, it warns, as a "logical conclusion" so too would be the possibility that the FDA might rewrite its regula tions or that Congress might amend the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. Ante, at 14. The logic of this conclusion escapes me. Conflict analysis necessarily turns on exist ing law. It thus would be ridiculous to conclude that federal and state law do not conflict on the ground that the defendant could have asked a federal agency or Congress to change the law. Here, by contrast, the Manufacturers' compliance with their state-law duty to warn did not re quire them to ask for a change in federal law, as the majority itself recognizes. See ante, at 13 ("[F]ederal law would permit the Manufacturers to comply with the state labeling requirements if, and only if, the FDA and the brand-name manufacturer changed the brand-name label to do so"). The FDA already afforded them a mechanism for attempting to comply with their state-law duties. Indeed, the majority assumes that FDA regulations re quired the Manufacturers to request a label change when they had "reasonable evidence of an association of a seri ous hazard with a drug." 21 CFR §201.57(e). Second, the majority suggests that any other approach would render conflict pre-emption "illusory" and "meaning less." Ante, at 14. It expresses concern that, without a robust view of what constitutes conflict, the Supremacy Clause would not have "any force" except in cases of ex press pre-emption. Ibid. To the extent the majority's purported concern is driven by its reductio ad absurdum, see ante, at 14, n. 6, that concern is itself illusory, for the reasons just stated. To the extent the majority is con cerned that our traditionally narrow view of what consti tutes impossibility somehow renders conflict pre-emption as a whole meaningless, that concern simply makes no sense: We have repeatedly recognized that conflict pre emption may be found, even absent impossibility, where state law "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." Crosby, 530 U. S., at 373 (internal quotation marks omitted); see, e.g., Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U. S. 861, 886 (2000); Barnett Bank of Marion Cty., N. A. v. Nelson, 517 U. S. 25, 31 (1996); Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U. S. 52, 67 (1941). The majority's ex pansive view of impossibility is thus unnecessary to pre vent conflict pre-emption from losing all meaning. 13 Third, a plurality of the Court adopts the novel theory that the Framers intended for the Supremacy Clause to operate as a so-called non obstante provision. See ante, at 15–17 (citing Nelson, Preemption, 86 Va. L. Rev. 225 (2000)). According to the plurality, non obstante provi sions in statutes "instruc[t] courts not to apply the general presumption against implied repeals." Ante, at 15 (inter nal quotation marks omitted); see also ante, at 16 (stating that when a statute contains a non obstante provision, "'courts will be less inclined against recognizing repug nancy in applying such statutes'" (quoting J. Sutherland, Statutes and Statutory Construction §147, p. 199 (1891)). From this understanding of the Supremacy Clause, the plurality extrapolates the principle that "courts should not strain to find ways to reconcile federal law with seemingly —————— 13 JUSTICE THOMAS, the author of today's opinion, has previously ex pressed the view that obstacle pre-emption is inconsistent with the Constitution. See Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., 562 U. S. ___, ___ (2011) (opinion concurring in judgment) (slip op., at 2–5); Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U. S. 555, 604 (2009) (opinion concurring in judgment). That position, however, has not been accepted by this Court, and it thus should not justify the majority's novel expansion of impossibility pre-emption. SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting conflicting state law." Ante , at 15. This principle would have been news to the Congress that enacted the Hatch-Waxman Amendments in 1984: Our precedents hold just the opposite. For more than half a century, we have directed courts to presume that con gressional action does not supersede "the historic police powers of the States . . . unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress." Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U. S. 218, 230 (1947); see also Gade, 505 U. S., at 111–112 (KENNEDY, J., concurring in part and concur ring in judgment). We apply this presumption against pre-emption both where Congress has spoken to the pre emption question and where it has not. See Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 566, n. 3. In the context of express pre-emption, we read federal statutes whenever possible not to pre empt state law. See Altria Group, Inc. v. Good, 555 U. S. 70, 77 (2008) ("[W]hen the text of a pre-emption clause is susceptible of more than one plausible reading, courts ordinarily 'accept the reading that disfavors pre-emption'" (quoting Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC, 544 U. S. 431, 449 (2005))); see also Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U. S. 504, 518 (1992). And, when the claim is that federal law impliedly pre-empts state law, we require a "strong" showing of a conflict "to overcome the presumption that state and local regulation . . . can constitutionally coexist with federal regulation." Hillsborough County v. Auto mated Medical Laboratories, Inc., 471 U. S. 707, 716 (1985). The plurality's new theory of the Supremacy Clause is a direct assault on these precedents. 14 Whereas we have —————— 14 The author of the law review article proposing this theory of the Supremacy Clause acknowledges as much. See Nelson, Preemption, 86 Va. L. Rev. 225, 304 (2000) ("The non obstante provision rejects an artificial presumption that Congress did not intend to contradict any state laws and that federal statutes must therefore be harmonized with state law"). The plurality, on the other hand, carefully avoids discuss long presumed that federal law does not pre-empt, or repeal, state law, the plurality today reads the Supremacy Clause to operate as a provision instructing courts "not to apply the general presumption against implied repeals." Ante, at 15 (internal quotation marks omitted; emphasis added). And whereas we have long required evidence of a "clear and manifest" purpose to pre-empt, Rice, 331 U. S., at 230, the plurality now instructs courts to "look no fur ther than the ordinary meaning of federal law" before concluding that Congress must have intended to cast aside state law, ante, at 16 (internal quotation marks and al teration omitted). That the plurality finds it necessary to resort to this novel theory of the Supremacy Clause—a theory advo cated by no party or amici in these cases—is telling. Proper application of the longstanding presumption against pre-emption compels the conclusion that federal law does not render compliance with state law impossible merely because it requires an actor to seek federal agency approval. When federal law provides actors with a mech anism for attempting to comply with their state-law duties, "respect for the States as 'independent sovereigns in our federal system'" should require those actors to attempt to comply with state law before being heard to complain that compliance with both laws was impossible. Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 565–566, n. 3 (quoting Lohr, 518 U. S., at 485). III Today's decision leads to so many absurd consequences that I cannot fathom that Congress would have intended to pre-empt state law in these cases. First, the majority's pre-emption analysis strips generic —————— ing the ramifications of its new theory for the longstanding presump tion against pre-emption. SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting drug consumers of compensation when they are injured by inadequate warnings. "If Congress had intended to de prive injured parties of [this] long available form of com pensation, it surely would have expressed that intent more clearly." Bates, 544 U. S., at 449. Given the longstanding existence of product liability actions, including for failure to warn, "[i]t is difficult to believe that Congress would, without comment, remove all means of judicial recourse for those injured by illegal conduct." Silkwood, 464 U. S., at 251; see also Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC, 562 U. S. ___, ___ (2011) (slip op., at 16) (noting our previously expressed "doubt that Congress would quietly preempt product liability claims without providing a federal substitute"). In concluding that Congress silently immunized generic manufacturers from all failure-to-warn claims, the major ity disregards our previous hesitance to infer congres sional intent to effect such a sweeping change in tradi tional state-law remedies. As the majority itself admits, a drug consumer's right to compensation for inadequate warnings now turns on the happenstance of whether her pharmacist filled her pre scription with a brand-name drug or a generic. If a con sumer takes a brand-name drug, she can sue the manufac turer for inadequate warnings under our opinion in Wyeth. If, however, she takes a generic drug, as occurs 75 percent of the time, she now has no right to sue. The majority offers no reason to think—apart from its new articulation of the impossibility standard—that Congress would have intended such an arbitrary distinction. In some States, pharmacists must dispense generic drugs absent instruc tion to the contrary from a consumer's physician. Even when consumers can request brand-name drugs, the price of the brand-name drug or the consumers' insurance plans may make it impossible to do so. As a result, in many cases, consumers will have no ability to preserve their state-law right to recover for injuries caused by inade quate warnings. Second, the majority's decision creates a gap in the parallel federal-state regulatory scheme in a way that could have troubling consequences for drug safety. As we explained in Wyeth, "[s]tate tort suits uncover unknown drug hazards and provide incentives for drug manufactur ers to disclose safety risks promptly." 555 U. S., at 579. Thus, we recognized, "state law offers an additional, and important, layer of consumer protection that complements FDA regulation." Ibid. Today's decision eliminates the traditional state-law incentives for generic manufacturers to monitor and disclose safety risks. When a generic drug has a brand-name equivalent on the market, the brand name manufacturer will remain incentivized to uncover safety risks. But brand-name manufacturers often leave the market once generic versions are available, see supra, at 4–5, meaning that there will be no manufacturer sub ject to failure-to-warn liability. As to those generic drugs, there will be no "additional . . . layer of consumer protec tion." Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 579. Finally, today's decision undoes the core principle of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments that generic and brand name drugs are the "same" in nearly all respects. 15 See Brief for Rep. Henry A. Waxman as Amicus Curiae 9. The majority pins the expansion of the generic drug market on "the special, and different, regulation of generic drugs," which allows generic manufacturers to produce their drugs more cheaply. Ante, at 19. This tells only half the story. The expansion of the market for generic drugs has also flowed from the increased acceptance of, and trust in, —————— 15 According to the GPhA, both the FDA and the generic drug indus try "spend millions of dollars each year . . . seeking to reassure consum ers that affordable generic drugs really are—as federal law compels them to be—the same as their pricier brand-name counterparts." Brief for GPhA as Amicus Curiae on Pet. for Cert. in Nos. 09–993, 09–1039, pp. 2–3. SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting generic drugs by consumers, physicians, and state legisla tors alike. Today's decision introduces a critical distinction be tween brand-name and generic drugs. Consumers of brand-name drugs can sue manufacturers for inadequate warnings; consumers of generic drugs cannot. These divergent liability rules threaten to reduce consumer demand for generics, at least among consumers who can afford brand-name drugs. They may pose "an ethical dilemma" for prescribing physicians. Brief for American Medical Association et al. as Amici Curiae 29. And they may well cause the States to rethink their longstanding efforts to promote generic use through generic substitution laws. See Brief for National Conference of State Legisla tors as Amicus Curiae 15 (state generic substitution laws "have proceeded on the premise that . . . generic drugs are not, from citizens' perspective, materially different from brand ones, except for the lower price"). These conse quences are directly at odds with the Hatch-Waxman Amendments' goal of increasing consumption of generic drugs. Nothing in the Court's opinion convinces me that, in enacting the requirement that generic labels match their corresponding brand-name labels, Congress intended these absurd results. The Court certainly has not shown that such was the "clear and manifest purpose of Con gress." Wyeth, 555 U. S., at 565 (internal quotation marks omitted; emphasis added). To the contrary, because fed eral law affords generic manufacturers a mechanism for attempting to comply with their state-law duties to warn, I would hold that federal law does not categorically pre-empt state-law failure-to-warn claims against generic manufacturers. Especially in light of the presumption against pre-emption, the burden should fall on generic manufacturers to show that compliance was impossible on the particular facts of their case. By holding that the SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting "possibility of possibility" is insufficient to "defea[t]" pre emption in these cases, ante, at 18, n. 8, the Court contorts our pre-emption doctrine and exempts defendants from their burden to establish impossibility. With respect, I dissent.
Chapter 1 Establishment of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) 1.01 On the 11 th May 1999, the Government apologised to victims of child abuse and the Taoiseach, Mr. Ahern, announced the establishment of a commission of inquiry and other measures. In the course of a special statement, he said: On behalf of the State and of all citizens of the State, the Government wishes to make a sincere and long overdue apology to the victims of childhood abuse for our collective failure to intervene, to detect their pain, to come to their rescue. 1.02 Mr Ahern went on to outline a number of measures, including the setting up of a Commission to Inquire into Childhood Abuse, chaired by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy, Judge of the High Court. Other measures that were announced included the establishment of a national counselling service for victims of childhood abuse, and the amendment of the Statute of Limitations, to enable victims of childhood sexual abuse to make claims for compensation in certain circumstances. 1.03 The Commission was initially established on a non-statutory, administrative footing, with broad terms of reference given to it by the Government, which had as its primary focus the provision of a sympathetic and experienced forum in which victims could recount the abuse they had suffered. The Commission was required to identify and report on the causes, nature and extent of physical and sexual abuse, with a view to making recommendations for the present and future. 1.04 The Commission made two reports to the Government, in September 1 and October 2 1999, outlining how these terms of reference could be implemented, and its recommendations were embodied in the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Bill, 2000 which was published in February of that year. The Commission was established on 23 rd May 2000 pursuant to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act, 2000 as an independent statutory body. This Act was subsequently amended by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Amendment) Act, 2005 (the Act of 2005). 3 The Act of 2000 is referred to as the 'Principal Act'. 1.05 The principal functions conferred on the Commission, as laid down in section 4(1) of the Principal Act of 2000 and as amended by section 4 of the 2005 Act, were: (1) (a) to provide, for persons who have suffered abuse in childhood in institutions during the relevant period, an opportunity to recount the abuse, and make submissions, to a Committee, (b) through a Committee— (i) to inquire into the abuse of children in institutions during the relevant period, 1 Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, Initial Report on Terms of Reference, 7th September 1999. 3 Amendments were also made by the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002: See Section 32. 2 Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, Report on Terms of Reference, 14th October 1999. (ia) to inquire into the manner in which children were placed in, and the circumstances in which they continued to be resident in, institutions during the relevant period, (ii) to determine the causes, nature, circumstances and extent of such abuse, and (iii) without prejudice to the generality of any of the foregoing, to determine the extent to which— (I) the institutions themselves in which such abuse occurred, (II) the systems of management, administration, operation, supervision, inspection and regulation of such institutions, and (III) the manner in which those functions were performed by the persons or bodies in whom they were vested, contributed to the occurrence or incidence of such abuse, and (c) to prepare and publish reports pursuant to section 5. (2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the inquiry under subsection (1) shall be conducted in such manner and by such means as the Commission considers appropriate. (3) The Commission shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions. (4) (a) The Government may, if they so think fit, after consultation with the Commission, by order confer on the Commission and the Committees such additional functions or powers connected with their functions and powers for the time being as they consider appropriate. (b) The Government may, if they so think fit, after consultation with the Commission, amend or revoke an order under this subsection. (c) Where an order is proposed to be made under this subsection, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made unless a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House. (5) The Commission may invite and receive oral or written submissions. (6) In performing its functions the Commission shall bear in mind the need of persons who have suffered abuse in childhood to recount to others such abuse, their difficulties in so doing and the potential beneficial effect on them of so doing and, accordingly, the Commission and the Confidential Committee shall endeavour to ensure that meeting of the Confidential Committee at which evidence is given are conducted (a) so as to afford to persons who have suffered such abuse in institutions during the relevant period an opportunity to recount in full the abuse suffered by them in an atmosphere that is sympathetic to, and understanding of, them, and (b) as informally as is possible in the circumstances. 1.06 The term 'abuse' was defined by the legislation: 4 (a) the wilful, reckless or negligent infliction of physical injury on, or failure to prevent such injury to, the child, (b) the use of the child by a person for sexual arousal or sexual gratification of that person or another person, 4 Section 1 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 3 of the 2005 Act. (c) failure to care for the child which results, or could reasonably be expected to result, in serious impairment of the physical or mental health or development of the child or serious adverse effects on his or her behaviour or welfare, or (d) any other act or omission towards the child which results, or could reasonably be expected to result, in serious impairment of the physical or mental health or development of the child or serious adverse effects on his or her behaviour or welfare. The legislation governing the Commission is set out in the Appendices at Vol V. The structure of the Commission 1.07 The Commission comprised two separate and distinct Committees which were required to report separately to the Commission as a whole: the Confidential Committee, and the Investigation Committee. Members of the Commission were assigned to one or other Committee. They could not be members of both. 1.08 The principal functions of the Confidential Committee, 5 as laid down in section 15(1) in the Principal Act as amended by section 10 of the 2005 Act, were: (a) to provide, for persons who have suffered abuse in childhood in institutions during the relevant period and who do not wish to have that abuse inquired into by the Investigation Committee, an opportunity to recount the abuse, and make submissions, in confidence to the Committee, (b) to receive evidence of such abuse, (c) to make proposals of a general nature with a view to their being considered by the Commission in deciding what recommendations to make and (d) to prepare and furnish reports. 6 1.09 The specific mandate of the Confidential Committee was to hear the evidence of those survivors of childhood institutional abuse who wished to report their experiences in a confidential setting. The legislation provided for the hearings of the Confidential Committee to be conducted in an atmosphere that was as informal and as sympathetic to, and understanding of, the witnesses as was possible in the circumstances. 7 1.10 The Confidential Committee heard from 1,090 witnesses who applied to give oral evidence of abuse they experienced in Irish institutions. Volume III contains the part of the Report that is based on evidence received by the Confidential Committee. 1.11 The principal functions of the Investigation Committee, 8 as laid down in section 12 of the Principal Act, which was amended by section 7 of the Act of 2005, were: (a) to provide, as far as is reasonably practicable, for persons who have suffered abuse in childhood in institutions during the relevant period, an opportunity to recount the abuse and other relevant experiences undergone by them in institutions, (aa) to inquire into the manner in which children were placed in, and the circumstances in which they continued to be resident in, institutions during the relevant period, (b) to inquire into the abuse of children in institutions during the relevant period, (c) to determine the causes, nature, circumstances and extent of such abuse, and 5 Section 15(1) of the Principal Act, as amended by section 10 of the 2005 Act. 7 Section 4(6) as substituted by section 4 of the 2005 Act. 6 Section 16 of the Principal Act as amended by section 11 of the 2005 Act. 8 Section 12(1) of the Principal Act, as amended by section 7 of the 2005 Act. (d) without prejudice to the generality of any of the foregoing, to determine the extent to which— (i) the institutions themselves in which such abuse occurred, (ii) the systems of management, administration, operation, supervision and regulation of such institutions, and (iii) the manner in which any of the things referred to in subparagraph (ii) was done, 9 contributed to the occurrence or incidents of such abuse, and (e) to prepare and furnish reports pursuant to section 13. 1.12 The powers of the Investigation Committee 10 were, inter alia: * to direct the attendance of witnesses, 11 * to direct the production of documents, 12 and * to give such other directions that appear to be reasonable, just and necessary. 13 1.13 The Investigation Committee also had the power: * to require the discovery of documents, 14 * to furnish interrogatories (or questions) which must be replied to, 15 and * to require parties to admit facts, statements and documents. 16 1.14 The evidence obtained was presumed to be prima facie evidence of the matters to which it related. 17 Finally, the Investigation Committee also had the power to take evidence of a person's conviction for abuse of a child as evidence before the Committee of that abuse. 18 1.15 The Principal Act also provided penalties, similar to those applying to contempt of court provisions, for failure to comply with directions of the Committee. 19 1.16 Section 13 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 8 of the 2005 Act, dealt with the report of the Investigation Committee, and provided that the report: (a) may contain findings that abuse of children, or abuse of children during a particular period, occurred in a particular institution and may identify— (i) the institution where the abuse took place, and (ii) the person or, as the case may be, each person who committed the abuse but only if he or she has been convicted of an offence in respect of abuse, (b) may contain findings in relation to the management, administration, operation, supervision and regulation, direct or indirect, of an institution referred to in paragraph (a), and (c) shall not contain findings in relation to particular instances of alleged abuse of children. 9 Section 12(1)(d)(iii), as amended by section 7(c) of the 2005 Act. 10 Section 14, as amended by section 9 of the 2005 Act. 11 Section 14(1)(a) of the Principal Act. 12 Section 14(1)(b)–(d) of the Principal Act. 13 Section 14(1)(e) of the Principal Act. 14 Section 14(8) of the Principal Act, as inserted by section 9 of the 2005 Act. 15 Section 14(9) of the Principal Act, as inserted by section 9 of the 2005 Act. 16 Section 14(11) of the Principal Act, as inserted by section 9 of the 2005 Act. 17 Section 14(10) of the Principal Act, as amended by section 9 of the 2005 Act. 18 Section 14(14) of the Principal Act, as inserted by section 9 of the 2005 Act. 19 Section 14 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 9 of the 2005 Act. 1.17 The importance of the 2005 Act was that it amended Section 13 20 of the Principal Act so that the Investigation Committee could no longer identify a person it believed had committed abuse unless that person had been convicted by a court. 1.18 The term 'institution' was defined by the legislation to include: a school, an industrial school, a reformatory school, an orphanage, a hospital, a children's home and any other place where children are cared for other than as members of their families. 21 1.19 The 'relevant period' of the inquiry was from 1940 to 1999, but the Commission had power to extend it in either direction. The Commission exercised this power for the Investigation Committee by extending the beginning of the period back to 1936, by a decision of 26 th November 2002. The relevant period for the Confidential Committee was determined to be between 1914 and 2000, being the earliest date of admission and the latest date of discharge of those applicants who applied to give evidence of abuse to that Committee. 1.20 The Third Interim Report set out the history of the Commission from its inception as a statutory body in 2000 to the suspension of the operations of the Investigation Committee and the resignation of Ms Justice Laffoy which was announced in September 2003. Ms Justice Laffoy stood down on 12 th January 2004 (see Appendix II). Appointment of new chairperson to the Commission 1.21 On 26 th September 2003, the Minister for Education and Science announced the appointment of Mr Sean Ryan S.C. as chairperson designate of the Commission to succeed Ms Justice Laffoy. The Government requested Mr Ryan to undertake his own independent review of the Commission and to make all necessary recommendations having regard to: * the interests of victims of abuse * the requirement to complete the Commission's work within a reasonable timeframe, which would be consistent with the needs of a proper investigation so as to avoid exorbitant costs. 1.22 Mr Justice Ryan furnished his review of the workings and procedures of the Commission in November 2003. 1.23 In summary, he concluded that there were major problems facing the Investigation Committee. If it were to continue unchanged, there would be no prospect of its work being completed within a reasonable time and at an acceptable cost. He suggested a number of changes that were needed to overcome the problems: (a) Amendments to the 2000 Act so as to focus the Investigation Committee on its core function, which was to inquire into abuse of children in institutions. (b) Changes to procedures which would enable allegations to be heard in logical units for hearings (Modules). (c) Publication of interim reports as the work proceeded. (d) Establishment of 'trust' between the parties as to the fairness of the hearings. 1.24 The work of the Investigation Committee was suspended from September 2003 until March 2004. Judgment was awaited in a High Court action brought by the Christian Brothers. This case sought 20 Section 13 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 8 of the 2005 Act. 21 Section 1(1) of the Principal Act. judicial determination, inter alia, of the constitutionality of the Investigation Committee's approach to making findings of abuse against elderly or deceased Brothers or those who could not properly answer the allegations. 1.25 The work of the Confidential Committee continued throughout this time. The work of the Investigation Committee post-2003 1.26 The Investigation Committee began in March 2004 to engage in widespread consultations, to see if an agreed way forward could be found. The aim was to accommodate the 1,712 complainants who had come forward by that time, together with respondent witnesses, within a reasonable timeframe. 1.27 The Investigation Committee's legal team met with representatives of over 20 special interest groups representing complainants, and no consensus emerged. 1.28 The legal team explained to the groups the practical and logistical problems the Investigation Committee would face if every single person who complained to it were to be heard. The representatives were opposed to any form of selection of witnesses, even though they had no solution to the problems that the requirement to hear every witness imposed. 1.29 The Investigation Committee also met the solicitors representing complainants. A further complicating factor was that not all firms of solicitors were willing to communicate with the legal team as a collective group. This may give some idea of the difficulties that the Investigation Committee faced in trying to get the Inquiry restarted. 1.30 The Committee also had meetings with different groups representing respondents against whom allegations of abuse had been made, to apprise them of the situation, to seek agreement, and to invite their suggestions. 1.31 There was no agreement or any realistic proposal acceptable to all of the stakeholders as to how to proceed. However, these meetings revealed a general acknowledgement of the difficulties that had to be overcome. There was consensus as to the problems, even if the solutions were elusive. The various stakeholders expressed goodwill towards the Committee and its efforts to make progress. They were, in addition, reconciled to the fact that they were not going to achieve all that they wanted, and that the Investigation Committee would be obliged to decide on a way forward if no agreement emerged. The majority of the representatives recognised that the Committee had gone to considerable lengths to explore possible solutions and agreement on how to proceed with the Inquiry. The Investigation Committee Policy Paper – May 2004 1.32 At a public meeting held in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, on 7 th May 2004, the Investigation Committee announced its intention to make significant changes to deal with the obstacles to its work. The chairperson set out proposals for hearing selected witnesses in the investigation of institutions that had the largest number of complaints made against them; however, the larger institutions had far more complainants wishing to give evidence. 1.33 At that point in May 2004, the length and form that the hearings would take was difficult to assess. It was not known what, if any, objections were going to be raised. These uncertainties gave rise to some concern in the Investigation Committee, particularly in relation to larger institutions, and whether all hearings could be completed within a reasonable time. This would leave other potential witnesses out of the investigative process. 1.34 For most of the smaller institutions (i.e. those against whom a small number of complaints had been made), the Investigation Committee believed it could hear all those who had notified the Committee of their intention to give evidence and who had then followed up with statements. 1.35 At the meeting on 7 th May 2004, the Committee published and circulated a position paper on the question of 'naming and shaming' abusers, which stated that the Inquiry was not going to be able to complete its work if it proceeded on the basis of naming abusers. The document suggested that, because of difficulties of proof, there would probably be many abusers in respect of whom the evidence fell short. There were risks that people not guilty of abuse could be named. A further point was the disparity that would exist between people who were named – necessarily, a limited number – and the larger cohort of people who had indeed committed abuse (as a matter of probability) but who were not named. These and other points were made in proposing the policy that the Investigation Committee would not name abusers in the report, and would proceed with the investigation on that basis. 1.36 Time was allowed for submissions to be made, and all parties were asked to assist the Investigation Committee with suggestions that would allow the process to move forward. No substantial submissions were received in respect of the policies outlined above. 1.37 At a further meeting in June 2004, the Committee announced its decision to proceed on the basis of selection of witnesses for the hearings. This applied only to the larger institutions, which were Artane, Letterfrack, Ferryhouse, Upton and Daingean. The policy of not naming abusers was applied generally. 1.38 The Commission sought amendments to the legislation to incorporate these changes, and these were set down in the Act of 2005. 1.39 The Investigation Committee at this time wrote to all complainants/solicitors to ascertain the number of complainants who wished to proceed with their application to be heard. As a result of this, 143 complainants withdrew their request to give evidence to the Investigation Committee, while 174 other complainants transferred to the Confidential Committee. 1.40 The Investigation Committee then proceeded with the work of the Inquiry. The Emergence hearings 1.41 The Emergence hearings began in June 2004. They were held in public at the Distillery Building, Church Street, Dublin 7. The function of these hearings was: * to re-commence the work of the Investigation Committee, * to place the work of the Investigation Committee in historical context, * to understand the reasoning behind the Government's public apology, * to understand the Government's decision to institute a Scheme of Redress, * to understand the reason why the Religious Congregations came to contribute to the Redress Scheme, and why some of them had also issued public apologies, * to understand the reasons why support/survivor groups were set up, and how they were organised. 1.42 The Commission wanted to assure the public and the various stakeholders that the work of the Commission was resuming in full. The hearings were scheduled for June and July 2004, and took place over a period of about four weeks. 1.43 In advance of the Emergence hearings, the Investigation Committee's legal team wrote to representatives of the State institutions, the Religious Congregations, and to survivor groups, setting out the types of questions that the Investigation Committee wished to explore. In the case of the State and Religious Congregations, the Investigation Committee asked questions on the following issues: (a) insofar as the body concerned has ever issued a public apology in respect of child abuse, the reasons for issuing such an apology; (b) the reasons why the body contributed to the Redress Fund; (c) the timing and manner in which allegations of child abuse emerged as an issue in respect of institutions under the management or regulatory control of the body; (d) a brief account of the protocols or procedures, which were in place from time to time within the body which were designed to prevent, investigate or deal with allegations of child abuse; (e) the extent to which the body made enquiries as to how other similar institutions, whether in Ireland or abroad, dealt with such matters and, if so, the result of such enquiries; and (f) the extent to which any enquiries carried out within the organisation (concerning whether there was child abuse within the institutions managed or regulated by it) led to it forming a view that such abuse did occur, together with the extent to which any such view may have contributed to (a) and (b) above. 1.44 In the case of the survivor groups, the Investigation Committee asked questions on the following issues: (a) the timing and manner in which allegations of and knowledge of child abuse emerged as an issue in Ireland; (b) how the group was formed; (c) by whom the group was formed; (d) when the group was formed; (e) who were the group's members (in general terms without any individuals being named); (f) how did the group's members come to join the group; (g) what the group had done since its formation; and (h) how the group was funded. 1.45 There was a very positive response to these questionnaires, and the Committee received comprehensive statements from the various State agencies, the Religious Congregations, and the survivor groups. Statements were received from the Department of An Taoiseach, the Department of Finance, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of Education and Science, and the Department of Health and Children. Statements were received from all of the 18 Religious Congregations that contributed to the Redress Fund, and statements were received from 10 survivor groups. 1.46 In order to place the emergence of child abuse as an issue in Irish society in its historical context, the Investigation Committee invited Dr Eoin O'Sullivan, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the Department of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College, Dublin, to give evidence, and this is included in the historical overview. State evidence 1.47 In order to explore the State's response to the emergence of child abuse as an issue, the Committee called the Taoiseach, Government Ministers and senior department officials to give evidence. 1.48 In his evidence at the Emergence hearings, Mr Tom Boland, who was then Head of Legal Affairs at the Department of Education and Science, provided a chronological account of the manner in which the issue of child abuse was dealt with in his Department from 1998 to 2002. He stated that institutional abuse first came to the attention of the Department of Education and Science as an issue that they would have to deal with, as a result of the increase in the number of legal cases being taken against the Department. There was also an increase in the number of Freedom of Information requests coming into the Department from former residents seeking access to their records. More generally, the Department was also aware of the fact that institutional abuse had become a major public issue, following the broadcast of television programmes such as 'Dear Daughter' 22 and 'States of Fear'. 23 1.49 Mr Boland said that the then Minister for Education and Science, Mr Michea´l Martin, brought the issue of institutional child abuse to Cabinet for the first time on 31 st March 1998, and the issue of litigation by former residents of reformatories and industrial schools. There was a general discussion at that meeting as to how the State might best respond to the emerging question of institutional child abuse. There was some discussion of the possibility of dealing with the issue through a Commission process, but at that stage the focus was on establishing a scheme that would provide counselling for the victims of abuse. The matter was not significantly progressed during 1998, but it was raised informally at a number of Cabinet meetings throughout that year. 1.50 In December 1998, the Government decided to establish a Cabinet Sub-Committee to deal with the issue of child abuse in institutions. The Committee was chaired by the Minister for Education and Science and was composed of the Ta´naiste, the Ministers for the Marine and Natural Resources, Health and Children, Social, Community and Family Affairs, Justice Equality and Law Reform, the Attorney General, and the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. 1.51 Mr Boland said that the Cabinet Sub-Committee's remit 'was to bring forward proposals to Government on how to deal with the issue of sexual abuse'. However, according to Mr Michea´l Martin, the then Minister for Education and Science, its remit was wider and 'not just sexual abuse, but the, I suppose, the broad abuse of children'. 1.52 The Cabinet Sub-Committee immediately established a Working Group composed of the Secretaries General and related officials from all of the Departments involved. It furnished its report to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on 28 th April 1999. The report was entitled 'Measures to Assist Victims of Childhood Abuse'. On 10 th May 1999, the Government agreed the following proposals: * Establish a Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. * Legislate within the then Dail session to extend the concept of disability under the Statute of Limitations to victims of child sexual abuse who, because of that abuse, were unable to bring claims within the normal limitation period. 22 'Dear Daughter' was a dramatised programme broadcast in 1996 by RTE which featured Goldenbridge Industrial School. 23 There were three programmes broadcast by RTE in 1999 in the 'States of Fear' series: 'Industrial Schools and Reformatories from the 1940s–1980s', 'The Legacy of Industrial Schools', and 'Sick and Disabled Children in Institutions'. * Immediately refer the issue of limitation periods as they applied to non-sexual childhood abuse to the Law Reform Commission. * Establish, over as short a timescale as practical, a dedicated professional counselling service. * Provide for an effective programme of publicity for these services. * Prepare and publish as soon as possible a White Paper on mandatory reporting of sexual abuse of children. * Prepare the legislation for the establishment of a sex offenders' register as a matter of high priority. * Apologise to victims of childhood abuse. * The Cabinet Sub-Committee to meet regularly, to review the implementation of the different elements of this decision. * Accept the principle of the Labour Party Private Member's Bill to amend the Statute of Limitations, but in the context that the Government was progressing its own comprehensive programme of measures, including legislation, in relation to child sexual abuse. 1.53 Mr Boland explained the policy basis for the various child abuse measures adopted by the Working Group: A point had come where there was a general acceptance in political and administrative circles that that process was not acceptable anymore, and that society and Government needed to engage with this problem in a much more proactive way. In the interests of the survivors of abuse themselves very definitely, but also in the interest of Irish society, that the boil of past abuse, if you like, would be lanced and we would find some answers as to what happened and explanation as to what happened. 1.54 He said that this view was informed by 'a folk memory, if I could use that word, that industrial and reformatory schools were very harsh places', and also by the report of the Kennedy Committee, the media and, in particular, the 'Dear Daughter' RTE television programme. Mr Boland's view was further informed by meetings with former residents and, to a limited degree, the work done by Dr Gerry Cronin, a social historian appointed by Minister Martin to review the Department's files. 1.55 On 11 th May 1999, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, announced the Government measures relating to childhood abuse, as set out above. At the same time, he stated that 'the starting point for this is simple, but fundamental. We must start by apologising'. 1.56 In his evidence to the Investigation Committee, the Taoiseach described the thinking behind the apology: Well, it was the State has let you down, the State should have done better. There were reasons why it didn't, but they weren't in our view justifiable. While times were different and it is never a good thing to try to put policy today to what policy would have been on another day, we still felt in this case that we had left a section of our community, who were vulnerable, exposed in a way that would affect their lives. While all of the other measures in the report were measures of guidance, help, assistance and therapeutic and all of the rest, that sympathy wasn't just the only thing we could do, we actually had to express it in a way that the State does not normally do. These were our people, these were issues that were perpetrated against them and while not giving a judgment on any of the institutions or what people in the institutions were trying or trying not to do, obviously there were circumstances, circumstances of staff and resources and God knows what, and mentality of people. The reality is we were dealing with a group of victims who were decent honourable people, who had suffered and deserved the State's best apology the State could give. The best way of doing that, whether it is always accepted or not in life, is to do what you do in your own life, you would say sorry, and that is what we set out to do. 1.57 Mr Michea´l Martin, the Minister for Education and Science at the time, said: Basically, I felt at the time that if we stopped short of issuing an apology from the perspective of the survivors it would have been a devastating blow. The package for a lot of them would have been meaningless if there wasn't that State recognition that what was done to us was wrong and do you please believe us. 1.58 The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, told the Investigation Committee that the apology was his and Minister Martin's idea: Yes, in fairness to the Working Group, I don't think they ever discussed the issue of the apology. The apology, Chairman, I remember how the apology [came] around very clearly, because while all of the issues that we were talking about; professional help and caring and trying to assist these people back who had been badly dealt with by the State in our view, the hurt was not going to be removed unless you said sorry. It was my view and Minister Martin's view, we made the decision. 1.59 This was borne out by the evidence of Mr Tim Dalton, former Secretary General to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Mr Dalton said that the apology did not emanate from the Working Group, it was a political decision: It emanated at Cabinet level subsequently ... While the apology was very much in line with what the working group was saying the apology, as a matter of fact, arose later. Yes. 1.60 He continued: I mean the Committee's working group's report emphasized the need for what was described as a proactive approach, a sympathetic approach, and an apology would have been very much in line with that. Although as a matter of fact the apology came up subsequently. 1.61 The Taoiseach and Minister Martin described meetings they had with former residents of reformatory and industrial schools at this time. The Taoiseach told the Investigation Committee: I had met a number of the individuals, individuals who lived in my own constituency and elsewhere as you travel around who made me aware of what they hoped and the concerns they had and, obviously, wanted to see us taking action, and I think were happy to see that we had set up a Cabinet Committee and that we had set up a Working Group that was representative of our most senior public servants ... They wanted to see a Government do something about it, they wanted a forum where they could express themselves if they wished to do, some of them did, some of them didn't, and where they would be able to put forward what had happened in their lives, what had happened in institutions that they were sent to, as they saw it, totally as a matter of State action. They wanted to see us do something about correcting the hurt that they suffered. 1.62 He continued: I met a number of these groups and met a number of individuals. I think I can say without exception, they struck me as being entirely genuine, entirely trustworthy and asking me for help, asking for assistance and wanting us to do it because many of them, it had been a long time since they left these institutions and their lives had been affected. Even those of them who had moved on and where their life was together, they believed that this was a hurt that had not been corrected and they were urging us to deal with it comprehensively. 1.63 Minister Martin said that he first became aware of the issue of institutional abuse in his ministerial capacity in early 1998. Prior to his appointment, he had watched the two television programmes 'Dear Daughter' and 'States of Fear', and these programmes, particularly 'States of Fear', had a profound impact on him. He told the Committee that, having viewed this programme, '... I was left with the view they can't all be wrong, they can't all be false stories'. 1.64 Mr Boland explained the factors that led to the establishment of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in 1999: First of all, I think of primary concern for the sub committee would always have been the victims themselves. The objective of a Commission would be that it would provide a place where they could tell the account of their lives to a sympathetic panel. That element of having a sympathetic panel was always very important in the whole process of the Commission. The hope was that in this way victims of abuse could be reassured that the abuse they suffered was wrong and was utterly condemned by Irish society. There was a very strong demand for that kind of listening forum from the victims themselves. In addition then it was felt that a Commission could begin a process for victims of abuse whereby they would feel more able to approach the institutions that were there for professional help so that they could work through their pain and trauma. For Irish society the idea was – and this is rather like a truth Commission – that it would establish for Irish society precisely what happened and establish as complete a picture as possible of the causes, nature and extent of childhood abuse including why it happened and also who was responsible. It was very much an important factor that the Commission would establish at least at an institutional level what institutions were responsible for what happened. It was also felt that this kind of process would help Irish society to come to terms with a very negative, very black period in our history. And it would also give to those who were involved in running the institutions, primarily the religious congregations, an opportunity to put their side of the case and show that in some cases, and maybe even in many cases – that is a judgment for the Commission – that in fact they did good service for the State too. Perhaps this might have been a bit naive, but nevertheless it was an opportunity for perpetrators of abuse, particularly those who felt appalled by what they had done, to come forward and to give them an opportunity to relieve themselves of their burden. Very, very importantly then a Commission would make recommendations for the future as to how to prevent this happening again and what to do for victims of abuse going on into the future. 1.65 Later in his evidence, Mr Boland went on to discuss how the issue of compensation came into consideration. He said that 'a compensation scheme was very much in policy minds from a very early time', but the Government had taken the view that they would deal with it once the Commission had concluded its work. On 20 th July 2000, the chairperson of the Commission informed the Department of Education and Science that a number of solicitors representing clients who alleged having suffered abuse as children had adopted a position, whereby they would advise their clients not to cooperate with the Commission until the issue of compensation was dealt with. The chairperson expressed the view that this would have serious implications for the Commission's ability to carry out its task, and asked the Government to make a decision in principle in relation to the setting-up of a compensation scheme as quickly as possible. On 27 th September 2000, the chairperson criticised the lack of action in relation to the issue of compensation at a public sitting of the Commission. On 3 rd October 2000, the Government decided to agree in principle: * to set up a compensation scheme, * that the definition of abuse for the purposes of the scheme would be the same as in the Commission legislation, * that compensation would be paid on an ex-gratia basis, without establishing liability on the part of State bodies, but subject to the claimant establishing to the satisfaction of the body that he or she had suffered abuse and resulting injury, and * that the amount of compensation would be broadly similar to that which would be awarded to a claimant had he or she pursued successfully a claim for damages in the courts. 1.66 Mr Boland outlined the policy basis for the compensation scheme: I suppose there were a number of reasons ... Allowing cases to proceed to litigation from a survivor's point of view and from a social point of view was simply the wrong thing to do in the view of Government. It would negate any real sense of meaning from the apology on behalf of the Irish Nation if then people who wanted to get compensation for the abuse they had suffered had to go through an extraordinarily lengthy process in the High Court. There was also of course the fact that many of those cases would fail not because they didn't suffer injury and not because they had not been injured, but because of what might be regarded as technical rules of evidence. And that was not acceptable to Government either. There was a pure operational issue for the courts. 800 cases at that stage, maybe a couple of thousand. Now we think maybe a few thousand. The effect it would have had on the administration of justice or from the court system would be enormous. 1.67 Mr Boland pointed out that, in developing a policy on the compensation scheme, the Government carried out a comprehensive review of the practice in other jurisdictions. 1.68 Following a consultation process, the Minister for Education and Science returned to Government with a set of proposals for legislation, which subsequently became the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002 (the Act of 2002). 1.69 Mr Boland discussed the indemnity agreement 24 with Religious Congregations and issues of apportionment of liability. He said that the Government's action in setting up the scheme was not motivated to any significant extent by considerations of legal liability or culpability: the Government determined upon a redress scheme with an approach that said this was to be done regardless of the involvement of anybody else. And it was to be done by the State paying for full compensation. This was seen as an issue for Irish society. It was an issue that had to be dealt with fully and firmly for once and for all. Therefore, the most effective way in which Government could achieve that was that to take responsibility for it, and that is what it did. So the scheme was to be fully funded by the State. That was the starting position. And full awards were to be paid. 1.70 He explained to the Committee how the Congregations became involved in making a contribution to the scheme: Clearly there would always be a difficulty in the minds of many people, not least those who had suffered abuse, if the Congregations had no involvement at all in the compensation scheme. Therefore it was felt as a policy objective desirable that they would be involved. And in fairness to them they said quite early on that they would like to make a meaningful contribution to the scheme. That was finally decided with them and Government made a decision on that basis. But the scheme was going ahead in any event. 24 Under the terms of the indemnity agreement reached with the Religious Congregations on 5th June 2002, the Congregations agreed to make a contribution of \ 128 million towards the redress scheme. This was broken down as follows: cash contribution \ 41.14 million; provision of counselling services \ 10 million and property transfers \ 76.86 million. 1.71 The indemnity agreement between the State and CORI provided for the 18 Religious Congregations to make a contribution of \ 128 million to the Residential Institutions Redress Fund. In return, the Government agreed to grant an indemnity to the Religious Congregations that were parties to the agreement. However, the indemnity agreement of 5 th June 2002 was not based on any apportionment of responsibility for abuse. 1.72 Dr Michael Woods was appointed Minister for Education and Science on 27 th January 2000, at which stage the Taoiseach had issued his apology and the decision had been taken to establish the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. During his time as Minister for Education and Science, Dr Woods was responsible for bringing proposals to Government regarding the Redress Scheme, subsequently the Act of 2002 and the indemnity agreement with the Religious Congregations. 1.73 Dr Woods gave evidence at the Emergence hearings, where he noted that Mr Boland had dealt comprehensively with the Redress Scheme in his evidence but commented briefly on the matter himself. He told the Investigation Committee that the more he became involved in the process following his appointment as Minister for Education and Science, the more he became 'acutely aware of the issues and the problems which were faced by the victims'. Dr Woods said 'that the early establishment of the scheme was seen as (a) greatly reducing the stress of survivors of abuse and, (b) it was to facilitate the progress of the Commission'. He said that the involvement of the Congregations was seen by the State as a desirable policy objective but stressed: as far as the State was concerned it was very firm in its decision that the State was going ahead in any event with the Redress Scheme. That it was the right way to go. 1.74 Dr Woods said that part of the Government's desire to get the Congregations to contribute was to bring about a situation where there was closure to the whole issue of past institutional abuse. Religious Congregations' evidence 1.75 The two major topics for the Religious Congregations at the Emergence hearings were the contributions they made to the State Redress fund of compensation to victims and the apologies that many of them issued. Contributions to the State fund posed much less of an issue or a problem for them than the question of apology. They were largely in agreement on compensation. Negotiations were carried out on their behalf by the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI), which is an umbrella organisation for the various Religious Congregations in Ireland. The agreement reached was favourable to the Religious Congregations, but the Investigation Committee was not concerned with the wisdom or reasonableness of the agreement reached. 1.76 It might have been thought that Congregations who contributed to the fund were in effect conceding that there had been some abuse in their institutions. The agreement did not require them to do so, but the mere fact of payment into the fund, in return for an indemnity in respect of any actions that might be taken, could have been regarded as an expression of some kind of admission or acknowledgement, but it was said not to be the case. 1.77 The position with regard to apologies was more complicated. Some Congregations issued apologies and some did not. Those that issued apologies used a variety of different expressions. Through their spokespersons, they testified to the good intentions that lay behind the apologies. Some of the apologies were more effective than others in meeting the needs of survivor groups. 1.78 Congregations were fearful that what they said in order to assuage the feelings of victims of abuse might be used to damage them, as they saw it. Their words might be taken as concessions or admissions as to events that were alleged to have happened. The aims of acknowledging past wrongs and assuaging feelings of victims are at odds with the desire to avoid admissions and concessions about abuse. Most of the apologies reflected tension between these objectives, and were largely unsatisfactory as a result. 1.79 The attitude of many of the Congregations was conditional. If their members committed abuse, they expressed regret for it. They did not accept Congregational responsibility for any abuse that happened. As to whether abuse had actually happened, they said they were leaving that to the Commission to establish, because that was the function of the Commission, and because they had contradictory information on the claims of complainants and in the responses of their own members. 1.80 On 31 st January 2002, CORI issued a general apology on behalf of its members: We accept that some children in residential institutions managed by our members suffered deprivation, physical and sexual abuse. We regret that, we apologise for it. We can never take away the pain experienced at the time by these children nor the shadow left over their adult lives. Today the congregations with the State are giving a concrete expression of their genuine desire to foster healing and reconciliation in the lives of former residents. 1.81 The Investigation Committee at the Emergence hearings heard evidence from representatives of the following Religious Congregations that had contributed to the Redress Fund: 1. The Rosminian Institute of Charity 2. The Dominican Order 3. The Sisters of Mercy 4. Our Lady of Charity of the Good Sheperd 5. The Presentation Brothers 6. The Religious Sisters of Charity 7. The Christian Brothers 8. The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul 9. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge 10. The Brothers of Charity 11. The Daughters of the Heart of Mary 12. The De La Salle Brothers 13. The Sisters of St Clare 14. The Presentation Sisters 15. The Sisters of St Louis 16. The Hospitaller Order of St John of God 17. The Sisters of Nazareth 18. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate. 1.82 These representatives were examined as to the reasons underpinning the decision taken by the Congregations to issue an apology, if they did so, and the reasons they contributed to the Redress Fund, if they did so. The Investigation Committee also heard evidence during the Emergence hearings from representatives of Congregations involved in the management, care and control of institutions that were not the subject of its investigations into individual institutions. The Rosminian Institute of Charity 1.83 The Rosminian Order operated two industrial schools, one at Upton in County Cork and the other at Ferryhouse in County Tipperary, as well as a School for the Blind at Drumcondra in Dublin. They had two post-primary schools, one in Omeath and one in Dublin. They also developed a retirement home for blind men in Drumcondra, and a centre in Cork for adults with learning disabilities. 1.84 In 1999, the Rosminians issued a public statement: The members of the Rosminian Institute are saddened and shamed that young people in our care were abused by members of our Order. We deeply regret not only the abuse but also the shadow cast on the lives of those abused. We abhor all mistreatment of children and we wish to express our profound sorrow. 1.85 Fr Joseph O'Reilly, giving evidence on 30 th June 2004, said that the Order made that statement because they felt it was the right thing to do: Fundamentally we felt it was simply the right thing to do and it was something over which we had no option to do. 1.86 The Order was aware that children had been abused in at least one of their institutions in 1979: That was one of the reasons why we obviously felt that we would have to apologise. 1.87 Fr O'Reilly told the Committee that the Order contributed to the Redress Fund because: We believed it was the right thing to do, it was the just thing to do, it was the natural thing when you recognise that you have been part of something that has caused hurt and pain to people in the past, that's fairly inescapable. I think there was a recognition on our part that to go another route that seemed to be the only other route available at the time in terms of litigation and going to the High Court, we felt that that would be disastrous for all concerned. 1.88 He continued: I mentioned that we felt that the option of going through the High Court and denying -- I am not sure of the technical word -- denying complaints against us and being involved in that process, we felt that would not be the right way to go and it would be disastrous for all concerned. We felt it would be a hurtful, harmful way for all concerned ... We were advised it would have meant years, maybe a lot more years than anybody knew at the time ... Years of having to appear in court and putting people through questioning and cross-examination, and trying to provide proof on this, that and the other ... From our end we don't have the personnel to do that. We didn't have the inclination to do that. We felt also that we didn't have the finances to do that in a way. We also felt that it would not be at all consistent with what we had said by way of apology. It would not be consistent with the type of relationship that we had with many past pupils. Not with all admittedly. We did not want people to have to suffer on through that type of system ... It seemed that it would have been cruel to consider those type of things. We wanted to be involved in the process and we perceived the Redress Board as process that would offer a degree of healing, you know. Because it offered the opportunity for things to be dealt with in a short enough period of time in comparison to other options, and in a process that wasn't adversarial. So we felt it offered much more of an opportunity for healing and, perhaps not reconciliation, but certainly we would have been guided by the maxim of do no more harm. Do no more harm. 1.89 The Rosminian Institute approached this issue, conscious of the obligations and of the difficulties, but also believing in the benefits that would accrue to victims, its own members and to the Order. In adopting this approach and pursuing it throughout the Inquiry, the Rosminian Institute was unique, and its senior management and its members deserve acknowledgment and appreciation in that respect. The Dominican Order 1.90 The Dominican Fathers have a long tradition in education in Ireland. They operate a number of schools throughout the country. They had one institution, an orphanage at Dominic Street, Dublin known as St Xavier's Boys Home. It closed in 1993, and the Order received their first complaint in relation to this institution in 1995. Two further complaints emerged later that year and, in 2001, legal proceedings were instituted by six former residents. 1.91 The Dominicans did not make a formal apology: No, we didn't make a formal apology ... We didn't feel that a kind of a general apology in terms of our small group of people would be of any great benefit, but if I were to meet them I would be more than happy to do so. 1.92 Despite their decision not to make a general apology, the Order contributed to the Redress Fund. The Sisters of Mercy 1.93 The Sisters of Mercy played a significant role in the industrial school system, as they had been responsible for the management of 26 industrial schools. This is discussed fully in the General Chapter on the Sisters of Mercy. They were also involved in numerous primary and post-primary schools. 1.94 The Sisters of Mercy issued an apology in 1996, following the broadcast of the 'Dear Daughter' programme in 1995, which characterised a Sisters of Mercy Industrial School, Goldenbridge, as having been abusive. The apology was as follows: In the light of recent revelations regarding the mistreatment of children in our institutions we the Mercy Sisters wish to take this opportunity to sincerely and unreservedly express our deep regret to those men and women who at any time or place in our care were hurt or harshly treated. The fact that most complaints relate to many years ago is not offered as an excuse. As a congregation we fully acknowledge our failures and ask for forgiveness. Aware of the painful and lasting effect of such experiences we would like to hear from those who have suffered and we are putting in place an independent and confidential help line. This help line will be staffed by competent and professional counsellors who will listen sympathetically and who will be in the position to offer further help if required. In this way we would hope to redress the pain insofar as that is possible so that those who have suffered might experience some peace, healing and dignity. Life in Ireland in the 40s and 50s was in general harsh for many people. This was reflected in orphanages, which were under funded, under staffed and under resourced. It was in this climate that many Sisters gave years of generous service to the education and care of children. However, we made mistakes and irrespective of the passage of time as a congregation we now openly acknowledge our failures and ask for forgiveness. Regretfully we cannot change the past. As we continue our work of caring and education today we will constantly review and monitor our procedures, our personnel and our facilities. Working in close cooperation with other voluntary and statutory agencies we are committed to doing all in our power to ensure that people in our care have a protective and supportive environment. We were founded to alleviate pain, want and misery. We have tried to do this through our work in health care, education, child care, social and pastoral work. Despite our evident failures which we deeply regret we are committed to continuing that work in partnership with many others in the years ahead. 1.95 Sr Breege O'Neill, then Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy, told the Investigation Committee that the Congregation hoped that the apology would ease the pain and trauma of former residents, and help to restore their relationship with the Congregation. She said that the apology was not successful, because it was perceived as being conditional or incomplete. After the apology, the amount of litigation involving the Congregation increased, and the Sisters felt that this inhibited them in their dealings with former residents. 1.96 On 5 th May 2004, the Congregation issued a second apology, the circumstances of which are discussed in full in the General Chapter on the Sisters of Mercy. 1.97 Sr Breege O'Neill also discussed the reasons the Congregation became involved in the Redress Scheme: Our decision to become involved in the Redress Scheme, it came out of, I think, all of what I have said up to now. Out of the experience for four years of trying to respond in the different arenas to what was coming to us. I am talking about the litigation. I am talking about the Commission. But also knowing that in some way those of themselves were not going to bring closure ... Our decision was also informed by a pragmatism in relation to the litigation. The sense that long drawn out litigation proceedings would be what we would be putting our energy into for years and years and years. Our decision to become involved in the Redress was not informed by an assessment of the potential outcome of each individual case. It was a scheme the Government announced. They invited our contribution or our involvement in it and we welcomed that ... But it wasn't an easy decision for the Congregation to take at the time because there were many voices holding different views and we had to in some way come to our own place of resting with it as being the best way forward at this time. That we did. Out of that the decision was taken that we would contribute. Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd 1.98 The Good Shepherd Sisters had four industrial schools in Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Wexford, as well as a reformatory school in Limerick. 1.99 The Congregation did not issue a public apology: We have not issued a public apology, no, but when we have met ex-residents and talking to them and listening to how it was for them and how they experienced it, you know, it has really saddened us a lot and we, like, we would always say, well, look, we are really sorry that these are your memories, that this is how it is, that this was your experience, we are really sorry about that. 1.100 The Congregation took the view that the public apology issued by CORI covered all of the 18 Congregations involved in CORI: we agreed with the publication of the apology, as we see it as conveying our regret and our sorrow that those who were in our care have painful memories and have been upset by their time there. 1.101 The Congregation also contributed to the Redress Fund. Sr Claire O'Sullivan, a designated spokesperson for the Congregation, outlined the reasons why as follows: Well, firstly, we decided in principle in October 2000 that we would make a contribution and, like, we did it for a few reasons. In response to the Government's invitation to Congregations to contribute to the scheme was one of the reasons. Also, it was a combination of our pastoral and practical considerations ... Practical considerations were because of the financial restraints. If we went down the road of litigation, it would have cost a huge amount of money and would have gone on for years, as we would see it ... Also, we just didn't want to get ourselves into confrontation with our ex residents at all. There was also the practical thing, that it would lead to a better use of the resources that are available to us, resources that could otherwise be used to help us to assist former residents and for other charitable works, rather than expending resources on preparing for litigation, as I would have said there. It would also, instead of members being very much involved in court cases, it would free up people, our Sisters, to spend time assisting former residents and meeting with them and engaging in other charitable works. So that would have been another reason for us. Also, we were glad to be able to get the indemnity, that we could obtain indemnity from the State, as it is better to contribute to the scheme, rather than processing, as I would have said, down the very costly road of litigation. The Presentation Brothers 1.102 The Presentation Brothers operated one industrial school, St Joseph's Industrial School, Greenmount in Cork. The Presentation Brothers are currently involved in numerous primary and post-primary schools in Ireland. 1.103 The Anglo-Irish Province of the Presentation Brothers has not issued a public apology, but the Congregation issued the following statement on its website, which was referred to at the Emergence hearings: It was along the lines of, "we apologise for any wrongdoing or any abuse that occurred to any person while in our care". That was done for two reasons. First of all to give our regret. Secondly, to encourage anybody out there who is hurting to come and make that complaint. 1.104 The Congregation also contributed to the Redress Fund: Well, we were members of CORI and in 2000 when this came up first we were participating in the Faoiseamh 25 help line and we contributed to the Faoiseamh help line. We were a member of the 18 Congregations and when the question of the contribution came up we felt that especially because of our 1955 incident 26 that we would feel very exposed if all this went to litigation. We felt that it was prudent management to make a contribution to the Redress Board. The Religious Sisters of Charity 1.105 The Sisters of Charity operated five industrial schools, including St Joseph's and St Patrick's in Kilkenny and a group home, Madonna House in Dublin. The Religious Sisters of Charity also operate 19 primary schools and eight post-primary schools, and provide special needs education to a small number of schools. 1.106 The Sisters of Charity have never issued a public apology in respect of child abuse. However, the Congregation has issued three specific apologies relating to the criminal convictions of three of its staff, one in Madonna House and two in St Joseph's, Kilkenny. 1.107 The apology in relation to Madonna House was issued in 1994 and read: The Religious Sisters of Charity are deeply concerned and saddened by what has happened to the children at Madonna House. We offer our heartfelt apology to each and every person who has suffered in a situation where we tried to ensure that they would experience warmth, care and support. 25 An organisation funded by the Congregations that provides counselling for persons who have been abused by religious Orders and Congregations. 26 This is dealt with in full in the chapter on St Joseph's Industrial School, Greenmount. 1.108 The second apology was issued at the sentencing of a male childcare worker in St Joseph's in 1997, and Sr U ´ na O'Neill, Superior General of the Religious Sisters of Charity, stated in respect of it: While other Orders might have found that the "States of Fear" programme or other publications or broadcasts was their moment of realisation, I think it was the criminal conviction of that childcare worker that was a very significant moment certainly for me and those other Sisters who attended and for the Congregation subsequently. For us it was a brutal initiation into the reality of sexual abuse of the most depraved kind. While I would have read the Garda statements that the children made against this childcare worker, it became very real when the boys were asked to speak in Court and they described a most horrific litany of terror and hurt and humiliation and pain and powerlessness. It was at that moment I think for us as a Congregation it became real. I am not saying we accepted it or understood it, but it became real for us then. 1.109 The third apology was issued when another childcare worker from St Joseph's, Kilkenny was convicted: We are appalled that a care worker employed at St. Joseph's for 9 months from '76 to '77 abused children in his care and we are offering counselling services etc. He came to St. Joseph's as a qualified care worker, had excellent references from his former employees in the UK, and was interviewed by representatives from St. Joseph's and from the Department of Education ... Peter McNamara's 27 abuse of the children at St. Joseph's has caused untold misery for the men involved. Nothing can make up for what happened to them and we deeply regret their suffering. 1.110 Sr U ´ na O'Neill's evidence on the background to these apologies is dealt with in detail in the chapter on the Sisters of Charity. 1.111 Sr U ´ na O'Neill said that the Congregation contributed to the Redress Fund because: we had a number of civil cases before the Court at that time ... We had had the experience, I had the experience of attending these court cases and I had seen what that process had done particularly to the men who had taken the cases against us. I had spoken to them about the experience with both of them. I saw what it did with both the volunteers and the staff who had to testify. There was a strong pastoral reason for us not subjecting anybody to that kind of process if we could avoid it. We also felt the definition of abuse was so broad that it would invite many more cases against us and in fact that has proved to be the case. There has been a very, very significant increase in the number of cases that have come in from 2000 up to today, very significant increase for those that had come in beforehand. We also felt that if we didn't contribute to the scheme, maybe we were wrong in this, we felt that perhaps the Redress scheme would give a partial payment to the children and then they would seek the rest from us through legal means and that would have been the same reason as I have given beforehand. The Christian Brothers 1.112 The Christian Brothers were involved in six industrial schools and one residential school for deaf boys, as well as numerous primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. This is discussed fully in the General Chapter on the Christian Brothers. 27 This is a pseudonym. 1.113 The apologies issued by the Christian Brothers are dealt with in full in the General Chapter on the Christian Brothers. On 29 th March 1998, the Christian Brothers issued the following apology: Over the past number of years we have received from some former pupils serious complaints of ill-treatment and abuse by some Christian Brothers in schools and residential centres. We the Christian Brothers in Ireland wish to express our deep regret to anyone who suffered ill-treatment while in our care and we say to you who have experienced physical or sexual abuse by a Christian Brother and to you who complained of abuse and were not listened to we are deeply sorry. We want to do much more than say we are sorry. As an initial step we have already put in place a range of services to offer a practical response and further services will be provided as the needs become clearer. 1.114 The Christian Brothers told the Committee that they welcomed the establishment of the Redress Scheme. Br Gibson stated that: We would have welcomed it because, I suppose, fundamentally we, ourselves, had tried to set up a mediation process and when the Government approached CORI and asked CORI would they be prepared to donate a sum to that fund, we were happy to be involved in doing that. 1.115 He continued: And, of course, the most important thing, I suppose, was it was going to be set up on a statutory basis, which we hadn't been able to do. Maybe, just to say also we were aware that because of the serious nature of the complaints that had come, it was very difficult to make a judgment about these. The Redress Scheme was not going to make a judgment on those. We found particularly ourselves that a lot of the people being accused were dead ... And a lot of people that had complaints against them were denying them vigorously, Brothers were denying them vigorously. We were in the middle with an allegation and a person who was saying this did not happen. We had many Brothers who had spent, say, three or four years in institutions and then subsequently had spent, maybe, 30 to 40 years teaching outside the institutions. During their time in the schools, there had been no complaints against them, but subsequent to the apologies, allegations had come. So we felt that long drawn-out process of legal litigation would not help anyone. So because of that, we were quite happy to join with the Congregations in supporting the Government scheme. When the Taoiseach in October of 2000 announced in principle anyway that he was going to establish a body to compensate people, quite quickly we got an additional 380 complaints. By the time the Agreement was signed, we had roughly about 800 complaints, 791 potential complaints ... So we felt that the Redress Scheme was an opportunity to assist those who had been in institutions to come to closure in a difficult experience that they had had ... Also, that it wasn't making a judgment because – judging something that took place 40, 50, 60 years ago was very difficult to judge. So, in a sense, what we would feel is that from the very beginning of child abuse coming to our attention in 1990, we have tried to be proactive in setting in place structures that would assist people to come forward and would help them to come to terms with the experience of abuse that they have suffered. We also put in place supports for people who were accused of abuse, who were traumatised by the allegations of abuse and the fact of setting up independent advisory panels and child protection services helped us in doing that. The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul 1.116 The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul operated one industrial school, four orphanages, five centres for people with intellectual disability, an orthopaedic residential children's hospital, and a mother and baby home. 1.117 Sr Catherine Mulligan, a former Provincial Leader of the Congregation, stated that the Congregation did not give a public apology for the following reason: that was a considered stance on our part, again because of what we considered to be the lower number of cases against any particular institution and ... having gathered the information that we gathered, we could not say that we ran an abusive system. 1.118 However, the Congregation did contribute to the Redress Scheme, and Sr Mulligan gave reasons for this. She said: I think there was a general feeling that we should become part of that insofar as we could. We were invited by the Government to become part of it and I don't think there was any sort of hesitancy about becoming part of it. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge 1.119 The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge operated an industrial school in Drumcondra in Dublin, and a reformatory school at St Anne's, Kilmacud, Dublin. 1.120 Sr Lucy Bruton gave evidence on behalf of the Congregation, and reiterated that they wanted to be associated with the CORI apology of January 2002, which stated: We accept that some children in residential institutions managed by our members suffered deprivation, physical and sexual abuse. We regret that, we apologise for it. We can never take away the pain experienced at the time by these children nor the shadow left over their adult lives. Today the congregations with the State are giving a concrete expression of their genuine desire to foster healing and reconciliation in the lives of former residents. 1.121 She added that: At that time this expressed for us the feeling we had for people, complainants, and for people who felt they had been abused or badly treated and we associate ourselves positively with that statement today. We also welcome the reconciliation aspect of the Commission and we hope that this would help us to move forward and move on. 1.122 Sr Bruton gave a number of reasons why the Congregation decided to be part of the Redress Scheme: First of all, CORI invited us to be part of the group of 18 Religious Orders who were involved in childcare and the Government invited that group to participate and contribute to the Redress Fund and in solidarity we decided to participate in the scheme ... We were conscious of the five litigation cases that were pending against us at that time and obviously we felt I suppose because there were some that we might hear of others. We felt that it would be easier and quicker and less adversarial than the court process. We would have indemnity following on the litigation which would mean that funds that would be contributed would be directed towards former residents rather than in legal costs and in long trials. We felt that it would give a measure of closure and that we would be enabled to move forward without the long process of legal trials which are hard to prove either way and particularly with so many of the people involved not actually being there. The Brothers of Charity 1.123 The Brothers of Charity operated two schools for children with learning disabilities: Our Lady of Good Counsel, Lota in Cork, and Holy Family School in Renmore, County Galway. They also ran an adult psychiatric hospital in Belmount Park in Waterford, which included an adjacent service for adults with intellectual disabilities. A similar service for adults with learning disabilities was established in Clarinbridge in Galway, and another in Bawnmore in Limerick. Today, the Congregation is the largest provider of services for people with an intellectual disability in Ireland. 1.124 The Brothers issued a public apology in 1995. Br John O'Shea, the Regional Leader in the Congregation, gave evidence at the Emergence hearings: We offered an apology and we offered counselling to people who had been abused while in our services, and we encouraged that other people who had been abused would go to their local Garda Station or whatever, and make their allegations known there ... I feel for us that 1995 was the watershed in the sense of our awareness that we had a fairly significant issue with abuse. I suppose because the thing came to light, there was obviously a public interest in it, and I think while I wouldn't have the exact wording for 1995, but the general sense that we had was look, this has happened. It was quite a shock to us really because it wasn't something we were prepared for, and certainly the individual incidents we would have known of previously didn't add up to a comprehensive picture, if you like, of widescale abuse. I think when we became aware of this and the fact that it was a significant issue, our apology and, again, as I say, it was in the context of maybe responding to what was at this stage in the public domain and, I suppose, maybe articulating our response to it, that was to be one where we wanted to be open about it, we wanted to encourage people who had complaints to make that it was better to get them out in the open and that there were proper channels for doing this, and we particularly encouraged people to report their allegations to the Gardaı´. Because the service we provide would have resources in counselling and so on, we encouraged people that felt they needed that to look for support, if you like. 1.125 Explaining why the Congregation contributed to the Redress Scheme, he stated that, prior to the Redress Scheme, the Congregation was facing approximately 50 civil claims: I suppose one of the things we felt if we were to go down a legal route, that it would be a very long and complex thing and very difficult, and maybe particularly again for people that were abused, it would be putting them through extra trauma and confrontation. Certainly our approach was that we wanted whatever we were doing to be as least confrontational as possible ... Redress would have provided an opening to us that would have many advantages that the legal route wouldn't have. I suppose taking the population that we are dealing with again, that it would be difficult for people with a disability to maybe articulate their case, particularly if it had been done in a confrontational setting ... Redress offered the more acceptable forum, if you like, for dealing with the issues that we had to deal with. I suppose another issue would be where people are denying that any abuse took place, that it also affords the person making allegations, that if they feel that they are entitled to compensation for maybe the general institutional atmosphere that they lived in or whatever hardship or deprivation might go with that, where it mightn't be a specific allegation of a particular misdemeanour by anyone. The Daughters of the Heart of Mary 1.126 The Daughters of the Heart of Mary operated one institution, St Joseph's Orphanage, Dun Laoghaire from 1860 to 1985. The Sisters also operated a school, a retreat house, and two guest houses for retired women. 1.127 The Congregation had not issued a public apology. Sr Anne Boland, Provincial of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, gave evidence to the Emergence hearings that, in 1971, a resident of one of the schools disclosed to the Sisters that she had been sexually abused by a man who, along with his wife, took some of the girls out for weekends. The Sisters reported the matter to the Gardaı´. In 1997, a former resident instituted legal proceedings alleging abuse against a visiting priest. The Sisters believe that this priest was convicted of charges relating to the abuse. 1.128 The Congregation contributed to the Redress Fund. Sr Boland stated: when the Redress Scheme was being drawn up, at that time we had one set of allegations against us, and we also had a number of records or requests for records, small in number, asking for records. In view of the fact that we had over 2,000 children in our care down through the years, we felt more claims could come in. But I would have to say also we found there were very few. At that point, there was only one allegation. Since then, two other allegations have come to us and we felt the best way to compensate, even though we realise the care was good, and, you know, that would be from talking to the Sisters and, indeed, from the past children, that it was a place that they were happy in. But, nonetheless, we felt we could not meet their needs in a way that an ordinary family would. So in order to redress that or compensate, we felt it would be better to go down the line of entering the Redress Scheme. It would be less adversarial or conflictual to them and to us for them to have to come or to put a claim for money to us individually. So that is really why we entered the Redress Scheme. The De La Salle Brothers 1.129 The De La Salle Brothers had significant experience of residential care in England. They first became involved in residential care in Ireland in 1972, when St Laurence's School in Finglas in Dublin was opened. They were involved in the school until 1994. The De La Salle Brothers also operate numerous primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. 1.130 The De La Salle Brothers considered issuing a public apology but decided against it, preferring instead to issue individuals apologies. Br Pius McCarthy, the Provincial Secretary of the Order, gave evidence at the Emergence hearings: After the Christian Brothers made their apology, we thought about something similar, we questioned whether we should do it or not, but we decided against it, we decided to deal with each case individually, because at the time there was the Garda investigation going on and we weren't quite sure what the outcome would be. We felt that by making an apology, we might be indicating or influencing one way or the other. So we have apologised in individual cases where somebody has come to us and said that they were abused. We just decided that it would be better not to go down the road of a public apology. 1.131 The Order contributed to the Redress Scheme for the following reasons: In April 2001, we were invited by CORI to become part of the group of congregations who were then negotiating with the State with regard to making a contribution to the compensation scheme that had been announced in October 2000. The Congregations who were negotiating had agreed in principle to make a contribution to the scheme and details of the same were being discussed. We were approached, because there was at that time litigation in existence relating to Finglas Children's Centre, and even though we didn't own the centre nor did we manage it in the strict sense, the Resident Manager was a De La Salle Brother throughout the years and we had an involvement in administration and also De La Salle Brothers had worked in it ... We were also aware that some of the complaints made were specifically directed towards members of the Congregation. At the time we were approached by CORI, we were aware of eight claims arising from the centre. Really we were made aware of them by CORI, they got the information for us. We were advised that any contribution made by the Congregations would be in consideration of an indemnity from the State and this would bring some certainty with regard to future litigation. We were also aware of the ongoing Garda investigation into St. Laurence's which began in 1995 ... Also, we had come into the negotiations at a late stage and accordingly we were guided to some extent by what the other Congregations had done and we also wanted to show solidarity with them. The Sisters of St Clare 1.132 The Sisters of St Clare, or the Poor Clares as they were also known, operated two institutions, an industrial school in Cavan and a private orphanage at Harold's Cross, with a primary school and a commercial school attached. 1.133 They did not issue a public apology. Sr Patricia Rogers, Congregational Leader, outlined the reasons for this as follows: We have not issued a public apology, but we have associated ourselves with the CORI apology, because we would accept that for many years the daily routine in the institutions, they just didn't take account of the needs of children. The life was too regulated and too disciplined to allow for differences in their physical and emotional development. While Sisters and the lay staff who worked in the institutions made attempts to improve the physical surroundings in which the children lived, it seems clear that there was less understanding of the children's need for affection and emotional support ... The State provided very little at that time by way of support services, and access to psychologists and social workers was very limited. I think as a result of that, both the children and their carers suffered. 1.134 Sr Rogers stated that the Congregation contributed to the Redress Scheme for the following reasons: ... we felt that we would be assisting people who had been in our care during their childhood and who are now experiencing difficulties in their lives. We believe that the Redress Scheme presented an opportunity for ending litigation in a quicker and in a less adversarial manner than would be the case in court. We wanted at all costs to avoid a confrontation situation if that were possible. We also believe that the money expended by the Congregation would go directly to the residents rather than be absorbed by legal fees. We were aware that the Redress Scheme was going to have a far lower threshold of proof than the courts in that no blame was going to be apportioned to any individual or institution as a result of that. The Presentation Sisters 1.135 The Presentation Sisters operated two industrial schools, St Francis's Industrial School, Cashel, County Tipperary, and St Bernard's Industrial School, Dundrum, County Tipperary, which later moved to Fethard in County Tipperary. The Presentation Sisters in Ireland continue to have strong links with both primary and post-primary schools. 1.136 Sr Claude Meagher, Provincial of the South East Province of the Congregation, informed the Committee that the Sisters decided to contribute to the Redress Scheme because: CORI invited the Congregations to participate and, I suppose, there was quite a lot of discussion and reflection went into that, and we made a decision because we had those two industrial schools and we were aware that claims were now being initiated by former residents, those made over the phone and those who had looked for records. We were aware too that in one of the institutions certainly, the regime might have been described as harsh, but the building and all about it prior to 1954, it wouldn't meet present standards or anything near present standards, but renovation was done there in 1974. I suppose our own enquiries and reading records would lead us to believe that the School wasn't adequate, so we feel that people would have suffered there, they may have suffered ... I suppose we believe too that protracted litigation isn't in anybody's interest and we know there would be huge difficulty, on the advice of our legal advisers, in following cases that are dating back to the past, particularly where the Sisters who may have been involved are dead and it is difficult to establish what happened. So in that sense we would feel it is important we would be part of the Government Redress Scheme. I suppose there would be considerable expenses involved in that, and that it is better to maybe direct the money to the Redress Scheme rather than maybe trying to pursue legal issues in court. The Sisters of St Louis 1.137 The Sisters of St Louis operated one industrial school, St Martha's Industrial School in Bundoran, County Donegal. Sisters from the Congregation also worked at St Joseph's Orphanage in Bundoran, which was under diocesan management. The St Louis Sisters are involved in primary and post-primary education in Ireland. 1.138 The Sisters of St Louis have not issued a public apology. 1.139 Sr Noreen Shankey, Regional Leader for Ireland, outlined the reasons why the Congregation contributed to the Redress Scheme: central to our participation in the Redress Scheme was a desire to prevent the ordeal of past residents and ourselves having to go through the courts. As I mentioned, we had no cases against us until after the Taoiseach's apology and the redress had been announced. We also felt that the way of redress was a more humane way and that it would lead in the direction of healing and reconciliation, and I welcome this emphasis with the present Commission and the approach you are taking. We were also advised by our legal people of the difficulty of prosecuting cases of this nature before the courts, we could have long drawn out cases. Because the events happened so long ago and with the Statute of Limitations, most of the people are dead, in fact all except one person. We felt that the money would be better spent on redress than in legal fees. There was also an element of support from the other congregations because these discussions were already underway when we joined in, there were already 12 Congregations, so we came in late in the day, but there was a supportive element being with the other Congregations as well as learning from their experience. There was also the advantage that if people went to redress, we would be indemnified against other claims in the courts. The Hospitaller Order of St John of God 1.140 The Order of St John of God operated a day and residential school for children with learning disabilities at St Augustine's in Blackrock, County Dublin and other institutions. In Ireland, the Order provides mental health services, care for older people, and services for children and adults with disabilities. 1.141 Fr Fintan Whitmore, Provincial of the Order, said that the Order had not issued a public apology: No, no. We have not been able to establish as a fact that what was said has actually happened. Therefore, we have no way of corroborating that. There have been no convictions, there have been no proceedings that have arrived at any court processes and so on in relation to that, and nobody has come forward with a confession that these things have happened or that they were perpetrators of these acts within our own organisation. What we would say though, and I think what we have said in most cases, in all cases I would say if it were true that abuse had taken place, then it is a most regrettable thing and we would regret that any such happening could have happened or, indeed, that anything could have happened to people that would leave them disturbed as a result of being in treatment or in care with us or during their time with us. 1.142 However, the Order did contribute to the Redress Fund. Fr Whitmore outlined the reasons why, as follows: There are a number of reasons. One is the way in which we felt a lot of this could go without something like the Redress Board was that it could get into litigation that would be an adversarial system, that the people who were coming forward with accusations were vulnerable people who had difficulties with life in general, and neither for themselves nor for ourselves or anyone else would a long process involving court appearances and denials and statements and so on and so forth have been beneficial to anybody, so we felt that a process which would try to ascertain the truth without going through what could have been very difficult processes for all concerned would have been a better way to go. We also felt that we should act in solidarity with other religions at the time. The indemnity was also an attractive proposition. They would be the principal reasons. The Sisters of Nazareth 1.143 The Sisters of Nazareth provided services for children and the elderly in Ireland. The Sisters of Nazareth operated a residential home for boys and girls, called the Nazareth House, which was situated in County Sligo. 1.144 The Sisters of Nazareth have not issued a public apology. 1.145 Sr Cornelia Walsh, Sister Superior of the Congregation, outlined the reasons why the Congregation contributed to the Redress Scheme: Yes, we did, we joined. As a congregation we are a member of CORI and have been for many years. And as such we were aware of and involved in the contacts between CORI and the government representatives, which culminated in the setting up of the scheme. As I said, we are one of the contributing Congregations. We welcome the Government's initiative and have been dismayed at the obvious pain felt by so many of the country's citizens recalling a period in their lives when the pain of poverty, abandonment and loss was worsened. We consider that the Government's initiative in recognising the shared involvement of the State and those who sought to supplement and provide care which the State could not, was a very worthy one, particularly as it offered a non-adversarial and speedy avenue for those seeking and needing redress. We felt that the desire to heal and provide help was defeated by the necessary rigours of the adversarial process which was neither in the interests of the genuinely hurt and also the elderly and sick Sisters who would have been required to attend hearings. And it is for that reason that we joined the scheme. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate 1.146 The Oblate Order operated Daingean Reformatory School in County Offaly [formerly Glencree] and a detention centre at Scoil Ard-Mhuire in Lusk, County Dublin. 1.147 The Oblates issued a press statement following the broadcast of 'States of Fear' on 28 th April 1999. It read: We are asked to comment on the programme "States of Fear". We would firstly say that the abuse of young people is always abhorrent and abuse of young people in confinement is doubly so. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate deeply regret that any young man was mistreated while in their care and offer sincerest apologies. At the same time we cannot accept certain of the assertions made by the programme particularly in relation to funding. However, before commenting further, a more detailed study of the available records would be required. We are glad the point was made that many boys did experience kindness. This programme has lifted a veil on the way that disadvantaged children have been treated in Irish Society. Hopefully it will prove to be a step in a continuing work of research and healing. 1.148 Fr Tom Murphy, a member of the Order, said that the Oblates contributed to the Redress Scheme because: We felt that the redress procedure was best for the claimants and that it was better that the money should go to them rather than for legal expenses. We also felt very strongly that this would be and should be a pastoral reaction, a pastoral action if you like, in relation to the whole question of abuse. We also saw a certain value in being one in solidarity with other religious Congregations who were supporting the contribution. It would also save surviving members, now elderly, and staff members from the trauma of maybe long, litigious lawsuits. And it would also sort of avoid any excessively adversarial modes of civil courts which would give rise to further alienation of claimants. In addition we hope that it would speed up and facilitate a process of closure around this whole question. We also needed to justify pledging funds that we held for our mission for this special purpose of contributing, and after legal advice which we felt we had to have, we made the contribution. Evidence from representatives of the survivor groups 1.149 Ten groups representing survivors of child abuse were invited to attend the Emergence hearings. These were: (1) The Irish Deaf Society (2) Irish SOCA (3) SOCA UK (4) Right to Peace (5) One in Four (6) Right of Place (7) Alliance Victim Support (8) Irish Survivors of Institutional Abuse International (9) The Aislinn Centre (10) The London Irish Women's Group. The Irish Deaf Society 1.150 Mr Kevin Stanley gave evidence on behalf of the Irish Deaf Society, a representative body which has a number of umbrella groups within its organisation; one of these is for survivors of abuse who are deaf. This was set up following the broadcast of 'States of Fear' and was designed to 'give deaf people an opportunity to discuss things, their experiences and really to assist in part of the healing process, healing from the pain that they would have experienced'. 1.151 The long-term objectives of the Society are to raise awareness that abuse has taken place in schools for the deaf, which they believe was directly linked with the introduction of oralism and the banning of sign language, that led to physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Irish SOCA 1.152 Mr Patrick Walsh is a member of a survivor group known as Irish SOCA (Survivors of Child Abuse), and he was nominated to represent it for the purpose of the Emergence hearings. After the Taoiseach's statement of 11 th May 1999, a number of firms of solicitors placed advertisements in various newspapers in the UK and Ireland, and public meetings were organised. SOCA (Survivors of Child Abuse) was established at a meeting in London on 19 th June 1999. Soon afterwards, SOCA split into two groups, Irish SOCA and SOCA UK. The two groups were not mutually exclusive, and many of SOCA's members belonged to both organisations. 1.153 Mr Walsh said that the purpose of the group was to act as a support group for survivors, so that they could make representations to the Irish Government on the proposed Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and Residential Institutions Redress legislation. It has also participated in various consultative processes and made submissions to the Law Reform Commission during its work on the Statute of Limitations. The group also assists its members in seeking access to information and operates a legal referral service. 1.154 Mr Walsh said that Irish SOCA is funded from 'the personal resources of the executive members of Irish SOCA'. He said it is not funded by the State, the Roman Catholic Church, or membership fees. SOCA UK 1.155 Mr Michael Waters gave evidence on behalf of SOCA UK (Survivors of Child Abuse – UK). He traced the origins of the group to meetings that he used to have with other former residents of Artane at social occasions. These meetings were initially very informal and in the nature of an Artane Old Boys School. 1.156 In the early years, there were three to four meetings a year. They wrote to everybody they thought might be able to help. The broadcast of 'Dear Daughter' in the mid-1990s marked a watershed for them: This without doubt was groundbreaking stuff ... This was the flagship overall, this was the one that now had brought it all mainstream ... 1.157 He said that it had a major impact on his members: It certainly did because although we were supporting each other and coming up into the mid-90s now you had a mixed group of people. It was no longer a sort of -- although it still had a title until into the mid-90's, the Artane Old Boys, but that was really redundant, that was defunct as such because there was women that was involved as well that had been in the institutes. 1.158 The first big meeting was in Coventry in 1998, and this venue was chosen to facilitate members travelling from all over the UK. They advertised the meeting in the Irish Post, and the meeting was attended by approximately 100 people. That meeting was followed by more meetings in Coventry and in Birmingham. Numbers had grown to over 500, and the idea to form a group was emerging. Eventually, a meeting was held on 19 th June 1999 in London, and SOCA was launched at this meeting. A constitution was adopted on 27 th June 1999. 1.159 Mr Waters explained that his organisation has made representations to the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and the Redress Board. They also worked towards developing an independent counselling service, as many of their members did not wish to avail of the counselling provided by the Religious Orders. SOCA UK continued to have regular meetings and assist their members in tracing their family of origin, and they also refer people for legal advice. 1.160 The group is funded by the Department of Education and Science. Right to Peace 1.161 Mr Michael O'Brien gave evidence on behalf of 'Right to Peace'. He said that the origins of his group could be traced back to 1999, when a lady named Josephine Baker organised a meeting to discuss institutional abuse for people who had attended Ferryhouse Industrial School. Following the meeting, a group of approximately 13 former residents of Ferryhouse decided to establish a group 'to see what we could do about the abuse that we suffered while children, sexual, physical, traumatic and verbal abuse in an institution where we were sent to be cared for, in an institution where we were supposed to be taught, cleaned, looked after and fed'. After the meeting, Mr O'Brien said that he tried to promote his group in the media by placing advertisements in newspapers and giving interviews on local radio. He said that the group has approximately 300 members and its aim: was to get the State to do something about this abuse. Why? That it would never again happen in this country that any child would be abused again in this country. That was our main aim. Every obstacle that you can think of was put in our way, no help from nobody. 1.162 He continued: That's why we set up our group to see can we get our rights back, to see can we get redress for what happened for those of us who didn't do so well after coming out. 1.163 Mr O'Brien said that Right to Peace engages in counselling, giving advice and holding meetings. The group is funded by the Department of Education and Science. One in Four 1.164 'One in Four' is a service-based, non-profit organisation and a registered charity that provides support to men and women who have suffered sexual violence or sexual abuse. It was founded by Mr Colm O'Gorman in the UK in 1999. Mr O'Gorman outlined the background to its establishment and its early development as follows: The charity was originally founded in the UK in 1999 ... It became a registered charity in the year 2000 and it launched its services then. In Ireland I had been personally involved in the making of a documentary with BBC television in relation to clerical sexual abuse. When that documentary aired we found that our office in London was being inundated with calls from Irish people, people both living in Ireland and in the UK, talking about their own experiences of sexual violence. 1.165 He continued: We subsequently in late April 2002 had a meeting with officials of the Department of An Taoiseach. As a result of that meeting we felt very encouraged to perhaps proceed more speedily than we had first anticipated towards the establishment of an organisation. We submitted proposals to Government and were told to go ahead with the establishment of the Irish organisation. We secured offices in November 2002 and started to see the first clients of the service in about February 2003. 1.166 The organisation provides a psychotherapy programme and an advocacy programme. Mr O'Gorman said that the organisation is funded through a variety of means, including grants from the Department of Health and Children and by fundraising. Right of Place 1.167 Mr Eugene Tracey gave evidence on behalf of 'Right of Place', an organisation established on 10 th July 1999 to help survivors of institutional abuse. Following the Taoiseach's apology, he and another man decided to place an advertisement in the Cork Examiner, inviting former residents of St Patrick's Industrial School, Upton to a meeting in Cork on 10 th July 1999. At this meeting, a committee was elected and it was mandated to approach the Government: with a view to securing primarily education because a lot of us people were lacking in education through no fault of our own. A lot of us needed counselling and we didn't know how to access it, and it was literally nonexistent. Housing, social housing situations – people were living, including myself at the time, in rat-infested bedsits. We took all of these sort of situations on board. 1.168 They met with the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Michea´l Martin, and a number of officials from his Department, and they had discussions about how their aim of providing education and improving conditions for survivors could be achieved. To assist them in their objectives, premises were secured in Cork and leased by the Department on behalf of the group. The premises was used by the group to hold meetings, so as to keep their members informed, and it was also used to provide evening classes and literacy classes for its members. They worked in conjunction with the CORK VEC, 28 who provided them with an educational facilitator. The six staff in the building were paid by FA ´ S. 29 1.169 Mr Tracey told the Committee that the education programme had been a great success and had provided courses for many people in schools and universities and trades. 1.170 The group also became aware that many people who came to give evidence to the Commission needed somewhere to stay before and after they had given their evidence. Having identified this need, the organisation obtained a house with the assistance of the Department of Health and Children, and this can accommodate around 30 people. This house is also used for short-term stays for members awaiting housing. In addition, the group received a grant from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to build 10 apartments for the repatriation of former residents who were living outside Ireland. 1.171 The organisation was initially funded by the Department of Education and Science, but it is now funded by the Department of Health and Children. Alliance Victim Support 1.172 Mr Tom Hayes gave evidence on behalf of Alliance Victim Support. They are a voluntary organisation. They provide support to survivors in Ireland, particularly those who live in isolated areas. The type of support consists of establishing the living conditions of these people and putting them in touch with professional help and advising them of their statutory entitlements. 1.173 They receive some funding from the Department of Education and Science. Irish Survivors of Institutional Abuse International 1.174 Mr Tom Cronin gave evidence on behalf of this group. They were established in the UK as a result of a split with another group in 2002. He identified a number of issues that they would like the Commission to consider, such as State financing of industrial schools and how the money was spent, the role of medical personnel within the industrial school system, and the role of the ISPCC. 28 Cork VEC – Cork Vocational Education Committees. 29 FA´ S – Training and employment authority. 1.175 The group do not receive any funding. The Aislinn Centre 1.176 Ms Christine Buckley, who is the Director of the Aislinn Centre, gave evidence to the Investigation Committee. She described how, following the broadcast of the programme 'Dear Daughter', she and two fellow survivors organised an event in the Royal Dublin Society called 'A Happy Day' in April 1996. The purpose of this event was to put former residents in contact with each other, and to enable them to get in touch with siblings with whom they had lost contact. The event was attended by 550 people. She spent the next few years raising awareness of the issue of child abuse. After the Taoiseach's apology in 1999, the Aislinn Centre was established. She said that the Centre operates an 'open door policy', where membership is not required. She insisted that they do not operate on a membership basis, but acknowledged that they had assisted approximately 3,500 individuals who had made contact with the Centre. 1.177 The work of the Centre is to promote healing through a variety of ways: counselling, education, and activities which help with self-development. They offer courses in art, music, creative writing, swimming lessons, driving lessons, financial advice through the Money Advice Budgetary Service (MABS), computers, and drama, all with a view to confidence building. 1.178 The group receives some funding from the Government. The London Irish Women's Group 1.179 Ms Sally Mulready gave evidence on behalf of the London Irish Women's Group. The group emerged from SOCA UK, where many of the women who attended these meetings wanted to meet and talk and share experiences that were personal to them as women, mothers and grandmothers. It was set up in November 1999 and is not a rival group, and many of the members are members of other organisations. They have a mailing list of 380 women and hold monthly meetings. The group was involved in negotiations that led to the setting-up of outreach services for survivors in the UK, which is funded by the Department of Education and Science. 1.180 The organisation does not receive any Government funding. Experts and their assignments 1.181 The Commission engaged experts to assist in the investigation and to report on a number of areas as outlined below. Physical surroundings – Ciaran Fahy 1.182 The Commission appointed Mr Ciaran Fahy, Consulting Engineer, to report on the physical environment in which the children resided. His brief was to examine the physical surrounding with particular reference to the buildings in Artane, Clifden and Ferryhouse Industrial Schools as well as Daingean Reformatory School. His reports are annexed to the chapters dealing with those institutions. Finance – Mazars 1.183 At the Emergence hearings in July 2004, it was clear that the Congregations would be making the case that they had not been provided with adequate funds to enable them to look after the children properly. Although the representations by the State at the Emergence hearings, and in later submissions, seemed to accept that there was inadequate financial provision for the institutions, the Committee wished to have this matter explored to try to assess to what extent the lack of finance caused or contributed to failures of care in the system. 1.184 The firm of Mazars, Chartered Accountants, was engaged to report on funding. Mazars' brief was to examine the accounts of a number of specific institutions: Artane, Goldenbridge, Ferryhouse and Daingean, and also to consider the question of funding more generally, and to review the adequacy or otherwise of the capitation payments made in respect of children in industrial and reformatory schools. 1.185 Because of the general importance of the issue of finance to the investigation of the institutions, and specifically in respect of those that Mazars examined, a full discussion of this topic is contained in Vol IV, Chapter 2 of the report, where the Mazars Report is annexed, together with all the submissions that were made in response to the first draft of the report that was circulated. Health records – Professor Anthony Staines 1.186 The Committee appointed Dr Anthony Staines, formerly of UCD, now Professor of Public Health Medicine in Dublin City University, to lead a small group of researchers in a project to examine health records relating to the children in institutions. It became clear that it was impossible in any reliable way to study the health of children in the institutions on the basis of the limited and variable records that were available. 1.187 The Committee has not taken the results of this study into account in its analysis of individual institutions, but it recognises and appreciates the assistance that it has received from Professor Staines and his team in their examination of the available material. The study undertaken by Professor Staines and his team is annexed at Vol V of this report. Dr Eoin O'Sullivan 1.188 Dr Eoin O'Sullivan, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the Department of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, gave valuable assistance to the Commission in two areas. First, he gave evidence at the opening of the Emergence hearings on 21 st June 2004, where he outlined the history of industrial and reformatory schools in Ireland and helped to establish the historical context of the institutions. 1.189 The second task undertaken by Dr O'Sullivan was to report on developments in the area of child protection and care in the State, from the time of the Kennedy Committee Report in 1970 to the present day. Dr O'Sullivan's report is contained in Vol IV of this report. Dr Diarmaid Ferriter 1.190 Prior to the Phase III hearings, a firm of solicitors representing a large number of complainants commissioned Dr Diarmaid Ferriter, Senior Lecturer in Irish History at St Patrick's College, Dublin City University, to produce a report. 1.191 Dr Ferriter set out to: attempt to put more historical context on the events discussed in the public hearings by drawing attention to issues of class, gender and sexuality generally in Irish society, and more specifically, sexual abuse in relation to the State and the legal system, as well as looking at the manner in which information emerged, and was sometimes suppressed. By extension, it will also touch on the institution of the family, emigration and how the State and the Catholic Church perceived its role in relation to the moral welfare of Irish Catholics. 1.192 Because Dr Ferriter had already been engaged, the Investigation Committee received his report as a useful document containing expert research and opinion. 1.193 Dr Ferriter's report is of interest and value, but the Investigation Committee was aware that, because it deals with many of the questions that are at the very core of the Inquiry itself it could not be used as the basis of making conclusions. Recognising the value of the work, the Commission took over as sponsor, and it also is annexed to Vol IV of this report. Mr Richard Rollinson 1.194 Mr Richard Rollinson is a retired Director of the Mulberry Care Centre in Oxford. He is an expert in the field of residential childcare in the United Kingdom. The Committee asked him to furnish a brief history of residential childcare in England, as it developed in the later part of the twentieth century, and the report he furnished covers the period 1948 to 1975. Mr Rollinson's report provides valuable comparative and contextual information on the English system, and is annexed to Vol IV of this report. Professor David Gwynn Morgan 1.195 Professor Morgan is a Professor of Law at University College, Cork. He provided enormous assistance to the Committee in research and analysis that extended over a wide area of interest to the Committee and the Commission. His work did not extend to the individual chapters on institutions, nor to the investigation of abuse in them. His particular contributions are reflected in the chapters entitled History of Industrial Schools and Reformatories, Gateways and the Department of Education. Professor Morgan conducted original research into material that would have been very difficult to access without the assistance of Mr Jimmy Maloney of the Department of Education and Science, whose contribution is acknowledged. Research project – Professor Alan Carr 1.196 In its Opening Statement and at the Second Public Sitting on 20 th July 2000, the Commission announced its intention to conduct a research project. The Third Interim Report outlined the proposed project. 30 Difficulties were encountered in setting up the project, and the Commission under Mr Justice Sean Ryan revised the scheme in consultation with Professor Alan Carr of the Department of Psychology, University College Dublin. It was undertaken in 2005 and 2006. There were 247 residents of institutions who gave evidence to the Commission and were interviewed by Professor Carr's research team. The report containing the results of the research study is published in full in Volume IV of this report. 1.197 The 'research study' stands alone and separate from the work of the Commission, and its conclusions were not taken into account in the reports submitted by the two Committees to the Commission. The 'research study' comprises original research which adds to the knowledge of this field of study. 30 See Third Interim Report, chapter 4.
LANDfirst Campaign Strategy Policy People Participation Final draft Prepared by VEDA Associates March 2009 Contents Communication desire.................................................................................................................... 28 Introduction Afesis-Corplan is an East London based NGO that has been doing work in on local governance and settlement related issues since 1992. They developed the ‗Land First' concept, which is essentially about providing people with access to land (and basic services, basic tenure, etc) as a first step to incrementally and progressively improving the lives of people living in slum conditions. Afesis –Corplan has partnered with Urban Landmark, which is a ‗making markets work for the poor' programme in the context of the realization of land rights. Urban Landmark has been supporting Afesis-Corplan with the development of its Land Access Manuals as well as a series of workshops with relevant stakeholders countrywide where they presented the ‗Land First' concept. Urban Landmark and Afesis-Corplan now wishes to build on these initiatives by shifting the focus of the work to the development of a Land First Campaign. The intention in developing a ‗campaign' is to, in part, develop a ‗vehicle' with a ‗purpose' so that a wider grouping of role players such as community groups, NGOs, private sector organisations and others are able to network and rally around the model and concept of LANDfirst and perhaps take it to its next logical step of development or institutionalisation. The development of a campaign strategy is the start of this process and intended to explore the following issues, by way of providing Afesis Corplan and ULM with an implementation plan that would ultimately: Define a core support group to support the implementation of the LANDfirst Campaign Reach consensus with stakeholders on how their support of LANDfirst would manifest and List activities to drive LANDfirst over a three-year period. This document aims to: Define and locate campaigns as an advocacy tool for LANDfirst Consider campaign benchmarks appropriate to LANDfirst Propose a campaign strategy for LANDfirst. Strategically differentiating between LANDfirst the campaign and LANDfirst the concept. 4 Simplifying LANDfirst the concept for sake of building a brand and conceiving a campaign. Understanding LANDfirst LANDfirst is about 1) providing suitable land for settlement (this is both existing informal areas and Greenfield land), and then 2) allowing incremental, occupation and development of this land. LANDfirst is an approach to settlement development that emphasises the provision of planned secure land with basic services as a first step towards a longer-term housing and settlement upgrading process. It can be contrasted with most existing settlement development programmes that focus on the immediate provision of a complete ‗full house' as part of a fully planned and serviced project. LANDfirst is a simple yet revolutionary concept to speed up the process of settlement development, by providing previously disenfranchised South Africans with access to welllocated, affordable and secure land for residential and other development. At the core of the LANDfirst concept is the desire to find innovative solutions to the growing discontent expressed by thousands of ‗informal' settlement, backyard shack, dwellers and other landless that eke out a living on the periphery of society. An Alternate Approach to Land and Housing Development? LANDfirst's approach to land and housing development looks at how land can be provided as a first step to housing as both a reactionary response to allowing people to stay on land they have already occupied, and as a proactive response to allowing people to occupy new land in an organised manner, thereby preventing more un-recognised and un-organised informal settlements emerging. Having researched and developed the concept of LANDfirst, Afesis-Corplan together with its partner Urban Land Mark is now mobilising support for a LANDfirst Campaign. Central to this is a call for support and cooperation from stakeholders in the land, housing and human development arena. According to Afesis-Corplan: Local government needs to plan for land in advance of need and implement land acquisition mechanisms like land banking, land swops (where government swops well located private land with less well located government land) and land readjustment (where developers enter into agreements with land owners to develop the land and give back a portion of the developed land to land owner to keep or sell). National and provincial government should establish a pilot programme to explore how LANDfirst can be implemented within the existing subsidy mechanisms like the Upgrading of Informal Settlement programme and the Emergency Housing programme, and determine if there is a need for a new Managed Land Settlement programme. The National Department of Land Affairs, national Department of Housing (with the Housing Development Agency) and the Department of Provincial and Local Government, needs to establish a land access inter departmental committee, that in consultation with non governmental organisations, reviews existing procedure and mechanisms for accessing well located large (and smaller) project scale portions of public and private land, that can be made available to LANDfirst and other types of settlement development projects. Micro finance institutions should be lobbied to explore ways that they could provide saving and loan products that allow people to purchase land, provide tenure security, and install basic services. The land and housing subsidy can come later. The housing micro finance sector presently focuses on the provision of home improvement loans and not on land access loans. Communities need to organise themselves into groups and organisations so that they can negotiate with Local Authorities and landowners to get land as a first step. Communities need to look first to using their own resources to purchase land with government subsidies for land purchase (and service and house construction) coming later when available. A Call to Equity – the Constitution The calling for LANDfirst is embedded in the highest legislative mandates of the country, According to the Bill of rights: Right to land: ―The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.‖ (section 25.5) Right to housing: ―Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing (and) the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realization of this right‖. (section 26.1 and 26.2) 39 Interpretation of Bill of Rights: When interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum- must promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; On a practical level the Housing act 107 of 1997 outlines ggeneral principles applicable to housing development: National, provincial and local spheres of government must-- d) encourage and support individuals and communities, including, hut not limited to, cooperatives, associations and other bodies which are community-based, in their efforts to fulfil their own housing needs by assisting them in accessing land, services and technical assistance in a way that leads to the transfer of skills to, and empowerment of, the community; (i.e. land and services)* k) use public money available for housing development in a manner which stimulates private investment in, and the contributions of individuals to, housing development; (i.e. self build)* The rallying call for an alternate approach to housing and land development in South Africa is based, as an example, on the following simple, stage gate process central to LANDfirst principles of development: LANDfirst Sample Process Map Understanding Campaigns The simplest definition of a campaign relative to the work of LANDfirst is perhaps this one: ―A connected series of activities designed to bring about a particular result.‖ 1 This definition is appropriate in the main because of the conceptual nature of LANDfirst and because the ‗call to action' will develop as the model takes and changes shape. The aim of this strategy then is to create a flexible enough plan of action around a model of LANDfirst, which is assumed with change over time. Advocacy defined A working definition Citizen-centered advocacy is an organised political 2 process that involves the coordinated efforts of people to change policies, practices, ideas, and values that perpetuate inequality, intolerance, and exclusion. It strengthens citizens' capacity as decision-makers and builds more accountable and equitable institutions of power. 3 To make the ‗user' perspective of LANDfirst we have drawn on a few point so of view which could characterise an approach to the LANDfirst advocacy model and campaign – the quotes in bold are meant to highlight perspectives that might have more applicability than others in relation to the campaign approach eventually adopted. Possible advocacy perspectives from view of targeted campaign audiences. ―Advocacy is strategic action that influences decision making (for and against) in order to improve the social, economic, political environment toward the improvement of the community.‖ 1 www.tolerance.org/pt/votequest/vq_dictionary.html 2 ‗Political is used in the context of: ―1. Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of government, politics, or the state.‖ - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/political 3 VeneKlasen and Miller, 2007 9 ―Advocacy is about bringing positive changes to all levels of society through the identification of issues, taking of a position, mobilisation of resources, organisation of structures and mechanisms, and implementation of strategies.‖ ―Advocacy is a continuous process which leads to positive change in attitudes, behavior, and relationships within the family, workplace, and community, and state and society i.e. all social institutions‖. ―To advocate on behalf of the voiceless‖. ―Working with the voiceless, organising people to speak for themselves‖ (VeneKlasen and Miller, 2007). Approaches to advocacy campaigns: There are various ways in which LANDfirst can approach advocacy campaigns, these include: Public interest advocacy: This is typically large-scale campaign-style advocacy often involving professional lobbyists, media experts, pollsters and fundraisers. These actors mobilise resources and influence in pursuit of policy reforms on social and political issues with the goal of serving the broad public interest. Policy advocacy: Policy advocacy initiatives focus exclusively on the policy agenda and a specific policy goal. These advocates usually assume that policy change will produce real change on the ground. Social justice advocacy: A number of organisations worldwide describe their advocacy this way. Strategies involve political and policy influence around issues that directly affect people's lives, especially the lives of the poor and marginalised. Oxfam and the Advocacy Institute (USA) describe it like this: ―Advocacy consists of organised efforts and actions based on the reality of ‗what is.' These organised actions seek to highlight critical issues that have been ignored and submerged, to influence public attitudes and to enact and implement laws and public policies so that visions of ‗what should be' in a just, decent society become a reality.‖ They stress the need ―to embrace power relationships and people's participation‖. People-centered advocacy: These strategies aim to empower poor people to advocate for their rights and interests themselves. This approach challenges the notion that policy is the terrain of ―experts.‖ For Action Aid (UK), people-centered advocacy ―supports and enables people to better negotiate on their own behalf, for basic needs and basic rights‖. Participatory Advocacy: Participatory advocacy extends the boundaries of public decision-making by engaging civil society groups in policy debates. It is founded on the belief that democratic governance is the task of citizens as well as governments. This type of advocacy aims to expand public space and citizenship. Proposed LANDfirst Advocacy Model It is recommended that LANDfirst adopt the following combination of approaches towards its advocacy campaign: Campaign Benchmarks relevant to LANDfirst This strategy has used the benefit of hindsight by exploring case studies as benchmarks for the LANDfirst campaign. This section means to explore learnings emerging from relevant campaigns with the aim of building a case for the LANDfirst campaign and being able to mould an effective LANDfirst concept. Upgrading for Growth What is it? Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality's Upgrading for Growth strategy makes development of human capital the core outcome of the upgrading process. The Upgrading for Growth program aims to provide not only increased choice in the provision of shelter and basic services but also to empower communities in informal settlements to enter the productive economic sector and take advantage of social benefits available for these purposes. Core Campaign Elements On the face of it Upgrading for Growth (UFG) does not appear to be a ‗campaign' in the same way as for instance the Treatment Action Campaign, embodies campaign advocacy. But when measured against our definition of ―A connected series of activities designed to bring about a particular result. It emerges that UFG has actually been quite successful in seeding an alternate idea around human settlements within existing municipal and national housing frameworks The Upgrading for Growth programme represents a shift in approach away from rigid objectives and risk-averse delivery. While its values and pro-poor approach are clear and unchanging, it embraces innovative solutions and change in tackling the challenge of building sustainable human settlements. In seeding these ideas of Upgrading for Growth Strategy and Programme has been developed through a partnership between the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and the Cities Alliance. Through the support from the Cities Alliance, a team of technical experts assisted Ekurhuleni in research, analytical and planning activities with a particular focus on environmental, housing, energy, land, regulatory, local economic development, micro enterprise development and institutional arrangements. The result of these technical inputs is a set of programme and project plans geared towards achieving upgrading for growth at scale. At this stage Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is considering formally adopting Upgrading for Growth as the council's ‗special programme' which will be supported by its resources. Lessons for LANDfirst Campaigns do not have to be premised on opposing forces. Collaborative campaigns might not generate as much groundswell and public support, but can be equally effective on an outcomes level. When well articulated and designed collaborative campaigns are able to muster the support (resources and expertise) of external agents, which will increase the strength of and grow the initial idea. If successful collaborative campaign ideas can be adapted and mainstreamed into existing policy frameworks. There are risks associated with this which will need to be managed, but ultimately this might be a ‗logical conclusion for LANDfirst to consider. Depending on the idea, collaborative campaigns like UFG require extension research and specialist support to grow from idea to strategy to programme. Antiretroviral – a TAC campaign for health rights in SA What is it? Founded on 10 December 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa, The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) advocates for increased access to treatment, care and support services for people living with HIV and campaigns to reduce new HIV infections. In its campaign approach the TAC has positioned itself as a vocal ‗watchdog' of government and sees its role as holding government accountable for health care service delivery. They have also campaigned: ―against official AIDS 'denialism'; challenged the world's leading pharmaceutical companies to make treatment more affordable and cultivated community leadership on HIV and AIDS. Our efforts have resulted in many life-saving interventions, including the implementation of country-wide mother-to-child transmission prevention and antiretroviral treatment programmes.‖ 4 For its efforts the TAC has received worldwide acclaim and numerous international accolades, including a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Core Campaign Elements The TAC's approach is based on a solid technically / scientific understanding of the core issues related to HIV and AIDS, balanced by an intense grass roots mobilisation programme, that has become the calling card of TAC advocacy events. Although well respected internationally the TAC is seen as being ‗oppositional' and sometimes ‗obstructionist' in its relationship with government. For its part government bows to the ‗pressure' created by TAC campaigns only as a last resort and often time after legal intervention. Despite its conflict ridden relationship with government, the TAC has identified and filled an important communication by helping poor communities understand the core issues and messages around HIV and AIDS. Lessons for LANDfirst In both the case of Upgrading for Growth and the TAC major donors have come to the table to the support the ‗cause' advocated by each approach. The involvement of external players undoubtedly adds ‗reputational' value and helps draw in resources to engage the idea further. In an already politicised landscape, LANDfirst would need to think carefully of taking a confrontational approach to government. This might not be the best position for LANDfirst given that the aims of both government programmes however effective or ineffective and those of LANDfirst are in essence the same – to provide previously disadvantaged communities with access to land (and housing) denied to them under apartheid. 4 http://www.tac.org.za Ethembalethu – In search of Land and Housing in the New South Africa This was the case of a Muldersdrift community whose ten-year struggle to acquire land for their developmental purposes proves instructive for LANDfirst. A study, undertaken by the World Bank, describes the ‗saga' of how one community, instead of squatting in an informal settlement or invading a new plot of land, attempted to buy land legally and build their own houses in a peri-urban area, using their own savings. The Ethembaletu story draws attention to the many challenges that poor people face accessing land and housing in South Africa and is a very apt ‗lens' for the LANDfirst campaign to understand the contextual complexities of advocating on issues dealing pro poor land and housing acquisition in SA. Lessons for LANDfirst Development Specialists commissioned by the WB to support the Muldersdrift Housing Trust Foundation note the following ‗learnings' applicable to LANDfirst: ―Improving access to land for low-income households in the peri-urban areas to allow for the type of integrated housing and agriculture settlement aspired to by the MHTF needs to be explicitly facilitated. This also follows international practice suitable for peri-urban areas. This facilitation should include: Revisiting the urban edge policy, which creates too strong a dichotomy between residential and agricultural land; Overcoming reluctance from municipalities to the settlement of low-income families, due to fear of non-payment for municipal services and unwillingness to forego income from alternative, ―high-end‖ land development; Making the Integrated Development Plans explicitly pro-poor for both demand-led and supply-driven land acquisition and housing development; Simplifying and aligning legal procedures; Clarifying intergovernmental roles and responsibilities; Unifying relevant subsidies and decentralizing them to the local level; Introducing key reforms to enable more effective participation in the land market by low- income South Africans; Identifying and implementing appropriate infrastructure service standards; as well as Building and/or freeing up capacity to support demand-driven housing and land reform proposals and proponents.‖ 5 Johannesburg Rates Campaign This is case marks how Johannesburg inner city residents moved from protest to petitioning to winning a battle against landlords. Residents of the inner city of Johannesburg, having waged several battles with landlords against high rentals during the late 80's and early 90's through organisations such as ACTSTOP and SANCO, finally resorted to the litigation route, through the petitions and public participation process. Several rent boycotts, coupled with poor building management and maintenance and criminality through ―illegal rent collectors‖ strained relations between landlords and tenants to a point where dialogue was no longer a means of resolving their differences. The civic organisations, ACTSTOP and SANCO led residents in this struggle and resorted to the only known means of action – protest action – through rental boycotts and marches to call for the reinstatement of the then Rent Control Act of 1950. Alongside the protest action, mediation attempts between residents and landlords through an intermediary in the form of the local ANC Hillbrow/Berea branch and its alliance partners continued, but did not yield desired results of getting landlords to voluntarily submit to residents' pleas to reduce high rentals for flats in their high-rise buildings. It was then that the local ANC branch and its alliance set up a committee to begin with their own investigation into motivating for return of the Rent Control Act. Preliminary investigations by the committee into researching the Act, indicated that this was proving to be a highly technical process, requiring legal expertise. The committee thus solicited help from the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) to assess their chances in winning this battle. 5 Ethembaletu – In Search of Land and Housing in South Africa At the same time, dialogue between the ANC Hillbrow/ Berea branch and its alliance partners and government departments (Gauteng Housing Department and Gauteng Legislature's Housing Standing Committee) began. The legal opinion in the meanwhile indicated that technically, the Rent Control Act, was no longer a valid piece of legislation that could resolve their case of high rentals as to was limited to and applicable to a protect a particular rental market i.e. returning soldiers post World War 2. This shattered the hopes of the committee tasked with the work and further disillusioned the inner city tenants. Further discussions with the affected government departments, the committee and the Legal Resources Centre continued, and a common ground was found. It was acknowledged that using past legislation to address current problems might not be the solution, but that creating new legislation may be the answer. The committee, on behalf of the tenants prepared a petition with evidence from tenants, and presented it to the Gauteng Legislatures, Standing Committee on Housing. This set in motion the investigation to explore alternative options to the Rent Control Act. After some months, the residential landlord Tenant Bill was born and published for public comment, and then went on to be finally promulgated. Regulations to support the act followed shortly, as well as the necessary institutional arrangements such as a dispute resolution team, an office where tenants could lodge their complaints, etc.. The outcome was a win-win for both tenants and landlords as tenants, although not getting the Rent Control Act reinstated, won the battle against exorbitant rentals and had a mechanism regulated by law, to resolve disputes arising with landlords. On the other hand, landlords could continue to earn profits from their rentals, through an annual rental increase, capped within a limit. Lessons for LANDfirst Ownership: The series of activities undertaken by the inner city tenants, was initiated wholly owned and driven by them from beginning to end. This was made possible through the capacity within the inner city ANC/Alliance organisations. When legal expertise was required, this was sought through the LRC, which has a track record for taking up community struggles. The lesson for LANDfirst is the importance of creating a partnership with individuals/ organisations that can provide technical expertise and support. Tactics: The story of the landlord tenant act, illustrates that what started out as a confrontational relationship between landlords and tenants, with community's anger being channelled to government for lack of action through marches against high rentals, was turned around into a policy advocacy campaign. Although ACTSTOP and SANCO initially resorted to protest marches and rent boycotts which heightened tensions between landlords and tenants, they did adopt the approach of dialogue through an intermediary, the ANC Hillbrow/ Berea branch, whose approach was to use mediation and conciliation in resolving landlord tenant issues. The lesson for LANDfirst is to utilise the various role-players within the group to demonstrate and take a leadership role at different phases of the campaign. Internal and external resource capability: The strength of this case lay in the partnership that existed between the inner city alliance structures (ANC/ SACP/SANCO/ACTSTOP) and the relation that was forged with the LRC, which provided invaluable legal support and expertise. The approach of mediation and conciliation between aggrieved tenants and landlords, and the approach of engaging in a constructive dialogue with the Gauteng Housing Department and the standing committee on Housing in the Gauteng Legislature, also paved the way for new options to be explored. The lesson for LANDfirst would be to appreciate and access the vast hidden resources and expertise that various individuals could contribute to the campaign and where necessary, draw in technical expertise. Legislation: Opting for the legal route may present challenges such as the time that it takes for an Act to be promulgated, but by its very nature, the process is quite rigorous in ensuring an unbiased approach to dealing with conflict and emerging with a win-win solution. Whilst the legal processes of drafting the legislation, there was a decision to discontinue with evictions and to continue with mediation between landlords and tenants. The lesson for LANDfirst is to have measures in place to carry the campaign and sustain it through lengthy legal processes and to create an environment of trust for parties to go the full length of the campaign. CATA – NGO support triggers community action The CATA case study illustrates an excellent campaign model that emerged from an awareness campaign by an NGO, resulting in full-scale broad based community development with direct participation by the community. Working with rural communities in former Ciskei and Transkei, since 1994 in land reform and restitution, the Border Rural Community took up a struggle of communities that fell under the betterment scheme and who were dispossessed of their land during the apartheid era and who did not fall within the land restitution process. To date, the BRC's greatest success lay in its ability to take up struggles of rural communities in restitution of land – their main tactic used was land invasions. The CATA case, however presented to BRC an opportunity to amend their tactics from protest to dialogue, which results pleasantly, surprised them. The initiative to apply for the compensation by the CATA community was prompted by 3 applicants who had taken their case to court within the set timeframe for application, and won. This ushered in the Vula Masongo campaign by the BRC, mobilising communities under the betterment schemes to claim compensation. The CATA Settlement Agreement was signed on 7 October 2000. Through this agreement, each household who were categorised as being ―dispossessed through the betterment scheme‖ were compensated R32 000. The recipients had agreed that half of this would be received as a direct cash contribution and the other half would be set aside for economic development, totalling almost R5.2 million. Through a Project Steering Committee that was set up, the community had a majority representation and direct decision-making powers. The CATA story, in summary is about ―people co-operating with one another and pulling together, about fostering partnerships, about deliberately adopting an integrated approach to development‖ Lessons for LANDfirst Social mobilisation was dependent on the communities ―connection with the issue‖ and by the fact that the issue emerged from the community. The campaign was driven largely by the community on a mass scale and supported technically and otherwise by the BRC. The need to prepare communities for the length of time that the campaign results may materialise and find ways to sustain the campaign was highlighted as a key issue. Role of the NGO was clearly distinct from the community that drove the campaign. NGO provided secretarial support, admin and technical support, set up meetings, initiated negotiations and prepared community members for negotiations. A special projects steering committee was set up with technical task teams. The campaign required organisation, which was achieved through setting up of structures at all levels –village, local, district and provincial, coinciding with municipal boundaries. Use of various methodologies such as dialogue, lobbying, advocacy were necessary at different phases during the campaign. Broad consultation of the community is necessary but it is important to also expect some level of opposition in the CATA case, this was from political parties and civics with their own agendas. Need for an awareness of other factors such as class interest that may vary within communities that could influence individuals to shift their support for the campaign. The BRC shifted their tactic to that of dialogue with government with the CATA cases as opposed to their earlier approaches used during the first 5 years post democracy, which was through land invasions. The CATA case highlighted to BRC, the need for clearly defined outcomes for the recipients, which were quantified from the onset. Also highlighted that when outcome was achieved, it was important to celebrate and share the success story with others. For Consideration … Confrontational Advocacy – intended and unintended consequences For a campaign like LANDfirst, it is important to consider what responses might be triggered by its campaigning (hence the stakeholder analysis). Attempts to advocate for change or to pursue a ‗cause' could lead to negative or undesired consequences and it is therefore important to think these through, prior to initiating campaign activities. For instance the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) managed to get the government to fast track the process of issuing antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs, but repercussions of this action was to create a ‗contentious' relationship with government who saw the TAC in the same light as it would ‗opposition political' parties and treated every TAC encounter as a potentially conflict driven one. Some analysts have noted that pharmaceutical companies became the end benefactors, as the rollout was hurried; it over-burdened the state's capacity to carry out the logistics involved. Moreover, some argue that the treatment itself was ineffective, as it had to be supplemented with a healthy diet – which the majority of the patients could not afford given South Africa's poverty scourge. 6 Whilst some campaigns are meant to draw government's attention to concerns of the ‗people on the ground', it may actually default to the opposite; one case in point is the Landless People Movement Gauteng (LPM Gauteng), which has unfortunately been ‗boxed' into a category seen as in conflict or at odds with government. This is where having a ‗bigger picture' about societal problems comes in – measures to tackle a grievance may be in the pipeline, but because of harsh and aggressive devices of some campaigners, the state may be influenced to re-direct programmes towards other competing alternatives. On the whole, the success or failure of a campaign should be evaluated with caution as it is also determined by the situation within the immediate environment of campaigns. Timing is everything when, for instance, assessing the case of Khutsong and the Barack Obama case – lessons on the victory of the above-mentioned are no doubt, attributable to electioneering. Khutsong, for instance, was re-incorporated into Gauteng, ‗conveniently and coincidentally' before the April 2009 General Elections. All this confirms the observation that effects of a campaign should be gauged as an end result – Obama might have won votes of Americans, but what needs to be assessed, should be achievements during and after the presidential term of office. This, by no means, suggests that roles interest groups play, through campaigns, are trivial – their varying views are instrumental in ensuring that policy outcomes are balanced and ‗trickle down' to as many people and groups as possible. This is the space that LAND first engages in, where every action on the part of the campaign could and should trigger an action and potentially a reaction to influence the ultimate course and cause of poor landless people in South Africa and abroad. A Campaign Strategy for LANDfirst Differentiating the model from the campaign Because LANDfirst is at this stage an intangible concept, activities meant to build the LANDfirst model can be mistaken for campaign activities aimed at promoting the model and implementation plan. To properly locate the LANDfirst model it is important to draw a distinction between the LANDfirst model (and later pilot) and the LANDfirst campaign. The LANDfirst model is a concept and an idea on how to use land acquisition as a trigger for housing and socio economic development for poor communities. The LANDfirst model is about 1) providing suitable land for settlement (this is both existing informal areas and Greenfield land), and then 2) allowing incremental, occupation and development of this land. The LANDfirst campaign is about realising the goals. The LANDfirst model, through a range of advocacy, lobbying, communication, media relations, public relations as well as knowledge management tools and systems. LANDfirst Campaign Input Factors It is recommended that the following five input factors be explored in developing an advocacy campaign for LANDfirst 7 . The decision to start a campaign can be driven from any one of these points. A change in, who's involved in an issue, or a new resource becoming available, is just as legitimate in determining how the campaign will emerge and take shape. For LANDfirst, the campaign that it starts with in 2009 may not be the campaign that it has after two years of implementation. Campaign leader will at all times need to be mindful of changes in the ‗input' factors so that the action of the campaign is always attuned to its internal and external environments as encapsulated below: - Ambition: what we want to achieve in terms of change (both to the problem directly, and in terms of changing potentials, or the context, to increase the possibility of longer term change). Analysing the significance of possible objectives; - Actors, obstacles and players: the who's who and what's what of the issue; - Social weather conditions: how things change in our society today, and how we think they're going to change in future, the means of change and agency; - Communication desires: what we want to communicate as an individual, or more likely, as an organisation. This may exist quite independently of the need to achieve the immediate objective; - Campaign assets: the tools for the job. Social, material, financial, intellectual and other resources, including intelligence capacities and special campaigning tools. LANDfirst - Ambition LANDfirst wants to see a change in the way poor people access land and housing in South Africa. In trying to create a ‗credible' complimentary modality in addition to the traditional ‗packaged' approach of housing, LANDfirst advocates for ‗incremental development' based on the successful acquisition of ‗well appointed' land and on effective community mobilisation. 7 Based onHow to Win Campaigns: 100 Steps to Success– Rose, C, 2004 According to research undertaken by LANDfirst advocates, there are many different ways that incremental settlement development and upgrading can be implemented. Examples include giving basic service vouchers to communities to decide what type of basic services they want, providing people with recognition of occupation certificates, establishing local land offices to manage the occupation of land including tenure registration procedures, to providing on site communal toilets. It is expected that the LANDfirst model will be mindful of development in this arena and will in turn grow and change during the course of the campaign. Whatever model it eventually takes must be mindful of the need to adapt according to the needs of those it aims to service. If LANDfirst is implemented it would result in: A reduction in informal settlements; Poor communities being more involved in decision and policy making around housing and land reform; Poor people having title and tenure of land and housing, leading to a sense of individual ownership; A mindset change of all South Africans towards mixed communities and planning approaches; Communities, which are educated and 'empowered' to act on their rights from an informed perspective; Greater collaboration and partnership between government, communities and the private sector reflected by greater understanding of constraints, challenges and expectations of all sectors; LANDfirst communities leveraging their land and housing to create material resources to build their community; Government and communities will be able to identify spaces for synergy and collaboration; Government being supported by Civil society to advocate pro poor policies and to identify policies that act against the interests of poor communities. LANDfirst - Actors, obstacles and players \| Advocacy perspective \| Action agenda \| \|---\|---\| \| Policy Advocacy \| Developing channels of communication to influence emerging policy and policy revisions in the areas of Land and housing. Building platforms for engaging state and policy government debates. \| \| People Centred Advocacy \| Increasing the capacity of affected poor people to understand their rights in relation to the constitution and an established legal framework. Reinforcing legal rights underpinned by constitutional framework eventually culminating in a 'pilot' LF initiative \| 8 A LF beneficiary is seen as an organisation, group of people, community who have come together and formed a common understanding and commitment towards the implementation of the LF process of development LANDfirst – Social weather conditions Social weather conditions speak to the material and perceived changes in the context that defines an ‗environment' for LANDfirst. To this end a cursory glance at the South African socio political environment reveals the following: Land and housing are hugely political issues in South Africa; The government of the day is increasingly faced with community driven ‗outbursts' emerging from frustrations with service delivery including housing and basic services; The government has not managed to meet any of its land distribution targets for a variety of reasons. These stand to be equally obstructionist and frustrating to LANDfirst in trying to bring parity to land acquisition for Landless communities; South African markets are not pro – poor in nature and whatever ‗concessions' has been forthcoming in granting finance to poor communities has come in the main through government intervention; Government does not have a good track record in working with NGO's or Civil Society in meeting the needs of communities. Aside from any difference of opinion government is not ‗geared' structurally to be adaptive to interrogations from ‗external' elements. Public participation is structured at all three spheres of government and there is little scope to engage outside of these parameters. For instance at a local level strategic ‗public participation' happens through the IDP process. It is at this stage of outreach that communities are able to articulate their needs to politicians and officials with the ultimate aim of these issues manifesting the programmes of a local municipality. There is also a petition system – which can be used during the course of the year to raise issues with the municipality – being that these issues happen outside of the planning cycles of government, it is unlikely that that many of these ‗issues' will make a material impact on the programmes of a local municipality, but will serve as an ‗awareness' raising opportunity. On a policy level post 1994 government administrations are yet to filter out the minute discriminatory policy elements, which manifest themselves when communities decide to challenge the status quo. LANDfirst – Communication desires \| Audience \| Communication desire \| \|---\|---\| \| Elected members of parliament with a land and housing mandate Government managers and officials with a housing and land scope at all three spheres of government Government agencies mandated to manage deal with land and housing issues. Government officials across all spheres of government with a mandate around socio economic development. \| To promote LANDfirst as a process and product which reinforces the LF call to action. To grow the support of active ―champions‖ for LANDfirst To understand and collaborate on areas of synergy and support between government and civil society in making well appointed land available to poor communities \| \| LF ‗beneficiaries‘9 – likely to be key ‗actors‘ in the LF campaign by driving the LF ‗pilot‘. In essence LF beneficiaries are community organisations or community groups who understand and accept the LF model as a means to manage and deliver their needs for land and housing. \| To promote LANDfirst as a process and product which reinforces the LF call to action. \| 9 A LF beneficiary is seen as an organisation, group of people, community who have come together and formed a common understanding and commitment towards the implementation of the LF process of development LANDfirst – Communication and advocacy devices Communication desire To promote LANDfirst as a process and product which reinforces the LF call to action. To grow the support of active ―champions‖ for LANDfirst To understand and collaborate on areas of synergy and support between government and civil society in making well appointed land available to poor communities To influence housing and land policy in favour of poor communities. Communication Assumptions & Recommendations That the LANDfirst Learning Network, should decide on what the primary call to action of the LF ‗brand' will be and that this ‗branding' will be used for all communication and that it will manifest across all communication activities with all audiences; That there is or will be an ‗institutional' manifestation of LANDfirst either as a network or as legal entity that will be resourced to drive communications and create communication products; With the understanding that the most effective means of communication is still interpersonal, that most communication vehicles will in the first instance seek to be interpersonal, and then proceed to be reinforced by a media / communication product; Communication products created will leverage public / social media (Facebook, MySpace, SMS messaging etc) before considering mass media options (newspaper advertisements etc); Current communication products will be further simplified, branded and packaged with due consideration for the audience identified above. Establishing a call to action for LANDfirst It is important for LF to create a ‗call to action' that will inspire and crystallise the intentions of the LANDfirst campaign resorting to the creation of a ‗mission' and ‗vision' statement. By crafting a ‗call to action', one can powerfully communicate purpose and meaning and ultimately motivate participants of the LF projects to realise the common vision of the campaign. Below are samples of possible ‗calls to action'. It is recommended that the finalisation of a defining LF ‗call to action' be decided at the first meeting of the proposed LANDfirst Learning Network. LANDfirst – Now and then … The story so far … ―Tembisile is a 45 years old. She lives in an informal settlement of Gugulethu/Everest in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality on Gauteng's East Rand. Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality (EMM) is currently South Africa's third largest city and contributes more than 20% of the gross geographic (gross?) product of the Province of Gauteng, yet the municipality still faces challenges posed by post apartheid democratic South Africa. 65% of the metro's population reside in townships and informal settlements and about a quarter of that number in informal or inadequate housing. Tembisile lives in a wood, plastic and cardboard shack, which she bought from another resident in Gugulethu/Everest. This was almost 10 years ago, when her husband was retrenched from a factory in Springs. They live together with their three children who have just started schooling again at a nearby school. The ‗shack' that she stays in is very bad for her family's health. The kids get colds all the time and her husband finds it hard to sleep at night. She once thought of building it from scratch with her husband, but decided against it because the plot was not theirs and they didn't know what would happen if they needed to move. Everyday Tembisile's husband joins scores of other unemployed men at the side of the N12 highway hoping that someone will pick him up and he will get a day's work, earning between R40 and R100. Now that the children are back at school, Tembisile will venture into the town of Benoni to try her luck at giving pamphlets on the side of the road. Seven years ago Tembisile was told that she qualified for a low cost ‗RDP' house from the government. She put her name on the list and waited in anticipation for her turn to come. Then two years ago municipal officials started plotting and planting pegs around the area near her shack. Tembisile was delighted until she learned that she would have to move to a temporary site in Bapsfontein for a ‗few years' until the new development was complete. Her main concern was moving to an area that she did not know. Bapsfontein was also far away from the children's school, which meant she would have to keep them home again, leaving her with no means of earning an income herself. Tembisile was not alone in her objections to the planned move. When the local councilors came to explain, other residents started shouting and someone threw a stone from behind her and the councilor pointed at her … and then things went very wrong, because her husband jumped-in to protect her and got arrested. Tembisile is not sure what is going to happen now, her husband and other residents were released on bail after they raised money they could amongst themselves. She still doesn't want to move but has heard that if she doesn't leave by the end of the month the ‗red ants' will come and demolish all the shacks in the area. Without resources she has very few choices. Tembisile wishes she had never come to Gauteng in the first place. Tembisile is a fictional character representing the plight of a growingly large number of South Africans, who migrate in ever increasing numbers to cities in search of work, better health care and education for their children. The Majority wind up in informal settlements when they discover that they do not have the means to live in established municipal areas. Once in informal settlements, they live an uncertain and vulnerable life with little or no protection from criminals or the elements of nature. Tembisile is an ideal candidate for LANDfirst. If LANDfirst is implemented the following would manifest in Tembisile's life in the following ways: She would understand her rights in relation to her physical space; She would not feel isolated from her neighbours and would seek to create partnerships with them; Her collaboration with her neighbours toward a LANDfirst project will result in a formal agreement between them with regard to their needs and desires for land and housing; She is able to share and pool her efforts with a team of people to approach the municipality for their collective land and housing needs; As a community grouping she is able to negotiate with greater authority with the municipality; She is certain that she will not need to move and destabilise her life when she makes the transition between living in a shack and living in a house; She is exited because she has control over how her house will look and who she will be living with in the community; also She is assured that the land and house she will eventually have will be an investment for her children – one that will have value for them and their children in future. Stakeholder Analysis The role of campaigners is to capture as much knowledge as possible about what motivates identified participants. Campaigns like the LANDfirst campaign must take into account that people have different needs, behave differently, think differently and are motivated differently. According to theorists in the field of human behaviour ‗sustenance or security-driven' groups (which is naturally where we all start and most likely to be LF participants or beneficiaries), need the basics of individual, family and social life. ‗Outer directed' groups who have their basic needs taken care of may be more driven to succeed and be seen to succeed, to be recognised for, in some ways, being better than others. Ideally this might be a ‗transition' process for LF beneficiaries – once they have been given a ‗stake' in their own futures, one would hope that this takes root in the form of them being driven to achieve further. Inner directed groups look for deeper meanings, finding new meaning and value in things beyond their safety, security or status giving properties – in our case these groupings / institutions are most likely to be the NGO's / CBO's who take up the ‗cause' of poor communities in motivating for pro poor approaches to Land and Housing in South Africa. Title: Figure 1, Maslow's hierarchy of needs Source: Rose (2004) Using value-modes mapping and insights in constructing campaign propositions: If an audience is mixed, the rule of thumb is to make sure you put the offer, argument or call to action to accommodate all three ‗castes'. A message will be rejected if it's put in the wrong way, not just if it's something an audience disagrees with as an objective. LANDfirst has organised its target stakeholders into the following categories LANDfirst Beneficiaries – this stakeholder grouping / s stand to be the direct beneficiaries of a LANDfirst approach to development. Given the legacy of Apartheid, these stakeholders, are typically of a lower LSM grouping; Government stakeholders, Including Local, Provincial and National layers of government; Non government stakeholders – including stakeholders working in the same ‗space' as Afesis Corplan and Urban Landmark; and International advocates – organisations working with communities on a range of issues. Issues emerging from stakeholder analysis In engaging with a sample of these stakeholders the following issues emerge: Assumptions and Concept of LANDfirst; There emerged a need to interrogate the assumptions underpinning LF: why are existing programmes not working? What's new to the existing ‗land release' and informal settlement upgrading programme; ―LANDfirst campaign akin to apartheid site and service strategy implemented in areas such as Orange Farm‖; LANDfirst is not a new concept – it was implemented under apartheid state. No credible asset register of land exists – very fragmented at this stage between DPW and DLA. Valuation roles being conducted by municipalities (Ekurhuleni and EThekwini completed); Whilst ownership of land is important in terms of a ―footprint‖, the debate needs to move beyond land and an annual increment. Land availability is dependent on ownership and suitability. There is a need for a shift within municipalities to create housing beneficiaries together with incentives such as community access to Internet, education, community centres, and libraries; Immediate response was that the LANDfirst idea/campaign is calling for the site and service of the past and introduces the same arguments of width vs. depth in terms of housing service provision; Need to weigh the cost of in-situ upgrading now vs. repairs and upgrading in 20 years. Also need to remove the stigma attached to site and service. Other approaches: Cities/municipalities should rather look at how they receive new entrants; Extending the ‗Upgrading for Growth' programme; Need detailed analysis of existing programmes such as the Informal Settlement Upgrade programme and point to what must be done differently. HDA and ULM currently undertaking a comprehensive land audit which would assist in this regard; The BNG strategy also advocates quality and creating housing opportunities in welllocated land; A Land first policy does exist – need to weigh the campaign objectives against this policy; Role of NGOs in building co-ops and self-reliance in communities would be the way to go; and an Emphasis of any initiative should focus on acceptance of the informality with introduction of stringent health and safety standards. The key would be to continue the dialogue on the acceptance of informal settlements with clearly defined minimum standards through e.g. booklets on the how to of health, safety and standards for communities. Funding / Finance related issues Synchronisation of funding needed to curb slow spending. EIA – there is a huge timeline difference and turnaround for delivery for private sectors vs. municipality housing project applications. Capacity in municipalities also impact on delivery, especially project management. Other issues such as a lack of accountability and indecisiveness impacts negatively on delivery; also Constraints to housing development are not always financial, other factors capacity & EIA. Concerns There may be some lessons that can be drawn from this approach, but one should be careful that it is not turned into a ―land grab‖ campaign; also The campaign must be very clearly defined – noting that the current informal settlements is a result of ―land grabs after years of land hunger‖. Issues Emerging from Housing Development on the National Upgrading Support Programme At a recent NUSP workshop facilitated by the NDoH, where consultants who have undertaken a recent evaluation of the 16 flagship projects of the National Upgrading Support programme, reported back on key issues and made recommendations for a consolidated framework, the following key areas were identified as key areas for discussion and action areas to be included into a comprehensive framework. These issues should be taken into account when further refining the LANDfirst model: Is structured upgrading happening? Is there really a national upgrading programme? Are we empowering communities? Are there too may relocations? Densities are still too low Security of tenure Dependency vs. self reliance Preventing growth of slums Technical aspects Project management & technical capacity Beneficiaries and administration Partnerships Finance and affordability Why is the full package approach dominant? Issues that have impact on the LANDfirst campaign have been explored further below: Area Issues for LANDfirst POLICY In the 4 workshop series AC and ULM did last year around the country, the issue of communities wanting a platform for dialogue with government (at different scales) came out strongly. One of the suggestions was that Municipalities be ‗forced' to establish land sector committees to look at land access and use issues. The idea was to have ward committees (that are geographically based) and have sector committees to enhance participation. This would especially help with the ‗bulk' land access issue. Afesis Corplan mentions municipalities such as Joburg and Buffalo City that have tried similar approaches to LANDfirst through rapid land release programmess. LANDfirst should look at these local policy experiments and learn what worked and what did not work. If it did not work, then what is different now. This must be picked up in the campaign implementation plan. LANDfirst could use the existing land acquisition model – or reference those that have been tried by municipalities, like the Johannesburg Rapid Land Release programme - to develop a standard operating manual or ―HOW TO‖ for communities in line with what government advocates. SAMPLE SIZE OF PROJECTS EVALUATED Whilst the need for a policy review was not strongly advocated for, there appears to be gaps in so far as some form of ―Standard Operating Procedures‖ or common by-laws that assist in a standardised. This was illustrated when municipalities responded in varying ways to the first step in a land invasion in their municipality. Area The consultants only sampled the 16 flagship projects and were seeking to develop a framework around which to enhance delivery towards the 2014 goal. Therefore, there is no comprehensive national assessment or yardstick of where the country is against the target, or any peculiarities experienced by e.g. coastal cities, versus metros vs. rural municipalities. A few municipalities are engaging the CSIR to conduct their own feasibility studies to guide them in their strategy. The area of community participation remains a weak link in the housing process, both from a point of having achieved reasonable levels of success across projects (noting that the PHP programme is not getting the same level of support) as well as from the point of embedding participatory processes of housing into existing community structures such as ward committees. There was criticism levelled at the mixed communication and messaging as well as the tone expressed by certain public figures Issues for LANDfirst This might hinder a national campaign launch agenda May need to look at a municipal based campaigning initially, evolving to a provincial and national level. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION The community of practice network recommended at the workshop should seek to include as many CBOs as possible, in order to bring in the views of community groupings into the dialogue. Note that in the 4 workshop series AC and ULM did last year around the country, the issue of communities wanting a platform for dialogue with government (at different scales) came out strongly. One of the suggestions was that municipalities be ‗forced' to establish land sector committees to look at land access and use issues. The idea was to have ward committees (that are geographically based) and have sector committees to enhance participation. This would especially help with the ‗bulk' land access issue. GOVT COMMUNICATION & MESSAGING The LANDfirst campaign strategy needs to ensure that messaging is clear and consistent and in keeping with the ‗call/s to Area regarding informal settlements e.g. one shack down, one house up. The messaging goes against the theme of formalising informal settlements. The standard prevailing technical approach to housing delivery was raised and a call for creativity and innovation was called for. Lessons drawn from India, Brazil and Thailand need to be re-looked at. Criticism was levelled against the current mindset and attitudes of officials dealing with housing delivery as being very rigid. Finance institutions are demanding higher standards to protect their investment and are introducing an element that has implications for creating different standards and raising community expectations. Currently, no leverage exists to access some form of ―top-up‖ funding for integrated Issues for LANDfirst action' identified earlier in this document. TECHNICAL ASPECTS Case studies on land first in these countries need to be used as a basis for dialogue in the network as well as with municipalities with similar conditions as the international case studies and should also inform the implementation strategy for LANDfirst. MINDSET & ATTITUDES This is a recurrent comment (Buffalo City also mentioned it). Need to consolidate through further engagement, on what mindset would we like to replace the current one with and what do we want to achieve through this? The idea would be to shift to a mindset that ‗allows incremental occupation and development of land'. We need a mindset that allows flexibility in the search for innovation. FINANCE & AFFORDABILITY LANDfirst lends itself to incremental savings and loans, which is what this micro finance sector (which includes banks as well as micro finance institutions) is also promoting. LANDfirst network needs to have a focus group with this sector and must be added to the implementation plan. FUNDING FORMULA The issue of how funding is obtained for LANDfirst needs to be picked up in the Area planning, where e.g. municipalities could bargain with other departments e.g. to put up funding to be matched by education in ensuring the building of schools within an upgrade programme. Costs such as creation of registries are estimated very high (KZN R45 to develop and R5m pa to maintain) Body corporate has not succeeded in middleincome areas and therefore presents more of a challenge for low-income housing. High-density options therefore need to be carefully considered. It was acknowledged that currently no repository or community of practice exists for sharing and exchange best practice between and amongst housing practitioners. It was recommended that a housing KM platform be created. Also, calls for re-looking at the external capacity such as Cuban initiative, IBSA in order to assemble capacity in its entirety. It was recognised that the issue of informal settlement upgrading, falls within the broader ambit of urban management and that structural issues may be need to be addressed in order to address issues and gain consensus on organic growth and migration issues. Issues for LANDfirst implementation plan. Matching funds from municipalities is one approach. Creating a central location for getting funds for land first is another approach. Different departments could put money into this fund. DENSIFICATION This is an area that needs further consolidation based on the experience of Afesis-Corplan to give a perspective on the current scenario and implications for LANDfirst. KNOWLEDGE SHARING & EXCHANGE This platform proposed as the NUSP reference /KM group could be one of the key platforms for dialogue on the land first campaign, when set up. This should be factored into the implementation plan as an action to follow up with the HDA to engage on the relationship between NUSP, HDA and LF. IGR & GOVERNANCE ISSUES The land first campaign also needs to be located within a broader planning arena. More town planners as opposed to just housing practitioners may need to be engaged through the stakeholder consultations going forward as there are pre-house construction. Maybe it means engaging more with the DPLG and the whole IDP planning process (especially as it relates to bulk land). SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS Intergovernmental relations issues are emerging in relation to MOUs that need to be signed between different spheres of government and municipalities. Current IGR structures appear not to be able to deal with the emerging issues or have not been receiving adequate attention to be dealt with through the current arrangements. A case needs to be made of IGR issues that are hindering progress towards the 2014 goal. A consulting firm has already developed 6 comprehensive case studies on IGR and we could check whether any of these relate to housing or land related matters and possibly engage them on the land first campaign with a view to bringing in their expertise to the communities of practice network. Engaging stakeholders – what to expect Source: Rose (2004) Is it recommended that a ‗Champion-Chaser Analysis' 10 be used to assign campaign roleplayers and stakeholder to possible response categories to help decide lobbying and other priorities for the LANDfirst Campaign? Champions - ahead of you - impatient - will run with the idea - normally very few in number but may be noisy 11 ; Chasers - early movers - see advantages/ decide to move quickly. Often silent 12; Converts - may go with it or oppose it - normally need some sort of 'evidence'. Often silent; Challengers - resist but only because the outcome is important - can be convinced/ see their interest - in which case they will be important in making it work. May be noisy; and Change-phobics - will never be convinced. Position may not be entirely rational normally few of them but can be very noisy in the discussion. Using these broad categories of stakeholder ‗characters', this campaign strategy has organised LANDfirst potential stakeholders into the following groupings: Champion / Chaser Stakeholder Analysis This analysis should be considered an illustrative perspective based on the stakeholder interviews conducted during the research phase of this strategy \| Stakeholder \| Champion \| Chaser \| Converts \| Challengers \| Change- phobics \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| GOVERNMENT \| \| \| \| \| \| \| NDoH \| \| \| \| \| \| \| DLA \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Housing Development Agency \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Gauteng Provincial Government \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Eastern CAPE Provincial Government \| \| \| \| \| \| \| MUNICIPALITIES \| \| \| \| \| \| \| City of Jhb \| \| \| \| \| \| \| City of Tshwane \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Buffalo City Municipality \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Ethekwini Municipality \| \| \| \| \| \| \| CBO’S \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Abahlali (KZN) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Abahlali (City of Cape Town) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| COARC \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Landless People‘s Movement (Gauteng) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Shack Dwellers International \| \| \| \| \| \| \| NGOs \| \| \| \| \| \| \| Planact \| \| \| \| \| \| \| ACADEMIC \| \| \| \| \| \| \| CUBES (Centre for the Urban Built Environment-Wits) \| \| \| \| \| \| \| OTHER \| \| \| \| \| \| \| SACN \| \| \| \| \| \| \| SALGA \| \| \| \| \| \| \| NUSP \| \| \| \| \| \| Implications for LANDfirst – From this analysis it is clear that while there might be difference of opinion with regard to approaches / methods and policy, but none of the stakeholders approached disagree with the fundamental notion of improving the way Land and Housing has been happening to date – we see this event from our analysis that there are no Change Phobic per se. People agree that change is necessary – it is the how aspect that is at question. Not surprisingly most of the potential challengers to LF come from the government sector. We believe this is primarily because of the insecurities of government with regard to the basic tenets of LF as possible conflict with existing policy frameworks or in the extreme concern that LF might inadvertently promote ‗land grabbing'. Communication messages must be mindful of this situation when communicating with government stakeholders. Ideally we would want to move government officials to a stage where they see LF as an ‗efficient extension' of the work of government and lend their support as converts or at best Chasers. It is unlikely that government stakeholders would ever ‗champion' LF as this should remain the mission of the proposed network and support NGO's / CBO's. Our chasers and champions come from the ranks of the LF beneficiaries themselves and from the NGO's / CBO's that support these kinds of causes. It is vital that these grouping are fed with information and resources needed for them to remain hopeful and informed that LF is the solution / part of the solution that is lacking in the Land and Housing sectors in South Africa. Implementation considerations Levels of Advocacy Planning: Local to Global LANDfirst like many campaigns internationally, although local in nature stand to have global impact because of the ‗international' nature of its content and call to action. Most modern day advocacy campaigns require planning and action on more than one level. But the ‗global' nature of communication in a campaign environment comes with its challenges. For instance, when planning on a global level, face-to-face discussion and decision-making are more difficult. While information technology has made global and regional planning easier, it has also reinforces material inequalities between various socio economic groups. Because of the disparities set up by the years of Apartheid, the inequalities that LANDfirst aims to tackle with regard to Land and housing, must also be considered in the communications terrain. This will require that LANDfirst make a more concerted effort to have multilayered systems of consultation, communication and feedback, particularly with its ‗beneficiary' stakeholders. Other considerations brought on by a multilayered approach to campaign implementation includes: Local: Participatory planning is sometimes easiest at the community, neighborhood, or city level where face-to-face interaction is not complicated by distance. When reaching out to local communities LF must be mindful of the need to create new and innovative ways to facilitate community ‗conversations'. LF would be well placed to consider the ‗World Café' method of dialoguing being used by the Urban Renewal Programme – in the Inanda Ntunzuma and Kwa Mashu Renewal Project. The URP has been successful in seeding this methodology allowing communities to develop their own conversations, agenda and action points emerging from City hosted, community facilitated sessions. National & Provincial: Often, planning for national & provincial level advocacy involves coordination of different organizations that serve as intermediaries for a variety of community-based and local groups. The Provincial aspect of advocacy is especially important in the context of South African where Provincial governments hold delegated authority on a range of matters impacting on housing and land. National & Provincial advocates rely on their allies to be in touch with local groups and involve them in analysis, planning, and decision-making. National & Provincial advocates need to remember that participatory planning takes time and should be careful to take this into consideration in their timelines. Regional: Regional planning efforts entail communication among the participants at different levels. Again, timelines need to accommodate discussion and decisions across borders. The Internet is often useful for regional advocacy planning. However, regional organizers need to make sure that groups without Internet access are fully informed and can offer input. This level of outreach might be appropriate when LF has established and embedded its ‗network' as a first level institutional vehicle. Global: Like regional planning, global processes need to coordinate and provide information and feedback to the different players so that the final planning decisions include input from all levels. This input is crucial since some partners will be taking on greater risks than others. 13 With the written material already developed by LF, it can already play a role in reaching out to an international community by seeding its material at international conferences focusing on Land and Housing issues targeting poor communities. Multilevel participation in planning and carrying out global advocacy helps to: Build new forms of citizenship that increase the voice of excluded groups; Give legitimacy to people's voices in the eyes of global policymakers; Create a network to monitor and enforcement so that global policy promises become real at the national and local levels (VeneKlasen and Miller, 2007). Building toward an institutional vehicle – creating a LANDfirst Network. A key assumption of the LANDfirst strategy is that the current partners Afesis Corplan and Urban LandMark should be able to leverage the support of a wider group of organisations toward testing and refining the LANDfirst goal and (in a parallel process) develop support for the concept as it develops. To this end, this strategy and implementation plan proposes the creation of a LANDfirst Learning Network that would in essence function as a ‗community of practice' to help develop the LF model while promoting the LF concept. The Fundamentals of Communities of Practice The Concept: Community of practice (CoP) refers a process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem, come together to collaborate over an extended period of time to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations. The History: The term was first used in 1991 by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger who used it in relation to situated learning as part of an attempt to rethink learning at the Institute for Research on Learning. In 1998, Etienne Wenger extended the concept and applied it to other contexts, including organisational settings. Today Communities of Practice have become associated with knowledge management, as people have begun to see them as ways of developing social capital, nurturing new knowledge, stimulating innovation, or sharing existing tacit knowledge within an organization. It is now an accepted part of organisational development (OD). Benefit of CoP's: According to Melissie Clemmons Rumizen, Communities of practice are integral and a ‗must have' in a Knowledge Management practice in an organisation. Some of the benefits she highlights include: Providing a valuable vehicle for developing, sharing and managing specialist knowledge; Avoiding ‗reinventing the wheel'; Cutting across organisational boundaries and formal reporting lines; Being more flexible than traditional organisational units; Generating new knowledge in response to problems and opportunities; Providing early warning of potential opportunities and threats to an issue; and Being a vehicle for cultural change. On an individual level the benefits of CoP's include: Having access to expert help to expand horizons, gain knowledge and seek help in addressing work challenges; Members often feel more conscious of, and confident in, their own personal knowledge; Provides a non-threatening forum to explore and test ideas or validate courses of action; which Can foster a greater sense of professional commitment and enhance members' professional reputation. Stages of development in Communities of Practice Many theorists hold that communities of practice progress though various phases of development pointing to a COP 'lifecycle'. The information block below illustrates the stages that researchers Snyder and Briggs (2003) after extensive research in public sector use of COPs, suggest are core to the COP process: 1. Discovery: identifying strategic issues to address—those that align with both strategic objectives and members' interests 2. Coalescing: convening members to develop an action-learning agenda and building their collective commitment to pursue it together 3. Maturing: building on knowledge sharing, clinics, and co-consulting activities—toward collaborations on innovation and application projects; growing beyond the initial group 4. Stewarding: establishing a prominent role in the field and taking stewardship for addressing leading-edge issues at scale 5. Legacy: beyond success, what's next—institutionalisation as a formal organisation; letting the community dissolve once the issues lose salience; segmenting the community into sub areas as issues become more differentiated (Synder and Briggs, 2003) Resources Green, D. 2008. The Science (and Pseudoscience) of Winning Elections. [Online]. Available WWW: www.research.yale.edu . Date accessed: 02 March 2009. Mele, N. 2008. New media, new tactics: Technology in political campaigns. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.iop.harvard.edu/Programs/Fellows-Study-Groups/PastStudy-Groups/NEW-MEDIA%2C-NEW-TACTICS . Date accessed: 02 March 2009. VeneKlasen, L. and Miller, V. 2007. A new weave of power, people & politics: The action guide for advocacy and citizen participation. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.justassociates.org/ActionGuide.htm Date accessed: 02 March 2009. Marrengane, N. 2006. Employment creation in municipal service delivery workshop [Online]. Available WWW: . http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/recon/eiip/download/workshop/citiesal.p df . Date accessed: 02 March 2009. Rose, C. 2004. How to Win Campaigns: 100 Steps to Success. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.campaignstrategy.org/bookindex.html . Date accessed: 02 March 2009.
RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 AVAILABILITY Available to any Non-Residential Customer within Company's service area served under Rates GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6 or GDS-7 of this Schedule having contracted with Company for transportation service of Customer-Owned Gas. Prior to commencement of service under this Rider, the Company shall determine the Customer's initial Maximum Daily Contract Quantity (MDCQ). PURPOSE The purpose of this Rider is to provide an optional transportation service to Customers that meet the Availability requirements described above and that elect to procure gas supply from a Supplier and have the Company deliver the Customer-Owned Gas. The Customer or the Customer's Supplier, as applicable, shall be responsible for acquiring gas supply and for delivery of those supplies to the Company's Citygate. The cost to acquire gas and deliver it to the Company's gas delivery system shall be at the Supplier's or Customer's expense, as applicable. The Company reserves the right to deny service under this Rider if the following conditions are not met. 1. In the sole judgment of the Company, the Company's facilities shall be capable of receiving the Customer's gas without impairment for anticipated purchases or deliveries of any gas supplies by the Company. 2. The Final Pipeline Transporter of such Customer-Owned Gas agrees to provide daily delivery data for such gas to the Company. APPLICATION FOR SERVICE In order to receive service under Rider T a Customer must be enrolled by a Supplier providing gas supply service under Rider T. Details pertaining to the application for service are in the Switching and Termination section of the Supplier Terms and Conditions tariff. d/b/a Ameren Illinois RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 TERMINATION OF RIDER T SERVICE A Customer may terminate Rider T service as allowed under the Switching Rules and Procedures section of the Customer Terms and Conditions. Company reserves the right to terminate Customer's service under this Rider T when, in Company's sole judgment, Customer or Customer's Supplier has demonstrated a pattern of deviation between Deliveries and usage that could adversely impact the Company's ability to deliver gas to other Customers or could otherwise adversely impact the operation of Company's gas system. When service under this Rider is terminated, the cashout price for Customer's Bank, if applicable, shall be the Chicago Citygate First of the Month price index as reported in "Inside FERC Gas Market Report" for the calendar month following the end of Rider T service. TERMINATION OF RIDER T SUPPLIER A Customer may terminate service from a Supplier under this Rider at any time, subject to terms and conditions with their Supplier contract as applicable, by following the Switching Rules and Procedures section of the Customer Terms and Conditions. A Customer on Rider T without a Supplier shall receive gas supply priced pursuant to the daily or monthly cashout section below including penalty charges (as applicable) for up to two Billing Periods. If a Customer has not been enrolled by a new Supplier within two Billing Periods, Customer shall default to Rider S for supply service and will not be allowed to return to Rider T service until the next enrollment period. DEFINITIONS Definitions are located in the Definitions Section of the Customer Terms and Conditions tariff. The following definitions are applicable to this tariff. Bank Bank means an amount of banking service received under Rider TBS which is associated with Over Delivery (s) that is held on behalf of a Rider T Customer for Customer's later use. Bank Limit The Bank Limit means the Customers maximum amount of banking service received under Rider TBS, based on their Bank Election and any applicable proration amount. RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 Business Day Business Day means Monday through Friday excluding the following holidays: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day (observed), July 4, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Chicago Citygate Price Chicago Citygate Price means the price published in the Platt's Gas Daily under the Citygates section for the "Midpoint for the Chicago Citygates", or in the absence of such publication, the price for a substantially similar point published in an alternate publication. Citygate Citygate means the point of interconnection between Company and Final Pipeline Transporter(s) where gas is delivered to Company by the Final Pipeline Transporter(s). Critical Day Critical Day means a Gas Day during which the Company declares a Critical Day at its discretion for gas system conditions such as (1) the Company experiences failure of transmission, distribution, or gas storage facilities, (2) when the Company experiences transmission or distribution system pressures or other unusual conditions which jeopardize the operation of Company's gas system, (3) when the Company's transportation, storage, or supply resources are being used at or near their maximum rated, tariffed, or contractual limits, (4) when any of Company's transporters or suppliers declare the functional equivalent of a Critical Day or force majeure conditions, or (5) other conditions which jeopardize the system integrity and/or system reliability. The Company may utilize a Critical Day by Customer, by area, by interstate pipeline or any combination thereof. Customer-Owned Gas Customer-Owned Gas means gas purchased by Customer or by a Supplier on behalf of a Customer and transported to Company's Citygate for delivery by Company to Customer's Premises. Daily Confirmed Nomination (DCN) Daily Confirmed Nomination is the volume of Customer-Owned Gas which a Customer or a Supplier on behalf of a Customer nominates and delivers to the Company's Citygate for any single Gas Day. The absence of a Daily Confirmed Nomination is equivalent to a Daily Confirmed Nomination of zero d/b/a Ameren Illinois 5 th Revised Sheet No. 25.003 RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 Deliveries Deliveries mean Therms of Customer-Owned Gas, if any, which Customer or a Supplier designates for delivery to Customer's Premises or to a Group for the Gas Day. Such Deliveries shall reflect adjustments for UGF (Unaccounted for Gas Factor). Final Pipeline Transporter Final Pipeline Transporter means the pipeline carrier delivering Customer-Owned Gas to Company's Citygate. Imbalance Imbalance means the difference between Customer's Deliveries and Bank activity and that Customer's usage in Therms occurring on a Gas Day, determined on a daily or monthly basis. An Imbalance can be positive or negative. For all Service Points, Imbalance means the amount of Over or Under Delivery volume after the Bank injection or withdrawal limits are met. Maximum Daily Nomination (MDN) Maximum Daily Nomination is the maximum volume a transportation Customer may nominate and deliver to the Company's delivery system for any single Gas Day. The MDN for a daily or monthly balanced Rider T Customer is 120% of Customer's MDCQ. Monthly Average Daily Chicago Citygate Price Monthly Average Daily Chicago Citygate Price means the arithmetic average of the daily Chicago Citygate Prices for the applicable Billing Period. Nomination Nomination is the notification by a Supplier or Customer Self Manager, as applicable, to the Company and Pipeline, as applicable, of Deliveries for the Gas Day. Nominations shall identify the applicable Pipeline as well as DUNS number. RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 Operational Flow Order (OFO) Operational Flow Order means an order by the Company to initiate actions by the Company, Customer, or Customer's Supplier to (1) alleviate conditions that threaten the integrity of the Company's system, (2) help maintain system pressure required to provide efficient and reliable service to its system Customers, (3) help assure adequate supplies, (4) maintain the balance of the system, and (5) help comply with an interstate pipeline directive such as uniformity of deliveries. The Company may utilize an OFO by Customer, by area, by interstate pipeline or any combination thereof and for any specific time period. Over Delivery Over Delivery occurs when a Customer's Delivery is greater than Customer's usage during a Gas Day. An Over Delivery is determined on a daily or monthly basis. Shipper Shipper means the party responsible for the transportation of Customer-Owned Gas to Company's Citygate on the Final Pipeline Transporter. Other terms for Shipper include Retail Gas Supplier, RGS, or Supplier. Under Delivery Under Delivery occurs when a Customer's usage is greater than Customer's Deliveries during a Gas Day. An Under Delivery is determined on a daily or monthly basis. MAXIMUM DAILY CONTRACT QUANTITY All Customers electing to receive transportation service under this Rider are required to have a Maximum Daily Contract Quantity (MDCQ) by Service Point. Provisions pertaining to MDCQ are located in the Rates, Charges, and MDCQ Determination section of the Customer Terms and Conditions. d/b/a Ameren Illinois RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 ORDER OF DELIVERIES TO THE CUSTOMER For billing purposes, gas delivered by the Company to the Customer's Service Point (s) on an Account on any Gas Day at the point of metering for this Rider shall be deemed to be taken in the following order: (1) Customer-owned gas delivered to the Company's system on a daily basis; (2) Customer-owned gas available from the Customer's Bank, up to the withdrawal limit; (3) system gas. TRANSFER OF BANKED GAS Transfers will be allowed between daily balanced Accounts and/or Service Point(s) or between monthly balanced Accounts and/or Service Point(s) and will be effective the Gas Day prior to the calendar day the request is submitted. The transfers may be submitted on-line via the Company's web portal at amerenillinois.com. Transfers of banked gas will not be allowed between daily and monthly balanced Accounts or between Accounts on different pipelines. These Bank transfer provisions apply to both individual and Group Manager Accounts. NOMINATIONS OF CUSTOMER-OWNED GAS Details pertaining to the Nomination of Customer-Owned Gas process are provided in the Group Assignment and the Nomination Process section of the Supplier Terms and Conditions tariff. CASHOUTS Customers receiving service under Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, or GDS-5 that elect to receive transportation service under this Rider shall have cashouts determined on a monthly basis (Monthly Balanced). Customers receiving service under Rate GDS-4, GDS-6, or GDS-7 that elect to receive transportation service under this Rider shall have cashouts determined for each Gas Day, on a daily basis (Daily Balanced). RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 DAILY BALANCED CUSTOMER CASHOUT Daily Balanced Customers not electing Rider TBS: Imbalances shall be cashed out pursuant to the following schedule based on Customers Daily Confirmed Nomination (DCN): Daily Balanced Customers electing Rider TBS: During May to September of each year, the Bank injection limit shall be any Over Deliveries up to 20% of MDCQ and during October to April of each year, the Bank injection limit shall be any Over Deliveries up to 20% of DCN, provided that Customer's Bank does not exceed the Bank Limit. The Bank withdrawal limit shall be any Under Deliveries up to 20% of DCN, provided that Customer's Bank shall not be less than zero. Imbalances outside the tolerances identified above shall be cashed out pursuant to the following schedule: d/b/a Ameren Illinois RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 Positive Imbalance – Over Deliveries Cashout 0- 20% > 20% Negative Imbalance – Under Deliveries 0- 20% > 20% Company pays Customer 100% of the Daily Chicago Citygate Price Company pays Customer 90% of the Daily Chicago Citygate Price Cashout Customer pays Company 100% of the Daily Chicago Citygate Price Customer pays Company 110% of the Daily Chicago Citygate Price MONTHLY BALANCED CUSTOMER CASHOUT Customer's Deliveries for the Billing Period shall be compared to Customer's usage for the Billing Period. Deliveries in excess of usage shall be added to Customer's Bank, provided that Customer's Bank shall not exceed the Bank Limit at the end of the Customer's Billing Period. Usage in excess of Deliveries shall be offset by reducing Customer's Bank, provided that Customer's Bank shall not be less than zero. During a Critical Day, the maximum amount to be withdrawn from Customers Bank shall be 50% of Customers MDCQ. At the conclusion of a Billing Period, any Positive or Negative Imbalance for the Billing Period not offset by additions or reductions to Customer's Bank shall be cashed out pursuant to the following schedule based on Customer's monthly Deliveries: (Canceling 3 rd Revised Sheet No. 25.008) RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 Positive Imbalance – Over Deliveries Cashout 0%-20% Company pays Customer 100% of the Monthly Average Daily Chicago Citygate Price > 20% Company pays Customer 90% of the Monthly Average Daily Chicago Citygate Price Negative Imbalance – Under Deliveries Cashout 0%-20% Customer pays Company 100% of the Monthly Average Daily Chicago Citygate Price > 20% Customer pays Company 110% of the Monthly Average Daily Chicago Citygate Price CASHOUT REVENUES All cashout revenues associated with charges or credits billed to Daily or Monthly Balanced Customers will be considered as gas cost recovery and will be used in the development of the Company's PGA charge. in Docket No. 18-0463 RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 PENALTY CHARGES 1. Operational Flow Orders (OFO) Balancing On any Gas Day when an Operational Flow Order (OFO) is in effect, should Customer's or Customer Group's daily usage exceed its Daily Confirmed Nomination (DCN), an OFO Balancing Cashout shall be applied to the variance. The OFO Balancing Cashout for the billing period will be as follows: Unauthorized Gas Use Charge 2. Unauthorized Gas Use related to a Critical Day shall mean the use of system gas on a Critical Day and shall be determined for each Gas Day on a daily basis. If during a declared Critical Day for Company's gas system or for a specific area of its gas system, a Customer or Customer Group shall use unauthorized system gas, the Company shall charge the Customer or Customer Group, and the Customer or Customer Group shall pay, $6.00 per Therm for all unauthorized use in addition to the monthly and daily cashouts set forth in the Cashout sections above, and the balancing charges set forth in the Critical Day Imbalance Charge section below. RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 Customers that use unauthorized system gas during a curtailment period shall be charged the Unauthorized Gas Use Charge indicated above. 3. Critical Day Imbalance Charge In addition to the Unauthorized Gas Use Charge above, if, during a declared Critical Day for its gas system or for a specific area of its gas system, Customer or Customer Group has an imbalance in the same direction as an Imbalance for Company's gas system or area thereof that results in Company incurring penalties or fees for the Gas Day from one or more pipelines, Customer or Customer Group may be billed a Critical Day Imbalance Charge determined on a Companywide basis as shown below. CDIC = TPC x (N/P) x (C/A) Where: CDIC = Critical Day Imbalance Charge TPC = Total Penalty Charges or fees from pipelines incurred by Company for the Critical Day. RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 4. Penalty Charges from Interstate Pipelines If, on any Gas Day other than a Critical Day, Customers' excess usage of Company supplied gas or any other action contributes to cause penalty charges from an interstate pipeline, the Company shall be reimbursed for the penalty charges incurred pursuant to the Penalty Charges from Interstate Pipelines section of the Customer Terms and Conditions. 5. Usage Determination for Penalties If a Customer's gas usage during a Gas Day is measured by the Company on a daily basis, such usage shall be used to apply penalties under section 1, 2, 3 or 4 above. If a Customer's gas usage is not measured by the Company on a daily basis, for purposes of applying penalties under section 1, 2, 3 or 4 above, the Customer's daily usage shall be determined by prorating the total usage during the Billing Period over the number of days in the Billing Period. RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 6. Penalty Charge Revenues All Penalty Charge revenues billed to Customer or Customer Group under sections 1, 2, 3 or 4 above will be considered as gas cost recovery and will be used in the development of the Company's PGA charge only to the extent that such costs were originally included and recovered in the PGA. SYSTEM INTEGRITY PROTECTION A. OFO or Critical Day Declaration The Company, at its own discretion, may monitor, limit, or curtail deliveries of gas to Customers having gas delivered pursuant to this Rider via the declaration of an OFO or Critical Day. There is no particular order associated with the declaration of an OFO and/or a Critical Day, and the Company reserves the right to utilize any of the options described to alleviate operational concerns. The Company shall provide notice of a Critical Day and OFO as far in advance as reasonably possible, normally not less than two hours, unless the Company believes conditions warrant immediate implementation of the Critical Day or OFO. If the Company issues a Critical Day or OFO notice within 24 hours of the Critical Day or OFO taking effect, the Company will report to the Commission indicating why Customer notice of less than 24 hours was necessary. B. OFO or Critical Day Notification The Company shall give notice to impacted transportation service Customers of all OFO's or Critical Day periods. The notice shall specify the expected duration of the event. The means by which notification is given shall be by e-mail. All Customers electing Rider T service must have their RGS provide notification information consisting of at least one email address, by which to receive notice on a 24-hour basis. A Customer self manager may provide such notification information directly to the Company. The Customer shall be deemed to have received notice upon issuance of the notice to the Customer by the Company. The Company will also simultaneously post information concerning the OFO or Critical Day on its website and Supplier Portal for informational purposes. d/b/a Ameren Illinois RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 C. Right to Purchase Gas Owned by Transportation Customers In the event that system integrity is threatened and the Company has declared a Critical Day, the Company shall have the right to purchase the natural gas supplies owned by, or purchased on behalf of, any of its transportation Customers to the extent the Company implements curtailment of natural gas service to Customers pursuant to the Curtailment Plan described in Customer Terms and Conditions and such gas is available for delivery to the Company under the terms of an existing transportation service contract. The Company's right to purchase gas owned by a Customer shall be exercised by the Company only after the Company has exhausted reasonable efforts to obtain the necessary gas supplies from other sources and this right will be a part of the Transportation Contract with the Customer. Such right shall terminate once the gas supplies available to the Company from other sources are sufficient to serve the needs of the Customers in the other categories on whose behalf the purchase of Customer-Owned gas by the Company was made and the Company lifts the curtailment. The price to be paid by the Company for gas purchased under this provision shall be equal to the price of gas at the time the Company provided notice of the Critical Day as reported in Platt's Gas Daily as "Midpoint for Chicago Citygates" under the Citygates section of Platts Gas Daily plus 10%. TERMS OF PAYMENT Customer's bills for service under this Rider shall be rendered and payments due in accordance with the Billing and Payment Section of the Customer Terms and Conditions. TERMS AND CONDITIONS The Company shall reduce all Customer-Owned Gas delivered to Company by the Unaccountedfor-Gas Factor (UGF). The UGF shall be determined for the Company by dividing the quantity of unaccounted for-gas by the sum of distribution throughput and unaccounted-for-gas, expressed as a decimal. The UGF shall be calculated and filed with the Commission on or before July 1 to be effective November 1 and shall utilize information for the 12-month period ending March 31. Company shall adjust the volume of Customer-Owned Gas delivered by each supply Pipeline on a daily basis. The volume delivered shall be divided by the Pipeline's daily BTU factor to determine Therms delivered. Date of Filing, March 30, 2020 d/b/a Ameren Illinois RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE *Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5, GDS-6, and GDS-7 Company reserves the right to limit the Deliveries of Customer-Owned Gas or usage at Customer's Premises when, at Company's sole discretion, Customer's Deliveries are excessive or deficient in relation to Customer's gas requirements and may adversely affect the operation of Company's gas system. Company reserves the right to require usage of Customer-Owned Gas to be uniform over the Gas Day when a pipeline imposes a requirement on Company to accept Delivery of gas uniformly over the Gas Day. Company shall be entitled to bill and collect from Customer any penalties or fees charged by such pipeline attributable to such Customer's non-conformance with Company's direction to take Delivery uniformly over the Gas Day. Service hereunder is subject to the Customer Terms and Conditions, Supplier Terms and Conditions, Standards and Qualifications for Gas Service, Tax Additions, and Supplemental Customer Charge Tariffs of this Schedule, as well as any other applicable Rates, Riders, taxes, adjustments, fees or charges that may be approved by the ICC from time to time and in effect. d/b/a Ameren Illinois 2 nd Ill. C. C. No. 2 Revised Sheet No. 25.015 Gas Service Schedule Ill. C. C. No. 2 (Canceling 1 st Revised Sheet No. 25.015) RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5 and GDS-7 For Future Use 6 Executive Drive, Collinsville, IL 62234 d/b/a Ameren Illinois Gas Service Schedule Ill. C. C. No. 2 RIDER T – TRANSPORTATION SERVICE Applicable to Rate GDS-2, GDS-3, GDS-4, GDS-5 and GDS-7 For Future Use d/b/a Ameren Illinois 2 nd Ill. C. C. No. 2 Revised Sheet No. 25.017 Gas Service Schedule Ill. C. C. 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Lögdlund, Ulrik In the framework of videoconference classrooms at local learning centres in Sweden European journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults 2 (2011) 1, S. 89-105 urn:nbn:de:0111-opus-41689 in Kooperation mit / in cooperation with: http://www.ep.liu.se Nutzungsbedingungen / conditions of use Gewährt wird ein nicht exklusives, nicht übertragbares, persönliches und beschränktes Recht auf Nutzung dieses Dokuments. Dieses Dokument ist ausschließlich für den persönlichen, nicht-kommerziellen Gebrauch bestimmt. Die Nutzung stellt keine Übertragung des Eigentumsrechts an diesem Dokument dar und gilt vorbehaltlich der folgenden Einschränkungen: Auf sämtlichen Kopien dieses Dokuments müssen alle Urheberrechtshinweise und sonstigen Hinweise auf gesetzlichen Schutz beibehalten werden. 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Kontakt / Contact: peDOCS Deutsches Institut für Internationale Pädagogische Forschung (DIPF) Mitglied der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft Informationszentrum (IZ) Bildung Schloßstr. 29, D-60486 Frankfurt am Main E-Mail: email@example.com In the framework of videoconference classrooms at local learning centres in Sweden Ulrik Lögdlund Linköping University, Sweden (firstname.lastname@example.org) Abstract This article explores the practice of videoconferencing and draws on interaction in class based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out at local learning centres in Sweden. The study is based on participant observations focusing on communication and the role of the teacher in a videoconferencing class. The results of the study shed light on different functions of the teachers' questions such as rhetorical, expanding and provocative. Further, talk in videoconferencing lacks systems of proper back-channel cues and communication often fails as a result of low feedback. The study also shows that there is a lack of balance in the distribution of utterances between the teacher and the students and that interaction is often one-way. The teacher becomes an actor in class reacting against low feedback. Questions and statements posed by the teacher are designed to break through the barriers of mediating technology. Also interaction patterns are impaired by misunderstandings and the practice is described as a learning space imbued with the rationale of communication technology. Keywords: videoconference; local learning centres; adult education; education technology Introduction In recent years, videoconferencing has been established in the context of local learning centres in Sweden to promote adult and distance education in rural districts. This study aims to investigate interactions between participants in the classroom. The videoconference classroom is a socio-technical environment in which communications technology plays a significant role and is an inseparable part of practice. The interplay between physical settings and human actors has been discussed by Comber and Wall (2001), the materiality of schools and workplaces by McGregor (2003) and the impact of material actors in videoconferencing by Lögdlund (2010). This article focuses on how actors communicate; the different forms of talk between the teacher, students and technicians in videoconference classrooms. Goffman (1959) explores the identity of the individual and the significance of group behaviour to evaluate the meaning of encounters in everyday life. The dramaturgic perspective views interaction as performance, which is shaped by audience and environment and staged to provide others with impressions that are consonant with the desired goals of the actor. It can be argued that 'virtual teaching practices' may have established a new range of frames of interaction and altered the ways actors present themselves in their interactions with others. Goffman argues an actor wishes to present oneself effectively to minimise a failing presentation. Interactive cooperation with others makes an important contribution to the individual's performance as well as the performance of a group or a team. It can be argued that successful interaction in videoconferencing is dependent on the mutual definition of the situation as a teaching practice holding the premises face-to-face interaction origination from conventional education. Videoconferencing is a collective of technologies utilized to transfer digitized data in the form of images and audio, including video clips, photographs, music and other information (Wilcox, 2000). It has been argued that the expansion of flexible learning strategies and advances in information and communication technologies have altered the conditions for teaching (Keegan, 2000) and created new learning environments of (Garrison, 2000; Edwards & Usher, 2003). It has also been said that information and communication technologies are components that impact practice (Bijker; Hughes & Pinch, 1987) and learning (Paetcher et al., 2001) by changing relations in space and time. The combination of online communication technologies and traditional face-toface teaching has been referred to as virtual education by Keegan (2000), on-line instruction by Kearsley (2000) and virtual universities by Barjis (2003). In studies conducted in the field of videoconferencing, technical equipment is presented as an obstacle to communication. Tyynelä (2004) argues that successful interaction is dependent on good audibility and visibility. Students in videoconferencing must be able to hear what is said and see facial expressions and body language in order to participate. MacKinnon et al. (1995) state that the type and position of the microphones is crucial to communication as well as the position of the monitors and the light in the learning environment. Students report negative attitudes towards the cameras and the sound system (Unander, 1999) and technical disruptions are experienced as annoying and may affect interaction negatively. Knipe and Lee (2002) state that the quality of teaching in videoconferencing is not has high as in traditional classrooms since teaching via a monitor, camera and microphones will always reduce the quality of learning. Waltz (1998) claims that the equipment in videoconferencing has usurped the teacher's pedagogical choices and transferred control of the virtual classroom to technicians, manufacturers and engineers. The physical distance between students and the teacher in remote settings is one topic in studies carried out in the field of videoconferencing. Knipe and Lee (2002) report that students in remote sites occasionally feel isolated when eye contact is not made with them and questions not repeated to them. Students located at the origin site receive more information and explanations from the teacher than do remote students. Detachment from class causes students to lose concentration and interest in the subject matter. McHenry and Bozik (1995) as well as Unander (1999) report little or no interaction in videoconferencing classes due to students feeling distant from the teacher. It seems as if physical and psychological distance poses potential problems for effective distance learning (Wolcott, 1996) and 'transactional distance' may lead to In the framework of videoconference classrooms at local learning centres in Sweden [91] communication gaps and the potential for misunderstanding between teachers and the students (Harry, John & Keegan, 1993). One issue in videoconferencing is the role of the teacher. Unander (1999) connect the teacher's ability to stimulate and motivate participants to the actual outcome of interaction. The author argues that the language used by the teacher as well as the tone of his/her voice is crucial when it comes to students' attitudes towards videoconferencing. Dupin-Bryant (2004) asserts that the teacher in videoconferencing often takes on a teacher-centred approach due to geographical separation and technological barriers. McHenry and Bozik (1995) claim interaction is the plain responsibility of the teacher and MacKinnon et al. (1995) argue that instructors should sustain interaction of participants by means of dialogue. The teacher must invite participants to interrupt speakers in order to ensure dialogue rather than monologue (ibid.) The group organisation in remote settings is a subject that has attracted considerable interest. In contrast to individual distance education, group-based videoconferencing makes individuals feel that they belong to a cohort of students sharing the same experiences (Olsen, 2003). Svensson (2002) investigated group behaviour in temporary student gatherings and discovered that communities were established and reformed based on collective negotiations. The roles of the teacher and students were determined in communities adopting typified patterns of communication. Summing up the field of videoconferencing most research done concerns technology. The actual handlings of equipment as well as the fact that communication is mediated among dispersed groups of students are seen as intriguing problems. On the other hand, communication and the role of the teacher are subjects that have attracted less attention. This study takes the perspective of the teacher and seeks to describe how participants talk in videoconferencing classrooms in terms of verbal and non-verbal communication. Classroom observations The study is based on participant observations guided by an overt research strategy in which the researcher is identifiable (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2000) and by moderate participation where the researcher does not actively participate in the classroom activities (De Walt & De Walt, 2002). The study covers both quantitative and qualitative outcomes. The quantitative aspect of communication accounts for the frequency and the allocation of utterances while the qualitative results focus on the character of utterances made in class. The study comprises thirty seven different occasions made between 2003 and 2005 at five different local learning centres. The majority of data were collected at one single location. One typical observation lasted for approximately one hour and was recorded and transcribed similar to the procedure of traditional interviews. Data used in the study concern two different forms of educational sites; the remote classroom and the origin site. The remote classroom is the physical locality of the local learning centre. In the remote classroom, data were recorded directly on the spot and comprise both the local students' face-to-face communication and the interaction with the teacher and students at the origin site. The origin site is the place where the teacher (and occasionally students) is located during broadcasting. Data from the origin site were recorded from the television set. The observational post alternated between different remote classrooms and all observations made on the spot concerned students engaged in adult education at upper secondary school level and in undergraduate studies. The analysis involves different educational contexts; courses provided by the university college as well as adult education provided by the municipality at upper secondary school level. Data embrace the activities in the classroom focusing on the spoken language, gestures and the behaviour of the actors involved such the students, the teacher and supporting technicians. The process of analysing qualitative data involves structuring observations and interpreting findings. The results of the study can be described as a 'condensate' of analyses in which observations were successively interpreted and categorised. The sample of locations is based on access given by a cluster of local learning centres located in a region in the south of Sweden. The centres collaborated in providing adult education in a region by sharing a set of university courses and by using the same project management. The local learning centres take on an 'intermediary' function as brokers of education in the region (Roos, Dahlöf & Baumgarten, 2000; Roos, 2001; Lögdlund, 2008) distributing undergraduate studies, municipal adult education and inservice training provided by university colleges or other educational arrangers situated at a distance. The centres try to emulate a campus by offering a learning environment not unlike ordinary schools. At the local learning centre, facilities are offered, such as classrooms, studies, a dining-room, libraries and other professional services associated with contemporary educational organisations. The distribution of distance education in local settings is believed to enhance the attractiveness of rural districts, prevent people moving away and promote schooling. Videoconferencing is the core activity of the local learning centre. Interaction in the videoconferencing classroom My data show that there are two main types of communication in videoconferencing classrooms that deserve more detailed study: verbal and non-verbal communication. The spoken language involves all utterances made in class addressing students, teachers or technicians. Further, my results show that there are four main categories of utterances significant for the practice of videoconferencing: questions, statements, storytelling and small talk. Goffman (1981) argue that questions are designed to receive answers, being oriented backwards to what has been said and forward to what lies just ahead. In the study, questions have been defined as all utterances requiring a reply. In contrast to questions, statements can be stated as utterances that do not explicitly require an answer. The study also shows that storytelling and 'small talk' are significant for communication in class. Storytelling refers to the anecdotes told by the teacher or by the students during class. Storytelling and anecdotes do not necessarily involve questions, although they often seek some kind of response from the audience. Small talk is the idle talk of the teachers and technicians. Small talk takes place mainly outside the framework of the actual lecture and may involve both questions and statements. From the teacher's perspective, questions directed at the students usually concern the subject matter. The teacher may pose questions to the students for many reasons; to investigate the students' knowledge, to find an interesting topic or to follow up previous lectures and assignments. Questions could also concern theory or practice and result in factual answers, solving problems or develop imaginative or reasoned ideas. From the students' perspective, questions concerning the subject matter are rarely asked of the teacher or peers during the videoconferencing class. The most frequent In the framework of videoconference classrooms at local learning centres in Sweden [93] questions posed by students instead concern administrative or routine matters. For instance, the students may want to know the forms of an examination, deadlines for submitting written tasks or the date and time of future broadcasts. The differences in the nature of the questions are significant to videoconference. The teacher lays focus on the content while students are engaged in forms, rules and settings. Questions and statements The teacher is an actor who informs, describes and explains the state of matters, circumstances and opinions to the students. As has already been mentioned, a significant amount of the teachers' communication is based on questions. My data show that questions asked in videoconferencing class have different functions. Questions may have a * rhetorical function * expanding function * provocative function * management function Some questions have a rhetorical function such as when the teacher asks the students "do you follow" or "can we start now?" Rhetorical questions are not generally meant to be replied to and the teacher often continues instantly. The intentional lack of response makes rhetorical questions similar to statements. For instance, when the teacher asks a group of students a ticklish question about teacher training "do you want them to internalise knowledge", not waiting for a reply the question transforms it into a statement. Further, my analysis shows that rhetorical questions in videoconferencing may have different purposes. The teacher may pose rhetorical questions in order to mark the structure of the lecture or to conclude or start the next section. Rhetorical questions can therefore be used as 'pacemakers' for maintaining a certain speed of the broadcast. Other questions posed by the teacher are intended to expand the dialogue. For instance, when the teacher asks the students "is there anything else you are thinking about" or when the teacher asks a single student to give his point of view as in the example below. Teacher: Roberto can you comment on the election in Chile? My data show that questions, which are intended to expand discussions and are directed at a specific student, seek to encourage an individual or a group of students to express their perspectives, to create another angle or insert tension into the discussion. 'Expanding' questions may also be used to initiate further discussion among groups of students located at different remote sites. Teacher: Does anyone else have something to add? Some of the teacher's questions take on a provocative form. My studies show how the teacher exhorts the students by trying to provoke them to interact. The provocative questions may purposely give rise to new questions and further discussions related to the subject matter. Teacher: No, he had raped and humiliated and forced two women into prostitution. Isn't it good that he was given the maximum punishment? It can be argued that expanding and provocative questions may be appropriate for videoconferencing in order to overcome distance and break through the barriers of technical resistance. The teacher seeks to influence the students and create interaction despite them being located physically distant. Provocative questions are also used more often by the teacher in videoconferencing than face to face in traditional teaching. This observation reinforces the idea of the provocative function of questions with the purpose of overcoming distance and getting through to the students despite communication being mediated. Other forms of questions likely to occur in videoconferencing classes concern the management of the class and involve supervising and routine and administrative issues. Supervising questions concern maintaining the task activity or monitoring the students in class. Questions can be admonitory as when the teacher asks students to change seats in order to see them better or when he or she asks the students to turn towards the camera. Supervising questions may involve technical audio equipment such as when the teacher asks the students to move closer to the microphone. Supervising questions are also posed by the teacher to establish contact. For example, the teacher may ask whether a certain location (classroom) is still connected. Supervising questions are asked most frequently in the initial phase of the videoconferencing class and in the event of temporary transmission breakdowns. One situation when supervising questions are asked is when the teacher addresses and identifies students from one location by using the name of the municipality. This category of supervising questions has a certain nature. The teacher attempts to distribute and direct communication among groups of students in different locations. For instance, the teacher may ask "What do you answer in Viik?" or "Höög, do you have something to add?" The teacher may also encourage a certain location to respond in order to verify a connection by asking "Kiisa, where are you?". Supervising questions can also be asked in order to confirm the structure of the lecture. These kinds of questions (and statements) occur when the teacher supervises turn taking by addressing a certain location. The following excerpt from a course provided by the municipality illustrates the supervising turn-taking functions that are used in the initial phase of the broadcast. Teacher: We'll start in the municipality of Viik with topics of the day. Is there anything you'd like to tell us? Supervising questions are a management strategy for checking on attendance and distributing cue-taking notes among the interconnected sites. It could be argued that the supervising questions 'communalise' the groups of students and 'substitute' people with places. Local places become identification marks. The students are also recognised by the instructor as a specific group of students from a local place, rather than a group of students. The students seem accustomed to being 'substituted' and they use the name of the district themselves when calling for attention. A region may be defined as any place that is bounded to some degree by barriers to perception. Goffman (1959) argues any individual located in a certain space-time manifold will be in a position to observe the performance and be guided by the definition of the situation which the performance fosters. The students may, for instance, talk about themselves in terms of a specific place both within and outside the immediate practice of videoconferencing. A significant proportion of the management questions concern visual contact between the teacher and the remote classroom. For example, the teacher may ask the students if they can see what is written on the whiteboard (or the blackboard) or if images viewed through image viewer. Question may also have a routine nature. For In the framework of videoconference classrooms at local learning centres in Sweden [95] instance, when the teacher welcomes the students to the class, asking them how they are or asking them about the local weather. Administrative questions chiefly concern broadcasting times, examination procedures and attendance lists. Finally, all forms of management questions posed by the teacher usually answered by the students. Statements can be categorised according to the intention of the teacher. Statements made in class can be directly connected to tasks such as factual information or related to ideas and problems. For instance, when the teacher states "I've used this material in school and I know it works", it is a fact and not a question. Statements can take on a supervising mode by telling students what to do, giving feedback or praising efforts made by students. Statements may also have a general nature such as "let's move on" or "let's start now". Finally, statements can have a specific character similar to one of the provocative questions. Teacher: Hate crimes have increased in the Swedish society. Such crimes are directed at homosexuals, but also religious groups such as Muslims and Jews. These crimes have increased dramatically in the last few years. As regards, the nature of teacher's statements, it seems that a large number of utterances have a certain open or closed nature. As has been mentioned earlier, the study covers both the remote classroom and the original site. The analysis also concerns different educational contexts: education provided by the university college and adult education provided by the municipality. In the excerpt below, which comes from the remote classroom at upper secondary school level, the teacher is looking for a certain answer that is determined the context. Teacher: (…) by now there is plenty written here [whiteboard], which has to be proved right? And I can't hear any of you protesting loudly. Student: I don't think this is correct at all. Do you want me to explain why? Teacher: Yes, please. The excerpt illustrates how the teacher requires a certain response from the students, which limits the scope of possible replies. The reply has to follow the prescribed statement written on the whiteboard, which is formulated in a way that provokes a given response. We can construe this particular question posed by the teacher as restricted or closed to elaborated or spontaneous replies and it can be argued that questions and statements take on a 'productive' or 'counterproductive' character. Productive questions or statements encourage the receiver to elaborate on his or her answer and they may be 'open' to feedback. In contrast, counterproductive questions may not encourage further elaboration since a factual answer, or a short yes or no, will do. In conclusion questions and statements become 'closed' to further feedback. The excerpt above is an example of 'counterproductive' interaction since the teacher sets the frames and the reply has to follow the line of argument displayed on the whiteboard. The question becomes counterproductive in that it does not encourage further arguments and therefore set limits on learning. The closed character of questions also occurs in videoconferencing provided by the university college as a majority of the questions that concern the subject matter are short (brief) and do not encourage elaborated replies. The excerpt below is an example of such a counterproductive question. Teacher: Do you think the form is demanding nowadays, to write neatly and correctly? ``` [96] Ulrik Lögdlund Student: Yes. Teacher: Yes, isn't it. ``` A small part of the teacher's question might be interpreted as being productive and seeking an open reply that cannot easily be falsified. Teachers' productive questions more often than not enhance an on-going discussion or are posed in order to initiate new discussions. Some productive questions may encourage the students to draw their own conclusions. Teacher: What is a society? Student: We are the society? Teacher: Yes, aren't we? One interpretation based on the data concerns the occurrence of productive questions, which is a consequence of the climate in class as well as the teacher's approach. Productive questions seem to be encouraged by the attitude of the teacher and the climate in the group rather than by individual achievements. The willingness of students to more detailed answers and initiate discussions depends on the specific composition of the group in the remote classroom. New groups and groups consisting of inexperienced students are more careful about giving feedback. In addition to questions and statements asked in class, the teacher may relate stories or anecdotes. The subject of anecdotes usually concerns the task. Anecdotes commonly characterised by a personal approach, revealing the interests and the experiences of the teacher. It seems as if the teacher tells personal stories in order to encourage others to do the same. The main function of relating anecdotes is to 'break the ice' and get other students to start talking. Non-verbal communication A second form of interaction that takes place in videoconferencing classrooms is 'nonverbal'. Goffman (1981) argues that the process of 'ritualisation' of communication involves the movements, looks and vocal sounds we make as the unintended by-product of speaking. Non-verbal communication consists of physical gestures given by the teacher and students. Gestures may, for instance, signal interest or indifference and body language may signify (consciously or not) e.g. fatigue or excitement. My interpretations of the data show that non-verbal communication occurs parallel with verbal communication, mainly in order to strengthen or modulate messages given verbally during videoconferencing. The teacher may nod approval or make an inviting gesture with his hand that means please go ahead. Gestures may also be used as a communication strategy with some teachers intentionally exaggerating gestures, looks and smiles. Body language becomes a tool used to break through to the students. One example of non-verbal communication is the position of the body. In videoconferencing, the teacher is restricted by technical appliances. The teacher has to stay in the centre where he or she is well-lit and in range of microphones and cameras. The position of the teacher in class becomes crucial and he or she has to always remember the positions of the cameras. In education provided by the university college, the teacher may change positions temporally. For instance, the teacher may alternate between standing in front of the audience or sitting behind a desk. However, being able to change position during class is dependent on assistance from a technician. In education provided by the municipality, the teacher often lacks the full-time presence of a technician and is 'chained' to a single position. To the category of non-verbal communication we can add all the situations where the teacher displays images (photographs, graphs and charts) with a technical apparatus in order to communicate non-verbal messages. The teacher may also write on the blackboard or the whiteboard instead of using the technology designed for viewing images during videoconferencing. It can be argued that writing by hand, using a whiteboard as a form of communication medium, is a strategy for creating a sense of intimacy. The teacher tries to overcome distance by neutralising the student's experiences of the videoconference situation as a televised broadcast. It can be argued that the main distinction between videoconferencing and face-toface teaching is the occurrence of technological shortcomings that make gestures and body language less comprehensible to actors. In contrast to conventional classrooms, physical signs may be vague or even missing during videoconferencing. For instance, students may sit out of range of the camera, the camera may switch perspective suddenly or go temporarily out of focus. Students may also sit in the shade and wear dark clothing which makes them almost invisible to the camera. In addition to what can be seen in the videoconferencing classroom, some gestures are missing. My data shows that there is a scarcity of 'traditional physical signs' in videoconferencing such as turn-taking cues. For instance, the students seldom raise their hands or wave them to get the teacher's attention. My study points to verbal communication as the main category of interaction in videoconferencing classrooms. The spoken language dominates communication in a way that may make us risk overlooking sudden pauses and temporary moments of silence in the stream of communication. The lack of interaction, in so far as nothing is communicated intentionally, occurs, for instance, when the teacher leaves the classroom, reads notes or does personal things without involving the students. Some time is also spent waiting for responses in class. Transmission breakdowns can be added to this category of non-verbal communication and the teacher may postpone the broadcast in order to make technical corrections. The temporary lack of verbal interaction is crucial to the maintenance of the videoconferencing class. Silence and stagnation may create dissatisfaction among the participants. Interaction sequences and communication patterns Goffman (1981) argues that whenever people talk, they seem to follow the dialogic format as a certain structure based on questions and replies. One utterance is temporally followed by another and they are organised in pairs. In the following, I will shed light on two typical situations that occur in videoconferencing. The first situation is an example of communication that works as intended and the second example concerns a situation when communication fails. My data show that communication in the videoconferencing class follows a 'triadic pattern' based on adjacency pairs. Typically, the teacher initiates a discussion by asking a question or making a statement and then concludes interaction sequence by giving feedback on students' responses. Teacher: (…) a certain verdict was handed down in the Supreme Court in Sweden today, wasn't it? Student: It was about the pastor. ``` [98] Ulrik Lögdlund Teacher: Yes, and… [demanding] Student: He was found not guilty. Teacher: Yes, he was found not guilty. Thus, it was not a crime to claim that ``` homosexuality is a cancerous growth in society. From the excerpt above, we learn that the teacher initiates the interaction sequence by addressing a topic of interest in the general public debate in Sweden. The teacher confirms the reply and insists on a follow-up by the student as he/she regards the answers as unsatisfactory. The triadic interaction sequence is finally concluded by the teacher who substantiates the student's reply in order to obtain a full understanding of the subject. The communication follows the predicted structure of adjacency pairs of questions and replies linked in a chain. In videoconferencing a large proportion of talk follows this form of triadic interaction sequence. Communication structures may fail to complete the triadic interaction pattern. The excerpt below is an example of how the interaction sequence is interrupted and how the communication structure breaks down. Teacher: In our school there is a filter blocking the information and I don't think… [interrupted] Student: No, but I also believe it's… [interrupted] Teacher: …it's possible to visit sites like that. But I'm not sure. Student: Yes, but… [interrupted] Teacher: OK, we are waiting for two more students (…), but I think we'll start anyway. [changing subject] In the excerpt, the teacher tries to argue, not in the form of questions anticipating a certain reply, but in the form of statements. Communication is still organised in adjacency pairs and the student tries to reply to the teacher's statements, but his/her feedback is not getting through. The teacher continues his statement 'unaware' that the student trying to say something. Finally, the teacher changes subject abruptly. We can interpret the excerpt as an example of communication failure due to a number of possible reasons. For instance, we cannot exclude the possibility that the teacher chooses to ignore the student in order to maintain the pace of the lecture. On the other hand, there is a technical failure if the teacher actually does not hear the student. In any case, the student is left dissatisfied and the communication sequence may be confusing to other participants. It can also be argued that the excerpt above is an example of a communication failure due to the lack of proper requirements of the communication system. Goffman (1981) claims that the speaker needs to know whether his message has been received and understood, which is based on the recipient's abilities to acknowledge the accuracy of the message sent. Feedback in the form of 'back-channel' cues, such as facial gestures, is needed to know whether we have succeeded or failed to get our message across. Videoconferencing seems to lack proper back-channel cues in many respects, which may 'delay' the messages sent and result in misunderstandings. The lack of cues conveys what we may interpret as 'substituting' conversations. The following example, recorded during the initial process of the broadcast, displays a bouncing of more or less In the framework of videoconference classrooms at local learning centres in Sweden [99] relevant questions and statements between the teacher, technicians and support personnel. st 1 technician: Are you the teacher? Teacher: Yes, at least I'm working as a teacher. But personally I don't know. [laughing] 1 st technician: I can't reach Kinda Teacher: No, I've noticed that 1 st technician: Nobody has phoned from there… so I don’t know Support personnel: I can give them a call and check it up for you 1 st technician: I mustn't lose their IP number in any case 2 nd technician: You have to push the remote control to get rid of the slide Support personnel: Now there's something other than an image Teacher: Yes, I can see and hear you Support personnel: You're visible, at least here in Holm Teacher: Yes, hello, hello Teacher: Are you having trouble in Holm? Support personnel: Yes, we’ve had some trouble. Now it’s working anyway. Let’s see what’s happening with the others Teacher: Okay, our technician has left. It isn't good but thanks anyway [ironically] The communication structure described above can be interpreted as 'manifold'. The principal line is delivered by the teacher while a second line ensues from the discussion of the technicians. The questions and statements asked by the support personnel figure in between. Initially, the technicians involve the teacher by asking him a question and then continuing to discuss the problems of connection, IP numbers and slides with each other. The teacher and the support personnel believe they are part of the technical discussion. In fact, the technicians have already left. This is not discovered until later. It seems that a large amount of talk is needed and that 'overacting' replaces the lack of body language and facial expressions. This form of substituting small talk seems important for verifying what has been said and for clarifying misunderstandings. In addition to small talk, the excerpt also illustrates the 'manifoldness' of the communication structure in which different conversations take place simultaneously. The excerpt exemplifies how jokes can be ignored and how statements can be given in non-chronological order. It seems that the communication pattern is out of order due to the lack of back-channel cues and questions and statements are delayed in time. Distribution of utterances in the videoconferencing classroom Of all the utterances given on seventeen different occasions in the university college's courses, only a small proportion (3%) of the total number are given by the students. On some occasions, no more than two or three questions were asked during a 1-hour lecture and occasionally students were completely silent during a full session. The lack of feedback applied mainly to the situation in the remote classroom. As regards the origin site, where the teacher was present, the activity of the students was slightly higher (8%). The distribution of utterances between the teacher and the students was 92 percent, respectively, of the total number. In education provided by the municipality, the degree of interaction between actors in the classroom setting is generally higher than in courses held by university colleges. Based on observations on twenty different occasions in the remote classroom, the students were likely to account for almost one third of the communication (28%). The number of utterances given by students in classes at the origin site was higher (37%). The distribution of utterances between the teacher and the students is 75 and 25 percent, respectively. Based on the quantitative results of the study, we can conclude that the degree of interaction between the students and the teacher is generally 'weaker' (lower) in courses provided by the university colleges than in adult education provided by the municipality. In courses held by the university college, the teacher rarely asks the remote students questions and likewise the students are not likely to 'interrupt' the session with reflections, comments or questions. Although communication in adult education provided by the municipality shows the same pattern as in higher education, the feedback is more extensive and interaction more comprehensive both at the origin site and in the remote setting. The frequency and distribution of utterances in class show that the communication where the teacher addresses a single individual is most common. However, the direction of communication may shift from a single pair to involving several actors. For instance, the students can address statements and questions to the teacher, to other students in the classroom or to other groups of students located in another remote classroom. The initiative passes from the teacher to the students, occasionally as a result of interruption, and discussions are intersected by new perspectives, ideas or related topics. Communication becomes multi-oriented, in all directions. Multi-oriented communication is usually spontaneous and more often than not initiated by the students. Multi-oriented communication between groups of students in separate locations rarely occurs (1-2%). when multi-oriented communication occurs, the teacher still monitors the subject, the direction of the discussion and the length of comments. Communication never stops being supervised by the teacher even though he/she does not participate in discussions. Table one shows that the teacher addresses the majority of the questions and statements to the students. The teacher becomes the main character. The teacher-centred approach has been observed by Knipe and Lee (2002), Dupin-Bryant (2004) and Unander (1999), who consider a lack of interaction in class as a problem in videoconferencing. However, the actions of the teacher are not the only factor that affects the interaction in videoconferencing and my interpretation of the data points to a number of additional factors. First, my interviews with students shows that those who are experienced in handling the technology or those who are used to the teaching methods in videoconferences are in general more active in class than students who lack experience. Similar to the results of Unander's (1999) studies, I discovered that students who are experienced also have a more positive attitude towards the technology of videoconferencing. It's intriguing and it's fun to try new things. In small villages it's great not to have to travel to the city in order to study. [Student in upper secondary school] Second, interaction increases if the students and the teacher have met before face-toface, or if they know each other from other situations outside the videoconference classroom (for instance, in other courses). Third, my studies show that the expectations of the students are important for how interaction in videoconferencing takes place. Not knowing beforehand that videoconferencing will be used as a teaching method may result in general dissatisfaction. It's not a proper forum for discussions at all. No, it's not enough… I don't know. It takes a lot of courage to make oneself heard. [Student in upper secondary school] Fourth, it seems that all the actors, both students and teachers, need to learn how to communicate using videoconferencing systems. Knowledge about how videoconferencing really works in practice seems to be an important factor when it comes to increasing interaction. Fifth, the teacher's knowledge and experience affect how he or she acts in class. My observations show that teachers who are used to the technology of videoconferencing behave more confidently in class. Experienced teachers also make better use of Technical equipment and seem to be more sensitive to the expectations of the students. It all depends on the teacher in videoconferencing. If the teacher can get the students interested or not. Else it will… I mean he is not present in class after all. [Student in upper secondary school] Discussion In order to further break down the nature of the questions and statements, communication can be categorised in different functions such as rhetorical and provocative. Kumpulainen (2001) argues that communication can be interrogative, such as when the teacher poses questions to the students, or informative when providing information. My study shows that the interrogative function of communication is more likely to occur in videoconferencing provided by the municipality. As mentioned earlier, the degree of interaction is less comprehensive in the university college settings, which is also consequence of the interrogative communication function. However, there are situational circumstances to take into consideration. The interrogative nature of communication that occurs in the municipal setting is primarily a consequence of a slower pace. The teacher often allows for plenty of time to wait for the students to reply. This is not the case in courses provided by the university college where the pace is higher. Another cause of extended interrogative communication has to do with the presence of students or not. In settings with an audience (the students) the teacher's attention is more often than not focused on students in the physical classroom. The audience present face-to-face seems to have a higher priority than students located in the remote classroom at a distance. My studies show that communication is more likely to maintain an interrogative function if actors are present at the same location. Questions addressed to students in the remote settings may instead have a somewhat informative or rhetorical character. Taken as a hole, the interrogative function of communication occurs primarily in municipal education and in situations where the teacher is present. My analysis shows that some questions take on a character that may be significant for videoconferencing. The 'expanding' and 'provocative' questions serve to force the receiver to further explanations, to develop different perspectives on a subject or simply to stir the imagination of the students. Argumentative questions are designed to receive feedback and are used in order to capture the interest of the students. My analysis also shows that a large number of questions have a closed character that does not support discussions in the same way as open questions and statements do. Kumpulainen (2001) argues that argumentative discussions are more effective in fostering the student's critical thinking. It has also been said that discussions that serve to stimulate and support 'higher-order thinking' throughout the curriculum are preferable (Cazden, 2001). In videoconferencing, a large number of questions are dismissive, i.e. they do not encourage further interaction. Once again, videoconferencing risks becoming a one-way televised lecture. My study shows that there is an unbalanced distribution of utterances between the teacher and the students where the teacher is responsible for most of the communication. This unequal situation is apparent in courses provided by the university college as well as in adult education provided by the municipality. The main reason is low feedback from the students. As pointed out by McHenry and Bozik (1995) and Unander 1999, it seems as if videoconferencing suffers from low response from students in class. Based on my quantitative data, videoconference has become a televised broadcast and the idea of interactive mediation has been weakened. It has also been argued that videoconferencing strives to span scattered actors and reproduce the experience of interaction as naturally as possible, viewing interaction as a highly desirable component of a teaching-learning process (MacKinnon, et al., 1995). The lack of feedback as well as transmission breakdowns makes a learning situation critical in videoconference. Goffman (1959) finds that the definition of the situation projected by a particular participant is an integral part of a projection that is fostered and sustained by the intimate cooperation of more than one participant. Videoconferencing simulates face-to-face interaction, but what maintains the image? Failures in self presentation may ruin the performance of the teacher or the student, but more importantly failures may ruin the common definition of the situation. What would happen if students re-define the situation? Would they leave the classroom if they apprehend videoconference as a one-way televised lecture? Furthermore, it can be argued that the triadic communication pattern is a way of enabling the teacher to control the structure and content of the lesson. Goffman (1981) argues that the triadic communication pattern is a collective meaning-making process in which the parties collaborate. In videoconferencing, the teacher may maintain the triadic communication pattern in order not to lose the initiative, control and pace of the lesson i.e. broadcast. The act of substitution is common among participants in videoconferencing. Teachers frequently address students by using the name of a place and students respond in the same way. Students also identify themselves according to places, rather than as individuals, to facilitate interaction and make communication run smoothly. It seems as if personal identities merge with places, which is sometimes a practical necessity in order to maintain order during the broadcast. The videoconferencing system seems to lack fundamental communication requirements. In order to better understand the intention of the question, the addressee needs to interpret the tone of the voice as well as the body language. Mehrabian (1971) states that facial expressions are important in order to fully comprehend and interpret communication and increase the precision of messages. Goffman (1981) argues for the need of turnover signals, which are a means of indicating the end of messages and the taking over of the transmitting role by the next speaker. In the event of more than two people communicating, the participants need next speaker selection signals. Cues are not available in videoconferencing in the same way as in face-to-face communication. It can be argued that in videoconferencing, physical signs may be vague or even missing. Nor can the participants sense the atmosphere of the remote classroom, which makes interaction more difficult for all the actors involved. What may be achieved in class is what Goffman (1981) calls a 'working agreement' in which actors accept the shortcomings of communication. In conclusion, conveying expressions in videoconferencing is more complicated than when teaching face-to-face regards trying to break through the technical barriers. Several scholars argue that the teacher is responsible for interaction (e.g. DupinBryant, 2004; Unander, 1999). In the videoconferencing practice, several remote classrooms are linked to the primary teaching site, which means that the teacher has to consider not only the students present in classroom, but also different groups of remote students as well. For instance, the teacher, being located at a distance, is not able to see all the participants and cannot know whether students are present or not. Videoconferencing is a complex teaching situation to which we must add the complexity of mediating technology. Waltz (1998) sees the teacher as an actor left powerless in the hands of engineering. My results show that technology is important. For example the teacher does not pay attention to remote students to the same extent as he or she does to students in the primary teaching site and the interaction pattern breaks down into a number of situations as a consequence of the technical medium. The videoconference's learning space can be described as a web of interrelations between people, the environment and technical artefacts that are processed and given life by means of learning activities. These interrelations are characterised by technical superiority over human actors, and the different forms of talk presented in this study are an example of how technology impacts, changes and controls interaction. Finally, one may ask oneself if the communication pattern described in this study is typical in videoconferencing or if it is dependent on certain conditions or specific teachers? One may also debate the results of the study based on development of educational technology. The value of data is mainly to make visible the nature, extent and direction of communication in videoconferencing. The varying conditions in classes make my results difficult to generalise to other situations than my specific sample. For instance, the number of students in the classes varied between different observations and the teachers used different approaches during the duration of the study. In conclusion, this study is not conclusive, but an example of how actors talk in videoconferencing. This study shows the impact of technology in videoconference. It can be argued that whenever technology is used in educational and social settings as a mediating tool of communication interaction is influenced one way or another. Observations made some years ago in videoconference classrooms in Sweden are as much relevant to understand the relation between material objects and people as subsequent studies focusing any technical design applied in distance education. In general virtual universities and distance education are seen as a solution to growing education demands of the knowledge society. The rapid implementation of Internet accelerates this trend. The emergence of local learning centres in Sweden and Europe is based on networking of actors striving to provide access to learners. However, it can be argued that the implementation and the design of educational tools are critical for learning outcomes (Knowles, 1989; Boud & Felletti, 1997; Boud & Garrick, 1999) and it can be discussed if the conditions for learning in videoconference are favourable for learning. Research still need to investigate how knowledge is produced in virtual universities settings and how knowledge is included in artifacts and material settings. The role of technology is often missing in educational studies. References Barjis, J. (2003). An Overview of Virtual University Studies: Issues, Concepts, Trends. In F. Albalooshi (Ed.), Virtual Education: Cases in Learning & Teaching Technologies. (pp. 1-15). Hershey: IRM Press. . Bijker, W. E., Hughes, T. P. & Pinch, T. J. (1987). The Social Construction of Technological Systems Cambridge: MIT Press. Boud, D. & Felleti, G. (Eds.). (1997). The Challenge of Problem-based Learning. London: Cogan Page. Boud, D. & Garrick, J. (1999). Understanding Learning at Work. London/New York: Routledge. Cazden, C. B. (2001). Classroom Discourse. The Language of Teaching and Learning. Heineman: Portsmouth. Comber, C. & Wall, D. (2001). The Classroom Environment: a framework for learning. In. C. Paetcher, R. Edwards, R. Harrison & P. Twining (Eds.), Learning, Space and Identity (pp. 87-101). London: P.C.P. Publishing Ltd. Open University. DeWalt, K. M. & DeWalt B. R. (2002). Participant Observation: A Guide for Fieldworkers. New York: AltaMira Press. Dupin-Bryant, P. A. (2004). Teaching Styles of Interactive Television Instructors: A Descreptive Study. The American Journal of Distance Education. 18(1), 39-50. Edwards, R. & Usher, R. (2003). Space, Curriculum and Learning. Greenwich: Information Age Publishing. Garrison, R. (2000). Theoretical Challenges for Distance Education in the 21st Century: A shift from structural to transactional issues. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 1(1), 1-17. Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday life. New York: Anchor Books. Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of Talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. (2000). Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London/New York: Routledge. Harry, K., John, M. & Keegan D. (1993). Distance Education: New Perspectives. London/New York: Routledge. Kearsley, G. (2000). Online Education: Learning and teaching in cyberspace. Belmont: Wadsworth. Keegan, D. (2000). Distance Training: Taking Stock at a Time of Change. London/New York: Routledge. Knipe, D. & Lee, M. (2002). The Quality of Teaching and Learning via Videoconferencing. British Journal of Educational Technology,33(3), 301-311. In the framework of videoconference classrooms at local learning centres in Sweden [105] Knowles, M. (1989). The making of an adult educator. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kumpulainen, K. (2001). Classroom Interaction and Social Learning: From theory to practice. Florence: Routledge. Lögdlund, U. (2008). Lärcentra som mäklare av högre utbildning? Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige, 13(2), 103-122. Lögdlund, U. (2010). Constructing Learning Spaces? Videoconferencing at Local Learning Centres in Sweden. Studies in Continuing education. 32(3), 183-199. McGregor, J. (2003). Spatiality and Teacher Workplace Cultures: The department as Nexus. In E. Edwards & R. Usher, Space, Curriculum and Learning (pp. 45-59). Greenwich: Information Age Publishing. McHenry, L. & Bozik, M. (1995). Communicating at a Distance: A study of Interaction in a Distance Education Classroom. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Central States Communication Association, Indianapolis. MacKinnon, A., Walshe, B., Cummings, M. & Velonis, U. (1995). An Inventory of Pedagogical Considerations for Interactive Television. Journal of Distance Education. CAAP, 10(1), 75-94. Mehrabian, A. (1971). Silent Messages: Implicit Communication of Emotions and Attitudes. Belmont: Wadsworth. Olsen, F. (2003). Videoconferencing With Some Life To It. Chronicle of Higher Education, 49(43). Paetcher, C., Edwards, R., Harrison, R. & Twining, P. (Eds.). (2001). Learning, Space and Identity. London: P.C.P. Publishing Ltd. Open University. Roos, G., Dahllöf, U. & Baumgarten, M. (2000). Studiecentra i samverkan om högre utbildning in Hälsingland. En studie om tillänglighet i kommunalt perspektiv. (Rapport 3) Söderhamn: Studiecentra i Hälsingland. Roos, G. (2001). Nya studerande eller gamla? Rekrytering till studiecentra i Hälsingland. Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige 6(1), 1-18. Svensson, L. (2002). Communities of Distance Education. (Diss.). Göteborg: Göteborg Studies in Informatics, Report 25. Tyynelä, M. (2004). Virtualisation of the Learning Place and Space. IRIS 27. Retrieved from http://www.cs.auc.dk/IRIS. Unander, R. (1999). Videokonferens i distansutbildning. En studie av interaktion. Umeå: Pedagogiska institutionen, Umeå universitet. (Diss.). Waltz, S. B. (1998). Distance Learning Classrooms: A Critique. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Science, 18(3), 204-212. Wilcox, J. R. (2000). Videoconferencing the Whole Picture. Terms, Concepts, Applications and Interactive Multimedia. New York: Telecom Books. Wolcott, L. (1996). Distant, but not distanced: a learner-centred approach to distance education. TechTrends, 41(5), 23-27.
2022 AAMDSIF RESEARCH PROPOSAL APPLICATION GUIDELINES Mission Statement: AAMDSIF supports, educates and connects patients, caregivers and health professionals worldwide on bone marrow failure diseases. It promotes and invests in collaborative clinical research to accelerate the discovery of better treatments and cures for aplastic anemia, MDS, PNH and related bone marrow failure diseases. Summary The Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation, Inc. (AAMDSIF) is pleased to offer research grants to investigators dedicated to studying bone marrow and advancing the understanding, prevention and treatment of the following bone marrow disorders in both pediatric and adult populations: * Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) * Aplastic Anemia (focus on acquired) o MDS transition to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) o Includes Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML) * Overlap between Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MDS/MPN) * Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) * Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) and Clinical Cytopenia of Undetermined Significance (CCUS) as it relates to the development of these conditions. * Pure Red Cell Aplasia (PRCA) Grants in the amount of $60,000 over two years (30K each year) will be awarded to eligible national and international researchers for qualified projects. Background Since 1989, the AAMDSIF has provided financial support to research that leads to new insights into the causes of bone marrow failure diseases and to the development of new therapeutic approaches. The 2022 program will accept applications in these types of research: * Basic research * Pre-clinical research (e.g. drug development) * Translational research * Early stage clinical research * Health services research/epidemiology Applicant eligibility To be eligible to apply for a research grant, an applicant must hold a Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Osteopathy, Doctor of Science, or other doctoral level degree (e.g., PharmD). There are no nationality restrictions. Research may be carried out in the United States or abroad but not at a for-profit laboratory in the private sector. The project must represent independent research conducted by the applicant. Members of the AAMDSIF Scientific and Medical Advisory Board are not eligible to apply for a grant, and may sponsor no more than 1 applicant during any given round. Preference will be given to New Investigators who propose a project that will contribute toward their professional development in bone marrow failure disease research. New Investigators are post-doctoral fellows, instructors, and those who have been assistant professors for fewer than five (5) years. Project eligibility The Foundation is interested in funding research across the spectrum of basic and clinical science, but highest priority is for studies that have the potential to impact prevention, diagnosis, risk-stratification, treatment, or complications from transplantation for these diseases in the near term. Examples of this type of research include but are not limited to: * Discovery of biomarkers predicting response or resistance to existing therapies. * Late-stage pre-clinical research, with a goal of establishing proof-of-concept for a novel therapy * Correlative science on patient samples collected from clinical trials, to inform understanding of therapeutic mechanisms. * Basic research that reveals new mechanisms of disease likely to benefit patients * Genetics of bone marrow failure conditions including both inherited and acquired mutations Investigators should be prepared to provide a rationale for the research as related to a gap in evidence for the proposed project. Applicants should clearly explain why the proposed research will address an important question that has not been answered by previous research. Review Process An NIH-model peer-review process is used to evaluate applications. Reviewers include members of the AAMDSIF Scientific Medical Advisory Board as well as ad hoc reviewers. It is the AAMDSIF policy not to reveal the names of the individuals who have reviewed the specific application. Awards are based on the scientific quality of the research plan, the relevance of the proposed research to the AAMDSIF's goals, the applicant's qualifications, and the quality of the research institution and facility where the research will be conducted. The quality and support of the research mentor also will be considered. In addition, the following criteria will be considered by reviewers: * The likelihood that the goals of the proposal are attainable with the funding from AAMDSIF; * The translational nature of the research and whether the findings can be rapidly applied to benefit patients in the near term (e.g. within 3 years); * The project is independent research and not part of a large, multi-funded study; * The likelihood that the project will contribute toward the professional development of the researcher. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS Important Dates Letters of Intent Open: April 1, 2022 Letters of Intent Due: May 31, 2022 Applications Due: October 17, 2022 Notification of Award: December 1, 2022 Begins: January 1, 2023 Letters of Intent (LOI) Letters of intent (LOI) will be accepted from potential applicants. The LOI deadline is May 31, 2022 and must be submitted via be submitted via the online grant application portal proposalCENTRAL, https://proposalcentral.altum.com/. The LOI should be no more than 3 pages, 10-12 pt. font and 1.5 line spacing. A comprehensive LOI should contain: * Introduction * Project Description/Methodology * Evidence gap (Statement of Need) * Description of Research Site and Qualifications * Budget (based on 2 year award) * Mentor Qualifications * Summary/Conclusion Application Select applicants will be invited to submit full proposals, based on review of the letters of intent. Applications will be due October 17, 2022, and must be submitted via the online grant portal proposalCENTRAL. https:// proposalcentral.altum.com/ ProposalCENTRAL New applicants will be asked to create a profile in ProposalCENTRAL, inclusive of intuitional name and other identifying information. Applicants will be guided through the application process that includes: * Title page * Institution and Contacts * Applicant/PI information * Abstract * Organizational Assurances * Budget Summary * Sponsorship (Mentor) Information * Three letters of recommendation * Proposal Attachments (Project description and methodology) * Signature Pages Use of Funds Successful applicants can be funded up to $60,000 for two years ($30,000 each year, with second-year funding pending approved progress in the first year). Grant funds may be used only to support the direct costs of research and indirect costs of up to 10% of the grant. Grant funds may not be used for purchase of permanent equipment (defined as equipment expected to last at least three years and computer hardware) or for repair or service contract costs for institutional equipment; the construction or renovation of facilities; furniture; salaries of collaborators at other institutions; honoraria; membership dues; subscriptions; books; or journals. Allowable use of grant funds includes salary for the principal investigator and for scientific personnel directly engaged in the research project at the principal investigator's institution; consumable supplies, disposables, and animals necessary to fulfill the project's specific aims; and travel necessary to conduct research or to present the results of the research at appropriate scientific or medical meetings sponsored by non-profit associations. The maximum amount of funds expendable for travel is $2,000 per year. Travel funded by this grant must be completed during the funding period. Grantees are required to present a poster of their work during the AAMDSIF Scientific Symposium that occurs during the two year period of the grant. These symposia occur biannually, and are attended by leading researchers in the field of hematology/oncology. For non-US based investigators, a separate travel stipend may be available upon request. Support from Other Sources An applicant may not apply for, use, or accept AAMDSIF funds for a research project or part of a project already supported by the AAMDSIF. Accordingly, full disclosure of all available and pending funds for research support must be made in the budget included with the grant application. If funds from other sources become available to the applicant during the review or tenure of an AAMDSIF research grant, the principal investigator must inform the AAMDSIF in writing. The AAMDSIF and its advisors will then make a decision about the continuation of the research award. Grant Payments Checks are made payable to the grantee's institution and are issued quarterly. The institution's financial officer should establish an account from which research expenses may be paid under the terms of the approved award. No funds will be released before receipt by the AAMDSIF of a signed copy of the Notice of Award. Additionally, the AAMDSIF reserves the right to withhold payments for failure to meet the Foundation's reporting requirements outlined in this document and the Notice of Award. Expenditures beyond the Grant Period Expenditures may not be made against a grant after its expiration date except with prior authorization in writing from the AAMDSIF. At the termination of the grant unexpended funds may, under exceptional circumstances, be used for an approved period of time. The grantee must request in writing such an extension of the use of grant funds. The request must state the amount of unexpended funds and how those funds will be used during the extension period. In addition, the grantee must provide a detailed justification satisfactory to the AAMDSIF and its Scientific Medical Advisory Board. Such a request must be made no later than two (2) weeks after the termination date of the award. Change in Status The continued use of grant funds following any change in the status of the principal investigator requires approval in writing by the AAMDSIF. Such changes include, but are not limited to, a move by the investigator to a new institution, the institution's withdrawal from the project, the investigator's termination from the institution, or an absence of the grantee longer than six weeks. Because the grant is awarded to the investigator and not to the institution, upon approval by the AAMDSIF, grant funds remain with the principal investigator. Should the Foundation not approve the use of funds following the change of status, a financial report and progress report must be sent via electronic mail four weeks following the Foundation's decision. The progress report must justify the spending to date and will be reviewed by the Scientific Medical Advisory Board. All funds not spent before the investigator's change in status must be returned within six weeks following the Foundation's decision not to approve the use of funds following the change of status. Funds that are found by the Scientific Medical Advisory Board to be spent without justification must also be returned. Cancellation of Grant If, for any reason the grantee must relinquish the award, s/he must notify the AAMDSIF in writing within two weeks of the decision to relinquish the award. The AAMDSIF reserves the right to discontinue a grant if circumstances render the grantee unqualified and/or unable to perform under the terms and conditions of this policy and the Notice of Award. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, loss of license, conviction of a crime in relation to research or clinical activities, or withdrawal of insurance. Failure to submit a progress report by the specified deadline will result in withdrawal of funding. Reports A financial report form will be mailed to the grantee's financial officer with a copy of the award letter. The completed form must be returned to the AAMDSIF within twelve (12) weeks after the termination date of the award. A detailed mid-project progress report must be submitted to AAMDSIF by November 30, 2023; the report should explain how the research results have to date met the objectives established in the application. The report must be reviewed and approved by the AAMDSIF's Scientific Medical Advisory Board in order to receive the second year of funding. In addition, a one-page summary of the above information in lay language intended for patients must be submitted at the same time. The Foundation may use the summary in its website, newsletters, annual reports, social media venues and other material. A final report is due to the AAMDSIF six weeks after the close of the award period (December 31 of the second year). The report will include an outline as well as a detailed discussion of the work performed, results (particularly as they compare to the objectives established in the application), and future plans for related research. Reprints of any publication written by the grant recipient and relating to the work performed during the award period must be included. Additionally, a one-page summary of the above information in lay language intended for patients must be submitted. The Foundation may use the summary in its website, newsletters, annual reports, and other material. Publications and Oral Presentations All manuscripts on findings produced with assistance from the research grant must be submitted to the AAMDSIF within one month of publication. Recipients must cite support from the AAMDSIF in all published work and in all oral presentations that relate to findings produced with assistance from the research grant. For a period of 10 years post-award, the grantee is responsible for forwarding to AAMDSIF, a copy of published material directly resulting from the funded work. AAMDSIF will perform a yearly follow-up with all grantees to establish a record of funded publications and additional funding awarded since receipt of AAMDSIF grant. Grantees are strongly encouraged to publish material on open source venues when possible, to allow patients the greatest access possible to findings funded through their donations. Human and/or Animal Subjects/Tissues When human subjects or tissues are to be used in a research project, it is the responsibility of the grantee and the institution to ensure that the institution has on file: * A complete copy of the research protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board with oversight on human subjects and a copy of that Board's current approval notice (or, for research conducted outside of the United States, the equivalent of an IRB), and * A copy of the informed consent form(s) to be used by patients. When animals and/or animal tissues are used, it is the responsibility of the grantee and the institution to ensure that the institution has a complete copy of the institution's animal care and use committee approval on file. A copy of these documents must also be submitted with the application or delivered upon notice of award and before grant funds are transmitted. 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Consequences of belowground induced defence WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITEIT/ WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY LABORATORIUM VOOR ENTOMOLOGIE/ LABORATORY OF ENTOMOLOGY Consequences of belowground induced defence Alteration of aboveground plant-insect relations in response to herbivory by root chewing insect larvae (Agriotes lineatus) in cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) No. 05-04 Naam/Name: Jelle W. Duindam Periode/Period: 8-'04 to 2-'05 1 e Examinator: dr. F. Wäckers 2 e Examinator: prof. M. Dicke Contents Summary Plants are frequently exposed to both root- and foliar insect herbivores. Nevertheless, the interaction between aboveground (AG) and belowground (BG) systems is rarely studied. Plants are able to defend themselves against herbivorous attackers by means of many different mechanisms; local vs systemic, constitutive vs inducible and direct vs indirect. Belowground herbivores have demonstrated to be able to change direct and indirect plant defense aboveground. Recent studies in cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) have shown increased foliar terpenoid aldehyde levels in response to BG-herbivores, which reduces palatability and fitness of herbivores. Furthermore a systemic increase in extrafloral nectar (EFN) production has been found. We conducted several experiments addressed to the question how BG-herbivory can affect aboveground plant-insect relations. Cotton plants (G. herbaceum) were exposed to seven root-feeding insect larvae (Agriotes lineatus) inoculated prior to the experiments. Cotton produces EFN as a putative indirect defensive mechanism, as natural enemies, mainly ants, are attracted by this nutritional food source. In a factorial field experiment insect numbers were recorded over time on cotton plants exposed to root herbivores and control plants. The previously reported increased EFN secretion induced by root herbivory was not reflected in a higher number of insects visiting the plants. The expected increment in number of plant beneficials (ants) and subsequently lower number of herbivores (aphids) was also not observed to be influence by the plant treatment. We discuss the fact if plants actually displayed higher nectar secretions under conditions suboptimal to the plants Furthermore is interpretation of our results arguable since the experiment was conducted with a nonnatural system. The effect of BG-induced increment in foliar terpenoids on herbivore behaviour was determined in a bioassay. Under greenhouse conditions the feeding pattern of a leaf feeding larvae was recorded. One individual lepidopteran larva Helicoverpa armigera was allowed to feed on a plant exposed to root herbivory in the presence of an undamaged alternative individual. Our data suggests no lower food consumption of the larvae on the BGdamaged plants, nor an effect on larval growth rate. Increased terpenoid levels have shown to deter larvae of generalist lepidoptera and have demonstrated to decrease its fitness. Therefore we question if terpenoid levels were actually increased during the experiment. In cotton, the composition of volatile emission spectrum changes in response to aboveground herbivory. This is regarded to serve as a indirect defense mechanism as these cues are exploited by parasitoids in search for potential hosts. However, there is increasing evidence that also herbivores might exploit these volatile signals. We studied the possibility of BG herbivory to manipulate the volatile emission spectrum aboveground, which is to our knowledge, a novel aspect in linking the below- and aboveground plant compartments. In a bioassay an attempt was made to test preference of ovipositing females of Spodoptera exigua towards a BG-induced and an undamaged control cotton plant. However, these generalist herbivores didn't show any preference. In all cases a higher proportion of eggs was deposited on the cage instead of on either of the two plants. We discuss the use of generalist herbivores in these choice tests. Furthermore we conducted a volatile odor collection (VOC) from cotton plants subjected to AG, BG and simultaneous above- and belowground herbivory over time. Additionally, plants subjected to the latter two treatments were offered to the specialist parasitoid Microplites croceipes in a dual-choice flight response experiment. Overall, this experiment remains inconclusive, as our VOC's, analysed by GC-MS, showed a level of backround air contamination too high to draw conclusions. Furthermore showed our wasps a level of flight response considered to be too low of to address any preference. Despite our results, it is likely that effects of changed plant defense, direct as well as indirect, induced by root herbivory, has the capacity to influence multitrophic interactions aboveground. Nonetheless, we discuss the ecological relevance of previously discovered mechanisms in BG-induced AG plant defense. So far, most of the effects of BG herbivores were demonstrated under, for the plant, optimal conditions. In contrast to the greenhouse, plants in nature have to cope with competitors and endure far from optimal conditions, which can alter its strategy in resistance against herbivore attackers. Therefore we plead for more large-scale manipulative field experiments that are required to fully understand the importance of root herbivores. Awareness of the existence and knowledge about mechanisms linking above- and belowground plant compartments has the potential to provide new areas for research on the ecology and evolution of plants. Key words: Gossypium herbaceum; Agriotus lineates; Helicoverpa armigera; Microplitis croceipes; Spodoptera exigua; multitrophic interactions; inducible defense; protective mutualism; extrafloral nectar; terpenoids; belowground herbivory; volatiles; oviposition Introduction Much of surface of our planet is covered with vegetation. This implies that either herbivores are too few in number to reduce plant cover significantly, or, more logical, plants seem to be able to defend themselves sufficiently against potential herbivores. The diversity in organisms having a direct plant-based diet is impressive. Plant consuming organisms range from large mammalian browsers consuming whole plants in a single bite, to small hemipterans parasitising on the vascular transport system. Because insects make up a very large fraction of biomass of life on earth and, additionally, possess enormous diversity, these smaller herbivores pose the biggest threat for plant survival (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). Although it seems obvious that herbivores can have a considerable negative effect on plant fitness, the consequences of herbivore feeding are usually not fatal. In reaction to the almost inevitable contact with plant-eating species, plants have evolved traits that defend them against, or make them tolerate, damaging effects of herbivores (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). In response, also herbivore species have evolved offensive and adaptive mechanisms that allow them to circumvent plant defences and enhance exploitation of a host plant (Karban and Agrewal, 2002). This systematic arms-race between phytophagous organisms and host plants has led to the enormous diversity in plant defence traits as well as herbivore offensive tactics as we know it today and which has fascinated scientists for generations. Induced plant response The diversity of plant parasites and predators has several consequences for the methods in which plants protect themselves. A resistance mechanism effective against one herbivore may be ineffectual or even beneficial for another herbivore species. This suggests that plant defence mechanisms may be directed to universal efficacy instead of specificity against certain herbivorous groups. Generally taken, this is the case concerning constitutive and preformed plant defence expression. The latter indicates defence that is only controlled on the level of preformed precursors, but also functions nearly independent of damage. A high level of these defences should be beneficial in circumstances where likelihood of attack is high or rapid response is vital (Zangerl and Rutledge, 1996; Karban and Baldwin, 1997). The problem with this uniform, fixed approach in defence tactics is that, as already mentioned, a plant becomes really vulnerable to herbivores that overcome the static defence barrier. Moreover, a constant level of high resistance is accompanied by a constant resource allocation to defence even in periods when no herbivores are present (Agrawal and Karban, 1999). Finally, possible autotoxic effects during storage and release of these defence compounds can be accompanied by negatively effects on plant fitness (Agrawal and Karban, 1999). Only recently it is recognized that many of the traits and processes that defend plants against herbivores actively change after herbivore attack. Instead of having no control or control on preformed precursor level only, plants are able to respond dynamically and specifically to damage inflicted by certain herbivores and pathogens (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). Induced synthesis of defence compounds, regulation on transcriptional level, in response to phytohpage attack has been observed in many different plant species (Dicke, 1999). It involves specific signal transduction pathways which are activated in response to specific herbivore cues (see box 1). According to Karban and Baldwin (1997), these so-called induced responses can be grouped in two categories which are not mutually exclusive. Responses that reduce primarily herbivore survival, reproductive output or plant preference are summarised in the term 'induced resistance'. Responses that primarily decrease plants fitness losses without by definition negatively affecting the herbivores are called 'induced defence'. The latter also includes induced plant tolerance and compensatory responses as (re-)allocation of resources (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). As one herbivore species feeding on a host plant induces specific detrimental resistance compounds which may be beneficial for another species, it has to be mentioned that the terminology described above becomes unpractical. In a multitrophic perspective, plant fitness depends on the total balance of costs and benefits of inducing a particular compound (Agrawal and Karban, 1999). Although the putative term 'induced response' summarises all phenotypic changes in the plant after induction (Van Dam et al., 2003), I will use the term 'induced defence' indicating any defence trait in response to plant damage. Box 1: Signal transduction Both abiotic stress as well as biotic factors, such as pathogens, arthropods, or higher organisms, may trigger different plant defence responses. Karban and Baldwin (1997) recognised five partially overlapping mechanistic models to explain how secondary metabolites change after damage. Three of these don't require any specificity in the plant's signalling system, but state that secondary metabolites accumulate in response to imbalances between growth-processes and metabolite production. The generalized stress-response theory posits a non-specific hormonally mediated centralized system of physiological responses. As many induced responses can be affected by stress-related plant hormones, these may play a role in a generalized stress response. Only the active defence response theory, which is now well recognised, posits far more specificity in response to exogenously inflicted damage. Specific cues of attacking herbivores activate plant signal transduction which control biosynthetic pathways.. Experiments revealed specific chemical changes following herbivory while no such effects were found in response to mechanical damage. Plants are able to preceipe its attacker by specific herbivore elicitors, such as components in caterpillar saliva, which have been identified as inducers triggering "the novo" synthesis of metabolic compounds resulting in a specific plant defence response (Korth and Dicon, 1997). The ability of plants to produce defensive compounds in response to infestation with herbivores requires signal processing in the plant. Many different signalling compounds have been identified; most of them are centred around different plant hormones as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (Van Poecke & Dicke, 2003). While there is still a lack of knowledge in the underlying mechanism, the major pathways involved in defence responses include the octadecanoid and the isoprenoid pathway (Dicke and Van Poeke, 2002). The latter pathway is involved in the induction of terpenoids; one of the largest and most diverse group in plants secondary compounds, involved in both direct and indirect defence (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). There are generally taken two ways in which a plant reacts to wounding on a specific plant part regarding the spatial scale of response involved. Systemic induction involves a plant response in which the damaged plant tissue may produce a signal that is transmitted uniformly throughout the plant or vary between plant parts, causing a response in plant tissue not under attack. Local induction is regarded as induced responses restricted to the same plant parts in which the damage has been inflicted (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). Recently it has been suggested that defence pathways, involved in defence against herbivores or plant pathogens, can interact. In this so-called 'crosstalk' defence-inducing signals might be transferable between roots and shoots through defence pathways. Soil pathogens could for instance, indirectly activate, or impair, the induction of defence against aboveground herbivores (Van der Putten, et al. 2001, and references sited herein). To obtain better understanding and forecast ecological consequences of these pathway interactions, which could pose a mechanism by which two spatially separated herbivores feeding from the same host plant might interact, more studies in this area are essential. General plant defensive traits Direct defence Direct defensive responses can be mediated by plant morphology, structures such as trichomes, spines and thorns, as well as plant chemicals such as toxins and repellents (Dicke and Van Poeke, 2002). Plants have been especially successful in deploying toxic and digestibility reducing chemicals as a means of discomforting herbivore attackers. This success is limited by the ability of plants cope with broadly effective chemicals as defence, which are likely to be toxic to its producer. Their exceptional anabolic capabilities, that allow them to synthesize an amazing diversity of compounds, partly overcome problems associated with storage and deployment. Second, plants exploit the fundamental physiological differences in their expression of chemicals used for defence (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). However, plants still face problems of autotoxicity. Indirect defence In contrast to a typical bottom up regulation of herbivores by direct defence, indirect defensive traits are based on a top down control of. plant detrimental organisms (Townsend et al., 2003). Predaceous and parasitic arthropods can play an important role in the regulation of herbivore populations. The term indirect response refers to those adaptations that result in the recruitment and sustenance of these carnivorous organisms that protect plants against their herbivorous attackers (Turlings and Wäckers, 2004) The two main strategies to arrest the natural enemies are by means of the production of nutritious compounds and herbivore-induced production of specific plant odours Inducible nutrition At least during part of their life cycle, most arthropod predators and parasitoids require plant-provided foods. These nutritional supplements include various plant-derived substrates like extra floral nectar (EFN), food bodies, pollen and certain honeydews (Wäckers, 2005). Obligatory consumers of plant-provided foods are (usually in the adult stage) entirely dependent on non-prey food. This category includes many important herbivore antagonists like syrphid flies and many parasitoid species. A number of studies in biological pest management are aimed at increasing biodiversity and hereby conservation and stimulation of existing natural enemies in agroecosystems. The strategy of sustaining natural existing enemy populations by selectively introducing plants producing accessible (extrafloral) nectar can be a promising method to enhance efficacy of natural control (Wäckers, 2005). Facultative consumers use plant-derived food as a supplement to the consumption of prey and include many predaceous species as spiders, beetles and ants (Wäckers, 2005). In fact, ants are considered to have played a key role in the coevolution of a range of food-mediated plant-insect mutualisms and are regarded as the most common plant defenders (Koptur, 1992). Early published examples of indirect responses involved intimate ant-plant relations, in which myrmecophilous plants have evolved a range of adaptations providing ants with both protective structures (domatia) as well as various food sources (Belt, 1874; Janzen, 1966). These food providing structures also seem to be partly inducible as the amount of nectar producing glands was shown to be increase after herbivore damage in broad bean, Vicia faba (Mondor and Addicott, 2003). Wound-induced changes in the secretion as well as in chemical composition of EFN have also been observed on other systems (Wäckers et al., 2001). Both in cotton and in castor damaged leaf secreted higher levels of EFN, hereby guiding ants to the leaf under attack. Furthermore, also changes in amino acid contents, particularly towards those attractive to many ant species, have been observed in response to leaf feeder activity (Smith et al., 1990). In return, ants provide protection against herbivores, by defending their sugar source and removing herbivores as food for their offspring. While extrafloral nectar usually falls short from providing essential amino acids, it forces ants to seek out supplementary protein sources, thereby stimulating predation (Smith et al., 1990). It is now recognised that the dominant ant species are largely consumers of plant-derived carbohydrates (Tobin, 1994). Only the larvae depend on protein-rich food, as mature stages survive mostly on sugar-rich plant-provided nutrition (Boevé and Wäckers, 2003) (Tobin, 1994). Inducible volatile signals Entomophagous arthropod foraging consists of a series of behavors that are affected by information from the surroundings. Besides visual information (Wäckers and Lewis, 1999) parasitoids utilize, mainly (volatile) chemicals as sources of information. In all stages of actively prey or host searching and selection described as: 1) habitat or host community location, 2) microhabitat location and acceptance, 3) host location and acceptance, chemical information plays an essential role (Dicke et al., 1990). These infochemicals emitted by herbivores and their products could pose reliable information for foraging carnivores. However, direct detection of potential prey is minimized as herbivorous arthropods have been under natural selection to avoid emission of volatile cues that enhance their detectability. Furthermore phytophagous arthropods constitute only a relatively small amount of biomass compared to their host plant. Indirect detection, mediated by volatiles released by plants damaged by herbivores is now a well recognised phenomenon (e.g. (Sabelis et al., 1984; Dicke and Vet, 1999). Plants actively send these so-called synomones (Dicke and Sabelis, 1988) giving information essential for successful location of herbivores by carnivores. By increasing the hunting efficiency of natural herbivore enemies, which learned to associate emitted plant-derived volatiles with prey (Turlings et al., 1993), the plant is able to increase its fitness by lowering potential feeding damage (Dicke and Sabelis, 1990). However, it has been demonstrated that these defence volatiles can also have a negative side effect for the plant. Volatile cues can be exploited by herbivorous insects in both oligophagous and generalist insects (Bernays and Chapman, 1994) (see box 2). Box 2: Plant stimuli used by herbivores in host location The recognition of plants followed by the decision of selecting it as a host plant for oviposition or feeding, preformed by herbivorous insects can by divided in three different stages: 1) orientation, 2) landing and 3) assessment (Renwick, 1989). Host plant volatiles are involved at least in the first two stages, as they have shown to induce landing by various gravid insect species (Bernays and Chapman, 1994), whereas assessment of a leaf surface and trigger of oviposition is primarily based on non-volatile contact stimuli. Hence, perception of chemical cues affecting oviposition involves receptors on antennae, tarsi, mouthparts or the ovipositor. In Lepidoptera, offspring performance is regarded to be primarily based on selection of the ovipositing female for a specific host plant. Many studies have focussed on the link between the two stages (larva and adult) in Lepidopteran life cycle (Singer, 1984; Berdegue et al., 1988), but remarkably, in a high number of cases the correlation between adult host preference and offspring development appears not to be positive one (Berdegue et al., 1988; Fox and Eisenbach, 1992; Singer et al., 1994; Mulatu et al., 2004). Part of this phenomenon has been explained because the relationship between host choice and larval performance varies under different ecological conditions and selection pressures (Thompson, 1988). If we consider only the nutritional benefits as a driving factor in host preference, it would be obvious to expect the phytophagous insect, adult and larva, to choose the optimal food source for ovipostion and development. Factors of influence on of the ovipostition preference of the female moth could be: Mobility of the larvae Larvae of the highly polyphagous beet army worm (Spodoptera exigua) are very mobile (Smits et al., 1987) and able to disperse from the site of ovipostion. The effect of this could be that a higher fitness of the female moth is reached by selection based on factors improving her own survival instead of direct nutritional benefits for her offspring(Bernays and Chapman, 1994). Presence of conspecifics Where S. exigua shows gregarious behaviour, the presence of conspecific individuals or egg clutches could also be of influence on host plant selection in a way that presence of conspecific eggs stimulates ovipostion. Gregarious feeding by caterpillars appears to enhance the ability of herbivores to exploit their host plants dramatically (Denno and Benrey, 1997). The presence of feeding stages, or conspecific egg clutches may also deter gravid females from laying their eggs. Chemical mechanisms that ensure adequate spacing of progeny on limited resources include the production of ovipostion-deterring pheromones as well as recognition of plant constituents released as a result of previous damage (Renwick, 1989). Anderson and Alborn (1999) have shown that above-ground herbivore feeding of Spodoptera larva on cotton plants (G. hirsutum) can deter female adults from ovipositioning. It has to be mentioned that this effect was found only in larger plants (8 to 10 leaves), where small plants (3-4 leaves) showed the opposite effect. Natural enemies Additional stimuli that signal the presence of predators and parasitoids could be very important in host plant selection. The theory of enemy-free space (EFS) (Berdegue et al., 1996) provided by a certain host plant can drive adult moths to oviposit on plants that provide a suboptimal food source for their offspring. With high predation pressure, the trade-off between 'best food' for larvae or 'low predation risk' for adult was shown to result in a preference for a plant that provided adult EFS (Mulatu et al., 2004). This minimization of predation/parasitation risk could also be a factor which could explain the previous mentioned avoidance by adult females of plants infested with conspecific feeding stages. If cues produced by these larvae can be detected by the adult moth, chances are high that parasititoids are present as well. Herbivore offensive strategy Host specificity and female host plant choice are well correlated (Price et al., 1990). In the model of Price, he describes a dichotomy in herbivore strategies assigning causality to the quality of the resource eaten and the choosiness of ovipositing females. Specialist herbivore species which have high host specificity and hence, relatively high quality of consumed resources, tend to have choosy ovipositing females. This in contrast with, generalist species, who do no invest much energy in searching for a host plant, but instead, invest resources in reproduction resulting in high numbers of eggs randomly distributed (Price et al, 1990). Cotton The fibres produced in the seed bolls of cotton plants (Malvaceae), constitute the world's most important textile component and has led to its cultivation all over the world. Four out of fifty species are used in agriculture, including Gossypium herbaceum, a species originating from South America (Munro, 1994). Insects are one of the major limiting factors of cotton production with yield losses of over 8 percent per annum (Pedigo, 1999). Cotton is attacked by insects from planting until harvest, with nearly 100 species recorded as pests. Repeated insecticide applications caused traditionally key pests of cotton, including boll weevil [Coleoptera: Curculionidae] and pink bollworm [Lepidoptera: Gelichiidae], to be replaced by other species, particularly generalist leaf feeding insects of the genus Helicoverpa spp. [Lepidoptera: Noctuidae] (Pedigo, 1999). Besides providing the world with suitable clothing material, cotton is also widely used as a model plant in both direct- (McAuslane et al., 1997; Bezemer et al., 2003) and indirect (Röse et al., 1996; Wäckers and Wunderlin, 1999; Wäckers and Bezemer, 2003) defence studies. In the following paragraph, the broad arsenal of adaptations to herbivore attackers in cotton will be introduced. Defensive traits in cotton All cotton species in the tribe Gossypieae are characterized by their ability to produce lysigenous pigment glands in vegetative and reproductive tissues. In response to herbivory, these glands contain higher levels of gossypol and biosynthetically related terpenoid aldehydes (McAuslane,Alborn and Toth, 1997). These secondary plant metabolites have been shown to possess toxic, antinutritive, and feeding deterrent effects on many generalist-feeding lepidopterans, including Spodoptera exigua and Helicoverpa zea (Stipanovic et al., 1988). The response of cotton plants, induced by foliar feeding, was demonstrated to be systemic. Terminal, undamaged leaves from plants previously damaged by larvae contained much greater quantities of terpenoid aldehydes than control plants (McAuslane,Alborn and Toth, 1997). In addition, bioassays revealed that S. exigua larvae consumed less of these terminal leaves, containing higher levels of especially hemigossypolone, gossypol and heliocides (McAuslane et al., 2003; Bezemer et al., 2003). Besides herbivore-induced terpenoids, it is known that foliar pigment glands also contain constitutive volatile mono- and sesquiterpenes (Loughrin et al., 1994) that are continuously present in the plant and are released from damaged leaves immediately after either herbivore or artificial damage is inflicted. Pulse-labeling experiments showed that volatile compounds including several cyclic terpenes and green leaf volatiles of the lipoxygenase pathway were released from storage or synthesized from stored intermediates (Paré and Tumlinson, 1997). However, concerning these volatile compounds, it has also been demonstrated that cotton plants that have been fed on by lepidopteran larvae actively respond by systemically emitting 'de novo' synthesised volatile terpenes in greater quantities and in different blends (Röse,Manukian,Heath and Tumlinson, 1996; Paré and Tumlinson, 1997). This emission was also observed when plants were treated with exogenous methyl jasmonate (Rodriguez-Saona et al., 2001). Methyl jasmonate is a compound with similar biological properties as jasmonic acid, a plant hormone involved in many induced direct and indirect plant responses (Dicke et al., 1999). The biosynthetic routes leading to different classes of volatiles is represented in figure 1. The systemic release of these volatile semiochemicals in cotton has been shown to act as an attractant to both a generalist parasitoid (Cotesia marginiventris) and a specialist parasitoid (Microplitis croceipes) (Röse et al., 1998). Contributing to the evidence that the release of inducible terpenes really functions as a prey-indication signal for foraging natural enemies, hereby benefiting the plant by releasing it from its enemies is given by the study of Loughrin et al. (1994). It was shown in this study that the release of specific plant odours by a damaged plant follows a diurnal cycle, with peak emissions coinciding with the time of active host searching of parasitic wasps. That these induced chemical changes (volatile or non-volatile) in cotton can also affect behaviour of herbivores was shown in an experiment by Landolt (1993). A higher frequency of landings of females of the generalist cabbage looper moth (Trichoplusia ni), was observed on damaged plants compared to undamaged. However, oviposition was significantly higher undamaged cotton plants. Also gravid female moths of S. littoralis preferred undamaged cotton plants over plants that had been fed on by conspecific larvae (Anderson and Alborn, 1999). This seems to on Figure 1 The biosynthetic routes leading to three classes of volatiles (indole, terpenoids, and green leaf volatiles) that are released from cotton plants fed on by S. exigua. The squiggly arrow pointed toward isopentenyl pyrosphante represents the current uncertainty of this biosynthetic route (Eisenbreich et al., 1996). indicate that it can be important for insects to asses health and infestation status when searching for a suitable host plant for their offspring. Cotton has the ability to produce extrafloral nectar in order to accomplish a higher degree of protection by attracting and accommodating sugar dependent natural enemies. Besides constitutive extrafloral nectar production, providing a prophylactic protection, cotton plants have demonstrated to actively adjust their production in response to their biotic environment (Wäckers et al, 2001). Induced EFN production in cotton can be triggered by nectar removal (Wäckers, unpublished data) and tissue damage (Wäckers and Wunderlin, 1999; Wäckers and Bezemer, 2003). From a study by Wäckers & Wunderlin (1999) it is concluded that induction of extrafloral nectar secretion constitutes a genereral response by the plant to tissue damage. As both herbivore feeding and mechanical damage raised nectar production to similar volumes, induction does not seem to be representing a herbivore-specific mechanism. Wäckers et al. (2001) showed that the increase of EFN production in response to herbivory is primarily a local effect. It is suggested that this localized effect of raised EFN secretion may enhance the effectiveness of natural enemy recruitment as it can result in an accumulation of natural enemies on the leaf under attack (Wäckers et al, 2001). In cotton, ants are the most common plant defenders attracted by EFN (Koptur, 1992). As ants tolerate no insects near their nutritious and well predictable food source, ant attended plants have shown to result in a significant improvement in plant fitness (Cuautle and Rico-Gray, 2003). Well documented fitness benefits of ant attendance, combined with the fact that food supplements are difficult to reconcile with other functions, are convincing arguments for the interpretation that this adaptation represents an example of an indirect defensive response (Turlings and Wäckers, 2004). This aboveground induced recruitment of predators by means of induced nutrition fits well in the optimal defence theory. This theory predicts that defensive traits will be produced and allocated in a pattern that optimises the trade-off between defensive costs and benefits (Zangerl and Rutledge, 1996). Extrafloral nectar allocation patterns in cotton generally fit prediction by the optimal defence theory (Wäckers and Bonifay, 2004). However, not all types of EFN induction may be adaptive to the plant, especially when induction across the root-shoot barrier is concerned (Wäckers and Bezemer, 2003). Belowground versus aboveground induced plant defence Belowground insect herbivory has received relatively little attention in the ecological literature, despite the fact that subterranean herbivores are very common and can be quite damaging. Field experiments showed that suppression of root boring moth larvae could increase mean cumulative seed production by 28% and survival by 18% (Maron, 1998). Moreover, there is increasing awareness of the importance of belowground herbivores in the structure and function of ecological communities by for example limiting species in reaching high cover abundances (Masters, 2004). It is believed that in some cases escape from its specific soil dwelling phytophages, mainly causes an introduced exotic species to become established and subsequently invasive (Müller-Schärer et al., 2004). Despite the fact that, in nature, all plants are almost constantly exposed to simultaneous above- and belowground herbivores (Van der Putten et al., 2001), induced plant responses have mainly been studied in their aboveground parts (Karban and Baldwin, 1997). Recently, there is an increasing interest in studying the interaction of aboveground and belowground compartments as a whole, rather than isolated aboveground studies (Bezemer et al, 2003; Ban Dam et al., 2003; Wäckers and Bezemer, 2003). It is acknowledged that insects can interact when feeding in different compartments on a shared host plant (Masters and Brown, 1992), but the extent to which interactions of this sort has its effects on above- and belowground plant fitness is still poorly known (Maron, 1998). The indirect interaction between below- and aboveground organisms is mediated by their common host plant. Although I will focus in this report primarily on root feeding organisms as the belowground counterpart, it has to be mentioned that the existing studies included several different functional groups like mycorrhizal fungi (Van der Figure 2. Basic interaction scheme of above- and belowground multitrophic interactions. Straight lines are direct effects; dashed lines are indirect effects. Question marks refer to effects that are largely unknown. In plants, direct defence aboveground has been studied much more than direct defence belowground. Examples of root-carnivore interactions are extremely rare (Van der Putten et al., 2001). Putten et al., 2001) and soil detrivores and decomposers (Wurst and Jones, 2003) with which aboveground herbivores can indirectly interact. Current knowledge about basic interactions below – and aboveground is given in a schematic diagram (figure 2) according to Van der Putten (2001). Within the systems studied in linking above- and belowground insect herbivores, only one studied the impact on parasitoid behaviour (percentage of parasitism or number of parasitoids per plant). In a field study, population abundances of both parasitoids and it's host were greater on plants subjected to root herbivory (Masters et al., 2001). Root herbivory may cause physiological changes within the host plant leading to a change in the nutrient (C:N) balance (Masters et al., 1993). As roots are essential for taking up water and nutrients, the activities of root herbivores may induce a water stress response, which is known to lead to the accumulation of soluble amino acids and carbohydrates in foliage (Gange and Brown, 1989) (Masters et al., 1993). It is suggested that this is the mechanism causing root feeders to have a positive effect on the foliar feeder and its parasitiods. However, recent studies on cotton have shown that below- and aboveground interactions are not only the consequence of a physiological change in primary chemistry (C:N balance), but can also mediated by the plant defence system. Several compounds involved in aboveground defence are actually produced (primarily) in the roots including terpenoids as gossypol in cotton. Root herbivory by Agriotes lineatus resulted in an increase in terpenoid levels in the foliage (Bezemer et al., 2003; Bezemer et al., 2004). This resulted in lower performance of the foliage feeding insect Spodoptera exigua feeding on cotton plants previously exposed to the root herbivore (Bezemer et al., 2003). Also the distribution of plant defenses aboveground were influenced. Root herbivory resulted in an overall increase in secondary plant compounds, in contrast to foliar damage which showed only locally increased level of terpenoids, mainly in the costly immature foliage. However, the level of induction after root herbivory was much lower compared to foliar herbivory. Furthermore, plants exposed to root herbivory also had significantly higher levels of terpenoid aldehydes in root tissue, while no such effect was found following foliar herbivory. Additionally, plants simultaneously exposed to root and foliar herbivory appeared to induce primarily above-ground at the cost of belowground defence (Bezemer et al, 2004). Concerning belowground induced indirect defence in cotton, recent studies showed that extrafloral nectar secretion can also be stimulated by root herbivore feeding. Cotton plants (Gossypium herbaceum) showed a nectar production 18 times higher in plants fed on by the root chewing herbivore (A. lineatus) compared to undamaged control plants (Wäckers and Bezemer, 2003). In contrast to aboveground induction, resulting in a local increase in EFN production of the damaged leaf, belowground induction caused a systemic increased level of nectar production in all leaves (unpublished data Lommen & Wäckers, 2002). In the same experiment, exposure to both above and belowground herbivores resulted in an intermediate response, showing a systemic raise in nectar production with a peak at the damaged leaf. As it is shown in several studies that cotton leaves are also protected indirectly by systemic release of herbivore-induced volatiles that attract natural enemies of herbivores (Röse et al, 1996; Röse et al, 1998; Rodriguez-Saona et al., 2001), no study has been carried out on the effect of belowground herbivory on volatile emission spectrum. In this study we intend to determine the ecological consequences of belowground induction on aboveground plant-insect interactions. We conducted several experiments investigating the effect of both direct and indirect induced defences by root herbivores on aboveground insects in cotton. These consisted of a comparative field study, three preference tests including a larvae (feeding) and adult (oviposition) and parasitoid (flight response). The latter was tested by simultaneously collection with volatile emissions. 1. Field study In a factorial field experiment, we investigated the possible effects of root herbivory on insect visitation of extrafloral nectaries in cotton plants. This study primarily focussed on the change in EFN production and distribution pattern over the plants following belowground attack. As Wäckers & Bezemer (2003) showed a dramatical increase in EFN production in response to root herbivory, we hypothesised this could also be reflected in the number of insect visitors depending on sugar as a carbohydrate source. As it is assumed that EFN secretion is part of an indirect defence strategy, it might result in higher numbers of plant beneficials (predators and parasitoid), and consequential lower numbers of herbivorous species. Furthermore, it was shown that this belowground induction is be systemic throughout the plant (unpublished data Lommen & Wäckers, 2002). We hypothesise that this might also be reflected in the distribution of insects on the plant. To investigate this, cotton plants (Gossypium herbaceum) grown in a greenhouse were exposed to the root chewing parasite (Agriotus lineatus) and transported immediately to a field site in Heteren (Holland). Recordings of insect activity and distribution over the leaves were carried during 16 days. Special attention was given to plant beneficial organisms, including ants and parasitic wasps, visiting the EFN glands. As ants tend to attack food competitors near their nutritious food source(Cuautle and Rico-Gray, 2003), the experiment was also carried out with plants on which ants were excluded. Ants are, besides EFN also attracted to sugar-rich honeydew producing sternorrhynchae species including homopterans like aphids. In this ant-homopteran mutualism, the ants protect the sap-sucking aphids in exchange for a nutritional reward, which is essentially a waste product of their sugar-rich diet of phloem sap (Gaume et al., 1998). However, when both EFN and honeydew are available as a carbohydrate source, foraging theory predicts that consumers will sometimes ignore low-quality food items when higher-quality items are readily available (Charnov, 1976; Engel et al., 2001). As in belowground induced cotton plants, EFN might be superior in quantity to honeydew, aphids will suffer more predation which will ultimately result in lower numbers of aphids. Conclusively we hypothesise that: Aphid infestation will be higher in plants where ants are excluded On belowground attacked cotton plants with ant access, aphid infestation will be lower compared to control plants. 2. Herbivore feeding preference It was shown that herbivory, belowground, aboveground and in combination, resulted in an increase in terpenoid levels in roots and foliage in cotton. This resulted in reduced herbivore performance and even changed feeding distribution pattern (Croxford et al., 1989; Bezemer,Wagenaar,Dam and Wäckers, 2003). We hypothesise that induced plants may stimulate feeding stages to leave the plant. In a bioassay, one belowground induced and one undamaged control plants will be offered to a single generalist herbivore Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Spatial feeding pattern over the two plants will be recorded. 3. Herbivore ovipostion preference In nature, the consequences of local or systemically increased terpenoid production (volatile or nonvolatile) in response to herbivory may actually act also in another way. In Lepidoptera, a female in search of a suitable host plant, the herbivore-induced volatiles emitted form potential host plants could be important for avoiding oviposition sites with high risk of competition, parasitation or predation. Furthermore, it has been shown that food quality can be poor in a previously (above and belowground) attacked plant, due to induced defence (Bezemer, et al., 2003). Behavioural studies show that ovipositing females of S. littoralis distinguish between undamaged cotton plants and plants damaged by feeding of conspecific larvae (Anderson and Alborn, 1999). We hypothesise that undamaged cotton plants will be preferred over belowground induced individuals by ovipositing female moths. In a two-choice bioassay individual gravid moths (S. exigua) were given the opportunity to oviposit on a belowground attacked or an undamaged cotton plant. 4. Belowground induced emission of volatile semiochemicals a. Volatile collection As already mentioned, several studies have demonstrated that cotton plants that have been fed on by lepidopteran larvae actively respond by systemically emitting 'de novo' synthesised volatile terpenes (Röse,Manukian,Heath and Tumlinson, 1996; Paré and Tumlinson, 1997). Compounds systemically released and specifically induced by caterpillar feeding were (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (E)-β-ocimene, linalool, (E)-β-farnesene, (E,E)-α-farnesene, (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene and (E)4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene. The latter two homoterpenes are regarded as a strong attractant for several carnivorous and parasitic arthropods as the are observed to be induced by herbivory in several other plant species in addition to cotton (Dicke and Sabelis, 1990). As belowground herbivory alone and in concert with foliar feeding has demonstrated to induce terpenoid levels aboveground, it may well be that also the emission of volatiles is changed. Could simultaneous belowground and aboveground feeding change aboveground volatile emission? It may well be that these plants exert a shorter lag-time of induction or produce higher levels or just a different blend of volatile signals. This could also involve a change in the behavour of foraging parasitic wasps.To our knowledge, only one study has been conducted to systemic release of root herbivoreinduced plant volatiles. This study, involving a system of root-feeding larva (Delia radecum) on cabage plants, demonstrated that belowground induced plants were systemically producing parasitoidattracting volatiles (Neveu et al., 2002). b. Flight response of parasitoid Furthermore, it is imaginable that the aboveground SOS signals are increased when a plant is confronted with enemies at two spatially separated fronts. In accordance with the optimal defence theory (Zangerl and Rutledge, 1996), indirect defence aboveground might be intensified in order to minimise damage on valuable photosynthetic tissue. To investigate the effect of belowground herbivores, cotton produced volatiles were collected over time from individual plants attacked by either root herbivores, foliar feeders or both. Specific attention will be given to compounds already shown to be induced systemically in response to aboveground feeding. In addition, plants attacked in both root and shoot are tested for parasitoid attraction against plants only fed on by an aboveground herbivore only. Materials and Methods Plants Cotton plants (Gossypium herbaceum (L.)) [Malvaceae] were grown in a climate controlled greenhouse at 60% RH, 16L:8D; daytime temperature 23°C (± 1°C ); night time 18°C (± 1°C ). Daylight was supplemented by 400 W metal halide bulbs (1 per 1,5 m 2 ). Each cotton seedling was grown individually in square (13x13cm) containers, filled with 1,5 dm 3 of a 50:40:10 peat/sand/clay mixture. Plants were watered tree times a week. Belowground plant induction treatment (BG) Belowground induction of cotton plants was obtained by allowing wireworms, larvae of click beetles [Coleoptera, Elateridea], to feed on the roots. Wireworms are generalist root-feeding larvae with a larval developmental time of 3 to 5 years. They are considered as pest species in cultivation of various crops including wheat (Blot et al., 1999), potatoes (Jansson and Lecrone, 1991), sugarcane (Samson and Calder, 2003) and cotton (Anonymous, 1996). Wireworms of the species Agriotes lineatus were collected at a pasture near Wageningen, the Netherlands, at a density of approximately 50 individuals per m 2 . After each experiment, larvae were recovered from the containers by hand sorting roots and soil. Subsequently, they were placed in moist soil at 15°C and fed with potato, so that they could be reused for following experiments. In order to allow the plant to respond, root herbivores were always introduced 7 days before the start of the experiments. This introduction was carried out by placing 7 late instar individuals on the soil surface, allowing them to burrow into the soil. Prior to introduction, larvae, were starved for four days During greenhouse experiments, the activity of root feeding insects was checked by analysing the EFN production of individual plants fed on by wireworms, compared to undamaged control plants. Wäckers and Bezemer (2003) showed that in response to wireworm feeding activity, EFN production increased significantly compared to the control plant, within the first week. To confirm belowground induction, EFN was removed 4 days after wireworm were introduced. After 48 hours EFN was again collected and weighted using methodology described in Wäckers and Bezemer (2003). 1. Field experiment On the 9th of August 2004, 40 cotton plants with 6 true leaves were transferred in their containers to a research field in Heteren (Holland), after having been grown in the greenhouse for 4 weeks. In order to investigate the effects of belowground feeding and ant attendance on aboveground plant-insect interactions, plants were divided in four groups with each group given a different treatment (table 1). Plants were positioned in a single row, grouped in blocks and ordered per treatment respective to the order in table 1. Ants were excluded with a water barrier, by placing the container on one disc placed in a second filled with water. Table 1: Block design of plant treatments in field experiment \| +A+W \| + \| \|---\|---\| \| -A-W \| - \| \| +A-W \| + \| \| -A+W \| - \| Monitoring of insect activity, abundance per plant per leaf, was carried out by inspecting all leaves of each plant 12 times during the 19 days following wireworm inoculation. Insects were collected using an exhauster and put in vials containing 70% alcohol to be identified in the lab. The recordings of numbers of insects visiting the extrafloral nectaries were square root transformed before analyses using repeated measures analyses of variance (RMANOVA). The distribution of the insects over the leaves was characterized by its centre of gravity and its mean deviation from the centre, which were defined respectively as: Again effects of the different treatments on the distribution of total insect numbers and ant attendance were analysed using RMANOVA's. 2. Herbivore feeding preference In order to determine feeding preference of the generalist larva Helicoverpa armigera [Lepidoptera: Noctuidae], a bioassay was conducted in which aboveground herbivores were offered both a belowground induced plant and an alternative plant. Two cotton plants (G. herbaceum) of same developmental stage (7 true leaves) were placed in large meshed cylindrical cages (height 1 meter, diameter 35 cm). We discriminated two different sets of plant pairs: control pairs (C) in which none of the plants were belowground induced and BG-pairs, in which one of the plants was fed on by root herbivores. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with the same climate regime as the chamber in which cotton plants had been grown. Larvae were obtained from an established culture maintained at 25°C (+/- 1°C) with RH of 70% and reared on a cornflower-based diet (Elzinga et al., 2002). Prior to the experiment, the culture was reared one generation on excised cotton leaves. In both pairs (C and BG) a pre-weighed 4th instar larva was introduced on the third true leaf of one of the two plants. Within BG-pairs, larvae were placed on the belowground induced plant, in the C-pairs on a marked, random plant. Larvae were allowed to move freely over the two plants during the following 5 days, after which larvae were removed and weighing was repeated. Spatial feeding pattern of H. armigera was analysed by recording the amount of feeding holes and analysing the total area consumed per leaf per plant. All leaves were photocopied and numbered per plant according to increasing age. A leaf-area scanner was used to determine number of feeding holes and consumed leaf area per plant. The average number of feeding hole per plant was calculated based on these parameters. The distribution of leaf consumption over the plant was characterized by its centre of gravity and its mean deviation from the centre, which were defined respectively in equation 1 and 2. Furthermore, a distinction was made between mature and young (last 3) leaves. The experiment was repeated 6 times. As our data was not normally distributed, statistical analyses was carried out using non-parametric tests (Mann Whitney-U). 3. Herbivore oviposition preference In order to determine the effect of root herbivory on ovipostition preference, adult female moths were offered two host plants with different treatments. Two-day-old gravid females of the generalist herbivore Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) [Lepidoptera: Noctuidae] were individually given the choice to deposit their eggs on a cotton control (C) or a belowground induced plant (BG) in a meshed cage (1.3x 1.3- x 1.3-m). Cotton plants (G. herbaceum) were of same developmental stage (7 true leaves) and placed in the cage in their containers at approximately 70 cm distance. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with the same climate regime as the chamber in which cotton plants had been grown. Insects were taken from an established culture maintained at 25°C (+/- 1°C) with RH of 70% and reared on a cornflower-based diet (Elzinga et al., 2002). Prior to the experiment, the culture was reared one generation on excised cotton leaves. After emergence, male and female moths were allowed to mate for two days, before introduction in the cage and allowed to oviposit the following 5 days. During the experiment, the gravid females were fed with a 1:1 honey-water solution, provided in a Petri-dish with a drenched cotton plug positioned halfway between the two cotton plants. Every day during the following 5 days, distribution and numbers of eggs as well as clusters were recorded. The experiment was repeated 10 times. 4. Belowground induced emission of volatile semiochemicals a. Volatile collection This experiment was carried out to study the effect of separate and simultaneous below- and aboveground herbivore feeding on volatile emission spectrum. Plant odors were collected from cotton plants (G. herbaceum) exposed to four different herbivore feeding treatments: * plants experiencing foliar herbivory only (AG) * undamaged cotton plants (CC) * plants exposed to both root and foliar herbivores (AG+BG) * background air (conducted with a container with soil and roots only, cotton stem was cut of just below soil surface) (BC) Volatile collection took place in a climate cabinet with a capacity of four one-month-old plants to be analyzed simultaneously. During the collection period, plants were provided with artificial light. Plants were individually placed in their containers under a cylindrical glass chamber (H:D; 50:24.5 cm), positioned on a stainless steel ring (H:D; 30:24,5 cm). Soil containers were covered with aluminum foil in order to minimize spread of soil-borne odors. The incoming airflow originated from a pressurized cylinder (L050H © , Hoekloos BV. Holland) and was cleaned by heated catalyst purification (Parker ChromGas, Model Gas generator 3500 © ). Purified incoming air was injected at the top of the cylindrical glass chamber at a rate of about 0,45 l/min. Sampling took place at a point halfway the height of the glass dome, by pulling air and emitted volatiles over a volatile collection trap at a rate of about 0,18 l/min. The remaining excess air escaped through small openings at the base of the glass chamber, causing a positive pressure which insures a barrier against incoming contaminated air. Collector traps (15 cm long x 5 mm o.d.), contained 50 mg of Super-Q (catalog no. p/n 2735; Altech Associates, Deerfield, IL) as an adsorbent. Sampling of volatiles was carried out at three times: just before foliar herbivory (t=0), as well as 48hrs and 96 hrs following onset of foliar herbivory. Glass cylinders were cleaned between daily collections by putting them overnight in a 80°C stove. Aboveground feeding damage was inflicted by exposing plants to four larvae of H. armigera (2 nd instar), introduced in two separate clip cages (2,5 cm 2 ) placed on the two lower leaves of the plant. Sides of the clip cages that touch the leaves were cushioned to prevent abrasion of the leaf and were supported by bamboo sticks. H. armigera caterpillars, used for assessing aboveground feeding damage, were reared on excised cotton leaves. Larvae were allowed to feed 48 hrs following the first volatile collection. Just before the second odor sampling, clip cages and caterpillars and any remains were gently removed by a brush. In order to exclude any effect caused by attaching the clip cage , empty clip cages were applied at the same time on undamaged control plants (CC). Analysis of volatiles Volatiles were extracted from the collector traps by washing the adsorbent with 150μl dichloromethane (VWR International, Leuven) and put in glass vials together with internal standards (n-octane and nnonyl acetate) and subsequently stored at minus 80°C. Finally samples were sent to Neuchatel on dry ice to be analyzed by a GC-MS. Volatile collections were analysed with a Hewlett Packard HP 6890 (Agilent 6890 Series GC system G1530A), coupled to a mass spectrometer operated in electron impact mode (Agilent 5973 Network Mass Selective Detector; transfer line 230°C, source 230°C, ionization potential 70 eV, scan range 33280 amu). A 3 μl aliquot of each sample was injected in the pulsed splitless mode onto an apolar capillary column (HP-1, 30 m, 0.25 mm ID, 0.25 μm film thickness, Alltech Associates, Inc, USA). Helium at constant pressure (18.55 psi) was used as carrier gas flow. Following injection, the column temperature was maintained at 40°C for 3 min and then increased to 100°C at 8°C/min and subsequently to 200°C at 5°C/min followed by a post-run of 5 min at 250°C. The detected compounds were quantified based on comparison of their peak area with those of the internal standards and identified by comparison of retention times with those in previous analyses (Róse et al., 1996). Compounds were identified by comparison of their mass spectra with those of the NIST 98 library and by comparison of their spectra and retention times with those of authentic standards. Collector traps were rinsed with 1,5 ml dichloromethane (VWR International, Leuven) before and after use. Concerning AG, AG+BG and CC plants, the experiment was repeated 4 times. The BC treatment was repeated 3 times with and 3 times without wireworms feeding on the root system. b. Flight response of parasitoid To study if belowground herbivory has an effect on the attractiveness of the plant to an insect of third trophic level I conducted a dual choice flight experiment. The flight response of a female parasitic wasp Microplitis croceipes [Hymenoptera: Braconidae] towards two cotton plants (AG and AG+BG) was observed within a nylon gauze covered tent (H:W:L; 2,5-:2,0-:2,7m.) located in a climatecontrolled room with the same climate regime as where cotton plants had been grown. To ensure a constant airflow from plants to the wasp release platform, an electric fan (30 cm diameter, 40W) was placed behind the nylon gauze, 30cm from the plants. Plants were placed in their containers on a table located in the tent at a mutual distance of 30cm . During the experiment, plants were switched after every 6 releases and replaced after every 12 releases. Wasps were released from a 22cm high platform, at 1m distance downwind from the cotton plants. The first landing by the wasp on either of the two plants was recorded as choice. If the wasp did not land on either plant within 3 flights or within 6 minutes, this individual was scored as 'no choice'. Cocoons of M. croceipes were obtained from the Lab of Dr Joe Lewis, USDA-ARS, Tifton GA which has an established rearing as described by Lewis & Burton (1970). Wasps were allowed to emerge in a climate-controlled room (60% RH, 16L:8D; (23 C± 1°C : 18°C (± 1°C )) in Plexiglas cage (40 x 40 x 40 cm) with one window covered with nylon gauze. Adults were fed a 1:3 sugar-water solution. In order to increase responsiveness of the parasitoids, females were allowed to antennate and parasitize a third instar H. armigera larva reared on artificial diet, within 6 minutes before release. A first flight experiment was carried out with 80 wasps using plants just after second volatile collection (after 48 hrs of herbivore feeding). Wasps which initially had been scored as 'no choice' (n=50), were tested in a second experiment under the same experimental conditions two days after their first release. To test for significant preferences in first and second dual-choice experiments I separately analyzed the data using binomial probability function. Results 1. Field experiment Total insect visitation The majority of insect visitors were belonging to the order of the Diptera and are considered neither harmful or beneficial for the plant (figure 3). Especially species belonging to the family of Sepsidae and Chloropidae were very dominant in numbers. In addition to ants, several other species considered to be beneficial for the plant including ladybirds (Coccinellidae), lacewings (Chrysopidae: both adult and larval stages) and a variety of parasitic wasps (Apocrita) (appendix 1) were recorded on the extraforal nectaries. As these nectaries are considered a being rather inconspicuous (Wäckers, 2005), it was remarkable to observe Ichneumonic species actively scanning each leaf for nectar within one hour after plants were located in the field. As we were interested in the effect of belowground herbivory on total insect visitation, only results of plants on which ants were excluded are shown. However, ants were by far not significantly affecting insect visitation. The total number of individuals recorded feeding on EFN on plants treated with root herbivores did not significantly differ from control plants (RMANOVA: F=0,59,df=1,18,p=0,45). The effect of time was significant where numbers of both treatments decrease over time. (appendix 1). Despite the fact that much of the variance is caused by within plant differences (see figure 4), our data suggest a negative effect of wireworm feeding in the long run on number of insects visitors. The value of the center of gravity of insect visitors was significantly affected by the presence of wireworms (RMANOVA: F=6,26,df=1,18,p=0,02). Our data suggests that insects tend to be more concentrated on higher leaves when the plants root system is fed on by wireworms (graph in appendix 2).Most insects were recorded around leaf position 5 (forth developed leaf) increasing in time (see top two graphs figure 5). Deviation of insect visitors around the center was not significantly affected by the presence of wireworms (appendix 2). Insignificant difference seemed to be mainly caused by high within plant variation (lower graphs figure 5). However, p-value attains significance level, suggesting more variation in insect leaf distribution when the plant is under belowground attack. Deviation from the center Ant attendance Ants visiting the extrafloral nectaries were randomly collected and identified. All attending ants belonged to the species Lasius niger. A neglectible number of ants were observed to chase away other nectar feeders from the leaves, which was also seen in the fact that number of insect visitors on plants with ant access didn't differ from plants not accessible to ants. Furthermore ant numbers were decreasing gradually and varied greatly within plant treatments (figure 6). Total number of individuals and intraplant distribution did not differ between plant treatments (appendix 3). Although numbers of observations were very low, there seemed to be a trend of ants being concentrated in the higher leaves in plants without belowground root herbivory (figure 6). Low deviation from the center in both treatments, especially after day eleven, was mainly the result of low number of recordings. Herbivores The number of herbivorous insects observed feeding on cotton plants during the experimental time period was very low. Herbivores consisted primarily of sap sucking aphids of the species Aphis gossypii and Aphis fabae. Both were able to reproduce on the plants and were observed being attended by ants, which could be the cause of higher aphid infestation level on plants with ant access which is indicated in our data (figure 7). Over time, numbers of individuals increased, but stayed insignificant for statistical analysis. During the experimental time period, three lepidopteran egg clutches were recorded, all on plant without root herbivory. Two of these, both recorded on the last day, were identified as members of the family Noctuidae. The other egg deposit couldn't be identified because caterpillars were all parasitized by an Ichneumonid wasp. Also some individuals of thrips (Thysanoptera) were observed feeding on EFN, sometimes destroying the nectaries, but total numbers stayed very low. 2. Herbivore feeding preference Because of a possible viral infection of our cotton plants, a scheduled repetition of the initial experiment did not take place. This resulted in the experiment having only six replicates. The total EFN production in plants with root herbivory was significantly higher (more than 5 times) compared to control plants (ANOVA: F=57,89,df=1,10,p=0,00), indicating active feeding of wireworms. H. armigera food consumption, measured as the area of foliage consumed showed no significant treatment effects (fig 8a). This concerned foliar consumption on the alternative plant as well as on the plant where caterpillar was introduced. Including feeding damage from immature leaves only shows no difference. Also aspects of spatial feeding pattern of the forth instar larvae did not result in any clear differences between treatments (fig. 8bc) (a) Figure 8 Individual leaf consumption of H. armigera larvae placed on cotton plants either exposed to root herbivory by A. lineatus (BG) or undamaged controls (CC). In both cases larvae were also offered an alternative control plant. Over five days larvae were able to move freely between the two plants. In the lower four graphs, comparisons were made based on data of plants on which the larva was initially placed. Mean values (±SD) are shown for total leaf area consumed (a), center of gravity (b), deviation from the center (c), total number of feeding holes per plant (d) and mean feeding hole area (e). Although not significant, feeding holes of plants under belowground attack have a tendency of being a bigger and subsequently lower in number compared to control plants. This suggests that that larvae were feeding longer on the same spot on plants that were fed on simultaneously by root herbivores. Larval preformance The only parameter measured indicating larval performance was the weight increase during the experiment. Mean growth rate over five days of H. armigera larvae did no differ when allowed to feed on two control plants (CC) or on a plant pair which included one plant with root herbivores (fig 9). This data suggest that there was no significant nutritional benefit for the larvae in either of the plant treatments. 3. Herbivore oviposition preference During the experiment no eggs were deposited on either of the two plants. All S. exigua females laid their eggs on the cage, instead of preferring to lay on plant tissue. In following trial experiments, several pupae of both female individuals were allowed to emerge inside the oviposition arena. This method was shown to result in higher proportion of the total numbers of eggs deposited on the cotton plants (Anderson and Alborn, 1999). Nevertheless numbers of eggs deposited on the plants were insignificant. Trial experiments conducted with the other generalist lepidopteran species Mamestra brassicae and Helicoverpa armigera also showed a higher total proportion of eggs laid on the cage. 4. Belowground induced emission of volatile semiochemicals a. Volatile collection The samples extracted from the collection traps did not contain considerable amounts of cotton specific volatiles. Relative to the large amount of unrelated compounds to cotton were measured, indicating a high level of impurity of the sampled air. This completely overshadowed compounds related to cotton, making analyses of this data inappropriate. Relative amounts of emitted volatiles of a trial experiment, focusing only on inducible compounds and using a different extraction method, are shown in appendix 4. Although also these collection revealed a lot of impurities, their were measurable amounts of compounds shown to be emitted following aboveground damage in cotton. Within these compounds, no specific trend can be observed. Since specific inducible compounds as (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene and (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene were also measured in relative high concentrations in our cotton control plant, makes this data unreliable for interpretation. Furthermore, were there no replicates in this trial experiment. b. Parasitoid flight response Wasps of both experiments showed rather marginal attraction to the damaged plants, resulting in insignificant numbers of completed flights for both groups tested. In the first experiment, of the 80 wasps released, only 18 wasps completed their flight to one of the two plants. Although the proportion of wasps choosing one of the two plants in the second experiment was higher, the number of 'no choice' recordings were still very high (figure 10). It is not very elegant, let alone of ecological relevance to draw conclusions from recordings with this proportion of completed flights. However, Microplitis croceipes females displayed no preference for plants exposed to both below- and aboveground (BG+AG) in both first (p>0,1) and second experiment (p>0,1). Figure 10 Flight response of the specialist parasitoid M. croceipes tested a two-choice experiments to plants attacked by the folyphore host H. armigera (AG) alone and to plants damaged simultaneously with the root herbivore A. lineatus (BG+AG). Wasps released in the first experiment had no preliminary experience with cotton in contrast to wasps released in the second experiment. This group consisted of re-tested wasps that were initially recorded as having 'no choice' in the first experiment. Shaded bars indicate the numbers of wasps that landed on each source. Open bars show those that did not land on either plant and were recorded as 'no choice'. Discussion 1. Field experiment We hypothesized that, under the experimental circumstances EFN secretion of nectaries located on foliage of cotton plants would be raised in response to BG-feeding and that this would be reflected in a higher number of insect visitors. However, data resulting from our field experiment do not indicate an effect of root herbivory on quantity of insects visiting extrafloral nectaries. Our hypothesis was based on data showing that under laboratory conditions cotton plants inoculated with wireworms produced significantly more EFN during the first week as to compared control plants. (Wäckers and Bezemer, 2003). The fact that our experiment was not conducted under controlled conditions might have influenced our results. First of all, this experimental design did not allow us to measure the amount of EFN that was actually secreted by plants during the experiment. It is possible that the assumed difference in EFN secretion between control plants and individuals inoculated with wireworms did in fact not occur. I consider that abiotic stress factors associated with the abrupt transfer of plants from the greenhouse to the field could have overshadowed the effect of BG-herbivores. Although plants were on one side partly protected by a mesh screen, they were nevertheless exposed to relatively low humidity, full and direct sunlight and severe wind. Furthermore, wind caused incidental rupture of leaves in these fragile greenhouse plants. These stress factors, not endured in a greenhouse, could have influenced my data. Cotton has been intensely studied and overall results indicate that specificity of direct defense induction may be limited (Croxford et al., 1989; Alborn et al., 1996). Additionally, concerning induced indirect defence, it is known that G. herbaceum raises secretion of EFN in response to mechanical tissue damaged without requiring any herbivore-specific elicitor (Wäckers and Wunderlin, 1999). This lack of specificity in defense response can lead to a reaction of the plant in the absence of herbivory (Wäckers and Wunderlin, 1999). These 'false alarms' could have played a major role in our experiment. As nectar secretion could have been primarily induced by adverse environmental conditions like mechanical damage due to wind, which might have overshadowed the effect of wireworms. However, there appears to be an effect of belowground herbivory on insect distribution. It was shown that insects recorded on plants inoculated with wireworms were significantly more concentrated higher in the plant as compared to control plants. Contradictory, this effect was accompanied by an almost significant higher spread around the mean, suggesting a more even distribution over the plant, instead of a stronger preference for the higher leaves. Thus insects on plants under belowground attack were found primarily on the younger leaves, but displayed a wider distribution. This last observation fits the findings of Lommen and Wäckers (unpublished data, 2002) that belowground EFN induction is systemic throughout the plant, which can be expected to be reflected in a more even distribution of nectarivorous insects. An explanation for the fact that insects were concentrated higher in BG-induced plants could be provided by the optimal defense theory. This theory predicts that defensive traits will be produced and allocated in a pattern that optimises the trade-off between defensive costs and benefits (Zangerl and Ruthledge 1996). While plants were observed to be exposed to a relatively high level of mechanical damage, the plant has to set priorities in resources allocation for compensatory growth. Under stressful conditions, the plant allocates resources from reserves stored in the roots for compensatory growth to the most valuable parts, in this case the upper leaves that represent the highest remaining photosynthetic potential (Van Dam et al., 2001). This phenomenon was also shown in allocation of secondary metabolites in cotton when fed on simultaneously by foliar- and root feeders (Wäckers and Bezemer, 2003). It appeared that allocation of defense compounds (terpenoid aldehydes) was mainly focused on the aboveground compartment, at the expense of belowground defense. Moreover, increased amount of resources allocated to the higher leaves at the expense of lower leaves, could imply a higher state of defense. This could be subsequently revealed in higher secretions of EFN. Furthermore, the optimal defense theory might provide us with an explanation for another observed phenomenon. During the course of the experiment insects tended to be concentrated higher in plants. Parallel to this, plants were getting more and more damaged over time, which was accompanied by an presumable increased resource allocation towards the top leaves. Subsequently higher levels of EFN could have been secreted, resulting in higher numbers of insect visitors on these terminal leaves. On the other hand, this increment in center of gravity of insect visitation over time might also be (at least partly) explained by the fact that plants developed their top leaves during the experiment. In support of future experiments that try to elucidate the ecological consequences of belowground inducibility of EFN, I suggest to check the effect of BG-herbivores first under circumstances. comparable to conditions plants are exposed to in the field. Under, from the plants perspective, 'less favorable' conditions, plants might react in a different way as observed under optimal greenhouse conditions. However, I agree that laboratory and greenhouse experiments are still very important to be able to recognize the existence of individual mechanisms involved in plant defense. But to determine the ecological importance of such mechanisms in plant response, field experiments, in which plants endure simultaneous abiotic stress factors in concert with exposure to herbivores, are essential. It is assumed that EFN secretion is part of an indirect defense strategy, a 'protective mutualism' in which predators and parasitoids protect plants from herbivory in exchange for nutritional rewards, (Wäckers et al., 2005). A putative elevation in EFN secretion might therefore result in higher numbers of plant beneficials and consequential lower numbers of herbivorous species. On the other hand, it is found that aphid performance can be greatly increased by feeding of root herbivores by increased levels of foliar nitrogen (Gange and Brown, 1989). Our data revealed no effect of inoculation with wireworms on numbers of ants nor on aphid recordings. This may once more be explained by exposure to a high degree of mechanical damage that overshadowed the effect of wireworm infestation (see above). Moreover, comparison of treatments was hampered by a low number of recordings of both carnivores and herbivores and a high variation within the treatments. Although only marginal numbers of ants were observed attending the extrafloral nectaries, our data suggests that on plants accessible to ants, aphid infestation seemed to be higher. Besides being attracted to EFN, ants are also attracted to sugar-rich honeydew producing sternorrhynchae species including homopterans like aphids. Both recorded aphid species (A. fabae and A. Gossypiee) have shown to be tended by L. niger, the only ant species observed. In this ant-homopteran mutualism, the ants protect the sap-sucking aphids in exchange for nutritious honeydew (Gaume et al, 1998). When both EFN and honeydew are available as a carbohydrate source, foraging theory predicts that consumers will sometimes ignore readily available low-quality food items when higher-quality items are also present (Engel et al., 2001; Charnov, 1976). However, there was no significant competitive effect between the two sugar sources. Aphid numbers were not affected by the possible effect of wireworm infestation, although EFN was assumed to be superior in quantity to honeydew especially in BG-induced plants. So in this experiment, plants didn't receive a higher level of protective mutualism provided by foraging ants when infested with wireworms. Again we can question whether the expected increase of EFN secretion actually took place. Secondly, as sugar concentrations of both EFN and honeydew were not measured, it is hard to say if a higher quality (and quantity) of extrafloral nectar may have outweighed the quality of aphid honeydew. Moreover, we have to take into account that we're not dealing with a natural system. A relatively high proportion of nectar was obviously consumed by the high numbers Dipteran visitors, neither beneficial nor directly detrimental for the plant. This may have influenced our data resulting in lower numbers of ants attending the plants, whilst L. niger tolerated these insects. In contrast, natural systems showed that ants associated with cotton attacked any competitors feeding from the same source. Due to the fact that neither ants nor aphids were acquainted with cotton, drawing general conclusions from this experiment is rather disputable. Overall, it is still unknown what to consider as the ultimate cause for the phenomenon that foliar nectar is induced in response to root herbivory. The induced secretion of EFN following shoot damage fits well in the optimal defence theory, as recruitment of aboveground predators has proven to increase plant fitness. I'm not aware of any studies showing an increase of belowground predation by ants in relation to raised levels of EFN production. Wäckers and Bezemer (2003) proposed three explanations from different viewpoints for the reported induction. First it was stated that induction represents just a physiological constraint, rather than being adaptive in terms of plant defense. Changes in source/sink balances in response to root damage could cause accumulation of carbohydrates in the foliage resulting in additional nectar production. Secondly, it could represent an adaptive trait for the root feeder that has been shown to be reduced in performance by a concurrent attack by aboveground counterparts (Maron, 1993). In this way root herbivores could benefit from a higher state of aboveground defense, which brings us to the final explanation. A higher state of aboveground defense, revealed in elevated prophylactic secretion of foliar EFN in response to belowground attack, could help the plant to avoid an expensive war on two fronts. Whatever the ultimate cause of this phenomenon, if we want to examine the ecological consequences this might potentially have on aboveground population dynamics on a three-trophic level, we have to show first the relevance of BG-induced EFN secretion in natural systems in which a plant has to endure harsh conditions. 2. Herbivore feeding preference In our experiment, it was observed that the foliar herbivore H. armigera was very mobile and fed on both offered plants, belowground induced as well as control plant. Our results show that under these experimental conditions, root herbivory did not persuade the foliar feeder to feed less from the BGdamaged plant, when offered undamaged alternative host plant. The H. armigera larva seemed not affected by a possible effect imposed by belowground herbivores, in contrast to previous studies carried out by Bezemer et al. (2003). In that experiment it was shown that root-feeding insect larvae had a negative effect on a foliar feeder presumably mediated by the plants defence system, revealed in increased allocation secondary plant metabolites to the leaves. Increased levels of foliar terpenoids in cotton resulted in a lower performance and avoidance behaviour in S. exigua larvae. I argue that the effect of belowground herbivory on larvae feeding preference was due to the fact that induced terpenoids may not have affected our foliar feeders. Terpenoid aldehydes have unquestionably demonstrated its negative effects on many generalist-feeding lepidopterans, including Helicoverpa spp (Stipanovic et al., 1988). In truth, a possible change in foliar defense compounds was not verified as no analyses of terpenoid levels was carried out in our experiment. Since in our experiment inoculation of belowground herbivores took place only one week before larvae were introduced, it is uncertain if this was a sufficient period for any significant expression of direct defense to occur in aboveground plant parts. Previous studies using the same system showed significant increases of foliar terpenoid levels after four (Bezemer et al., 2003) and five weeks ( Bezemer et al., 2004) following inoculation of root herbivores. Therefore, the observed behaviour of larvae not using the alternative plant as a putative low-terpenoid refuge could be explained by the fact that their was no significant difference in foliar terpenoid concentrations between the two plants. Although wireworm feeding activity was verified, reflected in a fivefold increase in EFN secretion of plants inoculated with wireworms, we are unsure of the actual period between exposure to root herbivores and increased allocation of defense compounds to the leaves. Therefore I question if the behavior of larvae was influenced by the presumed presence of these compounds in leaves during our experiment. For further experiments, I suggest to incorporate a period of at least four weeks between inoculation of wireworms and introduction of the larvae, to be sure of sufficient time for the plant to respond. It is also advisable to measure concentrations of defense compounds in foliage in order to be more certain about the source that causes a possible change in feeding behavior of your foliar feeder. In addition, it has been shown that preference for a certain host plant could be induced in larvae after only one day of feeding experience. In polyphagous S. littroralis larvae, feeding preference at a later stage was influenced by previous feeding experience (Anderson et al., 1995). Furthermore, it was also demonstrated that an orientational response could be induced by host plant associated volatile cues in S. littroralis larvae previously feeding of the plant (Carlsson et al., 1999). Larvae reared on a synthetic diet did not show any attraction to the odor of cotton leaves, whereas cotton-reared larvae were highly attracted. As larvae in our experiment were reared on excised cotton leaves, harvested from undamaged plants, larvae could display an initial preference for undamaged plants. However, no feeding preference was observed during the five days the larvae were allowed to feed both BGinduced and control plants, suggesting no effect of previous feeding experience. Moreover, an innate behavioral response of this polyphagous herbivore to numerous odors of the wide range of host plants the larvae might encounter during its development is not very likely. The larva is probably better served by an ability to modify its behavior after having experienced a novel food source. This type of phenotypic plasticity without much (innate) preference most likely optimalizes foraging in these generalist herbivores (Carlsson et al, 1999). The possible effect could furthermore be overshadowed by short term changes in leaf palatability associated with damage. Experiments in cotton demonstrated that low levels of AG-damage may induce local changes in palatability which causes S. littoralis larvae to avoid the site of damage (Croxford et al., 1989). Furthermore, this could be a direct effect of increased terpenoid levels in response to AG-herbivory. However, Bezemer et al. (2003) showed that terpenoid concentrations were mainly increased in the valuable immature leaves in response to leaf feeding, while BG-damage showed an overall- and BG+AG feeding an intermediate level of increment. If the plants were induced belowground, this might involve a higher proportion of leaf consumption on the terminal leaves of the BG-damaged plant relative to larvae on the control plants, since levels of foliar terpenoids in these plants were high throughout the plant. However, in our experiment, larvae on BG-induced plants did not consume a higher proportion of terminal leaves. This observation further adds to the conclusion that BG-induction might have been neglectible, or at least at a very low level. Although wireworm activity was reflected in a five-fold increase in overall EFN secretion, another mechanism proposed by Masters et al. (1993) could be responsible for the observed feeding pattern. Our data indicate a tendency of larvae to feed longer on the same spot on leaves of BG-induced plants. Although they performed equally, feeding on BG induced plants could represent a nutritional advantage. In agreement with Masters' theory, root feeding causes a stress response in the plant, reducing water and nutrient uptake, resulting in higher concentrations of nitrogen in the foliage. However, in our experiment, we ensured that plants were not water stressed. Besides, has it been shown that the induction of water stress in plant tissue by a root-feeding insect can be offset to a certain extent by supplying plants with ample water (Gange and Brown, 1989). In addition, it was demonstrated by Bezemer et al. (2004) that when supplied with ample water, root herbivory by A. lineates had no effect on foliar nitrogen levels in cotton. Nevertheless, phytophages may change nutrient levels in plant tissue by manipulating source-sink relations. An altered flow in the plants vascular transport system in response to root damage, has been demonstrated to cause a physiological change aboveground (Rhodes, 1987). Finally, on the short term, according to Masters et al. (1993) belowground herbivory might pose an additional disadvantage for the plant by improving nutritional value of the plant tissue aboveground. However this effect might be reversed after four weeks of root herbivore feeding, when aboveground expression of direct defence could be more apparent. In that case, it would be obvious that larvae would try to circumvent high terpenoid levels by switching to low terpenoid tissue, as has already been reported (McAuslane et al., 1997). Nevertheless, to draw ecological conclusions concerning consequences of root feeding by these long-lived, persistent insect larvae, effects should be measured over even longer periods of time. There is still a lack of experiments investigating more chronic exposure to root herbivores, with perennial plant roots becoming progressively more damaged in following years. As Maron (1998) showed that root herbivores only affected plant fecundity negatively in the third year of the experiment, where roots were extensively engraved and damage. As cotton is a perennial species, the exposure to sessile and persistent wireworms over prolonged time periods of several years could also represent a cumulative impact. Subsequently it might result in higher resource allocation to reproduction and dispersal, in agreement with the enemy escape theory, instead of plant growth (Thompson, 1988). Overall, above and belowground interactions are only of relevance if they occur in the field. In contrast to optimal laboratory conditions, in nature, plants have adapted to survive under conditions far from optimal. Plants have to compete continuously for resources, whereas for instance, it is accepted that the majority of plants in the field are water stressed (Hsiao, 1973). Clearly, if root herbivory can affect levels of water, nitrogen and defensive compounds in plant tissues, this is likely to have important consequences for foliar-feeding insects associated with such plants. However, especially the possible impact of induced secondary compounds in nature can be overestimated. Until now this phenomenon was only demonstrated under optimal conditions, while this induction can be costly under low nutrient conditions and subsequently force a plant to tolerate higher levels of infestation (Blossey and HuntJoshi, 2003). Furthermore, it can't be overlooked that putative mechanisms on how BG- and AG herbivores might interact (nutrients and plant defence) are typically interlinked. Production of both direct and indirect plant defence compounds depend on nutrient uptake by the roots. N-based defensive compounds as well as amounts of volatiles produced when attacked aboveground (Van der Putten et al., 2001). Serious effects of stress factors have to be taken into account when extrapolating results of laboratory studies into the field. This is also demonstrated by the fact that cotton plants in laboratory experiments showed no major herbivore-induced fitness reductions (Bezemer et al., 2003), documenting their ability to effectively compensate for leaf and root herbivory under optimal conditions (Maron, 1998). To fully understand the importance of root herbivores, more large-scale manipulative field experiments are required. A problem is designing these experiments that demonstrate conclusively impacts of root herbivores considering that the test organism is not readily observable – hence assumptions have to be made regarding its activities. Additionally do these field experiments that involve root feeders comprise techniques as local elimination by use of soil insecticides, that may have indirect effects on the parameters of interest (Masters, 2004). However, to get an idea of the importance of root herbivores in terrestrial ecosystems, more field data is essential. 3. Herbivore ovipostion preference In our experiment, the gravid female moths were only marginally ovipositing on either of the host plants offered. This makes me doubt about the use of generalist lepidopteran species in preference experiments. The parasite/grazer hypothesis predicts that females of grazer species (i.e., herbivores that can complete development on more than one host) are not likely to show strong host plant oviposition preferences (Thompson, 1988). This in contrast to parasitic herbivores (i.e., herbivores that complete development on one host plant), that invest much energy in searching a specific host plant. The strategy of highly polyphagus insects, such as S. exigua, implies that eggs are deposited rather randomly over plants (Smits et al., 1987), thus leaving more energy available for reproduction. Ultimately the increase in fitness resulting from a higher reproductive potential must compensate for any fitness reduction resulting from development on a possible nutritionally inferior host. In addition, grazers including beet army worm (S. exigua) tend to have highly mobile larvae, which are able to disperse easily from the site of ovipostion. As polyphagus larvae have, at least to a certain extend, the ability to determine their own host plant (Carlsson et al., 1999), this might partly explain the phenomenon that lepidopteran females don't show particularly choosy behavior. Furthermore, we hypothesised that the adult moths would prefer undamaged plants over plants infested with root herbivores for oviposition. As it was shown that BG-induced allocation of secondary metabolites can hamper larval development (Bezemer et al, 2003), inhibition of oviposition could clearly increase survival of its offspring. However, in a remarkable high number of studies in lepidopteran behaviour the correlation between adult host preference and offspring development appears not to be a positive one (Berdegue et al., 1988; Fox and Eisenbach, 1992; Singer et al., 1994; Mulatu et al., 2004). This means that in the presence of a preferable alternative, adult female herbivores deposited their eggs on a nutritional inferior plant. Part of this phenomenon can be explained by the general hypothesis of selection pressures that could shape host plant use by insect herbivore species (Thompson, 1988). In addition, to indicate the complexity of the system, also larval diet has demonstrated to influence adult ovipostion behavior (Anderson et al., 1995). Adults preferred to oviposit on plants on which they fed as larvae. Finally, I believe that an effect of continuously rearing of insects on artificial diet, by putting no selection pressure on host choice by the female moths, can not be ruled out. Larvae were taken from a culture reared for several generations on synthetic diet, while no wild collected moths had been introduced into the culture. If genetic covariance does occur between preference and performance, this could have certainly be of significance in our experiment. However, it has to be mentioned that this genetic relationship is not distinguished yet. Furthermore, some tests showed that prolonged time periods of selection, including several generations, did not change oviposition preference (Thompson, 1988 and references cited herein). Nonetheless, the effects of changed plant secondary chemistry, induced by root herbivory, obviously can change relations aboveground in second and higher trophic levels, including repellence or avoidance of aboveground herbivores (Van der Putten et al., 2001). However, it is still not clear what plant-related cues (volatile or non-volatile) are exploited in the host plant selection process. The role of olfaction in host plant choice seems apparent among non-conspecific plants. Results from cage and olfactometer assays, suggest that volatiles emitted from cotton (G. hirsutum) and pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus) play a role in the tendency for female Spodoptera to oviposit primarily on pigweed, which lacks the volatile compound gossypol (Showler, 2001). Among conspecific host plants, behavioural studies showed that ovipositing females of S. littoralis preferred undamaged cotton plants over plants damaged by feeding of conspecific larvae (Anderson and Alborn, 1999). In addition, in this experiment it was shown by electrophysiological techniques that females were able to detect these herbivore-induced volatiles on sensilla located on the antennae. A direct effect of induced volatiles on herbivores was found in Lepidoptera in cotton (Jönsson, 2005). A cage experiment demonstrating female moths (S. littroralis) being deterred by odours of cotton plants infested by conspecifics, gives evidence of the role of olfaction in host plant selection. This phenomenon was also observed in an olfatometer experiment, where the odour from intact plants (Zea mays) was attractive to moths (Ostrinia nubilalis), but odours emitted by injured plants (infested or mechanically damaged) acted as a repellent (Schurr and Holdaway, 1970). Jönsson (2005) stated that avoidance of plants releasing induced odours can be adaptive to decrease the risk of predation, parasitism, competition and malnutrition for offspring. This seems an obvious theory, but it does not include the fact that in many preference/performance studies, no correlation was found. What non-volatile contact chemicals are concerned, it was demonstrated by electrophysiological response on the sensilla of the proboscis that detection of sugars and amino acids by of S. littoralis is possible (Blaney and Simmonds, 1988). Assuming that Spodoptera can also detect secondary plant metabolites like foliar terpenoids, it is evident that sensitivity to these compounds could play a role in the selection of host plants for oviposition. When a female moth searches for an optimal diet for her offspring, she should certainly take presence of terpenoids into account, while these can seriously hamper larvae performance (Stipanovic et al., 1977). Ultimately, I think that the choice of oviposition site is mediated mainly by a combination of olfactory cues and contact chemoreception, but strong preference is mainly an adaptive trait in specialist phytophagous insects. As studies have shown a changed behavioural response of ovipositing herbivore insects towards aboveground damaged plants, it seems reasonable to assume that also belowground damage has the potential to affect host preference. I suggest that among the most important subjects for further research in this area, are studies investigating the consequences of BGdamage in natural systems on ovipositing behaviour focussing preferentially on more oligophagous herbivores. 4. Belowground induced emission of volatile semiochemicals a. Volatile collection No conclusive results were obtained from our experiment addressing the effect of belowground herbivory on foliar emission of volatiles. Since also the trial experiment showed ambiguous results, a possible effect of root feeding remains unidentified. I don't think it is very interesting to speculate about the causes why our volatile collection samples revealed such relative low proportion of cotton-related plant odors. However, the experiment will be repeated in the lab of T. Turlings later this year to reveal the possible impact of BG-herbivory on aboveground volatile emission in cotton. b. Parasitoid flight response Since inducible compounds have shown to be released in significant amounts in response to AG herbivore feeding (Röse et al., 1996), they present a reliable indication of the presence of a potential host. Especially inducible compounds that are systemically released in response to herbivore damage may be easily detected by parasitoids from a distance since they are released in large amounts throughout the entire plant (Röse et al., 1996). However, in our experiment the specialist parasitoid M. croceipes completed only a small number of flights to both plants offered (AG and BG+AG). Despite the fact that wasps were allowed a preflight experience consisting of antennation and oviposition of a diet-fed host larva. This has shown to activate host-searching behavior of this wasp (Röse et al., 1997) and consequently proved to increase the number of completed flights compared to naïve wasps. Also a second experiment, in which the wasps were released a second time after having been recorded as having no choice in the first experiment, resulted in a low number of wasps landing on either of the plants offered. Therefore, the experience with plant-related odors, color or shape in the first experiment, did not improve the parasitoid's host searching behavior. I question if this could have made a difference, since it is considered that attraction of specialist M. croceipes parasitoids to cotton plants is innate (Röse et al., 1998), although they are considered as excellent learners and experience can modify innate responses. As M. croceipes uses visual as well as olfactory cues to locate a host site (Wäckers and Lewis, 1994) and plants were clearly visible for the wasps in our experiment it is still unclear why wasps were not responding to the presence of herbivore damaged plants. I discuss two reasons for the observed overall low level of response. First, the flight response test took place during conditions of low atmospheric pressure. Although the experiment was situated under climate controlled circumstances, it has been reported that factors as low atmospheric pressure could seriously influence behavior. Second, the internal state of the insect can have affected the behaviour of the parasitoid. Nutritional state has for instance been shown to affect weather a parasitoid engages in search for hosts or food (Van Lenteren and Bakker, 1979). However, this effect of energy deprivation was likely limited in our experiments, as we ensured that our wasps were never restricted in their food and water supply. Despite the fact that one cannot draw conclusions from the low number of completed flights, I like to comment on the results that were obtained. The completed flights did not indicate a clear difference in plant attraction. Since it is still unclear if, and in what way the volatile blend was changed when the plant was simultaneous attacked in root and shoot, I hypothesize that this could include a higher release of constitutive mono- and sesquiterpenes. For a specialist endoparasite like M. croceipes these non-specific compounds released following BG-damage may not provide useful cues for locating a leaf-feeding host. In contrast to a generalist with a broad range of host species it can parasitize, these compounds were shown to increase plants attractivity (Röse et al., 1998). It may explain our findings that BG+AG plants were not preferred over AG damaged plants. Due to low information specify of what inflicted the plant damage, the chances of the wasps encountering a host in which it can develop are not increased. Secondly, I hypothesed that the composition of the volatile blend could be changed in such a way that volatiles specific to the AG-herbivore are released in higher amounts by BG-herbivory as it was also shown to increase non-volatile terpenoids in the foliage (Bezemer et al., 2003). In that case, BG herbivory could increase host searching efficiency of aboveground parasitoids, and may under some circumstances represent a potential competitive advantage. However, it is still uncertain how plant emitted odors determine plant attractivity for a host searching wasp; quality, quantity or both? In a recent study it was demonstrated that parasitoids have preferences for specific herbivore-attacked plant species. Hoballah et al. (2002) showed that cowpea odors were preferred over maize odors by naïve Cotesia marginiventris. This was despite the fact that cowpea released much less odors compared to maize. So there is some evidence showing that quantity of odors is not by definition positively correlated with attractiveness. Consequently, when investigating the effect of simultaneous herbivory in root and shoot on volatile emission, the whole spectrum of compounds should be taken into account, regardless of their quantities. However, it has to be mentioned that overall, parasitoids may use non-specific plant volatiles in the first stages of habitat or host community location. Once such an area has been located, wasps may rely on more specific cues such as host frass (Röse et al., 1997), which could be leaned associatively during host encounters. Several studies have linked below and aboveground compartments in a multitrophic context. In a field study, Masters et al. (2001) found greater population abundances of parasitoids on thistle plants subjected to root herbivory. It is questionable weather the increased abundance of parasitoids had anything to do with a changed volatile spectrum. It is more likely that the root herbivores, which showed to increase performance and abundance of aboveground hosts, had mainly densitydependent knock-on effects for numbers of recorded parasitoids. This seems also the case in a study involving the effect of root infection by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on presence of insect parasitoids. Parasitoid searching efficiency was reduced on plants inoculated with certain mycorrhiza species combinations (Grange et al., 2003). Although the most likely cause of these findings was an observed differences in plant size, caused by these mycorrhizal combinations, an effect of herbivore-produced plant volatiles couldn't be rule out. AM fungi can have significant effects on chemistry of host plant leaves, and may therefore alter plant chemistry in such an extent as to affect the attractiveness of damaged leaves to a foraging parasitoid (Gange and West, 1994). Overall parasitoid searching efficiency is known to be influenced by host-plant characters like nutrient status and distribution of secondary metabolites. As several studies have revealed these characters can change as a consequence of belowground herbivory (Masters et al., 1993; Bezemer et al., 2004), this can have both direct effects on the parasitoid and indirect host plant mediated effects. 5. General discussion & prospects Plants are embedded in a complex network of interactions with other plants, above- and belowground resource availability, and above- and belowground herbivores (Blossey and Hunt-Joshi, 2003). As all these components interact and in concert (not in isolation) determine the plants fitness and their role within plant communities, underlying mechanisms are very difficult to elucidate. Interpretation of their ecological relevance will be even more difficult. Models predicting root feeders would be negatively affected by competitively superior aboveground herbivores may be limited to early successional habitats (Masters et al., 1993). This is regarded a result of the fact that later successional communities include higher numbers of perennial plants. This importance of life-history strategy for root herbivores seems evident as these perennial plants store more energy in belowground plant parts (Masters et al., 1993). Maron (1998) suggests that aboveground feeding in these plants causes translocation of stored assimilates (primarily C-based compounds) from roots for compensatory growth. This results in a decrease in C:N ratio which in turn results in a higher food quality for belowground herbivores. In contrast annual plants do not possess this storage strategy, so primary productivity products will be directly diverted to compensatory growth aboveground, reducing root biomass, which in agreement with Masters model (1993) negatively affects belowground herbivores by limiting food quantity (Maron, 1998). In later successional habitats, root feeders have shown to become more abundant (Blossey and Hunt-Joshi, 2003) and appear to pose a powerful force in driving plant performance and plant community composition (Masters, 2004). Subsequently interaction strengths between plants and above- and belowground herbivores are dynamic and change over time (Van der Putten et al., 2001). This may lead to alternation in selecting forces, in which root herbivores change seats form adapting passengers in early successional stage to driving the selection and shaping plant communities during later stages in succession. Consequently, the evolution of plant communities should be viewed in the perspective of an aboveground- belowground multitrophic selection arena. An example of belowground herbivores changing plant traits is shown in a study carried out by Maron (1998). Results from experiments investigating joint effects of above and belowground insect indicated that feeding by persistent and sessile root herbivores can potentially impose strong selection effects on the host plant. Perennial lupine plants (Lupine arboreus) showed increase growth and subsequent fast seed set in response to belowground herbivory. They seemed to alter their strategy before they die from belowground herbivory (Maron, 1998). In comparison with the spring annual, Arabidopsis thaliana, this species probably defends itself also by escape in time, rather than chemical defence (Van der Putten et al., 2001). In addition, exposure of plants over longer periods to sessile and persistent herbivores such as root feeding insect larvae and nematodes drives plants to require efficient dispersal mechanisms in order to escape their belowground attackers (Masters, 2004). Finally, awareness of the existence of links between above- and belowground multitrophic interactions provides new areas for research on the ecology and evolution of plants. In this research plant defence should be included in examining links between above and belowground interactions (Van der Putten et al., 2001). It will increase our knowledge about the functional aspects of plant life-histories and the evolution of (induced) direct and indirect plant defence. References 1Agrawal, A. A. and R. Karban (1999). 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Plant treatments: +/- A: ant access and ants excluded respectively +/- W: plants with or without wireworm infestation respectively Appendix 2 Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (rmanova) of total insect numbers visiting the cotton plants. \| Total numbers \| \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| SS \| df \| MS \| F \| \| Intercept \| 2747.27 \| 1.00 \| 2747.27 \| 576.69 \| \| wireworms \| 2.82 \| 1.00 \| 2.82 \| 0.59 \| \| Error \| 85.75 \| 18.00 \| 4.76 \| \| \| TIME \| 673.13 \| 11.00 \| 61.19 \| 18.94 \| \| TIMEwireworms \| 35.38 \| 11.00 \| 3.22 \| 1.00 \| \| Error \| 639.65 \| 198.00 \| 3.23 \| \| \| \| SS \| df \| MS \| F \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Intercept \| 4860.84 \| 1 \| 4860.84 \| 1365.36 \| \| wireworms \| 22.3 \| 1 \| 22.3 \| 6.26 \| \| Error \| 64.08 \| 18 \| 3.56 \| \| \| TIME \| 110.08 \| 11 \| 10.01 \| 2.80 \| \| TIMEwireworms \| 33.37 \| 11 \| 3.03 \| 0.85 \| \| deviation from center \| \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| SS \| df \| MS \| F \| \| Intercept \| 233.55 \| 1.00 \| 233.55 \| 525.05 \| \| wireworms \| 0.99 \| 1.00 \| 0.99 \| 2.23 \| \| Error \| 8.01 \| 18.00 \| 0.44 \| \| \| TIME \| 41.91 \| 11.00 \| 3.81 \| 7.72 \| \| TIMEwireworms \| 5.55 \| 11.00 \| 0.50 \| 1.02 \| \| Error \| 97.68 \| 198.00 \| 0.49 \| \| Graph showing the effect of wireworm treatment with respect to the location of the center of gravity of total insect visitation. Presence of wireworms (1) suggests a higher center of gravity compared to control plants (0). wireworms; LS Means Current effect: F(1, 18)=6.2625, p=.02219 Effective hypothesis decomposition Vertical bars denote 0.95 confidence intervals Appendix 3 Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (rmanova) of total number of ants recorded on the cotton plants during the field experiment \| Total ant attendance \| (analysis untill day 15) \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| SS \| Degr. of \| MS \| F \| \| \| \| Freedom \| \| \| \| Intercept \| 95.22 \| 1.00 \| 95.22 \| 15.57 \| \| wireworm \| 0.32 \| 1.00 \| 0.32 \| 0.05 \| \| Error \| 110.06 \| 18.00 \| 6.11 \| \| \| TIME \| 12.38 \| 9.00 \| 1.38 \| 1.69 \| \| TIMEwireworm \| 8.08 \| 9.00 \| 0.90 \| 1.10 \| \| Error \| 131.94 \| 162.00 \| 0.81 \| \| \| center of gravity \| (analysis untill day 15) \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| SS \| Degr. of \| MS \| F \| \| \| \| Freedom \| \| \| \| Intercept \| 472.01 \| 1.00 \| 472.01 \| 19.00 \| \| wireworm \| 1.08 \| 1.00 \| 1.08 \| 0.04 \| \| Error \| 447.11 \| 18.00 \| 24.84 \| \| \| TIME \| 45.82 \| 9.00 \| 5.09 \| 1.56 \| \| TIMEwireworm \| 12.67 \| 9.00 \| 1.41 \| 0.43 \| \| Error \| 527.17 \| 162.00 \| 3.25 \| \| \| deviation around center \| (analysis untill day 11) \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| SS \| Degr. of \| MS \| F \| \| \| \| Freedom \| \| \| \| Intercept \| 9.63 \| 1.00 \| 9.63 \| 13.95 \| \| wireworm \| 0.16 \| 1.00 \| 0.16 \| 0.23 \| \| Error \| 12.42 \| 18.00 \| 0.69 \| \| \| TIME \| 1.20 \| 7.00 \| 0.17 \| 0.75 \| \| TIMEwireworm \| 1.63 \| 7.00 \| 0.23 \| 1.03 \| \| Error \| 28.63 \| 126.00 \| 0.23 \| \| Appendix 4 Collection of volatiles of plants exposed to different treatments in a trial experiment without replicates. Results only show volatiles known to be associated with an induced response in cotton. Numbers represent amounts collected relative to other amounts in the sample. Quantification was not possible because no internal standards were taken in the analyses. Overall, result remains inconclusive because the measured concentrations seem quite ambiguous. \| compound/treatment \| (CC) \| (AG) \| (BG+AG) \| (BG) \| [BC] \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| (Z)-3-Hexenol \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| \| (Z)-3-Hexenyl acetate \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| \| linalool \| 87 \| 249 \| 454 \| 95 \| 0 \| \| (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene \| 5800 \| 7490 \| 3900 \| 3060 \| 0 \| \| (E)-β-farnesene \| 236 \| 123 \| 376 \| 137 \| 0 \| \| (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatraene \| 243 \| 138 \| 8 \| 391 \| 0 \| \| indole \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| \| (E)-β-caryophyllene \| 122 \| 65 \| 15 \| 338 \| 0 \| \| α-pinene \| 32 \| 61 \| 53 \| 27 \| 10 \| \| β-myrcene \| 57 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| \| (E)-β-ocimene \| 36 \| 38 \| 294 \| 12 \| 0 \| Appendix 5 Individual leaf consumption of H. armigera larvae placed on cotton plants either previously exposed to root herbivory by A. lineatus or undamaged controls. In both cases larvae were also offered an alternative control plant. Over five days larvae were able to move freely between the two plants. Except from the total leaf consumption, comparisons were made based on data of plants on which the larva was initially placed. Transformation did not lead to a normal distribution of our data. Results are analyzed by a nonparametric Man-Whitney U test. No significant differences were to be observed. 1 \| \| Rank Sum \| Rank Sum \| U \| Z \| p-level \| Z \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| Group 1 \| Group 2 \| \| \| \| adjusted \| \| Total consumed per plantpair \| 39 \| 39 \| 18 \| 0 \| 1 \| 0 \| \| leaf co nsumption per plant \| 45,5 \| 32,5 \| 11,5 \| 1,040833 \| 0,297954 \| 1,042657 \| \| Center of gravity of leaf consumption \| 36 \| 42 \| 15 \| -0,48038 \| 0,630954 \| -0,48038 \| \| deviation from the center of leaf consumption \| 33 \| 45 \| 12 \| -0,96077 \| 0,336669 \| -0,96077 \| \| RGR \| 46 \| 32 \| 11 \| 1,120897 \| 0,262333 \| 1,120897 \| \| # feeding holes per plant \| 34 \| 44 \| 13 \| -0,80064 \| 0,42334 \| -0,80487 \| \| average area of feeding hole \| 50 \| 28 \| 7 \| 1,76141 \| 0,07817 \| 1,76141 \| \| consum ption of young leaves \| 40 \| 38 \| 17 \| 0,160128 \| 0,87278 \| 0,161546 \| Acknowledgements Before I started my thesis six months ago at the NIOO-CTE in Heteren, I had great expectations of my research. However, as one thing became apparent to me, it is that an ecologist has to deal with the fact that nature doesn't reveal its mysteries easily. Perhaps this also fascinates so many researchers, driven by their curiosity to try to at least partly understand the elementary mechanisms of interspecies interactions we can observe all around us. I enjoyed working with those enthusiastic people sharing the same fascination in the multitrophic interactions workgroup. First of all, I would like to thank Felix Wäckers, who introduced me into the scientific world. I liked our informal discussions about all topics related to your passion, interactions between plants en insects. Furthermore I like to thank Roel Wagenaar, best wireworm collector in Holland and Gregor Disveld for their assistance and great chats in the Fytotron about old philosophers and the Dutch soccer competition. Yde Jongema, thank you for introducing me into the complex world insect taxonomy of and showing me the spectacular collection in the laboratory of entomology. It was always great fun identifying my insects with you, while talking about our adventures in Fryslân. Although not all volatile collections went as planned, I want to thank Nicole van Dam and Cristina Tamò for their great help during these experiments. I want to show my gratitude to Paul van Rijn for his statistical assistance and our dialogues about our outdoor hiking expeditions while sharing the same office. Finally to all my friends, corridor mates, brothers and parents, thanks for your support and inspiration you gave my by sharing your opinions with me, allowing me to reflect on my thesis work from totally different perspectives. Jelle W. Duindam
Luke 22:24-38 Table Talk Every civilization, every culture, has some definition of greatness. Each has its own way of defining what it means to be above the rest; to achieve a sense of superiority. In some cases, an individual takes it upon himself to claim being the greatest. One can think of Muhammad Ali's famous "I am the greatest" speech before his world title boxing match with Sonny Liston in 1964. Others have the claim to greatness placed upon them. Michael Jordan and Tom Brady are often referred to as the GOAT - the Greatest Of All Time. Whether merited or not, the worldly definition of greatness has to do with superiority - of being better. It reflects raising oneself above others of the same vocation or whatever it is one is measuring. The one who is the greatest has a sense of value and place. They possess the right to look down on the others who have failed to achieve what they have achieved. They can hold up their heads and look with disdain and condescension on those who would dare to try to supplant them. The Setting As we pick up the story in Luke's gospel, we have come to the end of a long and very emotion-filled evening. Jesus had celebrated the Passover meal with His closest friends. They had all eaten their fill. The conversation had been rich. The fellowship had been sweet. Jesus had talked one last time about the most important things. He had washed their feet. He had prayed for them. He had established for them a new memorial - the importance of which they did not yet fully understand. By now, Judas had left. Perhaps the other disciples had not noticed; perhaps they had noticed but made nothing of it. Jesus knew. Jesus knew why he had left, where he was going, and what would follow. Jesus had to have been deeply troubled. And not only because the cross awaited. He had loved Judas. He had washed his feet. He knew the eternal destiny that awaited him. A man He had spent three years investing in had turned his back and was bound for damnation. It must have broken Jesus' heart. Jesus must have hidden His emotions well. Or perhaps the disciples were enjoying the evening too much to notice. Clearly they were oblivious to the moment, for Jesus' thoughts were interrupted by sounds of a quarrel. Dissension Within When did this argument begin? For how long had the disciples confused Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom of God with the expectations of earthly rewards? Before we judge them too harshly, we would do well to remember that these were mostly humble men. Perhaps Matthew as a former tax collector was well off. Maybe Peter and Andrew, who owned their own fishing business were doing well. But none of them was wealthy and it is quite likely that they were all simple men who had worked many long and hard hours for their livelihood. The prospect of ever doing anything else could not possibly have entered their minds until they met Jesus. They were ruled. They were ruled by Rome. They were ruled by the Jewish religious leaders. But then they followed this rabbi who spoke of a coming kingdom. And they were not only to be participants in this kingdom, but to share overlordship. No wonder the idea of power and authority went straight to their heads. " 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, 'truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me'" (Matthew 18:1-5). " 33 They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, 'what were you discussing on the way?' 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'if anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.' 36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 'whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me'" (Mark 9:33-37). " 46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, 48 and said to them, 'whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great'" (Luke 9:46-48). Perhaps on this particular occasion the conflict had been rekindled at the beginning of the feast when there was discussion about the seating arrangements at the meal. Whatever the reason for reopening the topic, we cannot miss the irony of the imminent sacrificial death of Jesus juxtaposed with the disciples' selfish bickering over place and honor. Despite the fact that Jesus had recently explained the eschatology of the coming kingdom, emphasizing the fact that it was in the distant, not immediate, future, the disciples still quarrelled about place. They had understood only that there would be a kingdom, and that in this kingdom they would receive positions of authority. What they did not understand, despite the efforts of Jesus to teach them, was that there was much suffering (for both Him and them) to go through first. When we reflect honestly, it is impossible to deny the power and influence of pride. We can all acknowledge how firmly pride is embedded in the human heart. Try as we might, we have all experienced at some point the difficulty of truly rejoicing in the success of others. If another receives some honor for an achievement we are uninterested in ourselves, or accomplishes something we are not trying to accomplish, we can easily be enthusiastic and delighted. But when others receive honors we think are due us, or achieve something which despite our own best efforts we cannot, we sulk and pout and find every excuse to explain it away, and refuse to acknowledge the fact that perhaps they are more deserving. Despite the stress of the moment, and the fact that He had needed to deal with this same behavior before, Jesus responded generously. He did not allow the strain of the moment and the emotions of the evening to frustrate Him. But neither did He permit His disciples to think that their attitude was correct. Looking them in the eye, "He said to them, 'the kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called "Benefactors"'" (v. 25). Jesus began His lesson by reminding His disciples of the world's definition of authority. In the ancient world, people in authority, people with power, were often uninhibited in the use of that power. They took advantage of those under them. They indulged in the benefits of their office. They appropriated the entitlements to which they had access. But, in their arrogance, they still considered themselves to have the masses' best interest at heart, and perhaps to convince themselves, as well as their subjects, they often put 'benefactor,' or its equivalent, on their coinage. But the kingdom Jesus was establishing had a different understanding. As He reminded them, " it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant" (v. 26). That Jesus says "youngest" when we expect "the least" is not a mistake. It is perfectly in keeping with the culture. Old age was revered in the ancient world. It was seen as God's blessing. The youngest was always least in honor. Jesus then gave a practical illustration. " For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves" (v. 27). Jesus redefined greatness as not having someone wait upon you, but rather on being humble enough to serve others. 'Others' was the entire purpose of His Incarnation and crucifixion. He had not only taught this truth, but He had modeled it. As Jesus had said when this issue was raised before, " 26 whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26-28). And He had even modeled such humility that evening, not an hour or so before, " 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded" (John 13:3-5). Jesus defined greatness not by the worldly measures of power and authority. To be great in His kingdom was to be a servant. The kingdom of God upended the worldly standard. " 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last; and the last, first" (Matthew 19:29-30). Can we become people who are willing to serve no matter how humble the task? As Paul put it when writing to the troublesome church in Corinth, "I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls" (2 Corinthians 12:15). And again writing to the church in Philippi, " 3 do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (Philippians 2:3-4). But still Jesus praised them saying, "you are those who have stood by Me in My trials" (v. 28). After all, there had been times when the disciples had stayed loyal. Once, when " 66 many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, 'you do not want to go away also, do you?' 68 Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God'" (John 6:66-69). Yes, they were proud, and often lacked understanding. But all except Judas had stood the course thus far. Therefore, " 29 just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (v. 29-30). Jesus was referring to His future kingdom. Jesus had promised before they would rule with Him. After seeing the dejection of a rich young man who chose not to follow Jesus, " 27 Peter said to Him, 'behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?' 28 And Jesus said to them, 'truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel'" (Matthew 19:27-28). At the end of history, these men will rule with Christ. An Attack from Without Jesus now turned from addressing the group as a whole to Peter specifically. He called hm not 'Peter' the rock, but rather 'Simon' his given name. Perhaps, He wanted to remind him of his humanity. " 31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat" (v. 31); Though Jesus was speaking to Peter, the 'you' is plural. He was talking to Peter, but His words were for all the disciples to hear. The repetition Jesus used indicated emphasis and emotion. Jesus acknowledged the perils of believers in spiritual warfare. Satan demanded, the word means to insist, that he be permitted to attack Peter and the other disciples. We must pause here to remind ourselves that Satan can do only what he is permitted by God to do. He is limited. He has parameters established for his activity. Nevertheless, the devil is an enemy to be respected. Remember Eve, and Job. C. S. Lewis wrote that there were two errors to make regarding a believer's understanding of Satan. The first was to discount him as merely a cartoon character, unworthy of our attention. The second, equally dangerous, was to engage in an obsessive fascination with his every movement; to think that any time something does not go our way, it is Satan at work. Neither extreme is healthy. Satan is powerful; he is angelic. But he is not God. The world can corrupt us, our sinful nature can be a burden, but it is Satan who attacks. Sifting is a violent process. It is vigorous. It requires shaking. But even this attack by Satan was a part of God's sovereign plan. It had been prophesied, " Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the Lord of hosts. Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones" (Zechariah 13:7). And Jesus would not leave them without resources. Indeed, He reminded them " 32 I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail" (v. 32). Jesus prayed for His disciples. What an encouragement that was. What an encouragement that is. He prayed then. He prays now. He is our High Priest. We are sustained only because Christ prays for us. "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25) "Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us" (Romans 8:34). His prayer was that His disciples would prevail, that is, endure. The prayer was for perseverance. He frequently rebuked them. The frequently deserved it. They were misunderstanding. They lacked faith (remember the tempest on the sea). But they persevered. And they persevered through the prayers of their Savior. A Personal Challenge Jesus then directed His gaze on Peter and said, "you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (v. 32). Jesus restores. He knows Peter will fail. He knows Peter will be restored. But Peter, ever confident, wanted to assure Jesus that he, at least, would give Jesus no cause for worry. With complete honesty and yet, completely underestimating the challenge, Peter "s aid to Him, 'Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!'" (v. 33). It is easy to see why Peter misjudged the situation. He assumed, wrongfully, that Jesus would be with him. Peter had seen Jesus overcome nature, demons, disease, and death. He would go anywhere with Him. At Jesus' side, Peter had nothing to fear. (We will see an example of this next week when we look at the encounter in the garden of Gethsemane). What Peter failed to realize, was that he would be called upon to have great faith when Jesus was gone. And when Jesus was gone, Peter would prove very fearful indeed. Knowing this, Jesus tried to warn him. "Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me" (v. 34). The prediction was specific so as to embed the words in the mind of His disciple. Peter would fail. But Peter would be restored. Later, Jesus specifically commissioned Peter to leadership. " 15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?' He said to Him, 'yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'tend My lambs.' 16 He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?' He said to Him, 'yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'shepherd My sheep.' 17 He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, 'do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'tend My sheep'" (John 21:15-17). And Peter would preach daringly to the Jewish leaders who, only a weeks before, had crucified Jesus. He would eventually be imprisoned and executed for his faith. Through all of this, Peter continued to be a leader of the early church and to 'strengthen' his brothers. The Hostility of the World Jesus then returned to the group as a whole. They were about the leave for the garden. Within an hour or so Jesus would be in the hands of His enemies. These were His last words to His disciples in comfort and privacy. " 35 He said to them, 'when I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?' They said, 'no, nothing.' 36 And He said to them, 'but now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one'" (v. 35-36). The beginning of this exhortation contains the same general words used when Jesus commissioned His disciples, and then later when He sent out the seventy, to preach and manifest miraculous works demonstrating the power of the coming kingdom of God. At that time, due to the generosity of others (through the work of the Holy Spirit) the disciples lacked nothing that they needed. Now that the coming of the kingdom seemed imminent, the disciples no doubt assumed that their power and authority would remain. So Jesus began "but now" to help them understand that the future would be very different from the past. Jesus would be killed. The disciples would have to continue their ministry apart from His physical presence. Jesus understood this and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles it would present to His small band of followers. The disciples would need courage to face persecution. They would need initiative in a hostile world. Therefore again, He tried to warn them of the world they would face. They would not be provided for, so they would need to care for themselves. People's homes would be closed to the followers of an executed criminal. Word would spread that this rabbi had not proved to be the Messiah after all; that His kingdom had not come to pass but that He had simply been put to death like countless other failed zealots. The Romans still ruled Israel. All of His teaching and miracles (if indeed miracles they were, some must have wondered) were for naught. The disciples would have a very difficult time finding support among the masses in the near future. A question does come up concerning the sword. Did Jesus really mean for His disciples to sell their belongings and arm themselves for battle? Clearly not. When Peter sought to defend Jesus in the garden a few hours later " Jesus said to him, 'put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword'" (Matthew 26:52). So this was not a literal sword to which Jesus referred. Some commentators suggest, then, that Jesus was referring instead to a personal knife for carving meat and performing various small tasks. This, too, seems unlikely, since they all probably already carried one. One can hardly imagine a fisherman without a small knife for cleaning fish and cutting rope. The best, in fact, the only sensible conclusion is that Jesus was speaking figuratively. He was emphasizing the courage the disciples would need. And Jesus explained, "for I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, 'and He was numbered with transgressors;' for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment" (v. 37). The disciples could not miss the reference, "Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12). This was not about the fact that Jesus would be crucified between two criminals. It was an assertion of the substitutionary element of His death. Jesus paid the debt others (even we) had incurred. Ever eager, the disciples took too literally Jesus' words. "They said, 'Lord, look, here are two swords.' And He said to them, 'it is enough'" (v. 38). Not that two swords would be enough, but rather meaning enough of that kind of talk. The disciples had misunderstood again. Perhaps smiling to Himself at their childish innocence, He suggested they take a walk in the night air and go pray. Takeaways We can take assurance from the fact that those who have been closest to Christ here will be closest to Him in eternity, but let us not argue for place. We cannot ever serve as perfectly as Christ, but we can all serve better that we do. Let us measure greatness in that way, but our ability to be humble and meek and willing to do whatever the Lord commands. Without complaint. Without discontent. Without looking about us to see what everyone else is doing.
Interlanguage Pragmatics: What Can it Offer to Language Teachers? I Although the necessity and importance of teaching pragmatics have been recognized, language teachers may hesitate to teach pragmatics in their classrooms for two reasons. First, teaching pragmatics is a difficult and sensitive issue due to the high degree of "face threat" it often involves and, second, the number of available pedagogical resources is limited. In this critical review of empirical studies in interlanguage pragmatics (ILP), the author argues that ILP research is a useful source of information for language teachers to make informed decisions about teaching pragmatics. First, she discusses the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 speakers' pragmatics and explanations for such differences. Secondly, she considers how L2 learners develop pragmatic competence, both in and outside classrooms. Finally, she examines the issues of teachability and the teaching of pragmatics in language classrooms. ESL classrooms are full of intercultural interactions, which are often accompanied by surprises. For example, you may have Japanese students who are "apologetic"—when you help them during the office hours or write a letter of recommendation for them, they apologize by saying "I'm sorry" rather than thanking you for help. At the same time, you may be shocked to see how direct these students can be when they disagree with their classmates. While Americans may mitigate their disagreements by starting with such compliments as "I think that's a very interesting idea, but…," these Japanese students seem to have no problem explicitly stating "I disagree with you." Socially, they may be regarded as too apologetic or impolite; linguistically, they lack pragmatic competence. 1 Pragmatic failure, the communication breakdown caused by lack of pragmatic competence, can interfere with social, academic, and professional opportunities for L2 speakers (Tanaka, 1997). Native speakers tend, in fact, to be less tolerant of pragmatic failure than of grammatical errors (Ervin-Tripp, 1972; Wolfson, 1983). In extreme cases, individuals (whether L1 or L2 speakers) may experience difficulty in establishing social relationships with members of the community and may even be denied valuable academic and professional opportunities. These potentially devastating consequences of the lack of pragmatic competence argue strongly for the teaching of pragmatics. A language teacher may hesitate to teach pragmatics, however, because to do so can be a difficult and sensitive endeavor. The use of language in social contexts involves a speaker's world knowledge, which is filtered by his or her value system (Thomas, 1983). This may make the correction of pragmatic errors (e.g., "It is not appropriate to ask such a question at a party") much more face-threatening than, say, the correction of pronunciation errors (e.g., "It's thórough, not thoróugh"). The study of interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) is one field of inquiry that can help language teachers make informed decisions about teaching pragmatics in their classrooms. ILP, the study of how second language speakers 2 use language, started in the late 70s. These cross-linguistic comparative studies were pedagogically motivated and sought to discover why linguistically competent students still lacked pragmatic competency. Attention to this topic since that time has been slowly but steadily increasing. In this article, I will illustrate how language teachers can benefit by keeping up with findings in ILP. Description of Interlanguage Pragmatics Because many ILP studies, especially early ones, focused on the description of L2 speakers' pragmatics, a significant amount of information is available on the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 speakers' use of language. One similarity between the pragmatics of L1 and L2 speakers is the range of semantic formulae. Semantic formulae are the subset of acts that speakers perform within a given speech act. For example, an apology could be broken down to the head act of the actual apology (e.g., "I'm sorry for being late") and adjunct acts such as giving an excuse or promising to compensate (e.g., "I couldn't find my keys. It won't happen again. I'll stay after to finish up"). Studies indicate that L2 speakers use semantic formulae in both similar and different ways compared to L1 speakers. In their studies on disagreement and on disseminating embarrassing information, Beebe and Takahashi (1989a, 1989b) found that both native speakers 3 of American English and Japanese ESL speakers used the following five semantic formulae in disagreement: 1. Criticism (e.g., "I don't think this works") 2. Suggestion (e.g., "Let's set time aside to go though this") 3. Positive remark (e.g., "This is interesting") 4. Gratitude (e.g., "Thank you for your effort to streamline things") 5. Token agreement (e.g., "Don't you think this is great?" "Yes"). However, they also found that, although these two groups of speakers have access to the same inventory of semantic formulae for disagreement, their selections are quite different. When asked what they would say in the following scenario, the two groups demonstrated different patterns. You are a corporate executive. Your assistant submits a proposal for reassignment of secretarial duties in your division. Your assistant describes the benefits of this new plan, but you believe it will not work. (1989a, p. 109) While 87% of the Americans used positive remarks, no Japanese used this formula. Criticism, on the other hand, was used by 87% of the Japanese, sometimes very explicitly (e.g., "I don't agree with you. I don't think your plan will work well"). Conversely, only 50% of the Americans used such explicit formulation and none of them used the word disagree. These studies suggest that L1 and L2 speakers have access to the same range of semantic formulae but differ in their utilization. The way L2 speakers deviate is not always predictable because it is influenced by multiple factors such as the complexity of speech acts, a speaker's familiarity with the situation (Eisenstein & Bodman, 1993), a speaker's language proficiency level, the distance between a speaker's L1 and L2, and the degree of cultural disorientation. However, the differences in the use of semantic formulae can be assumed to come from the planning and selecting process rather than from having a different inventory. Explanation of Interlanguage Pragmatics As more studies revealed differences between L1 and L2 pragmatic performance, researchers started to investigate the origins of those differences. 4 Pragmatic Transfer One possible cause for L2 speakers' pragmatic differences is pragmatic transfer. Pragmatic transfer is "the influence exerted by learners' pragmatic knowledge of language and cultures other than L2 on their comprehension, production and learning of L2 pragmatic information" (Kasper, 1992, p. 207). This type of transfer occurs at several levels. Pragmatic transfer occurs at the formal level, including the selection of lexicon, modality, and syntactic styles. For example, Japanese speakers of English may say "I'm sorry" when native English speakers would say "Thank you" or "I appreciate your help" to express gratitude. This occurs because Japanese use the expression sumimasen (which is equivalent to "I'm sorry" in English) when they thank people in certain contexts. The utterance "I'm sorry" seems to be the result of literal translation and therefore to represent L1 transfer at the formal level (Eisenstein & Bodman, 1993; House, 1989). Another level where pragmatic transfer occurs is the selection of semantic formulae and strategies. Takahashi and Beebe (1987, 1993) compared the semantic formulae used by three groups of speakers: native English speakers (NES), Japanese ESL/EFL speakers, and Japanese speakers speaking in Japanese. When the frequency of each formula was compared, use by Japanese speakers of English always measured between that of the other two groups. For example, in a correction situation, positive remarks were used much more often by NES than by Japanese speakers. When the three groups (NES, Japanese speaking in English and Japanese speaking in Japanese) were compared, the percentage of utterances that included positive remarks produced by each group were 79%, 23% and 13% respectively, suggesting that the way Japanese speakers select formulae in English may be influenced by what they would select in Japanese. 5 In addition, L1 transfer takes place at the level of the speaker's perception of contextual factors that influence the planning of utterances. While certain contextual factors, such as relative power status (social "distance" between the interlocutors) and the perceived degree of imposition of a speech act (e.g., how demanding a request is), seem to influence the selection of politeness strategies universally (Bergman & Kasper, 1993; Eisenstein & Bodman, 1993; Olshtain & Weinbach, 1987, 1993; Tyler, 1995; Weizman, 1993; Zuengler, 1993), the most influential contextual factors and the degree to which they are influential differ from one culture to another. Lipson (1994) conducted a study in which Italian learners of English translated American sitcom episodes into Italian and edited the script to make it more appropriate in Italian culture. When the two were compared, several situations that originally contained an act of apology no longer had one in Italian, suggesting that the obligation for apology differed in the two cultures. As Beebe and Takahashi (1989a) state: The picture becomes clearer when we realize that the situations in which both Japanese and Americans choose to be direct or indirect depend to a great extent on the relative social status of the interlocutors. Japanese, however, attend to factors that Americans do not hold to be particularly important. And Americans simply are not sensitized to all of these social nuances that, for Japanese, are involved in the decision to speak directly or indirectly. (p. 104) In other words, understanding the differences in "social nuances" facilitates the better understanding of ILP. Teachers who understand these differences can address students' needs more effectively. Learning Effect In addition to pragmatic transfer, learning effects may cause a deviation of L2 speakers' pragmatics from the L1 norm. Such learning effects may be of a formal nature (i.e., the result of classroom instruction) or of an informal nature (i.e., perceptions formed outside of a classroom setting). An example of an informal learning effect is L2 speakers' perceptions of the target language and culture developed from their past experience. A Japanese learner of English may underuse "softeners" because of a common stereotype held by Japanese that Americans are direct and do not require mitigation (Beebe & Takahashi, 1989a). Similarly, Olshtain (1983) found that American students of Hebrew, who perceived Hebrew speakers to require less apology, actually apologized much less than Russian students, who felt Hebrew culture required more apologies than Russian. Other types of learning effects include overgeneralization, hypercorrection, or simply a response to having been taught something that does not reflect reality. In a study by Kitao (1990), Japanese EFL students rated the expression "Will you…?" to be much more polite than NES did, and they also used the expression more often than NES did. Kitao concluded that this was "probably because they were taught in their English classes that this form was polite" (p. 197). This study suggests that speakers' perceptions about the target culture and language, both general and specific, influence these speakers' pragmatic patterns. However, deviation from the L1 pragmatic pattern is not necessarily a problem (Kasper, 1992; White, 1989). Some deviations do not cause pragmatic failure, and some even bring positive outcomes. Yet, investigation of the cause and patterns of L2 speakers' pragmatic deviation is useful and necessary because identifying where differences come from helps language teachers understand how students develop pragmatic competence. Development of Interlanguage Pragmatics At this point, few empirical studies are available, especially longitudinal ones, on the acquisition of pragmatics. Studies focusing on very beginning students are especially scarce because of difficulty in collecting data. However, available studies do provide some insights into how language learners develop pragmatic competence. Developmental Patterns ILP studies suggest that L2 learners go through the following three stages as they learn to perform a speech act successfully: (1) they learn to identify the speech act that is called for in a particular situation; (2) they learn to perform the speech act with or without an appropriate expression (e.g., the speaker performs the intended act, although he or she may unintentionally offend their interlocutor); and (3) they learn to select an expression appropriate to the speech act. The studies also suggest that the third stage develops last because the ability to select an appropriate expression takes more time to develop than do the preceding two abilities. Ellis (1992) conducted a longitudinal study of two beginning ESL children and found that these children failed to develop pragmatic competence even after they had made considerable development in making requests. He concluded that in children's acquisition of the speech act of "making a request," discrimination of social appropriateness is acquired much later than is the rote learning of formulaic expressions of request. Bardovi-Harlig and Hartford (1993) also conducted a longitudinal study in which they investigated how graduate students learn to make suggestions and rejections in academic advising sessions. Their findings suggested that L2 speakers changed over time toward L1 norms in their selection of speech acts (i.e., including more suggestions and fewer rejections) and as a result became more successful negotiators; however, their ability to employ the appropriate forms of speech acts did not improve significantly. Although the developmental patterns for other speech acts as well as for overall pragmatic competence are still to be investigated, these and other developmental studies (e.g., Weizman, 1993) suggest that some aspects of pragmatic competence develop from exposure to an L2 speaking environment while other aspects do not. Appropriateness seems to be one aspect that is particularly difficult to acquire. More studies, especially longitudinal ones, may help us understand how long it takes to develop pragmatic competence, which areas seem to be difficult to acquire, and what can be done to help L2 speakers overcome these difficulties. Input and Feedback Both Ellis (1992) and Bardovi-Harlig and Hartford (1993) mention limited input and feedback as possible reasons for unsuccessful pragmatic development. Studies on the quality and amount of input (Bardovi-Harlig & Hartford, 1996; Kasper, 1988) seem to support these speculations. Kasper (1988) conducted a role-play based study in which NES and German speakers of English participated. The researcher examined the impact of textbooks and classroom specific discourse on the learners' interlanguage discourse. She found that L2 speakers' utterances included such characteristics as rising intonation with a non-interrogative function, inappropriate explicitness in speech acts, complete-sentence responses, and a lack of speech act modality (e.g., the use of tag questions for intensifying or downtoning the directness of an utterance)—all of which could be traced to classroom specific discourse. She further claims that inappropriate and limited input in foreign language classrooms could be an additional possible factor in approximately one third of the pragmatic errors observed among EFL learners. Likewise, Bardovi-Harlig and Hartford (1996), in their analysis of 94 advising sessions of NES and ESL graduate students, found that advisors explicitly and implicitly taught students that suggestions from students are expected. Further, they indicated what acceptable suggestions are (e.g., which classes students can register for), and taught that making a counter-suggestion is more appropriate than rejecting an advisor's suggestion. However, almost no feedback was given on the form such suggestions should take. The researchers also found that no input was available for students to model because academic advising is private, depriving ESL students of opportunities to adopt and adapt the ways that NES students talk. Finally, Bardovi-Harligand Hartford. observed status differences between advisors and students, noting that one possible pragmatic implication of this meant students might find it presumptuous to adopt forms used by their advisors. This seems to explain why students in the 1993 study improved in their selection of speech acts but not in their selection of appropriate forms (see also Bouton, 1992; and Omar, 1992). Although none of these claims support a direct causal relationship between the kind and amount of input available and students' pragmatic errors, they suggest that the amount of input influences ILP development and that the exposure to the L2 environment facilitates the development of some aspects of ILP. Teaching of Interlanguage Pragmatics The study of the pedagogy of pragmatics is a more recent phenomenon than the study of other aspects of ILP. However, increasingly the significance of the topic is being recognized, and more studies are appearing that address this issue. It is the most relevant aspect of ILP for language teachers because the findings in this area have direct implications for language teaching. Teachability of Pragmatics A fundamental question in teaching pragmatics is whether or not it is possible to teach pragmatics at all. The answer seems to be "yes." Studies examining the teachability of pragmatics all suggest that it can be done (Kasper, 1997); however, some aspects of pragmatics seem easier to teach than others. Conversational routines, for example, have been effectively taught in various studies. Billmyer (1990) conducted an experimental study with 18 Japanese ESL students to examine the effectiveness of tutoring on complimenting and replying to compliments. The experimental group received 6 hours of explicit instruction on compliment rules in addition to their regular ESL instruction. After the experiment, the result of compliment-inducing tasks were analyzed in terms of frequency, level of spontaneity, appropriateness, forms and adjectival repertoire of the compliment, and type and length of reply. The findings showed that tutored L2 students were more native-like in their complimenting behavior and their replies than untutored students in terms their frequency, spontaneity, and adjective repertoire. However, they showed no significant difference from the untutored students in their appropriateness of pragmatic choice. Another study on the effectiveness of explicit instruction involved advanced German speakers of English (House, 1996). Students received 14 weeks of implicit instruction through rich input of various speech act routines, along with opportunities to practice. In addition, the experimental group received some explicit metapragmatic information about making requests. Analyses of role-play and authentic interaction at the end of the term showed that, while both groups improved, the experimental group was better in using a variety of expressions and strategies to make requests. However, both groups lacked effectiveness in uptaking and responding to the requests of others, speech acts that are less formulaic than the simple act of making a request. As these studies show, explicit instruction is possible and useful in helping learners acquire pragmatic competence, at least in conversational routines. 6 At the same time, most of the studies point out aspects of pragmatics that seem more difficult to teach than others, of which appropriateness is one example. Futhermore, teachability varies within the same pragmatic phenomenon. For example, Bouton (1994a, 1994b, and 1996) found that interpretation of certain types of implicatures (i.e., meanings implied by violating one or more conversational maxims 7 ) are easier to teach than others. In one study, an experimental group received instruction in interpreting implicatures. Various implicatures were described and their possible uses were discussed. A control group, on the other hand, received instructinstruction on non-pragmatic aspects of language. Students in the experimental group were encouraged to compare implicatures in their L1, to find similar authentic examples inside and outside the classroom, and to make up their own examples. Test results after 6 weeks showed that both groups improved equally in interpreting easier implicatures, such as the deployment of Grice's relevance maxim: A: "How about going for a walk?" B: "Isn't it raining out?" (Bouton, 1996, p. 7) However, the experimental group showed a significant improvement compared to the control group in interpreting more difficult implicatures, such as the implicatures shown below: 1) The "Pope Question" implicature: A: "Does Dr. Walker always give a test the day before vacation?" B: "Does the sun come up in the east?" 2) Irony: Bill and Peter work together in the same office. They sometimes are sent on business trips together and are becoming good friends. They often have lunch together and Peter has even invited Bill to have dinner with him and his wife at their home several times. Now Peter's friends have told him that they saw Bill out dancing with Peter's wife recently while Peter was out of town on a business trip. On hearing this, Peter's comment was: "Bill knows how to be a really good friend, doesn't he?" (Bouton, 1996, p. 8) Although further study is necessary in order to understand what makes some implicatures more difficult than others, Bouton's findings suggest that some aspects of pragmatics are easier to learn than others. By focusing on difficult aspects, teachers can help learners develop competence in those areas. How to Teach Pragmatics Several ILP studies have been conducted on the question of how to teach pragmatics, which is what the majority of language teachers are interested in. Awareness-raising, as suggested by both empirical and theoretical studies, is one effective approach to the teaching of pragmatics. This approach aims at: developing learners' pragmatic awareness through classroom application of available descriptive frameworks and research results. It does not attempt to teach specific means of, say, performing a given speech act, but rather attempts to sensitize learners to context-based variation in language use and the variables that help determine that variation. (Rose, 1994, p. 37) Drawing from research that suggests the importance of noticing in language acquisition and L1 pragmatics development, Schmidt (1993) argues awareness of pragmatic input is important for the acquisition of pragmatic competence. "Consciously paying attention to the relevant features of input and attempting to analyze their significance in terms of deeper generalization are both highly facilitative," he suggests, in the development of L2 pragmatics (p. 35). Therefore, tasks that focus the learner's attention on pragmatic forms, functions, and co-occurring features of social context are helpful in developing adult language learners' ILP. Empirical studies in ILP and contrastive pragmatics also suggest that awareness-raising assists students in utilizing the pragmatic knowledge they already possess. Kasper (1997) found that L1 and L2 speakers have access to similar inventories of semantic formulae and other pragmatic resources, but language learners underuse universal or L1 pragmatic knowledge. Therefore, awareness-raising activities are useful in making language learners aware of their existing pragmatic competence and encouraging them to utilize the pragmatic resources they already possess. Specific ideas for awareness-raising have been introduced in publications for language teachers, such as TESOL Journal, as well as at regional and national TESOL conferences. Tanaka (1997) suggests that students examine and discuss their L1 sociocultural rules and either observe and analyze target language discourse or develop a survey to explore similar rules in a target community. For example, one of Tanaka's students, after seeing the U.S. political debates on video, wrote: We have many different ways to say no. Before class, I thought that Americans just say NO. But I find out that it is not true. My favorite hobby is watching movies. So now, I'm going to start watching more carefully to learn different ways of saying no and many other things. (p. 16) This student has noticed that there are various ways of expressing refusal, a starting point for exploring the complex relationship between pragmatics and contexts. Furthermore, the student has realized that his/her view of the target culture and language did not reflect reality. Since misconceived notions of the target language and culture are one cause for L2 speakers' pragmatic deviation, this activity is helpful in addressing one of the potential catalysts for pragmatic failure as well. 8 One difficulty for anyone who tries to teach pragmatics is that it is so highly context dependent. No "magic line" will be appropriate for all contexts, and it is equally unrealistic to attempt to cover all contexts that students could possibly encounter. By being taught to be aware of pragmatics in various contexts, however, learners will develop the ability to figure out pragmatic patterns in new, previously unencountered contexts. In that sense also, raising learners' awareness is more useful than simply teaching selectively pragmatic patterns for limited, specific contexts. Teaching Materials There is urgent need for the development of teaching materials based on ILP empirical data. Teaching materials, especially textbooks, serve as important sources of input. What studies have illustrated about the treatment of pragmatics in textbooks, however, is rather discouraging. BardoviHarlig (1996) has shown that textbooks often do not present a particular speech act or language function at all. She also shows that such presentation, when it does occur, may not very accurately reflect reality. Examining how the conversational function of "closing" was presented in 20 ESL textbooks, she found that only two textbooks attempted to present appropriate examples of closings. The dialogues in the remaining books either went only as far as preclosings or did not have closings at all, as in the following example: Stanley: Hi, Dick. Dick: Hi Stanley. Did you go to the football game yesterday? Stanley: No, I went to the movies with my kids. Did our team win? Dick: No, they didn’t. They lost. Stanley: Did they lose by much? Dick: They lost by twelve points. Stanley: Oh, that’s awful. I’m glad I didn’t go. (Lado, 1989, cited in Bardovi-Harlig, 1996) Conversational closing is an aspect of pragmatics about which language learners often express uneasiness. The difficulty language learners experience and the lack of examples in ESL teaching materials are perhaps not unrelated. Bouton (1990, 1996) also notes that no ESL textbooks make any direct attempt to develop students' abilities to understand and interpret implicatures. Although implicatures are used frequently in daily conversation, only a few examples of them are found in textbook dialogues. EFL textbooks are also found to be inadequate as a source of input. LoCastro (1997) analyzed 34 EFL textbooks used in Japanese senior high schools to see how the formal linguistic markers of politeness are introduced. She found that they do not provide adequate resources necessary for students to control the politeness levels of their utterances. For example, there are no lessons or chapters devoted to a discussion of politeness, and examples of linguistic politeness markers are noticeably lacking. In some cases, dialogues lack necessary style shifting and politeness in particular contexts, as shown in the following example: Student: For my generation, life is so difficult. Teacher: Huh? Why? Student: It's so difficult to be original. Lindberg [sic] crossed the Atlantic. Others have climbed Mount Everest and gone to the moon. What's new? Teacher: How about a cure for cancer? Could you find one? Student: Who, me? You must be kidding. But I'd like to be in the famous Book of Records. (an example from New Horizon II, p. 94, cited in LoCastro, 1997, p. 252). In this example, LoCastro argues that the response in italics is inappropriate given the power, status, and age differences between a teacher and a high school student. In other words, textbooks not only fail to provide enough input but they present inaccurate examples of how pragmatic context determines politeness levels in authentic communication. LoCastro also adds that teachers in Japan do not have many resources available to use in teaching politeness. In teaching pragmatics, as in other aspects of L2 acquisition, it seems more realistic and desirable to aim for what Giles, Coupland, and Coupland (1991) call "optimal" rather than "total" convergence. In other words, rather than attempting to acquire native speaker competence in any and all aspects of L2 use (i.e., "total convergence"), a learner should aim at acquiring native-like language uses in those areas that are crucial for successful target language communication (i.e., "optimal convergence"). In order to develop a curriculum to achieve such optimal convergence, the differences between L1 and L2 speakers that influence communication need to be identified. Conclusion Understanding the nature of ILP and its developmental patterns helps teachers make an informed decision about the treatment of pragmatics in language classrooms. For example, the fact that L1 and L2 speakers have access to the same inventory of semantic formulae suggests that students do not need to be taught new formulae; rather, they need to learn how to make use of their inventory. Such findings from studies on teaching and learning have specific implications for classroom teaching. For example, analyses of teaching materials help teachers see what types of implicit messages textbooks send regarding what language is appropriate in what contexts. It also provides valuable guidance as to how teachers should compensate for shortcomings in their lesson plans and enrichment materials. The field of ILP, in fact, is still in its developmental stage, and there are many issues to be studied within its scope of research. A review of studies to date suggests that ILP research has much to contribute to language pedagogy. As focus on the teaching and learning of pragmatics increases, ILP seems to be one field in second language studies from which language teachers can benefit greatly. Author Aya Matsuda is an assistant professor of applied linguistics at the University of New Hampshire where she teaches courses in TESL and linguistics. Her research interests include sociolinguistics and language teaching, interlanguage pragmatics, multilingualism, and world Englishes. Endnotes 1 See Bachman (1987), Canale and Swain (1980), Savignon (1983) and Thomas (1983) for further discussion of pragmatic competence in relation to communicative competence. 2 The term speaker is used to refer to the language user because almost all ILP studies to date have exclusively studied spoken language. Whether or not findings from ILP studies on spoken language are applicable to written language is yet to be investigated. 3 The notion of native speakers as providers of standard, normative language has been challenged as variability exists in what they know about the language, what they can do with the language, and what they consider to be the 4 standard. In this paper, the term native speakers in used to refer broadly to people who speak the language as their first language, and non-native speakers to people who do not speak the language as their first language. The term native speakers, therefore, implies neither authority nor homogeneity. 4 The most obvious reason for L2 speakers' pragmatic deviation is linguistic limitation. If speakers do not have adequate linguistic resources to say what they want to say, they cannot conform to the pragmatic rules in a speech community even if they are aware of the rules (e.g., Cohen & Olshtain, 1981). However, only a few ILP studies (e.g., Blum-Kulka, 1983) even mention linguistic limitation as a cause of pragmatic failure because linguistic proficiency is usually considered as a related but separate entity from pragmatic competence. Because of this lack of discussion in ILP studies, and also because resources to improve linguistic competence are more readily available outside of ILP studies, this paper does not discuss linguistic limitation as a cause of L2 pragmatic deviation. 5 See also Beebe and Takahashi (1989a, 1989b) and Beebe, Takahashi and Uliss-Weltz (1990). 6 See also Edmondson and House (1991), Jaworski (1994) and WilderBasset (1984, 1986, 1994). 7 Grice (1975) proposed that all humans, when they are being rational, are cooperative in communication, unconsciously observing the cooperative principle: "Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged" (p. 45). Although what is "required" varies cross-culturally, the fact that humans are cooperative in constructing conversation, Grice argues, is a universal principle. He also proposed four special cases of this Cooperative Principle (CP), which he calls maxims (pp. 26-27): Maxim of Quantity: 1. Make your contribution as informative as is required. 2. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required. Maxim of Quality: 1. Do not say what you believe to be false. 2. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. Maxim of Relation: Be relevant. Maxim of Manner: 1. Avoid obscurity of expression. 2. Avoid ambiguity. 3. Be brief. 4. Be orderly. The principle and four maxims are not prescriptive rules speakers are required to follow; rather, these are descriptions of what speakers naturally do. In actual conversations, however, these maxims are often seemingly violated as in the following example (Grice, 1975): A: "Smith doesn't seem to have a girlfriend these days." B: "He's been driving to New York every weekend." B's response seems to violate the maxim of relation. However, this is not likely to result in an immediate communication breakdown; instead, A will try to figure out what B implied. Grice argues that the interpretation of such implication is possible because the cooperative principle is observed. When the speaker seems to have violated the maxim, we assume that there is a reason for it, rather than that the person is saying something totally irrelevant, for example, because we assume that the speaker is observing the CP. In this case, B may be trying to convey that Smith has a girlfriend in New York, has too much work to do in New York that he doesn't have time to have girlfriend, or something else; either way, A will try to figure out the implicature (i.e., implied meaning) because he or she assumes that B observes the CP. In other words, the "violation" of the relevance maxim was actually only apparent; the observance of the CP allows B to convey something more than what was actually said and A to comprehend an implicature. Implicature, which can be explained using the conversational maxims and CP, is used extensively in our everyday conversation and has been a focus of ILP studies as well (e.g., Bouton, 1992, 1994a, 1994b). 8 Also see Bardovi-Harlig (1996), Cohen (1997) and Ebsworth and Ebsworth (1997) for more suggestions on awareness raising activities in language classrooms. References Bachman, L. F. (1987). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1996). Pragmatics and language teaching: Bringing pragmatics and pedagogy together. Pragmatics and Language Learning, 7, 21-39. Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Hartford, B. (1993). Learning the rules of academic talk: A longitudinal study of pragmatic change. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15, 279-304. Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Hartford, B. (1996). Input in an institutional setting. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18, 171-188. Beebe, L., & Takahashi, T. (1989a). 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We are IntechOpen, the world's leading publisher of Open Access books Built by scientists, for scientists Open access books available 5,800 International authors and editors 142,000 Downloads 180M 154 Countries delivered to Our authors are among the TOP 1% Contributors from top 500 universities 12.2% most cited scientists TOP 1% Selection of our books indexed in the Book Citation Index in Web of Science™ Core Collection (BKCI) Interested in publishing with us? Contact email@example.com Numbers displayed above are based on latest data collected. For more information visit www.intechopen.com Application of Self-Organizing Maps in Text Clustering: A Review Yuan-Chao Liu, Ming Liu and Xiao-Long Wang Additional information is available at the end of the chapter http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/50618 1. Introduction Text clustering is one of the most important text mining research directions. Despite the loss of some details, clustering technology simplifies the structure of data set, so that people can ob‐ serve the data from a macro point of view. After clustering process, the text data set can be divided into some different clusters, making the distance between the individuals in the same cluster as small as possible, while the dis‐ tance between the different categories as far away from each other as possible. Similar as text classification, text clustering is also the technology of processing a large num‐ ber of texts and gives their partition.What is different is that text clustering analysis of the text collection gives an optimal division of the category without the need for labeling the category of some documents by hand in advance, so it is an unsupervised machine learning method. By comparison, text clustering technology has strong flexibility and automatic processing capabilities, and has become an important means of effective organization and navigation of text information. Jardine and van Rijsbergen made the famous clustering hy‐ pothesis: closely associated documents belong to same category and the same request [1]. Text clustering can also act as the basic research for many other applications. It is a prepro‐ cessing step for some natural language processing applications, e.g., automatic summariza‐ tion, user preference mining, or be used to improve text classification results. YC Fang, S. Parthasarathy, [2] and Charu [3] use clustering techniques to cluster users' frequent query and then the results to update the FAQ of search engine sites. Although both text clustering and text classification are based on the idea of class, there are still some apparent differences: the classification is based on the taxonomy, the category dis‐ tribution has been known beforehand. While the purpose of text clustering is to find the topic structure of documents [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]. Yasemin Kural [11] made a lot of experiments and compared the clustering mode and linear array mode for search engine, the results show that the former can indeed increase information access efficiency greatly. Although there are many clustering methods, SOM has attracted many researchers in recent years. In this chapter, we reviewed the application of Self-Organizing Maps in Text Cluster‐ ing. Our recent works on SOM based text clustering are also introduced briefly. The remain‐ ing of this chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 gives a review about the advances in text clustering and SOM; section 3 presents our recent work on application of self-organiz‐ ing maps in text clustering. Then in section 4 some conclusions and discussions are given. 2. The Advances In Text Clustering And SOM 2.1. Text Clustering And Its Recent Research And Development Text clustering is an unsupervised process that is not dependent on the prior knowledge of data collection, and based solely on the similarity relationship between documents in the collection to separate the document collection into some clusters. The general mathematical description of text clustering can be depicted as follows: Suppose C = {d 1 , d 2 , …, d n} is a collection of documents to be clustered, each document d i can be represented as high-dimensional space vectord i = {w 1 , w 2 , …, w i} by the famous vec‐ tor space model (VSM), where w i means the weight of d i on feature j. The purpose of text clustering is to divide C into C 1 , C 2 , …, C x , C 1 ∪ C 2 ∪… ∪ C x = C, here 1≤ i ≠ j ≤ k. For hard clustering, each document can belong to only one class, i.e. C i ∩ C j = Φ. Whereas for soft clus‐ tering, one document may belong to multiple clusters. Membership degree μ ij can be used to denote how much d i belongs to cluster C j . Compared with other data types, text data is semi-structured. This makes man databasebased algorithms does not apply to text clustering. One important preprocessing step for text clustering is to consider how the text content can be represented in the form of mathematical expression for further analysis and processing. The Common method is Salton's vector space model [12] (Vector Space Model, VSM). The basic idea is: one feature space are constructed firstly, each dimension means one term, which comes from the key words of each document. Then each document is represented as one vector in this feature space. The document vector is usually a sparse vector as the di‐ mension is very huge. Dimensionality reduction is an essential step in text clustering. There are several techniques to reduce the dimension of the high-dimensional feature vector. PCA (Principal Component Analysis) method is one of the widely used dimension reduction techniques. Given an n × m-order document-term matrix, the k eigenvectors of the PCA with an m × m-order cova‐ riance matrix is used to reduce the dimension of the word space, and ultimately resulted in a k-term space dimension, which is much smaller than m. LSI (Latent Semantic the Indexing) method is also widely used in the field of information retrieval, dimensionality reduction. It is in essence similar with the PCA. LSI make singular value decomposition not on covariance matrix, but on the initial n × m-order document– term matrix, and then selecting these singular eigenvectors as representative, thereby re‐ duces the dimension. Another problem is how to extract important features from documents. Mark P. Sinka and David W. Corne [13] argue that stop word removal will improve the text clustering effect. They also pointed out that after obtaining all unique words in the collection, you can only keep some high-frequency words to construct the space. Anton V. Leouski and W. Bruce Crof demonstrated that for each document, it is necessary to select only some important words to represent the document, and can basically meet the needs of the cluster without impacting clustering results. Literature [14] proposed a method to extract the key words in the document as features Literature [15] use latent semantic indexing (LSI) method to com‐ press the dimension of the clustering feature space. Besides, ZhengYu Niu [16] and STANI‐ SŁAW OSIŃSKI [17], etc also performed research on feature selection. Assume there are five documents doc1 doc2, doc3, doc4, and doc5. For each document, the first steps are segmenting, stop word removal, and word frequency counting. In order to improve the clustering efficiency, only the words which frequency is above a certain threshold value are used to construct the feature space. Studies have shown that such a treatment will not have an adverse impact on the clustering quality. Then the feature space can be constructed by using the term set which comes from all these terms. Each document is represented as a vector in the feature space. Fig.2. depicts the preprocessing steps for text clustering. Suppose the feature space is (apple, banana in the cat, window), and feature words frequen‐ cy threshold is 2, then the following example document-term matrix can be formed: (Apple, banana, cat, window) As all documents are represented as the vector in the same feature space, thus it is more convenient for computing the document similarity. In fact, the similarity calculation is very frequent for most clustering algorithms. In addition, as there are usually many common words in different documents, the actual dimension of the feature space is less than the sum of the number of words selected from each document. The evaluation of word importance. Take a science paper as an example, it is shown that about 65% to 90% author-marked keywords can be found in the main content in the orig‐ inal paper[18]. This means that by importance evaluation, the key words can be extracted from documents to represent the main content. Basically, keyword extraction can be seen as a supervised machine learning problems; this idea is first proposed by Turney [19]. Turney also make a comparative study based on genetic algorithms and decision treebased keywords extraction algorithm. Factors which can denote the word importance in‐ cludes word frequency, word location (title, caption and etc.). Many researches showed that high-frequency words are the more important words. Some typical keyword extrac‐ tion system has been listed in table 1. Table 1. Some Classical Keyword Extraction Systems. 2.2. Two Clustering strategies in Text Clustering: whole clustering and incremental clustering There are two common Clustering strategies, and both need to measure the similarity of the document. The first strategy is the "complete" strategy, or called "static" strategy. During the clustering process, the documents collection did not change neither adding documents, nor removing documents. At the beginning of clustering, the documents in the collection are fixed. In the clustering Method based on this policy, an NN similarity matrix can be generated from the beginning and there are N (N −1) / 2 similarity values in the matrix. As it will compare the similarity among any documents, the computation is very costly. The second strategy is the strategy of "incremental"[20]. In many occasions, the document collection can be increased at any time in the clustering process. When adding a document, it will be merged into the existing cluster, or you can separate it as a new category. While increasing documents, it may be necessary to perform re-clustering. There are some methods to calculate the similarity or distances between different clusters: 1) the shortest distance method (single link method). If G p , G q are two different clusters, D s (p, q)=min{d ij \| i ∈ G p , j ∈ G q}; 2) the longest distance method. If G p , G q are two different The centric method. − x G = 1 L ∑ i=l L x i Mean Quantization Error (abbreviated as MQE) is adopted as convergence condition as performed by Ref. [10-12]. Since MQE can measure the average agglomeration degree of clustering results, when its value is less than a threshold such as 0.01 (which is adopted by Kohonen in Ref. [21]), this dynamic algorithm stops. Where, C represents the quantity of clusters. Nj represents one neuron. Cj represents the cluster, which includes the data that are more similar to Nj than to other neurons. \|Cj\| rep‐ resents the quantity of the data included by Cj. Di represents one datum among Cj. 2.3. SOM And Its Application For Text Clustering Self-organizing map network (SOM, for abbreviation) is first proposed by T.Kohonen Pro‐ fessor in University of Helsinki in Finland, also known as the Kohonen network [22]. Koho‐ nen believes that a neural network will be divided into different corresponding regions while receiving outside input mode, and different regions have different response character‐ istics for corresponding input mode, and this process can be done automatically. SOM net‐ work has the following main properties: 1) The cluster center is the mathematical expectation of all the documents in this cluster; 2) "cluster" of input data, and maintaining the topological order. Fully trained SOM network can be viewed as a pattern classifier. By inputting a document, the neurons representing the pattern class-specific in the output layer will have the greatest response. The self-organizing map is proposed based on this idea, which is similar to the self-organi‐ zation clustering process in human brain[23] [24]. SOM clustering method has been success‐ fully used in the field of digital libraries, text clustering and many other applications [25] [26] [27] [28]. The running process of the SOM network can be divided into two stages: training and map‐ ping. In the training phase, the samples were input randomly. For a particular input pattern, there will be a winning node in the output layer, which produces the greatest response. At the beginning of the training phase, which node in the output layer will generate the maxi‐ mum response is uncertain. When the category of the input pattern is changed, the winning node of the two-dimensional plane will also change. Due to the lateral mutual excitatory ef‐ fects, Nodes around the winning node have a greater response, so all the nodes of the win‐ ning node and its neighborhood will both perform different levels of adjustment. SOM adjust the weights of the output layer nodes with a large number of training samples, and finally each node in the output layer is sensitive to a specific pattern class. When the class characteristics of the two clusters are close, the nodes on behalf of these two clusters are also close in position. After the training of the SOM network, the relation between output layer nodes and each input pattern can be determined, then all the input patterns can be mapped onto the nodes in the output layers, which is called mapping steps. SOM method usually requires pre-defining the size and structure of the network. There are some methods which can achieve this purpose [29][30][31]. The basic idea is to allow more rows or columns to be dynamically added to the network, make the network more suitable for the simulation of the real input space. SOM method requires the definition of neighborhood function and learning rate function beforehand. There is no fixed pattern in Kohonen model on the choice of neighborhood function and learning rate function, they are generally selected based on the heuristic infor‐ mation [32][33]. H.Yin proposed BSOM, which is SOM method based on Bayesian [34]. The basic idea is to minimize the KL distance of the data density and neural models. KL distance can measure the distance or deviation between the environment probability density and real probability density, its value is generally a positive number. Learning process can be done within a fixed range of the winner neuron. The BSOM therefore gives a new perspective on the role of the conventional SOM neighborhood function. In addition, Filip, Mulier and Vla‐ dimir Cherkassky studied the learning rate function strategy in SOM [35]. The experimental results show that the location of the neurons may be over affected by the last input data. Fil‐ ip, Mulier, Vladimir Cherkassky has improved the learning rate function and neighborhood function, to make impact of the input training data on the neuron location more uniform. 2.4. The Comparison Of SOM With Other Text Clustering Methods Besides from SOM, There are also two widely used text clustering methods: AHC clustering method and K-means clustering method. The basic steps of AHC for text clustering method are as follows: 1. Calculate the document similarity matrix; 2. Each document is seen as a cluster firstly; 3. Merge the nearest two clusters into one; 4. Update the similarity matrix, i.e, re-calculating of the similarity of the new cluster with the current cluster; if there are only one cluster, then go to step 5), otherwise go to step 3); 5. End. Researchers often use two different methods to cut the hierarchical relationships. One is to use the number of clusters as segmentation standard; another method is using the sim‐ ilarity as the segmentation standard, that is, when the similarity between two clusters is lower than a given threshold, the clustering algorithm will stop. Besides, it has been shown that the clustering entropy [36] can be used as the termination conditions of the hi‐ erarchical clustering method: The first expression in the right side of the formula is the intra-cluster entropy; the second means the inter-cluster entropy. When En is smallest, the clustering result achieves optimum value. c 0 is the center of all the samples. p i ( j) is the i documents for cluster j. p 0 ( j) is the center of the jth clusters. K is the number of clusters, n j is the number of documents in cluster j. K-means clustering algorithm is the typical dynamic partition method [37] [38] [39] [40]. The basic steps [41] are as follows: 212 1. Randomly select K documents, which represent initial cluster centroids. 2. Assign each document to the cluster that has the closest centroid. 3. When all documents have been assigned, recalculate the K centroids. 4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the centroids no longer change. 5. Output the separation of these documents, i.e. different clusters. For K-means, if the k value selected is inappropriate or the choice of initial accumulation point is uneven, the clustering process will be delayed and the clustering results are also ad‐ versely affected. Traditionally, there are mainly two methods to select the initial cluster cen‐ ter: 1) randomly select k points; 2) use empirical method to select the initial cluster centers. In addition, the researchers also made some of the more complex but very effective method: 1) the gravity center method. The basic idea is: first calculate the gravity center of all the samples as the first point; then select a positive number as the minimum critical distance. Input all the samples in turn, if the input sample has distance greater than d, it will be deemed as a new clustering point; 2) the density method. Two positive numbers d1 and d2 (d1d2) are first set, form the ultra-dimensional ball using d1 as the radius, which density is calculated as the number of samples in that ball. Select the sample with the maximum densi‐ ty as the first center; select the sample with the second maximum density. Generally, SOM has proven to be the most suitable document clustering method. It can map documents onto two-dimensional diagram to show the relationship between the dif‐ ferent documents. SOM can depict text in more figurative and better visual way. High-di‐ mensional space can be transformed into two-dimensional space, and the similarity between the input data in the multi-dimension space is well maintained in the two-di‐ mensional discrete space, the degree of similarity between the high dimensional spatial data can also be transformed into the location proximity of representation space, which can maintain the topological order. SOM also has the following advantages: 1) noise im‐ munity; 2) visualization; 3) parallel processing. Text Clustering is a high-dimensional application and closely related to the semantic fea‐ tures. The above characteristics of SOM make it very suitable for text clustering. 2.5. Dynamic clustering of SOM Self-Organizing-Mapping (abbreviated as SOM) is one of the most extensively applied clus‐ tering algorithm for data analysis, because of its characteristic that its neuron topology is identical with the distribution of input data. However, the inconvenience, that it needs to predefine two parameters of cluster quantity and neuron topology, prevents it from prevail‐ ing in online situation. As indicated by Ref. [42][43][44], many methods have been proposed to cluster dynamic da‐ ta. For example, Dhillon et al. [45] proposed a dynamic clustering algorithm to help analyze the transfer of information. Unfortunately, this algorithm is time-consuming and impracti‐ cal, since it needs to run several times. Ghaseminezhad and Karami [46] improve this algo‐ rithm by employing SOM structure, which forms an initial neuron topology at first and then dynamically tunes its topology once input data are updated. However, its neuron topology is fixed in advance and too rigid to be altered. In order to enable neuron topology easily to be altered, some self-adaptive algorithms have been proposed. The prominent merit of them is that they don't need to set any assumption about neuron topology in advance. For example, Melody in Ref. [47] initializes a neuron top‐ ology of small scale at first and then gradually expands it following the update of input da‐ ta. Tseng et al in Ref. [48] improve this algorithm by tuning neuron topology in virtue of dynamically creating and deleting the arcs between different neurons. Unfortunately, aforementioned self-adaptive algorithms have two defects. One is that, when neuron topology isn't suitable for current input data, they will insert or split neurons, whereas, these newly created neurons may locate out of the area where input data distrib‐ ute. The other is that, they fail to preserve topology order. Therefore, they can't perform competitive learning as transitional SOM based algorithms, which will generate some dead neurons and they will never be tuned. The detailed discussions are indicated in Ref. [49][50]. For avoiding predefining cluster quantity, some scalable SOM based clustering algorithms are proposed, such as GSOM in Ref. [51] and GHSOM in Ref. [52]. Nevertheless, neuron top‐ ologies of them are fixed as liner, cycle, square or rectangle in advance. These kinds of topol‐ ogies are too rigid, and hardly to be altered. In order to solve this problem, some topology adaptive algorithms have been proposed, such as GNG in Ref. [53], PSOM in Ref. [54], and DASH in Ref. [55]. These algorithms free of predefining neuron topology and can automatically construct it to let it conform to the dis‐ tribution of input data. 3. Our Recent Work On Application Of Self-Organizing Maps In Text Clustering 3.1. The Conceptual SOM Model For Text Clustering Most of the existing text clustering methods simply use word frequency vector to represent the document, with little regard to the language's own characteristics and ontological knowledge. When documents are clustered using conventional "SOM plus VSM" way, it is hard to grasp the underlying semantic knowledge and consequently the clustering quality may be adversely affected. However, we notice that the documents in same cluster are very relevant to each other even though there are few common words shared by these docu‐ ments, so the relevance calculation among documents can be simplified by the relevance cal‐ culation of words in documents. Y.C. Liu et al. have proposed a conceptional self-organizing map model (ConSOM) [56]for text clustering, in which neurons and documents are represented by the vector in extended concept space and that in traditional feature space. It has been shown that by importing con‐ cept relevance knowledge, SOM can achieve better performance than traditional mode due to its semantic sensitivity. Figure 3 give the basic principle for ConSOM. After both extend‐ ed concept space and traditional feature space are constructed, all documents and neurons are represented by two vectors: traditional vector VF purely formed by word frequency and extended concept vector VC, as shown in Fig. 3. Table 2.presents Concept Representation of Word in HowNet. Table 2. Concept Representation of Word in HowNet. 3.2. Fast SOM Clustering Method For Large-Scale Text Clustering Conventional data clustering methods frequently perform unsatisfactorily for large text col‐ lections due to 3 factors:1) there are usually large number of documents to be processed; 2) the dimension is very huge for text clustering; 2) the computation complexity is very high. So it is very necessary to improve the computation speed. As similarity computation is very crucial for text clustering, and has much impact on clus‐ tering efficiency, Y. liu and etc[57]. propose one novel feature representation and similarity computation method to make SOM text clustering much faster. Each document is coded as the collection of some keywords extracted from the original document, and will directly be input to SOM, whereas each output layer node of SOM are coded as numerical vector as that of most Kohonen Networks. In order to directly separate documents into different groups, ring topology is adopted as our SOM structure, thus the number of groups can be any integral values. Like Kohonen Networks, it consists of two layers, input layer and output layer; each node in output layer corresponds to one cluster. Only neurons need to be represented as high-dimension vector, whereas the document will be coded as indexes of keywords. 3.3. The Variant Of SOM Model For Dynamic Text Clustering Figure 5 shows the ring output layer topology of V-SOM [58]. The advantage of this topolo‐ gy is that sector number (node number) can be any integers, and it will be possible to reflect topic distribution of the input documents more finely and make full use of neurons. Besides, the number of neighboring neurons for each neuron is same, thus it can help avoid edge ef‐ fect which usually happens by using rectangular or hexagonal topology. Neurons can be in‐ serted gradually to avoid lack-of-use phenomenon of neurons. R 2 cluster criterion is used to find suitable network size which can reflect topic distribution of input documents. 4. Conclusions and discission In conclusion, SOM has obvious advantage in terms of topology preserving order, anti-noise ability. By using self-organizing map network as the main framework of the text clustering, semantic knowledge can also be easily incorporated so as to enhance the clustering effect. First, SOM can better handle the dynamic clustering problem through various kinds of dy‐ namic vari-structure model. E.g. V-SOM model, which combine the decomposition strategy and neuronal dynamic expansion, under the guidance of clustering criterion function, dy‐ namically and adaptively adjust the network structure, thus the clustering results can better reflect the topic distribution of input documents. Second, semantic knowledge can be easily integrated into the SOM. Due to the diversity and complexity of language, same concept may also have different forms of expression. The tra‐ ditional "VSM+SOM" mode rely solely on the frequency of feature words, and cannot grasp and embody semantic information. We use HowNet as a source of conceptual knowledge and perform effective integration with statistical information in order to enhance the sensi‐ tive ability of the clustering. if there are clusters with hidden common concept, they will be merged into one cluster, even if they are less common words shared by these documents. Finally, the SOM's unique training structure provides convenience for the realization of parallel clustering and incremental clustering, thus contributing to improve the efficiency of clustering. Incremental clustering also makes it more suitable for dynamic clustering of web documents. 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Sunspot Group Numbers Since 1900 and Implications for the Long-term Record of Solar Activity Leif Svalgaard 1 and Kenneth H. Schatten 2 Submitted May 2017 Abstract. Recent work on improving and revising estimates of solar activity [Clette et al., 2014] has resulted in renewed interest in what has been called the longest running 'Science Experiment'. We compare four reconstructions of solar activity as reflected in the number of sunspot groups ('active regions') constructed by different authors using very different methods. We concentrate on the period since AD 1900 where the underlying solar and geomagnetic data are plentiful and of sufficient quality and find that all four methods yield essentially the same Sunspot Group Number series. We take that as indicating that protracted and pernicious criticisms of the individual methods are neither fruitful nor helpful and we suggest that future efforts be directed towards understanding the specific reasons why the methods give discordant results for centuries prior to the 20 th The main area of disagreement occurs during the last 25 years of the 19 th century and feeds back into the time prior to that. The solar Extreme Ultraviolet flux can be reconstructed since the 1740s [Svalgaard, 2016] and with suitable scaling fits the Svalgaard & Schatten [2016] Sunspot Group Number series since 1865 very well, so we argue that the discordant group series have problems once we move out of the 20 th century, and that the community should concentrate on finding out what those are, so a true and useful consensus can emerge. 1. Introduction For a hundred years after Rudolf Wolf's death, his celebrated Relative Sunspot Number (which we shall refer to as the Wolf Number 3 , W) reigned supreme as the measure of solar activity. Wolf was able to extend the W series back to AD 1700 for yearly averages and to 1749 for monthly averages. Daily values go back to 1818 (with some gaps during the early years). Then in 1994, Hoyt et al. [1994] asked "Do we have the correct reconstruction of solar activity?" and proposed to answer in the negative by constructing the Group Sunspot Number [Hoyt & Schatten, 1998; hereafter HS], based on counting only the number of sunspot groups, arguing that the number of individual, small spots was not well-determined in the early data. A decade ago Svalgaard [2007] quantified a discrepancy between the W series and the HS reconstruction and pointed out that a reassessment was needed. Recently, Svalgaard & Schatten [2016; hereafter SS] finally revisited the issue and brought the Group Number series up-to-date. Their approach has 1 Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA 2 a.i. solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA 3 « on pourrait la nommer Série de R. Wolf. On pourrait se moquer de cette prétention; mais puisqu'il existe des auteurs sans conscience on est forcé de défendre sa propriété », Wolf [1877]. been severely (e.g. Lockwood et al. [2016]), but unsatisfactorily (see Svalgaard & Schatten [2017]), criticized on procedural grounds. Namely, that our methods were "unsound" and "generally invalid" and that our assumptions were leading to "considerable errors in the long-term". Two new articles (Willamo et al. [2017]; hereafter WEA. Chatzistergos et al. [2017]; hereafter CEA) have joined the ever-growing list of 'new and improved' reconstructions. What is truly remarkable, though, is that since the year 1900 where the underlying data are plentiful and of good quality, all these reconstructions agree within a few percent, regardless of methodology and of claims of being superior to all the others; a conclusion also reached by Cliver [2016]. This means that in spite of the criticisms, all the methods are equally satisfactory, provided the data are good and in particular that the 'standard' or 'reference' observer records are stable and free of anomalies. In this article we quantify the astounding degree of agreement obtained in spite of the very diverse methods and choices made by HS, SS, CEA, and WEA and compare this new consensus for the 20 th century with other solar indices with equally impressive agreements. 2. Building the Composite The four articles (HS, SS, CEA, and WEA) all include annual values for the group counts. Because of slightly different choices of reference observers and of secondary observers, the counts are not exactly identical, although nearly so. To compare the series we (arbitrarily) regress the annual values of each series to the SS values, Figure 1. We first note that the regression lines are straight, i.e. that the correlations are linear. The small offsets are different, close to zero, and therefore probably unphysical (and in any case have no influence on the size of the sunspot cycles measured by the count at maximum), but we keep them as is in the scaling towards the SS counts in the next step, simply because they make no difference for the final result. Figure 2 shows the result of applying the regression relations found on the Figures to each series to put them on the SS scale and then computing an average composite series. Figure 2. Annual values of the scaled reconstructions from the set of four reconstructions we are considering, plotted with different colors as per the legend in the lower panel. The curves are so close that they are hard to distinguish individually. Red squares at the bottom of each panel show the standard deviation of the values that went into the average of the curves which is marked by a curve with small circles. The dashed line shows the reconstruction using the observed (i.e. foreshortened) average sunspot areas for each year. See the text in section 3 for a discussion of the sunspot areas. Since it is so hard to see the differences between the reconstructions, we show in Figure 3 scatter plots of the individual reconstructions versus the composite average. It is rare to find fits better than R 2 = 0.994 for almost one hundred data points, so we consider the resulting composite to be an excellent representation of the observed activity as determined by the sunspot group numbers. How useful it is, depends on how it compares with other, perhaps more physical, solar indices and activity measures. This we address in the following sections. 3. Comparison with Sunspot Areas The long series of sunspot areas published in the Photoheliographic Results from the Royal Greenwich Observatory 4 (RGO) amended by observations from other sources [Balmaceda et al., 2009 and later updates] is often considered to be homogeneous and objective, so it is of considerable interest to compare the areas (Figures 4 and 2, dashed curve) with our Composite series. 4ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/STP/publications/miscellaneous/greenwich_publications/ The dashed curve on Figure 2 (constructed using the power-law regression equation on Figure 4) fits the average Composite very well, except for the time after ~1996, where the sunspot area-derived curve falls below the Composite. If this is a real difference, it means that after ~1996 the areas of the spots that make up the visible groups are generally smaller than those of spots observed before 1996. Either the spots are now smaller and/or they are less numerous than before ~1996. We do not here entertain a discussion about whether the time series of sunspot areas is accurate or consistent between various observatories, although the usual problems with harmonization of data from multiple sources cannot be ruled out. 4. Comparison with Inferred EUV and F10.7 Svalgaard [2016] showed that the solar extreme ultraviolet flux (EUV) below wavelength λ 102.7 nm can be reliably inferred from the diurnal variation of the geomagnetic field, extending Wolf's and Gautier's original discoveries of 1852 5 . The EUV creates the ionospheric E-region and dynamo action maintains an electric current, the magnetic effect of which is readily observed at the surface (as discovered by Graham in 1722). The (observable) λ 10.7 cm microwave flux (F10.7) is generally thought to be a good proxy for the EUV flux [Tapping, 2013], so it is of interest to compare the inferred EUV flux (given by the range of the diurnal variation) and observed F10.7 flux with our new group number composite, Figure 5. There is a small non-linearity for very low activity, perhaps due to emission from occasional coronal areas above the limb without visible photospheric sunspots, but apart from that, simple linear regression equations 'explain' 97-98% of the observed variation. For solar cycle 24, the F10.7 flux was 70 for days where the actual, modern group 5"Wer hätte noch vor wenigen Jahren an die Möglichkeit gedact, aus den Sonnenfleckenbeobachtungen ein terrestrisches Phänomen zu berechnen" Wolf [1859] number was zero (yellow diamond on Figure 5), well above its quiet-sun background of 65 solar flux units (sfu) [Schonfeld et al., 2015]. Reconstructing the Group Number from the Diurnal Range and F10.7 using the regression relations from Figure 5 allows us to calculate a pseudo-group number from the microwave flux and the diurnal ranges. Figure 6 demonstrates that we can reasonably well reconstruct the Group Number from observations of the Diurnal Range which also successfully reproduce the observed F10.7 microwave flux. This reinforces our view that the Group Number is a good, objective measure of solar activity and that any and all of the proposed reconstructions (HS, SS, WEA, and CEA) do a good job in deriving the GN from direct solar observations; in particular, the severely criticized Svalgaard & Schatten [2016] series, rendering moot such criticism and related, unfounded concerns. 5. Other Solar Indices Measurements of the ionized Ca II K-line at λ 393.37 nm are a major resource for longterm studies of solar and stellar activity. They are also critical as a ground-based proxy to model the solar ultraviolet flux variation. Full-disk images of the Sun in Ca II K have been available from various observatories for more than 100 years. Calibration of the old spectroheliograms is a difficult and on-going task, but has recently been successfully carried out for the so-called 1-Å Ca II K emission index, defined as the equivalent width of a 1 Ångström band centered on the K-line core. A Ca II Index composite has been constructed from Kodaikanal, Sacramento Peak, and SOLIS/ISS data [Bertello et al., 2017] and is publicly available from the SOLIS website at http://solis.nso.edu/0/iss/. Regular full-disk Ca II K monitoring programs started in 1915 at the Mount Wilson Observatory and we can scale the MWO data to match the Kodaikanal series. The two Ca II K series in turn can be linearly scaled to the geomagnetic Diurnal Range, rY, Figure 7. It is evident that the rY-index accurately matches the Ca II indices. And that therefore a Group Number composite derived from rY also is a good representation of the variation of the solar magnetic field reflected in the Ca II plage data. The "Bremen index" for the Mg II line at λ 280 nm and the total disk-averaged magnetic flux also correlate extremely well with the Diurnal Range and the F10.7 flux, [Svalgaard & Sun, 2016] so we gain considerable confidence in application of geomagnetic and ionospheric data for validating the purely solar reconstructions. We would argue that such 'cross-validation' is necessary to guard against real solar changes masquerading as observer differences, such as what we discuss in the following section. 6. Decreasing Number of Spots per Group The very definition of the Wolf Number, W = 10 G + S presumes that groups, G, are more important than spots, S, as Wolf gave groups a weight of 10 (which was about twice the average number of spots per group that he actually counted) and that the number 10 (chosen by Wolf also for convenience), is constant over time. The changing relationship between the number of groups and the area of spots (Section 3) hinted that such constancy may not be taken as a given. Also, there was a change in the relationship between the Wolf Number and the F10.7 flux in about 1990, see e.g. Svalgaard & Hudson [2010], in the sense that too few spots were reported for a given F10.7 flux. Lefèvre & Clette [2011] found that the Sun has shown a deficit in small spots since at least the year 2000. The occurrence rate of the smallest sunspots, and among them the ones with the shortest lifetimes, has more than halved during Cycle 23. Figure 8 shows that the ratio W/G (with Wolfer's counting method) has been about 20 for most of the 20 th century, but has been decreasing the last three solar cycles. The average number of spots per group S/G = W/G – 10 has then also decreased from about 10 to now only about half of that. To remove issues with normalization, we investigate this decrease using raw data from the German SONNE network of sunspot observers [SONNE, 2017] and from the longrunning Swiss station Locarno [Locarno, 2017], the latter serving as reference or 'pilot' station for the Wolf Number. From each data source, we extract the number, G, of groups and the number, S, of 'spots' reported by the observers. 'Spots' is in quotation marks because Waldmeier, and to this day Locarno as well [Svalgaard et al., 2017], weighted larger spots more strongly than small spots, so the weighted 'spot' count will be 30-50% larger than the raw count where each spot is counted only once as in Wolf's and Wolfer's original scheme 6 . The SONNE observers do not employ weighting: each spot is counted only once. It is important that for both groups of observers, the counting methods (albeit different) have been unchanged over the period of interest. For both groups, the decrease of S/G is evident, Figure 9, for both SONNE and Locarno and is therefore not due to drifts of calibration or decreasing visual acuity of the primary Locarno observer (Sergio Cortesi, since 1957). If the 'missing 'spots' were large spots with significant magnetic flux, one would expect F10.7 and rY to decrease as well, contrary to the observed trends, so the missing spots must be the smallest spots, as suggested by Lefèvre & Clette [2011]. This also may be a natural explanation for the decline of the Sunspot Number compared to F10.7. We will therefore have to accept that sunspot groups now have significantly fewer and smaller spots than earlier, which is something to worry about when discussing long-term or secular changes before the year 1900. Figure 9. (Left) The number of spots per group as a function of time (green circles) for SONNE. The green curve with pluses shows the ratio derived from the raw counts, not corrected with k-factors. The lower part of the panel shows the variation of number of groups (blue triangles) and the number of spots (red squares) both scaled to match each other before 1992. Note the decreasing spot count, relative to the group count. (Right) Same, but for Locarno. The ratio is higher because of the weighting of the sunspot count at Locarno, but the downward trend is the same. 7. Group Numbers in the 19 th Century Having established that the Diurnal Range is a good proxy for the Sunspot Group Number and that the different techniques for estimating solar activity essentially provide the same solar activity measure for the 20 th century, we extend the comparisons of Figure 2 to the 19 th Century using the same regression constants and include the scaled Diurnal Range, Figure 10. The fit of the Diurnal Ranges is a very good match to the SS reconstruction after 1865 and even, although somewhat poorer, before that, possibly reflecting a lesser quality of the data (but still has higher values then than the other reconstructions). Solar Cycle 11 peaking in 1870 is critical for showing that the other reconstructions (HS, WEA, and CEA) fall short during the 19 th Century. For earlier cycles, much depends on the quality of the data (both the solar and the geomagnetic data), so to improve the situation we should concentrate on retrieving and digitizing the early data, of which there is plenty [Schering, 1889]. 8. Group Numbers before the 19 th Century Even before the 'Magnetic Crusade' of the 1840s we have scattered observations of the diurnal variation of the Declination [Svalgaard, 2016; Schering, 1889]. Here we shall limit ourselves to briefly mention the early data mainly collected and published by Wolf and reduced by Loomis [1870, 1873] to the common scale of the magnetic observatory at Prague, Figure 11. Solar Cycles 4, 8, and 11 all appear equally high and on par with cycles 17, 21, and 22. Loomis drew two important and prescient conclusions: 1) the basal part of the "diurnal inequality (read: variation), amounting at Prague to six [arc] minutes is independent of the changes in the sun's surface from year to year", and 2) "the excess of the diurnal inequality above six minutes as observed at Prague, is almost exactly proportional to the amount of spotted surface upon the sun, and may therefore be inferred to be produced by this disturbance of the sun's surface, or both disturbances may be ascribed to a common cause". We have now observed this 'floor' from the 1780s to the present and it seems possible (even likely) that it is there permanently (see also Schrijver et al. [2011]), with obvious implications for estimating long-term solar activity (e.g. that solar magnetism does not disappear during Grand Minima). 9. Conclusion We have shown that four reconstructions (HS, SS, CEA, and WEA) of the Sunspot Group Number, in spite of very different techniques yield essentially the same measures of solar activity since AD 1900 when the underlying solar and geomagnetic data were plentiful and of good quality. This establishes that all four methods are inherently satisfactory, providing the data are good enough. The reconstructions differ significantly in the centuries prior to the 20 th with most of the differences originating during the last 25 years of the 19 th century, suggesting that future research be directed at this crucial period. The Svalgaard & Schatten [2016, 2017] backbone method yields a series that agrees best with the geomagnetic evidence. The data used and the analysis can be freely downloaded from http://www.leif.org/research/gn-data.htm. Acknowledgements We are indebted to the following persons and institutions for supplying (hard to get) raw data: Specola Solare Ticinese, Locarno, Switzerland; SILSO, Royal Observatory of Belgium; Prof. Roland Hedewig, Kassel, Germany; Andreas Bulling, Pfullingen, Germany; L.S. thanks Stanford University for support. Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. References Balmaceda, L. A., Solanki, S. K., Krivova, N. A., and Foster, S.: A homogeneous database of sunspot areas covering more than 130 years, J. Geophys. Res. 114(A7), CiteID A07104, doi:10.1029/2009JA014299, 2009. Bertello, L., Marble, A. R., and Pevtsov, A. A.: Ca II K 1-Å Emission Index Composites, National Solar Obs. Tech. Rep. NSO/NISP-2017-001, (https://arxiv.org/pdf/1702.00838.pdf), 2017. Chatzistergos, T., Usoskin I. G., Kovaltsov, G. A., Krivova, N. A., and Solanki, S. K.: New reconstruction of the sunspot group number since 1739 using direct calibration and 'backbone' methods, Astron. & Astrophys. in press, (https://arxiv.org/pdf/1702.06183.pdf), 2017. Clette, F., Svalgaard, L., Vaquero, J. M., and Cliver, E. W.: Revisiting the Sunspot Number - A 400-Year Perspective on the Solar Cycle, Space Sci. Rev. 186, 35, doi:10.1007/s11214-014-00742, 2014. Cliver, E. W.: Comparison of New and Old Sunspot Number Time Series, Solar Phys. 291(9-10), 2891, doi:10.1007/s11207-016-0929-7, 2016. Hoyt D. V., Schatten K. H., and Nesmes-Ribes, E.: The one hundredth year of Rudolf Wolf's death: Do we have the correct reconstruction of solar activity? Geophys. Res. Lett. 21(18), 2067, doi:10.1029/94GL01698, 1994. Hoyt, D. V. and Schatten, K. H.: Group Sunspot Numbers: A New Solar Activity Reconstruction, Solar Phys. 181(2), 491, 1998. 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VOL. 26 NO. 1 MAY 16 From President Bulger President's Travels Illustrate Collaborative Nature of Osteopathic Internal Medicine October 27-31 in Palm Desert, CA It has been a busy May! I have had the good fortune to share time with many dedicated health professionals over the course of the month. As I reflect on my learnings, it provides a microcosm of why I practice osteopathic internal medicine. I think that you might also find that these are examples of what motivates all of us. During a discussion with the Association of Community Health Plans, a colleague and I were able to share some of the vision of ProvenExperience™. While the refunds have stolen the headlines, the real star of this inventive new program is the continued on page 2 In This Issue... Government Relations.....................................3 2016 Convention Will Celebrate ACOI's 75th Anniversary The 2016 ACOI Convention and Scientific Sessions will take place October 27-31 at the JW Marriott Report and Spa in Palm Desert, CA. In addition to a first-rate education experience, the Convention will mark the 75th Anniversary of the ACOI's founding in 1941. ACOI President-elect John R. Sutton, DO, will chair the Convention. He and the CME Commit- tee have selected a theme of "Pseudoscience or Science in Internal Medicine." As in recent past years, the first day of the Convention will feature in-depth symposiums on vascular medicine and cardiology, with an emphasis on identifying treatments and tests that are proven beneficial vs those that are not. The popular "Tests I Wish You'd Never Ordered" session will complete the first-day agenda. The Welcome Reception that evening will be a full-blown celebration of the 75th Anniversary. Other events during the five-day meeting will include a review of the College's history by Kevin P. Hubbard, DO, who has authored a new book entitled, "A History of Osteopathic Internal Medicine: Celebrating the ACOI's First 75 Years," which will be published this summer. continued on page 2 Board of Directors Nominations Sought Active members of the ACOI who are interested in serving on the Board of Directors are invited to contact the College's office and request a nominating packet. The members of the ACOI will elect three individuals to three-year terms on the Board at the Annual Meeting of Members, October 31 in Palm Desert, CA. As part of an ongoing self-assessment process, the Board has developed a position description for Board members, and a list of competencies that should be possessed by the Board as a whole. Potential candidates must complete an application form that allows them to describe how their experience and expertise match up with the desired competencies. In order to be considered by the Nominating Committee, the completed nomination packet must be returned to the ACOI office no later than June 17, 2016. The slate of candidates will be announced in the July issue of the newsletter. American College of Osteopathic Internists In Service to All Members; All Members in Service MISSION The mission of the ACOI is to promote high quality, distinctive osteopathic care of the adult. VISION The ACOI seeks to be the organization that osteopathic internists think of first for education, information, representation and service to the profession. VALUES To accomplish its vision and mission, the ACOI will base its decisions and actions on the following core values: LEADERSHIP for the advancement of osteopathic medicine EXCELLENCE in programs and services INTEGRITY in decision-making and actions PROFESSIONALISM in all interactions SERVICE to meet member needs 2015-2016 OFFICERS 2015-2016 BOARD of DIRECTORS Michael A. Adornetto, DO, MBA, FACOI...email@example.com Robert A. Cain, DO, FACOI.................firstname.lastname@example.org Annette T. Carron, DO, FACOI...................email@example.com Robert L. DiGiovanni, DO, FACOI....firstname.lastname@example.org Scott L. Girard, DO, FACOI.............................email@example.com Robert T. Hasty, DO, FACOI. . . . . . . . . . . . . firstname.lastname@example.org Mitchell D. Forman, DO, FACOI....email@example.com Joanne Kaiser-Smith, DO, FACOI.................firstname.lastname@example.org Samuel K. Snyder, DO, FACOI......................email@example.com Christopher Sciamanna, DO, Resident Rep....firstname.lastname@example.org STAFF 11400 Rockville Pike Suite 801 • Rockville MD 20852 301 231-8877 • 800 327-5183 • Fax 301 231-6099 email@example.com • www.acoi.org 2 Letter from the President continued from page 1 focus on the patient. The innovation makes it clear to every member of the team that patients come first. Later in the same week, I was able to speak with a group of educators (including ACOI member Dale Bratzler, DO) aimed at fostering inter-professional education. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative includes the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Teamwork is a key part of providing quality care in today's environment; there is too much to know and do for physicians to act alone. To end that week, I was honored to share some time with a kindred organization, the American College of Physicians. Giving the Update in Hospital Medicine to a group of internists focused on providing quality care highlighted the link between our organizations. Highpoints of the content can be found here. There is a focus on pneumonia, end of life care, and some things that we thought were standard of care that new evidence suggests may not be. The following week, the focus changed to preventive medicine as I spoke at a CDC-sponsored meeting on adult immunization. At times we forget that our goal is to "find health" - prevention – rather than "find disease." Immunizations are one cornerstone of prevention. I ended the month participating with collaborators from across the country in a Choosing Wisely® Summit, and I was struck by the connections in my travels. As osteopathic internists, we are focused on how we can provide the highest quality care for the patients and populations we serve. This includes evidencebased care that is provided in a caring and compassionate manner. We focus on health and foster teamwork. Through sharing, we foster life-long learning that enriches our profession and enriches us. It is why we are osteopathic internists. Have You Moved? Keep us updated. If you have recently made any changes in your address, phone number or email, please notify theACOI. www.acoi.org RELATIONS government Timothy McNichol, JD Supreme Court Sends ACA Challenges Back to Lower Courts Without expressing any "view on the merits the case," the Supreme Court sent cases challenging the contraceptive coverage requirement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) back to the lower courts for additional consideration. The Court signaled to the federal appeals courts that the parties may be able to achieve a compromise that would make the Court's involvement unnecessary. Religious nonprofit organizations contend that the requirement to submit notice to their insurers or the government of their objection to provide contraceptive coverage in essence triggers the very coverage they object to in violation of their sincerely held beliefs protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Court heard oral arguments in March encompassing seven separate cases. It is likely the Court took this action to avoid a 4-4 split that would result in different rules depending on the jurisdiction in which the parties are located. Zika Funding Measures Approved in the House and Senate The House and Senate approved separate measures to provide emergency funding for Zika virus response and preparation. The Senate measure includes $1.1 billion in funding, almost double the amount provided for in the House package. In a statement of Administrative Policy, the Administration announced its opposition to the House bill, calling it "woefully inadequate." House and Senate negotiations are ongoing. With the summer months approaching, it is likely some form of compromise will be reached. Final Rule ImplementsNondiscrimination Provisions of the ACA A final rule was published by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights implementing a provision of the ACA which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in certain health programs or activities. The nondiscrimination protections are extended to individuals participating in: any health program or activity which receives funding from HHS; any health program or activity that HHS itself administers; and Health Insurance Marketplaces and all plans offered by issuers that participate in those Marketplaces. You can learn more about the final rule and nondiscrimination provisions of the ACA by visiting http:// www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/section-1557. New Medicare Physician Payment Data Made Available The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted updated data on Medicare payment for Part B services and procedures provided to beneficiaries by physicians and other healthcare providers. This is the third release of the Physician and Other Supplier Utilization Payment Public Use data set. The data includes payments and submitted charges by over 986,000 distinct health care providers. According to CMS, the data represents $91 billion in Medicare payouts. You can access additional information on this program at www.cms.gov. Alternative to ACA Legislation Introduced In a lead-up to the political season, Republicans in the House and Senate announced legislation to serve as an alternative to the ACA. Under the proposal, every individual would be eligible for a tax benefit of up to $2,500 and an additional $1,500 tax benefit per dependent minor. While it is unlikely that this legislation will be considered and sent to the President for signature, it is a benchmark for additional discussion as the 2016 election season heats up. Uninsured Rate Drops in 2015 According to a recently released report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 7.4 million fewer people were uninsured in 2015 than in 2014. The uninsured number fell to 28.6 million, or 9.1 percent. This is down from 36 million, or 11.5 percent in 2014. The report also found that adults 25-34 years of age were more than twice as likely to lack insurance coverage as those who are 45-64 years of age. You can view the report in its entirety by visiting www.CDC.gov. FTC Releases Web-Based Tool to Assist with Mobile Health App Development The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released an interactive web-based tool to assist developers of health carerelated apps obtain guidance on the applicability of certain federal laws. While the tool is not intended to constitute legal advice about all compliance obligations, it will give a developer a snapshot of a few important laws and regulations from three federal agencies. Specifically, the tool walks the user through a series of high-level question to consider the applicability of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FTC Act, and the FTC's Health Breach Notification rule. You can access the tool at https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/ business-center/guidance/mobilehealth-apps-interactive-tool. Washington Tidbits Political Symbolism As the race for the White House continues to march toward the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions, which will take place later this summer in Cleveland, Ohio and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the symbolism of the elephant and donkey are as strong as ever. Where exactly did the symbols come from? The symbol of the donkey dates back to 1828 when opponents of Andrew Jackson called him a jackass. Jackson, amused by the label, begin using an image of a donkey in his campaign posters and went on to defeat incumbent John Quincy Adams, thus becoming the first Democratic president. The Republican Party was formed in 1854 with its first candidate, Abraham Lincoln, ascending to the White House in 1861. An image of an elephant was used in a political cartoon during the Civil War when "seeing the elephant" continued on page 6 CORNER Jill M. Young, CPC, CEDC, CIMC coding The ACOI Coding Corner is a column written by Jill M. Young, CPC, CEDC, CIMC. Ms. Young is the Principal of Young Medical Consulting, LLC. She has over 30 years of experience in all areas of medical practice, including coding and billing. Additional information on these and other topics are available at www.acoi.org and by contacting Ms. Young at firstname.lastname@example.org. - The information provided here applies to Medicare coding. Be sure to check with local insurance carri ers to determine if private insurers follow Medicare's lead in all coding matters. Prepare for the End of "Close Enough" Coding I have been asked several times in the past couple of weeks what will happen on October 1 with ICD-10 coding. Prior to the implementation of ICD-10 coding in 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a two-page document indicating that for the first 12 months of ICD-10 implementation, claims billed under the Part B physician fee schedule through either the automated medical review or complex medical review processes would be evaluated based on whether the physician/ practitioner used a valid code from the correct family of codes. This process was to be adopted by the Medicare Administrative Contractors, the Recovery Audit Contractors, the Zone Program Integrity Contractors and the Supplemental Medical Review Contractors. As a result, there has been some leeway in the selection of diagnosis codes. CMS stated, "for all quality reporting completed for the Program Year 2015 Medicare clinical data review contractors will not subject physicians to… penalty during primary source verification or auditing related to the additional specificity of the ICD-10 diagnosis code, as long as the eligible professional (EP) used a code from the correct family of codes. Furthermore, an EP will not be subject to a penalty if CMS experiences difficulty calculating the quality scores for Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), Value-Based Modifier (VBM) or Meaningful Use due to the transition to ICD-10 codes." The only exception noted was if there was a specific CMS policy listing a specific payable diagnosis. As discussed in prior columns, "close enough" meant "good enough." As long as you identified that the patient had a muscle strain, which arm did not need to be part of the code selected. If your code showed that a patient had abdominal pain, it did not matter where the pain was located. If you coded that a patient had asthma, coding for unspecified asthma was sufficient. This general coding will be changing and preparation is essential. Many of the electronic health record (EHR) software uses General Equivalence Mapping (GEMS) or other cross-walking programs to aid you in the transition to ICD-10. CMS indicated that the GEMS are a tool for converting ICD-9 data to ICD-10. Confidence in the use of GEMS is evidenced by CMS stating that GEMS are, "a comprehensive translation dictionary that can be used to accurately and effectively translate any ICD-9 data, including data for tracking quality, calculating reimbursement and convert- ing to ICD-10 codes for use with payment systems." However, caution must be used when crosswalking. Software is limited if the provider knows more about a patient's illness and does not use the information. The data is lost if the ICD-9 code previously selected was non-specific when using cross-walking software. Perfect software would include the choices in the "family" of codes to show the provider what he or she might not have realized could be reflected in the code selection. For example, in ICD-9 codes for asthma, there is intrinsic, extrinsic, chronic obstructive and unspecified asthma. Converting intrinsic or extrinsic asthma from ICD-9 to ICD-10, may result in a code for Mild Intermittent Asthma. But there are five different "severity levels" of asthma in ICD-10-CM. In checking with pulmonologists, they indicate that patients with intrinsic or extrinsic asthma, may have a more severe form of asthma, such as severe persistent and not the mild intermittent. Using the cross-walking software, you are lulled into a false sense of security that you have an "equivalent" code. Some software I have used will crosswalk intrinsic asthma to the unspecified asthma code in ICD-10, which creates additional problems. The other two diagnoses I used above as examples also code to either unspecified codes, or ones with a specificity that may not be what you intended. So what to do? First, have a list of your most frequently utilized ICD-10 diagnosis codes created for your review. Look at it and compare it with your ICD-9 list from before the transition. You should be able to spot the inconWelcome to a hot May edition of Talking Science and Education. There is a lot happening this week regarding drug approvals and warnings, especially as relates to diabetes. Diabetes Dialogues This week, the FDA approved a fixed-dose combination product combining the sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor canagliflozin with metformin hydrochloride for the first-line treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes. Known as Invokamet (Janssen), this product can now be prescribed in those with type 2 diabetes who are not already being treated with canagliflozin or metformin and may benefit from dual therapy, according to the company. Invokamet — the first product to combine an SGLT2 inhibitor with metformin in the United States — was previously approved by the FDA in August, 2014 as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve blood glucose control in adults with type 2 diabetes not adequately controlled by either canagliflozin or metformin, or who were already being treated with both medications separately. The new indication for Invokamet aligns with recent type 2 diabetes treatment guidelines, which recommend dual therapy for patients with higher HbA1c levels (ADA, AACE). Specifically, guidelines recommend dual therapy for patients who have an initial HbA1c level of 7.5% or higher, and for those who have an initial level below 7.5% and do not achieve an HbA1c treatment goal after about three months on single therapy, often metformin. In addition, dual or triple therapy is recommended as first-line therapy in asymptomatic patients with an initial HbA1c level above 9%, Janssen notes in its statement. Invokamet is not indicated for use in patients with type 1 diabetes or for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis. This comes on the heels of the FDA issuing a new safety alert that canagliflozin and the fixed-dose combination (Invokana, Invokamet, Janssen) have been associated with an approximately twofold risk for leg and foot amputations compared with placebo in an ongoing clinical trial. The FDA has not yet determined whether the SGLT2 inhibitor actually increases the risk for amputations and is investigating further. In the meantime, healthcare professionals are advised to follow the recommendations in the canagliflozin drug label and monitor patients for signs and symptoms of foot problems. The FDA move follows a 4.5-year interim analysis by the independent monitoring committee for the Canagliflozin Cardiovascular Assessment Study (CANVAS). The panel found that the rate of amputations — mostly of the toes — per every 1000 patients was equivalent to seven for 100 mg/day and five for 300 mg/day of canagliflozin compared with three per 1000 patients taking placebo. However, the same amputation risk has not been seen in nine months of follow-up in a second, similar canagliflozin trial,CANVAS-R. Based on an overall data assessment, the monitoring committee has recommended that CANVAS continue. This issue was flagged in April by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which has begun a review based on the same data. The EMA's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee requested more information from the company to assess whether canagliflozin causes an increase in lower-limb amputations and whether any changes are needed in the way the drug is used in the European Union. The CANVAS trial is scheduled to complete in 2017. Certainly physicians are wise to monitor their patients on these drugs carefully. Heart Failure In other news, two new treatment updates in the management of heart failure seem to advance a move to greater individualized care of these patients. The American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the Heart Failure Society of America have updated their heart failure guidelines to include an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) (sacubitril/valsartan [Entresto]), and a sinoatrial node modulator (ivabradine [Corlanor]) to the list of treatment options. Previously recommended drug options for these patients include angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), aldosterone antagonists, beta blockers, the combination of isosorbide dinitrate Talking Science contiuned from page 5 and hydralazine and diuretics. The new recommendation for patients with chronic symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction consists of an ACE inhibitor or ARB or ARNI, along with a beta blocker and an adolsterone antagonist. The treatment additions reflect a move to greater individualized care. While a fully updated guideline is in development, these updates to the 2013 ACCF/ AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure are being released early to coincide with the release of a new European Society of Cardiology Guideline, in an effort to minimize any confusion. Last week, Novartis announced 40 active and planned clinical studies to generate further data on Entresto, currently indicated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure in patients with chronic HFrEF. Depending on results, it is likely that the trial results will be used in further new indication drug applications. The trials will enroll patients from over 50 countries and participation is designed for over five years. The trials will fall under an umbrella of trials Novartis is calling 'FortiHFy' (Fortifying Heart Failure clinical evidence and patient qualitY of life). Some of the trials include, PARAGON-HF2, PARADISE-MI1, TRANSITION-HF3 and PIONEER-HF4. That's all for this month. If you have other questions or topics for Talking Science and Education, let me know at email@example.com. New Members Welcomed The ACOI Board of Directors and staff welcome the following members whose membership applications or changes in membership status have been approved by the Credentials Committee and Board of Directors. Active Membership April L. Nofzinger, DO Kyle M. Bennett, DO Alex W. Armour, DO Richard R. Rattin, DO Joseph T. Candelore, DO Braden F. DeLoach, DO Julia A. Cherkasova, DO Charles O. Duncan, DO Ashley L. Gabbard, DO Valena N. Fiscus, DO Brandon D. Greene, DO Charles H. Korman, DO Sherry Penland Ismatov, DO Victoria L. Leigh, DO Erlin J. Marte, DO Jose J. Lozano, DO Wilbur N. Montana, DO Chelsea A. Nickolson, DO Rajan Narula, DO Rachel Hughes Schwartz, DO Jason B. Reese, DO Kelly S. Sprawls DO Harpreet K. Tsui, DO Anthony Tran, DO Cynthia M. Vakhariya, DO Lily W. Wong, DO Tyler D. Warner, DO Associate Membership: Faheem Ahmad , MD Eugenio Angueira, MD Camelia Chirculescu, MD John T. Dedousis, MD Khaled M. Ismail, MD Herbert Patrick, MD Government Relations contiuned from page 3 was an expression used by soldiers in reference to having seen combat. It was not until the 1870s that political cartoonist Thomas Nast used both the donkey and the elephant to symbolize the Democratic and Republican parties. Other cartoonists followed suit shortly thereafter cementing the images of the two parties. Not only is Thomas Nast credited with establishing these party symbols and bringing them into the mainstream, the German-born artist is also credited with creating the image of the modern-day Santa Clause. Coding Corner contiuned from page 4 sistencies mentioned above. Next, have your staff generate a list of your top 100 utilized codes. From this list, look at those that say unspecified and take just a moment to ask yourself if you knew more than was reflected by the code used. If so, look at an ICD-10 book so you can see the choices. While this analysis may take a bit of time, we have no guidance from CMS as to what they will be doing differently. Will they allow only "unspecified" codes for three consecutive encounters with a patient? Will they deny unspecified codes all together? We simply do not know at this point in time, yet we must still try to prepare. The language of the one-year moratorium states that it applies to "either automated medical review or complex medical review" processes. That seems to indicate that your claims will be paid no matter what the diagnosis specificity, but it matters later when reviews/audits are done and the need for specificity is enforced. As such, you may not know that there is a problem until a review is done. So be proactive and be specific! The Charitable Gift Annuity – A Way to Help Yourself Now and ACOI Later Would you like to have income for life, receive a generous immediate tax deduction, and also help ACOI? You can by establishing a special gift arrangement with ACOI that will pay you and one other person (usually a spouse) income for life and then go on to help ACOI programs. to your individual needs and begin paying income immediately after setting it up depending on your age, or you can schedule payments to begin later as retirement approaches or as a child or grandchild approaches college age. By delaying payment, the amount of lifetime income you receive will be higher. Payments can be sent to you monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually. Members who are concerned about low interest rates on bank CDs or poorly performing securities find that the special arrangement known as a Charitable Gift Annuity can be very attractive. The arrangement can be tailored Our staff and gift consultants can provide you with confidential information about this special arrangement or other ways you can help yourself, your family, and ACOI. For more information, call Tim McNichol, Deputy Executive Director, at 301-2318877 or email him at firstname.lastname@example.org Certificate Program in Healthcare Leadership And Management Registration Now Open With the health care delivery system transitioning toward team-based care models, such as the patient-centered medical home, the ACOI has recognized the need for the development of a new skill set to meet the challenges of a team-based health care delivery environment. Physicians are confronted by a number of new challenges each day. Those who are nimble enough to adapt to these changes will be most successful in providing high-quality, cost-efficient care. In response, the ACOI has teamed with the Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians to offer a ground-breaking program that culminates in the attainment of a Certificate in Health Care Leadership & Management. Registration is now open for the eight-month long Health Care Leadership and Management Program (HCLMP). Sessions begin in July, 2016, and are built on an asynchronous learning model. Participants will access online modules utilizing the most advanced distance learning tools available. This allows participation when it is most convenient for a busy practicing physician. The learning experience is expanded through ongoing peer-to-peer interaction utilizing a threaded online discussion format that encourages the open exchange of ideas among learners with diverse experiences. The Program culminates with an in-person capstone session offered in March, 2017. Fifty AOA CME credits are anticipated. This program is tailored to prepare today's busy practicing physician to become tomorrow's healthcare team leader. The participants in the HCLMP will explore the following areas: * Personal Competencies * Effective Communication * Emotional Intelligence I and II * Leading and Managing in an Interdependent World * Change Management * Leaders, Managers and Followers * Negotiation and Conflict Management * Providing Value-Based Care for Individuals and Groups * Clinical Informatics for the Physician's Office * Practice Improvement for Physicians and Groups * Population Health Management * Creating Value for Patients and Payers * Team-based Care Across the Continuum * Applying Lessons Learned to Practice Settings * Capstone: Integration and Consolidation of Lessons Learned To register or learn more about the program, visit www.acoi.org. Additional information is available by contacting Tim McNichol at 1-800-327-5183 or at email@example.com. ACOI Provides Avenue for Teaching, Giving Back (This is one in a series of interviews with ACOI members who are strongly committed to the College and why they believe it has made a difference in their lives. This series is presented by Barbara L. Ciconte, CFRE, Development Counsel to ACOI.) Meet Keith A. Reich, DO, FACOI, FACR, RhMSUS. Dr. Reich, certified in Internal Medicine, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Ultrasound is the program director for the Rheumatology fellowship at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, IL. An active ACOI member, he has served on a number of committees and has been the College's Rheumatology Education Chair for its annual convention for many years. A former member of the AOBIM, Dr. Reich is a regular speaker for the ACOI and participates in the ACOI's annual Trainer's Congress and Visiting Professor Program. Ms. Ciconte: Tell me why you have dedicated your time and talents to ACOI. Dr. Reich: Brian Donadio and Susan Stacy have set high standards for being approachable and responsive, creating a sense of family among the ACOI members that I appreciate. Recently, I did a Visiting Professor session at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, which I enjoyed very much. Having come from a family of teachers who wanted me to be a physician, teaching is in my genes. For that reason, over the years I find myself seeking opportunities to speak and teach students, residents, fellows, and ACOI members. As a member of the Board of Directors of the AOBIM, we worked hard to develop board examinations that would strengthen the osteopathic internal medicine profession. Ms. Ciconte: How can ACOI continue to serve its members in the future? Dr. Reich: Most importantly, the College should continue to provide high quality CME programs. I direct the rheumatology fellowship program at St. James Hospital and we look to select the best candidates for the program while maintaining our osteopathic recognition. This is especially important as we combine our programs with the ACGME. We emphasize to our trainees that osteopathic internal medicine is not just manipulation, which may be an integral segment of treatment, but rather a focus on the needs of the whole patient. Ms. Ciconte: In addition to sharing your time and talents with ACOI, you have made financial contributions to ACOI over and above your dues. Tell me what motivates you to give. Dr. Reich: I support the Generational Advancement Fund (GAF) because it reflects what is important to me – educating the next generation of osteopathic internists. Gifts to the GAF support textbook vouchers for students that attend the annual convention, provide funding to have more ACOI members participate in the Visiting Professor Program, and benefit students and residents. The Visiting Professor Program provides opportunities to promote the importance of the ACOI to potential new members. Ms. Ciconte: What can ACOI do to encourage other ACOI members to give? Dr. Reich: I believe it is important for the College to show where the contributions are directed. For example, how the GAF benefits medical students and exposes them to the ACOI. Although small, the College has had a large reach in training and education. I feel being an ACOI member has been good for my career and am proud to be an FACOI. Ms. Ciconte: Dr. Reich, ACOI thanks you for the many contributions you have made and continue to make to help the College educate and train both the current and next generation of osteopathic internists. Testimonial from SOIMA President: "Dr. Reich was one of the best guest speakers we heard this year. His lecture detailed the pathway for students interested in internal medicine and/or one of its many subspecialties. We found his words extremely helpful knowing that it came from the best source to pursue a career in osteopathic internal medicine, the ACOI." - John Berquist, SOIMA President, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine. Financial Planning Materials Available In our continuing effort to provide information to ACOI members on how they can help themselves, their families, and ACOI while saving income and estate taxes, the College now has several new pamphlets available: * Your 2016 Personal Planning Guide * 2016 Federal Tax Pocket Guide – to share with your advisers and planners * Charitable Gift Planning Guidelines Email Melissa Stacy at Melissa@acoi. org to request the new pamphlets or any of the following titles: * Gifts of Securities * The Gift Annuity * Your Will to Help * Ideas for Retirement * Art of Gift Planning * A Special Beneficiary * When the Time Comes * Remarkable Unitrusts * Your IRA Legacy * Bequeath Your Values * Planning for Women PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FACULTY MEMBER/DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY CARE -Texas. The University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine plans to matriculate its first class of osteopathic medical students in July 2017. Located in beautiful San Antonio, UIWSOM will educate aspiring physicians to be justice-minded, global citizens using a community-based, distributed model of education, which fosters inclusion, discovery and innovation. The UIWSOM invites applications for an Internal Medicine faculty member. Position: UIW SOM is seeking a fulltime Internal Medicine faculty member for the Department of Primary Care. This faculty member will have tripartite responsibility: teaching, clinical work and service. It is also strongly preferred that some research or other scholarly activity be undertaken. Faculty members assume the shared responsibility of developing, recommending, and executing all approved policies of instruction. UIWSOM is looking for an internist with a passion for teaching at all levels, including pre-clinical, clinical, and postgraduate trainees and who is comfortable with new and innovative teaching methods. The faculty member will operate within the UIWSOM framework of lifelong learning through collaborative scholarship, innovative educational excellence and learner-centered curricula. For a complete position description and on-line application, please see the following link: https://jobs.uiw.edu/ postings/6634 or contact Thomas Mohr, DO, FACOI at firstname.lastname@example.org. PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN, SILICON VALLEY, CA - Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a public teaching hospital, affiliated with the Stanford University School of Medicine, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA is seeking a BC/BE Internal Medicine-primary care physician to join our dynamic, growing, nurturing Department. Please submit a letter of intent and CV to roya.rousta@ hhs.sccgov.org. Equal Opportunity Employer. Our Legacy Society: Why I'm a Member Karen J. Nichols, DO, MA, MACOI Professor of Internal Medicine and Dean, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine From my office window at the Midwestern University, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, I watch the future of our profession unfold every day as our students walk across campus – and I am grateful. Grateful for their energy, for their commitment, for their dedication to the osteopathic principles of patient care, and for their passion for service above self. As Spring returns and life is bursting all around us, I am profoundly grateful that our approach to internal medicine will live on in those we train and be available to those they will serve. I am also grateful that one day a percentage of what my husband and I will be leaving to charity when we're gone will help ACOI to pay for programs that will be important to a new generation and the future of osteopathic internal medicine. ACOI support was there for me as my practice grew and is there for me now as my teaching and work as a Dean unfolds. To keep programs that support the education and training of osteopathic internists, medical students and residents strong, and to provide for future programs that will shape ACOI for new members, bequest provisions or other estate plan gifts will insure that financial support will be there for our future. I'm glad that when we were drafting our estate plan Jim and I included a provision for ACOI, and hope that every member will consider joining us in doing so. Please add your name to this ACOI Legacy Society roster by leaving a bequest to ACOI or by making other provisions for ACOI in your estate plans. ACOI Legacy Society Members Jack & Jocelyn Bragg John & Michele Bulger Matthew & Marbree Hardee David & Rita Hitzeman Bob & Donna Juhasz Jim & Karen Nichols Gene & Elena Oliveri Rick & Amy Schaller For information about how to include ACOI in your will or estate plan, visit www.acoi.org or contact Tim McNichol, Deputy Executive Director, at email@example.com or 301-231-8877. Future ACOI Education Meeting Dates & Locations CALENDAR NATIONAL MEETINGS * 2016 Annual Convention & Scientific Sessions Oct 27-31 JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, Palm Desert, CA * 2017 Annual Convention & Scientific Sessions Oct 11-15 Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, Washington, DC * 2018 Annual Convention & Scientific Sessions Oct 17-21 Orlando World Center Marriott, Orlando, FL * 2019 Annual Convention & Scientific Sessions Oct 30- Nov 3 JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix, AZ * 2020 Annual Convention & Scientific Sessions Oct 21-25 Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Marco Island, FL Please note: It is an ACOI membership requirement that Active Members attend the Annual Convention or an ACOI-sponsored continuing education program at least once every three years. Information on any meeting listed here may be obtained from ACOI Headquarters at 800 327-5183 or from our website at www.acoi.org. 2016 Certifying Examination Dates & Deadlines Internal Medicine Certifying Examination Computerized Examination 200 Sites Nationwide September 15, 2016 - Application Deadline: Expired Late Registration Deadline: Expired Subspecialty & Certification of Added Qualifications: Late Registration Deadline: Expired Aug. 20, 2016 • Lombard, IL -Application Deadline: Expired Cardiology • Interventional Cardiology • Critical Care Medicine • Electrophysiology • Endocrinology • Gastroenterology Geriatric Medicine • Hematology • Infectious Disease • Nephrology • Oncology • Pulmonary Diseases • Rheumatology • Sleep Medicine Internal Medicine Recertifying Examination Computerized Examination 200 Sites Nationwide September 16, 2016 - Application Deadline: Expired Late Registration Deadline: Expired Focused Hospital Medicine Recertification Aug. 20, 2016 • Lombard, IL - Application Deadline: Expired Late Registration Deadline: Expired. Subspecialty and Added Qualifications Recertifying Examinations: Aug. 20, 2016 • Lombard, IL Cardiology • Interventional Cardiology • Critical Care Medicine • Electrophysiology • Endocrinology • Gastroenterology Geriatric Medicine • Hematology • Infectious Disease • Nephrology • Oncology • Pulmonary Diseases • Rheumatology • Sleep Medicine Application Deadline: Expired Late Registration Deadline: Expired Further information and application materials are available at www.aobim.org or by writing to: Gary L. Slick, DO, MACOI, Executive Director, American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine, 1111 W. 17th Street, Tulsa, OK 74107, email: firstname.lastname@example.org. Contact the AOBIM at email@example.com for deadlines and dates for the Hospice and Palliative Care, Pain Medicine, Undersea/Hyperbaric Medicine and Correctional Medicine examinations. Annual Convention contiuned from page 1 Mark Alain-Dery, DO Jeanne M. Davidson, DO Other presentations on the meeting theme include "Vaccines—Pseudoscience of the Doubters," by Mark AlainDery, DO; "Responding to Requests for Potentially Inappropriate Treatment in the ICU," by Patrick C. Cullinan, DO; and "Vitamin D—Help or Hype: Is There Evidence for Value of Vitamin D in Clinical Medicine?" by Jean M. Davidson, DO. Patrick C. Cullinan, DO that this year's meeting will take place over a Thursday-Monday pattern, rather than the usual Wednesday-Sunday schedule. Additional information and registration materials for the 2016 Convention will be available in July. Attendees should note In Memoriam Word has been received of the death of William S. Frank, DO, of York, PA. Dr. Frank died on July 9, 2015 at the age of 65. An Active ACOI member for 36 years, Dr. Frank was certified in internal medicine by the AOBIM and participated in the ACOI mentor program.
Alliance for Organic Integrity Strengthening Organic Assurance Globally www.alliancefororganicintegrity.bio Please accept our comments for the USDA/ AMS Proposed Rule: National Organic Program: Strengthening Organic Enforcement - Docket Number AMS-NOP-17-0065; NOP-17-02 Dear Dr. Tucker, The Alliance for Organic Integrity (AOI) is a US 501c-3 non-profit organization, whose mission is to improve the quality of organic claims through education on best certification and accreditation practices, to seek to harmonize such best practices between schemes, to develop tools for preventing fraud and to share these tools and educational components with all those involved, so as to enhance trust in the organic guarantee system. As the organic market is international in nature, this requires an international effort. Our approach to organic integrity is to promote best practices in organic farming, processing and marketing, and good inspection, certification and oversight. This will help to prevent noncompliances (NCs), rather than stopping them when they happen. Therefore, we wish to ensure that new regulations address the few weak or deficient operations, not the many that are already doing good. Thus, oversight needs to pay special attention to detecting when operators are weak and become vulnerable to NCs. New regulation should not obstruct good operators to do a good or even better job. Our comments are directed, not only towards optimizing integrity through the regulatory environment, but also towards urging a harmonized approach with the EU Organic Regulation as it is the differences that allow unscrupulous exploitation of gaps and loopholes by those intent on criminal gain. It also causes duplication, confusion and additional cost for the smallest operations in exporting countries. The harmonization that we urge should be based on which approach creates the best regulatory practices and so protects organic integrity best. Harmonization based on the least common denominator should not be encouraged. This paper is primarily directed at the consultation of the USDA/AMS Proposed Rule but also has some recommendations for EU Organic Regulation. Some of the explanations are of a general nature and common to both. The recommendations are clearly identified if relevant to the EU, as well as for the US/NOP. We overall, strongly support the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) proposed rule. We thank the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and National Organic Program (NOP) for your faithful rendering of both Congressional intent and calls from the organic community to make regulatory changes to advance organic integrity. We urge the USDA to finalize the rule as soon as possible as these long-awaited improvements in the organic standards are much needed to address fraud in the organic supply chain and enforcement challenges. We also wish to endorse and support the general comments by Alliance founding partner – IFOAM and for their long-standing global leadership; especially the focus on support for GGs. We are especially pleased to see specific improvements to: * Close certification gaps in supply chains and strengthening of non-retail labeling, * Require full supply chain traceability of organic products, * Greater specificity on protocols for foreign conformity assessments and equivalency, * Specific requirements for use of trace-back and mass balancing to verify compliance, * Application and requirements for risk assessment, * Greater scrutiny and oversight of certifier satellite offices, * Broadening of NOP oversight authorities to include those who are responsibly connected to certified activities, * Operations must have fraud prevention plans, * Required use of Import Certificates and standardized use of operator certificates through the OID, * New training requirements for certifiers and inspectors, * Grower Group regulations to strengthening ICS oversight, * Required 5% unannounced visits. All of this is very positive, much of which has been many years in the making and is much needed – as soon as possible. Since the opportunities to make comments do not come too often, we find it our duty to provide selected comments on some areas where NOP is asking for additional feedback, as well as identifying areas where the rule can be improved to further strengthen organic enforcement while achieving harmonization between the different rules and regulations for operations that are certified to regulations other than USDA/NOP. We also conclude with some areas that we find missing that still need urgent attention. 1. Grower Groups, (GGs) 1.1 General Principles First, both the US/NOP and EU are developing rules for, among other areas, Grower Groups. Whilst we very much support this, we are very concerned that some of the measures proposed are diverging, both from each other and from IFOAM-OI consultation response to USDA/AMS. If unaddressed this will cause undue costs, confusion and undesirable complications like double record keeping, double certification, especially for the many GGs that seek both EU and US markets. We urge you and are committed ourselves, to contribute to on-going discussions to bring these two regulations into harmony, reflecting the mutual best practices for enhancing organic integrity. We are sure you will agree the importance of ensuring that such differences are as far as possible eliminated, or at least minimized. We are very supportive of the IFOAM/NOP comments on GGs, as well. They do represent the broad consensus. However, we recognize that our recommendations may differ slightly from IFOAM and other highly respected organic colleagues. It is our intent to be both broadly aligned while also urging much greater attention, focus and requirements on; the quality of ICS, quality of inspections and quality of re-inspections, over specific numeric requirements. As improved quality of oversight and clear risk-based criteria, we believe will serve better for protecting organic integrity of GGs in the longer run, which we believe is not contrary, but just more nuanced. Second, it is critical to remain firm and clear that the purpose of GGs is and has been to provide a viable and economically feasible pathway into the certified organic marketplace for the most vulnerable organic farmers in the world: smallholders, who also represent the largest percentage of certified organic farmers worldwide. It is our duty to ensure that we do not harm, nor penalize or create new barriers to the many credible GGs around the world and to their continued fair access and participation. As said, it should be recognized that the majority of Grower Groups are certified to both US and EU systems. It should further be recognized that the purpose of GGs is not only to demonstrate compliance but also stimulate internal development. The organic premium needs to pay for access to training and similar inputs, and should not have to be diverted to cover unnecessary extra costs and arbitrary bureaucratic structures. This not only allows for better income and improvement of livelihoods, but also for continuous improvement and, for example, adaptation to climate change. Next, we have encouraged EU to copy USDA language 205.201 that the ICS should describe how training, production and handling inputs, and other resources are procured and provided to all grower group members and personnel. Their availability is a main strategy, incentive to prevent non-compliances. Additionally, we would encourage EU and US to re-introduce a very important principle of ICS, group responsibility. This should be similar to the introduction in USDA 205.400(g) and rephrasing in EU DA amending controls Art.1(1)(b)(iii)(h)(ii) fifth indent, duty of members to 'immediately inform the ICS manager on suspected non-compliance in and around their own and other group member' fields that are to be certified'. We also urge NOP to create pathways for livestock and livestock products to be included in GGs, as many already sell honey and other livestock products, including farmed fish. NOP prohibition will create barriers to trade and limit access to third country products for US processors and consumers alike. As, it is critical that regulators, both NOP and EU must understand fully the financial implications of any new requirements on some of the poorest farmers in the world especially when they are providing (low value) raw materials to the market. Finally, we wish to support one additional critical and unaddressed issue that is being raised by US organic farmer and NGO groups, which are aware of how very large entities, both in the US and Global South can use predatory contracts to unfairly capture vulnerable farmers into noncompetitive marketing arrangements. It is our purpose in raising this issue in our AOI comments to both support farmers calling for this to be addressed in NOP regs and to build greater global awareness that mechanisms and protocols need to be developed to address these concerns; not only for Global South but for US small farmers, as well. We are fully aware this is not currently considered in NOP domain, but if this is not raised, then it has no chance to be debated in such public forums and to find meaningful protections and solutions. We support establishing procedures to ensure that each grower group member has ownership, individually or collectively, of the livestock, livestock products, and crops they produce, and has an opportunity for ownership stake in any GG processing facilities used to process their products, where appropriate. We are fully aware that this would need to be a new area of development that is currently missing, but does reflect the core IFOAM principle of fairness. We strongly recommend that US/NOP rules should recognize and reinforce these central tenets, and ensure that this model is preserved for such smallholders. We strongly believe that many organic farmers and consumers appreciate the concept of solidarity as part of organic integrity 1.2 NOP GG Questions: - Should NOP quantify exact maximum number of members of a GG? No, we do not support requiring exact maximum number of members, but focus the efforts on improving the ICS functionality, as this is key to credibility. However, we do subscribe to the notion of sub-groups or clusters of GG members as units that can be de-certified should certain parts of the GG not comply while the rest does. That size to be determined by factors like proximity of each other, internal inspector area, common storage, management logic. All factors are to be considered, described and documented in the ICS of the GG and verified by the external inspector. - Should NOP define maximum operator size and sales to be a GG? No, imposing such global numbers would be very difficult as local conditions, circumstances vary so widely world-wide. We would support GGs establishing these for themselves with their certifiers verifying their (also organisational) logic. We oppose extreme variations, which could shift GG power dynamics, but generally support the allowance of some larger operators, who are individually certified to remain in the GG, when they are lead farms or members wish this to help round out volumes to meet markets demands. - Should NOP define specific geographic proximity? No, we would prefer that the GG themselves define this based on their local geography, management and marketing needs. This can be then verified by their certifiers. Arbitrary limits will only further exacerbate their organizational challenges, reducing the efficiency and effectivity of the ICS. We are also aware of existing GGs which could be forced to break-up due to Country borders being defined as geographic proximity limits, therefore in our opinion, country borders will not always work for this as well, as GG members can easily be across a border while participating in common cropping systems and geography. Forcing them to create another GG just because they are across the river or border is again creating artificial boundaries that can harm the functioning GGs. 1.3 List of Specific Concerns and Recommendations: 1.3.1 Re-inspection rates 205.403(a)(2) iii: We strongly urge US and EU to harmonise their approaches to reinspection rates, to achieve equivalence, avoid different ICSs per group, different reinspection rates, different records, etc. We advise to return to the IFOAM square root approach as the minimum requirement for re-inspection rates. Having a fixed number for all operators undermines the importance of risk assessment, by the GG itself and by the external inspector/CB. Higher inspection rates do not lead to better integrity; that is an issue of a good ICS evaluation, a good risk assessment, the selection of the farms to be visited, the competence of the inspector, the quality of the farm re-inspection. When re-inspections detect anomalies, a root cause analyses should determine to what extent the entire, or parts of the group are to be sanctioned. Recommendation - Keep 1.0√ for normal situations, 1.2√ for medium risk and 1.4√ for high-risk situations as minimum re-inspection rates, based on risk assessment. Recommendation - A minimum of 10 re-inspections per GG is good to be able to do or confirm the risk assessment (it is in the EU draft, US is recommended to include this). How farms are selected for re-inspection: Recommendation EU and US: Approximately half of farmers are selected based on being high-risk and the other half at random, including diverse geographical locations. Regarding GG own risk assessment: Recommendation EU and US: GG are to have their own (annually updated) risk assessment and the internal inspections are to refer to these risks. The GG ICS's internal risk assessment is evaluated and confirmed during the external inspection, as part of the ICS evaluation. On re-inspection, auditing techniques: Recommendation to EU and US: Regulations and guidance should include witness and compliance audits as usual techniques for re-inspections. Each farm re-inspection visit to be documented individually, referring, amongst others, to the risk assessment. On residue sampling: The US/NOP does not require exact numbers for residue sampling, the EU has proposed this. The EU introduces a very high rate of sampling, 2%. Experience learns that 2-3 samples per GG based on risk assessment is sufficient. GG do not have the funds to pay for 10 (500 farmers) or 40 samples (2000 farmers) every year. Recommendation; both EU and US to refer to residue testing based on risk assessment. Best is no absolute numbers mentioned, otherwise suggest 2-3 per year, based on documented risk assessment. (We recommend language stressing approximate percentages or numbers opposed to strict numbers, as this allows for some needed flexibility based on performance and compliance opposed to strict numbers, that may encourage manipulation). 1.3.2 Single crop (commodity) focus: NOP proposed rule seems too focused on single crops and not on whole farm conversion. (EU has whole farm conversion in 2018/848 Art.9.2 but allows single fields in 2018/848 Art. 9.7.) Single crop, single field certification may be ok for tree crops but it is not ok for annual crops. Whole farm conversion is to be strongly encouraged as a risk mitigation strategy but not mandatory. For risk management purposes: Recommendation EU and US: the internal and re-inspection of smallholders should be of the whole farm. Recommendation US: USDA harmonises with EU language in 2018/848, art.36, 1(f) that a Group of Operators (or GG), can deal with different products but also (EU IA on controls Art.5) a farmer can be a member of one ICS only for per product. 1.3.3 Conflict of interest: Draft US rule and EU legislation are not harmonized – it should be for this difficult topic. Please take into account the second paragraph of 1.1 General Principles, above, that a key role of GGs is to facilitate farmers to continually improve. It is more realistic to request that ICS have policies regarding conflict of interest (COI), that these are managed, and that this is verified by the external inspector. Conflicts of interest, in the wider definition, always exist in groups. Not only among ICS officers but also boards and group management. They should be identified and mechanisms in place to make sure that decisions are fair and impartial, as described by ISO. Recommendation EU and US: ICS to have policy on conflicts of interest, to be evaluated during the annual external inspection. Both rules should have, as far as possible, identical language. 1.3.4 Storage exemption: US proposes exemption from inspection for storage. Storage is a source of contamination issues like mosquito, rodent and insect sprayings, or storage of pesticides used on non-certified parts of the farm. In case only one field of the farm is organic there should be separate storage for organic crops. Recommendation US: Areas where organic products are stored to be part of (internal and external) annual inspection. Recommendation EU and US, in case of split operations: organic products to be stored in organic only spaces. 1.3.5 205.2 – clarifications of new definitions. a. Grower Group member- We recommend (see earlier) expanding the USDA definition to allow for a member to grow more than one crop within the ICS of the GG and be treated as a whole organic farm system that requires crop rotations, etc., not just one crop only. b. Grower Group Operation- We would expand this to also include production of more than a single crop, as members may grow more than one crop for the ICS of the group, even within one field (like vanilla and pepper in coffee). c. Grower Group Production Unit – For US we suggest this being called a "GG Sub-group" to avoid confusing the proposed GG Production Unit term with EU language that defines production unit as a single operator, or a GG member or even a field. d. Encourage EU to refrain in practice from the term Group of Operators and use the term Grower Group instead, or both switch to Smallholder Groups. 2. Import Certificates We strongly support the compulsory requirement of import certificates, (IC)s for all imports, while recognizing that such data is only as good as the physical inspection and check of mass balance that verified this. However, we are very concerned about proposed allowance for imports to not be accompanied by this IC, as this will create an on-going opportunity for fraud by accepting such products into the market, only to learn too late that it was not compliant. We urge all imports to include the IC to prevent any such fraudulent opportunities. We also feel that 30-day for certifiers to issue an IC is also too long and should be closer to "real-time" as possible. In the EU system CA provide such ICs (Certificate of Inspection) within 24-hours, there is a drive to provide these even before shipment. When those exporting to the EU can manage this, why not exports to the US? 3. Non-Retail Product Labeling We would support, in addition to 205.307(a), the non-retail product labeling must include an identification of the (last) certified operation i.e. move 205 307(b) (3) to 205 307(a). 4. Inspections of Ports We recognize that organic oversight and verification for organic products entering and exiting ports remain one of the largest gaps with some of the biggest impacts on organic integrity. We strongly urge clear and comprehensive regulations and guidance regarding the protection of organic integrity as organic products travel through ports. We also recognize that organic products can travel through multiple ports were they are vulnerable to commingling and exposure to prohibited materials; especially for bulk products that are aggregated from multiple production sites in multiple countries. These regulations must cover loading, unloading, storage and aggregation, handling of pest infestation and avoidance of any country-level required prohibited fumigation requirements to ensure organic integrity can be maintain across the entire supply chain; especially for such bulk products as grain, which requires auguring and transfer from ships to storage to ground transport on the way to final importers and markets. We are pleased to see specific language requiring coordination and cooperation between US Port Authorities and NOP; this of course also requires greater inter-USDA agency coordination between NOP and APHIS to ensure organic regulations are followed when addressing pest infestations, as well. However, additional special focus and guidance must be maintained for those ports outside of the US to ensure products bound for US import arrive to US ports with the confidence that they have maintained their integrity throughout foreign ports along the way, as well. For various reasons (e.g. trace back to primary production location, avoidance of mandatory fumigation at ports) it is important that the Country of Origin Declaration travels with the goods. During all shipments the organic nature of the goods is to be included on transport slips, Bill of Lading, Ship logs, Airway Bills, etc. When available for the commodity, the HS code (organic custom codes) must be used. 5. Training We support NOP proposed new training requirements for certifiers and their inspectors. However, we would add the following additional recommendations: * These new requirements should ensure that the specific individual training needs of inspectors and certifier reviewers also include and reflect their personal training priorities as identified in their annual reviews, as well as any mandated macro training requirements. It is important that any such mandated training requirements also reflect these personal growth and training needs to ensure continual improvements to their professionalism and job competency. CA should regularly review the performance of their inspectors, for example through witness auditing once in 3 years. * We would urge that Grower Group certification should become an additional scope for certifiers, as this requires very specialized knowledge and experience necessary properly oversee this complex and important category of organic certification and finally, * We would recommend that this whole section of new training requirements, including these two additional recommendations, also explicitly apply to NOP staff, as well. It is critical that we continue to strive toward whole systems approach that require consistency of knowledge, application and interpretation from operators though certifiers and on to accreditors, as well. 6. Operator Certificates We support the required use of standardized operator certificates linked to the OID; while this may be painful for those CBs which have invested much time, training and expertise into their own customized certificates; we strongly feel that in the long run this new requirement will strengthen organic integrity and remove one more opportunity for fraud and/ or confusion. We also seek clarification regarding the use of expiration dates and expiry of certificates, which could then be removed from OID, if not renewed in required timeframe. It is our experience both with EU regulations, as well as review of OID that when certificates do not expire, this allows room for abuse and fraud when certificates can be found that have not been renewed for several years or are linked to certifiers, whom have been already been suspended. We are also aware of industry and certifier experts who oppose this additional requirements of expiry and remain open to better understanding their rationale, but in our experience it seems common sense to impose discipline and timely order through these additional requirements. 7. Missing components In conclusion, we make the following additional recommendations regarding areas that we strongly feel are still missing from this much improved set of proposed regulations, all of which are aimed at strengthening organic enforcement. These recommendations are aimed at encouraging much greater coordination, cooperation and harmonization of best practices of regulatory oversight of the two largest organic markets – NA and EU. * We recommend special focus on better identification and tracking of organic products that are certified by both EU and US, to ensure that mass balances and trace backs are successfully preventing "double counting" of same organic products. * We strongly urge establishment of EU/US protocols that triggers notification and investigations when either equivalency partner threats to and/or suspends CAs/CBs for major non-compliances; especially when these CAs/CBs are accredited by both partners. * Include specific guidance for certification of brokers/traders outside of the US that are currently exempt and not eligible for equivalencies. * Address on-going concerns about lack of consistency between certifiers over material review determinations. * Address urgent needs to develop much more timely and transparent NOP complaints systems, as stakeholders have lost much confidence in the current complaints process. * Finally, we strongly urge on-going development of a much more harmonized approach between US and EU; using upcoming renewal of equivalency agreements as an opportunity for more comprehensive and transparent stakeholder dialogue aimed at mutual adoption of best practices. We wish to thank the USDA/NOP for this opportunity to provide comments on what we generally consider the most significant improvements to OFPA, since its establishment. We are also aware that consistent implementation across all CBs, is also critical and is where real change and any additional gaps begin to emerge. We are committed to continuing to engage in this process as it moves forward and offer our expertise and will pleased to answer any specific clarifications regarding our comments, as requested. Finally, continuing to fully engage the wisdom of the broadest organic community; including the NOSB, as these proposed regulations move forward is critical to our mutual goals of protecting and enhancing organic integrity.
Morford Historian RECORDS AND NEWS OF ALL BRANCHES OF THE MORFORD FAMILY OF AMERICA, PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY MRS. HAROLD L. ADAMS, F.A.S.G., ROUTE 1, BOX 43-C, SHELLEY, IDAHO 83274 Vol. 3, No. 1 Annual subscription, $6.00 January 1982 THE TWO AARON WRIGHT FAMILIES OF OHIO LIVING IN NEIGHBORING counties, and marrying, in the same year, women with the name of Mary, there were two men by the name of Aaron Wright. One was a wealthy physician who held property in both Montgomery and Warren Counties, Ohio; the other was just a farmer, living in Montgomery County, but who, as was the usual custom, went to the bride's county of residence -- in this case Warren County -- to be married. Dr. Aaron Wright [c1813-1885], who died in Brooklyn, New York, married, on the second of April, 1840, at Amos Willets' home, Mary Willets, born 1 April 1820 in New York, a daughter of Amos and Ann (Titus) Willets, who were members of the Friends Meeting, at Springboro, Warren County, Ohio. Dr. Wright's wife died 18 April 1904. Volume II of William Wade Hinshaw's Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy indicates that Dr. Aaron Wright was a son of Jonathan and Mary Wright. Children of Dr. Aaron and Mary (Willets) Wright were: Mary Ann (or "Marianna"), born in 1843; Amos Willets 1844; Frederick 1851, and Jonathan 1860. Dr. Wright and his family resided much of the time in Warren County, thus many of the records of this family are in the excellent card file maintained at the Glendower Museum Library in Lebanon, Ohio. The other Aaron Wright is the one in whom we are interested. He was about 15 years older than Dr. Aaron, having been born 21 July 1798 in New Jersey, and died in Pyrmont, Perry Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, 20 May 1879. He had been married, first, to Ruth E., whose maiden name we did not learn; but it is his second marriage which is of interest to us, as the bride was Mary Morford, daughter of Cornelius Morford Jr. [1770-1851] by his first wife, Elizabeth Craft [1774-18091. She was born 27 September 1804, in Delaware, probably in St. George's Hundred, New Castle County, as that is where both Cornelius Morford Sr. [1741-1825] and his son Cornelius Jr. were listed among "taxables", in 1804. She died 10 August 1884 at Pyrmont, Ohio. Mary Morford's marriage to Aaron took place in Warren County, 17 September 1840 -- ten days short of her 36th birthday. Two children were born to her: Cornelius M., about 1843, and Mary Ann, born about 1847 or 1848. Cornelius Morford Wright (that was almost certainly his full name) may have married in Illinois, as that is the birthplace of his wife Avira, whom he married about 1868; a son Edward was born in Illinois about 1869. By 1373 they were of Poweshiek County, in Iowa, where a son Cornelius was born to them. In 1879 when his father died, Cornelius M. Wright was said to have been "of Hastings, Adams Co., Nebraska"; but he returned to Iowa and in 1884 at the death of his mother, he was living in Malcom, Poweshiek County, Iowa. The 1885 census of that place indicated his profession as "M. (for medical?) Doctor." The MORFORD HISTORIAN would welcome later records of this family. Mary Ann Wright married, 26 March 1869, in Montgomery County, Ohio, Henry F. Albert; they had two daughters, Louisa M. , born 1371 , and Dora E. , born 1873. The 1380 census shows the Albert family living in Brookville, Montgomery Co., Ohio. Did these Albert girls marry? and if so, to whom? and where are their descendants living? LITTLE BY LITTLE, AND WITH MUCH HELP, A MORFORD MYSTERY IS SOLVED! "MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK" is never more true than in genealogical research; thus it is gratifying to present this success story for our readers, especially those who were among the helpers. Rather than using standard genealogical format, we'll recount the various sources and methods utilized in proving the nebulous clues and traditions with which we started. First, in 1957 the late Mrs. Joseph Wallingford Morford of Lexington, Ky., whose husband was a descendant of James H. Morford [1785-18431, let us borrow and photograph the Bible records of that family. In 1958, Lawrence Lee Morford, a descendant of James' brother John Morford [1778-1869], shared with us information which he and his father, the late Alexander Lee Morford [1878-1953] had learned as to the Pittsburgh Morfords. In 1977 the Bible records of this branch were photocopied for us by James F. Bryan, of Carthage, Mo., who is also a John Morford descendant. Both of these Bible records, together with one relating to Cornelius Morford Jr. , were published in the May 1977 issue of Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, pages 57 through 64. The mother of John and James H. Morford was the Mrs. Mary Morford [1753-1818], whose brief obituary appeared in a Pittsburgh newspaper. Lawrence Morford gave her maiden name as "Chamberlain"; the accuracy of his record is reinforced by the fact that the middle name of a daughter and granddaughter of John [1778-1869] was "Chamberlayne". Bible records of the family of Zebulon Morford [1722-94] and his wife, Susanna Barton [1727- 1812] show the eldest son John born 10 November 1747 in Cranbury, N.J., with a wife named Mary Chamberlain. Lawrence also mentioned that John and James H. had a brother named Barton; a tradition in the James H. branch was that a third brother, his name not recollected, had also come to Pittsburgh, but "disappeared". Pittsburgh directories of the mid-1850s list: "Ruth Morford, widow of Barton"; in our list of early Ohio marriages is that of Barton Morford to Ruth Bond, in Jefferson County, 1832. Next, we learned from our subscriber Steven Morford of June Lake, Calif. , that his mother thought she had a picture of Ruth Morford. She did, and thanks to Vera (Mrs. Harry C.) Morford of Modesto, Calif., here is a reproduction of it. On the back of the picture was Ruth's name and her birthyear, 1802. Another subscriber, Gary D. Morford of Lucinda, Pa., sent us a photocopy of the marriage record of Barton Morford and Ruth Bond, shown below, actual size. Apparently Barton left the Pittsburgh area by 1832, settling in or near Steubenville, Ohio, where the 1840 census shows him as Barton "Moffitt", aged between 40 and 50. His wife was born ca 1800-10. They had 2 daughters born ca 1832-35, and 2 sons born about 1835-40. We have no doubt but that the sons were James B. (for "Barton", or "Bond"?), who was born in 1836, and William L. [1837-97], whose picture is shown below, together with one of his wife, Letitia Ann (English) Morford [1847-1916]. Both these families lived in or near Alleghany, Pa. As to the daughters, the younger is still unknown to us, but the elder was Susan. Her picture (loaned by Vera Morford) was identified, in old script on the back, as "Susan Morford Agy". Her age was not known to family members, but a little 'sleuthing" as to the period within which R. H. Gano, the photographer, had a studio at 88 Federal St., Alleghany, indicated that the picture must have been taken between 1864 and 1875. Her dress style is of that period, and we guessed her age as in the mid-thirties. Mention was made that her signature, "Susan Morford Agy", was on a guest list at the 1906 wedding of Clarence Edgar Morford [1876-1961] to Fannie Burgess Crider [1878-1953]. Aha! living in 1906! She should show up in the Soundex index to the 1900 census of Pa., her birth year between 1833-35, birthplace Ohio. A microfilm of the index was ordered, arriving after many weeks, and was eagerly scanned for an Agy with wife Susan. There she was, living on Charles Street, Alleghany, with husband John, 69, born 1831 in Pa. She was 67, born 1833 in Ohio! Listed with them were an unmarried daughter Ella Agy, 33 (born Mar. 1867), Anne Gibson, 38 (b. Sept. 1862), and grandson Clarence Gibson, 16 (b. Oct. 1883). Further along in the index was a John Clarence Agy, 34 (b. Apr. 1866) with wife Sarah B., 34, and son Clarence, 3, living at 908 Middle Street, Alleghany. Repetition of the name Clarence seems to indicate that this John Clarence Agy was a son of the elder John Agy; both the Agy and the Morford families seem to have been partial to the name Clarence. Now, how to find the younger daughter? Suggestion: Check Alleghany directories until John Agy's name, or that of a widow Susan, disappears; then obtain death certificates. With an exact death date, a newspaper obituary may now be sought; this might mention a sister and other relatives among Susan's survivors, thus providing new clues to assist in the search for other family members. Good Hunting! And be sure to report results, so that we may publish a sequel to this story in the MORFORD HISTORIAN. These two pictures, also loaned by Vera Morford, are of her husband's grandparents, William L. Morford [1837-1397] and Letitia Ann (English) Morford [1847-1916] who were married 23 Nov. 1857, Alleghany City, now Pittsburgh, Pa. Their children: Harry Milward 1860; Charles Edward 1862-1892; William Thorn 1864-1936; Ella Jane 1866-1945 (m.. Chas. Hodge Hays); Freddie 18689, d.yng; Cora Mae 1871-1939 (never md.); Susan Gertrude 1873, d.yng; Clarence Edgar 1876-1961; and Margaret 1887 (m. Frank Kasten). NEWS OF MORFORDS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS CHRISTINA LESLIE MORFORD, daughter of Joe Allen and Geraldine (Owens) Morford of Parkersburg, W. Va., became the bride of Richard Arthur Vore in a double-ring ceremony, 8 August 1981 , at Trinity Episcopal Church in Parkersburg. The groom is son of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Vore of Marietta, Ohio. The young couple will make their home in Marietta, where Richard is employed at the Airolite Company. Christina's Morford line is : Joe Allen 10 Byron Leslie 9 Patrick Hagan 8 John Amyot 7 Isaac Newton 6 James 5 Daniel 4 Morford. WEDDING BELLS WILL RING ON VALENTINE'S DAY, 1982, for Brenda Lee Morford and Raymond George Manville II. Brenda is daughter of Lelan Leroy Morford of Waterford, Oakland Co. , Mich. , and Mary Rivers of Woodbine, Kentucky. The groom is son of Vivian Rourke of Berkley and Raymond Manville I of Pontiac, Mich. Lelan's line: Perry Lelan 9 Frederick Warner 8 Thomas 7 Garrett Sr. 6 Joseph 5 Morford. JAMES PHILIP O'CONNOR, born 1 July 1951 at Klamath Falls , Ore. , was found dead in his laboratory at Seattle University, Seattle, Washington, where lie was teaching chemistry, 12 July 1981. He was son of Michael J. and Margaret Irene (Hurley) O'Connor, and the grandson of Michael Henry and Flora Irene (Morford) Hurley. He is survived by his wife, the former Mary Elizabeth Lidstrom. His grandmother's Morford line: Anderson 8 Isaac 7 Frederick Sr . 6 Isaac 5 Cornelius 4 Morford. EVELYN DYCE (HEROLD) (MORFORD) CASTO, whose first husband was Alan Vincent Morford [1912-67] died 8 Aug. 1981 , Hollywood, Fla., aged 64. She was born 1916 at Minnehaha Springs, W. Va. , daughter of the late Andrew L. & Eulah (Gum) Herold. A retired registered nurse, she was a member of West Side Baptist Church, and of the Order of Eastern Star, in Hollywood, Fla. Surviving are a daughter Lois Jean (Mrs. Robert) Shaw, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; a sister Dorothy Moore, Bridgeport, Conn; two brothers, Woodrow Herold, Baltimore, Md. and Andrew Herold, Aiken, So. Car.; and a number of grandchildren. Services were held 13 August at First Baptist Church, Spencer, W. Va.; interment at Morford Cemetery, Triplett, W. Va. Her first husband's line: Patrick Hagan John Amyot 7 Isaac Newton 6 James 5 Daniel 4 Morford. 8 BLANCHE SUEVILLE (MORFORD) PITMAN, of Rio, Ill., died 25 September 1981, aged 90, in Galesburg, Ill.; burial was in Oak Lawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Galesburg. She was born 20 May 1891 in Dexter, Iowa, daughter of John Jasper and Annetta Della (Allen) Morford. She was married 23 February 1917 to James Albert Pitman, Jr. [1890-1965], a son of James Albert and Alice (Mathers) Pitman. Blanche's line: John Jasper 7 John Titus 6 James 5 John 4 Thomas 3 Thomas 2 John 1 Morford. JACOB MICHAEL GRAHAM, infant son of Larry Kenneth and Wendalyn "Wendy" Ellen (Morford) Graham, was born dead; funeral services were held 30 Oct. 1981. Wendy's line: Anderson Leroy 10 Ralph Milton 9 Anderson 8 Isaac 7 Frederick Sr. 6 Isaac 5 Cornelius 4 Morford. EVELYN (GRIGSON) MORFORD, wife of Dr. John "Jack" Taylor Morford of Carlisle, Ky., died 2 November 1981, Lexington, Ky., following open heart surgery. A native of Maysville, Ky., she was born 26 February 1924 to the late Harold and Della (Kiskadden) Grigson. She and Dr. Morford were married 8 December 1944, and were parents of three children: Mrs. Michael Cochran; Susie (who died about 1970); and Jay, of Richmond; six grandchildren also survive. Mrs. Morford was a graduate of Maysville High School and of Louisville School of Nursing. Brothers and sisters who survive are Dorothy (Mrs. William) Boley, Richard and Eugene Grigson, all of Mason Co., Ky.; Raymond Grigson of Manchester, Ohio; Sylvia (Mrs. Frank) Vice of Ewing, Ky.; Rubye (Mrs. Reynolds) Kalb, of Brooksville, Ky.; and Mrs. Martha Poynter of Cincinnati. Dr. Jack's line is: John Denzel 9 John Taylor 8 John Amyot 7 Isaac Newton 6 James 5 Daniel 4 Morford. SIGNIFICANCE OF AGE CALLED RELATIVE: SUCCESS IN THIRD CAREER IS PROOF The accompanying article, by Diana Dawson of the Independence (Mo.) EXAMINER, dated Monday, March 9, 1981 , is reprinted here , by permission of that newspaper. "Audrey (Morford) Stubbart is a lady after my own heart", says the MORFORD HISTORIAN editor, who shares Audrey's distaste for slipshod grammar, misspelled words, and inaccurate punctuation. Our local newspaper needs a person just like Audrey! Audrey's Morford line: Francis A 7 Francis M. 6 William' 5 John 4 Thomas 3 Thomas 2 John 1 Audrey Stubbart, The Examiner's 85-year-old proofreader, scours a reporter's copy for mistakes on a newsroom computer. Two decades into her third career, she says age is relative. then hired her as proofreader, just until the newspaper could get someone else. Audrey Stubbart's blue eyes peer above a newsroom computer terminal, searching for the reporter who wrote a word that doesn't click. Like Mark Twain who said "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug," The Examiner's 85-year-old proofreader doesn't settle for almost right. Now, two decades into her third career, Stubbart serves as the newspaper's living dictionary, thesaurus and grammar text. From across the newsroom, she'll yelp about a misplaced modifier or a comma fault minutes before the press chums out newspapers. But she doesn't know the definition of retirement. As the culprit nears the terminal, Stubbart points a finger at one of several hundred words on the screen. "You didn't mean to use that word, did you?" she asks. Whether he meant to use that word or not, he knows it was the wrong choice. As a young store clerk in Sherwood, Iowa, she sold a $2.56 pair of shoes to a motherless girl on July 3. By the time fireworks and picnic lunches had been reduced to ashes and chicken bones, the girl returned the shoebox to the store counter - one shoe black and the other brown. Her hair may be snow and her hands show the lines of the ages, but Stubbart has summer spunk. For more than six decades, she has waged a personal war against mistakes that began with a Fourth of July holiday 70 years ago. "Then, I saw how much a mistake could affect a person's life. The girl either was not at the picnic or had to wear her old pair of shoes," Stubbart says. "Ever since, I've been so hard on myself and hated to make mistakes. But I've made enough of them to stay humble. " Herding sheep and killing rattlesnakes helped to fill the time between teaching school and rearing five children. After World War II, the homestead was sold for $1.25 an acre and Stubbart returned to Independence with her husband and five children. Between the picnic and The Examiner, the Stubbarts homesteaded in Wyoming where she rode across the western plains on horseback to teach school seven years. An avid reader since the age of four, she'd learned intricacies of grammar from a text propped up on her ironing board, for amusement and to fill hours of aloneness. Once in the city, Stubbart earned the nickname "Rock of Gibraltar" from co-workers at Herald House-Independence Press. There, until mandatory retirement forced her out after 18 years, she read proof and assisted writing church publications. There she stayed until "retiring" at age 66. An Examiner news editor "They asked me to be a copy editor once and I said, 'No this proofroom is the hub of the wheel and I'm staying right here," says the woman who has never asked for a pay raise. Accounting for her longevity, Stubbart says, "First you have to choose long-lived ancestors. Really, it isn't the length, but the quality of life that goes on the ledger. Mother told me and I believe, we should fill our minds with such beautiful pictures, sounds, music, poetry and scriptures that if we were shipwrecked on a desert island we would not be alone. There are islands of deafness and blindness, too, that can tax the mind's store. " "I don't see any reason for people to put others on the shelf at 65 and make them waste the best years of their life," she says. "If they've been living right, that is when they'll have the most knowledge - everything they've accumulated during all those years of living." Mention the fact that it's amazing for an 85-year-old woman to work 40 hours a week and Stubbart will either wrinkle her nose or quickly pass over the subject. "I'm not the amazing one - Pete Esser is. That's one thing I'm eternally grateful for, that he's let me work this long," she says as she protests an article being written about her. "Several times I've asked him if he doesn't want me to retire and he says no." "I guess there are two of me. One says how nice it is to be recognized like that," Stubbart explains, "and the other is saying, forget it, can't you. Let's just go on from here. Age is relative. " But The Examiner publisher throws the "amazing" title back to Stubbart. "Frankly, what would we do without her?," Esser asks. "I think when we went to the front-end (computer terminal) system she was concerned we would not have the need for her, but Audrey is here as long as she wants to stay." "I don't feel old until I look in the glass and then look at the young ones around me," she says. "I never really felt my age until at a staff meeting I brought out a book of grammar and Jim Snell said, 'Just look at that copyright date.' Rules of grammar never change. A subject is still a subject and a verb is still a verb. Never the twain shall meet." Most of her original Examiner cohorts have retired and urged her to do the same. In their place has come a news staff with a median age of 25. "It's learning that I want them all to do I say I'm not here forever, so learn not to spell commitment with two t's," she says. MORFORD HISTORIAN subscribers are grouped here, according to- their earliest known ancestor. Following each person's name are listed his parent, grandparent and so on; small numerals indicate generation to which each belongs. When a line has not been traced back to one of the two early Morfords of N.J. [John 1 or Thomas 1 ] , we have determined approximate generation of known ancestor. Assuming 26 years to a generation, we deduct a series of 26s from the known date of an ancestor. EXAMPLE: Zebulon Morford [1722-1794] is assumed to have been son of a man born about 1696, and grandson of a man born about 1644, give or take a few years. As the early Morford brothers were adults in the 1670s, they must have been born about 1640-1650; Zebulon therefore must have been-of the third generation. Listed below are our new subscribers since the October 1981 issue: DESCENDANTS OF DANIEL 4 MORFORD 1740-1833: Diane Lyndall (Morford) Sime, Loomis CA Ethel Viola (Loan) Garrison, Iowa City IA Grace 9 (Morford) Loan; John William 8 Morford; Reason Daniel 6 James 5 Daniel 4 Morford Elberta (Smiley) Kruger, Garrison IA Eunice (Levengood) Smiley 9 ; Sarah (Day) Levengood 8 ; Amariah Day 7 ; Sarah 6 (Morford) Day Daniel 5 Morford Daniel Leroy Morford, El Paso TX Valmy Leroy 8 James Leroy 7 Isaac Newton 6 James 5 Daniel 4 Morford JoAnn Morford, Presho SD Darrell Keith 10 Leland Reed 9 Brinton M. 8 Isaac Reed 7 Jesse James 5 Daniel 4 Morford DESCENDANT OF DANIEL 6 MORFORD 1793-1876: Norman Lewis Morford, Indianapolis IN EIbert Silas 10 Arthur Ray 9 Lewis Franklin 8 William Henry 7 Daniel 6 Morford DESCENDANTS OF JOHN 1 MORFORD c165 - 173 ; John F. Hendrickson, Annandale VA Murl S. Hendrickson 9 ; Ella (Stanley) Hendrickson 8 ; Nancy (Woods) Stanley 7 ; Martha 6 (Morford) Woods; Joseph 5 Morford; James 4 Thomas 3 Thomas 2 John 1 Gregory Leroy Morford, El Paso TX Benjamin Wakely 9 Clarence Leroy 8 Calvin Wakely 7 Abner Tunis 6 James 5 John 4 Thomas 3 Thomas 2 John 1 Monroe Alexander Morford, Weimar CA Alfred Melvin 8 Edward Gurn 7 Jacob S. 6 William 5 John 4 Thomras 3 Thomas 2 John 1 Morford Benjamin Wakely 9 Clarence Leroy 8 Calvin Wakely 7 Abner Tunis 6 James 5 John 4 Thomas 3 Thomas 2 John 1 DESCENDANTS OF JOHN 1 MORFORD c1784-187 : Lisa Ann (Feil) Ferriere, W. Willington CT 10 9 Eizabetheth Mayfred J. (Wilbur) Feil;.Arthur Morford Wilbur 8 (Morford) Wilbur; James 7 John James Henry Morford, Monroe NC John Henry Jr. 9 John Henry 8 Matthias 7 John 6 Morford 6 Robert Stanley Morford, Ames IA George Martin 10 George Wilson 9 Marvin Martin 8 Jerome 7 John 6 Arthur Dean Reinhart, Guilford CT Anne Frances 12 (Morford) Reinhart; Albert Francis 11 Morford Fredrick 9 George 8 James 7 John 6 DESCENDANT OF ZEBULON 3 MORFORD 1722-1794: Joseph Kinnear Morford II, San Francisco CA Joseph Kinnear 8 Joseph Wallingford 7 Isaac Newton 6 James H. 5 John 4 Zebulon 3 Morford ? ? ? ? ANCESTRAL LINE UNKNOWN ? ? ? ? Joan Morford, Bryant Pond ME NOTE: This is a gift subscription, . from Mrs. Joan (Morford) Bungum, of Lindstrom, Minnesota, to an unknown Joan .Morford. We invited Miss? Mrs.? Joan Morford to fill in the ancestral chart so as to identify her tine; but had not had a reply at the time this issue was being prepared for the printer. We hope to hear from you, Joan Morford!! JACOB MOFORD was among the 321 voters out of 518 on the 1792 tax lists of Botetourt Co., Virginia (which then included present Botetourt, Craig, Roanoke and Alleghany) who participated in an election of Delegates and Senators held at the Court House in Botetourt County in April 1792. This information was noted and sent to the MORFORD HISTORIAN by our subscriber Mary Jane Steinhagen of McLean, Va., who found it in a book entitled A Seed-bed of the Republic, by Robert Douthat Stoner, 1962, Kingsport TN Press. Jacob is not a common name in the Morford families and this is the earliest of whom we have record. If any reader has more data of Jacob and his family, we'd like to learn more about him, so we may determine where he fits into the known families. EXTRA COPIES of this or earlier issues of MORFORD HISTORIAN available at $2.20 each; publication began July 1, 1980, so there are only 2 issues for that year, July & October. 7 6 67 WHO WAS JOHN MORFORD, REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIER AND SADDLER? (or, IN STUDYING ONE PROBLEM, WE SOLVE TWO!) JOHN MORFORD OF FREEHOLD, N.J. , in 1827 at the age of 80 made application for pension, based on his claimed service as a saddler during the Revolutionary War [R-7379] in the company of Capt. Dunbar from Maryland. He said he had served in the battles of Germantown (1777) and Monmouth (1778), although he gave the dates of his service as eighteen months during 1778 and 1779. He had a wife, Sarah, aged 81 , who was quite infirm. To prove his poverty he presented a pitifully brief schedule of personal belongings, estimated by the Judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas as worth only $29.37. Even though the judges, William Lloyd, John Hull , John Headden, James G. Herbert, and W. J. Bowne, urged that the claim be considered because of the petitioner's age, poverty and infirmity, the application was denied. The name of John Morford, saddler, appeared on the tax ratable list in Freehold, from 1779 to 1797; in 1784 his household consisted of eight white inhabitants. Except for John and his wife, we have no idea who the others in the household were. Recently we came across two deeds which provide clues to the identity of this man, who was born in 1747. The first deed was made 10 March 1804 by John Campbell and his wife Hendricka, conveying an acre in Freehold to Benjamin and John Mofford, sons of John Mofford Sr. of the same county and state (i.e. , Monmouth County, N.J.). A second deed, 2 Oct. 1806, identifies the John "Mofford" of the earlier deed as "John Morford Jr. of Freehold Township, sadler"; and mentions his brother Benjamin, "since deceased", as well as two sisters, Susannah (or Hannah), wife of Theodorus Conover, and Ann Morford. John and these two sisters were called "sole heirs" of their brother Benjamin Morford. Now the problem is to identify the John Mofford Sr. who was father of at least these 4 children (although he certainly may have had others who died before 1804). As John Sr. was of Monmouth County, he was almost certainly a descendant of the earliest Thomas and Susanna. The John who was a son of the earliest John was of Middlesex Co, by 1704 and was said to have been born in 1865 and to have died in Salem, N.J. in 1733, age 98. The will of the first Thomas [given verbatim, p. 33 MORFORD HISTORIAN, April 1981] was dated December 1695, listing male issue first (as was customary), although all but one of the daughters appear to have been older than both sons. As the elder son was born in February 1692, John must have been born between November 1692 and December 1695. We were in error in the April 1981 article in assigning the birthyear of 1685 to this man; it was his cousin of the same name who was born in 1685, as mentioned above. In his Vol. IV, N.J. Miscellany, Dr. Stillwell is strangely silent as to Thomas' son, John. He numbered him as #4; but gives no further account of him, skipping from elder brother Thomas [1692-1750], to #5, Catharine, born perhaps in the 1680s, as her first marriage, to Edward Taylor, was about 1701/2. Dr. Stillwell lists two John Morfords who served from Monmouth County in the Revolutionary War, one in Capt. John Walton's Troop Light Dragoons, the other in Capt. Kenneth Hankinson's Co. , First Regiment; but identifies neither one. As John the saddler says he served in Capt. Dunbar's Company, there must have been at least three contemporary men by the name of John Morford. In thus determining the ancestral line of John Morford the saddler as John2 Thomas1, it is likely we have also solved a mystery as to one of the wives of Theodorus Van Kouwenhoven (or Conover), born 24 May 1733, died 10 December 1825; buried in Old Tennent Cem. [NJ Misc. 2:323]. He was son of William Van Kouwenhoven [1703-77], whose will was witnessed by a John Morford. [NJA 34:112]. See discussion on p. 173, NYG&BR,, July 1950, in The Van Kouwenhover-Conover Family, by Lincoln C. Cocheau. WHO WAS THE LOYALIST JOHN MORFORD [1757-1838], OF NOVA SCOTIA? IN CONTRAST TO THE THREE JOHN MORFORDS who served in American forces during the Revolutionary War, there was also a John Morford, born about 1757, who was a Loyalist, in sympathy with the British cause. With his first wife, whose name is unknown to us, he moved to Nova Scotia by 1783, settling in Digby, where he died in November 1838 at the age of 81, and was buried 23 November. He married second, 1791, Margaret Dixon, whose burial at Jogin, Digby Co. , N.S. is recorded as 3 January 1830. At the time John came to Canada, a Jane Stenegar, whose relationship, if any, is unknown, came with him. If anyone can find further data of this man, as to where he lived during the war, and who his parents were, the Morford Historian would appreciate receiving the information. MORFORDS WHO WERE PIONEERS IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY AND STATE JOHN WESLEY MORFORD [1861-1946] and his first wife, Mary Jones, were probably first of the Morfords to arrive in Washington Territory. A son of John W. and Mary "Polly" (Cullumber) Morford of Ohio, Illinois and Kansas, he went from Munden, Kansas to British Columbia in the summer of 1884, and lived in Nanaimo when his son John R. was born in February 1885. Soon afterward he and his family went to Carbonado, Pierce County, Washington Territory, where his wife died in September 1887. Early in 1889, with his second wife, Jane "Jennie" Catherine (Irish), he moved to the Yakima Valley where they reared a large family, many of whose descendants are still living in that region. SHELDON OSMUND MORFORD [1849-1919], son of Isaac and Celestia Lysetta (Williams) Morford, came from Ohio to Washington Territory some time prior to December 1885, and was a resident of Yakima for a number of years. A future issue of MH will have a longer biographical sketch of Judge Morford. Next to arrive was REMEMBRANCE MORFORD [1834-1924, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Stoops) Morford of Greene Co. Pa. and Muscatine Co., Iowa; with his wife, Catharine (Rupp) Morford, Remembrance came to Seattle in the spring of 1887, from Pottawatomie County, Ia. Their children and descendants are mostly of Seattle and nearby areas. Following her younger brother, John Wesley Morford, MARGARET (MORFORD) ADAMS and her husband GILBERT ROYAL ADAMS [1853-1927] came West in September 1887 from Munden, Kans. to Carbonado, W.T., arriving on the very day when John Morford's wife had died. The Adams family lived at Wilkeson for a while, then moved to Naches, where they lived until early 1895, returning to Kansas for a few years before again moving West to settle in Lebanon and later in West Salem, in Oregon's beautiful Willamette Valley. Another Kansan was JEROME JEFFERSON MORFORD [1841-1910], son of James and Martha (Titus) Morford. He and his first wife, Amanda Janette (Abbott) Morford [1847-90] had lived in Illinois; in Seapo, Republic Co., Kansas; in Concordia, Cloud Co. , Kansas; and some time between July 1888 and October 1890, came to Seattle, King County -- the first of the Morfords to arrive after Washington Territory became a state. Their children were residents of Ellensburg, Sumner, Edmonds, Tolt, and Renton. FRANCIS "FRANK" DANIEL MORFORD [1847-1926], son of James C. and Mary (McLaughlin) Morford, was in Washington state some time prior to 1893. He and his wife, Ida May (Chase) Morford [1856-1921] had lived in Wrightstown, Brown Co. , Wis.; in Cumberland, Barron Co., Wis; and in Minnesota and North Dakota in 1882 and 1886, before coming West. They settled in Spokane, eastern Washington, where Ida died 13 December 1921, and Francis Daniel Morford died about five years later, 19 August 1926. Two sons who were of Spokane were Alva Leroy [1375-1953] and Leroy Eugene [18791930]. 69 JAMES CHAMBERLAIN MORFORD [1795-1883], LAST OF THE "OLD DEFENDERS" FROM DRUMMER BOY TO QUARTERMASTER in the company commanded by his future kinsman sums up the military career of the War of 1812 soldier, James Chamberlain Morford. He was born 10 September 1795, probably in a home located on the "Long Green Road", in what was originally Lord Baltimore Gunpowder Manor, in Baltimore County, Maryland. This road runs through land designated as (John) Chamberlain's Meadow, turning northeast along a tract known as "Gitting's Choice Resurveyed". It is likely these were lands belonging to James' ancestors, as he was eldest of three sons born to John Morford [1766-18371 and his second wife, Susanna "Sukey" Chamberlain, whose parents were said to have been Philip and Sarah (Gittings) Chamberlain. James was only 19 when, on 12 September 1814, he fought in the Battle of North Point, later commemorated by a monument where it was customary for survivors of the defense of Baltimore to meet on the anniversary of the battle, and, in uniform with crape armbands, march around the monument, carrying their cockaded hats. The History of Baltimore 1729-1898 says "the last to honor the custom was James Morford; he was too feeble to walk and was driven round it in a hack, accompanied by Mr. Todd Hall and William M. Marine, the last named .. for years orator of the Association of Defenders." This is at variance with a newspaper account written shortly after James' death, in which it was stated that he was the sole survivor present at the last dinner given honoring the "Old Defenders". After the dinner he took the street car to Patterson Park, where a celebration was in progress, at which he made a few remarks. The History of Baltimore stated "when Mr. Morford died it was supposed he was the final living member of the association; recently that assumption has been discovered to be incorrect. There was until lately living ... Elisha Glenn, in Newark, N.J., over 100 years of age, and John Lamberson, 96 years of age, residing in Baltimore, and two in Texas --Jarett Carl, 102, and Joseph Coffman, 96 ..." James C. Morford married first, 3 January 1822 in Baltimore, Elizabeth, a daughter of Richard and Mary (Collins) Fowler. (It was her relative, Henry Fowler, who had been Captain of the company in which James Morford had served.) James and Elizabeth had 6 children: Mary Jane [1822-1905, m., 1849 James S. Cornelius]; Susannah Elizabeth [1824-1915, m. 1846 Charles McComas]; Sarah Ann [1826-67, m. 1847 George W. Bishop]; Alice Miller [1828- , m. 1353 William Dorsey Cowley]; Richard 1830-36]; and Julia Ann [1832-1928, m. 1859 George Franklin Lewis]. Elizabeth (Fowler) Morford, who was born 3 March 1794, died 1 October 1839, and James married 2d, 13 October 1840, Ruth Ann Biddison. There were two children by this marriage; both died before 1850. They were James Thomas, born 1842, and Samuel Lucas, born 1848. Ruth Ann (Biddison) Morford died 23 October 1872, in Baltimore, and was buried in Lot R-118, Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore. James C. Morford died 17 December 1888, aged 93 years, 3 months and 7 days; was first interred in Lot 65, area J, Greenmount Cemetery; but later was reinterred in a family burial plot belonging to the Fowler family, near Capt. Henry Fowler's old stone house. It's interesting to note where some of James' siblings settled. His elder half-brother, William, and his eldest sister Harriet Plowman, were of Newcastle, Coshocton Co., Ohio, where their father lived in his latter years. His second sister, Jane Fulks, and youngest sister Mary Gardner, were of York Co., Pa., where their father had been born. Sarah Chamberlain Chilcoat, and the youngest brother Thomas (who used the spellings of Maffatt and Morfoot) stayed in Baltimore; while the middle brother, Philip C. [for "Chamberlain"?], moved to Champaign Co., Ohio, and died in Indiana. MORE NEWS OF MORFORDS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS NELLIE S. MORFORD, 72, of 817 Roberts St. , Newport, Ky. , died at her home Thursday, 10 September 1981. Survivors: Daughters Ms. Geraldine Morford and Barbara Morford, both of Newport; sons, Douglas, Dayton and Ray of Newport; sister Myrtle Hilton, of Covington; brothers Garrett Smith of Early Branch, N.C., and Sawyer Smith, Cincinnati; and 5 grandchildren. Services at Newport; burial at Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio She was widow of Dwight Anderson Morford [1903-1968], who, the Morford Historian has reason to believe, was a son of James E. Morford (who also had sons Alonzo, James and William); and grandson of John M. and Jane (Watson) Morford. This John Morford, born in 1838, died in Linton, Indiana in 1829 at the home of his son "Orento" -- possibly a reporter's mistake for "Alonzo". He was said to have been survived by three daughters and four sons. If any reader can furnish the birth and death dates and places of this family group, it will be appreciated. NEW TWIG ON MORFORD FAMILY TREE ROBERT CLARE PORTER, son of Terry Lynn and Marcia Ann (Morford) Porter, of Lawton, OK, was born 7 December 1981. His mother's line: Clare Edmister Morford 9 Robert Boyd Morford 8 John Thomas Morford 7 Joseph 6 James 5 Daniel 4 Morford. New Jersey. F'r instance, there's an unidentified Charles Morford, born in the 1760s, who was of Genesee Co., N.Y., according to the 1810 census. Might he be father of William Morford [1817-78] who was married in 1848 at Alexander, Genesee Co., N.Y., to Polly Nelson? If he is, who was his wife? what other children did they have? did he have brothers and sisters? And even if we find the answers to these questions, we always wind up with a new question, like "Who were HIS parents? .. .... and that's, what all the digging into early deeds, wills, and census records is about -- trying to find sufficient proofs to be sure of where each branch fits into the larger picture of the entire Morford family. . . . . . If you live near a county courthouse, and have time to spare, why not take a notebook and pencil and copy Morford marriage records for us? Or ask at the public library whether they maintain an obituary file which could be checked for Morford deaths; every little bit helps! .... MH subscriptions run concurrently with the calendar year, expiring in December; this makes the bookkeeping easier for us. The expiration date was typed on your October issue; but in case you didn't keep the cover page, look at the one on this issue and if it says Dec'81 , get your check book out and send in your renewal .... Do you know that there are more than 400 Morfords who have birthdays between now and July? Some may already be subscribers .... some are too young to read ... but that leaves quite a few who might enjoy receiving a gift subscription to MORFORD HISTORIAN. It makes good reading when the snows are deep and the wintry winds howling, and you'd just as soon stay indoors, anyway! So treat your favorite relative to a gift subscription. Enid Several subscribers have sent in contributions toward a fund for hiring the services of a clipping bureau, so that we'll be able to keep current on Morford births, marriages, deaths, and other news items about Morfords everywhere in the United States, such as the one on page 65 about Audrey (Morford) Stubbart, bless her heart, who is still going strong as the EXAMINER's proof-reader, at the age of 86+. Or, an article about the Morford who has invented the proverbial "better mouse trap"! We hope to publish that one, soon. We're trying to get details as to the clipping bureau fees, and hope more contributions will come in soon, so that we'll be in a position to sign up for this news source ..... To the reader who wonders why we list so many "branches" of the family, it's because in many cases we haven't found good, solid proofs, or even reasonably strong clues, as to where some of the "strays" tie in to lines known to come from one of the 2 Morford brothers of
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Does the effect of gender modify the relationship between deprivation and mortality? Natalia Salcedo 1 , Marc Saez 1,2* , Basili Bragulat 1 and Carme Saurina 1,2 Abstract Background: In this study we propose improvements to the method of elaborating deprivation indexes. First, in the selection of the variables, we incorporated a wider range of both objective and subjective measures. Second, in the statistical methodology, we used a distance indicator instead of the standard aggregating method principal component analysis. Third, we propose another methodological improvement, which consists in the use of a more robust statistical method to assess the relationship between deprivation and health responses in ecological regressions. Methods: We conducted an ecological small-area analysis based on the residents of the Metropolitan region of Barcelona in the period 1994–2007. Standardized mortality rates, stratified by sex, were studied for four mortality causes: tumor of the bronquial, lung and trachea, diabetes mellitus type II, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Socioeconomic conditions were summarized using a deprivation index. Sixteen socio-demographic variables available in the Spanish Census of Population and Housing were included. The deprivation index was constructed by aggregating the above-mentioned variables using the distance indicator, DP2. For the estimation of the ecological regression we used hierarchical Bayesian models with some improvements. Results: At greater deprivation, there is an increased risk of dying from diabetes for both sexes and of dying from lung cancer for men. On the other hand, at greater deprivation, there is a decreased risk of dying from breast cancer and lung cancer for women. We did not find a clear relationship in the case of prostate cancer (presenting an increased risk but only in the second quintile of deprivation). Conclusions: We believe our results were obtained using a more robust methodology. First off, we have built a better index that allows us to directly collect the variability of contextual variables without having to use arbitrary weights. Secondly, we have solved two major problems that are present in spatial ecological regressions, i.e. those that use spatial data and, consequently, perform a spatial adjustment in order to obtain consistent estimators. Keywords: Deprivation indexes, Distance indicator DP2, Ecological regression, Standardized mortality ratio, Hierarchical Bayesian models, Robust Background Deprivation has been defined by Townsend as 'a state of observable and demonstrable disadvantage relative to the local community or the wider society or nation to which an individual, family or group belong to' [1]. It is a concept that has two distinguishable domains, material and social circumstances. The former relates to diet, health, clothing, housing, household facilities, environment and work. The latter is more difficult to measure as it relates to different forms of relationships, such as community integration, leisure, and formal participation in social institutions [1]. * Correspondence: email@example.com Research Group on Statistics, Econometrics and Health (GRECS), University 1 of Girona, Girona, Spain Research Group on Statistics, Econometrics and Health (GRECS), CIBER of 2 Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), University of Girona, Campus de Montilivi, 17071, Girona, Spain A deprivation index (DI) is recognized as a composite measure, where no single variable can be said to measure it but rather a number of variables contribute in some way [2]. Area-level indicators are commonly used to evaluate the geographical distribution of socioeconomic inequalities in health [3-6]. Area-level indicators have been used as proxies for individual-level data when individual measures are not available (i.e. data from census is only provided at aggregated levels for reasons of confidentiality) [7]. Approaches to ecological small-area analysis propose using the smallest practicable spatial scale for any study on inequalities in health [8,9]. This diminishes the ecological bias, as the analysis is closer to the individual level [8,10,11]. Most studies that have focused on area-level social factors use geographical boundaries, developed for censuses, as proxies for actual communities or neighborhoods [6]. Administrative boundaries allow for routinely collected data to be available at the smallest scale. In Spain, census tracts, the smallest administrative unit, tend to have a mean population of 1,000 subjects [12]. There are three main methods for constructing Deprivation Indices (DIs) [13,14]. First, standardized z-scores or log transformations of a priori selected variables. This was a very popular method up until the late 1980´s [15,16]. The second method is the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) which has been the principal method used over the last twenty years. PCA transforms a number of possibly correlated variables into uncorrelated variables and permits the extraction of a smaller number of uncorrelated variables called principal components that collect a large percentage of the total variance contained in the original data which are then used to measure socioeconomic status [17-20]. The third method (the least common) uses feedback from health experts to assign weights to the selected variables [21-24]. The increased use of DIs has allowed for the identification of deprived areas and their association to morbidity and mortality, living in deprived areas is an effect modifier. In fact, some studies confirm that people living in deprived areas have higher rates of ill health and mortality [4,5,8,25,26]. However, material deprivation is manifested in higher rates of mortality differently by gender [27,28]. This might be due in part to the fact that men and women perceive their environment differently [29-31], they may be exposed to different local environments [32], and their vulnerability to aspects in the local environment may vary [33]. In this study we propose improvements to the method of elaborating DIs. First, in the selection of the variables, we incorporated a wider range of both objective and subjective measures which makes for a more complete DI. Several studies that analyzed deprivation-associated excess mortality found that men had higher rates of excess mortality than women [27,28]. A large proportion of excess deaths were found in diet-related causes of death in females and smoking and alcohol consumption in males [27]. However, inferences about gender differences in relation to deprivation and mortality are sensitive to the choice of inequality measures used [34-36]. Making it important to incorporate indicators that are gender sensitive (i.e. residential/ environmental indicators as they are strongly related to women ' s health and individual economic activity indicators as they are associated to men ' s health) [32]. The strength of association between socio-economic and health measures tend to be greater for men than for women [35]. Thus, contextual indicators are crucial if we want to have a comparative measure between men and women ' s health. Studies have shown that neighborhood context influences self-rated health, especially in women, beyond the effects of individual factors [33,37]. Neighborhoods with worse socioeconomic conditions have a negative effect on health [38]. Additionally residential environment may be more important for women's health while individual economic activity is more important for men's health [32]. Other studies have found that occupational factors are more important for men's health whereas the home environment is more important for women's health [39]. Second, in the statistical methodology, we used a distance indicator (Pena Distance or DP2) instead of the leading aggregating method PCA. DP2 overcomes several limitations of PCA, for instance, aggregating variables expressed in different units of measurement, arbitrary weights, and duplicate information [40-45]. The greatest advantage of DP2 with respect to PCA consists on how each handles redundant information. Thus, while in PCA the first component, i.e. the DI, is composed of those variables that capture greater variability it leaves some variables out of the index. In DP2 the index is composed of all the variables, leaving out of the index only the redundant information but including each and every one of the variables. Thus, in principle, DP2 would collect more variability [45]. In addition, we propose another methodological improvement, which consists in the use of a more robust statistical method to assess the relationship between deprivation and health responses in ecological regressions. In this sense, we focused on mortality from trachea, bronchial and lung cancer and diabetes, because there is certain evidence that gender could act as an effect modifier in the relationship with deprivation, and breast and prostate cancer, given their known association with deprivation. Several studies have shown a positive association between lung cancer mortality and deprivation for men and a negative association for women [18,28,46]. This is explained because in men, lower socioeconomic status implies a higher prevalence of smoking, which leads to an increased risk of lung cancer mortality in individuals with lower socioeconomic status. On the other hand, in women, those with higher socioeconomic status are those with a higher prevalence of smoking, leading to an increased risk of dying from that cause in individuals with higher socioeconomic status. Regarding diabetes, those individuals with high educational levels have a significantly lower risk of dying from this cause (odds ratio, OR = 0.66) compared to those with low educational levels [47]. In the Whitehall study [48], we observed a similar gradient for mortality from diabetes mellitus than with the other pathologies studied; higher mortality from diabetes mellitus in individuals who were in the lowest levels of the hierarchy. This excess mortality appeared to be due to the increased frequency of cardiovascular risk in this type of study group. In addition, variations in mortality have also been observed for diabetes mellitus type II (DM2) at the residence area level. Thus, individuals living in more deprived areas tend to have worse lifestyle (higher values of body mass index –BMI-, greater prevalence of smoking) which could lead to worse glycemic control and greater number of complications associated with diabetes mellitus. As in the case of lung cancer mortality, this association could be modified by sex. However, the results from the Spanish literature, at least in those that use a spatial adjustment [18,28,46] do not systematically coincide with each other; particularly for prostate cancer and breast cancer. Diabetes mortality has shown a positive association with deprivation for both men [28,49] and women [49]. Borrell et al. [18] and Puigpinós-Riera et al. [46] found a positive association for breast cancer in Alicante (relative risk, RR = 1.55 95% confidence interval, 95% CI:1.04-2.19) yet the majority of other cities showed a negative association, not statistically significant, except for Vigo (RR = 0.54 95% CI 0.33-0.84). Benach et al. [27] found a negative association for breast cancer and deprivation with Index 1, which measured deprivation through unemployment, illiteracy and low social class; however, found no association with Index 2, measured deprivation through overcrowding and a small component of unemployment and illiteracy. For prostate cancer, some studies found no clear association between mortality risk and deprivation [46]. Benach et al. [27] found a negative association for prostate cancer and deprivation with Index 1; however, found no association with Index 2. Our hypothesis is that the differences found in the literature are caused mainly by the lack of robustness of the statistical methodology applied and the lack of robustness of the spatial adjustment applied. Therefore, our objective in this paper is to evaluate a more robust methodology, in the way of developing DIs, the selection of component variables and how to build them, and, above all, in the statistical method applied to analyze how the effect of gender modifies the relationship between deprivation and mortality. Methods Design and study population Most countries in the world periodically carry out population censuses that gather information on socio- demographic characteristics of the population resident in a country. In Spain, the Spanish Census of Population and Housing (CPH) conducted in 2001 reported nearly 41 million inhabitants. The province capital of Barcelona had over 1.5 million inhabitants and an average number of 1,201.33 inhabitants per census tract (standard deviation, SD, 526.66; Median 1,085.50). For this study, we conducted an ecological small-area analysis based on the residents of the Metropolitan region of Barcelona. A total of 2,978 census tracts were examined. Variables Standardized mortality rates (SMR), stratified by sex, were studied for four mortality causes: tumor of the bronquial, lung and trachea (ICD-10: C33-C34), diabetes mellitus (ICD-10:E10-E14), breast cancer (ICD-10:C50), and prostate cancer (ICD-10:C61). The mortality data was provided from the Catalan Mortality Registry. We only used death certificates of residents of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona who died between 1994 and 2007. Deprivation index Socioeconomic conditions were summarized using a DI in a census tract level. Sixteen socio-demographic variables available in the Spanish CPH were included. Four of these: unemployment rate, percent with low educational level, manual workers and temporary workers, have been used in several DIs for small-area studies in Spain [46,50]. The other variables (university education, mono-parental homes, activity rate, immigrants, homes without heating, no toilet/bathroom in the home, bad communications, vandalism/crime, few green areas, exterior noise, contamination/bad smells, and dirty street) were chosen based on literature that focused on the association between contextual indicators and their effect on health, particularly those that analyzed gender differences [38]. We chose contextual indicators, most of them subjective, which were representative of the neighborhood characteristics (Table 1). The DI was constructed by aggregating the abovementioned variables using another indicator, DP2, instead of the standard PCA method. DP2 is an iterative procedure that weights partial indicators depending on their correlation with the global index [41,45,51]. It is able to capture all the non-redundant variance of the indicators (i.e. avoiding multicollinearity); thus, allowing for the inclusion of a greater number of variables [41,42]. Given that DP2 uses all the valuable information contained in the partial indicators the more complete the final DI will be, since each variable contains unique information not present in others [44]. Magnifying the goodness of DP2 versus the extraction of an index through principal component analysis, especially when introducing a greater number of variables would not Table 1 Mean and Percentile distribution of socioeconomic indicators over census tracts of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, 2001 P25: 25 Percentile; P50: 50 Percentile; P75: 75 Percentile; Min: Minimum; Max: Maximum. suffice for identifying a single component for the index. More than one component should be collected when applying PCA thus resulting in an arbitrary choice of weights for aggregating the components to obtain the index. Pena [41] and Zarzosa [42] showed that DP2 fulfills all the properties of a good composite indicator; monotony, unicity, invariance, homogeneity, transitivity, exhaustivity, existence and determination, and additivity. The process for aggregating the variables using DP2 is a four-step process previously described in detail [51]. Data analysis When spatial data is available, the variability in the observed response is usually greater than the expected, resulting in over dispersion. In fact, it is important to distinguish between two sources of extra-variability [52]. The first most important source is the so-called 'spatial dependence'; it is a consequence of the correlation between the spatial unit and the neighboring spatial units, generally contiguous geographic areas. Nearby areas are more similar than those far apart. Part of this dependence is not really a structural dependence, but mainly due to variables not included in the analysis. The second source is the independent extra variability, spatially uncorrelated, called heterogeneity (not spatial); it is the result of unobserved variables, without spatial structure, which could influence the response [52,53]. To account for this extra variability, it is necessary to introduce some structure in the model. Otherwise, unless the model is linear, the estimates of the parameters of interest and the standard errors of the estimators will be biased; therefore any inference based on them, will be wrong [54]. In this paper we have chosen to use hierarchical Bayesian models, more specifically a model based on Besag, York and Mollié [55,56] (BYM) to analyze the relationship between mortality and small-area deprivation. As we know, the idea is to introduce two random effects in a generalized linear model with Poisson response, in order to capture the extra-variability [53]. Where Oi denotes the observed cases of the response variable in the census tract i, μ i is the relative risk in section i, Popi is the population (men or women) of the census tract, υ i is the random effect which reflects the heterogeneity; Si is the random effect that reflects the spatial dependence, α is the intercept, interpreted as the logarithm of the baseline risk; IndexQki is the quintile of the deprivation index (standardized) in the census tract i (the first quintile was taken as a reference); the β are the parameters of the model, which can be interpreted as the logarithms of the relative risks associated with the explanatory variables; Pop4564i is the percentage of men (or women) from 45 to 64 years in the census tract i, and Pob65mi is the percentage of men (or women) aged 65 years or older in the census tract i. The DI was categorized into quintiles because the influence of deprivation on the (spatial) variation of mortality could be non-linear. The non-spatial random effect, also called heterogeneity, assumed to be normally distributed, with a mean of zero and constant variance. For the spatial random effect a conditional autoregressive model (CAR) is used [57,58]. This approach, which is the most utilized and has the lowest computational cost, approximates the spatial dependence as an average spatial effect of neighboring areas [53]. The areas considered are the census tracts of each municipality in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona and surrounding areas are defined as adjacent census tracts, in other words they share a border. Note that the specified model does not use, as an offset the number of cases expected in the census tract, but the population (men or women) of the same. This is because, unlike the standard BYM model [53], here we use the crude death rate (from the census tract) and not the standardized mortality ratio as an indicator of mortality. The reason is to avoid the problem called 'mutual standardization' [59,60]. Rosenbaun and Rubin [59] show how the use of standardized rates as the response variable in ecological regression models leads to biased results if only the answer, not predictors, are adjusted for the same confounder, usually the age distribution. When the predictor is not adjusted, it is implicitly assumed that the effect of predictor is constant for all strata of the confounding variable. This may be true for the effect of an air pollutant, in principle it is the same for all ages, but not for the deprivation index. Grisotto et al. [60], in line with Rosenbaun and Rubin [59] show that unbiased estimators can be obtained by adjusting the response and the predictors (the index of deprivation in this case) with the same variable (age distribution) or, even easier to use are crude rates as the response variable and entering age (as an average or structured) as an explanatory variable of the model. This is why we have introduced the age structure of the census tract (proportion of men and women aged 45 to 64 years and 65 years or more). The introduction of age also lets you control the age effect in the model. This modification allows to overcome methodological limitations of the standard implementation of the BYM model [18]. Furthermoe, and also getting no significance for the coefficients of the variables that represent the population from 45 to 64 years and older population or more at 65, none of the cases studied, we can say that the risks found not differ by age group. Moreover, because the estimates associated with variables representing the population aged 45 to 64 years and older population less than 65, were not significant in any of the cases studied, we can say that risks not found differ by age group. A second difference from the standard BYM model, not so obvious, is the use of standardized explanatory variables. The reason is that the spatial random effect, approximated by CAR, can be correlated with some (or all) explanatory variables that have a similar spatial dependence (known as concurvity). If this were the case, there would be an over-adjustment, unlike the phenomenon of multicollinearity in linear models, which could bias the estimates [61]. Simulations performed by us suggest that the problem could be solved by completely standardizing the potentially problematic explanatory variable. On the other hand, the introduction of the deprivation index (standardized) into quintiles, in addition to collecting a possible nonlinear effect, could mitigate much of the problem. Spatial models were built as Bayesian hierarchical models with two stages [62] and estimated using the integrated nested Laplace approximation [62-64] (see Appendix: Annex). Models were compared using the DIC (Deviance Information Criterion) [65] and the conditional predictive ordinate (CPO) for each observation (in fact –mean(log (cpo)) [66,67]. CPO is a cross-validated predictive approach i.e., predictive distributions conditioned on the observed data with a single data point deleted. Asymptotically the CPO statistic has a similar dimensional penalty as DIC. In this perspective, the CPO statistic may be similar to DIC. In both cases, the lower the DIC or the CPO, the better the model. There was not experimental research in this work. All computations were carried out using the interface INLA [68], running directly in R (version R 2.11.0) [69]. Results and discussion According to the Spanish CPH of 2001 the average number of inhabitants per census tract in the metropolitan region of Barcelona was 1201.33 (standard deviation 526.55; median 1085.50). Table 1 describes de distribution of the socioeconomic indicators, used to construct the DI, by gender in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona in 2001. We observed a high percent of temporary workers (20.9% women, 18.0% men) and manual workers (51.6% women, 56.0% men) for both men and women. Women had a higher rate of insufficient education (17.1% vs. 12%) and a lower activity rate (57.1% vs. 67.3%) than men. Over a third of the individuals claimed their neighborhoods had dirty streets, exterior noise, few green areas and vandalism/crime. Tables 2 and 3 show the associations between causespecific mortality and deprivation by quintiles of the index, for men and women controlled for age. In the case of women (table 2), we observed a positive association for diabetes mortality. However, both lung cancer mortality (RR in Q5 = 0.78; 95%CI: 0.65-0.93) and breast Table 2 Association between three mortality causes and the socioeconomic deprivation index in women 1 Mean (95% Credible Interval). 2 Mean (Standard Deviation). Credible interval does not contain the unity. RR Relative Risk. cancer mortality (RR in Q5 = 0.81; 95%CI: 0.71-0.92) had an inverse relationship with socioeconomic deprivation; women with greater deprivation had less mortality risk (statistical significance was present only in the fifth quintile). For men (Table 3), we observed a positive association for lung cancer mortality; where, at greater socioeconomic deprivation there was greater mortality risk (RR in Q5 = 1.31; 95%CI: 1.19-1.43). For diabetes mortality we also observed a positive association with mortality risk and deprivation; however, statistical significance was found only in second and third quintiles. On the other hand, for prostate cancer mortality there is no systematic relationship between deprivation and mortality risk. Only the second quintile is significant with a RR = 1.13 (95% CI: 1.00-1.26). increased risk of dying from diabetes for both sexes (although in the case of men the relative risks associated with the third quintile of deprivation onwards were not statistically significant) and of dying from lung cancer for men. On the other hand, at greater deprivation, there is a decreased risk of dying from breast cancer and lung cancer for women (although in both cases only the relative risk associated with the top quintile of deprivation was statistically significant). We did not find a clear relationship in the case of prostate cancer (presenting an increased risk but only in the second quintile of deprivation). Overall, our results are consistent with those provided by the literature. At greater deprivation, there is an This study has been able to improve the statistical methodology applied in building deprivation indices as well as the robustness of spatial adjustments in ecological studies. Our results were consistent with the existing literature that analyzes the association between deprivation and mortality (lung cancer, diabetes mellitus, breast cancer and prostate cancer); however, our focus Table 3 Association between three mortality causes and the socioeconomic deprivation index in men 1 2 Mean (Standard Deviation). Mean (95% Credible Interval). Credible interval does not contain the unity. RR Relative Risk. was in urban small-areas. As some literature suggests, mortality differs in rural versus urban settings, particularly in women [70]; thus, it would be important to explore geographic differences in more detail in future studies. In addition, future studies should also focus on researching these same causes of death in other European cities and additional causes of death in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Conclusions We believe our results were obtained using a more robust methodology. First off, we have built a better index that allows us to directly collect the variability of contextual variables without having to use arbitrary weights, as is assumed by the aggregation of components through PCA extraction. Building an index using PCA is adequate, the results do not differ from those obtained by DP2, when you add only a few variables because the first component allows you to collect enough variability. When using a large number of variables, like shown in this article, it is clear that a single component is not enough to collect the variability contained in the variables and the index should thus be constructed by aggregating two or more components. The arbitrariness in the choice of aggregation weights is what we avoided by using the DP2 methodology as the algorithm used for constructing the index naturally allows you to collect all the variability contained in the variables excluding only the shared part and not the variable itself. Secondly, we have solved two major problems that are present in spatial ecological regressions, i.e. those that use spatial data and, consequently, perform a spatial adjustment in order to obtain consistent estimators. In particular, the problem of mutual standardization and the problem of concurvity. As stated previously, the problem of concurvity is present when the spatial random effect is correlated with some (or all) of the explanatory variables that have similar spatial dependence. Using crude rates as indicators of mortality for the response variable and the introduction of age as an explanatory variable in the model allows us to ensure the collection of unbiased estimators. Furthermore, the introduction of age in the model allows us to monitor its effect on the results. On the other hand, the introduction of the index (standardized) into quintiles, in addition to collecting a possible nonlinear effect, could mitigate much of the problem of concurvity. One limitation of this study is the limited variable selection due to lack of statistical information in censuses. Additionally, the deprivation index was computed using information from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing (the only information available) while mortality data was recorded using information from the period 1994–2007. Some characteristics recorded in 2001 may not capture the real environment of the areas in the pass, when the deaths occurred. However, the data collection period for the construction of the index corresponds to the half point of the period in which the mortality data was collected and the relative position of the census track with respect to the deprivation index (i.e. the quintile of the index where it was located) remains very stable in time. It is also important to point out that given that the data is over a decade old the present patterns of associations may have changed, primarily due to the increased amount of immigration since 2001 and the activity rate downfall due to the economic crisis. Appendix Annex Spatial models were built as Bayesian hierarchical models with two stages [62,63]. The first stage was the observational model p y x j Þ , where y denoted the vector of observations and x are the unknown parameters following a Gaussian Markov random field (GMRF) denoted as p x θ j Þ. The second stage was given by the hyperparameters θ and their respective prior distribution p θ ð Þ . The desired posterior marginals of the GMRF were approximated using the finite sum Þ where ~ p xi θ; y and ~ p θ y j Þ denoted approximations of p xi θ; y and p θ y j Þ , respectively. The finite sum (A1) was evaluated at support points θ k using appropriate weights Δ k. The posterior marginal p θ y j Þ of the hyperparameters is approximated using a Laplace approximation [71]. where the denominator ~ p G x θ; y denoted the Gaussian approximation of p x θ; y and x θ ð Þ was the mode of the full conditional p x θ; y [72]. According to Rue et al. [63], it is sufficient to "numerically explore" this approximate posterior density using suitable support points θ k in (A1). In this paper, these points were defined in the h-dimensional space, using the strategy called central composite design. Here, centre points were augmented with a group of star points, which allowed for estimating the curvature of ~ p θ y j Þ. Here, to approximate the first component of (A1) a simplified Laplace approximation (less expensive from a computational point of view with only a slight loss of accuracy) was used [62-64]. Abbreviations DI: Deprivation index; PCA: Principal component analysis; DP2: Pena distance; OR: Odds ratio; DM2: Diabetis mellitus type 2; BMI: Body mass index; RR: Relative risk; 95% CI: 95% confidence interval; CPH: Census population and housing; SD: Standard deviation; SMR: Standardized mortality rates; ICD-10: International classification of disease v. 10; BYM: Besag, York and Mollié model; CAR: Conditional autoregressive model; DIC: Deviance information criterion; CPO: Conditional predictive ordinate. Competing interests There are no conflicts of interest for any of the authors. All authors disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence and/or bias their work. Authors' contributions All authors contributed equally to the development of the manuscript. MS had the idea of writing this manuscript, based on the Masters thesis of NS. NS and CS were responsible for choosing the variables and collect data. CS and MS specified the models. MS and BB were responsible for the statistical analyzes. Interpretation of the results were done mainly by CS, NS and MS. Drafting of the manuscript were done by CS, MS and NS. All authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript. Acknowledgements We would like to the Catalan Mortality Register (Registre de Mortalitat de Catalunya, Servei d'Informació i Estudis, Direcció General de Recursos Sanitaris), Health Department, Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya), for providing mortality data. This work was partially supported by the European Union, DG-SANCO, Second Programme of Community action in the field of Health (2008–2013), project A/101156 and by the FIS (Health Research Fund), Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, project FIS-08/0142. Received: 28 April 2012 Accepted: 13 July 2012 Published: 30 July 2012 References 1. Townsend P: Deprivation. J Soc Policy 1987, 16:125–146. 2. Folwell K: Single measure of deprivation. 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CROSS-DEBARMENT: AN INSTRUMENT TO FIGHT CORPORATE CORRUPTION AND FRAUD BY MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS AGAINST NIGERIAN COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 7 th Dec. 2021 Introduction The World Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks ("MDBs") have always shown concern about the prevalence of corruption among contracting institutions, globally. Corruption was placed firmly on the agenda of MDBs in 1996, when former World Bank president, James D. Wolfensohn, described corruption as a "cancer" that "diverts resources from the poor to the rich, increases the cost of running businesses, distorts public expenditures and deters foreign investors 1 ." Other MDBs have followed suit, by developing a range of mechanisms to address corruption 2 . Dr. Jude Odinkonigbo Counsel email@example.com Chiamaka Nwangwu Associate firstname.lastname@example.org Elizabeth Toweh Associate email@example.com The World Bank and other regional MDBs first established cross-punitive policies against corruption in the early 2000s. On February 18, 2006, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Investment Bank Group, and the four regional development banks formed an Anti-Corruption Task Force and agreed to work toward a "consistent and harmonized approach to combat corruption" and to better coordinate their efforts 3 . This was through the Joint International Financial Institutions (IFI) Anti-Corruption Task Force's September 2006 Uniform Framework for Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption ("Uniform Framework"). Key elements of the harmonized approach include standardized definitions of sanctionable practices and an agreement to share information in connection with investigations of such conduct. In April 2010, these participating organizations took a more proactive step by agreeing to enforce the debarment decisions of any other participating MDB where, among other criteria, the terms of the debarment exceed one year, and the underlying debarment decisions are made public. The 1 World Bank Chief Charges Corruption. 1 October 1996 <https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/10/01/World-Bank-chief-charges-corruption/4876844142400/> accessed 23 November 2021. 2 President James D. Wolfensohn on Strategic Issues of the World Bank Group, Transition, Vol. 7, Nos. 9-10 (Sept.-Oct. 1996), <http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/so96/art3.htm.> 3 Preamble to the Uniform Framework for Preventing and Combating Corruption and Fraud. <https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Generic-Documents/Uniform_Framework_ for _Combatting_Fraud_and_Corruption.pdf > accessed 20 November 2021 CROSS-DEBARMENT: AN INSTRUMENT TO FIGHT CORPORATE CORRUPTION AND FRAUD BY MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS AGAINST NIGERIAN COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS initial debarment decision must be made based on conducts falling within the harmonized definitions of sanctionable practices in the Uniform Framework. The heads of the MDBs signed the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions. The agreement stipulated that any entity debarred by one MDB will be sanctioned for the same conduct by the other signatories. What is Cross-Debarment and How Does it Work? First, debarment is the state of being excluded from enjoying certain possessions, rights or practices and the act of prevention by legal means. For example, companies can be debarred from contracts due to allegations of fraud, mismanagement, and similar improprieties 4 . Firms, individuals, and non-governmental organizations can be debarred. Cross-debarment, by extension, is when organizations and agencies agree to mutually exclude others based on debarment by affiliates. Put differently, a decision by any of the signatories to debar a firm or individual found to have engaged in misconduct i.e., a sanctionable practice, will be enforced by others. The MDBs agreed to "cross-bar" companies and individuals found to have engaged in misconduct, termed "Sanctionable Practices". This includes conducts giving rise to corruption, fraud, coercive practices or collusion. The sanctions will be applied to all entities and subsidiaries of the defaulting party. In addition, the sanctions will apply to any successors and assigns that are involved in any mergers, acquisitions or reorganizations with the sanctioned and/or debarred entity. The presumption of the transferability of the sanctions may be rebutted by the successor or assign showing that the transfer of such sanctions would be unreasonable. In this piece, cross-debarment is the recognition of debarment decisions by signatories to the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions on the same terms as the initial decision. The signatories are termed "Participating Institutions". The Participating Institution that makes an initial debarment decision is the "Sanctioning Institution". Each of the Participating Institutions may pursue independent debarment proceedings for separate sanctionable practices by the same entity or individual already debarred by the Sanctioning Institution, resulting in concurrent, consecutive or subsequent periods of debarment for the entity or individual. The Uniform Framework defines a corrupt practice as "the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or indirectly, anything of value to influence improperly the actions of another party 5 "—a definition that includes private actors. Conditions and Process for Cross Debarment A debarment decision will be eligible for cross debarment if it (i) is for fraud, corruption, collusion or coercion (ii) is public (iii) is for more than one year, (iv) is not based on a decision of national or other international authority, (v) the decision was based in whole or in part on a Sanctionable Practice and (vi) the decision was made within ten years of the date of commission of the Sanctionable Practice. 6 4 <202-10.pdf (coconino.edu)> accessed 15 November 2021 5 Paragraph 1 of the Uniform Framework. 6 <Quick Brief: Cross Debarment (worldbank.org) > accessed 14 November 2021 CROSS-DEBARMENT: AN INSTRUMENT TO FIGHT CORPORATE CORRUPTION AND FRAUD BY MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS AGAINST NIGERIAN After it has debarred an entity, a MDB sends a Notice of Debarment to the other signatories. The notice shall include (a) the names of the entities or individuals sanctioned, (b) the sanctionable practice(s) found to have been committed, and (c) the terms of the debarment or modification. Upon receipt of the notice, the other signatories will enforce such decision as soon as practicable, subject to the following conditions: i. The decision was based, in whole or in part, on finding of a commission of one or more of the sanctionable practices defined in the Uniform Framework under one or more of the four harmonized definitions (that is, fraudulent, corrupt, coercive, or collusive practices); ii. The decision is made public by the Sanctioning Institution; iii. The initial period of debarment exceeds one year; iv. The decision was made after the Agreement on Cross-Debarment has entered into force with respect to the Sanctioning Institution; v. The decision by the Sanctioning Institution was made within ten years of the date of the commission of the sanctionable practice; and vi. The decision of the Sanctioning Institution was not made in recognition of a decision made in a national or other international forum 7 . The periods of debarment and any modifications are determined solely by the Sanctioning Institution. Each signatory may pursue debarment proceedings for separate sanctionable practices by the same entity or individual already debarred by the Sanctioning Institution, which may result in concurrent, consecutive or subsequent periods of debarment for the entity or individual. A signatory may decide not to enforce a cross-debarment by the Sanctioning Institution where such enforcement would be inconsistent with its legal or other institutional considerations and, in such case, will promptly notify other signatories of such decision 8 . The effective date of a decision is the date a IFI recognizes a Sanctioning Institution's debarment decision on the same terms as the initial sanction was made. Effective Date may slightly differ from the initial date of sanction. This may be due to administrative reasons, including the delay in the receipt of notice of sanction decision and internal consideration of legal and institutional reasons. What sanctions are applied? There is a harmonized definition of sanctionable (prohibited) practices among the IFIs, and these are: Fraudulent Practices, Corrupt Practices, Coercive Practices and Collusive Practices. The level of culpability and responsibility are important factors to consider in determining the type and severity of sanctions imposed on a respondent or other entity subject to a sanction. Different sanctions can be applied to different entities in a corporate group including the imposition of fines and debarment for a defined period of years. Debarment of Nigerian Companies and Individuals by the Participating MDBs 7 Coordinating the Fight against Fraud and Corruption: Agreement on Cross-Debarment among Multilateral Development Banks by Stephen S Zimmerrmann and Frank A Jr. Fariello. Available at: < https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/9780821388631_CH07 > accessed on 10 November 2021. 8 Paragraph 7 of the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions. Available at < Debar.pdf (ebrd.com) > accessed 12 November 2021 CROSS-DEBARMENT: AN INSTRUMENT TO FIGHT CORPORATE CORRUPTION AND FRAUD BY MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS AGAINST NIGERIAN The participating MDBs have at different times, imposed sanctions on individuals of their member countries including Nigeria. The African Development Bank blacklisted about 40 Nigerian firms and individuals for engaging in corrupt practices between 2017 and 2021 9 . While some of the debarment decisions were made by the AfDB, others were made by the World Bank Group, and recognised by other multilateral organisations including the AfDB under their cross-debarment policy. The AfDB said the firms and individuals were debarred "for coercive, collusive, corrupt, fraudulent, or obstructive practices under its sanctions system or adopted under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions from other global lenders." Due to the debarment, the firms and individuals are not eligible to engage in projects financed or implemented by the AfDB. The debarment decisions are for all stated to be for a definite period of time. The World Bank also blacklisted 18 Nigerian individuals and firms for engaging in corrupt practices, fraud, and collusive practices in its 2021 Sanction System Report recently published in October 2021 10 . Upon the recognition of this decision by other participating IFIs, the sanctioned individuals and firms will be similarly backlisted and cross debarred by other MDBs. What are the effects of Cross-debarment on Defaulting Companies and Individuals? Cross-debarment has made it more difficult for corrupt individuals and entities to do business with MDBs. It multiplies the deterrence factor of a single sanction and allows participating institutions to make the most of limited investigative resources. The increased transparency and uniformity of the sanctions process helps bidders have a better understanding of what's expected of them. For contractors who heavily rely on funding by MDBs, Cross-debarment represents a significant loss in credibility if they are debarred. This impacts a debarred company's ability to generate revenue. Therefore, entities that form consortiums in a bid to winning MDBs' contracts, need to perform a due diligence check on their partners. Fraudulent practices of one partner will inevitably lead to a disqualification of the whole joint venture and an investigation, during which temporary sanctions can be applied to all consortium members. By law, debarment itself does not serve as a form of punishment, but instead it only excludes contractors who have been found to be in breach of contractual obligations or any obligations of a similar nature, as well as been convicted for the sanctionable practices. Conclusion In recent times, there has been increase in the effort to tackle global corruption by several supranational organizations and international/regional financial institutions. One of such deterrence instruments for combating corruption and fraud is "Cross-debarment". This instrument is designed by the MDBs to punish and deter corrupt persons and their companies/corporations 9 AFDB List of Debarred Entities. Available at : <https://www.afdb.org/en/projects-operations/debarmentand-sanctions-procedures> accessed on 21 November 2021. 10 World Bank Group Sanctions System FY21 < https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/284891634566178252/pdf/World-Bank-Group-SanctionsSystem-FY21.pdf > accessed 22 November 2021 CROSS-DEBARMENT: AN INSTRUMENT TO FIGHT CORPORATE CORRUPTION AND FRAUD BY MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS AGAINST NIGERIAN 4 from continuing illicit and anti-development practices. Unfortunately, some Nigerian companies and persons have been caught in the web of corrupt practices and fraud by MDBs. These companies and persons have been cross debarred. We hope that companies and individuals dealing with MDBs will imbibe the culture of transparency and honesty that will be transferred to local business transactions in their respective countries. For failure to comply with the rule will attract severe financial deterrence – especially for persons and companies that rely solely on businesses with the MDBs. Indeed, the former World Bank President, Robert B. Zoellick, was right to have described the extant cross-debarment agreement as "Steal and cheat from one, get punished by all. 11 " 11 World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick Remarks for International Corruption Hunters Alliance dated December 7, 2010 <https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/ sp eech/2010/12/07/world-bank-group-president-robert-b-zoellick- remarks-international-corruption-hunters-alliance> accessed 23 November 2021 CROSS-DEBARMENT: AN INSTRUMENT TO FIGHT CORPORATE CORRUPTION AND FRAUD BY MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS AGAINST NIGERIAN 5
Observatory Data: a 170-year Sun-Earth Connection 1 2 Leif Svalgaard Introduction 3 The discovery of the sunspot cycle and the first results of the 'Magnetic Crusade' 4 together made it clear that solar and geomagnetic activity are intimately related and that 5 observing one is learning about the other [both ways]. Understanding of this magnificent 6 relationship had to await more than a century of progress in both physics and 7 observations, and only in the last few decades have we achieved the elucidation that in 8 the middle of the 19 th Century was so fervently hoped for: The lack of rapid progress so 9 frustrated the observers [and their funding agencies] that many observatories were shut 10 down or had operations severely curtailed, because as von Humboldt remarked in vol. 4 11 of his Cosmos: "they have yielded so little return in proportion to the labor that had gone 12 into collecting the material". The confirmation by spacecraft measurements of what 13 workers in solar-terrestrial relations had so long suspected namely that a solar wind 14 connects the magnetic regimes of the Sun and the Earth has finally brought about an 15 understanding of one half of the relationship [activity] while the discovery of the 16 ionosphere and measurements of solar ultraviolet and X-ray emissions have brought 17 understanding of the other half [regular diurnal variation]. We now have a quantitative 18 understanding of these phenomena [although the microphysics is still debated] allowing 19 us to model quantitatively the geomagnetic response to solar and interplanetary 20 conditions. The immense complexity of geomagnetic variations becomes tractable by the 21 introduction of suitable geomagnetic indices on a variety of time scales. Because 22 different indices respond to different combinations of solar wind parameters we can 23 invert the response and determine solar wind speed and density and interplanetary 24 magnetic field strength from simple hourly mean values as far back as these are available, 25 as we will show in this talk. In addition, the understanding of the ionospheric response to 26 solar Far UltraViolet, allows us to infer FUV in the past as well, with the possibility of 27 checking [and correcting] the sunspot number and calculating the Total Solar Irradiance. 28 As geomagnetic variations have been monitored for ~170 years with [for this purpose] 29 constant calibration, we have a data set of immense value for understanding long-term 30 changes in the Sun. We argue that all efforts must be expended to preserve and digitize 31 these national and scientific treasure troves. 32 The Central Problem of Geomagnetic Variations 33 The geomagnetic record shows a mixture of signatures from different physical processes: 34 35 the regular daily variation, irregular short duration [1-3 hours] variations, and 'storms' typically lasting a day or more. Geomagnetic indices have been devised to characterize 36 and quantify these three types [ignoring special effects like pulsations, eclipse effects, 37 etc]. An experienced observer can usually distinguish the various types from the general 38 39 character of the curves and from hers/his knowledge of the typical variations at the 40 observatory. Various computer algorithms more or less successfully attempt to supplant the need for a human, experienced observer, but in any case, the high-frequency part of 41 the record is the necessary ingredient in the process. 42 The Difficulty with the Regular Daily Variation 43 Recognizing and quantifying the regular daily variation, what Mayaud called SR, is the 44 main problem. The amplitude of this variation varies from day to day; near the focus of 45 the current system, even the type of the variation changes from day to day. And at low 46 47 latitudes the large summer vortex from the other hemisphere intrudes into the winter hemisphere. In deriving both the Dst index and the K range index, SR must be recognized 48 and removed. We all know the problems associated with that, with the insufficiency of 49 using the'5 Quiet Days' as the basis for determining SR, and with the error of using an 50 average 'iron curve', etc. The pattern-recognition capabilities of the experienced observer 51 cannot be transferred to successors. 52 Long-Term Geomagnetic Indices 53 Mayaud's heroic construction [1972] of the aa-index (back to 1868) is unlikely to be 54 duplicated. The international cooperation and effort that are providing us with the ap 55 (1932-), am (1959-), and Dst (1957-) indices cannot be replicated or extended into the 56 past. It is difficult to gauge the long-term stability of the calibration of the range indices. 57 The vast collection of 19 th Century yearbook data seems useless to many people to the 58 point where the data is not being preserved or digitized for modern processing methods. 59 In this talk, I'll show how these problems can be overcome and provide a rationale for 60 the preservation and digitization of the yearbook data. 61 IHV-index: Use of Night Hours Only 62 Figure 1 shows the variation of the three geomagnetic components, H, D, and Z at FRD 63 (Fredericksburg) during several days. The regular variation is clearly seen on every day 64 including the day-to-day variation. Since the ionospheric conductivity is down by two 65 orders of magnitude during local night, SR is effectively absent during the night hours. So, 66 the solution to the problem of elimination of SR is simply to construct an index using only 67 local night hours; by throwing away 75% of the data, you remove 99% of the problem. 68 Red boxes outline the local night. 69 Svalgaard and Cliver [2004, 2007a] introduced a new index based on this approach. The 70 IHV-index (InterHourly Variability) is defined as the sum of the absolute values of the 71 six differences between hourly values of any of the geomagnetic components [initially for 72 practice, we determine the number of hours to skip from 0 h UT, before beginning to sum 74 H] for the seven hours spanning local midnight (generally falling within the 4 th hour). In 73 the following six hourly absolute differences. Local midnight is also the time where the 75 correlation with interplanetary parameters maximizes. A most important detail is that 76 hourly mean values are used, so that no high-resolution data is needed, and the vast store 77 of yearbook-style data that exists can be brought to bear. 78 Correcting IHV from Hourly Values to the Level of Hourly Means 79 Starting in 1905 Adolf Schmidt at Potsdam began to use Hourly Means instead of the 80 Hourly point Values that had traditionally been reported in yearbooks. And soon most 81 observatories adopted the new practice. [Some waited long, e.g. the French, who held out 82 to 1972, before making the switch]. The instantaneous values read once every hour have 83 larger variance which results in larger IHV. This is easily corrected for, e.g. by 84 calculating IHV from hourly means [from the 60 one-minute values] and from hourly 85 point values and comparing the two IHVs. All early observatory data must be (and has 86 been) so corrected. 87 IHV is Strongly Correlated With the Am-index 88 The best global activity index seems to the am-index [Mayaud, 1967] due to its excellent 89 spatial coverage. There is a strong correlation (Figure 2) between IHV [blue] and the am- 90 index [red]. For monthly means for FRD, we can calculate am from the regression 91 equation amcalculated = 0.7475 IHV. The calculated am-index [pink] is a good proxy for am 92 over the same six-hour interval [00-06 UT] as was used in the calculation of IHV. Using 93 several stations at different longitudes, a global composite IHV can now be constructed. 94 The correlation with am is very high (R 2 = 0.96 for monthly or 27-day rotation means), 95 which means that we can reconstruct the am-index as far back as we can get IHV. 96 Variation of IHV With Latitude 97 For all (~120) stations that had [essentially complete] data during 1996-2003, we 98 calculated the average IHV for each station over that interval and plotted it against 99 corrected geomagnetic latitude and found that IHV increases sharply in the auroral zones 100 and we limit ourselves now to stations below 55° corrected geomagnetic latitude, for 101 which the variation with latitude is very slight. 102 Semiannual Variation of (Raw) IHV 103 IHV exhibits the 'usual' equinoctial semiannual variation [e.g. Svalgaard et al., 2002, and 104 references therein]. This variation is well described by the 'S'-function of the Earth's 105 dipole tilt, Ψ(doy,UT), against the solar wind direction: 106 We remove this purely terrestrial effect simply by dividing the raw IHV for each station 108 by the S-function for that station at the day of year, 'doy', and UT time for every single 109 IHV value. This makes it possible to combine records from stations at different longitudes 110 regardless of data gaps. If desired the S-function can be applied in reverse to add the 111 variation back in. The fact that IHV shows the semiannual (including its UT component) 112 variation so well attests to its efficacy and accuracy as a measure of global geomagnetic 113 activity. 114 Stations Used for Construction of IHV-index 115 As Figure 3 shows, we use 12 independent longitude [and North/South] "boxes" plus an 116 Equatorial band [blue station symbols]. For each box, a reference station is shown in 117 pink. IHV for all other stations in the box are normalized to the reference station and the 118 average is computed for the box. Finally, each box is normalized to the European box 119 [Reference station: Niemegk]. From now on we shall works with 27-day Bartels rotation 120 averages for economy of presentation. The stations have been chosen for their long series 121 of hourly mean values and the large number used makes IHV robust and rather insensitive 122 to minor errors in the data. 123 Composite Global IHV-index 124 By averaging [with equal weight] all the normalized 'box' composites we arrive at a 125 global composite IHV-index that covers all UT hours. Figure 4(a) shows several years of 126 the individual box-series to illustrate the consistent response from box to box. Note that 127 there is no clear seasonal difference between north [black] and south [red]. Using stations 128 back to the First Polar Year in 1883 a composite IHV-index since then can be 129 constructed. The result is shown in Figure 4(b) including a 13-rotation running mean. 130 Arrows show years with strong high-speed streams. 131 Comparison with Amplitude (Range) Indices 132 We wish to compare the long series of composite IHV with the classical range indices, 133 am, ap, and aa, in order to verify to what degree we have succeeded in producing a 134 comparable index. Since IHV is freed from the semiannual variation we also divide the 135 range indices by the S-function and then regress the Bartels rotation means against IHV. 136 The relationships are slightly non-linear (most so for the Ap-index), but are all highly 137 significant (coefficients of determination R 2 are in excess of 0.9). For the Aa-index we 138 have chosen to regress over the time since 1980 where there has been no change in aa- 139 stations (and, hopefully, neither in procedures or calibration). 140 We can now use these empirical regression equations [e.g. Am = 0.2375 IHV 1.2892 , R 2 = 141 0.96] to calculate the classical indices for comparison with IHV: The result is shown in 142 Figure 5, where heavy lines show 13-rotation running means. As expected, the fit to Am 143 is excellent, so IHV is, indeed, an excellent proxy for Am. For Ap, there are times when 144 the fit is less good. We interpret those as indications of inhomogeneities in the Ap-index, 145 and note that there is no systematic trend in the differences. 146 For Aa, the calculated values [Aa = 0.36 IHV 1.1856 , R 2 = 0.95] match well back to 1957, 147 but before that time, the observed values of Aa fall consistently 3-4 nT below the values 148 derived from IHV. A similar discrepancy has been reported by other groups [Jarvis, 2005; 149 Mursula & Martini, 2006; Rouillard et al., 2007] and must now be considered as 150 established. It would thus seem that the aa-index is in need of a recalibration. 151 Physical Meaning of IHV (and am, aa, ap) 152 Geomagnetic activity as given by the three-hour am-index has been found [Svalgaard 153 1978] to depend on solar wind parameters and the geometry of their interaction with the 154 Earth as this: 155 156 where the various factors have meaning of Momentum flux, Magnetic Reconnection, and 157 Geometric Modulation, and where B is the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) strength, 158 V is the Solar Wind Speed, q is a function of the angle α between the IMF and the Earth's 159 magnetic field at the 'nose' of the magnetopause, and the relative variability f is defined 160. as √(σBx 2 + σBy 2 + σBz 2 )/σB 161 Figure 6 shows how good the fit is for individual three-hour intervals [red curves = 162 calculated am; note the logarithmic-scale]. Only for very small values of am [<5 nT] 163 where am is almost impossible to measure correctly do we have a persistent discrepancy: 164 am, or rather Km, is too low. K = 0 is always a problem. 165 For intervals longer than three hours the variables are weakly correlated and the relation 166 becomes slightly modified to am ~ BV 2 . We would therefore expect a similar relationship 167 for IHV. This is indeed what is observed: Figure 7(a). In Figure 7(b) we show a 168 comparison of observed (red] and calculated values (black) of BV 2 , using the regression 169 equation of Figure 7(a). It is evident that IHV is good proxy for BV 2 . It is somewhat 170 remarkable that am [based on K indices conceived so long ago] also is. 171 During geomagnetic activity, magnetospheric particles are accelerated and precipitate 172 into the upper atmosphere over the polar regions where the energy thus deposited can be 173 directly measured by polar-orbiting satellites (POES). From the satellite data, the total 174 energy input (in GigaWatt) to each hemisphere can be estimated. Such estimates exist 175 back to 1978 [Emery et al., 2008].We find that IHV is directly proportional to the power 176 input, Hp, to the upper atmosphere, Hp = 0.68 IHV GW. 177 The IDV-Index, a Modern Version of the u-measure 178 The IHV-index captures activity on a time scale of hours. How about on a time scale of 179 days? Julius Bartels (building on work by Adolf Schmidt) defined the u-measure as the 180 monthly (or yearly) mean of the unsigned differences between the mean values of the H- 181 component on two successive days [Joos et al., 1952]. We found that you get essentially 182 the same result using the mean over the whole day, a few hours, or only one hour. Our 183 InterDiurnal Variability index [IDV, Svalgaard & Cliver, 2005] is then simply the 184 average u-measure (in nT, not the original 10 nT units) using only one hour (preferably 185 the midnight hour if available) for as many stations as possible below 51° corrected 186 geomagnetic latitude: Figure 8 shows yearly averages of the u-measure and IDV. During 187 their time of overlap, the match is excellent. 188 Note that u and IDV did not register the strong high-speed streams in 1910, 1930, 1952, 189 1974, 1994, and 2003. This (especially for 1930) was a deadly blow to the u-measure, 190 and Bartels effectively dropped the index and went on to invent his much more successful 191 K-index. 192 What is the IDV-index Measuring? IMF Strength ! 193 IDV does not 'see' the high-speed solar wind. But there is a robust correlation with the 194 IMF magnitude, B; see Figure 9(a). This is shown more explicitly on an event-by-event 195 basis in Figure 9(b). So instead of the u-measure being a 'failure', its modern equivalent 196 [IDV] and thus the u-measure itself have a very useful property: response to B only. 197 Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) add (closed) magnetic flux to the IMF. CMEs hitting the 198 Earth create magnetic storms feeding energy into the inner magnetosphere ("ring 199 current"). The Dst-index is aimed at describing this same phenomenon, but only the 200 negative contribution to Dst on the nightside is effectively involved. We therefore expect 201 (negative) Dst and IDV to be strongly related, and they are [R 2 = 0.89 for yearly 202 averages]. We used a new derivation of Dst by J. Love back to 1905 [Love, 2007]. 203 Similar results are obtained with the Dst series by Karinen & Mursula [2005] (to 1932) or 204 with the "official" Dst series (to 1957). The very simple-to-derive IDV series compares 205 favorably with the much more elaborate Dst(< 0). Using regressions of IDV and Dst (< 0) 206 on IMF B we can directly estimate B back to 1872 [Figure 11(a)]. 207 Since there is also a good correlation between B and the square root of the sunspot 208 number, Rz, [Svalgaard et al., 2003; Karinen & Mursula, 2006], we can infer B from Rz 209 as well. Can we go further back in time? Schmidt and Bartels had determined the u- 210 measure from 1836 on, but with less confidence before 1872. We thus have a measure of 211 u and therefore of IDV (and then inferentially B) back to 1836: 212 Polar Cap Current and Polar Cap Potential 213 Across the Earth's polar caps flows a current in the ionosphere. This is a Hall current 214 basically flowing towards the sun. The Earth rotates under this current causing the 215 magnetic effect of the current to rotate once in 24 hours. This rotating daily effect is 216 readily (and has been since 1883, Figure 10(b)) observed as a circle in the X and Y 217 component coordinates at polar cap magnetic observatories. The current derives from the 218 Polar Cap Electric Potential which is basically the electric field (E = -VxB) in the solar 219 wind mapped down to the ionosphere. The radius of the circle traced out by variation of 220 horizontal components is a measure of the polar cap potential [Figure 10(a)] and is 221 essentially the same for all stations within the polar cap. For stations near the polar cap 222 boundary, the circle is only partial and persists only when the station is inside the polar 223 cap. From the size of the circle during the spacecraft area we can calibrate the variation in 224 terms of the product VB [Le Sager & Svalgaard, 2004]. 225 An Over-determined System 226 We now have three independent ways of estimating solar wind and IMF parameters: 227 228 1. The IHV-index, estimating BV 2 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 2. The IDV-index, estimating B 3. Polar Cap variation, estimating VB These indices are readily computed from simple hourly means (or values) for which we have measurements stretching back into the early 19 th Century. We can thus estimate the speed V= √[(BV 2 ) / B] and use that value to calculate VB for comparison with the estimated VB , as shown in Figure 11. Although there are several second order effects, such as combined Rosenberg-Coleman and Russell-McPherron effects [e.g. Cliver et al., 236 2004], polar cap conductivity dependence on solar activity, and decrease of the geomagnetic dipole strength, that contribute to the small discrepancies found, the 237 agreement is quite remarkable and strongly suggests that the determinations of B and V in 238 the past are well in hand. 239 The Floor in the Heliospheric Magnetic Field 240 We can even do the analysis for a time scale of solar rotations, Figure 12. Note the 'floor' 241 in B [Svalgaard & Cliver, 2007b; Owens et al., 2008]. A B floor implies the existence of 242 a time-invariant component of the open solar flux, suggesting that the Heliospheric 243 magnetic flux consists of a constant open flux component, with a time-varying 244 contribution from the closed flux carried by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which 245 provides the solar cycle variation in B. 246 The return to the same value of B at each solar minimum means that flux added by CMEs 247 must be balanced over the solar cycle, either by opening the closed flux via reconnection 248 with open flux or by disconnecting an equivalent amount of open flux. The use of the 249 treasure trove of hourly mean values has thus added important observational evidence to 250 the modern discussion of Heliospheric magnetic field evolution; a point that would have 251 delighted the early observers, as well as reminding us of the importance of preserving and 252 digitizing the geomagnetic record. 253 Using the Dayside Data 254 It was known already to Rudolf Wolf in the 1850s that the amplitude of the diurnal 255 256 variation of the Declination was a sensitive function of the sunspot number that he had just introduced [Wolf, 1859]. Figure 13(a) shows the clear difference between the 257 258 variation of D at Praha (PRU) for sunspot maximum years (1957-1959) and sunspot 259 260 261 262 263 minimum years (1964-1965). As Figure 13(b) shows, this variation was well observed even back in 1840-1849. Wolf used this relationship between the amplitude of the variation and the sunspot number as an aid in calibrating the sunspot number calculated from observations by other observers for times before his own observations started in 1849, and marveled: "Wer hätte noch vor wenigen Jahren an die Möglichkeit gedacht, 264 aus den Sonnenflecken-beobachtungen ein terrestrisches Phänomen zu berechnen?" The origin of these variations is the combined magnetic effects of ionospheric current 265 vortices flowing in the E-region and of corresponding induced 'telluric' currents, created 266 by dynamo action. Along the 'flanks' of the (external) vortices, the current flow is 267 equatorwards on the morning side and polewards on the afternoon side. The magnetic 268 effect at mid-latitudes of these currents at a right angle to the current flow is thus East- 269 West. As the "ring current" and the auroral electrojets and their return currents that are 270 responsible for geomagnetic activity have generally North-South directed magnetic 271 effects (strongest at night), the daytime variation of the Y or East component is a suitable 272 proxy for the strength of the SR ionospheric current system. 273 The Declination can be converted to the East component using Y = H sin (D). The diurnal 274 275 variation of Y is almost constant over a wide latitude range (20°-60°) and can readily be 276 determined from hourly means. Using a large number of stations [Olso, Greenwich, Milan, Helsinki, Zi-Ka-Wei, etc] we can construct a composite series of the amplitude, 277 278 rY, of the daily variation of Y from the 1840s until today, see Figure 14. The slight 279 upwards trend is expected from the increase in ionospheric conductance due to the 280 decrease of the geomagnetic dipole moment, and can be corrected for. The fact that the expected trend can even be detected attests to the accuracy of the determination of rY. 281 Calibrating the Sunspot Number 282 It is well-known that the strength of the SR current system is a sensitive function of the 283 284 conductance of the ionosphere which in turn can be well-described by the 10.7 cm solar radio flux. In fact, we can translate rY directly into an equivalent f10.7 flux as shown in 285 Figure 15(a), and plot the flux calculated from the regression equation for comparison 286 with the observed f10.7 radio flux in Figure 15(b). 287 Because the f10.7 radio flux depends on the sunspot number we can turn the calculated 288 f10.7 flux into an equivalent sunspot number (Figure 16) and discover that there are 289 290 indications that the calibration of even the venerable sunspot number before ~1945 is 291 questionable. Both the Zürich and the Group Sunspot Number are too low before 1945 to account for the observed values of rY. The discrepancies correlate with Wolfer's change 292 293 of sunspot counting method at Wolf's death in 1893 and the beginning of the inexperienced Waldmeier's tenure (1945) as the official keeper of the sunspot number. 294 The impersonal and objective determination of rY overcomes the subjective element in 295 determination of the sunspot number and can safeguard its long-term calibration, as Wolf 296 so rightly realized. The implications of a reassessment of the sunspot series are wide 297 ranging. At the time of writing this is ongoing work. Space does not permit further 298 elaboration here, but a preliminary report can be found in Svalgaard [2007]. 299 Reconstruction of Total Solar Irradiance 300 As the sunspot number is often used as primary input to reconstructions of TSI, the Total 301 Solar Irradiance, any re-calibration of the sunspot number series will impact TSI, and 302 thus, through its use as a driver in climate models, the debate over climate change. Figure 303 17 shows a possible re-construction using a revised sunspot number series and compares 304 it to several other current (and superseded – but still in use!) reconstructions. It is 305 noteworthy that our reconstruction closely matches that of Preminger & Walton [2004] 306 based on sunspot areas rather than sunspot numbers, and that the reconstructions over 307 time have converged and now show a much smaller variation than initially thought, 308 suggesting a much smaller impact on climate, unless the climate system is implausibly 309 hypersensitive to changes in solar output. 310 Conclusions 311 1: The hourly values in yearbooks are an extremely valuable data source that allows us 312 313 to calibrate our long-term geomagnetic and solar indices as far back as the geomagnetic record reaches. 314 2: By combinations of newly derived geomagnetic indices we can infer the physical 315 properties of the solar wind in the past. 316 3. The availability of almost two centuries of reliable geomagnetic data has led to 317 possible reassessments of several often-used indices of solar activity. 318 4: Every effort should be expended to preserve and digitize the treasure trove of 19 th 319 Century hourly data. 320 321 322 323 References 324 Cliver, E.W., L. Svalgaard, & A. G. Ling, Origins of the semiannual variation of 325 geomagnetic activity in 1954 and 1996. Annales Geophysicae, 22(1), 93-100, 2004. 326 Emery, B. A., V. Coumans, D. S. Evans, G. A. Germany, M. S. Greer, E. Holeman, K. 327 Kadinsky-Cade, F. J. Rich, & W. Xu, Seasonal, Kp, solar wind, and solar flux 328 variations in long-term single-pass satellite estimates of electron and ion auroral 329 hemispheric power, Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, A06311, 330 doi:10.1029/2007JA012866, 2008. 331 Joos, G., J. Bartels, & P. Ten Bruggencate, Landolt-Börnstein: Zahlenwerte und 332 Funktionen aus Physik, Chemie, Astronomie, Geophysik und Technik, Astronomie 333 und Geophysik, XVIII, 795 pp., 331, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 334 1952. 335 Jarvis, M. J., Observed tidal variation in the lower thermosphere through the 20th 336 century and the possible implication of ozone depletion, Journal of Geophysical 337 Research, 110, A04303, doi:10.1029/2004JA010921, 2005. 338 Karinen, A. & K. Mursula, A new reconstruction of the Dst index for 1932–2002, 339 Annales Geophysicae, 23, 475–485, SRef-ID: 1432-0576/ag/2005-23-475, 2005. 340 Le Sager, P. & L. Svalgaard, No increase of the interplanetary electric field since 341 1926, Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, A07106, doi:10.1029/2004JA010411, 342 2004. 343 Love, J. J., Personal communication, 2007. 344 Mayaud, P. N., Calcul preliminaire d'indices Km, Kn et Ks ou Am, An, et As, 345 mesures de l'activité magnétique a l'échelle mondiale et dans les hémispheres Nord et 346 Sud, Annales Geophysicae, 23, 585, 1967. 347 Mayaud, P. N., The aa index: a 100-year series characterizing the geomagnetic 348 activity, Journal of Geophysical Research, 77, 6870, 1972. 349 Mursula, K. & D. Martini, Centennial increase in geomagnetic activity: Latitudinal 350 differences and global estimates, Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, A08209, 351 doi:10.1029/2005JA011549, 2006. 352 O'Brien, T. P. & R. L. McPherron, Seasonal and diurnal variation of Dst dynamics, 353 Journal of Geophysical Research, 107(A11), 1341, doi:10.1029/2002JA009435, 2002. 354 Owens, M. J., N. U. Crooker, N. A. Schwadron, T. S. Horbury, S. Yashiro, H. Xie, O. 355 C. St. Cyr, & N. Gopalswamy, Conservation of open solar magnetic flux and the floor 356 in the heliospheric magnetic field, Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L20108, 357 doi:10.1029/2008GL035813, 2008. 358 Preminger, D. G. & S. R. Walton, Inferring Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance From 359 Sunspot Areas Only, American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract 360 #SH53A-0304, 2004. 361 Rouillard, A. P., M. Lockwood, & I. Finch, Centennial changes in the solar wind 362 speed and in the open solar flux, Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, A05103, 363 doi:10.1029/2006JA012130, 2007. 364 Svalgaard, L., Calibrating the Sunspot Number using 'the Magnetic Needle', (Climate 365 And Weather of the Sun-Earth System) CAWSES Newsletter, 4, #1, 366 http://www.bu.edu/cawses/calbrating_sunspot_number_using_mag_needle.pdf, 2007. 367 Svalgaard, L., E. W. Cliver, & A. G. Ling, The semiannual variation of great 368 geomagnetic storms, Geophysical Research Letters, 29(16), 1765, 369 doi:10.1029/2001GL014145, 2002. 370 Svalgaard, L., E. W. Cliver, & P. Le Sager, Determination of Interplanetary Magnetic 371 Field Strength, Solar Wind Speed, and EUV Irradiance, 1890-Present, International 372 Solar Cycle Studies Symposium, June 23-28, 2003, Tatranska Lomnica, Slovak 373 Republic, Proceedings (ESA SP-535), 15, ed. A. Wilson. 2003. 374 Svalgaard, L., E. W. Cliver, & P. Le Sager, IHV: A new geomagnetic index, Advances 375 in Space Research, 34(2), p.436-439, 2004. 376 Svalgaard, L. & E. W. Cliver, The IDV-Index: Its Derivation and Use in Inferring 377 Long-term Variations of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field Strength, Journal of 378 Geophysical Research, 110, A12103, doi:10.1029/2005JA011203, 2005. 379 Svalgaard, L. & E. W. Cliver, The InterHourly-Variability (IHV) Index of 380 Geomagnetic Activity and its Use in Deriving the Long-term Variation of Solar Wind 381 Speed, Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, A10111, doi:10.1029/2007JA012437, 382 2007a. 383 Svalgaard, L. & E. W. Cliver, A Floor in the Solar Wind Magnetic Field, The 384 Astrophysical Journal (Letters), 661, L203-L206, doi:10.1086/518786, 2007b. 385 Wolf, R., Schreiben des Herrn Prof. R. Wolf an den Herausgeber, Nr. 1185, 386 Astronomische Nachrichten, 50, 141-144, 1859. 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 Figure Captions 395 Figure 1: Variation of the geomagnetic elements at Fredericksburg (FRD) over several 396 days. Red boxes show local night. The first day (May 11, 1999) is the day when the 397 solar wind famously 'disappeared'. 398 Figure 2: Monthly means of the InterHourly Variability index (IHV) for FRD [blue 399 400 curve] and the am -index for the first 2 intervals of the UT-day [red curve]. The thin pink curve shows IHV scaled by 0.7475. 401 Figure 3: Stations used in the construction of the IHV-index. In 12 regions distributed 402 in latitude and longitude IHV derived for the stations [red dots] are normalized to a 403 reference station [pink]. IHV for an equatorial region [blue] is also calculated and 404 found to match the mid-latitude regions. Stations above 55° corrected geomagnetic 405 406 latitude are not to be used. Figure 4: (a) A section of Bartels 27-day rotation averages of the IHV-index showing 407 all Northern Hemisphere [black] and Southern Hemisphere [red] regional IHVs. (b) 408 The composite IHV-index for each rotation since 1883 [grey] and the 13-rotation 409 running mean [heavy black]. 410 Figure 5: Observed [red] and calculated (from regression equations) [blue] 27-day 411 rotation averages (top) of Am-index, (middle) of Ap-index, (bottom) of Aa-index.. 412 Heavier curves show 13-rotation running means. All indices have been freed from the 413 equinoctial effect using eq.(1). 414 Several of the above papers, as well as related material, can be found at the author's website at http://www.leif.org/research Figure 6: Synthetic individual am 3-hour values calculated [red] from solar wind 415 parameters using eq.(2) and corresponding observed am values for six Bartels 416 rotations. The scale is logarithmic to show how well calculated and observed values 417 match at all scales. The match is poor for am < 5 nT where the index is very difficult 418 to measure or where the coupling function is less valid. 419 Figure 7: (a) Correlation of all rotation means of IHV with BVo 2 (where Vo is a 420 shorthand for V in units of 100 km/s) as observed by spacecraft. (b) Detailed 421 comparison of observed and calculated [using the regression equation above] BVo 2 for 422 a twelve year interval, 1980-1992. 423 Figure 8: Yearly average u-measures in 1 nT units [blue] and IDV-index values [red]. 424 Figure 9: (a) Correlations between yearly values of B and V versus IDV. It is clear that 425 there is a robust (R 2 = 0.88) correlation with B, but none with V. (b) Runs of V, B, and 426 IDV since the beginning of the spacecraft era. Lack of matching response to V is 427 shown by dark arrows, while matching responses to B are shown by pink arrows. The 428 429 failure of the u-measure to record the recurrent high-speed streams in 1930 now becomes clear. 430 Figure 10: (a) The average variation [over 1980-2004] of the end point of the vector 431 from hour to hour (symbols) of the magnetic effect of the overhead current sheet for 432 ALE (Alert), THL (Thule), RES (Resolute Bay), CBB (Cambridge Bay), and BLC 433 (Baker Lake). Whenever a station is inside the polar cap it feels the effect of the 434 uniform current seen by all. (b) Similar vector diagram for Kingua-Fjord during the 435 first Polar Year1882-1883 http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/aro/ipy-1/Series-NB-P1.htm . 436 Figure 11: (a) Yearly values of B deduced from IDV and of Vo deduced from IHV 437 (with B from IDV), blue curves, compared to spacecraft values, red curves. (b) BVo 438 (blue curve) computed from B and Vo taken from (a) compared to BVo computed using 439 spacecraft data (red curve) and deduced from polar cap diurnal vector 'circle' 440 variation [c.f. Figure 10] (green curve). 441 Figure 12: (a) Bartels rotation average B deduced from IDV (black) and measured by 442 spacecraft (red). Note the 'floor'. The green line is a 4 th order polynomial fit to 443 444 indicate an approximate smooth trend. Heavy curves show 13-rotation running means. (b) Same, but for Vo. 445 Figure 13: (a) Diurnal and seasonal variation of the Declination at Praha (PRU). For 446 each month the graph shows the local time variation (blue curves) and for the whole 447 year (red). Sunspot maximum [1957-1959] is shown by darker colored curves, while 448 sunspot minimum [1964-1965] is shown by lighter colored curves. (b) Same, but for 449 the interval 1840-1849. The definition of the full range, rY, is shown by the arrow. 450 Figure 14: The variation since 1841 of rY derived from several stations as described in 451 the text. The solar cycle effect is clearly seen. The minimum values (when no spots are 452 present) show a slight increasing trend consistent with the increase of ionospheric 453 conductance due to the declining geomagnetic dipole moment. Removing the trend 454 results in the red curve. 455 Figure 15: (a) Correlation between yearly averages of f10.7 radio flux and the diurnal 456 range, rY, over the interval 1947-2005. (b) Comparison of observed f10.7 radio flux 457 (red) and flux calculated from the above regression equation (blue). 458 Figure 16: Calculated (blue curve) yearly average International Sunspot Number, RI 459, from rY since 1841. Observed yearly averages of RI, or RZ (red) and Group Sunspot 460 Number, RG, (gray) are shown for comparison. Each cycle is marked with the number 461 of the cycle. Note the overlap between panels. 462 Figure 17: Several reconstruction of TSI (Total Solar Irradiance) from 1993 [Hoyt & 463 Schatten] onwards. There is a progressive decrease with time of publication of the 464 amplitude of the estimated variation. Modern reconstructions keep the variation of TSI 465 within about 1 W/m 2 . 466 467 468
Archived version from NCDOCKS Institutional Repository http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/ Williams, M., & Holcomb, J. (2001). Racial disparity and death sentences in Ohio. Journal of Criminal Justice, 29, 207-218. ISSN: 0047-2352 Racial disparity and death sentences in Ohio Marian R. Williams, Jefferson E. Holcomb Abstract The use of the death penalty has resulted in a number of studies attempting to determine if its application is consistent with the guidelines established by the United States Supreme Court. In particular, many studies have assessed whether there are racial disparities in the imposition of death sentences. This study examined the imposition of death sentences in Ohio, a state largely ignored by previous research and that, until 1999, had not executed an inmate since 1963. Drawing from previous studies that have examined the issue in other states, this study assessed the likelihood that a particular homicide would result in a death sentence, controlling for race of defendant and victim and other relevant factors. Results indicated both legal and extralegal factors (including race of victim) were significant predictors of a death sentence, supporting many previous studies that concluded that race plays a role in the imposition of the death penalty. Introduction On February 19, 1999, Ohio executed its first prisoner since 1963. With the country's sixth largest condemned population at 192 prisoners on death row (Death Row, USA, 1999), this will only add to the trend of increasing death sentences and executions (Snell, 1997). The present study was an examination of racial and case characteristics of those sentenced to death in Ohio. In particular, it was designed to determine if racial disparity existed in the imposition of death sentences. The methodology utilized follows that of several studies designed to examine similar issues in other states (e.g., Gross & Mauro, 1989; Radelet & Pierce, 1991). The replication of these studies seemed appropriate because neither of these studies examined Ohio and research into Ohio's capital punishment process is scarce compared to that of other jurisdictions (see General Accounting Office (GAO), 1996; Kleck, 1981). Historical background Capital punishment has existed in the State of Ohio since its territorial days, though it has been used for a very limited number of offenses (Bridge & Mosure, 1961). As early as 1815, Ohio distinguished between first- and second-degree murder and limited capital offenses to first-degree murder and treason (Bridge & Mosure, 1961). In 1824, the state legislature dropped treason as a capital offense, and first-degree murder became the sole capital crime in the state of Ohio (Bridge & Mosure, 1961). Executions were originally carried out by local officials in the individual jurisdictions, but in 1885 changes in law required that all executions occur at the state penitentiary (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC), 1999). In 1896 state law prescribed electrocution as the method of execution, which remained unchanged until a 1993 law gave condemned inmates the option of lethal injection (Leonard, 1993; ODRC, 1999). Historically, Ohio's criminal law has provided juries (or optional three-judge panels) with the discretion to sentence a defendant convicted of a capital crime to either life imprisonment or death (Bridge & Mosure, 1961). Juries were given the option of finding a first-degree murder defendant guilty "with mercy," resulting in an automatic life sentence, or guilty without mercy in which the defendant was automatically sentenced to death. In 1972, the Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia (408 U.S. 238, 1972) found the death penalty as then carried out to be unconstitutional (for more detailed discussion of the court's ruling see Bowers & Pierce, 1984; Steiker & Steiker, 1998). Ohio passed new capital statues in 1974 (Bowers & Pierce, 1984) but these were found to be unconstitutional in Lockett v. Ohio (438 U.S. 586, 1978) largely because of limitations on the jury's ability to consider mitigating evidence proffered by the defendant (e.g., see Haney, 1998). Following Lockett v. Ohio (586), Ohio passed new death penalty statutes in 1981 1 that have withstood constitutional review, 2 and in 1999 Ohio executed its first prisoner since 1963, bringing the total number of persons executed in the state since 1885 to 345 (Johnson, 1999). Under the 1981 statutes, there must be a specific finding of the presence of at least one statutorily defined aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt before a defendant may be eligible for a death sentence (O.R.C. 2929.022, 1999). Defendants may choose to have the determination of the existence of aggravating circumstance at trial or in a separate hearing during the sentencing phase (O.R.C. 2929.03, 1999). Following the Court's ruling in Lockett v. Ohio (586), Ohio's current statutes require that defendants be given "great latitude in the presentation of evidence" of mitigating factors (O.R.C. 2929.03 [D][1], 1999). Aggravating circumstances are to be weighed against mitigating factors in the determination of sentence. If aggravating circumstances do not sufficiently outweigh mitigating factors, defendants are to receive a sentence other than death (O.R.C. 2929.03, 1999). An essential element of the Court's ruling in Furman v. Georgia (238) was the apparent arbitrariness with which death sentences were imposed (see Bowers & Pierce, 1984). According to Bowers and Pierce (1984), arbitrariness in sentencing manifests itself in several ways, including capriciousness, blatant discrimination, and sentencing disparities. Baldus, Woodworth, and Pulaski (1990) conceptualize the various types of arbitrary sentencing practices in a similar manner. Arbitrariness may exist either in individual cases or characterize the sentencing process of a particular jurisdiction (Baldus et al., 1990). For Baldus et al. (1990), the important consideration is the degree to which death sentences occur in a random fashion with either no legally relevant distinctions between cases that receive different sentences or the likelihood that legally impermissible factors (such as race of the defendant or victim) influence sentencing decisions. 3 Factors that are not directly related to the offender's culpability violate the retributive sense of justice that scholars argue is key to the Court's ruling in Furman v. Georgia (238) and subsequent cases (Bowers & Pierce, 1984; Steiker & Steiker, 1998). Therefore, findings of racial disparities in the application of the death penalty suggest that arbitrariness continues to exist in post-Gregg v. Georgia (428 U.S. 153, 1976) statutes despite the Court's optimism. The authors have chosen to speak of sentencing disparities rather than discrimination to avoid assuming purposeful intent in particular cases. This usage is consistent with Baldus et al. (1990, p. 15), who noted that while aggregate level studies (such as the current one) can present evidence suggesting an influence of racial considerations in the decision-making process of a particular jurisdiction, "statistical evidence sheds no light on the degree to which the decisions adversely affecting the minority group were the product of a conscious purpose as opposed to a nonconscious bias." This study was an attempt to add to the body of literature investigating the characteristics of capital sentencing outcomes in various jurisdictions. Literature review Research into the characteristics of those sentenced to death, in particular, those designed to note possible bias or discrimination in the application of the death penalty, is not a new phenomenon (e.g., see Garfinkel, 1949; Wolfgang, Kelly, & Nolde, 1962). Following the Supreme Court's rulings in Gregg v. Georgia (153) 4 and McCleskey v. Kemp (478 U.S. 1019, 1987), 5 an outpouring of social science research has been conducted to test the validity of the Court's optimism in the states' ability to develop capital statutes that would limit arbitrariness and heighten the reliability of capital sentences (e.g., Baldus et al., 1990; Gross & Mauro, 1989; Radelet & Pierce, 1991; Vito & Keil, 1988). The literature has grown to such an extent that several evaluations of the quality and findings of these studies have been written. Kleck (1981) reviewed empirical studies of the relationship between legal and extralegal characteristics of homicides and execution rates prior to the Gregg v. Georgia (153) decision. Another widely cited review of the literature on race and capital punishment is the General Accounting Office's (GAO) (1996) study examining original empirical studies of capital punishment conducted with post- Furman v. Georgia (238) data. Except for cases of rape in the South where the defendant was Black and the victim White, Kleck (1981) found little evidence of race of defendant disparity among those receiving death sentences in the studies he examined. In contrast, the GAO (1996) study reported that more than half of the studies it reviewed found a race of defendant disparity and, in three-fourths of these; Blacks were more likely to be sentenced to death than Whites. Both the Kleck (1981) and GAO (1996) evaluations found substantial evidence for a race of victim effect. The finding that homicides with a White victim were more likely to result in the imposition of a death sentence than homicides with a Black victim was consistent across a variety of studies examining different time frames and jurisdictions. Specifically, the GAO (1996) report found in 82 percent of the studies that the race of the victim influenced the likelihood that a defendant would be either formally charged with a capital crime or sentenced to death and that these findings were consistent even after controlling for legally relevant variables. For the purposes of this study, it was most productive to focus on reviewing those studies that were directly related to the present project in either methodology or the jurisdiction under study. Relatively few studies have been conducted that examined the issue of race and capital punishment in the state of Ohio. The earliest research of the relationship between race and death sentences in Ohio appears to be a legislative staff report conducted by Bridge and Mosure (1961). This study was primarily an overview of capital punishment in Ohio (1950-1959) with an emphasis on the issue of deterrence and therefore did not examine racial disparities in detail. The authors noted that it did not appear that Blacks were more likely to receive death sentences than Whites (Bridge & Mosure, 1961). This claim must be approached with some caution as their only measure of racial disparity was the percentage of Whites (62.7 percent) and Blacks (37.3 percent) on Ohio's death row (Bridge & Mosure, 1961). There was no examination of various offender-victim race combinations and no comparison of prisoners sentenced to death with those arrested, indicted, or convicted of noncapital murders. An interesting finding was that Whites were more than three times as likely to have their death sentences commuted than Blacks (Bridge & Mosure, 1961; for studies with similar findings see Magnum, 1940; VanDiver, 1993; Wolfgang et al., 1962). Bowers and Pierce (1984) examined the consequences of post-Furman v. Georgia (238) statutes in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Ohio to test whether such structures had the desired effect of eliminating discrimination and arbitrariness in the imposition of capital sentences. Specifically, they collected Supplemental Homicide Report (SHR) data for the dates subsequent to the passage of the first post-Furman v. Georgia (238) statute in each jurisdiction. The Ohio data therefore consisted of homicides between November 1, 1974 and December 31, 1977. The SHR data were matched to specific cases in Florida, Texas, and Georgia that were sentenced to death and for those under a sentence of death in Ohio (Bowers & Pierce, 1984). The authors found that in each state the overall probability of receiving a death sentence or, being on death row in Ohio, was substantially greater for Blacks and those who killed Whites (Bowers & Pierce, 1984). In Ohio, the racial disparity within offender-victim racial combinations was even more pronounced. Blacks who killed Whites had an overall probability of ending up on death row five times that of Whites who killed Whites and almost fifteen times that of Black offenders with Black victims (Bowers & Pierce, 1984). Since the Lockett v. Ohio (586) decision invalidated Ohio's death penalty, the authors chose to exclude Ohio from further analysis in their study. Therefore, it was impossible to comment on the relationship between other legal and extralegal factors and the racial composition of Ohio's death row from their study. For Florida, Georgia, and Texas, the study controlled for felony circumstances, intrastate regional differences, and multistage decisional outcomes such as indictments, conviction, and death sentencing. The authors found a consistent pattern of race of victim disparities in the overall probability of receiving a death sentence. Specifically, homicides with White victims had the highest probability of resulting in a death sentence (Bowers & Pierce, 1984). Furthermore, in nearly all of their analyses, homicides where Black suspects killed Whites had the highest overall probability of resulting in a death sentence and homicides where Blacks killed Blacks had the lowest (Bowers & Pierce, 1984). Methodologically, the present study followed the work of Gross and Mauro (1989) and several studies that replicated that work in other jurisdictions (e.g., Radelet & Pierce, 1991; Sorensen & Wallace, 1995). Utilizing SHR data for homicides between 1976 and 1980, Gross and Mauro cross-referenced information from the SHR with data from the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund to identify specific cases resulting in death in several states (Gross & Mauro, 1989). For each jurisdiction the authors examined a number of legal and extralegal variables and differences between those homicides that resulted in a death sentence and those that did not. In the three largest jurisdictions of Georgia, Florida, and Illinois, Gross and Mauro found that the death penalty was more likely to be imposed on individuals convicted of killing Whites and that Blacks convicted of killing Whites were more likely to be sentenced to death than Whites who kill Whites. While the authors did not find a race of defendant racial disparity among those sentenced to death, logistic regression revealed that the killing of a White victim greatly increased the odds of receiving a death sentence (Gross & Mauro, 1989). These findings were consistent in Virginia and the four smaller jurisdictions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Oklahoma: White victim homicides were more likely to result in death sentences than Black victim homicides, controlling for several legally relevant factors (Gross & Mauro, 1989). Radelet and Pierce (1991) sought to replicate Gross and Mauro's (1989) work in Florida for homicides occurring between 1976 and 1987. Matching SHR data and case files for those homicides resulting in a death sentence, Radelet and Pierce examined the relationship between the racial characteristics of the offender and victim and whether a death sentence was imposed. After controlling for legally relevant aggravating factors, the authors found a consistent race of victim disparity among those sentenced to death. Those convicted of killing Whites were over five times as likely to receive a death sentence compared to those whose victim was Black (5.9 and 1.0 percent, respectively) (Radelet & Pierce, 1991). Among those suspected of killing Whites, Blacks (12.6 percent) were nearly three times as likely to receive a death sentence as Whites (4.9 percent) (Radelet & Pierce, 1991). Furthermore, Blacks who killed Whites were almost four times as likely to receive a death sentence as Whites who killed Blacks (12.6 and 3.4 percent, respectively) (Radelet & Pierce, 1991). Incorporating legally aggravating factors as well as extralegal variables, Radelet and Pierce ran a logistic regression equation model and found that in addition to predicted legally relevant variables (such as felony circumstances and multiple victims), both race and sex of the victim were significantly related to case outcome. Specifically, those cases with a White victim (3.42 odds ratio) had a significantly higher odds of resulting in a death sentence than those cases with a Black victim. Sorensen and Wallace (1995) examined SHR data and trial court reports for homicides in Missouri between 1977 and 1991. The authors looked at the relationship between legal and extralegal factors such as race of offender and victim to case outcomes at several decision points in the adjudication process. In reviewing comparisons of case outcomes and racial characteristics of offenders and victims across the capital punishment process, Sorensen and Wallace found mixed results. Generally, White offenders and those cases with White victims were treated more severely than Black offenders or victims (Sorensen & Wallace, 1995). An interesting finding was that Blacks who killed Whites were much more likely to be convicted of capital murder than Whites convicted of killing Whites, and substantially more likely to be convicted of capital murder than Whites who killed Blacks (20.5 to 6.7 percent, respectively) (Sorensen & Wallace, 1995). Logistic regression models for outcomes at each decision point were calculated with aggravating factors and extralegal factors. The authors found no consistent evidence of race of defendant disparity, but results indicated that homicide cases (2.6 odds ratio) and felony murder cases (3.3 odds ratio) with White victims were more likely to result in a capital conviction than those with Black victims. More recently, a study by Thomson (1997) examined racial and ethnic discrimination in death sentencing in Arizona. The author utilized the SHRs from 1982 to 1991, omitting homicide incidents that did not have complete offender and victim data. With a final sample of 2028 homicide incidents, the author cross-referenced the data with information from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Results indicated that White offenders were more than 1.5 times as likely to receive a death sentence than minority offenders. Consistent with the findings of the above studies, however, Thomson found that offenders who killed White victims were more than twice as likely to receive a death sentence than offenders who killed minority victims. It appears from the above research and others (e.g., Baldus et al., 1990; Radelet, 1981) that race of defendant bias is not at as problematic as it once was (see Kleck, 1981). Race of victim disparities, however, continue to persist across various jurisdictions even while controlling for many of the exogenous variables and circumstances that previous researchers considered essential (Kleck, 1981). Evidence at various levels of the capital punishment process thus tends to support Kleck's (1981) proposition of "devalued" Black victims. The current study is designed to test whether such findings are consistent with juridical practices for homicides in Ohio. Methodology The current study attempted to provide an aggregate level examination of race and the use of the death penalty. This study should be considered a preliminary examination of a non-Southern state whose death sentencing practices have not been examined thoroughly. It was recognized that the preferred methodology would have been to follow individual cases throughout the sentencing process to examine the possibility of disparate outcomes at each decision-making point. This would have also enabled the researchers to collect more thorough information for each case and to avoid some of the validity problems posed by the SHR data (e.g., see Maxfield, 1989). Studies that analyze individual case files for homicides are extremely time-consuming and expensive (GAO, 1996) and few studies have provided such a detailed examination of this issue. Notable exceptions include the Baldus et al. (1990) study that was funded by several organizations and agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice and took several years to complete. A lack of resources precluded the present authors from engaging in such a study. What is unique about the current study was its focus on a non-Southern state with a large death row population. Data source The methods used for the current study were adapted from those used by Gross and Mauro (1989) 6 and Radelet and Pierce (1991). Data concerning homicides in Ohio were taken from the SHR compiled by the FBI. Although some researchers (e.g., Maxfield, 1989) have indicated potential problems with SHR data, a number of studies have utilized SHR reports in death penalty research, including those investigating issues of deterrence (e.g., Bailey, 1998; Cochran, Chamlin, & Seth, 1994; Peterson & Bailey, 1991) and racial disparities in sentencing (e.g., Radelet & Pierce, 1991; Sorensen & Wallace, 1995; Thomson, 1997). One potential problem with SHR data, according to Maxfield (1989), is missing information routinely found in the data. Because SHR data reflect preliminary information (in many cases before an offender is apprehended), many of the characteristics of the offense/offender/victim are not immediately known, and are therefore missing. To account for this, many studies (e.g., Gross & Mauro, 1989; Radelet & Pierce, 1991; Thomson, 1997) excluded the missing data from the analysis. This was reasonable because in many cases, the offender was not identified and therefore was ineligible for sentencing. According to Riedel and Rinehart (1996), missing data occur across a variety of murders and do not represent a systematic exclusion of particular variables. Another potential problem with SHR data is that information may be underreported or overreported. For example, Peterson and Bailey (1991, p. 373) found that SHR data may report a lower number of homicide incidents than the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) because not all police departments participate in the SHR program. Despite this, their study found that UCR and SHR data were highly correlated (r=.89) for variables found in both the UCR and SHR (offense/offender/victim data), suggesting that SHR data "provide a reasonable indicator of . . .homicide patterns . . . " over the period analyzed. Peterson and Bailey (1991) also used a control variable that took into account the difference between the UCR and the SHR. Conducting analyses both with and without the control variable, the authors found similar results (1991). The present study found 252 more homicide incidents in the SHR data when compared to the UCR. According to Maxfield (1989), this may be a reflection of reclassification of incidents from murder or nonnegligent manslaughter to negligent manslaughter in the UCR after more information became known about the incident. Despite this, when analyzed with the UCR data for the same period for offender/offense/victim data, a significant correlation between the two (r =.96) was found. The SHR data used for the current study were 1981 (the year Ohio reintroduced the death penalty into law) through 1994. The SHR data contained information regarding incidents of murder and negligent and nonnegligent manslaughter. The SHR data were coded in such a way to distinguish between "murder and nonnegligent manslaughter" and "negligent manslaughter." Cases of negligent manslaughter were omitted from the analyses because the criminal nature of such acts is often in dispute and penalties are considerably less than those for other homicides. The SHR does not distinguish between murder and nonnegligent manslaughter; therefore, cases of nonnegligent manslaughter (which are not death eligible) had to be included in the present analysis. To account for this, the present study included analyses for the entire sample and analyses of a subsample limited to those cases with felony circumstances, which is an aggravating circumstance under Ohio law. The subsample was used to determine if there were differences between the sample as a whole and those cases with a greater likelihood of receiving a death sentence. The SHR data included information on several variables for each homicide: offender's age, gender, race; victim's age, gender, race; circumstances surrounding the offense; weapon used; relationship between offender and victim; and county where the crime took place. As indicated above, the SHR contained missing data. Peterson and Bailey (1991) found that the percentage of missing data cases in their study was between 9 and 25 percent, depending on the variable. In the present study, victim data were missing in less than 1 percent of the cases, while offender data were missing in 24 percent of the cases. This is not surprising for the SHR since homicide victims are more easily identified than victims of other crimes. Relationship and felony circumstance data were missing from 25 percent of the cases, and weapon data were missing in 3 percent of the cases. Those cases with missing data were excluded from analyses examining the particular variable from which data were missing. In order to determine if the missing data represented a systematic bias in the results, a dummy variable was created for each variable that had missing data for more than 5 percent of the cases (offender gender, race, age; relationship; felony circumstances) and correlation statistics between the dummy variables and the other variables in the analysis were conducted to test for significance. Results indicated that systematic bias did not result from exclusion of the missing data. Data about homicides resulting in a death sentence were gathered from the Office of the Ohio Public Defender. Additional information was obtained from the Office of the Ohio Attorney General and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Death sentence data included the same information as that found in the SHR. Sample The SHR information and the death penalty information were merged into one database. To achieve this, each homicide that resulted in a death sentence (drawn from case file information obtained from the Office of the Ohio Public Defender) was identified in the SHR data. This method was adopted from Gross and Mauro (1989) and Sorensen and Wallace (1995) - matching each death penalty case with a homicide including identical information. The most important variables in the matching process, similar to Sorensen and Wallace, were date of the offense and the race, sex, and age of the offender and victim. All but fifty-five of the death sentence cases were matched in this way. For these remaining cases, offender data were missing in the SHR, but other relevant data (victim, weapon, relationship, date of offense, circumstance data) were available. The authors were able to identify those death sentence cases in the SHR with missing offender data by matching relevant information in the SHR (victim data, date of offense, weapon, relationship) with information found in offender's case file. The result was that the authors were confident that they had correctly identified each death sentence case in the SHR. Information was coded regarding the number of death sentences imposed, not the number of individuals who received a death sentence. For instance, although only 185 individual death row inmates were used in this study, the number of death sentences imposed was 271, reflecting those inmates who killed multiple victims and those homicides with multiple offenders. This was done to account for those offenders who received multiple death sentences. All death sentences were considered, including those that were eventually overturned and acquitted, overturned and resentenced to a lesser sentence, and overturned and resentenced to death. The coding of the death sentences in such a way was different from Gross and Mauro (1989), who used homicides as the unit of analysis and treated homicides with multiple victims (and multiple death sentences) as one incident. 7 This coding is also different from Radelet and Pierce (1991), who only counted multiple victims if death sentences occurred in separate trials, and did not include those offenders who were eventually resentenced. Sorensen and Wallace (1995) used the offender as a unit of analysis, examining whether or not an offender received a death sentence for any homicide. The present analysis was offense-based, not offender based. This allowed the authors to examine the characteristics of specific death sentences, and why these sentences resulted in death rather than life imprisonment or some other sentence. The SHR death sentence database used in the analysis (1981-1994) consisted of 9393 cases. The usable sample, however, was necessarily limited by two factors. First, those cases in which there was no known information about the suspect were excluded from the analysis. Second, cases in which the offender was under the age of eighteen at the time of the offense were not included in the analysis since, under Ohio law, individuals under the age of eighteen are not eligible for the death penalty (Ohio Revised Code, 2929.023, 1999). This left an available sample of 6441 cases of homicides committed by known suspects who were eighteen years of age or older at the time of the offense. While complete data were gathered for all cases that resulted in a death sentence, the sample size was further reduced due to missing data for other variables among SHR cases, resulting in a final sample of 5319 for the multivariate analyses. Therefore, some of the categories described in Table 1 had a slightly different sample size as the number of cases with usable data varied. Variables The variables used in the study consisted of one dependent variable, whether a death sentence was imposed, and multiple independent variables. Many SHR variables contained multiple values and therefore some of these variables were collapsed for the purpose of the current study. These variables are listed in Table 1. In order to determine whether race played a role in determining who received a death sentence, it was necessary to include the variables mentioned in Table 1 as any or all of the control variables could mitigate the effect of race on sentencing. Prior record Before addressing the results the authors believe it is important to discuss the omission of prior record as a control variable. While commentaries have been made about the importance of including information on prior record in research on the imposition of death sentences and executions (e.g., Kleck, 1981), the authors feel that there are three arguments that mitigate such criticism. The first issue is a pragmatic one. Although researchers should always seek the most complete, reliable, and valid data available, the data on the prior record for the over 6000 cases were simply not available to the researchers. This left the authors in the position of choosing between continuing on an important topic in a jurisdiction where little research had been conducted or abandoning the project in fear of the obvious criticism. Believing that the methodology had at least facial validity, the former was chosen. Second, it was clear from prior research that race of the defendant was unlikely to be an independent predictor of whether one received a death sentence. The argument that those who kill Whites are more likely to have a serious prior record is questionable. Critics could contend that prior record has a significant role in who receives a death sentence in those jurisdictions where it is an aggravating factor, as in Ohio. Theoretically, this could mitigate racial disparities noted among the imposition of death sentences. If this were so, homicides with Black victims, who are most likely to be killed by Black offenders, should result in a substantial number of death sentences since Black offenders are more likely to have serious prior arrests than White offenders (Donzinger, 1996). The present study found just the opposite. Homicides with Black victims were less likely to result in a death sentence than those homicides with White victims. In particular, Blacks killed by other Blacks was consistently the racial combination least likely to result in a death sentence. Third and most importantly, previous research has actually shown that prior record has little impact on the race of victim disparity (Gross & Mauro, 1989). As Gross and Mauro (1989) pointed out, the Baldus et al. (1990) study was the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted on racial disparities and the death penalty. Baldus et al. (1990) included over 200 variables in their analysis including serious prior record. Their finding that homicides in Georgia with White victims were 4.3 times more likely to end in a death sentence was not mitigated when prior record was controlled (Baldus et al., 1990). Furthermore, the findings of the Baldus et al. (1990) study in Georgia reflected a pattern and extent of racial disparities similar to that found in Gross and Mauro's (1989) examination of the same jurisdiction for roughly the same time periods. This study replicated the methods used in Gross and Mauro's (1989) study and the authors are encouraged by the degree of reliability those studies suggest for the current research. Results Initial analyses were conducted using the race of defendant and victim variables in order to measure the independent mitigating effects of these variables on the racedeath sentence relationship. As seen in previous studies, Table 2 shows that death sentences were rarely imposed, consisting of only 4 percent of total sentences. Although results show that White suspects were more likely than Black suspects to receive a death sentence (5 and 3 percent, respectively), further analysis revealed that those convicted of killing Whites were over twice as likely to receive a death sentence than those convicted of killing Blacks (6 and 2 percent, respectively). The authors further distinguished offender-victim racial combinations rather than merely looking at race of victim or race of defendant. As Bowers and Pierce (1984) noted, differential treatment of both offenders and victims are likely obscured when examined at the aggregate level without making such distinctions (Bowers & Pierce, 1984). It originally appeared that White suspect homicides were treated more severely than homicides with Black suspects. After looking at specific victim-offender racial combinations, however, this pattern was partially reversed. The percentage of homicides with Black offenders and White victims that resulted in a death sentence (11 percent) was twice that of homicides with White offenders and victims (5 percent) and nearly three times greater than the percentage of homicides where Whites killed Blacks (4 percent). Furthermore, Blacks who killed Whites were five times more likely to receive a death sentence than Blacks who killed Blacks (11 and 2 percent, respectively). This was interesting because although Blacks killing Blacks comprised the largest group of homicides, they were the racial grouping least likely to receive a death sentence. These findings were consistent with the pattern found by Gross and Mauro (1989) and Radelet and Pierce (1991). As Radelet and Pierce (1991) stated, simple bivariate analyses on racial composition do not present a complete picture of racial disparities in sentencing. Because there may be qualitative reasons for the racial differences in death penalty sentencing, the use of control variables is important. For the sake of economy and focus, the present authors chose not to report each bivariate analysis controlling for the previously mentioned variables. 8 In addition to the above analysis, logistic regression was performed to assess racial disparities controlling for all of the legal and extralegal variables within a single model. Logistic regression allows the researcher to incorporate possible predictor variables and assess their relative importance to the likelihood of receiving a particular outcome (see Baldus et al., 1990; Sorensen & Wallace, 1995). Such an analysis had the potential to inform the researcher of factors that may partially explain the relationship found in the bivariate analyses. Table 3 reports the results of the logistic regression analysis with all of the above noted independent and control variables. Several of the legal and extralegal predictor variables were significant at the given alpha level. The most significant predictor was felony circumstances, which was not surprising as the presence of felony circumstances is an aggravating factor in the determination of a death sentence in the state of Ohio. 9 Those homicides involving felony circumstances were more likely (35.4 odds ratio) to result in a death sentence than homicides involving nonfelony circumstances. Homicides with older offenders (twenty-five and older) were more likely (2.2 odds ratio) to receive a death sentence than those with younger offenders. 10 This was not an unusual finding as youth of the offender is a mitigating circumstance under Ohio law. While not an aggravating circumstance under Ohio law, many researchers (e.g., Gross & Mauro, 1989) treated homicides with multiple victims as a relevant aggravating factor. Similar to other research findings (e.g., Radelet & Pierce, 1991), those who killed multiple victims were significantly more likely to receive a death sentence than those who killed one victim (6.7 odds ratio). Several extralegal variables were also found to increase the likelihood of receiving a death sentence. The results for these variables were similar in direction and in some cases in strength to those noted in Gross and Mauro (1989) and Radelet and Pierce (1991). Homicides with male offenders (2.6 odds ratio) and female victims (2.3 odds ratio) were significantly more likely to result in a death sentence than homicides with female offenders or male victims. The relationship of offender to the victim was also significant at the given alpha level as homicides involving strangers were more likely (1.8 odds ratio) to result in a death sentence than homicides involving nonstrangers. The findings for the primary variables of interest, race of the offender and victim, were consistent with those of several of the previously noted studies (Gross & Mauro, 1989; Radelet & Pierce, 1991). Race of the defendant did not significantly affect the likelihood of receiving a death sentence after controlling for several aggravating and extralegal variables. This was not surprising as most post-Gregg v. Georgia (153) researchers (Baldus et al., 1990; Kleck, 1981; Radelet, 1981) acknowledged race of defendant discrimination in the imposition of death sentences has not been shown to be a strong predictor of receiving a death sentence when other relevant factors were considered. Similar to these studies, the present study found that a race of victim disparity, though not as strong as that reported in other (especially Southern) jurisdictions, does exist in Ohio. Even while controlling for several relevant aggravating factors, homicides with White victims were more likely (1.6 odds ratio) to result in a death sentence than homicides with Black victims. Since the previous analyses likely included many non-death eligible cases, the authors chose to conduct analyses on cases that were more likely to have been considered death eligible. Since felony circumstance is an aggravating factor under Ohio law (and the most significant variable in the analyses), it was used to differentiate those cases that were statistically more likely to result in a death sentence. The authors used this to statistically improve the chances of distinguishing death eligible cases from non-death eligible ones. 11 In doing so, the sample size was reduced to reflect those cases with felony circumstances. The results in Table 4 indicate that, for potentially death-eligible cases, victim race was significant at the given alpha level. In particular, homicides involving White victims were more likely to result in a death sentence than homicides involving Black victims (1.75 odds ratio). Discussion The present findings were interesting for both their similarities to and differences with previous research. Generally, findings supported those of Gross and Mauro (1989) and Radelet and Pierce (1991). Regarding differences in findings, the present study did not find the degree of racial disparity noted in the above studies. Though it was clear that race of the victim increased the likelihood of a homicide resulting in a death sentence in Ohio, such odds were not as high as those found in the other studies. It was interesting that the degree of disparity found in Ohio most closely resembles that found in Illinois (see Gross & Mauro, 1989). It is possible that racial disparities exist across regions but they are most pronounced in southern jurisdictions. Regarding the bivariate analysis, the data indicated that homicides with White victims were more likely to result in a death sentence than homicides with Black victims. Furthermore, homicides where Blacks killed Whites was the group most likely to receive a death sentence. Homicides with Black victims, regardless of the race of the suspect, were typically the least likely to result in a death sentence. Logistic regression revealed, however, that race of the defendant was not an independent predictor of a death sentence. This suggests that some of the disparities found in the bivariate analyses were partially explained by other factors. Nevertheless, disparities were found for the race and gender of the victim and gender of the offender. Most related to the present purpose was the finding that even when controlling for several legally relevant factors, homicides with White victims were more likely to result in a death sentence than those with Black victims. These results remained when examining death-eligible cases only. Such results support the idea of a "devalued Black victim" (Kleck, 1981). It is also possible that because homicides with Black victims, in particular, Blacks killed by Blacks, are the most common type of homicide, decision-makers do not treat such cases as severely as more unusual ones. The finding of gender disparity for both the offender and victim, though perhaps not unexpected, suggests that it is not only racial factors that add to the arbitrariness of death sentences. While not as strong as those reported by previous research, these findings add support to a growing body of literature that points to racial and extralegal disparities, rather than overt discrimination, in the imposition of death sentences in America (Baldus et al., 1990; Bowers & Pierce, 1984; Gross & Mauro, 1989; Radelet, 1981; Sorensen & Wallace,1995; Vito & Keil, 1988). Future research There are several decision-making points in the adjudication process that could arguably account for the above disparities. Because this was an input-output model and did not differentiate specific decision-making outcomes, it is impossible to determine if these disparities were the result of prosecutorial or jury actions. (see Baldus, Woodworth, Zuckerman, Warner, & Brofitt, 1998; Sorensen & Wallace, 1995; Vito & Keil, 1988 for studies that examine disparities at more than one outcome point). Any comments regarding the moment where present results were manifested would merely be unsubstantiated speculation. This weakness, however, points out the need for future research that can distinguish various decision-making outcomes and racial disparities. As such research would likely involve fewer and more identifiable cases, it should be possible to control for more factors, including prior record. Another subject of future research should be a review of Ohio appellate court rulings upon direct appeal. Although the Ohio courts have dismissed numerous racial disparity claims (see e.g., State v. Carter (72 Ohio St. 3d 545; 651 N.E. 2d 965 1995); State v. Dickerson (45 Ohio St. 3d 206; 543 N.E. 2d 1250, 1989); State v. Keene (81 Ohio St. 3d 646; 693 N.E. 2d 246, 1998); State v. Sowell (39 Ohio St. 3d 322; 530 N.E. 2d 1294, 1988); State v. Steffen (31 Ohio St. 3d 111; 509 N.E. 2d 383, 1987)), the present study found that disparity exists, suggesting that Ohio's capital punishment process needs further examination. The size of Ohio's death row and its recent renewal of executions only intensify the need for such research. Acknowledgments The authors thank William R. King for comments and criticisms of several drafts of this work and Michael T. Glantz for his insight on various issues in capital punishment. The assistance of Brenda Jones at the Ohio Public Defender's Office in providing data on offenders sentenced to death in the State of Ohio was essential for this project. Notes 1. Am. Sub. Senate Bill 1, effective October 19, 1981. 2. State v. Jenkins (15 Ohio St. 3d 164; 473 N.E. 2d 264, 1984) - found Ohio's capital punishment statute to be constitutional. 3. The issue of clearly distinguishing between arbitrariness, discrimination and sentencing disparities is often confused by various interpretations of Supreme Court rulings. For the present study, the authors follow the general distinctions suggested by works such as Baldus et al. (1990), Bowers and Pierce (1984), and Gross and Mauro (1989). Arbitrariness is thought to exist when no legally permissible factors distinguish different sentencing outcomes. Discrimination, being an affirmative rather than negative act, is considered the most blatantly unconstitutional form of arbitrariness (Bowers & Pierce, 1984; Gross & Mauro, 1989). In McCleskey v. Kemp (1019), however, the Supreme Court ruled that mere aggregate level evidence of arbitrariness was insufficient to determine that an outcome in a specific case was motivated by purposeful discrimination. Despite this ruling, researchers have continued to investigate aggregate based evidence of arbitrary sentencing practices in various jurisdictions (e.g., Radelet & Pierce, 1991; Sorensen & Wallace, 1995; Thomson, 1997). 4. Gregg v. Georgia (153) Ð Court ruled Georgia's capital punishment system was no longer unconstitutional. 5. McCleskey v. Kemp (1019) - Court found evidence of aggregate level disparity unconvincing and that a defendant must show discrimination in their individual cases. 6. It should be noted that Gross and Mauro studied the same jurisdiction as Baldus et al. (1990) and found similar results, despite using a different methodology. 7. For example, Gross and Mauro treated multiple homicides with at least one Black victim as a single "Blackvictim homicide," thereby ignoring the racial characteristics of other victims in the multiple homicide. The authors felt it was problematic to collapse multiple homicides into a "one defendant-one victim" category, as such a method could result in systematic bias in one direction or the other depending on how the such cases were coded. Even though there were few offenders with multiple race victims (N offenders = 5; total N of victims of those offenders = 16), excluding such cases from the analysis seemed inappropriate as well. Considering the importance of race of victim in previous research findings, the authors choose to be as inclusive as possible for this variable. Using individual death sentences (rather than offenders) allowed the authors to better examine the impact of the race of victim. 8. Readers interested in examining the tables are encouraged to contact the authors. For a majority of such analyses, a pattern similar to that noted in the text was found. The only variables with any mitigating effect on such disparities were felony circumstances and relationship of offender to victim, where the percentage of homicides with specific racial combinations resulting in a death sentence was more equitable. Nevertheless, even within these combinations, White-victim homicides were still the most likely to result in a death sentence. 9. For a list of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, see Ohio Revised Code, 2929.04 (1999). 10. The use of 25 as the cutoff point for "youth of the offender" is consistent with that used by Sorensen and Wallace (1995). 11. The authors recognize the limitations of such an approach, and that merely having felony circumstances does not clearly distinguish death eligible cases from nondeath eligible cases. Given the limitations of the data, however, it seemed the best method to evaluate potential systematic bias. References Bailey, W. (1998). Deterrence, brutalization, and the death penalty: another examination of Oklahoma's return to capital punishment. Criminology, 36, 711 - 734. Baldus, D. C., Woodworth, G., & Pulaski, C. A. Jr. (1990). Equal justice and the death penalty: a legal and empirical analysis. Boston: Northeastern Univ. Press. Baldus, D. C., Woodworth, G., Zuckerman, D., Warner, N. A., & Brofitt, B. (1998). Racial discrimination and the death penalty in the post-Furman era: an empirical and legal overview, with recent findings from Philadelphia. Cornell Law Review, 83, 1638-1770 (retrieved from LEXIS-NEXIS on-line database on 6/8/99). Bowers, W. J., & Pierce, G. L. (1984). Arbitrariness and discrimination under post Furman capital statutes. In: W. J. Bowers, G. L. Pierce, J. F. McDevitt (Eds.), Legal homicide (193- 269). Boston: Northeastern Univ. Press. Bridge, F. M., & Mosure, J. (1961). Capital punishment. Ohio Legislative Service Commission, staff research report no. 46. Columbus: F. J. Heer Printing. Cochran, J., Chamlin, M., & Seth, M. (1994). Deterrence or brutalization? An impact assessment of Oklahoma's return to capital punishment. Criminology, 32, 107-134. Death Row, USA (1999). Publication of NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Data retrieved from Death Penalty Information Center web page hwww.essential.org/dpici on 7/11/99. Donzinger, S. R. (Ed.). (1996). The real war on crime: the report of the National Criminal Justice Commission. New York: HarperPerennial. Garfinkel, H. (1949). Research note on inter- and intra-racial homicides. Social Forces, 27, 369. General Accounting Office (1996). Death penalty sentencing: research indicates pattern of racial disparities. In: H. A. Bedau (Ed.), The death penalty in America: current controversies (pp. 268 - 272). New York: Oxford Univ. Press. Gross, S., & Mauro, R. (1989). Death and discrimination: racial disparities in capital sentencing. Boston: Northeastern Univ. Press. Haney, C. (1996). Mitigation and the study of lives: on the roots of violent criminality and the nature of capital justice. In: J. R. Acker, R. M. Bohm, & C. S. Lanier (Eds.), America's experiment with capital punishment (pp. 351- 384). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. Johnson, A. (1999). Quiet death ends years of debate. The Columbus Dispatch 2/21/99 p. 6D. Retrieved from LEXIS-NEXIS on-line database General News section on 6/22/99. Kleck, G. (1981). Racial discrimination in criminal sentencing: a critical evaluation of the evidence with additional evidence on the death penalty. American Sociological Review, 46, 783-805. Leonard, L. (1993). New law permits execution by lethal injection. The Columbus Dispatch, p. 6D. Retrieved on 6/24/99 from LEXIS-NEXIS General News Topics online database. Magnum, C. S. (1940). The legal status of the Negro. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Maxfield, M. (1989). Circumstances in supplemental homicide reports: variety and validity. Criminology, 27, 671- 695. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (1999). Capital punishment in Ohio. Available at: www.drc.state. oh.us/web/capital.htm. (Retrieved March 13, 1999 from O.R.D.C. website). O.R.C. 2929.022 (1999). In: L. R. Katz, & P. C. Giannelli (Eds.), Ohio Criminal Justice (p. 468). Cleveland: WestGroup. O.R.C. 2929.023 (1999). In: L. R. Katz, & P. C. Giannelli (Eds.), Ohio Criminal Justice (p. 469). Cleveland: WestGroup. O.R.C. 2929.03 (1999). In: L. R. Katz, & P. C. Giannelli (Eds.), Ohio Criminal Justice (pp. 469- 471). Cleveland: WestGroup. O.R.C. 2929.03 [D] [1] (1999). In: L. R. Katz, & P. C. Giannelli (Eds.), Ohio Criminal Justice (p. 470). Cleveland: WestGroup. O.R.C. 2929.04 (1999). In: L. R. Katz, & P. C. Giannelli (Eds.), Ohio Criminal Justice (pp. 471 - 472). Cleveland: WestGroup. Peterson, R., & Bailey, W. (1991). Felony murder and capital punishment: an examination of the deterrence question. Criminology, 29, 367- 395. Radelet, M. L. (1981). Racial characteristics and the imposition of the death penalty. American Sociological Review, 46, 918- 927. Radelet, M. L., & Pierce, G. L. (1991). Choosing who will die: race and the death penalty in Florida. Florida Law Review, 43, 1 - 34. Riedel, M., & Rinehart, T. (1996). Murder clearances and missing data. Journal of Crime and Justice, 19, 83- 102. Snell, T. L. (1997). Capital punishment 1996. Washington: Bureau of Justice Statistics/U.S. Department of Justice (NCJ 167031). Sorensen, J. R., & Wallace, D. H. (1995). Capital punishment in Missouri: examining the issues of racial disparity. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 13, 61- 80. Steiker, C. S., & Steiker, J. M. (1998). Judicial developments in capital punishment law. In: J. R. Acker, R. M. Bohm, & C. S. Lanier (Eds.), America's experiment with capital punishment (pp. 47- 76). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. Thomson, E. (1997). Discrimination and the death penalty in Arizona. Criminal Justice Review, 22, 65- 76. Vandiver, M. (1993). The quality of mercy: race and clemency in Florida death penalty cases, 1924-1966. University of Richmond Law Review, 27, 315-343. Vito, G. F., & Keil, T. J. (1988). Capital sentencing in Kentucky: an analysis of the factors influencing decision making in the post-Gregg period. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 79, 483- 503. Wolfgang, M., Kelly, A., & Nolde, H. (1962). Comparison of the executed and the commuted among admissions to death row. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, 53, 301. Cases Cited Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972). Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976). Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586 (1978). McCleskey v. Kemp, 478 U.S. 1019 (1987). State v. Carter, 72 Ohio St. 3d 545; 651 N.E. 2d 965 (1995). State v. Dickerson, 45 Ohio St. 3d 206; 543 N.E. 2d 1250 (1989). State v. Jenkins, 15 Ohio St. 3d 164; 473 N.E. 2d 264 (1984). State v. Keene, 81 Ohio St. 3d 646; 693 N.E. 2d 246 (1998). State v. Sowell, 39 Ohio St. 3d 322; 530 N.E. 2d 1294 (1988). State v. Steffen, 31 Ohio St. 3d 111; 509 N.E. 2d 383 (1987).
+614 20882296 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 Specifications Boat Details Disclaimer Description HIGHLIGHTS SECOND TO NONE PRESENTATION. A PEDIGREE YACHT CONTINUALLY MAINTAINED AND UPGRADED WITH KNOWLEDGE, RESPECT AND DILIGENCE. EXTENSIVE REFIT 2019- 2022 EXTENSIVE RANGE OF SAFETY FEATURES DESIGNED AND EQUIPPED FOR ULTIMATE COMFORT AND OFFSHORE SAFETY INCREDIBLY FAST PASSAGE-MAKER EASILY TURNING OVER 200NM / DAY WHILE REMAINING COMFORTABLE ON ALL POINTS OF SAIL CARBON FIBRE MAST FOR STRENGTH, PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY. MAST AND RIGGING WERE FULLY INSPECTED IN FEBRUARY 2022 – Report Available. FULL SET OF SAILS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. ALL SAILS REVIEWED IN 2022 NEW 2018 COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF CRUISING ELECTRONICS AND OFFSHORE COMMUNICATION 12V, 120V AND 220V FOR ELECTRICAL ADAPTABILITY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD 2019 NEW LITHIUM Li-fe Relion 900 Ah BATTERIES ALL NEW SOLAR PANELS (2020-2021) 1460W OUTPUT OF SOLAR POWER, 3 PANASONIC HIT340 and 4 SUNPOWER 110 ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME WITH HEATING, WASHING MACHINE, WATERMAKER, HUGE GALLEY WITH 2 FRIDGES and 1 FREEZER (compressors 2020), a lot of STORAGE ETC. BRAND NEW YANMAR ENGINES AND SAILDRIVES (400 HOURS ON EACH) HUGE ENGINES ROOMS VERY EASY ACCESS TO ALL SYSTEMS FOR SAFETY, REPAIRS OR TROUBLE-SHOOTING. 2 x 220L WATER TANKS 2 x 250 L FUEL CAPACITY FOR IMPRESSIVE RANGE WIDE OPEN INTERIOR FOR A MODERN, SUNNY AND AIRY FEEL Our company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents and/or surveyors to investigate such details buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change or withdrawal without notice. Email: email@example.com Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 A LOT OF STORAGE AND CABINETS VAT PAID DESIGNED AND EQUIPPED TO BE EFFORTLESSLY SAILED SHORT HANDED OR EVEN SOLO MUST BE SEEN TO BE FULLY APPRECIATED TI' AMĀ IS LOCATED IN TAHITI, WHICH IS OPEN WITHOUT QUARANTINE TO VACCINATED VISITORS. PRIVATE VIDEO TOURS CAN ALSO BE ARRANGED WITH THE OWNERS IF YOU WISH. A VERY THOROUGH VIDEO WALK-THROUGH COMPLETED AT THE TIME OF LISTING IS AVAILABLE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AT NAUTILUS YACHT MANAGEMENT). MARCH 2022 FULL SURVEY REPORT AVAILABLE ON REQUEST ------------------------- TI' AMĀis a superbly maintained blue-water, high-performance cruiser ready for worldwide cruising. She is a perfect choice for a couple or family looking for a well-built comfortable and proven offshore cruiser. Ti'Amā is a Switch 51 designed by Van Peteghem and Lauriot Prévost built in Balaruc Les Bains by Sud Composite. Ti' amā is one of 12 Switch 51 ever built. She is number 4 . Once her hulls and decks were completed, she was sailed to Casablanca, where her interior fit-out was designed and completed, using exquisite workmanship and light-weight timber laminate to enhance the warmth of the interior décor without compromising on the weight and overall performance. The Switch 51's are designed to be easily handled by a couple with a focus on comfort, performance, and safety - a perfect choice for serious ocean cruisers. Combining extraordinary performance upwind and yet offering a very comfortable interior perfectly suited to long-range cruising and family live-aboard in comfort and safety, Ti' Amā is a successful combination of Outremer Yachting attribute for speed and exhilaration, mixed with the plush comfort of the Catana. Van Peteghem and Lauriot Prévost need no word of introduction as yacht designers. VPLP design (Van Peteghem / Lauriot-Prévost) is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Mand Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently hold many of the World Speed Sailing records, including producing winners of the Vendée Globe, Sydney Hobart and the America's Cup. Switch 51 yachts are objects of beauty, grace and power who beneath their elegant lines are truly built for ocean conditions : Capable of sailing high to windward thanks to its 2.4m long daggerboard and generous sail plan (Ti' Amā's mast is actually taller than other models), they will effortlessly cover at least 200nm / day safely and comfortably, without pushing the boat. Switch 51 Catamarans sit at the exact opposite to production yachts in the way that each and every component of their design and assembly is not subject to a price point but to their motto: quality, strength, durability. Each of them was built on commission for their owner and adapted in interior design to their specific requirements. Our company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents and/or surveyors to investigate such details buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change or withdrawal without notice. Phone: Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 +614 20882296 Email: email@example.com Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 The Switch's life on the ocean and genius in adapting to its sometimes challenging environment is visible in every trait of their design, from the rigidity of the hull, balance, comfort etc., but also in the unique, enviable interior which never fails to impress with its chevron teak interior floor and molding on the walls, open spaces and optimisation of usable space while at the same time providing an interior that is usable in all conditions and conceived to offer the off-watch person somewhere peaceful, dry and safe to rest and recover. At anchor, where most cruising yachts spend 90% of their time, the Switch Yachts does not compromise on luxury either, with its large transom, very large and well-protected cockpit, unencumbered deck space etc., while also remaining very easily maintained. Ti' Amā is presented to you in turn-key condition, an extraordinary example of a design which both designer and owners should be extremely proud of. As creators, one can imagine how pleased Ti' Amā's builders would be to contemplate her today, a real credit to their vision but also to her owners, a family of avid racing sailors who did not want to compromise when searching for a yacht to explore the world with their children. This Canadian family specifically searched for a Switch 51 because few catamaran in the world offered them what they wanted: speed, exhilaration, safety and comfort. Two handed sailing with children over thousands of ocean miles and sometimes difficult conditions imposes stringent search criteria when deciding on a yacht. They found this and more in Ti' Amā, and if parting with their beautiful yacht is certain to be an emotional time, they can be proud to pass the flame to a new family who will certainly appreciate Ti' Amā for the extraordinary yacht she is and in a condition that reflect the respect she inspires. For a bit of info about ourselves, we are a boutique-style brokerage devoted to high quality cruising yachts and to the cruising community. Ex- cruisers ourselves we just strive to help others begin their journey on the ocean. If Ti' Amā has got under your skin, get in touch! Our team can organize a private video viewing with you as well as have all the time in the world to answer your questions, put you in touch with the owners if you wish, assist with organising your visit, purchase, delivery home if needed, insurance, berthing, crewing, etc. NYM has a reputation to present to the market only quality cruising yachts in beautiful, turn-key condition, but our real trademark is to work as a team with you and the sellers to ensure a seamless, transparent, and joyful experience. A WORD FROM THE OWNERS: "A VPLP design was our dream. We were looking for a fast and safe catamaran and the Switch 51 had exactly what we were looking for. We wanted a catamaran as fast as a Outremer but way more comfortable than a Catana, a Dolphin or a Chris White. We found the perfect fit in Ti' Amā. As longtime sailors and cruisers with a plan to take our family on an extensive offshore adventure, we wanted a boat that lead the charts in three key areas: safety, comfort and performance. Ti'Amā scores high in each of these areas and she has been a perfect choice for us. VPLP SWITCH 51 build quality is a critical factor that attracts us to this design. It gives us immense confidence (and Disclaimer Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 comfort) while we are thousands of miles offshore with our family to know that we are aboard a well-built yacht. SWITCHare built better and safer in all areas - from hull composition and structure, and in many other areas, compared with any production boat on the market. As semi-custom boats the designers and builders were focused on quality of materials and construction as opposed to profit incentives. The boat is made with strong monolithique vinylester witch prevent osmosis. The carbon mast with Kevlar rigging reduces the weight, especially in height. A low center of gravity with a long hull length (51 feet) limits pitching and rolling and gives great comfort when sailing in the waves and even at anchor. This was a big plus for us. The daggerboards are useful for going upwind, but also provide better safety when sailing in very heavy weather. Raised, they prevent the boat to capsize. The Switch 51 is much lighter than a Lagoon or a Fountaine Pajot. I often say that I take a reef when these boats turn off their engines! Keeping the boat light and efficient naturally led us to equip it with large capacity Lithium batteries and a power of 1400W solar panels. So no need for a generator (less weight and less maintenance). The batteries are high performance Relion LiFe with no risk of fire hazard. With a total of 900Ah, they can operate the water maker, the induction hob or the electric oven for exemple. They give an autonomy of three days without any sun. Which never happens in the tropics! And even there is also the alternator of the engines to recharge as well. Comfort (both underway and at sea) is an area that is hugely important to us. We were not prepared to give up comfort in the name of performance, which is often a compromise folks are forced make when selecting a cruising catamaran. We wanted a comfortable platform for our family to live and travel aboard for years at a time. It was critical to find a comfortable interior and exterior space for our family to live. Ti' Amā's galley is huge! The best we saw in the multiple catamaran we toured. Her 2 fridges and huge freezer have been a key area for our comfort (we love cooking and enjoying delicious food) while off-grid for months on end. And her 2 large counter space with double sink makes food preparation easy and enjoyable. The large cockpit area with abundant seating area as well as the spacious open concept interior has meant that Ti'Amā is often the boat hosting others aboard for sundowners and meals. The salon seating area is open and comfortable, that easily transitions from homeschooling area to meal and entertaining area. The settee cushions are built with high quality foam and Sunbrella fabic and we've yet to find another boat with more comfortable cushions. There is plenty of room for storage. Sailing performance is another key aspect of safety and is critically important to us as sailors. When we dreamed of crossing oceans, it was aboard a beautiful sailing yacht, with good performance and smooth crossing Ti' Amā excels in this area. For us, it is important to be able to sail efficiently and comfortably both upwind and downwind in order to avoid unfavourable weather and to minimise time on passage when exposed on long stretches between land. Disclaimer +614 20882296 Email: email@example.com Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 Tiama easily sails in lighter winds (from 6 to 8 knots of wind we will nicely beam or broad reach doing 5 knots). As the wind picks up, Ti' Amā comes into her own and with speeds of 8 to 12 knots on a consistent basis from upwards of 12 knots of wind. Upwind Ti' Amā does 7 to 8 knots depending on sea state. We budget for 175 mile passage days and have had numerous 200 plus mile days. We took her to 27 knots at some point. The fact that the Switch 51 is designed with the goal of having two people or one person being able to handle her underway is also a feature that is important to us.With the three electric winches, reefing lines lead back to the cockpit and strong and reliable autopilot and well-balanced boat, this has been safely manageable. Safety is paramount to us. The boat is equipped with 7 powder extinguishers distributed in the boat and two large CO2 extinguishers for the engines. We changed the engines for Yanmars of 67HP each which consume little and give a great autonomy if necessary. They have about 400 hours and their maintenance is done for the next year. Under engine the speed is 8 knots on 2200 rpm with a consumption of less than three litres per hour per engine. In offshore navigation, we have an Iridium Go which allows us to easily download GRIB files of the different weather models and to chat with friends and family by SMS. We've had an incredible adventure on our three years aboard Ti' Amā with our family and have cruised from Lake Champlain, USA down the coast of the United States, to Florida, Bahamas, Caribean, Antilles, Curaçao, Colombia, Panama, Galapagos and French Polynesia. It's now time for us to return to land life and we will be very sad to say goodbye to Ti' Amā. I don't think we will ever find a boat more comfortable that meets our objectives in all areas than Ti' Amā". INTERIOR DESCRIPTION: Our first impression upon first seeing Ti'Amā's interior was of incredible space and of a warm, incredibly sophisticated decor rarely seen on a modern vessel. As her owners report, when people step inside Tiama's interior space, their first comments are often, "It feels like a real house', 'It look like a Paris apartment!' or , "Wow, what a large galley and cooking space!". The Switch 51 has a wide-open interior space with plenty of natural light that streams in from its 6 large windows in the salon area which provide nice views at anchor and while underway, as well as the two opening hatches above thesalon table and the pilot station and kitchen. The salon has a new (2019 Sunbrella upholstery and the galley / nav station also has new Sunbrella cushions, everything kept beneath throws and lose covers to protect from stains. The new upholstery gives the entire area a bright, clean and modern look. It has a light texture, luxurious feel and is easy to clean. The good quality foam and lumbar support of the cushions provide for an extremely comfortable seating area to entertain and relax in. it also provides for large extra berths at sea or at anchor. It is also possible for the table to be lowered if another large sleeping area were desired for guests. The entire headliner throughout has white vinyl covered panels (new 2020) attached with velcro which is easy to Disclaimer Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 clean. The salon table is foldable just like the table in the galley. easily accessible storage compartments under seats. The beautifully varnished teak chevron floors balanced with light-coloured walls, wood table and deep blue kitchen provide for a modern open concept feel. The cabins and passageways floors are also chevron teak wood . All the lighting is new LED for good power conservation. There is also a diesel air heater Eberspacer (hydronic 10). GALLEY: The Galley is large with ample counter space, large double center-line sinks, extensive storage and 2 fridge. There is a large deep pantry area, 5 storage drawers, and ample cupboard areas to store dishes, pots, pans, food and kitchen related items. Force 10 stove – oven gas with 3 burner top with solenoid on-off switch for safety 15 inches Double stainless steel deep sinks with single lever mixer faucet with spray or solid flow options, pull out for extra length (new 2019) Under-sink seagull water purifier 115L fridge in galley c-w Danfoss Compressor (new 2020) 115L fridge-freezer in galley c-w Compressor (new 2020) The galley comes with numerous appliances, crockery, utensils, etc. ACCOMODATION: Tiama has 4 spacious staterooms. The main stateroom has a comfortable queen sized bed, with his and hers closet and clothing storage. There are two large pull-out drawers for storage under the bed, as well as extensive additional under bed storage. It has book shelves along with 2 storages space on each side The two windows and huge hatch provide plenty of natural light. Disclaimer +614 20882296 Email: email@example.com Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 There is a mirror being the door. The port side hull has a bathroom and separate toilet. French style. The bathroom has a shower equipped with a temperature mixer faucet with good water pressure and keeps a consistent temperature and a sink. There is a mirror being the door there too. The toilet is electric and very easy to use. There is button on the floor to flush. The second cabin on port side has a entrance with a closet behind the door , a window , drawers and cabinet for more storage. This cabin has a double bed, book shelves , 1 closet and more storage space. There is an extra bed who can be use for reading or have a friend over. On starboard, There is a full bathroom with shower and toilet. Starboard aft is one stateroom with 2 single beds , 2 large closets , book shelves and more storage. The 4th stateroom has as has a double bed, one closet, and 3 cabinets for a lot of storage. COCKPIT, DECK & HARDWARE: The Switch 51 cockpit design is optimised for use of a couple underway. Cockpit seats are long enough so that you can sleep on them if desired. Pilot station in the cockpit let you navigate your boat without leaving the cockpit. An autopilot control box is easily accessible within the comfort of the dodger (there is a second control port for the autopilot at the navigation station), equipped with a dial that allows full steerage and control of the boat at sea or while docking, as well as controls for one degree or more movements. The cockpit is well set up for entertaining a large crowd. There is a folding table which can be positioned, opened and closed as needed. The swim grid and boarding areas of Tiama provides a functional multi-use platform. It has a stable ladder for climbing on board. There are two large stainless grab rails which provide easy handholds.The lower swim-grid is also a safety feature which allows for ease of retrieving a person in the event of a man-overboard incident. The aft deck provides ample room for this purpose and a safe and efficient launch area off the swim grid. The cockpit also provides access the aft mechanical area through two large access hatches. Ti' Amā has a sleek and modern side profile. With the free-standing carbon mast, there are no shrouds or rigging leading down to the deck which provides for an uncluttered profile and open deck area. There is a rain water collector system on the boat. Disclaimer +614 20882296 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 Ti' Amā' s cockpit and deck features include: * Winches: (6)Andersen 52 ST Two Speed, (1) Andersen 58 ST Two Speed, (1) Electric Andersen 62 ST Two Speed (2015) * Deck cleats: (4) 17.5" Aluminum Cast, (5) 13" Aluminum Cast * Cockpit seating: (1) Folding Table (2014) seats 8 with vertical adjustment, Cockpit design facilitates 12 persons seating * Cockpit cushions: Custom Cushions on all cockpit seating surfaces(missing one) * BBQ type: Weber Q serie" (new 2020) * Deck shower: (1) Stern location.Operates off the main water system. Hot and cold running water * Saltwater hose: (1) Stern location Saltwater deck/anchor wash hose c/w (1) Pentair-Shureflow 4 GPM deck wash * Bimini: Custom Bimini - 2018)( * Traveler: Frederiksen ball bearing Stack pack with lazy jacks: Mack Pack Batten cars: Frederiksen - New ball bearings 2015 * Primary anchor: Rocna 33 kg (73 lbs) * Primary anchor chain and rode: 3/8 Hi tensile. 350 ft * Secondary anchor: Fortress 55 * Windlass: Lofrans-Tigress 1500, vertical mount * Trampoline: Custom, new 2021 * Bumpers: (2) 22 inch round bumper, (2) 15 inch round, (5) 11" dia by 30", (3) 11" dia by 38" * Davits: (1) Pair Custom Aluminum Dinghy Davits * Opening hatches: (13) GOIOT on deck level, (8) GOIOT on sides of Hull(2) GOIOT Emergency Hatches * UV window covers: Salon windows * Winch covers: 8 - New 2020 * Helm cover: 2 * Helm Station Cover: 2 * Swim platform: Both transoms serve as swim plaforms * 1 collapsible SS ladder * 3 Vikings GRP Propane tanks 10lbs * 2 large access hatches to the engines rooms Ti' Amā comes well equipped and ready for immediate offshore passage making and living aboard off-grid with a comprehensive mechanical and electrical inventory. MECHANICAL INVENTORY: * 115 liter freezer in cockpit Danvoss Compressor (new 2020) * 115 liter fridge/freezer in galley c/w Danfoss Compressor (new 2020) * 115 liter fridge in galley c/w Danfoss Compressor (new 2020) diesel heater * * 2 interior showers (hot and cold) Fuel: (2) 300 Litres (79 US Gallons) * Water: (2) 220 Litres (66 US Gallons) * Holdings: (1) Holding Tank Disclaimer * 1 deck shower (hot and cold) * Desolator 60-60L/Hr watermaker * Washing machine DAEWOO Mini (new 2020) ELECTRICS: Ti' Amā is wired to run with 12V, 120V and 220V outlets with a 60Amp charger for independence anywhere in the world - a huge advantage when world cruising. 12 Volt Ship System: * Solar panels: (3) Panasonic HIT340 (4) Sunpower 110 : Total 1460 W output * Shore power cord: (1) 50' cable assembly C/W Marinco 220V-50HZ 18A-30A, Scame 250V plugs (1) 50' Hubbell 220V-50HZ 18A-30A * Charger system: (1) Mastervolt ChargeMaster 12/100-3 2015 for Housebank (1)Maservolt ChargeMaster 12/35-3, 2018 Starter Batteries, (1) Galvanic Isolator-Mastervolt Mass Gi 3.5 * Alternator: (1) 120 amp for Starter batteries (new 2020), (1) 120 amp for House batteries (New 2020) * Electrical sockets: US and Euro, 12v sockets * Inverter: (1) Mastervolt Mass 12/2000 US , (1) Mastervolt Mass 12/2000 Euro * Battery monitor system: (1) Maretron DSM 250, (1) Mastervolt Power System Panel, MV C-O-SC 24V , (4) MPPT Victron BlueSolar 100/30 ( new 2020) * Lithium (3) LiFePO4 300 RELION (new 2019) : Total 900 Ah Ship batteries include 12x 2 volt lead acid traction battery bank (900 amp hours) installed in the keel stub, low and centered (new 2018) House Bank Charging via Main engine twin 200 amp alternators (400 total amps) 1 x 75 amp engine battery alternator 1 main engine start battery DC Electrical panel LED deck lights for navigation, Anchor light LED cabin lighting throughout 12v outlets USB charging outlets 12v refrigeration Deck wash Cockpit shower hose Three electric bilge pumps,one in each compartment Phone: Email: email@example.com Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 120v System: 2000 Watt pure sign wave inverter 2 outlets 220v shore power system: Pro-mariner 60 amp charger 220V fridge/freezer system Power cords: one 50 amp cable and one 30 amp cable AC breaker panel AC outlets -6 Washing Machine Adaptors for overseas connection to AC power: Special 230v 16amp/32amp adapters for overseas connections. This is a huge bonus if you are going to circumnavigate. ANCHORING: Tiama has a robust anchoring system. Her anchoring equipment inventory includes: * Primary anchor: Rocna 33 kg (73 lbs) * Primary anchor chain and rode: 3/8 Hi tensile. 350 ft * Secondary anchor: Fortress 55 * Windlass: Lofrans-Tigress 1500, vertical mount SAILING: Tiama has a full sail inventory including: SAILS + RIGGING * Mainsail: (1) 88sqm Full batten 4 reef 10.62 high aspect Dacron main with 8.62 ply leech. 2015 * Jib: (1)Genoa 50 sqm on furling system. 2015, (1) Staysail 28sqm. 2015 (Review 2021) * Symmetrical spinnaker:(1)120 sqm Spinnaker + Sleeve * Genoa furler: FACNOR roller * Screecher furler: FACNOR roller * Mast: (1) Carbon Sparcraft (US) Mast 68ft complete with Frederiksen ball bearing cars (Painted 2015), (1) Aluminum tapered boom (Painted 2015)New Spectra + Kevlar rigging (2015) * Bowsprit: Custom 5.5 foot sprit with adjustable track (Painted 2015) * Standing rigging: New Spectra + Kevlar rigging (2015), Top : Mixture of rod and Kevlar/dyneema, Rod replaced 2020 * New Martingale March 2022 * Running rigging: Dyneema Dyform 14mm New 2020 Disclaimer +614 20882296 Email: email@example.com Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 Tiama has a free-standing full carbon fibre Forspar, factory installed mast. She is the only Switch 51 with a corbon mast. The benefits of the Forspar carbon free standing mast are primarily its strength, lighter weight and longer service life. Carbon masts have double the life of traditional aluminium masts as they can withstand double the number of load cycles. As well, there is no requirement for a costly standing rigging refit every ten years. Nor are are there any corrosion worries or concerns about small rigging items breaking underway causing catastrophic mast failure. The tapered mast stands 75 feet from the waterline. The stainless steel forestay (1x19) was newly installed in 2018, as well as new Dyneema running rigging (in 2020). SAFETY: Ti' Amā comes equipped with several safety features and equipment including: * Life raft: (1) PLASTIMO Transocean ISO 9650-1 Offshore 6 person (new 2019) * Flares: 1 Flare Pistol, Various Parachute, day and night flares (new 2019) * Strobes: 6 * Life vests: 6 * MOB gear: (6) harness c/w tether lines, (1) SOS DANBUOY 33 * 1 Ditch bag: * EPIRB: 1 Global Fix IPRO 406 MHz * Electric bilge pumps: (4) 2000 gph, (2)in each hull and one in each engine room Safety access for fire extinguisher connection via engine room doors ACR Globalfix EPIRB (new 2018) * Iridium Go Satellite Communication Device with external antenna * First aid kit * Engine room automatic fire suppression * Fire extinguisher in each room TENDER: * Dinghy: 10.5' AB, Aluminum (2015) * Dinghy engine: Yamaha 15hp four stroke (2015) The boat is equipped with davits and is stored under the solar panels aft when not in use. BUILDING INFORMATION: Ti' Amā is an exceptionally well built offshore cruising yacht built by Sud Composite, France. +614 20882296 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Suite 302, Level 3, 304-318 Kingsway Caringbah NSW 2229 Both the deck and hull, above and below the waterline, consist of quadraxial and biaxial glass cloth set in vinylester resin, vacuum-bagged over a balsa core using TPI's proprietary SCRIMP resin-infusion process. Vinylester is vastly superior to polyester resin ( polyester is what most production boats on the market are built with) as vinylester has superior strength (25% stronger to polyester with equal weight) and superior elasticity (greater ability to stretch under load. Disclaimer: The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.
PG Pro Peripheral Microcatheter Instructions for Use Carefully read all instructions prior to use. DEVICE DESCRIPTION The PG Pro Microcatheter is a single lumen catheter designed to be introduced over a steerable guidewire to access small, tortuous vasculature. The semi-rigid proximal section transitions to a flexible distal tip to facilitate advancement through vessels. Dual radiopaque markers at the distal end facilitate fluoroscopic visualization. The outer surface of the Microcatheter is coated with a hydrophilic polymer to increase lubricity. A luer fitting on the Microcatheter hub is used for the attachment of accessories. \| Usable Length \| Nominal Distal Hydrophilic Coating Length \| Microcatheter ID \| y Microcatheter OD \| 5 Guide Catheter Minimum ID \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 140 cm 165 cm \| 60 cm 100 cm \| 0.69 mm / 0.027 in. \| r a 2.8 F / 2.8 F u 0.92 mm / 0.94 mm \| ≥ 0.038 in. / 0.97 mm Guidewire Compatible \| CONTENTS One PG Pro Microcatheter One Introducer Sheath INDICATIONS FOR USE The PG Pro Microcatheter is intended for the peripheral vasculature for the infusion of diagnostic and therapeutic agents. CONTRAINDICATIONS Effective January 5, 2021 There are no known contraindications. CAUTION Rx Only: Federal law (USA) restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician. Do not use if pouch is opened or damaged. This device is intended for single use only. Do not reuse, reprocess or resterilize. Reuse, reprocessing or resterilization may compromise the structural integrity of the device and/or lead to device failure which, in turn, may result in patient injury, illness, or death. Reuse, reprocessing, or resterilization may also create a risk of contamination of the device and/or cause patient infection or cross-infection, including, but not limited to, the transmission of infectious disease(s) from one patient to another. Contamination of the device may lead to injury, illness or death of the patient. After use, dispose in accordance with hospital, administrative and/or local government policy. WARNINGS The Microcatheter should only be used by physicians who have received appropriate training in interventional techniques. The Microcatheter is provided sterile and non-pyrogenic. Do not use if the packaging is breached or damaged. Inspect the Microcatheter prior to use. Do not use the device if any damage or irregularities are observed. The Microcatheter should be advanced or manipulated under fluoroscopic guidance. Do not advance or withdraw the device when excessive resistance is met until the cause of resistance is determined. Infusion pressure should not exceed 8274 kPa (1200 psi) to avoid potential rupture of the Microcatheter. The Introducer Sheath is not intended for use inside the patient body. Ensure that the Introducer Sheath is removed from the Microcatheter once the distal shaft of the Microcatheter is placed inside the patient body. PRECAUTIONS Verify Microcatheter compatibility when using other ancillary devices commonly used in intravascular procedures. Physician must be familiar with percutaneous, intravascular techniques and possible complications associated with the procedure. The Microcatheter has a distal hydrophilic coating segment that should be hydrated prior to use (see Preparation for Use). If removed from the patient, the hydrophilic coating on the Microcatheter should be hydrated with heparinized saline, but not left to soak for more than 2 hours. Do not allow the coating to dry. Exercise care in handling the Microcatheter to reduce the chance of accidental damage. Verify that the diameter of any guidewire or accessory device that is used is compatible with the inner diameter of the Microcatheter prior to use. Potential complications include, but are not limited to: vessel trauma, vasospasm, hematoma at the site of entry, embolism, hemorrhage, infection, vessel dissection, thrombus formation, and death. To reduce the risk of damage or separation of the device, avoid repeated bending at the same point of the Microcatheter. Take precaution when manipulating the Microcatheter in tortuous vasculature to avoid damage to the Microcatheter. Avoid advancing or withdrawal against resistance until the cause of resistance is determined. PREPARATION FOR USE Before removing the Microcatheter, fully hydrate the hydrophilic segment of the device by flushing heparinized saline through the dispenser tube using a syringe attached to the dispenser tube hub. To remove the Microcatheter from the dispenser tube, gently pull the hub out from the dispenser tube. Remove the Microcatheter by pulling it from the dispenser tube. If resistance is met, repeat the flushing procedure until the Microcatheter is well hydrated and can be easily removed from the dispenser tube. Inspect the Microcatheter thoroughly to ensure it is not damaged. Do not allow Microcatheter to dry prior to introduction into the guiding catheter. The Microcatheter is compatible with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Note: DMSO based liquid embolic agents are not approved for use in peripheral vasculature in the USA. DIRECTIONS FOR USE Prior to use, flush the Microcatheter lumen thoroughly with heparinized saline to prime the Microcatheter and provide smooth movement of the guidewire within the Microcatheter. A rotating hemostatic valve (RHV) may be attached to the Microcatheter hub and used to facilitate the flushing process. Carefully insert the distal section of the guidewire into the Microcatheter hub (refer to the guidewire instructions for use). A guidewire insertion tool may be used to facilitate insertion of the guidewire distal tip through an RHV and into the Microcatheter hub. Advance the guidewire until the distal tip is near the distal end of the Microcatheter. Gently tighten the RHV to maintain position. Slip the torque device over the proximal end of the guidewire to the desired location (refer to guidewire or torque device instructions for use). Secure the torque device in place by tightening the rotating knob. The torque device may be repositioned by loosening and retightening the rotating knob. A guiding catheter is placed into the appropriate vessel and the Microcatheter/guidewire assembly is then advanced through the guiding catheter to the target vessel or vascular lesion. Set up a continuous flush of heparinized saline by connecting RHVs with pressurized flush solution lines to the hub of the guiding catheter and Microcatheter. Loosen the guiding catheter RHV and introduce the Microcatheter/guidewire into the guiding catheter using the introducer sheath. Carefully advance the Microcatheter/guidewire to the guiding catheter distal tip. After the Microcatheter/guidewire reaches the tip of the guiding catheter, remove the introducer from the Microcatheter shaft by retracting the introducer from the RHV and peeling off the introducer. During navigation in the vasculature, advance the guidewire a short distance, then advance the Microcatheter over the guidewire and repeat until the desired site is reached. The proximal portion of the Microcatheter does not have the hydrophilic surface and may encounter resistance when this section is advanced through the RHV. Once the desired location has been reached, the guidewire is removed from the Microcatheter. The diagnostic or therapeutic agent(s) are then prepared for delivery through the Microcatheter. Warning: Do not exceed the maximum recommended infusion pressure of 1200 psi. Between uses, rinse the Microcatheter in a basin of heparinized saline and wipe it gently with sterile, wet gauze and place in a basin of heparinized saline or a flushed dispenser tube to keep the hydrophilic surface wet until use. Warning: Do not leave the Microcatheter soaked in saline for more than 2 hours. \| Microcatheter \| \| \|---\|---\| \| \| 900 psi \| \| PG Pro 140 cm PG Pro 165 cm \| 4.8 cc/sec 4.2 cc/sec \| * Contrast Media: Iohexol 300 mg/mL STORAGE Avoid exposure to water, sunlight, extreme temperatures and high humidity during storage. Store the Microcatheter under controlled room temperature. See the product label for the device shelf life. Do not use the device beyond the labeled shelf life. MATERIALS The Microcatheter does not contain latex or PVC materials. SYMBOLS Lot Number Catalog Number Contents Sterilized Using Ethylene Oxide CE Mark Do Not Reuse Caution Use-by Date Manufacturer Effective January 5, 2021 Authorized European Representative Non-pyrogenic Do not use if package is damaged For Prescription Use Only Maximum Injection Pressure Consult instructions for use Max Guidewire Outer Diameter Inner Diameter Date of Manufacture WARRANTY MicroVention, Inc. warrants that reasonable care has been used in the design and manufacture of this device. This warranty is in lieu of and excludes all other warranties not expressly set forth herein, whether expressed or implied by operation of law or otherwise, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness. Handling, storage, cleaning and sterilization of the device as well as factors relating to the patient, diagnosis, treatment, surgical procedure and other matters beyond MicroVention's control directly affect the device and the results obtained from its use. MicroVention's obligation under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement of this device and MicroVention shall not be liable for any incidental or consequential loss, damage or expense directly or indirectly arising from the use of this device. MicroVention neither assumes, nor authorizes any other person to assume for it, any other or additional liability or responsibility in connection with this device. MicroVention assumes no liability with respect to devices reused, reprocessed or resterilized and makes no warranties, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, merchantability or fitness for intended use, with respect to such device. Prices, specifications and model availability are subject to change without notice. All brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of TERUMO CORPORATION and their respective owners. © Copyright 2020 MicroVention, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufacturer: MicroVention, Inc. 1311 Valencia Avenue Tustin, CA 92780 USA Tel: (714) 247-8000 www.microvention.com Distributed in the USA by: Terumo Medical Corporation 265 Davidson Avenue, Suite 320 Somerset, NJ 08873 PH: 800.862.4143 Tel: +32 16 38 12 11 Tel: +33 (0)1 39 21 77 46 Fax: +33 (0)1 39 21 16 01
Cultural Taste, Literary-Scholarly Publishing, and James De Mille's Strange Manuscript A Project Submitted to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts In the Department of English University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Sarah Elizabeth Dorward PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis/dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis/dissertation in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis/dissertation work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis/dissertation or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis/dissertation. Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this thesis/dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of English Arts Building, 9 Campus Drive University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 Canada OR Dean College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies University of Saskatchewan 116 Thorvaldson Building, 110 Science Place Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5C9 Canada ABSTRACT This research tracks and questions the publication history of James De Mille's A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder from the New Canadian Library's 1969 edition, through to the two academic renditions of the novel, the Centre for Editing Early Canadian Text's edition, edited by Malcolm Parks, and the Broadview Press edition, edited by Daniel Burgoyne. This study builds on the elegantly conducted editorial and bibliographical work done by scholars including Reginald E. Watters, Malcolm Parks, Patricia Monk, and Daniel Burgoyne to contribute to a history of taste in Canadian literature studies and publishing between the 1960s and early-2000s. Through the use of a multidisciplinary and mixed-methods approach, primarily utilizing descriptive bibliography, personal interview, archival work, and book history, this research questions the motives of Canadian scholarly-literary and trade publishers, and questions the authenticity of new editions nineteenth-century Canadian texts, illustrated through the treatment of De Mille's novel, in the present, digital age. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Research for this project has involved several people, without whom my analysis would not be possible. For consistently locating and acquiring obscure documents and microfiches on my behalf, I would like to thank Racheal Lambie from Interlibrary Loans at the University of Saskatchewan's Murray Library. I also owe a grand thank you to Lloyd Keane, Archives and Rare Book Coordinator at Archives and Research Collections at Carleton University, for assisting me in the archival work regarding the CEECT edition of De Mille's text. Thank you to Daniel Burgoyne, editor of the Broadview edition, for providing me invaluable information on the most contemporary academic edition of the text. I am indebted to you all. Finally, I am most grateful for my supervisor, Professor David Parkinson, whose constant support has been instrumental in my success. Thank you for opening my eyes to the powerful nature of a bibliographical study, and for heartening me when imposter syndrome consumed the corners of my mind. Thank you to you all for helping bring this project into fruition. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Introductions, Glossaries, and Appendices in Broadview's Edition ABBREVIATIONS CC Canada Council for the Arts CEECT Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts NCL New Canadian Library OAC Ontario Arts Council SSHRCC Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada CULTURAL TASTE, LITERARY-SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING, AND JAMES DE MILLE'S STRANGE MANUSCRIPT The lengthy, complex history of the publication of James De Mille's richly historical and satirical novel A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder's is ultimately a prosperous place to examine the assembly of cultural studies in Canada. De Mille's Strange Manuscript was first published after his 1880 death as short, anonymous pieces in Harper's Weekly, a periodical published in New York City. With his widow's selling the text to the editorial staff at Harper's for a sum of $800, 1 the novel was serially published in 1888. Each section of the text, which was divided and published as per the prescribed chapters, was accompanied by an illustration by Gilbert Gaul that reflects a particularly interesting or striking part of each chapter—often monopolizing on the fantastic, scientific-romance imagery in the novel. Upon the completion of the text's serialization, many subsequent editions would follow throughout the late nineteenth century, beginning with its first full-novel form publication by Harper & Brothers in the same year. With frequent American, British, and Canadian editions being released into the early1900s, it is most evident that its romantic and satirical qualities gained the novel popularity amongst nineteenth-century readers. However, the Macmillan 1910 edition was the last to be published before the New Canadian Library's 1969 edition. This late twentieth-century resurgence of editions of De Mille's novel is the central focus of this paper. This project tracks and questions the publication history of Strange Manuscript from the NCL edition to the two scholarly renditions of the novel, the Centre for Editing Early Canadian Text's edition, edited by Malcolm Parks, and the Broadview Press edition, edited by Daniel Burgoyne. Attention to trends of literary publishing in Canada beginning since the 1960s, this study builds on the elegantly conducted editorial and bibliographical work done by scholars including Reginald E. Watters, Malcolm Parks, Patricia Monk, and Daniel Burgoyne to contribute to a history of cultural practice, and trends/evaluations in cultural practices in Canadian literature studies and publishing between the 1960s and early 2000s. This study relies on a multidisciplinary and mixed-methods approach, primarily utilizing descriptive bibliography, personal interview, archival work, and book history. Examining De Mille's novel through these lenses, historical background, trends in Canadian literary publishing, 1 Patricia Monk, The Gilded Beaver (Toronto: ECW Press, 1991): 231. and the advent of the study of Canadian literature in the Academy functions as the backbone to this work. Complementing these traditionally effective approaches to literary and historical studies, this analysis seeks to encounter and interact with curious sources—namely, websites, both personal and professional, as a means of providing editorial information and drawing attention to popular publishing trends and methods in the twenty-first-century. Ephemeral and popular material, which has been so heavily influenced and mediated by technology and digitized publications, cannot be discounted, as these sources provide first-hand witness to cultural and literary trends in Canada. How do scholars and publishers find a balance between emphasizing genre or historical analysis without potentially manipulating, or even misrepresenting, an early-Canadian text for a particular market, whether commercial or scholarly? Where does the main priority of readers and reproducers of Canadian literature fall: in creating high-minded editions, or trying to reach a wide readership for nationalistic or ephemeral purposes? Does the shift from nationalist literary publishing to mass-market trade and digital publications move smoothly? And, most importantly, what does the transition between traditional print culture and online reproduction say about the treatment of early Canadian texts—for instance, Strange Manuscript? These are the questions asked when the motivation behind and consequences of Canadian literary publishing and Canadian literature scholars are explored, and when the treatment of early-Canadian texts, exemplified through the capitalization of the historicity and unique genre of De Mille's novel, results in de-Canadianization and questions textual authenticity in the digital age. NATIONALISM AND THE NEW CANADIAN LIBRARY Strange Manuscript's transmission into the hands of both the public and to Canadian literature scholars and students is indebted to the 1969 New Canadian Library (NCL) publication. Launching on January 17, 1958, 2 the NCL was the first serial library of its kind in Canada. Functioning as a kind of national anthology, which would aid in "imagining a country, imagining a community, [and] imagining an identity," 3 the NCL would become responsible for establishing the foundations of the Anglo-Canadian canon and its literary culture, while simultaneously making efforts to increase the accessibility and transmission of Canadian literature, pre-twentieth texts most significantly, into the hands of Canadian scholars, students, and general readers. The NCL focused on nineteenth and early-twentieth century Canadian texts, written primarily by Anglo-Canadian authors (whether born in Canada, or those who settled from European countries including Germany, England, and Ireland), about Anglo-Canadian culture and history—most notably, texts that aid in or represent nation-building and the curation of Canadian history. The NCL, in essence, was a key proponent of Canadian literary canonization, and of perpetuating the both the study and leisurely read of Canadian texts. The NCL began with no external funding, given that the Canada Council (CC) was not created until 1957, past the initial years of the NCL's development, and that the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) did not come to offer substantial grants until the 1970s. 4 Studies of Canadian literature were only beginning to blossom in light of the World Wars and the introduction of American culture and literature in Canada. 5 However, although markets for literature and for education in Canada were still relatively meagre, Malcolm Ross, one of the library's founders, believed: [the] availability of books would create the market for them. The basis for Ross's belief was twofold. First, he had witnesses an increase in post-secondary teaching of American literature, itself a relative newcomer on the English university curriculum in Canada, with the availability of paperback editions. Second, his academic colleagues across the country 2 Janet B. Friskney, New Canadian Library: The Ross-McClelland Years, 1952-1978 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007): 3. 4 Friskney, New Canadian Library, 23. 3 Robert Lecker, "Nineteenth-Century English-Canadian Anthologies and the Making of a National Literature," Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes 44, no. 1 (2010): 92, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/391497. 5 Ibid., 11. included a small but highly committed coterie of scholars and critics who wished to make Canadian literature a central component of their research and teaching careers. 6 With this mindset, Malcolm Ross and partner Jack McClelland of McClelland & Stewart selected their published texts on the premise of expanding both familiarity with Canadian literature and the frequency of Canadian literary analysis of Canadian texts. As McClelland stated, '"We have always said that the reason that inexpensive editions of Canadian classics . . . are not available is that there is not a sufficient market for them. This experiment should answer that question. Another reason we are publishing them is that we feel they should be available for students and for people interested in Canadian writers.'" 7 Thus, the NCL's editorial team, alongside the pioneers of scholarly study of Canadian literature, began consciously and carefully selecting those texts they deemed significant enough to indoctrinate into their canonical serial library. For early Canadian texts, as reflected by De Mille's Strange Manuscript, being included in the NCL would be crucial in establishing their place in the Canadian canon, and would ultimately prompt the continued study and circulation of the texts into the twenty-first century. With that said, having a vision of publishing early Canadian texts does not necessarily correlate to the materialization of this task. The process of bringing the NCL's edition of A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder into fruition was anything shy of a simplistic task, even though Ross's hope was to "find a receptive audience among the Canadian reading public and an academic community willing to embrace it as part of a larger endeavour to establish firmly the teaching and research of Canadian literature within post-secondary institutions across Canada." 8 Reginald Eyre (R. E.) Watters, who would later write the text's foreword, proposed De Mille's text for publication in 1960, and by 1962 Ross had approved the text to be published. While Ross was strongly in support of transmitting De Mille's text on a grand scale, many people involved in the publishing company, including business partner Jack McClelland, were not keen on the derivative and fantastical text, and as a result the text's publication was frequently stalled. As Robert Lecker claims, the contents included in anthologies are scrutinized and challenged for their canonicity, because "editors have to wrestle with questions about how the 6 Ibid., 4. 8 7 Ibid., 4. Ibid., 3. nation is mirrored in its literature and about the extent to which its existing literary canons (when such canons exist) should be repudiated or reproduced." 9 Because of the fantastic and satirical quality of De Mille's text, which calls into question the idea of utopia, typical gender roles, and flips the typical travel narrative on its head, the work received harsh criticism from editorial staff for not fitting within the Anglo-Canadian canon that they aimed to perpetuate. Rather than closely recounting the settlement of Canada, and without dealing with Canadian history and culture in its narrative, Strange Manuscript criticizes Victorian-Canadian culture through a playful, utopian lens. Thus, members of the NCL who aimed to maintain the national imagination and identity that the serial library typically produced scrutinized De Mille's text. Being called '"an irritating mixture of fact and fantasy'" by Diane Mew, who concluded her review by saying the work was '"stodgy and old-fashioned, but without any period flavour'" and that '"the book is not Canadian content and would not seem to be up to the literary standards we are trying to maintain in the NCLs,'" 10 De Mille's text is concretely outside the usual frame of the NCL. With Strange Manuscript being compared to successful works by writers such as Ryder Haggard and Edgar Allen Poe, because of its lack of easily discernable Canadian content 11 , and because of its Anglo-Canadian canonical deviance, De Mille's supposedly redundant, low-brow, and non-literary text was not again suggested for publication until 1966, and it took until the spring of 1968 for McClelland to approve it, finally being released as the serial's 68 th publication in 1969. Although to some extent the NCL editions were intended to bring seminal Canadian texts into common literary discourse amongst widespread readers in Canada, its notable success was in making Canadian literature accessible and credible in academic contexts. Producing editions of previously published texts accompanied by forewords written by pioneers of Canadian literature scholarship allowed the texts being generated, particularly nineteenth-century publications, to be situated and analyzed within the literary, cultural, and historical contexts in which the text was written. Not only does this provide both literature scholars and the general public with background information to take into consideration during their reading, it also birthed the study of Canadian literary analysis. The NCL introduction embodies a shift in the 9 Lecker, "Nineteenth-Century English-Canadian," 92. 11 The text centres on British characters and is heavily concerned with artic exploration, with most of the narrative taking place in an imaginary setting. 10 Friskney, New Canadian Library,105. treatment of Canadian literature, as early Canadian texts are given due acknowledgement of their literary historical value, and the criticism of Canadian texts becomes productive and fruitful. In the case of Strange Manuscript, R. E. Watters, the individual who strongly pushed for the NCL publication of Strange Manuscript, wrote the introduction. He was a scholar in Canadian literature, having attended the University of Toronto for his BA and MA, and Wisconsin for his PhD. He is well known for his Check List of Canadian Literature and Background Materials 1628-1950 (1972), a comprehensive list of the works, primarily books, which make up Canadian literature written in English. In his introduction to this edition of Strange Manuscript, Watters begins by praising the text for its mix of genre and replication style of previous well-known satirical/scientific romance writers. He also uses this opportunity to provide a brief analysis of the Kosekin tribe, and of the four yachtsmen, so that readers enter the text with a critical eye. The foreword to the NCL's edition of Strange Manuscript not only provides historical context that justifies the text's romantic nature, but also takes this text, which the NCL itself deems canonical, and undercuts the pedestal of canonicity by encouraging all readers, particularly those in academic circles, to approach this fantastical narrative in a critical way. Although McClelland was once opposed to Strange Manuscript's printing, he ultimately recognized the importance of expanding the readership of early Canadian texts, concluding that he was glad that the work would appear in the NCL collection, but not without stating, '"[He was not] confident that it's going to make everyone wealthy, but it is a useful book and should be in print."' 12 His prediction was not wrong. Despite the years of effort put into publishing Strange Manuscript, it was quite far from being an NCL bestseller. The only years in which more than 1000 copies of the text sold between its 1969 release and 1979 were 1972-1976, with a total of 11,349 copies sold by the edition's 10-year anniversary. 13 The derivative plot and style/genre of the De Mille's book may have hindered its ability to reach a mass-readership, alongside the fact that De Mille's other publications were primarily young adult serials, thereby downplaying the author's creative and critical literary skills. However, despite the text's relatively low sales rate, Ross deemed the publication successful, given that this edition of Strange Manuscript, as well as other nineteenth-century texts, resulting in '"much more specialized [university] courses [were] 12 Ibid.,107. 13 Ibid., 199. being introduced."' 14 The NCL's efforts to make De Mille's text more accessible in the academy proved instrumental in prompting later publications, as well as in keeping the text as part of the Canadian canon. As per all NCL texts, the edition was produced with minimal cost as to ensure the text was affordable, thus increasingly the likelihood that the edition would be purchased in large quantities for classrooms. Although there were relatively minor consequences for the 255 page mass-market production of De Mille's text as a result of its Anglo-Canadian and heavily nationalistic marketing, such as Gilbert Gaul's illustrations being cut for the purposes of keeping costs low, the pros ultimately outweigh the cons, given that the text was circulated effectively in Canadian school systems and amongst Canadian readers generally. Moreover, through recirculating De Mille's text and solidifying its presence in the study of Canadian literature, the NCL edition of Strange Manuscript inherently inspired and facilitated a series of subsequent editions published. Moreover, with the turn of the century approaching, subsequent editions, namely Malcolm Parks's 1986 edition, the 2001 Bakka Books (Insomniac Press) edition, and the 2011 Broadview edition, pay respects to the groundwork that the NCL put in in terms of solidifying a Canadian literary canon that would warrant later academic editions to be circulated in post-secondary classrooms. These editions, with the inclusion of emerging critical perspectives such as gender studies, post-colonial studies, and bibliographical analysis, then signalled a shift in the treatment of Canadian literature, where early Canadian texts, such as De Mille's, would be viewed through a literary lens as opposed to a historical one. Through including Strange Manuscript in their series, the NCL established De Mille within the Canadian canon, "consolidat[ing his] status within Canadian literary history," 15 and firmly established the importance of calling upon the origins of Canadian literature to speak to Canadian history and the development of Canadian nationalism. 14 Ibid., 81. 15 Ibid.,182. CANLIT AND ACADEMIA: THE CEECT In thanks to the NCL's efforts in the 1960s to improve the accessibility of early Canadian (pre-1900s) texts, there were a few considerable undertakings done to maintain the rather public transmission of these works, including the inclusion of early prose texts in anthologies such as The Evolution of Canadian Literature in English: Beginnings to 1967, and the transferring of these texts from paper form into microfiche that was prepared by the Canadian Institute for Historical Micro-reproductions (CHIM). 16 In this regard, the NCL's objective to encourage the dissemination and publication of Canadian texts was successful, given that both physical and microfiche copies of this text carried into the twenty-first century. However, where the NCL editions of early Canadian works fell short, despite the notable and instrumental roles they had in bringing Canadian literature into classroom settings, was in prompting scholarship surrounding these texts. Although the critical lens for Canadian literature that was established by the earliest Can-Lit scholars of the NCL was useful, there were no scholarly editions of nineteenth-century text being produced. This was the gap that Professor Mary Jane Edwards and the editorial team of the Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts (CEECT) at Carleton University on Ottawa filled. The CEECT would, as explained in their 1980 SSHRCC Application for a Negotiated Grant for a Major Editorial Project, create scholarly editions of several pre-twentieth-century Canadian texts: By 'scholarly edition,' we mean an edition of a work which has two main characteristics. It has, first, a 'critical text.' That is, it has a text established by its editor after he has taken several steps. To begin with, he researches the history of the composition and publication of the work he is editing. Next, using this material and all the biographical, critical, and historical material about the author and his works available to him, he chooses the copy text . . . which most nearly reflects the author's intentions. After that, he collates the copy text with one copy of each of the other versions of the work which he deems to have some authority. Finally . . . he emends the cop text by incorporating into its variants from the other versions. 17 16 Edwards, Mary Jane. "The Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts (CEECT) and Cyberspace," in Cyberidentities: Canadian and European Presence in Cyberspace, ed. Leen d'Haenens. (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1999), 156. 17 Application by Carleton University to SSHRCC for Negotiated Grant for Major Editorial Project. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts, CEECT-036 1995-17, 16-17. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With the project beginning in 1979, and with an intended run time of 12 or more years 18 , the texts chosen, primarily being fictional 19 , were ones where In the literature which emerged in [this] period, all the political and economic developments, and the cultural and intellectual evolution that went with them, were caught and fixed. This literature, therefore, has significance not only for the scholar of literature, but also for the historian, the political scientist, the cultural geographer, the anthropologist, and other students of Canadian values, institutions, and society. 20 The case made for the significance of studying early Canadian texts, especially in consideration of the scholarship emerging from Canadian scholars about American literature and the desire to promote the teaching and research of Canadian history, culture, and nationalism, landed successfully, and the project received SSHRCC funding on June 26, 1981 for a total of $455, 997 between 1981-1986. 21 Upon receiving funding, the CEECT staff began to pursue the researching of their proposed texts, and finding editors for their editions whose experience with and appreciation for early Canadian texts would ensure that the work done was productive and critical. Alongside the editions of Frances Brooke's The History of Emily Montague and Catharine Parr Traill's Canadian Crusoes that were released in the early 1980s, the CEECT's third publication, an edition of James De Mille's A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, was well under way. Malcolm Parks, a professor of English Literature at Dalhousie University, who had previously published an article in Canadian Literature #70 (1976) about De Mille's text, and who believed that the publishing of academic editions of early Canadian texts was "richly 18 Application by Carleton University to SSHRCC for Negotiated Grant for Major Editorial Project. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts, CEECT-036 1995-17, 1. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 19 Application by Carleton University to SSHRCC for Negotiated Grant for Major Editorial Project. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts, CEECT-036 1995-17, 5. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They also produced scholarly editions of autobiographical texts such as Susanna Moodie's Roughing it in the Bush and Catharine Parr Traill's The Backwoods of Canada, given that they hold significant literary-historical value, and are considered to be among the earliest publications of Canadian literature, or, literature that is written both in and about Canada. 21 SSHRCC Annual Report 1982-86; Negotiated Grant No. 432-80-0001, June 26, 1981. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts, CEECT-09 2006-26. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 20 Application by Carleton University to SSHRCC for Negotiated Grant for Major Editorial Project. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts, CEECT-036 1995-17, 8. deserved," 22 was selected to be the text's editor. He promptly began performing editorial tasks, including the preparation of the crucial introductory and prefacing notes, explanatory notes, and developing an overall image for the presentation of the text itself as to ensure that the edition, although scholarly, reflects the manuscript (being the 1888 Harper's serialization in lieu of an original manuscript) accurately and intentionally. As such, he was keen to include a photo of De Mille within the text, to use a high-resolution copy of Gilbert Gaul's illustration on page 236 of the first novelized edition as the cover for the CEECT's publication, and to use the first page of the serialization for the title page of the scholarly edition. 23 Parks's approach to publishing the edition in an authoritative and authentic way is indicative of a shift in the treatment of early Canadian texts, as the literature of this period becomes separated from nation formation. The text, formatted with a larger font and margins than the NCL edition, did not diminish the appearance of the text in an effort to push for accessibility in post-secondary settings. Gaul's illustration, surrounded by a solid orange background (matching the colour-block backgrounds of previous and later editions) draws direct attention to the creative and playful nature of the text. Moreover, Parks and the CEECT editorial team truly qualified their academic edition through developing and including an extensive foreword, an editor's preface and introduction, using illustration of the first page of the text's first serial appearance, explanatory notes (271-304), including a description of the novel's serialization/first appearance in Harper's Weekly (305312), providing a list of other publications/editions of the text (313-318), emendations in the copy-text (319-322), and listing line-end hyphenated compounds in both the copy-text (323-324) and the CEECT edition (325-326). 24 The inclusion of these kinds of notes speaks not only to the painstaking but detailed copyediting and collation work of the project, but also to the progressive nature of the enterprise. Including discussions of De Mille's text in terms of its bibliography, its embodiment of late-nineteenth-century literary practice, and in terms of its representation of the period's scientific thought as opposed to its canonicity or its relation to the physical, cultural, and 22 Letter from Malcolm Parks to Mary Jane Edwards on Feb 4, 1980. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts, CEECT-05 2006-26. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 24 James De Mille, A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, ed. Malcolm Parks (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1986). 23 Letter from Malcolm Parks to Mary Jane Edwards on May 16, 1985. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts, CEECT-05 2006-26. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. ecological settlement/invasion of Canada, Parks and the CEECT editorial team effectively not only brought Strange Manuscript into thorough academic discourse, but ultimately into academic discourse at the turn of the century, which saw the implementation of interdisciplinary approaches to both literature and historically-significant literary texts. Through this canonical deviance, the CEECT's edition of De Mille's text thus became an indicator of Canadian literary development, and its status as a historical document or small piece of the Canadian nationalism puzzle, which had been its past-prescribed cultural role, was removed. Thus, the CEECT's edition of Strange Manuscript was ultimately able to establish the text as something worth talking about in academic contexts. Not only could and would De Mille's text be analyzed in the light of colonial history, fantasy writing, gender studies, and satirical travel narratives, but it would be studied "in particular in the tradition of utopian fiction was attracted most of the critical attention, but some consideration has been given to the question of De Mille's literary influences, and to the problem of structure in the novel." 25 The CEECT edition of Strange Manuscript steps away from the imagining of a collective Anglo-Canadian country, community, and national identity 26 that previous anthologies and collections such as the NCL so highly valued, and instead aims to bring about sprightly scholarship that takes genre, gender, biography, and other up and coming theoretical lenses into consideration. The perpetuation of scholarship on Strange Manuscript, particularly in the late-twentieth and twentyfirst centuries, is thus indebted to the work done by Parks and the editors of the Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts. Without the introduction of a truly scholarly edition, which was also financially accessible for classrooms in its paperback form, selling at $9.95 27 , future scholarly editions that were created for classroom use, namely the 2011 Broadview edition, would not exist without the introduction of the NCL and the work of the CEECT. Moreover, for better or for worse, by distancing De Mille's text from its association with nation-building and instead examining its unique genre and scientifically accurate qualities, later mass-market publications by genre-specific publishing houses, such as the 2001 Bakka Books edition, would also be lacking. The CEECT's development of a scholarly edition of Strange Manuscript is 25 Monk, Patricia, The Gilded Beaver (Toronto: ECW Press, 1991): 235. 27 "Canadian Classic, Definitively," The Ottawa Citizen, February 14, 1987. Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts CEECT-05 2006-26 Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 26 Lecker, "Nineteenth-Century English-Canadian," 92. indicative of a shift away from treating early Canadian texts in purely literary-historical or outright historical way, and instead prompted the literary analysis of nineteenth-century Canadian literature. EXPANSIVE AND EXTENSIVE: THE BROADVIEW EDITION Following the CEECT 1986 edition of Strange Manuscript, 28 there was once again a notable pause before another scholarly edition of De Mille's text was undertaken. The scholarly work done by Malcolm Parks and the CEECT editorial team had been used a sufficient and stable analysis by Canadian literature scholars for many years. While the CEECT's establishment of and commentary on De Mille's text prompted a blossoming of a critical approach to Strange Manuscript, further editorial work unsurprisingly lagged behind. It was not until Daniel Burgoyne, an Edgar Allen Poe specialist with an interest in literary hoaxes and scientific romances 29 , proposed to Broadview in 2007 that they release an academic edition of the text, which consists of appendices and critical content that will be highlighted later in this section. 30 By this point, making the case for Strange Manuscript called for justification of its relevance to colonial, gender, and genre studies: [Strange Manuscript] doesn't really fit within the typical canonical constructions for the period, in part because De Mille was publishing popular American fiction via Harpers. While one can't separate out the construction of the Canadian literary canon from attention to this book, my own sense is that its critical prominence has more to do with rise (and awareness of) postmodern and postcolonial theory in the last few decades of the twentieth century. There is some attention to its status as Canadian, but more to the postcolonial and especially postmodernist aspects. 31 No longer was Strange Manuscript purely a product and representation of Canadian nationalism or Canadian nation-building, and Daniel Burgoyne was determined to highlight as much in his 2011 Broadview edition, indicating a change in literary studies, where national origin of a text is no longer central, but instead the text is analyzed for its innovative or problematic literary and sociological qualities. 28 McGill-Queens University Press did a reprint of the CEECT edition in 2000, but a new scholarly edition had not been published until the Broadview edition in 2011. 30 Broadview Press is a Canadian publisher who creates financially affordable editions of texts that are intended for student use. Broadview editions aim to strike a balance between affordable editions while also offering extensive analysis through appendices and historical contextualization. See pages 18-20 for detail on the sorts of measures taken by Burgoyne to produce an authoritative and historically accurate edition of Strange Manuscript. 29 "Daniel Burgoyne," Department of English Vancouver Island University, accessed March 20, 2019, https://english.viu.ca/daniel-burgoyne. 31 Daniel Burgoyne, e-mail message to author, October 5, 2017. It was when teaching a "Scientific Romance" (in other words, Nineteenth-Century Science Fiction) course that Burgoyne learned of De Mille's text. A student approached him and asked if she could write on Strange Manuscript in her final paper for the course, using the CEECT edition (given that it was the most recent and most scholarly edition of the text) as an initial point of scholarly reference. It was after this introduction to Strange Manuscript that Burgoyne began including it in later "Scientific Romance" courses, which then prompted his research into the novel, and the eventual proposal to Broadview. 32 Believing the text warranted further study by scholars in the areas of Canadian literature, nineteenth-century studies, the history of science fiction and the scientific romance, and post-colonial studies, 33 Burgoyne proposed his edition to Broadview as a comprehensive and thorough presentation of De Mille's text that takes into consideration both the accelerated new scholarship surrounding the novel, and the literary and sociological disciplinary developments that surfaced with the turn of the century. In his proposal for the edition to the editorial staff of Broadview Press, Burgoyne wrote, A Strange Manuscript is a novel that came into attention in the latter part of the 20 th century due to certain critical and scholarly dispositions. These initially involved an interest in Canadian writers, but since the 1980's this interest has shifted, growing in intensity with the emergence of postcolonial approaches to literature and growing interconnectivity between traditionally isolated nationalist literatures and artificially regimented literary periods. The growing interest in the novel is illustrated by the fact that over 75% of the articles written on it have been published in the last 15 years. 34 Understated in the published edition but explicit in the proposal, Burgoyne's establishment of the text of Strange Manuscript depends on a quite exhaustive study of previous editions. Not only does this function as a means of tracking the growth of scholarship surrounding the text that Burgoyne deems key to modern interpretation of De Mille's novel, but also it also simultaneously speaks to the shift in treatment of early Canadian texts that the CEECT both embodied and, to some degree, initiated. Burgoyne's awareness of editions not only ensures that the research he conducts in his appendices is productive rather than extractive, but provides future De Mille scholars with a relatively comprehensive list of editions of Strange Manuscript, pre-twenty-first-century ones most notably, thereby keeping the, arguably, only Canadian- 32 Daniel Burgoyne, e-mail message to author, October 5, 2017. 34 Ibid. 33 Daniel Burgoyne, "A proposal for a Broadview Press Edition of James De Mille's A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder" (unpublished manuscript, October 11, 2007), Microsoft Word file. oriented context in the edition. Although the Broadview edition of Strange Manuscript is aware of the text's earliest publications, the fact that its Canadian origin is hardly touched on, even in the appendices, is indicative of Broadview's, and perhaps Canadian publishers generally, interest in consciously partaking in the international academic publishing market. Burgoyne's work extended to a fine level of magnification, to take account of multiple reprints of the text by a single publisher in a single year. Burgoyne categorizes editions by geographic region: editions published in the United States (the 1888, 1889, and 1900 editions by Harper & Brothers, as well as Arno Press's 1975 reprint of Harpers' 1888 imprint); editions published in England (by Chatto & Windus, whose first edition appeared in 1888, the second in 1888, the third and fourth in 1888, the fifth "new edition" in 1894, and the sixth and final edition, also called "new edition," in 1900); and Canadian editions (the Robinson 18—? edition, the "Second Canadian Edition" by Spottiswoode & Co. in 1910, the 1910 edition published by Macmillan, and the NCL in 1969, the 1986 CEECT edition, and McGill-Queens University Press reprint in 2000). 35 As it does in the present discussion, the publication history that Burgoyne traces can be seen to mirror the transitions that early Canadian texts have undergone over the last century or so: first, functioning as products of colonization, or more clearly, as trophies or celebrations of the cultural values of the motherland; second, as instances of nationalism, used to advance Canadian literary culture and history; third, as artifacts to be challenged and explored by Canadian literature scholars. Informed by this shift in the study of early Canadian literature 36 , Burgoyne's edition is ultimately concerned with "framing the novel with contextualizing, scholarly information." 37 It features an extensive look at the Strange Manuscript's publication history, as well as chronology of De Mille's life, while simultaneously working to bring De Mille's text into modern-day literary and historical discourse. While the NCL had integrated De Mille's text into the AngloCanadian canon, and CEECT had drawn attention to issues of collation, and incorporated Strange Manuscript into early Canadian literary and textual studies, Burgoyne found scope for 35 Burgoyne, "A proposal for a Broadview Press Edition." 36 Broadview's philosophy is grounded in proving academic and political perspectives to a range of texts, with a focus on Canadian literature. As they state in the "About Us" section of their website, "[their] individual titles often appeal to a broad readership; [they] publish many titles that are as much of interest to the general reader are they are to academics and students" (https://broadviewpress.com/contact-us/about-us/?ph=052216213796b53102946d02). 37 Ibid., 6. new contributions to exegesis: in his proposal, he noted that the CEECT notes are "full of interesting information, but . . . don't facilitate interpretive exploration of the novel," 38 given that the scholarly work done by the CEECT editorial staff centres on collation and historical context rather than extensive literary analysis. While Burgoyne aimed for an authentic representation of De Mille's text, he was motivated especially by the goal to be accessible to and helpful for university students particularly. Not only does the edition cost $22.95, 39 which compares most fairly to the cost of other editions of the text, but also it provides ample historical context, regarding literary movements, science, and sociological perspectives, which are crucial for studying the text accurately and critically in the twenty-first century, in light of the emergence of critical literary, historical, and cultural theory and social movements. 40 This 2011 edition of Strange Manuscript conforms to Broadview's standard format, a trade paperback, with text printed on high-quality, ESC certified, and 100% recycled paper, 41 and with a cover featuring a black-and-white photograph that reflects the sombre, brooding atmosphere of the novel and perhaps hints at the accompanying commentary. Burgoyne selected a photograph taken by his father on Papa Stour, in the Orkneys. Alluding to the subterranean setting for much of the novel's action, the image is apposite. Perhaps the exact location has special significance: the Orkneys played an important role in Canadian colonization as the place of origin for a significant proportion of the Hudson's Bay Company's employees. Given De Mille's own colonial origins, Burgoyne selected the image of a cave on Papa Stour because it "intersects and thematizes British colonist discourse" while also anticipating the novels' scientific associations. 42 Although the cover of the edition aligns with standard Broadview practice of alluding to the historical contextualization provided within, Burgoyne pays homage to the original Harper's edition by recreating, in black and white, on the page opposite to the halftitle page of his edition, the embossed silver swirly wave-like image that Harper's used as the 38 Ibid., 6. 40 Burgoyne, "A proposal for a Broadview Press Edition." 39 "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder," Broadview Press, accessed March 1, 2019, https://broadviewpress.com/product/a-strange-manuscript-found-in-a-coppercylinder/?ph=052216213796b53102946d02#tab-description. 41 "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder," Broadview Press, accessed March 1, 2019, https://broadviewpress.com/product/a-strange-manuscript-found-in-a-copper- cylinder/?ph=052216213796b53102946d02#tab-description. 42 Daniel Burgoyne, e-mail message to author, October 5, 2017. cover of their first edition. In this sense, Burgoyne has prioritized representing the text authentically by referring to the history and presentation of the earliest editions of Strange Manuscript, those witnesses to which his edition of the text is especially indebted. What especially distinguishes Burgoyne's edition is that it accurately presents the sections as given sequentially in the original serialization. In his proposal for the edition to Broadview's editorial staff, editor Daniel Burgoyne stated, "I propose to prepare a Broadview Edition based on the original Harper's Weekly series. In the absence of a surviving manuscript, the series is considered to be the most accurate text, with subsequent book publications having derived from it." 43 Therefore, the Broadview edition follows the chapter numbers (31 chapters), but it interrupts chapters, creating two separate entries (often divided by an illustration), just as many of the chapters were presented in the serialization. For example, Chapter 2 is divided into two separate sections, with "[TO BE CONTINUED]" listed at the end of the first half. 44 Only in a few instances are the images moved to ensure they correspond to the appropriate point in the narrative: thus illustration 19 is relocated after the final pages of the novel. Moreover, each section is also accompanied by a date which corresponds to the date in which the section was originally published in Harper's Weekly. By representing the text in this way, Burgoyne has uniquely emphasized the publication history. Moreover, by reuniting the text with Gilbert Gaul's original illustrations, Burgoyne restores the pictorial element integral to the serial. Editor and publisher evidently deemed this restoration sufficiently important to warrant the cost. They did not discount these illustrations simply because they were the work of an American illustrator and appeared in an American serial magazine. The result is a representation of the text accurately, as something other than exclusively a Canadian production. Instead, the inclusion of these illustrations sets the stage for the analyses that appear in the appendices (especially in Appendix B, "Nineteenth-Century Geography and Paleontology"). Burgoyne and Broadview's decision about the representation of the structural units of Strange Manuscript provides the edition's readers with a comprehensive and accurate depiction of what it means to read De Mille's text in its entirety. 43 Burgoyne, "A proposal for a Broadview Press Edition." 44 James De Mille, A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, ed. Daniel Burgoyne (Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2011), 58-59. Building on this representation of the text's creative components (including its illustrations), the academic content of the edition is also organized in such a way that it is accessible and stimulating for any reader—whether a specialist researcher, a post-secondary student, or a general reader with a taste for scientific romance or Victorian satire. In his proposal for the edition, Burgoyne outlined his plan for the organization of the edition as such: The introduction, notes, and especially the appendices of the proposed Broadview Edition will dramatically tap into recent scholarship to bring De Mille's genre innovations, and his participation in and subversion of dominant cultural practices such as Orientalist and colonialist discourse; they will make the novel easier to appreciate for the contemporary reader. 45 With the appendices as printed closely matching the proposal, Burgoyne's edition of Strange Manuscript offers extensive commentary on and history of the literary, cultural, and scientific practices of the time in which De Mille was writing. Thus the editor takes into consideration a growing interest among twenty-first-century scholars in undertaking an interdisciplinary and theoretical study. The critical contents of the edition are organized as follows: Table 1.1: Introductions, Glossaries, and Appendices in Broadview's Edition 46 45 Burgoyne, "A proposal for a Broadview Press Edition." 46 James De Mille, A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, ed. Daniel Burgoyne (Toronto: Broadview Press, 2011). The richly informative Appendices point to a transition away from reading early Canadian texts as indicators or embodiments of Canadian nationalism. Instead, the appendices direct attention towards reading these texts as politically and historically charged pieces of nineteenthcentury literature. It must be noted that while a chronology of De Mille's life is offered, which links him rather directly to colonialism in Canada, there is no appendix or introduction that is focused on the text's place in the Canadian canon, its publication history within Canada exclusively, or even offering a commentary on the narrative's satirical approach to VictorianCanadian ideologies and cultural practices. Unlike previous editions of the text, which were intended to introduce and promote the reading of Canadian literature in public and scholarly settings, to promote Canadian nationalism and history, or to develop literary scholarship in Canada about Canadian texts, Burgoyne's edition reflects the integration of colonialism/post-coloniality, Orientalism, gender studies, and science fiction into the academy. It continues to reflect and encourage the continuously growing important to study early Canadian literature, while simultaneously interesting with popular (and somewhat fantastic) fiction of the period, which is relatable to both British and American publications during the nineteenth-century. Although one may see the understated disassociation of Strange Manuscript with Canada as a shortcoming of Burgoyne's edition, it can also be read as the opposite, as indicative of no longer needing to cling to these early Canadian texts as markers of both past and present "Canadianness" or a collective national literary identity that is derivative and static. Instead, the Broadview edition appreciates early Canadian texts, and Strange Manuscript particularly, on the basis of the genre innovation, social commentary, and scientific creativity that Canadian writers, even in the infancy of Canadian literature, sought and achieved in their works. It would seem that, through the kinds of analysis and appendices that Burgoyne developed in his edition of Strange Manuscript, and supported by the influx in scholarship on the novel, that this is not only the perspective of Broadview's editorial team, or of Burgoyne himself, but of Canadian literature scholars collectively after the turn of the century. BAKKA BOOKS AND EPHEMERALITY Given that the turn of the century signalled a distancing from nationalistic literary tendencies and towards genre-based and interdisciplinary analysis in academic discourse, it is not surprising that mass-market or non-academic publishers who located themselves within newly popularized literary niches began to emerge. This, to some extent, boded well for De Mille's novel, as its fantastic and satirical qualities, which were once used as motivators to not publish the book (as was the case for the NCL edition), became spotlighted and were in some cases the reason that the text was republished prior to Burgoyne's comprehensive Broadview edition. It was mass-market Canadian Speculative Fiction publisher Bakka Books, an imprint of Insomniac Press and recipient of OAC and CC funding, whose 2001 edition of Strange Manuscript aimed to make De Mille's text available to a large, Science Fiction reading audience, for a lower price. Labeling Strange Manuscript as Canada's first Science Fiction text, this edition's purpose was not to discuss the text in its relation to Canadian history and literary culture, nor to address the text in a critical capacity. Instead, this edition was directed towards two things specifically: accessibility and marketability in light of the popularization of Science/Speculative Fiction in both the academy and within the general reader domain. These objectives are most apparent when examining the text purely in terms of its presentation, specifically Science Fiction-marketed cover, and in terms of content, namely the introduction/foreword to the edition, and the lack of apparent critical analysis or copyediting. On a very surface level, the cover Bakka Books edition of Strange Manuscript appears to be aiming simply for mass accessibility over authentic and polished presentation. Its cover draws upon the cover of the Chatto and Windus 1900 publication, but modifies it by giving it a highly pixelated, brightly coloured twist—something more comparable to a Science Fiction serial magazine such as Amazing Stories than previous editions of the text, including Canadian, British, and American publications. More importantly than literally reading the book based on, or through the lens of, its cover, this edition of text is not examined in a critical way whatsoever, unlike the other major editions previously discussed. Even in its attempt to provide critical context to the narrative, which would theoretically provide the opportunity for Bakka to justify their edition as a culturally responsible activity through establishing their credentials in presenting De Mille's text as the start of Canadian Science Fiction, they have the introduction/foreword to the text written by science fiction hack writer, Ed Greenwood, 47 and instead offer no critical commentary on the text's publication history, on its author, or on why specifically this text signifies the birth of Canadian Science Fiction, 48 yet the text's description on the back cover dictates it to be Canada's first Science Fiction novel 49 . While it would seem that Bakka intends to continue to strongly Canadianize the text (baring in mind that this edition was released a bit over a decade past the CEECT edition, and just one year after the McGill-Queen's reprint in 2000), they make no efforts in the introductions to edition to inform their choice to do so. Moreover, there appears to be no significant copyediting done to offer explanatory notes or comments, 50 suggesting that the motivation behind producing this text was sheer, raving opportunism. While this could be read as a sincere form of flattery, it seems more likely that O'Connor and the mysterious copyediting team of Bakka Books saw the expanding concept of literary culture in Canada, which was now inclusive of their niche Speculative Fiction press, as a market in which they could partake and potentially excel. With their edition selling for $20.00, 51 a very slight contrast from the thorough and informed Broadview edition that would release 10 years later (which costs $22.95), 52 the objective to produce a cost-effective edition was successfully done by Bakka, given the lack of 47 "Ed Greenwood," Macmillan Publishers, accessed March 16, 2019, https://us.macmillan.com/author/edgreenwood/. 49 James De Mille, A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (Toronto: Bakka Books, 2001). 48 In an email exchange on July 3, 2018 with Mike O'Connor, the editor of Insomniac Press, he offer his sole explanation for the choice to publish Strange Manuscript was that "Bakka Books felt it was an important text in Canadian speculative fiction history and was not widely available in print form," which this project has proven to be untrue. He also claimed that the text was "marketed as speculative fiction because that is the market Bakka Books knew and we felt it had a better chance in the marketplace under that category," which still does not explain why the publisher chose a nineteenth-century Canadian text to include in their lineup. 50 In this same email exchange, O'Connor stated both that "the editor who was primarily responsible [for this publication] is no longer with Insomniac," and that Stephanie Tombari, who is listed as copyeditor on the publication information page of their edition, is "unfamiliar to him." This implies that little to no editorial work was put into the text, and that the edition closely follows, as O'Connor states, "an original manuscript." Of course, unless he is unclearly referring to the Harper's novelization, there is no original manuscript. 51 "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder," University of Saskatchewan Bookstore, accessed November 27, 2017. https://shop.usask.ca/Search?data=a+strange+manuscript+found+in+a+copper+cylinder. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder," Broadview Press 2019. https://broadviewpress.com/product/a-strange-manuscript-found-in-a-coppercylinder/?ph=052216213796b53102946d02#tab-description. 52 , accessed March 1, costs gone into editorial or research work performed for the edition. It seems, however, that the innovative and historically rich qualities of the text was lost to marketing and opportunism, given that the true nature of the text, being historically-significant and satirical, is overlooked in an attempt to stamp the text as being the original piece of Canadian Science Fiction, and for Bakka Books to assert themselves as being the appropriate publishers to take on the cultural responsibility of locating and producing this apparently crucial Canadian Science Fiction text. With that said, the Bakka Books editions is not the only publisher to produce a somewhat low-brow, trade edition of Strange Manuscript; rather, it is symptomatic, as opposed to being a one-off. The early 2000s were fruitful for publications of De Mille's text, with editions by Borgo Press (2002), Wildside Press (2003), Kessinger Publishing (2004), and BiblioBazaar (2006) all released before Burgoyne even proposed his edition to Broadview Press in 2007. 53 Since Burgoyne's 2011 edition, and with the emergence and dominance of online shopping, websites such as AbeBooks have become increasingly popular means of both publishing and producing texts. Given that texts are presumably more often than not printed on an on demand basis, 54 the financial stakes are not high for publishers, given that they do not need to worry about massproducing a text only to have the sales be low. When searching for Strange Manuscript on AbeBooks, 626 editions appear in the results, 55 and while the NCL, CEECT, and Broadview Press editions are available, a majority of these books are comparable to the Bakka Books edition. With cover art that very actively tries to present the book as being a fantasy text, a travel/exploration narrative, or as a piece of "classic literature," 56 Strange Manuscript seems to be just as manipulated based on its unique genre and history in the digital world as it has been with earlier trade editions, and, to some extent, the scholarly editions of the text put forth by the CEECT and even Broadview. Yet, these trade editions have a bitter taste that the NCL and subsequent academic editions do not simply because they fall short in representing the text 53 Burgoyne, "A proposal for a Broadview Press Edition." 55 "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder," AbeBooks, accessed March 8, 2019, https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?bsi=0&sortby=17&tn=A%20strange%20manu script%20found%20in%20a%20copper%20cylinder&prevpage=4. 54 This assumption comes from the fact that on the AbeBooks website, one of the filters to refine the book search by is to have the text "Not Printed on Demand," which implies that the books are most frequently printed once ordered—otherwise the option to refine the search by would read "Print on Demand." 56 Some covers, such as that by Dodo Press (2009) attempt to closely mimic the typical covers of Penguin Classics—perhaps in an effort to assign some sort of credibility or status to their edition. authentically. This issue of authenticity of Canadian texts in relation to technology and digitization has been of concern since even the early-2000s, as demonstrated by Mary Jane Edwards, editor and instigator of the CEECT, in her article "CEECT and Cyberspace": My real concern is that if we do mount these artifacts in Cyberspace, even if we post them with all the guarantees of textual and other integrities of which we can conceive, their new existence in virtual reality will change and shape them in an unexpected . . . way. Some of these transformations may well be neutral or even theoretically and practically desirable. Some of them, however, will surely detach these editions, as they float through electronic space, from their grounding in the historical and contemporary realities from which they came. These works then, conceived by their authors as contributions to the medium of print, will almost be certainly weakened […]. Most importantly for Canadians, however, these foundation texts of our literature will definitely be damaged, perhaps even destroyed, as examples of Canadian culture and identity. 57 Strange Manuscript's Canadian literary-historical significance is instrumental in the interpretation of De Mille's novel; and while the Broadview edition does take some liberties to create distance between the texts and its historical weight, its contextualization of the novel in gothic and Victorian literary, historical, and scientific discourse functions as a reinforcement and validation of the genre-heavy analysis that Burgoyne conducts. The removal of close ties to these historical literary and historical Canadian contexts that trade editions, such as Bakka Books, perform in favour of marketing to a particular readership inherently undercuts the "Canadianness" that they may be trying to cling to in their publications, just as Mary Jane Edwards expressed concern of. By doing such, these trade publishers are thereby glossing over not only the challenging rich bibliographical history that texts such as Strange Manuscript have, but also ultimately unconsciously dismantling these texts as pieces or artifacts of Canadian literary and cultural history and heritage. 57 Edwards, "CEECT and Cyberspace," 160-161. CONCLUSION As indicated by the bibliographical history of Strange Manuscript, the treatment of earlyCanadian texts is closely linked with literary and social movements, a linkage which in turn informs cultural taste. Through examining the bibliography of De Mille's novel, still with consideration of its Canadian literary-historical significance, it becomes crucial to identify trends in Canadian literary publishing, both in academic and trade contexts, as a means through which Canadian literature scholars (and readers generally) can question the status and genre that they assign to these historically significant texts. The present analysis of Strange Manuscript has shown that nineteenth-century Canadian texts can easily be labelled in such a way that they can become artifacts of Canadian nationalism and national literary identity, or else develop a break between the text and its Canadian literary-historical significance by de-Canadianizing the text almost completely. As such, it seems that Mary Jane Edwards was justified in her concern about the future of Canadian literature. How do we maintain textual authenticity in the digital age while stepping beyond either opportunism or nationalism in publishing early-Canadian texts? The next steps in analyzing and republishing Strange Manuscript depend on one's answer to that question—and of course, there is no one person who can predict the future of Canadian scholarly-literary publishing. However, in light of digital publishing and the flourishing of trade editions, it seems that the means through which we as readers and scholars of Canadian literature can continue to claim these early Canadian texts as reflective not only of our literary coming-tobe and the development of Canadian history, but also as distinctive literary creation is through, as trite as it sounds, acknowledging their Canadian roots. In order for the analysis and criticism of Canadian literature to thrive, we must adopt frameworks and theoretical lenses that enhance the study of these texts; yet, as the tracing and analysis of the bibliography of James De Mille's A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder indicates, the removal of "Canadianness" from these texts inevitably undercuts the authenticity of the republication. In order to examine and publish De Mille's text in an authoritative way, the study and challenging of early-Canadian texts must be done in light of changes in cultural taste, rather than using these tastes and trends alongside the literary-scholarly publishing industry as a means of achieving a particular, ephemeral, and inauthentic image of these historically and culturally rich early-Canadian texts, without which Canadian literature studies would not be as productive as they are today. APPENDIX A: Record of Original Serial Publications ofStrange Manuscript 58 "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1620 (1888): 1; 10-11. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1621 (1888): 25-26. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1622 (1888): 41-42. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1623 (1888): 57; 62. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1624 (1888): 77-78. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1625 (1888): 93-94. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly32, No. 1626 (1888): 113-115. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1627 (1888): 129-130. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1628 (1888): 149-151. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1629 (1888): 165-167. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1630 (1888): 185-187. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1631 (1888): 205-207. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1632 (1888): 225 226. 58 The serialized version of Strange Manuscript, found in Harper's Weekly, was stored on microfilm and lent to the author in October 2017 by the Killam Memorial Library (NSHD) at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1633 (1888): 245-246. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1634 (1888): 265-266. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1635 (1888): 281-282. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1636 (1888): 301-302. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1637 (1888): 317-319. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Harper's Weekly 32, No. 1638 (1888): 333-334. APPENDIX B: List of Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth-Century Novelized Editions [De Mille, James]. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1888 [De Mille, James.] A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. Montreal, Robinson: 1890? 59 60 De Mille, James. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. London: Chatto and Windus, 1900. De Mille, James. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. Toronto: Macmillan, 1910. 59 It seems that the only existing copy of this edition is located at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The condition of the pages is very poor due to the acidity of the paper, and thus the edition cannot be transferred between locations, nor overly handled. 60 Wood Pulp Paper," The University of Chicago Library, accessed October 12, 2017, https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/under-covers/conservation-modern-materialsphotoreproductions/wood-pulp-paper/. This acidity is also why there is only the estimated the publication year of 1890 – Dalhousie was not entirely sure of the date, and the publisher no longer exists, so there is no way to verify this. There is no table of contents or illustrations in this edition either. Therefore, finding a lot of solidified information about this text is extremely difficult, and notes regarding it will likely be vague. Bibliography Primary Sources De Mille, James. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1969. De Mille, James. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. Edited by Malcolm Parks. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1986. De Mille, James. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. Toronto: Bakka Books, 2001. De Mille, James. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. Edited by Daniel Burgoyne. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2011. Secondary Sources AbeBooks. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Accessed March 18, 2019. https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?bsi=0&sortby=17&tn=A%20strange% 20manuscript%20found%20in%20a%20copper%20cylinder&prevpage=4. Broadview Press. "A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Accessed March 1, 2019. https://broadviewpress.com/product/a-strange-manuscript-found-in-a-coppercylinder/?ph=052216213796b53102946d02#tab-description. Burgoyne, Daniel. "A proposal for a Broadview Press Edition of James De Mille's A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder." Unpublished manuscript, last modified October 11, 2007. Microsoft Word File. CEECT – Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts fonds, CEECT-05 2006-26. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. CEECT – Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts fonds, CEECT-036 1995-17. Archives & Research Collections, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Department of English, Vancouver Island University. "Daniel-Burgoyne." Accessed March 20, 2019. https://english.viu.ca/daniel-burgoyne. Macmillan Publishers. "Ed Greenwood." Accessed March 16, 2019. https://us.macmillan.com/author/edgreenwood/. Edwards, Mary Jane. "The Centre for Editing Early Canadian Texts (CEECT) and Cyberspace." In Cyberidentities: Canadian and European Presence in Cyberspace, edited by Leen d'Haenens, 155-161. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1999. Friskney, Janet B. New Canadian Library: The Ross-McClelland Years, 1952-1978 Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007. . Lecker, Robert. "Nineteenth-Century English-Canadian Anthologies and the Making of a National Literature." Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes 44, no. 1 (2010): 91-117. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/391497. Monk, Patricia. The Gilded Beaver. Toronto: ECW Press, 1991. The University of Chicago Library. "Wood Pulp Paper." Accessed March 4, 2019, https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/under-covers/conservation-modernmaterials-photoreproductions/wood-pulp-paper/.
Implementing Programming Languages Aarne Ranta February 6, 2012 2 2 Contents 6.9 Compiling to native code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Introduction This book aims to make programming language implementation as easy as possible. It will guide you through all the phases of the design and implementation of a compiler or an interpreter. You can learn the material in one or two weeks and then build your own language as a matter of hours or days. The book is diﬀerent from traditional compiler books in several ways: * it is much thinner, yet covers all the material needed for the task * it leaves low-level details to standard tools whenever available * it has more pure theory (inference rules) but also more actual practice (how to write the code) Of course, it is not a substitute for the "real" books if you want to do research in compilers, or if you are involved in cutting edge implementations of large programming languages. Things that we have left out include lowlevel buﬀering in lexer input, algorithms for building LR parser generators, data ﬂow analysis, register allocation, memory management, and parallelism. Reading hints will be given for material on these topics. In particular, the "Dragon Book" Aho, Lam, Sethi & Ullman: Compilers Principles, Techniques & Tools Second edition, Pearson/Addison Wesley 2007 covers most of these topics. But it does not cover all the things in this book. Due to the approach chosen, you will get very quickly into the business of actually implementing your language and running programs written in it. The goal of this exercise is twofold: 1. to design and implement new programming languages, especially domainspeciﬁc ones 2. to get an idea of how compilers work For the latter goal, we have a few theory chapters and sections, marked with an asterisk (). These chapters can safely be left out if you are only interested in Goal 1. But of course, to talk with any authority about compilers, the knowledge of the underlying theory is essential. The theory sections try to make this interesting and relevant, answering to questions that are likely to arise, such as: what exactly can be done in a parser * why can't a compiler detect all errors in programs Practical work is an essential part of this book. You cannot claim really to have read this book unless you have done the main assignment, which consists of four parts: 1. a grammar and parser for a fragment of C++ 2. a type checker of a smaller fragment of C++ 3. an interpreter 4. a compiler to Java Virtual Machine What is here meant by C++ is a small fragment of this immense language. We could as well say C or Java, except for part 1, which contains many of the tricky special features of C++ such as templates. The idea with part 1 is to throw you into cold water and show that you can actually swim. Managing to do this assigment will give you conﬁdence that you can cope with any feature of programming language syntax easily. Assignments 2, 3, and 4 deal with a smaller part of C++, but contain everything that is needed for writing useful programs: arithmetic expressions, declarations and assignments, if-else clauses, while loops, blocks, functions. They will give the basic understanding of how programming languages work, and this understanding can be applied to numerous variations of the same themes. The main assignment is not only practical but also close to the "real world". Thus we don't use toy languages and home-made virtual machines, but fragments of a real language (C++), and a real virtual machine (JVM). This makes it for instance possible to produce your own Java class ﬁles and link them together with ﬁles generated by standard Java compilers. When running your code, you will most certainly experience the embarrassment (and pleasure!) of seeing byte code veriﬁcation errors, which rarely arise with the standard compilers! You accomplish all tasks by writing two kinds of code: * a grammar formalism: BNFC (= BNF Converter; BNF = Backus Naur Form) * a general-purpose programming language: Java or Haskell Thus you don't need to write code for traditional compiler tools such as Lex and YACC. Such code, as well as many other parts of the compiler, are automatically derived from the BNFC grammar. For the general-purpose language, you could actually choose any of Java, Haskell, C, C++, C#, or OCaml, since BNFC supports all these languages. But in this book, we will focus on the use of Java and Haskell as implementation language: you can choose either of them in accordance with your taste and experience. If you want to use C++ or C#, you can easily follow the Java code examples, whereas OCaml programmers can follow Haskell. C is a little diﬀerent, but of course closer to Java than to Haskell. In addition to the main assignment, the book provides optional minor assignments: 1. an interpreter of a functional language (a fragment of Haskell) 2. the design and implementation of your own language 3. a translator for natural language The last one of these themes is included to give perspective. The history of programming languages shows a steady development towards higher-level languages—in a sense, coming closer and closer to natural languages. The point of this assignment (and the last chapter as a whole) is to try how far one can get. You will ﬁnd this to be either surprisingly easy, if you are positively minded, or hopelessly diﬃcult, if you are more pessimistic. But this is an area with a lot of future potential. Applications such as speech-based human-computer interaction and automatic translation are getting commonplace. Their connection with traditional programming language technology will be illustrated by a natural-language-like speciﬁcation language, which can be both processed automatically, and understood by layman managers and customers. Chapter 1 What is a programming language implementation This chapter introduces the compilation phases, ﬁxing the concepts and terminology for most of the later discussion. It explains the diﬀerence between compilers and interpreters, the division into low and high level languages, and the datastructures and algorithms involved in each compilation phase. 1.1 From language to binary As everyone knows, computers manipulate 0's and 1's. This is done by the help of electronic circuits, where 0 means no current goes through whereas 1 means that it does. The reason this is useful is that so many things— in a sense, all information—can be expressed by using just 0's and 1's—by binary sequences. One way to see this is to think about information in terms of yes/no questions. A sequence of answers to enough many questions can specify any object. For instance, a popular game in my childhood was to guess a person by means of maximally 20 yes/no questions. The ﬁrst thing to encode in binary are the integers: ``` 0 = 0 1 = 1 2 = 10 3 = 11 4 = 100 ``` 12CHAPTER 1. WHAT IS A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE IMPLEMENTATION and so on. This generalizes easily to letters and to other characters, for instance by the use of the ASCII encoding: ``` A = 65 = 1000001 B = 66 = 1000010 ``` and so on. In this way we can see that all data manipulated by computers can be expressed by 0's and 1's. But what is crucial is that even the programs that manipulate the data can be so expressed. To take a real-world example, programs in the JVM machine language (Java Virtual Machine) are sequences of bytes, that is, groups of eight 0's or 1's (capable of expressing the numbers from 0 to 255). A byte can encode a numeric value, for instance an integer or a character as above. But it can also encode an instruction, that is, a command to do something. For instance, addition and multiplication (of integers) are expressed in JVM as bytes as follows: ``` + = 96 = 0110 0000 * = 104 = 0110 1000 ``` (We will put a space in the middle of each bytes to make it more readable, and more spaces between bytes.) From the encodings of numbers and operators, one could construct a simple-minded encoding of arithmetic formulas, by just putting together the codes for 5, +, and 6: 5 + 6 = 0000 0101 0110 0000 0000 0110 While this could be made to work, actual JVM works in a more roundabout way. In the logic that it follows, the expression is ﬁrst converted to a postﬁx form, where the operands come before the operator: 5 + 6 ---> 5 6 + One virtue of the postﬁx form is that we don't need brackets. For instance, At least the former expression needs brackets when the usual inﬁx order is used, that is, when the operator is between the operands. The way the JVM machine manipulates such expressions is based on a so-called stack, which is the working memory of the machine. The stack is like a pile of plates, where new plates are pushed on the stack, and only one plate is available at a time, the one last pushed—known as the top of the stack. An arithmetic operation such as + (usually called "add") takes the the two top-most elements from the stack and returns their sum on the top. Thus the computation of, say, 5 + 6, proceeds as follows, where the left column shows the instructions and the right column the stack after each instruction: ``` push 5 ; 5 push 6 ; 5 6 add ; 11 The computation of 5 + (6 * 7) is push 5 ; 5 push 6 ; 5 6 push 7 ; 5 6 7 mul ; 5 42 add ; 47 ``` In this case, unlike the previous one, the stack at one point contains more numbers than two; but the multiplication ("mul") instruction correctly picks the topmost ones 6 and 7 and returns the value 42 on the stack. The binary JVM code must make it clear which bytes stand for numeric values and which ones for instructions such as "add". This is obvious if you think that we need to read 0110 0000 sometimes as number 96, and sometimes as addition. The way to make it clear that a byte stands for a numeric value is to preﬁx it with a special instruction, which is (surprise surprise!) called "push". Thus we get the code for an addition expression: ``` 5 + 6 ---> push 5 push 6 add ``` To convert this all into binary, we only need the code for the push instruction, ``` push = 16 = 0001 0000 ``` Now we can express the entire arithmetic expression as binary: ``` 5 + 6 = 0001 0000 0000 0101 0001 0000 0000 0110 0110 0000 ``` We hope to have made two important things clear now: * Both data and programs can be expressed as binary code, i.e. by 0's and 1's. * There is a systematic translation from conventional ("user-friendly") expressions to binary code. Of course we will need more instructions to represent variables, assignments, loops, functions, and other constructs found in programming languages, but the principles are the same as in the simple example above. The translation from program code to binary is the very task of the program called a compiler. The compiler from arithmetic expressions to JVM byte code works as follows: 1. analyze the expression into an operator F and its operands X and Y 2. compile the code for X, followed by the code for Y, followed by the code for F This procedure is our ﬁrst example of a compiler. It shows the two main ideas of compilers, which we will repeat again and again in new conﬁgurations: 1. Syntactic analysis: here, to ﬁnd the main operator of an expression 2. Recursion: the compiler calls the compiler on parts of the expression, until it reaches the simplest parts (here, the numeric constants). 1.2 Levels of languages The task of a compiler may be more or less demanding. This depends on the distance of the languages it translates between. The situation is related to translation between human languages: it is easier to translate from English to French than from English to Japanese, because French is closer to English than Japanese is, both in the family tree of languages and because of cultural inﬂuences. But the meaning of "closer" is clearer in the case of computer languages. Often it is directly related to the level of the language. The binary machine language is usually deﬁned as the lowest level, whereas the highest level might be human language such as English. Usual programming languages are between these levels, as shown by the following very sketchy diagram: ---------------------------------------------- human human language Haskell Lisp Prolog Java C assembler machine language ---------------------------------------------- machine Because of the distance, high-level languages are more diﬃcult to compile than low-level languages. Notice that "high" and "low" don't imply any value judgements here; the idea is simply that higher levels are closer to human thought, whereas lower levels are closer to the operation of machines. Both humans and machines are needed to make computers work in the way we are used to. Some people might claim that only the lowest level of binary code is necessary, because humans can be trained to write it. But to this one can object that programmers could never write very sophisticated programs by using machine code only—they could just not keep the millions of bytes needed in their heads. Therefore, it is usually much more productive to write high-level code and let a compiler produce the binary. The history of programming languages indeed shows a steady progress from lower to higher levels. Programmers can usually be more productive when writing in high-level languages, which means that high levels are desirable; at the same time, raising the level implies a challenge to compiler writers. Thus the evolution of programming languages goes hand in hand with developments in compiler technology. It has of course also helped that the machines have become more powerful. Compilation can be a heavy computation task, and the computers of the 1960's could not have run the compilers of the 2010's. Moreover, it is harder to write compilers that produce eﬃcient code than ones that waste some resources. Here is a very rough list of programming languages in the history, only mentioning ones that have implied something new in terms of programming language expressivity: * 1940’s: connecting wires to represent 0’s and 1’s * 1950’s: assemblers, macro assemblers, FORTRAN, COBOL, LISP * 1960’s: ALGOL, BCPL (- > B - > C), SIMULA * 1970’s: Prolog, ML * 1980’s: C++, Perl, Python * 1990's: Haskell, Java 1.3 Compilation and interpretation In a way, a compiler reverts the history of programming languages. What we saw before goes from a "1960's" source language: ``` 5 + 6 * 7 to a "1950's" assembly language push 5 push 6 push 7 mul add and further to a "1940's" machine language 0001 0000 0000 0101 0001 0000 0000 0110 0001 0000 0000 0111 0110 1000 0110 0000 ``` The second step is very easy: you just look up the binary codes for each symbol in the assembly language and put them together in the same order. It is sometimes not regarded as a part of compilation proper, but as a separate level of assembly. The main reason for this is purely practical: modern compilers don't need to go all the way to the binary, but just to the assembly language, since there exist assembly programs that can do the rest. A compiler is a program that translates code to some other code. It does not actually run the program. An interpreter does this. Thus a source language expression, 5+67 is by an interpreter turned to its value, 47 This computation can be performed without any translation of the source code into machine code. However, a common practice is in fact a combination of compilation and interpretation. For instance, Java programs are, as shown above, compiled into JVM code. This code is then in turn interpreted by a JVM interpreter. The compilation of Java is diﬀerent from for instance the way C is translated by GCC (GNU Compiler Collection). GCC compiles C into the native code of each machine, which is just executed, not interpreted. JVM code must be interpreted because it is not executable by any actual machine. Sometimes a distinctin is made between "compiled languages" and "interpreted languages", C being compiled and Java being interpreted. This is really a misnomer, in two ways. First, any language could have both an interpreter and a compiler. Second, it's not Java that is interpreted by a "Java interpreter", but JVM, a completely diﬀerent language to which Java is compiled. Here are some examples of how some known languages are normally treated: C is usually compiled to machine code by GCC * Java is usually compiled to JVM bytecode by Javac, and this bytecode is usually interpreted using JVM * JavaScript is interpreted in web browsers 18CHAPTER 1. WHAT IS A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE IMPLEMENTATION * Unix shell scripts are interpreted by the shell * Haskell programs are either compiled using GHC, or interpreted (via bytecode) using Hugs or GHCI. Compilation vs. interpretation is one of the important decisions to make when designing and implementing a new language. Here are some trade-oﬀs: Advantages of interpretation: * faster to get going * easier to implement * portable to diﬀerent machines Advantages of compilation: * if to machine code: the resulting code is faster to execute * if to machine-independent target code: the resulting code easier to interpret than the source code The advent of virtual machines with actual machine language instruction sets, such as VMWare, is blurring the distinction. In general, the best tradeoﬀs are achieved by combinations of compiler and interpreter components, reusing as much as possible (as we saw is done in the reuse of the assembly phase). This leads us to the following topic: how compilers are divided into separate components. 1.4 Compilation phases A compiler even for a simple language easily becomes a complex program, which is best attacked by dividing it to smaller components. These components typically address diﬀerent compilation phases. Each phase is a part of a pipeline, which transforms the code from one format to another. These formats are typically encoded in diﬀerent data structures: each phase returns a data structure that is easy for the next phase to manipulate. The following diagram shows the main compiler phases and how a piece of source code travels through them. The code is on the left, the down-going arrows are annotated by the names of the phases, and the data structure is on the right. ``` 57+6result character string \| lexer v 57 + 6 result token string \| parser v (+ 57 (* 6 result)) syntax tree \| type checker v ([i+] 57 ([i] 6 [i result])) annotated syntax tree \| code generator v bipush 57 instruction list bipush 6 iload 8 imul iadd ``` With some more explaining words, The lexer reads a string of characters an chops it into tokens, i.e. to "meaningful words"; the ﬁgure represents the token string by putting spaces between tokens. * The parser reads a string of tokens and groups it into a syntax tree, i.e. to a structure indicating which parts belong together and how; the ﬁgure represents the syntax tree by using parentheses. * The type checker ﬁnds out the type of each part of the syntax tree that might have alternative types, and returns an annotated syntax tree; the ﬁgure represents the annotations by the letter i ("integer") in square brackets. * The code generator converts the annotated syntax tree into a list of target code instructions. The ﬁgure uses normal JVM assembly code, where imul means integer multiplication, bipush pushing integer bytes, and iload pushing values of integer variables. We want to point out the role of type checking in particular. In a Java-toJVM compiler it is an indispensable phase in order to perform instruction selection in the code generator. The JVM target language has diﬀerent instructions for the addition of integers and ﬂoats, for instance (iadd vs. dadd), whereas the Java source language uses the same symbol + for both. The type checker analyses the code to ﬁnd the types of the operands of + to decide whether integer or double addition is needed. The diﬀerence between compilers and interpreters is just in the last phase: interpreters don't generate new code, but execute the old code. However, even then they will need to perform the earlier phases, which are independent of what the last step will be. This is with the exception of the type checker: compilers tend to require more type checking than interpreters, to enable instruction selection. It is no coincidence that untyped languages such as JavaScript and Python tend to be interpreted languages. 1.5 Compiler errors Each compiler phases has both a positive and a negative side, so to say. The positive side is that it converts the code to something that is more useful for the next phase, e.g. the syntax tree into a type-annotated tree. The negative side is that it may fail, in which case it might report an error to the user. Each compiler phase has its characteristic errors. Here are some examples: * Lexer errors, e.g. unclosed quote, "hello * Parse errors, e.g. mismatched parentheses, * Type errors, e.g. the application of a function to an argument of wrong kind, ``` sort(45) ``` Errors on later phases are usually not supported. One reason is the principle (by Milner), that "well-typed programs cannot go wrong". This means that if a program passes the type checker it will also work on later phases. Another, more general reason is that the compiler phases can be divided into two groups: * The front end, which performs analysis, i.e. inspects the program: lexer, parser, type checker. * The back end, which performs synthesis: code generator. It is natural that only the front end (analysis) phases look for errors. A good compiler ﬁnds all errors at the earliest occasion. Thereby it saves work: it doesn't try to type check code that has parse errors. It is also more useful for the user, because it can then give error messages that go to the very root of the problem. Of course, compilers cannot ﬁnd all errors, for instance, bugs in the program. Errors such as array index out of bounds are another example of such errors. However, in general it is better to ﬁnd errors at compile time than at run time, and this is one aspect in which compilers are constantly improving. One of the most important lessons of this book will be to understand what is possible to do at compile time and what must be postponed to run time. A typical example is the binding analysis of variables: if a variable is used in an expression in Java or C, it must have been declared and given a value. For instance, the following function is incorrect in C: ``` int main () { printf("%d",x) ; } ``` The reason is that x has not been declared, which for instace GCC correctly reports as an error. But the following is correct in C: ``` int main () { int x ; printf("%d",x) ; } ``` What is intuitively a problem, though, is that x has not been given a value. The corresponding function when compiled in Java would give this as an error. As we will see in Chapter 3, binding analysis cannot be performed in a parser, but must be done in the type checker. However, the situation is worse than this. Consider the function ``` int main () { int x ; if (x!=0) x = 1 ; printf("%d",x) ; } ``` Here x gets a value under a condition. It may be that this condition is impossible to decide at compile time. Hence it is not decidable at compile time if x has a value—neither in the parser, nor in the type checker. 1.6 More compiler phases The compiler phases discussed above are the main phases. There can be many more—here are a couple of examples: Desugaring/normalization: remove syntactic sugar, i.e. language constructs that are there to make the language more convenient for programmers, without adding to the expressive power. Such constructs can be removed early in compilation, so that the later phases don't need to deal with them. An example is multiple declarations, which can be reduced to sequences of single declarations: ``` int i, j ; ---> int i ; int j ; ``` Desugaring is normally done at the syntax tree level, and it can be inserted as a phase between parsing and type checking. A disadvantage can be, however, that errors arising in type checking then refer to code that the programmer has never written herself, but that has been created by desugaring. Optimizations: improve the code in some respect. This can be done on many diﬀerent levels. For instance, source code optimization may precompute values known at compile time: ``` i = 2 + 2 ; ---> i = 4 ; ``` Target code optimization may replace instructions with cheaper ones: ``` bipush 31 ; bipush 31 ---> bipush 31 ; dup ``` Here the second bipush 31 is replaced by dup, which duplicates the top of the stack. The gain is that the dup instruction is just one byte, whereas bipush 31 is two bytes. Modern compilers may have dozens of phases. For instance, GCC has several optimization phases performed on the level of intermediate code. This code is neither the source nor the target code, but something in between. The advantage is that the optimization phases can be combined with diﬀerent source and target languages, to make these components reusable. 1.7 Theory and practice The complex task of compiler writing is greatly helped by the division into phases. Each phase is simple enough to be understood properly; and implementations of diﬀerent phases can be recombined to new compilers. But there is yet another aspect: many of the phases have a clean mathematical theory, which applies to that phase. The following table summarizes those theories: The theories provide declarative notations for each of the phases, so that they can be speciﬁed in clean ways, independently of implementatiotion and usually much more concisely. They will also enable reasoning about the compiler components. For instance, the way parsers are written by means of context-free grammars can be used for guaranteeing that the language is unambiguous, that is, that each program can be compiled in a unique way. Syntax-directed translation is a common name for the techniques used in type checkers, interpreters, and code generators alike. We will see that these techniques have so much in common that, once you learn how to implement a type checker, the other components are easy variants of this. 1.8 The scope of the techniques The techniques of compiler construction are by no means restricted to the traditional task of translating programming language to machine language. The target of the translation can also be another programming language—for instance, the Google Web Toolkit is a compiler from Java into JavaScript, enabling the construction of web applications in a higher-level and typechecked language. Actually, the modular way in which modern compilers are built implies that it is seldom necessary to go all the way to the machine code (or assembler), even if this is the target. A popular way of building native code compilers is via a translation to C. As soon as C code is reached, the compiler for the new language is complete. The modularity of compilers also enables the use of compiler components to other tasks, such as debuggers, documentation systems, and code analysis of diﬀerent kinds. But there is still a very good reason to learn the whole chain from source language to machine language: it will help you to decide which phases your task resembles the most, and thereby which techniques are the most useful ones to apply. Chapter 2 What can a grammar do for you This chapter is a hands-on introduction to BNFC. It explains step by step how to write a grammar, how to convert it into a lexer and a parser, how to test it, and how to solve the problems that are likely to arise. This chapter also provides all the concepts and tools needed for solving Assignment 1. BNFC has some features that are not covered here, including the code generation for C and C++. The documentation on BNFC home page gives more information on these matters: the BNFC tutorial http://www.cse.chalmers.se/research/group/Language-technology/BNFC/doc/tutorial/bnfctutorial.html covers practical issues on using BNFC, whereas the LBNF Report, ``` http://www.cse.chalmers.se/research/group/Language-technology/BNFC/doc/LBNFreport.pdf ``` explains more features of the BNF notation used. 2.1 Deﬁning a language In school teaching, grammars are systems of rules used for teaching languages. They specify how words are formed (e.g. that the plural of the noun baby is babies) and how words are combined to sentences (e.g. that in English the subject usually appears before the verb). Grammars can be more or less complete, and people who actually speak a language may follow the grammar more or less strictly. In linguistics, where grammars are studied in a scientiﬁc way, a widely held belief is that all grammars leak—that it is not possible to specify a language completely by grammar rules. In compiler construction, grammars have a similar role: they give rules for forming "words", such as intereger constants, identiﬁers, and keywords. And they also give rules for combining words into expressions, statements, and programs. But the usefulness of grammars is much more uncontroversial than in linguistics: grammars of programming languages don't leak, because the languages are deﬁned by their grammars. This is of course possible just because programming languages are artiﬁcial products, rather than results of natural evolution. Deﬁning a programming language is so easy that we can directly jump into doing it. Let us start with the following grammar. It deﬁnes a language of expressions built by using the four arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) as well as integer constants. ``` EAdd. Exp ::= Exp "+" Exp1 ; ESub. Exp ::= Exp "-" Exp1 ; EMul. Exp1 ::= Exp1 "" Exp2 ; EDiv. Exp1 ::= Exp1 "/" Exp2 ; EInt. Exp2 ::= Integer ; coercions Exp 2 ; ``` You can copy this code into a ﬁle called Calc.cf. It will be the source of your ﬁrst compiler component, which is a parser of integer arithmetic expressions. The code is written in the notation of BNFC, BNF Converter. It is a brand of the BNF notation, Backus Naur Form, named after the two inventors of this grammar format. BNF grammars are routinely used for the speciﬁcation of programming languages, appearing in language manuals. The parser of a language must of course follow the grammar in order to be correct. If the grammar is written in the BNFC notation, such a correct parser can be automatically derived by the BNFC tool. The code above should be easy to understand, at least with some experience. We will explain the details of the notation in a while. But we will ﬁrst show how the code is used in BNFC. 2.2 Using BNFC The ﬁrst thing is you have to do is to check that the BNFC tool is available. Assuming you are working in a Unix-style shell, type bnfc and you should get a message specifying the authors and license of BNFC and its usage options. If the command bnfc does not work, you can install the software from the BNFC homepage, ``` http://www.cse.chalmers.se/research/group/Language-technology/BNFC/ ``` It is available for Linux, Mac OS, and Windows, and there are several installation methods (such as Debian packages), from which you can choose the one most suitable for your platform and taste. Now, assuming you have BNFC installed, you can run it on the ﬁle Calc.cf created in the previous section: ``` bnfc -m Calc.cf ``` The system will respond by generating a bunch of ﬁles: ``` writing file AbsCalc.hs writing file LexCalc.x (Use Alex 2.0 to compile.) writing file ParCalc.y (Tested with Happy 1.15) writing file DocCalc.tex writing file DocCalc.txt writing file SkelCalc.hs writing file PrintCalc.hs writing file TestCalc.hs writing file ErrM.hs writing file Makefile ``` These ﬁles are diﬀerent components of a compiler, which can be automatically generated from the BNF grammar. We will go to their details later, but you can certainly guess that there is a ﬁle for a lexer (LexCalc.x) and another one for a parser (ParCalc.y). The suﬃx .hs tells that some of the ﬁles are for the Haskell programming language. We shall see later how other languages can be used instead. For instance, you can write ``` bnfc -m -java1.5 Calc.cf ``` to generate the components for Java. Running BNFC for Haskell One of the generated ﬁles is a Makefile, which speciﬁes the commands for compiling the compiler. So let us do this as the next thing: make Again, this can fail at some point if you don't have the Haskell tools installed: the GHC Haskell compiler, the Happy parser generator, and the Alex lexer generator. You don't need to install them, if you aim to work in Java and not in Haskell, but let us ﬁrst assume you do have GHC, Happy, and Alex. Then your run of make will successfully terminate with the message ``` Linking TestCalc ... ``` TestCalc is an executable program for testing the parser deﬁned by Calc.cf. So let us try it out: ``` echo "5 + 6 7" \| ./TestCalc ``` Notice that TestCalc reads Unix standard input; the easiest thing to provide the parsable expression is thus by a pipe from the echo command. Now, the response of TestCalc is the following: ``` Parse Successful! [Abstract Syntax] EAdd (EInt 5) (EMul (EInt 6) (EInt 7)) [Linearized tree] 5 + 6 * 7 ``` It ﬁrst says that it has succeeded to parse the input, then shows an abstract syntax tree, which is the expected result of parsing and gives the tree structure of the expression. Finally, it displays the linearizion, which is the string obtained by using the grammar in the direction opposite to parsing. We will later see that this string can sometimes be diﬀerent from the input string. Input can also be read from a ﬁle. The standard input method for this is ``` ./TestCalc < FILE_with_an_expression ``` But the test program also allows a ﬁle name argument, ``` ./TestCalc FILE_with_an_expression ``` Running BNFC for Java If you don't want to use Haskell but Java, you will have run BNFC with the Java option, ``` bnfc -m -java1.5 Calc.cf ``` You see that some more ﬁles are generated then: ``` writing file Calc/Absyn/Exp.java writing file Calc/Absyn/EAdd.java ... writing file Calc/PrettyPrinter.java writing file Calc/VisitSkel.java writing file Calc/ComposVisitor.java writing file Calc/AbstractVisitor.java writing file Calc/FoldVisitor.java writing file Calc/AllVisitor.java writing file Calc/Test.java writing file Calc/Yylex (saving old file as Calc/Yylex.bak) (Tested with JLex 1.2.6.) writing file Calc/Calc.cup (Parser created for category Exp) (Tested with CUP 0.10k) writing file Calc.tex writing file Makefile ``` There are no Haskell ﬁles any more, but ﬁles for Java, its parser tool Cup, and its lexer tool JLex. The Makefile works exactly like in the case of Haskell: make Well... if you have done exactly as shown above, you will probably fail with the message ``` java JLex.Main Calc/Yylex Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: JLex/Main make: *** [Calc/Yylex.java] Error 1 ``` This problem is typical in Java when using libraries put into unusual places, which often happens with user-installed libraries like Cup and JLex. Fortunately there is an easy solution: you just have to deﬁne the classpath that Java uses for ﬁnding libraries. On my Ubuntu Linux laptop, the following shell command does the job: ``` export CLASSPATH=.:/usr/local/java/Cup:/usr/local/java ``` Now I will get a better result with make. Then I can run the parser test in almost the same way as with the version compiled with Haskell: ``` echo "5 + 6 * 7" \| java Calc/Test Parse Succesful! [Abstract Syntax] (EAdd (EInt 5) (EMul (EInt 6) (EInt 7))) [Linearized Tree] 5 + 6 * 7 ``` We can conclude this section by two important conclusions about BNFC: 1. We can use a BNF grammar to generate several compiler components. 2. The components can be generated in diﬀerent languages from the same BNF source. 2.3 Rules, categories, and trees A BNFC source ﬁle is a sequence of rules, where most rules have the format ``` LABEL . VALUE_CATEGORY ::= PRODUCTION ; ``` ``` The LABEL and VALUE CATEGORY are identiﬁers (without quotes). The PRODUCTION is a sequence of two kinds of items: ``` * identiﬁers, called nonterminals * string literals (strings in double quotes), called terminals The rule has the following semantics: * a tree of type VALUE CATEGORY can be built with LABEL as the topmost node, from any sequence speciﬁed by the production, so that whose nonterminals give the subtrees of this new tree Types of trees are the categories of the grammar, i.e. the diﬀerent kinds of objects that can be built (expressions, statements, programs,...). Tree labels are the constructors of those categories. The constructors appear as nodes of abstract syntax trees. Thus we saw above that the string was compiled into a tree displayed as follows: This is just a handy (machine-readable!) notation for the "real" tree You may also notice that it is exactly the notation Haskell programmers use for specifying a certain kind of trees: expressions built by function applications. 2.4 Precedence levels How does BNFC know that multiplication is performed before addition, that is, why the EMul node is below the EAdd node? Another way for analysing 5 + 6 * 7 could be ``` EMul (EAdd (EInt 5) (EInt 6)) (EInt 7) ``` The reason we don't give this analysis is that multiplication expressions have a higher precedence. In BNFC, precedence levels are the digits attached to category symbols. Thus Exp1 has precedence level 1, Exp2 has precedence level 2, etc. The nonterminal Exp without a digit is deﬁned to mean the same as Exp0. The rule ``` EAdd. Exp ::= Exp "+" Exp1 ; ``` can be read as saying: EAdd forms an expression of level 0 from an expression of level 0 on the left of + and of level 1 on the right. Likewise, the rule ``` EMul. Exp1 ::= Exp1 "" Exp2 ; ``` says: EMul form an expression of level 1 from an expression of level 1 on the left of and of level 2 on the right. The semantics of precedence levels consists of three principles: 1. All precedence variants of a nonterminal denote the same type in the abstract syntax. Thus 2, 2 + 2, and 2 * 2 are all of type Exp. 2. An expression of higher level can always be used on lower levels as well. This is what makes 2 + 3 correct: level 2 is here used on level 0 on the left and on level 1 on the right. 3. An expression of any level can be lifted to the highest level by putting it in parentheses. Thus (5 + 6) is an expression of level 2 What is the highest level? This is speciﬁed in the grammar by using a coercions statement. For instance, coercions Exp 2 says that 2 is the highest level for Exp. It is actually a shorthand for the following "ordinary" BNF rules: ``` _. Exp0 ::= Exp1 ; _. Exp1 ::= Exp2 ; _. Exp2 ::= "(" Exp0 ")" ; ``` These rules are called coercions, since they just coerce expressions from one category to another, without doing anything—without creating new nodes in the abstract syntax tree. The underscore in front of these rules is a dummy label, which indicates that no constructor is added. 2.5 Abstract and concrete syntax Abstract syntax trees are the hub of a modern compiler: they are the target of the parser and the place where most compilation phases happen, including type checking and code generation. Abstract syntax is purely about the structure of expressions: what are their immediate parts and the parts of those parts? Abstract syntax thus ignore questions like what the parts look like, or even what order they appear in. From an abstract syntax point of view, all of the following expressions are the same: ``` 2 + 3 -- infix (+ 2 3) -- prefix (2 3 +) -- postfix bipush 2 -- JVM bipush 3 iadd the sum of 2 and 3 -- English 2:n ja 3:n summa -- Finnish ``` In fact, the simplest way to build a compiler is the following: 1. Parse the source language expression, e.g. 2 + 3 2. Obtain an abstract syntax tree, EAdd (EInt 2) (EInt 3) 3. Linearize the tree to another format, bipush 2 bipush 3 iadd In practice, compilers don't quite work in this simple way. The main reason is that the tree obtained in parsing may have to be converted to another format before code generation. For instance, type annotations may have to be added to an arithmetic expression tree in order to select the proper JVM instructions. The BNF grammar speciﬁes the abstract syntax of a language. But it simultaneously speciﬁes its concrete syntax as well. The concrete syntax gives more detail than the abstract syntax: it says what the parts look like and in what order they appear. One way to spell out the distinction is by trying to separate these aspects in a BNF rule. Take, for instance, the rule for addition expressions: ``` EAdd. Exp0 ::= Exp0 "+" Exp1 ``` The purely abstract syntax part of this rule is EAdd. Exp::= Exp Exp which hides the actual symbol used for addition (and thereby the place where it appears). It also hides the precedence levels, since they don't imply any diﬀerences in the abstract syntax trees. In brief, the abstract syntax is extracted from a BNF grammar as follows: 1. Remove all terminals. 2. Remore all precedence numbers. 3. Remove all coercions rules. If this is performed with the Calc.cf ﬁle, the following rules remain: ``` EAdd. Exp ::= Exp Exp ; ESub. Exp ::= Exp Exp ; EMul. Exp ::= Exp Exp ; EDiv. Exp ::= Exp Exp ; EInt. Exp ::= Int ; ``` This is a kind of a "skeleton" of a grammar, which could be ﬁlled with terminals, precedence numbers, and coercions in diﬀerent ways to obtain new languages with the same abstract syntax. For instance, JVM assembler could be constructed as follows: ``` EAdd. Exp ::= Exp Exp "iadd" ; ESub. Exp ::= Exp Exp "isub" ; EMul. Exp ::= Exp Exp "imul" ; EDiv. Exp ::= Exp Exp "idiv" ; EInt. Exp ::= "bipush" Int ; ``` Now it is easy to see that arithmetic expressions could be compiled to JVM by just combining parsing with Calc.cf and linearization with this alternative grammar. Another way to see the distinction between abstract and concrete syntax is by means of the diﬀerent kinds of trees they involve. What we have called abstract syntax trees have a simple structure: * their nodes and leaves are constructors (i.e. labels of BNF rules). What is normally called parse trees, and we could call concrete syntax trees, look diﬀerent: * their nodes are category symbols (i.e. nonterminals) * their leaves are tokens (i.e. terminals) Here are the parse tree and the abstract syntax tree for the expression 5 + 6 * 7 as analysed by Calc.cf: 2.6 Abstract syntax in Haskell The purpose of abstract syntax is to provide a suitable platform for further processing in a compiler. Concrete syntax details such as precedences and the shape of the terminals is then irrelevant: it would just complicate the matters, and also weaken the portability of compiler back-end components to other languages. Haskell is the language with the most straightforward representations of abstract syntax, so let us start with it. Java will be covered in the next section. And we will return to the details of abstract syntax programming later, when discussing later compiler phases. We hope the Haskell code we show is readable by non-Haskellers as well—it is much simpler than the Java code for the same purpose. When generating Haskell code, BNFC represents the abstract syntax by algebraic datatypes. For every category in the grammar, a data deﬁnition is thus produced. The Exp category of Calc generates the following deﬁnition: data Exp = EAdd Exp Exp \| ESub Exp Exp \| EMul Exp Exp \| EDiv Exp Exp \| EInt Integer ``` deriving (Eq,Ord,Show) ``` The deriving part says that the type Exp has equality and order predicates, and its objects can be shown as strings, but Java programmers can ignore these details. The main programming method in most components of the compiler is syntax-directed translation, i.e. structural recursion on abstract syntax trees. In Haskell, this is performed conveniently by using pattern matching. The following code is, in fact, the complete implementation of a calculator, which interprets arithmetic expressions as integer values: ``` module Interpreter where import AbsCalc interpret :: Exp -> Integer interpret x = case x of EAdd exp0 exp -> interpret exp0 + interpret exp ESub exp0 exp -> interpret exp0 - interpret exp EMul exp0 exp -> interpret exp0 * interpret exp EDiv exp0 exp -> interpret exp0 'div' interpret exp EInt n -> n ``` Thus we can now turn our parser into an interpreter! We do this by modifying the generated ﬁle TestCalc.hs: instead showing the syntax tree, we let it show the value from interpretation: module Main where ``` import LexCalc import ParCalc import AbsCalc import Interpreter import ErrM main = do interact calc putStrLn "" ``` ``` calc s = let Ok e = pExp (myLexer s) in show (interpret e) ``` This, in a nutshell, is how you can build any compiler on top of BNFC: 1. Write a grammar and convert it into parser and other modules. 2. Write some code that manipulates syntax trees in a desired way. 3. Let the main ﬁle show the results of syntax tree manipulation. If your Main module is in a ﬁle named Calculator, you can compile it with GHC as follows: ``` ghc --make Calculator.hs ``` Then you can run it on command-line input: ``` echo "1 + 2 * 3" \| ./Calculator 7 ``` Now, let's do the same thing in Java. 2.7 Abstract syntax in Java Java has no notation for algebraic datatypes. But just types can be encoded by using the class system of Java: * For each category in the grammar, an abstract base class. * For each constructor of the category, a class extending the base class. This means quite a few ﬁles, which are for the sake of clarity put to a separate category. In the case of Calc.cf, we have the ﬁles ``` Calc/Absyn/EAdd.java Calc/Absyn/EDiv.java Calc/Absyn/EInt.java Calc/Absyn/EMul.java Calc/Absyn/ESub.java Calc/Absyn/Exp.java This is what the classes look like: public abstract class Exp implements java.io.Serializable { // some code that we explain later } public class EAdd extends Exp { public final Exp exp_1, exp_2; public EAdd(Exp p1, Exp p2) { exp_1 = p1; exp_2 = p2; } // some more code that we explain later } /* the same for ESub, EMul, EDiv / public class EInt extends Exp { public final Integer integer_; public EInt(Integer p1) { integer_ = p1; } ``` ``` } ``` Tree processing is much less staightforward than in Haskell, because Java doesn't have pattern matching. There are two ways of doing it: 1. Add an interpreter methods to each class. 2. Use a separate visitor interface to implement tree traversal in a general way. The visitor method is the proper choice in more advanced applications, and we will return to it in the chapter on type checking. To get the calculator up and running now, let us follow the simpler way. What we do is take the classes generated in Calc/Absyn/ by BNFC, and add an interpret method to each of them: ``` public abstract class Exp { public abstract Integer interpret() ; } public class EAdd extends Exp { public final Exp exp_1, exp_2; public Integer interpret() {return exp_1.interpret() + exp_2.interpret() ; } public class EMul extends Exp { public final Exp exp_1, exp_2; public Integer interpret() {return exp_1.interpret() exp_2.interpret() ; } public class EInt extends Exp { public final Integer integer_; public Integer interpret() {return integer_ ;} } (We have hidden most of the other contents of the classes for simplicity.) Now we can modify the ﬁle Calc/Test.java into a calculator: public class Calculator { public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception { Yylex l = new Yylex(System.in) ; parser p = new parser(l) ; Calc.Absyn.Exp parse_tree = p.pExp() ; System.out.println(parse_tree.interpret()); } } (We have omitted error handling for simplicity.) If we compile this, javac Calc/Calculator.java we can run it on command-line input as expected: echo "1 + 2 * 3" \| java Calc/Calculator 7 ``` Run on ﬁle input: ``` java Calc/Interpret < ex1.calc 9102 ``` 2.8 List categories Lists of various kinds are used everywhere in grammars. Standard BNF deﬁnes list categories with pairs of rules. For instance, to deﬁne a list of function declarations, one can write ``` NilFunction. ListFunction ::= ; ConsFunction. ListFunction ::= Function ListFunction ; ``` The ﬁrst rule states that a list of functions can be empty ("nil"). The second rule states that a list can be formed by prepending a function to a list ("cons"). Lists often have terminators, i.e. tokens that appear after every item of a list. For instance, function declarations might have semicolons (;) as terminators. This is expressed as follows: ``` NilFunction. ListFunction ::= ; ConsFunction. ListFunction ::= Function ";" ListFunction ; ``` The pattern of list rules is so common that BNFC has some special notations for it. Thus lists of a category C can be denoted as [C ]. Instead of pairs of rules, one can use the shorthand terminator. Thus the latter pair of rules for lists of functions can be written concisely ``` terminator Function ";" ; ``` The former pair, where no terminator is used, is written with an "empty terminator", ``` terminator Function "" ; ``` It is important to know that the terminator rule expands to a pair of ordinary BNF rules when BNFC is run. Thus there is nothing special with it, and it could be avoided. But it is easier for both the grammar writer and reader to use the concise terminator format. This is analogous with the coercions shorthand, which BNFC expands to a list of rules relating the precedence levels. In addition to terminators, programming languages can have separators: tokens that appear between list items, just not after the last one. For instance, the list of arguments of a function in C have a comma (,) as separator. This is written by a rule for expression lists: ``` separator Exp "," ; ``` This shorthand expands to a set of rules for the category [Exp]. The rule for function calls can then be written ``` ECall. Exp ::= Ident "(" [Exp] ")" ; ``` Sometimes lists are required to be nonempty, i.e. have at least one element. This is expressed in BNFC by adding the keyword nonempty: ``` terminator nonempty Function "" ; separator nonempty Ident "," ; ``` The bracket notation for lists is borrowed from Haskell. And the abstract syntax build by the parser indeed represents lists as Haskell lists. In Java, list categories are similarty represented as linked lists. To summarize, * in Haskell, [C] is represented as [C] * in Java, [C] is represented as java.util.LinkedList<C> 2.9 Specifying the lexer We have deﬁned lexing and parsing as the ﬁrst two compiler phases. BNF grammars are traditionally used for specifying parsers. So where do we get the lexer from? In BNFC, the lexer is often implicit. It is based on the use of predeﬁned token types, which can be used in BNF rules but only on the right-handsides of the rules. Thus it is not legal to write rules that produce these types. There are ﬁve such types in BNFC: * Integer, integer literals: sequence of digits, e.g. 123445425425436; * Double, ﬂoating point literals: two sequences of digits with a decimal point in between, and an optional exponent, e.g. 7.098e-7; * String, string literals: any characters between double quotes, e.g. "hello world", with a backslash (\) escaping a quote and a backslash; * Char, character literals: any character between single quotes, e.g. '7'; * Ident, identiﬁers: a letter (A..Za..z) followed by letters, digits, and characters ', e.g. r2 out' The precise deﬁnitions of these types are given in the LBNF report. The predeﬁned token types are often suﬃcient for language implementations, especially for new languages, which can be designed to follow the BNFC rules for convenience. But BNFC also allows the deﬁnition of new token types. These deﬁnitions are written by using regular expressions. For instance, one can deﬁne a special type of upper-case identiﬁers as follows: token UIdent (upper (letter \| digit \| '_')) ; This deﬁnes UIdent as a token type, which contains strings starting with an upper-case letter and continuing with a (possibly empty) sequence of letters, digits, and underscores. The following table gives the main regular expressions available in BNFC. \| name \| notation \| \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| symbol \| ’a’ \| \| \| sequence \| A B \| \| \| union \| A \| B \| \| closure \| A \| \| \| empty \| eps \| \| \| character \| char \| \| \| letter \| letter \| \| \| upper-case letter \| upper \| \| \| lower-case letter \| lower \| \| \| digit \| digit \| \| \| option \| A? \| \| We will return to the semantics and implementation of regular expressions in next chapter. BNFC can be forced to remember the position of a token. This is useful when, for instance, error messages at later compilation phases make reference to the source code. The notation for token types remembering the position is ``` position token CIdent (letter \| (letter \| digit \| '_')) ; ``` When BNFC is run, bare token types are encoded as types of strings. For instance, the standard Ident type is in Haskell represented as ``` newtype Ident = Ident String ``` Position token types add to this a pair of integers indicating the line and the column in the input: ``` newtype CIdent = Ident (String, (Int,Int)) ``` In addition to tokens, comments are language features treated in the lexer. They are parts of source code that the compiler ignores. BNFC permits the deﬁnition of two kinds of comments: one-line comments, which run from a start token till the end of the line * multiple-line comments, which run from a start token till a closing token This is, for instance, how comments of C are deﬁned: ``` comment "//" ; comment "/" "/" ; ``` Thus one-line comments need one token, the start token, whereas multipleline comments need the start and the closing token. Since comments are resolved by the lexer, they are processed by using a ﬁnite automaton. Therefore nested comments are not possible. A more thorough explanation of this will be given in next chapter. 2.10 Working out a grammar We conclude this section by working out a grammar for a small C-like programming language. This language is the same as targeted by the Assignments 2 to 4 at the end of this book. Assignment 1 targets a larger language, for which this smaller language is a good starting point. The discussion below goes through the language constructs top-down, i.e. from the largest to the smallest, and builds the appropriate rules at each stage. * A program is a sequence of deﬁnitions. This suggests the following BNFC rules: ``` PDefs. Program ::= [Def] ; terminator Def "" ; ``` * A program may contain comments, which are ignored by the parser. This means C-like comments, speciﬁed as follows: ``` comment "//" ; comment "/" "/" ; ``` * A function deﬁnition has a type, a name, an argument list, and a body. An argument list is a comma-separated list of argument declarations enclosed in parentheses ( and ). A function body is a list of statements enclosed in curly brackets { and } . For example: ``` int foo(double x, int y) { return y + 9 ; } ``` We decide to specify all parts of a function deﬁnition in one rule, in addition to which we specify the form of argument and statement lists: ``` DFun. Def ::= Type Id "(" [Arg] ")" "{" [Stm] "}" ; separator Arg "," ; terminator Stm "" ; ``` * An argument declaration has a type and an identiﬁer. ADecl. Arg::= Type Id ; * Any expression followed by a semicolon ; can be used as a statement. * Any declaration followed by a semicolon ; can be used as a statement. Declarations have one of the following formats: – a type and one variable (as in function parameter lists), ``` SExp. Stm ::= Exp ";" ; ``` int i ; – a type and many variables, int i, j ; – a type and one initialized variable, int i = 6 ; Now, we could reuse the function argument declarations Arg as one kind of statements. But we choose the simpler solution of restating the rule for one-variable declarations. ``` SDecl. Stm ::= Type Id ";" ; SDecls. Stm ::= Type Id "," [Id] ";" ; SInit. Stm ::= Type Id "=" Exp ";" ; ``` * Statements also include – Statements returning an expression, – While loops, with an expression in parentheses followed by a statement, – Conditionals: if with an expression in parentheses followed by a statement, else, and another statement, – Blocks: any list of statements (including the empty list) between curly brackets. For instance, ``` return i + 9 ; ``` ``` while (i < 10) ++i ; ``` ``` if (x > 0) return x ; else return y ; ``` ``` { int i = 2 ; { } i++ ; } ``` The statement speciﬁcations give rise to the following BNF rules: ``` SReturn. Stm ::= "return" Exp ";" ; SWhile. Stm ::= "while" "(" Exp ")" Stm ; SBlock. Stm ::= "{" [Stm] "}" ; SIfElse. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm "else" Stm ; ``` * Expressions are speciﬁed with the following table that gives their precedence levels. Inﬁx operators are assumed to be left-associative. The arguments in a function call can be expressions of any level. Otherwise, the subexpressions are assumed to be one precedence level above the main expression. \| level \| expression forms \| \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 16 \| literal \| \| \| 16 \| identifier \| \| \| 15 \| f(e,...,e) \| \| \| 14 \| v++, v-- \| \| \| 13 \| ++v, --v \| \| \| 12 \| ee, e/e \| \| \| 11 \| e+e, e-e \| \| \| 9 \| e<e, e>e, e>=e, e<=e \| \| \| 8 \| e==e, e!=e \| \| \| 4 \| e&&e \| \| \| 3 \| e \| e \| \| 2 \| v=e \| \| The table is straightforward to translate to a set of BNFC rules. On the level of literals, integers and ﬂoats ("doubles") are provided by BNFC, whereas the boolean literals true and false are deﬁned by special rules. ``` EInt. Exp15 ::= Integer ; EDouble. Exp15 ::= Double ; ETrue. Exp15 ::= "true" ; EFalse. Exp15 ::= "false" ; EId. Exp15 ::= Id ; EApp. Exp15 ::= Id "(" [Exp] ")" ; EPIncr. Exp14 ::= Exp15 "++" ; EPDecr. Exp14 ::= Exp15 "--" ; EIncr. Exp13 ::= "++" Exp14 ; EDecr. Exp13 ::= "--" Exp14 ; ETimes. Exp12 ::= Exp12 "" Exp13 ; EDiv. Exp12 ::= Exp12 "/" Exp13 ; EPlus. Exp11 ::= Exp11 "+" Exp12 ; EMinus. Exp11 ::= Exp11 "-" Exp12 ; ELt. Exp9 ::= Exp9 "<" Exp10 ; EGt. Exp9 ::= Exp9 ">" Exp10 ; ELtEq. Exp9 ::= Exp9 "<=" Exp10 ; EGtWq. Exp9 ::= Exp9 ">=" Exp10 ; EEq. Exp8 ::= Exp8 "==" Exp9 ; ENEq. Exp8 ::= Exp8 "!=" Exp9 ; EAnd. Exp4 ::= Exp4 "&&" Exp5 ; EOr. Exp3 ::= Exp3 "\|\|" Exp4 ; EAss. Exp2 ::= Exp3 "=" Exp2 ; ``` Finally, we need a coercions rule to specify the highest precedence level, and a rule to form function argument lists. coercions Exp 15 ; separator Exp "," ; · The available types are bool , double , int , and void . Tdouble. Type ::= "double" ; ``` Tbool. Type ::= "bool" ; Tint. Type ::= "int" ; Tvoid. Type ::= "void" ; ``` * An identiﬁer is a letter followed by a list of letters, digits, and underscores. Here we cannot use the built-in Ident type of BNFC, because apostrophes (') are not permitted! But we can deﬁne our identiﬁers easily by a regular expression: ``` token Id (letter (letter \| digit \| '_')) ; ``` The reader is advised to copy all the rules of this section into a ﬁle and try this out in BNFC, with various programs as input. Chapter 3 How do lexers and parsers work This is an optional theory chapter, which gives deeper understanding of the things worked through in the previous chapter. It explains the concepts of regular expressions and ﬁnite automata, context-free grammars and parsing algorithms, and the limits of each of these methods. For instance, we will show why automata may explode in size, why parentheses cannot be matched by ﬁnite automata, and why context-free grammars cannot alone specify the well-formedness of programs. It will also show how the usual parsing algorithms work, to explain what conﬂicts are and how to avoid them. 3.1 The theory of formal languages BNFC saves a lot of work in a compiler by generating the code needed for the lexer and the parser. The exact saving is by an order of magnitude, compared with hand-written code. The code generated by BNFC is taken care of by other tools, which in turn generate code in some host language— Haskell, Java, or C. Let's call the lexer tool (Alex, JLex, Flex) just Lex and the parser tool (Happy, Cup, Bison) just Yacc, by references to the ﬁrst such tools created for C in the 1970's. These tools stand for another order of magnitude of saving, compared to writing host language code by hand. The generation of Lex and Yacc from a BNFC ﬁle is rather straightforward. The next step is much more involved. In a nutshell, * Lex code is regular expressions, converted to ﬁnite automata. * Yacc code is context-free grammars, converted to LALR(1) parsers. Regular expressions and context-free grammars, as well as their compilation to automata and parsers, originate in the mathematical theory of formal languages. A formal language is, mathematically, just any set of sequences of symbols. Programming languages are examples of formal languages. They are rather complex in comparison to the examples usually studied in the theory; but the good news is that their complexity is mostly due to repetitions of simple well-known patterns. 3.2 Regular languages and ﬁnite automata A regular language is, like any formal language, a set of strings, i.e. sequences of symbols, from a ﬁnite set of symbols called the alphabet. Only some formal languages are regular; in fact, regular languages are exactly those that can be deﬁned by regular expressions, which we already saw in Section 2.9. We don't even need all the expressions, but just ﬁve of them; the other ones are convenient shorthands. They are showed in the following table, together with the corresponding regular language in set-theoretic notation: The table uses the notation [[A]] for the set denoted by the expression A. This notation is common in computer science to specify the semantics of a language formally. When does a string belong to a regular language? A straightforward answer would be to write a program that interprets the sets, e.g. in Haskell by using list comprehensions instead of the set brackets. This implementation, however, would be very ineﬃcient. The usual way to go is to compile regular expressions to ﬁnite automata. Finite automata are graphs that allow traversing their input strings symbol by symbol. For example, the following automaton recognizes a string that is either an integer literal or an identiﬁer or a string literal. The corresponding regular expression is, using the shorthands of 2.9, ``` digit digit* \| letter ('_' \| letter \| digit)* \| '"' (char-[\"] \| '\'[\"tn])* '"' ``` where we have also used the expressions [abc] denoting sets of characters and [a..b] denoting ranges of characters. The automaton can be used for the recognition of strings. In this case, a recognized string is either a decimal integer, an indentiﬁer, or a string literal. The recognition starts from the initial state, that is, the node marked "init". It goes to the next state depending on the ﬁrst character. If it is a digit 0...9, the state is the one marked "int". With more digits, the recognition loops back to this state. The state is marked with a double circle, which means it is a ﬁnal state, also known as an accepting state. The other accepting states are "ident" and "string". But on the way to "string", there are non-accepting states: the one before a second quote is read, and the one after an escape is read. The automaton above is deterministic, which means that at any state, any input symbol has at most one transition, that is, at most one way to go to a next state. If a symbol with no transition is encountered, the string is not accepted. For instance, a&b would not be an accepted string in the above automaton; nor is it covered by the regular expression. An automaton can also be nondeterministic, which means that some symbols may have many transitions. An example is the following automaton, with the corresponding regular expression that recognizes the language {ab, ac}: a b \| a c Now, this automaton and indeed the expression might look like a stupid thing to write anyway: wouldn't it be much smarter to factor out the a and write simply as follows? The answer is no, both surprisingly and in a way typical to compiler construction. The reason is that one should not try to optimize automata by hand—one should let a compiler do that automatically and much more reliably! Generating a non-deterministic automaton is the standard ﬁrst step of compiling regular expressions. After that, deterministic and, indeed, minimal automata can be obtained as optimizations. Just to give an idea of how tedious it can be to create deterministic automata by hand, think about compiling an English dictionary into an automaton. It may start as follows: a able about account acid across act addition adjustment It would be a real pain to write a bracketed expression in the style of a (c \| b), and much nicer to just put \|'s between the words and let the compiler do the rest! 3.3 The compilation of regular expressions The standard compilation of regular expressions has the following steps: 1. NFA generation: convert the expression into a non-deterministic automaton, NFA. 2. Determination: convert the NFA into a deterministic automaton, DFA. 3. Minimization: minimize the size of the deterministic automaton. As usual in compilers, each of these phases is simple in itself, but trying to do them all at once would be too complicated. Step 1. NFA generation Assuming we have an expression written by just the ﬁve basic operators, we can build an NFA which has exactly one initial state and exactly one ﬁnal state. The "exactly one" condition is crucial to make it easy to combine the automata for sequences, unions, and closures. The easiest way to guarantee this is to use epsilon transitions, that is, transitions that consume no input. They are marked with the symbol ϵ in the graphs. They of course increase nondeterminism, but can be eliminated later. * Symbol. The expression a is compiled to * Sequence. The expression A B is compiled by combining the automata for A and B (drawn with dashed ﬁgures) as follows: * Union. The expression A \| B is compiled as follows: * Closure. The expression A* is compiled as follows: * Empty. The expression eps is compiled to NFA generation is an example of syntax-directed translation, and could be recommended as an extra assignment for everyone! What is needed is a parser and abstract syntax for regular expressions (by BNFC), and a suitable code representation for automata. From this representation, one could also generate visualizations using e.g. the Graphviz software (as we did when preparing this book). Here is an example of an automaton and its Graphviz code: ``` digraph { rankdir = LR ; start [label = "", shape = "plaintext"] init [label = "init", shape = "circle"] ; a [label = "", shape = "circle"] ; end [label = "", shape = "doublecircle"] ; start -> init ; init -> init [label = "a,b"] ; init -> a [label = "a"] ; a -> end [label = "a,b"] ; } ``` The intermediate abstract representation should encode the mathematical deﬁnition of automata: Deﬁnition. A ﬁnite automaton is a 5-tuple < Σ, S, F, i, t > where * Σ is a ﬁnite set of symbols (the alphabet) * S is a ﬁnite set of states * F ⊂ S (the ﬁnal states) * i ∈ S (the initial state) * t : S × Σ →P(S) (the transition function) An automaton is deterministic, if t(s, a) is a singleton for all s ∈ S, a ∈ Σ. Otherwise, it is nondeterministic, and then moreover the transition function is generalized to t : S × Σ ∪{ϵ}− > P(S) (with epsilon transitions). Step 2. Determination One of the most powerful and amazing properties of ﬁnite automata is that they can always be made deterministic by a fairly simple procedure. The procedure is called the subset construction. In brief: for every state sand symbol a in the automaton, form a new state σ(s, a) that "gathers" all those states to which there is a transition from s by a. More precisely: * σ(s, a) is the set of those states si to which one can arrive from s by consuming just the symbol a. This includes of course the states to which the path contains epsilon transitions. * The transitions from σ(s, a) = {s1, . . . , sn} for a symbol b are all the transitions with b from any si. (When this is speciﬁed, the subset construction must of course be iterated to build σ(σ(s, a), b).) * The state σ(s, a) = {s1, . . . , sn} is ﬁnal if any of si is ﬁnal. Let us give a complete example. Starting with the "awful" expression a b \| a c the NFA generation of Step 1 creates the monstruous automaton From this, the subset construction gives How does this come out? First we look at the possible transitions with the symbol a from state 0. Because of epsilon transitions, there are no less than four possible states, which we collect to the state named {2,3,6,7}. From this state, b can lead to 4 and 9, because there is a b-transition from 3 to 4 and an epsilon transition from 4 to 9. Similarly, c can lead to 8 and 9. The resulting automaton is deterministic but not yet minimal. Therefore we perform one more optimization. Step 3. Minimization Determination may left the automaton with superﬂuous states. This means that there are states without any distinguishing strings. A distinguishing string for states s and u is a sequence x of symbols that ends up in an accepting state when starting from s and in a non-accepting state when starting from u. For example, in the previous deterministic automaton, the states 0 and {2,3,6,7} are distinguished by the string ab. When starting from 0, it leads to the ﬁnal state {4,9}. When starting from {2,3,6,7}, there are no transitions marked for a, which means that any string starting with a ends up in a dead state which is non-accepting. But the states {4,9} and {8,9} are not distinguished by any string. The only string that ends to a ﬁnal state is the empty string, from both of them. The minimization can thus merge these states, and we get the ﬁnal, optimized automaton The algorithm for minimization is a bit more complicated than for determination. We omit it here. 3.4 Properties of regular languages There is a whole branch of discrete mathematics dealing with regular languages and ﬁnite automata. A part of the research has to do with closure properties. For instance, regular languages are closed under complement, i.e. if L is a regular language, then also Σ ∗ − L, is one; Σ ∗ is the set of all strings over the alphabet, also called the universal language. We said that the ﬁve operators compiled in the previous section were suﬃcient to deﬁne all regular languages. Other operators can be deﬁned in terms of them; for instance, the non-empty closure A + is simply AA ∗ . The negation operator −A is more complicated to deﬁne; in fact, the simplest way to see that it exists is to recall that regular languages are closed under negation. But how do we know that regular languages are closed under negation? The simplest way to do this is to construct an automaton: assume that we have a DFA corresponding to A. Then the automaton for −A is obtained by inverting the status of each accepting state to non-accepting and vice-versa! The reasoning above relies on the correspondence theorem saying that the following three are equivalent, convertible to each other: regular languages, regular expressions, ﬁnite automata. The determination algorithm moreover proves that there is always a deterministic automaton. The closure property for regular languages and expressions follows. Another interesting property is inherent in the subset construction: the size of a DFA can be exponential in the size of the NFA (and therefore of the expression). The subset construction shows a potential for this, because there could in principle be a diﬀerent state in the DFA for every subset of the NFA, and the number of subsets of an n-element set is 2 n . A concrete example of the size explosion of automata is a language of strings of a's and b's, where the nth element from the end is an a. Consider this in the case n=2. The regular expression is (a\|b)* a (a\|b) There is also a simple NFA: But how on earth can we make this deterministic? How can we know, when reading a string, that this a is the second-last element and we should stop looping? It is possible to solve this problem by the subset construction, which is left to an exercise. But there is also an elegant direct construction, which I learned from a student many years ago. The idea is that the state must "remember" the last two symbols that have been read. Thus the states can be named aa, ab, ba, and bb. The states aa and ab are accepting, because they have a as the second-last symbol; the other two are not accepting. Now, for any more symbols encountered, one can "forget" the previous second-last symbol and go to the next state accordingly. For instance, if you are in ab, then a leads to ba and b leads to bb. The complete automaton is below: Notice that the initial state is bb, because a string must have at least two symbols in order to be accepted. With a similar reasoning, it is easy to see that a DFA for a as third-last symbol must have at least 8 states, for fourth-last 16, and so on. Unfortunately, the exponential blow-up of automata is not only a theoretical construct, but often happens in practice and can come as a surprise to those who build lexers by using regular expressions. The third property of ﬁnite-state automata we want to address is, well, their ﬁniteness. Remember from the deﬁnition that an automaton has a ﬁnite set of states. This fact can be used for proving that an automaton cannot match parentheses, i.e. guarantee that a string as as many left and right parentheses. The argument uses, as customary in formal language theory, a's and b's to stand for left and right parentheses, respectively. The language we want to deﬁne is Now assume that the automaton is in state sn after having read n a's and starting to read b's. Assume sm = sn for some m ̸= n. From this it follows that the automaton recognizes an expression a n b m , which is not in the language! Now, matching parentheses is usually treated in parsers that use BNF grammars; for the language in question, we can easily write the grammar ``` S ::= ; S ::= "a" S "b" ; ``` and process it in parser tools. But there is a related construct that one might want to try to treat in a lexer: nested comments. The case in point is code of the form One might expect the code after the removal of comments to be a e But actually it is, at least with standard compilers, The reason is that the lexer is implemented by using a ﬁnite automaton, which cannot count the number of matching parentheses—in this case comment delimiters. 3.5 Context-free grammars and parsing A context-free grammar is the same as a BNF grammar, consisting of rules of the form where each ti is a terminal or a nonterminal. We used this format extensively in Chapter 2 together with labels for building abstract syntax trees. But for most discussion of parsing properties we can ignore the labels. All regular languages can be also deﬁned by context-free grammars. The inverse does not hold, as proved by matching parentheses. The extra expressive power comes with a price: context-free parsing can be more complex than recognition with automata. It is easy to see that recognition with a ﬁnite automaton is linear in the length of the string. But for context-free grammars the worst-case complexity is cubic. However, programming languages are usually designed in such a way that their parsing is linear. This means that they use a restricted subset of context-free grammars, but still large enough to deal with matching parentheses and other common programming language features. We will return to the parsing problem of full context-free grammars later. We ﬁrst look at the parsing techniques used in compilers, which work for some grammars only. In general, these techniques work for grammars that don't have ambiguity. That is, every string has at most one tree. This is not true for context-free grammars in general, but it is guaranteed for most programming languages by design. For parsing, the lack of ambiguity means that the algorithm can stop looking for alternative analyses as soon as it has found one, which is one ingredient of eﬃciency. 3.6 LL(k) parsing The simplest practical way to parse programming languages is LL(k), i.e. left-to-right parsing, leftmost derivations, lookahead k. It is also called recursive descent parsing and has sometimes been used for implementing parsers by hand, that is, without the need of parser generators. The parser combinators of Haskell are related to this method. The idea of recursive descent parsing is the following: for each category, write a function that inspects the ﬁrst token and tries to construct a tree. Inspecting one token means that the lookahead is one; LL(2) parsers inspect two tokens, and so on. Here is an example grammar: ``` SIf. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm ; SWhile. Stm ::= "while" "(" Exp ")" Stm ; SExp. Stm ::= Exp ; EInt. Exp ::= Integer ; ``` We need to build two functions, which look as follows in pseudocode, ``` Stm pStm(): next == "if" -> ... build tree with SIf next == "while" -> ... build tree with SWhile next is integer -> ... build tree with SExp Exp pExp(): next is integer k -> return EInt k ``` To ﬁll the three dots in this pseudocode, we proceed item by item in each production. If the item is a nonterminal C, we call the parser pC. If it is a terminal, we just check that this terminal is the next input token, but don't save it (since we are constructing an abstract syntax tree!). For instance, the ﬁrst branch in the statement parser is the following: ``` Stm pStm(): next == "if" -> ignore("if") ignore("(") Exp e := pExp() ignore(")") Stm s := pStm() return SIf(e,s) ``` Thus we save the expression e and the statement s and build an SIf three from them, and ignore the terminals in the production. The pseudocode shown is easy to translate to both imperative and functional code; we will return to the functional code in Section 3.9. But we don't recommend this way of implementing parsers, since BNFC is easier to write and more powerful. We show it rather because it is a useful introduction to the concept of conﬂicts, which arise even when BNFC is used. As an example of a conﬂict, consider the rules for if statements with and without else: ``` SIf. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm SIfElse. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm "else" Stm ``` In an LL(1) parser, which rule should we choose when we see the token if? As there are two alternatives, we have a conﬂict. One way to solve conﬂicts is to write the grammar in a diﬀerent way. In this case, for instance, we can use left factoring, which means sharing the common left part of the rules: ``` SIE. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm Rest RElse. Rest ::= "else" Stm REmp. Rest ::= ``` To get the originally wanted abstract syntax, we have to deﬁne a function that depends on Rest. ``` f(SIE exp stm REmp) = SIf exp stm f(SIE exp stm (RElse stm2)) = SIfElse exp stm stm2 ``` It can be tricky ro rewrite a grammar so that it enables LL(1) parsing. Perhaps the most well-known problem is left recursion. A rule is leftrecursive if it has the form C ::= C..., that is, the value category C is itself the ﬁrst on the right hand side. Left recursion is common in programming languages, because operators such as + are left associative. For instance, consider the simplest pair of rules for sums of integers: ``` Exp ::= Exp "+" Integer Exp ::= Integer ``` These rules make an LL(1) parser loop, because, to build an Exp, the parser ﬁrst tries to build an Exp, and so on. No input is consumed when trying this, and therefore the parser loops. The grammar can be rewritten, again, by introducing a new category: ``` Exp ::= Integer Rest Rest ::= "+" Integer Rest Rest ::= ``` The new category Rest has right recursion, which is harmless. A tree conversion is of course needed to return the originally wanted abstract syntax. The clearest way to see conﬂicts and to understand the nature of LL(1) parsing is to build a parser table from the grammar. This table has a row for each category and a column for each token. Each shell shows what rule applies when the category is being sought and it begins with the token. For example, the grammar ``` SIf. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm ; SWhile. Stm ::= "while" "(" Exp ")" Stm ; SExp. Stm ::= Exp ";" ; EInt. Exp ::= Integer ; ``` produces the following table: \| - \| if \| while \| integer \| ( \| ) \| ; \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Stm \| SIf \| SWhile \| SExp \| - \| - \| - \| \| Exp \| - \| - \| EInt \| - \| - \| - \| A conﬂict means that a cell contains more than one rule. This grammar has no conﬂicts, but if we added the SIfElse rule, the cell (Stm,if) would contain both SIf and SIfElse. 3.7 LR(k) parsing Instead of LL(1), the standard YACC-like parser tools use LR(k), i.e. leftto-right parsing, rightmost derivations, lookahead k. Both algorithms thus read their input left to right. But LL builds the trees from left to right, LR from right to left. The mention of derivations refers to the way in which a string can be built by expanding the grammar rules. Thus the leftmost derivation of while(1) if (0) 6 ; always ﬁlls in the leftmost nonterminal ﬁrst. ``` Stm --> while ( Exp ) Stm --> while ( 1 ) Stm --> while ( 1 ) if ( Exp ) Stm --> while ( 1 ) if ( 0 ) Stm --> while ( 1 ) if ( 0 ) Exp ; --> while ( 1 ) if ( 0 ) 6 ; ``` The rightmost derivation of the same string ﬁlls in the rightmost nonterminal ﬁrst. ``` Stm --> while ( Exp ) Stm --> while ( Exp ) if ( Exp ) Stm --> while ( Exp ) if ( Exp ) Exp ; --> while ( Exp ) if ( Exp ) 6 ; --> while ( Exp ) if ( 0 ) 6 ; --> while ( 1 ) if ( 0 ) 6 ; ``` The LR(1) parser reads its input, and builds a stack of results, which are combined afterwards, as soon as some grammar rule can be applied to the top of the stack. When seeing the next token (lookahead 1), it chooses among ﬁve actions: * shift: read one more token * reduce: pop elements from the stack and replace by a value * goto: jump to another state and act accordingly * accept: return the single value on the stack when no input is left * reject: report that there is input left but no move to take, or that the input is ﬁnished but the stack is not one with a single value. Shift and reduce are the most common actions, and it is customary to illustrate the parsing process by showing the sequence of these actions. Take, for instance, the following grammar. We use integers as rule labels, so that we also cover the dummy coercion (label 2). 1. Exp ::= Exp "+" Exp1 ``` 2. Exp ::= Exp1 3. Exp1 ::= Exp1 "" Integer 4. Exp1 ::= Integer ``` The string 1 + 2 3 is parsed as follows: \| stack \| input \| action \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| \| 1 + 2 * 3 \| shift \| \| 1 \| + 2 * 3 \| reduce 4 \| \| Exp1 \| + 2 * 3 \| reduce 2 \| \| Exp \| + 2 * 3 \| shift \| \| Exp + \| 2 * 3 \| shift \| \| Exp + 2 \| * 3 \| reduce 4 \| \| Exp + Exp1 \| * 3 \| shift \| \| Exp + Exp1 * \| 3 \| shift \| \| Exp + Exp1 * 3 \| 3 \| reduce 3 \| \| Exp + Exp1 \| \| reduce 1 \| \| Exp \| \| accept \| Initially, the stack is empty, so the parser must shift and put the token 1 to the stack. The grammar has a matching rule, rule 4, and so a reduce is performed. Then another reduce is performed by rule 2. Why? This is because the next token (the lookahead) is +, and there is a rule that matches the sequence Exp +. If the next token were , then the second reduce would not be performed. This is shown later in the process, when the stack is Exp + Exp1. How does the parser know when to shift and when to reduce? Like in the case of LL(k) parsing, it uses a table. In an LR(1) table, the rows are parser states, and there is a column for each terminal and also nonterminal. The cells are parser actions. So, what is a parser state? It is a grammar rule together with the position that has been reached when trying to match the ruls. This position is conventionally marked by a dot. Thus, for instance, ``` Stm ::= "if" "(" . Exp ")" Stm ``` is the state where an if statement is being read, and the parser has read the tokens if and ( and is about to look for an Exp. Here is an example of an LR(1) table. It is the table produced by BNFC and Happy from the previous grammar, so it is actually a variant called LALR(1); see below. The compiler has added two rules to the grammar: rule (0) that produces integer literals (L integ) from the nonterminal Integer, and a start rule which adds the extra token $ to mark the end of the input. Then also the other rules have to decide what to do if they reach the end of input. ``` + $ int Integer Exp1 Exp 3 Integer -> L_integ . r0 r0 r0 4 Exp1 -> Integer . r4 r4 r4 5 Exp1 -> Exp1 . '' Integer - s8 - 6 %start_pExp -> Exp . $ s9 - a Exp -> Exp . '+' Exp1 7 Exp -> Exp1 . r2 s8 r2 Exp1 -> Exp1 . '' Integer 8 Exp1 -> Exp1 '' . Integer - - - s3 g11 9 Exp -> Exp '+' . Exp1 - - - s3 g4 g10 10 Exp -> Exp '+' Exp1 . r1 s8 r1 Exp1 -> Exp1 . '' Integer 11 Exp1 -> Exp1 '' Integer . r3 r3 r3 ``` When the dot is before a nonterminal, a goto action is performed. Otherwise, either shift or reduce is performed. For shift, the next state is given. For reduce, the rule number is given. The size of LR(1) tables can be large, because it is the number of rule positions multiplied by the number of tokens and categories. For LR(2), it is the square of the number of tokens and categories, which is too large in practice. Even LR(1) tables are usually not built in their full form. Instead, standard tools like YACC, Bison, CUP, Happy use LALR(1), look-ahead LR(1). In comparison to full LR(1), LALR(1) reduces the number of states by merging some states that are similar to the left of the dot. States 6, 7, and 10 in the above table are examples of this. In terms of general expressivity, the following inequations hold: LR(0) < LALR(1) < LR(1) < LR(2) ... * LL(k) < LR(k) That a grammar is in LALR(1), or any other of the classes, means that its parsing table has no conﬂicts. Therefore none of these classes can contain ambiguous grammars. 3.8 Finding and resolving conﬂicts In a tabular parsing (LL, LR, LALR), a conﬂict means that there are several items in a cell. In LR and LALR, two kinds of conﬂicts may occur: * shift-reduce conﬂict: between shift and reduce actions. * reduce-reduce conﬂict between two (or more) reduce actions. The latter are more harmful, but also more easy to eliminate. The clearest case is plain ambiguities. Assume, for instance, that a grammar tries to distinguish between variables and constants: ``` EVar. Exp ::= Ident ; ECons. Exp ::= Ident ; ``` Any Ident parsed as an Exp can be reduced with both of the rules. The solution to this conﬂict is to remove one of the rules and wait until the type checher to distinguish constants from variables. A more tricky case is implicit ambiguities. The following grammar tries to cover a fragment of C++, where a declaration (in a function deﬁnition) can be just a type (DTyp), and a type can be just an identiﬁer (TId). At the same time, a statement can be a declaration (SDecl), but also an expression (SExp), and an expression can be an identiﬁer (EId). ``` SExp. Stm ::= Exp ; SDecl. Stm ::= Decl ; DTyp. Decl ::= Typ ; EId. Exp ::= Ident ; TId. Typ ::= Ident ; ``` Now the reduce-reduce conﬂict can be detected by tracing down a chain of rules: ``` Stm -> Exp -> Ident Stm -> Decl -> Typ -> Ident ``` In other words, an identiﬁer can be used as a statement in two diﬀerent ways. The solution to this conﬂict is to redesign the language: DTyp should only be valid in function parameter lists, and not as statements! As for shift-reduce conﬂicts, the classical example is the dangling else created by the two versions of if statements: , ``` SIf. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm SIfElse. Stm ::= "if" "(" Exp ")" Stm "else" Stm ``` The problem arises when if statements are nested. Consider the following input and position (.): ``` if (x > 0) if (y < 8) return y ; . else return x ; ``` There are two possible actions, which lead to two analyses of the statement. The analyses are made explicit by braces. ``` shift: if (x > 0) { if (y < 8) return y ; else return x ;} reduce: if (x > 0) { if (y < 8) return y ;} else return x ; ``` This conﬂict is so well established that it has become a "feature" of languages like C and Java. It is solved by a principle followed by standard tools: when a conﬂict arises, always choose shift rather than reduce. But this means, strictly speaking, that the BNF grammar is no longer faithfully implemented by the parser. Hence, if your grammar produces shift-reduce conﬂicts, this will mean that some programs that your grammar recognizes cannot actually be parsed. Usually these conﬂicts are not so "well-understood" ones as the dangling else, and it can take a considerable eﬀort to ﬁnd and ﬁx them. The most valuable tool in this work are the info ﬁles generated by some parser tools. For instance, Happy can be used to produce an info ﬁle by the ﬂag -i: ``` happy -i ParCPP.y ``` The resulting ﬁle ParConf.info is a very readable text ﬁle. A quick way to check which rules are overshadowed in conﬂicts is to grep for the ignored reduce actions: ``` grep "(reduce" ParConf.info ``` Interestingly, conﬂicts tend cluster on a few rules. If you have very many, do ``` grep "(reduce" ParConf.info \| sort \| uniq ``` The conﬂicts are (usually) the same in all standard tools, since they use the LALR(1) method. Since the info ﬁle contains no Haskell, you can use Happy's info ﬁle if even if you principally work with another tool. Another diagnostic tool is the debugging parser. In Happy, ``` happy -da ParCPP.y ``` When you compile the BNFC test program with the resulting ParCPP.hs, it shows the sequence of actions when the parser is executed. With Bison, you can use gdb (GNU Debugger), which traces back the execution to lines in the Bison source ﬁle. 3.9 The limits of context-free grammars Parsing with unlimited context-free grammars is decidable, with cubic worstcase time complexity. However, exponential algorithms are often used because of their simplicity. For instance, the Prolog programming language has a built-in parser with this property. Haskell's parser combinators are a kind of embedded language for parsers, working in a similar way as Prolog. The method uses recursive descent, just like LL(k) parsers. But this is combined with backtracking, which means that the grammar need not make deterministic choices. Parser combinators can also cope with ambiguity. We will return to them in Chapter 9. One problem with Prolog and parser combinators—well known in practice— is their unpredictability. Backtracking may lead to exponential behaviour and very slow parsing. Left recursion may lead to non-termination, and can be hard to detect if implicit. Using parser generators is therefore a more reliable, even though more restricted, way to implement parsers. But even the full class of context-free grammars is not the whole story of languages. There are some very simple formal languages that are not contextfree. One example is the copy language. Each sentence of this language is two copies of some words, and the words can grow arbitrarily long. The simplest copy language has words with consisting of just two symbols, a and b: Observe that this is not the same as the language deﬁned by the context-free grammar ``` S ::= W W W ::= "a" W W ::= "b" W W ::= ``` In this grammar, there is no guarantee that the two W's are the same. The copy language is not just a theoretical construct but has an important application in compilers. A common thing one wants to do is to check that every variable is declared before it is used. Language-theoretically, this can be seen as an instance of the copy language: ``` Program ::= ... Var ... Var ... ``` Consequently, checking that variables are declared before use is a thing that cannot be done in the parser but must be left to a later phase. One way to obtain stronger grammars than BNF is by a separation of abstract and concrete syntax rules. For instance, the rule then becomes a pair of rules: a fun rule declaring a tree-building function, and a lin rule deﬁning the linearization of the tree into a string: ``` fun EMul : Exp -> Exp -> Exp lin EMul x y = x ++ "" ++ y ``` This notation is used in the grammar formalism GF, the Grammatical Framework (http://grammaticalframework.org). In GF, the copy language can be deﬁned by the following grammar: ``` -- abstract syntax cat S ; W ; fun s : W -> S ; fun e : W ; fun a : W -> W ; fun b : W -> W ; -- concrete syntax lin s w = w ++ w ; lin e = "" ; lin a w = "a" ++ w ; lin b w = "b" ++ w ; ``` For instance, abbababbab has the tree s (a (b (b (a (b e))))) . GF corresponds to a class of grammars known as parallel multiple context-free grammars, which is useful in natural language description. Its worst-case parsing complexity is polynomial, where the exponent depends on the grammar; parsing the copy language is just linear. We will return to GF in Chapter 10. Chapter 4 When does a program make sense This chapter is about types and type checking. It deﬁnes the traditional notion of well-formedness as exempliﬁed by e.g. Java and C, extended by overloading and some tricky questions of variable scopes. Many of these things are trivial for a human to understand, but the Main Assignment 2 will soon show that it requires discipline and stamina to make the machine check well-formedness automatically. 4.1 The purposes of type checking Type checking annoys many programmers. You write a piece of code that makes complete sense to you, but you get a stupid type error. For this reason, untyped languages like LISP, Python, and JavaScript attract many programmers. They trade type errors for run-time errors, which means they spend relatively more time on debugging than on trying to compile, compared to Java or Haskell programmers. Of course, the latter kind of programmers learn to appreciate type checking, because it is a way in which the compiler can ﬁnd bugs automatically. The development of programming languages shows a movement to more and more type checking. This was one of the main additions of C++ over C. On the limit, a type checker could ﬁnd all errors, that is, all violations of the speciﬁcation. This is not the case with today's languages, not even the strictest ones like ML and Haskell. To take an example, a sorting function sort might have the type ``` sort : List -> List ``` This means that the application sort([2,1,3]) to a list is type-correct, but the application sort(0) to an integer isn't. However, the sorting function could still be deﬁned in such a way that, for instance, sorting any list returns an empty list. This would have a correct type but it wouldn't be a correct sorting function. Now, this problem is one that could be solved by an even stronger type checker in a language such as Agda. Agda uses the propositions as types principle and which in particular makes it possible to express speciﬁcations as types. For instance, the sorting function could be declared ``` sort : (x : List) -> (y : List) & Sorted(x,y) ``` where the condition that the value y is a sorted version of the argument x is a part of the type. But at the time of writing this is still in the avant-garde of programming language technology. Coming back to more standard languages, type checking has another function completely diﬀerent from correctness control. It is used for type annotations, which means that it enables the compiler to produce more eﬃcient machine code. For instance, JVM has separate instructions for integer and double-precision ﬂoat addition (iadd and dadd, respectively). One might always choose dadd to be on the safe side, but the code becomes more eﬃcient if iadd is used whenever possible. Since Java source code uses + ambiguously for integer and ﬂoat addition, the compiler must decide which one is in question. This is easy if the operands are integer or ﬂoat constants: it could be made in the parser. But if the operands are variables, and since Java uses the same kind of variables for all types, the parser cannot decide this. Ultimately, recalling the previous chapter, this is so because context-free grammars cannot deal with the copy language! It is the type checker that is aware of the context, that is, what variables have been declared and in what types. Luckily, the parser will already have analysed the source code into a tree, so that the task of the type checker is not hopelessly complicated. 4.2 Specifying a type checker There is no standard tool for type checkers, which means they have to be written in a general-purpose programming language. However, there are standard notations that can be used for specifying the type systems of a language and easily converted to code in any host language. The most common notation is inference rules. An inference rule has a set of premisses J1, . . . , Jn and a conclusion J, conventionally separated by a line: This inference rule is read: From the premisses J1, . . . , Jn, we can conclude J. The symbols J1, . . . , Jn, J stand for judgements. The most common judgement in type systems is e: T read, expression e has type T. An example of an inference rule for C or Java is that is, if a has type bool and b has type bool. then a && b has type bool. 4.3 Type checking and type inference The ﬁrst step from an inference rule to implementation is pseudo-code for syntax-directed translation. Typing rules for expression forms in an abstract syntax can be seen as clauses in a recursive function deﬁnition that traverses expression trees. There are two kinds of functions: Type checking: given an expression e and a type T, decide if e : T. * Type inference: given an expression e, ﬁnd a type T such that e : T. When we translate a typing rule to type checking code, its conclusion becomes a case for pattern matching, and its premisses become recursive calls for type checking. For instance, the above && rule becomes ``` check (a && b : bool) = check (a : bool) check (b : bool) ``` There are no patterns matching other types than bool, so type checking fails for them. In a type inference rule, the premisses become recursive calls as well, but the type in the conclusion becomes the value returned by the function: ``` infer (a && b) = check (a : bool) check (b : bool) return bool ``` Notice that the function should not just return bool outright: it must also check that the operands are of type bool. 4.4 Context, environment, and side conditions How do we type-check variables? Variables symbols like x can have any of the types available in a programming language. The type it has in a particular program depends on the context. In C and Java, the context is deﬁned by declarations of variables. It is a data structure where one can look up a variable and get its type. So we can think of the context as as lookup table of (variable,type) pairs. In inference rules, the context is denoted by the Greek letter Gamma, Γ. The judgement form for typing is generalized to which is read, expression e has type T in context Γ. Most typing rules are generalized by adding the same Γ to all judgements, because the context doesn't change. This would be silly if it was always the case. However, as we shall see, the context does change in the rules for type checking declarations. The places where contexts are needed for expressions are those that involve variables. First of all, the typing rule for variable expressions is What does this mean? The condition "if x : T in Γ" is not a judgement but a sentence in the metalanguage (English). Therefore it cannot appear above the inference line as one of the premisses, but beside the line, as a side condition. The situation becomes even cleared if we look at the pseudocode: ``` infer (Gamma,x) = T := lookup(x,Gamma) return T ``` Looking up the type of the variable is not a recursive call to infer or check, but another function, lookup. One way to make this fully precise is to look at concrete Haskell code. Here we have the type inference and lookup functions ``` infer :: Context -> Exp -> Type look :: Ident -> Context -> Type ``` We also have to make the abstract syntax constructors explicit: we cannot write just x bur EVar x, when we infer the type of a variable expression. Then the type inference rule comes out as a pattern matching case in the deﬁnition of infer: ``` infer Gamma (EVar x) = let typ = look x Gamma in return typ ``` If the language has function deﬁnitions, we also need to look up the types of functions when type checking function calls (f(a, b, c)). We will assume that the context Γ also includes the type information for functions. Then Γ is more properly called the environment for type checking, and not just the context. The only place where the function storage part of the environment ever changes is when type checking function deﬁnitions. The only place where it is needed is when type checking function calls. The typing rule involves a lookup of the function in Γ as a side condition, and the typings of the arguments as premisses: For the purpose of expressing the value of function lookup, we use the notation (T1, . . . , Tn) → T for the type of functions, even though it is not used in C and Java themselves. 4.5 Proofs in a type system Inference rules are designed for the construction of proofs, which are structured as proof trees. A proof tree can be seen as a trace of the steps that the type checker performs when checking or inferring a type. For instance, if we want to prove that x + y > y is a boolean expressions when x and y are integer variables, we have to prove the judgement Notice the notation for contexts: This is also handy when writing inference rules, because it also allows us to write simply when we add a new variable to the context Γ. Here is a proof tree for the judgement we wanted to prove: The tree can be made more explicit by adding explanations for the side conditions. Here they appear beside the top-most judgments, just making it clear that the typing of a variable is justiﬁed by the context: 4.6 Overloading and type casts Variables are examples of expressions that can have diﬀerent types in different contexts. Another example is overloaded operators. The binary arithmetic operations (+ - * /) and comparisons (== != < > <= >=) are in many languages usable for diﬀerent types. For simplicity, let us assume that the only possible types for arithmetic and comparisons are int and double. The typing rules then look as follows: and similarly for the other operators. Notice that a + expression has the same type as its operands, whereas a == is always a boolean. The type of + can in both cases be inferred from the ﬁrst operand and used for checking the second one: ``` infer (a + b) = t := infer (a) check (b : t) return t ``` Yet another case of expressions having diﬀerent type is type casts. For instance, an integer can be cast into a double. This may sound trivial from the ordinary mathematical point of view, because integers are a subset of reals. But for most machines this is not the case, because the integers and doubles have totally diﬀerent binary representations and diﬀerent sets of instructions. Therefore, the compiler usually has to generate a conversion instruction for type casts, both explicit and implicit ones. We will leave out type casts from the language implemented in this book. 4.7 The validity of statements and function deﬁnitions Expressions have types, which can be checked and inferred. But what happens when we type-check a statement? Then we are not interested in a type, but just in whether the judgement is valid. For the validity of a statement, we need a new judgement form, which is read, statement s is valid in environment Γ. Checking whether a statement is valid often requires type checking some expressions. For instance, in a while statement the condition expression has to be boolean: What about expressions used as statements, for instance, assignments and some function calls? We don't need to care about what the type of the expression is, just that it has one—which means that we are able to infer one. Hence the expression statement rule is A similar rule could be given to return statements. However, when they occur within function bodies, they can more properly be checked with respect to the return types of the functions. Similarly to statements, function deﬁnitions just checked for validity: The variables declared as parameters of the function deﬁne the context in which the body is checked. The body consists of a list of statements s1 . . . sn, which are checked in this context. One can think of this as a shorthand for n premisses, where each statement is in turn checked in the same context. But this is not quite true, because the context may change from one statement to the other. We return to this in next section. To be really picky, the type checker of function deﬁnitions should also check that all variables in the parameter list are distinct. We shall see in the next section that variables introduced in declarations are checked to be new. Then they must also be new with respect to the function parameters. One could add to the conclusion of this rule that Γ is extended by the new function and its type. However, this would not be enough for allowing recursive functions, that is, functions whose body includes calls to the function itself. Therefore we rather assume that the functions in Γ are added at a separate ﬁrst pass of the type checker, which collects all functions and their types (and also checks that all functions have diﬀerent names). We return to this in Section 4.9. One could also add a condition that the function body contains a return statement of expected type. A more sophisticated version of this could also allow returns in if branches, for example, ``` if (fail()) return 1 ; else return 0 ; ``` 4.8 Declarations and block structures Variables get their types in declarations. Each declaration has a scope, which is within a certain block. Blocks in C and Java correspond roughly to parts of code between curly brackets, { and }. Two principles regulate the use of variables: 1. A variable declared in a block has its scope till the end of that block. 2. A variable can be declared again in an inner block, but not otherwise. To give an example of these principles at work, let us look at a code with some blocks, declarations, and assignments: ``` { int x ; { x = 3 ; // x : int double x ; // x : double x = 3.14 ; int z ; } x = x + 1 ; // x : int, receives the value 3 + 1 z = 8 ; // ILLEGAL! z is no more in scope double x ; // ILLEGAL! x may not be declared again } ``` Our type checker has to control that the block structure is obeyed. This requires a slight revision of the notion of context. Instead of a simple lookup table, Γ must be made into a stack of lookup tables. We denote this with a dot notation, for example, where Γ1 is an old (i.e. outer) context and Γ2 an inner context. The innermost context is the top of the stack. The lookup function for variables must be modiﬁed accordingly. With just one context, it looks for the variable everywhere. With a stack of contexts, it starts by looking in the top-mosts and goes deeper in the stack only if it doesn't ﬁnd the variable. A declaration introduces a new variable in the current scope. This variable is checked to be fresh with respect to the context. But how do we express that the new variable is added to the context in which the later statements are checked? This is done by a slight modiﬁcation of the judgement that a statement is valid: we can write rules checking that a sequence of statements is valid, A declaration extends the context used for checking the statements that follow: In other words: a declaration followed by some other statements s2 . . . sn is valid, if these other statements are valid in a context where the declared variable is added. This addition causes the type checker to recognize the eﬀect of the declaration. For block statements, we push a new context on the stack. In the rule notation, this is seen as the appearance of a dot after Γ. Otherwise the logic is similar to the declaration rule—but now, it is the statements inside the block that are aﬀected by the context change, not the statements after: The reader should now try out her hand in building a proof tree for the judgement This is a proof from the empty context, which means no variables are given beforehand. You should ﬁrst formulate the proper rules of assignment expressions and integer literals, which we haven't shown. But they are easy. 4.9 Implementing a type checker Implementing a type checker is our ﬁrst large-scale lesson in syntax-directed translation. As shown in Section 4.3, this is done by means of inference and checking functions, together with some auxiliary functions for dealing with contexts shown in Section 4.4. The block structure (Section 4.8) creates the need for some more. Here is a summary of the functions we need: ``` Type infer (Env env, Exp e) Void check (Env env, Type t, Exp e) Void check (Env env, Statements t) Void check (Env env, Definition d) Void check (Program p) Type look (Ident x, Env env) FunType look (Ident x, Env env) Env extend (Env env, Ident x, Type t) Env extend (Env env, Definition d) Env push (Env env) Env pop (Env env) Env empty () ``` We make the check functions return a Void. Their job is to go through the code and silently return if the code is correct. If they encounter an error, they emit an error message. So does infer if type inference fails, and look if the variable or function is not found in the environment. The extend functions can be made to fail if the inserted variable or function name already exists in the environment. Most of the types involved in the signature above come from the abstract syntax of the implemented language, hence ultimately from its BNF grammar. The exceptions are Void, FunType, and Env. FunType is a data structure that contains a list of argument types and a value type. Env contains a lookup table for functions and a stack of contexts. These are our ﬁrst examples of symbol tables, which are essential in all compiler components. We don't need the deﬁnitions of these types in the pseudocode, but just the functions for lookup and environment construction. But we will show possible Haskell and Java deﬁnitions below. Here is the pseudocode for the top-level function checking that a program is valid. We assume that a program is a sequence of function deﬁnitions. It is checked in two passes: ﬁrst, collect the type signatures of each function by running extend on each deﬁnition in turn. Secondly, check each function deﬁnition in the environment that now contains all the functions with their types. ``` check (def_1...def_n) = env := empty for each i = 1,...,n: extend(env,def_i) for each i = 1,...,n: check(env,def_i) ``` We assume that the extend function updates the environment env by a side eﬀect, so that it contains all function types on the last line where check is called. Checking a function deﬁnition is derived from the rule in Section 4.7: ``` check (env, typ fun (typ_1 x_1,...,typ_m x_m) {s_1...s_n}) = for each i = 1,...,m: extend(env,x_i, typ_i) check(env, s_1...s_n) ``` Checking a statement list needs pattern matching over diﬀerent forms of statements. The most critical parts are declarations and blocks: ``` check (env, typ x ; s_2...s_n) = env' := extend(env, x, typ) check (env', s_2...s_n) check (env, {r_1...r_m} s_2...r_n) = env1 := push(env) check(env1, r_1...r_m) env2 := pop(env1) check(env2, s_2...s_m) ``` The type checker we have been deﬁning just checks the validity of programs without changing them. But usually the type checker is expected to return a more informative syntax tree to the later phases, a tree with type annotations. Then the type signatures become ``` <Type,Exp> infer (Env env, Exp e) Exp check (Env env, Type t, Exp e) Statements check (Env env, Statements t) ``` and so on. The abstract syntax needs to be extended by a constructor for type-annotated expressions. We will denote them with <exp : type> in the pseudocode. Then, for instance, the type inference rule for addition expression becomes ``` infer(env, a + b) = <typ,a'> := infer(env, a) b' := check(env, b, typ) return <typ, <a' + b' : typ>> ``` 4.10 Type checker in Haskell The compiler pipeline To implement the type checker in Haskell, we need three things: * deﬁne the appropriate auxiliary types and functions; * implement type checker and inference functions; * put the type checker into the compiler pipeline. A suitable pipeline looks as follows. It calls the lexer within the parser, and reports a syntax error if the parser fails. Then it proceeds to type checking, showing an error message at failure and saying "OK" if the check succeeds. When more compiler phases are added, the next one takes over from the OK branck of type checking. ``` compile :: String -> IO () compile s = case pProgram (myLexer s) of Bad err -> do putStrLn "SYNTAX ERROR" putStrLn err exitFailure Ok tree -> case typecheck tree of ``` ``` Bad err -> do putStrLn "TYPE ERROR" putStrLn err exitFailure Ok _ -> putStrLn "OK" -- or go to next compiler phase ``` The compiler is implementer in the IO monad, which is the most common example of Haskell's monad system. Internally, it will also use an error monad, which is here implemented by the error type deﬁned in the BNFC generated code: ``` data Err a = Ok a \| Bad String ``` The value is either Ok of the expected type or Bad with an error message. Whatever monad is used, its actions can be sequenced. For instance, if ``` checkExp :: Env -> Exp -> Type -> Err () ``` then you can make several checks one after the other by using do ``` do checkExp env exp1 typ checkExp env exp2 typ ``` You can bind variables returned from actions, and return values. ``` do typ1 <- inferExp env exp1 checkExp env exp2 typ1 return typ1 ``` If you are only interested in side eﬀects, you can use the dummy value type () (corresponds to void in C and void or Object in Java). Symbol tables The environment has separate parts for function type table and the stack of variable contexts. We use the Map type for symbol tables, and a list type for the stack. Using lists for symbol tables is also possible, but less eﬃcient and moreover not supported by built-in update functions. ``` type Env = (Sig,[Context]) -- functions and context stack type Sig = Map Id ([Type],Type) -- function type signature type Context = Map Id Type -- variables with their types ``` Auxiliary operations on the environment have the following types: ``` lookVar :: Env -> Id -> Err Type lookFun :: Env -> Id -> Err ([Type],Type) updateVar :: Env -> Id -> Type -> Err Env updateFun :: Env -> Id -> ([Type],Type) -> Err Env newBlock :: Env -> Err Env emptyEnv :: Env ``` You should keep the datatypes abstract, i.e. use them only via these operations. Then you can switch to another implementation if needed, for instance to make it more eﬃcient or add more things in the environment. You can also more easily modify your type checker code to work as an interpreter, where the environment is diﬀerent but the same operations are needed. Pattern matching for type checking and inference Here is the statement checker for expression statements, declaratins, and while statements: ``` checkStm :: Env -> Type -> Stm -> Err Env checkStm env val x = case x of SExp exp -> do inferExp env exp return env SDecl type' x -> updateVar env id type' SWhile exp stm -> do checkExp env Type_bool exp checkStm env val stm ``` Checking expressions is deﬁned in terms of type inference: ``` checkExp :: Env -> Type -> Exp -> Err () checkExp env typ exp = do ``` ``` typ2 <- inferExp env exp if (typ2 == typ) then return () else fail $ "type of " ++ printTree exp ``` Here is type inference for some expression forms: ``` inferExp :: Env -> Exp -> Err Type inferExp env x = case x of ETrue -> return Type_bool EInt n -> return Type_int EId id -> lookVar env id EAdd exp0 exp -> inferArithmBin env exp0 exp ``` Checking the overloaded addition uses a generic auxiliary for binary arithmetic operations: ``` inferArithmBin :: Env -> Exp -> Exp -> Err Type inferArithmBin env a b = do typ <- inferExp env a if elem typ [Type_int, Type_double] then do checkExp env b typ else fail $ "type of expression " ++ printTree exp -- ... ``` 4.11 Type checker in Java The visitor pattern In Section 2.7, we showed a ﬁrst example of syntax-directed translation in Java: a calculator deﬁned by adding the interpret() method to each abstract syntax class. This is the most straightforward way to implement pattern matching in Java. However, it is not very modular, because it requires us to go through and change every class whenever we add a new method. In a compiler, we need to add a type checker, an interpreter, a code generator, perhaps some optimizations—and none of these methods will come out as a cleanly separated piece of code. To solve this problem, Java programmers are recommended to use the visitor pattern. It is also supported by BNFC, which generates the visitor interface and skeleton code to implement a visitor. With this method, you can put each compiler component into a separate class, which implements the visitor interface. Before attacking the type checker itself, let us look at a simpler example— the calculator. The abstract syntax class Exp now contains an interface called Visitor, which depends on two class parameters, A and R. It is these parameters that make the visitor applicable to diﬀerent tasks. In type inference, for instance, A is a context and R is a type. Let us look at the code: ``` public abstract class Exp { public abstract <R,A> R accept(Exp.Visitor<R,A> v, A arg); public interface Visitor <R,A> { public R visit(Arithm.Absyn.EAdd p, A arg); public R visit(Arithm.Absyn.EMul p, A arg); public R visit(Arithm.Absyn.EInt p, A arg); } } public class EAdd extends Exp { public final Exp exp_1, exp_2; public <R,A> R accept(Arithm.Absyn.Exp.Visitor<R,A> v, A arg) { return v.visit(this, arg); } } public class EInt extends Exp { public final Integer integer_; public <R,A> R accept(Arithm.Absyn.Exp.Visitor<R,A> v, A arg) { return v.visit(this, arg); } } ``` There are three ingredients in the visitor pattern: * Visitor<R,A>, the interface to be implemented by each application * R visit(Tree p, A arg), the interface methods in Visitor for each constructor * R accept(Visitor v, A arg), the abstract class method calling the visitor Let us see how the calculator is implemented with the visitor pattern: ``` public class Interpreter { public Integer interpret(Exp e) { return e.accept(new Value(), null ) ; } private class Value implements Exp. Visitor<Integer, Object> { public Integer visit (EAdd p, Object arg) { return interpret(p.exp_1) + interpret(p.exp_2) ; } public Integer visit (EMul p, Object arg) { return interpret(p.exp_1) * interpret(p.exp_2) ; } public Integer visit (EInt p, Object arg) { return p.integer_ ; } } } ``` This is the summary of the components involved: * the return type R is Integer. * the additional argument A is just Object; we don't need it for anything. * the main class is Interpreter and contains – the public main method, Integer interpret(Exp e), calling the visitor with accept – the private class Value, which implements Visitor by making the visit method evaluate the expression At least to me, the most diﬃcult thing to understand with visitors is the difference between accept and visit. It helps to look at what exactly happens when the interpreter is run on an expression—let's say 2 + 3: ``` interpret(EAdd(EInt(2),(EInt(3)))) --> [interpret calls accept] EAdd(EInt(2),(EInt(3))).accept(v,null) --> [accept calls visit] visit(EAdd(EInt(2),(EInt(3))),null) --> [visit calls interpret] interpret(EInt(2)) + interpret(EInt(3)) --> [interpret calls accept, etc] ``` Of course, the logic is less direct than in Haskell's pattern matching: ``` interpret (EAdd (EInt 2) (EInt 3)) --> [interpret calls interpret] interpret (EInt 2) + interpret (EInt 3) --> [interpret calls interpret, etc] ``` But this is how Java can after all make it happen in a modular, type-correct way. Type checker components To implement the type checker in Java, we need three things: * deﬁne the appropriate R and A classes; ; * implement type checker and inference visitors with R and A * put the type checker into the compiler pipeline. For the return type R, we already have the class Type from the abstract syntax. But we also need a representation of function types: ``` public static class FunType { public LinkedList<Type> args ; public Type val ; } ``` Now we can deﬁne the environment with two components: a symbol table (Map) of function type signatures, and a stack (LinkedList) of variable contexts. We also need lookup and update methods: ``` public static class Env { public Map<String,FunType> signature ; public LinkedList<Map<String,Type>> contexts ; public static Type lookVar(String id) { ...} ; public static FunType lookFun(String id) { ...} ; public static void updateVar (String id, Type ty) {...} ; // ... } ``` We also need something that Haskell gives for free: a way to compare types for equality. This we can implement with a special enumeration type of type codes: ``` public static enum TypeCode { CInt, CDouble, CBool, CVoid } ; Now we can give the headers of the main classes and methods: public void typecheck(Program p) { } public static class CheckStm implements Stm.Visitor<Env,Env> { public Env visit(SDecl p, Env env) { } public Env visit(SExp p, Env env) { } // ... checking different statements public static class InferExp implements Exp.Visitor<Type,Env> { public Type visit(EInt p, Env env) { } public Type visit(EAdd p, Env env) { } // ... inferring types of different expressions } On the top level, the compiler ties together the lexer, the parser, and the type checker. Exceptions are caught at each level: try { l = new Yylex(new FileReader(args[0])); parser p = new parser(l); CPP.Absyn.Program parse_tree = p.pProgram(); new TypeChecker().typecheck(parse_tree); } catch (TypeException e) { System.out.println("TYPE ERROR"); System.err.println(e.toString()); System.exit(1); } catch (IOException e) { System.err.println(e.toString()); System.exit(1); } catch (Throwable e) { System.out.println("SYNTAX ERROR"); System.out.println ("At line " + String.valueOf(l.line_num()) + ", near \"" + l.buff() + "\" :"); System.out.println(" " + e.getMessage()); System.exit(1); } ``` Visitors for type checking Now, ﬁnally, let us look at the visitor code itself. Here is checking statements, with declarations and expression statements as examples: ``` public static class CheckStm implements Stm.Visitor<Env,Env> { public Env visit(SDecl p, Env env) { env.updateVar(p.id_,p.type_) ; return env ; } public Env visit(SExp s, Env env) { inferExp(s.exp_, env) ; return env ; } //... } ``` Here is an example of type inference, for overloaded addition expressions: ``` public static class InferExpType implements Exp.Visitor<Type,Env> { public Type visit(demo.Absyn.EPlus p, Env env) { Type t1 = p.exp_1.accept(this, env); Type t2 = p.exp_2.accept(this, env); if (typeCode(t1) == TypeCode.CInt && typeCode(t2) == TypeCode.CInt) return TInt; else if (typeCode(t1) == TypeCode.CDouble && typeCode(t2) == TypeCode.CDouble) return TDouble; else throw new TypeException("Operands to + must be int or double."); } //... } ``` The function typeCode converts source language types to their type codes: ``` public static TypeCode typeCode (Type ty) ... ``` It can be implemented by writing yet another visitor :-) Chapter 5 How to run programs in an interpreter This chapter concludes what is needed in a minimal full-scale language implementation: you can now run your program and see what it produces. This part is the Main Assignment 3, but it turns out to be almost the same as Main Assignment 2, thanks to the powerful method of syntax-directed translation. Of course, it is not customary to interpret Java or C directly on source code; but languages like JavaScript are actually implemented in this way, and it is the quickest way to get your language running. The chapter will conclude with another kind of an interpreter, one for the Java Virtual Machine. It is included more for theoretical interest than as a central task in this book. 5.1 Specifying an interpreter Just like type checkers, interpreters can be abstractly speciﬁed by means of inference rules. The rule system of an interpreter is called the operational semantics of the language. The rules tell how to evaluate expressions and how to execute statements and whole programs. The basic judgement form for expressions is which is read, expression e evaluates to value v in environment γ. It involves the new notion of value, which is what the evaluation returns, for instance, an integer or a double. Values can be seen as a special case of expressions, mostly consisting of literals; we can also eliminate booleans by deﬁning true as the integer 1 and false as 0. The environment γ (which is a small Γ) now contains values instead of types. We will denote value environments as follows: When interpreting (i.e. evaluating) a variable expression, we look up its value from γ. Thus the rule for evaluating variable expressions is The rule for interpreting && expressions is where we use integer multiplication to interpret the boolean conjunction. Notice how similar this rule is to the typing rule, One could actually see the typing rule as a special case of interpretation, where the value of an expression is always its type. 5.2 Side eﬀects Evaluation can have side eﬀects, that is, do things other than just return a value. The most typical side eﬀect is changing the environment. For instance, the assignment expression x = 3 on one hand returns the value 3, on the other changes the value of x to 3 in the environment. Dealing with side eﬀects needs a more general form of judgement: evaluating an expression returns, not only a value, but also a new environment γ ′ . We write which is read, expression e evaluates to value v and the new environment γ ′ in environment γ. The original form without γ ′ can still be used as a shorthand for the case where γ ′ = γ. Now we can write the rule for assignment expressions: The notation γ(x := v) means that we update the value of x in γ to v, which means that we overwrite any old value that x might have had. Operational semantics is an easy way to explain the diﬀerence between preincrements (++x) and postincrements (x++). In preincrement, the value of the expression is x +1. In postincrement, the value of the expression is x. In both cases, x is incremented in the environment. With rules, One might think that side eﬀects only matter in expressions that have side eﬀect themselves, such as assignments. But also other forms of expressions must be given all those side eﬀects that occur in their parts. For instance, ++x - x++ is, even if perhaps bad style, a completely valid expression that should be interpreted properly. The interpretation rule for subtraction thus takes into account the changing environment: What is the value of ++x - x++ in the environment (x := 1)? This is easy to calculate by building a proof tree: But what other value could the expression have in C, where the evaluation order of operands is speciﬁed to be undeﬁned? Another kind of side eﬀects are IO actions, that is, input and output. For instance, printing a value is an output action side eﬀect. We will not treat them with inference rules here, but show later how they can be implemented in the interpreter code. 5.3 Statements Statements are executed for their side eﬀects, not to receive values. Lists of statements are executed in order, where each statement may change the environment for the next one. Therefore the judgement form is This can, however, be reduced to the interpretation of single statements as follows: Expression statements just ignore the value of the expression: For if and while statements, the interpreter diﬀers crucially from the type checker, because it has to consider the two possible values of the condition expression. Therefore, if statements have two rules: one where the condition is true (1), one where it is false (0). In both cases, just one of the statements in the body is executed. But recall that the condition can have side eﬀects! For while staments, the truth of the condition results in a loop where the body is executed and the condition tested again. Only if the condition becomes false (since the environment has changed) can the loop be terminated. Declarations extend the environment with a new variable, which is ﬁrst given a "null" value. Using this null value in the code results in a run-time error, but this is of course impossible to prevent by the compilation. We don't check for the freshness of the new variable, because this has been done in the type checker! Here we follow the principle of Milner, the inventor of ML: Well-typed programs can't go wrong. However, in this very case we would gain something with a run-time check, if the language allows declarations in branches of if statements. For block statements, we push a new environment on the stack, just as we did in the type checker. The new variables declared in the block are added to this new environment, which is popped away at exit from the block. What is happening in this rule? The statements in the block are interpreted in the environment γ., which is the same as γ with a new, empty, variable storage on the top of the stack. The new variables declared in the block are collected in this storage, which we denote by δ. After the block, δ is discarded. But the old γ part may still have changed, because the block may have given new values to some old variables! Here is an example of how this works, with the environment after each statement shown in a comment. ``` { int x ; // (x := null) { // (x := null). int y ; // (x := null).(y := null) y = 3 ; // (x := null).(y := 3) x = y + y ; // (x := 6).(y := 3) } // (x := 6) x = x + 1 ; // (x := 7) } ``` 5.4 Programs, function deﬁnitions, and function calls How do we interpret whole programs and function deﬁnitions? We well assume the C convention that the entire program is executed by running its main function. This means the evaluation of an expression that calls the main function. Also following C conventions, main has no arguments: The environment γ is the global environment of the program. It contains no variables (as we assume there are no global variables). But it does contain all functions. It allows us to look up a function name f and get the parameter list and the function body. In any function call, we execute body of the function in an environment where the parameters are given the values of the arguments: This is quite a mouthful. Let us explain it in detail: * The ﬁrst m premisses evaluate the arguments of the function call. As the environment can change, we show m versions of γ. * The last premiss evaluates the body of the function. This is done in a new environment, which binds the parameters of f to its actual arguments. * No other variables can be accessed when evaluating the body. This is indicated by the use of the dot (.). Hence the local variables in the body won't be confused with the old variables in γ. Actually, the old variables cannot be updated either, but this is already guaranteed by type checking. For the same reason, using γm instead of γ here wouldn't make any diﬀerence. * The value that is returned by evaluating the body comes from the return statement in the body. We have not yet deﬁned how function bodies, which are lists of statements, can return values. We do this by a simple rule saying that the value returned comes from the expression of the last statement, which must be a return statement: 5.5 Laziness The rule for interpreting function calls is an example of the call by value evaluation strategy. This means that the arguments are evaluated before the function body is evaluated. Its alternative is call by name, which means that the arguments are inserted into the function body as expressions, before evaluation. One advantage of call by name is that it doesn't need to evaluate expressions that don't actually occur in the function body. Therefore it is also known as lazy evaluation. A disadvantage is that, if the variable is used more than once, it has to be evaluated again and again. This, in turn, is avoided by a more reﬁned technique of call by need, which is the one used in Haskell. We will return to evaluation strategies in Chapter 7. Most languages, in particular C and Java, use call by value, which is why we have used it here, too. But they do have some exceptions to it. Thus the boolean expressions a && b and a \|\| b are evaluated lazily. Thus in a && b, a is evaluated ﬁrst. If the value is false (0), the whole expression comes out false, and b is not evaluated at all. This is actually important, because it allows the programmer to write which would otherwise result in a division-by-zero error when x == 0. The operational semantics resemples if and while statements in Section 5.3. Thus it is handled with two rules—one for the 0 case and one for the 1 case: For a \|\| b, the evaluation stops if x == 1. 5.6 Debugging interpreters One advantage of interpreters is that one can easily extend them to debuggers. A debugger traverses the code just like an interpreter, but also prints intermediate results such as the current environment, accurately linked to each statement in the source code. 5.7 Implementing the interpreter The code for the interpreter is mostly a straightforward variant of the type checker. The biggest diﬀerence is in the return types, and in the contents of the environment: ``` <Value,Env> eval (Env env, Exp e) Env exec (Env env, Statement s) Void exec (Program p) Value look (Ident x, Env env) Fun look (Ident x, Env env) Env extend (Env env, Ident x, Value v) Env extend (Env env, Definition d) Env push (Env env) Env pop (Env env) Env empty () ``` The top-level interpreter ﬁrst gathers the function deﬁnition to the environment, then executes the main function. ``` exec (def_1 ... def_n) = env := empty for each i = 1,...,n: extend(env, def_i) eval(env, main()) ``` Executing statements and evaluating expressions follows from the semantic rules in the same way as type checking follows from typing rules. In fact, it is easier now, because we don't have to decide between type checking and type inference. For example: ``` exec(env, e;) = <_,env'> := eval(env,e) return env' exec(env, while e s) = <v,env'> := eval(env,e) if v == 0 return env' ``` ``` else env'' := exec(env',s) exec(env'',while e s) eval(env, a-b) = <env', u> := eval(env, a) <env'',v> := eval(env',b) return <env'', u-v> eval(env, f(a_1,...,a_m) = for each i = 1,...,m: <v_i,env_i> := eval(env_i-1, a_i) t f(t_1 x_1,...,t_m x_m){s_1...s_m} envf := extend(push(env),(x_1 := v_1)...(x_m := v_m) <_,v> := eval(envf, s_1...s_m) return <env_m,v> ``` The implementation language takes care of the operations on values, for instance, comparisons like v == 0 and calculations like u - v. The implementation language may also need to deﬁne some predeﬁned functions, in particular ones needed for input and output. Four such functions are needed in the assignment of this book: reading and printing integers and doubles. The simplest way to implement them is as special cases of the eval function: ``` eval(env, printInt(e)) = <env',v> := eval(env,e) print integer v to standard output return <void, env'> eval(env, readInt()) = read integer v from standard input return <v,env> ``` The type Value can be thought of as a special case of Exp, only containing literals, but it would be better implemented as an algebraic datatype. One way to do this is to derive the implementation from a BNFC grammar! This time, we don't use this grammar for parsing, but only for generating the datatype implementation and perhaps the function for printing integer and double values. ``` VInteger. Value ::= Integer ; VDouble. Value ::= Double ; VVoid. Value ::= ; VUndefined. Value ::= ; ``` But some work remains to be done with the arithmetic operations. You cannot simply write ``` VInteger(2) + VInteger(3) ``` because + in Haskell and Java is not deﬁned for the type Value. Instead, you have to deﬁne a special function addValue to the eﬀect that ``` addValue(VInteger(u),VInteger(v)) = VInteger(u+v) addValue(VDouble(u), VDouble(v)) = VDouble(u+v) ``` You won't need any other cases because, once again, well-typed programs can't go wrong! 5.8 Interpreting Java bytecode It is a common saying that "Java is an interpreted language". We saw already Chapter 1 that this is not quite true. The truth is that Java is compiled to another language, JVM, Java Virtual Machine or Java bytecode, and JVM is then interpreted. JVM is very diﬀerent from Java, and its implementation is quite a bit simpler. In Chapter 1, we saw an example, the execution of the bytecode compiled from the expression 5 + (6 * 7): ``` bipush 5 ; 5 bipush 6 ; 5 6 bipush 7 ; 5 6 7 imul ; 5 42 iadd ; 47 ``` After ; (the comment delimiter in JVM assembler), we see the stack as it evolves during execution. At the end, there value of the expression, 47, is found on the top of the stack. In our representation, the "top" is the right-most element. Like most machine languages, JVM has neither expressions nor statements but just instructions. Here is a selections of instructions that we will use in the next chapter to compile into: The instructions working on integers have variants for other types in the full JVM; see next chapter. The load and store instructions are used to compile variables. The code generator assigns a memory address to every variable. This address is an integer. Declarations are compiled so that the next available address is reserved to the variable in question; no instruction is generated. Using a variable as an expression means loading it, whereas assigning to it means storing it. The following code example with both C and JVM illustrates the workings: ``` int i ; ; reserve address 0 for i i = 9 ; bipush 9 istore 0 int j = i + 3 ; ; reserve address 1 for j iload 0 bipush 3 iadd istore 1 ``` Control structures such as while loops are compiled to jump instructions: goto, which is an unconditional jump, and ifeq, which is a conditional jump. The jumps go to labels, which are positions in the code. Here is how while statements can be compiled: ``` while (exp) ===> ; code to evaluate exp stm if (exp==0) goto END ; code to execute stm goto TEST END: ``` We have been explaining the JVM in informal English. To build an interpreter, it is useful to have formal semantics. This time, the semantics is built by the use of transitions: simple rules that specify what each instruction does. This kind of semantics is also known as small-step semantics, as each rule speciﬁes just one step of computation. In fact the big-step relation ⇓ can be seen as the transitive closure of the small-step relation -->: e⇓ vmeans thate-->. . . -- > v in some number of steps. To make this completely precise, we of course have to specify how the big and small step environments correspond to each other. But in the JVM case e ⇓ v can be taken to mean that executing the instructions in e returns the value v on top of the stack after some number of steps and then terminates. The operational semantics for C/Java source code that we gave earlier in this chapter is correspondingly called big-step semantics. For instance, a + b is there speciﬁed by saying that a is evaluated ﬁrst; but this can take any number of intermediate steps. The format of our small-step rules for JVM is ``` < Instruction , Env > --> < Env' > ``` The environment Env has the following parts: * a code pointer P, * a stack S, * a variable storage V, The rules work on instructions, executed one at a time. The next instruction is determined by the code pointer. Each instruction can do some of the following: * increment the code pointer: P+1 * change the code pointer according to a label: P(L) * copy a value from a storage address: V(i) * write a value in a storage address: V(i := v) * push values on the stack: S.v * pop values from the stack Here are the small-step semantic rules for the instructions we have introduced: ``` <bipush v, P; V; S> --> <P+1; V; S.v> <iadd, P; V; S.v.w> --> <P+1; V: S.v+w> <imul, P; V; S.v.w> --> <P+1; V: S.vw> <iload i, P; V; S> --> <P+1; V; S.V(i)> <istore i, P: V; S.v> --> <P+1; V(i:=v); S> <goto L, P; V; S> --> <P(L); V; S> <ifeq L, P; V; S.0> --> <P(L); V; S> <ifeq L, P; V; S.v> --> <P+1; V; S> (v not 0) ``` The semantic rules are a precise, declarative speciﬁcation of an interpreter. They can guide its implementation. But they also make it possible, at least in principle, to perform reasoning about compilers. If both the source language and the target language have a formal semantics, it is possible to deﬁne the correctness of a compiler precisely. For instance: An expression compiler c is correct if, for all expressions e, e ⇓ w if and only if c(e) ⇓ v. Chapter 6 Compiling to machine code There is semantic gap, a gap between the basic language constructs, which make machine languages look frighteningly diﬀerent from source languages. However, the syntax-directed translation method can be put into use once again, and Main Assignment 4 will be an easy piece for anyone who has completed the previous assignments. 6.1 The semantic gap Java and JVM are based on diﬀerent kinds of constructions. These diﬀerences create the semantic gap, which a compiler has to bridge. Here is a summary, which works for many other source and target languags as well: The general picture is that machine code is simpler. This is what makes the correspondence of concepts into many-one: for instance, both statements and expressions are compiled to instructions. The same property makes compilation of constructs into one-many: typically, one statement or expression translates to many instructions. For example, But the good news resulting from this is that compilation is easy, because it can proceed by just ignoring some information in the source language! This comes with the qualiﬁcation that some information not present in the source language must ﬁrst be extracted from the code. This means, in particular, that the type checker has to annotate the syntax tree with type information. 6.2 Specifying the code generator Just like type checkers and interpreters, we could specify a code generator by means of inference rules. One judgement form could be which is read, expression e generates code c in environment γ. The rules for compiling + expressions could be thus one rule for each type, and with type annotations assumed to be in place. However, we will use the linear, non-tree notation of pseudocode from the beginning. One reason is that inference rules are not traditionally used for this task, so the notation would be a bit self-made. Another, more important reason is that the generated code is sometimes quite long, and the rules could become too wide to ﬁt on the page. But in any case, rules and pseudocode are just two concrete syntaxes for the same abstract ideas. Thus the pseudocode for compiling + expressions becomes ``` compile(env, <a + b : t>) = c := compile(env,a) ``` ``` d := compile(env,b) if t == int return c d iadd else return c d dadd The type of this function is Code compile (Env env, Exp e) ``` Even this is not the most common and handy way to specify the compiler. We will rather use the following format: ``` Void compile (Exp e) compile(<a + b : t>) = compile(a) compile(b) if t == int emit(iadd) else emit(dadd) ``` This format involves two simpliﬁcations: the environment is kept implicit—as a global variable, which may be consulted and changed by the compiler; * code is generated as a side eﬀect—by the function Void emit(Code c), which writes the code into a ﬁle. 6.3 The compilation environment As in type checkers and interpreters, the environment stores information on functions and variables. More speciﬁcally, * for each function, its type in the JVM notation; * for each variable, its address as an integer. The exact deﬁnition of the environment need not bother us in the pseudocode. We just need to know the utility functions that form its interface: ``` Address look (Ident x) FunType look (Ident f) Void extend (Ident x, Size s) Void extend (Definition d) Void push () // new context when entering block Void pop () // exit from block, discard new context Void empty () // discard all variables Label label () // get fresh code label ``` The label function gives a fresh label to be used in jump instructions. All labels in the code for a function must be distinct, because the they must uniquely identify a code position. When extending the environment with a new variable, the size of its value must be known. For integers, the size is 1, for doubles, 2. The addresses start from 0, which is given to the ﬁrst variable declared. The ﬁrst variables are the function parameters, after which the locals follow. Blocks can overshadow old variables as usual. Here is an example of how the variable storage develops in the course of a function: ``` int foo (double x, int y) { // x -> 0, y -> 2 int i ; // x -> 0, y -> 2, i -> 3 bool b ; // x -> 0, y -> 2, i -> 3, b -> 4 { // x -> 0, y -> 2, i -> 3, b -> 4 . double i ; // x -> 0, y -> 2, i -> 3, b -> 4 . i -> 4 } // x -> 0, y -> 2, i -> 3, b -> 4 int z ; // x -> 0, y -> 2, i -> 3, b -> 4, z -> 5 } ``` 6.4 Simple expressions and statements The simplest expressions are the integer and double literals. The simplest instructions to compile them to are * ldc i, for pushing an integer i * ldc2 w d, for pushing a double d These instructions are implemented in a special way by using a separate storage called the runtime constant pool. Therefore they are not the most eﬃcient instructions to use for small numbers: for them, the JVM also has * bipush b, for integers whose size is one byte * iconst m1 for -1, iconst 0 for 0, . . . , iconst 5 for 5 * dconst 0 for 0.0, dconst 1 for 1.1 The dconst and iconst sets are better than bipush because they need no second bit for the argument. It is of course easy to optimize the code generation to one of these. But let us assume, for simplicity, the use of the worst-case instructions: ``` compile(i) = emit(ldc i) compile(d) = emit(ldc2_w d) ``` Arithmetic operations were already covered. The following scheme works for all eight cases: ``` compile(<a + b : t>) = // - * / compile(a) compile(b) if t == int emit(iadd) // isub imul idiv else emit(dadd) // dsub dmul ddiv ``` Variables are loaded from the storage: ``` compile(<x : int>) = emit(iload look(x)) compile(<x : double>) = emit(dload look(x)) ``` Like for constants, there are special instructions available for small addresses. Assignments need some care, since we are treating them as expressions which both have side eﬀects and return values. A simple-minded compilation would give ``` i = 3 ; ===> iconst_3 ; istore_1 ``` It follows from the semantics in Section 5.8 that after istore, the value 3 is no more on the stack. This is ﬁne as long as the expression is used only as a statement. But if its value is needed, then we need both to store it and have it on the stack. One way to guarantee this is ``` iconst_3 ; istore_1 ; iload_1 ``` Anther way is to duplicate the top of the stack with the instruction dup: ``` <dup, P; V; S.v> --> <P+1; V; S.v.v> ``` This works for integers; the variant for doubles is dup2. Thus we can use the following compilation scheme for assignments: ``` compile(<x = e : t>) = compile(e) if t == int emit (dup) emit (istore look(x)) else emit (dup2) emit (dstore look(x)) ``` What about if the value is not needed? Then we can use the pop instruction, ``` <pop, P; V; S.v> --> <P+1; V; S> ``` and its big sister pop2. The rule is common for all uses of expressions as statements: ``` compile(<e : t> ;) = compile(e) if t == int emit (pop) else if t == double emit (pop2) else return ``` Notice that the int case in compilation schemes covers booleans as well. The last "else" case for expression statements takes care of expressions of type void: these leave nothing on the stack to pop. The only such expressions in our language are function calls with void as return type. Declarations have a compilation scheme that emits no code, but just reserves a place in the variable storage: ``` compile(t x ;) = extend(x,size(t)) ``` The size of a type is 1 for integers and booleans, 2 for doubles. The extend helper function looks up the smalles available address for a variable, say i, and updates the compilation environment with the entry (x → i). The "smallest available address" is incremented by the size of the type. Blocks are likewise compiled without emitting any code: ``` compile({s_1 ... s_n}) = push for each i = 1,...,n: compile(s_i) pop ``` 6.5 Expressions and statements with jumps The expressions and statements of the previous section are "simple" in the sense that they are compiled into straight code, that is, code without jumps, executed in the order of instructions. Code that is not straight is needed for if and while statements but also, as we will see now, many expressions involving booleans. The basic way to compile while statements is as follows: ``` compile (while (exp) stm) = TEST := label END := label emit (TEST) compile (exp) emit (ifeq END) compile (stm) emit (goto TEST) emit (END) ``` The generated code looks as follows: ``` TEST: while (exp) ===> exp stm ifeq END stm goto TEST END: ``` As speciﬁced in Section 5.8, the ifeq instruction checks if the top of the stack is 0. If yes, the execution jumps to the label; if not, it continues to the next instruction. The checked value is the value of exp in the while condition. Value 0 means that the condition is false, hence the body is not executed. Otherwise, the value is 1 and the body stm is executed. After this, we take a jump back to the test of the condition. if statements are compiled in a similar way: ``` if (exp) ===> evaluate exp stm1 if (exp==0) goto FALSE else execute stm1 stm2 goto TRUE FALSE: execute stm2 TRUE: ``` The idea is to have a label for false case, similar to the label END in while statements. But we also need a label for true, to prevent the execution of the else branch. The compilation scheme is straightforward to extreact from this example. JVM has no booleans, no comparison operations, no conjunction or disjunction. Therefore, if we want to get the value of exp1 < exp2, we execute code corresponding to ``` if (exp1 < exp2) 1 ; else 0 ; ``` We use the conditional jump if icmplt LABEL, which compares the two elements at the top of the stack and jumps if the second-last is less than the last: We can use code that ﬁrst pushes 1 on the stack. This is overwritten by 0 if the comparison does not succeed. ``` bipush 1 exp1 exp3 if_icmplt TRUE pop bipush 0 ``` TRUE: There are instructions similar to if icmplt for all comparisons of integers: eq, ne, lt, gt, ge, and le. For doubles, the mechanism is diﬀerent. There is one instruction, dcmpg, which works as follows: ``` <dcmpg, P; V; S.a.b> --> <P+1; V; S.v> ``` where v = 1 if a > b, v = 0 if a == b, andv = −1 if a < b. We leave it as an exercise to produce the full compilation schemes for both integer and double comparisons. Putting together the compilation of comparisons and while loops gives terrible spaghetti code, shown in the middle column. ``` TEST: TEST: while (x < 9) stm ===> bipush 1 iload 0 iload 0 bipush 9 bipush 9 if_icmplt TRUE if_icmpge END pop bipush 0 TRUE: ifeq goto END stm stm goto TEST goto TEST END: END: ``` The right column shows a better code doing the sam job. It makes the comparison directly in the while jump, by using its negationif icmpge; recall that !(a < b) == (a >= b). The problem is: how can we get this code by using the compilation schemes? 6.6 Compositionality A syntax-directed translation function T is compositional, if the value returned for a tree is a function of the values for its immediate subtrees: In the implementation, this means that, * in Haskell, pattern matching does not need patterns deeper than one; * in Java, one visitor deﬁnition per class and function is enough. In Haskell, it would be easy to use noncompositional compilation schemes, by deeper patterns: ``` compile (SWhile (ELt exp1 exp2) stm) = ... ``` In Java, another visitor must be written to deﬁne what can happen depending on the condition part of while. Another approach is to use compositional code generation followed by a separate phase of back-end optimization of the generated code: run through the code and look for code fragments that can be improved. This technique is more modular and therefore usually preferable to noncompositional hacks in code generation. 6.7 Function calls and deﬁnitions Function calls in JVM are best understood as a generalization of arithmetic operations: 1. Push the function arguments on the stack. 2. Evaluate the function (with the arguments as parameters). 3. Return the value on the stack, popping the arguments. For instance, in function call f(a,b,c), the stack evolves as follows: ``` S // before the call S.a.b.c // entering f S. // executing f, with a,b,c in variable storage S.v // returning from f ``` The procedure is actually quite similar to what the interpreter did in Section 5.4. Entering a function f means that the the JVM jumps to the code for f, with the arguments as the ﬁrst available variables. The evaluation doesn't have access to old variables or to the stack of the calling code, but these become available again when the function returns. The compilation scheme looks as follows: ``` compile(f(a_1,...,a_n)) = for each i = 1,...,n: compile a_i typ := look f emit(invokestatic C/f typ) ``` The JVM instruction for function calls is invokestatic. As the name suggests, we are only considering static methods here. The instruction needs to know the type of the function. It also needs to know its class. But we assume for simplicity that there is a global class Cwhere all the called functions reside. The precise syntax for invokestatic is shown by the following example: ``` invokestatic C/mean(II)I ``` This calls a function int mean (int x, int y) in class C. So the type is written with a special syntax where the argument types are in parentheses before the value type. The types have one-letter symbols corresponding to Java types as follows: ``` I = int, D = double, V = void, Z = boolean ``` There is no diﬀerence between integers and booleans in execution, but the JVM interpreter may use the distinction for bytecode veriﬁcation, that is, type checking at run time. Notice that the class, function, and type are written without spaces between in the assembly code. The top level structure in JVM (as in Java) is a class. Function definitions are included in classed as methods. Here is a function and the compiled method in JVM assembler: ``` int mean (int x, int y) .method public static mean(II)I { .limit locals 2 .limit stack 2 ===> iload_0 iload_1 iadd iconst_2 idiv return ((n+m) / 2) ; ireturn } .end method ``` The ﬁrst line obviously shows the function name and type. The function body is in the indented part. Before the body, two limits are speciﬁed: the storage needed for local variables (V in the semantic rules) and the storage needed for the evaluation stack (S in the semantics). The local variables include the two arguments but nothing else, and since they are integers, the limit is 2. The stack can be calculated by simulating the JVM: it reaches 2 when pushing the two variables, but never beyond that. The code generator can easily calculate these limits by maintaining them in the environment; otherwise, one can use rough limits such as 1000. Now we can give the compilation scheme for function deﬁnitions: ``` compile (t f (t_1 x_1,...,t_m f_m) {s_1 ... s_n} = empty emit (.method public static f type(t_1 ... t_m t) emit (.limit locals locals(f)) emit (.limit stack stack(f)) for each i = 1,...,m: extend(x_i, size(t_i)) for each i = 1,...,n: compile(s_i) emit (.end method) ``` We didn't show yet how to compile return statements. JVM has separate instructions for diﬀerent types. Thus: ``` compile(return <e : t>;) = compile(e) if t==double emit(dreturn) else emit(ireturn) compile(return;) = emit(return) ``` 6.8 Putting together a class ﬁle Class ﬁles can be built with the following template: ``` .class public Foo .super java/lang/Object .method public <init>()V aload_0 invokenonvirtual java/lang/Object/<init>()V return .end method ``` ; user's methods one by one The methods are compiled as described in the previous section. Each method has its own stack, locals, and labels; in particular, a jump from one method can never reach a label in another method. If we follow the C convention as in Chapter 5, the class must have a main method. In JVM, its type signature of is diﬀerent from C: ``` .method public static main([Ljava/lang/String;)V ``` The code generator must therefore treat main as a special case. The class name, Foo in the above template, can be generated by the compiler from the ﬁle name (without suﬃx). The IO functions (reading and printing integers and doubles; cf. Section 5.7) can be put into a separate class, say IO, and then called as usual: ``` invokestatic IO/printInt(I)V invokestatic IO/readInt()I ``` The easiest way to produce the IO class is by writing a Java program IO.java and compile it to IO.class. Then you will be able run "standard" Java code together with code generated by your compiler. The class ﬁle and all JVM code show so far is not binary code but assemply code. It follows the format of Jasmin, which is a JVM assembler. In order to create the class ﬁle Foo.class, you have to compile your source code into a Jasmin ﬁle Foo.j. This is assembled by the call ``` jasmin Foo.j ``` To run your own program, write java Foo This executes the main function. The Jasmin program can be obtained from http://jasmin.sourceforge.net/ 6.9 Compiling to native code 6.10 Memory management Chapter 7 Functional programming languages The Main Assignment material is over, and this chapter takes a look at a new, fascinating world, where the languages are much simpler but much more powerful. If the grammar for the C++ fragment treated before was 100 lines, this language can be deﬁned on less than 20 lines. But the simplicity is more on the user's side than the compiler writer's: you are likely to bang your head against the wall a few times, until you get it right with recursion, call by name, closures, and polymorphism. This work is helped by a rigorous and simple rule system; more than ever before, you need your discipline and stamina to render it correctly in your implementation code. Chapter 8 How simple can a language be* The functional language shown in the previous chapter was very simple already, but it can be made even simpler: the minimal language of Lambda Calculus has just three grammar rules. It needs no integers, no booleans— almost nothing, since everything can be deﬁned by those three rules. This leads us to the notion of Turing Completeness, and we will show another Turing complete language, which is an imperative language similar to C, but deﬁnable on less than ten lines. Looking at these languages gives us ideas to assess the popular thesis that "it doesn't matter what language you use, since it's the same old Turing machine anyway". Chapter 9 Designing your own language You are not likely to implement C++ or Haskell in your professional career. You are much more likely to implement a DSL, domain speciﬁc language. However, the things you have learned by going through the Main Assignments and the optional functional assignment give you all the tools you need to create your own language. You will feel conﬁdent to do this, and you also know the limits of what is realistic and what is not. Chapter 10 Compiling natural language* This last chapter introduces GF, Grammatical Framework, which is similar to BNFC but much more powerful. GF can be used for deﬁnining programming languages, which will be used as an introductory example. Not only can it parse them, but also type check them, and actually the translation from Java to JVM could be deﬁned by a GF grammar. However, the main purpose of the additional power of GF is to cope with the complexities of natural languages. The assignment is to build a little system that documents a program by automatically generating text that describes it; this text can be rendered into your favourite language, be it English, French, German, Persian, Urdu, or any of the more than 20 languages available in GF libraries. Index ``` side condition, 77 side eﬀect, 96 size, 112 size explosion of automata, 59 small-step semantic, 106 source code optimization, 22 speciﬁcation, 26, 74 stack, 13, 65, 104, 106 stack of lookup table, 82 state, 53, 56 straight code, 115 string, 52 string literal, 31, 43 structural recursion on abstract syntax tree, 37 subset construction, 57 symbol, 52, 55 symbol table, 83 syntactic analysis, 14 syntactic sugar, 22 syntax tree, 19 syntax-directed translation, 23, 37, 56, 75, 83, 95 synthesis, 21 target code optimization, 23 terminal, 31 terminator, 41 theory, 23 token, 19 token type, 43 top, 13, 104 transition, 53, 106 transition function, 57 transitive closure, 106 translate, 17 tree, 31 type, 19 type annotation, 74, 84 type cast, 79 type checker, 19 type checking, 75 type code, 91 type error, 20 type inference, 75 type system, 75 unconditional jump, 105 union, 55 universal language, 58 update, 97 valid, 80 value, 95 variable storage, 106 visitor interface, 39, 89 visitor pattern, 89 Yacc, 51, 52 ```
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi 110066 File No. CIC/SM/C/2011/001386 File No. CIC/SM/C/2011/000838 Complainants : 1. Shri Subhash Chandra Aggarwal 2. Shri Anil Bairwal Respondents: 1. Indian National Congress/ All India Congress Committee (AICC); 2. Bhartiya Janata Party(BJP); 3. Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM); 4. Communist Party of India(CPI); 5. Nationalist Congress Party(NCP); and 6. Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) Dates of hearing: 26th September & 1 st November, 2012. Date of Decision: 3rd June 2013 Facts: Complainant Subhash Chandra Agrawal (Shri S.C.Agrawal) has filed Complaint No. CIC/SM/C/2011/001386 and Complainant Shri Anil Bairwal, Complaint No. CIC/SM/C/2011/000838. In both the complaints, the common issue relating to the disclosure of the accounts and funding of Political Parties has been raised. Hence, it has been decided to dispose of these matters through a common order. File No. CIC/SM/C/001386: 2. By his RTI application dated 16.5.2011, complainant S.C. Aggarwal has sought the following information from the Presidents/Secretaries of the Indian National Congress (INC/AICC) and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP): "1. Copies of Election Menifestoes by BJP for Lok Sabha elections in the years it formed NDA govenment with Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. 2. Were all the promises made in these election manifestoes fulfilled after BJP having formed government at the Centre. 1 3. If not, list of promises highlighted in BJP election manifestoes but remained unfulfilled after BJP came to power. 4. Outline of receipts (separately by cash/online/cheque etc) by BJP in last two years separately for each year for which updated account information may be there. 5. Outline of payments (separately by cash/online/cheque etc.) made by BJP in last three years separately for each year for which updated account information may be there. 6. Is it compulsory for every BJP legislature either at Centre or in States or in civic bodies etc to contribute towards party funds? 7. If yes, please provide complete and detailed information including also defaulters in making such contributions to party fund in last three years. 8. Is BJP aware of any of its legislatures (both at Centre and in States)/civic body member etc. involved in corrupt and other malpractices in last three years? 9. If yes, please provide complete details including action taken by party and others against such persons. 10. Has B.J.P. suggested any proposals to Union government /Election Commission towards electoral reforms? 11. If yes, please provide complete details including reply received from concerned ones if any. 12. Any other related information; 13. File notings on movement of this RTI petition and on all aspects mentioned in this RTI petition." 3. Shri Moti Lal Vora, Treasurer, AICC, in his letter dated 20 th May, 2011, had informed the complainant that AICC did not come under the purview of the RTI Act. 4. Shri Shanti Prasad Aggarwal, Rashtriya Prabhari of BJP, in his letter dated 28 th May, 2011, had informed the complainant that BJP was not a public authority and, therefore, the Party was not obliged to provide the requisite information. File No. CIC/SM/C/2011/000838 5. Complainant Anil Bairwal, in his RTI application dated 29.10.2010 had sought the following information from the under mentioned Political Parties: * INC/AICC * BJP * NCP * CPI(M) * CPI * BSP “1. a) Sources of the 10 maximum voluntary contributions received by your party from Financial Year 2004-05 to Financial Year 2009-10? b) The modes of these donations (Cheque, cash, DD etc.)? c) The amounts of these donations? d) The Financial Years in which these contributions were made? You may provide this information in the following format: \| S.No. \| Source/Name of Contributor \| Mode of Contribution \| Amount of Contrinbution \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| \| \| \| \| 2 \| \| \| \| \| 3 \| \| \| \| \| 4 \| \| \| \| \| 5 \| \| \| \| 2. Sources/Names of all Voluntary Contributors along with their addresses who have made single contributions of more than Rs. 1 lakh to your party from Financial Year 2004-05 to Financial Year 2009-10? You may provide this information in the following format: \| S.No . \| Source/Name of Contributor \| \|---\|---\| \| 1 \| \| \| 2 \| \| \| 3 \| \| \| 4 \| \| 6. By his letter dated 15 th November, 2010, Shri Moti Lal Vora, Treasurer, AICC, had informed the complainant that AICC did not come under the purview of the RTI Act. 7. Shri Chandan Bose, PRO, Nationalist Congress Party, in his letter dated 27 th November, 2010, had informed the complainant as under: "It is very important to mention here that NCP is a non-government organization. Hence, we do not have much more resources nor surplus staff to expedite unusual work, which is not in our routine job. We generate funds from the membership drive and through other resources also, i.e. voluntary contributions from the well-wishers, and followers etc. State units of NCP have major role in membership drive from which we are getting funds in lakhs. State units of NCP at district level, block level and panchayat level organize membership camps frequently and every two years, we file the details regarding our membership and all necessary requisites in Election Commission and other government authorities. However, I would like to inform you that ours is a National Party duly recognized by Election Commission of India and that from the day of inception of our party, we have been regularly filing our returns to the Income Tax authorities and also to the Election Commission of India along with whatever voluntary contributions received. It is pertinent to mention here that our all obligation towards authorities are up to date. If you feel like, you may collect all the information you desired, from the above said authorities. In case you want any clarification, please feel free to contact us." 8. Shri K.C. Bansal of CPI, in his letter dated 6 th November, 2010, had informed the complainant of the sources of ten maximum voluntary contributions received by the Party for the financial years 2004-05 to 2009-10. 9. Importantly, other Political Parties chose not to respond to the RTI application. 10. Shri Subhash Chandra Agrawal had filed a complaint dated 6 th September, 2011, before this Commission in which he had mentioned that All India Congress Committee and Bhartiya Janata Party, being national parties, had got premium land in Delhi/New Delhi at zonal variant institutional rate which was much less than the prevailing market rate and, therefore, it was not correct on their part to plead that they did not fall under the purview of the RTI Act. It was his contention that both AICC/INC and BJP fell under the ambit of section 2(h) of the RTI Act. 11. Likewise, Shri Anil Bairwal had filed a complaint dated the 14 th March, 2011, before the Commission against the responses received from INC/AICC, NCP & CPI, contending therein that the Political Parties, being beneficiaries of the Government, fell under the ambit of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and, therefore, they were mandated to disclose full and complete information to him. 12. As the matters in hand raised complex issues of law, the Chief Information st Commissioner in his Order dated 31 July, 2012 had constituted a Full Bench comprising of the following:- * Shri Satyananda Mishra, Chief Information Commissioner; * Smt. Annapurna Dixit, Information Commissioner; and * Shri M.L. Sharma, Information Commissioner 13. The Full Bench held the first hearing on 26 th September, 2012 present: Complainants: . The following were 1. Shri S.C. Agrawal, along with Shri Prashant Bhushan and Pranav Sachdeva. 2. Shri Anil Bairwal, along with Shri Jagdeep S. Chhokar, Shri Trilochan Sastry, Ms. Shivani Kapoor, Shri Manoj Kumar & A.K. Aneja. Respondents: 1. Shri Chandan Bose, PRO, NCP. 2. Shri D. Raja, CPI Election Commission: 1. Shri K.F. Wilfred, Principal Secretary, Election Commission. 14. The Full Bench held its second hearing on 1 st November, 2012. The following were present: Complainants: 1. Shri S.C. Agrawal. 2. Shri Anil Bairwal, along with Shri Jagdeep S. Chhokar, Ms. Shivani Kapoor, Shri Manoj Kumar & Shri A.K. Aneja. Respondents: 1. Advocate Shubhashis R. Soren for BJP. 2. Shri S. Ramachandran Pillai of CPI(M). 3. Advocates Shail Kumar Dwivedi & G.V. Rao for BSP. 4. Shri Chandan Bose, PRO, NCP and Advocate Amit Anand Tiwari for NCP. 15. Shri S.C. Agrawal has filed a written representation before the Commission in which he has vehemently pleaded for declaring Political Parties as public authorities under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. The salient points made in his representation are enumerated hereinbelow :- (i) The Political Parties hold constitutional status and wield constitutional powers under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution in as much as they have the power to - "a) disqualify legislators from Parliament and State Assemblies; b) bind legislators in their speeches and voting inside the house; c) decide what laws are made; d) decide whether Government remains in power or which Government should come to power; e) decide public policies that affect lives of millions of people." (ii) As per Article 102 (2) of the Constitution, a person can be disqualified from being a member of either House of Parliament under the Tenth Schedule and that a similar provision exists for the State Legislators under Article 191(2) of the Constitution. Furthermore, as per Article 102(2), if a member of a House belonging to a Political Party votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to the directions issued by the Political Party, he is liable to be disqualified from being a Member of the House. (iii) The Political Parties have been given statutory status under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. (iv) Under Section 29A (5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, the Political Parties are required to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established. (v) The Political Parties give tickets to the candidates and the people vote on party symbols and, thus, the Political Parties are important instrumentalities of democratic governance. (vi) The Political Parties are substantially financed by the 'appropriate Government' in multiple ways and are exempt from Income Tax. 16. To canvass his case, Shri Agrawal has furnished a copy of letter dated 2.9.2011 of the CPIO of the Land and Development Office(L&DO), Ministry of Urban Development, addressed to him providing information regarding allotment of land by Land and Development Office to various Political Parties. The details of the land allotment to various Political Parties as furnished by the L&DO are extracted below :- "LIST OF POLITICAL PARTIES WHICH HAVE BEEN ALLOTTED LAND BY LAND & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE FOR THEIR OFFICE BUILDINGS \| S.No. \| Name of Party \| Location, Area & Date of allotment \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| All India Congress Committee of Indian National Congress \| Plot at Dr. Rajinder Prasad Road, New Delhi (also known as Jawahar Bhawan), Area = 9518.42 sq.yds. allotted on 8.9.75. Pocket-9A, Kotla Road, Area = 8092 sq. m. Allotted on 19.11.2007 \| \| 2 \| Rashtriya Janata Dal \| Plot Nos. 34, 57, 58 & 59 at Kotla Road, New Delhi Area = 1904 sq. m. allotted on 3.7.2007. \| \| 3 \| Communist Party of India (Marxist) \| Plot Nos. 27, 28 & 29 at Market Road Institutional Area, New Delhi Area = 1197 sq. m. allotted on 24.11.1967 Plot Nos. 10, 11, 12 & 13 at Kotla Road Area = 2535 sq. m. allotted on 11.12.2008. \| \| 4 \| Samajwadi Party \| Plot No. 1, Vasant Kunj Institutional Area, New Delhi Area = 1 acre, Allotted on 21.1.2009. \| \| 5 \| Communist Party of India \| Plot No. 15, Kotla Marg, New Delhi Area = 0.3 acres. Allotted on 2.12.1967 \| \| 6 \| Bharatiya Janata Party (National Level) \| Between Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road and Raisina Road, New Delhi. Area = 1.87 acres. Allotted on 8.3.2001. \| \| 7 \| Janata Dal(United) \| Plot No.4, Vasant Vihar Institutional Area, New Delhi Area = 2000 sq. m. allotted on 27.4.2010 \| \| 8 \| Bharatiya Janata Party (Delhi State) \| Alternative allotment at Plot No.4 & 5, Kotla Road, New Delhi Area = 1060.80 sq. m. allotted on 12.5.2010 \| \| 9 \| All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakham \| Plot No. 13 & 25, Pushp Vihar, M.B. Road, Saket, New Delhi, Area = 1008 Sq. m. Allotted on 30.7.2010 \| \| 10 \| Delhi Pradesh Congress \| Plot No. 2, Rouse Avenue Institutional Area \| \| \| Committee \| \|---\|---\| \| 11 \| All India Trinamool Congress \| 17. In addition to the above, Shri Agrawal has also furnished information regarding the allotment of accommodation to various Political Parties on rental basis and the outstanding dues against them, as received by him from the Directorate of Estates vide their letter dated 24.8.2011. The relevant information is extracted below: 18. Shri Anil Bairwal has also filed a detailed representation before this Commission to contend that Political Parties fall in the ambit of section 2(h) of the RTI Act. In his representation, Shri Bairwal has made the following salient points :- (i) All the Political Parties have been claiming tax exemption under section 13A of the Income Tax Act. As per his representation, various Political Parties claimed Income Tax exemption as given in the following Table: \| S.No. \| Name of the Party \| Accommodation \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| Indian National Congress Committee (I) \| 26, Akbar Road \| \| 2 \| Indian National Congress \| 24, Akbar Road \| \| 3 \| Indian National Congress \| 5, Raisina Road \| \| 4 \| Indian National Congress \| CII/109, Chanakyapuri \| \| 5 \| Bhartiya Janata Party \| 11, Ashoka Road \| \| 6 \| Bharatiya Janata Party \| 14, Pandit Pant Marg \| \| 7 \| C.P.I. \| AB-4, Purana Quila Road \| \| 8 \| Nationalist Congress Party \| 10, Dr. B.D. Marg \| \| 9 \| President Bahujan Samaj Party \| 4, G.R.G. Road \| \| 10 \| Samajwadi Party \| 18, Copernicus Road \| \| 11 \| Shri Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M) \| 8, Teen Murti Lane \| \| Party \| Tax Payable exempted in FY 2006-07(Rs crores) \| Tax payable exempted in FY 2007-08 (Rs crores) \| Tax payable exempted in FY 2008-09 (Rs crores) \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| BJP \| 26.86 \| 40.68 \| 73.71 \| \| INC \| 57 \| 75.05 \| 168.87 \| \| BSP \| 15.44 \| 23.6 \| 0.8 \| \| CPI(M) \| 6.98 \| 4.62 \| 6.53 \| \| CPI \| 0.01 \| 0.21 \| 0.02 \| \| NCP \| 0.9 \| 0.68 \| 8.06 \| ( Source : Compilation from copies of Income Tax Returns received from Income Tax Department under RTI Act) (ii) State has been indirectly financing various Political Parties by way of free air time on All India Radio. As per his calculation, the amount spent by the State on the Political Parties under this Head is as follows: \| S.No. \| Name of the party \| Time allotted for broadcast at the AIR during LS’09(Min) for Political Parties \| Rate charged by AIR in time category-3 for every 10 seconds \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 1. \| BJP \| 140 \| 800 \| \| 2. \| BSP \| 70 \| 800 \| \| 3. \| CPI \| 50 \| 800 \| \| 4. \| CPI(M) \| 70 \| 800 \| \| 5. \| INC \| 160 \| 800 \| \| 6. \| NCP \| 50 \| 800 \| \| 7. \| RJD \| 55 \| 800 \| \| \| Total \| 595 \| 800 \| (Source : Compilation from Spot Buy Rates and Time Allocated to various Political Parties received from All India Radio and Election Commission of India under various RTI applications). (iii). The complainant has also argued that the State has spent huge amounts on the Political Parties in the matter of free air time on Doordarshan. The table given by him is reproduced below:- \| S. No. \| Name of the Party \| Time allotted for telecast at the national network of DD during Lok Sabha’09 (Min) \| Rate charged by national network of DD at non prime time every 10 seconds \| Amount spent by state for the national network during LS’09 (Rs.crores) \| thTe ime allotted for telecast at the regional network during LS’09 (Min.) \| Rate Charged By regional network at non prime time every 10 seconds \| Amount spent by State for the regional network during LS’09 (Rs.crores) \| Total Amount spent by the state on political parties for both the natio and regional network du LS’09(Rs.crores) \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| BJP \| 140 \| 15,000 \| 1.26 \| 215 \| 10,000 \| 1.25 \| 2.51 \| \| I2NC \| INC \| 160 \| 15,000 \| 1.44 \| 240 \| 10,000 \| 1.44 \| 2.88 \| \| 3 \| BSP \| 70 \| 15,000 \| 0.63 \| 100 \| 10,000 \| 0.6 \| 1.23 \| \| 4 \| CPI \| 50 \| 15,000 \| 0.45 \| 75 \| 10,000 \| 0.45 \| 0.9 \| \| 5 \| CPI(M) \| 70 \| 15,000 \| 0.63 \| 105 \| 10,000 \| 0.63 \| 1.26 \| \| 6 \| NCP \| 50 \| 15,000 \| 0.45 \| 80 \| 10,000 \| 0.48 \| 0.93 \| \| 7 \| RJD \| 55 \| 15,000 \| 0.49 \| 85 \| 10,000 \| 0.51 \| 1 \| \| \| Total \| 595 \| \| 5.35 \| 900 \| \| 5.4 \| 10.75 \| ( Source : Compilation from Spot Buy Rates and Time Allocated to various Political Parties received from Doordarshan and Election Commission of India under the RTI Act). (iv) The valuation of the properties allotted by the Government, as estimated by the complainant Shri Bairwal, as given in his representation, is as follows :- \| Party \| Office and address (with allotment dates) \| Area (A) \| Area in Sq.Fts. (1 sq.m.=10.76 Sq. fts, 1 sq. yd.= 9 sq.fts., 1 Acre= 4840 sq.yds.) (B) \| Current Market Value of the Allotteed Plots Land(based on Real Estate Consulting Reports @ Rs. 60,000 per sq. ft(Rs.in Crores) (C=B60,000) \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| INC \| 1. Plot at Dr. Rajinder Prasad Road, New Delhi(Allotted on 08.09.1975) 2. Pocket 9A, Kotla Road, New Delhi(allotted on 19.11.2007 \| 9518.42 sq yds. 8092 sq. m \| .85665.78 .87069.92 \| 513.99 522.42 \| \| BJP \| 1. Between Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road and Raisinha \| 1.87 acr \| es81457.20 \| 488.74 \| \| \| Road(allotted on 08.03.2001) 2. Plot No.4 & 5 Kotla Road New Delhi (allotted on 12.05.2010) \| 1060.80 sq.m \| 11414.21 \| 68.49 \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| CPI(M) \| Plots No.27, 28 & 29 at Market Road Institutional Area, New Delhi(allotted on 11.04.1967) Plot No.10, 11, 12 & 13 Kotla Road, New Delhi (allotted on 11.12.2008) \| 1197 sq.m. 2535 sq.m. \| 12879.72 27276.60 \| 77.28 163.66 \| 240.94 \| \| CPI \| Plot No. 15 Kotla Marg, New Delhi(allotted on 2.12.1967) \| .3 acres \| 13068.00 \| 78.41 \| 78.41 \| \| RJD \| Plots No. 34,57,58 & 59 at Kotla Road, New Delhi(allotted on 03.07.200 \| 1904 sq.m. 7) \| 20487.04 \| 122.92 \| 122.92 \| \| SP \| Plot No.1, Vasant Kunj Institutional Area, New Delhi (Allotted on 21.01.2009) \| 1 Acre \| 43560.00 \| 261.36 \| 261.36 \| \| JD \| Plot No.4, Vasant Vihar Institutional Area, New Delhi(allotted on 24.10.2010 \| 2000 sq.m. ) \| 21520.00 \| 129.12 \| 129.12 \| \| AIADMK \| Plot Nos.2 and 3 at DDU Marg New Delhi(Allotted on 01.03.2011) \| , 1008 sq.m. \| 846.08 \| 65.08 \| 65.08 \| \| AITC \| Plot Nos.2 and 3 at DDU Marg, New Delhi (Allotted on 01.03.2011) \| 1000 sq. m \| .10760.00 \| 64.56 \| 64.56 \| \| Total of current Market Values of the plots of land allotted to the Political Parties(Rs. In Crores) \| \| \| \| 2556.02 \| 2556.02 \| (v) Under Rules 11 and 12 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, two copies of the Electoral Rolls are supplied to the recognized Political Parties, free of cost. This is another instance of indirect financing of the Political Parties by the State. (vi) The Central Govt. and the State Governments have allotted various houses/buildings/other types of accommodation to various Political Parties either free of cost or at concessional rates. This also amounts to indirect financing of Political Parties by the respective Governments. (vii) The Political Parties are continuously engaged in the performance of public duty and it is, therefore, important that they become accountable to the public. Transparency in the working and financial operations of the Political Parties is essential in the larger public interest. 19. Senior Advocate, Shri Prashant Bhushan addressed the Commission on 26 th September, 2012 on behalf of complainant Shri S.C. Agrawal. He vehemently contended that the entire political system in India revolved around the Political Parties. They perform a public function and, therefore, warrant to be declared 'public authority' under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. In amplification of his above broad submission, he has advanced the following arguments:- (i) Tenth Schedule to the Constitution vests tremendous powers with the Political Parties in as much as they can oust an elected member – whether MP or MLA - from out of the Party if he steps out of the party line. The vast power of the Political Parties has been recognised in this Schedule and, therefore, if purposive interpretation of the Tenth Schedule is made, then the Political Parties can be deemed to be covered under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. (ii) As per Section 29C of the Representation of People Act, 1951, all donations of and above Rs. 20,000/- made to Political Parties are required to be reported to the Income Tax Department. This obligation cast on the Political Parties points towards their public character. (iii) By virtue of powers conferred on it under Article 324 of the Constitution read with section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, and Rules 5 and 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and other powers vested in it, the Election Commission of India made and promulgated the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. Under this Order, Election Commission allots symbols to various Political Parties. The Election Commission is an instrumentality of the State. Allotment of election symbols by the Election Commission to various Political Parties is suggestive of the public character of the Political Parties. (iv) The Political Parties get huge tax exemptions under section 13 A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which amounts to indirect financing of the Political Parties in terms of Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act. (v) The Central Government and the State Governments have allotted huge plots of land/buildings/other accommodation in prime locations to all Political Parties all over the country either, free of cost, or on hugely concessional rates. This also amounts to indirect financing of the Political Parties. (vi) Doordarshan of India allots free air time to the Political Parties during the elections. This is another instance of indirect financing of the Political Parties. (vii) As the Political Parties are the life blood of the entire constitutional scheme in a democratic polity and as they are indirectly financed by the Central Government and the State Governments in various ways, as discussed hereinabove, the Political Parties need to be declared public authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. 20. Shri A.K. Aneja, appearing on behalf of the complainants, in his brief submission has drawn the Commission's attention to section 80 GGB of the Income Tax Act which provides that contribution made by an individual or Company to a Political Party is deductible from the total income of the assesee. This provision is exclusively applicable to the Political Parties and is suggestive of indirect financing of the Political Parties by the State. 21. Complainant Shri Anil Bairwal has also filed detailed extra submissions before the Commission arguing that the Political Parties need to be declared Public Authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. His first and foremost submission is that Political Parties have a 'binding nexus with the populace'. He goes on to say that "As the Central Institution of democracy, they embody the will of the people and carry all their expectations that democracy will be truly responsive to their needs and help solve the most pressing problems that confront them in the daily lives". 22. His second submission is that there is need for accountability and transparency in the functioning of the Political Parties. It is his contention that transparency in the functioning of Political Parties was recommended by the Law Commission of India in their 170 th Report on "Reform of Electoral Laws (1999)". The relevant para of the Law Commission's report as extracted by him is given below :- "On the parity of the above reasoning, it must be said that if democracy and accountability constitute the core of our constitutional system, the same concepts must also apply to and bind the Political Parties which are integral to parliamentary democracy. It is the Political Parties that form the Government, man the Parliament and run the governance of the country. It is therefore, necessary to introduce internal democracy, financial transparency and accountability in the working of the Political Parties. A political party which does not respect democratic principles in its internal working cannot be expected to respect those principles in the governance of the country. It cannot be dictatorship internally and democratic in its functioning outside".(emphasis added by the complainant) 23. Shri Bairwal has also relied on this Commissions decision dated 29.04.2008 in File No. CIC/AT/A/2007/01029 & 01263-01270 wherein transparency in the functioning of Political Parties has been underlined. He particularly draws our attention to para 28 of the decision extracted below :- "28. Political Parties are a unique institution of the modern constitutional State. These are essentially civil society institutions and are, therefore, non governmental. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that in spite of being non governmental, Political Parties come to wield or directly or indirectly influence, exercise of governmental power. It is this link between State power and Political Parties that has assumed critical significance in the context of the Right of Information – an Act which has brought into focus the imperatives of transparency in the functioning of State institutions. It would be facetious to argue that transparency is good for all State organs, but not so good for the Political Parties which control the most important of those organs. For example, it will be a fallacy to hold that transparency is good for the bureaucracy but not good enough for the Political Parties which control those bureaucracies through political executives". 24. The Commission has further observed : "38. The laws of the land do not make it mandatory for Political Parties to disclose the sources of their funding, and even less so the manner of expending those funds. In the absence of such laws, the only way a citizen can gain access to the details of funding of Political Parties is through their Income Tax Returns filed annually with Income Tax authorities. This is about the closest the Political Parties get to accounting for the sources and the extent of their funding and their expenditure. There is unmistakable public interest in knowing these funding details which would enable the citizen to make an informed choice about the Political Parties to vote for. The RTI Act emphasizes that "democracy requires an informed citizenry", and that transparency of information is vital to flawless functioning of constitutional democracy. It is nobody's case that while all organs of the State must exhibit maximum transparency, no such obligation attaches to Political Parties. Given that Political Parties influence the exercise of political power, transparency in their organization, functions and, more particularly, their means of funding is a democratic imperative, and, therefore, is in public interest". 25. Another strand of his submissions is that the Public Authority, as defined under section 2(h) of the RTI Act, is a broader term than the 'State' as defined under Article 12 of the Constitution. In other words, it is possible that an entity may fall short of being 'State' and yet may be a 'Public Authority' under the RTI Act. In fact, 'Public Authority' and the 'State' are different and distinct from each other. Shri Bairwal has relied on para 25 of the judgment of Punjab and Haryana High Court in WP(C) No. 19224/2006 along with 23 other cases as extracted below :- "25. Above-all, the deep and pervasive control as required under Article 12, is not required and essential ingredient for invoking the provisions of RTI Act. The primary purpose of instrumentality of the State is in relation to enforcement of the fundamental rights through Courts, whereas the RTI Act is intended to achieve, access to information and to provide an effective framework for effecting the right to information recognized under Article 19 of the Constitution. The complainants are not claiming any kind of monetary benefits or property from the empire of the petitioner-institutions. To my mind, the enforcement of fundamental rights through Courts and the question of applicability of writ jurisdiction on an instrumentality of the State for the purpose of determination of substantive rights and liabilities of the parties are altogether (entirely) different than that of the field of RTI Act, only meant to impart the information. Hence, in my view, the ambit and scope of phrase of instrumentality of the State under Article 12 of the Constitution is entirely different and distinct than that of the regime of RTI Act. If the intention of the Legislature was to so restrict the meaning to the expression of public authority, straightjacketing the same within the four corners of the State, as defined under Article 12, then there was no need/occasion to assign a specific broader definition of public authority under section 2(h) of RTI Act in this relevant connection". 26. The complainant has also argued that while determining whether a particular entity is a Public Authority or not, narrow interpretation of the words used in the statute would frustrate the object of the Act. The purpose of this Act is transparency and accountability in the functioning of entities which impact citizens' daily lives. The Political Parties are such entities. He has relied on para 41 of the Delhi High Court judgment delivered by Justice Ravindra Bhat in Indian Olympic Association –Vs- Veerish Malik and others(WP)(C) No. 876/2007 as extracted below :- "The Act marks a legislative milestone in the post independence era to further democracy. It empowers citizens and information applicants to demand and be supplied with information about public records. Parliamentary endeavor is to extend it also to public authorities which impact citizens daily lives. The Act mandates disclosure of all manner of information and abolishes the concept of locus standi of the information applicant; no justification for applying (for information) is necessary; decisions and decision making processes, which affect lives of individuals and groups of citizens are now open to examination. Parliamentary intention apparently was to empower people with the means to scrutinize government and public processes, and ensure transparency. At the same time, the need of society at large, and Governments as well as individuals in particular, to ensure that sensitive information is kept out of bounds have also been accommodated under the Act." 27. Yet another submission of the complainant is that the Political Parties are being indirectly financed by the State in various ways viz. allotment of land, free of cost, or at nominal rates and exemptions from the Income Tax etc. Paras 3.1 to 3.7 of his representation are extracted below :- "3.1 All Political Parties claim to work for the people and in the national interest. Income tax returns of Political Parties obtained by ADR using the RTI Act reveal that on an average only about 20 per cent of the income of Political Parties comes from donations that they disclose to the Election Commission under section 29C of the Representation of People Act. The sources of the remaining 80 per cent of the income are shrouded in mystery. This is what gives rise to all kinds of speculation about the pernicious influence of illegal money. 3.2 After various RTI applications filed to the central agencies, it was discovered that Political Parties enjoy a number of "facilities" provided to them by the government. This is a clear instance of being "financed indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government" which puts Political Parties squarely under the definition of 'public authority' as provided for in section 2(h)(d)(ii) of the RTI Act. 3.3 In addition to the 100% exemption on income under section 13A of the Income Tax Act, all the major Political Parties have been provided "facilities" for residential and official use by Directorate of Estates (DOE), Government of India, in New Delhi. They have been given offices and residential accommodations at prime locations in New Delhi(Lutyen's Delhi) such as Akbar Road, Raisina Road, Chanakyapuri. The rentals charged are a fraction of the market rent. These facilities are not just provided to them at nominal rates but their maintenance, upgradation, modernization, renovation, etc. are also done at State expense. Similar "facilities" are also provided at various State capitals, details of which are extremely difficult to obtain. 3.4 Money is also spent by Election Commission of India on Political Parties for providing "facilities" to Political Parties such as free electoral rolls, Doordarshan and All India Radio also provide free broadcast facilities to the Political Parties at election time which results in loss of revenue in terms of air time which has a market value. 3.5 If closely monitored and totalled, the total of public funds spent on Political Parties would possibly amount to hundreds of crores. 3.6 There have been several Judicial pronouncements and also decisions by the Central Information Commission that have held that allotment of real estate, rental on subsidized rated, exemption from tax of various types including income tax amount to "indirect financing" in terms of section 2(h)(d)(ii) of the RTI Act. A few of the more useful citations are given below. 3.6.1 Land : The case that is relevant here is Civil Writ Petition No. 16750 of 2010, The Sutlej Club vs. State Information Commission and another decided on 09.05.2011, commonly referred to as CWP No. 19224 of 2006 alongwith 23 connected cases. The Punjab and Haryana High Court held as follows : "72. Now adverting to the financial help of petitioner-Sutlej Club, Ludhiana(at Sr. No.15) is concerned, the SIC mentioned that as per revenue record, the land owned by the Provincial Government is given to the Club which amounts to substantial financial assistance by the State Government. The fact that the valuable land upon which the Club was constructed, belongs to the Government and no rent/lease is paid by it to the Government shows that there is a substantial financial assistance by the State to the Club. The cost of prime land provided to the club would be much more than its normal revenue expenditure. Apart from land provided for construction of the club building, the Government has also incurred a part of expenditure on its construction…. In my view, the SIC has recorded the correct finding of fact based on the material on record, by virtue of impugned order dated 8.7.2010. 3.6.2 Land and Income Tax concessions : A directly relevant case here, dealing with both, land and income tax, was decided by the Central Information Commission on 11.01.2012. It was Mr. Tilak Raj Tanwar vs Government of NCT of Delhi, File No. : CIC/AD/A/2011/001699. After considering all aspects of the issue, the Commission decided as follows : "12. The Commission while relying upon the various decisions given hereinabove is convinced that the Mount St. Mary's School may be considered as being "substantially financed" by the appropriate Governmen, in view of the 5 acres of prime land granted to it at subsidized rates and income tax concessions being enjoyed by the school and that, therefore, it can be declared as a Public authority". 3.6.3 Exemption from Tax : The case that is relevant here is Civil Writ Petition No. 16086 of 2008, Punjab Cricket Association, SAS Nagar(Mohali) vs State Information Commission, Punjab and another, decided on 09.05.2011, commonly referred to as CWP No. 19224 of 2006 alongwith 23 connected cases. The Punjab and Haryana High Court held as follows : "68. Now adverting to the case of petitioner –PCA (at Sr. No.12), it is admitted position that it is enjoying tax exemption from entertainment tax which is an direct financial aid by the State to it. Although the SIC has negatived the plea of the complainant-information seeker, but to my mind, the SIC has slipped into deep legal error in this regard because the PCA is saving heavy amount from exemption of entertainment tax which naturally is an incidence of financial aid by the Government. 3.6.4 Tax exemption and nominal rent : Another case relevant here is Board of Control for Cricket India and another vs Netaji Cricket Club and others [2005 AIR (SC) 5921]. The Supreme Court observed as follows : "80. The Board is a society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. It enjoys a monopoly status as regard regulation of the sport of cricket in terms of its Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. It controls the sport of cricket and lays down the law therefor. It, inter alia, enjoys benefits by way of tax exemption and right to use stadia at nominal annual rent. 3.7 While it may well be argued that the above quoted decisions refer to institutions such as schools, clubs which, in some characteristics, are different from Political Parties but these decisions do recognize, accept and establish the principle that exemption from tax and allotment or permission to use land and other real estate is an accepted form of "financing", though it may be considered "indirect" as it is not in the physical form of money. And this principle is one of the factors that makes Political Parties come under the definition of "public authority" as given in section 2(h) of the RTI Act." 28. More importantly, the complainant has contended that Political Parties have constitutional and statutory status. It is his contention that incorporation of Articles 102(2) and 191(2) through the 42 nd Amendment and the 10 th Schedule to the Constitution has given constitutional status to the Political Parties. According to him, it is a fallacy to say that any individual can form a political party. A body or entity does not become a political party in the legal sense until it is registered by the Election Commission of India under section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and this registration lends it the colour of Public Authority. 29. Lastly, the complainant has also contended that in exercise of its powers, the Election Commission of India under Elections Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, promulgated under article 324 of the Constitution and Rules 5 & 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, grants symbols to various Political Parties for election purposes for the recognition of Political Parties and can suspend or withdraw recognition of recognized Political Parties on their failure to observe model code of conduct or not following the lawful directions and instructions of the Commission. It is indicative of the public character of the Political Parties. 30. It may be further mentioned that Shri S. Sudhakar Reddy, General Secretary, Communist Party of India, sent a letter dated 24.9.2012 to the Commission stating therein that the Political Parties do not come under the ambit of section 2(h) of the RTI Act. The relevant paragraphs of his letter are extracted below:- "Com. A.B. Bardhan, the then General Secretary has written a letter expressing willingness to keep the accounts of our Party transparent. In our view, Political Parties do not come under Section 2(h)(d)(ii) of the RTI Act. Notwithstanding this, we have always been prepared to be transparent in our accounts. We submit our accounts to Election Commission of India every year and every year we submit our accounts to the Income Tad Department also. The accounts of our Party are audited by internal audit committee and also by the Chartered Accountant. It is then submitted to our Party National Council for obtaining their approval. We are prepared to make all the income and expenditure of our Party transparent." 31. On the other hand, Shri A.B. Bardhan, General Secretary, CPI, in letter dated 21.3.2011 addressed to Shri Anil Bairwal has stated that CPI is a Public Authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. The relevant portion of his letter is extracted below :- "(a) Yes, we are Public Authority under section 2(h)(d)(ii) "nongovernment organizations" substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the appropriate Government. (b) We have our internal Appellate Authority "Central Control Commission". 32. It would, thus, appear that CPI has a contradictory stand in the matter, even while vouching for transparency in their accounts. 33. Shri Ambeth Rajan has filed a counter affidavit dated 31.10.2012 on behalf of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in which he has taken the plea that the Political Parties are not public authorities under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Taking his argument further, he would submit that BSP is a political party that has not been notified as public authority by means of any Notification of the appropriate government to the effect that BSP is under control of or substantially financed by the appropriate government. He has also contended that State funding on the electoral rolls during elections is done merely to meet statutory obligations under the Registration of Electoral Rules, 1960. Similarly, tax exemption under section 13A of the IT Act is subject to the compliance of the provisions of Income Tax Act. Further more, allotment of government/public land to the Political Parties on concessional rates does not cloth the party into a public authority within the meaning of section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Paras 04, 08 & 10 of his representation are extracted below:- "4. That at the outset, I submit that the complainant has had no legal right to file application under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, against the answering respondent for the reason that the Political Parties are not the public authorities under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Bahujan Samaj Party being one of the six national Political Parties duly recognized by the Election Commission of India is, therefore, not a 'Public Authority' within the meaning of Section 2(h) of Right to Information Act, 2005. Therefore, the present complaint petition is liable to be dismissed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - That I hereby submit that the BSP is a political party. It has not been notified as a public authority by means of any notification of appropriate government to the effect that BSP is owned, controlled or substantially financed by the appropriate government. Merely because some concessions, rebate and subsidy has been granted like it has been granted to any other political party, the BSP does not automatically become a body owned, controlled or substantially financed by the appropriate government. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. That in view of the above, the present complaint petition against the answering respondent is legally not maintainable only on the ground that there is a State funding on free air time during elections on Doordarshan and All India Radio. The State funding on the electoral roll during elections is done to meet statutory obligations under Registration of Electoral Rules, 1960, which mandates that two copies of the electoral roll, one printed copy and another in CD is supplied to recognized Political Parties, free of cost. Further Tax exemption u/s 13A of the Income Tax Act is again subject to the compliance of the provisions of the Income Tax Act. The allotment of Government/public offices of Political Parties on concessional rent does not clothe the political party into a public authority within the meaning of Section 2(h) of Right to Information Act, 2005." 34. Shri Amit Anand Tiwari, counsel for Nationalist Congress Party(NCP), has argued at length to canvass that NCP is not a public authority. He has also filed a detailed representation in this regard. It is his contention that the NCP does not fall within the ambit of section 2(h) of the RTI Act. He has refuted the arguments advanced by the complainants that the Political Parties are substantially financed by the Government. His contention is that free airtime granted to NCP during the election time on national television and national radio is not suggestive of government financing in as much as during elections, it is a popular practice in most of the democracies. He has referred to the case of Canada in this context. Further, according to him, supply of free electoral rolls during elections to NCP, again, is not indicative of financing by the Government. It is his contention that under rule 11(C) of the Registration of Electoral Rolls, 1960, the Registration Officer is mandated to provide two copies of Electoral Rolls, free of cost, to Political Parties registered under section 29A of the Representation of People Act. This is a statutory requirement and cannot be construed as substantially financing. Similarly, allotment of party office to NCP at economical rates cannot be construed as substantial financing in as-muchas the Government makes this facility available not only to Political Parties recognized by the Election Commission but also to other segments of population such as journalists etc. Further more, it is Shri Tiwari's contention that exemption from Income Tax granted under section 13A of the Income Tax Act also does not mean that the NCP is substantially financed by the Government. He has given the example of Income Tax exemption to the farmers but by virtue of this, the farmers cannot be designated as public authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. 35. Without prejudice to the above arguments, Adv. Tiwari has argued that even if it is admitted that the Government is funding the Political Parties in the manner mentioned herein above, it cannot be said to be 'substantial financing'. It is his contention that the NCP receives less than 1.55% of its total funding from the Government and, therefore, cannot be construed as public authority. Paragraphss 13.1 and 13.2 of his representation are extracted below:- "13.1 In Mohd. Safdar Iman v Indian Institute of Welfare (dated 5.1.2008), this Hon'ble Commission held that the respondent institute was not a public authority mainly because it received not more than 20% of grant-in-aid from the government, which cannot be deemed to be substantial financing. In Sh. Shanmuga Patro v Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (Decision No. 6010/IC(A)/2010), THIS Hon'ble Commission has considered DAV College case and its own decision in Mohd. Safdar Imam" and held that since the respondent body received a very nominal amount of grants from the Government amounting to barely 4%, it cannot be said to be a public authority on account of being substantially financed by the Government. In DAV College & Trust and Management Society v. Director of Public Institutions & Ors. (AIR 2008 P&H 117), the Punjab & Haryana High Court held that where the appellant society was receiving 45% of grant-in-aid from Government, it was being substantially financed by the Government, thus a 'public authority' under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. 13.2 From the above stated judicial precedents and definitions, it becomes clear that every financing would not bring a person within the purview of section 2(h). Such financing must be apparently considerable and done through subscribing of shares or advancing of loans etc. In cases where financing has been less than 20% of the total finance of the authority or body or organization, same was held not to be substantial financing within the meaning of Section 2(h)." 36. Adv. Tiwari has filed additional submissions dated 1.11.2012 for NCP in which he has made the following salient points :- (i) The power exercised by the Political Parties under the 10 th Schedule of the Constitution cannot be construed to mean that the Political Parties are public authorities under section 2(h) in as much as these powers can be exercised only when an elected Member has voted or abstained from voting against the whip of the political party or he has voluntarily given up the membership of such political party. Even in such cases, the political party cannot disqualify a Member of Legislature. All that it can do is to move an application seeking disqualification of such elected Member before the Chairman/Speaker of the House who has exclusive authority to declare such elected Member to be disqualified or otherwise. (ii) No doubt, Political Parties have played a significant role in public life but public interest is not the criterion for declaring a body or institution as public authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. (iii) If Political Parties are declared to be public authorities,, then they will be flooded with applications by pseudo information seekers to maliciously engage the party workers only in responding to the RTI applications thereby causing detriment to their political functioning. The law laid down by the High Court in the Indian Olympic Association case, Commonwealth Games Committee case and Sanskriti School case is not applicable to the Political Parties in as much as there was evidence of huge direct financing by the Government to these bodies/entities which is not true in case of Political Parties. (iv) Public interest argument is not valid in case of Political Parties under section 11 of the RTI Act. If this argument is accepted, then the identities of the contributors would have to be disclosed and the contributors may not like this to happen. Such disclosure may expose them to harassment and threats by other Political Parties. (v) In decision dated 8.7.2009 of a Single Bench of this Commission in Complaint No. CIC/MISC/2009/0001 & CIC/MISC/2009/0002, it was held that Political Parties are not covered under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. (vi) In the decision dated 5.2.2010 of Goa State Information Commission (Shri Pandu Ram –Vs- the President, Maharashtrabadi Gomantak Party), it was held that MGP was not established or constituted under any enactment of State Legislature or by any Notification or order by the Government. Nor was it owned or substantially financed by the State Government and, therefore, was not a public authority. 37. Shri Shanti Prasad Aggarwal of the BJP, in his letter dated 28.5.2011, addressed to the complainant S.C. Agrawal has taken the stand that the BJP is not a public authority under the RTI Act. 38. Similarly, Shri Moti Lal Vora, Treasurer, AICC, in letter dated 20.5.2011 addressed to complainant S.C. Agrawal has taken the stand that the INC/AICC does not come under the purview of public office and, hence, is not liable to provide information under the RTI Act. 39. After hearing the arguments, the Commission decided to address a letter dated 8.11.2012 to the following Political Parties:- o Nationalist Congress Party o Bahujan Samaj Party o Bhartiya Janata Party o Communist Party of India o Communist Party of India(Marxist) o INC/ All India Congress Committee seeking from them the following information :- "(A) Details of lands/buildings allotted by Govt. and its instrumentalities to your Party: (a) in Delhi (b) in State Capital(s) (c) at Distt; HQrs; In the following format, category wise :- (i) Year of allotment (ii) Postal address of plots/buildings. (iii) Size of plots/buildings. (iv) Whether any consideration paid to Central or State Govt. If yes, amount thereof. (v) Whether the lands/buildings were allotted at market rate or at concessional rate. (vi) The estimated value of plots/buildings at present(property-wise). (B) Amount of contributions received by your Party during the last five financial years i.e. 2007-08 to 2011-12, year-wise. (C) Incomes received by your Party from any other sources during the last five financial years i.e. 2007-08 to 2011-12." 40. Only two parties viz. NCP and CPI(M) chose to respond to the Commission's notice. The other Political Parties simply ignored it. 41. Shri S.R. Kohli, Parliamentary Secretary, NCP, in letter dated 22.11.2012 informed the Commission that his party was not covered under section 2(h) of the RTI Act and, therefore, it was not bound to supply any information. 42. However, Shri Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M) wrote a detailed letter dated 21.11.2012 to the Commission in which he gave details of the two buildings allotted to CPI(M) viz : A.K. Gopalan Bhawan – Plot Nos. 27, 28 & 29 at Market Road, measuring 1197.33 Sq Mts. allotted on 22.11.1983 and Kotla Road Plot Nos. 10, 11, 12 & 13, measuring 2534.46 sq. mts., allotted on 11.12.2008. As regards A.K. Gopalan Bhawan plot, he informed the Commission that the Party had deposited security amount of Rs. 31.42 lacs with licence fee of Rs. 78,574/-. As regards Kotla Road plot, the Party had paid premium of Rs.53.80 lacs with ground rent of Rs. 1,34,512/- per annum. Shri Karat has also clarified that the Party has only lease-hold rights on the plots under reference. Shri Karat has also given details of the income of the party from 200708 to 2011-12. But as regards the question of the quantum of tax exemption availed by the Party, he took the following stand "Parliament took the decision to exempt the income of the Political Parties from Income Tax liabilities with the aim to strengthen the democratic polity in the country as Political Parties and their activities are its important components." He also added that it is not a fact that all persons making contributions enjoy full tax exemption on the amounts contributed to Political Parties. 43. It needs to be underlined that it has been the tenor of the arguments advanced by the complainants herein that the Political Parties are substantially financed, albeit indirectly, by the appropriate Government(Central Government in this case) by way of :- Allotment of large tracts of land in prime areas of Delhi either free of cost or at concessional rates; * Allotment of houses on rental basis on concessional rates. * Exemption from Income Tax u/s 13-A of the I.T. Act * Free air time on All India Radio; * Free air time on Door Darshan, and * Provisioning of free electoral rolls etc. 44. The Commission had written to the Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, New Delhi, to confirm the position regarding the allotment of plots to various Political Parties, as claimed by the complainants. The Deputy Land & Development Officer, in his letter dated 21.5.2013, has written to the Secretary of the Commission regarding the allotment of land to various Political Parties. The operative portion of his letter is reproduced below:- "I am directed to refer to your letter No. Secy/CIC/2013/Misc./02 dated 7 th March, 2013 and 16 th April, 2013 on the above mentioned subject and to provide information available in this office in respect of Table-1 as under :- \| S.No. \| Name of party \| Location \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| All India Committee of Indian National Congress \| Dr. Rajender Prasad Road (also known as Jawahar Bhawan Trust), Kotla Road, Pkt.9A. \| \| 2 \| Rashtriya Janata Dal \| Kotla Road Plot Nos. 34, 57, 58 & 59 \| \| 3 \| Communist Party of India(Marxist) \| Market Road, Plot Nos. 27, 28 & 29 \| \| 4 \| Samajwadi Party \| Vasant Kunj, Plot No.1 \| \| 5 \| Communist Party of India \| Kotla Road, Plot No.15 \| \| 6 \| Bhartiya Janata Party \| Between Dr. Rajinder \| \| \| (National Level) \| Prasad Road-Raisina Road \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 7 \| Janata Dal(United) \| Vasant Vihar, Plot No.4 \| \| 8 \| Bhartiya Janata Party (Delhi State) \| Kotla Road, Plot No.4 & 5, alternative \| \| 9 \| All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakham \| Pushp Vihar, M.B. Road, Saket Plot No. 15 & 22 \| \| 10 \| Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee \| Rouse Avenue, Plot No.2 \| \| 11 \| All India Trinamool Congress \| DDU Marg, Plot No.2 & 3 \| It is informed that the information provided in the Table-I is factually correct and the allotments were made to these Political Parties on institutional land rates of this office. Copies of allotment letters in respect of above mentioned Political Parties are enclosed herewith." 45. The terms and conditions of allotment to AICC/INC are contained in the DL&DO's letter dated 19.7.2007. Para 2(i) of the said letter is reproduced below :- "(i) The allottee will pay the premium of land @ Rs. 88 Lakh per acre provisionally plus 2.5% thereof as annual ground rent. This rate was valid up to 31.3.2000. The allottee shall have to pay difference of premium in case the land rates are revised retrospectively by the Government. w.e.f. 1.4.2000. The allottee shall submit an undertaking to this effect on a non-judicial stamp paper worth Rs. 10/-." 46. The land has been allotted to other Political Parties also more or less on the same terms and conditions. However the earlier allotments made to various Political parties were at lower rates. 47 The Commission has received another letter dated 15.5.2013 from the Director of Estates enclosing therewith allotment of government accommodation to various Political Parties on monthly rental as extracted below:- \| \| \| dation \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| Indian National Congress Committee \| 26, Akbar Road \| Enclosed \| ------- \| \| 2 \| Indian National Congress \| 24, Akbar Road \| Enclosed \| Enclosed \| \| 3 \| Indian National Congress \| 5, Raisina Road \| Enclosed \| ------ \| \| 4 \| Indian National Congress \| C-II/109, Chanakya- puri \| Enclosed \| -------- \| \| 5 \| Bhartiya Janata Party \| 11,Ashoka Road \| --------- \| --------- \| \| 6 \| Bhartiya Janata Party \| 14,Pandit P Marg \| anEt nclosed \| Enclosed \| \| 7 \| C.P.I. \| AB-4, Purana Quila Road \| --------- \| ---------- \| \| 8 \| Nationalist Congress Party \| 10, Dr.B. D. Marg \| ---------- \| ---------- \| \| 9 \| President Bahujan Samaj Party \| 4, G.R.G. Road \| Enclosed \| Enclosed \| \| 10 \| Samajwadi Party \| 18, Coper- Nicus Road \| Enclosed \| Enclosed \| \| 11 \| Shri Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M) \| 8, Teen Murti Lane \| --------- \| --------- \| 48 Before proceeding further in this matter, it would be pertinent to have a look at the registration, recognition and functioning of Political Parties as per the existing law/rules. The following salient points need to be underlined :- * The Political Parties are registered with the Election Commission of India(ECI) under section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951. * For the purposes of R.P. Act and elections, an association/body gets the status of political party only on its registration with the ECI under section 29A. * Para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, empowers ECI to suspend or withdraw the recognition of a political party if it refuses to follow the lawful directions and instructions of the Commission or if it refuses to observe the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. * As per Supreme Court judgment in Common Cause –Vs- Union of India (AIR 1996 SC-3081), ECI is empowered under Article 324 of the Constitution to require the Political Parties to submit details of expenditure incurred by them in connection with elections. * ECI has directed the Political Parties to submit their accounts within 90 days after general elections in case of Lok Sabha and within 75 days in the case of Assembly elections. * Under Section 29C of the R.P. Act, a Political Party is required to report to the ECI in respect of contributions received by it in excess of Rs. 20,000/- from any person or Company. * The contributions made to the Political Parties are exempt from the Income Tax, both for the donor and the donee. * Recognition of Political Parties is governed by the provisions of Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment), 1968, which is an order issued by ECI under Article 324 of the Constitution read with Rules 5 & 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to provide for specification, reservation & allotment of symbols and recognition of Political Parties and matters related thereto. DECISION NOTICE AND REASONS 49. The Political Parties constitute one of the most important institutions in a constitutional democracy. Prof. Harold J Laski in his classic text "Grammar of Politics" has termed them 'natural', though not 'perfect'. According to him, the life of a democratic State is built upon the party system. Without Political Parties, there would be no means available of enlisting the popular decisions in a politically satisfactory manner. To quote him "The life of the democratic State is built upon the party-system and it is important at the outset to discuss the part played by party in the arrangement of affairs. Briefly, that part may be best described by saying that parties arrange the issues upon which people are to vote. It is obvious that in the confused welter of the modern State, there must be some selection of problems as more urgent than others. It is necessary to select them as urgent and to present solutions of them which may be acceptable to the citizen-body. It is that task of selection, the party undertakes. It acts, in Mr. Lowell's phrase, as the broker of ideas. From the mass of opinions, sentiments, beliefs, by which the electorate moves, it chooses out those it judges most likely to meet with general acceptance. It organizes persons to advocate its own view of their meaning. It states that view as the issue upon which the voter has to make up his mind. Its power enables it to put forward for election candidates who are willing to identity themselves with its view. Since its opponents will do the same, the electorate, thereby, is enabled to vote as a mass and decision that would otherwise be chaotic, assumes some coherency and direction. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What, at least, is certain, is that without parties there would be no means available to us of enlisting the popular decision in such a way as to secure solutions capable of being interpreted as politically satisfactory." 50. All modern democracies operate on a party system, some with two as in the USA and some others with multiple Political Parties like in India. The Political Parties mobilize public opinion around their ideologies and beliefs and contest elections to form government. No democracy can exist today without Political Parties. An ordinary citizen does not have direct access to the government except through his elected representative and cannot hope to be part of the government without being a member of a Political Party. His membership of a legislature depends on his membership of a Political Party to begin with. It is, thus, through the Political Parties that the citizens of a democracy operationalise the democratic state. This is precisely what Prof Laski has meant when he says that the existence of Political Parties gives the citizens of a country a viable means to give shape to their political aspirations and beliefs by forming a government of their choice. It will, therefore, not be an exaggeration to say that no Political Party, no democracy. In view of this central importance that they enjoy that the Political Parties have been given in our country such enormous powers and benefits, through both constitutional and statutory arrangements so that they can fulfill their just roles in representing their constituents. 51. The Political Parties, for example, play a critical role in the disqualification of legislators on ground of defection. As per paragraph 02 of the Tenth Schedule, a Member of a House belonging to any Political Party can be disqualified in certain circumstances. Paragraphs 01, 02 & 03 of Article 02 are extracted below:- "2. Disqualification on ground of defection. – (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, a member of a House belonging to any political party shall be disqualified for being a member of the House(a) if he has voluntarily given up his membership of such political party; or (b) if he votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by the political party to which he belongs or by any person or authority authorized by it in this behalf, without obtaining, in either case, the prior permission of such political party, person or authority and such voting or abstention has not been condoned by such political party, person or authority within fifteen days from the date of such voting or abstention. Explanation – For the purposes of this sub-paragraph, -- (a) an elected member of a House shall be deemed to belong to the political party, if any, by which he was set up as a candidate for election as such member; (b) a nominated member of a House shall, -- (i) where he is a member of any political party on the date of his nomination as such member, be deemed to belong to such political party; (ii) in any other case, be deemed to belong to the political party of which he becomes, or, as the case may be, first becomes, a member before the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat after complying with the requirements of article 99 or, as the case may be, article 188. (2) An elected member of a House who has been elected as such otherwise than as a candidate set up by any political party, shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he joins any political party after such election. (3) A nominated member of a House shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat after complying with the requirements of article 99 or, as the case may be, article 188." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 52. We may also take notice of certain statutory provisions in this regard. Section 29A of the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1951, empowers the Election Commission of India (ECI) to register Political Parties for the purposes of this Act. In other words, without such registration, a Political Party cannot participate in the electoral process. Sub section (1) of 29-A is extracted below :- "(1) Any association or body of individual citizens of India calling itself a political party and intending to avail itself of the provisions of this Part shall make an application to the Election Commission for its registration as a political party for the purposes of this Act." 53. Further, in exercise of its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution read with section 29A of the RP Act, 1951, and rules 05 and 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, the Election Commission has issued the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968. This Order has been issued for the purity of the elections in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies of States and in the interest of conduct of such elections in a fair and efficient manner and for "the specification, reservation, choice and allotment of symbols for the recognition of Political Parties". This order lays down conditions for recognition of the National Parties and the State Parties. The Election Commission allots symbols to National and State Political Parties under para 08 of the Order. This order also provides for allotment of symbols to unrecognized Political Parties. Para 16-A of the order empowers the Commission to suspend or withdraw permission of a recognized political party for its failure to observe the model code of conduct or follow lawful directions and instructions of the Commission. Importantly, as per para 07 of the order, the Election Commission can issue Notifications in the Gazette of India publishing therein the list specifying the National Parties/State parties and the symbols respectively reserved for them. It can also issue Gazette Notifications in respect of unrecognized Political Parties and addresses of their Headquarters etc. 54. At this stage, it would be useful to crystalise the outcome of discussion held hereinbefore. In our view, the following facts clearly emerge:- (A) Legal/General (a) that the Political Parties are the building blocks of a constitutional democracy; (b) that under Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, a Political Party can have a Member of the House disqualified in certain circumstances; (c) that a Political Party is required to be registered by the Election Commission of India under section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951; (d) that under section 29C of the RP Act, 1951, a Political Party is required to submit a report for each Financial Year to the Election Commission of India in respect of contributions received by it in excess of 20,000/- rupees from any person as also contributions in excess of 20,000/- rupees received from non-Government companies; (e) that in exercise of its powers under Article 324 read with section 29A of the RP Act, 1951 , and rules 5 & 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, the Election Commission has issued Election Symbols(Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, under which election symbols are allotted to various National/State Political Parties; (f) that Election Commission can suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognized political party in the event of violation of provisions of Election Symbol(Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968; (g) that Central Information Commission's order dated 29.4.2008 directing the Political Parties to disclose their Income Tax Returns holds the field and is being complied with. (B) Financial (a) that the Land & Development Office of the Ministry of Urban Development has allotted large tracts of land in Delhi to various Political Parties either free of cost or at concessional rates; (b) that the Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Urban Development, has allotted accommodation in Delhi to various Political Parties on rental basis at concessional rates; (c) that Political Parties have been claiming and granted total tax exemption under section 13A of the Income Tax Act for all their income; (d) that the State has been indirectly financing Political Parties by way of free air time on All India Radio and Doordarshan of India during the elections; & (e) that recognized Political Parties are issued copies of electoral rolls by the Election Commission, free of cost, at the time of elections. 55. Section 2(h) of the RTI Act defines 'public authority' as follows :- (h) "public authority" means any authority or body or institution of selfGovernment established or constituted,-- (a) by or under the Constitution; (b) by any other law made by Parliament; (c) by any other law made by State Legislature; (d) by notification issued or made by the appropriate Government, and includes any - (i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed; (ii) non-Government Organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government;" 56. The issue to be determined is whether these six political parties have the ingredients which would qualify them to be public authorities within the meaning of section 2(h) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. 57. It is quite obvious that out of the many ways a public authority can be established or constituted, those provided in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above would not apply to these political parties. They have not been established or constituted by and under the Constitution; nor by any other law made by Parliament or the State Legislature; nor are these bodies owned or controlled by any appropriate government. We have to examine if these political parties would qualify under the remaining provisions. It is also true that these political parties have not been established or constituted by any specific notification issued or order made by an appropriate government as provided in (d) of this particular section. However, it is pertinent to remember that they have been brought into existence first as political parties and then as national level political parties by the Election Commission of India thereby entitling them to a host of benefits, the principal among them being the right to accept contribution from both individual citizens and private companies and also to get complete income tax exemption on all their incomes. The other important benefit that accrues to these political parties on account of their recognition by the Election Commission of India as national level political parties is the common symbol on which their candidates can contest elections. Thus, if not strictly within the letter of this particular provision (d), but at least, in spirit, these political parties can be said to have been constituted by their registration by the Election Commission of India, a fact akin to the establishment or constitution of a body or institution by an appropriate government. 58. Having said this, the next classification under which these political parties can be placed is what is provided in section 2(h)(ii). According to this provision, any nongovernmental organisation which is substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the appropriate government would become a public authority for the purpose of the Right to Information Act. Now, the question is whether these political parties are being substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the appropriate government. Both the parties in this case have placed considerable importance in favour of and against this position. While the complainants have submitted that the land and buildings provided to these political parties in the national capital at Delhi and probably elsewhere in the States and the complete income tax exemption provided to them would amount to substantial financing, the political parties themselves have strongly argued that whatever benefits they might have received from the Central Government would hardly amount to any substantial financing. While it is true that the expression "substantial" has not been defined in the Right to Information Act, in a number of decisions, the superior courts have held that "substantial financing" need not be "majority financing". In other words, there must be evidence of state funding which is not "insubstantial" of such non-governmental bodies to bring them within the ambit of this particular provision. Keeping this in view, let us see if the tangible and intangible financial benefits extended to these political parties would amount to substantial financing. 59. The Delhi High Court in its decision dated 14.5.2010 in Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd. –Vs- Ramesh Chand Bawa (W.P. (C) 6129/2007 and W.P.(C) 7770/2008) has interpreted the words "and includes" as follows :- "13. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The expression "and includes" {Ref : Sec.2(d)}connotes that those entities which answer the description following those words need not fall within the definition of entities that precedes those words. The word "includes" is generally understood in statutory interpretation as enlarging meaning of the phrases in the body of the statute". 60. In the said decision (supra), the High Court has also observed "19. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the context of the RTI Act it may well be that a body which is neither a "state' for the purposes of Article 12 nor a body discharging public functions for the purpose of Article 226 of the Constitution might still be a 'public authority' within the meaning of Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act. To state differently, while a 'body' which is either a 'State' for the purposes of Article 12 or a 'body' discharging public functions for the purpose of Article 226 is likely to answer the description of 'public authority' in terms of Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act, the mere fact that such body is neither, will not take it out of the definition of 'public authority' under Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act. --------------------------------------------------------------------------" 61. It may now be pertinent to allude to certain decisions of the High Courts and this Commission in this regard:- (i) In Indian Olympic Association and others –Vs- Veeresh Malik & others (WP)(C) No. 876/2007 the Delhi High Court in its decision dated 7 th January 2010, held that Indian Olympic Association is a public authority under section 2(h). The relevant paragraph is extracted below:- "Having regard to the pre-eminent position enjoyed by the IOA, as the sole representative of the IOC, as the regulator for affiliating national bodies in respect of all Olympic sports, armed with the power to impose sanctions against institutions – even individuals, the circumstance that it is funded for the limited purpose of air fare, and other such activities of sports persons, who travel for events, is not a material factor. The IOA is the national representative of the country in the IOC; it has the right to give its nod for inclusion of an affiliating body, who, in turn, select and coach sportsmen, emphasizes that it is an Olympic sports regulator in this country, in respect of all international and national level sports. The annual reports placed by it on the record also reveal that though the IOA is autonomous from the Central Government, in its affairs and management, it is not discharging any public functions. On the contrary, the funding by the government consistently is part of its balance sheet, and IOA depends on such amounts to aid and assist travel, transportation of sportsmen and sports managers alike, serves to underline its public, or predominant position. Without such funding, the IOA would perhaps not be able to work effectively. Taking into consideration all these factors, it is held that the IOA is "public authority" under the meaning of that expression under the Act." (ii) In the same judgment, the Delhi High Court also held the Sanskriti School to be public authority. The relevant paragraph is extracted below:- "As discussed earlier, grants by the Government retain their character as public funds, even if given to private organizations, unless it is proven to be part of general public policy of some sort. Here, by all accounts, the grants – to the tune of Rs. 24 crores were given to the school, without any obligation to return it. A truly private school would have been under an obligation to return the amount, with some interest. The conditionality of having to admit children of employees of the Central Government can hardly be characterized as a legitimate public end; it certainly would not muster any permissible classification test under article 14 of the Constitution. The benefit to the school is recurring; even if a return of 10% (which is far less than a commercial bank's lending rate) is assumed for 6 years, the benefit to the school is to the tune of Rs. 14.88 crores. This is apart from the aggregate grant of Rs. 24.8 crores, and the nominal concessional rate at which the school was allotted land for construction. On a consideration of all the above factors, this court holds that the school fulfils the essential elements of being a non-government organization, under Section 2(h) of the Act, which is substantially financed by the Central Government, through various departments, and agencies. It is therefore, covered by the regime of the Act." (iv) In decision dated 22.4.2010 in Amardeep Walia –vs- Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (File No. CIC/LS/C/2009/900377), the Central Information Commission held Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association to be public authority. Para 19 of the order is extracted below:- "19. The gravamen of the above judgments is that for a private entity to qualify to be a public authority, substantive financing does not mean 'majority' financing. What is important is that the funding by the appropriate Government is achieving a "felt need of a section of the public or to secure larger societal goals." The ratio of the above judgments, particularly of Delhi High Court, applies to the present case on all the fours. A huge property has been placed at the disposal of CLTA by the Chandigarh Administration at a notional rental of Rs.100/- per annum. Besides, grant of one lakh rupees was also given to CLTA in FY 2008-09. Concededly, CLTA fulfills the felt need of a section of the society by way of imparting training to the budding tennis players. It is, therefore, held that CLTA is a Public Authority." (v) In another decision dated 21.1.2011 in Pradeep Bhanot –Vs- Chandigarh Club, Chandigarh (File No. CIC/LS/A/2010/001184), the Central Information Commission held that the Chandigarh Club was a public authority. The broad facts in this case were that a plot of land measuring 3.85 lacs sq.ft. was leased out to the Club at the rent of Rs. 1,08,208/- per month w.e.f. 20.7.2005 to 19.7.2010 with annual increase of 5%. The Finance Department of Chandigarh Administration had submitted before the Commission that the aforesaid rent was not at par with the market rent. Considering the totality of circumstances, the Commission had concluded that Chandigarh Club was public authority under section 2(h). Paras 03 & 04 of the order are extracted below :- "3. We have now received a response from the Finance Department of the Chandigarh Administration under the signatures of the Joint Secretary, Finance. Paras 02 & 03 thereof are extracted below :- "2. In this regard it is informed that the bodies like Chandigarh Club etc are providing the public service and while fixing the rate of rent in such bodies, this aspect is taken into consideration. In view of the public services being provided by these bodies, the said bodies can not be termed as commercial sites. Due to this reason, the rent of Chandigarh Club was fixed as Rs 1,08,208/- per month with effect from 20.7.2000 with annual increase of 5%. It is not out of place to mention here that other similarly situated bodies like Chandigarh Golf Club and Chandigarh Golf Association which are also providing the public services have been kept at par with Chandigarh Club while determining the rate of rent. In case we consider the Chandigarh Club as commercial site, then the rent comes out to be rupees to 3157400 per month. Keeping in view the urban character of the city, rent being charged from the Chandigarh Club is not at par with the market rent. Further, by charging the rent at a lower rate, it will make amply clear that the Chandigarh Administration is indirectly financing the promotion of services being rendered by the Chandigarh Club. 3. In view of the aforesaid circumstances and in view of the fact that said club is being indirectly financed for promotion of public services by the Chandigarh Administration the same is squarely covered under the definition of 'public authority' as defined under section 2 (h) (ii) of the RTI Act, 2005." 4. In view of the categorical position taken by the Chandigarh Administration extracted above and the fact that there is vast differential between the monthly rental being paid by the Chandigarh Club and the commercial rent that the premises could fetch in the open market (as estimated by the Finance Deptt), we are of the opinion that the Chandigarh Club is being indirectly financed by the Chandigarh Administration. In this view of the matter, we hold that the Chandigarh Club is 'public authority' u/s 2 (h) (ii) of the RTI Act. Hence, the club management is hereby directed to put in place a mechanism for servicing the RTI Act." (vii) Further-more, in Amrit Mehta –Vs- India International Centre (File No. CIC/WB/A/2009/000965/LS) decided on 1.2.2011, the Commission held that India International Centre is a public authority under section 2(h). The broad facts in this case were that 4.69 acres of prime land was given on perpetual lease to IIC against deposition of Rs. 1,68,840/- as per agreement signed on 22.4.1960 between the President of India and IIC. The yearly rent payable by IIC to the Central Government was Rs. 8,442/- which has remained unchanged during the last five decades. In the facts of the case, the Commission had held as follows :- "XVIII. In view of the above discussion, it clearly emerges that a huge chunk of land measuring 4.69 acres was allotted to IIC in 1968 at a premium of Rs. 1,68,840/- only, obviously, at a concessional rate. The agreement between the parties expressly speaks of concessional allotment of land. Further, IIC was required to pay rent of Rs. 8,442/- per year to the Central Government and this amount has remained unchanged during the last 52 years. This is also clearly indicative of the rent being nominal/concessional in nature. These facts clearly establish that the Central Government has indirectly financed IIC. The RTI Act does not define 'substantial financing'. The expression 'substantial financing' has to be interpreted in the context of a specific case. This has been so held by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Civil Writ Petition No. 19224/2006(The Hindu Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd. –Vs- State Information Commission, Punjab) extracted above. Considering the fact that a huge chunk of land was allotted to IIC in 1960 in the very heart of the capital city of Delhi at a premium of Rs.1,68,840/- only and also considering the fact that IIC is paying rent of only Rs. 8,442/- per year to the Central Government over all these years, in our opinion, amounts to indirect substantial financing of IIC by the Central Government. In this view of the matter, we hold that IIC is a Public Authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act." (vii) Yet another decision of this Commission needs to be adverted to in this connection. 6,000 Sq. Mts. of land was allotted to Delhi Public School, Rohini, by DDA at a highly subsidised rate of Rs. 65 lacs per acre in February, 1997. Another plot of land measuring 10,000 sq. mtrs. was also allotted to DPS, Rohini, for a play ground on temporary basis on payment of nominal ground rent of only Rs. 10/- per annum. The question before the Commission was whether DPS, Rohini, can be deemed to be a Public Authority in terms of section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Vide decision dated 23.8.2011 in File No. CIC/SG/C/2010/001036/AD, this Commission held that in the facts and circumstances of the case, DPS, Rohini, is a Public Authority under section 2(h). The reasoning given by the Commission is encapsulated in the para extracted hereinafter. "Considering the above factual matrix of the case at hand, one can sum up that 6000 sq. mts of land has been given to the school at a concessional rate of Rs. 65 lacs per acre and 1-0,000 sq. mts of land at a highly subsidised nominal ground rent of Rs. 10/- per Annum by DDA. The School is under the governance, control and regulation of the Delhi Schools Education Act 1973, Rule 50 whereof mandates disclosure of information in the form of reports etc. to the Director of the Directorate of Education, the Administrator and concerned authority from the Central Government, as already discussed above. The Directorate of Education has appointed two nominees in the key Managing Committee of the School thereby ensuring position of power of managing affairs of the School and having control over the Respondent School." 62. The question before the Commission is whether INC/AICC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP and BSP can be held to be Public Authorities under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. The complainants have adduced the following three principal grounds to persuade the Commission to hold that the aforesaid Political Parties are Public Authorities viz:- (i) Indirect substantial financing by the Central Government; (ii) Performance of public duty by the Political Parties; and (iii) Constitutional/legal provisions vesting Political Parties with rights and liabilities. 63. Now we will take these facets one by one. Substantial financing of Political Parties by the Central Govt. 64. The complainant has vehemently pleaded that Political Parties are substantially financed by the Central Government in multiple ways. The first and foremost method of indirect financing is allotment of large tracts of land in prime areas of Delhi either, free of cost, or at concessional rates. Information supplied by complainant Shri Anil Bairwal is depicted in a tabular form at para 18(iv) of this order. This information has been confirmed to the Commission by L&DO as per details given in para 43 of this order. 65. Even allowing for the margin of error in the estimation of the value of land allotted to various political parties by complainant Shri Bairwal, we have reasons to believe that this land has been allotted at hugely concessional rates. The lease value of these properties in the open market has not been placed before us. Even so, we strongly believe that the premium and the lease rent being charged from the Political Parties does not reflect the true value of these properties. This, in our considered opinion, amounts to indirect financing and when added to the income tax exemption enjoyed by these political parties, it would amount to substantial financing. 66. We may also like to add that the complainants have proffered information before the Commission in regard to the lands allotted at Delhi by the Central Government. We are informed that such allotments have also been made at the State capitals by the State Governments. If so, this only reinforces the complainants' contention that the appropriate Governments have indirectly financed Political Parties in a big way. 67. Another method of financing of Political Parties by the Central Government is allotment of houses on rental basis on concessional rates. Information given by the complainant, Shri Bairwal in this regard is mentioned at para 17 of this order which need not be repeated. The Directorate of the Estates, Ministry of Urban Development has also corroborated allotment of various properties to these political parties on rental basis. The rent being charged from the Political Parties is shown in the last column of the said table. The rental value of these properties in the open market has not been placed before us. Even so, we strongly believe that the rent being charged from the Political Parties does not reflect the true rental value of these properties. This arrangement also contributes to the indirect financing of Political Parties. 68. Of the various benefits that the central government extends to these political parties, the total exemption from payment of income tax on their incomes, very obviously, constitutes the most important benefit. Section 13 A of the Income Tax Act reads as follows: "Any income of a political party which is chargeable under the head income from house property or income from other sources or capital gains or any income by way of voluntary contributions received by a political party from any person shall not be included in the total income of the previous year of such political party: Provided that - (a) such political party keeps and maintains such books of account and other documents as would enable the assessing officer to properly deduce its income therefrom; (b) in respect of each such voluntary contribution in excess of Rs. 20,000, such political party keeps and maintains a record of such contribution and the name and address of the person who has made such contribution; and (c) the accounts of such a political party are audited by an accountant as defined in the explanation below subsection 2 of section 288: Provided further that if the treasurer of such political party or any other person authorised by that political party in this behalf fails to submit a report under subsection 3 of section 29C of the Representation of the People Act 1951 for the financial year, no exemption under this section shall be available for that political party for such financial year." 69. Since these political parties have not paid any income tax, the exact quantum of money that the Central Government has forgone in the process has not been worked out specifically. However, since the level of income of all these political parties would place them in the highest slab of income tax, at least 30% of their total income would have been collected as income tax but for the total exemption given to them by law. By a simple calculation, this would show that the Central Government has bestowed financial benefits on the six political parties to the extent of the amount shown against each as per the following table: \| \| crores) \| crores) \| crores) \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| BJP \| 26.86 \| 40.68 \| 73.71 \| \| INC \| 57 \| 75.05 \| 168.87 \| \| BSP \| 15.44 \| 23.6 \| 0.8 \| \| CPI(M) \| 6.98 \| 4.62 \| 6.53 \| \| CPI \| 0.01 \| 0.21 \| 0.02 \| \| NCP \| 0.9 \| 0.68 \| 8.06 \| 70. Thirty per cent of their income which these political parties would have otherwise paid by way of income tax has been given up in their favour by the Central Government. No one can dispute that this is substantial financing, though indirectly. Added to this the concessional allotment of land and buildings in prime locations in the national capital and, probably, in several state headquarters, if not at district level also, the total amount of direct and indirect financing/funding of these political parties is considerable. On behalf of the political parties, it has been argued that the income tax exemption cannot be said to be a form of financing. In support of this argument, they have submitted that such concessions and exemptions are routinely extended to many charitable and non-profit non-governmental organisations across the country. Therefore, according to them, if those numerous nongovernmental organisations are not considered to be public authorities, there is no reason why the political parties should be considered so. We cannot accept this argument. There is a great difference between the tax exemption given to charitable and non-profit nongovernmental organisations and that given to the political parties. The exemption given to the former is strictly conditional: full or part exemption is given to these organisations only if they pursue the objectives outlined in their respective charters, be it the memorandum of association and bye-laws in case they are societies or the trust deeds, in case they are private trusts. There are other strict conditions laid down in the Income Tax Act which the assessee must comply with. In other words, if any of these non-governmental organisations are found not to be pursuing their objectives or spending the tax exempt amount on activities other than what is enshrined in their respective charters or not comply with the conditions, their entire income becomes subject to taxation, sometimes with penalty. On the other hand, the tax exemption given to the political parties is complete, the only condition being that they must report to the Election Commission of India, every year, the details of all the contributors who contribute Rs. 20,000 or more to the political party concerned. Thus, the political parties enjoy an almost unfettered exemption from payment of income tax, a benefit not enjoyed by any other charitable or non-profit non-governmental organisations. 71. It has been also argued before us that Political Parties are beneficiaries of free air time on All India Radio. The amounts spent by the State in this regard on AIR for Lok Sabha Elections – 2009 in respect of various Political Parties is depicted in para 18(ii) of this order. Similarly, the amounts spent by the State on free air time on Doordarshan on various Political Parties is depicted in para 18(iii). These amounts may be small but they contribute to the kitty of Political Parties at the Government cost. 72. In view of the above, we are of the considered opinion that Central Government has contributed significantly to the indirect financing of Political Parties in-question. 73. However, the question remains whether the aforesaid financing can be held to be 'substantial financing' in terms of section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act. Justice Ravindra Bhat of Delhi High Court in judgment dated 7.1.2010 in Indian Olympic Association –vs- Veeresh Malik and Ors. (WP)(C) No. 876/2007 has observed that the expression 'Public Authority' has to be interpreted liberally and not restrictively. Paras 45 & 46 of his order are extracted below :- "45. Now, if the parliamentary intention was to expand the scope of the definition "public authority" and not restrict it to the four categories mentioned in the first part, but to comprehend other bodies or institutions, the next question is whether that intention is coloured by the use of the specific terms, to be read along with the controlling clause 'authority … of self government" and "established or constituted by or under" a notification. A facial interpretation would indicate that even the bodies brought in by the extended definition : (i) "Body owned, controlled or substantially financed; (ii) Non-Government organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government." are to be constituted under, or established by a notification, issued by the appropriate government. If, indeed, such were the intention, sub-clause (i) is a surplusage, since the body would have to be one of self government, substantially financed, and constituted by a notification, issued by the appropriate government. Secondly – perhaps more importantly, it would be highly anomalous to expect a'non-government organization" to be constituted or established by or under a notification issued by the government. These two internal indications actually have the effect of extending the scope of the definition "public authority"; it is, thus, not necessary that the institutions falling under the inclusive part have to be constituted, or established under a notification issued in that regard. Another significant aspect here is that even in the inclusive part, Parliament has nuanced the term; sub-clause (i) talks of a "body, owned, controlled or substantially financed" by the appropriate government (the subject object relationship ending with sub-clause (ii). In the case of control, or ownership, the intention here was that irrespective of the constitution (i.e. it might not be under or by a notification), if there was substantial financing, by the appropriate government, and ownership or control, the body is deemed to be a public authority. This definition would comprehend societies, co-operative societies, trusts, and other institutions where there is control, ownership, (of the appropriate government) or substantial financing. The second class, i.e. non-government organization, by its description, is such as cannot be "constituted" or "established" by or under a statute or notification. 46. The term "non-government organization" has not been used in the Act. It is a commonly accepted expression. Apparently, the expression was used the first time, in the definition of "international NGO" (INGO) in Resolution 288(X) of ECOSOC on February 27, 1950 as "any international organization that is not founded by an international treaty". According to Wikipedia "…Nongovernmental organization (NGO) is a term that has become widely accepted as referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of anygovernment. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status and excludes government representatives from membership in the organization. Unlike the term intergovernmental organization, "non-governmental organization" is term in general use but is not a legal definition. In many jurisdictions these types of organization are defined as "civil society organizations" or referred to by other names…" Therefore, inherent in the context of a "non-government" Organization is that it is independent of government control in its affairs, and is not connected with it. Naturally, its existence being as a non-state actor, the question of its establishment or constitution through a government or official notification would not arise. The only issue in its case would be whether it fulfills the "substantial financing" criteria, spelt out in Section 2(h). Non-government organizations could be of any kind; registered societies, co-operative societies, trusts, companies limited by guarantee or other juristic or legal entities, but not established or controlled in their management, or administration by state or public agencies." 74. As to the question of 'substantial financing', the Delhi High Court in the said judgment has held that 'majority' test is not appropriate to decide whether or not an Organisation is substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by the appropriate Government. It has been observed that financing in percentage terms in relation to the total budget of the body is not important. To quote:- "60. This court therefore, concludes that what amounts to "substantial" financing cannot be straight-jacketed into rigid formulae, of universal application. Of necessity, each case would have to be examined on its own facts. That the percentage of funding is not "majority" financing, or that the body is an impermanent one, are not material. Equally, that the institution or organization is not controlled, and is autonomous is irrelevant; indeed, the concept of nongovernment organization means that it is independent of any manner of government control in its establishment, or management. That the organization does not perform – or pre-dominantly performs – "public" duties, too, may not be material, as long as the object for funding is achieving a felt need of a section of the public, or to secure larger societal goals. To the extent of such funding, indeed, the organization may be a tool, or vehicle for the executive government's policy fulfillment plan. This view, about coverage of the enactment, without any limitation, so long as there is public financing." 75. A similar view has been taken by the Karnataka High Court in Bangalore International Airport Limited – Vs – Karnataka Information Commission (WP 12076/2008) The operative para of the order dated 9.2.2010 is extracted below :- "It is to be noticed that as observed earlier, wording, "non-government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly" is required to be split into two. Whether the non-government organisation is substantially financed directly that is the cash flow would come from the Government agency or indirectly which would necessarily mean that the exemptions are granted to the non-government organisation. In the case on hand, it is to be noticed that a perusal of the agreements would conclusively go to show that the petitionerBIAL is a beneficiary of innumerable exemptions which, if one were to translate into cash flow would certainly cascade into a substantial amount. Another factor which is required to be taken note of is large chunk of land to the extent of 4000 acres of prime agricultural land is acquired by paying enormous amounts as compensation to the farmers who owned the lands. It is estimated that this amount would run into hundred of crores ." . The Learned Judge further held that :- "Let us now consider what are the implications of the words 'substantially financed'. It is obvious that as per Section 2(h)(i) "body substantially financed" would be a body where the ownership may not lie with the Government, nor the control. Hence clearly the wording 'substantially financed' would have to be given meaning at less than 50% holding. The company law gives significant rights to those who own 26% of the shares in a company. Perhaps this could be taken to define the criterion of 'substantial finance'. The finance could be as equity or subsidies in land or concession in taxation". 76. The gravamen of the above judgments is that for a private entity to qualify to be a public authority, substantial financing does not mean majority financing. What is important is that the funding by the appropriate Government is achieving a "felt need of a section of the public or to secure larger societal goals". The ratio of the above judgments, particularly of Delhi High Court, applies to the present case. Large tracts of land in prime areas of Delhi have been placed at the disposal of the Political Parties in-question at exceptionally low rates. Besides, huge Government accommodations have been placed at the disposal of Political Parties at hugely cheap rates thereby bestowing financial benefits on them. The Income Tax exemptions granted and the free air time at AIR and Doordarshan at the time of elections also has substantially contributed to the financing of the Political Parties by the Central Government. We have, therefore, no hesitation in concluding that INC/AICC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP and BSP have been substantially financed by the Central Government and, therefore, they are held to be public authorities under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Performance of Public Duty 77. The Political Parties are the life blood of our polity. As observed by Laski "The life of the democratic state is built upon the party system". Elections are contested on party basis. The Political Parties select some problems as more urgent than others and present solutions to them which may be acceptable to the citizens. The ruling party draws its development programs on the basis of its political agenda. It is responsible for the growth and development of the society and the nation. Political Parties affect the lives of citizens, directly or indirectly, in every conceivable way and are continuously engaged in performing public duty. It is, therefore, important that they became accountable to the public. 78. Political Parties are the unique institution of the modern constitutional State. These are essentially political institutions and are non-governmental. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that inspite of being non-governmental, they come to wield or directly or indirectly influence exercise of governmental power. It would be odd to argue that transparency is good for all State organs but not so good for Political Parties, which, in reality, control all the vital organs of the State. 79. In the W.P. No.12076 of 2008 dated 9.2.2010 in the case of Bangalore International Airport Limited vs Karnataka Information Commission, the Karnataka High Court has held that:- "A public authority may be described as a person or administrative body entrusted with functions to perform for the benefit of the public and not for private profit. Not every such person or body is expressly defined as a public authority or body, and the meaning of a public authority or body may vary according to the statutory context; one of the distinguishing features of an authority not being a public authority, is profit making. It is not incumbent that a body in order to be a public body must always be constituted by a statute; for an authority to be a 'public authority' it must be an authority exercised or capable of being exercised for the benefit of the public" 80. The purity of elections assumes critical significance in this context. In Union of India vs. Association of Democratic Reforms & Anr (AIR 2002 SC 2112), the Supreme Court has laid emphasis on the purity of elections in the following words:- "To maintain the purity of elections and in particular to bring transparency in the process of election, the Commission can ask the candidates about the expenditure incurred by the Political Parties and this transparency in the process of election would include transparency of a candidate who seeks election or re-election. In a democracy, the electoral process has a strategic role. The little man of this country would have basis elementary right to know full particulars of a candidate who is to represent him in Parliament where laws to bind his liberty and property may be enacted." 81. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution in its report submitted in March 2002 has recommended that Political Parties as well as individual candidates be made subject to a proper statutory audit of the amounts they spend. In Common Cause (A Registered Society vs. Union of India) (AIR 1996 SC 3081), the Supreme Court has dealt with the income and expenditure incurred by the Political Parties and has laid emphasis on transparency on election funding. 82. The people of India must know the source of expenditure incurred by Political Parties and by the candidates in the process of election. These judicial pronouncements unmistakably commend progressively higher level of transparency in the functioning of Political Parties in general and their funding in particular. 83. We may also add that the preamble to the Constitution of India aims at securing to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; and, EQUALITY of status and of opportunity. Coincidentally, the preamble of RTI Act also aims to promote these principles in the form of transparency and accountability in the working of the every public authority. It also aims to create an 'informed citizenry' and to contain corruption and to hold government and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed. Needless to say, Political Parties are important political institutions and can play a critical role in heralding transparency in public life. Political Parties continuously perform public functions which define parameters of governance and socio-economic development in the country. 84. In view of the nature of public functions performed by Political Parties and the dicta of the High Court extracted above, we conclude that Political Parties in question are Public Authorities under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Constitutional/legal provisions vesting Political Parties with rights and liabilities 85. The appellants have also contended that Political Parties have constitutional and legal rights and liabilities and, therefore, need to be held to be Public Authorities. The argument runs thus. Political Parties are required to be registered with the ECI under section 29A of the R.P. Act, 1951 – a Central Legislation. An association or body gets the status of a political party on its registration. ECI awards symbols to Political Parties under the Election Symbols(Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, only after registration. The ECI calls for details of expenses made by the Political Parties in the elections. Contributions of the value of Rs. 20,000/- and above received from any person or a Company by a Political Party are required to be intimated to ECI under section 29C of the R.P. Act. ECI is vested with the superintendence, direction and control of elections under Article 324 of the Constitution. ECI is also vested with the authority to suspend or withdraw recognition of a political party in certain contingencies. More importantly, Political Parties can recommend disqualification of Members of the House in certain contingencies under the Tenth Schedule. The contention is that the aforesaid constitutional/statutory powers of Political Parties bring them in the ambit of section 2(h). 86. We find the above submissions quite compelling and unerringly pointing towards their character as public authority. Stand of Political Parties 87. It may be recalled that the INC/AICC and the BJP have made a bland assertion that they are not Public Authorities under the RTI Act. CPI(M) has disclosed some information to the Commission regarding allotment of land to it by the Central Government on certain terms and conditions but has not conceded that it is Public Authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. The contentions of the above parties have to be rejected in the light of findings recorded herein above. 88. Interestingly, the CPI office bearers have taken a contradictory stand. While Shri A.B. Bardhan in his letter dated 21.3.2011 addressed to Shri Anil Bairwal has stated that CPI is a Public Authority under section 2(h), on the other hand Shri Sudhakar Reddy, vide letter dated 24.9.2012 sent to the Commission, has taken the stand that Political Parties do not fall in the ambit of section 2(h). As the stand of CPI is confusing, it does not call for any comments. 89. However, the submissions made by Shri A.A. Tiwari, counsel for Nationalist Congress Party need to be dealt with at some length. It is his contention that free air time granted to the NCP during the elections on National Television and National Radio does not amount to government financing of NCP as it is a popular practice in other democracies of the world. According to him, free provisioning of electoral rolls of Political Parties is a statutory requirement and cannot be construed as substantial financing. Similarly, allotment of plots of land/Government accommodation to Political Parties at economical rates cannot be construed as substantial financing. Similarly, tax exemption under section 13A given to Political Parties under the provisions of the statute also cannot be construed as financing of Political Parties by the Central Government. 90. The arguments of Shri Tiwari cannot be accepted by us in the light of statutory provisions and the case law referred to hereinabove and they have to be rejected. We may further add that his contention that NCP has received less than 1.55% of its total funding from the Government also cannot be accepted by us as he has not produced any figures before us to substantiate this claim. Further, assuming that these figures are true, this contention is liable to be rejected on the ground that NCP, being a Political Party, performs public functions, which along with other reasons mentioned above, qualifies it to be Public Authority under section 2(h). 91. Yet another contention of Shri Tiwari is that if Political Parties are held to be Public Authorities, then the political rivals would maliciously flood their CPIOs with numerous RTI applications at the time of elections thereby wasting their time and energy and, thus, causing detriment to their political functioning. In our view, the validity of a statute cannot be questioned only on the basis of presumption of its possible misuse. On the contrary, we are of the opinion that bringing the Political Parties in the ambit of RTI Act is likely to usher an era of transparency in their functioning. Besides it would result in strengthening of democracy and democratice institutions in the country. In view of the above discussion, we do not find any merit in the submissions of Adv. Tiwari and reject the same. 92. In view of the above discussion, we hold that INC, BJP, CPI(M), CPIO, NCP and BSP have been substantially financed by the Central Government under section 2(h)(ii) of the RTI Act. The criticality of the role being played by these Political Parties in our democratic set up and the nature of duties performed by them also point towards their public character, bringing them in the ambit of section 2(h). The constitutional and legal provisions discussed herein above also point towards their character as public authorities. The order of the Single Bench of this Commission in Complaint No. CIC/MISC/2009/0001 and CIC/MISC/2009/0002 is hereby set aside and it is held that AICC/INC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP and BSP are public authorities under section 2(h) of the RTI Act. 93. The Presidents, General/Secretaries of these Political Parties are hereby directed to designate CPIOs and the Appellate Authorities at their headquarters in 06 weeks time. The CPIOs so appointed will respond to the RTI applications extracted in this order in 04 weeks time. Besides, the Presidents/General Secretaries of the above mentioned Political Parties are also directed to comply with the provisions of section 4(1) (b) of the RTI Act by way of making voluntary disclosures on the subjects mentioned in the said clause. 94. The complaints are disposed off as per the above directions. (Mrs. Annapurna Dixit) Information Commissioner (M. L. Sharma) Information Commissioner ( Satyananda Mishra ) Chief Information Commissioner Authenticated true copy. Additional copies of orders shall be supplied against application and payment of the charges, prescribed under the Act, to the Additional Registrar of this Commission. 53 ( Aakash Deep Chakravarti ) Joint Secretary (Law) & Additional Registrar
CHAPTER 8 - ASA INTEGRITY CODE FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN ATHLETICS FAMILY – ASA RULES AND REGULATIONS Acknowledgement to the IAAF INTEGRITY CODE Preamble * It is an object of Athletics South Africa "ASA" to safeguard the authenticity and integrity of Athletics and to take all possible measures to eliminate corrupt conduct which might place the authenticity, integrity and reputation of Athletics at risk. * In furtherance of this object, the ASA Rules and Regulations include the following Code of Ethics that sets out the Principles of ethical conduct applicable to the ASA Family (the "Code"). * The IAAF Code of Ethics "the IAAF Code" further provides in its appendices for rules and procedures in specific cases and for the Statutes of the IAAF Ethics Commission and the Procedural Rules of the IAAF Ethics Commission (Procedural Rules). These appendices to the IAAF Code are to be read in conjunction with this ASA Code of Ethics, interpreted as required at a National or Provincial level. * The Provincial and Associate Members of ASA shall adopt a code of ethics which shall be based on the Principles and rules of the Code. A Application 1. Persons Covered by the Code: The Code applies to the following individuals (collectively referred to as the "ASA Family"): a. "ASA Officials" meaning all members of the ASA Council, ASA Board, ASA Committees and ASA Commissions, Individual Members as defined in the ASA Constitution and any person who acts or is entitled to act for or on behalf of ASA, including without limitation ASA staff, consultants, agents and advisors; c. "Club Member Officials" meaning all members of executive bodies and committees of Clubs and Provincial Associate Members and others who act, or are entitled to act, for or on behalf of a club or associate member, including without limitation, staff, consultants, agents and advisors; b. "Provincial Member Officials" and "Associate Member Officials", meaning all members of the council and/or executive bodies, committees and commissions of Provincial and Associate Members and others who act, or are entitled to act, for or on behalf of a Provincial or Associate Member, including without limitation, staff, consultants, agents and advisors; d. "Participants" meaning all Athletes, Athlete Support Personnel, competition officials, officials, managers or other members of any Athletics delegation, referees, jury members and any other person who is or has been accredited to attend or participate in a Competition under the auspices of ASA; e. "Competition Organisers" meaning all stakeholders involved in the presentation of Competitions under the auspices of ASA including the sponsors, host cities, suppliers, local organising committees of such competitions and their respective officials, employees and others acting, or entitled to act, on their behalf; and f. Such other persons who agree in writing at the request of ASA to be bound by the Code. 2. Conduct covered by the Code: The Code applies to all conduct that damages the authenticity, integrity and reputation of Athletics whether it occurs within or in connection with Athletics or otherwise. 3. It shall be the personal responsibility of every person in the ASA Family to make himself aware of the Code, including conduct that constitutes a violation of the Code, and to comply with it. 4. Every person in the ASA Family submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the ASA Disciplinary Committee convened under the ASA Constitution to hear and determine violations and to the exclusive jurisdiction of the IAAF Ethics Commission to determine any appeal from a decision of the ASA Disciplinary Committee (after ratification by the ASA Board). 5. Timing: The Code shall come into force on 1st January 2018 ("Commencement Date") and apply to all violations of the Code committed on or after the Commencement Date. 6. With respect to any proceeding pending as at the Commencement Date under the previous ASA Rules and Regulations, or proceedings brought after the Commencement Date where the facts giving rise to them occurred prior to the Commencement Date, the proceedings shall be governed by the substantive provisions of applicable ASA Rules and Regulations in effect at the time of the alleged facts, unless the ASA Disciplinary Committee hearing the proceeding determines the principle of "lex mitior" applies under the circumstances of the proceeding. All such proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the Procedural Rules under the IAAF Code. B Principles of the Code 7. The Principles on which the Code is founded are set out in C and D below. 8. Persons subject to the Code shall immediately report any breach of the Code to the ASA Chief Executive Officer or the Chairperson of the ASA Disciplinary Committee. 9. Persons subject to the Code who attempt, or agree with another person, to act in a manner that would constitute or culminate in the commission of a violation of the Code shall be treated as if a violation has been committed, whether or not such attempt or agreement in fact resulted in such violation. However, there shall be no violation where the person who is subject to the Code renounces his attempt or agreement prior to it being discovered by a third party not involved in the attempt or agreement. 10. Persons subject to the Code, who knowingly assist, fail to report or are otherwise complicit in any act or omission that constitutes or culminates in the commission of a violation of the Code shall themselves be treated as having committed a violation of the Code. C Principles of Conduct Applicable to ASA Family This Part C applies to all members of the ASA Family. C1 Integrity 11. Persons subject to the Code shall not act in a manner likely to affect adversely the reputation of ASA, or the sport of Athletics generally, nor shall they act in a manner likely to bring the sport into disrepute. 12. Persons subject to the Code shall act with the utmost integrity, honesty and responsibility in fulfilling their respective roles in the sport of Athletics. 13. Doping in Athletics is strictly prohibited in accordance with the Anti- Doping Rules (IAAF Appendix 1). 14. Persons subject to the Code shall not participate in betting on Athletics, nor manipulate the results of competitions nor engage in other corrupt conduct in accordance with the Rules against Betting, Manipulation of Results and Corruption (IAAF Code Appendix 2). 15. Persons subject to the Code, shall not offer, promise, give, solicit or accept any personal or undue pecuniary or other benefit (or the legitimate expectation of a benefit irrespective of whether such benefit is in fact given or received) in connection with their activities or duties in Athletics. 16. Persons subject to the Code are prohibited from misappropriating ASA assets. C2 Equality 17. There shall be no discrimination in Athletics on the basis of race, sex, ethnic origin, colour, culture, religion, political opinion, marital status, sexual orientation or any unfair or other irrelevant factor, except as permitted by law, including in the ASA Council, Committees, Commissions or other elected or appointed bodies of the ASA Family. 18. In electing or appointing persons to positions, Councils, Boards, committees, commissions or other elected or appointed bodies within the ASA Family, both sexes must be considered. 19. Facilitating an inclusive and welcoming environment for persons with disabilities. C3 Dignity 20. Safeguarding the dignity of the individual is fundamental and all forms of harassment in Athletics; be it physical, verbal, mental or sexual, are prohibited. C4 Good Faith 21. Members of the ASA Family shall act in good faith towards each other with mutual trust and understanding in all their dealings. 22. Be particularly conscious of the safety and wellbeing of children and protection of the rights of minors and women. C5 Fair Elections 23. Candidates for elected positions in the ASA Family shall conduct their candidacies with honesty, dignity and respect for their opponents in accordance with the Rules Concerning Candidacy for IAAF Office and the Conduct of Elections (IAAF Code Appendix 3). C6 Bidding 24. Competition Organisers, Members and Candidate Cities wishing to host International, National and Provincial competitions organised by ASA and its Members (including those persons acting or entitled to act on their behalf) shall conduct their candidacies with honesty, dignity and respect for their opponents in accordance with the Rules of Conduct Applicable to Members and Candidate Cities Wishing to Host World Athletics Series competitions and other International Competitions organised by the IAAF (IAAF Code Appendix 4). C7 Confidentiality 25. Persons subject to the Code shall not at any time disclose information entrusted to them in confidence in connection with their role or activities in Athletics unless required to do so by the Code or by law. Information which is not confidential and is obtained in connection with their role or activities in Athletics shall not be disclosed for personal gain or benefit, nor be used maliciously to damage the reputation of any person or organisation. D Principles of Conduct Applicable to the ASA Family This Part D shall apply in general to the ASA Family and specifically to all ASA, Provincial and Club Officials. D1 Fiduciary Duties 26. ASA, Provincial and Club Officials shall use due care and diligence in fulfilling their roles for and on behalf of the ASA Family. 27. Uphold and implement standards and procedures to ensure event safety and environmental sustainability. D2 Improper Benefits 28. ASA, Provincial and Club Officials shall not, directly or indirectly, solicit, accept or offer any form of improper remuneration or commission, or any concealed benefit or service of any nature, connected with the organisation of any Athletics event or election or appointment to office. 29. Gifts and other benefits of nominal value may be given or accepted by an Official as a mark of respect or friendship. The giving or accepting of any other gift or benefit by an Official is prohibited. In all circumstances, the giving or accepting of cash by an Official in any amount is prohibited. 30. The hospitality shown to ASA, Provincial and Club Officials and the person(s) accompanying them shall not be excessive. D3 Improper Association 31. The ASA Family must not be involved with firms or persons whose activity or reputation is inconsistent with the principles set out in the Code. D4 No Conflicts of Interest 32. ASA, Provincial and Club Officials shall act for the benefit of the ASA Family when making decisions that affect or may affect ASA and must do so without reference to their own personal interest, either financial or otherwise. 33. ASA, Provincial and Club Officials shall comply with the IAAF Rules Concerning Conflicts of Interest of IAAF Officials (IAAF Code Appendix 5). D5 Neutrality 34. ASA, Provincial and Club Officials shall remain politically neutral in their dealings on behalf of ASA with government, provincial and municipal institutions and local, provincial, national and international organisations. D6 Behaviour 35. The ASA Family is expected to work in a spirit of cooperation with all stakeholders, assisting less experienced colleagues, and refraining from public criticism of individuals, including at meetings or through the media. 36. The ASA Family is to demonstrate a high level of personal conduct including; refraining from audible profanity, obscene gestures, verbal abuse including derogatory, insulting or accusing language or tone, inappropriate behaviour, dress or attitude. 37. Members of the ASA Family are to refrain from using alcohol or tobacco products when involved in Athletics training sessions or competitive events. To use these products responsibly when attending athletics social events. 38. Individuals of the ASA Family are to display a high level of professionalism through punctuality, timeous action, and skill in execution of duties, continuous improvement and giving considered opinion. E Enforcement 39. The Principles in the Code shall be enforced in accordance with its provisions and in accordance with the provisions of the ASA and IAAF Rules and Regulations referred to in it. 40. There shall be an independent and appropriately qualified investigator appointed by the ASA Disciplinary Committee or ASA Board to undertake investigations into violations of the Code (other than violations of the Anti-Doping Rules) according to the Procedural Rules. 41. There shall be an ASA Disciplinary Committee established pursuant to Clause 16.3.3 of the ASA Constitution, which shall carry out its functions in terms of this Code in accordance with the Statutes of the IAAF Ethics Commission (IAAF Code Appendix 6) and the Procedural Rules (IAAF Code Appendix 7). These functions shall include adjudicating whether violations of the Code have been committed and imposing sanctions. F Final Provisions 42. The Code shall be adopted by the ASA Council as a Chapter of the Rules and Regulations of ASA in accordance with Clause 29 of the ASA Constitution. To the extent of any inconsistency between the Code and the ASA Constitution, the relevant provisions of the ASA Constitution shall prevail. 43. Words used in the Code shall have the same meaning as set out in the ASA Constitution and the ASA Rules, unless specified otherwise. 44. The provisions of the Code shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
BIOGRAPHIES Zug Faith in Finance meting, October 30-November 1, 2017 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 JULIEHAMMERMAN, JLENS 10 Nicoletta Acatrinei Dr Nicoletta Acatrinei is an associate research scholar at Princeton University's Faith & Work Initiative, in the University's Center for the Study of Religion (USA). Dr Husna Ahmad, Global One 2015 Dr Husna Ahmad, OBE, is CEO of Global One 2015, a Muslim women-led international NGO focusing on WASH, agriculture and maternal health, and runs her own environmental consultancy. She has a PhD in International Environmental Law (specializing in sustainable development) from SOAS, London University. For seven years she was Group CEO of Faith Regen Foundation, set up after 9/11 as a Muslim response to promote interfaith harmony through economic emancipation of communities. In 2010 her work was recognized by Her Majesty the Queen and she received an OBE for services to disadvantaged communities. She co-authored the Green Guide to Hajj and wrote Islam and Water, the Story of Hajjar. (UK) @DrHusnaAhmad Tim Allen, Dartington Hall Trust Tim Allen joined Dartington Hall Trust as Director of Finance and Resources in August 2017. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1993 since when he has worked in a variety of sectors including retail, leisure and technology. Previously he was Chief Financial Officer at Cambium Networks, a wireless broadband equipment manufacturer. Over 20 years, he has gained extensive experience leading teams across Finance, HR and IT in fast-moving, complex organisations. (UK) Nelida Ancora Nelida Ancora is a consultant in social and technological innovation strategy at Consolidated Mining and Investments Ltd in London. She is a member of the Steering Committee of Mining Faith Reflection Initiative. She was born in Buenos Aires and moved to Rome at the age of four. After a degree in law she started to work at the Institute for Foreign Trade promoting industrial collaboration, particularly in South, Southeast and East Asia. She is very involved in the Catholic Church, and in a voluntary capacity has been involved in humanitarian projects. Among other things she has been a board member NEREUS (Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies) and is a member of the Christian Union of Italian Business Leaders and Managers. (Italy) Dr Vinya Ariyaratne, Sarvodaya Shramadana Dr Vinya Ariyaratne is General Secretary of Sarvodaya Shramadana, Sri Lanka's largest nongovernmental grass roots development organisation. Following a unique model based on Buddhism, the Sarvodaya movement serves over 15,000 village communities across ethnic and religious divides, through an integrated approach to development, peace and reconciliation. He trained as a medical doctor, and specialised in public health. He has been extensively involved in helping war-affected communities and after the 2004 tsunami coordinated a reconstruction programme worth over US$15 million. He helped villagers work in teams to install gravity water supply schemes, giving them both clean water and a refreshed sense of community. He has served as a professional facilitator for peace dialogues and he engages in teaching assignments related to peace building, transformation and reconciliation. (Sri Lanka) Reverend Alfred John Bailey II, Faith in Water Rev Alfred Bailey is Minister of Missions and Outreach for the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, handling outreach ministries both locally and internationally. He provides essential services to many families in crisis throughout the city, and spearheads partnerships with schools throughout the State of Maryland. He has overseen the Church's Global Policy Committee to identify and assess environmental and conservation-related policy. This work has taken him from the corporate boardrooms and government facilities in the US and abroad to the slums of Kenya and Mexico. He is currently engaged in collaboration with UNICEF and ARC leading a global mapping group identifying Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) practices in 54 countries around the world. He is one of the directors of the Faith in Water initiative. (USA) Dr Karin Bassler, Arbeitskreis Kirchlicher Investoren (AKI) Dr Karin Bassler is a Protestant Pastor and holds a licentiate degree in Business Administration. She completed her PhD on Financial management as opportunity for organizational learning in churches at the University of Göttingen in 2006. Since 1999 she has been occupied in various positions – most of them related to Ethical Investment – in different congregations and church-related organisations, including Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World – the Protestant Development Service in Germany). In 2012 she became secretary of the Arbeitskreis Kirchlicher Investoren (AKI) the Evangelical church investors group in Germany. (Germany) Mary Bellekom, ARC, Faith in Water Mary Bellekom is a member of an international Catholic Religious congregation, La Retraite. She joined ARC in 2010 as Education & Water Project Manager and Finance Officer after spending many years working in South America and Africa on Education Related projects. She Is currently one of the leaders of the independent Faith in Water initiative, helping donor organisations work with faith schools and faith leadership to improve water, sanitation and hygiene for children and communities around the world. (UK) Ajahn Amaro Bhikku, Amaravati Monastery Born in England in 1956, Ajahn Amaro received a BSc in psychology and physiology from the University of London. Spiritual searching led him to Thailand where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a forest tradition monastery of Ajahn Chah, who accepted him as a monk in 1979. Soon afterwards he returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at Amaravati Monastery, UK, then in 1996 he established Abhayagiri Monastery in California, where he was co-abbot with Ajahn Pasanno. In 2010 he returned to Amaravati to become abbot there. He has written a number of books, including Small Boat, Great Mountain (2003), Rain on the Nile (2009) and The Island (2009) co-written with Ajahn Pasanno; a guide to meditation called Finding the Missing Peace (2011) and most recently The Breakthrough (2017) and 'Roots & Currents' (2017) a collection of essays and articles. Tim Brennan, Unitarian Universalist Association Tim Brennan has served as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) since 2006. As well as directing the Department of Finance, he oversees the Association's assets including the UU Common Endowment Fund, the UU Organizations Retirement Fund, charitable gift funds, outside trusts and real estate. with combined assets of approximately US$500m. He is on the UUA's Investment Committee, Socially Responsible Investing Committee, Retirement Plan Committee, and the UUA Health Plan Board of Trustees. He previously spent seven years with Ceres (the national network of institutional investors working to advance corporate responsibility for the environment) working with major environmental organizations, religious investors, the SRI community, and major pension funds on issues such as climate change and corporate sustainability disclosure. He is on the board of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). He holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. (USA) Wouter ten Brinke, Anthos Fund & Asset Management Wouter ten Brinke is Managing Director at Anthos Fund & Asset Management, the institutional asset manager for the Brenninkmeijer family and related entities. Before joining Anthos in 2015, he was Head of Market Intelligence at the Dutch central bank (DNB), where he advised senior management and the board on financial market and industry developments. Previously he was Managing Partner at Theta Capital Management, an independent hedge fund investment firm, based in Amsterdam. Before joining Theta, he worked in financial markets (fixed income sales & structuring) and research at ABN AMRO Bank and NIBC. He has a master's degree in Monetary Economics from the University of Amsterdam and is a CFA charterholder. He is also a guest lecturer on complex fixed income strategies at the VU University in Amsterdam and the Dutch association of investment professionals. (Netherlands) Stuart Burgess, Methodist Church of Great Britain Rev Dr Stuart Burgess is National and International Church leader of the Methodist Church and former President of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. His interests include debt cancellation for Malawi and Zambia, initiating and seeing through the Anglican/Methodist Covenant and involvement in a number of charities. He served as the Rural Advocate to three Prime Ministers and presently is Chair of Hanover Housing Association and Chair of the Directors of the Wesley, an ethical hotel in London. Interests include walking, reading and playing tennis. Richard Burrett, Earth Capital Partners LLP Richard Burrett leads implementation of the sustainability strategy at Earth Capital Partners. He has over 30 years City experience in investment banking, project finance and sustainability including 20 years at ABN AMRO Bank. He was instrumental there in developing the Equator Principles, a risk management framework adopted globally by financial institutions to assess and manage environmental and social risk in projects. He went on to originate and lead the Sustainable Development Strategy for the group. He was Co-Chair of the UNEP Finance Initiative from 2009-2012 and was an external board member of Forest Renewables (part of the Scottish Forestry Commission) working on the development of the renewable energy potential of its national forestry estate. He is a Fellow of the Cambridge University Programme for Sustainability Leadership and a Senior Adviser to the Earth Security Group. He is the FMO (Dutch Development Bank) nominated non-executive Director of Union Bank of Nigeria PLC and is also a Board Member of Forest Trends, promoting market-based approaches to forest conservation. (UK) Sandra Carlisle, HSBC Sandra Carlisle was appointed to HSBC Global Asset Management as head of responsible investment in 2017. She joined after more than three years in the same role at Newton Investments. A board member of the United Nations' Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), Carlisle also spent a decade as a managing director at Citigroup, before joining F&C Investments as a director. (UK) Reuben Coulter, Transformational Business Network Reuben Coulter is CEO of Transformational Business Network, a global impact investing network focussed on alleviating poverty through entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Before this he was a Fellow and Associate Director for Africa at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He has been the founding CEO of Tearfund Ireland, a Christian development organisation; Chair of the Irish Humanitarian Committee and advisor to Openwell, a social enterprise consultancy. He completed an Executive Masters in Leadership with Wharton, Colombia, London and INSEAD Business Schools and a Masters in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is based in Kenya with his pregnant wife Grace and energetic toddler Aida. Glyn Davies, WWF Glyn Davies has worked at local, national and international levels in Africa and Asia, looking at environment and development, forest and wildlife conservation, and biodiversity policy. He has conducted field research and policy reviews in India, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Cameroon; publishing academic papers as well as contributing to national forest, wildlife and conservation policies, and guiding international development strategies. He has also worked with the European Commission to produce European policy documents on biodiversity in development. He has served as Director of Conservation Programmes at the Zoological Society of London, and from 2007 as Executive Director of Global Programmes at WWF-UK. He is a Trustee of the Alliance for Religion and Conservation (ARC). (UK) Odell Dickerson, New Psalmist Baptist Church Odell Dickerson Jr is the Chief Operating Officer for the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, a ministry with over 7,000 active members, that specializes in empowering people for a better quality of life through preaching, teaching, and outreach. He serves as Chief of Staff which includes overseeing all aspects of the church's operations including the ministries, business office staff and the office of the Bishop. Before assuming his current position, he worked for the Maryland Department of Human Resources as a System Support Specialist for the Family Independence Agency. He was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and attended Baltimore City public schools and the University of Baltimore. He has an MBA from the University of Phoenix (USA). @odellexec Patrick Duggan, United Church of Christ (UCC) The Reverend Doctor Patrick Garnet Duggan, a bi-vocational UCC pastor, has served as Executive Director of the UCC Church Building and Loan Fund (CB&LF) since 2012. CB&LF is the successor to the first church building society in the United States. The Fund offers loans, capital campaigns and consulting for the purchase and development of real estate owned by UCC and other Christian churches in the US. In 2013, CB&LF became one of the first church financial institutions to implement an impact investment policy, "100% Mission-Focused by 2020". A native New Yorker, Dr. Duggan has a BA from Harvard University, and both the Master of Divinity degree and Doctor of Ministry from the New York Theological Seminary. He and his wife Patricia, a school administrator, have three sons and four grandchildren. Dr Chris Elisara, Evangelical Alliance Dr Chris Elisara is an educational pioneer in Christian higher education, an entrepreneur, awardwinning filmmaker, and an urbanist. After growing up in New Zealand he moved to the United States where in 1996 he founded an undergraduate environmental study abroad program with campuses in Belize and New Zealand. In 2010 he founded the Center for Environmental Leadership before being invited in 2012 to found the World Evangelical Alliance's Creation Care Task Force. In his WEA role he works with UN-Habitat, the World Economic Forum, and other international agencies. He served on the board of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) from 2013-2016 and has produced several award-winning films on urban topics. (USA) Chantal Elkin, ARC Chantal Elkin is Manager of the Wildlife & Forests Programme at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), based in the UK. She was with Conservation International (CI) for eight years as the Washington DC-based Manager of the Indo-Burma program and then as Director of CI's Wildlife Trade program, focusing on the illegal trade in Asia. She holds two Master's degrees from the University of London, the first in Environment and Development in Southeast Asia and the second looking at Buddhism and conservation. Prior to working with CI, she co-authored the 1998 publication, Logging Burma's Frontier Forests: Resources and the Regime for the World Resources Institute. She is also author of the chapter "Strengthening Forest Conservation through the Buddhist Sangha" in Cambodia's Contested Forest Domain (2013). (UK) @CELKIN2 Andreas Ernst, Impact Investing Anthos Asset Management Andreas Ernst is head of UBS Impact Investing where he has built up the platform, reporting directly to the CIO. In the past he has built up the Frontier Market practice of a Swiss/Greek Family Office, with investments in West Africa and South East Asia; has been Deputy Head of Philanthropy Services at UBS, bringing the first Microfinance funds on board. He was project manager for the WTO, based in South East Asia and has taught impact investing at universities of St. Gallen and Geneva as well as the Said Business School in Oxford. He was part of the World Economic Forum working group on Impact Investing and Sustainable Investing. He has the equivalent of an MA in Business Administration from the University of Hamburg and a BA in Political Science from the University of Munich. He has lived in Athens, Hamburg, Munich, London, Ho-Chi-Minh City, Geneva, Singapore and Zurich. (Switzerland) Jamison Ervin, UNDP Jamison Ervin is manager of the Global Programme on Nature for Development. She has worked with UNDP since 2008. Among her diverse roles, she has co-authored and coordinated production for over 25 e-learning modules focusing on protected areas, sustainable consumption and production and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. She served as facilitator for UNDP's most recent MOOC on Protected Area Systems: Design and Management and Greening Consumption and Production. Previously she worked with The Nature Conservancy, World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Forest Stewardship Council. She holds a PhD in natural resources from the University of Vermont, a master's degree in international administration from the School for International Training, and a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Bates College. (USA) Michael Even, senior advisor to ARC Mike Even is an investment professional with over 35 years of industry experience. Most recently he was the Chairman of Man Numeric Investors in Boston and a member of the Man Group Executive Committee. Before Numeric he worked for Citigroup for nine years building a global asset management organization. After Citi merged with Travelers, he became global CIO of the Private Bank and eventually, global CIO for and Co-Head of Citigroup Asset Management, overseeing investment teams running more than $500B in client assets. In 2002 Mike's work with Citi's Private Bank's European clients brought him into contact with ARC and its mission; it was ARC and its work that ignited Mike's interest in Faith-Based Investing and led to a decade and a half of collaboration. He has a BA in economics, a BSc in operations research from Cornell University and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He serves on the investment committees of the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Management Board and the Trustees of the Reservation and on a few Boards. (USA) Victoria Finlay, ARC Victoria Finlay is the Communications Director of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC). She has an MA in social anthropology. Her first job was as a graduate trainee manager with Reuters, working in both London and Nordic region on developing financial service information products. She left to become a journalist and spent 12 years in Hong Kong working mostly for The South China Morning Post. Since returning to the UK she has written Colour: Travels through the Paintbox (Hodder & Stoughton), Jewels: A Secret History (Hodder & Stoughton), The Brilliant History of Color in Art (Getty Publications) and co-authored Faith in Conservation, published by the World Bank in 2003. She has been engaged by ARC since 2003 to bring some of the extraordinary stories of people, projects and places to a wider audience. (UK) @victoriafinlay @arcworld Séamus Finn, Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) Rev. Séamus Finn, O.M.I., is the chair of the board of directors at the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). A member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he served as director of the Justice/Peace and Integrity of Creation Ministry team of the Missionary Oblates from 1999 to 2014. He is currently also a board member of the International Interfaith Investment Group (3iG). He is a leader in faith-based and socially responsible investing and draws on his experience with the ICCR and 3iG, organizations that help the faith traditions make investments that accord with their beliefs. The cornerstone of his advocacy with corporations and financial institutions is a call for greater transparency and disclosure by the companies and a reliable regulatory and supervisory framework that has a global reach. He served in parish ministry in Brattleboro, Vermont; Puerto Rico; Miami, Florida; and Lowell, Massachusetts. He completed his doctorate at Boston University School of Theology in 1991.(USA) Rob Fohr, Presbyterian Church USA Rob Fohr is the Director of Faith-Based Investing and Corporate Engagement for the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) where he serves as lead staff person for the committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI), the committee charged with advancing the church's mission goals through its invested capital. He has served at the national level of the PCUSA for nine years in a variety of roles, including as the chief staff person charged with helping the church connect more effectively with young adults. He has also served as the manager of organisational planning and effectiveness for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, and was staff to the PCUSA's Committee on Theological Education. Previously he was a project director and consultant for a media and market research firm in Tucson, Arizona. He holds an MA in Religion from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a Bachelor's in business administration from Abilene Christian University. He is an ordained elder of the PCUSA. (USA) Monowara Gani, Muslim Charities Forum, UK Monowara Gani runs the Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) which is an umbrella organization representing Muslim INGOS based in the UK with a combined income of over £150 million. MCF was set up in 2007 and works on 5 key areas including advocacy, training, governance, research and development, and partnership/coordination. Before joining MCF, she was Executive Director of MADE [Muslim Action for Development & Environment]. While there she set up the Global Education Programme and the Change Makers [Campaigning & Activism] Programme which involved developing resources and thought leadership on sustainability, environment and trade from an Islamic perspective. The programme was directly taught to over 5,000 Muslim students who previously were not engaged or exposed to these topics. Previously she was the Director of a national supplementary education organisation working with Education Authorities and mainstream Schools. She is a qualified NLP Life Coach, has a degree in Microbiology from the University of Nottingham and lives in the Midlands with her husband. (UK) Alice Garton, ClientEarth Alice Garton manages the Company and Financial Project at Europe's leading environmental law charity, ClientEarth. The Project uses existing laws to drive corporate decision-makers to address climate risk in their business and investment models. Under her leadership, the Project team has doubled in size and won awards, including the prestigious FT Innovative Lawyers Awards. Earlier she worked as a litigation lawyer at Olswang in London and Clayton Utz in Australia, and as a company lawyer at Brookfield Multiplex, where she managed the complex Wembley Stadium litigation. She has researched and written about various issues in international environmental law through her work at Chatham House in 2006 and in other roles. She has degree in Law and Politics (first class) from Charles Darwin University in Australia and a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy (first class) from University College London. (UK) Rabbi Mark Goldsmith, Alyth Synagogue Mark Goldsmith is Rabbi at Alyth Synagogue in Golders Green, London, England. Alyth is a Reform Jewish community of over 3000 people, founded in 1933. He is past Chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis and the Rabbinic Conference of Liberal Judaism and currently Chair of the liturgy revision group of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis. He has written and taught on Jewish business ethics for the past 20 years and was a founding member of the Executive Committee of 3iG (The International Interfaith Investment Group). He is a trustee of the Shoresh Trust, which works to build and sustain Jewish culture, education and mutual care in the UK and Israel and a co-founder of Eco-Synagogues, encouraging Jews to be good environmental citizens, after the model of Eco-Churches. (UK) Blake Goud, Responsible Finance & Investment Foundation Blake Goud has been CEO of the RFI Foundation since the organisation's incorporation. His primary area of interests are global Islamic banking, capital markets and opportunities to increase financial inclusion in Islamic finance through crowdfunding and microfinance. He has 10 years experience researching Islamic finance and working in the financial sector in a compliance and investment officer role for a small US-based investment advisor and broker-dealer. He was Chief Research Officer for ME Global Advisors focusing on Middle East and North Africa financial sector development. From 2012 to 2015 he was Community Leader for the Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Gateway, conducting research on the Islamic finance and Islamic economy sectors, setting discussion points for large-scale events and one-on-one sessions with leaders of the Islamic finance industry. He was a principal author of the Global Islamic Economy Summit 2013 Review. He received his BA in Economics from Reed College in 2003. (USA) Stefan Grotefeld, Reformed Church of Zurich Stefan Grotefeld is head of the department Lebenswelten of Reformed Church of Zurich. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Zurich where he teaches Theological Ethics. Stefan Grotefeld studied theology in Muenster, Heidelberg, Berlin and Zurich. His dissertation Friedrich Siegmund-Schultze: Ein deutscher Oekumeniker und Christlicher Pazifist ( Friedrich SiegmundSchultze. A German ecumenical and Christian pacifist) was published in 1994. In 2006 he completed his habilitation (qualification to conduct self-contained university teaching) titled Religiöse Ueberzeugungen im liberalen Staat (Religious Convictions in the Liberal State). The focus of his research lies on political ethics and business ethics. (Switzerland) Gunnela Hahn, Church of Sweden Gunnela Hahn has been Head of Responsible Investment at the Church of Sweden for nine years, where she has built up and developed the Responsible Investment structures and content. The climate divest-invest strategy of the overall portfolio, (which started in 2008) has lately met vast interest in the investment community in Sweden and internationally. She is also engaged in promoting long-term value creation in the financial industry and its role in the transition to a low carbon economy. Previously, she worked eight years as a senior Responsible Investment analyst at Folksam Insurance Group. She was one of the founders of Swesif, the Swedish Sustainable Investment Forum, served for many years on the board, and now chairs the election committee. She has also served on the board of Ekobanken. In the past, she worked as a sustainability consultant for private companies as well as various public institutions. For 10 years she served on the board of a major public health care provider. (Sweden) Julie Hammerman, JLens Julie Hammerman is the Executive Director & Founder of JLens, a network of over 9,000 individual and institutional investors who seek to apply a Jewish lens to the modern context of values-based impact investing. She is inspired by the use of investment capital and business as a force for good in the world. She oversees JLens educational, advocacy, and advisory services. She began her career 19 years ago in investment banking on Wall Street, and later served as an investment advisor at JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch. She was on the founding team of a for-profit social enterprise focused on women's health. Most recently she was the Impact Investment Strategist at a multi-family office where she implemented customised impact portfolios. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School, her BA in Economics from Tufts University, and she holds the Certified Financial Planner designation. She is a Wexner Foundation Jewish Heritage alum, an UpStart incubator graduate, a Cordes fellow, and has served on the boards of the Federation, ADL, and the Jewish Community Relations Council. (USA) Rev Fletcher Harper, Green Faith Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest, is Executive Director of GreenFaith, an international interfaith environmental organization. He has developed innovative programs to make GreenFaith a global leader in the religious-environmental movement. In the past four years, he coordinated the 2015 OurVoices campaign, which mobilized religious support for COP 21, led organizing of faith communities for the People's Climate Marches in NYC and Washington DC, helped lead the faithbased fossil fuel divestment movement, supported the launch of the global Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, and co-founded Shine, a faith-philanthropy-NGO campaign to end energy poverty with renewable energy by 2030. He accepted GreenFaith's Many Faiths One Earth Award from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009 and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2011. (USA) @greenfaithworld Elliott Harris, UNEP On 1 April 2015, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Elliott Harris as Assistant SecretaryGeneral and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Mr. Harris joined UNEP as Director of the New York Office and of the Secretariat of the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) in September 2013. Prior to joining UNEP, he worked as an Economist in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1988 to 2013, gaining extensive policy and programmatic experience in African and Central Asian countries, as well as in the Fiscal Affairs Department on public expenditure policy issues. From 2002 he served as Advisor, Chief of the Development Issues Division, and Assistant Director of the IMF's Strategy, Policy and Review Department. From September 2008 until May 2012, he was also the IMF's Special Representative to the United Nations, closely involved in interagency collaboration in the areas of social protection, green economy, and fiscal space for social policy. From September 2009 until October 2013, he was Vice Chair of the High-Level Committee on Programs of the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination. He was born in the Bahamas and raised in Trinidad. He attended the University of Miami and Georgetown University, and studied economics in Germany. Dr He Yun, ARC China programme Dr He Yun (Claudia He) is the manager of ARC's China programme. She has worked with ARC since 2009. She is trained as a political scientist. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Maryland between 2012 and 2013 and a Tsinghua Scholar at Cambridge University from 2011 to 2012. In 2017 she received her PhD in law from China's Tsinghua University in 2017, with a dissertation on a comparative analysis of EU-US climate change policy. (China) Peter Head, the Ecological Sequestration Trust Peter Head, CBE, is a civil and structural engineer who has become a world leader in sustainable development. In 2008 he was named by The Guardian as one of 50 people that could 'save the planet'. The same year he was cited by Time magazine as one of 30 global eco-heroes. In 2011 he was awarded the CBE in the New Year's Honours List. In 2011 he left Arup to set up The Ecological Sequestration Trust, a charity bringing together scientists, engineers, economists, financiers, and other specialists to create, demonstrate and scale a Collaborative Human-Ecological-EconomicsResource systems GIS platform. The purpose os to enable regions around the world to implement inclusive resilient growth using low carbon urban-rural development approaches. The first prototype was tested in Ghana in 2016 and the plan is to roll it out to 200 city regions by 2022. He was a member of SDSN Thematic Group 9 that wrote and lobbied successfully for an urban SDG and was also one of the authors of the Royal Society Report on Resilience to Extreme Weather 2015. He edited the Roadmap 2030 action plan for financing SDG delivery in cities, including the key role of the faiths. (UK) William Heath, senior advisor to ARC William Heath is an entrepreneur living in Bath, UK. He cofounded Ctrl-Shift Ltd, Mydex CIC and most recently Datilda Ltd which take a market approach to the issue of people's loss of agency online and control over their personal data, a problem which remains unsolved. He also cofounded the public sector tech firm Kable Ltd and the digital rights campaign Open Rights Group. He worked with others on the co-operative buyout of The Bell Inn, a lively local music pub in Bath, and 125-year old Bath City FC. Other projects include stewardship of iconic farmland just outside Bath as a place for learning, Kelston Records location-based music, and helping secure the future of His Imperial Majesty Heile Selassie I's gift to Bath of the home he lived in here as an exile, as a Rastafari-Christian symbol of the welcome of refugees and care of the elderly. He is a member of Bath Quaker Meeting and runs Bath Quakers' online presence. He is a father of two, learning baritone & bass saxophone. Victoria Hoskins, Rathbone Greenbank Investments Victoria Hoskins is an Investment Director with over 17 years of experience in providing and managing investment solutions to Charity and Pension Fund trustees, as well as to individuals with bespoke or complex investment requirements. She is a Chartered Fellow of the CISI and an experienced Trustee, principally for the LankellyChase Foundation, an early adopter of the UNPRI, latterly chairing the Investment Committee. She joined Rathbone Greenbank in 2015 from Barclays where she was Senior Director for the London Charity Team, advising boards on the implementation of their investment policies, including ethical and social investment considerations. From 2007 to 2010, she was Regional Investment Director for London and the South East, responsible for the Gerrard Investment Management business, equating to £2 billion of Private Client, Charity, Pension and Court of Protection portfolios. She began her city career with Capel Cure Myers in 1998. (UK) George Kabalt, Anthos Fund & Asset Management and Porticus George Kabalt has been CEO of Anthos Fund & Asset Management since 2008 and CEO of Porticus. Anthos is the global family office of the Brenninkmeijer family, which supports the group of family shareholders. Porticus is the international organisation that manages and develops the philanthropic programmes of the charitable entities established by the Brenninkmeijer family entrepreneurs. We collaborate with partners around the globe to foster human dignity, social justice and sustainability. Previously he was ABN AMRO Executive Vice President and Head of Retail Banking in the Netherlands. He has a master's degree in fiscal law. (Netherlands) Sheikh Dr Qaribullah Nasir Kabara, Qadiriyyah Sufi Order, Nigeria Sheikh (Dr) Qaribullah Nasir Kabara, Al-Malikiy, Al-Ash'ariy, Al-Qadiriy, is the spiritual head of the Qadiriyyah Sufi Order in Nigeria and Africa since 1996. He was educated in Islamic sciences under the guidance of his father and spiritual mentor, His Eminence the late Maulana Dr Nasir Kabara. He also attended Bayero University, Kano and holds a Diploma and Bachelor of Arts in Arabic (1994). He is a recipient of many literary awards including honorary Doctorate Degrees from the EuropeanAmerican University, Dominica, 2010; Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, 2015; and Darul Salam Islamic University, Turkey, 2015. He has been a teacher, school administrator and proprietor of the Turath College of Islamic Sciences in Kano. He is also a writer and poet and has authored more than 20 publications on Islamic jurisprudence, Sufism and Poetry. He has held many positions of public service and membership of many religious organisations within and outside Nigeria. He has travelled widely promoting world peace and harmony. He is keen on environment issues and oversees the many eco-projects of the Qadiriyyah Sufi Movement. He speaks Hausa, Arabic and English. He is married with 9 children. (Nigeria) Abdalla Mohamed Kamwana, SUPKEM, Kenya Abdalla Mohamed Kamwana was born in the mountainous region of Meru in the Republic of Kenya. He trained as a teacher, and holds a Master's degree in Education and Leadership Management. In 1995 he left teaching and joined the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), the Umbrella body of all Muslim Organisations and Mosques in Kenya. He is currently Vice Chairman, as well as Programme Manager, in charge of writing, developing and managing proposals for different donorfunded programmes. He has managed Democratic, Governance and Human Rights programmes funded by UNDP Kenya, and the Drivers of Accountability Programme funded by DFID. He has also represented SUPKEM in various National Task Forces formed by the Kenyan Government including Vision 2030. He was a member of the National Steering Committee appointed by East African Presidents to explore and advise on the possibility of the Political Federation of East Africa. In 2016 he was appointed as a National Steering Committee member for the Reform of the Education Curriculum of Kenya. He has worked with ARC since 2012 "where we benefited enormously from our interactions". (Kenya) @supkemKE Tobias Karcher SJ, Lassalle-Haus Father Tobias was born in 1961 in Heidelberg, Germany. Studies of Theology, Philosophy and Social Sciences in Freiburg/Br, Paris, Frankfurt and Munich. He entered the Jesuit Order in 1989 and was ordained in 1995. He was active in youth and adult education at Heinrich Pesch Haus, Ludwigshafen, and was head of office at the European Federation for Catholic Adult Education in Brussels. He did post-graduate studies in Boston. Since 2009 he has been director of Lassalle-Haus, the Swiss Jesuit centre for spirituality, dialogue and responsibility in the Canton Zug, Switzerland. His personal focus is leadership training against the background of spiritualty, ethics and leadership at the LassalleInstitut. (Switzerland) Hadewych Kuiper, Triodos Hadewych Kuiper is Commercial Director, Triodos Investment Management, responsible for business development & investor relations as well as marketing & communications. She joined Triodos Bank in 2008 as the international Head of Marketing, responsible for the bank's brand positioning and market approach in those European countries where Triodos Bank is active. She previously spent more than ten years as a market strategy consultant in the financial services industry, telecom and media. She is an MBA graduate of Erasmus University Rotterdam. She firmly believes in businesses to spur sustainable development: they are instrumental in providing the leadership necessary to create the world we want to see and live in. George Latham, WHEB George Latham is responsible for management of WHEB's Listed Equity business. As Chief Investment Officer he is responsible for overseeing the investment process and chairing the Investment and Risk Committee. He also plays an active role in business development and oversees institutional client relationships. Prior to joining WHEB, he led the award-winning SRI team at Henderson Global Investors. During his fifteen years managing UK and pan-European equity and managed funds, he has been awarded 'A' and 'AA' Citywire ratings, nominated for Investment Week's Fund Manager of the year and named in Citywire's top 100 managers in the UK. He was responsible for designing and launching Threadneedle Asset Management's sustainable and responsible investment strategy. He has a degree in Geography from Oxford University, and served as a British Army Infantry Officer. He holds UKSIP qualifications. (UK) Nicolas Lorne, Waterpreneurs Nicholas Lorne recently co-founded www.waterpreneurs.net , an initiative that creates greater access to safe affordable water and sanitation for low income populations. Waterpreneurs supports the scaling-up of impact investments financing the growth of local water entrepreneurs who are complying with the human rights to water. He has 30 years of experience in the private sector (Farming, Construction, Electronic, Heat exchangers, Food & Beverage, Consulting) and the not-forprofit sector (board member of SEDEX, pro-bono support to WaterLex and skilled volunteering with the Red Cross), in various functions (sales, finance, information science/information technology, industrial performance, human resources, change management, multi stakeholders partnerships, ethics and compliance) in countries including Argentina, Australia, France, Ghana, Hong Kong, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Luo Kexue, Mengxin Technology, sustainable agriculture LUO Kexue is the founder of Mengxin Technology, a company dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture in China. He is a follower of Daoism and converted in Maoshan. He has innovatively applied carbon microcrystals in panels to provide heating for Daoist temples and is currently applying for R20's Planet Pledge Fund to help solve the heating problem of all Daoist temples in Jiangsu province. Yassin Garba Maisikeli, Qadiriyyah Sufi Order, Nigeria Yassin Garba Maisikeli is a member of the Supreme Council of the Qadiriyyah Sufi Order in Nigeria, coordinating environmental projects as well as advising on Science & Technology. He is member of the Central Working Committee of the Sultan Foundation for Peace & Development. He received formal religious education at the famous Madrasat Ulumuddeen in Kano and training in electronics and engineering at Kano State Polytechnic (1983), the British National Radio & Electronics School, UK (1984) and the Southern College of Technology, Georgia, USA. (1994). He has translated and published two works on Sufism in Hausa in 2008 and 2011 and on the Green Hajj Guide. He has represented the Qadiriyyah Sufi Order at many international events promoting sustainable development. He speaks Hausa, English and Arabic. He is married with six children. (Nigeria) Richard Maitland, Sarasin & Partners Richard Maitland joined Sarasin & Partners in 1992. He is a partner, was appointed Head of Charities following the merger between Chiswell Associates and Sarasin in 2003 and is a member of the Executive Committee. He specialises in strategy and the management of diversified, multi-asset portfolios. He is author of the Sarasin & Partners Compendium of Investment, which has now been published for 20 years and is Director of the £1.75bn Alpha Common Investment Funds. He has lectured at The Judge (Cambridge), University of Vienna and University of Stellenbosch business schools and runs the Trustee Training Program for the Charity Finance Group. He is a member of the Investments Advisory Committee of St Paul's Cathedral. (UK) Susan Smith Makos, Mercy Investment Services Susan Smith Makos joined Mercy Investment Services in November 2008 and is vice president of social responsibility. She has more than 10 years of experience in shareholder advocacy and socially responsible investing. She served in a variety of leadership roles in more than 20 years with Mercy Health (formerly Catholic Health Partners), a health system based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She served as a member of the board of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility from 2008-2014, and as its board chairperson from 2010-2012. She also served on the board of a Wisconsin-based health system from 2004-2016. She has a BA cum laude in mathematics and Spanish from Kenyon College and a juris doctor degree cum laude from Indiana University. She is licensed to practice law in Ohio. Graeme Maxton, Club of Rome Graeme Maxton is the Secretary General of the Club of Rome, a global network of renowned independent thinkers dedicated to addressing the challenges facing humanity. A trenchant critic of modern economic thinking, he is the co-author of Reinventing Prosperity, Managing Economic Growth to reduce Unemployment, Inequality and Climate Change, (Greystone, October 2016). The German edition, Ein Prozent ist genug: Mit wenig Wachstum soziale Ungleichheit, Arbeitslosigkeit und Klimawandel bekämpfen (oekom Verlag) was No1 best-selling economics book on Amazon.de. He is the author of The End of Progress: How modern economics has failed us (Wiley, 2011), nominated for the Financial Times's Best Book about Business Award. It was a top-20 Spiegel bestseller. He was previously a regional director with The Economist Group in Asia, with consultants Booz Allen Hamilton and in banking with Citibank and American Express. Born in Scotland, he lives in Switzerland. (Switzerland) Father Thomas McClain, General Curia of the Society of Jesus, Rome Father Thomas McClain SJ is the Treasurer, General Curia of the Society of Jesus, Rome. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1967. He later studied languages at the University of Detroit and later taught languages at St John's High School in Toledo Ohio. In 1977 he did an MA at the University of California/Berkeley in German Literature and the same year graduated from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley with an MDiv and was ordained as a Catholic Priest. He continued working in secondary education as president of Regis High School (NYC) and as an Advisor for secondary education. He also worked as a Pastor at Ann Arbor, Michigan, which included responsibilities as Director of Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Michigan. Since 2010 he has been General Treasurer of the Society of Jesus in Rome. He is currently on boards of Fordham University (New York NY) Association of English/French Speaking General Treasurers (Rome IT) and St Bonifacius Stichting (Amsterdam NL). (Italy) Katie McCloskey, United Church Funds, UCC Katie McCloskey is Director, Social Responsibility for United Church Funds, an investment body of the United Church of Christ, USA. She has worked in the social investment industry for nearly 10 years. Through her tenure, United Church Funds has actively responded to the growth of the socially responsible investing movement by becoming a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and becoming a member of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment and has been responsive to the United Church of Christ's calls for investment products that meet the social needs of this progressive denomination. She sits on the Governing Board of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). She is the co-moderator of the Climate Solutions Investment Initiative organized by Ceres and has served as chair of the Jubilee Assembly of the Calvert Foundation. She has worked for non-profit organisations including the Pension BoardsUnited Church of Christ and the Institute for Women's Policy Research. She received her BA from the University of Virginia. (USA) Monica Middleton, National Director, Oikocredit UK & Ireland After graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Business Administration, Monica spent 20 years in the world of multi-nationals and start-ups before stepping off the corporate career ladder to take an MSc in Sustainability & Responsibility. Her desire to focus on more purpose-led organisations led her to Oikocredit in 2014 where she heads up their UK & Ireland operation and focuses on raising investment capital to support Oikocredit's development finance mission. Monica also sits on the Executive Board of Cafédirect's Guardian Sustainable Company (a well-known UK Fairtrade coffee and tea company), and is a Steering Committee Member for UK Women in Social Finance. (USA) Pippa Moss, Alliance of Religions and Conservation Pippa Moss is the Events Organiser for Zug. She has been working for the ARC since 2010. Her work has included research and editing for Faith in Finance book and helping organise the United Nations/ARC Faith in the Future meeting in Bristol, 2015, in which faiths discussed the role they would play in making the Strategic Development Goals into more than just goals. She has a BA in Geography from Sussex University. (UK) Saker Nusseibeh, Hermes Investment Management Saker Nusseibeh is Chief Executive of Hermes, chair of its Executive Committee and an Executive Board Director. He was appointed CEO in May 2012. He joined the firm in June 2009 as Head of Investment and Executive Board Director. He is responsible for leading the firm's growth strategy and ensuring that Hermes continues to deliver excellent long-term investment performance, responsibly. Long-term investment performance has remained at outstanding levels during his tenure. Previously he was Global Head of Equities at Fortis Investments USA, and CIO of Global Equities and Head of Marketing for SGAM UK. He started his career at Mercury Asset Management in 1987. In 2011 he founded the 300 Club, a group of leading investment professionals who seek to challenge investment orthodoxy and improve the contribution of financial services to society. He is a member of the CFA Institute's Future of Finance Advisory Council, a member of the IIRC Council, and was a public member of Network Rail for three years until November 2014. He was recently invited to join the Banking Standards Board, which aims to restore trust in the UK banking industry, and sits on: the advisory board of Mosaic, a charity for young people; the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing; and the steering committee for the UNEP Finance Initiative. In 2015, he was named CEO of the Year at the Global Investor Investment Excellence Awards. He is a regular public speaker, writer and commentator. He has a BA and PhD in Medieval History from King's College, London. Christophe Nuttall, R20 Regions of Climate Christophe Nuttall has been Executive Director of the R20 Regions of Climate Action since January 2012, following exchanges between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He was previously Director of UNDP's Hub for Innovative Partnerships, and has developed a number of initiatives (such as the Territorial Approach to Climate Change which aims to chart a new low-carbon route to development at the subnational level) and has been in charge of Geographic Information Systems at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. He launched the International Multi-Partnerships Initiative on access to basic services, adopted at the 2007 UNHABITAT Board. The Initiative was later adopted at the 2009 ECOSOC, which lead to the listing of access to water as a human right in 2011. He has an Ecological Engineering degree and a PhD in Development Geography. He has worked as a space engineer at CNES (the French spatial agency), and been Scientific Advisor within the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (France) Rev John Nyota, Wesley Ethical Hotels Reverend John Nyota is CEO/MD of TheWesley group, formerly MIC Hotel & Conference centre, which was London's first ethical hotel. He is passionate about issues and injustices such as the environment, youth unemployment, corruption and businesses that do not care about social responsibility. (UK) Masatsugu Okutani, Vice Officiant of Shintō at Yabuhara Jinja, Japan Masatsugu Okutani is a hereditary Shinto priest and a businessman. He is the 25th successor to the Chief Officiant of Yabuhara Jinja (which was founded in 680 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan) and spent many years working for Jinja Honcho, the Association of Shinto Shrines. He has a degree from Kokugakuin University in Tokyo and an MBA from the University of Wales. He has worked as a senior risk-management consultant in Tokyo, and a priest at Meiji Jingu in Tokyo. He now lives in France, helping international companies introduce Shintō values to their marketing and product strategies. He skis and is 1st dan in both kendo and karate. He was married a month before Zug. (Japan/France) Martin Palmer, ARC Martin Palmer is Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) founded with HRH Prince Philip in 1995 to help faiths develop environmental and conservation projects based on their own beliefs and practices. He is the author and editor of more 20 than books on religious and environmental topics. He has translated many ancient Chinese texts, including China's oldest history book the Shang Shu and the writings of Daoist philosopher Chuang for Penguin Classics. He is a regular contributor to the BBC and is a lay preacher in the Church of England. He has been working with the faiths on their investment programmes since 2001 and helped found the International Interfaith Investment Group (3iG) in 2006. (UK) @ARCworld Leslie Parker, REIL Leslie Parker is Director of REIL. Founded in 2002, it is made up of a cross-section of committed people working on sustainability issues from various vantage points: law, policy, NGOs, finance, business, activists, science, academia, religion. Originally formed to research the intersection of Renewable Energy and International Law – hence the acronym – it has evolved to cover critical environmental and social justice issues, focusing on: Forests & Spirituality; Rightly "Valuing" Nature; Making the Papal Encyclical Laudato Si' Mainstream; Transformative Markets & Meaningful Work. Previously she was Division Director in the Finance Office of the NYC Department of Social Services, and Assistant Director of the Budget at the NYC Administration for Children's Services. She has an MA in Art History, and worked for 11 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including seven in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative arts. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College and did graduate work at New York University. (USA) Andrew Parry Head of Equities and Impact Investing, Hermes Andrew Parry is Head of Equities and Impact Investing and a member of the Hermes Strategy Group. He joined the firm in 2009, initially as Chief Executive and Co-Head of Investment for Hermes Sourcecap, becoming Hermes' Head of Equities in 2014. Prior to this, Andrew established Pembroke Capital Management in 2003 and successfully launched the Magenta Fund, a global equity nondirectional fund. Before that, he worked at Northern Trust Global Investments (Europe) Ltd as Chief Investment Officer of International Equities. He has also been Head of International Equities at Julius Baer Investments, Chief Investment Officer at Lazard Brothers Asset Management, and Head of UK Equities at Baring Asset Management. He holds an MA in Mathematics from the University of St Andrews. He is a member of the Investment Committee of the Trafalgar House Pension Trust and a non-equity director of Aerion Fund Managers. (UK) Gopal Patel, Bhumi Project Gopal Patel is based at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies where he serves as the Director of their environmental initiative, the Bhumi Project. The Project works with Hindu communities internationally to raise awareness of and address the environmental challenges facing our planet. He has been Director of Bhumi since 2010, and has helped it become a leading voice on environmental issues for the global Hindu community. The project has worked on greening Hindu temples and places of pilgrimage across India, regularly convenes workshops to train young Hindus on good environmental practice, and is asked to offer Hindu perspectives on environmental concerns. (UK) Brian Pilkington, The Pilkington Foundation and ARC Brian Pilkington has been Chair of ARC's Board of Trustees since 1996. He studied fine art at Chelsea School of Art, London, and has a BA in Philosophy from the University College London. In 1972 he became Chairman of Pilkington Fine Art Consultancy, and founded the Pilkington Anglo-Japanese Cultural Foundation in 1988, working with the British Museum Japanese Department to establish the New Japanese Galleries in 1990. In 1992 he organised the exhibition for the private art collection of HRH The Prince Philip for the MOA Museum Atami in Japan. He also published a catalogue of Prince Philip's art collection of wildlife titled Images of Nature to promote the wildlife conservation. In 1993 he founded the Pilkington Press specialising in publications on philosophy and culture and became adviser to President Shosuke Idemitsu of Idemitsu Museum of Art Tokyo. Timo Plutschinski, World Evangelical Alliance Timo Plutschinski is Partner of MIC Corporate Finance and leads the Business Coalition of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). As well as being a theologian and business consultant he is also a Fellow of the Olivet Institute for Global Strategic Studies and a Board Member of the Congress of Christian Leaders. He has over eight years of experience in management consulting, change management, project development and financing of renewable energy and development projects. He has lectured finance and accounting at the BIWAK Academy as well as Intercultural Conflict Management at the Alice Salomon University in Berlin. Today he is involved in ethical fund development and has started the WEA Council for Business & Ministry Finance. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Hamburg. (Germany) Qiu Zhonghui, The Amity Foundation Qiu Zhonghui is General Secretary and Vice-President of the Amity Foundation, one of the largest faith based organizations in China. Amity Foundation has a UN-ECOSOC Consultative Status and ofﬁces in Hong Kong, Addis Ababa and Geneva. He is a lay Christian leader, president of the Jiangsu Christian Council, and a member of the committee of the China Christian Council and Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China. He heads the Amity Printing Company which is the largest Bible printing company in the world. He was granted the Annual Salute Award at the Responsible China 2015 event. He is a board member of the China Foundation Center in Beijing and a member of the standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Jiangsu Province. He was a board member of ACT Alliance between 2010 and 2014. In 2014, he was identiﬁed by the Philanthropy Times as one of the most influential persons in promoting China's philanthropy sector Rabbi Joshua Ratner, JLens Rabbi Ratner is the Director of Advocacy at JLens Investor Network, a network of over 9,000 individual and institutional investors inspired by a Jewish lens on 'impact investing'. He oversees JLens advocacy in the corporate and investment arena on social, environmental, and Israel-related concerns. He previously served as the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Connecticut, the Associate Rabbi at Yale University, and the Rabbi at Congregation Kol Ami. He is a board member of the Jewish sustainability organization Hazon, a Global Justice Fellow with American Jewish World Service, and a Rabbinic Fellow of CLAL's Rabbis Without Borders program. His writings about the interplay between Judaism and contemporary topics have been featured on Huffington Post, myjewishlearning.com, and several periodicals. He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, and is a graduate of Columbia University and Columbia Law School. Before entering rabbinical school he was a corporate attorney. (USA) Shaunaka Rishi Das, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Shaunaka Rishi Das has been Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies since 1997 and Hindu Chaplain to Oxford University, since 2009. In 2013 he was appointed by the Government of India to be a member of the International Advisory Council of the Auroville Foundation, and was Member of The Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, Woolf Institute, Cambridge from 2013 2015. He has served as Founder Trustee of Bhaktivedanta College, Belgium, Chair of the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum, Trustee of the Interfaith Network UK, Editor, ISKCON Communications Journal and Convenor of the ISKCON Interfaith Commission. Massimiliano Riva, UNDP Massimiliano (Max) Riva is a trade and finance specialist responsible for contributing to UNDP's evolving work on finance under the natural capital and environment thematic area. He has an MSc in Economics and International Policies from the Catholic University of Milan, and an MA in Economics from the Bocconi University. Robert Rubinstein, Triple Bottom Line Investing TBLI Robert Rubinstein is Chairman and Founding Partner of TBLI Group Holdings BV with headquarters in The Netherlands. The Company was founded in 1998 with the mission of integrating ESG and TBLI into the culture and strategy of international corporate business and investment companies. He has been instrumental in championing Sustainable and IMPACT investment dedicated to solving social issues. Prior to TBLI, he had a career in publishing, in 1981 founding FIETS the first bicycle magazine in The Netherlands, and in 1995 Source Magazine focused on integrating "profits and principles" as a message to the business community. He is a tenacious public speaker on both TBLI and ESG. Through TBLI he was asked to organize a session at COP21, Paris in December 2015 and recently, he was invited by Natural Step, a leading advisor on Sustainability for the Swedish corporate sector, for an event attended by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Rhodri Samuel, Dartington Hall Trust Rhodri Samuel has been advising Dartington Hall Trust in Devon on development strategy and community involvement since 2014 and was appointed CEO of the Trust the following year. He began his career in arts management and production, including the Bath International Music Festival, which led to him leading major projects and initiatives in Bath including the Bath City Identity project and a long term programme to transform streets and public spaces across the city. Following his work in the public sector, he led the Craneworks project and Community Interest Company, a social enterprise to create a new centre for invention and making in Bath. Rhodri has established several leadership networks and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He lives in Devon with his partner Johanna and their two sons. David Scott, Tribe Impact Capital David Scott is the founder and chairman of LGT Vestra and chairman of Tribe Impact Capital. LGT Vestra manages over CHF11bn of assets for clients. Its focus on listening to what clients want and then designing tailor made portfolios has been a key ingredient of its success. Tribe Impact Capital was set up wholly dedicated to investing to create a positive impact on society and the environment. It has committed to directing 20% of its profits to its own impact foundation to support very early stage high impact businesses. It seeks to align the financial needs of its clients to their beliefs and values to create a positive impact on society and the environment. It is a B Corp. Susan Seymour, Quakers, UK Susan Seymour is a member of the Finance and Property Committee of the central body of Quakers in Britain. She studied Modern History and then worked in the Department of Trade and Industry, in London, New York, Bonn and Leeds until 1997. Since then she has worked in the voluntary sector in Macedonia and the UK. She has been active in Quaker work across Europe, nationally and locally, as a member of North West London area meeting. Her current concerns are peacebuilding, refugees, sustainable living and investing, economic reform and local community building. (UK) Michael Shackleton, special advisor to ARC Michael Shackleton is a special advisor to ARC on Japanese religions. He was born in the UK and currently is an Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology and the Director of International Cultural Studies at Osaka Gakuin University in Japan. He has been connected with ARC for many years and has attended most of ARC's events as an advisor and consultant. (Japan) Vishakha Sharma, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Growing up in New Delhi, studying in Copenhagen and undertaking a research internship in Oxford, has brought Vishakha Sharma many lessons in life. The most profound have led her to the pursuit of understanding the relationship between religion and ecology. She is working on her master's thesis at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, investigating how dharmic principles can be reinterpreted in the face of contemporary consumerism in a step towards sustainable lifestyles. She has a BA (Hons) Economics from Amity University, Delhi and is studying for a MSc Global Development from Københavns Universitet, Denmark. Omar Shaikh, Islamic Finance Council UK Omar Shaikh is a Chartered Accountant by profession and specialises in Islamic finance and private equity. He leads the UKIFC's activities in the arena of government policy advisory. He has been at the forefront of establishing the UK government's strategy for making the City a leading Western hub for Islamic finance through the UK Trade & Investment, HM Treasury Committees and Mansion House trade delegations. He has lectured around the world and is involved in development initiatives relating to Waqf, Shariah governance and Islamic microfinance. He has worked with EY (formerly Ernst & Young) where he was the Subject Matter Expert for Islamic finance and successfully led the build-out of the Islamic finance offering within the UK office. At EY he also worked with the UK Private Equity team and the multi-award winning EY Islamic Financial Services Group in Bahrain. Hilal Sheikh, Islamic Finance Council UK Hilal Sheikh is a law graduate with a Masters in Islamic Finance Law and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals. He is proficient in various devices and techniques that can be deployed to design and structure instruments in a Shariah compliant manner. He has acquired specific legal skills including drafting statements, preparing advice and opinions, writing contracts, conducting legal research and analysis, drawing reasoned and balanced conclusions, and comparative law. With consideration for macro aspects of law and regulation, he has a unique perspective on the development, progress and implementation of Islamic finance principles and instruments into modern financial systems. Rajwant Singh, EcoSikh Dr Rajwant Singh is the founder and President of EcoSikh, a response from the Sikh community to the threats of climate change and the deterioration of the environment, through initiatives that include the hugely successful annual Sikh Environment Day (March 14). EcoSikh worked with the SGPC (responsible for the management of many gurdwaras in India to have the community kitchen, in Darbar Sahib ("the Golden Temple") go organic. He is Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), an organization that speaks on issues related to Sikhs; Communications Director of the Sikh Human Development Foundation, which provides need-based scholarships to students in India; and Secretary of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, a Sikh congregation in Maryland. He has worked with presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama and their administrations on faith-based, social justice, and environmental issues. He is a senior advisor and co-founder of National Sikh Campaign, a media campaign to educate Americans about Sikhs in North America. (USA) Beth Sirull, Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego In March 2017, Beth Sirull became the President and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego (JCFSD) which manages approximately $330 million in philanthropic assets for organizations and individuals. JCFSD recently became the first Jewish Community Foundation in the United States to offer its donors an impact investment option aligned with Jewish values across multiple asset classes. In 2015 she received the James Irvine Foundation California Leadership Award, recognising Californians who are advancing innovative, replicable solutions to critical issues facing the state. She was on Forbes' list of 30 Top Social Entrepreneurs in 2012. She has an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University, an MBA from Boston University and an MPP from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. (USA) John Stevens, Amaravati monastery John Stevens was a Buddhist monk for 19 years, principally in England at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, a monastery in the the Forest Tradition of Thailand. There he served for seven years as secretary of the monastery's steward body, The English Sangha Trust (EST), and coordinated the construction of a £1.2 million Temple/meditation hall, built sustainably to last 1,000 years. From 2001 to 2014 he served as a board member of The Quaker Hill Foundation in the USA, during which time he championed the foundation's entry into the world of socially responsible investment. For the past 15 years he has served as a trustee of Amaravati monastery, and during the past three years as Chair he helped develop their ethical and socially responsible investment policy. (UK) Derk Stikker, Ecological Management Foundation Derk Stikker studied Business Administration (MBA and BBA) at George Washington University, with a focus on International Finance. He is the CEO of the BXR Group B.V. based in Amsterdam and a Member of the board of numerous BXR group companies (+/-35). He is the Chairman of the board of BXR Group BV, Green Gas International BV, Domus NV, Malawi Mangoes Ltd and RPG Property BV. He was the Chairman of the Board of the Ecological Management Foundation, a Foundation that strives to have a macro effect on a micro level, focusing on water. He was also Chairman of the Board of Micro Water Facility (2007-2015), a Foundation established to act as a broker between inventors and investors with respect to small-scale water solutions. Further it aims to make a link with the third world to implement successful technologies in the field. Christopher Stockwell, Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility Christopher Stockwell is the Chairman of ECCR. He did a business degree and helped establish corporate planning in a major engineering company before running property and furniture companies. For 20 years he led the damaged Lloyd's Names in their fight for justice at Lloyd's, running several major court cases. He helped pioneer the concept of social audit and was active as a consultant advising major companies about developing their social responsibility policies. He has always believed companies owe a wider duty to stakeholders and must look beyond the next year's profits forecasts. He helped start the 1% campaigns in the URC and the Church of England. He subsequently served on a Diocesan synod. He was a founder of the World Development Movement, of Christian Concern for One World and of One World Week. He founded and chaired for two years the International Coalition for Development action working closely with UNDP and WCC. Today he is "retired" running a holiday cottage business, gardening, helping with grandchildren as well as chairing and developing ECCR. Prof Dr Dr hc Christoph Stückelberger, Geneva Agape Foundation Christoph Stückelberger is founder of the global network on ethics Globethics.net Foundation, based in Geneva and with ten offices on four continents. He was Executive Director from 2008 to 2016 and has been President since July 2016. He is Executive Director of Geneva Agape Foundation, mainly with partners in China. He is Emeritus Professor at the University of Basel, Distinguished Professor at the Technical University MEPhI in Moscow, Visiting Professor at the Godfrey Okoye University (GOU) in Enugu, Nigeria and at Kingdom Business College in Beijing, China. He got his honorary doctorate (Dr hc) from the Congo Protestant University (UPC) in Kinshasa, for his long-term engagement in Africa. He was Director of the Swiss Development Organisation Brot für alle (Bread For All) for 14 years; Director of the Institute for Theology and Ethics of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches for four years; Editor-in-chief of a large magazine; Founder and President of Transparency International Switzerland; Member of the Commission for International Cooperation of the Swiss Government and President of its sub-commission on WTO. He was President of the international microfinance institution ECLOF working in 30 developing countries) and is Founding President of the Swiss Association Church and Environment OeKU. He has been member and consultant of ethics committees of several banks, including banks in Switzerland, Germany and China and a Sovereign Wealth Fund. (Switzerland) Jean-Pierre Sweerts, Water Financing Facility, Netherlands Jean-Pierre Sweerts has a 19-year background in financing and investing in water and clean energy infrastructure and in (impact) private equity and venture capital, worldwide. He is used to building and managing successful and dedicated teams and to set up the required legal structures and organisations (i.e. funds, companies and foundations) and teams (boards, management, staff, partners). Before he became active in the financial sector, he spent eight years working at Delft Hydraulics in the water sector in various managerial and consultancy positions. He works in, and bridges gaps between, the public and private sector and works with local as well as international oriented institutions. He has, and has had, supervisory board positions in a range of companies, infrastructure projects, public institutes, impact investment funds and foundations. He has an IEP from INSEAD and a PhD in Mathematics and Natural Sciences, in fresh water systems ecology. (NETHERLANDS). Bishop Walter Thomas, New Psalmist Baptist Church, Baltimore Bishop Walter Scott Thomas Sr has been serving as the pastor of the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland for the past 40 years. Under his leadership the church body has grown from 200 to more than 7,000 active members, and operates from a new, 4,000-seat state-of-the-art church building. He is also the Presiding Prelate of the Kingdom Association of Covenant Pastors, overseeing 85 pastors throughout the USA. He was called to be pastor in 1973 as part of the New Shiloh Baptist Church and has more than 30 years of experience working with church leaders, pastors, church staff members, and building effective ministry teams. Through the New Psalmist Baptist Church Network, he created the first African American long-term faith plan on the environment. This arose from the New Psalmist Baptist Church's involvement in faith schools, empowerment and water issues, especially in East Africa, and has led Bishop Thomas to create within the New Psalmist Baptist Church and in partnership with UNICEF a whole programme on WASH and faith-based schools. He is author of Spiritual Navigation for the 21st Century and Good Meat Makes its Own Gravy. (USA) @BishopWSThomas Alexander True, Sarasin & Partners Alexander True joined Sarasin & Partners in 2014 as an associate partner and specialises in investment management for a wide range of charity clients with a focus on ethical investment and screening of investments. As a member of the Ethical Investment Committee he oversees the ethical investment process at Sarasin and has been instrumental in its evolution.He qualified with a degree in Experimental Psychology from Bristol University, UK, holds the Private Client Investment Advice and Management Diploma (PCIAM), Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.(UK) Cardinal Peter Turkson, Vatican Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Archbishop emeritus of Cape Coast (Ghana), was born on 11 October 1948 in Nsuta Wassaw, Ghana. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Cape Coast in 1975 and did doctoral studies in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome. He taught at St Theresa's Minor Seminary and St Peter's Major Seminary. He was appointed Archbishop of Cape Coast in 1992 and was proclaimed Cardinal by St. John Paul II in 2003, of the Title of San Liborio. Between 1997 and 2005 he was President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference and is a member of the Pontifical Commission for Methodist-Catholic Dialogue; Chancellor of the Catholic University College of Ghana; member of the National Sustainable Development, Ministry of Environment; member of the Board of Directors of the Central Regional Development Committee and treasurer of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. On 24 October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI named him President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Pope Francis reconfirmed him in this position in 2013. (Vatican) Mizue Tsukushi, Good Bankers Mizue Tsukushi is President and CEO of The Good Bankers Co Ltd, a pioneer In implementing SRI products onto the Japanese market. In 1979, after receiving the language certificate of the French Civilization Course at the University of Paris she started her career at the French engineering company Technip, later joining French oil company TOTAL, then KREDIET Bank and UBS. She left in 1998 to set up The Good Bankers Co Ltd, Asia's first and sole Independent SRI advisory company. She was awarded "Woman of the year 2000: Women Entrepreneur Section" and Good Design Award 2001 for her launch of "Eco-Fund", the first environmentally friendly mutual fund in Japan and Asia. In 2005 she gained a Good Design Award 2005 for the Mitsubishi UFJ SRI Fund ("Family Friendly") and was commended as a person of merit for Gender Equality of the Cabinet Office by the Prime Minister. She has been member of special advisory committees in several Japanese ministries, the Japanese National Commission of UNESCO and the UNEP R Steering Committee. (Japan) Johannes van de Ven, Good Energies Johannes van de Ven is the Executive Director of Zug-based Good Energies (Switzerland), whose mission is to prevent and mitigate poverty caused by climate change. Johannes serves as an Advisory Board Member of Bangalore-based solar company SELCO (India). Previously he was a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum and started his career at Rio de Janeiro-based investment bank Bozano, Simonsen (Brazil). His academic formation is in moral theology, business ethics and development economics, holding a PhD from the University of Louvain (Belgium). Jan Vet, Korn Ferry Jan Vet is Senior Partner with Korn Ferry and has been with this executive search firm since 1992. Currently based in The Netherlands, he has spent a substantial period working for the company at their global headquarters in Los Angeles. He is a member of the company's global financial services practice with a focus on private equity, family-owned companies and the broad not-for-profit sector. His relationship management scope spreads global ground and interest in a cultural-aware business world. From 2008 till 2015, Jan has been a Board Member of the Ecological Management Foundation (EMF). He is Board Member of The Borneo Initiative (TBI), an international initiative for the promotion of sustainable forest management in Indonesia. Additionally, he is involved in multiple societal initiatives, which at times intersect with his broader search activities. Jan graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelors in Economics and Art History and holds a Masters in Finance from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Susie Weldon, ARC and Faith in Water Susie Weldon is a communications consultant for the Zug event. She has been a journalist since 1989, working in the UK and Hong Kong. She worked for ARC for six years, in the communications team and on Faith in Food and Africa programmes. In 2015 she cofounded Faith in Water, a UKbased secular charity that works with faith schools and communities on water, sanitation and hygiene. She is the co-author of the Odyssey guide to Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Faith in Food; changing the world one meal at a time (Benefactum, 2014). (UK) Scott Williams, Resilience Broker Scott Williams is a Resilience Broker and the Global Delivery Director for the Global Resilience Brokers Programme. He has around 20 years of professional service experience with PwC managing and leading teams and delivering complex multi-country programs. Since 2015 he has been a global spokesperson for the HeForShe Gender Solidarity Movement and is a Global Lead Director on the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's ARISE Initiative (a private sector alliance for disaster resilient societies) working to make investments risk-sensitive. Recently he was a Director in PwC's Global Crisis Centre working on the SDGs and Sendai Framework implementation. He led the global team developing The Principles for Financial Action towards a Sustainable Society for the Japanese Government, adopted by over 200 financial institutions. He has two children, Maia and Charley, and 14 years ago set a goal of completing 100 marathons in 20 years. So far he has completed 71. Including the Lucerne marathon, which takes place the day before Zug. Master YANG Shihua, China Daoist Association Master Yang is the vice secretary general of the China Daoist Association (CDA) and is the deputy director in charge of CDA's external affairs. He is the president of the Jiangsu Daoist Association. As a pioneer of the Daoist Ecological Movement, he was among the first to build a Daoist Ecological Temple Network now comprising of over 200 Daoist temple members. He also built a temple complex on Maoshan as the first Center of Excellence for Daoist Ecological Temples. His story has appeared in The New York Times and ChinaDialogue and the Paper.cn. He is also a scholar who have published over 200 papers and monographs. He is also the chief editor of Jiangsu Daoism and Maoshan Daoist Newsletter. (China) Zheng Wei, The Amity Foundation, China Zheng Wei is the Board Secretary of the Amity Foundation, one of the largest faith based organizations in China. Amity Foundation has a UN-ECOSOC Consultative Status and ofﬁces in Hong Kong, Addis Ababa and Geneva. She has a background in Business and Finance and graduated from the University of Edinburgh, UK. She is the Board Secretary of Amity Printing Company which is the largest Bible printing company in the world. She was a member of Amity's investment committee.
The National Citizen Survey™ Jackson County, MI Community Livability Report 2014 Contents The National Citizen Survey™ © 2001-2014 National Research Center, Inc. About The National Citizen Survey™ (The NCS) report is about the "livability" of Jackson County. The phrase "livable community" is used here to evoke a place that is not simply habitable but that is desirable. It is not only where people do live, but where they want to live. Great communities are partnerships of the government, private sector, community-based organizations and residents, all geographically connected. The NCS captures residents' opinions within the three pillars of a community (Community Characteristics, Governance and Participation) across eight central facets of community (Safety, Mobility, Natural Environment, Built Environment, Economy, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement). The Community Livability Report provides the opinions of a representative sample selected from 1,200 residents of Jackson County. The margin of error around any reported percentage is 5% for the entire sample (328 completed surveys). The methods used to garner these opinions can be found in the Technical Appendices provided under separate cover. Communities are partnerships among… Residents Government Community- based organizations Private sector Quality of Life in Jackson County A majority of residents rate the quality of life in Jackson County as excellent or good. The overall quality of life was rated below the national benchmark. Shown below are the eight facets of community. The color of each community facet summarizes how residents rated it across the three sections of the survey that represent the pillars of a community – Community Characteristics, Governance and Participation. When most ratings across the three pillars were higher than the benchmark, the color for that facet is the darkest shade; when most ratings were lower than the benchmark, the color is the lightest shade. A mix of ratings (higher and lower than the benchmark) results in a color between the extremes. In addition to a summary of ratings, the image below includes one or more stars to indicate which community facets were the most important focus areas for the community. Residents identified Safety and Economy as priorities for the Jackson County community in the coming two years. Jackson County residents gave ratings to both of these facets of community that were lower than ratings in other communities across the nation. Ratings for Mobility, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement were positive and similar to other communities. This overview of the key aspects of community quality provides a quick summary of where residents see exceptionally strong performance and where performance offers the greatest opportunity for improvement. Linking quality to importance offers community members and leaders a view into the characteristics of the community that matter most and that seem to be working best. Details that support these findings are contained in the remainder of this Livability Report, starting with the ratings for Community Characteristics, Governance and Participation and ending with results for Jackson County's unique questions. Legend Higher than national benchmark Similar to national benchmark Lower than national benchmark Benchmark comparison not available Most important Education and Enrichment Community Engagement Mobility Natural Environment Recreation and Wellness Built Environment Safety Economy Community Characteristics What makes a community livable, attractive and a place where people want to be? Overall quality of community life represents the natural ambience, services and amenities that make for an attractive community. How residents rate their overall quality of life is an indicator of the overall health of a community. In the case of Jackson County, 59% rated the County as an excellent or good place to live. Respondents' ratings of Jackson County as a place to live were lower than ratings in other communities across the nation (see Appendix B of the Technical Appendices provided under separate cover), but were higher in 2013 than in 2011 (see Trends over Time report provided under separate cover). In addition to rating the County as a place to live, respondents rated several aspects of community quality including Jackson County as a place to raise children and to retire, their neighborhood as a place to live, the overall image or reputation of Jackson County and its overall appearance. Residents gave high ratings to their neighborhood as a place to live, which were similar to the national benchmark. A majority of residents rated Jackson County as an "excellent" or "good" place to raise children. The overall image of Jackson County received less favorable ratings; 23% of respondents assessed the county positively in this area. Compared to 2011, ratings of general Community Characteristics generally were similar to or higher than ratings in 2013 (see Trends over Time report, provided under separate cover). Delving deeper into Community Characteristics, survey respondents rated over 40 features of the community within the eight facets of Community Livability. Safety was rated highly by most respondents, with around 80% or more saying they felt very or somewhat safe in their neighborhood and in downtown/commercial areas; these ratings were similar to the national benchmark. Ratings for Mobility and Natural Environment also tended to be high, with half or more of respondents rating most aspects favorably. In 2013, ratings within Natural Environment and Education and Enrichment tended to improve compared to 2011, while most others did not markedly change during this time. Percent rating positively (e.g., excellent/good) Comparison to national benchmark Higher Similar Lower Not available 53% Place to raise children 79% 23% Overall image Neighborhood 31% Place to retire 37% Overall appearance Governance How well does the government of Jackson County meet the needs and expectations of its residents? The overall quality of the services provided by Jackson County as well as the manner in which these services are provided are a key component of how residents rate their quality of life. About half of respondents rated the overall quality of County services as "excellent" or "good," compared to 20% of respondents rating the Federal Government positively. This overall rating of services provided by Jackson County was lower than in other communities in the U.S. Survey respondents also rated various aspects of Jackson County's leadership and governance. Most of these aspects were rated as "excellent" or "good" by about one-quarter to one-third of survey respondents, ratings which fell below the national benchmark. Half of respondents gave high ratings for customer service provided by the County. Respondents evaluated over 30 individual services and amenities available in Jackson County. Safety tended to garner the most positive ratings compared to other areas. Most participants gave positive ratings to traffic enforcement, bus or transit services, health services and public libraries, all of which received ratings that were similar to the national benchmark. Overall service ratings in the facets of General Governance, Safety, Mobility, Economy, Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement remained stable between 2011 and 2013, Overall Quality of County Services while ratings in the areas of Natural Environment, Built Environment and Recreation and Wellness declined. Percent rating positively (e.g., excellent/good) Comparison to national benchmark Participation Are the residents of Jackson County connected to the community and each other? An engaged community is a livable community. The connections and trust among residents, government, businesses and other organizations help to create a sense of community; a shared sense of membership, belonging and history. About one-quarter of Jackson County residents felt positively about the sense of community in the county and about half said that it was "fair." Sense of community was not rated as highly in Jackson County as in other communities nationwide. Many residents would recommend Jackson County to others and most planned on remaining in the community for the foreseeable future; both measures were higher in 2013 than in 2011. About one in three Jackson County residents had contacted County employees in the past year. The survey included over 30 activities and behaviors for which respondents indicated how often they participated in or performed each, if at all. In general, measures of Participation tended to be similar in Jackson County as in other communities nationally. Safety, Built Environment, Economy, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement all had high levels of participation that were on par with comparison communities. Similarly, most respondents had not been a victim of a crime nor reported a crime. Jackson County residents reported voting in local elections at a higher rate than in other communities in the U.S. In 2013 participation in these various activities tended to be lower overall, although more residents voted in local elections and felt that the economy would have a positive impact on their income in 2013 than in 2011. Sense of Community Special Topics Jackson County included six questions of special interest on The NCS. Topic areas included strategic planning priorities for the County, perspectives on priorities for adult services and sources for information on the County. The questions also addressed residents' history of testing for radon and well water, along with types of contact with the Jackson County Office of the Sheriff. Overall, most residents felt that each of the County's seven strategic planning areas were important. Safety, economic development and education were considered "essential" by the most respondents. Further, economic development was considered the single most important planning area by 4 in 10 residents. Of the six adult services presented in the survey, most respondents felt that nearly all were "essential" or "very important" for the County to provide. Residents considered transportation and information about adult services as most critical for the County to offer, while fewer felt the same about the house cleaning service. Figure 6: Question 15 Please indicate how important, if at all, each of the following adult services are for the County to provide: 2% 3% 3% Jackson County residents reported using various sources of information about County government and its activities, events and services. County residents said they were most likely to use local media outlets. Additionally, at least 3 in 10 residents reported that they used the County web site, word-of-mouth and social media as major sources of information on the County. Figure 7: Question 16 Please indicate how much of a source, if at all, you consider each of the following to be for obtaining information about the County government and its activities, events and services: Among those residents of the County for whom it applied, most had not tested their home for radon nor had their private well water tested for bacteria in the recent past. The National Citizen Survey™ Most respondents, about three-quarters, had not had recent contact with the Jackson County Office of the Sheriff. Among those who had, they most commonly made contact through the Office's web site or when sharing information about a crime. Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option. Conclusions Jackson County residents enjoy a good quality of life. At least half of respondents rated their overall quality of life and Jackson County as a place to live positively in 2013 and both measures were higher than in 2011. While residents of the community appreciated life in Jackson County, they felt that the county's reputation lagged; about one-quarter of participants rated the overall image or reputation of Jackson County positively. Despite this, residents especially enjoyed their neighborhoods and looked forward to remaining in the county for the foreseeable future; these ratings improved between 2011 and 2013. Residents identify Safety as a focus area for Jackson County. Residents identified Safety as one area of community livability most important for the County to focus on, and many aspects of Safety garnered solid ratings from respondents. A strong majority of county residents felt safe in their neighborhoods and in downtown/commercial areas. The overall feeling of safety in the community was rated favorably by half of respondents, but this was lower than in other communities nationally. Few Jackson County residents had been the victim of a crime or had reported a crime, both of which were levels similar to other communities. Police, fire and ambulance services received high ratings from two-thirds or more of respondents; safety service ratings tended to be stable between 2011 and 2013. Respondents also prioritized having a safe community as an essential strategic planning area for overall quality of life in the County and reported that they most commonly had contact with the Office of the Sheriff through its web site. Residents of Jackson County are engaged in the community. Within the pillar of Participation, Jackson County performed as well as other communities in the nation in the facets of Safety, Built Environment, Economy, Recreation and Wellness, Education and Enrichment and Community Engagement. The facet with the most positive ratings of engagement was Community Engagement. More residents in Jackson County reported voting in local elections than in other communities and at a higher rate than in 2011. While fewer felt that there was a strong sense of community in the county, the vast majority of residents kept up with local news and had contact with their neighbors or had done favor for a neighbor. County residents most commonly used local media outlets to garner information on the County government.
Cinderella Scholarship Pageant Royalty Handbook A few words concerning this Guide for Ofﬁcial Cinderella Titleholders... Please understand that these guidelines have been established so that you may always be presented in a respectful and professional manner and that you are seen by the public as the embodiment of the high ideals and standards of the Cinderella Scholarship Program. We ask that you faithfully follow these rules at all times. 1. Presentation Attire In formal presentations, Cinderella Overall Royalty are asked to wear a white dress. Naturally, we caution you to select a dress that is in keeping with Cinderella's standards of age appropriateness and good taste. Additionally, when you are wearing your "presentation white dress" we ask that our Tot, Miniature Miss and Miss royalty wear a white, closed toe shoe. 2. Proper use of the Cinderella Crown, Banner, Scepter and Robe a) These items are only worn at ofﬁcial Cinderella functions or at functions sanctioned by your director. b) Crown and Banner: May be worn with either formal or casual clothes. c) Scepter and Robe: May only be used in formal presentations on stage while wearing your "royalty white" presentation dress. (The robe and scepter are NEVER used while wearing casual clothing.) d) Banners (Sashes): Cinderella winners are required to wear only ofﬁcial Cinderella banners. Either the ofﬁcial Satin Ribbon Banner or the ofﬁcial Embroidered Banner may be used. NO OTHER BANNER MAY BE WORN BY CINDERELLA WINNERS! e) Banner Adornments: The following must be observed: Local Banners may not have a row of rhinestones added. State Banners may have a maximum of 1 row of rhinestones added. International banners may have a maximum of 2 rows of rhinestones added. The addition of rhinestone pins, etc. to the banner should be limited so as to keep the banner elegant and unblemished. f) Additional Jewelry: No additional jewelry other than a wrist watch and earrings may be worn while wearing crown and banner. (Tot, Miniature Miss and Miss wear stud earrings. Teen and Woman may wear studs or drop earrings.) g) Hair accessories: When wearing the crown, no other hair accessory may be worn (bows, decorative hair pins, barrettes, etc.) h) Nails: Only clear or pearl nail polish should be worn while representing Cinderella. 3. Participation In Pageants (other than Cinderella Pageants) During her reigning year, girls are encouraged to only participate in ofﬁcial Cinderella pageants. While this is only a suggestion for Local and State Pageant Overall Winners, International Overall Titleholders are prohibited from participating in any pageant during their reigning year. Local and State overall winners are asked to check with the policy established by their directors. 4. Personal Grooming a) Royalty: Royalty are asked to always be properly attired when in public. Complete all dressing, hair styling and makeup application before you arrive at your destination. (Please note that it is inappropriate for hair rollers to be worn in public.) Also, the correct undergarments should be worn. b) Chaperones: Our Cinderella Royalty Chaperones are an important part of our program. As such, we ask that they are well groomed and that they refrain from wearing jeans (and similar clothing) at ofﬁcial pageant functions. It is important that your grooming and attire be appropriate for the Cinderella event you are attending... in a very real way, you represent the program as well as the girl you have the honor to chaperone! 5. Personal Conduct When in public - Always be kind and personable to each Cinderella Girl that you meet. Always make a special effort to speak to your Cinderella sisters, especially those girls who you may not have met. Remember, they look up to you and admire you for your position and achievements. Please put yourself in their position and remember how great it feels to be included and noticed by people who you respect and admire. When attending a pageant - When not preparing for a talent, or helping the pageant director, Overall Royalty and their chaperones are expected to take seats in the front of the audience and support their fellow Cinderella sisters by attentively watching and applauding each contestant as she goes through her competition. Our royalty sets the example for the audience by their attention and applause! 6. Talent Presentations Cinderella Miniature Miss, Miss, Teen and Woman Royalty should always have a minimum of 2 talents prepared for each pageant or event that they attend (if talent is a part of the program). While there is no strict time limit for your talent presentations, we ask that you guard against making it overly long. Cinderella Tot Royalty should always be prepared to join the Emcee on stage to speak about her year's reign and other activities... much like a "mini" Tot Personality segment. Tot royalty may choose to have a talent prepared but are not required to do so, as their division does not require talent. Also, directors are not required to have reigning Tot winners perform a talent, and the chaperone and the child should not take offense. 7. Stage Introductions Royalty is introduced in the following sequence... Cinderella Tot, Cinderella Miniature Miss, Cinderella Miss, Cinderella Teen and Cinderella Woman. Please speak with the director about your formal introduction and rehearse it if necessary. The introduction should be "smooth and elegant" and royalty should be positioned so as to make a beautiful "picture" to the audience. Likewise, your exit should be coordinated so that it appears poised and graceful. The proper sequence of introductions is as follows: First to be introduced are visiting Local Royalty; Second to be introduced are visiting State Royalty; Third to be introduced are visiting International Royalty. After the stage is cleared, the Reigning Royalty of that event is introduced. Please note that ONLY the reigning royalty of that event are allowed to walk the runway. 8. Award Presentations During the presentation of awards at the conclusion of the pageant, the following should be observed: a.) The awards should be presented by that pageant's reigning royalty. b.) The winner should be crowned by the outgoing winner of her age division. (The Tot may be assisted with the attachment of the crown on the winner's head, and should be instructed in how to "place" the crown on the head of her successor.) 9. Final Walk On the State and International level, we ask that the immediate family of the reigning royalty be on hand during the ﬁnal night competition to participate in this important occasion in our Cinderella Girl's reign. The "ﬁnal walk" is the opportunity for the outgoing royalty to receive applause for a "job well done" from her Cinderella family and she is generally met by her parents and siblings on stage with a presentation bouquet... symbolizing the importance of family love and unity to the Cinderella Scholarship Program. Light blue carnations are the ofﬁcial ﬂower of the Cinderella Scholarship Program and we suggest that presentation bouquets to newly crowned overall winners use this ﬂower. If the director would like, they may include white roses along with the carnations in the bouquet. After you have made your Final Walk, and have exited the stage, we ask that you make yourself immediately available to the Emcee staff so that you can crown your successor and assist with the presentation of awards. At this time you are required to remove your robe and set aside your scepter. Your crown & banner may remain on. Please note that the "passing of the crown" is one of the most solemn occasions in the life of an overall titleholder. It symbolizes the unbreakable bond you share with a long and distinguished history of pervious winners and should be executed with grace and poise. Please make sure you have spoken with your state director concerning the "correct" way to present the crown to your successor. 10 . MySpace, Facebook, Personal Web Pages, etc. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are popular ways for people to interact socially using the world wide web. However, it is important that you are mindful of the image of yourself that you present on these sites. Remember, a "photo is worth a thousand words"... make certain that the images of yourself that you use on this site reﬂects positively on yourself as well as the Cinderella Program. Make sure that the photos and the writing on the site upholds the values of our Cinderella Program. 11. Following Your Reign There is a tradition in Cinderella that says, "Once a winner, always a winner." Because you are a special, unique part of our program, we want you to always cherish the title you've won in our program. Therefore, in the years following your reign we do allow you to wear your ofﬁcial Cinderella Banner when attending events. To alleviate confusion, we ask that your banner have the year of your reign included on it. For example, your Banner might read: 2003-2004 Louisiana Cinderella Tot, with the "2003-2004 Louisiana" designation located in the upper section of the banner. Please note that following the year of your reign you may no longer wear the crown you were awarded as that is reserved for "reigning" winners only. 11. Miscellaneous * Always show appreciation for all that is done for you and, unless it is unavoidable, do not ask for special favors or privileges. Remember that "Please" and "Thank you" are always welcomed and appreciated. * Never chew gum while in public. * Use of alcoholic beverages or other mind-altering drugs is prohibited. This includes royalty, their parents, chaperones or guests. * Smoking by Royalty is prohibited. * Always arrive at your destination ON TIME. Director's are encouraged NOT to delay a program or a show because of the tardy arrival of Cinderella Royalty. Should you be late for a scheduled appearance, do not become upset if you have not been included in the show. The Emcee and Director need to have you present BEFORE the show begins in order to communicate to you your position in the show as well as (if applicable) collect your performance CD. Once written, a show script cannot easily be changed. * SPECIAL NOTE: If you are given information that conﬂicts with or adds to the information contained in this handbook regarding the expectations of Cinderella Royalty, please call the International Ofﬁce at (225) 344-7628 for clariﬁcation. Additional Guidelines For International Cinderella Royalty In Cinderella, our International Royalty has the advantage of having their own International Royalty Coordinator, Mrs. Joy Linn. Joy has been associated with the Cinderella Program for many years and is very knowledgeable and experienced in what is expected of our International Royalty. We ask that you defer to her during your reign when questions arise. Additionally, she will serve as the liaison between staff, emcees and the royal party while at pageants and other events. Also, we ask that parents defer to Joy's judgment regarding your daughter's role and appropriate activities during her reign. Often our International Royalty wish to coordinate matching outﬁts for the International Pageant and for their other appearances, trips and activities. While we encourage your creativity and suggestions when developing your wardrobe, please know that all "group outﬁts" should be approved by Mrs. Joy. Additionally, please be sensitive to the different ﬁnancial circumstances and ﬁnancial obligations of your fellow royalty and do not let these outﬁts create ﬁnancial hardship for another member of your court. During your reigning year you might be informed of items that need to be purchased. Mrs Joy will know if these may be more economical than having them custom made. When custom made garments are needed, Mrs. Joy will send you patterns and material for these so that you may use your local seamstress. Regarding your Talent presentations for both State and International Pageants; please have Joy review your selections. She will then consult with the International Ofﬁce and receive the "ok" for these performances. It is important that your talent presentations be polished, in good taste and representative of the title you hold. We encourage you to make your talent selections early and begin perfecting them as soon as possible. Royalty will perform at least one time during the following activities: International Baby Pageant; Cinderella Casualwear Competition; Cinderella Party Dress/ Formalwear Competition; Final Night Show. While there are 4 events at which you may perform, only 3 talents must be prepared, as the audience for the Baby Pageant will be a different audience from the other 3 events. However, you are welcome to prepare a different talent for each of these performance opportunities. Please note that our reigning Tot winner will not be performing a talent during the International Pageant's Final Night Show. However, she will be featured during the Final Night Production when she has a song sung to her by one of our Master's of Ceremonies. Additionally, our Reigning Tot will be asked to escort girls on stage during Tot Personality competition. If you have questions pertaining to these rules, your duties and responsibilities as International Royalty or concerning the Cinderella Program in general, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Joy Linn at (205) 837-8329 • email@example.com. Should she be unavailable, feel free to call the International Ofﬁce at (225) 344-7628 and we will be happy to assist you with your needs. HAVE A WONDERFUL YEAR! And remember... One Shoe Can Change Your Life!
Network Working Group M. Barnes Internet-Draft iconectiv Intended status: Informational C. Wendt Expires: May 3, 2018 Comcast October 30, 2017 ACME Identifiers and Challenges for VoIP Service Providers draft-ietf-acme-service-provider-02 Abstract This document specifies identifiers and challenges required to enable the Automated Certificate Management Environment (ACME) to issue certificates for VoIP service providers to support Secure Telephony Identity (STI). Status of This Memo This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current InternetDrafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." This Internet-Draft will expire on May 3, 2018. Copyright Notice Copyright (c) 2017 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved. This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License. Internet-Draft Service Provider Identifier and Challenges October 2017 Table of Contents 9 1. Introduction [I-D.ietf-acme-acme] is a mechanism for automating certificate management on the Internet. It enables administrative entities to prove effective control over resources like domain names, and automates the process of generating and issuing certificates. The STIR problem statement [RFC7340] identifies the need for Internet credentials that can attest authority for the originator of VoIP calls in order to detect impersonation, which is currently an enabler for common attacks associated with illegal robocalling, voicemail hacking, and swatting. These credentials are used to sign PASSporTs [I-D.ietf-stir-passport], which can be carried in using protocols such as SIP [I-D.ietf-stir-rfc4474bis]. Currently, the only defined credentials for this purpose are the certificates specified in [I-D.ietf-stir-certificates]. [I-D.ietf-stir-certificates] describes certificate extensions suitable for associating telephone numbers and service provider codes with certificates. [I-D.ietf-acme-telephone] specifies the ACME extensions to enable certification authorities to issue certificates based on telephone numbers. This specification defines extensions to ACME to enable certification authorities to issue certificates based on service provider codes. 2. Overview The document [ATIS-1000080] provides a framework and model for using certificates based on service provider codes. In this model, each service provider requires only a few certificates, which are used in conjunction with a PASSporT that contains additional information attesting to a service provider's knowledge of the originator of the call. Further details on the PASSporT extensions for this model are provided in the SHAKEN Framework [ ATIS-1000074 ]. Barnes & Wendt Expires May 3, 2018 [Page 2] Internet-Draft Service Provider Identifier and Challenges October 2017 In the SHAKEN Certificate Management framework [ATIS-1000080], there is an administrative entity that is responsible for allocating service provider codes. This is referred to as the STI Policy Administrator (STI-PA). This allows a certification authority to validate that the entity requesting issuance of a certificate is authorized to request certificates on behalf of the entity that has been assigned a specific service provider code. A single VoIP service provider can be allocated multiple service provider codes. A service provider can choose to use the same certificate for multiple service providers as reflected by the structure of the TN Authorization List certificate extension defined in [I-D.ietf-stir-certificates]. The intent of the challenges in this document is not to establish that an entity is a valid service provider but rather to provide evidence that an established administrative authority entity has authorized the entity to provide VoIP services in the network and thus to request credentials on behalf of the VoIP users in the network. 3. Identifier for Service Provider Codes In order to issue certificates for service providers based on service provider code values, a new ACME identifier type is required for use in ACME authorization objects. The baseline ACME specification defines one type of identifier, for a fully-qualified domain name ("dns"). The document [I-D.ietf-acme-telephone] defines an ACME identifier type for telephone numbers ("tn"). This document defines a new ACME identifier type for service provider codes ("TNAuthList"). The "TNAuthList" identifier is the same type that is specified in the TN Authorization List certificate extension [I-D.ietf-stir-certificates] for service provider codes. 4. Challenges for Service Providers The new "TNAuthList" identifier introduces a slightly different authorization process. A mechanism is required to allow the service provider to prove it has the authority to request certificates on behalf of the entities for whom it is providing VoIP services. This document defines a new ACME challenge type of "spc-token-01" to support the authorization of service provider code tokens. The following is the response that the ACME client receives when it sends a GET for the challenges in the case of a "TNAuthList" identifer: Barnes & Wendt Expires May 3, 2018 [Page 3] Internet-Draft Service Provider Identifier and Challenges October 2017 ``` HTTP/1.1 200 OK Content-Type: application/json Link: <https://example.com/acme/some-directory>;rel="directory" { "status": "pending", "identifier": { "type": "TNAuthList", "value": ["1234-0111"] }, "challenges": [ { "type": "spc-token-01", "url": "https://sti-ca.com/authz/asdf/0" "token": "DGyRejmCefe7v4NfDGDKfA" } ], } ``` A client responds to this challenge by providing a service provider code token. In the SHAKEN Certificate Management framework, the Service Provider has a secure exchange with the STI-PA to obtain a service provider code token that can be used for authorization by the CA when requesting a certificate. The service provider code token is a standard JWT token [RFC7519] using a JWS defined signature string [RFC7515]. It is RECOMMENDED that the lifetime of the service provider code token be greater than the certificate lifetime, in particular in cases where multiple certificates are being issued using the same service provider code token. The service provider code token JWT Protected Header MUST include the following: alg: Defines the algorithm used in the signature of the token. For Service Provider Code tokens, the algorithm MUST be "ES256". typ: Set to standard "JWT" value. x5u: Defines the URL of the certificate of the STI-PA validating the Service Provider Code. The service provide code token JWT Payload MUST include the following: Barnes & Wendt Expires May 3, 2018 [Page 4] Internet-Draft Service Provider Identifier and Challenges October 2017 sub: Service Provider Code value being validated in the form of an ASCII string. iat: DateTime value of the time and date the token was issued. nbf: DateTime value of the starting time and date that the token is valid. exp: DateTime value of the ending time and date that the token expires. fingerprint: : Fingerprint of the ACME credentials the Service Provider used to create an account with the CA. The fingerprint is of the form: base64url(JWK_Thumbprint(accountKey)). The "JWK_Thumbprint" step indicates the computation specified in [RFC7638], using the SHA-256 digest [FIPS180-4]. As noted in JWA [RFC7518] any prepended zero octets in the JWK object MUST be stripped before doing the computation. To respond to a service provider code token challenge, the ACME client constructs a service provider code authorization ("spc-authz") using the "token" value provided in the challenge and the service provider code token ("spcAuthzToken") that has been previously obtained from the STI-PA. These two values are concatenated and separated by a "." character as follows: ``` spcAuthorization = token \|\| '.' \|\| spcAuthzToken ``` The token for a challenge is a string comprised entirely of characters in the URL- safe base64 alphabet. The "\|\|" operator indicates concatenation of strings. An example of the use of the "spc-token-01" in a challenge response sent by the ACME client is provided below: Barnes & Wendt Expires May 3, 2018 [Page 5] Internet-Draft Service Provider Identifier and Challenges October 2017 ``` POST /acme/authz/asdf/0 HTTP/1.1 Host: sti-ca.com Content-Type: application/jose+json { "protected": base64url({ "alg": "ES256", "kid": "https://sti-ca.com/acme/reg/asdf", "nonce": "Q_s3MWoqT05TrdkM2MTDcw", "url": "https://sti-ca.com/acme/authz/asdf/0" }), "payload": base64url({ "spcAuthorization": "DGyRejmCefe7v4N...vb29HhjjLPSggwiE" }), "signature": "9cbg5JO1Gf5YLjjz...SpkUfcdPai9uVYYQ" ``` } Upon receiving a response to the challenge, the ACME server determines the validity of the response. The ACME server MUST verify that the "token" in the response matches the "token" in the original challenge. To determine if the "spcAuthzToken" is valid, the server MUST use the URL in the JWT header in the "spcAuthzToken" to obtain the certificate associated with the JWT payload. The server MUST validate the signature and verify the claims. The "sub" field MUST be a value that is included in the values for the "TN-Auth-List" in the original challenge. The server MUST verify that the "fingerprint" field matches the ACME credentials for the ACME client that created the account with the CA. If the validation is successful, the "status" in the challenge object is set to "valid". If any step of the validation process fails, the "status" in the challenge object MUST be set to "invalid". [Editor's Note: Likely we should describe specific error responses for the above.] 5. IANA Considerations This document defines a new ACME Identifier type and ACME Challenge type to be registered. [[ RFC EDITOR: Please replace XXXX above with the RFC number assigned to this document ]] 5.1. ACME TNAuthList Identifier This document defines the "TNAuthList" ACME Challenge type in the ACME Identifier Type registry as follows: Barnes & Wendt Expires May 3, 2018 [Page 6] Internet-Draft Service Provider Identifier and Challenges October 2017 +-----------------------+-----------+ \| Identifier Type \| Reference \| +-----------------------+-----------+ \| TNAuthList \| RFC XXXX \| +-----------------------+-----------+ 5.2. ACME Service Provider Challenge This document defines the "spc-token-01" ACME Challenge type in the ACME Challenge Types registry as follows: +--------------+--------------------+-----------+ \| Label \| Identifier Type \| Reference \| +--------------+--------------------+-----------+ \| spc-token-01 \| TNAuthList \| RFC XXXX \| +--------------+--------------------+-----------+ 6. Security Considerations This document relies on the security considerations established for the ACME protocol per [I-D.ietf-acme-acme]. The new "TNAuthList" identifier and "spc-token-01" validation challenges introduce a slightly different authorization process. Although, the challenges still have a binding between the account private key and the validation query made by the server since the fingerprint of the account key is contained in the service provider code token used for authorization. The service provider code token is initially obtained through a secure exchange between the service provider and the entity in the network that is responsible for determining what entities can operate as VoIP service providers (the STI Policy Administrator). Further details on this are provided in [ATIS-1000080]. 7. Informative References ``` [ATIS-1000074] ATIS/SIP Forum NNI Task Group, "Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (SHAKEN)", January 2017. ``` Barnes & Wendt Expires May 3, 2018 [Page 7] ATIS/SIP Forum NNI Task Group, "Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (SHAKEN): Governance Model and Certificate Management", May 2017. [FIPS180-4] Department of Commerce, National, "NIST FIPS 180-4, Secure Hash Standard", March 2012. [I-D.ietf-acme-acme] Barnes, R., Hoffman-Andrews, J., and J. Kasten, "Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME)", draft-ietf- acme-acme-07 (work in progress), June 2017. [I-D.ietf-acme-telephone] Peterson, J. and R. Barnes, "ACME Identifiers and Challenges for Telephone Numbers", draft-ietf-acme- telephone-00 (work in progress), July 2017. [I-D.ietf-stir-certificates] Peterson, J. and S. Turner, "Secure Telephone Identity Credentials: Certificates", draft-ietf-stir- certificates-14 (work in progress), May 2017. [I-D.ietf-stir-passport] Wendt, C. and J. Peterson, "Personal Assertion Token (PASSporT)", draft-ietf-stir-passport-11 (work in progress), February 2017. [I-D.ietf-stir-rfc4474bis] Peterson, J., Jennings, C., Rescorla, E., and C. Wendt, "Authenticated Identity Management in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)", draft-ietf-stir-rfc4474bis-16 (work in progress), February 2017. [RFC7340] Peterson, J., Schulzrinne, H., and H. Tschofenig, "Secure Telephone Identity Problem Statement and Requirements", RFC 7340, DOI 10.17487/RFC7340, September 2014, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7340>. [RFC7515] Jones, M., Bradley, J., and N. Sakimura, "JSON Web Signature (JWS)", RFC 7515, DOI 10.17487/RFC7515, May 2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7515>. [RFC7518] Jones, M., "JSON Web Algorithms (JWA)", RFC 7518, DOI 10.17487/RFC7518, May 2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7518>. Internet-Draft Service Provider Identifier and Challenges October 2017 [RFC7519] Jones, M., Bradley, J., and N. Sakimura, "JSON Web Token (JWT)", RFC 7519, DOI 10.17487/RFC7519, May 2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7519>. [RFC7638] Jones, M. and N. Sakimura, "JSON Web Key (JWK) Thumbprint", RFC 7638, DOI 10.17487/RFC7638, September 2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7638>. Authors' Addresses Mary Barnes iconectiv Email: email@example.com Chris Wendt Comcast One Comcast Center Philadelphia, PA 19103 US Email: firstname.lastname@example.org
AGREEMENT BETWEEN BELVIDERE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND BELVIDERE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREAMBLE THIS AGREEMENT, entered into this day of , 2004, by and between the BELVIDERE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Belvidere, New Jersey, hereinafter called the “Board” and the BELVIDERE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, hereinafter called the “Association.” WITNESSETH THAT WHEREAS the Board of Education is required by law to negotiate in good faith concerning terms and conditions of employment and for the purpose of establishing a grievance procedure with the Association, NOW THEREFORE, the Board and the Association have reached an agreement on all such matters and desire to execute this Contract covering such agreement. ARTICLE I RECOGNITION A. 1. The Board hereby recognizes the Belvidere Education Association as the exclusive and sole representative for collective negotiations concerning the terms and conditions of employment as defined in N.J.S.A. 34:13A-1 et seq. for all the following personnel recognized as part of the Association including: Teachers Guidance counselors Librarians Nurses Child Study Team members, exclusive of those holding administrative positions All co-curricular personnel Teacher aides Secretaries Custodians but excluding: The Superintendent of Schools Principals Assistant Principals Director of Special Services Administrative Assistants Operations Chief Athletic Director School Business Administrator / Board Secretary Supervisory Area Leaders District Technology Coordinator 2. The term "employee", when used hereinafter in this Agreement, shall refer to all employees represented by the Association in the negotiating unit as defined above. 3. The term "Board" shall include its officers and agents. 4. The term "teacher" shall refer to all certificated employees. ARTICLE II NEGOTIATIONS PROCEDURE A. The parties agree, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 34:13A-1. et. seq., to negotiate in good faith with respect to the terms and conditions of employment of the defined unit. B. The parties agree to negotiate over a successor Agreement in accordance with the law and such procedures as the negotiating teams may agree upon, in a good faith effort to reach an Agreement concerning salaries and other terms and conditions of employment. Any Agreement so negotiated shall apply to all personnel indicated, shall be reduced to writing, and if ratified by the Association, and if adopted by the Board, be signed by the Association and the Board. C. This Agreement incorporates the entire understanding of the Belvidere Board of Education, the Belvidere Education Association, on all issues which are or could have been the subject of negotiations. During the term of this Agreement, neither the Board, nor the Association will be required to negotiate with respect to any such matter, whether or not covered by this Agreement, and whether or not within the knowledge or contemplation of either or both of the parties at the time the parties negotiated or signed this Agreement. ARTICLE III GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A. A "grievance" shall mean a claim by an employee or support employee, or entire group encompassing the same, that there has been misinterpretation, misapplication, or a violation of Board policy, this Agreement, or an administrative decision affecting him/her. 1. Aggrieved Person - An "aggrieved person" is the person or persons or the Association making the claim. 2. Party in Interest - A "party in interest" is the person making the claim and any person including the Association or the Board who might be required to take action or against whom action might be taken in order to resolve the claim. B. A grievance to be considered under this procedure on behalf of an employee must be initiated by the employee or the Association within thirty (30) days of the time the employee knew or should have known of its occurrence. Failure to initiate a grievance in the specified period of time is deemed a waiver of all steps on the grievance procedure. 1. It is agreed by all parties that these proceedings will be kept as informal and confidential as may be appropriate at any level of this procedure. 2. Failure at any step of this procedure to communicate the decision on a grievance within the specified time limits shall permit the aggrieved employee to proceed to the next step. Failure at any step of this procedure to appeal a grievance to the next step within the specified time limits shall be deemed to be acceptance of the decision rendered at that step. 3. It is understood that employees shall, during and notwithstanding the pendency of any grievance, continue to observe all assignments and applicable rules and regulations of the Board until such grievance and any effect thereof shall have been fully determined. 4. Since it is important that grievances be processed as rapidly as possible, the number of days indicated at each level shall be considered as a maximum and every effort should be made to expedite the process. 5. A grievance initiated after April 1st by the employee should be answered within the specified number of calendar days rather than school days in order to eliminate the problem from the new school year. C. Level One Any employee who has a grievance shall discuss it first with his/her principal (or immediate superior, if applicable) in an attempt to resolve the matter informally at that level. D. Level Two 1. If, as a result of the discussion, the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of the employee within five (5) school days, he/she may set forth his/her grievance in writing to his/her principal on the grievance form provided. 2. The principal shall communicate his/her decision to the employee in writing with reasons within six (6) school days of receipt of the written grievance. E. Level Three The employee, no later than five (5) school days after receipt of the principal's decision, may appeal the principal's decision to the Superintendent of Schools. The appeal to the Superintendent must be made in writing, reciting the matter submitted to the principal as specified above, and his/her dissatisfaction with decisions previously rendered. The Superintendent shall attempt to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, but within a period not to exceed ten (10) school days. The Superintendent shall communicate his/her decision in writing with reasons to the employee and the principal. F. Level Four If the grievance is not resolved to the employee's satisfaction, the employee, no later than five (5) school days after receipt of the Superintendent's decision, may request a review by the Board of Education. The request shall be submitted in writing through the Superintendent of Schools, who shall attach all related papers and forward the request within five (5) school days to the Board of Education. The Board shall review the grievance and shall, at the option of the Board or upon request for the employee, hold a hearing with the employee and render a decision in writing, with reasons, within thirty-five (35) working days of receipt of the grievance by the Board of Education. G. Level Five 1. If the decision of the Board does not resolve the grievance to the satisfaction of the employee, and the employee wishes review by a third party, and if the matter pertains to this Agreement between the Board and the Association, he/she shall so notify the Board through the Superintendent within ten (10) school days of receipt of the Board's decision. An employee, in order to process the grievance beyond Level Four, must have his/her request for action accompanied by the written recommendation for such action by the Association. 2. No claim by an employee shall constitute a grievable matter beyond Level Four or be processed beyond Level Four if it pertains to (1) any matter for which a detailed method of review is prescribed by law, (2) any rules or regulations of the State Commissioner of Education, any by-law of the Board of education pertaining to its internal operation, but not to the violation, interpretation, or application, or such rules or regulations, or (3) any matter which according to law is beyond the scope of the Board authority. H. Procedure for Securing the Services of an Arbitrator The following procedure will be used to secure the services of a third person referred to as an arbitrator: 1. A request will be made to the Public Employees Relations (PERC) to submit a roster of persons qualified to function as an arbitrator in the dispute in question. 2. If the parties are unable to determine a mutually satisfactory arbitrator from the submitted list, they will request that PERC submit a second roster of names. 3. The arbitrator shall limit himself/herself to the issues submitted to him/her and shall consider nothing else. He/she can add nothing to, nor subtract anything from, the Agreement between the parties. The recommendations of the arbitrator shall be binding. Only the Board and the aggrieved and his/her representative shall be given copies of the arbitrator's report of findings, reasons, and recommendations. I. Rights of Employees to Representation 1. Any aggrieved person may be represented at all stages of the grievance procedure by himself-herself, or, at his/her option, by a representative selected or approved by the Association. 2. When an employee is not represented by the Association in the processing of a grievance, the Association shall, at the time of submission of the grievance at Level Two, be notified that the grievance is in process, have the right to have a representative of the Association attend and present its position in writing at all meetings with the employee held concerning the grievance and shall receive a copy of all decisions rendered. J. Miscellaneous 1. Separate grievance file: All documents, communications and records dealing with the processing of a grievance shall be filed in a separate file and shall not be kept in the personnel file of any of the participants. 2. Forms: Forms for filing grievances, serving notices, taking appeals, making reports and recommendations, and other necessary documents, shall be prepared jointly by the Superintendent and the Association and given appropriate distribution so as to facilitate operation of the grievance procedure. 3. Meetings and hearings: All meetings and hearings under this procedure shall not be conducted in public and shall include only such parties in interest and their designated or selected representatives, heretofore referred to in the Article. K. Costs 1. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator are the only costs which will be shared by the two parties and they will be shared equally 2. Each party shall bear the total cost of any other expenses incurred by them. ARTICLE IV EMPLOYEE RIGHTS A. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 34:13A-1 et seq., the Board hereby agrees that its employees shall have the right to organize, join and support the Association for the purpose of engaging in collective negotiations and other concerted and lawful activities for mutual aid and protection. As a duly elected body exercising a governmental power under the color of law of the State of New Jersey, the Board undertakes and agrees that it or its employed administrative or executive personnel will not directly or indirectly discourage, deprive or coerce any employee with respect to hours, salary, terms or conditions of employment, by reason of his/her membership in the Association, including collective negotiations with the Board, or his/her institution of any grievance, complaint or proceeding with respect to any term or condition of employment under, or aside from the specific dates of this Agreement. B. No employee subject to the contract shall be disciplined, receive a written reprimand, be reduced in rank or compensation without just cause. C. Whenever an employee is required to appear before the Board or an administrator concerning any matter which could adversely affect the continuation of that employee in his/her office, position or employment, or salary or any increment pertaining thereto as stipulated in this contract, then he/she shall be given prior written notice (time and circumstances permitting -- in the judgment of the Superintendent) of the reasons for such meeting or interview and shall be entitled to have a representative of the Association present to advise him/her and represent him/her during such meeting or interview. The Board shall be given advance notification of the employee's representative. D. The sole source of employee rights are those founded in law or in contracts entered into individually or collectively. E. No employee shall be prevented from wearing pins or other identification of membership in the Association or its affiliates. F. The teaching staff members shall maintain the right and responsibility to determine grades and other evaluations of students within grading policies of the Belvidere School District based on his/her professional judgment of available criteria pertinent to any given subject area or activity for which he/she is responsible. No grade or evaluation shall be changed without consultation of the teacher and principal. Shall the principal fail to agree upon the subject grade or evaluation, either party may request the Superintendent to review the matter. The Superintendent shall inform the Board of his/her review and recommendations. The Board will act upon the matter and its decision will be adhered to. G. Any questions or criticism by a supervisor, administrator, or Board member of any employee subject to this contract and his/her instructional or occupational methodology shall be made in confidence and not in the presence of students, parents, or other public gatherings, notwithstanding fallibility of supervisor, administrator, or Board member. H. All employees shall have the right to examine the contents of their personnel records at a mutually acceptable time, in the presence of an administrator. Records may not be removed from the administrator's office. 1. Any unsatisfactory report or comments placed in a personnel file must be signed by the employee. Said employee will have the right to respond in writing, within the ten (10) school days of receipt of said report or comment, and this response will be included with the original report. 2. After three (3) years, any derogatory comments or unsatisfactory reports, other than observations and evaluations, in an individual's personnel file, will be removed and destroyed. ARTICLE V ASSOCIATION RIGHTS A. The Board agrees to furnish the Association with the following information concerning the operation of the Belvidere School District: Annual Financial Records and Audit in the form presented to the Board and which becomes available to the public, register of Certificated Personnel, Minutes of all Board meetings, pupil census data, individual and group health insurance premiums, employee experience figures, names and addresses of all employees, and such other information that shall assist the Association in developing intelligent, accurate, informed and constructive programs on behalf of the employees. B. Whenever any representative of the Association or any employee participates during working hours in direct negotiations or in grievance proceedings, he/she shall suffer no loss in pay. It is understood that negotiations and grievance proceedings shall include board and/or administration participation. C. Representatives of the Association, the New Jersey Education Association, and the National Education Association, may be permitted to transact official Association business on school property at reasonable times, as determined by the Superintendent. D. The Association, and its representatives may have the right to use the school buildings for meetings, the use of the facilities and equipment as prescribed in the Policy Handbook of the Belvidere Board of Education, and at times and under conditions which, in the judgment of the Superintendent, will not interfere or interrupt normal school operations. E. The rights of the Association, and its representatives as set forth in this Agreement shall be granted only to the Association as the exclusive representative of the members of the negotiating unit and to no other comparable organization. F. Association meetings shall be honored as long as there is a two school day notice and there is no prior conflict. The Superintendent of Schools shall have the right to preempt the meeting in case of emergency. G. The Board of Education, through its designee, will request the opinion of the cocurricular/athletic people regarding the hiring of new teachers in their particular co-curricular/ athletic field of expertise. The Board retains final authority in hiring. H. The Board shall provide a desk and locking filing cabinet for the exclusive use of the Belvidere Education Association. I. If an eligible employee does not become a member of the Association during any membership year which is covered in whole or in part by this Agreement, said employee will be required to pay a representation fee to the Association for that membership year. The purpose of this fee will be to offset the employee's per capita cost of service rendered by the Association as majority representative. In order to adequately offset the per capita cost of services rendered by the Association, the representation fee should be equal to 85% of the regular membership dues and assessments charged by the Association to its own members. J. The Association agrees to indemnify and hold the Board harmless against any liability which may arise by reason of any action taken by the Board in complying with the provisions of this Article, provided that: 1. The Board gives the Association notice, as soon as it becomes aware, in writing, of any claim, demand, suit or other form of liability in regard to which it will seek to implement this paragraph, and 2. If the Association so requests in writing, the Board will surrender to it full responsibility for the defense of such a claim, demand, suit or other form of liability and will cooperate fully with the Association in gathering evidence, securing witnesses, and in all other aspects of said defense. Exception: It is expressly understood that the above will not apply to any claim, demand, suit or other form of liability which may arise as a result of any type of willful misconduct by the Board's imperfect execution of the obligations imposed upon it by this Article. ARTICLE VI BOARD RIGHTS The Board reserves to itself sole jurisdiction and authority over matters of policy and retains the right, subject only to the limitations imposed by the language of this Agreement, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to the following: 1. To direct employees of the school district; 2. To hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees in positions in the school district, and for causes stipulated by law or in this Agreement, to suspend, to demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action against employees; 3. To relieve employees from duty because of lack of work for the employee or other reasons as determined by law; 4. To maintain the efficiency of the school district operations entrusted to them; 5. To determine the methods, means and personnel by which such operations are to be conducted; and 6. To take whatever actions may be necessary to carry out the mission of the school district in situations of emergency. ARTICLE VII SCHOOL CALENDAR It is the Board's function to adopt the school calendar. The Superintendent and Board will consult with the Association regarding its recommendations regarding the calendar. Such consultation shall begin no later than February 1st and terminate by the budget submission date. The Board has the final determination of the school calendar. The school calendar shall be 184 days for teachers, with 181 pupil contact days. One of the other days is to be used for an in-service day for teachers, and one day to be used, as in previous years, for a teacher orientation day which are to be determined at the Board's discretion. The school calendar for aides shall be 182 days. Specific aide attendance at orientation and/or in-service will be required to the extent deemed appropriate by the Board. The in-service day will be developed and scheduled with the input of the Belvidere Education Association. The school calendar for support employees shall be 182 days. There shall be a full day of school for students and staff on Friday if a holiday/recess period begins on a Monday. ARTICLE VIII EMPLOYMENT A. Each employee shall be placed on their respective Salary Guide in accordance with the following: 1. The initial salary of each employee shall be set at the discretion of the Board of Education, but shall not exceed the salary paid to employees of equivalent training and experience presently employed in comparable positions. The Board and the individual shall decide as to the initial salary step and this agreed-upon experience level shall proceed from this point in regular progression in future years. 2. Additional credit may be given at the Board's discretion for education and/or work experience outside the usual standards, provided as to teachers this meets with the approval of the New Jersey Department of Education. 3. Employees being offered contracts for co-curricular activities shall indicate acceptance or rejection within fifteen (15) days of the date of the offer. A period of fifteen (15) days shall be required upon receipt of resignation by the Superintendent of Schools and termination of the co-curricular contract. Teachers will be offered co-curricular contracts by April 30th, except those appointed to activities which do not terminate prior to April 30th; these will be offered by June 1st. B. Employees shall be notified of their employment contract and salary status by April 30th of each year which this Agreement covers. Employees being offered contracts shall indicate rejection within fifteen (15) days of the offer. Failure to do so shall indicate acceptance of the contract. C. In order to qualify for educational level placement adjustments on the salary guide, teachers must satisfy the district requirements by October 1st for retroactive adjustment to September 1st, or by March 1st for retroactive adjustment to February 1 st . ARTICLE IX TEACHERS AND TEACHERS AIDES HOURS AND TEACHING LOAD A. Teachers, other certified staff and aides shall indicate their presence for duty by initialing in the appropriate column of the faculty "sign in" sheet. Teachers, other certified staff and aides shall also indicate that they have left the building at the conclusion of the work day by initialing in the corresponding column of the faculty 'sign in' sheet, unless they remain until after the office is closed for the day. B. 1. Teachers shall be required to report to their classrooms fifteen (15) minutes before the opening of the pupils' school day and shall be permitted to leave the building fifteen (15) minutes after the close of the pupils' last class. 2. Teachers at Belvidere High School shall be permitted to leave on the last work day of the week once buses have left the premises. Teachers at the Oxford Street School shall be permitted to leave on the last work day of the week once students have been dismissed. Teachers at the Third Street School shall be permitted to leave on the last work day of the week once students have been dismissed or placed under the supervision of an administrator. If the assigned administrator is absent, an alternate administrator will be identified as on call, should there be students who require supervision at the close of the day. C. The following shall be the minimum time for preparation periods: 1. Third Street Elementary School teachers: 210 minutes every week. Reasonable attempts, within educational policy, shall be made to schedule a daily prep period at the Third Street School for each teacher. 2. Oxford Street Elementary School teachers: one period daily. 3. High School teachers: two periods daily. It is understood and agreed that up to 36 preparation periods per school year but not more than two (2) per week, or not more than one per day, may be utilized by the Administration in accordance with the following definition: Preparation time is that unassigned time during the day which shall be utilized by teachers for activities in furtherance of their responsibilities. These activities include conferences with students, parent and staff, meetings with the Administration regarding observations, evaluation and other matters relevant to their performance, curriculum revision, planning for classes and instruction, test-making and grading. It is understood and agreed in any event that preparation is not free time. D. The daily teaching load in the high school shall be five (5) teaching periods per day wherever possible. The Administration may assign six (6) teaching periods when conditions require it, or upon the teacher's request. E. All teachers shall have daily duty-free lunch periods of at least twenty-eight (28) minutes. F. Teachers may leave the building without requesting permission during their duty-free lunch period, and with permission during their non-pupil contact period, providing they notify the Main Office of their departure and return, and return within the specified period. G. Any high school teacher teaching six (6) periods per day will not have a homeroom assignment. H. If it should become necessary for a teacher to cover another teacher's class, it shall be assigned to the teacher that particular period having the fewer teaching classes, except if a teacher with a greater number of classes shall volunteer for such duty. I. Teachers shall be required to attend a maximum of thirty after school meetings per year, which shall be no longer than one hour in length. There shall be no more than four meetings in any month and such meetings will take place on a fixed day of the week or the Administration will provide the Association with adequate notice regarding any change. It is agreed that this is not student contact time. J. When a teacher is assigned to the high school part of the day and the elementary school part of the day, said teacher's work day shall be no longer than the work day of the school having the longer schedule day. K. Teacher Aides - The work hours and calendar of aides shall be the same as that of the teachers in their building assignment(s). L. One open house will be scheduled for each building. There shall be one afternoon and one evening of parent conferences at the high school. There will be an abbreviated school day for high school students on the day of parent conferences. M. All certified staff shall be required to chaperone one after-school, or evening, cocurricular event per year, within the teachers' assigned building, without compensation. A mutually developed list of approved after-school, and evening, co-curricular events shall be developed at the beginning of each school year. The list may be mutually modified as needed throughout the year. Teachers shall sign-up for their non-compensated event by District seniority. ARTICLE X SALARIES AND OTHER COMPENSATION A. The salaries of each employee covered by this Agreement are set forth in their respective salary guides for the 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years, which are attached hereto and made a part hereof. B. All employees shall be paid in twenty (20) (ten month employees) or twenty-four (24) (twelve month employees) equal installments on the 15 th and last day of each month. Should these days occur when school is not in session, payment will be made on the last school day prior to the above-mentioned schedule. The final paycheck for ten month teaching staff will be issued on the last day of student attendance for each school year. C. Teachers assigned to perform their usual professional duties after the normal academic school year shall be compensated at a pro rata salary based upon their preceding year's salary. D. When a pay day falls on or during a school holiday, vacation, or weekend, employees shall receive their pay checks on the last previous work day. E. Teachers, aides and other ten month employees shall receive their final checks on their last working day in June, provided they have fulfilled all professional and/or employment responsibilities to the satisfaction of the administration. F. Accumulated Sick / Personal days at retirement. 1. Any teacher with ten (10) years or more of continuous service at Belvidere (with military service considered as time spent at Belvidere if military service occurs after starting at Belvidere), upon becoming eligible for retirement, and retiring at Belvidere, according to the provisions or the Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund, will receive a $500.00 bonus plus $31.00 for each accumulated sick day, up to a maximum of $7,100.00. 2. For teacher aides, same qualifying conditions as for teachers in paragraph 1. above, will receive a $500.00 bonus plus $15.00 for each accumulated sick day up to a maximum of $4,500.00. 3. For custodians and secretaries, same qualifying conditions as for teachers in paragraph 1. above, will receive a $500.00 bonus plus $19.00 for each accumulated sick day up to a maximum of $5,100.00. G. Longevity pay will be awarded to all teachers hired after July 1, 1997 based upon their years of service within the District. DELETE PARAGRAPH G. 1. Any 12-month employee who works six (6) or more months in any year shall be given a full year's credit for that year on the salary guide in the next year. Any employee working less than six (6) months shall be given one half year's credit on the salary guide for that year. 2. Any 10-month employee who works five (5) or more months in any year shall be given a full year's credit for that year on the salary guide in the next year. Any employee working less than five (5) months shall be given one half year's credit on the salary guide for that year. H. If any custodian's shift is adjusted as to overlap a different shift (i.e., overlapping into the normal night shift), the custodian's pay shall be adjusted that proportional amount. J. Third Street Elementary School teachers: 210 minutes every week; in the event this minimum preparation time is not provided, the teacher(s) will be compensated at the rate of $19.77 per period (30 minute periods). DELETE PARAGRAPH I. Any teacher assigned by the principal to cover another teacher's class shall be paid at the rate of $27.00 per class period covered in 2003-04, $28.00 in 2004-05 and $29.00 in 200506. Such coverage shall be arranged by the principal of the school in question and shall be distributed as equitably as possible among the teachers in such school. J. Teachers who are approved to chaperone evening proms and dances shall be compensated for such chaperone services at the rate of $22.00 per hour in 2003-04, $23.00 in 2004-05 and $24.00 per hour in 2004-05, after satisfying the provisions of Article X Paragraph M above. K. Teachers serving as Detention supervisors will be compensated at the rate of $29.00 per hour in 2003-04, $30.00 in 2004-05 and $31.00 per hour in 2005-06. L. When a teacher is asked by the Board of Education and/or the administration to provide home instruction, he/she shall be compensated at the rate of $32.00 per hour in 2003-04, $33.00 in 2004-05 and $34.00 per hour in 2005-06. M. Summer Curriculum Work will be compensated at the rate of $32.00 per hour in 2003-04, $33.00 in 2004-05 and $34.00 per hour in 2005-06. N. An employee who is required by the Board to drive to activities which take place away from the school building and who has the advance approval of the school principal, shall be compensated at the rate of the IRS allowable allowance for the use of his/her own automobile. ARTICLE XI TEACHER EVALUATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Ample time, but not less than thirty (30) days between formal evaluations, shall be afforded teachers to carry out recommendations for improvement. ARTICLE XII INSTRUCTIONAL COUNCIL Joint Committee of Board of Education and Belvidere Education Association, with the Superintendent of Schools as Chairperson. 1. An Instructional Council composed of three(3) teachers (both high school and elementary schools to be represented) designated by the local Belvidere Education Association; three (3) members designated by the Board of Education, appointed by its President and approved by the Board; and the Superintendent of Schools, the high school and elementary school principals, shall be created to: Advise the Board and Association on such matters as teaching techniques, curriculum improvement, co-curricular programs, in-service testing, pupil testing and evaluation, philosophy and educational goals of the district, teacher recruitment, research and experimentation, educational specifications for buildings, and other related matters regarding the effective operation of the Belvidere School District. 2. The duties of the Superintendent shall be: a. To convene meetings of the Instructional Council: (1) At the request of the teacher representative (2) At the request of the Board representative, or (3) At the discretion of the Superintendent. (4) No more than every ten (10) days. b. To act as Chairperson at all meetings of the Instructional Council. 3. It shall be the obligation and the duty of the Board and teacher representatives to: a. Evaluate the problems presented to the committee. b. Gather facts to provide for a complete understanding of these problems. c. Discuss and attempt to arrive at a solution in keeping with the philosophies of each organization. d. Present conclusions and recommendations to the full Board of Education. 4. If the Instructional Council is unable to reach a mutually satisfying solution to the problem being discussed, any of the three groups reserves the right to request a meeting with the entire Board of Education in executive session and in the presence of the other groups. 5. The above procedures do not preclude the teacher representative from carrying on conversations with the Superintendent with the intent to resolve problems. ARTICLE XIII TEACHERS VOLUNTARY-INVOLUNTARY TRANSFERS AND REASSIGNMENT A. In determining assignments, the principal shall consider a request for voluntary reassignment if it coincides with the instructional needs and best interest of the school system. B. Notice of an involuntary transfer or reassignment shall be given to employees as soon as practicable, and, except in cases of emergency, not later than June 1st. C. An involuntary transfer or reassignment shall be made only after a meeting between the employee involved and the principal, at which time the employee shall be notified of the reason therefore. In the event that an employee objects to the transfer or reassignment at this meeting, upon the request of the employee, the principal shall meet with him/her. The employee may, at his/her option, have an Association representative present at such meeting. D. A list of open positions shall be made available to all employees in the district before seeking outside applications. Employees desiring to be considered for open positions during the summer must notify the administration prior to leaving in June to request notice by mail of open positions. In addition to posting notice of vacancies in each building, the Board will post open positions on its web site. ARTICLE XIV TEMPORARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE A. All employees shall be entitled to twelve (12) days of personal sick leave each school year, with pay, as of the first official day of said school year, whether or not they report for duty on that day – providing they report their need for absence to the principal prior to the opening of school on that day and they eventually report for duty. Unused sick leave days accrued during service within the Belvidere School District only shall be accumulated with no maximum limit. Employees shall be given a written account of accumulated sick leave days no later than September 15 th of each school year. B. At the beginning of each school year, employees shall be entitled to the following temporary non-accumulative leaves of absence with full pay each school year: 1. Illness in the immediate family – three (3) days per year (wife, husband, parents, children, or other in the same household). 2. Bereavement Leave - five (5) days (immediate family, i.e., mother, father, wife, husband, child, brother, sister, mother--in-law or father-in-law). Three (3) days for grandparents, grandchildren, son-in-law and daughter-in-law. One day for aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews. 3. Personal Business - Three (3) days (24 hours notice needed) unless the day sought is before or after a holiday/vacation period, then seven days notice is required (teachers only). No reason need be stated. One of these personal days may be taken in June provided a reason is given in a seven day advance written notice approved by the building principal (teachers only). a. Unused personal days may be accumulated (as are sick leave days) for the purposes of retirement benefits only. C. Unusual reasons for absence - any unusual reason for an employee's absence must be made in writing to the Superintendent and will be disposed of by the Board on the merits of the case. The Board shall render a written decision to the applicant and any request by the petitioning employee for an explanation will be provided by the Superintendent. D. Teachers employed on a 12 month basis shall have the following summer vacation time: 1. 1st to 8th year - 12 days (1 st year prorated based upon start date) 2. 9th to 11th year - 13 days 3. 12th to 14th year - 14 days 4. 15th and additional - 15 days E. Secretary and Custodian vacation - (non-cumulative) 1 to 10 years - 12 days(1 st year prorated based upon start date) 11 to 14 years - 15 to 20 years - 21 to 30 years - 13 days 16 days 23 days Over 30 years - 25 days 1. No more than 15 days allowed during summer months. 2. An individual who is leaving the school system will have to take any vacation days due, based on one day per month. ARTICLE XV EXTENDED LEAVES OF ABSENCE A. Military leave, without pay, shall be granted to any employee inducted into any branch of the armed forces of the United States for the period of said induction. B. Any employee seeking to use sick leave for reasons associated with pregnancy shall notify her building principal of her intent to apply for leave of absence upon becoming aware of her pregnancy. At least sixty (60) days in advance of the leave, the employee shall file with the Superintendent a request for such leave, along with medical certification of the expected birth date. C. The Board shall grant child rearing leave of absence, without pay, immediately following the conclusion of sick leave associated with childbirth or commencing on a date following the birth of the child, to any employee upon request, in accordance with applicable statutes, regulations and State agency decisions for the balance of the school year in which the leave is requested. Employees shall be granted a leave of absence, without pay, for the child rearing purposes for a maximum of two full school years following the school year in which the initial child-bearing leave occurs, depending upon the request of the individual employee. Return may be either in September or January, with a notice confirming intent to return expected at least sixty (60) days prior to the conclusion of the leave. D. Employees adopting a child shall receive similar leave. Sixty days notice shall be given. An employee who requests less time will be granted such request if a replacement can be found. ARTICLE XVI WORKING CONDITIONS FOR SECRETARIAL AND CUSTODIAL STAFF A. Work Week 1. Secretaries - 35 hours per week, 30 hours per week during summer; time schedule to be worked out by the building principal. a. Secretaries will work a "regular" seven (7) hour day every day in June up to and including the last staff day. Secretaries in the unit will work "regular" seven (7) hour days for the five (5) days preceding the Labor Day weekend. b. All scheduled work days of secretaries occurring between the above defined work periods shall be at "summer hours" of six (6) hours per scheduled work day with one-half (½ ) hour lunch; time schedule to be worked out by the building principal. 2. Custodians - 40 hours per week, lunch time at the discretion of the Operations Chief. B. Breaks. Secretaries and custodians shall be entitled to two (2) fifteen minute breaks each day year round. C. An attempt for security will be made for times when employees work alone. D. Resignation 1. An employee who is resigning from his/her position shall give thirty (30) days' notice. Failure to provide the required thirty-day notice may result in the forfeiture of one (1) week's pay at the discretion of the Board of Education. 2. Earned vacations shall be paid according to the proportion of full months worked to the total contract year, unless proper notice has not been given. 3. If the full notice is not given, earned vacation shall be taken only in the same proportion as the amount of notice actually given. For this purpose, twenty full working days shall be used in calculating the amount of notice given by the employee. E. Overtime 1. Custodians a. Overtime payments at one and one-half times after eight (8) hours per day and over forty (40) hours per week. Time taken in sick leave time and vacation time counts toward overtime payment. b. Custodians shall be paid two (2) times their daily rate of pay for any work performed on Sundays and holidays. c. Any custodian called into work shall be guaranteed two (2) hours of overtime pay for that day. d. Any custodian called in to work on a vacation day shall be paid at the rate of time and one half their daily rate of pay. 2. Secretaries shall be paid at their regular rate of pay for any hours worked beyond the normal work week of thirty-five (35) hours up to forty (40) hours. After forty (40) hours, any work shall be compensated at the rate of one and a half times the employee's normal rate of pay. Any overtime shall first be approved by the building principal and/or the superintendent. F. Holidays 1. Secretaries - school closings: work to be determined by the building principal. 2. Custodians - Twelve paid holidays per year as determined by the Board after consultation with the Association. G. Tuition Reimbursement With prior approval of the Board, employees shall be reimbursed at no more than the College of New Jersey graduate or undergraduate rates for the cost of tuition for courses taken to attain or improve skills associated with the employee's current assignment or position. Approval and payment procedures shall be in accordance with Board policy and procedures as same may be from time to time amended. Said reimbursement shall be contingent upon satisfactory completion of the course with a grade of "B" or better, and shall be made in March and October following the completion of the work and evidence of an official transcript from the college; provided that the employee is still in the employ of the Board. A maximum of nine (9) credits per year shall be reimbursable. H. Termination of Custodians In the event of a general layoff affecting all custodial employees, seniority will be given consideration, provided that all other factors, including satisfactory work performance and ability to meet the demands of the job, are equal. Seniority shall mean length of continuous service within a job classification. In the event of equal seniority, the Board will have discretion to choose from among any such employees. Any disputes arising under this paragraph shall be subject to the Grievance Procedure, to Board level only. I. NJEA Convention. One day paid leave will be granted for custodians during the NJEA Convention dates. J. Any reduction in force layoffs affecting people with more than three years experience in Belvidere will be done by seniority. ARTICLE XVII PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT FOR TEACHING STAFF MEMBERS A. In accordance with Board policy and with advance approval of the Superintendent, the Board shall reimburse teachers for courses taken to the extent of one hundred percent of the tuition fee. A non-tenured teacher will not be eligible for tuition reimbursement for any courses taken during their first semester of employment in the Belvidere School District, except where course work is required by the Board. The annual tuition reimbursement cap shall be $17,500 in 2000-01, and $20,000 each in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Courses mandated by the Board for a teachers shall not be counted against this cap. Reimbursement shall be contingent upon satisfactory completion of the course, and shall be made in March and October following the completion of the work, and evidence of an official transcript from the college, indicating that a grade of "B" or better was received. B. Since the intent of this policy is clearly to offer enrichment for our pupils through better prepared teachers, payment cannot be made for work taken in the spring or summer session when the teacher leaves the district before the start of the next school year. Therefore, those who pursue graduate work in the second or spring semester (or in the summer) will be reimbursed in the following October, providing that they return to the district in September. C. Courses being taken for the purpose of attaining a type of teacher certificate to be issued by the New Jersey State Department of Education will not be reimbursed. D. Teacher Aides: With prior approval of the Board, teacher aides shall be reimbursed at no more than the College of New Jersey graduate or undergraduate rates for the cost of tuition for courses taken to attain or improve skills associated with the employee's current assignment or position. Approval and payment procedures shall be in accordance with Board policy and procedures as same may be from time to time amended. Said reimbursement shall be contingent upon satisfactory completion of the course, and shall be made in March and October following the completion of the work and evidence of an official transcript from the college; provided that the employee is still in the employ of the Board. A maximum of nine (9) credits per year shall be reimbursable. E. Teachers and aides will not be required to attend school during NJEA annual convention. F. When attending the NJEA convention, each teacher may purchase educational material up to the amount of $50.00, which will be fully reimbursed by the Board of Education. Any amount over the sum of $50.00 submitted to the Board would be considered as any other financial request. G. Tuition reimbursement shall be at the resident tuition rate at the College of New Jersey for graduate and undergraduate courses. Applicants will be approved in the order of application up to 6 credits. Remaining tuition reimbursement monies, if any, will then be used to increase reimbursement, in the order of application, in three credit increments until the total allotment has been used (6 credits, then 9 credits, then 12 credits, etc.). Whenever the contract amount is expended tuition reimbursement ceases for the remainder of that year. H. Sabbatical leaves may be taken during an employee's term of service with the District based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, with the approval of the Board of Education. An employee on a sabbatical leave shall receive one half (1/2) of their current salary for either one semester or one year, consistent with the following requirements: 1.The leave must be for the purpose of furthering the employee's education. 2.The educational program undertaken must improve the skills and knowledge base required for the employee's current assignment or for a District approved change of assignment. 3.Only one employee may be on sabbatical leave at a time. If more than one employee is recommended and approved for sabbatical leave, the employee with the greater unbroken term of service with the District shall be granted leave first. 4.Only one sabbatical leave shall be taken by an employee during their term of service with the District. 5.Upon return from sabbatical leave, the employee must continue in the employ of the District for a period of three (3) years. Failure to remain in the employ of the District for this period will require the employee to refund all, or part, of the salary paid during the sabbatical leave according to the following schedule: Failure to return at all – employee repays the entire sabbatical salary. Departure after one (1) year of service – employee repays two-thirds (2/3) of the sabbatical salary. Departure after two (2) years of service – employee repays one-third (1/3) of the sabbatical salary. ARTICLE XVIII INSURANCE COVERAGE A. The Board agrees that it will provide full family coverage health care insurance. Effective July 1, 1991 there is coverage for a second surgical opinion. Effective September 1, 1995 "First dollar" coverage except for hospital coverage will be eliminated, a pre-certification review will be added and there will be no maximum lifetime coverage. Effective upon the date of ratification of this agreement, all new employees shall be provided with Board paid Horizon Blue Cross Direct Access health insurance coverage, and shall have the option of enrolling in the Horizon Blue Cross Wraparound (Traditional) coverage if they pay the difference in the monthly premium. Current employees at the date of ratification, may continue to receive Board paid Horizon Blue Cross Wraparound (Traditional) coverage if they are currently enrolled in that program. B. The Board shall request the carrier to provide to each employee a description of the health care insurance coverage provided under this Article, setting forth a clear description of the conditions and limits of the policy. C. The Belvidere Education Association and the Belvidere Board of Education agree to investigate other health care insurance carriers, and if it is mutually agreed upon to change carriers during the duration of this contract, this will be effected as expeditiously as possible. D. The Board agrees it will provide employees with full family coverage dental care insurance, with a deductible of $50.00. E. The Board agrees to provide employees with family prescription coverage with a $10.00 generic / $15.00 brand / $0.00 mail in per prescription co-pay clause, effective April 15, 2001. F. The Board agrees to pay full family health care insurance for a period of two years for each teacher if retiring on or before age 55; one year if retiring at ages 56 to 60, and one half year for retiring at age 61 and beyond. The Board agrees to pay for Dental Insurance, in lieu of the above family health care insurance, for the same time period indicated, for all employees who qualify for coverage under the State Health Benefits Plan at retirement. G. Internal coordination of benefits will be allowed for all husband / wife teams where both are employed by the Board. H. If an employee opts to waive dual coverage (with proof of alternate coverage), the employee will receive 40% of the savings. This will be paid in two installments, December 31 and June 30. The Board will permit re-enrollment consistent with it's insurance contract and, if necessary, establish a Section 125 plan. I. The Board shall arrange for and maintain appropriate insurance to cover bodily injury liability and property damage liability incurred by an employee against whom any action shall be brought for any act or omission arising out of the authorized use of his/her own automobile in the performance of school duties. ARTICLE XIX DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARY A. The Board agrees to deduct from the salaries of its employees dues for the Belvidere Education Association, the Warren County Education Association, the New Jersey Education Association and the National Education Association as directed by the N.J.E.A. with its automatic payroll deduction list. 1. Additional authorization for dues deduction may be received after August 1st under rules established by the State Department of Education. 2. The filing of notice of an employee's withdrawal shall be prior to December 1st and become effective to halt deductions as of January 1st next succeeding the date on which notice of withdrawal is filed. B. Employees may individually elect to participate in the payroll savings plan for purchasing U.S. Savings Bonds, 403(b) tax sheltered annuities, summer pay plan and direct deposit. ARTICLE XX PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC FREEDOM A. The personal life of a teacher is not an appropriate concern or attention of the Board, except as it may directly prevent the teacher from performing properly his/her assigned functions during the work day. B. Teachers shall be entitled to full rights of citizenship and no religious or political activities of any teacher or the lack thereof shall be grounds for any discipline or discrimination with respect to the professional employment of such teacher, providing said activities do not violate any local, state, or federal law. C. The Board and the Association agree that academic freedom is essential to the fulfillment of the purposes of the Belvidere School District, and they acknowledge the fundamental need to protect teachers from any censorship or restraint which might interfere with their obligation to pursue truth in the performance of their teaching functions. ARTICLE XXI CO-CURRICULAR/ATHLETICS A. Co-curricular/athletic assignments will be made to appropriately certified employees in the following manner: 1. All co-curricular/athletic assignments must offer compensation for the extra burden in addition to the staff member's base salary. 2. An assignment must be related to the school program. 3. The Superintendent, or his/her designee, shall review the applications for cocurricular/ athletic positions and shall select the best qualified candidate. In the event two or more applicants are, in the judgment of the Superintendent, equally qualified, seniority in the district shall be used to determine the appointment. 4. No co-curricular/athletic position shall be assigned without prior consent of said employee except for: a. When no qualified appropriately certified staff member shows an interest in the open position. b. In the event an emergency exists and it is necessary for the Superintendent or his/her designee to assign a co-curricular/athletic responsibility, the best qualified candidate shall be appointed. In the event two or more candidates are, in the judgment of the Superintendent, equally qualified, reverse seniority in the district shall be used to determine the appointment. B. When an appropriately certified staff member is promoted from the position of freshman coach or assistant varsity coach to head varsity coach in the same sport or activity, he/she will be placed on the co-curricular/athletic salary guide at a level whereby he/she will not earn less money than in his/her previous position. C. Time as an assistant coach in one sport shall not be considered toward steps on the salary guide when moving to another assistant coach's position in another sport. For purposes of this agreement, boys' and girls' basketball and boys' and girls' soccer are considered different sports. D. Should a break in continuous service within a particular position occur, re-entry into that particular position will be at the next salary level. E. Past experience outside of the Belvidere School District shall be considered toward a cocurricular/athletic activity. The Board and the individual shall decide as to the salary step and the agreed upon experience level shall proceed from this point in regular progression in future years. F. In the event that the Board finds it necessary to employ an individual for a cocurricular/athletic activity assignment who is not a member of the Association, it shall proceed in line with State Statutes. G. The Board and Administration will consult with the Association and seek its advice regarding the drafting of requirement for co-curricular/athletic positions. H. In the event that the Board of Education does not employ someone to fill an existing cocurricular/athletic position, the other individual(s) employed in the same activity, shall receive, provided they are directed to assume the responsibilities of the unfilled position, their regular compensation plus one-half of the compensation of the unfilled position as stated on the cocurricular/athletic guide. In the event the responsibilities of the unfilled position are assumed by more than one person and/or performed for less than the full season, the one-half compensation will be pro rated accordingly. I. The stipends paid to the FFA Advisor and Head Football Coach shall be frozen at their 2002-03 levels during the duration of this agreement. ARTICLE XXII MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS A. This Agreement constitutes the contract for the terms of said Agreement, and the Board shall carry out the commitments contained herein and give them full force and effect as Board Policy. B. If any provision of this Agreement, or any application of this Agreement to any employee or group of employees, is held to be contrary to law, then such provision or application shall not be deemed valid and subsisting, except to the extent permitted by law, but all other provisions or applications shall continue in full force and effect. C. Any employee contract between the Board and an employee, hereinafter executed, shall be subject to and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. If the aforesaid employee contract contains any language inconsistent with this Agreement, during its duration, this Agreement shall be controlling. D. Copies of this Agreement shall be reproduced at the expense of the Board, and presented to all represented employees, with the letter of intent, or 15 days after formal agreement by the Board of Education has been reached, whichever is the later date. E. Nothing in this Agreement shall operate retroactively unless expressly so stated. F. It is understood that employees shall continue to serve under the direction of the Superintendent of Schools, and in accordance with "Policy Handbook" policies, administration rules and regulations and the provisions of this Agreement. G. Whenever any notice is required to be given by either of the parties to this Agreement to the other, pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, either party may do so by registered letter at the following addresses: To the Board: Belvidere Board of Education 809 Oxford Street Belvidere, N.J. 07823 To the Association: President of the Association at the address as filed with the Board of Education H. Tentative individual teaching schedules for the upcoming year shall be mailed by August 1st to each teacher. I. Any reduction in force layoffs effecting aides with more than three years of experience will be done by seniority. J. Any teacher who serves as a mentor shall receive a stipend of $560 paid by the Staff Member to the Mentor. Any openings for a mentor shall be posted and the position shall be given to the most qualified applicant, as determined by the administration, within the present teaching staff. In the event that no one within the present teaching staff shall apply for the position(s) the Board of Education shall advertise outside the district to fill the position. K. Custodial employees shall receive three (3) sets of uniforms (shirts and pants) per school year. Custodial employees shall also receive a uniform jacket with zip-out lining and safety work shoes, or cost allowance for same, up to $50.00, payable upon presentation of a voucher, as needed. L. Custodial employees hired subsequent to the ratification of the 1982-1985 Agreement shall be required to either possess a Black Seal License or obtain said license within one calendar year of initial employment. Failure to obtain the license within one calendar year shall, at the sole discretion of the Board, result in the employee’s termination, or the withholding of an increment. 36 M. Current custodial employees who do not possess a Black Seal License shall make good faith efforts to obtain said license. These good faith efforts shall include enrollment in and diligent attendance at an appropriate course and the taking of the Black Seal License test a minimum of two times during the ensuing year. N. The Board may terminate staff members not under tenure in keeping with their termination clause by direct request from the employer or employee and/or thirty days notice. O. If a reduction in force is contemplated, the Board will notify the Association and permit consultation prior to implementing said layoff. P. A list of open support staff positions shall be made available to all support staff in the district before seeking outside application. During the summer announcements shall be sent to 10 month employees. ARTICLE XXIII DURATION OF AGREEMENT A. This Agreement shall be effective as of July 1, 2003, and shall continue in effect until June 30, 2006, subject to the Association's and Support Association's rights to negotiate over a successor agreement as provided in Article II, and further provided that the Association is still the majority representative of the certificated teaching personnel in the Belvidere School District. B. This Agreement shall not be extended orally and it is expressly understood that it shall expire on the date indicated. Any extension shall be mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties to this Agreement, and unless such extensions are agreed upon, this Contract shall expire on the date indicated herein. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this agreement to be signed by their respective Presidents and attested to by their respective Secretaries on the day and year first above written. BELVIDERE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION BELVIDERE BOARD OF EDUCATION By By President President ATTEST ATTEST By By Secretary Secretary
Member Circular No. 10/2021 January 2022 Amendments to Rules 2022 The following amendments to the Rules for P&I and Defence cover for ships and other floating structures ("Rules for Ships") and the Rules for P&I and Defence cover for mobile offshore units ("Rules for MOUs") for both Assuranceforeningen Gard - gjensidig – and Gard P.& I. (Bermuda) Ltd (collectively the "Associations" and individually the "Association") have been endorsed by the Boards of Directors of the Associations and will enter into force at noon GMT on 20 February 2022. RULES FOR SHIPS – P&I ENTRIES Rule 1 – Interpretation Gender equality The Rules are currently not gender neutral in the way that they reference the Member as being male and in addition references to seafarers are in some cases articulated as "seamen", assuming male gender. To account for this a new clause in Rule 1 stating that any words importing gender shall import all genders has been added. The new Rule 1.7 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "… 7 Any words importing gender in these Rules shall import all genders." Knock for knock definition To have a unified interpretation of the term Knock for Knock throughout the Rules, the definition of Knock for Knock has been moved from Rule 78.5 to Rule 1. Also, to harmonize the wording of the Rules with the Pooling Agreement the Knock for Knock definition itself has been amended to make it clear that the reference to "other liabilities" includes wreck removal and pollution. The added wording "and/or liability arising out of the ownership or operation of its own property" is intended to capture wreck removal and oil pollution liabilities of the contracting parties but of those parties alone. In addition, in sub-clause (i) the word "third" has been deleted from the expression "other third parties" to remove ambiguity and clarify that it can refer to parties in the relevant contractor's group. Finally, in sub-clause (iii) the word "other" has been deleted since it no longer serves any purpose. The Knock for Knock definition in Rule 1 shall read as follows (amendments of the current definition in Rule 78.5 is reflected by strike-through/underlining): "1 In these Rules the following words or expressions shall have the following meanings: Knock for Knock… For the purpose of this Rule 78.5 a Knock for Knock agreement means a provision or provisions stipulating that a loss of or damage to, and/or death of or injury to, any of its own property or personnel, and/or the property or personnel of its contractors and/or of its and their sub-contractors and/or of other third parties, and/or; i each party to a contract shall be similarly responsible for b liability arising out of the ownership or operation of its own property, and that Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 ii such responsibility shall be without recourse to the other party and arise notwithstanding any fault or neglect of any party and that iii each party shall, in respect of those losses, damages or other liabilities for which it has assumed responsibility, correspondingly indemnify the other against any liability that that party shall incur in relation thereto." Rule 40 - Liability for obstruction and wreck removal To provide further clarity on what constitutes a "casualty" Rule 40 has been amended to read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "The Association shall cover: b liability incurred by reason of the Ship or the wreck of the Ship or parts thereof, as a result of a casualty, causing an obstruction, provided that a costs and expenses incurred, relating to the raising, removal, destruction, lighting and marking of the Ship or of the wreck of the Ship or parts thereof or of its cargo lost, as a result of a casualty, when such raising, removal, destruction, lighting and marking is compulsory by law or the costs or expenses thereof are legally recoverable from the Member; i for the purpose of this rule, 'casualty' means collision, stranding, explosion, fire or similar fortuitous event; iii the realised value of the wreck and other property saved shall be credited to the Association." ii recovery from the Association under this Rule shall be conditional upon the Member not having transferred his interest in the wreck otherwise than by abandonment; and Rule 48 - Disinfection and quarantine expenses The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted that each Club has its own rule wording for cover for disinfection and quarantine expenses, resulting in slightly different scope of cover and some ambiguity. An IG model wording has been developed with the aim of clarifying the clubs' scope of cover. To align the wording of Gard's disinfection and quarantine rule with the IG model wording, Rule 48 has been amended as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "The Association shall cover extraordinary costs and expenses (in respect of quarantine, disinfection, fuel, insurance, stores, provisions and port charges) other than the Ship's running costs and expenses, necessarily incurred by the Member in connection with as a direct consequence of a quarantine orders regarding the Ship or Crew or disinfection of the Ship or Crew, on account of an infectious diseases on board, provided always that there shall be no recovery except b in respect of expenses for loss of time, loss of market, delay or similar." a where the Ship has been ordered to a port where the Member knew or ought to have known should have anticipated that she would be quarantined and/or would require disinfection (unless and to the extent that the Association shall in its absolute discretion determine otherwise), and Rule 56 – Non-marine personnel Changes to the treatment of "accommodation units" were previously made to the IG Pooling Agreement and the Rules by, amongst other things, introducing an exclusion where accommodation units were moored or anchored within 500 m of any oil or gas production or exploration facility. However, this has proven to be less than ideal in practice, with the result that reference to the 500 meter exclusion will be removed altogether from the Pooling Agreement, leaving only a requirement that a contractual allocation of risk on terms no less favorable to the Member than Knock for Knock is approved. Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 Corresponding changes has been made to the Rules such that Rule 56 will then read as follows (amendments reflected by strikethrough/underlining): "The Association shall not cover under a P&I entry liabilities, losses, costs or expenses incurred by the Member in respect of any of the following: I such Ship is moored or anchored within 500 meters from any oil or gas production or exploration facility; or a personnel (other than marine crew) on board the Ship (being an accommodation vessel) employed otherwise than by the Member, where either: the Ship is providing accommodation to such personnel in relation to their employment on or about an oil or gas exploration or production facility, unless a contractual allocation of such risk, on terms no less favourable to the Member than Knock for Knock, has been approved by the Association; II there has not been a contractual allocation of risks as between the Member and the employer of the personnel which has been approved by the Association; b hotel and restaurant guests and other visitors and catering crew of the Ship when the Ship is moored (otherwise than on a temporary basis) and is open to the public as a hotel restaurant, bar or other place of entertainment." Rule 58 - War risks To provide additional clarity that ransom payments for kidnapped crew are not covered under standard P&I, a specific exclusion for ransom payments have been added in Rule 58. However, the Association has discretion to cover the ransom if no cover is available under either the Kidnap & Ransom or War insurance covers. The discretionary authority will rest with the Board of Directors of the Association. Rule 58 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "1 The Association shall not cover under a P&I entry liabilities, losses, costs or expenses (irrespective of whether a contributory cause of the same being incurred was any neglect on the part of the Member or his servants or agents) when the loss or damage, injury, illness or death or other accident in respect of which such liabilities arise or such losses, costs or expenses are incurred was caused by: b capture, seizure, arrest, restraint or detainment, (barratry and piracy excepted, provided always that ransom shall not be recoverable unless and to the extent the Association shall in its absolute discretion determine otherwise), and the consequences thereof or any attempt thereat; a war, civil war, revolution, rebellion, insurrection or civil strife arising therefrom, or any hostile act by or against a belligerent power or any act of terrorism (provided that, in the event of any dispute as to whether or not, for the purpose of this paragraph (a), an act constitutes an act of terrorism, the Association shall in its absolute discretion determine that dispute and the Association's decision shall be final); …" c mines, torpedoes, bombs, rockets, shells, explosives, or other similar weapons of war (save for liabilities, costs or expenses which arise solely by reason of the transport of any such weapons, whether on board the entered Ship or not), provided always that this exclusion shall not apply to the use of such weapons, whether as a result of government order or with the agreement of the Association, where the reason for such use is the mitigation of liability, cost or expenses which would otherwise fall within the cover given by the Association. 2 Rule 61 – Submarines, diving bells and divers To align the wording of Rule 61 with the IG Pooling Agreement it has been amended so that the exclusion is expressly extended to include ROVs. Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 Rule 61 will then read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "Rule 61 Submarines, diving bells, remotely operated underwater vehicles and divers The Association shall not cover under a P&I entry liabilities, losses, costs or expenses arising out of b the activities of professional or commercial divers where the Member is responsible for such activities other than a the operation by the Member of submarines, mini-submarines, or diving bells or remotely operated underwater vehicles; or I activities arising out of salvage operations being conducted by the Ship where the divers form part of the crew of that Ship (or of diving bells or other similar equipment or craft operating from the Ship) and where the Member is responsible for the activities of such divers; and III recreational diving activities." II incidental diving operations carried out in relation to the inspection, repair or maintenance of the Ship or in relation to damage caused by the Ship; and Rule 78 - Cover for Co-Assureds and Affiliates Rule 78.5 - Expansion of persons falling within the Co-assureds assumed responsibility As per today, under the Pooling Agreement and the Rules, protective co-insurance can only be given to the Member's contracting party and their subcontractors. However, in the offshore industry it is normal that the Knock for Knock clause refers to the "Charterer's Group" and this group often includes more parties than the subcontractors – also clients, co-venturers and affiliated companies. To be aligned with market practice the group of persons that can be given protective co-insurance under the Pooling Agreement will be extended to include a wider group of persons within the scope of the contractor's assumption of responsibility (not only subcontractors). In order to be aligned with the Pooling Agreement similar changes have been in Rule 78.5, which shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "5 The cover afforded to a Co-assured who has entered into a contract with the Member for the provision of services to or by the Ship, and any subcontractor of person in the Co-assured's group, shall extend only to liabilities, losses, costs and expenses which are to be borne by the Member under the terms of the contract and which to the extent only they would, if borne by the Member, be recoverable by the Member from the Association, provided that b the contract includes a Knock for Knock agreement in respect of any and all persons in the Co-assured's group" a the contract has been approved by the Association; and For the purpose of this Rule 78.5 a Knock for Knock agreement means a provision or provisions stipulating that ii. such responsibility shall be without recourse to the other party and arise notwithstanding any fault or neglect of any party and that i. each party to a contract shall be similarly responsible for loss of or damage to, and/or death of or injury to, any of its own property or personnel, and/or the property or personnel of its contractors and/or of its and their sub-contractors and/or of other third parties, and that iii. each party shall, in respect of those losses, damages or other liabilities for which it has shall incur in relation thereto. assumed responsibility, correspondingly indemnify the other against any liability that that party Rule 78.6 – Co-assurance under the affiliated charterer's cover Co-assurance under the Pooling Agreement has till now only been available to persons co-assured under an Entry with an Insured Owner. Therefore, in situations where an affiliated charterer employed Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 a commercial manager or operator, that manager or operator could not be a co-assured of that affiliated charterer. Accordingly, the Pooling Agreement has been extended to allow co-assurance under the affiliated charterer's cover in the nature of a misdirected arrow. To harmonize the Rules with the Pooling Agreement Rule 78.6 has been amended as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "6 The cover afforded to all other categories of Co-assureds, other than those referred to in Rules 78.3, 78.4 and 78.5, shall only extend insofar as such Co-assured may be found liable to pay in the first instance for loss or damage which is properly the responsibility of either the Member or, as appropriate, an affiliated charterer pursuant to Rule 78.4 (or, in the case of Defence cover, insofar as such Co-assured may be required to resist a claim arising from such a liability), and nothing herein contained shall be construed as extending cover in respect of any amount to the extent such amount would not have been recoverable from the Association by either the Member or, as appropriate, an affiliated charterer pursuant to Rule 78.4, had the claim in respect of such loss or damage been made or enforced against him." Rule 78.8 – Effect of indemnification of co-assured pursuant to 78.6 Rule 78.8 is intended to protect the Association against the risk that multiple recovery claims may be brought against the Association in respect of the same third-party liabilities, losses, costs or expenses by different parties that are either insured by, or offered protection by, the Association under the contract of insurance. Therefore, once the Association has indemnified a Co-assured (other than a Co-assured that is insured pursuant to Rules 78.3. and 78.4), or an Affiliate, for a claim, it has no further liability to indemnify any other person whatsoever, including the Member, in relation to that same claim, or the loss or damage in respect of which the claim was brought. As co-assurance under Rule 78.6 has been extended to allow co-assurance under the affiliated charterer's cover, there is a need to also amend Rule 78.8 to be in line with the Pooling Agreement and to avoid reducing the Member's cover by payments made to a co-assured of the affiliated charterer. Rule 78.8 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strikethrough/underlining): "8 To the extent that the Association has indemnified a Co-assured (other than a Co-assured in the categories referred to in Rules 78.3 and 78.4) or an Affiliate in respect of a claim, it shall not be under any further liability and shall not make any further payment to any person whatsoever, including, where co-assured under the Member's entry, the Member, or, where co-assured under the affiliated charterer's cover afforded pursuant to Rule 78.4, that charterer, in respect of that claim or of the loss or damage in respect of which that claim was brought." Rule 79 - Joint Members, Co-assureds, Affiliates and Fleet Entries Rule 79 has been amended to distinguish between, on the one hand, co-assureds involved in the operation and management of the ship as per Rule 78.3 and associated charterers as per Rule 78.4 (jointly referred to as "ordinary co-assureds"), and, on the other hand, other categories of co-assureds such as protective co-assureds (Rule 78.5) and misdirected arrow co-assureds (Rule 78.6) (jointly referred to as "«other categories of co-assureds»). There is no requirement in the Pooling Agreement that other categories of co-assureds shall be jointly and severally liable for sums due under the terms of entry. To align the Rules with the Pooling Agreement, Rule 79 has therefore been amended as follows (amendments reflected by strikethrough/underlining): "1 Joint Members and Co-assureds (other than a Co-assured expressly given cover by the Association in accordance with Rule 78.5 and 78.6) insured on any one entry shall be jointly and severally liable for all sums due to the Association in respect of such entry. Members, Joint Members and Co-assureds (other than a Co-assured expressly given cover by the Association in accordance with Rule 78.5 and 78.6) insured on any entry in respect of one or more Ship(s) forming part of a Fleet Entry shall be jointly and severally liable in respect of all sums due to the Association in respect of any or all Ships forming part of the Fleet Entry. For the purpose of this section a Fleet Entry shall mean the entry of more than one Ship by one or more Members on the basis that those Ships shall be treated together as a fleet. 2…" Rule 84 - Recoveries from third parties Minor changes have been made to Rule 84 in order to remove any potential ambiguity in the wording and to codify the Club's existing practice on the interpretation of the Rule in relation to Defence cover. The changes make it clearer that the Association is entitled to a recovery even where there is no costs order in favor of the Member or regardless of the wording of a settlement agreement. Rule 84 the following amendments have been made (reflected by strike-through/underlining): "1 When the Member has a right of recourse against a third party for any liability, loss, cost or expense covered by the Association, the Association shall be subrogated to the Member's right of recourse upon payment by the Association to or on behalf of the Member in respect of the liability, loss, cost or expense. a where because of a deductible in his terms of entry the Member has contributed towards a liability, loss, cost or expense any such interest element shall be apportioned between the Member and the Association taking into account the payments made by each and the dates on which those payments were made; and 2 Where the Association has made a payment in respect of any liability, loss, cost or expense to or on behalf of a Member, the whole of any recovery from a third party in respect of the case to which that liability, loss, cost or expense relates shall be credited and paid to the Association up to an amount corresponding to the sum paid by the Association together with any interest element on that sum comprised in the recovery, provided however, that b the Association shall retain the whole amount of any award of costs in respect of its own handling of any case; and i first, if and to the extent a maximum deductible is agreed, the Recovery shall be credited and paid to the Association up to an amount corresponding to a fair recovery (in the Association's discretion) of legal and other costs and expenses corresponding to the sum of legal and other costs and expenses paid or agreed to be paid by the Association, in excess of the Members maximum deductible, together with any interest element on that sum comprised in the Recovery; c In respect of a Defence Entry, any recovery whatsoever from any third party in respect of legal and other costs or expenses (the "Recovery") shall be applied as follows and in the following order: ii secondly, if and to the extent the Association only has agreed to cover a percentage of legal and other costs or expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Member, the Association shall be credited and paid a proportion of the Recovery corresponding to the percentage of legal and other costs and expenses the Association has agreed to cover pursuant to these Rules and the terms of entry agreed; 3 Subject to Rule 84.2, all monies recovered for a Member with Defence cover shall be paid over to the Member, except that the Association may deduct from such monies and retain any amount due to the Association from the Member. iii finally when the requirements in (i) and (ii) above have been satisfied the Recovery shall be applied against the Members minimum deductible. 4 Where a Member settles or compromises a claim within its Defence cover for a lump sum which includes costs or without making provision as to costs, the Association shall determine what part of that lump sum shall be deemed attributable to legal and other costs and expenses irrespective of the provisions of the settlement or compromise and, where relevant, the lump sum shall be treated as a Recovery pursuant to Rule 84.2 c). " Rule 88 – Payments and undertakings to third parties Rule 88 has been amended to allow for a discretionary mechanism for the Association to prioritize claims that the Association is obliged to pay directly to third parties under blue cards or LOUs, over claims the same are obliged to indemnify to Members under the Rules and terms of entry. This could be relevant in situations where insurance funds are limited, e.g., the USD 1 billion limit for pollution claims and fines. Accordingly, a new section to Rule 88 (Rule 88.4) has been added whereby the Association is given the right, but not the obligation, to prioritize claims. The Association has the discretion to withhold settlement of non-certified claims, depending on the circumstances of the individual case. The discretionary authority of whether to make use of the Rule will rest with the Board of Directors of the Association. The new Rule 88.4 shall read as follows: "4 a Where the Association has issued any guarantee, undertaking or certificate as referred to in Rule 58.2 or Rule 73.2 or other bail or security by which it undertakes to directly meet or guarantee any relevant liabilities (together the "Direct Liabilities") and claims in respect of Direct Liabilities alone or in combination with other claims may in the sole opinion of the Association exceed any limit(s) on the cover provided by the Association as set out in the Rules or in the Certificate of Entry, the Association may in its absolute discretion defer payment of any such other claims or any part thereof until the Direct Liabilities, or such parts of the Direct Liabilities as the Association may in its absolute discretion decide, have been discharged. b To the extent that any claims or liabilities (including any Direct Liabilities) discharged by the Association exceed the said limit(s) any payment by the Association in respect thereof shall be by way of loan and the Member shall indemnify the Association promptly upon demand in respect of such payment and shall assign to the Association to the extent and on the terms that the Association determines in its discretion to be practicable, all the rights of the Member under any other insurance and against any third party." Rule 91 - Arbitration The use of "Oslo City Court" in the current Rule 91 is not accurate and therefore the wording has been updated to reflect the current official name of the Court. Rule 91 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "1 Unless otherwise agreed, disputes between the Association and a Member or a former Member or any other person arising out of the contract of insurance or these Rules shall be resolved by arbitration. Each party shall nominate one arbitrator and those so nominated shall appoint an Umpire. If the arbitrators cannot agree on an Umpire or a party fails to nominate his arbitrator, the nomination shall be made by the Chief Justice of the Oslo City District Court. Reasons shall be given for the award. Arbitration proceedings shall take place in Oslo." RULES FOR MOUS – P&I ENTRIES MOU Rule 1 - Interpretation Reference is made to the change in Rule 1 in the Rules for Ships regarding gender equality. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. A new Rule 1.7 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "… 7 Any words importing gender in these Rules shall import all genders." MOU Rule 27 – Liability for obstruction and wreck removal Reference is made to the changes in Rule 40 in the Rules for Ships as set out above. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. MOU Rule 27 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "The Association shall cover: b liability incurred by reason of the Vessel or the wreck of the Vessel or parts thereof, as a result of a casualty, causing an obstruction, provided that a costs and expenses incurred, relating to the raising, removal, destruction, lighting and marking of the Vessel or of the wreck of the Vessel or parts thereof or of its equipment lost, as a result of a casualty, when such raising, removal, destruction, lighting and marking is compulsory by law or the costs or expenses thereof are legally recoverable from the Member, under contract or otherwise; i for the purpose of this rule, 'casualty' means collision, stranding, explosion, fire or similar fortuitous event; iii the realised value of the wreck and other property saved shall be credited to the Association. In no circumstances shall cover under this Rule extend to any costs relating to removal or clean-up of any part of the drilling or production equipment lost or deposited on the seabed once the equipment has been deployed for drilling or production. For the purpose of this Rule equipment shall be considered deployed from the time installation of the equipment, or any part of the equipment, for drilling or production has commenced." ii recovery from the Association under this Rule shall be conditional upon the Member not having transferred his interest in the wreck otherwise than by abandonment; and MOU Rule 33A - Disinfection and quarantine expenses Reference is made to the changes in Rule 48 in the Rules for Ships as set out above. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. MOU Rule 33A shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "The Association shall cover extraordinary costs and expenses (in respect of quarantine, disinfection, fuel, insurance, stores, provisions and port charges), other than the Vessel's running costs and expenses, necessarily incurred by the Member in connection with as a direct consequence of a quarantine orders regarding the Vessel or Crew or disinfection of the Vessel or Crew on account of an infectious diseases on board, provided always that there shall be no recovery except Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 a where the Vessel has been ordered to a port where the Member knew or ought to have known should have anticipated that she would be quarantined and/or would require disinfection (unless and to the extent that the Association shall in its absolute discretion determine otherwise), and b in respect of expenses for loss of time, loss of market, delay or similar." MOU Rule 40 – Other excluded losses In order to be back-to-back with market reinsurance terms for the 2022 policy year, the following changes have been made to MOU Rule 40.3: "… 3 The cover shall be subject to the Marine Cyber Endorsement (LMA 5403) and the Communicable Disease Exclusion Clause (JL2021-014) Coronavirus Exclusion (LMA 5395) as specified in Appendix III. These clauses shall be paramount and shall override anything contained in this insurance inconsistent therewith." MOU Rule 54 - War risks Reference is made to the changes in Rule 58 in the Rules for Ships as set out above. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. MOU Rule 54 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "The Association shall not cover liabilities, losses, costs or expenses (irrespective of whether a contributory cause of the same being incurred was any neglect on the part of the Member or his servants or agents) when the loss or damage, injury, illness or death or other accident in respect of which such liabilities arise or such losses, costs or expenses are incurred was caused by: b capture, seizure, arrest, restraint or detainment, (barratry and piracy excepted, provided always that ransom shall not be recoverable unless and to the extent the Association shall in its absolute discretion determine otherwise), and the consequences thereof or any attempt thereat; a war, civil war, revolution, rebellion, insurrection or civil strife arising therefrom, or any hostile act by or against a belligerent power, or any act of terrorism (provided that, in the event of any dispute as to whether or not, for the purpose of this paragraph (a), an act constitutes an act of terrorism, the Association shall in its absolute discretion determine that dispute and the Association's decision shall be final); c mines, torpedoes, bombs, rockets, shells, explosives, or other similar weapons of war, provided always that this exclusion shall not apply to the use of such weapons, whether as a result of government order or with the agreement of the Association, where the reason for such use is the mitigation of liability, cost or expenses which would otherwise fall within the cover given by the Association. Note: Additional cover in respect of war risks is available pursuant to Rule 2.1(b) - see Appendix II." MOU Rule 60 - Joint Members, Co-assureds, Affiliates and Fleet Entries Reference is made to the changes in Rule 79 in the Rules for Ships as set out above. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. MOU Rule 60 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "1 Joint Members and Co-assureds (other than a Co-assured expressly given cover by the Association in accordance with Rule 58.3) insured on any one entry shall be jointly and severally liable for all sums due to the Association in respect of such entry. Members, Joint Members and Co-assureds (other than a Co-assured expressly given cover by the Association in accordance with Rule 58.3) insured on any entry in respect of one or more Vessel(s) forming part of a Fleet Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 Entry shall be jointly and severally liable in respect of all sums due to the Association in respect of any or all Vessels forming part of the Fleet Entry. For the purpose of this section a Fleet Entry shall mean the entry of more than one Vessel by one or more Members on the basis that those Vessels shall be treated together as a fleet. 2…" MOU Rule 64 - Recoveries from third parties Reference is made to the changes in Rule 84 in the Rules for Ships as set out above. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. MOU Rule 64 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "1 When the Member has a right of recourse against a third party for any liability, loss, cost or expense covered by the Association, the Association shall be subrogated to the Member's right of recourse upon payment by the Association to or on behalf of the Member in respect of the liability, loss, cost or expense. a where because of a deductible in his terms of entry the Member has contributed towards a liability, loss, cost or expense any such interest element shall be apportioned between the Member and the Association taking into account the payments made by each and the dates on which those payments were made; and 2 Where the Association has made a payment in respect of any liability, loss, cost or expense to or on behalf of a Member, the whole of any recovery from a third party in respect of the case to which that liability, loss, cost or expense relates shall be credited and paid to the Association up to an amount corresponding to the sum paid by the Association together with any interest element on that sum comprised in the recovery, provided however, that b the Association shall retain the whole amount of any award of costs in respect of its own handling of any case; and i first, if and to the extent a maximum deductible is agreed, the Recovery shall be credited and paid to the Association up to an amount corresponding to a fair recovery (in the Association's discretion) of legal and other costs and expenses corresponding to the sum of legal and other costs or expenses paid or agreed to be paid by the Association, in excess of the Member's maximum deductible, together with any interest element on that sum comprised in the Recovery; c in respect of a Defence Entry, any recovery whatsoever from any third party in respect of legal and other costs or expenses (the "Recovery") shall be applied as follows and in the following order: ii secondly, if and to the extent the Association only has agreed to cover a percentage of legal and other costs or expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Member, the Association shall be credited and paid a proportion of the Recovery corresponding to the percentage of legal and other costs and expenses the Association has agreed to cover pursuant to these Rules and the terms of entry agreed; 3 Subject to Rule 64.2, all monies recovered for a Member with Defence cover shall be paid over to the Member, except that the Association may deduct from such monies and retain any amount due to the Association from the Member. iii Finally, when the requirements in (i) and (ii) above have been satisfied the Recovery shall be applied against the Member's minimum deductible. 4 Where a Member settles or compromises a claim within its Defence cover for a lump sum which includes costs or without making provision as to costs, the Association shall determine what part of that lump sum shall be deemed attributable to legal and other costs and expenses irrespective of the provisions of the settlement or compromise and, where relevant, the lump sum shall be treated as a Recovery pursuant to Rule 64.2 c). " MOU Rule 68 – Payments and undertakings to third parties Reference is made to the changes in Rule 88 in the Rules for Ships as set out above. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 The new MOU Rule 68.5 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "4 a Where the Association has issued any guarantee, undertaking or certificate as referred to in Rule 55.2 or other bail or security by which it undertakes to directly meet or guarantee any relevant liabilities (together the "Direct Liabilities") and claims in respect of Direct Liabilities alone or in combination with other claims may in the sole opinion of the Association exceed any limit(s) on the cover provided by the Association as set out in the Rules or in the Certificate of Entry, the Association may in its absolute discretion defer payment of any such other claims or any part thereof until the Direct Liabilities, or such parts of the Direct Liabilities as the Association may in its absolute discretion decide, have been discharged. b To the extent that any claims or liabilities (including any Direct Liabilities) discharged by the Association exceed the said limit(s) any payment by the Association in respect thereof shall be by way of loan and the Member shall indemnify the Association promptly upon demand in respect of such payment and shall assign to the Association to the extent and on the terms that the Association determines in its discretion to be practicable, all the rights of the Member under any other insurance and against any third party." MOU Rule 71 – Arbitration Reference is made to the changes in Rule 91 in the Rules for Ships as set out above. Similar changes have been made in the Rules for MOUs. MOU Rule 71 shall read as follows (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "Unless otherwise agreed, disputes between the Association and a Member or a former Member or any other person arising out of the contract of insurance or these Rules shall be resolved by arbitration. Each party shall nominate one arbitrator and those so nominated shall appoint an Umpire. If the arbitrators cannot agree on an Umpire or a party fails to nominate his arbitrator, the nomination shall be made by the Chief Justice of the Oslo City District Court. Reasons shall be given for the award. Arbitration proceedings shall take place in Oslo." Appendix III - Marine Cyber Endorsement and Coronavirus Exclusion (Rule 40.3) In order to be back-to-back with market reinsurance terms for the 2022 policy year, the following changes have been made to Appendix III - Marine Cyber Endorsement and Coronavirus Exclusion (Rule 40.3) (amendments reflected by strike-through/underlining): "3 Marine Cyber Endorsement and Communicable Disease Exclusion Coronavirus Exclusion (Rule 40.3) … Communicable Disease Exclusion 1. In the event that the World Health Organization ('WHO') has determined an outbreak of a Communicable Disease to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (a 'Declared Communicable Disease'), no coverage will be provided under this (re)insurance for any loss, damage, liability, cost or expense directly arising from any transmission or alleged transmission of the Declared Communicable Disease. 2. The exclusion in paragraph 1 of this endorsement will not apply to any liability of the (re)insured otherwise covered by this (re)insurance where the liability directly arises from an identified instance of a transmission of a Declared Communicable Disease and where the (re)insured Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 proves that identified instance of a transmission took place before the date of determination by the WHO of the Declared Communicable Disease. 3. However even if the requirements of paragraph 2 of this endorsement are met, no coverage will be provided under this (re)insurance for any: A. liability, cost or expense to identify, clean up, detoxify, remove, monitor, or test for the Declared Communicable Disease whether the measures are preventative or remedial; B. liability for or loss, cost or expense arising out of any loss of revenue, loss of hire, business interruption, loss of market, delay or any indirect financial loss, howsoever described, as a result of the Declared Communicable Disease; C. loss, damage, liability, cost or expense caused by or arising out of fear of or the threat of the Declared Communicable Disease. 4. As used in this endorsement, Communicable Disease means any disease, known or unknown, which can be transmitted by means of any substance or agent from any organism to another organism where: A. the substance or agent includes but is not limited to a virus, bacterium, parasite or other organism or any variation or mutation of any of the foregoing, whether deemed living or not, and B. the method of transmission, whether direct or indirect, includes but is not limited to human touch or contact, airborne transmission, bodily fluid transmission, transmission to or from or via any solid object or surface or liquid or gas, and C. the disease, substance or agent may, acting alone or in conjunction with other comorbidities, conditions, genetic susceptibilities, or with the human immune system, cause death, illness or bodily harm or temporarily or permanently impair human physical or mental health or adversely affect the value of or safe use of property of any kind. 5. This endorsement shall not extend this (re)insurance to cover any liability which would not have been covered under this (re)insurance had this endorsement not been attached. All other terms, conditions and limitations of this (re)insurance remain the same. JL2021-014 8th March 2021 Coronavirus Exclusion This clause shall be paramount and shall override anything contained in this insurance inconsistent therewith. This insurance excludes coverage for: 1) any loss, damage, liability, cost, or expense directly arising from the transmission or alleged transmission of: a) Coronavirus disease (COVID-19); b) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); or c) any mutation or variation of SARS-CoV-2; or Gard AS, P.O. Box 789 Stoa, NO-4809 Arendal, Norway Tel: +47 37 01 91 00, Fax: +47 37 02 48 10, Outside office hours: +47 90 52 41 00 from any fear or threat of a), b) or c) above; 2) any liability, cost or expense to identify, clean up, detoxify, remove, monitor, or test for a), b) or c) above; 3) any liability for or loss, cost or expense arising out of any loss of revenue, loss of hire, business interruption, loss of market, delay or any indirect financial loss, howsoever described, as a result of any of a), b) or c) above or the fear or the threat thereof. All other terms, conditions and limitations of the insurance remain the same. LMA5395 09 April 2020" *** Updated Rules for Ships and Rules for MOUs will be published on www.gard.no prior to the renewal date 20 February 2022. If you have any questions, please contact Tore Svinøy or Ingvild Høgenes Nilsen, Gard, Arendal. Yours faithfully, GARD AS Rolf Thore Roppestad Chief Executive Officer
REVIEW ARTICLE Vascular Manifestation of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Vařejka P., Linhart A. II. Internal Clinic of Cardiology and Angiology 1. LF UK and VFN, Prague SUMMARY Vascular involvement in thoracic outlet syndrome is, apart from neurological symptoms, one of the possible manifestations of this disease, which typically affects young, otherwise healthy individuals. The most frequent vascular manifestations of thoracic outlet syndrome include symptoms related to venous hypertension with possible development of deep vein thrombosis. Arterial involvement is mostly revealed by the presence of ischemic symptoms. Several key points for correct diagnosis should be stressed. They include specific events in patient history, especially previous effort or trauma of the affected upper extremity, typically unilateral. Arterial manifestations are characterized by the absence of ischemic symptoms in other localisations. Deep vein thrombosis occurs in the absence of other distinct precipitating factors and/or hypercoagulable state. Some provocative manoeuvres may help in correct diagnosis assessment, especially in connection with duplex ultrasound examination. Endovascular procedures both in venous and arterial thoracic outlet syndrome have become quite a feature of the therapeutical process, while their role in diagnosis is decreasing. The treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome patients is currently evolving into an interdisciplinary approach integrating angiologists, interventional angiologists and vascular surgeons. This complex multidisciplinary approach improves long-term results and the quality of life of these patients. Key words: thoracic outlet syndrome, deep vein thrombosis, upper extremity ischemia, endovascular, surgical management. Va. Magazine Lék. čes., 2006, 145, pp. 344–348. Thoracic outlet syndrome is a complex of neurological and vascular symptoms which are preconditioned by compression of the vasculo-nervous bundle in the area between the clavicle and the 1 st rib. It was described in the 2 nd century before Christ by Galen and Vesalio in a patient with symptoms of compression of vasculo-nervous elements by cervical rib (1). Vascular symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome are expressed much less often than neurological symptoms. 95 % of cases are manifested by affection of brachial plexus, symptoms affecting the vascular system represent approximately 4 % of cases, and we can detect arterial symptomathology in 1 % of patients. Women tend to be affected most often, and the proportion of affected women and men is approximately 3:1. Annual incidence of upper thoracic outlet syndrome ranges between 3 – 80 new cases for 1000 individuals, and it typically affects younger individuals aged between 20 and 50 years (2). PATOPHYSIOLOGY The brachial plexus, vena and subclavian arteries pass on their way from the lower part of the neck and chest to the axilla and then to the arm through three narrowed areas. The first of them is the so-called scalene triangle, which borders m. scalenus anterior in the front, m. scalenus medius at the back and the medial area of the first rib below. The causes of strain in this area may lie in some other structures, for example, various anomalous ligamentous strips, neck rib, elongated processus transverse C7 (partial neck rib) or anomalous muscle bundles. Another place of strain is the costoclavicular triangle bordered in front by the medial collar bone and posteromedially by the upper edge of the shoulder blade. The third place of strain is the subcoracoidal area under the processus coracoideus, fare below the m. pectoralis minor (Fig. 1). Manifestations following from strains of vasculonervous structures in these areas may occur in some cases in rest; however, problems often occur or are more considerable during specific manoeuvres or positions of the upper extremity. These are typically elevation of the arm and simultaneous rotation of head to the opposite side (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). Appearance of pain in the affected upper extremity, particularly in the shoulder and paresthesia, particularly in ulnar part of the forearm and in IV and V finger, are typical for upper thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis. In this position and with simultaneous palpation of the pulse on the forearm we can notice that it subsides. Another typical manoeuvre which exacerbates or worsens the patient's symptoms (pain, paresthesia, subsiding of pulse), is maximum exterior rotation of the upper extremity and coincident abduction up to 90°. Chronic and recurrent microtraumatization of these structures occurs in situations when the vasculo-nervous bundle goes through the space with insufficient space, particularly with the movement or in certain positions of the upper extremity. The result of this recurrent traumatizing process is, at a vascular level, the creation of solid ligamentous septa inside the affected vein and ligamentous strips with the characteristics of rings in the near proximity of the vein. The vein gradually becomes translucent in consequence of intraluminal and extraluminal processes which may be clinically manifested by symptoms of venous hypertension on the affected upper extremity. Limitation of speed of flow in the vascular system is obviously the predisposing factor for the origin of venous thrombosis, which is very often the first and the e-mail: email@example.com Figure 2. Selective arteriography of left subclavian artery when the upper extremity is raised and the head is turned to the right (tight stenosis of this artery at the level of costoclavicular area (arrow)). most frequent manifestation of venous affection at upper thoracic outlet syndrome. UPPER THORACIC OUTLET SYNDROME Thrombosis brought about by this cause was described as early as 1875 by Paget (3), though he considered the painful swelling of the upper extremity to be a consequence of vascular spasm. Von Schroetter in 1884 determined subclavian vein and axilla as the cause of the trombosis (4). Then, in 1949, Hughes used the term Paget-von Schroetter syndrome for primary thrombosis of subclavian vein and axilla (5), which has been used for this disease ever since. It typically affects young, otherwise healthy individuals, sportsmen or manual workers. In the anamnesis of patients there is generally unusual physical effort, carrying heavy strain, etc, several days before the appearance of typical symptoms of venous thrombosis of upper extremity. Men are affected more frequently in the rate 2:1, and in 60 – 80 % it is an affliction of the dominant extremity (2). It appears as swelling, localized first in the palm and forearm, and which gradually spreads to the arm and shoulders. Further, a peripheral cyanosis appears on the fingers, together with a pain which is often characterized by the patient as a pressure and tonus in the affected extremity. It should be remembered that elevation of the extremity often leads to increased tension of the vasculo-nervous bundle, and therefore pain is not eased, as might be expected. Figure 3. Selective arteriography of left subclavian artery when the upper extremity is raised and the head is turned to the right (tight stenosis of this artery at the level of costoclavicular area (arrow); without using digital subtraction). affected extremity is dominant. Sudden emergence of pain preceded by noticeable or unusual effort or trauma, which leads to hyper-abduction of the extremity, is typical. In case of rich collateral circulation the symptoms may be weaker; however the subcutaneous collateral venous drawing tends to be more evident in the lower part of the neck and on the front breast wall in the area of pectoralis. Only D-dimer determination is the most significant of all laboratory examinations. Duplex sonography currently plays an important role in venous thrombosis in the upper extremity, and in most cases it definitely determines the final diagnosis. Although classic phlebography of the upper extremity is still considered "the gold standard", it is meaningful to carry it out as a part of intervention approach to the treatment of venous thrombosis of upper extremities (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5). When the vena subclavian and axilla is blocked by a blood clot a subcutaneous collateral venous drawing appears in typical localizations – the lower part of neck and front side of chest. It tends to be relatively noticeable and clearly visible, because it forms gradually from the phase of creation of ligamentous septa and rings, which gradually decreases the translucence of the vein. Venous thrombosis affecting upper extremity is in 7 – 20 % of cases in the acute phase, complicated by pulmonary embolism, and in 25 – 40 % a post-thrombotic syndrome appears after several weeks or months (6, 7). The diagnosis is based on the clinical picture, in which a painful swelling and cyanosis of the Treatment of venous thrombosis of upper extremity historically consists of the application of bandage and anticoagulant treatment, first parenterally given heparin, and followed by classic peroral anticoagulant treatment. However, this type of "conservative" treatment involves a high percentage of long-term postthrombotic complications (8, 9), which may be regarded as unsatisfactory considering the fact that the patients are mostly young and in other respects healthy and active individuals, whose quality of life may be negatively influenced by this disease. Therefore the multidisciplinary concept of treatment of these patients shared by intervention angiologists and venous surgeons is currently accepted. It is based on application of local thrombolytic, catheterization treatment and simultaneous surgical intervention, by means of which the cause of tension syndrome of upper thoracic outlet syndrome is removed. Another catheterization treatment which resolves the occurrence of intraluminal infliction of subclavian vena may in certain cases follow after the surgical intervention. Local thrombolysis The most often used thrombolyticum is rt-PA in small doses 0.5–1 mg/hour. In most cases the initial flebography is carried by means of forearm veins, and further it penetrates from this distal Figure 4. Flebography of right upper extremity when the upper extremity is situated at an angle of approximately 30° (significant stenosis of right subclavian artery in proximal section (arrow); contrast medium penetrates to brachiocefalic trunk through stenosis). Figure 5. Flebography of right upper extremity when the upper extremity is raised and the head is turned left to the maximum (in the level of the costoclavicular area the right subclavian artery is closed (arrow); contrast medium penetrates through collaterals to cervical arteries). section of brachial vein up to the area blocked by a blood clot; an infusion catheter is inserted in this place for local application of thrombolyticum in the mentioned dose. Concurrently full anticoagulation treatment is given to the patient, most frequently intravenously infractioned heparin at regular aPTT checks. The process of thrombolysis is clarified at regular flebographic checks, and when the flebographic picture does not change anymore the treatment is completed. If total recanalisation of venous system occurs, provocation manoeuvres on the upper thoracic outlet syndrome are carried out at the final flebography. If this is established, the patient should be indicated for surgical intervention. Patients with recanalisation of axilar vein and part of subclavian vein with continuing impact in proximal section of subclavian vein may be treated first by percutan intervention – balloon angioplastics. One thing is very important. A metal stent removing the exterior pressure should not be implanted in this area before surgical intervention. The reason is that mechanical damage and other traumatizations of venous walls could be caused. On the contrary, should troubles typical for venous hypertension in upper extremity still continue, there is no other course of action but phlebography. When the affected proximal section of subclavian vein, which corresponds to the place of traumatizations of a vein at the tense syndrome, is revealed, the implantation of endovascular stent for achievement of optimal flebographic result is appropriate. Anticoagulation treatment lasting 6 months follows, provided there are no other reasons for its extension. This multidisciplinary therapy in comparison with "classic" anticoagulation treatment brings the patient two important advantages. Local thrombolytic treatment may totally remove a fresh blood clot in a short period. Thus conditions are given, particularly for restoration of correct function of venous valves, which create the most important patophysiological element for the development of post-thrombotic changes beside the continuing obstruction of venous system. The second factor positively affecting particularly the long-lasting destiny of patients is removal of anatomic causes of tension of upper thoracic outlet syndrome. This way the cause of the venous hypertension and the risk of relapse of venous thrombosis are removed. This combined approach to the patient with Paget-von Schroetter syndrome, which allows the patient a full return to normal life, should be the first choice of treatment, particularly in case of young active patients. ARTERIAL SYNDROME OF UPPER THORACIC OUTLET Arterial syndrome is the least common manifestation of upper thoracic outlet syndrome, and it occurs approximately at 1 % of cases (10). Chronic microtraumatization of arterial wall leads to its degenerative changes. In most cases their histological picture corresponds to advanced atherosclerotic changes, which may lead to reduction of translucence or total closure of subclavian artery or – in contrast - an aneurismatic dilatation of artery in the affected place with option for creation of wall thromboses, which may create a source of distal embolisation. Arterial involvement may appear with pains in the area of forearm, arm or shoulder muscles when working with the affected extremity, particularly in case of stretching. Other symptoms may be quick tiredness of the affected extremity during physical work, lower tolerance to cold, changes of colour – pale or peripheral cyanosis in fingers. If an aneurism of subclavian artery with wall thrombosis is caused in consequence of upper thoracic outlet syndrome and repeated microembolisation to digital arteries occurs, the only manifestation of this state may be Raynaud's phenomenon. Unlike venous manifestation, the arterial affliction is most frequently conditioned by damage of arterial wall by chronic traumatization caused by some bone abnormalities, which we find in 88 % of patients (10). In spite of the fact that the subclavian artery may be chronically traumatized in scalene triangle by musculus pectoralis minor or humeral head, the most frequent place where the artery is compressed is the costoclavicular space. Here the entire neck rib, which is jointed with upper area of the first rib laterally from the point of joint of musculus scalenus anterior, is very often influencing. Another possible bone abnormality may be an elongated crosswise projection C7, sometimes also called incomplete neck rib, abnormalities of first rib or collar bone. In most cases it is local bulge, thickening or extrusions, which cause reduction of costoclavicular space. The moment of regularly repeating activities carried out by the afflicted extremity probably plays an important role in the development of arterial upper thoracic outlet syndrome. Some studies document explicitly higher occurrence of arterial infliction on dominant extremity (11 – 13), which may relate simply to the repeating strain of the dominant extremity in common life. Symptoms of arterial upper thoracic outlet syndrome may be ignored for long time or misunderstood. The precondition for correct diagnosis is detailed sampling of anamestic data; when repeating straining of the dominant extremity it is typical for painters, certain instrumentalists (guitarists), athletes (throwers), mechanics, porters, etc. Increased strain very often precedes occurrence of typical symptoms such us problems in the cold, pains particularly when elevating extremity, tiredness, pale peripheral cyanosis and Raynaud's phenomenon. Unilateral occurrence of problems is also typical. Uninvasive examination plays an important role in diagnosis: measuring of pressure in radial artery and ulnaris on both upper extremities, identification of occurrence of murmurs above the collar bone, rarely pulsing resistance behind the collar bone corresponding to aneurism of subclavian artery may be palpable. Duplex sonographic examination may determine exact changes in the flow in arteries of upper extremities at provocation manoeuvres and is a very good method for objective postoperative monitoring of these patients. Displaying X-ray examination as a simple radiogram of chest focused on bone structure. CT examination with 3D reconstruction may disclose present bone abnormalities. CT angio examination may then bring important information on the state of arterial bloodstream in this area, on presence of aneurysm or stenosing infliction of subclavian artery and on its relation to bone abnormalities. Classic arteriography displaying the aorta arc and selectively arteries of upper extremities already steps aside in the time of arterial upper thoracic outlet syndrome diagnostics. This is suggested if the operating surgeon requires a detailed display of effusion at the planned revascularization of upper extremity or as a part of endovascular treatment – local thrombolysis at the distal embolisation to forearm and arm arteries. Treatment of arterial upper thoracic outlet syndrome generally comprises three parts: A) decompression of costoclavicular space and removal particularly of bone structures compressing subclavian artery; B) removal of the affected artery, which may be the source of distal embolisation; C) restoration of perfusion in distal areas of upper extremity. In some cases it is sufficient only to remove the causes of compression, in other cases surgical intervention in subclavian artery is required, which may be resection of aneurismatically affected part of this artery and its replacement by graft. In case of embolisation of closing of distal parts of arterial system in upper extremity it is possible to carry out surgical thromboembolectomy or catheterization treatment (percutan aspiration of thromboembolic matters or local thrombolysis). We can treat by means of catheterization chronic lesions in subclavian artery caused by traumatization in costoclavicular space after surgical removal of outer compression: rigid stenosis requiring treatment by implantation of rigid metal stents to achieve a good result. If the revascularization performance is not feasible for infliction of small arteries in forearm or palm, an infusion treatment of prostaglandin or sympatectomy are indicated. The outlook for the extremity at the ischemia occurred by other causes than infliction of the binding and vasculitide is good; only 22 % of them grow during fifteen years of monitoring to the stage of ulcerations and only in 6 % of them is amputation of the affected extremity necessary (14). CONCLUSION Arterial infliction at the upper thoracic outlet syndrome appears in approximately 5 % of patients with this diagnosis and is typical for young, otherwise healthy and active individuals. Venous thoracic outlet syndrome manifests most often with arterial thrombosis, arterial upper thoracic aperture manifests with ischemic symptoms. Diagnosis of vascular infliction does not generally cause problems; however, it is necessary to focus on the upper thoracic aperture area to exclude compression of vasculonervous bundle in this area in younger patients with ischemic symptoms of upper extremity or in patients with venous thrombosis without evident cause. Correct diagnosis leads to better long-term results for these patients and to improvement of the quality of life, which is very important for otherwise healthy individuals. Abbreviations aPTT – Activated Partial Tromboplastin Time rt-PA – recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator LITERATURE 1. Adson, A. W., Coffey, J. R.: Cervical rib. Ann. Surg., 1927, 85, pp. 839. 2. Horattas, M. C., Wright, D. J., Fenton, A. H. et al.: Changing concepts of deep venous thrombosis of the upper extremity: Report of a series and review of the literature. Surgery, 1988, 104, pp. 561567. 3. Paget, J.: Clinical Lectures and Essays. London, Longmans Green & Co, 1875. 4. von Schroetter, L.: Erkrankungen der gefasse. In: Nathnagel Handbuch der Pathologie und Therapie. Vienna, Holder, 1884. 5. Hughes, E. S. R.: Venous obstruction in the upper extremity. Int. Abstr. Surg., 1949, 88, pp. 89-127. 6. Gloviczki, P., Kazmier, F. S., Hollier, L. H.: Axillary-subclavian venous occlusion: The morbidity of a non-lethal disease. J. Vasc. Surg., 1986, 4, pp. 333-337. 7. Harley, D. P., White, R. A., Nelson, R. J. et al.: Pulmonary embolism secondary to venous thrombosis of the arm. Am. J. Surg., 1984, 147, pp. 221-224. 8. AbuRahma, A. F., Sadler, D., Stuart, P. et al.: Conventional versus thrombolytic therapy in spontaneous (effort) axillary-subclavian vein thrombosis. Am. J. Surg., 1991, 161, pp. 459-465. 9. AbuRahma, A. F., Short, Y. S., White, J. F. et al.: Treatment alternatives for axillary-subclavian thrombosis: Long-term followup. Cardiovasc. Surg., 1996, 4, pp. 783-787. 10. Sanders, R. J., Haug, C.: Review of arterial thoracic outlet syndrome with a report of five new instances. Surg. Gynecol. Obstet., 1991, 173, pp. 415-425. 11. Durham, J. R., Yao, J. S. T., Pearce, W. H. et al.: Arterial injuries in the thoracic outlet syndrome. J. Vasc. Surg., 1995, 21, pp. 57-70. 12. Scher, L. A., Veith, F. J., Haimovici, H.: Staging of arterial complications of cervical rib: Guidelines for surgical management. Surgery, 1984, 95, pp. 644-649. 13. Pairolero, P. C., Walls, J. T., Payne, W. S. et al.: Subclavian-axillary artery aneurysms. Surgery, 1981, 90, pp. 757-763. 14. McLafferty, R. B., Edwards, J. M., Taylor, L. M. et al.: Diagnosis and long-term clinical outcome in patients diagnosed with hand ischemia. J. Vasc. Surg., 1995, 22, pp. 361-369. Translation: A. Hejčl REVIEW ARTICLE Superior Vena Cava Syndrome – Possibilities of Intervention Therapy Beran S. 2 nd Department of internal medicine – cardiology and angiology, 1 st Medical Faculty, Charles University in Prague SUMMARY Superior vena cava syndrome is a relatively frequent complication in patients with lung or mediastinal malignant disease. Standard treatment is usually based on radiotherapy or chemotherapy. During the last 20 years endovascular methods such as stent implantation and local thrombolysis have been increasingly employed, being more effective in the treatment of superior vena cava obstruction or stenosis. Key words: superior vena cava syndrome, stent, thrombolysis. Be Čas. Lék. čes., 2006, 145, pp. 349–352. Superior vena cava syndrome is a complex of symptoms caused by deterioration of blood flow through the superior vena cava (SVC) to the right heart atrium, resulting in congestion of blood in the upper part of the body. The syndrome was first described by William Hunter in a patient with an aortic aneurysm in 1757 (1). electrodes is not infrequent. On the other hand, mediastinal fibrosis is a less common cause, resulting most often from previous lung and mediastinal radiotherapy (8). CLINICAL PICTURE SVC syndrome symptoms follow from the venous congestion in the drained areas. The seriousness of the syndrome depends on its onset rapidity and on the duration of the SVC obstruction, as well as on the related possibility of the dilatation of collateral circulation. Moreover, it depends on the location of obstruction. If there is a stenosis or obstruction above the azygous vein ostium, the collateral flow is ensured via this vein contrary to the obstruction below the azygous vein ostium (9). Venous hypertension can produce headaches, a feeling of pressure in the neck and head, dizziness, syncopes and coughing. There may be other apparent symptoms of SVC syndrome, such as oedemas of the face, neck and arms, a noticeable dilatation of neck and arms veins, lips and face cyanosis or even a coma in the final stage (10, 11). DIAGNOSIS If the syndrome is fully expressed, the diagnosis is already evident from the medical history and physical examination. The diagnosis can, however, be specified by a quantity of non-invasive and invasive examination methods. An X-ray of the heart and lungs may reveal a widened mediastinum, pleural exudate and mediastinal or hilar tumour, particularly on the right side (6). Sometimes dilatation of the azygous vein can be apparent (12). A Duplex ultrasonic examination is a non-invasive method that cannot picture the superior vena cava directly, but it well represents the subclavial and possibly brachiocephalic veins. On the basis of indirect signs, such as breathing variability of blood flow or dilata- ANATOMY OF THE SUPERIOR VENA CAVA SVC is a thin – walled vessel about 6-8 cm long, situated in the upper mediastinum. It is formed by the joining of two brachiocephalic veins and flows to the right atrium. It is in close contact with the trachea, right bronchus, aorta, pulmonary artery and thymus. It is also surrounded by lymph nodes. Dorsally, the azygous vein flows into the SVC and may represent an important collateral circulation if the SVC is obstructed (2, 3). ETIOLOGY The causes of superior vena cava obstruction have changed during the years. While until the first half of the last century the syndrome was mainly caused by the pressure of tuberculous or syphilitic aortic aneurysms (4), nowadays more than 80 % of SVC syndromes are triggered by an advanced malignant disease, most frequently by bronchogenic carcinoma and particularly its small–cell type, by non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and by metastatic mediastinal tumours (5, 6). Thyroid carcinomas and thymomes are more rare causes. SVC syndrome may be caused either by an external SVC compression, or possibly by a stenosis-related thrombosis or a direct infiltration of a tumour into the vessel. Approximately 5-15 % of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and 3-8 % of patients with NHL develop SVC syndrome (7). Benign etiology is a more rare cause of SVC syndrome, occurring in approximately 15-20 % of all cases (6, 7), but considering the increasing frequency of central venous catheters and stimulating electrodes implementing, SVC thrombosis related to venous catheters and cardiostimulating tion during the Valsalva manoeuvre, a duplex ultrasonic examination can reveal suspicion of central obstruction. Computer tomography (CT) is a non-invasive examination making it possible to display in detail anatomical structures, the cause and extent of obstruction and of the collateral circulation. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) provides a higher-quality image of anatomical structures than CT; however, in our context NMR availability is still limited, and it is contraindicated in patients with an implanted pacemaker. Contrast phlebography remains the gold standard in diagnostics. It makes it possible to display the level and extent of the obstruction and of the collateral circulation, as well as potential presence of thrombi. In specialised departments an endovascular intervention can be carried out simultaneously. The phlebographic findings are the cornerstone of the Standford-Doty classification of the obstruction types: I. type: < 90 % SVC stenosis and a patent azygous vein, II. type: 90-100 % stenosis of SVC and a patent azygous vein, III. type: 90-100 % stenosis of SVC with a reverse circulation in a patent azygous vein and IV. type: occlusion of SVC and its supplying veins (3). The main disadvantage of a phlebographic examination is its invasive character and the necessity use of a contrast agent. There are other alternatives of examination of the primary disease aetiology, such as bronchoscopy, pleural exudate puncture and mediastinoscopy. TREATMENT Treatment of the superior vena cava syndrome depends on the cause of obstruction, gravity of symptoms, the patient's prognosis and wishes. Pharmacotherapy In addition to the elevation of the upper part of the body, we use diuretics and corticosteroids to induce regression of the swelling and anticoagulant therapy to prevent thrombosis progression. This treatment, however, has very limited clinical effect (10, 13). Radiotherapy, chemotherapy If the aetiogogy of the SVC syndrome is a malignancy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or a combination of the two - depending on the histological type of the tumour - form the basis of treatment. Most studies are aimed at bronchogenic carcinoma, which is the main cause of SVC stenosis or occlusion. Radiotherapy in radiosensitive and chemotherapy in chemosensitive tumours represents a standard treatment and brings symptomatic relief due to the reduction in tumour tissue volume. The effect of radiotherapy ranges from 46 to 90 % within 2 weeks (14-16) while the effect of chemotherapy oscillates between 62 to 80 % in the treatment of small-cell bronchogenic carcinoma (17, 18). Furthermore, a combination of both treatment methods can be used (17). Analysis from the Cochrane Clinical Trials Register including 2 randomised and 44 non-randomised studies of the treatment of SVC obstruction in bronchogenic lung carcinoma (and more particularly in its small-cell type) notes the effect of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy on the regression of difficulties caused by the SVC syndrome in 77 % with recurrence in 17 %. In non-small-cell varieties of bronchogenic carcinoma chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy led to the regression of symptoms only in 60 %, with recurrence in 19 %. These traditional methods lead to a clinical effect with a delay of 2-4 weeks (17, 19, 20). Surgical treatment Until recently a bypass operation was the only alternative treatment in the event of failure of conservative therapy with a very good and long patency, and it still remains an alternative if there is failure of endovascular treatment or if a radical resection of a tumour can be effected. Owing to a very good and long patency – 88 % of patient bypasses with an average observation period of almost 11 years (20) – some authors prefer this method for cases of benign causes of the SVC syndrome (21-24). In patients suffering from a malignant disease that are in a general bad state, the necessity of sternotomy is the main inconvenience. Stent implantation, local thrombolysis The history of metal stents use in the superior vena cava started in 1986, when Charnsangajev carried out successful angioplasty of SVC for the first time, with a stent implantation in 7 dogs with the mediastinal fibrosis (25). Since then the method has become an appropriate alternative to a standard conservative treatment. Its technical success with a subsequent rapid clinical effect has ranged from 90 to 100 % in most of the published studies. In the above-mentioned meta-analysis from the Cochrane Clinical Trials Register, stent implantation led to a regression of symptoms in 95 %, with a recurrence of SVC syndrome in 11 %, but another recanalization was possible in most cases; therefore the long-term patency was 92 % (17). In the event of an extensive SVC thrombosis stent implantation is accompanied by local thrombolysis. In his study, Kee effected local thrombolysis in 27 patients with an acute SVC thrombosis of malignant etiology that in itself led to recanalization in 4 patients (15 %), while the remained patients underwent a stent implantation. During the local thrombolysis one patient with a small-cell carcinoma of lung died of pulmonary embolism of thrombotic and tuberculous masses (26). Other papers show a similar or better technical and clinical effect (27-31). The rapidity of endovascular therapy is also advantageous – the clinical effect comes in a short interval of 2-4 days (26-31). Local thrombolysis effected before proper stent implantation decreases the volume of thrombotic material that could embolise during the procedure. The dissolution of the thrombotic mass also reveals the cause of SVC obstruction, thus reducing the number and length of stents necessary for the recanalization of the obstruction - which, incidentally, brings a considerable economic benefit (26). The evident disadvantage of this therapy is an increased risk of bleeding complications in patients with an increased risk of potentially fatal bleeding due to their principal tumour disease. According to the published studies, fatal bleeding complications during the local thrombolysis occur in 0-5 %; only one small study with 10 patients noted a complication rate of 10 % (1 patient died) (26-31). OWN EXPERIENCES During the period of October 2002 to December 2004 three patients with acute superior vena cava syndrome of malignant etiology were admitted to the ward of angiologic intensive care of the 2 nd internal clinic of cardiology and angiology, 1 st Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague. Two patients had already undergone unsuccessful treatment in another hospital – 1x systemic thrombolysis and 1x percutaneuous aspiration thrombectomy were performed without any considerable effect. The aetiology was as follows: a relapse of malignant thymoma, Ewing's sarcoma and stomach adenocarcinoma. SVC thrombosis in the patient with Ewing's sarcoma was associated with the central venous catheter. Intervention performance After sonographic or CT verification of the SVC obstruction, we bilaterally spiked the brachialis vein and inserted the 6F case by Seldinger method, in local anaesthesia under sonographic or X-ray control. Via the cases we performed a phlebography to reveal the character and the extent of the disease. The thrombosis and the complete SVC obstruction were present in all three cases. The first patient had patent brachiocephalic veins (Fig. 1, 2, 3). The second patient had a thrombosis of both SVC and left brachiocephalic vein (Fig. 4, 5) and the third patient had a thrombosis of SVC, both brachiocephalic and subclavia veins and a unilateral thrombosis of the left axillaris vein. We administered Heparin 5000 U IV and via the cases, by means of soft hydrophilic conductors, we inserted local thrombolysis catheters with lateral orifices into the coagulum. We commonly use the recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator (rt-PA, Actilyse ® , alteplasum) in the total dose of 1 mg/h into the catheters, and we applied heparin in an initial dose of 1250 U/h into the inserted case, with the dose adjustment according to APTT. The target value should be between 2-3 multiples of normal values. We performed a control phlebographic examination at intervals of 12 to 24 hours to consider the treatment effect and reposition of inserted catheters. The total time of local thrombolysis was on average 57.6 hours (38-60 hours); in one case the local thrombolysis alone led to Figure 2. The first patient after 22 hours of thrombolysis (partial SVC recanalization with residual thrombi) Figure 4. The second patient: phlebography from both brachial veins, thrombosis of axillar vein on the left, both subclavial veins and both brachiocephalic veins are occluded, the superior vein cava fills poorly Figure 5. The second patient after 60 hours of local thrombolysis and bilateral implantation of 2 self-expanding stents on boundary of subclavial and brachiocephalic veins (residual thrombosis in the subclavial vein on the right, contrast agent however flows away very well from the periphery) a complete opening of the venous vascular system, while in the two remaining cases an intervention performance followed – the implantation of stents into the SVC or into the brachiocephalic trunks and the subclavian vein. A quick regression of the swelling of the upper part of body and the regression of subjective symptoms came in all cases. In all patients we continued anticoagulant treatment by lowmolecular heparin and a subsequent warfarinization after the performance. No complications appeared in our patients during the local thrombolysis and during their stay in our ward (on average 6.6 days). Subsequently 2 patients died during the following observation – one died of intracranial bleeding caused by brain metastases (using the therapy of low-molecular heparin) 2 weeks after the operation. The second patient died of the progression of his malignant disease after 3 months. The third patient has been without clinical signs of relapse of SVC syndrome, and the intervented veins have still been patent according to the executed examination as well. CONCLUSION Superior vena cava syndrome is a relatively frequent complication in patients with lung or mediastinal malignancy. The standard treatment on the basis of radiotherapy or chemotherapy is successful in a wide range of 45-80 %; however the clinical effect comes with a delay of 2-4 weeks. Endovascular treatment – stent implantation – is a highly effective method in short lesions, with a technical and clinical successfulness of 90-100 % and a quick effect. Local thrombolysis followed by angioplasty and possibly stent implantation is an appropriate method in an extensive thrombosis of SVC and other veins draining the upper part of body. The risk of fatal bleeding in local thrombolysis is 4-10 % according to the published papers. In contrast to radiotherapy, endovascular treatment allows reintervention in cases of relapse of SVC syndrome. The high cost of the intervention performance is a disadvantage, but it is still a fraction of sum expended for the total treatment cost of patients with the malignant disease. The surgical treatment is an alternative for the cases of failure of conservative and intervention therapy or for patients with benign causes of the superior vena cava obstruction. Abbreviations aPTT – Activated Partial Tromboplastin Time CT – computer tomography SVC – superior vena cava NHL – non-Hodgkin lymphoma rt-PA – recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator LITERATURE 1. Hunter, W.: The history of an aneurysm of the aorta with some remarks on aneurysms in general. Med. Obs. Inq (Lond), 1757, 1, pp. 323-357. 2. Skinner, D. B., Alzman, E. W., Scannell, J. G.: The challenge of superior vena caval obstruction. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 1965, 49, pp. 8244-8253. 3. Standford, W., Doty, D. B.: The role of venography and surgery in the managment of patients with superior vena cava obstruction. Ann. Thorac. Surg., 1986, 41, pp. 158-163. 4. Mcintire, F., Sykes, E. M. Jr.: Obstruction of the superior vena cava: A review of the literature and report of two personal cases. Ann. Intern. Med., 1949, 30, pp. 925-960. 5. D' Louge, G., Rigsby, L.: Evaluating the superior vena cava syndrome. J. Am. Med. Assoc., 1981, 245, pp. 951-953. 6. Parish, J. M., Marschke, R. F. Jr., Dines, D. E. et al.: Etiologic consideration in superior vena cava syndrome. Mayo Clin. Proc., 1981, 56, pp. 407-413. 7. Nieto, A. F., Doty, D. B.: Superior vena cava obstruction: Clinical syndrome, etiology, and treatment. Curr. Probl. Cancer, 1986, 10, pp. 441484. 8. Gray, B. H., Olin, J. W., Graor, R. A. et al.: Safety and efficacy of thrombolytic therapy for superior vena cava syndrome. Chest, 1991, 99, pp. 54-59. 9. Bhimji, S.: Superior vena cava syndrome. Hospitál Physician, 1999, 1, pp. 42-63. 10. Baker, G., Barnes, H.: Superior vena cava syndrome: etiology, diagnosis and treatment. Am. J. Crit. Care, 1992, 1, pp. 54-61. 11. Kalra, M., Gloviczki, P., Andrews, J. C. et al.: Open surgical and endovascular treatment of superior vena cava syndrome caused by nonmalignant disease. J. Vasc. Surg., 2003, 38, pp. 215-223. 12. LagunaDel Estal, P., Gazapo Navarro, T., Murillas Angoitti, J. et al.: Superior vena cava syndrome: A study based on 81 cases. Ann. Med. Interna, 1998, 15, pp. 470-475. 13. Escalance, C. P.: Causes and managment of superior vena cava syndrome. Oncology, 1993, 7, pp. 61-68. 14. Armstrong, B. A., Perez, C. A., Simpson, J. R. et al.: Role of irradiation in the managment of superior vena cava syndrome. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 1987, 13, pp. 531-539. 15. Davenport, D., Ferree, C., Blake, D. et al.: Response of superior vena cava syndrome to radiation therapy. Cancer, 1976, 38, pp.1577-1580. 16. Ghosh, B. C., Cliffton, E. E.: Malignant tumors with superior vena cava obstruction. NY State J. Med., 1973, pp. 283-289. 17. Urban, T., Lebedu, B., Chastang, C. et al.: Superior vena cava syndrome in small-cell lung karcer. Arch. Intern. Med., 1993, 153, pp. 384387. 18. Wurschmidt, F., Bunemann, H., Heilmann, H. P.: Small cell lung cancor with and withaut superior vena cava syndrome: a multi-variate analys of prognostic factor in 408 cencases. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 1995, 33, pp. 77-82. 19. Rowll, N. P., Gleeson, F. V.: Steroids, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and stents for superior vena caval obstruction in carcinoma of the bronchus: a systematic review. Clin. Oncol., 2002, 14, pp. 338-351. 20. Nicholson, A. A., Ettles, D. F., Arnold, A. et al.: Treatment of malignant vena cava obstructio: metal stents or radiation therapy. J. Vasc. Interv. Radiol., 1997, 8, pp. 781-788. 21. Doty, J. R., Flores, J. H., Doty, D. B.: Superior vena cava obstruction: bypass using spiral vein graft. Ann. Thorac. Surg., 1999, 67, pp. 11111116. 22. Doty, D. B., Doty, J. R., Jones, K. W.: Bypass of superior vena cava. Fifteen years' experience with spiral vein graft for obstruction of superior vena cava caused by benign disease. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 1990, 99, pp. 889-895. 23. Doty, D. B.: Bypass of superior vena cava: Six years' experience with spiral vein graft for obstruction of superior vena cava due to benign and malignant disease. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 1983, 1, pp. 326-338. 24. Yellin, A., Rosen, A., Reichert, N., Lieberman, Y.: Superior vena cava syndrome: The myth-the facts. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis., 1990, 141, pp. 1114-1118. 25. Charnsangajev, C., Carrasco, C., Wallace, S. et al.: Stenosis of the vena cava: preliminary assessment of treatment with expande metalic stents. Radiology, 1986, 161, pp. 295-298. 26. Kee, S. T., Kinoshita, L., Razavi, M. K. et al.: Superior vena cava syndrome: treatment with catheter-directed thrombolysis and endovascular stent placement. Radiology, 1998, 206, pp. 187-193. 27. Dyet, J. F., Nicholson, A. A., Cook, A. M.: The use of the Wallstent endovascular prosthesis in the treatment of malignant obstruction of the superior vena cava. Clin. Radiol., 1993, 48, pp. 381-385. 28. Thony, F., Moro, D., Witmeyer, P. et al.: Endovasular treatment of superior vena cava obstruction in patients with malignancies. Eur. Radiol., 1999, 9, pp. 965-971. 29. Wilson, E., Lyn, E., Lynn, A. et al.: Radiological stenting provides effective palliation in malignant central venous obstruction. Clin. Oncol., 2002, 14, pp. 228-232. 30. Zhang, F., Wu, P., Huang, J.: Treatment of superior vena cava syndrome in cancer patients with intravascular stent and local thrombolysis. Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi, 2000, 22, pp. 507-509. 31. GMathias, K., Jager, H., Willaschek, J. et al.: Interventional radiology in central venous obstructions. Dilatation, stent implantation, thrombolysis. Radiologie, 1998, 38, pp. 606-613.
Manitoba STANDARD PROCEDURE INSTRUCTION \| Title \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| \| \| SPI \| \| The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System \| \| \| \| (WHMIS) Program \| \| # 36-8 \| \| Department \| Supersedes SPI \| Effective Date \| \| \| Dated \| \| \| Environmental, Health and Safety \| March 20, 1986 \| Nov. 1998 \| 1. PURPOSE 1.1 To prevent potential hazards to employee health and safety, company property and equipment, and the environment by developing procedures and programs to facilitate the safe use and handling of controlled products which are purchased, produced or emitted in the workplace. 1.2 To meet or exceed all regulatory requirements related to controlled products in the workplace as set forth in the Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act (W210) and Regulations 52/88 and 53/88 as well as related federal legislation under the Hazardous Products Act. 2. SCOPE 2.1 Develop procedures and programs to facilitate the safe use of materials purchased or used in the workplace which may be potentially hazardous to employee health and safety, company property and equipment, or the environment. Obtain current Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's) from the manufacturer or supplier. Information obtained will include general information on the chemical and physical properties of the material as well as information on normal procedures (storage, handling, use, disposal), hazard ratings (health, fire and explosion, combustion products, reactivity) and emergency procedures (leak or spill, fire, first aid). 2.2 Develop procedures and programs to facilitate the safe use of produced or emitted materials in the workplace which may be potentially hazardous to employee health and safety, company property and equipment, or the environment. Produce and keep current MSDS's on materials as required. Information obtained will include general information on the chemical and physical properties of the material as well as information on normal procedures (storage, handling, use, disposal), hazard ratings (health, fire and explosion, combustion products, reactivity) and emergency procedures (leak or spill, fire, first aid). 2.3 Establish an inventory of all controlled products in the workplace including information on where the product is used and the quantity of material that may be on the plant site. 2.4 Ensure labeling requirements, as outlined in the legislation, are met for ALL controlled products. 2.5 Ensure that MSDS information is accessible and available to all employees in the workplace. Computer access or hard copies may be used as deemed necessary by the department Safety, Health and Environment committees. 2.6 Develop an educational program to ensure that all employees are aware of the potential health hazards associated with controlled products and the correct procedures for the safe handling, use and disposal of controlled products in the workplace according to WHMIS legislation. Training will also review how to access MSDS information. 3. DEFINITION OF A HAZARDOUS MATERIAL 3.1 A hazardous material is broadly defined as any substance which may cause damage or injury to personnel, equipment, or the environment. 3.2 A controlled product is any product, material or substance, including mixtures, which, by application of criteria in Part IV of the Controlled Products Regulations, is included in any of the following six classes: A. Compressed Gas B. Flammable and Combustible Material Division 1 Flammable Gases Division 2 Flammable Liquids Division 3 Combustible Liquids Division 4 Flammable Solids Division 5 Flammable Aerosols Division 6 Reactive Flammable Materials C. Oxidizing Material D. Poisonous and Infectious Material Division 1 Material Causing Immediate and Serious Toxic Effects Division 2 Materials Causing Other Toxic Effects Division 3 Biohazardous Infectious Material E. Corrosive Material F. Dangerously Reactive Material 4. PROCEDURES 4.1 Purchased Products The following procedure must be carried out for materials not previously purchased or used within a department including all tests materials. 4.1.1 The user will check the on-line hazardous materials register and department inventory files for information on the controlled product. 4.1.2 If the material is listed in both files and an MSDS is available on the system, the user may issue a requisition for purchase or, if the item is available from local suppliers with 3-part accounts, the user may issue a 3-part material release in order to obtain the required item. 4.1.3 If the material is not listed, the user department will contact Environmental Control to identify the status of the material. If the material has not been reviewed by the WHMIS Program, a purchase requisition will be issued to Purchasing. A Hazardous Material Product Information Sheet will also be completed and sent to purchasing for evaluation and inclusion in the database if required. Purchasing will obtain a Material Safety Data Sheet from the supplier. 4.1.4 Purchasing will forward the completed Product information sheet and MSDS to Environmental Control referenced with the purchase requisition number. 4.1.5 Environmental Control will evaluate the information and will return a copy of the completed Product Information Sheet to Purchasing with their decision. A copy of the MSDS and product information sheet will also be distributed to the requisitioner's departmental Safety and Health Committee cochairpersons. 4.1.6 When a material has been found to be unsuitable for purchase, the Product Information Sheet will stipulate the reasons for the decision. 4.1.7 Samples being carried onto VALE Limited's property are subject to the same evaluation by Environmental Control as outlined in sections 4.1.1 to 4.1.6 including the purchase order requirement, and must be accompanied by a letter from the supplier stating that the sample may be returned via collect freight to the supplier for disposal should the product prove to be unsatisfactory. 4.2 Produced or Emitted Products 4.2.1 MSDS's will be written and kept current for all produced or emitted products, including wastes, which have been identified in the plant inventories and meet the classification criteria of a controlled product. 4.3 Inventories 4.3.1 On an annual basis, controlled products inventories will be conducted in each plant as arranged by the Safety, Health and Environment committee for each individual area. 4.3.2 The information will be written and will include information on the specific workplace, product identifiers, location of MSDS's, the maximum quantity likely to be present at any one time, the date of completion of the inventory and the names of the persons completing the inventory. 4.3.3 The inventory will be posted in each plant and presented to the Safety, Health and Environment committee. 4.4 Labeling 4.4.1 Warehouse personnel are to ensure that all containers received at the warehouse have appropriate labels. 4.4.2 If a label becomes illegible or is accidentally removed, the label will be replaced with a workplace label. 4.4.3 If controlled products are received in a multi-container shipment where individual containers are not labeled, labels shall be obtained by the receiver and applied by the end user. If the product is for immediate use at the site of the shipment, placarding is acceptable. 4.4.4 Labels shall also be produced for all controlled products produced in the workplace. 4.4.5 Users shall ensure that all decanted products meet regulatory labeling requirements. 4.4.6 Any mode of color coding, labels, placards or any other means of identification combined with worker education can be used for controlled products in a) pipes b) piping systems c) process vessels d) reaction vessels e) tank car/truck, ore car, conveyor, belt or similar conveyance Color coding for piping systems shall comply with the VALE Engineering Standard 3502-1.1.130. 4.5 MSDS Access 4.5.1 MSDS's will be made readily available at the workplace to the workers. 4.5.2 MSDS's will also be made readily available to the S, H & E committees. 4.5.3 MSDS's may be made available through the use of a computer terminal or hard copies. 4.5.4 Employees must be trained on the method of accessing the MSDS's. 4.6 Training 4.6.1 An annual review of the WHMIS program will be provided to all employees. 4.6.2 Information in the training modules will be updated to reflect changes. Modules will be department specific. 4.6.3 The review will address the following topics: a) Labels b) Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) c) Accessing the MSDS's d) Fugitive Emissions and Hazardous Wastes 4.6.4 The review training will be instructed by a qualified WHMIS trainer. 4.6.5 New employees will be given the complete WHMIS training session as soon as possible, preferably with their orientation training. 4.6.6 Training records will be kept to ensure all employees are receiving the WHMIS reviews. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES - Environment, Health & Safety The Manager of Environment, Health & Safety or his/her designate shall be responsible for the administration of the WHMIS program. The program will be reviewed annually by the administrator in consultation with the joint safety, health and environment committees. Environmental Control - work jointly with the trainers to assemble the modules - assist the trainers in making the modules area specific - provide the training to qualify the trainers - maintain a hard copy inventory of all MSDS's - write MSDS's on all controlled products which are produced or emitted in VALE processes, including wastes, as identified by the plant inventories. - review the VALE written MSDS's at a minimum of every three years to maintain current MSDS's - provide assistance as required to the departments in collecting the appropriate information for the controlled products inventory Safety - schedule training and review sessions for each department - ensure training modules are available for the trainers - Department Heads The Manager of each department or his/her designate shall be responsible for the administration and implementation of the WHMIS program in his/her area. Safety, Health & Environment Committees - select trainers with preference given to bargaining unit members - ensure that arrangements are made to have trainers away from their workplaces for the purpose of training - ensure that training is complete for new hires - ensure that reviews are completed as scheduled - ensure training data is entered into the EQUAL program - arrange for personnel to conduct the annual controlled products inventory to maintain a current listing of all purchase and produced controlled products in the workplace - audit the WHMIS program on an annual basis to ensure that the program objectives are being met for the department - ensure that MSDS's are readily available to employees in the workplace Trainers - ensure that information is updated in the modules - ensure that all questions coming up at the training sessions are answered - work jointly with the safety supervisor to set up the training and review sessions - ensure all required records are collected from the training sessions - work jointly with environmental control to make the presentations area specific - Purchasing - ensure information is obtained from suppliers for all potentially hazardous materials appearing in the warehouse stock assortment as well as non-stock items obtained on D.C. purchase order requisitions. - Ensure all incoming Hazardous Material Product Information Sheets are forwarded to Environmental Control for evaluation. - Ensure all recommendations for storage and handling materials under their control are followed. - Ensure all containers of hazardous materials in the warehouse are properly labeled. - Engineering and Technical Services - ensure contractors follow the SPI. APPROVED _________________________________ General Manager, Manitoba Operations) DATE ______________________________________
A PARTNERSHIP FUND FOR JOBS How Government can help small business cope with the crisis Nigel Mason Sponsored by Foreword The pandemic has presented UK business with an unprecedented threat. Without extraordinary and continuing measures thousands of companies may go to the wall, taking an incalculable number of jobs with them. The Government, and specifically the Treasury, have been impressively innovative and radical in their financial support to limit the damage to the economy and individuals. This paper presents an immediately actionable plan for one part of that strategy. The plan is innovative, but pragmatic. It builds on Government schemes that are already there; it requires no new institutions, no new legislation and it harnesses a movement already powering over £30 billion worth of turnover in the economy – namely employee ownership. The positive reaction of business to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Future Fund – just two of the new schemes – shows how necessary they have been. For understandable reasons, given the speed with which they had to be devised and their cost, almost all the Government's emergency schemes are short term. The challenge now is to sow the seeds of a strong and lasting economic recovery. With small and medium sized firms [SMEs] accounting for nearly 17 million jobs and three fifths of employment, not to mention around half of UK income, this sector has to be at the centre of any recovery strategy, including the regions where SMEs dominate. By combining companies' need for new investment with the strength of employee investment, the proposed new Partnership Fund addresses economic priorities to reduce inequality, build resilience and lift productivity – all proven features of UK employee owned business. The Employee Ownership Association, the voice of that rapidly growing sector, welcomes the ingenious ideas set out in this paper. If harnessed by Government, a Partnership Fund offers the possibility of an ownership dividend to an SME sector in desperate need of a recovery path. Deb Oxley OBE Chief Executive, Employee Ownership Association We're drawing down a £3 million CBIL loan from NatWest on Friday. It was quite shocking to hear from them how many applications they've had to reject – quite heartbreaking really. That leaves a huge gap which this scheme could plug. Contents 02 FOREWORD 05 INTRODUCTION 05 INITIAL RESPONSES 06 THE FUTURE FUND 07 PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP FUND 08 POSSIBLE OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES 09 SUMMARY OF BENEFITS 09 CONCLUSION 03 Ownership at Work Ownership at Work's mission is to generate new thinking and ideas on employee ownership's contribution to the UK economy. An independent think tank, Ownership at Work publishes policy papers, guidance and research on the fastest growing business model in the UK economy. Holding charitable status, Ownership at Work is a politically impartial research partner of the Employee Ownership Association, the national body which speaks for the UK's £30 billion employee ownership sector. Ownership at Work wishes to acknowledge the support of RM2 in the authorship and publication of this paper. There's also the unseen and intangible benefit in terms of culture and additional drive and effort, which will be the catalyst to make that investment work that bit harder. Nigel Mason Nigel Mason is a senior associate at RM2, having previously been owner and managing director. A mathematician by training, his early career was in banking. He became interested in employee ownership following a study tour of employee owned companies in the USA. Inspired by their success, Nigel started a number of businesses in the UK to advise and support new employee owned businesses. He advised the government on the introduction of the Share Incentive Plan and EMI share option scheme in 2000, and in 2014 advised the Coalition government on the introduction of the employee ownership trust, one of the fastest growing succession solutions for private companies in the UK. RM2 RM2 is a 25 year old consulting business specialising in employee share schemes and employee ownership trusts for private companies. The multi-disciplinary team of lawyers, accountants, tax specialists and administrators helps clients design, install, finance and operate their employee ownership plans to maximum effect. As well as advising clients, RM2 staff do extensive pro bono work in the employee ownership sector, contributing their know-how through publications, blogs, policy papers, webinars and statistical analyses. RM2 became wholly owned by its employees in 2019. INTRODUCTION The speed, breadth and scale of the government's financial assistance for businesses in this pandemic – from the furlough scheme to the state-guaranteed business interruption loans – are extraordinary. Already, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been saved. Yet UK unemployment claims still increased by 850,000 in April 2020 – a record number for a single month - to a total of 2.1 million 1 and forecasters are predicting the worst is still to come. And there are fears that the crisis will exacerbate existing regional inequalities, which this government has committed to reduce. The furlough scheme in particular has provided support to 8.4 million employees, 30% of the national workforce. Presently, the government pays 80% of an employee's wage up to £2,500 per month with no requirement yet for the employer to make up the balance or to make any commitment to saving the job when furlough ends. The scheme is very expensive, estimated to cost the government £80 billion 2 , more than half the government's entire programme of pandemic spending. So the furlough scheme will be tapered down from 1 August, when employers will start to have to share the cost burden 3 , and will end completely on 31 October, unless extended by the Chancellor. This is a time of maximum threat to jobs. A second threat will emerge in March 2021. By then, businesses may still not have returned to their pre-pandemic levels of trading activity but will be faced with the triple whammy of interest starting to be payable on government-backed loans, deferred VAT payments falling due and the business rates holiday ending. As part of the research for this paper the author tested the Partnership Fund concept with a focus group of leaders and owners of SME businesses. The quotes that appear throughout this paper are remarks made by participants in the focus group. 2 https://obr.uk/coronavirus-analysis/ INITIAL RESPONSES In response to the imminent ending of furlough, there have been calls for schemes that would allow willing employees to offer wage concessions in return for equity in their employer 4 , in lieu of what would otherwise be a mandatory company contribution towards the employee's pay. In SMEs, the wage concessions would more likely be negotiated on a case-by-case basis with individual employees than through acrossthe-board collective agreements, as few SMEs are unionised and some employees have greater capacity to accept lower incomes than others. Of course, such arrangements are already possible and immediately actionable using schemes like Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share options, so why aren't they happening already? There is the thorny issue of how to value the equity of a small private company in the middle of a pandemic. A bigger reason probably is that these concessions-for-equity ideas ignore the harsh reality that high unemployment and few new jobs mean that most employers can extract concessions unilaterally without having to give up scarce equity, as many employees are desperate to keep their jobs. Sadly, wages-for-equity on a large scale is wishful thinking without additional incentives for companies. Whatever ideas are proposed, speed is of the essence and there is little time to invent a brand new scheme. We must work with the tools we have. We also need to address incentives and think of safeguards: * Why would an employer give up scarce equity when they can probably get concessions from employees already or make redundancies? * Will wage concessions alone yield enough value to be worthwhile for businesses? * What would protect desperate employees from exploitation or selfexploitation in these circumstances? * How can the power of employee ownership, through greater engagement, involvement and participation, be unlocked and given the greatest chance to succeed? * How can you value equity in a private company in the middle of a pandemic in a way that is fair and transparent and avoids gaming? We need to look for existing government schemes that can be adapted very quickly if we are to mitigate the imminent risk of the tapering down of furlough, which is less than two months away. 1 Source: ONS 3 Employers will have to pay NICs and pension contributions of furloughed employees from 1 August plus 10% of furloughed employees' pay from 1 September, increasing to 20% from 1 October. 4 It's time for an employee ownership revolution to aid recovery from Covid-19", The Times, 16 May 2020. 05 THE FUTURE FUND From 20 May to 30 September 2020, private companies can apply for a co-investment from the government's new "Future Fund", administered by the British Business Bank, on the following terms: 1. Eligibility: unlisted private companies which have the majority of their employees or the majority of their sales in the UK and which have previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third parties in the last five years. 2. The government will match pound for pound (from £125,000 up to £5 million) the amount raised from external investors. The government has set aside £250 million for this purpose and will increase that amount if there is demand. 3. To comply with the Financial Conduct Authority rulebook on investing in private companies, external investors must be "professional" investors. 4. Funding must not be used to (a) repay any shareholder loans; (b) pay any dividends; (c) pay any bonuses; or (d) pay any advisory fees. 5. The investment from both the Future Fund and the external investors must be in the form of convertible loans, bearing interest at 8% per annum but accrued rather than payable as cash interest. The terms of the investment agreement have been published 5 and are non-negotiable, ensuring rapid "take it or leave it" deployment. A solicitor must be involved but otherwise the process is entirely self-service and funds can be accessed within days. 6. Crucially, the vexed question of equity valuation is cleverly avoided by stipulating that the loans convert into equity at a 20% discount to whatever equity value is imputed by a future fundraising or exit event. Unlike the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back loans, the Future Fund is aimed at investmentworthy companies of the kind that need equity investment rather than debt. As a result, the government hopes the scheme will eventually be self-financing. The terms are certainly not soft. The one team approach is critical. You're taking employees into an unfamiliar world. PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP FUND The following small adaptations to the Future Fund would turn it into a robust framework for implementing a wage-for-equity scheme on a large scale – what we have termed a Partnership Fund: 1. The eligibility criteria would be unchanged, except the requirement for the company having received prior equity investment should be dropped. Although this might imply a weakening of investment standards, it is worth noting that the furlough scheme is entirely unconditional and it is the winding down of this scheme that our Partnership Fund is designed to address. 2. The same matching principle will apply but instead of the matched funds coming from external investors they will come from employee concessions with the same de minimis of £125,000 per company. These concessions could be negotiated individually or collectively, though higher earning employees are more likely to be able to participate. The concessions can be easily valued and validated in the same way that the government is validating pre-pandemic wage levels through the HMRC-administered furlough scheme. For example, an employee previously earning an annual salary of £35,000 might agree to a 20% pay cut for 12 months, valued at £7,000 excluding employer on-costs. 4. The same restrictions on the use of the funds in the Future Fund would apply in the Partnership Fund. 5. The same convertible loan financial instrument for investment in the company would apply. Because participating SMEs may not previously have raised external finance or be planning a conventional exit route, some tweaks may be necessary to the default conversion price 6 and the permitted realisation event 7 . The proceeds of the sale of equity would be distributed by the trustees to beneficiaries pro rata to the original value of employees' concessions 8 . 6. Because this scheme involves employees accepting a higher degree of personal risk than the investment risk taken by professional investors, who manage well diversified portfolios, there is a case for the discount at which the EBT loan converts into equity being deeper than the 20% that applies to the Partnership Fund loan, and/or the accrued interest on the EBT loan being greater more than 8% per annum. There are a few related changes that would be necessary to make the scheme work smoothly. 3. In lieu of the external investor, the wage concessions would be overseen by the trustees of a newly created Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) which would include at least one independent professional person. The trustees would act as the legal counterparty in the co-investment agreement with the company and the Partnership Fund. Because trustees must act in the best interests of the employee beneficiaries, they must be satisfied that the concessions have been agreed fairly and without undue pressure. The EBT cannot be an all-employee Employee Ownership Trust because it is unlikely that all employees will be able to offer concessions on the same terms. The wage concession agreement between the employee, the trustees and the employer could be in a similar form to a SIP 9 partnership share agreement, in which employees agree to a wage deduction to buy shares in the company. The anti-avoidance "disguised remuneration" rules, which levy an immediate charge to income tax on any benefits earmarked by an EBT trustee to a beneficiary, would need to be carefully navigated. And, presently, income tax is payable when a wage is due, whether or not it is actually paid, so the wage concession would need to be carefully structured. 5 https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Convertible-Loan-Agreement-FINAL-VERSION-17.5.20.pdf 7 A realisation event might need to include an engineered exit such as a repurchase of shares or a sale to an EOT. 6 The loans are guaranteed to convert into equity after three years or, as a strong incentive for the company to facilitate conversion, be repaid with an expensive redemption premium of 100%. If there has not been a fund-raising in the last three years from which to impute an equity value, the default value used in the Future Fund is that of the last fund-raising round. Because we are proposing to drop from the eligibility criteria the requirement for the company to have previously raised external investment, we will need a different default value for the Partnership Fund, such as NAV per share on the last accounting date before the drawdown date. 8 This would most likely be subject to income tax and NICs, so there is no tax advantage to this scheme. 9 We did consider whether it might be possible to adapt the Share Incentive Plan for the Partnership Fund but we concluded that it would involve too big a departure from the current all-employee share-based SIP template. Nevertheless, it could be kept open as a reserve idea. 07 POSSIBLE OBJECTIONS AND RESPONSES Perhaps the principal objection to the proposed Partnership Fund is the broadening of its scope to cover all private companies whether or not they have previously proven their investment worthiness. Could the government be throwing good money after bad, and could employees be making needless sacrifices to stay employed for a few months longer in a business that is destined to fail? These are fair challenges. The de minimis threshold ensures the scheme can only be used by businesses of a certain scale, and there is strong evidence that businesses with broad-based employee ownership are resilient, flexible and resourceful 10 . Consider the alternatives: large scale and prolonged unemployment and thousands of businesses going to the wall. Another objection is the risk of exploitation of vulnerable employees. The introduction of an independent group – the EBT trustees – should ensure a degree of scrutiny and impartiality to eliminate nefarious cases. If the worst comes to the worst and a business does fall into administration, the EBT trustees will at least have a seat at the table to ensure the fairest possible outcome for their beneficiaries. Comparisons with the short-lived "shares for rights" introduced by Chancellor George Osborne in 2012, which offered tax-free shares to employees who waived certain employment rights, are inevitable but misplaced. Whereas that scheme was used mainly by highly paid employees in private equity backed companies as a tax avoidance scheme, the Partnership Fund involves no tax saving opportunity. Furthermore, to avoid this being an executive-only investment scheme, there could be a minimum participation threshold of 25% of non-director employees 11 to ensure a more inclusive outcome. Finally, because higher paid employees are more likely to be able to afford to participate, there is a risk of creating division within companies between "contributors" and "non-contributors". However, this is not a phenomenon reported by the thousands of larger companies who operate contributory employee share schemes such as SIP and SAYE 12 . What seems to matter most is offering the opportunity of participation to all. And lower paid employees who might not be able to afford a pay cut could possibly be allowed to offer non-monetary concessions such as unpaid overtime or reduced holiday allowance, provided these can be verifiably valued. We need to differentiate this clearly from the 'shares for rights' scheme, which was more likely to be used as an executive incentive than as an across-the-board scheme. SUMMARY OF BENEFITS The benefits of this arrangement are: * New money is introduced into the company from the Partnership Fund in the form of subordinated convertible debt that ranks behind all secured debt, strengthening the company's balance sheet. * Company cashflow is further improved by the wage concessions offered by employees. * The use of an EBT ensures fair play and eases the administration; employee equity is pooled. * Employees who can afford to accept a reduced income for a finite period save their jobs, the jobs of others and potentially the whole company in return for a potential equity return. * The financial interests of the EBT trustees and the government are aligned because both want to see the value of the business increased. Rather than the British Business Bank holding hundreds of minority equity stakes in disparate SMEs, responsibility for those stakes is effectively delegated to those with the best knowledge and the strongest incentive to make the arrangements succeed: the EBT trustees. CONCLUSION In proposing the Partnership Fund as a way of mitigating the likely brutal effect on jobs of the imminent tapering down of the furlough scheme and the expiry of other subsidies, we have focused on a plan which we believe is targeted and actionable and which makes maximum use of the government's existing schemes so that it can be implemented quickly. It includes incentives for companies, a degree of protection for employees and a potential return to government if businesses survive, both through the returns on the government's investment and the avoidance of enormous social welfare costs from unemployment. Fundamentally, our Partnership Fund addresses the basic human need for greater security of employment and a fairer share of wealth. The whole idea and the principle is great. The hassle factor – time and opportunity cost – is eye off the ball from running the business, so the more material the benefits can be, the better. 09 Acknowledgements: The author would like thank RM2 for supporting this project, the Employee Ownership Association, who facilitated a focus group of SME business owners to test the idea, Ownership at Work, whose trustees reviewed the draft paper, and Tapestry Compliance Ltd for their technical review of the legal, trust and tax issues. Sponsored by
MINUTES Regular Meeting Reno City Council Wednesday, July 16, 2014 ● 12:00 PM Reno City Council Chamber, One East First Street, Reno, NV 89501 Robert A. Cashell, Sr., Mayor Council Members: Ward 1 – Jenny Brekhus Ward 4 – Dwight Dortch A Introductory Items A.1 Pledge of Allegiance A.2 Observance of a Moment of Silence A.3 Roll Call \| \| Attendee Name \| \| Title \| \| Status \| Arrived \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Robert Cashell \| \| Mayor \| \| Present \| \| \| \| Jenny Brekhus \| \| Council Member \| \| Present \| \| \| \| Sharon Zadra \| \| Council Member \| \| Present \| \| \| \| Oscar Delgado \| \| Council Member \| \| Present \| \| \| \| Dwight Dortch \| \| Vice Mayor \| \| Present \| \| \| \| Neoma Jardon \| \| Council Member \| \| Present \| \| \| \| Hillary Schieve \| \| Council Member \| \| Present \| \| \| The meeting was called to order at 12:22 PM. A.4 Public Comment Andrew Diss, 1240 Mark Twain Avenue, Member of the Reno City Charter Committee, said that the today's decisions with respect to items J.1 (outside legal agreement with Fisher and Phillips) and J.4 (Marquis Aurbach Coffing) hinge on interpretations of NRS 41.0344. Nowhere in the statute does it mention the number of votes needed for approval to hire outside counsel. Nowhere in NRS does it say majority vote. The current Reno City Charter specifies that, in order to hire outside counsel, a 6/7 vote is required, and in the absence in NRS of the specific number of votes needed, the Courts would look to the Charter for clarification. Hiring outside counsel, he said, should be done in extraordinary circumstances, or when there is a conflict of interest. Douglas Ouellette, 545 Harbin Lane, representing Truckee River Fly Fisher, Trout Unlimited and Calvada Fly Fishing, discussed the need for enforcement of City Code with respect to alcohol and littering on the Truckee River. Richard Bartholet, 2670 Burr Court, representing the Regional Alliance for Downtown, presented an update on recent downtown activities. Lori Wray, 2802 Outlook Drive, representing Scenic Nevada, discussed her support for Item L.8 (amending RMC 18.08.502 regarding administrator authority to approve nonconformities). Mark Markel, 48 Park Street, discussed the dangers of drinking and driving. COUNCIL MEMBER SCHIEVE ABSENT AT 12:45 P.M. Jeff Church, email@example.com, discussed public safety (police and fire) benefits and bargaining issues. COUNCIL MEMBER SCHIEVE PRESENT AT 12:48 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBER DELGADO ABSENT AT 12:48 P.M. Sam Dehne, Reno resident, discussed several issues. A.5 City Manager Announcements (Item for general announcements and informational items only. No deliberation or action will be taken on this item.) City Manager Clinger made several announcements. A.6 Approval of the Agenda (For Possible Action) - July 16, 2014. The agenda was approved with Item F.1 withdrawn and Items L.6 and L.7 to be heard after the Consent Agenda. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Oscar Delgado A.7 Approval of Minutes (For Possible Action) - June 20, 2014 Special Reno City Council Meeting and June 25, 2014 Reno City Council Regular Meeting. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Jenny Brekhus, Council Member SECONDER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Oscar Delgado A.7.1 City Council - Special - Jun 20, 2014 2:30 PM A.7.2 City Council - Regular - Jun 25, 2014 12:00 PM B Cash Disbursements B.1 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Acceptance of Cash Disbursements Reports for June 15, 2014 through June 28, 2014. 12:50 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends to accept the attached Cash Disbursements reports. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member SECONDER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Oscar Delgado C Proclamations - None. D Presentations: D.1 Economic Development Update - Alison Prentice, CEO, Creo Mundi International, Inc. 12:51 PM COUNCIL MEMBER DELGADO PRESENT AT 12:51 P.M. Alison Prentice, Chief Executive Officer, Creo Mundi International, Inc., presented the update. E Consent Agenda Sam Dehne, Reno resident, presented his views on several issues. Items E.1 through E.9 were approved with Items E.1.a.1, E.1.a.2 and E.3 pulled for discussion. E.1 Approval of Privileged Business Licenses E.1.a New - Alcohol 1. Winners Crossing, Robert A. Cashell, Jr, 7695 South Virginia Street Packaged Liquor (For Possible Action) [Ward 2] Mayor Cashell made the following disclosure: At this time I need to disclose that my son is the applicant for a privileged license for the Winners Crossing. Since my vote on this item may be construed as providing a benefit to my son, I believe it is in the best interest of the public that I do not participate in any manner on the item. This abstention is being made in consultation with the City Attorney's Office, who has advised me to make these statements for the record. COUNCIL MEMBER DORTCH PRESIDED AFTER MAYOR CASHELL MADE THE DISCLOSURE AND ABSTAINED FROM VOTING ON THIS ITEM. The Council upheld the staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [6 TO 0] MOVER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member SECONDER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSTAIN: Robert Cashell 2. Pignic Pub & Patio, Trevor J. Leppek, 235 Flint Street - Bar (For Possible Action) [Ward 5] Council Members Jardon and Brekhus and Trevor J. Leppek, representing Pignic Pub & Patio, discussed details of the pub's operations. The Council upheld the staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member SECONDER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.1.b New - Gaming 1. Lucky Beaver Bar & Burger, Patrick Glen Farrah, 3655 South Virginia Street - Slots (For Possible Action) [Ward 2] 2. William Hill Race & Sports Book, Joseph Asher, 241 North Virginia Street - Sports Pool and Racehorse Service (For Possible Action) [Ward 5] RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.1.c New - Privileged 1. BVW Jewelers, LLC, Britten Wolf, 35 Foothill Road, Suite 3 Secondhand Merchandise (For Possible Action) [Ward 2] RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.1.d Supplemental - Alcohol 1. Vin Sauvage, LLC, Alan Sauvage, 8543 White Fir Street - Liquor Distributor (For Possible Action) [Ward 1] 2. Death & Taxes, Sadie Bonnette, 26 Cheney Street - Bar and Packaged Liquor (For Possible Action) [Ward 3] E.2 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Approval of First Amendment of Lease Agreement with Bighorn Iron Works, Inc., for the use of certain premises located at 307 Morrill Avenue commonly known as APN 008-252-16; and Approval of Assignment and Assumption of Lease between Bighorn Iron Works, Inc. and Vertical Iron Works, Inc. 12:58 PM RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve Recommendation: Staff recommends Council approve the First Amendment of Lease Agreement with Bighorn Iron Works, Inc. and the Assignment and Assumption of Lease between Bighorn Iron Works, Inc. and Vertical Iron Works, Inc. and authorize the Mayor to sign. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.3 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Approval of Wireless Lease Agreement with New Cingular Wireless PCS, dba AT&T, for a portion of APN 224-120-02, located on open space in the vicinity of McCarran and Skyline Boulevards for a cell communication tower. 1:06 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council approve the Wireless Lease Agreement and authorize the Mayor to sign. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. Council Member Brekhus and Lori Miles, Public Works Property Program Technician, discussed details of the proposed lease agreement. Council Member Brekhus and John Flansberg, Public Works Director, discussed property appraisal issues. The Council upheld the staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Jenny Brekhus, Council Member SECONDER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.4 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Award of Contract to Spanish Springs Construction for the base bid for reconstruction of the asphalt pathway at Schiappacasse Park in an amount not to exceed $308,444 (Reimbursement from State Q-1 Park Bond Funds, thru Washoe County). 12:58 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council approval of the award of contract to Spanish Springs Construction in an amount not to exceed $308,444 for the base bid and authorize the Mayor to sign. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.5 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Approval of Agreement with Worth Group Architects (WGA) for conceptual design services of the National Bowling Stadium's fourth floor, in an amount of $45,000 ($2 Capital Projects Room Tax Surcharge). 12:58 PM Recommendation: The City Council's Capital Projects Surcharge Advisory Subcommittee recommends Council approval of the agreement with WGA in an amount $45,000 for conceptual design of the NBS fourth floor and authorize the Mayor to sign. Proposed Motion: I move to approve The City Council's Capital Projects Surcharge Advisory Subcommittee recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.6 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Acceptance of Grant Award from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Assistance to the City of Reno Police Department for narcotics prevention and enforcement in the amount of $35,000; and authorization for Police Chief and/or City Manager to sign the necessary documents. 12:58 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council acceptance of grant award to the City of Reno Police Department from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Assistance for narcotics prevention and enforcement in the amount of $35,000 and authorization for police chief and/or city manager to sign necessary documents. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.7 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Acceptance of Grant Award from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Assistance to the City of Reno Police Department for the multi-jurisdictional gang task force in the amount of $50,000; and authorization for Police Chief and/or City Manager to sign the necessary documents. 12:58 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council acceptance of a grant award to the City of Reno Police Department from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Assistance for the multi-jurisdictional gang task force in the amount of $50,000 and authorization for Police Chief and/or City Manager to sign the necessary documents. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.8 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Approval of request from the Regional Street Naming Committee for a street name change from Kentucky Oaks Parkway to Regency Park Drive, beginning at its intersection with Steamboat Parkway and terminating ±1, 400 feet to the north. [Ward 2] 12:58 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council designation of this street as Regency Park Drive, and a requirement for DiLoreto Construction to install all required signage. Proposed Motion: I move to approve the staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve E.9 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Approval of Agreement with the Children's Cabinet to reimburse the City of Reno for a portion of the cost of the City of Reno's Youth recreation programs, in compliance with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, in the amount of $364,500. 12:58 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends City Council authorize the Mayor to execute the Agreement with the Children's Cabinet to reimburse the City for a portion of the cost of the City of Reno's Youth recreation programs, in compliance with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, in the amount of $364,500. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve F Public Hearings - 12:15 PM F.1 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ordinance Introduction - Bill No. ________ Case No. ANX14-00006 (JLN Trust Property Annexation) Request for annexation of a ±419 acre parcel. The subject site is located south of South McCarran Boulevard at the Manzanita Lane intersection. The property would be zoned Large Lot Residential 2.5 Acre Minimum Lot size (LLR2.5) upon annexation. This property was formerly known as Ballardini Ranch. [Ward 1, Ward 2] - Withdrawn Proposed Motion: Based on an evaluation of the ten (10) Annexation Criteria in the Reno Municipal Code, I move to approve the requested annexation by ordinance and I move to refer Bill No. ________ for a second reading and adoption. First Reading: I move to refer Bill No. ____ for a second reading and adoption. RESULT: WITHDRAWN G Ordinances - Adoption G.1 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ordinance Adoption Bill No. 6907 Ordinance to amend Title 14 of the Reno Municipal Code entitled "Buildings and Construction," by amending Chapter 14.05, entitled "Property Maintenance Code," by amending Section 14.05.010, entitled "Adoption of the 2012 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code," to add a new Chapter to the adopted 2012 Edition which addresses downtown property maintenance standards identified as Exhibit "B" and providing other matters properly relating thereto. 1:27 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adopt Ordinance No________. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Ordinance No. ________. Bill No. 6906, Ordinance No. 6337 was passed and adopted. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member SECONDER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell G.2 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ordinance Adoption - Bill No. 6906 Ordinance to amend Title 8 of the Reno Municipal Code entitled "Public Peace, Safety and Morals," by amending Chapter 8.22, entitled "Nuisances," Article II, entitled "Unlawful Acts," by amending Section 8.22.090, entitled "Unlawful to Permit or Allow the Existence of Nuisance," to afford property owners a minimum of 30 days to abate a condition that is not an immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare, and that was caused by criminal activity of a person other than the owner and providing other matters properly relating thereto. 1:26 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adopt Ordinance No________. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Ordinance No. ________. MAYOR CASHELL ABSENT AT 1:27 P.M. VICE MAYOR DORTCH PRESIDED IN MAYOR CASHELL'S ABSENCE. Bill No. 6907, Ordinance No. 6338 was passed and adopted. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member SECONDER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell G.3 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ordinance Adoption - Bill No. 6908 Case No. LDC14-00035 (Life Church Zone Change) Ordinance to amend Title 18, Chapter 18.08 of the Reno Municipal Code, entitled "Zoning," rezoning a ±7.3 acre site located east of the intersection of Yee Haw Way and Desert Way from LLR2.5 (Large Lot Residential - 2.5 acres) to SF15 (Single Family Residential – 15,000 square feet); together with other matters properly relating thereto. [Ward 2] 1:28 PM Recommendation: _____. Staff recommends Council adoption of Ordinance No. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Ordinance No. ______. COUNCIL MEMBER JARDON ABSENT AT 1:28 P.M. Bill No. 6908, Ordinance No. 6339 was passed and adopted. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member SECONDER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell, Neoma Jardon G.4 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ordinance Adoption - Bill No. 6909 Case No. LDC14-00027 (Heart to Hand School Reactor Way Zone Change) Ordinance to amend Title 18, Chapter 18.08 of the Reno Municipal Code, entitled "Zoning," rezoning a ±1.3 acre site located at the south terminus of Reactor Way (565 Reactor Way) from NC (Neighborhood Commercial) to PF (Public Facility); together with other matters properly relating thereto. [Ward 3] 1:29 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adoption of Ordinance No. _____. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Ordinance No. ______. Bill No. 6909, Ordinance No. 6340 was passed and adopted. THIS ITEM WAS RECONSIDERED LATER IN THE MEETING. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell, Neoma Jardon Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ordinance Adoption - Bill No. 6909 Case No. LDC14-00027 (Heart to Hand School Reactor Way Zone Change) Ordinance to amend Title 18, Chapter 18.08 of the Reno Municipal Code, entitled "Zoning," rezoning a ±1.3 acre site located at the south terminus of Reactor Way (565 Reactor Way) from NC (Neighborhood Commercial) to PF (Public Facility); together with other matters properly relating thereto. [Ward 3] 1:42 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adoption of Ordinance No. _____. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Ordinance No. ______. THIS ITEM WAS ALSO DISCUSSED EARLIER IN THE MEETING. It was moved by Council Member Brekhus, seconded by Council Member Zadra to reconsider this item. Motion carried with Mayor Cashell absent. Council Member Brekhus made the following disclosure: This pertains to a preschool kindergarten that my daughter attended and my husband and I provide modest financial support to on an annual basis, and we also attend a number of their events. That relationship and association with that organization does not in any way lead to the level of giving me any sort of inclination to not do my job and look at this in an unbiased manner, and that is why I did support this ordinance adoption. The Council adopted Bill No. 6909, Ordinance No. 6340. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Jenny Brekhus, Council Member SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell H Resolutions H.1 Resolution No. 7991: Staff Report (For Possible Action): Resolution No. ________ Resolution authorizing filing of a grant application with the State of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for 2014 Federal Land and Water Conservation Funds under the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program for the North Valleys Recreation Partnership Project in the amount of $500,000, and allocation of $250,000 from Park District 1 for matching funds if grant is awarded (Residential Construction Tax). 1:29 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adopt Resolution No. ________. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Resolution No. ________. Resolution No. 7991 was adopted. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell, Neoma Jardon H.2 Resolution No. 7992: Staff Report (For Possible Action): Resolution No. ________ Resolution donating Reno Access Advisory Committee funds to Tour De Nez Outreach to defray expenses associated with its sponsorship of the United States Handcycling Federation Series at the Tour De Nez competition to be held in Reno in August 2014 in the amount of $5,000 (General Fund). 1:30 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adopt Resolution No. _________donating Reno Access Advisory Committee funds to Tour De Nez Outreach to defray expenses associated with its sponsorship of the United States Handcycling Federation Series at the Tour De Nez competition to be held in Reno in August 2014 in the amount of $5,000 (General Fund). Proposed Motion: I move to approve the staff recommendation. Resolution No. 7992 was adopted. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell, Neoma Jardon I Ordinances - Introduction I.1 Medical Marijuana Establishments I.1.1 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Acceptance of the Business Impact Statement for the amendment of Reno Municipal Code Title 5, entitled "Privileged Licenses, Permits and Franchises", by adding a new Chapter 5.21, entitled "Medical Marijuana Establishments", to provide for the licensing and requirements to operate Medical Marijuana Establishments, including but not limited to dispensaries, cultivation facilities, testing laboratories and production facilities, which are registered and permitted by the State of Nevada under NRS Chapter 453A; and finding that the adoption of the new Chapter as amended does not impose a direct and significant economic burden upon a business nor directly restrict the formation or expansion of a business. [All Wards] 1:31 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends acceptance of the Business Impact Statement and enter a finding, in compliance with NRS 237.080 and 090, that the Business Impact Statement was properly prepared and the ordinances do not impose a direct and significant economic burden upon a business, nor directly restrict the formation or expansion of a business. Proposed Motion: I move to accept the Business Impact Statement and find that the adoption of the ordinances does not impose a direct and significant economic burden upon a business, nor directly restrict the formation or expansion of a business. COUNCIL MEMBER JARDON PRESENT AT 1:31 P.M. Sam Dehne, Reno resident, presented his views on this issue. Shawn Oliphant, attorney representing the City of Reno, outlined the five proposed revisions to the medical marijuana establishments ordinance. Council Member Brekhus, Mr. Oliphant and Cadence Matijevich, Assistant City Manager, discussed details of the proposed amendments. Council Member Zadra said that the only reason she had not supported the ordinance in the past was because of the conflict of measuring from property line to property versus door to door, but she does support these changes within it. She asked, and staff confirmed, that the motion to approve is only for the Business Impact Statement (Business License) and has nothing to do with the ordinance. The Council accepted the Business Impact Statement and found that the adoption of the ordinance does not impose a direct and significant economic burden upon a business, or directly restrict the formation or expansion of a business. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Jenny Brekhus, Council Member SECONDER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member AYES: Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Robert Cashell I.1.2 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ordinance Introduction - Bill No. ________ Ordinance to amend the Reno Municipal Code, Title 4, entitled "Business License Code", Chapter 4.04, entitled "In General", by revoking Chapter 4.04.065 entitled "Stay on the acceptance of business license applications related to Medical Marijuana Establishments", amending Title 5, entitled "Privileged Licenses, Permits and Franchises", by amending Chapter 5.05 entitled "Licenses Generally" and adding a new Chapter 5.21, entitled "Medical Marijuana Establishments", to provide for the licensing and requirements to operate Medical Marijuana Establishments including dispensaries, cultivation facilities, testing laboratories, and production facilities, which are registered and permitted by the State of Nevada under NRS Chapter 453A, and providing for other matters properly related thereto. [All Wards] 1:40 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council refer Bill No. ________ for a second reading and adoption. Proposed Motion: I move to refer Bill No. ________ for a second reading and adoption. Bill No. 6910 was referred for a second reading and adoption, as amended. J Standard Department Items City Attorney J.1 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Discussion and possible direction to City Manager and City Attorney on options for Labor Relations and Legal Services rendered on behalf of the City of Reno, including a transition plan from outside services to in-house staffing and legal representation. This item may include discussion of outside legal agreements with Fisher & Phillips, LLP, Marquis Aurbach Coffing PC, and Fahrendorf, Viloria, Oliphant & Oster LLP. 1:43 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends City Council approve the option for transition of Labor Relations and Legal Services to an internal program rendered on behalf of the City and approve the recommended transition plan. Proposed Motion: I move to approve the staff recommendation. COUNCIL MEMBER BREKHUS ABSENT AT 1:43 P.M. Tracy Chase, Chief Deputy City Attorney, said that the City Attorney's Office (CAO), in collaboration with the City Manager, is seeking direction as to how the Council would like to see its outside labor relations and legal services accomplished on behalf of the City. We put forward a plan in the Staff Report; there are several options the Council would have on this. The Council can use its powers to hire outside legal counsel on the 6/7 vote and, in addition, the CAO can render these services. To do so we will need to appropriately staff our office to provide those services, and we have provided a plan to allow a transition so that those services can be provided on behalf of the City. The one thing that would be of greatest concern is if there were not legal services in the area appropriately being provided to the City. MAYOR CASHELL PRESENT AT 1:44 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBER BREKHUS PRESENT AT 1:45 P.M. John Kadlic, City Attorney, said that he spoke with the law firm of Fisher and Phillips, and they agreed to place a cap on future services they would provide to the City in these matters. Two of them are capped at $80,000 each, two of them are capped at $70,000 each, and anything beyond a certain date they would do for $3,000 a day. They are capping that so we would not be coming back all the time asking for additional money for additional legal services. They will continue on with the Supreme Court case, with the CAO's assistance where possible to limit costs. Human Resources has $300,000 available in their budget for this purpose, and the funds would be transferred to the CAO so that they can, under the City Attorney's power, hire this law firm to finish up what they started. That includes several arbitrations and the Supreme Court issue, as well as other matters. There would be some expenses, he said, but everything would be capped at around $300,000, which they put in an e-mail to the CAO. Council Member Dortch thanked the City Attorney for bringing this forward, stating that it was extremely irresponsible for the Council to not move forward in this manner. Council Member Schieve requested clarification regarding whether the law firm of Fisher and Phillips will represent the CAO, or whether they will still represent the Council (i.e., whether the Council is still the client). Mr. Kadlic stated that the City is always the client of the CAO. Under the 6/7 vote process, he said, you, the Council Members, through the Manager's Office, control the attorneys. Under this process, the CAO will control the attorneys, but they are representing the City. The CAO always represents the City. Council Member Schieve said that she wanted to make sure the City Council is still the client. Council Member Zadra explained that the distinction is that, under this situation, the attorneys would report to the CAO and represent the City. Under the prior relationship, she said, the attorneys reported directly to the Council and represented the City. Mr. Kadlic said that the CAO would provide status updates to the Council as often as they wished. Council Member Schieve asked if this was under the Charter or under NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes). What I want to know, she said, is why did we even vote on it the last time it came up if we were just going to find a loophole? You did not like the answer you got, so you came back with this. Council Member Dortch said that under the other process the City Council hired the attorneys, which requires a 6/7 vote. You decided not to do it, which was irresponsible. Council Member Schieve stated that Council Member Dortch was entitled to his option and she to hers. Council Member Dortch said that the Council was here to debate the issue. Council Member Dortch asked Council Member Schieve if someone was suing her company and she went to an attorney who told her he did not have the resources or the expertise to handle her case, she would ask the attorney to go ahead and represent her anyway. Council Member Schieve said that was not what happened. It [negotiating labor contracts] has become completely adversarial. We spent $500,000 on these attorneys, which went over $175,000. For $500,000 we could have put a whole in-house labor team in place for a year, she said. Council Member Dortch stated that it was critical to have proper representation on these issues [Supreme Court case and labor negotiations]. Mr. Kadlic interjected that what the CAO was offering was a transition plan. You have to start building for the future by adding a labor person to Human Resources and an attorney with labor relations expertise to the CAO. In the future, you may have a hybrid with part outside and part in-house counsel, but it is too late to do that now, he said. We need to get these experts in here now to finish up what they started. This may be a short-term solution, but you have to build for the long term, and that is why we put together a transition plan for the future. Council Member Brekhus said that she supported retaining Fisher and Phillips, but the point was the Charter and the respective power and authority of each body (City Manager, City Council and City Attorney). I do not believe, she said, that the City Attorney has the authority to do this hiring under NRS 41; I do not think there is applicability in this instance. I think NRS 41 applies very narrowly when the City is being sued or a public officer in the City is being sued and you are preparing for trial, she said, and does not pertain to a grievance proceeding of this nature. Council Member Jardon stated that the City is being sued. Council Member Brekhus replied that this is for representation going into arbitration with the police association. You do not have the authority in that statute. It applies to judicial officers too, not necessarily a legislative body, so the decision made the last time stands. I do not like it, but the Charter says that the super-sized small majority wins in this, and they won. We cannot go forward with this transition plan and overrule that decision because it would be going against our Charter, and we are a flawed organization if we do not operate by our Charter. I want these attorneys to represent us, and I would ask one of the prevailing members to, under our ground rules, bring back an 'L' agenda item to bring back Fisher and Phillips, perhaps just to get us to arbitration with the Reno Police Department. I am just willing to go so small on the other because for the appeal we could be represented going up to the EMRB, which is where this decision on the firefighters will be made. I will not support this, she said, because it is going against Charter, and it is pulling out of air a statute that is not applicable. The attorneys are erring in their legal reading of this, or in their responsibility to represent their client with truthful and factual information. Council Member Jardon said she already made it clear that she believes the City needs to take a long-term sustainable approach to this, and not hiring this outside counsel with the appropriate expertise was a shortsighted approach to a long-term issue. She read the following excerpt from the editorial in the July 6, 2014, Reno Gazette-Journal: "...A few hundred thousand dollars spent now could save millions down the road. ... The City of Reno needs continuity in its labor negotiations. It needs a long-term solution for making sure its interests - and taxpayers' interests - have strong, consistent representation." She said they likened it to going into a gunfight with a knife. We need to retain and sustain expert legal counsel to help the City with these very complicated, long and difficult negotiations, and to think long-term for the taxpayers of the City. There are hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, and to not be represented by experts is doing a disservice to the taxpayers of the City. Jeff Church, Reno resident, discussed his support for hiring outside legal counsel. Sam Dehne, Reno resident, presented his views on this issue. Council Member Zadra said that, as she has previously expressed, 90% of the City's employees are represented by bargaining units, 100% of the services the City provides are performed by those 90% of the employees, and each of the unions have qualified, powerful representatives who state their cases during contract negotiations. It is the Council's financial and fiduciary responsibility to the citizens we represent to give them the best, to hire people who do nothing but labor negotiations and understand labor law inside and out. We have a fabulous CAO, and they put in long hours to respond to immediate actions that had to be taken, but they already have full slates, they already put in 130%. To expect them to be able to come to the table for 90% of our employee representation and at least 60% of our budget for public safety alone, she said, is irresponsible. These people we hired (Fisher and Phillips) are successful in their field and have represented both sides. They are not extreme in their billings or in the positions they take. Providing the best legal representation front forward is our responsibility to this community, she stated. Council Member Delgado said that it is ludicrous to even bring this issue up again; a 'slap in the face' to our Charter. We have laws and we abide by them. We said 'No' and then we find a loophole to bring this back. That is shameful. What is embarrassing, as well, is that we now add caps to it whereas before we basically gave them a blank check. We are supposed to be watching over our budgets, which is something we should be talking about as well. After this, and I assume you will have the votes to pass this one and J.5, we are going to give about $800,000 to this law firm (Fisher and Phillips) when yesterday we were talking about closing down Traner Pool and other community assets. Council Member Schieve and I asked you to give us the opportunity to talk to these groups when the decision was made during the last go-round, and afterwards a flood of groups called wanting to sit down and talk to us. We have had some positive conversations thus far, and by putting this on the agenda all we are doing is putting up another roadblock in the sense of saying we do not want to work with our employees and build morale moving forward. Yet we want to expand and provide blank checks to these attorneys because we do not want to sit down and talk to them. If we put a pause on this to give us a chance to sit down and have those conservations, we could go somewhere, but to expect that we are going to get someone from outside our region to come in and abide by our rules is not going to happen. It is not happening. I was surprised to see the tactic they are using, and it is not one I approved, which is basically going down a checklist and trying to get to fact finding. We are talking about doing the best we can for our community with the small amount of dollars we have, and that is not what we are doing at the moment. With regards the Reno Gazette-Journal editorial page, it would have been nice for them to call us to see what our side was. Some people on our Council actually sat down with them and gave them their side. We are not up here to find loopholes in the Charter in order to do what we want to do. Council Member Dortch said that if the City does not do this and continues to pander to the public employee unions, they will be closing a lot more than Traner Pool. It is going to continue to get worse, and yes, they want to sit down with and talk because they want to delay this until after November 2014. They are looking to see who gets elected to this Council, to see who is willing to do whatever the public employee unions want, and continue to maintain these un-sustainable contracts. If we do not get our arms around these contracts, he stated, we are in big trouble down the road. To say that everything is working out because you can sit down with them - we have been trying to sit down with these unions for years, and every time they negotiate little things to get them further down the road, especially with fire. For them the four-person crew is the hill to die for, and yet that is the one thing this community needs the most. Council Member Brekhus said that what is at issue is the philosophy that the means justify the end. It is clear in NRS that the attorney only has the ability in an action that involves a present or former judicial officer of that political subdivision, a present or former officer or employee of that subdivision, or a present or former member of a local board or commission. We are not under subsection 'a' and we are certainly not under subsection 'b,' a person who is named as a defendant in an action solely because of an alleged act or omission related to the public duties or employment of a person. You have reached into a section of statute to skirt around our Charter, and that is not the way the Reno City Council and our government should be operating, by ignoring our Charter. Ms. Chase stated that the City Charter is not being ignored. She explained that there are two statutory provisions, and more than that actually, that give the City Attorney position its power. The statute just referred to by the Council Member does relate to hiring special counsel if there is a conflict, and that is a separate statute than the one we are utilizing to allow the City Attorney to hire. In addition, under the Charter, the City Attorney has the power to hire assistance, as he deems necessary, to fulfill his duties of office. If the City Council provides our office with full labor relations legal work, we have to perform those duties. We have to provide assistance and services to the City of Reno, and it has to be done immediately to take care of pending litigation. Council Member Schieve asked Ms. Chase if she was saying that if something comes before the Council, legally they have to act upon it immediately. Ms. Chase replied that there is now pending litigation in the cue, and that is what the CAO is seeking to address. Council Member Schieve asked if that referred to the Marquis Aurbach Coffing, P.C. agreement, and Ms. Chase replied that, yes, but the Marquis Aurbach Coffing agreement would be discussed under a separate item. Council Member Schieve and Renee Rungis, Director of Human Resources, discussed the recent cancellation of an agreement with Marquis Aurbach Coffing for arbitration services related to eight grievances. Council Member Jardon stated that every report shows that the City will be fully in the red in two years if the labor contracts are not brought in line. Council Member Schieve said it could go that way already with you wanting to spend $3,000,000 on attorneys. There have to be concessions. We wanted to sit down, talk about it, have concessions, they know that, we know that. You have to sit down and work with them, and if you cannot get there, you cannot get there. Then you bring them (outside legal counsel) back. Mr. Kadlic recognized Tracy Chase, Mark Dunagan and Ann Wilkinson for working well into the night to prepare the motion to set aside the injunction, saying that they did it to protect the interests of the City. City Manager Clinger said that if this item is approved today, he will still be more than willing to sit down with the labor groups, without the attorney present, to try to reach an agreement. I want to make it clear, he repeated, that this action today does not preclude us from sitting down and negotiating with them without the attorneys present. Mayor Cashell said that they have asked him to sit down with them, but they had to cancel the meeting, so he has not yet talked with them. It was moved by Council Member Dortch to authorize the City Attorney to move forward with a contract with Fisher and Phillips. Council Member Dortch asked if the caps on the agreement that were outlined earlier in the meeting should be part of the motion. Council Member Delgado said that the caps on the amounts should not be part of the motion. Council Member Dortch said that the caps should either be made part of the motion, or should be brought back later since the amounts were not available at the table. Ms. Chase requested clarification that the motion was for the City Attorney's Office to move forward with the transition plan, and create an in-house labor relations program with Human Resources and the CAO based upon the hiring. Council Member Dortch said that was the intent of the motion. Mr. Kadlic said that the total was $300,000, plus some expenses, and some $3,000 a day if they go beyond the time they believe negotiations will be concluded. He requested that the Council authorize a total of $300,000, and said his office would work it out with them from there. Council Member Dortch said that staff should return with an update, and Mr. Kadlic agreed to do so. Mr. Kadlic said that the contract will not exceed $300,000 for all of the things they are going to do, and staff would work with them on that. I feel comfortable that they will accept that, he said. It was moved by Council Member Dortch, seconded by Council Member Jardon to amend the motion and direct staff to move forward with the transition plan, including contracting with Fisher and Phillips with a maximum contract amount of $300,000 at this time. Mr. Kadlic said that staff would also look into the ability of Human Resources to hire a labor relations representative and the CAO to hire an attorney specializing in labor relations, but not immediately. Council Member Dortch stated that what Mr. Kadlic just outlined was the transition plan. City Manager Clinger explained that the $300,000 will be transferred from Human Resources to the CAO. Human Relations will hire a Labor Relations Manager with funding that was included in their budget for a Senior Management Analyst, but an augmentation will be necessary because that salary is less than what will be needed for the Labor Relations Manager. There are two vacant positions in the CAO, and one of those would be used to bring into the CAO an attorney with labor experience. Ms. Chase said that the CAO utilized their vacant positions to create some savings, perhaps as much as $20,000, because it will take time to hire an attorney. If we have that savings in the fall, she said, we can move it to the outside counsel line. Council Member Brekhus summarized her understanding that the City Attorney believes authority rests in the Charter provision that these attorneys will operate as "assistance" under the language of that Charter, and that NRS 41.0344 is to be read separate, apart from NRS 41.0338 and the general section of 41 related to legal representation. That is my understanding of how they are thinking this passes legal muster, she said. I disagree and will not support this, but I will ask my colleagues, whose super-minority rights I have been representing here today, to bring back as an 'L' item a narrowly tailored retention of Fisher and Phillips. It would be better to hire them under those circumstances, and much better for the City's long-term interests. Council Member Delgado requested clarification that the $300,000 is capped and the Council will no longer see Fisher and Phillips brought to the City Council for an extra amended item for more charges in the future. Council Member Dortch said that such guarantees could never be made. Council Member Delgado said that the City Attorney just said he had worked out caps on the $300,000 with Fisher and Phillips, and they would be able to do all of the work the CAO was asking them to do with that cap on it. Mr. Kadlic stated that that was what the offer to them was going to be. They have said they are willing, if it goes over, to take on the remainder pro bono on behalf of the City. We are going to offer them $300,000 total, and anything beyond it is pro bono, and if they will not accept that, we will have to come back. It is important to remember, he said, that the decision of Judge Stiglich took away your power to determine how you allocate the City's money that comes from the City taxpayers. Motion carried with Council Members Schieve, Brekhus and Delgado voting nay. RESULT: APPROVED [4 TO 3] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member AYES: Robert Cashell, Sharon Zadra, Dwight Dortch, Neoma Jardon NAYS: Jenny Brekhus, Oscar Delgado, Hillary Schieve Finance & Administration J.2 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Presentation, discussion, approval of the annual report of the Financial Advisory Board, and potential direction to staff. 2:25 PM Recommendation: The Financial Advisory Board recommends Council accept and approve this report or modify, as necessary, to assign other projects to the Board. Proposed Motion: I move to approve the Financial Advisory Board's FY13/14 Annual Report and FY14/15 Work Plan. COUNCIL MEMBER DORTCH ABSENT AT 2:25 P.M. Robert Chisel, Director of Finance and Administration, discussed the composition and duties of the Financial Advisory Board (FAB), and introduced the Chair of the FAB. Teela Hammond, Chair of the FAB, presented the report. Council Member Brekhus asked if the FAB reviews medium-term obligations, and Ms. Hammond replied that the FAB reviews bonds every month, but only proposals for bonds in excess of $1,000,000. Council Member Brekhus requested that the FAB review all medium-term obligations, and Ms. Hammond replied that they would be happy to look at that. Council Member Jardon asked if a representative of the FAB could be privy to some of the ongoing labor negotiations, and Mr. Chisel replied that it is under review, but staff does not yet have an answer to that question. Council Member Jardon said that, given their financial expertise, it would be very helpful to have their eyes on those as well. Jeff Church, firstname.lastname@example.org, presented his views on this issue. The Council accepted the report. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member SECONDER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Jardon, Schieve ABSENT: Dwight Dortch J.3 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Discussion and possible acceptance of staff report relating to fact finding proceedings (FMSC No. 14102250467) between the City of Reno and Reno Administrative and Professional Group, Professional Unit (RAPG-PRO) as required by NRS 288.200, including discussion of a) the issues the parties submitted for fact finding, b) the report of findings and recommendations of the fact finder, and c) the overall fiscal impact of the findings and recommendations, which must not include a discussion of the details of the report. 2:31 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends that City Council complete the discussion required by NRS 288.200 and accept the staff report relating to the fact finding proceedings between the City of Reno Administrative and Professional Group, Professional Unit. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. Robert Chisel, Director of Finance and Administration, presented a brief overview of the Fact Finding Report. COUNCIL MEMBER DORTCH PRESENT AT 2:32 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBER JARDON ABSENT AT 2:32 P.M. Discussion ensued regarding NRS 288.200. Council Member Brekhus said that she read the Fact Finding Report, and looks forward to coming to an agreement with the Reno Administrative and Professional Group/Professional Unit (RAPG-PRO). COUNCIL MEMBER JARDON PRESENT AT 2:36 P.M. The Council accepted the Staff Report. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member SECONDER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve J.4 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Discussion and approval of First Amendment to Agreement for Attorney Services with Marquis Aurbach Coffing, P.C., for labor and employment law advice, analysis and arbitration presentation for labor relations, and grievance and employee discipline issues, in an amount not to exceed $75,000, for a contract total not to exceed $150,000 for the period of January 16, 2013 through June 30, 2015 (General Fund). 2:36 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council approval of the First Amendment to the Agreement for Attorney Services with Marquis Aurbach Coffing, P.C., for labor and employment law advice, analysis and arbitration presentation for labor relations, and grievance and employee discipline issues, in an amount not to exceed $75,000 (for a contract total not to exceed $150,000) and authorization for the Mayor to sign the Agreement. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. Renee Rungis, Director of Human Resources, presented an overview of the Staff Report. Council Member Schieve said that an emergency meeting should be called if there are any arbitrations in the future that are this costly. We paid $12,700 to cancel this, and now we are going to retain this group to represent us in the grievances, she said. Ms. Rungis explained that one of the challenges was the timing issue involved with the June 30, 2014 expiration of the agreement, and the fact that there was no guarantee the Council would approve this contract. Council Member Schieve said that it could have been presented at the last Council meeting, and Ms. Rungis said that staff will try to be more vigilant in the future. The Council upheld the staff recommendation. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve J.5 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Ratification of Amended Agreement for Attorney Services with Fisher & Phillips LLP for labor and employment law matters, collective bargaining, analysis and arbitration presentation for labor relations, grievance and employee discipline issues for an amount not to exceed $175,074; for a contract total not to exceed $475,074 for the period of January 16, 2013 through June 30, 2014 (General Fund). 2:39 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council's ratification of the Agreement and the First Amendment to Agreement for Attorney Services with Fisher & Phillips LLP for labor and employment law matters, collective bargaining, analysis and arbitration presentation for labor relations, and grievance and employee discipline issues, for an additional amount not to exceed $175,074 (for a contract total not to exceed $475,074 for the period of January 2013 through June 30, 2014). Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. Robert Chisel, Director of Finance and Administration, requested that the Council ratify the Fisher and Phillips contract, and explained that the Fisher and Phillips billings had been incorrectly monitored, resulting in over-spending on this contract. Several factors led to this issue, he said: 1) renewal was originally scheduled for early June, however circumstances delayed it until late June; 2) during June there were approximately $80,000 worth of billings, primarily as a result of the lawsuit; and 3) staff incorrectly tracked approximately $55,000 worth of billings that were not part of the contract but rather for a personnel issue that was separate from the negotiations. These actions by our limited staff of three Human Resources personnel is not acceptable, corrective action has occurred within the department to rectify this issue, and we have taken steps to ensure it does not happen again. Staff is now monitoring all contracts with new procedures. For outside services, such as legal, weekly time sheets are being requested to track dollars more closely, he said, and will be part of the weekly management review. Council Member Jardon asked if the attorneys agreed to submit weekly time sheets, noting that attorneys usually bill on a monthly basis. Mr. Chisel said that the attorneys have agreed to submit weekly time sheets, and noted that the attorneys' contract with the City Attorney's Office (CAO) was separate. This, he said, would apply to anything coming through the City Manager's Office. Council Member Jardon said that the attorneys should also submit weekly time sheets for their contract with the CAO so they could see when they are getting close to the cap. Tracy Chase, Chief Deputy City Attorney, said that staff will build into both (Fisher and Phillips and Marquis, Aurbach and Coffing) contracts a request for weekly time sheets. Council Member Brekhus discussed her concern about what she called the 'made up term ratification' that does not exist in the City's financial policies or Reno Municipal Code. It is a term for procurement irregularities, of which there are too many. She cited as examples the ratification of agreements with Advantage Group (May 14, 2014, Item E.3) and Aerotek Inc. (September 4, 2013, Item E.8). There are a lot of cracks showing as a result of the resource deficiencies in our organization, and procurement is definitely one. If, on the accounts payable, staff could provide some running tallies for the various consultant contracts and professional services agreements, which are generally sole-sourced, or something similar to let us know what percentage of completion there is on some of these. Mr. Chisel said that the issue is the lack of resources. We have no one to assign to purchasing or contract management; we have a part-time person we share with Washoe County that does purchasing contracts for the City of Reno, and most of it has been decentralized to the departments to handle on their own. We are trying to monitor it for Human Resources, and for the other areas the Finance Department is trying to monitor it as best they can. It is not until the bills come in that we know where we are with the spending, which is one of the issues we were trying to get ahead of with the weekly time sheets proposal. We monitor the contracts in Finance when the bills come in, but it is only a manual process; we do not have a system that does that. Council Member Jardon said that Fisher and Phillips knew their contract provisions and when it was going to come before the Council, and asked if there was a way place the onus on outside legal counsel, including Fisher and Phillips, to notify the City when their expenses are going to ramp up significantly, or when their contract deadline is approaching. Ms. Chase said that staff would draft a contract provision indicating that, if there is going to be more than a certain percentage of the contract that will be utilized during the next month, or if the consultant believes they are within 30 days of a not-to-exceed limit, they must provide to the City written notice thereof. We can draft that for all of the consulting agreements, she said. Council Member Brekhus said that staff should not make any verbal representations that the contract will follow in their side conversations on the limits. That needs to be a part of the overall project/contract management duties for the people who are the project leads on these things. I do not know if it is a training issue or what, but it is a real problem. Council Member Delgado discussed the caps and monitoring procedures that are to be put in place. He said that the attorneys seem to have their own agenda, and are milking the City. Council Member Schieve said that at the last meeting when staff mentioned that there would be some outstanding billings, she expected maybe $5,000 to $7,000, not $175,000. I hope staff was not so presumptuous as to think that they had the votes to continue spending, to, as Council Member Delgado put it, write them a blank check. This is going to be disastrous, she said, and we can end up spending millions on this. Council Member Delgado and I have been sitting down speaking with these groups, and I think it has been very positive. It is no different than when Council Member Jardon said she wanted to extend an olive branch out to Truckee Meadows Fire. It is the same sort of concept. Council Member Jardon said that the Council should offer the bargaining groups an opportunity to sit down to try to come to a resolution, but should also provide the taxpayers with the legal expertise in the event that the informal talks are not successful. I will absolutely sit down with any group at any time, and I hope we can come to an agreement. But we need to use both lanes of the freeway, so to speak. My fear is that by closing off one lane that we might very well need to access, we are doing a disservice to our community and our long term objective of bringing these long-term contracts in line with today's realities. Council Member Schieve said that she did not see it that way. I think that at any time, if it does not work out, we can bring them (outside legal counsel) back. Council Member Jardon said that by then the experience gained by continuing to participate in the negotiations would have been lost. She noted that the City has been with Fisher and Phillips for over a year, and has come to two successful fact finding meetings. To truncate that process now would be expensive and you have would to bring someone else up to speed, which would hamper the City's ability to provide continuity and a successful long-term solution to these very significant issues. Council Member Schieve said that fact finding is fact finding, and the City could lose in arbitration. I think we can get there without spending this kind of money, she said. It was moved by Council Member Dortch, seconded by Council Member Zadra to uphold the staff recommendation. Motion failed with Council Members Schieve and Delgado voting nay. Discussion ensued regarding the 6/7 affirmative vote required to approve the payment to Fisher and Phillips, and what their contract stipulates about the overextension of expenses. Ms. Chase said staff put on the record at the last meeting that they were coordinating with Fisher and Phillips to provide legal services. Our office did not at the time have the amount of the contract, she said, nor did anyone think it was exceeded to this level. The ramifications of this vote are that the law firm might make a claim against the City for the reasonable value of the services delivered. Council Member Dortch asked what vote it would then take to settle the claim. Ms. Chase replied that the claim itself would come to the Council at this amount, but settlement of the claim is different than approval of a legal agreement. Settlement of a claim would require a majority vote of the Council. Council Member Brekhus said that whether the CAO would be able to represent the City on that might also be at issue, and Ms. Chase said that the CAO would look into that, but she did not anticipate a problem with that. Mayor Cashell said that the City has an obligation to pay the bill and avoid a lawsuit. He requested a vote to reconsider the item, but his request went unanswered. Mr. Kadlic suggested that he, Ms. Chase and the City Manager meet with the law firm to discuss the issue, and return on August 20, 2014 with options. It was agreed that resolution of the issue would not include rolling these charges onto the contract that was just approved (Item J.1). Council Member Jardon and Mr. Chisel discussed the $77,000 billing in June that was related to the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) lawsuit. Council Member Jardon reiterated that Fisher and Phillips knew they were going to significantly exceed the amount of their contract. She said that she hoped they would be willing to negotiate. The Council agreed to allow legal counsel to discuss the issue with Fisher and Phillips and return on August 20, 2014, with options. RESULT: DEFEATED [5 TO 2] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Dortch, Jardon NAYS: Oscar Delgado, Hillary Schieve City Manager's Office J.6 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Discussion and approval of Interlocal Agreement between the City of Reno, City of Sparks, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District on behalf of itself and Sierra Fire Protection District, Washoe County, and Washoe County Health District to establish and maintain a Regional Emergency Medical Services Oversight Program to provide for oversight of all emergency medical services provided by the City of Reno, the City of Sparks, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District on behalf of itself and Sierra Fire Protection District, Washoe County, and the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority. 2:57 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council approval of the Interlocal Agreement with City of Sparks, City of Reno, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District on behalf of itself and Sierra Fire Protection District, Washoe County, and Washoe County Health District and authorization for the Mayor to sign. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. COUNCIL MEMBER JARDON ABSENT AT 2:57 P.M. Council Member Brekhus suggested continuing this item until after the Council's summer break. She said that it is related to REMSA (Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority), which is integral to the City's public safety, and the City will not know what their public safety numbers are going to be until the layoff situation with the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) is resolved. COUNCIL MEMBER JARDON PRESENT AT 2:58 P.M. Robert Chisel, Director of Finance and Administration, presented an overview of the Staff Report, and noted that the agreement was discussed at the February 10, 2014 joint meeting, the resolution was adopted by the Council, the agreement is separate from the contract with REMSA, and pertains to oversight of EMS (Emergency Medical Services). Mayor Cashell said that, as discussed in February 2014, REMSA had an 'evergreen' contract on which the City had no oversight. Now we do have oversight, he said, and there is no reason to postpone this. Council Member Brekhus said that since the meeting when we discussed this framework, and since the City has gone through the situation of the firefighter layoffs and, in particular, since the 160 Lemmon Drive police incident, she realized how integrally linked the public safety response of the Reno Fire Department (RFD) and REMSA is. I have become concerned that this framework we have been marching down is not getting us where we need to get, she said, particularly at this time of our vulnerabilities in the RFD. Our discussions at the last Council meeting about the Community Assistance Center (CAC)agreement, and our direct relationship with the Volunteers of America (VOA) with all of their performance standards, made me feel that we are so at arms length with REMSA, and this oversight committee puts us even more at arms length with them. I think the direct relationship with REMSA needs to be with the City, not with the Board of Health. The Board of Health is an appointed body. They have good people on there - a restaurant manager, a restaurant owner, a doc, a physician - but it is a critical piece of our public safety response, and we need to take another look at this, wind it down, and make sure - and I know you have made some steps on your protocols resulting from the 160 Lemmon Drive incident - but we need to go a very heavy lifting way in getting a direct relationship with REMSA, a contractual relationship with REMSA on the services that they provide. I am prepared to go there, she said, and I also understand the implications of it. Mayor Cashell said that if it were to revert back to the evergreen contract, the Health Department would be completely in control. Council Member Brekhus said that she was prepared to have a workshop on what that means, and what action would be taken with the Board of Health's role, in general, on this. Mayor Cashell stated that if it rolls back to them there is nothing else for the Council to talk about. Council Member Brekhus replied "Well, if there is a Board of Health, or not a Board of Health." Council Member Zadra said that this conversation has been held multiple times over the past three years in an effort to come to the agreement that was approved two months ago by the Board of Health. The joint bodies of the Washoe County Commission, City of Sparks and City of Reno met at least four time on the issue, and staff met endlessly on it. This community, those three governing boards and the board that has the authority it its entirely, the Board of Health, have taken all of the cautionary and public input into consideration, and we need to move forward. I am not sure, she said, that whatever action we are taking on our own contracts has any appropriate application to this action today. Council Member Brekhus said that she was addressing her comments primarily to those who would be sitting in the Council seats in December 2014. What has been going on in our region in these critical public safety services is not working. There is heavy lifting to be done, and we will be dealing with that after December 2014. This is a step that we need to take and examine full force to start thinking about doing things differently. I know the ramifications of where we are going on this, where I am suggesting we go, but I feel it is where we do need to go with the changed landscape of our public safety capabilities. I believe in regionalization and regional efficiencies, but when I look at the call numbers and see the magnitude of how Reno experiences the volumes that we have, we are regional partners with Washoe County and Sparks, but we stand alone in the sheer volume of demands placed upon our services. I would ask that we not take action on this and ask the City Manager to hold a workshop in September or October 2014 to move forward with a different and new approach. Council Member Zadra asked what action had been taken by the City of Sparks and Washoe County. Dr. Randall Todd, representing the Washoe County Health District, said that the City of Sparks approved this interlocal agreement yesterday (July 15, 2014), the District Board of Health has taken action to approve it, the Washoe County Board of Commissioners approved it, and that left only the Reno City Council and the Truckee Meadows Fire Commissioners. He noted that the individuals who serve on the Truckee Meadows Fire Commission were the same individuals who took action as Washoe County Commissioners to approve it. Dr. Todd said that the evergreen franchise agreement has been changed and is no longer evergreen as of July 1, 2014. One of the problems that had been experienced by those who had questions about EMS performance, he said, could not be answered because the interlocal agreement allowed only oversight of the franchise and no other aspects of the EMS system. What this does, he continued, gives us the ability to gather data on all aspects of the EMS system, perform analyses of those data, and provide feedback to the respective governing boards through the appropriate channels. Council Member Brekhus said that she appreciated what the Board of Health has done and it was an improvement to eliminate the evergreen clause. But, she said, we need to go further. She reminded Council Members Schieve and Delgado that they both opposed the precedent action on this, and that supporting what she was advocating would be consistent with that previous position. Council Member Zadra said that approving the interlocal agreement and establishing the Regional Emergency Medical Services Oversight Program is the responsible next step to take. The Council approved the Interlocal Agreement and authorized the Mayor to sign. RESULT: APPROVED [4 TO 3] MOVER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member SECONDER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor AYES: Robert Cashell, Sharon Zadra, Dwight Dortch, Neoma Jardon NAYS: Jenny Brekhus, Oscar Delgado, Hillary Schieve K City Clerk K.1 Boards and Commissions Appointments a. Access Advisory Committee (For Possible Action) Caitlin Fuetsch was appointed and James Iacovelli, Kathy Price-Toby and Kristi Johnson were reappointed to the Access Advisory Committee. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member SECONDER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve b. City of Reno Arts & Culture Commission (For Possible Action) Megan Berner and Sharon Honig-Bear were reappointed to the City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve c. Recreation & Parks Commission (For Possible Action) Jaime Edrosa was appointed to the Recreation and Parks Commission. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member SECONDER: Jenny Brekhus, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve K.2 Staff Report (For Possible Action): Discussion and appointment to the District Board of Health. (For Possible Action) 3:09 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Mayor and Council make the necessary appointments as noted in the staff report. Proposed Motion: I move to approve staff recommendation. Council Member Zadra noted that for the past several months she has had a time conflict with another committee she chairs, and recommended that Ms. Jardon be appointed to fill her term on the District Board of Health. The Council appointed Neoma Jardon to the District Board of Health. Council Member Brekhus requested clarification of the rules regarding how long the appointment lasts. She said it was her understanding that it was one of the ones where the appointment lasts until the person severs their appointment in office. So she would be on then until 2016, she said, not filling out Council Member Zadra's appointment. It is coterminous and that puts Ms. Jardon on until 2016. I do not think that is right, she said. I think the new Council needs to make that appointment, so I am calling for reconsideration. Council Member Brekhus moved for reconsideration of Neoma Jardon's appointment to the District Board of Health. Motion failed for lack of a second. The decision to appoint Neoma Jardon to the District Board of Health stood. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member SECONDER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve L Mayor and Council L.1 Identification of Mayor and Council Items for future agendas of the Reno City Council. 3:12 PM Council Member Brekhus requested a discussion and potential direction to staff to: 1) examine city practices related to "cooling off" periods for former employees in regards to the period of time in which they must wait after concluding their service before entering into a business relationship with the city and/or representing other persons who have business before the city; and 2) placing a moratorium on the adoption of any more Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) within the City of Reno or its sphere of influence pending a study and planning period of the City to understand how many single-family residential lots are development-ready and the City's ability to provide services to those lots within previously approved subdivisions and PUDs. Council Member Jardon requested a discussion and potential direction to staff to initiate a steering committee to discuss possible efficiencies within the Reno Municipal Court and a possible merger with Reno Justice Court. She said that the steering committee should include, at a minimum, a representative from the Municipal Court, Reno Justice Court, someone from the City Attorney's Office, someone from the District Attorney's Office, an elected official from Washoe County and an elected official from the City of Reno. Council Member Delgado requested an update with respect to the recent fire at Rosewood Lakes Golf Course. L.2 Liaison Reports Council Member Brekhus reported that the Urban Forestry Commission, in association with Artown, recent held a tree walkabout event in Old Southwest Reno. She said that 42 people attended the event. Council Member Jardon discussed water users' concerns that Truckee Meadows Water Authority might release their personal information (name and address) to the Reno Gazette-Journal (RGJ). She said that the RGJ does not intend to release personal information, only general neighborhood information for a broader study it is making of water usage. Council Member Jardon also said that a meeting with representatives of the Regional Transportation Commission will be held on July 17, 2014, to discuss the Southeast Connector project, the $7,500,000, and some of the legal issues on both sides of the table. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN ON THIS ITEM. L.3 Reports from any conferences or professional meetings. 3:16 PM NO ACTION WAS TAKEN ON THIS ITEM. L.4 Resolution No. 7993: Staff Report (For Possible Action): Resolution No. ________ Resolution donating Council Donation funds to Sagebrush Soccer Lady Nomads U-16 Youth Soccer team for travel and competition expenses to the National Championships from Mayor Cashell, Council Members Brekhus, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon and Zadra, each for $1,000, for a total amount of $6,000 (General Fund). [Dortch, Jardon, Delgado, Cashell, Zadra, Brekhus] 3:17 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adopt Resolution No. ________ and approve the request to allocate a Council donation to the Sagebrush Soccer Club Lady Nomads U-16 Youth Soccer Team in the amount of $5,000. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Resolution No. ________. Discussion ensued regarding the amounts each would contribute to the Lady Nomads. Mayor Cashell offered to write a personal check for the shortfall. Resolution No. 7993 was adopted, as amended. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] SECONDER: MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor AYES: Sharon Zadra, Council Member Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve L.5 Resolution No. 7994: Resolution No. ________ (For Possible Action): Resolution supporting the Governor's program for the development of local Veterans Advisory Commissions. [Delgado] 3:21 PM Recommendation: Staff recommends Council adopt Resolution No. ________. Proposed Motion: I move to adopt Resolution No. ________. Resolution No. 7994 was adopted. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member SECONDER: Sharon Zadra, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve L.6 Discussion and potential direction to the City Manager to utilize two or more hours of staff time to prepare the necessary documents to convey the real property located at 250 Court Street, without consideration, to VSA Nevada pursuant to NRS 268.055. [Cashell] 1:12 PM ITEMS L.6 AND L.7 WERE HEARD AFTER THE CONSENT AGENDA. Mayor Cashell said that recommended that staff be authorized to spend two or more hours to prepare the necessary documents, noting that the documents should include a Clawback provision. Council Member Brekhus said that the property was formerly a City parking lot, and there was a provision in the lease agreement that parking associated with that property would be for the public during hours it is not being used by VSA. We have a need and responsibility to provide parking to the public for events in that area, she said, and during the process staff should consider reserving a few of the parking spaces for VSA and making the rest maybe metered parking for the public. Mayor Cashell said that VSA is willing to work with the City on the parking issue, and he would not recommend metered parking there. Council Member Brekhus said that metered parking in these districts is the future, and noted that she recently read a 250-page book on the best practices of parking. These pocket parking spaces are a public resource, she said, and are important to revitalizing business districts. Three or four of the spaces should be assigned to VSA and the rest to public meters. Parking should be used efficiently at all hours, she said, and staff should explore alternatives. Bill Thomas, Assistant City Manager, requested that the Council clarify that staff was being directed to discuss with VSA their intentions regarding use of the parking spaces and the ability to provide for public parking, and return with a report. Council Member Brekhus said that staff should return with options, and suggested that neighbors might also wish to weigh in on the issue. Council Member Zadra said that the intense use of the property by young children six days a week during the daytime hours would suggest that it should be open parking, and she would not support installing meters there. Council Member Jardon said that the public would most likely use the parking spaces during weekends and evenings, and metering the spaces would be confusing. She suggested that staff explore restricting parking there during the day and allowing the public to use it in the evenings. Mr. Thomas summarized by saying that staff would determine how to maximize use of the parking spaces. Sam Dehne, Reno resident, presented his views on this issue. The Council authorized the use of two or more hours of staff time to explore the options and prepare the relevant documents. RESULT: APPROVAL [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Dwight Dortch, Vice Mayor SECONDER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve L.7 Discussion and potential direction to the City Manager to utilize two or more hours of staff time to prepare the necessary documents to convey the real property located at 10 South Lake Street without consideration to the National Automobile Museum pursuant to NRS 268.055. [Cashell] 1:21 PM ITEMS L.6 AND L.7 WERE HEARD AFTER THE CONSENT AGENDA. Council Member Brekhus, Mayor Cashell, and Lori Miles, Public Works Property Program Technician, discussed details of the proposal to convey the property to the National Automobile Museum. Jackie Frady, Executive Director of the National Automobile Museum, discussed their plans for expanding the museum. Mayor Cashell stated his support for the proposal. Discussion ensued regarding the lease agreement and history of the museum. The Council authorized the use of two or more hours of staff time to prepare the necessary documents to convey the property to the National Automobile Museum. RESULT: APPROVAL [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Hillary Schieve, Council Member SECONDER: Neoma Jardon, Council Member AYES: Cashell, Brekhus, Zadra, Delgado, Dortch, Jardon, Schieve L.8 Discussion and potential direction to the City Manager to utilize two or more hours of staff time to initiate an amendment to RMC 18.08.502 eliminating the vague and arbitrary provisions that allow the Administrator authority to approve non-conformities to come into closer conformity to current regulations and confirming that it is City Council authority to allow non-conformities to change. [Brekhus]3:22 PM Christian Christensen, 805 Ryan Lane, owner of SÜP Restaurant, presented a Public Comment Form in support of the proposal, but did not wish to speak. He indicated that the Council should have the final say and opportunity to discuss it on a case-by-case basis. Council Member Brekhus said that this item is about a vague provision in City Code that gives staff the authority to decide if a non-conforming use can come into closer conformity to the standard, and it is unclear what 'closer conformity' means. It is also about the Council having the authority to decide if a conforming use should change or alter, she said. Code provides a relief valve because, in very rare circumstances, there may be reasons why you would want a non-conforming use to change. And in those rare circumstances the Code has always said it is by issuance of a Special Use Permit (SUP) by the City Council, not the Planning Commission. At some point, she continued, the Code said the Administrator can make this judgment call if it comes into closer conformity, but it should be a decision of the City Council, and that is what is being proposed is the initiation of an amendment to the zoning ordinance related to that. Tracy Chase, Chief Deputy City Attorney, cautioned against providing direction to staff using language such as 'vague and arbitrary provisions' because She noted that it should first be legally reviewed. Mayor Cashell said he was confident that staff always acts judiciously, and he would not support the use of staff time because he considered it micro-managing City staff. Council Member Delgado said that it could have impacts on neighborhoods, and the Council should examine the options. Council Member Jardon asked about time-lines and costs associated with the two scenarios (having the Administrator or the Council make the determination), and how many of these non-conforming issues staff is currently handling that would then go before the Council. Fred Turnier, Community Development Director, said that there are four non-conformity provisions in the relevant section of Code, and staff sees approximately one per month. He said that any change requiring an SUP from the Planning Commission or City Council would involve, approximately, a 65-day process and $2,500 in SUP fees. Council Member Brekhus and Mr. Turnier discussed issues related to whether something was non-conforming to standards or non-conforming to uses. Mr. Turnier said that the City's professional planning staff uses their discretion and makes decisions on a daily basis to help fulfill the Master Plan and implement City Code. Council Member Brekhus said that non-conforming uses, which can impact neighborhoods and undermine all the planning work that has been done as well as have broad implications to other sections of Code, need to be brought back to the Council for consideration. Mayor Cashell reiterated that staff is qualified to make those decisions, and advised against creating additional delays and costs. It was moved by Council Member Brekhus, seconded by Council Member Delgado to authorize the use of two or more hours of staff time to initiate an amendment to Reno Municipal Code 18.08.502. Motion failed with Council Members Zadra, Dortch and Jardon and Mayor Cashell voting nay. RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN [3 TO 4] MOVER: Jenny Brekhus, Council Member SECONDER: Oscar Delgado, Council Member AYES: Jenny Brekhus, Oscar Delgado, Hillary Schieve NAYS: Robert Cashell, Sharon Zadra, Dwight Dortch, Neoma Jardon M Public Hearings - 6:00 PM - None. N Public Comment NO ACTION WAS TAKEN ON THIS ITEM. O Adjournment (For Possible Action) THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 3:35 P.M.
SLEEP QUALITY AND ITS DETERMINANTS AMONG NURSES DURING COVID- 19 PANDEMIC By Omar DI, Hassan OM and Hani BM Department of Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Egypt. Corresponding author: Omar DI. Email: email@example.com DOI: 10.21608/ejom.2021.82911.1239 Submit date: 2021-07-01Revise date: 2021-08-06Accept date: 2021-08-12 Author's contributions: all authors contributed equally in this work. Abstract Introduction: Poor sleep quality is a critical occupational health problem for health care providers, particularly nurses especially during COVID-19 pandemic, that not only affects their physical and mental health, but also affects patient's safety and job performance. Aim of Work: To measure the prevalence of poor sleep quality among Egyptian nurses during the pandemic of COVID 19 and to determine different factors affecting sleep quality. Materials and Methods: This web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess sleep quality and its determinants among Egyptian nurses, during the period from September 2020 to February 2021 using self–administered validated Arabic version of Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Results: The current study involved 351 Egyptian nurses, recruited from 15 Egyptian governorates. Most of them were less than 30 years old (73.2%); 75.5% were females and 56.1% were married. About 17% of nurses were working in isolation hospitals, 82.1% were night shifters, and (31.9%) had COVID-19 infection. Assessment of sleep quality, revealed that 83.5% had poor sleep quality (PSQI score>5), the most affected domain was sleep latency (1.72±0.86), whereas the least affected one was sleep medications use (0.35±0.79). Poor sleep quality was associated with young age, smokers, work experience less than 10 years, previous COVID-19 infection, working in isolation hospitals, night shifts, private work and long working hours. Conclusion and Recommendations: The current study showed that there was high prevalence of poor sleep quality among the studied nurses during COVID-19 pandemic. Presence of chronic diseases, night shifts, private work and long working hours/week were significant predictors of poor sleep quality among participants which indicated the need for well-organized work schedules for nurses. Work place periodic health assessments and management of sleep disorders are essential, with more attention to wellness and coping programs at all health facilities, especially those involved in fighting COVID-19. Keywords: Sleep quality, Nurses, Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), COVID-19 pandemic. Introduction Sleep disorders are becoming a major global public health concern that affects millions of people (Dong et al., 2020). Compared with non–health care providers, medical field workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic have more sleep disturbances and more inferior sleep quality (San Martin et al., 2020). jeopardize patient safety (Saleh et al., 2014). Nurses are especially vulnerable to sleep disturbances because they are exposed to various situations that can disrupt sleep quality, such as work schedules (Dong et al., 2017, Ahmed and Hamed, 2020). Nurses, who are the most overworked professional group in an organization, are now compelled to work according to irregular schedules due to health care organizations' efforts to provide high-quality, cost-effective care with minimal staffing (Stanojevic et al., 2016). These erratic schedules cause poor sleep quality among nursing staff, resulting in physical and mental health issues that impact their professional performance and, as a result, may Regarding poor sleep quality prevalence among nurses, the average Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) total score was greater than five in 87.8% of the night shift workgroup, compared to 56.7 % in the morning shift group (p<0.001) (Ahmed and Hamed, 2020). According to a study done in Iran, up to 57 % of female shift-working nurses suffer from sleep disturbances (Ghalichi et al., 2013). Irritability, impaired memory, lack of attention in the workplace, work-related accidents or injuries, absence, and even depression can result from a lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation has been linked to metabolic and endocrine disorders, as well as poor health outcomes (Dong et al., 2020 and Kim-Godwin et al., 2021). Aim of Work To measure the prevalence of poor sleep quality among Egyptian nurses during the pandemic of COVID 19 and to determine different factors affecting sleep quality. Materials and Methods Study design: This is a web-based cross-sectional study. Place and duration of the study: As data collection during the 2nd wave of COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures are followed to prevent and control the spread of infection, an electronic form (Googleform) of the questionnaire was prepared and distributed to the target group through What's App and Facebook public and private platforms, which are the most common platforms used in Egypt. This study was done during the duration from September 2020 to February 2021 Study sample The target population of nurses was recruited according to specific inclusion criteria. Women and men of all ages and qualifications, full-time and permanent employees who worked for at least six months in Egyptian health facilities during the study period and agreed to participate in the study were included. Sample size: The sample size was calculated based on the prevalence of poor sleep quality among nurses reported in a previous Egyptian study by (Ahmed and Hamed, 2020), and it was 72.3%. Considering the 95% level of confidence and 5% precision level, the calculated sample size was 308 nurses (Daniel, 1999). The sample size was increased to 351 participants to improve the validity of the study. Sampling technique: A Snowball non-probability sampling approach was used to reach the target group and attain the required sample size. Study methods An electronic anonymous (Google-form) self – administered Arabic questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was formed of four components as the following: 1- Socio-demographic factors: age –sex-residence-education-marital status- the presence of children at home. 2- Work-related factors: occupation, type of health facility, type of ward they are working in, years of experience, number of night shifts per month, the total working hours per week, and presence of private work. 3- Health-related factors such as smoking history, chronic diseases, a history of having COVID 19 infection, and symptoms of chronic pain disorders as tension headache, low back , neck, and knee pain. Any pain that lasted more than three months and was either continuous or intermittent, in the past 30 days was considered as chronic pain (Merskey, 1986). 4- Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) (Suleiman et al., 2010). The validated Arabic version of the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was used. The Global PSQI's internal consistency reliability is marginally acceptable (Cronbach's alpha =.65). Moderate to high correlations (r =.53 to.82, p.01) between five PSQI components and the overall PSQI score supported the reliability. The global PSQI correlates strongly with the Insomnia Severity Index (r =.76) and moderately with the related construct of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36 vitality subscale (r = -.33), indicating convergent validity. Pittsburgh sleep quality index contains 24 questions (19 self-rated and five rated by the bed partner). Only the 19 selfrated questions were included in the scoring. These questions are combined to form 7 component scores which are: (a) Subjective sleep quality, (b) Sleep latency, (c) Sleep duration,(d) Habitual sleep efficiency, (e) Sleep disturbance, (f) Use of sleep medication, (g) Daytime dysfunction. Each item is scored on a scale of 0 to 3, with 3 representing the negative extreme on the Likert Scale, and the overall score of the seven components is 0 to 21. A component score of more than or equal to 2 indicates that this component is of poor quality, while a total score of more than 5 indicates poor sleep quality (Garbarino, 1999). Consent An informed written, electronic consent was obtained from all participants after clarification of the objectives of the study, confidentiality of data, voluntary involvement, and withdrawal. Ethical Aapproval The Research Ethics committee (REC), Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, approved the study methodology (Rc.2./.2021). Data Management Data were cleaned and coded then analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. as data was normally distributed, quantitative data were described in the form of Mean ± SD. Student t-test was used two means comparisons and ANOVA for comparing more than two groups. Qualitative data were described as frequency and percent. Correlation analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). Logistic regression analysis was used for the prediction of poor sleep quality. If the p-value is ≤0.05, differences were considered statistically significant. Results Table 1: Sociodemographic characteristics of the studied participants and overall (PSQI) score. \| Variables \| \| No (%) \| PSQI Mean± SD \| F or t Test \| p \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Age groups/ years \| < 30 \| 257 ( 73.2% ) \| 8.72±4.06 \| 3.440 \| 0.033* \| \| \| 30-40 \| 67 ( 19.1% ) \| 8.49±3.84 \| \| \| \| \| >40 \| 27 ( 7.7% ) \| 6.62±3.05 \| \| \| \| Sex \| Male \| 86 ( 24.5% ) \| 8.84±4.03 \| .877 \| 0.381 \| \| \| Female \| 265 (75.5%) \| 8.41±3.96 \| \| \| \| Residence \| Rural area \| 246 (70.1% ) \| 8.41±3.89 \| -.768 \| 0.443 \| \| \| Urban area \| 105 ( 29.9%) \| 8.77±4.19 \| \| \| \| Presence of children \| NO \| 89 ( 25.4% ) \| 8.38±4.32 \| -.382- \| 0.703 \| \| \| Yes \| 262 (74.6 %) \| 8.56±3.86 \| \| \| \| Education \| Nursing school \| 46 (13.1% ) \| 6.82±3.08 \| 4.384 \| 0.005 ** \| \| \| Nursing institute \| 187 (53.3%) \| 8.45±3.96 \| \| \| \| \| Nursing bachelor \| 89 (25.4% ) \| 9.25±4.20 \| \| \| \| \| Post graduate \| 29 ( 8.3% ) \| 9.37±3.98 \| \| \| \| Health facility \| Hospital \| 292 (83.2%) \| 8.31±3.91 \| 4.553 \| .034* \| \| \| Isolation hospital \| 59 (16.8%) \| 9.52±4.18 \| \| \| \| Departments \| Emergency depart \| 58 (16.5%) \| 7.91±3.89 \| 3.187 \| 0.005** \| \| \| ICU \| 98 ( 27.9% ) \| 9.12±4.20 \| \| \| \| \| Surgical depart \| 28 ( 8.0% ) \| 7.14±3.43 \| \| \| \| \| Medical depart \| 49 (14.0% ) \| 7.28±3.11 \| \| \| \| \| Pediatric depart \| 36 (10.3%) \| 10.22±3.38 \| \| \| \| \| Obs &Gyn depart \| 8 (2.3% ) \| 8.37±4.30 \| \| \| \| \| Other departs \| 74 ( 21.1% ) \| 8.72±4.32 \| \| \| \| Experience/years \| < 10 \| 261 (74.4%) \| 8.74±4.03 \| 3.490 \| 0.032* \| \| \| 10-20 \| 57 (16.2%) \| 8.47±4.11 \| \| \| \| \| > 20 \| 33 (9.4% ) \| 6.81±2.87 \| \| \| \| Night shifts (5.60±5.34) \| NO \| 63 (17.9%) \| 7.09±3.50 \| 10.101 \| .002 \| \| \| Yes \| 288 (82.1%) \| 8.83±4.01 \| \| \| \| Private work \| NO \| 293 (83.5%) \| 8.12±3.89 \| -4.240 \| .000 \| \| \| Yes \| 58 (16.5%) \| 10.50±3.85ii \| \| \| * Significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). ** Significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Obs &Gyn: Obstetrics and Gynecology F or t: The used statistical tests (F test for ANOVA) Table 1 showed that, most of the studied nurses were less than 30 years old (73.2%); 75.5% were females. The majority of them (70.1%) were from rural areas. Almost half of the studied group were married (56.1%); 74.6 % had children. Regarding educational level, 53.3% of participants graduated from the nursing institute, and 25.4% of them held a Bachelor of Nursing. Nurses from the ICU department accounted for 27.9% compared to 16.5%, 8%, 14%, 10.3%, and 2.3% from emergency, surgical, medical, pediatric, obstetrics, and gynecology departments, respectively. About three-quarters of participants had work experience < 10 years, and 83.5% of them were involved in private and governmental work. The mean working hours per week was (37.64 ± 31.72). Most nurses (82.1%) were night shifters and the mean night shifts per month were (5.60±5.34). Comparison between socio-demographic, work related factors, and the overall (PSQI) score showed that, the mean sleep quality score was significantly higher (poorer sleep quality) among the younger age group (< 30 years) (p = 0.03), with higher educational level (post graduate education) (p = 0.005), working in COVID-19 isolation facilities (p = 0.03), working in pediatrics and ICU departments (p = 0.005), had less than 10 years of experience (p = 0.03) and had more night shifts (p = 0.002) (Table 1). Table 2: Relation between health related factors and overall (PSQI ) score. \| Variables \| \| No (%) \| PSQI Mean± SD \| F or t \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Drinking tea/coffee/cups \| No \| 71(20.2%) \| 7.80±4.02 \| 2.902 \| \| \| 1-2 \| 162(46.2%) \| 8.37±3.64 \| \| \| \| 3- 4 \| 91(25.9%) \| 8.80±4.30 \| \| \| \| More than 4 \| 27(7.7%) \| 10.33±4.31 \| \| \| Smoking history \| non smoker \| 325(92.6%) \| 8.40±3.94 \| 4.503 \| \| \| ex-smoker \| 10(2.8%) \| 7.80±2.89 \| \| \| \| Smoker \| 16(4.6%) \| 11.37±4.39 \| \| \| Chronic diseases \| NO \| 243(69.2%) \| 8.01±3.79 \| -3.624 \| \| \| Yes \| 108(30.8%) \| 9.65±4.17 \| \| \| Chronic headache \| NO \| 213(60.7%) \| 7.74±3.83 \| 22.004 \| \| \| Yes \| 138(39.3%) \| 9.72±3.92 \| \| \| Chronic neck pain \| NO \| 229(65.2%) \| 8.01±3.70 \| 11.235 \| \| \| Yes \| 122(34.8%) \| 9.48±4.30 \| \| \| Chronic low back pain \| NO \| 191(54.4%) \| 7.26±3.55 \| 47.029 \| \| \| Yes \| 160(45.6%) \| 10.01±3.95 \| \| \| Chronic knee pain \| NO \| 241(68.7%) \| 8.28±3.80 \| \| \| \| Yes \| 110((31.3%) \| 9.03±4.32 \| \| \| \| NO \| 239(68%) \| 8.22±3.79 \| \| F or t: The used statistical tests (F test for ANOVA). : Significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). : Significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Table 2 showed that most of the participants were nonsmokers (92.6%), and almost one-third (30.8%) had chronic diseases. About one-third of the studied group (32%) had COVID-19 infection. The overall PSQI-mean score was higher and indicated poorer sleep quality among smokers and tea/coffee drinkers more than 4 cups per day (p = 0.01, 0.04). Moreover, those suffering from chronic diseases or complaining of chronic pain (headache, neck pain, or low back pain) had poorer sleep quality (p = 0.001). Also, nurses who had COVID-19 infection revealed lower PSQI scores and poorer sleep quality (p = 0 .04) (Table 2). Table 3: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) domains and overall score among the studied group. \| PSQI domains \| \| No \| % \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Subjective sleep quality \| Not during past month \| 282 \| 80.3 \| \| \| Less than once/ week \| 27 \| 7.7 \| \| \| Once or twice / week \| 28 \| 8 \| \| \| three or more times / week \| 14 \| 4 \| \| Sleep latency(difficulty) \| NO \| 25 \| 7.1 \| \| \| Mild \| 117 \| 33.3 \| \| \| Moderate \| 138 \| 39.3 \| \| \| Severe \| 71 \| 20.2 \| \| Sleep duration/ hours Mean ±SD 5.85±0.092 \| >7 \| 110 \| 31.3 \| \| \| 6-7 \| 103 \| 29.3 \| \| \| 5- >6 \| 90 \| 25.6 \| \| \| <5 \| 48 \| 13.7 \| \| Habitual sleep efficiency Mean % (81.66%) \| >85 \| 125 \| 35.6 \| \| \| 75-84 \| 71 \| 20.2 \| \| \| 65-74 \| 97 \| 27.6 \| \| \| <65 \| 58 \| 16.5 \| \| Sleep disturbance (difficulty) \| NO \| 10 \| 2.8 \| \| \| Mild \| 197 \| 56.1 \| \| \| Moderate \| 124 \| 35.3 \| \| \| Severe \| 20 \| 5.7 \| \| Sleep medication use \| Not during past month \| 282 \| 80.3 \| \| \| Less than once / week \| 27 \| 7.7 \| \| \| Once or twice / week \| 28 \| 8 \| \| \| Three or more times / week \| 14 \| 4 \| \| Day time dysfunction \| Not during past month \| 282 \| 80.3 \| \| \| Less than once / week \| 27 \| 7.7 \| \| \| Once or twice / week \| 28 \| 8 \| \| \| Three or more times / week \| 14 \| 4 \| \| Overall score Mean ±SD 8.52±3.98 \| Poor sleep quality (> 5) \| 293 \| 83.5 \| \| \| Good sleep quality( < 5) \| 58 \| 16.5 \| Assessment of sleep quality revealed that 83.5% (293/351) of studied subjects had poor sleep quality and significant sleep problems (total PSQI score of 5 or above). The mean PSQI score was (8.52 ± 3.98), the mean sleep duration / hours was (5.85±0.092), and the habitual sleep efficiency mean was 81.66% (Table 3). Table 4: Binary logistic regressions for the predictors of poor sleep quality \| Variables \| B \| S.E. \| Wald \| Sig. \| Exp(B) \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Presence of chronic diseases \| 1.211 \| 0.404 \| 8.962 \| .003* \| 3.356 \| \| Presence of night shifts \| 1.684 \| 0.389 \| 18.695 \| .000** \| 5.387 \| \| Presence of private work \| -1.729- \| 0.686 \| 6.352 \| .012* \| .177 \| \| Work hours/week \| -.008- \| 0.004 \| 3.973 \| .046* \| .992 \| \| Constant \| 1.861 \| 0.751 \| 6.144 \| .013* \| 6.428ii \| :Significant at <0.05 * :Significant at <0.01 B represents the estimated regression coefficients for the explanatory variables, with the standard error (S.E.) given. The Wald statistics is the ratio of B to S.E. of the regression coefficient squared. The significance of each explanatory variable (Sig.) is given by the p-value. Exp (B) is the predicted change in odds for a unit increase in the explanatory variable. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to detect predictors of poor sleep quality, which revealed that the presence of chronic diseases, night shifts, private work, and long working hours/week were significant predictors of poor sleep quality among the studied nurses (Table 4). The leading subjective causes of poor sleep quality among nurses were fear of transmitting the infection to family members, anxiety and fear from contracting COVID-19 infection, frequent changes in work shifts, and increased workload during the pandemic (Figure 1). Discussion For healthcare workers, particularly nurses, sleep disorder is a serious occupational health issue that affects their health, patient's safety, and job performance (Ahmed and Hamed, 2020). epidemics. Nurses and physicians can have poor sleep quality due to stress, depression, and other mental health issues (Salari et al., 2020). The healthcare workers' mental health has always been influenced by According to recent studies, the prevalence of sleep disruptions during COVID-19 has increased compared to normal times (Li et al., 2020). In this context, a survey by Abdulah and Musa (2020) found that 68.3% of Iraqi physicians exposed to COVID-19 suffer from sleep disruptions. In contrast, a similar study in the same region one year earlier, in 2019, found 45.5% had sleep disturbances (Azzez et al., 2019). The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of poor sleep quality among nurses working in the Egyptian health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the socio-demographic, health-related, and work-related factors that affect their sleep quality. According to the findings of the current study, young age nurses (less than 30 years), work experience of 10 years or less, higher educational level (post graduates), who are smokers, and drinking more than 4 cups of tea/coffee/ day, experienced poor sleep quality (Table 1,2). Young age and few working years indicate limited experience and knowledge in managing patients during pandemics such as H1N1 influenza or COVID-19, which could be linked to increased anxiety (Fernandez et al., 2020). Opposite to the current work, Tarhan et al. (2018) on their work on the sleep quality among nurses and its influencing factors, detected that nurses in the older age group (41 years or older) were 9.5 times more likely to have poor sleep quality than nurses in the younger age group (25 years or younger), implying that advanced age is a risk factor for poor sleep quality. The same results were obtained by Salari et al., 2020 in their study on the prevalence of sleep disturbances among physicians and nurses facing the COVID-19 patients. Also, Pérez-Fuentes et al. (2019) reported that increase nurses' age was associated with more inferior sleep quality. He reported that as nurses get older, they sleep for less time, and sleep quality deteriorates. On the other hand; Tu et al. (2020) found no significant relationship between sociodemographic variables (age, marital status, educational level, working years, etc.) and sleep disturbance. The results of the present study reported higher overall PSQI-mean score and poorer sleep quality among coffee and tea drinkers (more than 4 cups per day). These results were supported by Watson et al., (2016) who conducted a study to determine if caffeine consumption differed between good and poor sleepers, they concluded that poor sleepers reported greater total caffeine consumption compared to good sleepers. This could be explained by the fact that, increased caffeine consumption is associated with decreased total sleep time, increased naps, decreased time in bed, daytime sleepiness, and poor subjective sleep quality (Whittier et al., 2014). The current work detected that nurses who worked in isolation hospitals, involved in private work, worked in the ICU department, and had night shifts were more likely to suffer poor sleep quality (Table 1). Day-shift nurses were less likely to have poor sleep quality. These results agreed with Tarhan et al. (2018), who concluded that nurses who work day shifts get better sleep than nurses who work night shifts, as they were 14.1 times poorer sleep quality than day-shift nurses. Feng et al., 2021in their study on Chinese nurses reported that night shift work was significantly associated with poor sleep quality. The present study showed that nurses who had COVID-19, chronic diseases as chronic headache, chronic neck pain, or chronic low back pain had a worse sleep quality (Table 2). In terms of the link between poor sleep quality and headache, Liu et al., 2019 found that the most strongly associated factor with sleep disorders among healthcare workers was headache. They concluded that 44.6 percent of their study's participants had been suffering from headaches for more than three months and had not improved in the previous 30 days. The bidirectional link between headaches and sleep problems could explain this finding; while headache treatment is essential for resolving sleep issues; better sleep also reduces headache among healthcare workers. They also confirmed that other types of chronic pain negatively affect sleep, implying that sleep disturbances are more likely when there is chronic pain in various parts of the body (Liu et al., 2019). About 83% of the studied nurses were complaining of poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt (Table 3). The observed prevalence was slightly higher than that of another Egyptian study done by Ahmed and Hamed (2020) at Zagazig city, who reported that 73% of shift group nurses suffered from poor subjective sleep quality. Also Tu et al. (2020), found a sleep disturbance prevalence of (60%) among nurses (95% CI: 50.1-69.1%) in their study on sleep quality and mood symptoms in conscripted frontline nurse in Wuhan, China during COVID-19 outbreak. The results of current work was also higher than that obtained by Zhou et al. (2020) in their work on the prevalence and demographic correlates of poor sleep quality among frontline health professionals in Liaoning Province, China during the COVID-19 outbreak, who detected that the prevalence was (19.5%, 95% CI: 17.6-21.54%). Egyptian nurses' high sleep disturbance prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic can be explained by the fact that Egyptian nurses were under a lot of stress at work and had to work longer hours due to the rising number of COVID-19-infected patients in Egypt and a shortage of nursing staff. The heavy workload had a significant impact on their sleep quality, as did negative feelings such as fear of becoming infected and spreading COVID-19 to their friends, colleagues, and family. In COVID-19 isolation hospitals, many nurses were separated from their families and communities. This condition could lead to a lack of social support, which could lead to sleep disturbances (Zhou et al., 2020). The mean overall PSQI score among studied nurses was 8.52±3.98, reflecting poor sleep quality (Table 3) which was higher than the mean total PSQI score of a survey conducted in Istanbul on 152 nurses before COVID-19 pandemic, which was 6.65 ± 3.48 (Tarhan et al., 2018). This discrepancy can be explained by the fact that nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic experience more stress, leading to poor sleep quality. Binary logistic regression analysis in the present study concluded that the presence of chronic diseases, night shifts, private work, and long working hours were significant predictors of poor sleep quality among the studied nurses (Table 4). This finding is in line with a study done by Dong et al. (2017) and Alamri et al. (2019), who detected that long working hours were related to poor sleep quality. In contrast to a study was done in Amman on 186 nurses by Suleiman et al., 2010; who found no link between PSQI scores and socio-demographic variables like age group, gender, educational level, marital status, dependent children, and dependent adults. Furthermore, no significant link was observed between PSQI scores and work-related variables like nurse experience, hospital type, shift duration, and shift system. The only significant link was between PSQI scores and monthly pay for nurses. This could be attributed to the presence of correlation between some dimensions of quality of work life. If employees are satisfied with their income and have no financial problems, find their work environment secure, have the necessary opportunity for growth and promotion, and are provided with job security, their quality of sleep is likely to increase as a result of these parameters (Momeni et al., 2016). Conclusion and Recommendations: The prevalence of poor sleep quality among Egyptian nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic is high, factors as lower educational level, young age, work experience less than ten years, multiplenight shifts, working in isolation hospitals, long working hours, private work in addition to the governmental one, and had COVID-19 infection were significantly associated with poor sleep quality among the studied group. This indicates the urgent need for wellorganized work schedules for nurses, work place periodic health assessments and management of sleep disorders are essential, with more attention to wellness and coping programs at all health facilities, especially those involved in fighting COVID-19. Funding This work was not funded by any agencies. Conflict of interest We have no competing of interest to disclose. Acknowledgment We would like to thank all Egyptian nurses who participated in this study. References 1-Abdulah DM and Musa DH (2020): Insomnia and stress of physicians during COVID19outbreak. Sleep Med; 1:2.https://doi. org/10.1016/j.sleepx.2020.100017. 2-Ahmed AS and Hamed RA (2020): Sleep disorder among shift work nurses and its impact on their quality of life at Al Ahrar Governmental Hospital, Zagazig City, Egypt. Egypt J Psychiatr; 41:117-24. 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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Access Management Awareness Project & Report Orange Grove Road Town of Hillsborough and Board of County Commissioners Orange County, North Carolina VII. Recommendations The Joint Orange Grove Road Transportation Group recommends the following actions to alleviate unsafe conditions and to manage potential congestion from future development in the Orange Grove Road corridor. The recommendations address five basic issues: 1. obtaining funding for improvements to enhance safety for all modes of traffic; 2. providing pedestrian facilities (sidewalks) in the corridor; 3. implementation of recommendations into local plans and regulations; 4. recommendations for future studies; and 5. distribute the report to community groups for comments. 1. Pursue funding to implement recommendations in this study. The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), Spot Safety funds and Small Urban Funds are potential funding sources for roadway improvements. Small Urban Funds may be used for projects within 1-mile outside city limits. Both Small Urban and Spot Safety funding sources are subject to the discretion of the Division's Board of Transportation (BOT) member, and are generally requested for projects in the $50,000 to $200,000 range. The local jurisdiction(s) must request those funds from the BOT member. Transportation Improvement Program, in general, is used to fund projects that cost $300,000 or more. There are also some contingency funds that may be requested through the area's representatives to the State legislature. The local jurisdictions should pursue funding to advance the following improvements in the Orange Grove Road corridor. 1.1 Pursue funding to widen the bridge on Orange Grove Road over Interstate 40 to include bicycle and pedestrian facilities. North Carolina Department of Transportation estimates the cost to add bicycle and pedestrian facilities to the bridge is approximately $750,000. 1.2 Pursue funding and work with NCDOT to install a crosswalk with a flashing light to warn vehicles of the pedestrian crossing at the bus driveway entrance at Cedar Ridge High School. 1.3 Pursue funding and work with NCDOT to investigate installing a traffic light at the intersection of Oakdale Drive and Orange Grove Road, and to provide right turn lanes on both Oakdale Drive and Orange Grove Road to assist traffic flow through the intersection. 2. Provide pedestrian facilities along Orange Grove Road. 2.1 Research actual right-of-way along Orange Grove Road throughout the corridor study area through land records and pursue feasibility of obtaining the recommended 80' right-of-way through dedication or acquiring easements. \\Kingcharles\Depts_IZ\Planning\10_Comprehensive Planning and Transportation\Transportation\Access Management\OrangeGroveRdAccessManagement\FINAL ADOPTED DOCUMENT\EXECUTIVE SUMMARY\Recommendations052003.doc 2.2 Investigate installing sidewalks along the north side of Orange Grove Road in the corridor study area including determining the feasibility of construction with respect to changes in elevation along the road and with respect to cost. 2.3 After technical report has been received by both the Hillsborough Town Board and the Orange County Board of Commissioners, if the data indicates that construction of a sidewalk on the north side of Orange Grove Road is not financially feasible, pursue widening Orange Grove Road to 12' lanes with, at a minimum, 4' paved shoulders and preferably with 6' or 8' paved shoulders to allow for a shared bicycle/pedestrian facility. 2.4 Coordinate with the School Board to pursue installation of sidewalks along Orange Grove Road adjacent to the school property, along New Grady Brown School Road and from the proposed crosswalk on New Grady Brown School Road to the Grady Brown School and to Cedar Ridge High School. 3. Implement recommendations into local plans and regulations. 3.1 Include recommendations in this study in the development of Multi-modal Transportation Plans for Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough. 3.2 Adopt recommended cross section for Orange Grove Road into Orange County and Town of Hillsborough zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations. 3.3 Amend each jurisdictions respective land use regulations to support and/or implement recommendations in this study including a provision that any development having ingress/egress off Orange Grove Road in the study area either construct its fair share of recommended improvements or provide payment in lieu of for such improvements. 3.4 Support TIP Project R2825, South Churton Street improvements, by continuing to assign a high priority to that project as a transportation need in the biennial update of the TIP. 4. The following items are recommended for Future Studies. 4.1 Work with the business community through the Economic Development Commission and the Orange County/Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce to implement the recommendations in the Feasibility Study for South Churton Street concerning Daniel Boone Village and to develop access management for other businesses in the South Churton Street corridor. 4.2 Pursue a future study for the Oakdale Drive corridor. \\Kingcharles\Depts_IZ\Planning\10_Comprehensive Planning and Transportation\Transportation\Access Management\OrangeGroveRdAccessManagement\FINAL ADOPTED DOCUMENT\EXECUTIVE SUMMARY\Recommendations052003.doc 5. Distribute Orange Grove Road Study and Access Management Plan to community groups for comments. \\Kingcharles\Depts_IZ\Planning\10_Comprehensive Planning and Transportation\Transportation\Access Management\OrangeGroveRdAccessManagement\FINAL ADOPTED DOCUMENT\EXECUTIVE SUMMARY\Recommendations052003.doc TABLE OF CONTENTS Project Phases and Work Products The Access Management Awareness Project is divided into five work phases. PHASE I PROJECT BACKGROUND AND GENERAL GOALS TASK FORCE CREATION ACCESS MANAGEMENT ACCESS MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE MEMBERS GENERAL GOALS SPECIFIC GOALS PHASE I Project Background and General Goals TASK FORCE CREATION In March, 2002, the Board of County Commissioners and the Town of Hillsborough established the Orange Grove Road Transportation Task Force as part of its continuing cooperative planning effort. Existing and proposed development activity, as well as, existing public facilities such as schools in this corridor, prompted a review of transportation issues and a discussion regarding the range transportation planning initiatives that can lead to a well-planned, safer, multimodal transportation system. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is a partner in the effort. The Task Force found that the crux of many solutions was based in access management, so their work was to improve awareness of how access management can lead to safer, better functioning highways, roads, and streets in the Hillsborough area. The Task Force also considered, as a byproduct, the effects that access management projects have on local business vitality. ACCESS MANAGEMENT Access management is a process that manages access to land development while seeking to preserve the flow of traffic on the surrounding road system. Sound access management practices can lead to safer roads that provide better service to motorists and a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclist. ACCESS MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE MEMBERS A. GENERAL GOALS 1. The welfare of the Town and County requires the safe, efficient and economical movement of persons and goods while maintaining livability and environmental quality. It is essential to develop and maintain a complete transportation system (freeways, major streets, public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian ways) adequate to accommodate those needs. The intensity of land development and the travel demand it produces must be in balance with the planned capacity of the transportation system. If this balance is not maintained, the inevitable result is traffic intrusion into residential streets, traffic delays, undesirable business environment, a less safe citizen environment and an overall diminishment of the quality of life. 2. Comprehensive and cooperative planning is essential to the development of a safe, effective transportation system. 3. The development of a draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for the Orange Grove Road Corridor with possible application to other areas of the County. An introduction of the needs and format of a master plan is noted below within this phase. B. SPECIFIC GOALS Proactively develop a multimodal transportation plan for the area to guide and manage new and rehabilitative development accordingly. These ideas are then implemented with regard to Orange Grove Road corridor. To accomplish these goals, the Town and County has suggested and is developing more specific goals, objectives and policies regarding transportation in the aspect of vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists, noted in Phase IV. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK PHASE II ORANGE COUNTY CASE STUDY I. BACKGROUND II. COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE REVIEW III. ROAD CONNECTIVITY IV. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ROAD CONFIGURATION V. INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS AND SIGNALIZATION VI. ACCESS MANAGEMENT AND RECOMMENDED LAND USE CONTROLS VII. RECOMMENDATIONS 5 PHASE II Orange County Case Study I. Background The Orange Grove Access Management Plan is being created by a joint effort between the Town of Hillsborough and Orange County to address development pressures in the Orange Grove Road corridor and corresponding impacts to the safety of bicycle and pedestrian traffic in the corridor. Providing safe access for school children traveling to Grady Brown Elementary School and Cedar Ridge High School and bicycle and pedestrian traffic crossing the bridge over Interstate 40 was a major factor in the appointment of the Joint Orange Grove Road Transportation Group by the Hillsborough Town Board and the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The commissioners, at a joint meeting of the two boards on May 6, 2002, agreed to appoint two commissioners from each jurisdiction to study transportation issues in the Orange Grove Road corridor and prepare a recommendation on ways to address those issues. The group's recommendations are contained in this access management plan for the Orange Grove Road corridor. The study area for the corridor extends along Orange Grove Road from Churton Street to New Grady Brown School Road and includes the largely undeveloped area bounded by I-40, I-85 and Oakdale Drive. Orange Grove Road is a two-lane, twenty-foot wide shoulder section road. Bicycles must share the 10-foot travel lanes with motor vehicles and there are no sidewalks. The North Carolina Department of Transportation does not own nor have a right-ofway easement throughout the entire corridor for the currently proposed sixty-foot right-of-way. In the last few years, there have been several proposals for multifamily residential development in the corridor. The Heritage, a 171-unit multifamily development in the corridor, was approved January 2000. The Town of Hillsborough, since then, has received several applications for multifamily developments and anticipates making decisions on applications for two developments totaling 516 units between December 2002 and February 2003. Roadway improvements in the corridor will be needed to accommodate new development. Development applications that impact the corridor should address dedication of right-of-way, construction of turn lanes, intersection improvements, bicycle and pedestrian needs and other deficiencies that may be exacerbated by the new development. This document provides guidance for the improvement of the corridor with recommendations regarding road connectivity, road cross section and bicycle and pedestrian access, and land use controls. II. Comprehensive Land Use Review The study area lies almost entirely within Hillsborough's land use jurisdiction. Only the portion from Interstate 40 to New Grady Brown School Road is within the land use jurisdiction of Orange County. Orange Grove Road from Churton Street to Mayo Drive is currently zoned for general commercial uses to provide for future expansion of the general commercial district south of the historic downtown area. The remainder of the corridor is zoned for residential uses ranging from low-density agricultural residential zoning to high-density multifamily zoning. Retail and service operations exist within walking or cycling distance from the residentially zoned property, but there are no roadway connections from the residential areas to the commercial district on Churton Street. This plan recommends several connections that can be realized with future land use decisions. New Grady Brown Elementary and newly constructed Cedar Ridge High School are within walking and cycling distance from residential areas. The schools are located on New Grady Brown School Road which takes access from Orange Grove Road and Dimmocks Mill Road. Both Orange Grove Road and Dimmocks Mill Road are on adopted bicycle plans for the Town of Hillsborough or Orange County. However, lack of adequate bicycle facilities on those roads and on New Grady Brown School Road present an unsafe environment for using bicycles as a means for transportation to the schools. Likewise, lack of sidewalks throughout the corridor make walking undesirable. Another major obstacle to the safety of bicycle and pedestrian transportation and the connectivity of the Orange Grove Road bicycle route is the narrow two-lane bridge that carries Orange Grove Road over Interstate 40. Bicyclists and pedestrian must share the roadway with motor vehicles crossing the bridge, as there are no shoulders or facilities for cyclists or pedestrians. There is a large amount of undeveloped land between the commercial district along Churton Street and the area bounded by Interstate 85, Orange Grove Road and Oakdale Drive. This plan recommends roadway connections that could form a network to provide easy access between development along Orange Grove Road and the commercial areas along Churton Street and also to the schools. III. Road Connectivity Access management in the Orange Grove Road corridor includes recommendations for new roadway connections from Orange Grove Road to other major roads in the area as new development takes place. Arrows outlined in white on Map 1. Orange Grove Parcels show potential access points for construction of new roads in the corridor to help manage congestion by limiting the points of access to the corridor. The arrows also indicate where extensions of existing subdivision roads can be used to connect with proposed access points and provide a road network within the area between Churton Street, Orange Grove Road, Interstate 85 and Oakdale Drive. The proposed access points can be used as a guide for the design of future development proposals. This plan recommends that the Town pursue the realignment of Eno Mountain Road to align with the intersection of Mayo Street at Orange Grove Road to resolve traffic conflicts caused by the close proximity of the intersections of two urban major thoroughfares with another urban major thoroughfare. That intersection would potentially warrant a traffic light. The plan also recommends the extension of Orange Grove Road from Churton Street to US 70 Business. That connection would provide an alternative access to the US 70 Business/NC 86 corridor and alleviate congestion on Churton Street. The connection would also provide a more direct route to Eno Mountain and western Hillsborough from the US 70 Business corridor. MAP 1 TO BE INCLUDED IN COMPLETE REPORT IV. Recommendtions for Road Configuration The Joint Orange Grove Road Transportation Group recommended several changes to the Hillsborough Transportation Plan regarding proposed roadway sections. Orange grove road is designated as a major urban thoroughfare with average daily traffic of 4,100 in 2001. The proposed cross section is a two-lane, 24-foot shoulder section within a 60foot right-of-way. Traffic projections in the corridor do not warrant widening the road since the existing and proposed cross section has adequate capacity (14,000 ADT) to handle the projected average daily traffic at level of service E. Regional urban highway capacity figures are calculated at level of service E. Level of service E represents operating conditions at or near the capacity level with reduced speeds and difficulty maneuvering within the traffic streams. Operations at level of service E are usually unstable because small increases in flow or minor perturbations within the traffic stream will cause breakdowns. This plan recommends a cross section for Orange Grove Road that will be adequate to operate in the future at a higher level of service. The new housing proposals in the Orange Grove Road corridor, all of which could be approved by February 2003, have the potential of creating 4,400 (approximately) trips per day. Traffic generated by the new high school at capacity (1,000 students) could easily create more than 1,0 trips per day during the school year. Traffic from the known development, combined with existing traffic counts in the corridor, will outpace the traffic projected for 2020 in the 1997 Transportation Plan for the Town of Hillsborough. That plan projects 8,300 average daily traffic in 2020 and traffic generated by current development proposals may result in average daily traffic over 9,000 within the next five years. Recommended cross sections for Orange Grove Road are shown in Figure 1. Proposed Street Cross Sections. The recommended cross sections include three shoulder sections (figures 1a, 1c and 1d) and a curb and gutter section (figure 1b). The recommended shoulder sections require an 80-foot right-of-way to accommodate two 11' – 12' travel lanes with a bicycle lane, shoulder and drainage ditch in each direction. Two of the shoulder sections and the curb and gutter section place 5' sidewalks outside the drainage and utility areas which would allow construction of the sidewalks prior to widening the roadway for bicycle lanes. Placement of pedestrian facilities in that manner, farthest from the travelway, provides more separation between pedestrian and motor traffic and increases safety and comfort level for all traffic. Figure 1. Proposed Street Cross Sections Figure 1b. PROPOSED STREET CROSS SECTION CURB & GUTTER SECTION 80' V. Intersection Improvements and Signalization Recommended improvements to intersections within the study area are given in the following tables. The numbers of the intersections in the table correspond to the numbers assigned the intersections on Map 2. Hillsborough–Orange County Study Area. Hillsborough/Orange County Study Area Identification of Intersections Interstate Interchanges 12 Intersections With Traffic Lights 4 Orange Grove Road (SR 1006) and New Grady Brown School Road (SR 1221) (western boundary of EDD) Two –lane urban major thoroughfare /collector intersection with two-lane urban minor thoroughfare/major local road. Existing: Proposed: Two-lane or three-lane (continuous left turn lane) urban major thoroughfare/collector with bicycle lanes and sidewalks (north of intersection) intersection with two-lane minor thoroughfare/major local road with bicycle lanes and sidewalks. 7 Old NC 86 (SR 1009) and Oakdale Drive (SR 1133) Two-lane urban major thoroughfare /arterial (three-lane section at intersection with left turn lanes) intersection with two-lane urban minor thoroughfare. Existing: Proposed: Four-lane median divided (bicycle and pedestrian friendly design) urban major thoroughfare/arterial intersection with two-lane urban minor thoroughfare (three-lane section with left turn lanes at intersection) with bicycle lanes and sidewalks. Intersections With Traffic Lights Old NC 86 (SR 1009) and Mayo Street Four-lane median divided (bicycle and pedestrian friendly design) urban major thoroughfare intersection with two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section with left turn lane at intersection). Existing: Two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section at intersection with left turn lanes) intersection with two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section at intersection). Proposed: 17 23 3 Intersections With Traffic Lights Old NC 86 (SR 1009) and Orange Grove Road (SR 1006) Two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section at intersection with left turn lanes) intersection with two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section with left turn lanes at intersection). Existing: Proposed: Four-lane median divided (bicycle and pedestrian friendly design) urban major thoroughfare intersection with two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section with left turn lane at intersection) or three-lane (continuous left turn lane) with bicycle lanes and sidewalks. US 70A East and Churton Street Two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section at intersection with left turn lane) intersection with two-lane urban major thoroughfare (southbound three-lane section with left turn lane at intersection). Existing: Proposed: Four-lane urban major thoroughfare intersection with four-lane median divided, bicycle and pedestrian friendly design urban major thoroughfare Intersections Without Traffic Lights Old NC 86 (SR 1009) and Lafayette Drive (within EDD) Two-lane major urban thoroughfare /arterial (northbound three-lane section with left turn lane at intersection) intersection with twolane local street. Four-lane median divided (bicycle and pedestrian friendly design) urban major thoroughfare intersection with two-lane urban minor thoroughfare (three-lane section with left turn lanes at intersection). Existing: Proposed: Intersections Needing Traffic Lights \| 5 \| \| Orange Grove Road (SR 1006) and Oakdale Drive (SR 1133) \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| \| Existing: \| Proposed: \| \| \| Two –lane urban major thoroughfare intersection with two-lane local road. \| Two –lane urban major \| Two-lane (three-lane section with left \| \| \| \| thoroughfare intersection with \| turn lanes at intersection) or three-lane \| \| \| \| two-lane local road. \| (continuous left turn lane) urban minor \| \| \| \| \| thoroughfare with bicycle lanes and \| \| \| \| \| sidewalks intersection with two-lane \| \| \| \| \| local road (with left turn lane at \| \| \| \| \| intersection) with bicycle lanes and \| \| \| \| \| sidewalks. Traffic Light Proposed. \| 15 Mayo Street and proposed realignment of Eno Mt. Road (SR 1148) with Orange Grove Road (SR 1006) Existing: Proposed: Two-lane urban major thoroughfare (three-lane section at intersection) intersection with two-lane urban major thoroughfare. Two-lane (three-lane section with left turn lanes at intersection) urban major thoroughfare intersection with two-lane (three-lane section with left turn lanes at intersection) or three-lane (continuous left turn lane) urban major thoroughfare with bicycle lanes and sidewalks. Proposed Intersections \| 6 \| \| Oakdale Drive (SR 1133) and newly proposed road (north of EDD) \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| \| Existing: \| Proposed: \| \| \| Two-lane urban minor thoroughfare. \| Two-lane urban minor \| Two-lane (three-lane section with left \| \| \| \| thoroughfare. \| turn lanes at intersection) or three-lane \| \| \| \| \| (continuous left turn lane) urban minor \| \| \| \| \| thoroughfare) with bicycle lanes and \| \| \| \| \| sidewalks intersection with new two- \| \| \| \| \| lane urban minor thoroughfare/collector \| \| \| \| \| (three-lane section with left turn lane at \| \| \| \| \| intersection). \| \| northeast of Oakdale Drive) to align access to future developments on north \| \| \|---\|---\| \| and south sides of Orange Grove \| \| \| Existing: \| Proposed: \| \| Two-lane urban minor \| Two-lane (three-lane section with left \| \| thoroughfare. \| turn lanes at intersection) or three-lane \| \| \| (continuous left turn lane) urban minor \| \| \| thoroughfare) with bicycle lanes and \| \| \| sidewalks intersection with new two- \| \| \| lane urban major local road (three-lane \| \| \| section with left turn lane at \| MAP 2 TO BE INCLUDED IN COMPLETE REPORT VI. Access Management and Recommended Land Use Controls Land Use controls to restrict driveway access in the corridor and provide for signalized intersections to meter traffic in an efficient manner can be implemented through revisions to Hillsborough's Subdivision Regulations. This plan describes various access management tools that can be incorporated into land use decisions in the corridor such as: Shared driveways and provisions for common access off Orange Grove Road for new subdivisions; Extension of new roads to adjacent areas for future development. Connectviity of roads in new development to existing road stubouts; See Phase IV for full list of access management tools. VII. Recommendations The Joint Orange Grove Road Transportation Group recommends the following actions to alleviate unsafe conditions and to manage potential congestion from future development in the Orange Grove Road corridor. The recommendations address fIve basic issues: 1. obtaining funding for improvements to enhance safety for all modes of traffic; 2. providing pedestrian facilities (sidewalks) in the corridor; 3. implementation of recommendations into local plans and regulations; 4. recommendations for future studies; and 5. distribute the report to community groups for comments. 1. Pursue funding to implement recommendations in this study. The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), Spot Safety funds and Small Urban Funds are potential funding sources for roadway improvements. Small Urban Funds may be used for projects within 1-mile outside city limits. Both Small Urban and Spot Safety funding sources are subject to the discretion of the Division's Board of Transportation (BOT) member, and are generally requested for projects in the $50,000 to $200,000 range. The local jurisdiction(s) must request those funds from the BOT member. Transportation Improvement Program, in general, is used to fund projects that cost $300,000 or more. There are also some contingency funds that may be requested through the area's representatives to the State legislature. The local jurisdictions should pursue funding to advance the following improvements in the Orange Grove Road corridor. Pursue funding to widen the bridge on Orange Grove Road over Interstate 40 to include bicycle and pedestrian facilities. North Carolina Department of Transportation estimates the cost to add bicycle and pedestrian facilities to the bridge is approximately $750,000. Pursue funding and work with NCDOT to install a crosswalk with a flashing light to warn vehicles of the pedestrian crossing at the bus driveway entrance at Grady Brown Elementary School. Pursue funding and work with NCDOT to investigate installing a traffic light at the intersection of Oakdale Drive and Orange Grove Road, and to provide right turn lanes on both Oakdale Drive and Orange Grove Road to assist traffic flow through the intersection. 2. Provide pedestrian facilities along Orange Grove Road. Research actual right-of-way along Orange Grove Road throughout the corridor study area through land records and pursue feasibility of obtaining the recommended 80' right-of-way through dedication or acquiring easements. Investigate installing sidewalks along the north side of Orange Grove Road in the corridor study area including determining the feasibility of construction with respect to changes in elevation along the road and with respect to cost. After technical report has been received by both the Hillsborough Town Board and the Orange County Board of Commissioners, if the data indicates that construction of a sidewalk on the north side of Orange Grove Road is not financially feasible, pursue widening Orange Grove Road to 12' lanes with, at a minimum, 4' paved shoulders and preferrably with 6' or 8' paved shoulders to allow for a shared bicycle/pedestrian facility. Coordinate with the School Board to pursue installation of sidewalks along Orange Grove Road adjacent to the school property, along New Grady Brown School Road and from the proposed cross walk on New Grady Brown School Road to the Grady Brown School and to Cedar Ridge High School. 3. Implement recommendations into local plans and regulations. Include recommendations in this study in the development of Multi-modal Transportation Plans for Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough. Adopt recommended cross section for Orange Grove Road into Orange County and Town of Hillsborough zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations. Amend each jurisdictions respective land use regulations to support and/or implement recommendations in this study including a provision that any development having ingress/egress off Orange Grove Road in the study area either construct its fair share of recommended improvements or provide payment in lieu of for such improvments. Support TIP Project R2825, South Churton Street improvements, by continuing to assign a high priority to that project as a transportation need in the biennial update of the TIP. 4. The following items are recommended for Future Studies. Work with the business community through the Economic Development Commission and the Orange County/Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce to implement the recommendations in the Feasibility Study for South Churton Street concerning Daniel Boone Village and to develop access management for other businesses in the South Churton Street corridor. Pursue a future study for the Oakdale Drive corridor. 5. Distribute Orange Grove Road Study and Access Management Plan to community groups for comments. PHASE III ACCESS MANAGEMENT: A REVIEW OF RECENT LITERATURE I. BACKGROUND II. DEFINITION OF ACCESS MANAGEMENT III. SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE IV. LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES V. GENERAL MATERIALS ON ACCESS MANAGEMENT VI. RESEARCH ON ACCESS MANAGEMENT A. Impacts of Access Management on Traffic Flow and Congestion B. Impacts of Access Management on Safety C. Impacts of Access Management on Business Vitality, Business Customers, and Area Residents VII. ACCESS MANAGEMENT CASE STUDIES VIII. ACCESS MANAGEMENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS IX. ACCESS MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES AND GUIDELINES X. ACCESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS Educational Materials Designed Mainly for the General Public A. and Elected Officials B. Educational Materials Designed Mainly for Professionals XI. PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT MATERIALS XII. ACCESS MANAGEMENT HOT LINKS 17 PHASE III Access Management: A Review of Recent Literature I. Background The Orange Grove Road Transportation Study Task Force realized that its charge reflected a strong role in Access Management. So often the Orange Grove Road Access Management Task Force is used interchangeably. This group was established as part of the overall cooperative planning effort. The goal of the Access Management Task Force is to develop a program designed to explain and market the concept and benefits of access management to landowners and developers, professional planners and engineers, planning and zoning staff members, appointed and elected officials, and motorists. The Task Force staff conducted a review of the access management literature to assist it in refining its research agenda. This literature review was to include: [x] Studies documenting the level of service, traffic accident and safety, and business "vitality" impacts of access management projects. [x] Access management educational tools from other states and localities and materials on public involvement in access management planning and projects. [x] Case studies of rural, suburban, and urban access management projects, including best practices, regulations, and guidelines from around the United States. II. Definition Of Access Management The Michigan Department of Transportation defines access management as: "A process that provides or manages access to land development while simultaneously preserving the flow of traffic on the surrounding road system in terms of safety, capacity, and speed." Access management is pursued through the design and control of driveways, curb cuts, turning movements, interior circulation of parking lots, and public street connections and intersections. Usually, state highways or major urban and suburban arterial streets are the targets of access management projects. Access management is also a concern on main county roads when there is a transition from a rural environment to a town or city. III. Summary Of The Literature The literature on access management is extensive and is growing rapidly at this time. This is because access management strategies appear to be both a very effective and very appropriate strategy in these times of limited resources for new roadway construction. Access management is an important tool for improving both the functioning and safety of highway transportation systems. Research indicates that effective access management programs have the potential to dramatically increase the safety of streets and highways and also to increase roadway capacity, reduce congestion, reduce air pollution emissions, and reduce average travel times for motorists. Several states have adopted statewide access management policies that should be reviewed for applicability to and similarity to North Carolina and Orange County. Many local governments have also adopted or substantially revised their access management regulations and guidelines in recent years. A considerable number of well documented access management case studies exist which can also provide important ideas and lessons for the Town of Hillsborough and Orange County. Education regarding, and marketing of, access management are rather new themes. Until recently, public involvement in access management has tended to come late in the planning and design process, usually in the form of public hearings. However, as states and local governments have become more aggressive in promoting and using access management, the need to educate the public and involve them more fully in access management design and implementation has grown. As a result, the literature in this area is expanding. The amount of literature on access management is voluminous, so only a portion is reflected in this document. For an overview of the subject more quickly, readers may wish to first consult the references pointed out in the document. IV. Literature Review Methodology And Sources The literature on access management and access control was researched by the Orange Grove Road Task Force using the following approach to gain maximum results. [x] A computer and Internet search of on-line literature on access management. The major source for the computer and on-line literature review were as follows: [x] Several World Wide Web sites on the Internet, including those of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the American Planning Association (APA), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the American Public Works Association (APWA). This search mechanism yielded valuable results in terms of literature identified. The literature cited in this review covers access management in 25 states and one Canadian province. This indicates that access management has become a pervasive transportation system management strategy nationwide. V. General Materials On Access Management Together, these materials provide an overview of the current status and practice of access management in the United States. They present the state of the art in access management in the United States. * Geiger, David, et. al, "An Overview of Access Management at Selected State DOTs," paper prepared for the 1996 National Access Management Conference in Vail, Colorado. This paper presents the results of a telephone survey of eleven state DOTs prepared for the Michigan Department of Transportation. This included three states (Colorado, Florida, and New Jersey) with formal access management codes. The strengths and weaknesses of various state approaches are discussed. * Institute of Transportation Engineers, Transportation and Land Development, 1988. The basic reference on how highways and land development interact. * Levinson, Herbert, "Access Management on Suburban Roads," Transportation Quarterly, Summer 1994. An overview of access management highlighting the actions of leading states of Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, and Oregon. * U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, First Annual Access Management Conference Proceedings, Vail Colorado, FHWA-PD-94-010, Washington, DC, 1994. One of the best single references on access management, this 300-page compendium contains over 35 papers, some of which are individually referenced below. The conference was designed to spread awareness of access management innovation, which was then concentrated in a handful of states. VI. Research On Access Management Research on access management falls into three distinct categories: impacts on traffic flow and congestion; impacts on safety; and impacts on businesses and area residents. These research studies clearly demonstrate the significant positive impact that access management can have on both traffic operations and accident rates. * National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 3-52, Impacts of Access Management Techniques, is a major research project currently underway and should be available in Spring 1997. It will address both the operational/traffic flow and safety impacts of access management. A. Impacts Of Access Management On Traffic Flow And Congestion Available research indicates that application of access management principles can have a significant and positive impact on the functioning of highways and other arterial roadways. Improved functioning can be measured in terms of roadway capacity, level of traffic service provided, delays, or travel time/speed. * Stover, Vergil, Richard Hawley, Donald Woods, and Richard Hamm, "Access Management as a Congestion Management Measure," paper prepared for the 1993 National Access Management Conference in Vail, Colorado. This paper thoroughly examines the relationship between access management and traffic congestion. It notes that increasing signalized intersection spacing to uniform intervals and installing non-traversable medians will increase the capacity of a four lane arterial by about 50%. This is the same effect as widening the arterial to six lanes. B. Impacts Of Access Management On Safety As with traffic operations, research shows that increased access control can play a significant role in reducing both the quantity and severity of traffic accidents. * Gattis, J. L., "Comparison of Delay and Accidents on Three Roadway Access Designs in a Small City," paper prepared for the 1996 National Access Management Conference in Vail, Colorado. This paper provides an intensive comparison of the accident and other characteristics of three arterial segments within a single small city (Muskogee, Oklahoma). All three segments had four lanes with some sort of median treatment and turning lanes, but differing amounts of access management in place. The segment with the highest level of access control experienced 40 percent lower property damage and injury accident rates than the two with less access control. * Stover, Vergil, Samuel Tignor and Merton Rosenbaum, Synthesis of Safety Research Related to Traffic Control and Roadway Elements, Volume 1, Chapter 4: "Access Control and Driveways," FHWA-TS-82-232, Office of Research, Development, and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, December 1992. This report chapter provides a general overview of safety issues related to access management. It indicates that management of driveway density and spacing is one of the most effective strategies for increasing traffic safety along with installation of non-traversable medians. Designs such as curbed, painted, raised, and depressed medians are discussed as are continuous two-way left turn lanes (CLTL). C. Impacts Of Access Management On Business Vitality, Business Customers, And Area Residents The literature review identified very limited literature on the subject of research on impacts of access management on business vitality, business customers, and area residents. Only a handful of researchers have ever attempted to examine this relationship. All of these studies use Florida examples and data. What seems clear from these references is although access management projects can lead to inconvenience and some business losses, most stakeholders recognize the value of these projects in terms of safety. * Florida Department of Transportation, Access Management. (various educational materials) Several closely spaced median openings on U.S. 1 in Stuart, Florida were closed to enhance safety; crashes were reduced by 22%. When stakeholders were surveyed, the majority of motorists and local residents expressed support for the project even though they were also inconvenienced by it. Most truckers also favored access control. * Ivey, Harris & Walls, Inc., Corridor Land Use, Development & Driver/Business Survey Analysis, District Wide Median Evaluation Technical Memorandum, final report prepared for the Florida Department of Transportation, Winter Park, Florida, November 1995. This report includes a number of very well documented corridor case studies involving installation or modifications of raised medians in Florida. It is the only access management research study that includes survey results for both drivers and businesspersons. Postage-paid, mail-back surveys were handed out along the corridors, and a total of 180 were returned by drivers (23% response rate) and 228 by businesses (46% response rate). The driver survey results indicate that most drivers felt the inconvenience caused by raised medians on these corridors was more than offset by positive traffic flow and safety benefits. On the other hand, about 30 percent of the business owners felt that the projects had at least a small adverse impact on their businesses (business volume decline, truck delivery difficulties, etc.). VII. Access Management Case Studies There are a number of well-documented access management case studies available from throughout the United States. They help to illustrate in detail various aspects of the process of access management planning, design and implementation. The case studies summarized here were selected because they illustrate typical access management issues and solutions in rural and suburban areas and mid-sized metropolitan areas. Many are from areas with a particularly pressing problem, for instance the need to accommodate growing tourist traffic. * Urbitran Associates, Inc., I.K. Chan Associates, and Herbert Levinson, Final Report: Route 7 Driveway and Access Management Plan, prepared for the South Western Regional Planning Agency, Norwalk, Connecticut, June 1996. An extraordinarily well-documented access management planning study for the U.S. 7 corridor through a suburban area of Connecticut. It includes a major section on regulatory recommendations for local governments and an extensive number of air photos overlaid with physical planning recommendations. VIII. Access Management Laws And Regulations Several states, including Colorado, Florida, and New Jersey, have adopted statewide access management codes. The other references in this section include a variety of access statutes, ordinances, land use and subdivision regulations, administrative rules, design guides, and driveway permit forms, and variance processes from around the nation. Both state and local levels of government are represented. * Florida, State of, Florida Statute 355--The Access Management Act, undated. This is Florida's statewide access management code. * Williams, Kristine M. and J. Richard Forester, Land Development Regulations that Promote Access Management, NCHRP Synthesis 233, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1996. Both this work and the report cited immediately below are the best references on local land use regulations that support access management. * Williams, Kristine M., Daniel E. Rudge, Gary Sokolow, and Kurt Eichin, Model Land Development & Subdivision Regulations that Support Access Management for Florida Cities and Counties, Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida and Florida Department of Transportation, Florida, January 1994. IX. Access Management Best Practices And Guidelines Several organizations and government agencies have published papers or guidelines on how best to implement certain aspects of access management. These cover the gamut from system planning and roadway/driveway design to access permitting. * Institute of Transportation Engineers, Guidelines for Driveway Location and Design, 1987. Recommends in detail guidelines for the design and location of driveways to minimize conflicts and accidents and maximize traffic flow. * Keopke, F.J. and Levinson, H.S., Access Management Guidelines for Activity Centers, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 348, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1992. The single most complete reference on access management guidelines and best practices. * Transportation Research Board, Driveway and Street Intersection Spacing, Transportation Research Circular Number 456, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., March 1996. The definitive reference on spacing of street intersections and driveways. X. Access Management Educational Materials Materials designed to educate about access management can be subdivided into two categories: materials designed for the general motoring public, landowners and developers, and elected officials and those designed for professional engineers and planners. The first category stresses the "whys" of access management, the latter the "whats" and "hows". A. Educational Materials Designed Mainly For The General Public And Elected Officials Florida, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, and Oregon agencies have prepared materials that could be useful models for Iowa in terms of educating the public and elected officials about access management. The State of Washington is currently producing a 10-15 minute videotape on access management aimed at the general public. The Federal Highway Administration will be releasing a similar video in the late Fall of 1996. * Florida Department of Transportation, Access Management: An Important Traffic Management Strategy. (slide presentation) * Sokolow, Gary and Kristine Williams, Land Development & Subdivision Regulations That Support Access Management. This slide show developed by the Florida DOT and the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida explains the benefits of access management and how it can be implemented through land development regulations in Florida. (slide show) B. Educational Materials Designed Mainly For Professionals A larger body of materials has been prepared to educate transportation engineers and planners about access management and related land-use issues. The Florida DOT, spearheaded by Gary Sokolow, has developed a wealth of educational materials on access management mainly written with the professional audience (engineers and planners) in mind. The following are all slide shows (also available in hard copy form) in Florida DOT's Access Management series; all are undated: * U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Institute, Access, Location, and Design: Participant Notebook, Report FHWA-HI-93-055, Washington DC, September 1993. This notebook is a very large and comprehensive introduction to the practice of access management. (course materials) * Washington Department of Transportation, Access Management in Washington State, Olympia, Washington, July 1995. (brochure in highway map format with large graphics) XI. Public And Stakeholder Involvement Materials There is a growing recognition of a need to involve the public in access management planning more fully and earlier on in the process. One reason for this is that stakeholders' perceptions of the role of roadways may vary greatly. For example, a planner may see a roadway as an arterial street serving intracity traffic; a businessperson may see the same road strictly in terms of bringing customers to his or her door. The traditional way the public and stakeholders are involved is through public hearings on projects rather late in the planning and design process. As several authors note, the result may be an uncomfortable group of stakeholders who do not understand the need for the project. These materials suggest different and more comprehensive approaches. PHASE IV ACCESS MANAGEMENT: CURRENT POLICIES AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK I. BACKGROUND II. ACCESS MANAGEMENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS A. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS B. PLANNING AND REGULATORY TOOLS - Land Division - Access Controls - Subdivision Regulation - Zoning Regulations C. SUMMARY REPORT III. CONCLUSIONS PHASE IV Access Management: Current Policies and Regulatory Framework I. Background Comprehensive access management is a relatively new approach to addressing traffic congestion, accidents, and loss of street capacity. Access management programs address the location and design of street and driveway connections to the roadway, as well as subdivision and site design. Because it involves both land use and transportation, access management requires cooperation among government agencies responsible for land development and transportation decisions. The state of North Carolina and its cities and counties are legally responsible for providing and managing roadway access to commercial, industrial, recreational, and residential properties within their jurisdictions. Access that is not properly managed can negatively impact safety, increase congestion, and result in an inefficient use of designed roadway capacities. It is important that the criteria and review process for roadway access are understood by landowners, developers, planners, engineers, appointed and elected officials, and members of the motoring public. The goal of the task force is to develop a program to educate the organizations and individuals responsible for and affected by access management and to market the concept and benefits of access management. The task force was commissioned to conduct the Orange Grove Road case study regarding the effects of access management on vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist safety and traffic flow. As a result review existing literature on access management, research current access management regulations and practices around the nation, develop and disseminate access management training and educational materials, and effects on local businesses. The literature review was completed in September 2002. This report provides a summary of access management laws, regulations, and current practices within North Carolina and other states. The information assembled on the access management policies and practices of the various jurisdictions will be used to help identify needs for educational materials and policy alternatives. II. Access Management Laws and Regulations A review of current legal and regulatory practices reveals four fundamental aspects of access management. First, access management is exerted at the state level through enabling legislation. Second, state-enabling legislation can also dictate the level of power given to local jurisdictions. In the case of North Carolina, cities and counties have significant latitude in access control. Third, there are legal implications of access management. Planning agencies must be cautious of "takings" which result from insufficient compensation to private property owners for use ("taking") of their land for public purposes. Finally, land use planning techniques can be used to promote access management and provide consistency in legal and regulatory practices. The application of access management principles in North Carolina is comparable to that of other states. It appears that coordination of access management policies among local agencies is a challenge for most states currently implementing such programs. A. Legal Considerations There are two primary issues related to access management policy: 1) public right to safe and efficient movement and 2) a landowner's right to suitable and sufficient access. This means that in providing for safe and efficient transportation, access management laws and regulations must balance the use of public police power and the protection of private property rights. The takings clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is the foundation for the protection of private property rights. When private property is taken for public use, landowners must be justly compensated for their loss. In the process of providing for a greater public interest through regulating access, there must exist a rational nexus between the burden realized by a property owner and the public interest being advanced. States enable regulatory activity through state enabling legislation for controlled access highways. Local jurisdictions may have greater or lesser degrees of authority than state DOTs in implementing access control policies. In general, with the consent of the citizenry, local authorities may be more restrictive in land use regulation than provided by state code, but not less restrictive. This provides the flexibility for local areas to assert additional control when conditions which diminish public welfare exceed those experienced by other areas within the state. When a conflict arises in the application of access control regulations, generally a property owner must prove the loss of use of their property or diminution of value of their property, while the local government must prove the advancement of public safety and welfare in their actions. A survey of state rulings on takings cases from various states have shown: [x] complete loss of access is always necessary to demonstrate a taking; [x] loss of the most convenient access, or increase in circuity of access, is not usually compensable where other suitable access continues to exist; [x] a substantial loss of access to private property may result in a taking and warrant compensation, although no physical appropriation of property has occurred; [x] governmental actions that diminish traffic flow on an abutting road, such as installation of a raised median, are not takings; [x] recoverable damages are limited to the reduction in property value caused by the loss of access but if the property is landlocked the entire parcel may have to be purchased. [x] damages must be peculiar to that property and not common to the public at large for compensation to be paid; Takings cases filed against North Carolina jurisdictions in relation to access management regulations or requirements are limited when background or supportive transportation plans are developed. Enhanced access codes at the state level would also promote local planning. In addition, for at least highway facilities, North Carolina relies on advance acquisition of right-of-way which may minimize conflicts with landowners seeking access improvements. Right-of-way dedications during any development process including exempt subdivisions should also be the promoted course of action. Along with evaluating the fairness of regulatory impacts on private property owners, courts are placing greater weight on comprehensive plans and planning studies in weighting the validity of regulatory actions. These planning activities show consistency and forethought in policy implementation. Most planning activities that effect broad land use regulation also require a public participation component. This means that access management strategies that are an element of comprehensive plans and planning studies have achieved at least some level of public acceptance. B. Planning and Regulatory Tools Planning and regulatory tools that promote access management have traditionally included zoning, subdivision, and traffic controls. Other tools may require state enabling legislation like cluster zoning or development agreements. Orange County may include an access management element within their comprehensive plan. This represents one method along with this access management that can be implemented at the local level. The following is a brief outline of planning methods that can be used to supplement access management strategies: [x] land division * lot dimension requirements Lot dimensions can be controlled through minimum lot size, minimum lot frontage, set back requirements, etc. Controlling lot dimensions has an impact on driveway spacing, on-site circulation, and driveway lengths. [x] subdivision regulation * review process The site plan review process can require documentation of all on- and offsite access points. Documentation of access control facilities (signals, medians, etc.) and on-site circulation controls can be required to ensure that standards are followed. * regulating lot splits and further subdivisions Further subdivision of lots will likely require more access points along a roadway. Permissive subdivision regulations that allow frequent flag lot configurations contribute to a typical problem of inadequate spacing between access points. * subdivision regulation tied to functional class of roads Subdivision regulation can orient lots and access points to local streets and away from high traffic volume arterials. [x] access controls * location and design It is important to control the location of access points in relation to road deceleration and acceleration lanes to avoid conflict points. Other design issues involve driveway throat length where insufficient length can conflict with flow of off-site traffic and cause on-site circulation problems. Also, driveway spacing requirements, corner clearance, and joint and cross access configurations are important development characteristics. * retrofitting non-conforming access Land development regulations are not retroactive so conformance can be required with new permit requests for new driveways, land use intensity changes, site improvements, etc. * private road ordinances Efficient access management should extend to private roads which would mean that local ordinances would apply to both public and private roadways. * requirements for transit, bicycle, and pedestrian access Effective access management must account for conflict points not only among and between motor vehicles, but also with connections to transit access, bicycle facilities, and pedestrian paths. [x] zoning regulations * overlay zoning With corridor overlay for access control problem areas, standards can be tailored by priority or intensity of access, safety, and congestion problems. * flexible zoning Flexible zoning can allow for alternative site design, buffering, and screening between incompatible uses. National experiences with access management activities indicate that to be legally viable and acceptable to the development community, access management programs should promote public involvement at the earliest stages. Conflicts or legal challenges are less likely if stakeholders are involved in the formative stages of program development. Approaching access management as both a transportation and land use issue is a logical and efficient approach. Coordinating legal and regulatory activities through transportation engineering and land use planning strategies have proven effective in numerous states. C. Summary Report The primary finding of the interviews with cities and counties is that there is no consistent process used to review local changes in access to roadways. It is common for development plans that involve modification of ingress and egress to undergo review by multiple departments. These departments may each rely upon a variety of codes and design criteria. This increases the difficulty of providing coherent and coordinated information to property owners, developers, and the public regarding access modifications. Another finding of the interviews is that legal challenges to access changes or access restrictions are very rare. Typically conflicts are negotiated during the design review process or before city or county councils. However, one cannot exclude the possibility of legal action. A master plan showing general benefits diminishes the provincial claims of individual cases. Lawsuits regarding police powers to use private property for public purposes are a possibility unless dedication/compensation is cautiously pursued. The issue does not pertain usually to the design of access facilities, rather, the property owner is contesting the compensation that they received for the condemned property. Overall, it appears that disagreements over the implementation of access controls are handled administratively and have not resulted in court cases. Finally, nearly all cities and counties contacted expressed interest in how to better administer access management policies. There does appear to be some information sharing among jurisdictions, but usually only for metropolitan cities and counties. Medium or small sized jurisdictions outside of metro areas tend to develop their own policies and procedures, independent of other local jurisdictions. This may indicate that there is a need for a model access permit procedure where jurisdictions can then tailor the model to local conditions. This could potentially save these jurisdictions a significant amount of time in drafting policies and procedures for access management. Through a model ordinance or model permit application process, statewide policies and procedures can also be easily communicated to local jurisdictions. More consistent local regulations may lead to a better understanding of access management and implementation strategies. In addition, access management plans for a specific corridor is strongly suggested. III. Conclusions Experiences with access management within the state of North Carolina are very similar to those of other states. Other states have identified a need for local coordination of codes, regulations, and permit processes. A variety of traffic engineering design and land use policy alternatives are being implemented by these states; however, it appears that there are no widespread means by which to share information about these activities. North Carolina is poised through increasing interest in growth management controls to be one of only a few states that have attempted to address access management through a statewide educational program. PHASE V ACCESS MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT: ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ACCESS MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS 1. Driveway-Related Crashes 2. Driveway Spacing 3. Driveway Density And Driveway Consolidation 4. Intersection Spacing And Traffic Signal Spacing 5. Functional Areas Of Intersections 6. Conflict Points 7. Speed Differential Between Turning Vehicles And Through Traffic 8. Benefits Of Access Management 9. Economic Impacts Of Access Management 10. Access Management And Pedestrian Safety COMMON ACCESS MANAGEMENT TREATMENTS 11. Driveway Grade 12. Driveway Width 13. Clearing Driveways Away From Corners 14. Shared/Joint Driveways And/Or Cross Access 15. Continuous Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes 16. Three-Lane Roadways With Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes 17. Raised Medians At Intersections 18. Continuous Raised Median 19. Comparison Of Raised Median And Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes 20. Frontage And Backage Roads 21. Dedicated Left And Right Turning Lanes 22. Driveway Turn Radius 23. Internal Circulation In Land Developments OTHER CORRIDOR DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 24. Sight Distance 25. Incorporating Aesthetics Into Access Management 26. Clear Zones, Utility Placement And Lighting Driveway-related Crashes Much of access management involves managing traffic movements into and out of commercial driveways. The reason for this is that driveway traffic generates a large number of crashes on major roads and streets-arterials and collectors. What types of accidents occur at commercial driveways? Several research studies have been conducted on the nature of traffic accidents that occur at driveways. In particular, three-multiyear studies of hundreds of crashes at more than 1,300 driveways in three different communities in Illinois found the following range of crash involvement at commercial driveways: Why is this important? Although the results from Illinois varied widely by community, two main conclusions can be drawn: 1. Left-turning vehicles (exiting and entering) are involved in the majority of drivewayrelated crashes. 2. The movement responsible for more than 40 percent of all the crashes at a commercial driveway involves entering vehicles turning left. The Douglas Avenue/Euclid Avenue corridor, which is a main east-west arterial route through the Des Moines, Iowa, metropolitan area provides a good illustration (see photographs). The level of access management varies significantly throughout this corridor. Where access is well managed, such as in the city of Urbandale or in Des Moines just east and west of Interstate 23 5, there are very few left-turn-related crashes. In areas where no left turns are permitted, there are, naturally, no left-turn-related crashes. On the other hand, along sections where there is little access management (no medians or turning lanes and a high number of driveways per mile) there is a high incidence of left turn crashes. Developing and designing strategies and projects to accommodate and/or manage left turning vehicles needs to be a main concern in managing access on arterial street corridors. What do statistics about driveway accidents mean for access management projects? These conclusions show why access management projects that effectively provide for, manage, or even eliminate left turns are so effective. Successful access management projects usually include such measures as driveway consolidation, two-way-left-turn lanes, dedicated right-turn lanes, and raised medians. Projects or designs that combine two or more means of managing left turns are usually very effective in increasing traffic safety. On the other hand, roads where left turns are not effectively managed may have relatively high crash rates. Driveway Spacing Maintaining an adequate spacing between commercial driveways is one of the most critical aspects of access management. Why is driveway spacing important? Motorists turn left and right into and out of driveways when permitted. Traffic turning into and out of driveways moves more slowly than through traffic. This speed difference produces conflicts that may lead to broadside and rear-end collisions between vehicles. Traffic safety research commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation shows that roadways with a large number of closely spaced driveways are always less safe than similar roads where driveway access is more limited. For example, an urban route with I 00 feet between driveways should experience roughly twice as many accidents as a route with similar turning and through volumes with 250 feet between drives. What's a reasonable distance between commercial driveways in urban/suburban areas? Spacing requirements may be based, among other factors, on posted speed limits, the classification of the roadway, or the amount of traffic generated by a development. Spacing requirements should reflect a balance between traffic and engineering conditions and needs, local development objectives, and existing land-use characteristics (such as lot sizes, land-use type, and frontage requirements). There are no hard and fast guidelines for driveway spacing, and spacing requirements vary considerably from place to place. However, the table below is used by two local governments in Florida and Ohio and is indicative of good practice. As the posted speed limit rises, the recommended spacing between driveways increases and the number of driveways per mile or block falls to accommodate the increased spacing. \| Posted Speed on Arterial Street (mph) \| Centerline to Centerline Driveway Spacing (feet) \| \|---\|---\| \| 20 \| 85 \| \| 25 \| 105 \| \| 30 \| 125 \| \| 35 \| 150 \| \| 40 \| 185 \| \| 45 \| 230 \| \| 50 \| 275 \| Source: City of Tallahassee, Florida, and OKI Regional Government, Cincinnati, Ohio. These guidelines are based on the minimum distance needed to reduce collision potential due to overlapping right turns. Since urban and suburban arterials typically are designed to operate at 35 to 45 miles per hour, the desirable minimum driveway spacing will be approximately 150 to 230 feet, allowing for only 2 to 3 driveways per block face. When this range of spacing is not achieved, the result will be a higher traffic accident rate. What about in rural areas? In rural areas, the posted speed is usually at or above 55 miles per hour. The higher speeds mean that driveway spacing in rural areas must be longer to provide for a safe driving environment. On state highways, spacing is also longer because the routes are primarily designed to carry through traffic rather than to serve as property access routes. Most states use a hierarchy to apply a driveway spacing standard. The more important a route is to through traffic and commerce, the longer the spacing between driveways. The following table shows Kansas's standards for its highway system. \| State Highway Route Type \| Minimum Spacing between Driveways (feet) \| \|---\|---\| \| Major arterial (National Highway System) \| 2,640 \| \| Other major arterial \| 1,320 \| \| Minor arterial \| 660 \| Source: Kansas Department of Transportation. On county roads, the spacing standard should also depend on the nature of the road (e.g., how important the road is to through traffic). Even the lowest functional levels require driveway spacing standards for traffic safety, as shown in the following table from a county in Wisconsin. \| County Road Route Type \| Minimum Spacing between Driveways (feet) \| \|---\|---\| \| Minor arterials \| 600 \| \| Collectors \| 300 \| \| Local traffic service \| 75 \| Source: Waushara County, Wisconsin. Driveway Density and Driveway Consolidation Driveway density (the number of driveways per block or per mile) and driveway consolidation are very important considerations in access management. These roadway characteristics are basic issues in any access management plan or program. Why is driveway density important? Driveway density is important because accident rates increase dramatically as the number of driveways per mile increases along urban arterial roadways (see table below). \| 2,640 \| \|---\| \| 1,320 \| \| 660 \| \| 500 \| Source: National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 3-52. Note that, although 500 feet might be a typical city block length, block lengths vary from place to place. Some older neighborhoods have 400- to 500-foot blocks. Some newer communities use much longer blocks. A common block face in suburban areas is 660 feet (which provides eight city blocks per mile). What is a reasonable driveway density for urban/suburban areas? Different states and localities have adopted various driveway density standards for urban and suburban arterial streets. However, many of them recommend 20 to 30 driveways per mile as a maximum driveway density standard. Above this level, accident rates become unacceptably high. This standard applies to commercial driveways on urban, multilane arterials with a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour. This translates into a desired standard of only two or three driveways per 500-foot city block face. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) recommends a maximum number of driveways per commercial property that yields a driveway density similar to those described above. Exceptions to these standards may be required if property ownership is very fragmented and property lot frontages are very short. A potential solution in such cases is shared driveways. ITE's recommendations are presented in the following table. Source: ITE Guidelines for Driveway Location and Design, 1987. Some states, Kansas for instance, have set minimum property frontage standards for a commercial driveway permit. Along urban arterials, Kansas only allows driveway access on properties with at least 60 feet of frontage. Driveway densities should be even lower if the posted speed limit is higher or if the roadway is functionally important to through traffic, such as highways designated as part of the National Highway System (NHS) or the Iowa Commercial and Industrial Network (CIN). Driveway densities can safely be higher if they serve residential properties. This is because residences generate far fewer trips per hour than commercial or industrial properties. However, driveways should never be located on or close to comers of intersections. They should also never be located within the functional area of an intersection (e.g., along right-turn lanes provided at intersections). What about in rural areas? Spacing between driveways and/or farm-field entrances is especially critical in rural areas because travel speeds are high. Higher vehicle speeds mean that driver reaction and stopping distances are longer. In rural areas, a maximum driveway density standard of about four access points per mile per roadway side is appropriate on many arterial roads. (This assumes that driveways on opposite sites of the road are lined up.) However, where stopping sight distances are restricted by curves or hilly terrain, this figure should be lower. It should also be lower on routes of high functional importance, such as NHS or CIN routes. What is driveway consolidation and why is it important? Driveway consolidation is the process of reducing the density of driveways along a major roadway by closing driveways, creating alternative access ways, creating shared driveways, relocating entrances to side streets, or promoting cross access. Such projects are generally done to improve highway safety but can also improve traffic flow. Driveway consolidation can be applied as an individual access management strategy, but it is most often done in conjunction with the installation of medians, two-way-left-turn lanes, and/or frontage or backage roads. A 1992 access management project completed along US 34 in Fairfield, Iowa, showed that simple driveway consolidation can have a dramatic effect on traffic safety. The project closed, relocated, or consolidated eight driveways along a half-mile segment of US 34. After the project, the accident rate fell approximately 3 8 percent. Rear-end and right-angle crashes declined greatly. Intersection Spacing and Traffic Signal Spacing Although most discussions about access management focus on the management of private driveways, proper spacing of roadway intersections is an equally important access management issue. Why is intersection spacing important? The importance of intersection spacing is similar to that of driveway spacing. As the number of intersections per mile increase, the opportunity for crashes increases. The existence of too many intersections per mile also increases delay and congestion. On the other hand, not providing an adequately dense street network forces motorists and pedestrians to travel farther to their destinations. What is a reasonable distance between public road intersections? Street systems in urban and suburban areas consist of streets with different functional classifications, roles, and traffic characteristics (see below). \| Roadway Type \| Main Purpose of Roadway \| Approx. Average Annual Daily Traffic Volume (AADT) \| Percentage of Total System Traffic Carried \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Freeways \| Serve high-speed through traffic \| 50,000 and over \| More than 40% \| \| Arterials \| Serve through traffic \| 15,000 - 50,000 \| 30% \| \| Collectors \| Feed through traffic from local streets to arterials; provide limited property access \| 2,000 - 15,000 \| 20% \| \| Local streets \| Provide property access \| 100 - 2,000 \| Less than 10% \| Intersection spacing along major (arterial) urban and suburban streets should follow the pattern given below. A traditional grid street system provides the ideal method to create this spacing. \| Main Roadway \| Intersecting Minor Roadway \| \|---\|---\| \| Freeway \| Arterial \| \| Arterial \| Arterial \| \| Arterial \| Collector \| Freeway intersections should be spaced no less than one mile apart in urban areas. Arterials should intersect with other arterials at no less than one-mile spacing. Collectors should intersect with arterials at not less than one-half mile spacing. The intersection of local roads with arterials is not recommended, but if required should not be less than 500 to 660 feet apart. What sort of spacing should be maintained in rural areas? Spacing between intersections is especially critical in rural areas because vehicle speeds are high. In rural areas, it is advisable to keep intersections between public roads at least one-half mile apart. A one-mile spacing between public road intersections is preferred. How far apart should traffic signals be placed on an arterial? Traffic signals are used to regulate traffic flow and preserve capacity along arterial routes. The ideal spacing for traffic signals is at least one half-mile apart (2,640 feet), which also corresponds to the preferred spacing of intersections between arterials and collectors. This represents about four to six blocks, depending on the block length. A minimum spacing of one-quarter mile (two to three blocks) should always be maintained. When the spacing between signals falls below one-quarter mile (1,320 feet), the traffic flow along the route may be disrupted. The ability of the route to carry through traffic will decrease, travel speeds may decrease, and delays and queues may develop at intersections. There is also some evidence from research that placing more than three traffic signals per mile on an arterial increases the traffic accident rate. Functional Areas of Intersections It is important to protect the functional area of an intersection from driveway access. Driveways located within this area may result in higher crash rates and increased congestion. What is the functional area of an intersection? The functional area of an intersection is that area beyond the physical intersection of two roadways that comprises decision and maneuvering distance, plus any required vehicle storage length. The functional area includes the length of road upstream from an oncoming intersection needed by motorists to perceive the intersection and begin maneuvers to negotiate it. The upstream area consists of distance for travel during a perception-reaction time, travel for maneuvering and deceleration, and queue storage. The functional area also includes the length of road downstream from the intersection needed to reduce conflicts between through traffic and vehicles entering and exiting a property. Driveways should not be located within the functional area (see figure below). Why is the functional area important? Crashes at intersections are about three times more frequent than those between intersections (Best Practices in Arterial Management, New York State Department of Transportation, 1996), and crash rates increase dramatically as the number of driveways per mile increases. Driveways located within the functional area create too many conflict points within too small an area for motorists to safely negotiate. In addition, comer properties typically attract businesses that generate higher volumes of traffic, such as convenience stores, gas stations, and fast food restaurants. Vehicles stopped in the travel lanes waiting to turn into a comer property may, and often do, block traffic on the roadway. How can the functional area of intersections be protected? The integrity of functional areas of intersections can be protected through comer clearance, driveway spacing, and intersection spacing requirements. Intersections should be spaced far enough apart so that functional areas do not overlap. This will leave room for an "access window" between intersections. Approaches for retrofitting existing intersections include (1) consolidating driveways through shared drives and cross access, (2) providing alternative access by relocating driveways to the cross road or a frontage or backage road, and (3) installing raised medians, which eliminate left turns into and out of driveways. Median openings ("breaks") should never be located within the functional area. CONFLICT POINTS Conflicts points are commonly used to explain the accident potential of a roadway. Access management strategies are typically designed to reduce the number and density of conflict points. What is a conflict point? A conflict point is the point at which a highway user crossing, merging with, or diverging from a road or driveway conflicts with another highway user using the same road or driveway. It is any point where the paths of two through or turning vehicles diverge, merge, or cross (see figure below). Why are conflict points important? Conflict points are associated with increased levels of roadway accidents. A motorist can safely negotiate only so many conflict points within a given area. Studies have shown that when driveway access to arterial roadways is granted to too many property owners without considering future traffic volumes and roadway classifications, the extra driveways increase the rate of accidents and decrease the efficiency of the roadway. Although this does not appear to be a simple, direct relationship, reducing conflict points has been shown to significantly reduce the accident rate at case study locations (T. J. Simodynes, The Effects of reducing Conflict Points On Reducing Accident Rates, October 1998). Other safety-related factors include the type of conflict points that are reduced-different types of conflict points have different propensities for accidents. Studies of hundreds of crashes at more than 1,300 driveways in three different communities in Illinois found that left-turning vehicles (exiting and entering) are involved in the majority of driveway related crashes (Paul Box and Associates, 1998). How can conflict points be reduced by managing access? Access management strategies can reduce traffic conflicts - by limiting the number of conflict points that a vehicle may experience in its travel - by separating conflict points as much as possible (if they cannot be completely eliminated) - by removing slower turning vehicles that require access to adjacent sites from the through traffic lanes as efficiently as possible Common strategies include relocating, consolidating, and eliminating driveways; promoting shared driveways; increasing comer clearance; improving driveway geometries (radius, width, grade, throat length); prohibiting left turns out of driveways; installing raised medians with left turn lanes; installing two-way left turn lanes; and providing alternative access roads (such as backage roads). Speed Differential Between Turning Vehicles and Through Traffic Speed differential is a simple yet important concept that forms the basis for many access management measures. What is speed differential? Speed differential is the difference between the speed of vehicles that are continuing along the main roadway versus those that are entering and exiting the driveway For instance, if through traffic generally moves at 35 miles per hour and cars have to slow to 10 miles per hour to enter a driveway, the speed differential at and near that driveway is 25 miles per hour. Why is speed differential important? A speed differential above 20 miles per hour begins to present safety concerns. When the speed differential approaches 30 to 35 miles per hour, the likelihood of a collision between fast moving through vehicles and turning vehicles increases very quickly. Rear-end collisions are very common on roads and streets with large driveway speed differentials and a high density of commercial driveways. When the speed differential is high, it is also more likely that crashes will be more severe, cause greater property damage, and result in more injuries and fatalities. Keeping the speed differential as low as possible is very important for safety reasons, as indicated by the table below. Many access management plans and standards strive to keep the differential at or below 20 miles per hour. Source: Oregon State University, 1998 What influences speeds at driveway entrances? Speeds at driveway entrances can be influenced by a number of factors, including - Driveway turn radius - Driveway throat length - Driveway width - Driveway slope - Length of sight distance, especially for drivers exiting driveways - Existence of dedicated turn lanes - Internal circulation patterns of adjoining parking lots How can speed differentials be decreased? In general, the following features will help decrease the speed differential between through and turning traffic: - Larger turn radii - Longer driveway throat lengths - Wider driveway throat widths - Smaller driveway slopes - Adequate sight distance at driveways - Dedicated turn lanes for both left and right turns - Improved circulation within land developments Many of these features can easily be provided if there are fewer, higher quality driveways along a roadway. Benefits of Access Management An effective, local access management program can play an important role in preserving highway capacity, reducing crashes, and avoiding or minimizing costly remedial roadway improvements. The traveling public would then benefit from faster and safer travel. The great majority of businesses would benefit from increased economic vitality along a well-managed corridor. Taxpayers would benefit from more efficient use of existing facilities. And public agencies would benefit from the relatively low cost of access management; they could then use their resources for other needs. What are the safety benefits of access management? Access management is a powerful tool for improving highway safety. All but two of the case studies conducted in Iowa (US 71 in Spencer and Army Post/Southwest 9th in Des Moines) led to an absolute reduction in highway crashes. All resulted in reductions in crash rates per million vehicle-miles of travel- the range of crash rate reductions was from 10 to 70 percent, with 40 percent being a typical reduction post-project. The most significant reductions occurred in terms of property-damage-only crashes, rear-end collisions, and broadside/left-turn collisions. Overall, improvements in safety tended to vary with the degree of access management applied-higher reductions in crash rates were found with the more comprehensive projects that involved a combination of access management approaches, such as those related to turn lanes, driveway management and consolidation, and medians. What are the operational benefits of access management? Each new driveway that is located on an arterial reduces the roadway's traffic-carrying capacity. After several new driveways have been installed it often becomes clear that turning traffic has a negative impact on traffic speeds on the arterial. Studies indicate that average travel speeds during peak hours are considerably higher on well-managed roads than on roads that are less well managed, even though the two types of roads carry approximately the same number of vehicles. In Iowa, the series of before and after studies of access management projects found that the level of service was raised one full level during the peak traffic hour at sites studied. Access management projects in Iowa are typically initiated on routes with moderate levels of traffic by national standards. On the case study routes in Iowa the access management projects resulted in significant increases in the ability of roads to carry traffic at levels of service to motorists that amounts to little or no congestion and delay at peak travel periods (see table). \| Project Location \| Project Typea \| LOS Beforeb \| LOS Afterb \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Ames \| TWLTL \| C \| B \| \| Ankeny \| Median \| C/D \| B \| \| Bettendorf \| TWLTL \| C \| B \| \| Clive \| Median \| C \| B/C \| \| Coralville \| TWLTL \| D \| C \| \| Des Moines, SE 14th \| Median \| D \| B/C \| \| Des Moines, Army Post/SW 9th \| Median at intersection \| C \| C \| \| Fairfield \| Driveway \| B \| B \| \| Mason City \| Median at intersection \| B \| B \| \| Spencer \| TWLTL \| B \| B \| \| West Des Moines/Des Moines \| Median \| B/C \| A \| b Six levels of service (LOS) describe operating conditions: A represents best conditions (uninterrupted flow and very low delay); F represents worst conditions (build-up of queues and delay); other letters identify intermediate conditions; E most often represents flow at or near capacity. a TWLTL = two-way left-turn lane. What are the economic impacts of access management? The most compelling results (besides safety benefits) from the Iowa case studies came in terms of examining impacts on businesses and business customers along the routes. Perceived impacts of access management on adjacent commercial businesses and landowners are often major impediments to projects moving forward. The case studies showed that in fact access management projects are rather benign in terms of business impacts. Access-managed corridors generally had lower rates of business turnover than other parts of their communities. They had more rapid growth in retail sales once projects were completed. When surveyed, far more business owners indicated that their sales had been stable or increased following project completion than reported sales losses. Economic Impacts of Access Management Business owners often are concerned that changes in access to their premises will have temporary or permanent impacts on their sales. They are concerned that changes in direct access to their property-such as consolidating driveways or installing raised medians will lead to declines in patronage and sales. Perceived impacts of access management on adjacent commercial businesses and landowners are often major impediments to projects moving forward. In the case of access management, perceptions are often worse than reality. What are the effects of access management on business vitality? A business vitality study of nine different access management corridors in Iowa communities examined impacts on businesses and business customers along these routes. In general, these case studies indicated that access management projects are rather benign in terms of business impacts. Access managed corridors generally had lower rates of business turnover than other parts of their communities. They had more rapid growth in retail sales once projects were completed. Far more business owners, when surveyed, indicated that their sales had been stable or increased following project completion than those that reported sales losses. Negative impacts on commerce tend to be confined to a small number of individual businesses. Highlights from the Iowa case studies are as follows: - There were no particular business categories that consistently decreased in number of establishments for any of the corridors studied. Traffic-dependent businesses such as convenience stores and fast food restaurants did not appear to be affected in a significantly different manner than were all businesses. - The rates of business turnover in the study corridors ranged from about 2.6 percent to IO percent per year, a range below or equal to the business turnover rate for Iowa as a whole, which is about IO percent per year. Businesses located along the case study corridors turned over less than would normally be expected of retail businesses in Iowa. - With one notable exception, retail sales for businesses within the case study corridors matched or significantly outpaced sales in their respective communities (see chart). No significant short-term declines in retail activity associated with the access management projects were found. Corridor sales generally outpaced community sales throughout the study period. - Over 80 percent of all business owners surveyed along the business corridors that had undergone reconstruction indicated that their sales had increased, stayed the same, or that they were uncertain about the impact. Business owners along raised median projects had both the highest percentage responses of both "increased" and "decreased" sales. Five percent of businesses did report decreased sales activity after the access projects were completed. - Over 80 percent of business owners reported no customer complaints about access to their businesses. About 19 percent of businesses reported their customers complained or reported some difficulty in driving to their businesses after the completion of the access management project. About half of the businesses reporting complaints were the auto-oriented businesses, including gasoline filling stations, convenience stores, and fast- food restaurants. These businesses report complaints at a higher than proportional rate to their numbers. - Two-way left-turn lanes generally received high levels of support from business owners and generated low levels of customer complaints. Medians at intersections generated similarly low levels of customer complaints, but appeared to receive lower levels of support from business owners. Auto-oriented businesses adjacent to raised medians at intersections tended to be least supportive of such projects. Continuous raised medians generated the most customer complaints regarding access; however, they also appeared to enjoy high levels of support from business owners. What have other states experienced? A 1996 study of twelve highway reconstruction projects in Indiana indicated that the average loss of retail sales during a major project was 13 percent, Those businesses experiencing the biggest temporary losses were gas stations, grocery stores, consumer electronics stores, hardware stores, and automotive sales and service fin-ns. The Indiana study indicates that most businesses achieve a full recovery within two years, although 20 percent of businesses did experience a long-term negative impact on their sales. Mirroring the Iowa results, a majority of businesses reported that they benefited from the project improvements. The majority also supported the projects as necessary. This was because traffic flowed better and access to their location was enhanced. Business types most likely to experience long-term negative effects were gas stations, car washes, and other automotive-related businesses. Results from studies in other states are similar. Access Management and Pedestrian Safety Access management is usually promoted as a way to improve driving conditions for motorists. Clearly, access management techniques can lead to roads and streets that are dramatically safer and much easier and more pleasant to drive. However, research also indicates that several key access management techniques are just as valuable to pedestrians. These include - reducing the number of driveways, particularly commercial driveways, within a given distance (per block or mile) - providing for greater distance separation between driveway - providing a safe refuge for pedestrian crossings with raised medians How does access management help improve pedestrian safety? Every sidewalk or path that crosses a driveway represents at least four potential pedestrian/vehicle conflict points. Reducing the number of driveways per block reduces the number of conflict points proportionally. Greater separation of driveways promotes pedestrian safety by reducing overlap of the operational areas of driveways. Drivers (and pedestrians) have a difficult time mentally processing more than one conflict point at a time; a greater driveway separation helps them concentrate on one problem at a time. Safety research also clearly shows that raised medians at street intersections and/or at midblock are a very important design feature for pedestrians. As the table below indicates, roads with raised medians are roughly twice as safe for pedestrians. The intersection crash rate includes crashes that occur at intersections; the mid-block figure includes all other crashes. \| Roadway Type \| Median \| Midblock Pedestrian Crash Ratea \| Intersection Pedestrian Crash Rateb \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Undivided four lane \| None \| 6.69 \| 2.32 \| \| Five lane (TWLTL) \| Painted \| 6.66 \| 2.49 \| Source: Oregon State University, 1998. b Per million entering vehicles. a Per million vehicle miles. On the other hand, two-way-left-turn lanes (TWLTL) effectively reduce automobile crashes on arterial roadways carrying moderate levels of traffic but offer no refuge for crossing pedestrians. The pedestrian safety characteristics of five-lane TWLTL roads are similar to undivided fourlane roads. In order to be effective as a refuge for crossing pedestrians, a median must be at least four feet wide. A wide, depressed (no raised curb) grass median would be a somewhat less effective pedestrian refuge than a raised median. What are some other corridor design features that help pedestrians? Other corridor design and access management features that can help pedestrians include the following: - Right-turn lanes for high-volume driveways. Right-turn lanes provide a dedicated space for vehicles to decelerate and turn using a minimum turn radius. This reduces turning speeds into driveways and allows narrower driveway crossings for pedestrians. - Sidewalk setbacks. Sidewalks located several feet from the street protect pedestrians by separating them from the traffic flow. If the buffer strip is of an adequate width, drivers can pull completely out of the traffic stream before yielding to a pedestrian. in addition, a landscaped or other clearly marked buffer helps to visually define sidewalk and driveway locations. - Clear zone. A clear zone free of visual obstructions such as signs, large trees and bushes, or parked vehicles allows pedestrians to be seen by drivers and to see oncoming vehicles. - Flat cross grade. A flat sidewalk cross grade improves pedestrian safety and is required by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). - Signalized midblock crossings. Where feasible, midblock pedestrian crossings can reduce crashes, travel distance, and inconvenience, especially if the distance between signalized intersections is long (0.5 mile).
Effect of ANGIPARS™, a new herbal drug on diabetic foot ulcer: A phase 2 clinical study 1 Masoompour SM, 2 Bagheri MH, 3 Borhani Haghighi A, 4 Novitsky YA, 5 Sadeghi B, 6 Gharibdoust F, 7 Larijani B, ٭1 Ranjbar Omrani G 1Endocrine & Metabolism Research Center, 2Radiology Department, 3Neurology Department, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, 4 European-Asian Nano-molecular Technology Center, Moscow, Russia 5 Experimental Cancer Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, 6 Rheumatology Research Center, 7 Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center (EMRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ABSTRACT Diabetes foot ulcers are a major predictor of future lower-extremity amputation in patients with diabetes. The animal studies have indicated that treatment with a new herbal extract named ANGIPARS™ improves healing of chronic ulcers. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the safety and healing rates of diabetic foot ulcers in patients treated with ANGIPARS™. Ten diabetic patients (7 males and 3 females) were eligible for enrollment in this single arm before-after clinical trial. The target wound's greatest length and width was measured at baseline. The target wound was photographed at baseline and then every two weeks. The wound area was determined by means of planimetry. The mean age of patients was 57± 2.3 years. The mean surface area of ulcers was 12.32±11 cm 2 , 9.55±9 cm 2 , and 6.96±6 cm 2 at baseline, one month and two months of study, respectivly. Our results showed that the drug could reduce the wound size at least 50% during 8 weeks period. We found no adverse side effects in our patients. The main conclusion of the present study was to show the efficacy and safety of ANGIPARS™ as a novel therapy in diabetic foot ulcers. Keywords: Diabetic foot ulcer, ANGIPARS™, treatment, Phase II, Intervention INTRODUCTION from foot wounds in people with diabetes, there are no widely accepted evidence based guidelines for assessment and treatment of foot ulcers and preventing their recurrences. The most common location for foot ulcers is the plantar surface of the forefoot. These ulcers are often caused by repetitive mechanical stress that is not recognized by the patient because of peripheral neuropathy and loss of protective sensation. In addition, the presence of peripheral vascular disease and infection can lead to poor healing of foot wounds and to the development of gangrene. Despite substantial morbidity resulting Correspondence: firstname.lastname@example.org Among people with diabetes, 15% will experience a foot ulcer in their lifetime. Foot ulcers are a major predictor of future lower-extremity amputation in patients with diabetes. Indeed, about 14–24% of people with a foot ulcer will require an amputation (1). So it is not surprising that diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic lower-extremity amputations. Despite much effort directed toward amputation prevention in the last decade, the incidence of lower-extremity amputation in people with diabetes continues to rise. Thus, appropriate techniques for wound care that can reduce amputation rates are an essential prevention strategy. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the safety and healing rates of diabetic foot ulcers in patients treated with ANGIPARS™. The composite material provides a combination of the wound-healing properties of the individual components. The animal studies and subsequent phase I trial on human subjects have indicated that treatment with a newly introduced herbal drug named ANGIPARS™ provides a safe management and may improve healing of chronic ulcers (2-6). As the diabetic foot ulcer is stuck in the inflammatory phase and therefore is the chronic ulcer, treatment with this medication could help to promote wound healing in such patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS This single arm before-after phase II clinical trial was conducted in endocrine and metabolism research center, Shiraz University of medical sciences over a period of 8 months (from January to August 2004). Patients were eligible for enrollment in the study if they met the following inclusion criteria: 18 years or older with a diabetic foot ulcer of at least 30 days' duration not responding to routine management and an area of at least 1 cm 2 (greatest length x greatest width). The main exclusion criteria included followings: clinical signs of infection; a target wound that had exposed bone; a concurrent illness or a condition that may have interfered with wound healing (eg, carcinoma, vasculitis, connective tissue disease, or an immune system disorder); known current abuse of alcohol or other substances or treatment with dialysis, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy, known hypersensitivity to any drugs; unwillingness or inability of an ambulatory patient to be fitted with appropriate shoe gear or an off-loading device. After informed consent, at the baseline/initial visit, a full medical history and assessment of the patient's present conditions were obtained and recorded. Concomitant medications and their indications were also recorded. The diabetic status of the patient, including duration, type, and management, was noted with current activity level, ambulatory status, and history of ulceration or amputations. Blood test results included levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, glucose, albumin, creatinine, serum urea nitrogen, and alkaline phosphatase; liver function; and human chorionic gonadotropin levels in women of reproductive age. The target wound's greatest length and width was measured at baseline. The target wound was photographed at baseline and then every two weeks. The target wound was assessed before and after cleansing and/or debridement for local infection and for wound condition (improving, stable, or deteriorating). The wounds were cleansed with isotonic sodium chloride solution at the time of the dressing change. The patient and/or health care provider were instructed on dressing change procedures. All patients were instructed to limit weight bearing, ambulating only for necessary activities. Surgical debridement of healthy tissue was performed in the studied ulcer during the initial and all follow-up visits when necessary. The wound area was determined by means of planimetry (the greatest length x the greatest width, measured in centimeters). Protocol of drug In this study a newly herbal drug, ANGIPARS™, was used as a daily Intravenous infusion with dosage mentioned in table 1. Follow-up evaluations Follow-up evaluations were completed on every two week basis. At each clinic visit, the investigator assessed and recorded the following: examination of the wound, compliance with drug use, the use of foot gear and/or off-loading, and the presence or absence of any adverse events. Statistical analyses Data are presented as means ±standard deviations (SD). Measured variables were compared by Wilcoxon signed rank test. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS for windows, release 11.5 (SPSS .Inc). P-values<0.05 (2-sided test) were considered statistically significant. RESULTS Ten individuals (7 males and 3 females) who met our criteria enrolled in the study. The mean age of patients was 57± 2.3 years. Fig 1 shows the difference between mean surface area of ulcers at start (12.32±11 cm 2 ), after one month (9.55±9 cm 2 ), and after two months (6.96±6 cm 2 ). Surgical intervention was necessary for three patients; ulcer debridement for two and amputation of gangrened small toe finger in the other one. Fig 2 shows the almost complete healing ulcer in two of our patients during study (8 weeks). Seven patients (70%) showed complete healing within 12 weeks from start of study. There was no statistically significant differences between peaks gradient (mmHg) of femoral, poplitial, and posterior tibialis arteries, before and after treatment with ANGIPARS™ (Table 2). The nerve conduction study also showed no significant changes after treatment with the drug (Table 3). We found no adverse effect in our patient. The laboratory data including; glucose, albumin, creatinine, serum urea nitrogen, alkaline phosphatase, and liver function did not show significant changes after treatment with seleniumbased drugs (Data not shown). Table 1. The time and dosage of ANGIPARS™ for I.V. infusion Table 2. The Mean of peak gradient (mmHg) of lower extremities of participants before and after therapy. Table 3. The mean of distal latency of nerves (ms) in nerve conduction study of participants before and after therapy Figure 2. The picture of patient's foot ulcer before therapy (left upper and lower panel) and after therapy (right upper and lower panel) with ANGIPARS™ DISCUSSION colleagues (15) have shown that in rats, selenium deficiency impairs endothelium dependent vasodilatation; the impact of selenium status in this regard is lost if endothelial NO synthase is inhibited, suggesting that adequate selenium nutrition is crucial to effective nitric oxide function. Wound healing is a complex process that involves the timely expression of numerous growth factors that promote cellular migration and proliferation, production of new connective tissue matrix, and collagen deposition (7, 8). In addition, diabetic foot ulcers are chronic wounds that are stuck in the inflammation phase and show a cessation of epidermal growth or migration over the wound surface (9-11). Thus, theoretically, ANGIPARS™ may have an advantageous in addition to the current standard of care, via immunomodulation (12-14), and perfusion improvement; Lu X and As it has been shown in previous studies selenium has insulin-mimetic properties, an effect that is probably brought about by stimulating the tyrosine kinases involved in the insulin signaling cascade. Furthermore, in the diabetic rat, selenium not only restores glycaemic control but it also prevents or alleviates the adverse effects that diabetes has on cardiac, renal and platelet function (16). The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a newly introduced herbal drug named ANGIPARS™, as a naive adjuvant therapy in diabetic foot ulcers. Our results showed that ANGIPARS™ could reduce the wound size at least 50% during 8 weeks period without any significant adverse effect in the studied patient population. However in the present study, we have not found an overall benefit of the drug on the nerve conduction and color Doppler studies due to short course of the study. Our study had several limitations. First, small sample size of subjects, so our results are suggestive rather than conclusive. Second, due to relatively short duration of study we may have missed late beneficial effect and probable side effects of ANGIPARS™ drug. Third, our study was not a randomized clinical trial. Nevertheless, our results show that this drug could reduce the wound size without any significant adverse effects. REFERENCES 2. Larijani B, Hasani Ranjbar S. Overview of diabetic foot; novel treatments in diabetic foot ulcer. DARU 2008; 16(suppl.1): 1-6. 1. American Diabetes Association: Poistion Statement: Consensus Development Conference on Diabetic Foot Wound Care. Diabetes Care, 1999; 22 (8): 1354-60. 3. Abdollahi M, Farzamfar B, Salary P, Khorram Khorshid HR, Larijani B, Farhadi M, Madani SH. Rodent acute and sub-chronic toxicity evaluation of Semelil (ANGIPARS™), a new phytotherapeutic drug for wound healing. DARU 2008; 16(suppl.1): 7-14. 5. Khorram Khorshid HR, Sadeghi B, Heshmat R, Abdollahi M, Salary P, Farzamfar B, Madani SH. In vivo and in vitro genotoxicity studies of Semelil (ANGIPARS™). DARU 2008; 16(suppl.1): 20-24. 4. Farzamfar B, Abdollahi M, Ka'abinejadian S, Heshmat R, Shahhosseiny MH, Novitsky Y.A, Farhadi M. Sub-chronic toxicity study of a novel herbal-based formulation (Semelil) on dogs. DARU 2008; 16(suppl.1): 15-19. 6. Heshmat R, Mohammad K, Mohajeri Tehrani MR, Tabatabaie Malazy O, Keshtkar AA, Gharibdoust F, Larijani B. Assessment of maximum tolerated dose of a new herbal drug, Semelil(ANGIPARS TM ) in patients with diabetic foot ulcer: A Phase I clinical trial. DARU 2008; 16(suppl.1): 25-30. 8. Witte MB, Barbul A. General principles of wound healing. Surg Clin North Am. 1997;77:509-528. 7. Singer AJ, Clark RA. Cutaneous wound healing. N Engl J Med. 1999;341:738-746. 9. Loots MA, Lamme EN, Zeegelaar J, Mekkes JR, Bos JD, Middelkoop E. Differences in cellular infiltrate and extracellular matrix of chronic diabetic and venous ulcers versus acute wounds. J Invest Dermatol. 1998;111:850-857. 11. Loots MA, Lamme EN, Mekkes JR, Bos JD, Middelkoop E. Cultured fibroblasts from chronic diabetic wounds on the lower extremity (non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) show disturbed proliferation. Arch Dermatol Res. 1999;291:93-99. 10. Jude EB, Boulton AJ, Ferguson MW, Appleton I. The role of nitric oxide synthase isoforms and arginase in the pathogenesis of diabetic foot ulcers: possible modulatory effects by transforming growth factor beta 1. Diabetologia. 1999;42:748-757. 12. Gartner R, Gasnier BC, Dietrich JW, Krebs B & Angstwurm MW. Selenium supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis decreases thyroid peroxidase antibodies concentrations. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2002;87: 1687–1691. 14. McKenzie RC, Rafferty TS, Beckett GJ. Selenium: an essential element for immune function. Immunol Today. 1998; 19:342–345. 13. Köhrle J, Brigelius-Flohé R, Böck A, Gärtner R, Meyer O, Flohé L. Selenium in biology: facts and medical perspectives. Biol Chem. 2000; 381:849–864. 15. Lu X., Liu S. Y., Man R. Y. Enhancement of endothelium dependent relaxation in the rat aortic ring by selenium supplement. Cardiovasc Res 1994; 28:345–348. 16. Beckett GJ & Arthur JR. Selenium and endocrine systems. J of Endocrinol. 2005;184: 455–465.
Celebrating the World Year of Physics The New Mexico Academy of Science, is pleased to present ... . Tom Schuch in Einstein: A Stage Portrait 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Albuquerque Academy Saturday, November 19, 2005 Simms Auditorium THIS EVENT IS FREE FOR ALL There is no admission fee Bring your whole family THE SETTING: The year is 1946, the Bomb has been dropped, the world has forever changed, and Albert Einstein has invited the audience over to his home to set the record straight about his life. Join Dr. Einstein for an evening of humor, introspection, science and a little violin. You'll walk away with an understanding of the man who solved many of the world's most difficult puzzles with astounding creativity - and a sense of humor. This award-winning show (Dramalogue, Best Playwright) brings to life a brilliant, dedicated and sometimes controversial theoretical physicist who TIME magazine called their Person of the Century. This presentation of Einstein: A Stage Portrait is jointly sponsored by the New Mexico Academy of Science and the University of New Mexico Physics Department, with additional funding from Sandia National Laboratories Celebrating the Centennial of Einstein's "Miracle Year" In celebration of this 100th anniversary, please join us during the afternoon of: November 19, 2005.... for Einstein: A Stage Portrait THEN...please join us during the evening of November 19 for the... NMAS 2005 Banquet and Distinguished Lecture Dr. Tim Moy, UNM Department of History will speak on Einstein's role as "the scientist," how and why a research scientist became a known and recognized symbol of science and genius around the world. Dinner will be at 6pm with the NM Outstanding Science Teacher awards following. Dr. Moy's invited lecture will be at 7:30pm. The evening will be held at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. See the fall NMAS newsletter for more details on cost and registration for the evening events. DID YOU KNOW? In 1905, the 26 year-old and obscure physicist working in the Swiss Patent Office, published five scientific papers that shook the world of science. In that year, Einstein challenged Isaac Newton and 19th century physics by proposing the theory of relativity, proposing that the speed of light is constant, postulating the equivalence of mass and energy, supplying a convincing proof for the existence of atoms, and arguing that light behaved as both a particle and a wave. All of these ideas were questionable in 1905, but they are bedrock scientific concepts today. New Mexico Academy of Science Board Members President Jayne Aubele NM Museum of Natural History 505-841-2840 email@example.com Director, NMAS Awards Harry Pomeroy 505-762-0878 firstname.lastname@example.org President-Elect Dave Thomas Quasar International, Inc. 505-247-9660 email@example.com Vice-President Glenn Kuswa Sandia National Laboratories 505-844-4797 firstname.lastname@example.org Past President Steven Brugge Eisenhower Middle School Albuquerque Public Schools 505-292-2530 email@example.com Secretary Mona Pomeroy Clovis NM 505-762-0878 firstname.lastname@example.org Treasurer Marilyn Savitt-Kring 505-856-6654 email@example.com Director, Visiting Scientist Program Maureen Romine NM Highlands University 505-454-3263 firstname.lastname@example.org Director, Junior Academy of Science NAAS, AAAS, SWARM Delegate Lynn Brandvold NM Bureau of Geology and Min. Res. 505-835-5517 email@example.com NMAS Webmaster David Duggan Sandia National Laboratory firstname.lastname@example.org NMAS Newsletter Volume 91, no. 2 August, 2005 Newsletter Editor: Jayne C. Aubele email@example.com Mailing address: New Mexico Academy of Science c/o NM Museum of Natural History and Science 1801 Mountain Rd. NW Albuquerque, NM 87104 FAX: (505) 841-2866 Marvin Moss Sandia National Labs (Retired) 505-298-2643 Director, Publicity firstname.lastname@example.org Editor, New Mexico Journal of Science Position Open Editor, NMAS Newsletter Jayne Aubele NM Museum of Natural History and Science 505-841-2840 email@example.com Director: Education Issues Marshall Berman 505-296-5640 firstname.lastname@example.org Director: Legal Issues Melvin Eisenstadt 505-897-4550 email@example.com Director-At-Large and Director, NM-NYSC Program Richard Nygren Sandia National Laboratories firstname.lastname@example.org Director at Large Kurt Anderson NMSU and Apache Point Observatory 505-646-1032 email@example.com Director Emeritus David Hsi New Mexico State Univ. (Prof. Emeritus) 505-345-3866 firstname.lastname@example.org NEW MEXICO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Founded in 1902 to foster scientific research and scientific cooperation, increase public awareness of the role of science in human progress and human welfare, and promote science education in New Mexico. The Academy has been in continuous existence since 1915, and became formally associated with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in 1995. Affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Member of the National Association of the Academies of Science (NAAS) NMAS Member News........ Recent gifts to the NMAS In the category "Under $100" Herbert Hammond Leonard Sugerman THANK YOU! We Need YOU to Nominate Outstanding Science Teachers for 2005 The NMAS honors New Mexico elementary and sceondary teachers who teach science using innovative and effective methods. Each year, the NMAS names one elementary and one secondary teacher from throughout New Mexico as Outstanding Science Teachers and honors them with awards at the annual NMAS banquet. Please help us by nominating an outstanding teacher from YOUR community. Deadline for nominations is October 7, 2005. For more information, check out t h e N M A S we b s i t e a t www.nmas.org or contact Harry Pomeroy a t 5 05-762-0878 or email@example.com DID YOU KNOW? The Second International Conference on Women in Physics was held in Rio de Janeiro in May, 2005. Participants from 42 countries unanimously passed a resolution promoting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in physics. President's Message - August 2005 Jayne Aubele Albert Einstein set the science world on its collective ear and has become the image and symbol of "the scientist" to almost all non-scientists. Children who are asked to draw a picture of a scientist invariably depict an Einstein-type figure. His name and photograph are instantly recognized and known worldwide. Very few days go by when we fail to hear some popular reference to Einstein. His passion was deciphering nature's puzzle and he spent his entire life "trying to fit the pieces together" and working on ideas that would fundamentally change our view of the physical world around us. Yet, he didn't begin speaking until the age of three, and he was considered to be a slow learner by his teachers. He abhorred all forms of authority, which made his school years difficult and finding work as an adult even more difficult. His fundamental scientific research papers, published in 1905, were written without the support of grant-funding and without a position at a college, university, government laboratory or private research facility that would confer "legitimacy" upon him and his work. It is interesting to wonder what would have happened if Einstein had been born a hundred years later, in our own time. He would have been suffering through elementary school, middle school, and high school in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Would he have been diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder or considered developmentally disabled because he did not act and learn like everyone else in a school setting? Would his behavior and learning have been altered by prescription pharmaceuticals in an attempt to make him act like all of the other students? He would be attempting to publish his fundamental work this year. Would his research papers, written by someone without an academic position or professional association of any kind and unknown to the physics community, have been accepted for publication in one of the major scientific journals? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I am somewhat pessimistic. I am particularly concerned about our "modern Einstein's" early school years. As a scientist, I know that new ideas in science require creativity, and that creativity requires a thinking "out-of-the-box" that is a delicate blend of knowing what is already known about a subject and at the same time thinking about it in a totally new way. Scientific creativity comes from those who think a little differently, who don't always easily fit into a sterotype, who may be considered "difficult." Although we have come to realize the importance of diversity in our society, and K-12 teachers have long recognized the need for teaching to a variety of learning styles, we seem to have decided as a society to prefer a homogeneity of learning behavior in our children, frequently enforced with pharmaceuticals. As a scientist and educator, I am very concerned about the prescription drugs that are now a part of childhood. I know that no studies have been published on the long-term effects of some of these drugs on a growing brain. Perhaps there are no effects, perhaps they are all good, but we need to be certain that we are not fundamentally changing those potential Einsteins among us. Lately, I have been remembering a science fiction story that I read many years ago. The story was set in a future society where all students are tested at a specific age. During testing, their perfect career is decided by an examinination of their brain and all of the knowledge needed for that career is instantly downloaded into their brain - all students, that is, except for a small percentage of students who upon examination are told that their brains are not suitable for any career. This, of course, is a terrible stigma, families are ashamed, the students are considered "mentally disabled." Their only future is to be sent away to an institution to live out their lives. The surprise ending (which you may already have seen coming) is that these students are the creative ones, the ones that create the new knowledge and the new disciplines that are downloaded into the others....they are the different ones.... 2005 New Mexico Junior Academy of Science Paper Competition Winners Lynn Brandvold Director, New Mexico Junior Academy of Science NMAS State Winners Senior Division First Place AVS Science & Technology Society Winners Keely Goodgame The Effect of 670 nm LED Photobiomodulation on the Growth of Mitochondrial Mutant Saccharomyces Cerevisiae San Jon High School San Jon, NM Second Place Robert Cordwell Some Results of Inclusive and Exclusive Partitions of Complete Graphs Manzano High School Albuquerque, NM Third Place Kevin Claytor Acoustic and Ultrasonic Resonances Induced by Laser Irradiation Los Alamos School Los Alamos, NM Honorable Mention Ahmad Manshad Braille Accessible Learning System Las Cruces High School Las Cruces, NM Junior Division First Place Emily TenCate SIM Desert-Coyotes and Rabbits: The Predator Prey Problem Pinon Elementary School Los Alamos, NM Second Place Marietta Young Mother Earth's Brew: Ethanol as an Alternate Fuel Hermosa Middle School Farmington, NM Third Place Ashley Phillips Itsy Bitsy Spider Hermosa Middle School Farmington, NM Honorable Mention Nathaniel Pfeifer Simple Solar Spectrometer Pfeifer Home School Los Lunas, NM Cash awards were provided by a grant from Intel Foundation. The AVS Science & Technology Society, formerly the New Mexico Chapter of the American Vacuum Society, sends judges and selects its own winners in the paper competition and awards prizes to these winners as well as to their teachers/sponsors. The New Mexico Academy of Science is very grateful for their support. Senior Division First Place Ahmad Manshad, Las Cruces High School Sponsor: Muhanad Manshad Second Place Kevin Claytor, Los Alamos High School Sponsor: Thomas Claytor Junior Division First Place Emily TenCate, Pinon Elementary School Sponsor: Deborah Summa Second Place Nathaniel Pfeifer, Pfeifer Home School Sponsor: Kent Pfeifer DID YOU KNOW? To increase public awareness of physics and its place in U.S. history, the American Physical Society is placing plaques around the country to mark the sites of important discoveries in physics and to honor those scientists making the discoveries. Five sites have been selected so far and the number of historic sites will be increased each year. The initial sites selected, and the scientists honored, are the following: * Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ohio Albert Michelson and Edward Morley - the speed of light as a constant * Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Maryland Henry Rowland - diffraction gratings * Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin - lightning and electricity * Washington University, St. Louis Missouri Arthur Compton - x-ray scattering * Yale University Josiah Willard Gibbs - thermodynamics The APS wants to honor local and recent discoveries, too. To nominate sites for inclusion in future years, send an email to firstname.lastname@example.org Keely Goodgame, a sophomore at San Jon High School, was the first place winner in state competition in the recent New Mexico Junior Academy of Science scientific paper writing and oral presentation competition. The competition is held annually in conjunction with New Mexico regional and state Science and Engineering Fairs to promote a crucial part of scientific research; communicating your results to others. Keely was the first place winner in her regional competition and competed against regional winners from around the state to take top honors. Her winning abstract is printed below: The Effect of 670 nm LED Photobiomodulation on the Growth of Mitochondrial Mutant Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Keely Goodgame San Jon High School, San Jon, NM Abstract Therapeutic light-emitting diodes (LED) are a recent form of light therapy. This so called "photobiomodulation" has been shown to accelerate wound healing and to increase cell growth in tissue cultures. Both cell division and growth require energy produced through the cellular respiration occurring in mitochondria. Cytochrome-c oxidase, the terminal enzyme complex of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, creates the electrochemical gradient which provides the force to produce ATP (Capaldi, 1990). The theorized energizing of cytochrome complexes in the electron transport systems by the photobiomodulation have not been documented (Eells, et al., 2002). The purpose of this experiment is to test the effects of a 670nm LED light on a S. cerevisiae strain deficient in mitochondrial DNA and a strain deficient in cytochrome-c oxidase subunit IV, to elucidate the theorized mode of action. S. cerevisiae is a well documented eukaryotic model with available mutant and wild-types to test specific cytochrome-c oxidase complexes. It was hypothesized that the 670nm LED light would improve the growth and longevity of both mutant strains. The wild-type and mutant yeast were photoirradiated with a 670nm LED light at 80seconds/4joules per cm2, 2X and 3X a day, using a Quantum© warp 10 light for a period of 86 hours. Colonies were counted at 12 hours, 24 hours, and 86 hours. The photobiomodulation significantly increased the growth and longevity of cytochrome-c oxidase subunit IV S. cerevisiae at both levels of irradiation, supporting the hypothesis. Further research should include a suitable model for a mitochondrial respiration deficient disease. Instructional Material Adoption Process Complete for Science Textbooks in New Mexico by Malva Knoll, Del Norte High School, Albuquerque Past-President, NMAS On July 7, 2005 Secretary of Education, Veronica Garcia greeted 70 New Mexico teachers who met to review Science, Health, and Physical Education materials prior to adoption by elementary and secondary schools in 2006-2007. This review was the first implementation of Senate Bill 128. The Public Education Department received funds from the publishers to cover the stipends for teachers who participated in the Materials Review Institute. According to new state law level two or level three-A teachers must review instructional materials submitted by publishers. The materials are scored for alignment with New Mexico Content standards and pedagogy after publishers are given the opportunity to document specific sites in their materials, which meet the standards. Materials which achieved a final score of greater than 80% were recommended for adoption, a second panel of reviewers assessed all materials scored below 80%. Low scoring materials were eliminated from consideration. Teachers made recommendations on over 256 texts. The categories submitted to Secretary Garcia were: a) recommended for adoption as a core-basal text b) recommended for adoption as a core-basal text requiring specific supplementation c) recommended for adoption as supplementary material only d) recommended for adoption as an elective course text e) recommended for adoption as an Advanced Placement (AP) course text f) not recommended for adoption DID YOU KNOW? The U.S. Postal Service has issued a set of stamps honoring American Scientists. The stamps were issued in May, 2005 are now available at your local post office. The four American scientists selected for recognition are: Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) - formulated the modern system of thermodynamics. Barbara McClintock (1902-1999) - geneticist; discovered genetic transposition within and between chromosomes; awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1983. John von Neumann (1903-1957) - mathematician; significant contributions to quantum mechanics and computer theory. Richard Feynman (1918-1988) - physicist; developed a new formulation of quantum theory; awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. Special Report on Science Standards in New Mexico by Malva Knoll, Del Norte High School, Albuquerque Past-President, NMAS First High School Standards Based Science Test for Ninth Grade Albuquerque Public Schools Implements New Science Requirements Teachers from across New Mexico met April 5-9, 2005 to help the Public Education Department (PED) and Harcourt Testing Company set the proficiency scores (using Modified-Angoff) for the standardized ninth grade Science test. This was the final step in implementing the requirements of annual testing at all grade levels in the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. In 2007, the composite scores of Science, Math, Reading, Writing sections on this ninth grade test will be used to determine each New Mexico School's Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). The ninth grade test is a criterion referenced test including Math, Reading, Writing, and Science sections. It is based on the New Mexico State Standards. The Science portion of the test was created immediately after the revision of the State Science Standards in August 2003. The PED provided a blue print of instructions for the criterion-referenced test with its initial request for proposals from testing companies. For validity and reliability, the test is constructed at each grade level with an equal balance among all of the areas in the NM Standards including: 1) Scientific Thinking and Practice, 2) Physical Science, 3) Life Science ,4) Earth and Space Science, and 5) Science and Society. Each test is also balanced with multiple choice, short answer, and longer essay questions. Harcourt was selected by PED as the testing company for grades 3 through 9. Harcourt immediately utilized teams of New Mexico teachers at each grade level to select appropriate test questions. Teachers chose questions, which were based on the Performance Objectives in the State Science Standards. Harcourt edited the final questions based on teacher recommendations and PED approval. The first administration of the ninth grade Science test in February 2004 was a pilot to determine the validity of the test questions. Data analysis was used to eliminate invalid questions and to replace 30% of questions as is normal in such standardized tests. February 2005 was the first regular administration of the exam. Teachers were involved in creating the rubric for the short answer and essay question which compose approximately 1/3 of the test and then in setting proficiency scores (cut-scores) for performance evaluation of each school. New Mexico teachers are using the State Standards to develop curriculum in classes from K-12. This year (2005) will provide data on criterion referenced tests to set a baseline for improvements which are expected in the coming years. The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) recently passed a requirement for 3 years of Science for all high school students. The requirement becomes effective for incoming freshmen in August 2005. The added year of Science will bring the requirement in line with other core classes. High School students are required to complete 4 years of English, 4 years of Social Studies, 3 years of Math to include Algebra and Geometry, and 3 years of Science. New Mexico State law also requires that students master the State Science Standards within their high school career. The State Science Standards are within the areas of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth-Space Science. Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) will implement a new course-taking pattern for high school students, which combines the 3-year requirement with proficiency in standards. APS is following the lead of the National Science and Education Standards (NSES) by enforcing the concept that every student should have a minimum base of knowledge including concepts in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth-Space Sciences. Science educators realize that these changes are a quantum leap toward improving the science literacy for all high school students Individual schools in APS have the prerogative to teach courses, which meet the needs of their student population. Most plans include a single course in Biology, one in Chemistry, and one in Physics. The Earth-Space standards have been embedded in the three other courses as appropriate. Each school has also made an attempt to offer Chemistry and Physics courses, which are analytical in nature as well as Chemistry and Physics courses, which are conceptual in nature. Teachers can accommodate different learning styles and mathematical levels of students by choosing between the analytical and conceptual categories. DID YOU KNOW? The number of physics degrees granted by U.S. colleges and universities have increased, according to a new report by the American Institute of Physics. Although physics bachelor's degrees accounted for slightly less than 0.4% of the 1.3 million bachelor's degrees awarded in the U.S. in 2003, this number represents an increase of 25% from 1999. At the Ph.D. level, 1106 physics degrees were awarded nationally in 2003. This number represents the first slight increase (1%) after 8 years of steady decline in numbers of physics Ph.Ds awarded in the U.S. Membership Form New Mexico Academy of Science New Membership [ ] Renewal [ ] Membership Year 2005 [ ] other [ ] Additional Donation [ ] Date _________________ Name ___________________________________________________ Employer/Firm/Affiliation __________________________ Title ____________________________ Primary Interest (geology, biology, chemistry, physics, science education, etc.)_____________________ Mailing Address: _________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Phone __________________ FAX _________________ email ____________________________ Check if your address is different from that on the mailing label of this newsletter [ ] Membership Class (check one) [ ] Member $20/year [ ] Student $15/year [ ] Subscription (Libraries only) $30/year Publication subtotal: $ ______ Total: $ ______ Membership includes 3 newsletters. 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If your mailing label says 2003 on it, we ask you to please support the work of the Academy by renewing for 2005. If we do not receive your renewal by the next newsletter, we will unfortunately have to drop you from our membership. If you have already sent your 2005 dues, THANK YOU. NEW MEXICO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Newsletter NM Museum of Natural History and Science 1801 Mountain Rd NW Albuquerque, NM 87104
USER-LEVEL DMA EXTENSION FOR NOW/CLUSTER ARCHITECTURES Alexander P. Kemalov Abstract: Direct Memory Access /DMA/ is previously used to transfer data between the main memory of host computer /PC/ and the network ? to another one. This method is used to free the processor from the burden of transfer operations. DMA procedures commonly are initiated by the operating system kernel to separate one application and its data with another . A Network of Workstations /NOW/ architecture suggest that interconnections get faster and overhead and latency in networks go down while operating system operations get slower. In NOW or clusters these factors are very important because an intensive data transfers between hosts. These trends imply that DMA operation becomes slower /using operating system kernel/, compared to interconnection network. This paper proposes several algorithms that allow applications to start DMA operation without OS kernel. The algorithms allow user-level applications to have direct access to the DMA engine. This approach is achieved without requiring changes to the OS kernel. Using our algorithms, DMA operation can be initiated faster /in comparison to OS kernel/. Keywords:DMA operation, memory allocation, networks, operating system kernel 1. INTRODUCTION Direct Memory Access /DMA/ is a common method for routing data directly between memory of host computer /PC/ and an input/output device /network controller/ without requiring enervation by the CPU. DMA management has been traditionally done by Operating System kernel, which provides protection, memory, buffer management, DMA registers and address translations. The overhead of this kernel initiated DMA transaction is hundreds of CPU instructions. There are two reasons for the necessity of the OS involvement in starting a DMA operation: 1. Atomicity – DMA operation start with transfer to DMA engine a source address, destination address and size of DMA packet. The process invokes OS to start and schedule DMA operation and when one finished, start another. 2. Protection from program errors – DMA engine work only with physical addresses, not allowed to access to user/ programs. The user program use virtual address and must be translated to physical one. Virtual-to-physical address translation is performed by OS kernel. The physical memory pages used for DMA must be pinned to prevent the virtual memory system form paging them out while DMA data transfers are in progress. In the last years high-speed LANs offers great performance and communication throughput and overheads of the OS involvement in DMA operation are still sensitive. For this reason, several researches have started to address the problem of letting user applications initiate DMA operation. Projects SHRIMP [1] and FLASH [2] have pinpointed the importance of user-level DMA. A disadvantage of these approaches is needs of modification of OS kernel. A DMA procedure has three arguments: source address, destination address and size of packet. A DMA engine is responsible to perform above sources. The OS translate the virtual source and destination addresses to their corresponding physical addresses and size to the DMA engine registers and start a DMA transfer. One of the common used techniques to secure virtual-to-physical address translation is the notion of shadow addressing[3]. For each virtual address vaddr correspond physical – paddr and shadow(paddr). The shadow address is concatenating the physical one. The difference is International Conference on Computer Systems and Technologies - CompSysTech'2003 shadow bit in address / for example 0x0FFFF ? regular address; 0x1FFFF ? its shadow address; range is within the physical address range; it is made in initialization time/. An access to shadow address is interpreted by the DMA engine – virtual address vaddr is mapped to physical address paddr and virtual shadow address shadow(vaddr) – to shadow(paddr). A transformation virtual-to-physical addresses use TLB (page-table) and is performed by memory controller. When a user application tray to pass the DMA engine, it will be treated as an argument passing operation and reject access to regular physical address. Thus it makes an access to virtual shadow(vaddr). The DMA engine recognizes the shadow address and takes the physical address paddr by applying function shadow to physical address shadow(paddr). The mechanism of shadow addressing is fast and reliable, to pass physical addresses to a DMA engine from user memory space. Another problem is to guarantied atomicity of a DMA operation. If there were a way to execute two instructions uninterrupted, then the problem will be solved. But from security point of view, it is dangerous because malicious users may be monopolizing an execution of programs – a decision is OS control. 2. FIRST user-level DMA ALGORITHM The DMA engine is equipped with /4 to 8/ register contexts. Each context has a source, destination and size registers with their meaning. Each context is mapped into memory address space so that the processor can access it. Distinct context are mapped into distinct memory pages so that each process gets access rights for only a single context. Each process can start user-level DMA operation /to write into single group context registers/. Thus if a process gets interrupted while starting a DMA, its arguments can't be mixed with another process's arguments. Each process has its own space in the DMA engine. Unfortunately, user-level application can't use regular load/store operations to access these registers and load them with arguments of a DMA operation. Thus a process that would like to pass a physical address to a register context will pass context identification as a data argument of store operation, since the address argument of store has already been reserved to pass the shadow address: STORE context_id TO shadow(vaddr) The DMA engine extracts the paddr from shadow(paddr) and put it in register context context_id . To start a DMA, a process makes a sequence of above store operations. Unfortunately any process will be allowed to write an address argument into any register context. To prohibit this, we introduce a key that implies the user process is allowed to register context. Thus a physical address is passed to a DMA engine: STORE key#context_id TO shadow(vaddr) , i.e. to proof key in OS and in an instruction is permitted to store a physical address as an argument in the register context. Using the above instruction the address arguments are securely passed to the DMA engine. The last argument that must be passing is size of DMA packet. In this case we used regular store operation to the address that corresponds to the register context /size register/. A user – level DMA operation is performed in fig.1. International Conference on Computer Systems and Technologies - CompSysTech'2003 /* the KEY allows the process to write arguments into CONTEXT_ID / global KEY, CONTEXT_ID; / The register context is mapped into address REGISTER_CONTEXT / global address REGISTER_CONTEXT ; DMA(vsouce, vdestination, size) / pass the destination argument / STORE KEY#CONTEXT_ID TO shadow(vdestination); / pass the source argument / STOREKEY#CONTEXT_IDTOshadow(vsource); / pass the size argument / STOREsizeTOREGISTER_CONTEXT; / did it succeed? / LOAD return_status FROM REGISTER_CONTEXT Fig. 1 We used store / not load / instructions to load address arguments because a process that have both read and write access to the source address will be able to start user-level DMA operation from it. Most parallel and distributed applications that used DMA procedures have both read and write access to these data. 3. SECOND DMA ALGORITHM The algorithm proposed above, achieves user-level DMA operation without OS kernel modification, but theoretically may be broke from a lucky user who manages to guess another user's key. To avoid this one, we make the identification of the process part of the shadow address. We introduce some bits of the physical address that will be passed as an argument to the DMA engine corresponds to the process identification. These bits are set by the OS when it creates the mappings from shadow virtual addresses ? to shadow physical addresses. Part of the shadow physical address is now the context_id /2 bits/, i.e. 4 processes will be able to start user-level DMA operation from the same processor /fig.2/. DMA(vsource, vdestination, size) / pass physical address shadow(vdestin.) and size to the DMA engine / STORE size TO shadow(vdestination); / pass physical addr shadow(psouce) to the DMA engine and read if successful */ LOADreturn_statusFROMshadow(vsouce) Fig. 2 By checking the context_id , the DMA engine knows which process the shadow address belongs to. The DMA engine has several register contexts to save these addresses, receives in the appropriate contexts and start the DMA operation when all arguments are available. If there are no register contexts and DMA engine receives pairs of STORE and LOAD instructions, it checks for the context_id value of the two physical addresses. If they are different, DMA is not started and an error is returned by the last LOAD instruction. 4. THIRD ALGORITHM In the last algorithm we tray to start user-level DMA operation without the need extra bits in the physical address / context_id /. If a process passes at least one shadow address more than once, the DMA engine may be able to determine if the user process was interrupted. The proof is checking the two successive accesses to the same shadow International Conference on Computer Systems and Technologies - CompSysTech'2003 addresses. The DMA engine initiates a DMA operation only if it sees a sequence of the form LOAD, STORE, LOAD and arguments of the two load instructions are the same. If the process is interrupted while trying to start a DMA, then the DMA engine will receive a non valid sequence of shadow addresses, and DMA is not start. The above sequence may lead to error data transfer, if abused by malicious user – a possibility of interleave of shadow address. We introduce additional instruction, protect this situation: DMA(vsouce, vdestination,size) STORE size TO shadow(vdestination) LOAD return_stat.1FROM shadow(vsouce) STORE size TO shadow(vdestination) LOAD return_stat.2 FROM shadow(vsource) If a malicious user does not have access to addreses vsouce, vdestination, above sequence will work correctly. To provide this and avoid interleaving, we include additional instruction: 1: STOREsizeTOshadow(vdestination) 2: LOADreturn_stat.1 FROMshadow(vsouce) If (return_stat.1==FAILURE) go to 1: 3:STOREsizeTOshadow(vdestination) 4: LOADreturn_stat.2FROMshadow(vsource) If (return_stat.2==FAILURE) go to 1: 5: LOADreturn_stat.3FROMshadow(vdestin.) If (return_stat.2==FAILURE) go to 1: Fig.3 The shadow(vsource) address pass twice to the DMA engine, while shadow(vdestination) address – three times. The DMA engine is prepare to receive 5 instruction sequence to shadow address space and a DMA operation start only if there are sequence STORE, LOAD, STORE, LOAD, LOAD and the address arguments in instructions 1,2,5 and 2,4 are the same. 5. PROOF of CORRECTNESS We proof above algorithms with a testbed including a pair Pentium III workstations, running MSC.Linux OS rev. nov.02 /special version for cluster applications/. The test applications consists a server and client /ping-pong/ messages with acknowledgments and different size of packets. A DMA operation would be initiated incorrectly if a user process attempt to start a DMA, are interrupted and interleave their address arguments. Suppose that process P1 want to start DMA from A1 memory location ? to A2. Suppose that there are several other processes P2…Pn interleave their instructions with P1. Although other processes may have read only access to A1, they do not have access to A2. Assume that all P2…Pn execute subroutine in fig.3 and want to write/read the same physical address. If processes P2…Pn belong to different applications, then they should not be able to write-share the same physical memory location, since different applications do not write-share physical memory. Thus such an interleaving can't happen. If P2…Pn belong to the same application, then there should be some synchronization operations be include before they all attempt to write/read the same memory location. This synchronization should serialize DMA operatios. Contents International Conference on Computer Systems and Technologies - CompSysTech'2003 If all access to A1 were issued to P1, that process has alsoissued two interleavening LOAD instructions. To A2 as well. Thus all trying to access to A2 is reached from DMA engine. If a DMA started all five instructions must have been issued by the same process /P1-successfully started DMA/. Initiating atomic operations inside OS kernel / for protection and atomicity/ [4,8] would result in significant overheads. Fortunately our user-level DMA methods can be easily adapted to initiate DMA operation from user application without modification of OS kernel. This is very important in process of an implementation of cluster architectures in practice /massively I/O operations/. In the future we tray to implement these procedures in developed cluster architecture and GRID middleware. REFERENCES [1]. M. Blumrich, R. Alpert, Y. Chen, D. Clark, C. Dubnicki, Design Choices in the SHRIMP system: An Empirical study. In Proc. Of 25 th Intern'l Symp. On Computer Architecture , 1998 [2]. J. Heinlein, K. Gharachorloo, S. Dresser, A. Gupta, Integration of Message Passing and Shared Memory in the Stanford FLASH Multiprocessor. In Proc. of 6 th Intern'l Conf. on Architectural Support for Progr. Languages and OS, 1994 [3]. C. Dubnicki, A. Bilas, Y. Chen, K. Li, VMMC-2: Efficient Support for Realible Connection Orienteted Communication. In Proc. of Hot Interconnects,1997 [4]. R. Dimitrov, A. Skjellum, An Efficient MPI Implementation for Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture – Enabled Cluster Computing. http://www.mpi-softtech.com [5]. Intel Corp. Intel Virtual Interface Architecture -Developer's Guide http://developer.intel.com/design/servers/vi/developer [6]. M. Buchanan, A. Chien, Coordinated Thread Scheduling for Workstation Clusters under Windows NT. In Proc. of USENIX Windows NT Workshop, 1997 [7]. NERSC PC Cluster Project at Lawrence Berkeley Nat'l Laboratory M - VIA: A High Performance Module VIA for Linux http://www.nersc.gov /research/FTG/via [8]. St. Muir, J. Swift, Functional divisions in the Piglet multiprocessor operating system, In ACM SIGOPS European Workshop, 1998 [9]. K. Schwan, R. West, M. Rosu, A Network Co-processor based Approach to Scalable Media Streaming in Servers. In Intern'l Conf. on Parallel Processing, 2000 [10]. G. Banga, J. Mogul, Scalable kernel performance for Internet servers under realistic loads. In USENIX Technical Conference, 1998 ABOUT THE AUTHOR ICCS-BAS, Akad. G. Bochev str. Bl.2 Sofia E-mail: email@example.com
Question Booklet Number: Applicant's Name: Roll Number: Application Number: A P U 2 0 E C O Date: 2 0 2 0 Test Centre: \| Part I \| Section Title \| Question Type \| No. of Questions \| Question Nos. \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| 1. Microeconomics \| Multiple choice \| 10 \| 1 to 10 \| \| \| 2. Macroeconomics \| Multiple choice \| 10 \| 11 to 20 \| \| \| 3. Quantitative methods \| Multiple choice \| 10 \| 21 to 30 \| \| \| 4. Indian Economy and Political Economy \| Multiple choice \| 10 \| 31 to 40 \| \| Part II \| Essay Question \| Answer BOTH the Essay Questions \| \| \| * Candidates shall be allowed to leave the examination hall only after 1 hour of the commencement of the Examination. Please read the following instructions carefully: 1) The instructions given by the Examination Administrators and Invigilators must be followed. Violation of instructions will result in disqualification and the candidate will be asked to leave the Examination Hall. Any candidate found guilty of using unfair means of any nature inside the Examination Hall shall be liable to be disqualified. 2) Candidates are NOT allowed to carry any papers, notes, books, log tables, scientific calculators, scanning devices, communication devices like mobile phones to the Examination Hall. ONLY NON-SCIENTIFIC CALCULATORS ARE ALLOWED. 3) Before answering the questions, write your roll number in the space provided in the Question Booklet. On the OMR Answer Sheet, please fill in the necessary details and sign at the appropriate place. 4) Each multiple choice question carries one mark. There will be no NEGATIVE MARKING. 5) Each multiple choice question is followed by four options. Please mark the correct/most appropriate option by darkening the relevant OVAL with a BLUE/BLACK ball point pen on the OMR Answer Sheet. Darken ONLY ONE OVAL for each answer so that the letter inside the OVAL is not visible. USE OF PENCILS IS PROHIBITED. The CORRECT and INCORRECT methods of darkening an OVAL are shown here. 6) Please DO NOT make any stray marks anywhere on the OMR Answer Sheet. DO NOT fold or wrinkle the OMR Answer Sheet. Rough work MUST NOT be done on the OMR Answer Sheet. Use your question booklet for this purpose. 7) The Question Booklet and OMR sheet will be collected by the Invigilator after 2 hours from the commencement of the examination. 8) Essay Questions booklet will be distributed after 1 hour from the commencement of the examination. 9) In Part II, M.A. Economics programme aspirants have to write BOTH the Essay questions 10) After writing the Essay, please hand over the booklet to the Room Invigilator. DO NOT carry the question booklet or any part thereof outside the Examination Hall. Section 1 - Microeconomics No. of Questions: 10 1) Consider the following utility functions over two goods x and y. u1(x,y)=ax+by u2(x,y)=x a y b u3(x,y)=a ln(x) + b ln(y) Which of the three utility functions have the same marginal rates of substitution for any given values of x and y. A) u1(x,y) and u2(x,y) B) u2(x,y) and u3(x,y) C) u1(x,y) and u3(x,y) D) None of the above 2) A social planner has a Utilitarian social welfare function. The planner assumes that all individuals in the society have identical utility functions with diminishing marginal utility of money i.e. the utility function is concave with respect to money. This implies that any transfer of money from the rich to the poor will A) Increase social welfare B) Decrease social welfare C) Leave social welfare unchanged D) Not enough information to determine the change in social welfare 3) Suppose a person choosing between fish (x) and money (y) has the following utility function: Let the price of fish be 2 and the price of money be 1. If the person has a budget of 30, find the amount of fish the person can buy to maximise their utility. A) 8 B) 5 C) 4 D) 2 4) A tax increase will not cause any deadweight loss if A) The supply is inelastic B) The demand is inelastic C) The tax is lumpsum D) All of the above Set: 57437_1A 5) \| \| H \| M \| L \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| h \| 2,2 \| 3,3 \| 4,4 \| \| m \| 3,5 \| 5,1 \| 2,4 \| \| l \| 4,2 \| 2,2 \| 5,3 \| The table above shows the payoff matrix between player 1 who chooses between strategies h, m and l , and player 2 who chooses between strategies H, M and L. The first number in each cell denotes the payoff for player 1 and the second number denotes the payoff for player 2. We consider only pure strategies. Select the correct statement: A) The Nash equilibrium is (l,L) and it is Pareto efficient B) The Nash equilibrium is (l,L) and it is not Pareto efficient C) The Nash equilibrium is (h,L) and it is Pareto efficient D) The Nash equilibrium is (h,L) and it is not Pareto efficient 6) A person was offered a choice between (i) A lottery of Rs 100 with 50% probability and Rs 20 with 50% probability, (ii) A sure amount of Rs 50 If the person chooses (ii), then according to the expected utility theory, the person is A) Risk averse B) Risk neutral C) Risk loving D) The person's risk preference cannot be inferred from the given information 7) Consider an indifference curve of a utility function of a consumer over two goods. Which of the following statement is true about the curve? A) Utility increases as you move along the indifference curve from left to right B) The point of intersection of two indifference curve is the optimal point of consumption C) The slope of the indifference curve is equal to the marginal rate of substitution between the two goods D) All of the above 8) Which of the following production functions has constant returns to scale? A) f1(l,k)=l 0.3 k 0.7 B) f2(l,k)=l+2k C) f3(l,k)=min{3l,k} D) All of the above 9) Assume that the price-elasticity of demand for adult footwear is relatively high, while the price-elasticity of demand for children's footwear is low. The elasticity of supply for both is the same. Now if GST on both adult's footwear and children's footwear is increased by five percentage points, what would happen to their prices? A) Both their prices would increase by the same proportion B) The price of adult footwear would see a higher proportional increase C) The price of children's footwear would see a higher proportional increase D) Prices would remain unchanged 10) Traffic is a big problem in Bangalore. A Pigouvian solution to the problem would be A) A government law restricting the number of vehicle (like Delhi's odd-even rule) B) A congestion charge to be paid by every vehicle in the city C) Increase in the width of roads to accommodate more cars D) All of the above Section 2 - Macroeconomics No. of Questions: 10 11) Suppose a 4-sector economy with C=10+.8(Y-T), I=10, G=50, X=40, T=50 and M=10+.3Y Where C, I, G, X, T and M refer to consumption, investment, government expenditure, exports, taxes and imports respectively. What is equilibrium income in this economy? A) 170 B) 120 C) 200 D) 220 12) Monetary policy will have the largest effect on income when A) The IS curve is steep and the LM curve is steep B) The IS curve is flat and the LM curve is steep C) The IS curve is flat and the LM curve is flat D) The IS curve is steep and the LM curve is flat 13) From the Quantity Theory of Money if M increases by 5 percent and V increases by 2 percent, then A) Real income increases by approximately 7 percent B) The price level increases by approximately 5 percent C) Nominal income increases by approximately 5 percent D) Nominal income increases by approximately 7 percent 14) You observe that the government is increasing infrastructural spending. This could be a response to: A) Higher unemployment B) Slow Economic Growth C) A recognized period of recession D) All of the above 15) According to the Solow model, persistently rising output and living standards can only be explained by: A) Capital accumulation B) High savings rates C) Population growth D) Technological progress 16) What is the value of the multiplier in a closed economy with a Marginal Propensity to Save of 0.25? A) 4 B) 1.33 C) 5 D) 1 17) The value today associated with receiving Rs. 100 two years from today when the annual interest rate is 5% is A) Rs. 100 B) Rs. 90.7 C) Rs. 90 D) Rs 95.2 18) If the government increases its spending which of the following could occur? A) Unemployment decreases B) Inflation increases C) The fiscal deficit rises D) All of the above 19) Which of the following are possible consequences of a fiscal expansion? A) An increase in the trade deficit B) Deflation C) A reduction in national income D) A rise in unemployment 20) Which of the following is true? A) Real GDP is always greater than Nominal GDP B) Nominal GDP is always greater than Real GDP C) Real GDP excludes some sectors counted in nominal GDP D) Real GDP is lower than Nominal GDP if inflation is positive Section 3 - Quantitative methods No. of Questions: 10 21) Consider two random variables x and Y. Looking at the scatter between x and Y, the researcher contemplates the following population regression: Which of the following statements is true: A) OLS cannot be applied as the equation is cubic in x B) OLS cannot be applied as the equation contains e x term C) OLS cannot be applied as the equation is cubic in x and contains e x term D) OLS can be applied despite cubic in x and e x term ̅ 22) The degrees of freedom of the sample variance s 2 , defined as ∑(𝑥 𝑖 −𝑥 ) 2 𝑛 is A) 𝑛 B) 𝑛−1 C) 𝑛−2 D) √𝑛 23) Consider a sample of n observations. The sample proportion of a binary categorical variable coded as 0/1 can be seen as, A) The sample median of the sequence of 1s and 0s B) The sample mode of the sequence of 1s and 0s C) The sample mean of the sequence of 1s and 0s D) None of the above 24) Please refer to the figure below: A) The mean and the median are the same value for all three plots B) The mean is lower than median for the plot on the left (marked Negative Direction), while it is higher than median for plot on the right (marked Positive direction) C) The mean is higher than median for the plot on the left (marked Negative Direction), while it is lower than median for plot on the right (marked Positive direction) D) The mean and median cannot be the same value for all three plots shown above 25) In set theory, if A and B are independent events, it follows that: A) A and B' (B complement) are independent B) P(A∩B) = P(A)+P(B) C) P(A∩B) = P(A/B) D) All of the above 26) An oil exploration company currently has two active projects, one in Asia and the other in Europe such that the success of each project is independent of the other project. The probability that the Asian project is successful is 0.4, and the probability that the European project is successful is 0.7. Suppose you are told that the Asian project is not successful. Then, the probability that the European project is also not successful is, A) 0.7 B) 0.28 C) 0.3 D) Indeterminate (cannot be specified) 27) In the context of hypothesis testing consider the following three statements: i. Even if the sample weakly contradicts the null hypothesis, the null hypothesis will be rejected. ii. Only if the sample strongly contradicts the null hypothesis, the null hypothesis will be rejected iii. The researcher approaches a test, assuming the null hypothesis to be true. Which of the following is true A) Only i. is correct B) Only ii. is correct C) Both i. and iii. are correct D) Both ii. and iii. are correct 28) Consider the following regression equation: Which of the following statements is true assuming this is the correct population equation: A) The partial effect 𝑧 is given by 2𝛽 1 𝑥+ 𝛽 2 𝑥 C) The partial effect 𝑧 is given by 𝛽 2 𝑥 B) The partial effect 𝑧 is given by 2𝛽 1 𝑥+ 𝛽 2 D) The partial effect 𝑧 is given by 𝛽 2 29) If random variable X follows Poisson Distribution and random variable Y follows Binomial Distribution, then A) X must be discrete and Y must be continuous B) X must be continuous and Y must be discrete C) X and Y must both be discrete D) X and Y must both be continuous 30) A family has moved into a new neighborhood. The neighborhood has two medical clinics. Each medical clinic has two obstetricians and three pediatricians. The family requires the services of both types of doctors but is constrained to choose both doctors from the same clinic. In how many ways can this been done? A) 10 B) 8 C) 36 D) 12 Section 4 - Indian Economy and Political Economy No. of Questions: 10 31) The poverty head count ratio measures A) The depth of poverty below the poverty line B) The percentage of people living below the poverty line C) The number of people living below the poverty line D) The amount of inequality between the rich and the poor 32) The term "jobless growth" refers to A) A rise in proportion of women out of the labour force B) A strong rise in unemployment accompanied by strong GDP growth C) A strong rise in the youth unemployment rate despite high GDP growth D) A weak rise in employment despite high GDP growth 33) Until recently, the Indian economy followed the five year plan model of planning, which means that the government makes plans which are adhered to for five years. However, Indira Gandhi suspended five year plans and followed annual budgets from 1966-69. Why did she do this? A) Congress did not have a majority government in the Lok Sabha B) Food shortages and a sharp spike in inflation caused by monsoon failures C) Threat of Maoist and Naxalite movements D) War between India and Pakistan 34) In India A) The smallest proportion of workers are in the agricultural sector, but this sector has the highest contribution to GDP B) The highest proportion of workers are in the agricultural sector, but this sector has the lowest contribution to GDP C) The highest proportion of workers are in the agricultural sector and this sector has the highest contribution to GDP D) The smallest proportion of workers are in the agricultural sector and this sector has the lowest contribution to GDP 35) What is the aim of Ayushman Bharat Yojna – National Health Protection scheme A) Health care insurance coverage for scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and low income households B) Free health care of all Indian citizens C) Subsidization of hospital charges for low income households D) Free checkup in public hospitals 36) In 2005 the Government of India introduced a programme that guaranteed 100 days of employment per year per household in rural areas. What is the name of this programme? A) Sampoorn Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) B) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) which was later renamed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) C) National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) D) Skill India Mission 37) After liberal reforms were introduced in 1991, the government decided to dis-invest public sector enterprises (PSE). What does dis-investment mean in this context? A) Allowing private companies to invest in sectors which were only controlled by PSE's like telecommunication B) The selling of government equity in public sector undertakings C) Selling off assets of PSE to private companies D) Shutting down Public Sector Enterprises 38) This graph on wages and productivity for India shows A) productivity gains have NOT been associated with proportionate rises in real wages B) productivity gains have been associated with proportionate rises in real wages C) productivity gains have been associated with rising formalization of work D) productivity gains have been associated with the rise of women in the work force 39) Work in India is characterized by A) the majority of workers in the organized sector B) the majority of workers in the unorganized sector C) the majority of workers out of the labour force D) the majority of women entering the paid labour force 40) The Gender Wage Gap refers to... A) Average difference in wages (or remuneration) of women compared to men who are working B) Average difference in time spent working of women compared to men C) Standard deviation of wages for women compared to men D) Difference between the highest paid women workers and the highest paid male workers Space for Rough Work Space for Rough Work For: Azim Premji University Space for Rough Work
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Principles of Gestalt Family Therapy Gestalt Youtube GESTALT THERAPY (Simply Explained) Bowen Family Systems Theory Gestalt, Perception \u0026 Psychotherapy The Gestalt Principles \| Basics for Beginners Experiential Models of Family Counseling Prof. Yaron Ziv explains the main principles of Gestalt Therapy What is Gestalt Therapy? Structural Family Therapy Theories of Counseling - Gestalt Therapy Gestalt in a Nutshell Unfinished business unresolved grief The Gestalt Cycle A gestalt therapy session explained Gestalt Principles. How psychology influences your design strategy. Counselling Theories Compared and Contrasted Page 1/11 Gestalt Therapy Gestalt Principles of Perception Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice Video An introduction to Person Centred Therapy - Carl Rogers Counselling Theories Strengths \u0026 Limitations Gestalt Therapy Principles Adolescent Family Therapy Video Gestalt Therapy Role-Play - Empty Chair Technique with Future Self Narrative Lecture 2017 Gestalt Therapy - Frtiz Perls - ASWB, NCE, NCMHCE, MFT Exam Prep and Review Walter Kempler about Experiëntal Family Therapy (part 1) Gestalt Therapy and Techniques Principles of Gestalt Therapy Introductions Principles Of Gestalt Family Therapy The word gestalt comes from the German word meaning shape or form, and it references the character or essence of something. Principles of Gestalt Therapy At the core of gestalt therapy is the... Gestalt Therapy The fullest description of Kempler's work is published in the publication Principles of Gestalt Family Therapy (1974). The use of Gestalt therapy takes place in temporary crisis interference (O'Connell, 1970), as an accessory treatment for visual problems (1970, Rosanes-Berret), for awareness education of mental health specialists (Enright, 1970), of kids with behavior difficulties (Lederman, 1970), to educate day-care institutions staff (Ennis and Mitchell, 1970), to instruct teachers and ... Treatment. Gestalt training. Family therapy Buy Principles of Gestalt family therapy;: A Gestalt-experiential handbook by Kempler, Walter Page 2/11 (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Principles of Gestalt family therapy;: A Gestalt ... Gestalt therapy is classified as a type of humanistic therapy, within the psychotherapeutic currents of the second half of the 20th century. This is the case since it attempts to lessen psychopathological symptoms and signs, in addition to working towards personal development and if possible, self-fulfillment. Gestalt Psychology: Principles, Theory And Gestalt Therapy Principles of Gestalt family therapy by Walter Kempler, 1974, [Tr]Joh. Nordahl edition, in English Principles of gestalt family therapy. (1974 edition ... Gestalt therapy encourages clients to challenge those old ways of how we may have created meaning about an experience. Learning how to accept and embrace personal responsibility is a goal of Gestalt therapy, allowing clients to gain a greater sense of control in their experiences and to learn how to better regulate their emotions and interactions with the world. What Is Gestalt Therapy? - Verywell Mind Key concepts of gestalt therapy. Gestalt therapy works through the interconnection of key concepts. These offer insight into the processes involved in therapy sessions between the therapist and client(s). Person-centred awareness - Focusing on the present and imagining it Page 3/11 divorced from the future and past is considered essential. The process follows an individual's experience in a way that does not involve seeking out the unconscious, but staying with what is present and being aware. Gestalt therapy - Counselling Directory The Four Pillars of Gestalt Therapy; Diagnosis in Gestalt Therapy; Mindfulness/Awareness; Gestalt Theory – Gestalt Cycle of Experience; Gestalt Principle – Figure and Ground Gestalt therapy \| Counselling on the Coast Principles of Gestalt family therapy;: A Gestalt-experiential handbook [Kempler, Walter] on Amazon.com. FREE shipping on qualifying offers. Principles of Gestalt family therapy;: A Gestalt-experiential handbook Principles of Gestalt family therapy;: A Gestalt ... Gestalt therapists have productively conducted family therapy, with persons who have problems managing authority figures, with a broad assortment of intrapsychic confrontations. Gestalt therapy has always been efficient when dealing with psychotics and stern character disorders. Gestalt Theory and its Applications. Gestalt training ... Gestalt Therapy utilizes the principles of wholeness and awareness to promote wellbeing. It is a client centered form of therapy, which can be highly effective across multiple mental health Page 4/11 issues. Additionally, Gestalt Therapy focuses on the concepts of wholeness and awareness so the patient can feel more "complete" in their day-to-day life. What Are Gestalt Therapy Techniques \| Betterhelp Gestalt Therapy is equal to or greater than other therapies in treating various disorders, Gestalt Therapy has a beneficial impact with personality disorders, and the effects of therapy are stable. Works with the past by making it relevant to the present (Corey, 2005). Versatile and flexible in its approach to therapy. Gestalt Therapy: Overview and Key Concepts - Counselling ... Principles of Gestalt Family Therapy is the first and only book on the marriage of Gestalt therapy with family therapy. It is an intriguing and thought‐provoking book deserving of a place on the bookshelves of those interested in either (or better yet, both) Gestalt and family therapy. Journal. Family Process – Wiley. Published: Jun 1, 1976 Principles of Gestalt Family Therapy, Family Process \| 10 ... Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy which emphasizes personal responsibility, and focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situation. It was developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940s and 1950s, and was first described in the 1951 book Gestalt Therapy. Gestalt therapy - Wikipedia The word "gestalt" means whole. Gestalt therapy was developed by psychotherapist Fritz Perls on the principle that humans are best viewed as a whole entity consisting of body, mind, and soul, and... Gestalt Therapy \| Psychology Today Gestalt therapy is a phenomenological form of psychotherapy developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940s and 1950s. The theory was first outlined in the 1951 book Gestalt Therapy. The approach recognises that emotional difficulties can be in the form of emotional and physical reactions. Gestalt Therapy Definition • Counselling Tutor The theory helps the therapist practice empathy and unconditional acceptance which are components of Gestalt therapy. Under this theory, it is through self-acceptance that change occurs. Focus on the "here" and "now". Clients must become aware of behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that are inhibiting them rather than being blind to them. What are Gestalt Therapy Techniques? \| E-Counseling.com The Four Pillars of Gestalt Therapy Gestalt therapists/counsellors rely heavily and are guided by four theoretical pillars that make up Gestalt methodology. They are phenomenology, dialogical relationship, field theory and experimentation. They are used holisitically within the therapeutic setting and are interrelated and supportive of each other. The Gestalt approach is based on the philosophy that the human being is born with the healthy ability to regulate needs and wants in relationship with the environment in which she/he lives. Heightening of personal awareness and exploration of needs is enabled by the therapist who actively engages in supporting and assisting the therapeutic journey of the client. Gestalt Therapy: Advances in Theory and Practice is a collaboration of some of the best thinkers in the Gestalt therapy approach. It offers a summary of recent advances in theory and practice, and novel ideas for future development. Each chapter focuses on a different element of the Gestalt approach and, with contributors from around the world, each offers a different perspective of its ongoing evolution in relation to politics, religion and philosophy. Incorporating ideas about community, field theory, family and couple therapy, politics and spirituality, this book will be of interest not only to Gestalt therapists but also to non-Gestalt practitioners, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Counselling, behavioural science and psychotherapy students will also find this a valuable contribution to their learning. Gestalt therapy offers a present-focused, relational approach, central to which is the fundamental belief that the client knows the best way of adjusting to their situation. By working to heighten awareness through dialogue and creative experimentation, gestalt therapists create the conditions for a client's personal journey to health. Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques provides a concise guide to this flexible and far-reaching approach. Topics discussed include: the theoretical assumptions underpinning gestalt therapy gestalt assessment and process diagnosis field theory, phenomenology and dialogue ethics and values evaluation and research. As such this book will be essential reading for gestalt trainees, as well as all counsellors and psychotherapists wanting to learn more about the gestalt approach. The Gestalt approach is based on the philosophy that the human being is born with the healthy ability to regulate needs and wants in relationship with the environment in which she/he lives. Heightening of personal awareness and exploration of needs is enabled by the therapist who actively engages in supporting and assisting the therapeutic journey of the client. Gestalt Therapy: Advances in Theory and Practice is a collaboration of some of the best thinkers in the Gestalt therapy approach. It offers a summary of recent advances in theory and practice, and novel ideas for future development. Each chapter focuses on a different element of the Gestalt approach and, with contributors from around the world, each offers a different perspective of its ongoing evolution in relation to politics, religion and philosophy. Incorporating ideas about community, field theory, family and couple therapy, politics and spirituality, this book will be of Page 8/11 interest not only to Gestalt therapists but also to non-Gestalt practitioners, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Counselling, behavioural science and psychotherapy students will also find this a valuable contribution to their learning. The first internationally focused book on gestalt therapy to provide a comprehensive overview of current practice around the world. Features coverage of the history, training, theoretical contributions, and research initiatives relating to gestalt therapy in seventeen countries Points to future directions and challenges Includes extensive information on worldwide gestalt associations, institutes, and professional societies that promote the development of the approach Foundations of Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling A newly updated and practical approach to marriage, couples, and family counseling Now in its second edition, Foundations of Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling delivers a comprehensive treatment of current theory, research, and real-life practice in family therapy. The text is fully aligned with the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). It covers foundational and advanced topics of critical importance to student counselors and therapists seeking to work in family settings, including sexuality, trauma, divorce, domestic violence, addictions, filial play therapy, and the positioning of culture and context in family therapy. The new edition includes updated content in each chapter and entirely new chapters on assessments and helping families mitigate, adapt, and transition during crisis. This important book: Covers the basic knowledge and skills essential to students and practitioners of couples and family therapy Details the history, concepts, and techniques associated with crucial theories, and includes a new chapter on the most up to date assessment strategies Tackles contemporary issues and interventions in trauma, divorce, domestic violence, sexuality, and more At once comprehensive and concise, the Second Edition of Foundations of Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling offers readers a guide to the complex and interconnected concepts required to support a full understanding of couples and family therapy. Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice is an introductory text, written by major Gestalt theorists, that will engage those new to Gestalt therapy. Editors Ansel Woldt and Sarah M. Toman introduce the historical underpinnings and fundamental concepts of Gestalt therapy and illustrate applications of those concepts to therapeutic practice. The book is unique in that it is the first Gestalt text specifically designed for the academic and training institute settings. Gestalt Therapy takes both a conceptual and a practical approach to examining classic and cutting-edge constructs. Since the beginning of the concepts of family therapy, mental health professionals have known that the family -- the system -- is a powerful source of support for change or a powerful force for resistance to change. Some professionals work with individuals, some with families and some with groups. However, all work with the context of the systems -- family, group, community, country, etc. Students, especially beginning students, are overwhelmed and Copyright : emanuel-ca.jvillage.net Download Ebook Principles Of Gestalt Family Therapy Cdcint confused at the variety of approaches to working with clients. Many programs introduce students to individual as well as systems concepts in the course of training. Students need assistance in learning this variety of theories. They need to be able to compare and contrast theories and techniques to determine when and where to utilise the best skills in order to facilitate client change. Dr. Karin Jordan has compiled a comprehensive text that enables the students to discover each theory as it is presented in its purist form. The text is accessible yet the content provides comprehensive knowledge of each theory. Dr. Jordan has brought together the master educators and clinicians in our fields to write about their particular expertise. Copyright code : 587f31b1beb142495dff294f2ac1349e
Spending a lot more time with bees... Avril Earl Seasonal Bee Inspector This year will be my third season as the NBU Seasonal Bee Inspector for Wiltshire, Southern Region, and what an amazing, unusual and unexpected time I am having. Afer more than 30 years working as a pharmacy technician, I took early retirement in 2019 and was looking forward to spending more time with my bees. Litle did I know that I would soon be spending a lot more time with bees – though mostly not my own. The job of seasonal bee inspector (SBI) in my county involves working four days a week from May to August, so I thought it would allow me to be semi-retired. I applied, even though I wasn't sure if the job was for me or that I had the right experience. I was elated when I received an invitation to atend an interview at the National Bee Unit (NBU) headquarters in Sand Huton, near York. Interview for a dream job The interview process was to have three stages and afer each stage you would be told if you had passed – those who had not would be on their way home. It seemed rather daunting. The frst test was to describe what we saw in 30 images. Some showed obvious examples of brood disease, but others were much harder to identify. Afer a nervous wait while our tests were marked, I was relieved to be told that I was through to the second round. Next came a practical test. I spent about half an hour in the NBU apiary where, under the watch of two inspectors, I had to open a colony and answer questions about what I was looking for, what I could see and other beekeeping maters. I passed the second round and progressed to the fnal stage: a formal interview with a regional bee inspector and the NBU National Bee Inspector. This was a one-hour in-depth discussion about my knowledge of bee diseases and treatment methods as well as my own beekeeping experience. They were particularly interested in my professional experience working in sterile environments manufacturing chemotherapy treatments – something that had parallels with aspects of honey bee disease control. The ten candidates who started the day had been whitled down to four and I was delighted and a bit surprised that I was one of them. Afer the recruitment day there was a long wait before an ofer was made, so I had plenty of time to consider whether this was the job for me. Initially I wondered if I wanted to be a bee inspector, but having studied for the interview, found out a lot more about what bee inspectors do and met some of the amazing people who work at the NBU, I realised that I really wanted the job. When the ofer came, I was shocked and delighted. I had just landed my dream job. BeeCraft June 2021 9 10 First day nerves Ofcially, the job began in March 2019 when I atended the NBU's annual conference in York. It was a complete culture shock. The place was very busy with all the NBU employees, including inspectors, laboratory technicians and administrative staf. I wasn't on my own; there were 11 new inspectors and we all looked a bit nervous and very much like the new kids in school. We were issued with laptops, phones and our inspecting equipment. If you've ever had a visit from a bee inspector, you will know how much equipment we carry with us. This was an opportunity to meet all the regional bee inspectors (RBIs) and seasonal bee inspectors (SBIs), the head of the NBU and the national bee inspector. We atended interesting lectures from various departments looking at the statistics of the previous years' European and American foulbrood (EFB and AFB) outbreaks and other pests and diseases. There was so much to learn. It was almost overwhelming, but fascinating. Afer the conference, I set up my home ofce and tested the equipment that I had been given. Two weeks later I was back in York with the other new inspectors for formal training. It was becoming very real. We had intensive sessions on the identifcation of AFB and EFB, small hive beetle, Tropilaelaps and the Asian or yellowlegged hornet. We were taught various treatment methods including the safe use of LPG (liquid petroleum gas) torches to scorch contaminated wooden hives. Administrative procedures had to be learned as well as the use of BeeBase, an essential tool for the inspectorate. About the NBU Afer the second world war, a government unit was set up to look into best farming practices, including looking afer honey bees and other livestock. The NBU, formed in 1979, has gone through various changes and today is part of the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA), which in turn is part of the Department for Environment Food & Rural Afairs (Defra). The purpose of the NBU is to identify notifable bee diseases (European foulbrood and American foulbrood) and to look for non-native species (such as the small hive beetle, Tropilaelaps and the Asian hornet – all pests that could enter the UK at any time) that afect the honey bee and other native pollinators. The NBU also researches best practice for beekeepers to control pests and diseases. Of course, varroa continues to be a problem to bees, so the NBU also advises beekeepers on how to manage this parasitic mite. Back in our respective regions, we each spent a month accompanying an existing bee inspector on their rounds. I was buddied with Kevin Pope, SBI for Dorset. Kevin, a hugely experienced beekeeper and inspector, showed me the ropes, introduced me to some of the beekeepers in his patch and helped me come to terms with the necessary documentation. As there was an AFB outbreak in my county, I was able to accompany Kevin and some other inspectors to check all the local hives and deal with the infection. Afer that I was let out on my own to visit beekeepers in my county of Wiltshire. I had already learned a tremendous amount and been given some great advice by my much-respected predecessor, Robert Carpenter Turner, but was realising that this was only the beginning. The training for bee inspectors never stops and there is a programme of continuous professional development. We also work towards a formal City & Guilds qualifcation. Year one ... an inspector calls As an SBI, my job is to visit beekeepers within my county and check their bees for notifable diseases and pests. I visit backgarden beekeepers, club apiaries, professional bee farmers and beekeepers who have many colonies and apiaries but who are not classed as bee farmers. Sometimes visits are in response to calls from beekeepers worried that they have found something suspicious in their colonies. Luckily, these days most people can take and send images with their mobile phones – that takes a lot of the guesswork out of diagnosing potential problems. If a photo isn't enough or I think there is a problem, I will visit the beekeeper. Our target is to visit at least three apiaries each day, conducting thorough disease inspections on a minimum of 15 colonies. Some days I drive for many hours – Wiltshire is a big county. When not responding to calls from beekeepers, I choose areas for selective visits, usually those near to disease hotspots. BeeBase shows where there have been disease incidents and the location of other apiaries in the area. Making arrangements can be very time consuming. Ideally, I visit several beekeepers within one area on the same day but co-ordinating times that work for everyone can be quite difcult. Fortunately, most people are happy to receive a visit and to be assured that their bees are healthy. At frst, I was a litle worried about how, as an SBI, I would be received. Firstly, I thought some people wouldn't like to have their bees inspected – afer all, beekeeping can be quite a private activity. Furthermore, I was sufering slightly from impostor syndrome – I knew that many beekeepers would be far more experienced than me. Luckily, my experiences have been very positive. Most people are very welcoming, and I have learned so BeeCraft June 2021 much from some of the very experienced beekeepers that I have met. Some people are a litle nervous that I may tell them of or give them a lecture, but it is not my job to tell anyone how to keep their bees – only whether their bees are healthy. If I am asked for advice, I will give it, but my primary role is to look for notifable diseases and pests and help eradicate them if found. Throughout my frst season the regular meetings with Peter Davies, the RBI, and my fellow Southern Region SBIs were invaluable. As we work mostly on our own, it is useful to meet colleagues face to face to swap information and advice. I am always impressed with the depth of my colleagues' knowledge and their desire to share news and views on the latest research and initiatives. They all care very deeply about helping beekeepers and improving the health of our bees. During 2019 the NBU ran a series of Bee Health Days in our region. These were arranged by local clubs but were open to all beekeepers. We gave talks on bee diseases and potential threats like small hive beetle, Tropilaelaps mite and the Asian hornet. We also gave demonstrations on good practice, good apiary hygiene and had frames of EFB and AFB for beekeepers to look at. These days were a great opportunity to meet more beekeepers and helped me feel part of a team that was working hard to make a diference to the quality of bees and beekeeping in the UK. Then in September we were notifed of an Asian hornet sighting in Christchurch, Hampshire. Until then I had seen only dead Asian hornets, so I was excited to be involved. I helped set up bait traps in gardens and we all took turns monitoring them. It wasn't long before I saw my frst Asian hornet. We recorded its fight paths to determine where its nest was. This methodical work requires excellent eyesight as it is easy to lose sight of a hornet in fight. We met up to collate our fndings and map our evidence. The location was narrowed down to an area of parkland, where the team found the nest. It was destroyed but kept as intact as possible for analysis, which subsequently showed that the queen had come from France. It was an exciting end to my frst season as a bee inspector. Year two ... inspecting during a pandemic Well, 2020 was a totally diferent season. Covid-19 meant there wasn't the usual York conference at the beginning of the year. We held our meetings by Zoom and, though they were very informative, there wasn't the same sense of being part of a team or the opportunity for informal discussions. I missed that because working as a bee inspector is quite solitary and I had enjoyed the sense of camaraderie meeting with colleagues during the previous year. Despite covid, inspection work had to continue. 1 American foulbrood was found at an apiary in Avril's county soon afer she began work. More experienced colleagues were called in to help deal with the outbreak. 2 Bee inspectors training at the NBU apiary 3 Avril atended a suspected colony poisoning. Here she collects a sample of dead bees. 4 APHA headquarters at Sand Huton, near York. The NBU apiary is near the green polytunnels on the far lef of the image 5 Avril, suited, booted and ready for inspections ' Beekeepers are encouraged to sign up to BeeBase, the National Bee Units website. BeeBase is an excellent source of beekeeping and honey bee health information. By signing up you will receive important alerts about health concerns in your area and can arrange a visit from your bee inspector. www.nationalbeeunit.com BeeCraft June 2021 The bee inspection service is classed as key work for the identifcation and eradication of notifable diseases and pests. My second year was nothing like my frst. To inspect colonies, I had to work on my own without the help of the beekeeper. Normally the beekeeper will help with the lifing, so it was physically quite hard work doing that by myself. In some cases, beekeepers would atend to give me access to land but ofen it was a solitary business. It wasn't all bad and there were some amusing situations. In one case I inspected colonies at the botom of a garden while the beekeeper leant out of an upstairs window of the house. Our conversation had to be shouted across the garden; goodness knows what the neighbours thought. It was sad not to be able to meet and talk to so many beekeepers – and I had to turn down a lot of ofers of tea and cake. In October there was another Asian hornet sighting, this time in the Gosport area. Afer our experience the year before, we worked very well as a team and located the nest quickly. It was a rare and enjoyable opportunity to meet up with my colleagues. Year three ... what's in store? I am now preparing for 2021, and who knows what this will bring. I can look back on two incredible years that I could never have expected. I have met amazing people and visited apiaries in beautiful and unusual places. I have learned so much about beekeeping from the NBU and from talking to a huge range of commercial and amateur beekeepers and their diferent methods. Bees can of course be cared for in many ways and it's not my job to tell anyone how to do that. If I could make one request, it would be that every beekeeper signs up to BeeBase. It is confdential, and no one outside of the inspectorate can see your information. It helps us to contact you if there is a disease outbreak in your area, and to let you know if there have been reports of starvation. It is also a great source of beekeeping information and advice to help you identify and treat bee health problems. There is lots of advice about dealing with varroa – the number-one threat to bee health in the UK. Having signed up to BeeBase, please keep your records up to date. It's amazing how many people give up beekeeping but don't tell us that their hives aren't there anymore. This season I look forward to meeting new beekeepers and no doubt will be calling on some familiar faces. My contact details are on BeeBase, as are those of all the bee inspectors. If you suspect foulbrood, don't hesitate to send a photo or give one of us a call. We will be happy to put your mind at rest or come along with our test kits. There are many conditions that look like foulbrood but which are not, so don't assume the worst. I look forward to meeting you all again soon. Happy beekeeping! 11
Gaming the Financial Aid System - Transcript Tom Mullooly: Welcome to the Mullooly Asset Management podcast. This is episode number 268. I'm one of your co-hosts, Tom Mullooly, and with me is one of the top 100 financial advisors in the United States according to Investopedia, Brendan Mullooly. Congratulations. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah, thank you very much. Obviously wouldn't be able to do that without you and the business here, so thanks for bringing me up right in this company. Tom Mullooly: Oh, you're welcome. But this one's all you kid. So very good job and keep up the great work. Brendan Mullooly: Thanks. Tom Mullooly: We're all really proud of you. Brendan Mullooly: Thank you. Tom Mullooly: There were a few articles in the media the last few days that we wanted to touch on here in episode number 268. The first one was from the Wall Street Journal, a loophole in college financial aid in the state of Illinois. It's been discovered there's some wealthy parents that are transferring guardianship of their teen kids so they can qualify for financial aid. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah. Obviously this leaves a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths because it seemed like, to me at least, the people who are doing these maneuvers are folks who would otherwise not qualify for financial aid, meaning that they're pretty well off financially and that they probably paid somebody like a lawyer, accountant or maybe an investment advisor to check out the laws in depth and figure out this loophole for them so that they could transfer guardianship of their child to get more financial aid. As a friend of ours put it on Twitter, illegal, no, unethical, yeah, gross. Definitely. And that's pretty much how I feel about it. Tom Mullooly: I know when we were talking before the microphone came on, I had picked up a similar phrase that I've heard my entire career that sometimes bulls win, sometimes bears win, but pigs get slaughtered. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah. You would hope that doing something like this, not that ... I don't wish ill on anybody, but doing something like this I think definitely puts some negative karma in the bank down the road. It's just, it's not a good look and I don't think it's anything that anybody would be proud of or admit to other people. I don't know. Maybe they would. Maybe it's something people chit chat about at country club dinners or something like that. Tom Mullooly: Yeah, it's hard to figure out. That's the worst part is that these folks could probably write a check and be okay and it wouldn't even ding their net worth. Brendan Mullooly: But at the end of the day, whether it's this loophole, and if this is somehow closed, we'll be onto the next one in a few years. I don't think it means that we shouldn't ... We should definitely close loopholes like this when we find out that they're being exploited. I think they're going to exist in perpetuity and it's kind of like find a leak in the dam and put your finger in that one and then another one spouts over here, so you put your finger in that one too. And it's just you're trying to stop these things from happening and people are just always going to find ways toTom Mullooly: It will. Brendan Mullooly: ... game the system. And especially when they have money and an incentive to do it, they don't have to do the work themselves. I'm sure none of these people figured this out on their own. They probably paid somebody to read through legal documents and find a way for this to work. Do you think that there are any negative repercussions of transferring guardianship of your kid to somebody else? I mean, I'm trying to think. There could be ripple effects to this that sure, it looked good on paper when you needed college aid, but down the road could have big drawbacks. Like can you take it back? Tom Mullooly: I don't really know. And I guess the question is what if your child is involved in a serious accident, like a car accident? Are they insured? Do they have healthcare coverage if you've transferred guardianship? Brendan Mullooly: Yeah, right. How does that all work? Tom Mullooly: It's a hell of a risk. Brendan Mullooly: Right. So if you do still provide their health insurance, let's say, one, is that even possible because they're not legally your child anymore, but two is that considered a gift to them that you're giving them healthcare coverage and are there tax implications to that? I don't know. Tom Mullooly: Yeah, is that imputed income? Brendan Mullooly: Yeah, I have no idea. I mean they're a minor, so probably not, but all questions to ask. And Oh, I mean, just thinking in terms of beneficiaries on an account or inheritance. I know in New Jersey, for example, there are certain relationships between people who have very different rules in terms of tax implications of inheriting money from somebody. Like if you inherit money from a direct descendant, which is a parent or a grandparent, right? Tom Mullooly: That's right. Brendan Mullooly: But not if it's a sibling or not if it's not your parent, if it's like an aunt or an uncle or something. Tom Mullooly: They're not direct descendants, so they have a different tax bracket, especially when it comes to New Jersey state estate taxes. Brendan Mullooly: Yes. DISCLAIMER: Tom Mullooly is an investment advisor representative with Mullooly asset management. All opinions expressed by Tom and his podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Mullooly Asset Management. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Clients of Mullooly Asset Management may maintain positions and securities discussed in this podcast. Tom Mullooly: Okay. Next article came from Business Insider. This was kind of a goofy one, but the title was, I Watched My Father Jump Through Hoops to Claim his Inheritance and Learned There is a Better Way to Pass Money to Your Kids. And it was written by Anonymous. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah, it was a freelance journalist who has learned about this process through their own dealings, which is I think how a lot of people learn about inheriting money and what happens when somebody who you are related to or close with passes away. How does that all get tied up? It's not something that people do a lot in their lifetimes, and it's usually something you learn on the go. So one of the big things in this article that jumped out at me was it seemed like the author had done a pretty good job understanding these different mechanisms and how stuff works. But there was I think a fundamental misunderstanding of the gift tax, which is something that we often end up talking with clients about a lot. And I think it's because it's pretty confusing. Tom Mullooly: I'll say. We talk with clients about this multiple times because it just doesn't seem to be something that is clear cut enough for folks to understand. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah, you call it a gift tax. And the tax connotation I think makes you feel like it's any other tax, like I pay my federal income taxes. Tom Mullooly: Who do I make the check out to? Brendan Mullooly: Yes, is it going to be withheld from the gift or am I going to owe it in April when I file my 1040? And that is not the kind of thing that the gift tax actually is. It's totally different and it's kind of nebulous. You almost have to think of this pile of money, so to speak, in terms of it's a bank that you get to count your gifts off of for your entire lifetime. Explain that a little better. Tom Mullooly: Yeah. We'll make this clear again. Yeah. When you are making a gift to someone and it exceeds the current threshold, which is $15,000 per person per year. So if you give a gift that say is $25,000, you're now $10,000 over the limit. You have to file a gift tax return. The first phrase that I use to help diffuse the situation is it's an informational return, because there is no check, no money that's going to be transferred to Uncle Sam in this process. But what's happening is everybody has a lifetime exclusion, a threshold, and that threshold currently is over $11 million. And so over the course of your lifetime, the gifts that you give that are in excess of $15,000 per person per year, that amount in total when you pass away is going to be deducted. Or it's going to reduce your threshold. So say just round these numbers off. If your threshold were say $11 million, and over the course of your life you gave away, in excess of the 15 grand per year, $1 million in gifts to various people, your estate tax threshold is now $10 million. That's how the gift tax gets applied. Brendan Mullooly: Right. And then so then the rest of your assets would have to exceed $10 million after your death and transfer the taxes before anybody owes any kind of an estate tax, or on the federal level. Tom Mullooly: Yeah. Right. Brendan Mullooly: State's different. Tom Mullooly: So give tax is something that, as I mentioned previously, we've had this conversation with clients and we've had it multiple times with the same clients. And I'm not saying that anybody doesn't get it. It's a different concept, because as you laid it out earlier, a lot of people think, okay, tax, who do I make the check out to? When's it due? How do I do this? They've never gone through this before. Or maybe they've, you know. Brendan Mullooly: I think they need some kind of different terminology for what this actually is. Make it a standalone thing because I can't even think of anything else that's similar to this to relate it to. Tom Mullooly: A conversation I had with an accountant earlier this year, basically she said it doesn't matter now what the gift is for most people. If you've got an estate that's $1 million or $4 million or $6 million, it doesn't matter. Give away whatever you want to give. We'll fill out a gift tax return. It's not going to move the needle for you when it comes to getting your estate wrapped up. Brendan Mullooly: Good point. These thresholds and laws change over time, can only really operate under the set of rules that we have now. And so this is the world as it exists today. And I think there are a lot of people out there that maybe are stirring up fear where there doesn't need to be some. Because a lot of people will talk about, for example with the federal estate tax threshold being what it is now that that provision is to be sunset come 2024, I want to say, or- Tom Mullooly: '25 I think. Brendan Mullooly: '25. So, we only have until then with these laws, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're going to get to 2025 and they're going to drop it back down. They could leave it unchanged. They could bump it up again. Sure, they could reign it back in. I think that would maybe be unpopular. Because I think some of the people who are in Congress who would vote on a law like that, are- Tom Mullooly: They may be getting close to the threshold. Brendan Mullooly: They're the ones who may be close to the threshold, not the average everyday American. So if we're expecting those people to self-impose a tax that's going to affect their family's wealth in the future. I'm betting against that, but I'll stand prepared to eat those words if it comes to fruition. Tom Mullooly: There's a lot of articles that you can find online about estate planning. The most important thing that folks should do when someone close to them passes away is take a deep breath. It may only happen once or twice in your lifetime, but it's stuff that financial planners like us work with on a regular basis. I mean many, many times throughout the course of a year this happens. Clients pass away. Family members of clients pass away. We deal with this stuff, as most financial planners do. There's certain things that you're going to need to do that aren't going to be available, like death certificates, until the event happens. So there isn't much that you can do in the sense to pre-prepare for this kind of thing. There are some things, but- Brendan Mullooly: If it's not you, meaning if you're going to be somebody dealing with this. I think that you can be a little proactive in the sense of, I think the best thing that you can do in terms of estate planning for yourself- Tom Mullooly: For yourself. Brendan Mullooly: ... is to just be proactive. And you can do a number of things that are not expensive or complicated to just make sure that things go as smoothly as possible for whoever you would be leaving any kind of inheritance to, your spouse, children, grandchildren. Just check your beneficiaries. Tom Mullooly: Spell it out. Brendan Mullooly: Have your basic estate planning package done. Have a will. These basic steps can just save people that you care about a lot of headache down the road, and it's not complicated tax maneuvers we're talking about for the majority of people. It's basic things and I think most people would prefer that their loved ones be not stressed out over legal matters after they're gone. Tom Mullooly: We've had two phone calls in the last month where people were, one of them was literally standing outside of a funeral home calling us. That's not the time to be doing estate planning. There was an article in Forbes, the title was, Fintech Firm Solves Number One Retirement Fear, Outliving Your Money. I'll agree. I think one of the top retirement fears is running out of money. Brendan Mullooly: Do we have enough? Are we going to be okay? And that is the a core of the financial planning process. Trying to answer those questions. And if it's not as big a concern for somebody, like they're pretty good, they know they're not going to run out of money, but how do we make it last and how do we do this intelligently? Tom Mullooly: So the solution, so to speak, in this Forbes article, I kind of walked away disappointed. It's like eating a Pop-Tart. Like, "Oh, this is going to be really good." And then you're finished eating it and you're like, "That's it? That's all there was?" It's terrible. They talked about having people buy annuities so that they can't outlive the income. And technically that's true. If you buy a fixed annuity or one of these immediate annuities, you put a lump sum in, you start getting a check every month, you are going to get money that you cannot outlive, because even if you live for 50 more years, you're going to get a check every single month. Brendan Mullooly: I think I would say the article was a pleasant surprise because while it discussed annuities, it steered clear of the ones that we strongly dislike here, and Ken Fisher agrees with us, all of his commercials. But the annuities that are touted as accumulation vehicles, and so variable annuities- Tom Mullooly: Variable annuities. Brendan Mullooly:... and their many descendants. Tom Mullooly: And their ugly cousins. Brendan Mullooly: Indexed annuities, things of that nature. These are not things to focus on when you are in the accumulation phase growing your wealth. But for some people at retirement, this article discussed if you're not in a position where maybe you're going to have a pension in retirement, some people do, some don't. More don't than do. It may be wise to consider taking a portion of your money and using it to buy something like a single premium immediate annuity, which is going to replicate a pension. And depending on how much you put in, you can get a monthly check for X and it's either going to last your lifetime, maybe you do it over a a joint lifetime if you have a spouse. There are a lot of iterations and I think that that's an important point too, is if you're going to tie up some of your net worth in a product like this where you give up control of the lump sum that you're putting into there and trade it for a monthly income, how long is that going to last and is it going to last your surviving spouse potentially too, which is important. Tom Mullooly: I think it's a good idea and it's a probably a good solution for folks that are maybe not that good at managing their money, in the sense that instead of being handed a gigantic amount of money all at once, now they're going to get a certain check every single month and they can live within those means. And I think that will be helpful to a certain portion of the population. Brendan Mullooly: You could use it too as a baseline. You kind of figure out what you stand to collect from something like social security, and if that's not enough to keep the lights on and pay the basic bills at home in retirement, maybe you put in just enough to some kind of product like this to supplement that so that you have a baseline where you're covering all your expenses and then whatever's left in your investment account, you position that as you're comfortable and grow your money and then use it for extra stuff, like travel or gifts or paying for grandchildren's education or whatever it is you want to do. Tom Mullooly: So here's the the part that I don't understand. And maybe plan administrators should do a better job of this, but if you've got an IRA or if you've got a 401(k) and you start taking distributions from your plan, can't you just tell the plan administrator or the custodian for your IRA, "I want to receive X dollars per month until it runs out or until I run out"? Or, "I want X percent of my investments paid out on a monthly basis"? Brendan Mullooly: So I guess the big fear is that it could run out. You could do a percentage forever. Tom Mullooly: Because you'll never get there. I mean that check might be really skinny. Brendan Mullooly: The check is going to change in value depending on what the investments are doing, but you could take 3% or 4% in perpetuity if you're comfortable with that amount being variable, but not many people are. Tom Mullooly: That thing's going to get smaller and smaller and smaller over time. Brendan Mullooly: That's another thing to consider is that in many cases, you're going to look at a fixed annuity type product and it's going to not be something like a social security that will adjust for inflation over time. Almost all cases, unless you're paying up for something extra that adjusts with CPI or something like that, I think you're going to get a dollar amount per month, and that's that kind of thing. So you've got to make sure that you still ... Again, you would want to do this with a piece of your money because at some point if you're getting $1,500 a month from fixed annuity, let's say, that $1,500 a month may have paid the bills in totality when you were 60 years old, but when you're 85 it may not go as far as it used to. In fact, I can virtually guarantee that it won't. And so that's why it's probably important to use that as just a portion of what you're doing and then to still have something that's growing because you're going to need to supplement that over time. Tom Mullooly: It's the only way to keep up with inflation. So I think the other part, and we discussed this before we flipped on the mic, was with an annuity, yes, if you live way past your normal life expectancy, you win that bet. The insurance company has to continue to pay you for as long as you're alive. But if you take out an annuity and you start to receive these payments and you die prematurely, the insurance company keeps the money. Brendan Mullooly: I would say in the aggregate, the insurance company wins because these are profitable businesses and so they make bets that they tend to win on average, which means there's a chance you're one of the losers. It means there's a chance you're one of the winners in this scenario. Tom Mullooly: You'll be you'll be dead either way. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah. And I think my point there would be that if it's something that allows you to feel comfortable and to sleep at night, having a base level income coming from a product like this, I would concentrate less on winning the bet. I mean, sure, try to live as long as you can. That's great. I hope everybody wins the bet and lives to 110 and we bankrupt these companies getting our annuity checks. That's awesome. But I wouldn't be too worried about losing the bet, aside from the fact that I would want to make sure that if I lose the bet, meaning let's say I buy this thing when I'm 60 and I had created a financial plan expecting that I might live until late 80s, early 90s, I want to make sure still that if I have dependents, a spouse in particular, that they're still going to be okay even if I lose the bet on this annuity product, because that's an important aspect. Tom Mullooly: There was an article that was written by Christine Benz in Morningstar, and the title was, A Chicken Way to Lighten up on Lofty Positions. You and I both took away some different points on this. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah, so Christine was talking about turning off dividend reinvest on your investments. And in particular if you have a taxable account, like a brokerage account let's say, where you have a single position maybe that has done really well over time, but now it's grown to be unsustainable or a risky percentage of your account or your net worth and you're thinking of ways that you could maybe trim back on this and not be so concentrated in one stock or position, mutual fund, ETF. And so if you turn off the dividend reinvest on that individual investment, you'll get the dividends that it pays in your money market rather than continuing to grow what you have in that investment. And I thought that was pretty smart. Tom Mullooly: That is interesting. However, if you're reinvesting dividends over time, you're actually adding to your cost basis. So your taxable gain may not be as big as you once figured it might be. Brendan Mullooly: Could be. I think that the problem with that is that you still have ... If you are reinvesting the dividends rather than taking them into the money market, you still have to physically go enter the sell order to get some of that money back and you could do it on specific share lots to only peel off what you've accumulated in dividends or maybe capital gain distributions over time. So you could do the same thing. I think as Christine pointed out in there, whether you re-invest or take the dividends in cash, the tax implications in the year that you received those distributions or dividends, it's a moot point. It doesn't matter what you do. But I think it's tough. When you have a position that's done really well and you've been adding to it, I think this is maybe a good way to discreetly allow yourself to lighten up on something when it would be a lot harder to go in there and sell shares of that thing. Because I don't think people want to do that. And I know that you and Tim a few weeks back talked about people have a lot of aversion in taxable accounts especially to doing something like rebalancing to keep the percentage of stocks and bonds maybe that they own in their investments, in check with what they've set out to do in their financial plan because it's going to have tax implications. Tom Mullooly: It's a tough spot and we've seen this a lot just in 2019. Client calls up unexpectedly, needs to take some money out because they're doing something. We review what positions they have. The easiest sale is money that might be sitting in a short term bond fund where there's little to no gain. Brendan Mullooly: And it's good because we hold positions in stuff like this in short term bonds as a part of the portfolio, in part at least because we know that things are going to come up like this and that is where we would prefer to pull the money from initially. Tom Mullooly: But what happens to the balance that was in the portfolio? The balance that we had has now been shifted to the point where we may be, that account may be 100% stocks now. Brendan Mullooly: Yeah. Or it's at least a very different look in portfolio than what we started out with and that's not, volatility-wise, what the client signed up for. It's not what they signed up for. It's maybe not what ... They don't need to be experiencing volatility like that, but then to not rebalance that account because it means selling stocks that have a gain, paying some capital gains and then putting money back into bonds to get the account back in alignment. You obviously don't want to be overactive with this. You want to be sensitive to taxes, but to just not do it at all because of a tax bill, I think that eventually you're going to get whacked and when you're feeling the pain the most is going to be the worst time to go in and then rebalance because your account's going to be down. Tom Mullooly: So let me translate for the listeners. So we have an account that might be 70/30 stocks and 30% bonds, 70/30 account. And over a period of time, client has removed 20% of the 30% and so now it's really a 90/10 account where 90% of the remaining account is in equities and the market goes through a 20% drop. Brendan Mullooly: We saw it in one calendar quarter last year, December. Most of it in a month. It can happen fast. Tom Mullooly: It can happen very quickly. Then what? Brendan Mullooly: Then what happens? Either you get spooked and you feel like you need to do something because that was more than you thought you were capable of handling or what happens then if you continue to have a need to draw from the portfolio, then you're forced into selling your stocks when they're down, whether you're freaked out about the market or not. And so again, it's not something that you want. You don't need to be doing this on a monthly basis and especially not in a taxable account, but you've got to consider these things. And so I think that Christine's point was this is maybe a small thing that you can do to lessen the burden of rebalancing because if you've got this money accumulating in the money market perhaps, it's in your cash allocation, which is part of a bond allocation in many cases, and you can re-deploy it into a bond fund if you need to rebalance and the market's been going up. Tom Mullooly: Bloomberg noted that the IRS is tracking down 10,000 crypto owners to pay back taxes. I think what's important to remember is that the early adopters to these different cryptocurrencies were people who wanted to stay off the grid. They wanted to be under the radar. There were a lot of people who were involved in activities that they didn't want any tracking on. Brendan Mullooly: You know, they're people that just valued their privacy or thought it was cool. It's not everybody. Not everybody who has crypto is a criminal. Let's be fair. Tom Mullooly: No, they're not. They're not. Yeah, they like their privacy or they- Brendan Mullooly: They feel it's an interesting space. Tom Mullooly: ... sell weapons, or whatever. And we touched on this briefly in a earlier podcast, but the amount of software and tracking that the IRS has now, their abilities far outstrip our ability to hide. Brendan Mullooly: The big thing that I took away from this was not necessarily specific to cryptocurrency at all. It was just the way that they're dealing with it is illuminating and worth sharing, that you're probably not getting one by on the IRS and it's almost certainly not worth trying. The way they're dealing with this is that they're sending letters to people and basically the way it was explained in the article at least was that if you're getting a letter, it's too late and they're not going to go easy on you. If you think that you should have paid more in taxes or there was unreported stuff going on and you were in cryptocurrency, you can come forward, throw the flag on yourself and they'll probably be a lot more lenient. Again, a ploy to get people to come forward, but at the same time, I'm not sure I would. Would you be looking to roll the dice on that? I mean it just doesn't seem like it's worth it to me. Tom Mullooly: We just took over an account where a plan administrator was not making proper distributions. And we brought this to the attention of the client as we were transferring the account in, and we feel it's in their best interest to volunteer this information. And we also had a situation where this happened with a client's IRA several years ago where they did not make ... the previous IRA custodian did not make a required minimum distribution and we felt it was in their best interest to come forward with this rather than wait. Brendan Mullooly: And it's good too because you're not put on the spot. If you can discover these kind of issues, you have all the time in the world to put together the numbers and to clearly state what occurred and then say, "Hey, it would be great if maybe you waive this penalty that I'm supposed to pay. Here's all the tax money. I'm really sorry. Here's what happened." If you're willing to roll the dice, good for you. Not something I would condone. Tom Mullooly: That's going to wrap up episode 268. Thanks for tuning in and we will catch you on the next episode.
Common Core Standards: What They Mean for States and Schools BILL EAST: Hello, I'm Bill East, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education or NASDSE. I want to welcome you to NASDSE's 20102011 Professional Development Series. Speaking for Bambi Lockman, our president, and the board of directors, we want to thank the many states that are participating in our series this year. I also want to thank the Pennsylvania state director of special education, John Tommasini and James Palmiro, director of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network for making it possible for NASDSE to bring this conference to you from WQED in Pittsburgh. The coordinator for our series is Christine Cashman. The topic for this conference is Common Core Standards: What They Mean for States and Schools. The Council for the Chief State School Officers and the National Governor's Association have a partnership that has resulted in the development of volunteer common core standards for English language arts and mathematics. The standards were released in June of 2010, and a lot has happened before they were released and since their release. That is what we want to address with you today. Since many of you in the audience work with or on behalf of students with disabilities, we want to also talk about the standards and what they mean for teachers and students in special education. I am please to introduce the presenters for the conference. Both have been key leaders in the process that has led to the National Voluntary Core Standards. First to my left, Dane Linn. Dane is the director of the education division for the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices. At the center, he oversees the education-related policy research analysis and resource development. Dane has authored numerous policy reports on issues ranging from school finance to teacher quality. Some of you may remember the National Governors' Association national initiative recently on redesigning the American high school. Dane was instrumental in spearheading that effort. I got to know Dane from his work with the West Virginia Department of Education, where he worked with the special education program on the state level. I guess one of the most important things I can say about Dane though is his professional experience also includes work as an elementary school teacher, which is very important. And then to Dane's left is Gene Wilhoit. Gene is the executive director of the Council for the Chief State School Officers. Each state has a superintendent or a chief state school officer, so that's who we're talking about. Gene has worked in education at the local, state, and national levels. Now his local and state level experiences came in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia. He also began his work as a teacher in social studies. He's been a local district administrator. He's been a program director at the state level. He's also been a special assistant at the U.S. Department of Education. For a number of years, he was the executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education. I first heard of Gene when he was a . . . school officer in Arkansas and Kentucky. Gene, welcome to our conference. We're looking forward to your comments today as well. Now our format today will follow like this. We have a number of questions we want to address about the common core standards, what they mean for special education, what does the assessment mean, and so forth. So I will direct the questions to our presenters, and then we'll go from there. So the first question, what are the common core standards? Let's get grounded before we begin our discussion. Dane, will you start us off with that? DANE LINN: Happy to, Bill, and thank you for the opportunity. Both Gene and I really want to extend a sincere thank you for the opportunity to talk with you about the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for students with disabilities. We oftentimes talk about standards in education reform applying to all students. And we've made a concerted effort throughout this process, and you'll hear more about this throughout our comments on the exchange that we're going to have this afternoon about the ways in which we've attended to include students with disabilities. But it's going to be even more important as we move from development to the implementation of the standards to ensure the continued involvement of the teachers and parents and many others who touch the lives of students with disabilities. But to answer your question, Bill, I specifically want to begin by being very clear about what these standards are and what they're not. It's important to focus as a first step on the subject areas in which we develop standards for. Rather than attempting to develop standards for all of the subjects, we've really focused on the bedrock standards, the standards that are the foundation for student success in all of the other content areas. And for those reasons, we have focused on the development of standards in English language arts and mathematics. Now to be clear, the standards in English language arts focus on four key areas, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. And those standards, which we'll discuss in greater detail throughout the remainder of this presentation, again are the foundation for student success in history, science, and other subject areas. The second important piece that is critical for you to know about the standards development process is that the standards we focused on really hone in on what students should be able to, should know and be able to do at each grade level by the time they leave the K-12 system. So we're tried to, and I think quite honestly been rather successful in articulating for each of those subject areas the expectations in mathematics in grades kindergarten, one, two, and throughout the system. And lastly, it's important to know and particularly for the educators who are watching us today that the standards are just the beginning point. We know that the standards are not the end all be all, but yet, they define what students should know and be able to do. And from there, we decide the issues around assessment, the issues around the qualifications of teachers to teach these standards, the importance of higher ed in preparing students to teach these standards, knowing that we're going to have a significant turnover in the workforce, the teaching force, over the next several years. The second area that I want to focus on are what the common features are of the assessment system. And I want to begin, out of order from the slide presentation you're seeing, with the third from the bottom bullet, based on evidence and research. And why am I starting there? I'm starting there because the standards that many states, and the processes that many states have used over the past years have really taken an approach to involve many individuals in the education community to inform the development of their standards. But oftentimes, those standards have been developed separate from any of the research or any of the evidence that we have out in states, nationally, or internationally. And I say with great confidence, both Gene and I say with great confidence, that these standards were clearly informed by the best available research to inform the development of these standards. Now did we have the absolute perfect research to inform these standards? No. But we know that it was important enough to develop a set of standards based on what we do have, that using the best available research would allow us to end up with a set of standards that would ultimately inform future research. But we shouldn't let the perfect get in the way of developing these standards. The second key feature of these standards is that they were internationally benchmarked. Many of you hear about the importance of our children being competitive with the students in Canada, a country whose students perform quite well on international assessments as well as countries such as Singapore, China, and others. And if we're going to be internationally competitive, then we have to base our standards on what we know from the work and the performance of those students. Thirdly, going to the top of our list, students should all be prepared for both college, for college and/or work. And we really aligned these standards to those expectations trying to answer the question, what will it take for my child, for your child, for all of our children to be able to be successful with the expectations of the postsecondary system or the expectations of the employers in our state or the employers around this country? Next, we focused on, we focused on developing a set of focused and coherent standards. Having come from the classroom myself, many of our state standards include very long lists of what students are expected to know and what teachers are expected to teach throughout the course of the year. And what we've learned is that oftentimes those are unrealistic lists. They're far too long a set of expectations of what students should know and be able to do, and they're often not coherent. And you'll hear us, as we talk about the specifics of the English language arts and mathematics standards that we've really attempted to develop a set of standards that are coherent, and coherent from grade to grade and lay out a set of learning progressions for students from first to second, third, and so on throughout the system. Next, we focused the standards on rigorous content, an application of knowledge through higher-order skills. That's important because not only is it critical to define rigorous content, but it's equally important to focus the attention on the application of knowledge, that a student's demonstration of his or her understanding of the standards is not simply about the regurgitation of the content, but being able to apply that knowledge in real-world settings. Next, we focused on the strengths and lessons of current state standards. It was important for us and important for our membership, both governors and chiefs in the respective states to not reinvent the wheel. We do have examples from states like Minnesota and Massachusetts with very high standards, states that perform quite well on international assessments. And it was important for us to engage those states throughout the development of those, development of these standards. And for that reason, we intimately engaged with not only Minnesota and Massachusetts, but states like Colorado, who spent the past two years going through a process of their own to develop more rigorous and internationally benchmarked standards, to work with states like Georgia, who have also been going through a concerted effort to improve the rigor of their standards. And lastly, the standards had to be able to be read by the widest possible range of students to participate fully. I know that as a parent of a daughter who's now in college, it's important for me as a parent. It's important for my nephew's parents to understand, what are we trying to have students accomplish in these standards? We didn't want the standards to simply resonate with educators, but we wanted them to be understandable, if you will, by the employers, by parents, and by communities at large so that we all have a clear understanding of what students are expected to know and be able to do. I want to spend a couple of minutes talking a little bit about the development of the process and begin by debunking the myth that these standards were developed by a group of national researchers brought in by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. We involved a number of individuals and organizations from around the country. There was wide representation, for example, from the disability community. Many of the national organizations from those at the Council of Exceptional Children to NASDSE and many others were included in the development of the process and offered opportunities to provide feedback to the draft standards. We also involved many other national groups, including the American Federation of Teachers, The National Education Association, associations affiliated with the mathematics and English language arts community. And so many of those organizations that were involved were in turn asked to invite their respective members. They selected, for example, the teachers, who spent several days with us during the multiple phases of this project to inform and provide feedback to the draft standards. Were they focused? Were they grounded in the evidence? And were they, were the mathematics standards, for example, clear progressions of learning from the different grades? And I have to say that we were not only glad to have their involvement, but the standards are better because of their involvement, much more informed, particularly by some of the excellent mathematics teachers and English language arts teachers from around the country. The College and Career Readiness Standards were first developed in the summer of 2009, and we really started before going to the development of the standards grade by grade. We started with the end in mind, trying to figure out, based on the research and with our experts, what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate from high school. And those first set of standards were known as the College and Career Readiness Standards. And once those standards, with feedback from around the country, were improved, we then used those College and Career Readiness Standards to inform the development of the grade-by-grade standards. Again, we had multiple rounds of feedback in the development of those standards, and ultimately, we ended up, as Bill has already pointed out, releasing those standards on June 2 nd , 2010. But prior to the release of those standards, they too went out on public comment. And we went through, sifted through 10,000 comments that we received from around the country from parents, business leaders, teachers, state leaders, who provided feedback. And all of that feedback was included in the informing the development of the final version that was released in June 2010. EAST: Well, Gene, I want you to respond to this question first. You know, often, I get the question from implementers out there, you know, why do we need a set of common core standards on the national level? We already have state standards. So would you address the question, why are national volunteer standards needed? GENE WILHOIT: I'd be glad to, Bill. This is a subject that many people have asked us about. Why would you take on this sort of an effort that is unprecedented in scope and an effort that is focused on creating a lot of energy, engaging thousands of people in the process? So we had to have some good reasons for taking on the standards. And I'll just mention four of five of those very important reasons. First, as Dane said earlier, one of the basic tenets around the standards was the development of college and career benchmarks and in addition to that, some career benchmarks. So the reason for that is that this shifting economy that we all live in and the globalization of the society and the movement toward new technologies is all causing, all those are causing us to think about what are we teaching our children, and are we challenging them effectively to be successful? So we made a conscious decision that if we were going to redo the standards, we were not only going to share those standards across the state, but we were going to make them college and work ready. And in a moment, later in the presentation, we'll talk in more detail about what we mean by both college and career ready. But at least at this point, our assumption is that every youngster in our public school system graduating from public schools must be prepared to take on additional learning. The days are gone when a youngster can leave high school and assume that there's no more formal learning or applied learning in their lives. And so we have assumed that these standards would be raising the bar for many of the students, for their parents, and for the education system. But we also felt in fairness to those students to do anything less than expect that they go on to education in some form would be a disservice to them. And by college, we didn't mean traditional four-year college. By work, we defined that explicitly, and we'll get more into that issue a little bit later. Secondly, what we were witnessing across the country is that some students were getting a very good education, preparing themselves well, moving on to future success in college and careers. But sadly, we have great disparity in the United States in terms of students' success. Whether those students be individuals who live in poverty or deprived situations, whether they be students with disabilities, or even a student living in one state as opposed to another state, we began to notice patterns of very, very different expectations and very different outcomes based on those expectations. And so one of, the second major reason we wanted to put these standards in place was to make sure that there's greater consistency of expectation across the country for students. Third, there was this major issue of not knowing what to teach. I've heard a lot of teachers say to us very directly in this process, it is fair for society to say to the public education system what they expect the outcomes to be. We had not done this before. We had always talked within ourselves and among ourselves in public education, but we had not reached out and asked society, the consumers of our student educational process, what they thought the appropriate directions ought to be and what those outcomes ought to be. So we felt it important that as we move forward, for everyone in the system, for the teachers and the administrators and for the parents and the students to be very clear about what would lead to success in society. And so we think that what we have provided here is a consistent definition of what learning should be regardless of where a child attends school. We also were concerned about the increasing costs that were emerging in the states. We're spending more and more every year on assessment practices and on courses and efforts that are not as productive as they ought to be. And we thought by developing a common set of standards, it would give us a singular point of reference that we could begin to move toward. And we could see out of this effort for the first time states coalescing around a common approach, which means that in the long run, we probably will be able to save some resources. That should allow us to divert our attention and our resources to some very important issues around the teaching and learning process. And then finally, I'll say that in this process we were very much aware of what is happening between K-12 and higher education, the sort of disconnect between the two primary delivery systems. What we were finding were too many students who, upon completing a K-12 program, graduated from high school feeling that they were successful because they had a diploma, that they were prepared to move into higher education. And too many of them are running up against a brick wall when they got into higher education. And as a result, many of the first messages to these youngsters, who felt they were prepared, was that you're going to have to go back and be remediated. We're finding that mostly in mathematics courses, but we were also finding that in English language arts programs. For these students, what we also saw was a disturbing pattern. That is if you take one remedial course, that's something you have to put your resources out for and go through schooling process without credit before you begin the formal crediting program. But what we found is that there were many students who were being remediated in more than one course. And the likelihood that they would complete the program of study gets much, much lower if they take several remediation courses. They have incurred debt, they yet do not have credit, they become disheartened, and what we find is too many of them dropping out of the system. In this country, we're going to have to increase the numbers of students who transition from the K-12 experience successfully through credit-bearing courses to the college level and then move forward to graduation and college experience. So I hope that's helpful in giving you a sense of why we would take something like this on, why it was important for the country to take the steps, why the states stepped forward and took on this heavy-hit lift for the country. EAST: And we appreciate you taking that challenge on. We've stated earlier that the standards are voluntary. So there was a state adoption process involved. States decided whether they wanted to use these or not. So what does it mean to be a state adoption state, how many are there, and I know with Dane, working with the Governors Association, I know they're, as we looked at the political landscape, we know there were a lot of changes recently. Has that had an impact on the states that are, have adopted the standards? Dane, start us off with that. LINN: Thanks, Bill. That's a great question. And it's an important question based on the significant turnover that not only we have seen among the nation's governors, but also in the number of new state, chief state school officers that we have. And I believe Gene's association is up to 19 new chiefs as of today. The process for adopting has really varied differently from state to state. But if there is a common thread, it's that a majority of the states' state board of education are the body that is responsible for making the decision about whether or not to adopt the standards. As of today, as of the taping of this show today, we now have 42 states that have adopted the standards. And the state of Maine is the new addition this afternoon. Maine is one of those states where it is the State Legislature who is the responsible body for making the decision about whether or not to adopt these standards. And we probably have a very small number of states where the legislative body is the responsible party. But in the majority of the states, it's the state boards who ultimately make the decision. And it's important to note that many of those state board members were intimately involved in the development of their own state's standards. And as they went through their deliberations about whether or not to not only be a part of the process that NGA and CCSSO developed to embark on this voluntary set of state standards, but to understand that the standards that we've developed through the Common Core State Standards Initiative and the standards they have in place may have some common threads. But this wasn't a process by which states looked at the extent to which the Common Core Standards aligned to their own standards. Now some did want to look at the commonality between the two, but ultimately, unlike many of the state standards, these were informed by evidence and research. And we'd like to think that, and research is, or the work of many associations, such as the American Federation of Teachers and the Fordham Foundation, have clearly indicated that in a majority of these states, the Common Core State Standards were much more rigorous. Now it's not to say that states didn't have similar standards than those that were included in the Core State Standards that are to organizations developed, but they were, back to some of my earlier comments, they were much more coherent. And they were more, there are clearer progressions of learning in the Common Core State Standards. So we worked quite closely with the national associations of state boards of education and helping the state board members, the individuals who would make the decision about whether or not to adopt these states in the majority of the states were informed about the process that was used and its distinction from the processes that they've used in the past. We, as I already have mentioned, we had a number of opportunities for public input, and those comments are available on Core Standards.org. You can look at the summaries from the 10,000 comments that we received on the K-12 standards. And again, those were very informative to the improvement of the standards that we developed. There's another important point that I want to talk, spend a couple of minutes talking about, and that's what we call the 15% rule. Now when states made a decision to adopt, the adoption of the standards had to be word for word. In other words, states couldn't make a decision they were going to be a part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and then they could make revisions to the wording. If they liked the wording of their standard for the addition of fractions with unlike denominators, they could use that particular standard in lieu of the standard that was included in the Common Core. We reached a decision in our work with the states that adoption meant adoption. And that meant you had to adopt the standards word for word as they were developed by the individuals who participated in the effort. This is important because we defined a clear set of expectations that are similar from state to state. And it becomes even more critical for the states that are participating in the development of the common assessments that we'll spend a little attention on later in these remarks. At the same time, states indicated throughout this process that they wanted to have the opportunity to reach even higher than the standards as they are included in the common core. And for that reason, we came to a decision, again in partnership with the states, that they could exceed the Common Core by 15%. Neither NGA nor the Council of Chief State School Officers are defining what 15% means. For some states, 15% will be defined by each subject area. For other states, it will be defined by grade levels. And for a number of states, it will be defined in totality, that some states are not going to, are going to add 15% more set of standards as a whole on top of the Common Core. That is emerging over time, but it's important to know that there is some latitude for each of the states in increasing the rigor of the standards should they have the desire to do so. Now Bill mentioned the turnover in our membership, and we are at a point, I think, both NGA and the Council of Chief State School Officers in getting to know our new members and helping them understand the process that was used to develop these standards. And we are very interested and continue to work with our membership in not just helping them understand the process, but helping them understand the content that's in the standards. And so as of today at least, we've not really seen much pushback from our respective governors and chiefs indicating that they want to renege on a decision that was made by their predecessor. We're seeing a number of states, a number of governors, and a number of chiefs indicating that they want to figure out how to implement the standards because our opportunity is at the implementation stage. But it's more than, implementation is more than simply distributing the standards to teachers. Implementation is taking a hard look at what are the other policies around the standards, whether it be our policies on the quality of our teachers. What are the requirements for teachers who teach middle school and high school mathematics? How much attention and how much money are we spending on the professional development opportunities so teachers know how to teach to the standards well? How are we working together as a set of states to develop the necessary tools that are going to help teachers around the country implement these standards well? We can't simply rely on the textbooks, so how do we work together in developing or using the available technologies to help teachers teach to these standards? The map you see is just the graphic representation of the 42 states that have thus far adopted the standards with one correction. And that is Maine, again, who adopted the standards as of the taping of this show. EAST: Okay. Thank you, Dane. I want to go back now to a very important question for the special ed community, and I want to address this to Gene first. And you mentioned earlier the terms college ready, career ready. How does college ready and career ready differ, and what does this mean for students with disabilities who may be in their transition programs, and how is this tied to the standards? WILHOIT: Mm-hmm. Very good issues for all of us, and some people have questioned us about why we would attempt to align college and career in a set of expectations. But first, let me just clarify what we meant by the two areas. First, in terms of college ready, as I mentioned earlier, we were not simply interested in whether a student could get into college or not because in this country, there are all kinds of different criteria for doing so. We were mostly interested, and this issue of once a student enters college, we were defining success at that entry point. And that entry point was a credit-bearing course, not a remedial course. So if a student could enter a college entry-level credit-bearing course and receive a success in that course, and we were defining success by C or better in the course, then we were assuming that that would mean they were college ready. We defined that same goal for two-year and four-year institutions. In some cases, we had lively conversations about whether we should set different expectations for the type of post-secondary institutions. Ultimately, our goal was to make sure that all students could meet the standard. Again, this is not a standard that is beyond what I think any parent or any student would expect once they enter college, credit-bearing course and entry level, achieving a C or better. On the career side, we were biased a bit in our definition because we didn't want students to enter careers that were not appropriate for an economic return, nor did we want those students to be caught in an entry-level career. So we defined career ready as being able to enter in a job that would pay a middle-class income return, and at the same time, provide some opportunity for advancement in the future. I think again, no parent or student would want any definition less than that. We would all hope that we could, in our careers, earn enough resources to support yourselves and your families, and we would also expect that you would be able to be upwardly mobile as you move through your life experiences. Those are the two definitions. So you would think historically that they would not align. But what we found was that in fact, the definition of college ready and career ready are coming closer and closer. In fact, what we found in our analysis in English language arts, the genre are different. The types of things that students read are different, but what we found was that the level of sophistication that one needs in both English language arts and in mathematics is just as high and in some cases higher in careers that would not be associated with a traditional liberal arts education. So what we have in, over the last few years, this sort of separation of where I go to college or go to work is beginning to disappear. All future opportunities in this society are going to require higher levels of knowledge and skill. So we were able to merge both those concepts into a definition of college and career ready. Now for students with disabilities, I think there are two issues here. One, I think on the positive side, this is a wonderful opportunity to be a critical and engaged part of the expectations for students in this country. What we're saying basically is that all students can learn at high levels. All students with appropriate supports, with the appropriate accommodations, with the appropriate teaching methodologies, all those issues about how one engages in learning are going to be questioned and are going to have to change. So in the short term, this whole issue, and we'll come back to this a little later, but we cannot assume that we would prepare our teachers the way we did in the past, nor would we expose students to the same kind of experiences we have in the past and expect them to reach these lofty goals. But we do think that special needs students, students with disabilities, are a very heterogeneous group. The commonality they have, and we state this in our document, is that they have some learning situation that requires some very special accommodation. We should've been doing this all along with our students. I think what can happen out of the Common Core is that we get by this conversation and debate about whether these students who have, quote, labels around disabilities are a part of the responsibility of educators, and I think this answers that question very clearly. They are a part. We have common expectations of them. But in the same, at the same time, it's going to require some different thinking about how we educate students with disabilities and literally all students that are in the education pipeline today. EAST: Thank you, Gene. My next question, the fifth question, we've got into it just a little bit with some of your response earlier, but I want to focus on it, and Dane, and go to you with it. How do the Common Core Standards differ from the current state standards that people should be familiar with, and how is the implementation process different? LINN: Well, though there are some common features of both the English language arts standards and the mathematics standards that make them very different from the standards that I implemented as a classroom teacher several years ago. And I think beginning with the English language arts standards, I want to first focus on the balance between literature and informational texts. And for those of you that have access to the documents, and if you don't, I encourage you to go to Core Standards.org because in the body of the document, for English language arts, you'll not only see the standards, but you'll also see examples of the type of literature that we are suggesting students might read in order to meet some of these standards. And by suggesting, we did not end up in a place where we have identified a reading list at each grade level that states should require students to read. But rather, we have provided exemplars of pieces of literature and informational texts, articles from The New York Times, or other documents as well, that would serve as good examples for states and teachers to consider making a part of their curriculum. But again, they are only suggestions. And we really had to work through with our writing teams and, as Gene, I think, alluded to earlier, we had some tough love conversations with our writers and trying to find the right balance between the literature and informational text. The second feature or advance, I think, is much improved to the current state of standards that exist or existed, knowing that a majority of the states have adopted the common core, are really around text complexity. And what's the complexity that we expect students to be able to read in grade three? And how is that different as they move through their school career? And we're really hoping as the assessment consortia that we'll talk a little bit more about later in this presentation are also going to be able to use the standards and the focus around text complexity to really assess student performance, student knowledge, at a much deeper level than what we believe many of the state assessments currently do. And next, we also focused on the inclusion of argument and informative or explanatory writing, that it's not suffice, not good enough for students in today's society to be able to simply recall the information that a teacher or anyone else has provided to them. It's important to know your multiplication tables and be able to recite them or go through them, in my case, quickly when I was in elementary school. But it's more important to understand how to apply those, that knowledge and skills. And unfortunately, I'm using a math example for English language arts, but it's important for individuals to be able to read a complex text and being able to make an argument from that text to support any conclusion that they may have reached from that reading. We also made significant advances in both informal and informal talk as well as academic and domain-specific vocabulary, vocabulary that's very specific to, in English language arts. And then you'll also notice in the back of the standards that we attempted to embed the literacy standards in two other subject areas, social studies and science. Those, the appendix that we have there are simply an illustration of how the standards apply in those subject areas. You should not be confused in thinking that those appendices are science and social studies standards. They are simply our attempt to show how literacy should be emphasized in very clear and concrete ways across the curriculum. As far as the advancement in mathematics, I want to focus on the first bullet because one of the most significant advances that we've made is really showing how the progressions should be laid out from grade to grade in a student's elementary and secondary career. For any of you that have taught mathematics, you often know that you end up spending the first month, sometimes more depending on where and who you're teaching, reteaching what was learned in the previous grade. And we also know that many of the standards are not laid out in a very coherent way, and so we oftentimes end up repeating some of the same subject matter from one grade to the, not only one grade to the next, but also even within grades. And we've attempted to hone in and identify the most critical standards for students to learn in mathematics in a natural, progressive manner. That's important because if you look, any of you who have had access to a math book from Singapore will see that it's much thinner than a textbook from any state or school district in this country. And that's in large part because they have honed in on what's most critical for students to know from grade to grade and built on prior knowledge as they move through their school career, unlike the American system, where we teach and reteach and reteach and reteach some of the same knowledge and skills that they're supposed to be learning. And we've ended up, quite honestly, with too many standards as well. So we've narrowed, we've reduced the number of standards that our students are expected to know. And we've also focused on both conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. Again, it's not good enough. It's, students aren't going to be able to compete if all they can do is recall. And how do you think about reaching or helping students have a better and deeper understanding of the concepts that you're trying to teach? And most importantly, how do you help students apply that knowledge in real-world settings? And I think that's where it's going to be critical as we move to implementation to help to providing the types of instructional tools, whether they be through sample lessons learned or, and this is not just true for mathematics, but also English language arts, but the types of instructional tools that are going to show educators around the country what it looks like to teach to the fourth grade math standards and providing those, not just opportunities, but using the available technologies, ways in which we can build a network of teachers from around the country who can share their successes in teaching to different sets of standards. And lastly, we've made, I think, significant advances in the inclusion of Habits of Mind for the standards. EAST: Thank you so much. I want to go from the general now to focusing on students with special needs. How do the Common Core Standards affect students with disabilities, students with English language learning? What are the key issues for these populations? I believe we're going back to Dane to start this one off too. LINN: Yeah, thanks, Bill. I used to be, before I came to NGA, I used to work, as Bill pointed out, in the Office of Special Education and the West Virginia Department of Education. And prior to that, I started my career out as a teacher of students with behavior disabilities and specific learning disabilities as well. And having been a teacher of students with disabilities, I always felt like everyone talked about, the next initiative was about all of our students. But when it came time to implementing the standards, we really didn't mean all. And a demonstration of that was in the articulation of what supports the teacher in, the fourth grade teacher would need as opposed to the teacher who was in the resource room teaching students with specific learning disabilities, all with different levels of performance, achievement levels and different needs. And how do we provide those supports? Now these standards don't define what the supports are. But we have to have more than a serious conversation. This is a discussion among administrators at the building level and teachers, all teachers. This is a discussion at the central office and the director of special education, with the director of curriculum, or in some of your districts, it's probably the same person that performs both of those functions. I hope not, but in some cases, it may be. But we have to not just articulate what the supports are that are needed for both teachers and children, but we're also going to have to think about what opportunities we're going to have to create. And some of you who are watching this webcast may remember the Opportunity to Learn Standards from way back. And essentially, that's what this is about. We're going to have to figure out, how do we create those equal opportunities not just for access to the curriculum in the, quote, unquote, regular classroom, but how are we going to think about using our resources, our money differently so that we can ensure that those opportunities are equal, that they're equal opportunities for student with disabilities? We should also, you should also know that the standards are also, the standards that we developed were developed so that they allowed for the widest possible range of students to participate, now the widest possible range of students to participate understanding that each student may require a different set of accommodations. So we have to think about not just the obvious. The student who's visually impaired may need the Braille texts or other Braille instructional materials in Braille. We have to think about all of those other supports for the student with behavior disorders, the student with specific learning disabilities, and even our students with severe and profound mental impairments as well. I think most important to me, and most frustrated, most frustrating area when I was a teacher is that oftentimes, the development of the IEP, the individualized education plan, was done separate from any standards effort in the states. We have a lot of educating to do, not just of the students in the regular education classrooms, but all of our teachers have to be well versed on the importance of developing IEPs that bear direct relationship to the standards that we're talking about today. And I've already talked about the resources. If we ultimately don't change, our behavior doesn't change, and the way we dedicate our resources to supporting teachers, students, and parents and the implementation of the standards, then we will have done nothing better than previous efforts. And that's why it's going to be important for all of you who are watching us today to really push your district administrators, to push your state leaders, in helping make sure that we do more than say the Common Core State Standards are for all students, but that our, not only our behavior, but our policies at the district, the state, and the school level change to reflect that desire to have these standards apply to all children. And lastly, we have to recognize that the transition from the standards that are currently in place to the standards that many of these states have adopted is not going to happen overnight. We're going to have to really spend time to think about how we're going to transition students with disabilities and all students to the Common Core Standards and the expectations, which are much higher than many of the standards that we currently have in place. And, yes, that means an examination of the policies that we currently have in place. We have to not simply add more standards on top of, more policies on top of the policies that we have now. But we have to reexamine the efficacy of the policy that we currently have in place. How do we know that the $2 million we're spending in state X is achieving the desired outcomes? And if we think it's meeting the intended outcomes we had when we first invested the money, what's the evidence? And if we don't have the evidence, then we should be questioning whether or not those resources should be dedicated to other areas based on some of the data, whether that be student performance data or otherwise that we have in place. EAST: Thank you so much. I want to go to our seventh question, and I know both of you have a national view of what's going on out there. So that makes me want to ask this. What are the most important state implementation issues that you see? Gene, would you start us off there? WILHOIT: We have a couple pieces of information about what's going on in the states now that adoption has occurred, one being we've done a direct survey of the states to determine where they're spending their energies at the moment and how they're beginning to realign. And then the Committee for Economic Development, Jack Jennings and his team, have also done a state survey. It was released recently. What we're finding is first that there was this flurry of activity within states around adoption. And although we still have a few more states who will go through that adoption process, there was a very quick shift from this conversation of adoption to considering what the next steps would be. And by adoption, as Dane said earlier, state boards of education usually have been the bodies that make the ultimate decision about adoption. What all that meant was that they put the state on a course of implementation to put in place the common core. It set a process. It gave them an agenda to work on in the next few years. So what we found out of our interaction with the states at this point is that they are very quickly trying to figure out what it will take to implement the Common Core in good faith. And the first issue that is on the table, obviously, is are we prepared to teach to the Common Core? And it's interesting that state policymakers are talking about ways that they can improve the competency skills and teaching strategies of the teachers and of the administrators in the public education system. But we're also hearing from teachers that they want more assistance with this work. So first of all, we're beginning to think about, where are the teachers today? Have they been teaching in an environment that is based on standards-based learning? What would it take for them to truly understand the Common Core? And what would it take to translate? And so the activities underway under professional development are, first of all, what we're calling unpacking the Common Core. That means taking those broad standard statements and translating them into specific language. And, of course, we're talking about understanding what each of those progressions are in the Common Core, how they are broken down by each of those grade levels, and what it means in each of those classrooms to teach to the Common Core. It is based on mastery. And so what we are seeing occur is that this is not professional development in an isolated context, but it's going to have to be brought about in teaming environments, teams of teachers in content area and teams of teachers across grade levels understanding what that means and then translating that into a series of learning opportunities for teachers, direct experiences around understanding the Common Core and how it is taught. In addition, what we're finding is that there are several questions coming from teachers and administrators about the lack of resources to teach to the Common Core, whether they're aligned or not. And to the credit of some of the private providers, many of them are redirecting their work so that the materials that they have had historically are being reviewed to see if in effect they are aligned with the sequence of learning in the Common Core and if those materials truly do teach to the kinds of levels of not only content but also learning that our students are going to have to master. We are open to both supporting others who are attempting to provide greater resources, whether they be traditional resources or technology based, which are emerging very, very rapidly ways and also ways that teachers can have access to more resources than they have right now. Toward that end, if we're working toward competency-based learning or proficiency-based learning against a set of designated learning outcomes, it means that teachers are going to have to have more diagnostic tools than they have right now to get more precise about the learning needs of the students. And it means that they're going to have to be more materials and support for classroom instruction for small group learning and for individual tutoring or individual learning opportunities that students are going to need. And frankly, at the moment, there is both this issue of aligning resources and also developing new resources that can support the learning process. Third area is a concern about the assessments that are in place and whether those assessments are aligned with the content of the Common Core and if those current assessments are asking students to truly reach the kinds of expectations that are expressed in the Common Core. And this gets to the issue of whether we're asking students to simply understand basic knowledge and be able to state that or if we're, if those assessments are asking students to express themselves in much more sophisticated ways than we've had to . . . later on, we'll talk a little bit more about assessment designs. But assessment can, is the way in which the standards come alive. Assessments are a way that teachers can begin to understand what's expected of students. And we are in a rush to put in front of teachers good formative assessments that can help them better understand the standards. And then finally, there is a broader set of issues that are underway in the conversation at the state level. And that is how do we move from the system we have right now to this standards-based system driven by the Common Core? And under that, within that conversation, there are a number of concerns. One being how aligned or misaligned is current state policy and policies from the federal government? How can we move toward this standards-based system when our accountability structure at the state level is holding us to a different set of expectations and a different set of outcomes than what we want them to transition to? There are concerns about how we can move between now and 2014 and 2015 by taking the logical steps of 2011-12, '13-'14 and '14-'15 as we move towards this, how do we take advantage of this transition time to put in place higher quality teaching to the standards so that when we get to higher stakes accountability under the Common Core, the students and the teachers will be prepared to be successful? EAST: Dane, do you have anything to add to that, or? LINN: Well, I think we are, you know, around the implementation, NGA and CCSSO are really focused on not only helping our respective members, but helping states implement these standards well. And we've talked about a couple of the points listed on the current slide, but I want to go through them again because they're really critical for the successful implementation of the standards. And many of you know that the current budget situation in the states presents a significant challenge for the work that we're trying to do, not just on the standards, but for ensuring our youngest children and who receive early childhood services as well as the students who are in the K-12 system and all of the students who are currently in college or university. But these standards provide an opportunity for us to across states, not just within states, but think about the ways in which we can create not only greater efficiencies but more effective practices. And there are a number of opportunities beginning with the common assessment consortia, the two consortia that are working to develop not only common assessments but much better assessments. But we hope that from the initiative and developing these standards, we also see a number of states come together around the development of instructional tools that they put in the hands of teachers. We're all spending an inordinate amount of money on not only developing standards. Some states have spent historically millions of dollars every year reviewing or revising standards, reviewing and revising their assessments. How can we leverage our current investments in those two areas but other areas as well and create greater efficiencies, and ultimately and most importantly, help improve student achievement? I think the, part of that is also figuring out how we not only collaborate on the implementation of effective practice. But those practices are informed by what we know from the research, that we're not implementing best practices based on what we think works well or what feels good. But we're implementing best practices as evidenced by some of the data in the research that we're collecting. And that ultimately, I mean, that's the type of date, and that's the type of justification that we're going to have to be able to make for the expenditure of any funds that states are investing in the educational system. We also think that there's an opportunity to, for our two organizations to bring together governors and the chief state school officer to work together as a team to implement this agenda across the states so that we don't have an agenda coming from the governor or the separate agenda coming from the chief state school officer and a separate agenda coming out of the legislative body, but that we're all working together toward not just the commitment toward the standards, but the way in which we're going to go about the implementation of this. And it's important for us to, you know, many of the states entered this process together, committed to work together and to figure out a way in which we could build on all of the experience that we each have around the standards-based reform efforts in our respective states. And we have to continue to learn from each other through not just our meetings that are convened through each year, but through all the activities that we're going to embark on over the next couple of years. EAST: Okay. Thank you. I want to go to question eight and focus in on teaching. And how will the Common Core Standards impact teaching? And since this is, we have many special educators in the audience today, specifically, what should special ed teachers be expected to know and teach? And let's, Dane, are we coming back to you for this one start us? LINN: Yeah, you are. And, Bill, if I could just jump back for a minute and talk about one or two things . . . EAST: Oh, okay. LINN: . . . around implementation. Many of you watching this afternoon's video may also be wondering how such an effort will be sustained as we move forward. And it's been very important to both NGA and CCSSO to figure out the governance structure for this work. And how do we ensure that an effort that was started by the states continues to be led by the states? And we continue to work together and will work with our, not our, the governors and the chiefs who've been in office, but our new members as well to help to solicit their input into what the design of the governance structure should look like. This again, started out as a state, not a federal effort, and it is our intent to devise a structure that will ensure states remain in control of the process that was started. So that, for example, when the standards are revised and on a time line that will be set at a later date, we ensure that it is a revision process that continues to operate through the structure that we have set up. We're also both working with our respective membership to develop publications that will help them understand the complexities around the implementation of the standards. So again, it's not simply distributing the standards to teachers around the state and saying that here are the new set of standards, go forth and implement. But it's helping our membership understand all of the policies that are essential for effective implementation. And we've talked about some of those, whether they be around the curricular tools and the decisions or the ways in which you make decisions, on the adoption of instructional materials. In many states, that's simply defined as textbooks. Or it's the licensure and certification requirements. Or it's the accreditation processes by which preparation programs for future teachers are determined. All of those are implementation issues, and we are trying to capture those in a document that we will lay out and work with our respective members to help them understand that it's about a close examination of a wide array of policies. And both of our organizations, particularly the Council of Chief State School Officers are working with an organization known as SHEEO who represent the chancellors of higher education. And an association that represents the state colleges and universities and helping them working with the Council of Chief State School Officers and figuring out the ways in which higher ed plays a direct role in implementing the standards. So those are a couple of additional efforts that are underway around standards. EAST: Okay. Gene. WILHOIT: Well, we're in this for the long run. And we know that by adoption, the standards were just beginning a really important implementation phase. And so both of us are working together to develop tools that help our individual states and our members be more successful. We are connecting others to this work, and we would encourage every organization to contact us and begin serious conversations about how we could work together because we know the expertise and implementation rests in many other organizations, not in the two that sponsor the development of the Common Core. Dane mentioned the work that we're doing with higher education. We have another project underway with the Council of Great City Schools and the AFT to help them begin an implementation process for teachers in five urban areas in five states, to work collaboratively about, through the implementation process. And we're also at this, in this process, trying to bring our states together into state collaboratives around assessment design and around standards implementation. At this point, we have mid-30's in number of states that have joined into that collaborative to move the work forward. So there, the need for collaboration, the need for other organizations to jump into the space that's now available for them to bring forward implementation is really critical. EAST: All right. Those are some very important thoughts to add. Are we ready to go and talk about teaching now? LINN: And now to the teaching. EAST: Okay. Well, let's go back and address the question again, and as we look at the Common Core Standards, how do they impact teaching? And specifically, what do special education teachers need to know and be able to teach? And I'll go to Dane with that question, and then we'll follow it with a question for Gene about some important work that the chiefs are doing. Dane? LINN: This is by far the most important question as it relates to implementation because without quality teachers and without teachers understanding how to teach to the standards that have been adopted by many of the states, we will not be successful. And we are talking about those current teachers and all of those individuals that are currently in a teacher preparation program. If we don't provide them the tools and the opportunities to understand not only the power of the standards, but what's going to be expected of students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge of the standards, again, we're going for what we often call deeper learning, not simply direct recall or regurgitation of facts. We want students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge of the standards and be able to apply these standards in real-world settings. And we're going to have to be able, we're going to have to provide not just tools, but clear examples of what it looks like to master these standards. What does it look like for a student who's been identified as having a behavior disorder or a specific learning disability or otherwise, what does it look for that young boy or girl to demonstrate his knowledge against a set of standards in an area where he's currently functioning potentially below level? What does it look like for him or her to master that particular standard? And if you think about Bloom's Taxonomy, I mean, what I hope emerges, one of the things that I hope emerges from this work is that we're able to end up at some point in time with a set of resources online for teachers to see what it looks like to master, again, thinking of Bloom's Taxonomy, what it looks like to master a particular standard at its most basic level? What does it look like to master the standard at its most analytical level, at its highest level? So that way, we show the teacher based on what he or she knows about the performance of any student, a student with a disability or otherwise, Bill, that they can see concretely what that mastery looks like, and mastery not defined in the way in which we currently do under No Child Left Behind. But mastery defined as it relates directly to the standard. And it's those types of tools that we have to put in the hands of teachers and parents sooner rather than later. I mean, the assessments that are currently under development are going to start to be, will be implemented beginning 2014. That's not as far away as we think. And many of the states have already begun to develop plans for the implementation of the standards for their transition to the implementation of the standards beginning next school year. We can't wait to help current and future teachers understand what it looks like for students to meet these standards and for them to teach to these standards. So there's a lot of work that is going to be not only done by NGA and the Council of Chief State School Officers, but by many other experts and associations from around the country. This issue is also important for another issue, another issue that's quite sensitive, to be honest. And that is the discussion that's going on across many of your states around the relationship between quality teaching and student performance on assessments. Any discussion around tying teacher compensation to teacher performance and/or student performance will continue in the states. But the only way we're going to be able to truly improve quality teaching is by providing the support, whether it be through better, not just more, but better professional development, whether that be through improved collaborations between the individuals, the professors who teach, future teachers and the K-12 system, we're going to have to find ways to provide much better supports, more than the three or four days that our educators currently have at the beginning of the school year. And that includes teachers, individuals who teach our students with disabilities. EAST: Thank you so much. Several years ago, really, back in the early '90s, the Council of Chief State School Officers began a very important initiative. It was called the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium or INTASC. And I know just recently some of those standards have been revised, and I don't know if our audience, if everyone has seen the new standards. But I want to ask Gene this question. What are the INTASC teacher standards, and what is the relationship between these standards and the Common Core Standards? WILHOIT: Well, back, as you said, Bill, in the early '90s, several states were developing standards around what beginning teachers should know and be able to do to enter the classroom. They were basically, they're voluntary. They still are. And they are efforts to help states come together, feeling that collectively, they could benefit from the interaction. And as we began to look at the Common Core State Standards for student performance, it made sense to us to ask a very serious question. If these are the standards that we're expecting our students, we ought to be also bringing forward some voluntary standards for what teachers should know and be able to do to teach to the Common Core Standards. And that's really the process that we've engaged in at this point. What we have in place now are draft standards that are under review. But there are a couple of differences in the revision over what we've had in the past. These standards now do lay out a series of domains of practice that teachers should master. They put them in these expectation statements and then we make a basic decision that it's not simply what a beginning teacher should know and be able to do, but these domains should be reflected and practiced throughout the career of a teacher and that there are ways of determining what is appropriate for a teacher entering the classroom, not at the fully proficient level, but at a level that would satisfy state policymakers that truly this teacher is ready to enter the classroom and be successful. And then we hopefully are beginning to shift the conversation about how one progresses through a teaching career so that you can reach that high level of competency as we move forward. And this is something that we think will align very directly with the expectations in the Common Core and also be closely aligned with the needs and circumstances that students are bringing to school today. So it's a new tool. It's a second piece that follows the Common Core Standards. It is an important document we think to begin to align the system in ways that are most successful. Now this has implications across the whole continuum of work that needs to be done in the states to make sure that we have people in the classroom who feel comfortable that they can teach to the Common Core. It has implications for institutions of higher education in terms of preparation programs. We're asking very serious questions of those institutions today about how aligned are their preparation programs with both the Common Core State Standards outcomes that students are going to have to achieve, and also how aligned are they with these intask standards that are coming forward? We expect that there will be a change in direction in many preparation programs. We also believe that as we move forward in the next few years that we're going to see a sort of shift in the delivery system of preparation programs, more openness in the number of programs that are offered, a wider array of entry pathways into the teaching profession with mastery being demonstrated by all of those. It is still a state responsibility to ensure that anyone entering the classroom can, is qualified to enter that classroom. So we expect that the states, and many of them are already begun the process of shifting toward the demonstrated competencies for individuals going into the classroom regardless of the pathway coming in. And then if we would expect states to set trajectories for professional development over the career of a teacher, that will, in essence, be followed by serious discussions about roles and responsibilities of teachers, differentiated roles and responsibilities around different kinds of practices that would be carried out by teams of professionals and support that would be wrapped around those professionals, a very different look at the career pathway of a teacher. All of this is setting a new process underway of rethinking the entire system of preparation, induction, working conditions, professional advancement, recognition and reward around competencies and performances, actual demonstrated performance in the job as a basis for making decisions about career advancement, and ultimately, we think, beginning to change the career. And changing the very support structure around those teachers, around something we've called professional development in the past, but really doesn't mirror the kinds of professional opportunities that exist in other careers. And by that, I mean we will look for these standards, both for Common Core Standards and model teacher standards to become the drivers of what the new professional development would look like. And we think it will be more site based. It will be more dependent on the work within schools. It will be fed by information about where students are against the learning goals and what needs to be done to advance, what kinds of direct experiences teachers could have in the school building or in the district, but also in connecting with other teachers across the state and the nation and the world in terms of professional development and a much more aligned system of practical research feeding back into richer data information systems. So basically, this is a major shift in the way we've looked at the profession of teaching around competency, around the rewards and support structures that teachers need to be successful, and around the kinds of systems that would wrap around the career pathway of a teacher. EAST: Thank you. My next question is around a concern I have that as I work with my members, the state directors of special education as we look at the Common Core Standards around states, it's just obvious to us that for this to work the way we all want it to work, it's got to be, it's got to gain attention from the highest levels of state government all the way down to families and even students. And so I want you both to think about this question. What are the key steps that you see the state should take to make sure that when they roll out this Common Core work, that it gets down to everybody that needs to get it, even the families and students? Dane, do you want to start us off with that one? LINN: Well, I want to start by talking briefly about the work that not only states are going to have to do, but the role that national organizations can play. EAST: Okay. LINN: And particularly, Bill, the work of organizations that touch parents because parents are going to be critical to helping not just implement the standards for their child, but in some ways, help push the system. Push the system defined as either their school, their state, or their district. And but there's a lot of work that has to be done to educate parents that these standards even exist. And there is a national association, the National PTA, Parent-Teacher Association, who have recently released a set of tools, informational tools for parents, so that they understand what these standards are, what they're not, and what role they could play in implementing these standards as they unfold across the country. I also think there's a lot of work that our respective states have to do. We both, Gene and I, have commented on the importance, the important role that teacher play in the implementation of these standards. And to simply send these e-mails, an e-mail out or hard copies of the standards is doing a huge disservice to the individuals who are expected students to meet these standards. And so both at the state and even in those states that have regional structures, whether they be intermediate units or regional education service agencies, those organizations have to work with the state to think about the ways in which professional development is going to look different from the ways in which it's looked in the past. That the professional development has to be grounded in the data that we have that tells us how students are performing in the respective district, that the professional development has to be more systematic, that it cannot be simply the three days before school or a day after school. The professional development doesn't merely, is not merely made up of how to use the new instructional materials. It really has to be a strategy that's directly tied to the data. And states play an important role in partnership with districts and schools as e move to the implementation of these standards. So there's a lot of educating, but there's a lot of support, two themes that we've already hit on throughout these remarks. But again, I want to go back to the other, one of the most important roles that states will play. And that is a close examination, a hard look at the policies that are currently in place. And there are some policies, I can speak to my own experiences. There are some policies in my home state that should be gone, done away with. And we should not be expecting teachers to implement policies that aren't making a difference, and we shouldn't be dedicating resources in areas that aren't having the impact, which ultimately is in improving student performance. One of those policies is the ways in which states make a determination about what's an approved set of instructional materials? And for those states that are textbook adoption states, you invest, your districts are investing an incredible amount of money on resources to help students meet the standards, to help teachers teach to the standards. We need to make sure that the policies and the processes that we have in place for adopting these instructional materials ultimately ensure that those materials are aligned to the Common Core Standards. It's critical. Otherwise, we're teaching from instructional materials that bears little if no relationship to the standards. So those are a couple of my ideas, Bill, for how we might move to, the work that states have to do to implement the standards. I don't know, Gene, if you have anything to add to that. WILHOIT: Well, I think basically, I would agree with you that the whole issue of doing this alone is one that we want to challenge. It is, you don't bring the kind of sufficient resources to the task that you can do when you come together with others. You don't have within a state right now, just mention this issue of state education agency capacity, at a time when budgets have been cut and individuals are very quick to cut state agencies before they would cut resources to schools. So states have limited capacity. You can build on that capacity. And there's no way that a state alone can carry this kind of work out with the resource limitations. So this is a critical, critical phase for states to come together. EAST: Thank you so much. All right. We're moving along in our time for our conference here. And we've been dancing around probably one of the more important questions all day long. And that's all those questions around assessment. And that's what our, many people in our states are asking, what is being done to allow the assessments for the Common Core Standards? What needs to happen between now and 2014-15 that we talked about earlier? How will the states transition from their current assessment practices to new assessments? All those issues are so important and on the minds of our states. So let's address that for a while. Who wants to start this? Is this, Dane, are you starting for us again? LINN: I'll start this. And we should probably, Bill, begin on what these assessment consortia are. And for those of you that remember the U.S. Department of Education's competition back in September of 2010, for what it was, is called, Race to the Top, many of the states competed for a significant amount of resources that the secretary, Secretary Duncan, put on the table for states to implement some innovative practices that would lead to improved student achievement. And what the secretary did was take $350 million out of the stimulus funds that were dedicated to Race to the Top and held a separate competition for the creation of not just common assessments, but better assessments, assessments that really measured students' learning at its deepest level. And there were, from that competition, there were two consortia that were funded by the U.S. Department of Education. One known as PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, in which 26 states are participating, and the other, best said as the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortia, where there are 31 states participating. Now some of those states made a decision, a definitive choice, that they wanted to be a founding partner of one or the other consortia. And for those states that, like Florida is a founding partner of the PARCC consortia, they have only signed up for one of the consortia. Other states have decided they wanted to be a part of both consortia and be part of the process, the work that was under development in developing the assessments that were framed and funded in the proposals supported by the U.S. Department of Education. For those states that are, have made the decision to be a part of both consortia, they are going to make their decision about which state, which consortia, or which assessments they'll ultimately implement at the end of the process. So we have 44 states that are participating in one or both of these consortia, and these consortia are really led by the states. We continue, we being NGA and the Council, continue to be involved insofar as educating our members and making sure, I think most important to us is making sure that the assessments that emerge from these two consortia lead to not only better measures of student performance, but that we can ultimately also have comparable results, that there's some level of comparability from a state that uses SMARTER Balanced to a state that is participating in PARCC. And both Gene and I will be very candid in saying that is a challenge because the design of these assessments, as we'll go through in a couple of minutes, are very different from one another. But I know from my membership, comparability is of the utmost importance. And we should be honest and acknowledge that any new measures of student performance are ultimately part of the equation for any new accountability system that emerges over time, whether it's through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or some interim should ESEA not be reauthorized, and there's some minor revisions that are made by the U.S. Department of Education and ultimately Congress. But we need to have better measures, again, for better capture of student performance and understand its relationship to the new accountability systems. And again, three years is not too far away, and many states are at the, I would describe it as the infancy stage of how they're going to transition from the current system of standards and assessments to the new system of standards and assessments. And this is an area where states are going to need flexibility from the U.S. Department of Education, particularly around the accountability provisions. And as Gene has pointed out previously, the adequate yearly progress measures, which is the primary driver to measuring whether or not you're meeting the performance targets that each of your states have set in place. And you can see on the next slide for the PARCC assessment, which Gene will talk about in a minute, which states are participating in that consortia. WILHOIT: And it might be good, Bill, to pick up on this and describe very briefly the two consortia. And as you can see, PARCC is made up of a group of states designated on this map that is on the screen of states in a dark blue, which are the governing states, and the light blue states are the participating states. Interesting set of clusters, and you look at the next one, that Dane will describe, around SMARTER Balanced, see similar patterns across the country. A lot of large states in this consortium and a number of states that are either border states or East Coast states, their goals were to, one, develop the best and most solid assessment structure that they could to measure the Common Core and to make sure that those assessments were faithful to the Common Core design. Secondly, there was a major effort in their work to begin to think about how they could influence classroom results in a very positive way. There was a major concern by PARCC states that the current assessments that are underway, given at the end of the year, after the fact of teaching were not driving in a positive direction the classroom instruction learning process in teaching. And so they wanted to build something that would provide quicker feedback just-in-time kinds of results back to the teachers, and at the same time, that they could make sure that there are supports around the assessment that assist teachers. And then the third major goal of PARCC was to do all of this in a very efficient and cost-saving sort of way because they know the increased demands that are on states for competition of state resources and also the growing cost of assessments. And so they're going to try to deliver all of this within a way that states can afford and can move ahead collectively. The overall design of this assessment is to provide assessments in three through eight and then at the high school level. And the basic design is one where they're looking at incremental judgments made against student progress throughout a school year. And by that, I mean generally, the design is to provide four assessments during a school year, the one at one-fourth the way through, halfway through, and three-fourths of the way, and then the end-of-year assessment and following of that design. Those first three at one-fourth of the way through, halfway through, and threefourths of the way would not be a comprehensive exam against all that was going on, but would be feedback on student learning using multiple forms of assessment and doing this in a way that doesn't overly interrupt the classroom experience, but provides some immediate feedback for accountability purposes and also for teaching experience. End of year experience would be a comprehensive exam. All four of those assessments would be pooled together into a judgment about whether a student is prepared, ready to move on, has mastered the curriculum ready to move to the next level of experience. So a final point I would make on it is this consortium is looking at new and more expressive ways for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do, so we expect that there would be greater dependence on technology. We know there will be. In fact, the goal is to administer these through technology-based learning programs and also to have students express themselves in more rigorous ways and more meaningful ways than they have through the multiple choice kinds of exams that we have in place right now. EAST: Okay. Dane, you're going to talk about just briefly the SMARTER Balanced consortium, right? LINN: One, that's right, Bill, and one additional feature I would point to in PARCC that is distinct from the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortia is some initial exploration into the development of assessments for an early childhood, and that's an area that they will do some initial work and knowing the sensitivities around assessing our youngest children, and by youngest children, I mean, preschool as opposed to K through three. And that is not work that SMARTER Balanced will take on. But the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortia, the fundamental feature or the, yeah, the fundamental feature of that consortia is really around the development of online exams and using the available technologies to assess student performance. And they plan to use, as the slide indicates, open-source technology and being able to provide, use this technology to provide information to teachers on how students are progressing. I think another key feature that's not really highlighted on this slide but will be on a subsequent one and is really important to mention is the role of teachers. Teachers through the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortia will play a role in the evaluation of student performance against those assessments. And that is an area where the U.S. has not done much work. Our neighbors to the north in Canada spend particularly in some of the western provinces over in Victoria, also spend an incredible amount and have a long history of teacher involvement in the evaluation of those exams. But these are exams that will be offered through SMARTER Balanced, will be administered twice a year. There will be some optional or what we call benchmark exams that districts, states could participate in, and then they are in the process of developing a whole array of tools and effective practices that teachers could use in helping inform performance on those exams, but will also inform some of the work they do through informal assessment as all classroom teachers do. And the next slide simply identifies the number of states that are participating or identifies the states that are participating in the consortia with the blue states, much like the PARCC being the founding members. And just as a reminder, the founding members are the ones who have signed up for one and only one consortia. There are also a couple real quickly, a couple similarities between the two assessment consortia, and as we've alluded to in the entire presentation, we're trying to go beyond the what we often call, some would call the norm-referenced test. Others would call them color in the bubble tests or short answer tests. We're really trying to see how students not only understand the content, but they can apply the knowledge and skills. And there's a focus on much higher-order thinking skills as opposed to the direct recall. While it's different, each of the consortia will use the technology to figure out how they can score more efficiently, and more importantly, how they can get the results back to teachers much more quickly than they currently do. An assessment in this day that's administered in March or April should not, it should not take until the next school year, until October, for teachers to get those results. And lastly, they're both very interested with some of the additional resources from the U.S. Department of Education in developing an array of resources including released items, like many states already do, release test items from previous years. And there'll be an array of professional development opportunities that will be offered to states and others through these consortia in addition to what states and districts will also do. WILHOIT: So I think there are some questions and concerns about the implications of all this to students with disabilities. EAST: Absolutely. WILHOIT: And so it is important to address that very directly. There is a vocabulary common within the disabilities community today about the 1% of the 2% students. And they're really a way that the states and the federal government compensated for their lack of ability to assess students as we implement No Child Left Behind. I think two things are important to note as we begin, the consortia begin to do the work. First of all, both of them are going to be funded to look at ways of better assessing what we call the students with the most severe and profound conditions, those 1% students that are in the system today. And both are charged with coming up with ways to assess the learning outcomes. They will still be performance based. They will still drive those students toward success after the K-12 experience. They will still hold onto high levels of expectations and supports for those students. But we hope out of this process that we are, these assessments will be much better than what we've had historically. They'll be able to identify learning differences, first of all, around the learning progressions so that we would be able, if you take those steps from kindergarten through the high school, we are now able to assess learning at each of those progression points and provide feedback. But in order to do that, we're going to have to have much better ways of determining where students are, much better assessment items, much better assessment designs than we have right now. And it seems to me this holds great promise, that regardless of where a student is on a learning continuum, we should be able to identify where that student it. We should be able then to place that student on a learning progression. Now it may mean, and there are serious conversations about adequate yearly progress, whether you should be able to reach a certain level of progression within a very short time frame, or will there be some latitude for students to progress at a prolonged pace but still reaching the goal. It is clear now that almost everyone in public policy today, education policy, agrees that we ought to move to a model that holds students to high outcomes, but also has a growth component, that is how much progress can a student make in a time frame, all students being expected to achieve at very high levels, all students being expected to grow within the time frame of measurement? It may be that it takes some students longer to get to this, but the ultimate goal is to get them through the experience having achieved the kinds of expectations that we hold for those students. EAST: Okay. Thank you very much. We're about to run out, we're running out of time quickly, but we have enough time to address one more question, and then we'll go wrap up. And this is an important one, I think, for our special education people that are watching this conference. What should the special ed community be doing to get ready for this implementation? That's a loaded question. But do either one of you have any thoughts on that? And I'll go to, I see the wheels spinning here with Dane, so do you have any comments you'd like to make about what should the special ed community be doing? LINN: We should've spent the entire webcast on this topic. But since we're not, let me just share a couple of thoughts, one of which is I encourage all of you to continue to be the advocates for ensuring, to ensuring that students with disabilities are a part of this effort. And I know that can be frustrating, particularly for those of you who have been in this field for a long time. And having been there, I know that it can be an uphill battle because you feel like you're always trying to get in the door, and you don't have the key. But I can tell you that our two organizations, and not just our two organizations, but we continue to push many other organizations to making sure that students with disabilities, and we know this isn't going to be easy, but that students with disabilities are an integral part of the implementation of these standards. And so sit in those faculty meetings, or sit in those meetings if you're a state education agency director of special education, or working in the office of special education, and continue to ask why are we not thinking about a strategy for implementation that includes students with disabilities? Why are we not rethinking the policies that we currently have in place? But more importantly, about asking the questions, you have so much to offer. This community, in a way, has been the leader around the accommodations for students of varying levels of achievement. And you have solutions to put on the table. So for every question you ask, for every opportunity you have to push against the system, I ask you to put some of the solutions, whether it be the work that you're doing around response to intervention, whether it be some of the research, the good research that we have around how students with disabilities learn and how that could inform how all students learn, whether that be some of the work that you've done around assessment, or whether there be exemplars around the country, districts that have some evidence to put on the table on how we can really ensure students with disabilities are part of a standards-based system. This is really about not just pushing, but sharing those best practices. You have a long and rich history in some regards. The special education community has a richer history than the rest of the system that they're a part of. Let's make sure we prevent the rest of the system from reinventing the wheel by sharing what we already know and continue to communicate, lastly, continue to, continue as part of your advocacy efforts, continue to advocate that all means all, that these standards weren't created for the student in the normal bell who's right in the middle of the bell curve. These standards were developed for all students. It's just the way in which we're going to go about delivering them might vary from student to student. And that includes a student with the disability and a student without a disability. Gene. WILHOIT: When I first, and I am old enough to remember when 94142 came into existence. And I thought at that time, inside that law is the hope for education in the future. I think along the way, we were diverted. In some ways, it became too routine. It became too much of a legal conversation about rights, and we lost sight of what it's going to take to truly support children labeled with disabilities. I think the Common Core Standards effort, this movement towards standards-based learning, is an opportunity for us to really fulfill what we were attempting to do back in 94-142. It is an opportunity only if, as Dane said, you continue to advocate for these children. Don't let others push them aside in this conversation. It would be too easy for them to do so. And for you then to demand and contribute to the development of the kinds of supports that students are going to need to reach these goals, but think about the excitement that can be created if we can truly do this right, and these students have truly identified needs that are translated to an instructional process with the kinds of supports they need to be successful. We can have some excited students, parents, and educators feeling like what they're doing is a worthy business and producing the results that they had hoped they would do. That's why you went into the business of education. That's why you chose to work with students with disabilities. I think we have an opportunity here to be greater than we have been in the past. EAST: And, Dane, you had one last comment. LINN: One last comment, yes, I also want to encourage you to challenge your own thinking because it's going to require each of us to act differently. And some of the practices that we may, you may have been implementing in your own classrooms or your own districts may not be working. And you can play an important leadership role by admitting that some of those policies and practices may not be as effective as you think they are, and that you may have to change your own behavior. And so while you're pushing the system, also reflect on your own practice because that's equally important. EAST: I believe, Gene, you have a couple of quick resource slides . . . WILHOIT: Yeah, I . . . EAST:. . . move on over to those. WILHOIT: Some of you may not have gotten into the Common Core at the depth that you will need to in the future. On the screen is this Core Standards.org website, and you can go to that site and find the standards themselves. You can find supporting documents that we have put onboard. You can find the research behind the development of those standards. And you will find over time additional resources being added to this website that will provide guidance to you. An example of that would be a development of some model teaching lessons, some areas where assessments would be tied to those standards to give you a better understanding. So we'll be adding to this site as we move forward. And then if you need to get to either one of us, very directly, we can put on the screen a reference point here for both of us. We are accustomed to interacting with people around the standards, and both Dane and I are available. But also, you can see the names of some individuals on our staff who have direct responsibility for implementation of the Common Core. Please feel comfortable reaching out to any one of us as you move forward. We look forward to working with you. EAST: Thank you. And I want to thank you for your interest in the Common Core Standards and for viewing this conference. And a special word of thanks to both Dane Linn and Gene Wilhoit for leading the conference and sharing with us today. We hope the conference will inspire you to work with other stakeholders in your state, school district, or school and community to promote public education through the National Voluntary Core Standards. On behalf of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, NASDSE, we thank you for joining us.
Section 8: Dementia Alert * Cognitive screening alone cannot be used to determine fitness to drive, except when valid test scores are in the severely impaired range. * If a patient's fitness to drive is unclear, the physician should recommend further assessment. 8.1 Overview Current demographic trends predict major increases in the number of older drivers over the next 20 years. Given that the prevalence of dementia increases with age, this trend implies that the number of older drivers with dementia will also increase significantly. Physicians need to be aware of possible cognitive compromises of fitness to drive. The term "dementia" encompasses a group of diseases (i.e., different types of dementia) that may have different effects on the functional skills required for safe driving. It is known that patients with Alzheimer's dementia show a predictable decline in cognition, with the decline in driving abilities over time being steep but less predictable (Duchek et al., 2003). However, to date, no longitudinal studies of declines in driving ability have been conducted for other forms of dementia. Nonetheless, certain characteristics of these dementias may have implications for fitness to drive. For example, vascular dementia can present with abrupt periods of worsening associated with the accumulation of cerebrovascular lesions. Parkinson's dementia and Lewy body dementia are often associated with motor, executive and visuospatial dysfunction, any of which can be hazardous on the road. Furthermore, some frontotemporal dementias are associated with early executive dysfunction and behavioural changes (e.g., anger control issues) that may render driving hazardous. Finally, all people with dementia are more prone to delirium, with unpredictable and sudden cognitive decline. Ultimately, then, progression to unsafe driving status is unpredictable for patients with dementia. Literature reviews have shown great variability in whether there is an increased risk of collision among those with dementia, but have consistently shown an increased risk of decline in driving skills and of failure in on-road driving tests, even at mild stages of dementia (Man-Son-Hing et al., 2007; Chee et al., 2017). 8.2 Earlier Canadian dementia guidelines The Third Canadian Consensus Conference on Dementia (CCCD3; Hogan et al., 2007, 2008) set out the following recommendations on fitness to drive for patients with dementia: * Diagnosis of dementia is not sufficient to withdraw driving privileges. Dementia * Moderate to severe dementia is a contraindication to driving. * Driving is contraindicated in people who, for cognitive reasons, have an inability to independently perform multiple instrumental activities of daily living or any of the basic activities of daily living. This degree of functional impairment describes a moderate or worse stage of dementia. * People with mild dementia should receive comprehensive off- and on-road testing at specialized driving centres. * No test, including the MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination), has sufficient sensitivity or specificity to be used as a single determinant of driving ability. However, abnormalities on tests, including the MMSE, clock drawing test and Trails B test, should trigger further in-depth testing of driving ability. * Patients with mild dementia who are deemed fit to continue driving should be re-evaluated every 6 to 12 months, or sooner if indicated. Note: These recommendations were rated by the CCCD3 at Grade B, Level 3: Fair evidence to support this manoeuvre. Opinions of respected authorities based on clinical experience, descriptive studies or reports of expert committees. 8.3 Updated guideline recommendations For this updated chapter on dementia in the CMA Driver's Guide (edition 9.1), we followed the framework of the Guidelines International Network (Schünemann et al., 2014) and the ADAPTE process for updating clinical practice guidelines (https://www.g-i-n.net/ document-store/working-groups-documents/adaptation/adapte-resource-toolkit-guidelineadaptation-2-0.pdf). We assembled an international knowledge synthesis and guideline update team, which included researchers from Canada, Australia, Belgium, Ireland, England and the United States. The recommendations in Table 2 are based on this rigorous evidence-informed process (Rapoport et al., 2018). 8.4 Reporting according to stage of dementia To date, there are no published guidelines as to when patients with mild dementia should be reported in jurisdictions with mandatory physician reporting (Table 1 in section 3 of this guide). However, it is clear, given the guidelines listed in section 8.2, that those with moderate to severe dementia should be reported. The determination of whether a patient has crossed the threshold from mild to moderate dementia is challenging. As a basic guideline, the CCCD3 defined moderate dementia as the loss of 1 or more basic activities of daily living (ADLs) or the loss of 2 or more instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs, including medication management, banking, shopping, use of the telephone or cooking) because of cognitive problems. Another means of defining stages of dementia is the CDR Dementia Staging Instrument (https://knightadrc.wustl.edu/cdr/cdr.htm). A score of 2 (moderate dementia) or 3 (severe dementia) on this scale would preclude driving. Unfortunately, this rating scale is of limited clinical utility because it requires training and is rarely used in general clinical practice. A general rule of thumb is that any physician who suspects that a patient's cognitive problems may affect safe driving should refer the patient for a functional driving assessment, either through an occupational therapy evaluation or directly to the licensing authority. 8.5 Cognitive screening tools Many in-office cognitive screening tools have been proposed to predict which patients are most likely to have problems with driving. For the most part, these tools have been developed to screen for cognitive impairment or dementia, rather than to identify unsafe drivers. Furthermore, none has yet consistently shown reliable cutoffs beyond which patients' driving becomes unsafe. The most studied office-based screening tool for potential concerns about fitness to drive is the Trail Making Test part B (Trails B), which has a recommended 3-minute or 3-error cutoff, also known as the "3 or 3 rule" (Roy and Molnar, 2013). Emerging evidence may point to shorter time cutoffs, but it is too early to make any such change, given the limited evidence that is currently available. Some screening tests are claimed to have been designed to determine fitness to drive, but these tests have not been demonstrated to have a predictive value that permits licensing decisions based solely on their results. As outlined in recommendation 6a in Table 2, no single test currently available has sufficient sensitivity or specificity to accurately predict, in the medical office setting, a person's driving safety in all situations, but certain tests may be helpful in some situations. If cognition is impaired severely enough (i.e., test results are so poor that test sensitivity is not a concern), the results may be specific enough (i.e., unlikely to represent false results) to justify reporting the findings to the ministry of transportation as being of concern and meriting licensing review. With the exception of such clear situations, the consequences of misclassifying a safe driver as unsafe or an unsafe driver as safe solely on the basis of current cognitive screening tests can be substantial, both for safe drivers who are inappropriately deprived of independent mobility and for unsafe drivers who continue driving and thereby place themselves and others at risk. It is recommended that physicians administer more than 1 cognitive screening tool. If the results of cognitive tests such as the MMSE, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA©; www.mocatest.org), the clock-drawing test, the Trail Making Test or other in-office tests are markedly abnormal (i.e., where the results are concerning, specific and believable), consideration should be given to whether the patient has moderate or severe dementia, taking into account the person's medical history and recalling that moderate or severe dementia is a contraindication to driving. It is important that screening tools not be misused. To optimize the use of current screening tools, despite the limitations of the evidence described above, an article by Molnar et al. (2012; http://canadiangeriatrics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ Dementia-and-Driving-Maximizing-the-Utility-of-In-Office-Screening-and-Assessment-Tools.pdf) suggests applying the following considerations when using in-office screening tests: Dementia * Determine whether the test result is consistent with other evidence — Are the results of the test consistent with the history provided by the patient, caregiver and family and with the results of other tests? Conversely, is the result of this single test an outlier and possibly not reflective of the patient's true functional ability? * Make certain you know what you are really measuring — Ensure that low scores are not due to confounding variables, such as a language barrier, low education, dyslexia, performance anxiety, depression or sensory deficits. * Consider the trajectory of the patient's condition — Consider whether the patient's function is expected to improve (e.g., delirium, recent head injury, recent stroke), remain stable (e.g., stable head injury, stable stroke) or decline (e.g., progressive degenerative disorders such as dementia, Parkinson's disease). * Understand your role — Even in jurisdictions where reporting is mandatory, the role of physicians is not to directly determine fitness to drive, but rather to report clinical findings that raise concerns regarding fitness to drive. The licensing authorities then decide whether the patient is fit to drive or needs more testing on the basis, in part, of accurate, fair and timely information from physicians. * Use common sense and consider the severity of the findings — Examine the entire picture, including any physical and behavioural limitations. Sometimes it is obvious that a patient is not safe to drive, given low valid test scores, dangerous behaviours, significant physical limitations or significant functional impairment. Do not be afraid to make a judgment based on any obvious impairments that may be uncovered. * Examine qualitative and dynamic aspects of the testing — When interpreting performance on a test, do not focus solely on the score but also consider qualitative dynamic information regarding how the patient performed the test, such as slowness, hesitation, anxiety or panic attacks, impulsive or perseverative behaviour, lack of focus, multiple corrections, forgetting instructions or inability to understand the test. These may indicate other sources of impairment that may negatively influence driving safety. To help make a decision, the physician should ask the following 2 questions after reviewing the results of cognitive tests, the findings of a physical examination and the person's driving history: Given the results of my clinical assessment, * would I let a loved one get into a car that this patient is driving? * would I want to have a loved one cross the street in front of a car that this patient is driving? For each question, 3 answers are possible: "yes" (meaning there are no concerns that would trigger further testing), "uncertain" (meaning that more tests are needed) and "absolutely not" (meaning that the risk is clear and too high, and hence that the physician's assessment of the patient should be forwarded to the ministry of transportation and the patient advised not to drive unless authorized by the ministry of transportation). Test results do not stand alone but should be considered in the context of more detailed approaches, such as those described in the following resources: 1. An article in the November 2010 issue of Canadian Family Physician (Molnar and Simpson, 2010; www.cfp.ca/content/56/11/1123.full.pdf+html). 2. An article about driving and dementia toolkits in the Canadian Geriatrics Society Journal of CME (Byszewski, Molnar et al., 2012; http://canadiangeriatrics.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2016/11/Diving-and-Dementia-Toolkits.pdf). 3. The Driving and Dementia Toolkit for Health Professionals, developed by the Champlain Dementia Network and the Regional Geriatric Program of Eastern Ontario (www.rgpeo.com/en/health-care-practitioners/resources/driving.aspx). 8.6 When fitness to drive remains unclear Some provinces, specifically Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, offer ministryfunded on-road testing for drivers with potentially compromised driver fitness, including those with cognitive problems. Other provinces do not provide ministry funding for on-road testing. In these latter provinces, the patient is required to pay for the comprehensive on-road test (at a cost of up to $800), which is performed by a ministry-approved private company and is generally conducted by an occupational therapist. Physicians should inform themselves about the particular arrangement in their respective jurisdictions and should inform patients and their families that repeat testing may be required every 6 to 12 months even if the person with dementia passes the initial test. 8.7 Counselling patients with dementia who can still drive safely When assisting a patient with dementia to plan for future driving cessation, physicians can consider providing the patient and family with a copy of the Driving and Dementia Toolkit for Patients and Caregivers (www.rgpeo.com/media/30422/d%20%20d%20 toolkit%20pt%20crgvr%20eng%20with%20hyperlinks.pdf). The patient's fitness to drive should be reassessed every 6 to 12 months, or more frequently if the cognitive impairment progresses (as per recommendation 7 in Table 2). For further information on driving cessation, see section 4 of this guide. 8.8 Disclosure of unfitness to drive When a patient is found to be unfit to continue driving, the discussion between the physician and the patient is a delicate one, since a poorly chosen word may upset and traumatize the person, when the intention is to help the person move through a difficult stage in life in a compassionate and supportive manner. Guidance regarding how best to approach this challenging dialogue can be found in a case-based article (Byszewski, Aminzadeh et al. 2012; http://canadiangeriatrics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ Disclosing-Driving-Cessation-in-the-Context-of-Dementia.pdf). Dementia 8.9 Follow-up after loss of licensure Loss of a driver's licence has been associated with social isolation and depression. Therefore, after a person with dementia has had his or her licence revoked, the physician should monitor for these problems in the course of scheduled follow-up. It is also important to enlist family members and obtain their help in creating a transportation plan for the patient that allows access not only to required appointments (e.g., medical, banking) but also to the social activities that are needed to maintain quality of life. 8.10 Countermeasures There are few data to support the safety of restricted licensing, co-piloting or other countermeasures for persons with dementia (Iverson et al., 2010). \| # \| Recommendation \| Class of Evidence \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 \| Dementia often has a direct effect upon fitness to drive, and clinicians should address cognitive compromises that may impact fitness to drive. \| C \| \| 2 \| Diagnosis of dementia alone is not sufficient to withdraw driving privileges. \| A \| \| 3 \| Severe dementia is an absolute contraindication to driving. \| C \| \| 4 \| It is unlikely that safe driving can be maintained in the presence of moderate dementia (e.g., the additional presence of basic ADL impairments) and is to be strongly discouraged. If the patient desires to drive, they should be formally assessed and monitored very carefully. \| B \| \| 5a \| People with dementia with progressive loss of 2 or more IADLs due to cognition (but no basic ADL loss) are at higher risk of driving impairment. \| A \| (cont'd) 6a No in-office test or battery of tests including \| \| 6b However, abnormalities on these tests may indicate a driver at risk who is in need of further assessment. \| B \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| \| 6c Substantially impaired scores, which are typically associated with moderate to severe dementia, may preclude safe driving. \| C \| \| \| 6d If concerns or uncertainty still exist, a specialist opinion should be sought. \| C \| \| 7 \| Patients with dementia who are deemed fit to continue driving should be re-evaluated every 6 to 12 months or sooner, if indicated. \| B \| \| 8a \| Any clinician who has concerns but is uncertain whether a patient’s cognitive problems may adversely affect driving, should refer the patient for a functional driving assessment, either through an occupational therapy evaluation or directly to the licensing authority. \| C \| \| \| 8b If there are clear aspects of the history, physical examination and cognitive examination that place the patient and public at high risk for crash or impairment, the patient and informant/ caregiver should be advised not to drive, and this conversation (including date and participants) should be documented in the clinical record. \| C \| \| \| 8c Clinicians should be aware of the legal reporting requirements in their jurisdiction, mindful of their professional ethical imperatives, and strive to ensure that mechanisms to remove unsafe drivers from the road are sensitive, timely and effective. \| C \| \| 9a \| Caregivers are able to predict driving safety more accurately than can the patients themselves, although in some circumstances, the caregivers may have a vested interest in preserving the patient’s autonomy beyond a safe window … \| C \| \| \| 9b… Hence, caregiver concern about driving impairment should be taken seriously … \| B \| Dementia A 97.2% 41 \| \| 9c... and the possibility of a conflict of interest in preserving driving autonomy must be taken into consideration if such caregiver concern is absent. \| C \| 92.4% \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 10 \| Medical comorbidities, physical frailty and the use of multiple medications are also factors that must be taken into consideration when assessing fitness to drive. \| C \| 93.1% \| \| 11 \| We recommend a formal evaluation if behavioural disturbances (e.g., agitation, personality change, psychosis) are concerning for interfering with safe driving. \| C \| 85.5% \| \| 12 \| Patients with prominent language impairment, e.g., primary progressive aphasia or other aphasia in the context of dementia, cannot be adequately screened with typical language-based tests and require a specialized assessment possibly from a speech therapist or neuropsychologist, functional assessment (IADLs, ADLs) and/or a formal driving assessment. \| C \| 84.1% \| \| 13 \| As with many disabling progressive diseases that lead to driving cessation, conversation regarding eventual retirement from driving should be held as early as possible. \| C \| 89.0% \| \| 14a \| Driving cessation has been associated with social isolation, depression and other adverse health outcomes. \| C \| 90.3% \| \| \| 14b Therefore, after a person with dementia has stopped driving, it is important to monitor for these problems longitudinally. \| C \| 87.6% \| *Adapted by permission from Springer Nature Customer Service Centre GmbH: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature, Current Psychiatry Reports (https://link.springer.com/journal/11920), "An international approach to enhancing a national guideline on driving and dementia" by M.J. Rapoport, J.N. Chee, D.B. Carr, et al., © 2018. For specific methods and more detailed commentary on these recommendations, see the source article (Rapoport et al., 2018) (https://link.springer.com/journal/11920). †Agreement refers to the percentage of the 145 participants in the consensus process who agreed with each recommendation. Note: ADLs = activities of daily living, IADLs = instrumental activities of daily living, MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination, MoCA = Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
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Unless otherwise defined, capitalised terms used herein shall have the same meanings as those defined in the Composite Document. 1 DESPATCH OF THE COMPOSITE DOCUMENT The Composite Document containing, among other things, (i) details of the Offers (including the expected timetable and terms of the Offers); (ii) a letter of recommendation from the Independent Board Committee in relation to the Offers; and (iii) a letter of advice from the Independent Financial Adviser to the Independent Board Committee in relation to the Offers, together with the Forms of Acceptance, have been issued and despatched to the Offer Shareholders and Optionholders on 10 February 2022. EXPECTED TIMETABLE The timetable set out below is indicative only and is subject to change. Any changes to the timetable will be jointly announced by the Offeror and the Company by way of announcements as soon as possible. Unless otherwise specified, all time and date references contained in this joint announcement refer to Hong Kong time and dates. Event Date on 17 March 2022 Latest date for posting of remittances for the amount due in respect of valid acceptances received under the Offers on or before 4:00 p.m. on the final Closing Date (assuming the Offers become or are declared unconditional in all respects on the First Closing Date) (Notes 4 and 6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 March 2022 Latest time and date by which the Offers can become or be declared unconditional as to acceptances (Note 7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by 7:00 p.m. on 11 April 2022 Notes: 1. The Offers, which are conditional, are made on the date of posting of the Composite Document, and are capable of acceptance on and from that date until 4:00 p.m. on the Closing Date. 2. The Offers will initially remain open for acceptances until 4:00 p.m. on 3 March 2022 unless the Offeror extends the Offers in accordance with the Takeovers Code. The Offeror has the right under the Takeovers Code to extend the Offers until such date as it may determine in accordance with the Takeovers Code (or as permitted by the Executive in accordance with the Takeovers Code). In accordance with the Takeovers Code, an announcement must be issued on the website of the Stock Exchange no later than 7:00 p.m. on 3 March 2022 stating either the next Closing Date or that the Offers will remain open until further notice. In the latter case, at least fourteen (14) days' notice in writing must be given before the Offers closed to Offer Shareholders and Optionholders who have not accepted the Offers. 3. Beneficial owners of Shares who hold their Shares in CCASS directly as an investor participant or indirectly via a broker or custodian participant should note the timing requirements (as set out in Appendix I to the Composite Document) for causing instructions to be made to CCASS in accordance with the General Rules of CCASS and CCASS Operational Procedures. Acceptances of the Offers are irrevocable and are not capable of being withdrawn, except in the circumstances as set out in the section headed "VII. RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL" in Appendix I to the Composite Document. 4. Subject to the Offers becoming unconditional, payment of the consideration (after deducting the seller's ad valorem stamp duty) for the Offer Shares tendered for acceptance under the Share Offer will be made in cheque to the Offer Shareholders (to the address specified on the WHITE Form of Share Offer Acceptance) accepting the Offers by ordinary post at his/her/its own risk, and payment of the consideration for the Options surrendered for cancellation under the Option Offer will be made to the Company as the agent of the Optionholders, by cheque(s) drawn in the name of the Company, or at the election of the Offeror, by wire transfer to the bank account of the Company. The Company will transfer any payment received to the respective Optionholders by issue of cheque or wire transfer. Payment to Offer Shareholders by the Offeror and payment to Optionholders by the Company will be made as soon as possible, but in any event within seven (7) business days following later of (i) the date on which the Offers become, or are declared, unconditional and (ii) the date of receipt by the Registrar (in the case of the Share Offer) and/or the company secretary of the Company (in the case of Option Offer) of the duly completed Form(s) of Acceptance together with all relevant documents required to render such acceptance under the Offers complete, valid and in compliance with Note 1 to Rule 30.2 of the Takeovers Code. 5. In any event, in accordance with the Takeovers Code, when the Offers become or are declared unconditional in all respects, at least fourteen (14) days' notice in writing must be given before the Offers closed to those Offer Shareholders and Optionholders who have not accepted the Offers. The Offeror has the right, subject to the Takeover Code, to extend the Offers until such date as it may determine or as permitted by the Executive. 6. If there is a tropical cyclone warning signal number 8 or above or a black rainstorm warning: (i) in force in Hong Kong at any local time before 12:00 noon but no longer in force after 12:00 noon on the latest date for acceptance of the Offers and the latest date for posting of remittances for the amounts due under the Offers in respect of valid acceptances, the latest time for acceptance of the Offers will remain at 4:00 p.m. on the same business day and the latest date for posting of remittances will also remain on the same business day; or (ii) in force in Hong Kong at any local time between 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. on the latest date for acceptance of the Offers or the latest date for posting of remittances for the amounts due under the Offers in respect of valid acceptances, the latest time for acceptance of the Offers will be rescheduled to 4:00 p.m. on the following business day which does not have either of those warnings in force at any time between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and the latest date for posting of remittances will also be next following business day which does not have either of those warnings in force at any time between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.. 7. In accordance with the Takeovers Code, except with the consent of the Executive, the Offers may not become or be declared unconditional as to acceptances after 7:00 p.m. on the sixtieth (60th) day after the day the Composite Document is posted, which is 11 April 2022. Accordingly, unless the Offers have previously become unconditional as to acceptances, the Offers will lapse on 11 April 2022 unless extended with the consent of the Executive and in accordance with the Takeovers Code. Therefore, the last day by which the Offers can become or declared unconditional as to acceptance is 11 April 2022. Shareholders should note that the above timetable is subject to change. Further announcement(s) will be made in the event that there is any change. NO PRICE INCREASE STATEMENT As set out in the Composite Document, the Offeror will not increase the Share Offer Price for the Offer Shares, Offer Shareholders and potential investors of the Company should be aware that the Offeror will not be allowed to increase the Share Offer Price and the Offeror does not reserve the right to increase the Share Offer Price. WARNING Shareholders, Optionholders and potential investors should note that the Offers are subject to the satisfaction of the condition as set out in the Composite Document. Accordingly, the Offers may or may not become unconditional. Shareholders and potential investors should therefore exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company. Persons who are in doubt as to the action they should take should consult their stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor or other professional advisers. By order of the Board Hongkong Jingang Trade Holding Co., Limited Wang Xiaogang Director By order of the Board Ausnutria Dairy Corporation Ltd Yan Weibin Chairman The PRC, 10 February 2022 4 As at the date of this joint announcement, the Board comprises three executive Directors, namely Mr. Yan Weibin (Chairman), Mr. Bartle van der Meer (Chief Executive Officer) and Ms. Ng Siu Hung; three nonexecutive Directors, namely Mr. Shi Liang (Vice-Chairman), Mr. Qiao Baijun and Mr. Tsai Chang-Hai; and three independent non-executive Directors, namely Mr. Jason Wan, Mr. Lau Chun Fai Douglas and Mr. Aidan Maurice Coleman. The Directors jointly and severally accept full responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained in this joint announcement (other than those relating to the Offeror any of its associates or parties acting in concert with it), and confirm, having made all reasonable inquiries, that to the best of their knowledge, opinions expressed in this joint announcement (other than those expressed by the respective director(s) of the Offeror) have been arrived at after due and careful consideration and there are no other facts not contained in this joint announcement, the omission of which would make any statements in this joint announcement misleading. As at the date of this joint announcement, the board of the Offeror comprises Mr. Pan Gang, Mr. Wang Xiaogang, Ms. Yuan Ping and Ms. Jiang Yuanzi; and the board of Yili Industrial comprises Mr. Pan Gang, Ms. Zhao Chengxia, Mr. Wang Xiaogang, Ms. Zhao Ying, Ms. Wang Aiqing, Mr. Zhang Junping, Mr. Lv Gang, Mr. Peng Heping, Ms. Ji Shao, Mr. Cai Yuanming, and Ms. Shi Fang. The directors of the Offeror and Yili Industrial jointly and severally accept full responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained in this joint announcement (other than those relating to the Group), and confirm, having made all reasonable inquiries, that to the best of their knowledge, opinions expressed in this joint announcement (other than those expressed by the respective directors of the Group) have been arrived at after due and careful consideration and there are no other facts not contained in this joint announcement, the omission of which would make any statements in this joint announcement misleading.
Crain's Health Pulse Thursday, September 24, 2020 Nurse staffing takes on new urgency as pandemic rolls on Plus: * Northwell secures funding for gun violence prevention work * Most New Yorkers oppose increasing health insurance taxes to close budget gap * Memorial Sloan Kettering receives $9M grant for Parkinson's research This is the first installment in a two-part series on nurse staffing in New York. Pat Kane, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association, has seen the pandemic intensify the decades-long fight over adequate nurse staffing. Before Covid-19 struck, the Midtown South–based union of more than 42,000 frontline nurses focused on safe-staffing ratios as a top priority for its members, who work in major hospitals and other health care settings across the state. The ratios regulate the number of patients that can be assigned to a single nurse. Those efforts continued through the height of the crisis. Nurses felt their facilities were unprepared in terms of the size of their staff to take care of the vast number of critical care patients, said Kane, who is a registered nurse herself. "Our feeling was that staffing was so tight, when this came to be, the system broke. It just broke," she said. The most recent bill about the issue proposed in the state Senate and Assembly is the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act of the 2019–20 legislative session. It's currently in committee. Some of the proposed ratios include one nurse to two patients in critical care and intensive care units, one nurse to four patients in medical-surgical units, and one nurse to six patients in wellbaby nursery units. The union's position is that mandatory nurse-to-patient staffing ratios would help to improve safety, quality of care and staff retention at a time when nurses are more essential than ever. However, hospitals are steadfast in their belief in flexible staffing, which they say enabled them to handle the Covid surge and save patients. Flexible staffing operates without mandated nurseto-patient ratios and allows providers to adjust their number of nurses in real time based on how they view the needs of patients. They also say meeting set staffing ratios is unachievable thanks to fiscal constraints arising from the current crisis, which resulted in a loss of revenue as most nonmandatory procedures were postponed or canceled. Sean Clarke, a registered nurse and executive vice dean and professor at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, said he believes the pandemic could fan the flames of the staffing battle. "We may see that debate continue for the next while," Clarke said. Feeling the strain Tanisha Thompson, a registered nurse at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and a member of the New York State Nurses Association, said the volume of Covid-19 patients that local nurses took on during the pandemic was incredibly difficult. Thompson, a 20-year veteran, is trained in critical care and was redeployed from other work to that high-need area at the peak of the crisis. "Staffing is a huge issue," she said. "The patients are getting sicker and sicker and sicker. They require more and more care, and you really need to have a manageable patient load." Thompson believes that set nurse-to-patient staffing ratios would aid facilities in retaining experienced nurses. Last month the state Department of Health released a highly anticipated report that considered the logistics of implementing set staffing ratios in New York. Researchers found that if the proposed legislation to do so were passed, hospitals would need to hire nearly 25,000 more nurses total—at an annual cost of between $1.8 billion and $2.4 billion. And nursing homes would incur between $1.9 billion and $2.3 billion in annual costs. The estimates reflect an increase in wage costs of between 40% and 53% for hospitals, and between 79% and 96% for nursing homes, at a time when local providers have been financially strained by Covid-19. Aside from recruitment and costs, the department noted in its report that some stakeholders have voiced concerns that mandated nurse-to-patient ratios don't take into consideration the differences in types of hospitals, patient populations and care practices. It added that the evolution of clinical care and types of patients suggest providers need flexibility to implement staffing plans that best meet all needs. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Health reiterated the need for adaptability in staffing, especially as a result of the current crisis. "The staffing study concluded that maintaining a health care workforce that effectively meets the needs of patients requires a flexible and comprehensive approach to address today's multifaceted and complex health care delivery challenges," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "The department continues to support measures to improve quality of care and patient outcomes, and the pandemic has only underscored the need to maintain workforce flexibility." The Greater New York Hospital Association concurred. "Nurses are indispensable professionals without whom there would be no patient care," the association said in a statement. "Our hospitals are always looking for ways to better support them and the critical work they do." However, it said, mandated nurse-to-patient ratios would have been "unworkable and unaffordable" even before the pandemic. And now such a requirement is unthinkable for hospitals. "Every hospital in New York state will lose money this year," the association said. "Some of our hospitals are contemplating layoffs—a terrible conundrum at a time when we are continuing to ask for heroism during the ongoing pandemic. And we fear, in a post-Covid era—if it ever comes—hospital revenues will not return to their pre-Covid levels due to consumer concerns about hospital care and outmigration of patients from New York City." —Jennifer Henderson Read part two of the installment in tomorrow's edition of Health Pulse. Northwell secures funding for gun violence prevention work Northwell Health said this week that it has been awarded $1.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to study gun violence prevention and to develop and implement a new protocol to universally screen for those at risk of firearm injury. The aim is to address gun violence as a public health issue and approach firearm injury risk similarly to other health risk factors that are part of routine care, such as smoking and substance use, Northwell said. The health system will use the funding to establish evidence-based screening and intervention strategies within three of its facilities: South Shore University Hospital, Cohen Children's Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital. Clinicians in emergency departments will ask patients questions about having firearms in their homes and determine their risk of injury, Northwell said. Each response will be scored and embedded into patients' electronic medical records, which will help guide health discussions and establish next steps for care. The work will be led by Dr. Chethan Sathya, director of Northwell's Center for Gun Violence Prevention and associate medical director for trauma and pediatric general and thoracic surgeon at Cohen Children's, as well as Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, assistant vice president for addiction services for Northwell's Emergency Medicine Services and director of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment, or SBIRT. The work will follow a similar protocol to Northwell's SBIRT program implemented in its emergency departments several years ago to identify substance misuse and connect patients to treatment, the health system said. Through that program, Northwell completed 1.5 million patient screens across 18 emergency departments and inpatient and outpatient settings, which resulted in 23,000 brief interventions and 8,000 referrals. "As we have seen with SBIRT, we can make a difference for our communities by asking the right questions and providing the right education and connections to treatment," Kapoor said in a statement. "The objective here is to mirror that success and reverse the trend of rising suicides and preventable firearm injuries and deaths." Initially, SBIRT was also federally funded, Northwell noted. But it has since been sustained across the health system. —J.H. Most New Yorkers oppose increasing health insurance taxes to close budget gap Nearly 80% of New Yorkers reject the idea of increasing health insurance taxes to close the state budget gap, according to a Siena College poll of registered voters. The results—which will be released today—showed that 77% of respondents opposed higher taxes on health insurance, and nearly a third of the 16% who supported them would prefer a different approach if it means increasing what they pay for health insurance. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they felt consumers should not have to pay more for health insurance in order to close the state's budget deficit. Just 18% reported they would be willing to accept an increase in what they pay. Nearly half of the respondents favored Congress providing funding help to New York when asked about measures to close the budget gap. The poll comes as hard-hit New York faces a $14 billion deficit as a result of the pandemic. As part of the poll, about 800 voters were asked a series of questions on whether increasing health insurance taxes should be among the measures to address the shortfall. Those questions were included at the request of the New York Health Plan Association. "Given the impact that Covid-19 has had on the economy and the health care system, and the concern New Yorkers have about the virus itself, now is probably the worst possible time to increase health insurance taxes," said Eric Linzer, president and CEO of the association. Such action would only "exacerbate the toll" on consumers and employers across the state. Linzer noted that health insurance taxes are the third-largest source of state revenue behind sales and income taxes and add more than $5.2 billion to the cost of insurance each year. It's incumbent upon state leaders not to make access to health coverage more difficult and expensive, he said, especially during the current crisis. Heather Briccetti, president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, also weighed in on the findings. "As employers, businesses large and small shoulder much of the health insurance premium burden," Briccetti said in a statement. "We are heartened to see that the vast majority of New Yorkers strongly agree with us that tax increases on health coverage is the wrong way to close the state's budget gap." —J.H. Memorial Sloan Kettering receives $9M grant for Parkinson's research The team of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Dr. Lorenz Studer, director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology, last week received an almost $9 million grant from a Parkinson's disease initiative to advance research on genetic risk factors. The Aligning Science Across Parkinson's initiative, launched in 2019 by the Washington, D.C.based Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, provided $161 million in grants to 21 teams to conduct research over three years. The initiative partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to administer the funds. Studer's team is made up of Memorial Sloan Kettering, the New York Stem Cell Foundation in Hell's Kitchen, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Harvard Medical School in Boston and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, Australia. "We're very happy to be chosen from the applicant pool of about 600 to 700 around the globe," Studer said. Memorial Sloan Kettering will receive a third of the award, and the remainder will be divided approximately evenly across the other members, he said. Studer's team will collect stem cells from patients to derive brain cells and investigate how genetic risk factors and aging processes trigger the disease. The goal is to be able to stratify patients into different categories, yielding insights into why some at-risk patients develop the disease and some do not, and devise suitable treatments for each group, Studer said. The goal is to produce preliminary findings within a year. "We don't expect to discover a new therapy with this research, but hopefully we can discover new therapeutic targets for novel therapies in the future," he said. —Shuan Sim AT A GLANCE COVID CLUSTER: Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday further addressed the upticks in Covid19 cases in parts of Brooklyn and Queens that are causing the city new concern. Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of New York City Health + Hospitals weighed in, saying he was also distressed about the rise in cases. Efforts to combat the increase are ongoing and have included conversations with local physicians to improve outreach and messages about physical distancing, wearing face coverings and staying home when sick, Katz said. Tens of thousands of masks have been distributed, and more than 200,000 robocalls have been made. De Blasio noted that large indoor gatherings are of greatest concern. FAMILY PHYSICIANS: The New York State Academy of Family Physicians, which represents more than 7,000 physicians, residents and students in family medicine, said Wednesday that it "strongly supports" a state requirement for all school-age children to receive the flu vaccine. "Moreover, NYSAFP calls for a focus on increased access and equitable distribution of both the influenza vaccine and all vaccines in the interest of public health and health equity," said Dr. Jason Matuszak, president of the academy, in a statement. "Equitable distribution of vaccines is an essential way to mitigate the overall severity of the epidemic as the more vulnerable and marginalized among us often have higher rates of disease and comorbidities, which lead to poorer health outcomes." VACCINE PREPAREDNESS: The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide $200 million to 64 jurisdictions for Covid-19 vaccine preparedness. The funding is from the Cares Act, and, along with other support from the agency, is intended to help states prepare for an approved vaccine.
GAO June 2011 GAO-11-406 Report to the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE Data Gaps Will Remain Despite HHS Taking Steps to Improve Monitoring Accountability • Integrity • Reliability Highlights of GAO-11-406, a report to the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives Why GAO Did This Study Infections that were once treatable have become more difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance. Resistance occurs naturally but is accelerated by inappropriate antibiotic use in people, among other things. Questions have been raised about whether agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have adequately assessed the effects of antibiotic use and disposal on resistance in humans. GAO was asked to (1) describe federal efforts to quantify the amount of antibiotics produced, (2) evaluate HHS's monitoring of antibiotic use and efforts to promote appropriate use, (3) examine HHS's monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections, and (4) describe federal efforts to monitor antibiotic disposal and antibiotics in the environment, and describe research on antibiotics in the development of resistance in the environment. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed officials, conducted a literature review, and analyzed antibiotic sales data. What GAO Recommends To better control the spread of resistance, GAO recommends that HHS's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) develop and implement strategies to improve its monitoring of (1) antibiotic use and (2) antibiotic-resistant infections. HHS generally agreed with our recommendations. HHS, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. View GAO-11-406 or key components. For more information, contact Marcia Crosse at (202) 512-7114 or firstname.lastname@example.org June 2011 ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE Data Gaps Will Remain Despite HHS Taking Steps to Improve Monitoring What GAO Found Federal agencies do not routinely quantify the amount of antibiotics that are produced in the United States for human use. However, sales data can be used as an estimate of production, and these show that over 7 million pounds of antibiotics were sold for human use in 2009. Most of the antibiotics that were sold have common characteristics, such as belonging to the same five antibiotic classes. The class of penicillins was the largest group of antibiotics sold for human use in 2009, representing about 45 percent of antibiotics sold. HHS performs limited monitoring of antibiotic use in humans and has implemented efforts to promote their appropriate use, but gaps in data on use will remain despite efforts to improve monitoring. Although CDC monitors use in outpatient healthcare settings, there are gaps in data on inpatient antibiotic use and geographic patterns of use. CDC is taking steps to improve its monitoring, but gaps such as information about overall antibiotic use will remain. Because use contributes to resistance, more complete information could help policymakers determine what portion of antibiotic resistance is attributed to human antibiotic use, and set priorities for action to control the spread of resistance. CDC's Get Smart program promotes appropriate antibiotic use; CDC has observed declines in inappropriate prescribing, but it is unclear to what extent the declines were due to the program or to other factors. CDC's program has been complemented by efforts by the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, such as supporting studies to develop tests to quickly diagnose bacterial infections. Gaps in CDC's monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections limit the agency's ability to assess the overall problem of antibiotic resistance. There are data gaps in monitoring of such infections that occur in healthcare facilities; CDC does not collect data on all types of resistant infections to make facilitywide estimates and the agency's information is not nationally representative. CDC can provide accurate national estimates for certain resistant infections that develop in the community, including tuberculosis. Although CDC is taking steps to improve its monitoring, these efforts will not allow CDC to accurately assess the overall problem of antibiotic resistance because they do not fill gaps in information. Without more comprehensive data, CDC's ability to assess the overall scope of the public health problem and plan and implement preventive activities will be impeded. Federal agencies do not monitor the disposal of most antibiotics intended for human use, but they have detected them, as well as antibiotics for animal use, in the environment, which results partly from their disposal. EPA and DOI's United States Geological Survey have examined the presence of certain antibiotics in environmental settings such as streams. Studies conducted by scientists have found that antibiotics present in the environment at certain concentrations can increase the population of resistant bacteria. Contents Appendix VI GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 60 13 16 17 18 39 52 56 Abbreviations This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately. United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 June 1, 2011 The Honorable Frank D. Lucas Chairman The Honorable Collin Peterson Ranking Member Committee on Agriculture House of Representatives Over 60 years ago penicillin was the first antibiotic introduced to treat bacterial infections, leading to a dramatic drop in deaths from bacterial infections that were previously untreatable, as well as significant gains in life expectancy. The eventual emergence and spread of bacterial infections that are resistant to antibiotics, however, has jeopardized these gains because infections that were once easy to cure with antibiotics are becoming difficult, if not impossible, to treat. Some bacterial infections, such as certain types of pneumonia and gonorrhea that are acquired in the community, have developed resistance to almost all currently available antibiotics. Furthermore, the bacterial infections that contribute most to human disease are also those in which antibiotic resistance is most common, such as respiratory tract infections and infections acquired in hospitals. Although not all infections acquired in hospitals are resistant to antibiotics, individuals with resistant infections are more likely to have a poor prognosis and to remain in the hospital for a longer time, resulting in greater medical costs.1 While the development of antibiotic resistance is not new, as resistance is a natural biological phenomenon and can occur when any antibiotic is present, it is accelerated by a variety of factors including the inappropriate use of antibiotics in the absence of a bacterial infection and the prolonged use of antibiotics to treat patients who are critically ill. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are present in the human body can be spread to others. In addition, antibiotic-resistant bacteria that occur in the environment, either 1 For example, the medical costs attributable to the treatment of an antibiotic-resistant infection ranged from about $19,000 to $29,000 per patient in a study of one hospital. In addition, the excess duration of a hospital stay was about 6 to 13 days and the death rate was twofold higher among those patients who were treated for such infections. See R.R. Roberts et al., "Hospital and Societal Costs of Antimicrobial-Resistant Infections in a Chicago Teaching Hospital: Implications for Antibiotic Stewardship, Clinical Infectious Diseases, vol. 49 (2009), pp. 1175-1184. from natural causes or their discharge into soil or bodies of water, may spread their resistance to other bacteria. Scientists, public health officials, and clinicians agree that antibiotic resistance has become a national and global health challenge. While there are various causes of antibiotic resistance—including the use of antibiotics in humans and animals—the actual scope of the overall problem is not clear and there is uncertainty about the relative contributions of each cause.2 Recommendations for government action to address antibiotic resistance have been made by various organizations and scientific experts, including a task force made up of federal agencies, and there is agreement that, among other things, improved surveillance of antibiotic use and antibiotic-resistant infections is needed to adequately understand antibiotic resistance and implement effective strategies to help control this complex problem.3 Further, a congressional committee4 and others have made recommendations to increase the geographic coverage of existing federal agency surveillance to address concerns such as gaps in the ability to track and monitor certain antibiotic-resistant infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Questions have been raised as to whether federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have adequately assessed the relationship among the volume of antibiotics produced for human use, the human use of antibiotics, the presence of antibiotics in the environment, and the problem of antibiotic resistance. The House Committee on Agriculture asked us to evaluate how federal agencies track the occurrence of antibiotic resistance and the use and disposal of antibiotics into the environment. In this report, we (1) describe efforts by federal agencies to quantify the amount of antibiotics produced for human use, (2) describe and evaluate HHS efforts to monitor antibiotic use and promote the appropriate use of antibiotics by humans, (3) examine HHS 2 GAO has ongoing work examining antibiotic use in food animals. 3 For example, a recent report from the American Academy of Microbiology outlined several recommendations to help control the development and spread of antibiotic resistance, including improved surveillance to better assess the actual scope of the problem. See American Academy of Microbiology, Antibiotic Resistance: An Ecological Perspective on an Old Problem (Washington, D.C.: 2009). 4 See House of Representatives, Departments of Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2010: Report of the Committee on Appropriations together with Minority Views, Report 111-220 (Washington, D.C.: July 22, 2009). efforts to monitor cases of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans in the United States, and (4) describe federal efforts to monitor the disposal of antibiotics intended for human use, federal efforts to monitor the presence of antibiotics in the environment, and the scientific evidence regarding the role of antibiotics in the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. To describe efforts to quantify the amount of antibiotics produced for human use by federal agencies, we interviewed HHS officials to determine whether HHS collects information about, and quantifies, the amount of antibiotics that are produced for human use. We also reviewed documents from HHS and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC)—a federal agency that collects and analyzes trade data to inform U.S. trade policy—to learn about federal efforts to quantify antibiotic production in the United States. We purchased 2009 national sales data for antibiotics from IMS Health to estimate the volume of antibiotics produced in the United States for human use.5 IMS Health provided us the total volume of antibiotics, in kilograms, that were sold, based on all antibiotic drugs that were included in the Red Book Advanced database, as of April 2010.6 We converted the total volume from kilograms to pounds. To further describe the antibiotics that were sold in 2009, we classified the total volume of antibiotics by antibiotic class, the route of administration (e.g., oral), and the types of pharmacies that purchased antibiotics (e.g., chain store pharmacy). To assess the reliability of IMS Health data, we reviewed existing information about the data and interviewed officials knowledgeable about the data to assess their completeness.7 We determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for their use in this report. To describe HHS efforts to monitor the use of antibiotics in humans, we reviewed HHS documents and interviewed HHS officials. We reviewed HHS documents describing the various surveys that HHS uses to routinely 5 The company IMS Health, on a monthly basis, collects data on drugs—including antibiotics—purchased by retail pharmacies from about 100 drug manufacturers and about 500 distribution centers. These manufacturers and distribution centers provide data to IMS Health on the number of units sold. 6 The Red Book Advanced database includes a comprehensive list of drug products approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration. 7 IMS Health conducts detailed data reliability assessments, which include comparing monthly data from drug manufacturers and distribution centers to data from the prior month and the prior year in order to ensure consistency. collect data about antibiotic use, including information about the survey samples, the types of data that are gathered, and how antibiotic use is measured. We also reviewed agency documents that summarize trends in antibiotic use, based on the surveys. We interviewed HHS officials with responsibility for the surveys about the strengths and limitations of each survey and how the agency uses the collected data to monitor antibiotic use. To evaluate HHS's efforts to monitor antibiotic use, we compared HHS's data collection and monitoring activities with broad guidelines for monitoring antibiotic use, which we identified by reviewing relevant HHS documents and expert organization (e.g., World Health Organization) guidelines. To describe HHS efforts to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics, we reviewed documents from HHS about programs and activities focused specifically on decreasing inappropriate antibiotic use. We also interviewed officials from HHS about the objectives and implementation of these programs and activities. To evaluate HHS's efforts to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics, we reviewed relevant HHS documents and research articles in peer-reviewed journals about the effectiveness of intervention programs to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use and we interviewed HHS officials about the strengths and limitations of its program to promote appropriate antibiotic use and how the agency has evaluated its program. To examine HHS efforts to monitor cases of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans, we reviewed agency documents from HHS and interviewed HHS officials and representatives from an HHS advisory committee on healthcare infection control. We reviewed HHS documents describing each of the agency's surveillance systems that are used to monitor antibiotic resistance. The documents described the purpose and objectives of each system, and what surveillance data are collected and how the data are collected; the documents also provided annual summary information about monitored infections. We interviewed HHS officials with responsibility for each of the surveillance systems about the strengths and limitations of each system and how the data gathered by each system are used by the agency. We also interviewed four members of a federal advisory committee that provides guidance to HHS regarding infection control, surveillance, and prevention, as well as officials from three organizations that serve as liaisons to the committee, to obtain their opinions of the strengths and limitations of HHS's surveillance systems.8 To describe federal efforts to monitor the disposal of antibiotics intended for human use, we interviewed officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HHS, and the Department of the Interior's (DOI) United States Geological Survey (USGS) to determine if these agencies collect data about the disposal of antibiotics and, if applicable, how they use such data for monitoring. We also reviewed relevant federal laws under which EPA may have responsibility to regulate disposal of certain antibiotics and to monitor certain antibiotics in drinking water, as well as a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consumer guidance document describing recommended disposal practices for unused drugs. We interviewed officials from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) to learn about the drug disposal practices that are commonly used by pharmaceutical manufacturers.9 To describe federal efforts to monitor the presence of antibiotics found in the environment, we reviewed documents describing relevant studies conducted by EPA and USGS, including methods for selecting study sample sites and the study findings. We focused on the extent to which antibiotics were present in environmental settings, including soil, sediment, and bodies of water, and in certain pathways to the environment, such as waste water in treatment plants. We interviewed EPA and USGS officials to obtain background information and context about the studies as well as EPA's use of the study findings. We also interviewed EPA and USGS officials about their plans for further related studies. 8 The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee is comprised of public infection control experts, as well as nonvoting federal agency representatives and nonvoting liaison representatives of several national organizations. The committee is charged with providing advice and guidance to the Secretary of HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others, regarding the practice of healthcare infection control, strategies for surveillance, and prevention and control of healthcareassociated infections in U.S. healthcare facilities. The officials we interviewed from the three liaison organizations represented the Association of Professionals of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc., the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. 9 PhRMA officials provided us information on how pharmaceutical manufacturers dispose of unused drugs, such as those that are expired or were recalled, and active ingredients that do not get used in the manufacturing process. Background Antibiotics and the Development and Spread of Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria To describe the scientific evidence regarding the role of antibiotics in the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment, we conducted a literature review and interviewed agency officials. Our literature review included 105 articles that met defined search criteria on antibiotic resistance in the environment, published on or between January 1, 2007, and July 8, 2010. The articles included those published in peerreviewed journals. In our review, we analyzed the scientific findings reported about antibiotic concentrations that induce environmental bacteria to become resistant and the ability of environmental bacteria to spread resistance through the transfer of resistance genes. We also interviewed EPA and USGS agency officials to obtain context for the scientific evidence presented in the articles. For a detailed description of our literature review, see appendix I. We conducted our performance audit from March 2010 to June 2011 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Antibiotics are drugs that are used to treat bacterial infections.10 Antibiotics work by killing or slowing the growth of bacteria and they are not effective against nonbacterial infections, such as those caused by viruses. Antibiotic resistance is the result of bacteria changing in ways that reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of antibiotics to cure infection. Antibiotic use forces bacteria to either adapt or die in a process known as "selective pressure." Selective pressure means that when an antibiotic is used, some bacteria will be killed by the antibiotic while other bacteria will survive. Bacteria are able to survive, in part, because they have certain genetic material that allows them to avoid the effects of the antibiotic. The surviving bacteria will multiply and pass on to future generations their genetic material that is coded for resistance to antibiotics. Any use of 10 Antibiotics are a type of antimicrobial. Antimicrobials are drugs or other chemicals that kill or slow the growth of organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Antibiotic Disposal and Pathways for Antibiotics to Enter the Environment antibiotics—appropriate and inappropriate—creates selective pressure among bacteria. (For more information on resistant bacteria, see app. II). The inappropriate use of antibiotics, or the additional use of antibiotics that could have been avoided, can occur when healthcare providers prescribe antibiotics when they are not beneficial, such as to treat a viral infection, or when antibiotic treatments are not targeted to the specific bacteria causing the infection.11 Inappropriate antibiotic use also occurs when healthcare providers do not prescribe the correct antibiotic dose and duration of treatment. Further, inappropriate use includes when patients do not complete a full course of prescribed antibiotics. Individual consumers, health care facilities, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers dispose of unused antibiotics using various methods. For the purposes of this report, the disposal of antibiotics refers to the discard of unused antibiotics by consumers, companies, and others. Common disposal methods for individual consumers include throwing unused antibiotics in the trash, flushing them down the toilet, and pouring them down the drain.12 According to EPA officials, healthcare facilities and pharmacies often return unused or expired drugs to contracted companies, known as reverse distributors, for manufacturer credit. The reverse distributor is then instructed by the manufacturer to return the unused drug to the manufacturer, or in most cases, the reverse distributor is instructed to dispose of the drugs. The unused drugs are then most likely incinerated as solid waste, subject to state and local environmental regulations. The federal guidelines on how consumers should properly dispose of their unused drugs, including antibiotics, recommend that consumers dispose of their unused drugs either by returning them through 11 Diagnostic tests are used to determine the types of bacteria that cause infection and this information can be used by healthcare providers to choose an appropriate antibiotic. Different antibiotics target different types of bacteria. 12 In addition, some communities conduct pharmaceutical take-back programs that allow the public to bring unused or expired drugs to a central location for disposal. a drug take-back program, where available, or by mixing them with coffee grounds or kitty litter and throwing them in the household trash.13 Unused antibiotics intended for human use may enter the environment through various pathways such as sewage systems and landfills, depending upon the method of disposal and other factors. Unused antibiotics enter sewage systems after they are flushed down the toilet or poured down the drain. Unused antibiotics that enter the sewage system then flow to wastewater treatment plants where, if not removed during the treatment process, they are released into the environment, such as in rivers and streams, as wastewater effluent.14 In addition, some areas may use onsite septic systems to treat wastewater and in these systems wastewater is discharged below the ground's surface.15 Unused antibiotics that are disposed of in the trash could enter the environment if landfills were to leak. Although modern landfills are designed with liners and systems to limit this process by rerouting leachate, that is, liquid generated in landfills, to wastewater treatment plants, the antibiotics that are contained in the leachate may ultimately enter the environment. This can occur if antibiotics are not removed during the wastewater treatment process. In general, wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove low concentrations of drug contaminants, such as antibiotics.16 , 17 In addition, antibiotics that have been used by humans to treat infections can also enter the environment. Most used antibiotics enter the sewage 13 The guidance, available on the FDA Web site, states that consumers should follow these guidelines unless the drug's label directs consumers to flush the unused drug down the toilet. FDA recommends flushing for a small number of drugs to prevent life-threatening risks from accidental use. See http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm101653.htm, downloaded on March 31, 2011. 14 Wastewater that leaves a treatment plant is known as effluent. Solid, semisolid, or liquid organic materials that leave a wastewater treatment plant are known as sewage sludge or biosolids. Sewage sludge is often applied to land as fertilizer, subject to EPA regulations. 15 Inadequately treated sewage from such septic systems can be a cause of groundwater contamination. 16 In general, a contaminant is any substance or matter in the environment such as those that have an adverse effect on air, water, soil, or human health. 17 For a discussion of wastewater treatment plants and their ability to remove low concentrations of antibiotics, see J.R. Lefkowitz and M. Duran, "Changes in Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Escherichia coli during Domestic Wastewater Treatment," Water Environment Research, vol. 81 (2009), pp. 878-885. Federal Agency Responsibilities systems after they are ingested and excreted by individuals because antibiotics are not fully absorbed by the human body.18 Like unused antibiotics that enter the sewage systems, used antibiotics flow from sewage systems to wastewater treatment plants and may be released into the environment as wastewater effluent or biosolids. Agricultural manure is another potential source of antibiotics entering the environment; some antibiotics used for agriculture are similar to those used by humans.19 Within HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), FDA, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have responsibilities for protecting Americans from health risk, including risk associated with antibiotic-resistant infections. These agencies have a variety of responsibilities related to the surveillance, prevention, and research of infectious disease. CDC has a primary responsibility to protect the public health through the prevention of disease and health promotion. One of CDC's primary roles is to monitor health, and part of this role involves monitoring antibiotic-resistant infections and the use of antibiotics. CDC's statutory authority to conduct such surveillance derives from the Public Health Service Act.20 Tracking the emergence of antibiotic resistance, and limiting its spread, is also part of CDC's mission. Consistent with this mission, CDC implements prevention strategies, such as educational programs, that are designed to limit the development and spread of antibiotic resistance and the agency monitors antibiotic prescriptions in humans to help reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. Part of FDA's responsibility for protecting the public health involves assuring the safety and efficacy of human drugs. FDA reviews and approves labels for antibiotics and provides educational information to consumers and healthcare providers about the appropriate use of antibiotics, and the risk of the development of antibiotic resistance associated with their inappropriate use. FDA also licenses vaccines for use 18 Antibiotics can also enter sewage systems as a result of bathing and washing. Bathing and washing may release antibiotic ingredients remaining on the skin from the use of topical applications or from excretion to the skin through sweating. 19 Antibiotics may also enter the environment as a result of their use in aquaculture and orchards (e.g., antibiotics may be sprayed on apple or pear trees to prevent certain infections). 20 CDC officials told us that the act has been interpreted broadly to include CDC's surveillance of antibiotic-resistant infections and the use of antibiotics. See Public Health Service Act, as amended, § 301(a), codified at 42 U.S.C. § 241(a) (2011). in humans to prevent bacterial infections—including certain antibioticresistant infections—as well as viral infections and has the authority for the review of diagnostics, including tests to detect bacterial infections. As the nation's medical research agency, NIH is responsible for conducting and funding medical research to improve human health and save lives. According to its research agenda on antibiotic resistance, NIH supports and conducts research on many aspects of antibiotic resistance, including studies of how bacteria develop resistance, the development of diagnostic tests for bacterial infections that are or are likely to become resistant to antibiotics, as well as clinical trials such as those to study the effective duration for antibiotic treatments. CDC, FDA, and NIH are also co-chairs of the Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (Task Force)21 and released A Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance (Action Plan) in 2001.22 The Action Plan identified actions needed to address the emerging threat of antibiotic resistance and highlighted the need to improve federal agencies' ongoing monitoring of antibiotic use and of antibiotic-resistant infections. Specifically, the Action Plan stated that establishing a national surveillance plan for antibiotic-resistant infections should be a high priority, and that improved monitoring of such infections was needed to identify emerging trends and assess changing patterns of antibiotic resistance as well as to target and evaluate prevention and control efforts. The Action Plan also specifically stated that surveillance of antibiotic use in humans should be a high priority and was needed to better understand the relationship between antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. For example, identifying a specific pattern of antibiotic use associated with increased antibiotic resistance could support a response from 21 The Public Health Improvement Act required that the Secretary of HHS establish the Task Force to provide advice and recommendations related to antibiotic resistance. Under the act, the secretary—in consultation with the Task Force and state and local public health officials—is required to develop, improve, coordinate, or enhance participation in a surveillance plan to detect and monitor emerging antibiotic resistance. The act also states that the secretary, in consultation with the Task Force and others, shall develop and implement educational programs for the general public to increase awareness of the appropriate use of antibiotics and to instruct healthcare professionals in the prudent use of antibiotics. See 42 U.S.C. § 247d-5 (2011). 22 The Task Force includes eight other federal agency members. These members are the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and EPA. policymakers, such as to affect change in antibiotic use practices. Further, improved antibiotic use monitoring would help identify prevention activities and anticipate gaps in the availability of existing antibiotics effective in treating bacterial infections. A revised draft Action Plan was published for public comment on March 16, 2011.23 EPA's mission includes protecting Americans from significant environmental health risks. As part of its role, EPA sets national standards for the disposal of solid and hazardous waste and the quality of drinking water. EPA generally regulates the disposal of waste, including some unused or expired drugs, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).24 EPA also promulgates national requirements for drinking water quality of public water systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). EPA conducts research on topics related to human health and the environment, including research aimed at understanding drug disposal practices and the potential human and ecological health risks of drugs, such as antibiotics, found in the environment. Within DOI, USGS is responsible for providing scientific information to better understand the health of the environment, including our water resources. USGS conducts large-scale studies to gather information that can provide a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of specific policies; these studies can also be used to support decision making at the local and national levels—for example, decisions related to protecting water quality. In 1998, USGS initiated the Emerging Contaminants Project to improve the scientific understanding of the release of emerging contaminants to the environment, including where these contaminants originate and whether they have adverse effects on the environment. As part of the project, USGS has conducted national studies to measure the presence of unregulated contaminants, including antibiotics, in the environment, and conducts targeted local studies to assess the impact of specific pathways by which antibiotics can enter the environment. 23 The revised draft Action Plan includes the same focus areas—surveillance, prevention and control, research, and product development—as the 2001 Action Plan, along with specific projects or implementation steps for many of the action items. The revised draft Action Plan includes expected completion dates for projects or implementation steps, unlike the 2001 Action Plan. 24 Hazardous waste has properties, such as being toxic, that make it dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment. CDC's Monitoring of Antibiotic Resistance in Healthcare and Community Settings CDC has six surveillance systems that provide information to monitor antibiotic resistance that occurs in healthcare and community settings. According to CDC, public health surveillance is the ongoing and systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data for use in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.25 The surveillance systems collect information about antibiotic resistance among certain bacteria that cause infections in humans, and the infections are transmitted either in healthcare settings or in the community. For example, CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) monitors infections that occur in healthcare settings, including those that are resistant to antibiotics, such as MRSA, while CDC's Active Bacterial Core Surveillance (ABCs) system monitors bacterial infections such as meningitis and pneumonia that are spread in the community or in healthcare settings.26 Table 1 provides information about the purpose of each CDC surveillance system that monitors antibiotic resistance and summarizes the settings in which the monitored infections are spread. (See app. III for additional information about each of the six systems.) 25 Surveillance systems include the timely dissemination of data to persons who can undertake effective prevention and control activities, such as public health personnel and clinicians. 26 MRSA infections can also spread in the community, for example, by having close skin-toskin contact or by exposure to contaminated items and surfaces. ABCs monitors MRSA that is spread in the community as well as in healthcare settings. Table 1: CDC's Six Surveillance Systems that Provide Information to Monitor Antibiotic Resistance, by System Purpose and Infection Transmission Setting Source: GAO analysis of CDC information and scientific literature. a NHSN also allows facilities to report on 'laboratory-identified' event surveillance data for certain HAIs that are resistant to multiple drugs—such as multidrug-resistant Klebsiella infections—as well as Clostridium difficile infections; such data are more easily obtained because they come primarily from laboratory test results without clinical evaluation of patients. Clostridium difficile infections may develop due to the prolonged use of antibiotics during healthcare treatment. b As part of EIP's Healthcare Associated Infections Surveillance, CDC has monitored Clostridium difficile infections in healthcare and community settings since 2009. c FDA coordinates the NARMS program and works with CDC to manage NARMS: EB, the human component of the program. FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture test for antibioticresistant enteric bacteria in retail meats and food animals, respectively. Enteric bacteria are found in the intestinal tracts of humans and animals. Federal Agencies Do Not Routinely Quantify Amount of Antibiotics Produced for Human Use, but Sales Data Show Over 7 Million Pounds of Antibiotics Were Sold in 2009 Federal Agencies Do Not Routinely Quantify the Amount of Antibiotics Produced for Human Use Federal agencies do not routinely quantify the amount of antibiotics that are produced in the United States for human use, but sales data, which can be used to estimate the quantity of antibiotic production, show that over 7 million pounds of antibiotics were sold in 2009 for human use in the United States. These data indicate that most of the antibiotics sold have common characteristics, such as belonging to five antibiotic classes. Federal agencies, including FDA and USITC, do not routinely quantify antibiotic production for human use.27 FDA does collect annual information on the quantity of drugs that manufacturers distribute from new drug application (NDA) and abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) holders, but the data are not readily accessible.28 For each approved drug, NDA and ANDA holders are required to report annually to FDA the total number of dosage units of each strength or potency of the drug that was distributed (e.g., 100,000 5 milligram tablets) for domestic and foreign use.29 This information must be submitted to FDA each year— 27 In contrast, FDA recently issued a report summarizing data on antibiotics sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals, as required by the Animal Drug User Fee Amendments of 2008. This report indicated that 28.7 million pounds of antibiotics were sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals in the United States in 2009. This number includes the antibiotic class ionophores, which are not used in human medicine. Excluding ionophores, the total amount of pounds of antibiotics that were sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals in the United States in 2009 was 20.5 million pounds. According to FDA, these data are limited because they combine therapeutic and subtherapeutic uses of antibiotics and all species of animals. Further, these data do not take into account the dose size, which varies by individual antibiotic and species of animal, or the total number of animals that received antibiotics. Due to such limitations in the data, FDA officials noted that comparisons of antibiotic use between food-producing animals and humans are problematic. See FDA, 2009 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals (Rockville, Md: 2010). Available at http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForIndustry/UserFees/AnimalDrugUserFeeActADUFA/UCM 231851.pdf. 28 NDAs and ANDAs are submitted to FDA by drug sponsors to obtain approval for their drug to be marketed in the United States. 29 21 C.F.R. §§ 314.81(b)(2)(ii)(a), 314.98(c) (2011). Generally, only aggregated drug distribution data can be made publicly available. 21 C.F.R. § 314.430(g)(2) (2011). Over 7 Million Pounds of Antibiotics Were Sold in 2009 for Human Use and Most Antibiotics Sold Share Common Characteristics Most of the 7.4 Million Pounds of Antibiotics Sold Fell into Five Antibiotic Classes within 60 days of the anniversary date of approval of the drug application—for as long as the NDA or ANDA is active. The data that NDA and ANDA holders submit to FDA on the quantity of distributed drugs are not readily accessible because, according to an FDA official, they are submitted as part of an annual report in the form of a table and the agency does not enter the data electronically. In addition, because the anniversary dates of approval vary by NDA and ANDA, the reporting periods are not comparable. For drugs with an active ingredient for which there are multiple NDA and ANDA applications, FDA officials stated that one would also need to aggregate the data across multiple applications in order to determine the total quantity of the particular active ingredient. An FDA official told us that the agency rarely uses these data for analyses of drug utilization, drug safety, and drug shortages because other sources of data provide FDA information that is more detailed and timely about the quantities of certain drugs that are available in the market. For example, FDA uses drug sales data, which are available on a monthly basis, to evaluate and address drug safety and drug shortage problems. 30 USITC no longer collects and quantifies antibiotic production, but did so until 1994. 31 In 2009, approximately 7.4 million pounds of antibiotics were sold for human use—which can be used as an estimate of the quantity of antibiotics produced for human use in the United States—and most sold share common characteristics, such as antibiotic classes. Most of the 30 In April 2011, in response to a request from a Member of Congress, FDA used drug sales data to provide information about the amount of antibiotics that were sold in the United States in 2009 for human use, which it provided in correspondence to the Member. 31 The USITC data on antibiotic production reflected the amount of antibiotics that were produced—for human and animal use—in the United States and for sale within or outside of the United States. USITC began reporting on the production of antibiotics, and other organic chemicals at the request of the House Committee on Ways and Means. In 1995, the committee requested that USITC stop its data collection on production because it determined that this effort was no longer cost effective or essential for ensuring the competitiveness of the U.S. industry. 7.4 million pounds, or about 89 percent, of antibiotics that were sold in 2009 fell into five antibiotic classes: penicillins, cephems, folate pathway inhibitors, quinolones, and macrolides (see table 2). The class of penicillins was the largest group of antibiotics sold in 2009.32 About 3.3 million pounds of penicillins were sold, which represents 45.2 percent of all antibiotics sold in 2009. Penicillins, such as amoxicillin, are used to treat bacterial infections that include pneumonia and urinary tract infections. Source: GAO analysis of IMS Health data and summary of CDC and NIH information. Notes: Classes are identified according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute classification system. According to this classification system, certain antibiotic classes can be further classified into subclasses. For example, the cephem class includes the subclass of cephalosporins. The total amount of antibiotics sold does not take into account the dose, which varies by individual antibiotic, or the total number of individuals who were prescribed or treated with antibiotics. 32 A limitation of comparing total weights across antibiotic classes is that dosages for antibiotics can vary by antibiotic class. According to FDA officials, comparing weights within antibiotic class may also be difficult, but the degree to which antibiotic dosages may vary within the same class is less than that across classes. The Majority of Antibiotics Sold for Human Use in 2009 Were for Oral Administration and for Use in Outpatient Settings Most of the antibiotics that were sold for human use in 2009 were for oral administration and for use in outpatient settings. As shown in table 3, about 6.5 million pounds, or 87.4 percent, of all antibiotics sold for human use in 2009 were intended for oral administration, for example, in the form of pills.33 Oral forms of antibiotics and injectable forms, such as intravenous injections, together accounted for 99 percent of the total pounds sold. Table 3: Amount of Antibiotics Sold in 2009, by Route of Administration Source: GAO analysis of IMS Health data. Note: Individual entries may not sum to totals because of rounding. a Examples of other routes include administration by ear drops or inhalation. About 5.8 million pounds, or 78.6 percent, of all antibiotics sold for human use in 2009 were purchased by chain store pharmacies, independent pharmacies, food store pharmacies, and clinics (see table 4). This suggests that most of the antibiotics that were purchased in 2009 were intended for use in outpatient settings. 33 A drug is delivered to the body through oral administration when taken by mouth (e.g., a pill) and by injectable administration when delivered to the body through a needle. Data Gaps Remain Despite CDC's Efforts to Expand Its Limited Monitoring of Antibiotic Use; CDC, NIH, and FDA Have Implemented Efforts to Promote Appropriate Use Table 4: Amount of Antibiotics Sold in 2009, by Type of Purchaser Source: GAO analysis of IMS Health data. a Chain store pharmacies include businesses that consist of four or more stores with the same name that are owned and operated by the same organization. b Independent pharmacies are privately owned pharmacies that operate fewer than four stores. c Food store pharmacies include pharmacies that are located in grocery stores. d Federal facilities include, for example, Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and public health outpatient facilities. e Other includes mail order pharmacies and pharmacies located in such entities as health maintenance organizations and prisons. Although CDC annually collects certain national data on antibiotic prescriptions to monitor the use of antibiotics, these data have limitations and do not allow for important analyses. CDC is taking steps to improve its monitoring of antibiotic use by collecting and purchasing additional data, but gaps in information will remain. CDC's Get Smart program promotes the appropriate use of antibiotics and the agency has observed recent national declines in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing; however, it is unclear to what extent its program contributed to the recent declines. NIH and FDA activities have complemented CDC's efforts to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics. CDC Annually Collects Certain National Data on Antibiotic Prescriptions to Monitor Antibiotic Use, but Data Do Not Allow for Important Analyses CDC conducts two national health care surveys that gather data, annually, on antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings—the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS).34 NAMCS is based on a sample of visits to office-based physicians and community health centers.35 NHAMCS is based on a sample of visits to emergency and outpatient departments and hospital-based ambulatory surgery locations.36 , 37 Both surveys obtain data from healthcare provider records on patient symptoms, provider diagnoses, and the names of specific drugs, including antibiotics, that were prescribed during the patient visits.38 CDC officials stated that, among their purposes, CDC uses NAMCS and NHAMCS to monitor antibiotic use in outpatient settings for patient conditions that do not usually require antibiotics for treatment, such as antibiotic prescribing rates for upper respiratory infections, such as the common cold. NAMCS and NHAMCS are limited because they do not capture information about the use of antibiotics in inpatient settings. In inpatient settings, such as hospitals, antibiotics are often used, multiple antibiotics may be used in the same patient, and use may be prolonged. Monitoring overall antibiotic use (i.e., in inpatient and outpatient settings) over time is important for understanding patterns in antibiotic resistance. Information about overall antibiotic use in humans is also needed to routinely assess the contribution that human antibiotic use makes to the overall problem of antibiotic resistance in humans, relative to other contributing factors. For example, monitoring what portion of antibiotic use is attributed to humans 34 NAMCS and NHAMCS are national probability sample surveys that are designed to provide information about medical care services in the United States. 35 The NAMCS sample does not include visits to office-based physicians who are employed by the federal government. 36 The NHAMCS sample includes nonfederal short-stay hospitals (i.e., average stay of fewer than 30 days) whose specialty is general (i.e., medical or surgical) or children's general. The NHAMCS sample also includes ambulatory surgery centers that are freestanding. Ambulatory surgery centers are medical facilities where surgical and other procedures not requiring an overnight hospital stay are performed. 37 According to CDC officials, CDC is planning to merge NHAMCS with its current survey on inpatient care (i.e., the National Hospital Discharge Survey), into one survey called the National Hospital Care Survey, in 2011. In the integrated survey, data collection for antibiotic prescriptions will continue for outpatient visits. 38 The surveys do not collect information on whether the prescriptions were filled or whether the prescribed treatment course was completed by the patient. According to CDC officials, this is because individual patients in the surveys are never identified or contacted. CDC Is Taking Steps to Improve Its Monitoring of Antibiotic Use in Outpatient and Inpatient Settings, but Gaps in Information Will Remain versus animals is important to understanding antibiotic resistance. CDC officials told us that more complete information about antibiotic use by humans and animals is needed to help interpret trends from surveillance data and to inform on possible strategies to control the spread of antibiotic resistance, such as through changing antibiotic use practices. NAMCS and NHAMCS data are further limited because they do not allow the agency to assess geographic patterns in antibiotic prescribing practices in outpatient settings. CDC officials told us that the survey samples were designed to obtain national, not state-level estimates. As a result, CDC cannot currently assess the potential effects of geographic variation at the state level in antibiotic prescribing rates on patterns of antibiotic resistance or identify states or other geographic areas in the United States, for instance, which have higher than average antibiotic prescribing for conditions that do not usually require antibiotics for treatment. Information about geographic variation in antibiotic prescribing would allow CDC to anticipate future patterns in antibiotic resistance, given that the use of antibiotics has a direct effect on antibiotic resistance. Such information, according to CDC officials, would also allow CDC to target prevention efforts, such as those aimed at reducing inappropriate antibiotic use. CDC is taking steps to improve its monitoring of antibiotic use, but gaps in information about the use of antibiotics will remain. To address the agency's lack of data on inpatient antibiotic use, CDC is planning to gather information on antibiotic use with a prevalence survey of U.S. acute care hospitals in 2011.39 The survey will be conducted during a single time period on a single day and will collect some patient information about the reasons for the antibiotic use, which include treating an active infection or using antibiotics to prevent infection associated with a medical or surgical procedure.40 According to CDC officials, these data will fill in the gap in its data by providing information about the prevalence of inpatient antibiotic use. CDC officials further stated that having data on the baseline amount of inpatient antibiotic use, and the reasons for that use, will allow the 39 Acute care hospitals provide inpatient medical care and other related services for surgery, acute medical conditions, or injuries, usually for a short-term illness or condition. 40 Some antibiotics are used to prevent infections, such as prior to having certain kinds of surgery that carry a high risk of infection. agency to target and evaluate its own prevention efforts.41 However, the survey findings will not be representative of hospitals nationwide, because the survey sample is limited to selected hospitals located within five entire states and urban areas in five other states.42 Furthermore, CDC officials do not know if the survey will be repeated.43 Without periodic data collection and monitoring, CDC cannot assess trends in inpatient antibiotic use or evaluate the effects that changes in antibiotic use may have on antibiotic resistance. Additionally, in 2011, CDC officials told us that the agency plans to reinstate a module of NHSN that will allow participating facilities to report their inpatient antibiotic use, which will provide CDC with some inpatient antibiotic use data, but these data will not be nationally representative.44 In 2009, CDC temporarily discontinued this module because, according to CDC officials, it was not sustainable due to the high burden on facilities to report such data.45 CDC has redesigned the module to reduce the reporting burden on facilities; for example, CDC officials told us that, instead of relying on manual entry, facilities will be able to electronically capture and automatically send their data to NHSN.46 While the module will allow facilities in NHSN to monitor their own antibiotic use, the data will not provide the agency with information about the prevalence of inpatient antibiotic use because NHSN is not based on a nationally representative sample of facilities. 41 CDC officials also stated that information about inpatient antibiotic use could inform recommendations about antibiotic treatment by professional groups, such as the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 42 The survey is based on a sample of acute care hospitals located within the 10 EIP surveillance areas (also known as 'catchment' areas). According to a CDC official, the survey will be representative of hospitals within the EIP surveillance areas. 43 CDC officials stated that a decision to repeat the survey will depend on available resources, and would be better made after the original survey has been completed. CDC expects to begin data collection in 2011 and complete its analysis in 2012. 44 In NHSN, similar types of surveillance information are grouped into modules. For example, there is a module that captures surgical site infections. 45 To illustrate, facilities reported on about 75 commonly used antibiotics as well as combinations of these antibiotics. 46 CDC officials also told us that with the redesigned module, facilities will be able to immediately use their data to evaluate antibiotic use rates for antimicrobial stewardship activities. Antimicrobial stewardship includes interventions and programs designed to improve antibiotic use. CDC's Get Smart Program Promotes Appropriate Antibiotic Use to Providers and Patients To improve CDC's monitoring of antibiotic use in outpatient settings, CDC officials told us that they are finalizing a contract with a private data vendor to obtain 5 years of national data on antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings by antibiotic drug, county, and type of provider. According to CDC officials, these data will help the agency understand relationships between antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in certain geographic areas. CDC officials further stated that these data would help guide the agency's prevention efforts. With preliminary data on outpatient prescriptions for the antibiotic subclass of fluoroquinolones, CDC has shown wide variation in prescribing across states. Further, CDC plans to increase the size of the NAMCS sample at least fourfold in 2012, which would allow CDC to produce antibiotic prescribing rates for some states that year.47 CDC's Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work (Get Smart) program promotes appropriate antibiotic use, which is aimed specifically at healthcare providers, patients, and parents of young children.48 CDC launched its Get Smart program in 1995 with the overall goal of reducing the increasing rate of antibiotic resistance.49 The program is primarily focused on upper respiratory infections because, according to CDC, such infections account for over half of all antibiotics prescribed by officebased physicians. The Get Smart program works with partners, such as certain health insurance companies, to develop and distribute educational materials.50 With the goal of educating healthcare providers and the public, the Get Smart educational materials are aimed directly at these populations. For example, the Get Smart program supported the development of an online training program for healthcare providers to improve their knowledge and diagnosing of middle ear disease. The Get 47 CDC officials stated that there are no plans to provide state-level estimates with NHAMCS. 48 Otherwise healthy adults under 50 years old are an additional target audience. 49 According to CDC officials, the program was originally named the National Campaign for Appropriate Antibiotic Use in the Community and was renamed Get Smart in 2003. 50 In addition to health insurance companies, other Get Smart partners include businesses, pharmaceutical companies, foundations, and professional associations. As an example of how CDC collaborates with its partners, a health insurance company mailed Get Smart promotional materials to 320,000 of its customers with children ages 3 to 10 years old. CDC also provided technical support to this company to develop educational kits that were sent to about 30,000 pediatric, family practice, and internal medicine offices. Smart program developed and launched a national media campaign in 2003, in partnership with FDA, to provide a coordinated message on appropriate antibiotic use to the public and this message has been disseminated through print, television, radio, and other media.51 For example, CDC developed a podcast for parents of young children, available on CDC's Web site, to communicate its message. In the podcast, a pharmacist counsels a frustrated mother about appropriate antibiotic use and symptomatic relief options for her son's cold. Some materials are aimed at healthcare providers with the goal of educating their patients; for example, the Get Smart program developed a prescription pad for symptoms of viral infections. Healthcare providers can use the communication tool to acknowledge patient discomfort and recommend strategies to their patients for the relief of symptoms associated with viral illnesses—without prescribing an antibiotic unnecessarily. The prescription sheet includes the Get Smart logo and provides information for patients about the appropriate use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. CDC has continued to update and expand its materials for the Get Smart program. For example, CDC officials stated that the agency has expanded its educational materials by partnering with Wake Forest University to develop a curriculum for medical students related to appropriate antibiotic prescribing, and the impact of antibiotic use and its inappropriate use on antibiotic resistance, and the agency has developed a continuing education course for pharmacists. CDC officials told us that pharmacists serve as one of the most important health care professionals in promoting appropriate antibiotic use, for example by educating patients about the importance of taking antibiotics exactly as directed. In November 2010, CDC launched another Get Smart program, called Get Smart for Healthcare. This program focuses on improving antibiotic use in inpatient healthcare settings—including hospitals and nursing homes—through antimicrobial stewardship. 51 In 2005, CDC launched two additional components of the national media campaign. These include materials for healthy adults, Spanish speakers, and American Indians. In 2008, the campaign coordinated its first national observance, Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, and through a variety of activities and resources, the messages of the Get Smart program were delivered to the public. CDC Has Observed Declines in Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing, but It Is Unclear to What Extent Its Program to Promote Appropriate Antibiotic Use Contributed to Recent Trends CDC has observed declines in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings since its Get Smart program began in 1995, but it is unclear to what extent this program contributed to these trends. For example, using NAMCS and NHAMCS data, CDC found about a 26 percent decline in the number of courses of antibiotics prescribed per 100 children younger than 5 years old for ear infections between 1996-1997 and 2006. Further, CDC reported about a 53 percent decrease in the antibiotic prescription rate for the common cold among all persons between 19961997 and 2006.52 A similar trend in antibiotic prescribing among children has also been observed with data from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA monitors trends in antibiotic prescribing for the purpose of comparing the performance of healthcare plans.53 NCQA monitors the percentage of children 3 months to 18 years of age who were diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and did not receive an antibiotic prescription within 3 days of the office visit, and this measure has shown improvement (i.e., percentage increases in appropriate treatment) between 2003 and 2008.54 The measures that CDC uses to evaluate the effectiveness of the Get Smart program do not necessarily reflect the effect of the program because they do not capture information about individuals who were exposed to the Get Smart program, compared to those who were not. As a result, it is unclear if the declines in the inappropriate antibiotic prescribing were due to exposure to Get Smart messages and educational materials or from other factors, such as efforts to measure healthcare performance with antibiotic prescribing indicators (e.g., NCQA measures) or the recommended use of influenza vaccines among young children, since 2004.55 CDC officials told 52 Both measures are used by HHS, as part of Healthy People 2010, to assess national progress related to disease prevention. 53 NCQA is a private organization whose mission is to improve healthcare quality. As part of its mission, NCQA develops quality standards and performance measures for a broad range of healthcare entities. The NCQA measures are used by more than 90 percent of U.S. health plans to measure performance. CDC officials helped NCQA write the measures on antibiotic prescribing. 54 NCQA also measures the percentage of healthy adults (18 to 64 years of age) who did not receive an antibiotic prescription with a diagnosis of acute bronchitis, characterized by a cough that can last for up to 3 weeks. Performance on this measure declined between 2005 and 2008 because the percentage decreased. 55 The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended influenza vaccination for healthy children 6 through 24 months of age since 2004. Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the influenza vaccination for healthy children 6 months of age and older. us that they believe the NCQA measures have helped to improve appropriate antibiotic prescribing by improving knowledge of treatment guidelines by physicians and practitioners. In addition, reducing the number of cases of influenza among children is likely to have contributed to declines in inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions because antibiotics are often prescribed in patients with influenza symptoms. The measures that CDC uses to evaluate the effectiveness of the Get Smart program also do not allow CDC to determine, for example, whether declines in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing are attributable to a decrease in demand for antibiotics by patients, or to improved adherence to appropriate prescribing guidelines by healthcare providers. The measures are further limited because they do not allow CDC to determine whether the observed declines are consistent across the United States or are due to decreases in certain geographic areas. CDC officials told us that they rely on other indicators to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Get Smart Program, such as interest in CDC's Get Smart Web site and media materials. According to these officials, studies examining the impact of educational materials, including Get Smart materials, further demonstrate the effectiveness of the Get Smart program. For example, CDC officials cited a study in Massachusetts where educational materials, including Get Smart materials, were distributed to physicians and their patients in several communities.56 Findings indicate that in communities where educational and promotional materials about appropriate antibiotic use—including Get Smart materials—were distributed, antibiotic prescribing rates for children declined. Declines were also observed in communities where these educational and promotional materials were not distributed.57 These findings indicate that factors other than educational and promotional materials focused on the appropriate use of antibiotics may also have led to declines in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. Without information about which are the most effective ways to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in 56 See J.A. Finkelstein et al., "Impact of a 16-Community Trial to Promote Judicious Antibiotic Use in Massachusetts," Pediatrics, vol. 121 (2008), pp. e15-e23. 57 Antibiotic prescribing rates decreased in all three age groups of children included in the study, regardless of whether educational and promotional materials were distributed. For example, rates decreased by 14.5 percent among children 2 years old to less than 4 years old in communities with educational and promotional materials, and by 10.3 percent in communities without such materials. The greater declines in antibiotic prescribing rates in communities with educational and promotional materials were statistically significant in two of the three age groups. NIH and FDA Activities Have Complemented CDC's Efforts to Promote Appropriate Antibiotic Use outpatient and inpatient settings, CDC cannot target its resources on these preventive approaches. NIH and FDA have complemented CDC's efforts to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics in humans through various activities. NIH supports research specifically aimed at decreasing the inappropriate use of antibiotics as part of its research agenda to target antibiotic resistance. NIH-funded studies focus on establishing appropriate antibiotic treatment courses, using off-patent antibiotics to treat infections, and developing rapid diagnostic tests to help healthcare providers choose an appropriate antibiotic for treatment.58 For example, in 2009, NIH began funding a clinical trial to determine whether the standard 2-week antibiotic treatment course for children with urinary tract infections can remain effective if shortened, thereby decreasing the likelihood of antibiotic resistance and preserving the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.59 In 2007, NIH awarded two 5-year contracts to study whether off-patent antibiotics such as clindamycin and a combination of the drugs trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole can be used to treat certain skin infections instead of the more recently developed antibiotics, such as Linezolid and Vancomycin, in order to preserve the newer drugs' effectiveness.60 Further, since 2002, NIH has supported the development of a new test to rapidly diagnose TB. It currently takes up to 3 months to accurately diagnose TB and to determine its resistance to antibiotics, according to NIH officials. Findings from a recent clinical trial study reported that, within 2 hours, the new test can diagnose a TB infection and determine if it is resistant to the antibiotic rifampin, which is commonly used to treat TB.61 NIH officials stated that the test is being recommended by the World Health Organization for the early diagnosis of TB and NIH is 58 When a medication is first sold, the drug manufacturer has exclusive rights, or a patent, to produce that drug for a certain number of years. After the patent has expired, the drug becomes an off-patent medication and can be reproduced by other drug manufacturers. 59 As of March 2011, this study is ongoing, according to an NIH official. 60 As of March 2011, both studies are ongoing and continue to enroll participants, according to an NIH official. 61 See C.C. Boehme et al., "Rapid Molecular Detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampin Resistance," New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 363, no. 1 (2010), pp. 1005-1015. currently supporting research to improve the test and expand its capabilities.62 Research on the development of vaccines for bacterial and viral infections is also part of NIH's research agenda to decrease the inappropriate use of antibiotics, according to an NIH official. An NIH official stated that the agency has funded the discovery and development of several staphylococcal vaccine candidates, for example, through investigatorinitiated grants.63 In addition, an NIH official told us that NIH conducted preclinical animal studies that provided data for the development of a multivalent staphylococcal vaccine candidate, which allowed the candidate to advance to clinical testing.64 NIH also supports the development of vaccines for viral infections. According to an NIH official, decreasing the occurrence of influenza infections with influenza vaccines may decrease the inappropriate use of antibiotics. Many healthcare providers inappropriately treat viral respiratory infections with antibiotics, so preventing influenza reduces the opportunities for unnecessary antibiotic treatment.65 FDA activities also complement CDC's efforts to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics in humans. According to an FDA official, the agency collaborated with CDC on certain Get Smart activities, such as developing an appropriate antibiotic use message for the national media campaign, and amended its drug labeling regulations in 2003 to require that all oral or intravenous antibiotics for human use include additional information on 62 The test is also being recommended for the early diagnosis of multidrug-resistant TB and TB in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus. 63 As part of this effort, NIH has funded basic research, proof-of-concept studies, and preclinical research, according to an NIH official. 64 This candidate is currently in the first phase of clinical testing, which is supported by a company. A multivalent staphylococcal vaccine would provide broader protection against a variety of Staphylococcus aureus strains. 65 An NIH official further explained that the influenza virus causes lung damage that often predisposes individuals to bacterial pneumonia. Thus, fewer cases of influenza would lead to fewer secondary bacterial infections requiring antibiotic treatment. CDC's Monitoring of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Has Limitations in Assessing the Overall Problem of Antibiotic Resistance Data Gaps in CDC's Monitoring of AntibioticResistant Infections in Healthcare Settings Limit Its Ability to Produce Accurate National Estimates their appropriate use. 66 , 67 FDA's labeling requirement is intended to encourage physicians to prescribe antibiotics only when clinically necessary and to encourage them to counsel their patients about the proper use of such drugs and the importance of taking them exactly as directed. For example, the amended regulation requires that antibiotic labeling include the statement that "prescribing [the antibiotic] in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection is unlikely to benefit the patient and increases the risk of the development of drugresistant bacteria." CDC's monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections has limitations in assessing the overall problem of antibiotic resistance. The agency's monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections in healthcare facilities has data gaps that limit CDC's ability to produce accurate national estimates of such infections. For some of these infections monitored by CDC in community settings, in comparison, CDC can provide accurate national estimates. CDC is taking steps to improve its monitoring of antibioticresistant infections in healthcare settings, but these efforts will not improve CDC's ability to assess the overall problem of antibiotic resistance. A sample of healthcare facilities that is not representative—and incomplete information about the entire scope of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that are resistant to antibiotics—present data gaps that limit CDC's ability to produce accurate national estimates of antibiotic resistant HAIs in healthcare settings. Some infections are acquired as a result of medical treatment in a healthcare setting, such as a hospital or outpatient unit, while others are transmitted in the community, such as respiratory infections that are spread in schools and the workplace. According to CDC officials, healthcare settings contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance because of their high volume of susceptible patients, large number of disease-causing bacteria, and high 66 See 21 § CFR 201.24 (2011), 68 Fed. Reg. 6081 (Feb. 6, 2003). The amended drug labeling requirement applies only to antibiotics that are administered orally or intravenously. Antibiotics that are administered via a different route, such as those that are applied topically, are excluded from the labeling requirement. 67 For FDA information related to antibiotic use, see http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm235649.htm (downloaded on March 17, 2011). antibiotic usage. CDC uses NHSN to monitor HAIs,68 including antibioticresistant HAIs, at a national level, but the facilities that participate are not a nationally representative sample. Facility enrollment and participation in NHSN69 is either voluntary, required because of a state mandate, or obligated as a condition of participation in HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting program.70 According to CDC officials, as of January 2011, 23 states and territories required, or had plans to require, healthcare facilities to use NHSN for their reporting mandate.71 As of January 1, 2011, all acute care hospitals participating in the CMS Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program are obligated to report into NHSN central-line associated bloodstream infections for certain procedures72 from their intensive care units.73 Although the number of participating facilities has increased substantially, because healthcare facilities enroll voluntarily or by mandate, this group of facilities is not representative of facilities nationwide, as a random sample would be. Participating healthcare facilities in states with mandated participation are more likely to be overrepresented in the 68 With laboratory-identified event surveillance data from NHSN, CDC also monitors certain HAIs caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) as well as Clostridium difficile infections. 69 Enrollment in NHSN is open to all types of healthcare facilities in the United States, including acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient dialysis centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and long-term-care facilities. 70 CMS is the agency that, among other activities, administers Medicare, a health insurance program that helps pay for inpatient care in hospitals. 71 CDC officials said that as of January 2011, approximately 4,000 hospitals and other healthcare facilities participated in NHSN. In comparison, we reported in 2008 that approximately 1,000 hospitals were participating in NHSN, as of December 2007. See GAO, Health-Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals: Leadership Needed from HHS to Prioritize Prevention Practices and Improve Data on These Infections, GAO-08-283 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 31, 2008). NHSN opened enrollment to all types of healthcare facilities in 2008. According to the American Hospital Association's 2009 annual survey of hospitals, there are approximately 5,800 hospitals in the United States. 72 The procedures include, for example, coronary artery bypass graft and other cardiac surgery, and hip or knee arthroplasty. 73 Acute care hospitals electing to participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program are obligated to report certain quality data measures to CMS; those that do not participate are penalized by a reduction in the increase they would otherwise receive to their annual payments for providing inpatient services to Medicare beneficiaries. Under the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, NHSN was designated by CMS to serve as the reporting mechanism for certain HAIs. sample, while facilities in states without mandates are more likely to be underrepresented. The data that participating healthcare facilities supply to NHSN do not reflect the full scope of HAIs that occur within these facilities, further limiting CDC's ability to provide accurate national estimates about antibiotic-resistant HAIs.74 Participating facilities may submit data about different types of HAIs, and this includes information about whether the HAIs are resistant to antibiotics.75 For example, some facilities report data to NHSN on central-line associated bloodstream infections but not other infection types, such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections.76 Further, participating healthcare facilities may report HAI data to NHSN for certain units within facilities. For example, participating facilities may report data to NHSN on infections that occur in intensive care units but not those that occur in specialty care areas. CDC depends on the microbiology data provided by participating facilities to determine, among reported cases, the number and percentage of certain types of HAIs with resistance to certain antibiotics.77 Without an accurate national estimate of antibiotic-resistant HAIs, CDC cannot assess the magnitude and types of such infections that occur in all patient populations (i.e., facilitywide) within healthcare settings. 74 In 2008, we similarly stated that NHSN was limited in terms of its inability to produce reliable national estimates on the frequency of all HAIs—not just antibiotic-resistant HAIs. This is because NHSN data do not reflect the full scope of HAIs and the sample is not representative of facilities nationwide. See GAO-08-283. 75 Facilities may report on different types of HAIs for which NHSN has developed detailed definitions and protocols. As part of the protocols, facilities submit microbiological data for each HAI identified, provided by the facility's designated clinical microbiology laboratory. These data include information about the type of bacteria causing the infection and test results regarding antibiotic resistance. NHSN also has a protocol for reporting MDROs and Clostridium difficile infections as laboratory-identified events and, according to CDC officials, the test results regarding antibiotic resistance are used to determine whether such cases should be reported. 76 Central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia are device-associated infections that can be reported through NHSN. Surgical site infections and postprocedure pneumonia are procedure-associated infections that can also be reported. MDRO and Clostridium difficile infections can be reported into NHSN as HAIs or as laboratory-identified events. 77 Laboratory-identified event surveillance data from NHSN also allow CDC to determine, among reported cases, the number of MDRO and Clostridium difficile infections. CDC's Monitoring of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections in Community Settings Can Provide Accurate National Estimates for Some Infections CDC's monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections in community settings can provide accurate national estimates of antibiotic-resistant infections that are caused by 5 of the 12 bacteria that the agency monitors. These 5 are captured by two surveillance systems, the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS: EB) and the National Tuberculosis Surveillance System (NTSS), which collect nationally representative data about certain antibiotic-resistant infections; these infections can occur in community settings. Both systems employ sampling strategies that can provide accurate national estimates by collecting representative case information from all 50 states.78 For NARMS: EB, health departments in all 50 states submit a representative sample of four of the five bacteria it monitors—nontyphoidal Salmonella, typhoidal Salmonella, Shigella, and Escherichia coli O157 cases to NARMS: EB for antibiotic susceptibility testing. To ensure adequate sample size and a random sample for testing, the health departments systematically select and submit to NARMS: EB every 20th non-typhoidal Salmonella, Shigella, and Escherichia coli O157 case as well as every typhoidal Salmonella case received at their laboratories. NARMS: EB cannot produce an accurate national estimate for one of the five bacteria it monitors—Campylobacter—because according to CDC officials, the system collects a sample of the bacteria in 10 states.79 CDC uses NTSS to collect information about each newly reported case of tuberculosis infection in the United States, including information on drug susceptibility results for the majority of cases that test positive for tuberculosis. CDC's monitoring of other bacteria that cause antibiotic-resistant infections in community settings cannot provide estimates that are nationally representative because they are derived from samples that do not accurately represent the entire United States. Through ABCs, CDC 78 NARMS: EB also collects cases from the District of Columbia, and NTSS reporting includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. jurisdictions in the Pacific and Caribbean. 79 NARMS: EB collects every case, every other case, or every fifth case of Campylobacter from each of the 10 state health departments, depending on the number of cases each health department receives. conducts antibiotic resistance surveillance of five80 infection-causing bacteria—group A and B Streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and MRSA.81 , 82 According to CDC officials, these bacteria cause bloodstream infections, sepsis, meningitis, and pneumonia. ABCs is a collaboration between CDC, state health departments, and universities in 10 states.83 CDC officials told us that for each identified case of infection within their surveillance populations, the ABCs sites conduct a chart review to collect a variety of information, such as underlying disease and risk factors, vaccination history, and demographic information. This information is entered into a case report form and submitted to CDC along with bacterial isolates for additional testing, including tests for antibiotic resistance.84 ABCs' monitoring of cases of resistant infections is limited to surveillance areas in 10 states, and the surveillance areas vary somewhat depending on the infection-causing bacterium that is monitored. For example, Neisseria meningitidis is monitored in 6 entire states and in primarily urban areas in 4 other states while MRSA is monitored in 1 entire state and primarily urban areas in 8 other states.85 According to CDC's Web site, the 80 CDC also monitors Haemophilus influenzae with ABCs, but CDC officials stated that they do not routinely collect antibiotic susceptibility testing data for cases of Haemophilus influenzae infection, in part, because of constraints on time and resources at CDC's laboratories, but that the agency does conduct some testing for clusters of cases. 81 CDC uses ABCs to monitor community- and healthcare-associated cases of MRSA. CDC also monitors healthcare-associated MRSA through NHSN. 82 In addition to ABCs, CDC monitors cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae through NNDSS. CDC officials told us that NNDSS is used to monitor cases in areas not covered by ABCs' surveillance. NNDSS relies on the voluntary submission of case reports and it is considered a passive surveillance system. In comparison, ABCs is considered an active surveillance system because it relies on the active identification and collection of cases on a regular basis. 83 The 10 states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee. CDC's surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and group A and B Streptococcus is based on geographic areas located in these 10 states and surveillance of MRSA is based on geographic areas located in 9 of the 10 states. 84 Bacterial isolates are sent to CDC and other laboratories for testing. CDC officials told us that antibiotic susceptibility testing is conducted on all cases of Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, group A Streptococcus, and MRSA, as well as a subset of group B Streptococcus cases that are submitted to ABCs from 8 of the 10 sites. 85 To illustrate the population sizes covered by ABCs surveillance, the population for Neisseria meningitidis surveillance is about 41 million and the population for MRSA surveillance is about 19 million, as of January 2010. population included in the ABCs surveillance areas is roughly representative of the U.S. population on the basis of certain demographic characteristics (e.g., race and age) and urban residence. However, ABCs cannot provide estimates that are nationally representative for rural residence, and some experts have raised concerns because of the underrepresentation of rural areas.86 , 87 Further, since surveillance is critical to providing early warning of emerging resistance problems, limited geographic coverage among monitored infection-causing bacteria impedes CDC's ability to detect emerging problems. The Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project (GISP), which CDC uses to monitor antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, cannot provide accurate national estimates of cases of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea because it collects information only on selected patient populations. Each month, GISP collects case samples from the first 25 men diagnosed with urethral gonorrhea in each participating sexually transmitted disease clinic. The clinics are located in 24 states and they send these samples to designated laboratories for antibiotic susceptibility testing.88 However, according to CDC officials, most cases of gonorrhea in the United States are not treated in sexually transmitted disease clinics, and are more likely treated in a variety of healthcare settings, such as primary care physicians' offices. Further, since GISP collects information on cases of gonorrhea from male patients only, the data cannot represent the total U.S. population in order to provide an accurate national estimate of resistant gonorrhea cases.89 86 CDC uses ABCs data to calculate national estimates of certain diseases, based on race and age information from ABCs surveillance areas and the 2009 U.S. population. 87 CDC officials stated that the selection of catchment areas in urban areas allows the agency to capture a significant percentage of the population in the state. 88 GISP surveillance collects information about gonorrhea cases from more locations in the West because CDC officials said they expect antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea to emerge first in the western United States and then to spread eastward. 89 A CDC official told us that he does not believe there are significant differences between men and women in the frequency of antibiotic resistance among cases of gonorrhea. CDC Is Taking Steps to Improve Its Monitoring of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections in Healthcare Facilities, but These Steps Will Not Improve CDC's Ability to Assess the Overall Problem of Antibiotic Resistance CDC is taking steps to improve its monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections in healthcare facilities, but CDC's ability to assess the overall problem of antibiotic resistance will not be improved. With a prevalence survey, CDC is planning to collect additional data in 2011 about HAIs, which may provide more comprehensive information about certain types of HAIs that are resistant to antibiotics. According to CDC officials, the survey of U.S. acute care hospitals—which will also provide data on antibiotic use, as described previously—will allow the agency to more accurately assess the burden of HAIs and antibiotic resistance among those HAIs in healthcare settings.90 Unlike NHSN, the survey is designed to allow CDC to assess the magnitude and types of HAIs occurring in all patient populations within the sample of acute care hospitals. The survey will collect information about types of infection (e.g., urinary tract infection, bloodstream infection), bacteria causing HAIs, and test results regarding antibiotic resistance. The survey will not collect resistance information for all bacteria that cause HAIs. However, according to CDC officials, the survey will collect resistance information for some of the most common bacteria that cause HAIs, including Acinetobacter, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus.91 While the survey may provide more comprehensive information about certain types of HAIs that are resistant to antibiotics because it is designed to cover all patient populations in the sampled hospitals, the survey will not be able to provide information about the prevalence of all antibiotic-resistant HAIs that occur in U.S. acute care hospitals. A further limitation is that the sample is not representative of U.S. acute care hospitals. As described earlier, this is because the survey is based on a sample of acute care hospitals located within the EIP surveillance areas, according to CDC officials. CDC also plans to enhance its monitoring of HAIs by expanding the geographic coverage of its surveillance of Clostridium difficile infections and CDC officials told us that the agency is piloting additional surveillance for gram-negative infections through the EIP network.92 According to CDC, 90 The survey will also be used to inform decision making regarding, for example, appropriate targets and strategies for preventing HAIs and the emergence of antibioticresistant infections. 91 The survey will collect information about different species of Acinetobacter and Klebsiella. 92 Gram-negative infections include those caused by Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli, and are increasingly resistant to most available antibiotics. the agency began monitoring Clostridium difficile infections through EIP in 2009 in 7 surveillance areas, to obtain more comprehensive and representative information about this infection, including for antibiotic resistance.93 CDC officials stated that the agency plans to expand its Clostridium difficile monitoring to 10 surveillance areas by summer 2011. In 2 of the 10 surveillance areas (i.e., Oregon and Minnesota), surveillance will occur in rural areas only. CDC officials stated that the data will allow the agency, among other things, to detect Clostridium difficile infections that occur prior to admission to a healthcare facility and to identify new populations at risk.94 CDC officials also told us that the agency is piloting surveillance for gram-negative infections that are resistant to multiple antibiotics, through the EIP network, as an exploratory effort and feasibility study on how to improve the agency's monitoring of these infections in healthcare settings. In addition, CDC anticipates that the number of acute care hospitals participating in NHSN will expand in 2011 stemming from the CMS Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program obligation to do so. The expanded participation will, CDC officials believe, result in more representative data about certain HAIs and antibiotic-resistant infections.95 CMS has expanded its quality data measures to include two HAI measures that will be reported through NHSN. As stated previously, as of January 1, 2011, hospitals are obligated to report on central-line bloodstream infections associated with certain procedures from their intensive care units and on January 1, 2012, hospitals will be obligated to report on surgical site infections.96 Hospitals will also need to report on antibiotic resistance associated with these two types of infections, given NHSN's reporting requirements for participation. As part of CDC's protocols, facilities submit microbiological data for each HAI identified, which 93 CDC also monitors Clostridium difficile infections through NHSN. 94 CDC officials also stated that these data will complement the data on Clostridium difficile infections that are collected through NHSN. 95 CDC officials noted that since more than 90 percent of acute care hospitals (excluding critical access hospitals) participate in CMS's Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, NHSN data will be more representative by 2012. 96 See 75 Fed. Reg. 50042 (Aug. 16, 2010). Collection and reporting of data on bloodstream infections associated with central lines is required for the fiscal year 2013 payment determination and collection and reporting of surgical site infections is required for the fiscal year 2014 payment determination. Federal Agencies Do Not Monitor Antibiotic Disposal, but Have Examined the Presence of Antibiotics in the Environment, and Studies Find that Such Antibiotics Can Increase the Population of Resistant Bacteria Federal Agencies Do Not Monitor the Disposal of Most Antibiotics Intended for Human Use, but Have Measured the Presence of Antibiotics in the Environment includes the type of bacteria causing the infection and test results regarding antibiotic resistance. Federal agencies do not collect data regarding the disposal of most antibiotics intended for human use, but EPA and USGS have measured the presence of certain antibiotics in the environment due, in part, to their disposal. Studies conducted by scientists have found that antibiotics that are present in the environment at certain concentration levels can increase the population of resistant bacteria due to selective pressure. EPA does not monitor the disposal of most antibiotics intended for human use, but EPA and USGS have measured the presence of antibiotics in the environment, including water, soil, and sediment.97 According to EPA, antibiotics enter the environment through various pathways into water, soil, and sediment, such as wastewater discharged from treatment plants.98 The disposal of hazardous waste, such as chemicals that are harmful to human health when ingested, is regulated by EPA. Under RCRA, EPA has established a system by which hazardous waste is regulated from the time it is produced until it is disposed.99 Under this system, EPA receives information from hazardous waste generators through the Biennial 97 GAO has ongoing work on pharmaceuticals in drinking water. 98 Treatment plants include, for example, municipal treatment plants that treat domestic sewage as well as healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing facility treatment plants. 99 RCRA's implementing regulations define hazardous waste as including those wastes specifically listed by EPA as well as those wastes exhibiting any of several characteristics. Reporting System.100 EPA officials told us that antibiotics in general do not fall under RCRA's definition of hazardous waste; as a result, EPA does not generally receive information about the disposal of antibiotics. EPA officials further stated that the agency would receive limited information about antibiotics if they fell under RCRA's definition of hazardous waste. However, in part because it is the responsibility of the person disposing of a waste to determine whether or not it is hazardous, agency officials could not identify any specific antibiotics that fall under EPA's regulatory definition of hazardous waste and therefore concluded that it would be a rare occurrence for the agency to receive information on the disposal of antibiotics. Under SDWA, EPA is authorized to regulate contaminants in public drinking water systems. EPA generally requires public water systems to monitor certain contaminants for which there are national primary drinking water regulations—standards limiting the concentration of a contaminant or requiring certain treatment. EPA has not promulgated any drinking water regulation for an antibiotic. EPA is required to identify and publish a list every 5 years of unregulated contaminants that may require regulation, known as the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL). EPA generally uses this list to select contaminants for its periodic regulatory determinations, by which the agency decides whether to regulate a contaminant, but contaminants may remain on the CCL for many years before EPA makes such a decision.101 Erythromycin is the only antibiotic on the third CCL list (CCL 3)—the current CCL that was published in October 2009.102 According to EPA officials, the agency is in the process of evaluating CCL 3 contaminants, including erythromycin, and plans to determine whether or not regulation is required for at least five contaminants from the CCL 3 by 2013. EPA's determination to promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for a contaminant is made based on three criteria established under SDWA, including that the 100 A hazardous waste generator is any person whose processes and actions produce hazardous waste. 101 For many contaminants, EPA lacks sufficient information to allow EPA to make a regulatory determination. See GAO, Safe Drinking Water Act: EPA Should Improve Implementation of Requirements on Whether to Regulate Additional Contaminants, GAO-11-254 (Washington, D.C.: May 27, 2011). 102 74 Fed. Reg. 51,850, 51,852 (Oct. 8, 2009). contaminant may have an adverse effect on human health.103 To provide information such as that needed to determine whether to regulate the contaminant, EPA has the authority to require a subset of public water systems to monitor a limited number of unregulated contaminants, which the agency has implemented through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR). On March 3, 2011, EPA proposed the list of contaminants (primarily from the CCL 3) to be monitored under the third UCMR (UCMR 3). Erythromycin was not included on the proposed UCMR 3 list of contaminants, because according to EPA officials, further development of an analytical method that can be used for national monitoring of erythromycin is needed. EPA officials stated that the agency is in the initial stages of development of an analytical method for a number of pharmaceuticals, including erythromycin, and will evaluate the readiness of this analytical method for future UCMR efforts. EPA officials further stated that the agency will continue to evaluate unregulated contaminants, such as erythromycin, for future CCLs and will utilize any new data that become available.104 EPA and USGS have conducted several studies to measure the presence of antibiotics in the environment, which results partly from their disposal. According to EPA and USGS officials, there is no specific statutory mandate requiring the agencies to collect information about the presence of antibiotics in the environment. However, from 1999 through 2007, the agencies conducted five national studies measuring the presence and concentration of certain antibiotics in streams, groundwater, untreated drinking water, sewage sludge, and wastewater effluent as part of their efforts to study emerging contaminants.105 , 106 (See table 5.) These studies 103 The other two criteria are: "the contaminant is known to occur, or there is a substantial likelihood that the contaminant will occur, in public water systems with a frequency and at levels of public health concern" and "in the sole judgment of the Administrator, regulation of such a contaminant presents a meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public water systems." 42 U.S.C. §§ 300g-1(b)(1)(A),(b)(1)(B)(ii) (2011). 104 EPA expects to publish the next CCL by 2014. 105 In addition, USGS has completed a national study of streambed sediment in about 50 streams that are located in 17 states but the results have not been made available. USGS officials told us that the agency expects to issue a report in 2012. However, some of the data have been published and show, for example, that trimethoprim, an antibiotic, occurred in higher concentrations in streambed sediment, compared to the overlying stream water. See E.T. Furlong et al., "Distributions of Organic Wastewater Contaminants between Water and Sediment in Surface-Water Samples in the United States," Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Water (2003), pp. 60-62. were generally designed to determine whether certain contaminants, including antibiotics, were entering the environment and as a result, some study sites were selected based on being susceptible to contamination.107 For example, the study examining the presence of antibiotics, and other contaminants, in streams in 30 states was designed to determine whether these contaminants were entering the environment. Therefore, USGS purposely selected study sites susceptible to contamination by humans, industry, and agricultural wastewater. Table 5: Five National Studies that Measured the Presence of Antibiotics in the Environment, Conducted by EPA and USGS Source: GAO analysis and summary of EPA and USGS information. a Detected antibiotics include those used for treatment by both animals and humans. In all five studies antibiotics were found to be present. For example, erythromycin was detected in multiple samples tested in four studies and 106 The five national studies also measured the presence of the antiseptic active ingredient triclosan in the environment. (For more information on triclosan, see app. IV). 107 In comparison, EPA's targeted national sewage sludge study sample was designed to be representative of U.S. publicly owned treatment plants that treat more than one million gallons of wastewater per day. ciprofloxacin was detected in three studies.108 According to EPA and USGS officials, the antibiotic concentrations detected in streams, groundwater, and untreated drinking water are low relative to the maximum recommended therapeutic doses approved by FDA for most antibiotics. In contrast, antibiotics were found in relatively higher concentrations in sewage sludge. For example, the maximum concentration level of ciprofloxacin that was detected in streams or untreated drinking water sources was .03 micrograms per liter of water.109 In comparison, ciprofloxacin was detected in sewage sludge sampled from large publicly owned treatment plants at concentrations ranging from 74.5 to 47,000 micrograms per kilogram of sewage sludge.110 The maximum recommended therapeutic dose for ciprofloxacin is about 13,000 micrograms per kilogram of weight. According to USGS officials, waste from humans and domestic animals that receive antibiotics (i.e., therapeutic or subtherapeutic doses) are likely to contain antibiotics as a substantial portion of such antibiotic treatments are not fully absorbed through the body.111 EPA and USGS also have two ongoing studies that measure the presence of antibiotics in wastewater and drinking water. First, EPA is assessing the concentration of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants in municipal 108 Few antibiotics were detected in groundwater. For example, neither ciprofloxacin nor erythromycin was detected in groundwater. According to USGS officials, while antibiotics were generally less likely to be detected in groundwater compared to surface water systems, the USGS groundwater study's findings document that at least some antibiotics are able to enter groundwater. 109 Among the national studies of streams, groundwater, and untreated drinking water, the maximum antibiotic concentration level detected was 1.9 micrograms per liter of water— for sulfamethoxazole detected in streams. A concentration level of 1 microgram per liter of water is also referred to as 1 part per billion and a detection level of 1 milligram per liter of water is also referred to as 1 part per million. 110 Ciprofloxacin was not detected in the wastewater effluent study. Other antibiotics were detected in the treated effluent samples, including sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim; the maximum concentration level for sulfamethoxazole was .589 micrograms per liter of water and the maximum concentration level for trimethoprim was .353 micrograms per liter of water. 111 In addition to the wastewater effluent study, USGS has conducted other, generally smaller-scale studies that examined levels of antibiotics in various sources of human and animal waste. For example, in one study USGS found chlortetracycline concentrations ranging from 68 to 1000 micrograms per liter of swine waste lagoon samples. See Campagnolo et al., "Antimicrobial residues in animal waste and water resources proximal to large-scale swine and poultry feeding operations," The Science of the Total Environment, vol. 299 (2002), pp. 89-95. Studies Find Antibiotics Present in the Environment at Certain Concentration Levels Can Increase the Population of Resistant Bacteria Due to Selective Pressure wastewater because past studies have suggested that municipal wastewater is a likely source of human pharmaceuticals entering the environment. According to EPA officials, EPA is collecting samples from 50 of the largest municipal wastewater plants in the United States and testing their treated effluents for contaminants, including 12 antibiotics. 112 The study's findings are expected to be made available sometime in 2012 and may help EPA develop new standards for municipal wastewater treatment, according to EPA officials. Second, EPA and USGS are collaborating on a study to measure the presence of several antibiotics (e.g., erythromycin) and other contaminants in raw and finished drinking water to better determine human exposures to these contaminants through drinking water. 113 During 2011, researchers will take samples from between 20 and 25 drinking water treatment plants across the United States and according to EPA officials, the information will be used to inform EPA decision making about the focus of future monitoring efforts. EPA and USGS officials anticipate the study's findings to be made available sometime in 2012. Scientific evidence gathered in our literature review shows that, at certain concentration levels, antibiotics present in the environment—in water and soil—can increase the population of resistant bacteria, due to selective pressure. Of the 15 studies we identified that examined this association, 5 examined water-related environments and 10 examined soil-related environments. Among these 15 studies, 11 provided evidence to support the association. Support for this association means that antibiotics present in these environments increased the population of resistant bacteria 112 EPA officials stated that they selected wastewater treatment plants that primarily receive wastewater from municipal sources and that discharge effluent to surface water. 113 EPA officials stated that while this study will provide the agency with information that will be useful in terms of the occurrence frequency and concentration of erythromycin, additional method development work will be required to produce a method that can be used for regulatory purposes. through selective pressure because bacteria containing resistance genes survived and multiplied.114 Results for the five studies examining water-related environments generally support an association between the presence of antibiotics and an increase in the population of resistant bacteria caused by selective pressure, although only one tested concentration levels of antibiotics as low as those that have been detected in national studies of U.S. streams, groundwater, and source drinking water. The results of this study were inconclusive as to whether low antibiotic concentration levels, such as levels measured at or below 1.7 micrograms per liter of water, led to an increase in the population of resistant bacteria.115 Among the four other studies that supported an association between the presence of antibiotics and an increase in the population of resistant bacteria, the lowest concentration level associated with an increase was 20 micrograms of oxytetracycline per liter of water—over 50 times higher than maximum antibiotic concentration levels detected in stream water across the United States.116 Another of these four studies found that chlortetracycline was associated with an increase in the population of resistant bacteria, but only at concentration levels over 1000 times higher than those that have been detected in streams across the United States.117 According to USGS officials, scientists generally agree that the population of resistant bacteria would increase in water if the concentration levels of antibiotics that are present were to reach the minimum level that is known to induce 114 Horizontal gene transfer—the process in which bacteria exchange genes that are coded for resistance—can also lead to an increase in the population of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment because bacteria that were previously nonresistant become resistant. Studies have shown that concentrated animal feeding operations and wastewater treatment plants have high densities of antibiotics, as well as antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and that both characteristics facilitate gene transfer. For example, one study found that when swine waste was applied to fertilize soil, resistant bacteria found in the waste transferred their resistance genes to other bacteria in the soil. See H. Heuer et al., "Spreading antibiotic resistance through spread manure: characteristics of a novel plasmid type with low %G+C content," Environmental Microbiology (2009), vol. 11, pp. 937-949. 115 See S. Castiglioni, et al., "Novel homologs of the multiple resistance regulator marA in antibiotic-contaminated environments," Water Research, vol. 42 (2008), pp. 4271-4280. 116 See C.W. Knapp et al., "Indirect Evidence of Transposon-Mediated Selection of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Aquatic Systems at Low-Level Oxytetracycline Exposures," Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 42 (2008), pp. 5348-5353. 117 See J. Munoz-Aguayo et al., "Evaluating the Effects of Chlortetracycline on the Proliferation of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in a Simulated River Water Ecosystem," Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 73 (2007), pp. 5421-5425. antibiotic resistance in a clinical setting.118 , 119 USGS officials further stated that higher concentrations of antibiotics have been found, for example, in waters near to pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in countries outside of the United States.120 Results for the 10 studies examining antibiotic resistance in soil-related environments, such as soil and sediment, were more mixed, and we cannot draw comparisons between concentration levels tested in these studies and those that have been found in such environments across the United States. Seven of the 10 studies found evidence to support an association between the presence of antibiotics and an increase in the population of resistant bacteria due to selective pressure, and the association existed at all concentration levels studied. No association existed among the antibiotic concentration levels in the other 3 studies. Because national data about the presence and concentration levels of antibiotics in soil and sediment are not available, we cannot draw comparisons between concentration levels tested in these studies and those commonly found in such environments across the United States. As with water-related environments, USGS officials stated that scientists generally agree that the population of resistant bacteria would increase in soil if the concentration levels of antibiotics that are present were to reach the minimum level that is known to induce antibiotic resistance in clinical 118 The antibiotic concentration level that is known to increase the population of resistant bacteria because of selective pressure is referred to as a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) level. MIC levels are determined for specific types of bacteria and antibiotics and a MIC level reflects the lowest concentration of an antibiotic that prevents visible growth of a bacterium in two types of laboratory tests. MIC levels are used to predict the success or failure of an antibiotic treatment in a clinical setting, and thus, guide healthcare providers' choice of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. According to a USGS official, the low concentration levels of antibiotics in the environment that have been detected in national studies are generally characterized as such because they are below MIC levels. 119 USGS officials further stated that there is evidence that antibiotic concentration levels lower than MIC levels can affect, among other things, bacterial growth in the environment. See J.C. Underwood et al., "Effects of the Antimicrobial Sulfamethoxazole on Groundwater Bacterial Enrichment," Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 45 (2011), pp. 30963101. 120 For example, see J. Fick et al., "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: Contamination of Surface, Ground, and Drinking Water from Pharmaceutical Production," Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, vol. 28 (2009), pp. 2522-2527. This study showed high concentrations of certain antibiotics in rivers and lakes near a wastewater treatment plant in India that receives wastewater from approximately 90 drug manufacturers. USGS officials told us that they are currently designing a national study of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities that will examine antibiotic concentration levels in areas proximal to such facilities. Conclusions settings. USGS officials further stated that antibiotic concentration levels in soils where human and animal waste have been applied as fertilizer are likely to be directly related to the antibiotic concentration levels in these sources.121 Antibiotics have been widely prescribed to treat bacterial infections in humans and their use contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance, which is an increasing public health problem in the United States and worldwide. Monitoring the use of antibiotics in humans and preventing their inappropriate use, such as prescribing an antibiotic to treat a viral infection, is critically important because the use of antibiotics for any reason contributes to the development and spread of antibiotic resistance. Establishing patterns of antibiotic use is necessary for understanding current—and predicting future—patterns of antibiotic resistance. Monitoring overall antibiotic use in humans, including in inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings, is also needed to evaluate the contribution of such use—relative to other causes, such as animal use—to the overall problem of antibiotic resistance. Such information could help policymakers set priorities for actions to control the spread of antibiotic resistance. CDC is collecting data on antibiotic use and the occurrence of resistance, but the agency's data sources have limited ability to provide accurate national estimates and do not allow it to assess associations between use and resistance. CDC does not monitor the use of antibiotics in inpatient settings—where antibiotic use is often intensive and prolonged and thus, the risk of antibiotic resistance is greater—although the agency believes such information would help it target and evaluate its own prevention efforts to reduce the occurrence of resistance. Although the agency collects annual data in the United States about the use of antibiotics in outpatient settings, the data do not allow CDC to assess geographic patterns of use in those settings. Similarly, CDC's monitoring of antibioticresistant infections does not allow the agency to assess the overall problem of antibiotic resistance because of gaps in the data it collects. Without more comprehensive information about the occurrence of cases 121 For example, one study, not conducted by USGS, has documented that triclocarban, an antiseptic active ingredient, persists and bioaccumulates in soils amended with treated sewage sludge. See C.P. Higgins et al., "Persistence of Triclocarban and Triclosan in Soils after Land Application of Biosolids and Bioaccumulation in Eisenia Foetida," Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, vol. 30 (2010), pp. 556-563. Recommendations Agency Comments of antibiotic-resistant infections and the use of antibiotics, the agency's ability to understand the overall scope of the public health problem, detect emerging trends, and plan and implement prevention activities is impeded. Further, the lack of comprehensive information about antibiotic-resistant infections and antibiotic use, and the most effective ways to reduce inappropriate prescribing, impedes CDC's ability to strategically target its resources directed at reducing the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant infections. CDC is attempting to address the gaps in its data on antibiotic use in humans and on antibiotic-resistant infections by obtaining additional data, but it is not clear whether the steps it is taking will result in more comprehensive information from which the agency could assess the public health impact of antibiotic resistance. Further, it is not clear whether these steps will provide CDC with the information it needs to identify what actions are needed to reduce the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant infections. To better prevent and control the spread of antibiotic resistance, we recommend that the Director of CDC take the following two actions: * Develop and implement a strategy to improve CDC's monitoring of antibiotic use in humans, for example, by identifying available sources of antibiotic use information; and * develop and implement a strategy to improve CDC's monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections in inpatient healthcare facilities to more accurately estimate the national occurrence of such infections. We provided a draft of this report for review to HHS, EPA, and DOI. HHS provided written comments, which are reproduced in appendix V. HHS, EPA, and DOI provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. In its written comments, HHS generally agreed with the actions we recommend it take to improve its monitoring of antibiotic use and resistance. HHS says that steps are being taken to address existing gaps in CDC's monitoring of antibiotic use and the occurrence of antibioticresistant infections, and HHS noted that such monitoring is critically important in preventing the development and spread of antibiotic resistance. HHS highlighted examples of the steps CDC is taking, or plans to undertake, to address gaps in CDC's monitoring of antibiotic use and antibiotic-resistant infections, such as a planned survey of acute care hospitals in the United States. HHS noted that other planned activities to improve the monitoring of antibiotic use and antibiotic-resistant infections are described in the revised draft Action Plan, developed by the Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance. HHS stated that CDC believes that the successful, timely accomplishment of its planned and ongoing activities to improve monitoring will result in information that is sufficiently comprehensive for a full and complete assessment of the public health impact of antibiotic resistance, and that this assessment will provide federal agencies with appropriate information to identify necessary actions to reduce the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant infections. HHS stated that it would provide updates on its progress toward the accomplishment of its steps to improve monitoring in the 2010 annual progress report on the Action Plan, scheduled for public release this summer. HHS also commented that it has initiated the process of developing a strategic plan for preventing the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections, and a primary component of this strategic plan is the monitoring of antibiotic use and resistance. We support this effort and encourage HHS, as it develops its strategic plan, to continue to examine approaches for improving its monitoring of antibiotic use and antibiotic-resistant infections that will help provide the agency with information that is needed to more accurately estimate the national occurrence of antibiotic-resistant infections. As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to the Secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Interior, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and other interested parties. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov. If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-7114 or email@example.com. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this report are listed in appendix VI. Marcia Crosse Director, Health Care Appendix I: Methodology for Reviewing Scientific Evidence on Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment Appendix I: Methodology for Reviewing Scientific Evidence on Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment To describe the scientific evidence on the development of antibioticresistant bacteria in the environment, we conducted a literature review. We identified literature made available since 2007 that reported scientific findings on antibiotic concentrations that induce bacteria located in the environment to become resistant as well as the ability of bacteria to spread resistance. We conducted a key word search of 39 databases, such as Elsevier Biobase and MEDLINE that included peer-reviewed journals and other periodicals to capture articles published on or between January 1, 2007, and July 8, 2010. We searched these databases for articles with key words in their title or abstract related to both antibiotic resistance and the environment, such as combinations and variations of the words "resistance," "antibiotic," and "environment," and descriptive words for different environmental settings, such as "water," "sediment," "soil," and "sewage."1 From these sources, we identified 241 articles, publications, and reports (which we call articles) published from January 1, 2007, through July 8, 2010. Of these 241 articles, we then excluded articles that (1) were not published in English, (2) were available only in an abstract form or in books or book chapters, (3) were not peerreviewed, (4) contained only a review of past literature, or (5) were unrelated to antibiotic resistance found in the environment such as articles that focused on the effects of antibiotic resistance found mainly in clinical settings.2 In total, we included 105 articles in our literature review. We supplemented the scientific findings analyzed in our literature review with contextual and background information gathered from articles that were identified as a result of our interviews with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Geological Survey. 1 A complete list of search terms was variations on the phrases "antibiotic resistance" or "antimicrobial resistance" found in combination with any of the following terms: "environment," "ground water," "surface water," "drinking water," "waste water," "effluent," "hospital effluent," "municipal sewage," "animal feeding operation," "ecotoxicity," "pharmaceutical plant," "sediment," and "soil." 2 For the purposes of our literature review, we defined the environment as water, soil, and sediment, as well as certain wastewater treatment-related settings and certain agriculturalrelated settings that serve as pathways into water, soil, and sediment. Appendix II: Bacteria and the Development of Antibiotic Resistance Appendix II: Bacteria and the Development of Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria are single-celled organisms that live in water, soil, and in the bodies of humans, animals, and plants. Bacteria compete with each other for resources, such as nutrients, oxygen, and space, and those that do not compete successfully will not survive. Most bacteria that are present in humans, such as those found on the skin and in the intestines, are harmless because of the protective effects of the human immune system, and a few bacteria are beneficial. However, some bacteria are capable of causing disease. For example, Escherichia coli O157—which can be found in the feces of animals, such as cattle, and can transfer to people through contaminated undercooked meat—produce a toxin that causes severe stomach and bowel disorders, and death in some cases.1 In addition, the same bacteria that may cause disease in one individual may not cause disease in another.2 For example, Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterium that is often found in the noses and throats of healthy persons without causing disease, but it can also cause mild illness, such as sinus infections, as well as life-threatening infections such as meningitis. Furthermore, when the immune system is weakened, infection may be caused by certain bacteria that would not generally result in an infection in a healthy human. Like other living things, as bacteria grow and multiply, they also evolve and adapt to changes in their surroundings. Bacteria adapt to their surroundings through selective pressure, which is created by, among other things, the presence of antibiotics.3 Selective pressure means that when an antibiotic is introduced into a bacterial environment, some bacteria will be killed by the antibiotic while other bacteria will survive.4 Bacteria are able to survive because they have certain genetic material that is coded for resistance—allowing them to avoid the effects of the antibiotic. The surviving bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics will multiply and quickly 1 Escherichia coli O157 can also spread through human feces. In addition to consuming contaminated meat, exposure to Escherichia coli O157 can occur by consuming other contaminated foods (e.g., milk and lettuce) or by having direct contact with infected carriers. 2 Bacteria that cause disease are referred to as pathogenic bacteria. In order to cause disease, pathogens must be able to enter the body, which can occur, for example, through the mouth, eyes, or wounds that tear the skin. 3 Some bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics naturally, long before the development of commercial antibiotics. 4 Any use of antibiotics—appropriate and inappropriate—creates selective pressure among bacteria. Appendix II: Bacteria and the Development of Antibiotic Resistance become the dominant bacterial type. Bacteria that are susceptible to the effects of antibiotics may become resistant to such antibiotics after acquiring resistant genetic material from bacteria that are resistant through horizontal gene transfer. Horizontal gene transfer is the movement of genetic material between bacteria, and can occur within a species of bacteria and can sometimes occur between certain species of bacteria. 5 Close proximity between bacteria, which allows certain genetic material to be shared, can facilitate gene transfer. The movement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria around the world is accelerated because of international travel and global trade. Individuals can contract bacterial strains—that is, distinct types of bacteria—that are resistant to antibiotics abroad during travel, whether as active infections or as unaffected carriers, and then spread such strains to others at home.6 The bacterial strains in different parts of the world may also contain different resistance genes than bacterial strains found domestically. For example, in 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that three bacterial strains included a resistance gene identified for the first time in the United States. The emergence of the resistance gene was traced to patients who had received recent medical care in India.7 Further, international trade of food and livestock may accelerate the movement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria because food and livestock also carry resistant bacterial strains that can be contracted by humans through consumption. To determine whether bacteria are resistant, tests are performed that measure the susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to particular antibiotics. The test results can predict the success or failure of an antibiotic treatment, and thus, guide healthcare providers' choice of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. The test results include a numeric value, which is then interpreted according to established ranges.8 For example, a value may be categorized as 'resistant,' meaning that the pathogenic bacterium is 5 A species is a group of organisms—including bacteria—with common traits, such as similar genetic characteristics. 6 As an example, Escherichia coli O157 is a strain of the Escherichia coli species. 7 The resistance gene was found in cases of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae infections. The presence of this particular gene resulted in resistance to certain antibiotics including the carbapenems subclass; for certain bacterial infections, carbapenems are considered antibiotics of last resort. 8 The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, a nonfederal entity, establishes ranges for the interpretation of test results for antibiotic resistance. Appendix II: Bacteria and the Development of Antibiotic Resistance not inhibited by the concentration of the antibiotic that usually results in growth inhibition.9 9 Test values may also fall into ranges for the ‘susceptible’ and ‘intermediate’ categories. Appendix III: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Surveillance Systems for Monitoring Antibiotic Resistance Appendix III: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Surveillance Systems for Monitoring Antibiotic Resistance Appendix III: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Surveillance Systems for Monitoring Antibiotic Resistance Source: GAO analysis and summary of CDC information. a Since 2009, CDC has monitored Clostridium difficile infections in healthcare and community settings through EIP (as part of its Healthcare Associated Infections Surveillance). CDC officials stated that these data complement the Clostridium difficile data that are captured through the National Healthcare Safety Network and will, among other things, inform vaccine development. b Haemophilus influenzae are monitored for antibiotic resistance periodically. c According to CDC officials, NARMS: EB collects data on Enterococci from 2 states and has a pilot study to monitor Escherichia coli in 1 state. Appendix IV: Topical Antiseptics and Antibiotic Resistance Appendix IV: Topical Antiseptics and Antibiotic Resistance Topical antiseptics are products that are used to reduce the risk of infection by killing or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria, on the skin. Topical antiseptic products are diverse, and include those targeted for healthcare settings, such as surgical hand scrubs and patient preoperative skin preparations; products targeted to consumers for general body cleansing include antibacterial soaps; and products specifically intended for use by food handlers. Topical antiseptics contain a variety of active ingredients; for example, triclosan and triclocarban are commonly used in antibacterial liquid and bar soaps, while alcohol is used in leave-on handwashes.1 Because antiseptics are intended for use in or on humans or animals,2 they are considered drugs and are approved and regulated as nonprescription drugs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.3 There are concerns by public officials, and others, about the possibility that the use of, or exposure to, topical antiseptics causes antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This process is called cross-resistance.4 FDA has conducted a review of the scientific literature regarding the relationship between exposure to active ingredients in topical antiseptics—including triclosan or triclocarban—and cross-resistance. According to the available scientific evidence that FDA has reviewed, bacteria are able to develop resistance to both antiseptics and antibiotics in the laboratory setting, but the relationship outside of the laboratory setting is not clear. For example, a laboratory study has shown that when certain strains of the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) are exposed to triclosan, the E. coli not only acquire a high level of resistance to triclosan, 1 Other active ingredients include iodine and chloroxylenol. 2 In contrast, disinfectants are used on inanimate surfaces or objects to destroy or inactivate infectious microorganisms. Consequently, disinfectants, even if they contain the same active ingredient as an antiseptic, are regulated as chemicals by the Environmental Protection Agency. 3 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, codified as amended at 21 U.S.C. § 301 & scattered sections (2011). To be considered a drug, a product must be intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or animals, or it must be intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or other animals. Most antiseptic products are currently being marketed under the Tentative Final Monograph for over-the-counter Healthcare Antiseptic Drug Products, published in 1994. See 59 Fed. Reg. 31,402 (June 17, 1994). 4 Since bacteria use similar mechanisms to resist the effects of antiseptics and antibiotics, scientists believe that it may be possible that exposure and development of resistance to antiseptics could also result in resistance to antibiotics. Appendix IV: Topical Antiseptics and Antibiotic Resistance but also demonstrate cross-resistance to various antibiotics, such as erythromycin and tetracycline. 5 However, a study that examined household use of certain antiseptic products did not show an association between their use and the development of antibiotic resistance. 6 According to FDA, the possibility that bacteria can develop crossresistance to antibiotics from exposure to antiseptics warrants further evaluation. FDA will seek additional data regarding the safety of topical antiseptic products, for example, on the effects of antiseptics on crossresistance, when it issues a proposed rule to amend the current monograph for antiseptic drug products. FDA officials told us that they expect the proposed rule to be published for public comment sometime in 2011. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted five national studies between 1999 and 2007 that measured for the presence of the antiseptic active ingredients triclosan and triclocarban in the environment.7 These studies tested for the presence and concentration of the antiseptic active ingredients along with other contaminants including antibiotics, in streams, groundwater, untreated drinking water, sewage sludge, and wastewater effluent.8 (See table 6.) Each of the studies measured for the presence of triclosan, and the study involving sewage sludge also tested for triclocarban.9 Triclosan was found to be present in 94 percent of 5 M. Braoudaki and A.C. Hilton, "Adaptive Resistance to Biocides in Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli O157 and Cross-Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents," Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Vol. 42 (2004), pp. 73-78. 6 E.C. Cole, et al., "Investigation of antibiotic and antibacterial agent cross-resistance in target bacteria from homes of antibacterial product users and nonusers," Journal of Applied Microbiology, Vol. 95 (2003), pp. 664-676. 7 Officials from FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told us that they do not collect information about the amounts of antiseptics produced or used in the United States. According to FDA officials, however, FDA collects annual drug distribution data for chlorhexidine gluconate products, which are used as topical antiseptics, but are not covered under FDA's monograph for antiseptic drug products. 8 In addition, USGS has completed a national study of streambed sediment in about 50 streams that are located in 17 states but the results have not been made available. USGS officials told us that the agency expects to issue a report in 2012. According to USGS officials, the national study of streambed sediment also tested for the presence of triclosan. 9 As part of an ongoing study, EPA and USGS are measuring for the presence of triclosan and triclocarban in treated drinking water. According to EPA officials, findings are expected to be made available sometime in 2012. Appendix IV: Topical Antiseptics and Antibiotic Resistance sewage sludge samples, 100 percent of wastewater effluent samples, and 57.6 percent of stream samples tested from sites across the United States. It was also detected in 14.9 percent of groundwater samples and 8.1 percent of untreated drinking water samples.10 Triclocarban was found to be present in all sewage sludge samples taken from wastewater treatment plants located across the United States.11 Table 7: Five National Studies that Measured the Presence of Antiseptic Active Ingredients in the Environment, Conducted by EPA and USGS Source: GAO analysis and summary of EPA and USGS information. 10 According to USGS officials, the laboratory method used for measuring triclosan in the agency's stream study was different than the method used in subsequent USGS studies. USGS officials further stated that this change in methodology resulted in higher triclosan detection frequencies in the stream study, compared to subsequent USGS studies. 11 Triclosan has been detected in other USGS studies involving human waste sources. For example, see C.A. Kinney et al., "Survey of Organic Wastewater Contaminants in Biosolids Destined for Land Application," Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 40 (2006), pp. 7207-7215. Appendix V: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services Appendix V: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments Please Print on Recycled Paper
Benefits Business Alignment * Support for demanding voice/video/ data applications to enhance mobile worker productivity and convenience * Role-based grouping of users, devices, and applications to deliver priority, QoS, and security in accordance with business needs * Integrated management, security, and QoS features reduce operating cost and ensure a consistent user experience regardless of location * Key element of mobility solutions that enable VoWLAN and dualmode devices Operational Efficiency * Centralized visibility and control to simplify management, accelerate problem resolution, optimize network utilization, and automate response to wireless threats * Integrated wired and wireless management, and role-based access control greatly reduce administration time and effort * Adaptive architecture reduces complexity and optimizes information flow for each application ExtremeWireless ™ Appliances High-performance, enterprise-class WLAN appliances * Scalable to over 2,000 access points per wireless appliance with unified management of ExtremeWireless Access Points * Seamless roaming with centralized and distributed data forwarding * Virtualized management and control planes for cloud deployments * High-availability architecture for real-time voice/video/ data applications * Flexible platform automatically adapts to underlying virtual resources Product Overview The award-winning ExtremeWireless Appliance family provides a scalable range of solutions that are ideal for managed WLAN deployments supporting demanding voice/video/data applications. Our wireless appliances are simple to deploy and manage, yet provide advanced functionality to allow organizations to define how wireless voice/video/data traffic is processed without architectural constraints and in accordance with the business needs. The ExtremeWireless Appliance portfolio includes: * The C35 supporting up to 250 APs * The V2110 supporting up to 1,050 APs (VMware) * The C5210 and C5215 supporting up to 2,000 APs The V2110 is available as a virtual appliance for easy deployment in VMware or Microsoft Hyper-V cloud environments. Scalable up to 1,050 APs with VMware, the V2110 extends all the cost savings, hardware independence, and resiliency benefits of data center virtualization to the wireless infrastructure. Security * Authentication and authorization functions include role-based access control using 802.1X, MAC authentication, and captive portal * Standards-based encryption (WEP, TKIP, WPA, WPA2, WPA- PSK, WPA2PSK, and AES) * External captive portal allows full customization for guest access * Integrated wired and wireless intrusion prevention * Denial of Service (DoS) protection for management, control, and data traffic Support and Services * Industry-leading customer satisfaction and first-call resolution rates * Personalized services, including site surveys, network design, installation, and training ExtremeWireless appliances enable role-based management for users, devices, and applications with individualized services including quality of service (QoS), call admission control, secure access policies, network access control (NAC), captive portals, rate limiting, multicast, filtering, and traffic forwarding. These services are enabled by the unique and flexible ExtremeWireless Virtual Network Service (VNS) architecture and easily provisioned and managed by an intuitive web interface. Each appliance supports mixed mode deployments of 802.11ac, 802.11n and 802.11a/b/g APs along with the ability to seamlessly roam between wireless appliances and access points, providing scalability and ease of deployment. For large deployments, ExtremeWireless further simplifies the management of thousands of APs by creating mobility zones that extend roaming across multiple subnets and wireless appliances. Mobility zones maintain the VNS definitions and the individual policies throughout the entire mobility zone, ensuring that policies follow the user regardless of physical location for up to 12,000 AP deployments. ExtremeWireless provides an easy, low-cost way to deploy 802.11ac/abgn solutions, delivering cost-effective pricing, wired/ wireless integration, and low TCO while openly supporting a broad range of mobile voice, video, and location-based applications to drive enterprise productivity and reduce the overall cost of mobility. With the ability to deliver both centralized and distributed traffic forwarding by application, ExtremeWireless Appliances enable a flexible, cost-effective path to deploying 802.11ac/abgn for the enterprise. Backed by industry-leading global support and services, ExtremeWireless solutions enable customers to leverage existing investments and avoid forklift upgrades. Virtual Network Service (VNS) – An Adaptive WLAN Architecture Most WLAN solutions force network administrators to choose between a centralized or distributed architecture. A significant advantage of ExtremeWireless Appliances is that they can support both deployment models simultaneously, offering significant flexibility benefits over other solutions. Network administrators can select how traffic will be handled on a per-SSID basis, without any restrictions, so that the wireless LAN infrastructure can adapt to business requirements and applications. A centralized architecture requires all traffic to be backhauled to a centralized appliance. With the higher data rates of 802.11ac and 802.11n APs, traffic loads on the wired network can be much greater than those created by legacy 802.11a/b/g APs. Depending on the size of the WLAN deployment and how much data is forwarded to the centralized appliance, significant congestion may result. A fully distributed deployment eliminates backhauling traffic to a wireless appliance but increases the processing complexity for real-time mobile applications that require seamless cross-subnet roaming (e.g. VoWLAN). This can force IT managers to either create a large broadcast domain or apply many VLANs. ExtremeWireless Virtual Network Services control traffic flow by allowing traffic to be backhauled to a wireless appliance or switched locally at the AP on a per SSID basis. With local switching, the AP is still managed centrally by the wireless appliance, but data is not backhauled to the wireless appliance. This improves responsiveness and ensures that traffic does not unnecessarily traverse costly WANs or contribute to bottlenecks at aggregating switches. A VNS also provides role-based policies providing security, NAC, mobility, and QoS priority that can be implemented on a per user and per application basis. The table below highlights this capability: \| SSId \| User Type \| Security Role \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| Single \| Multiple \| Multiple \| \| Single \| Multiple \| Single \| \| Single \| Multiple \| Multiple \| \| Multiple \| Multiple \| Multiple \| \| Multiple \| Multiple \| Single \| Integrated Management and Control Across Wireless and Wired Networks Web-based Centralized Management via Wireless Assistant The Wireless Assistant provides network administrators with a centralized web-based interface designed to easily manage both infrastructure and services. Hosted on the wireless appliance, this interface allows network administrators to separately configure, enable, or disable each AP or group of APs. The wireless appliance consolidates data received from across the network to provide meaningful statistics in easy-to-read reports. Additionally, a number of standards-based management tools are available to facilitate integration of the WLAN infrastructure with enterprise management applications. For large networks with multiple wireless appliances the optional ExtremeControl Management Suite can be used to collect and manage data for a centralized view of the entire WLAN. Multi-Appliance Management ExtremeControl provides centralized management for the ExtremeWireless portfolio, consolidating management information from across the entire WLAN for a global network perspective. The solution is enhanced by the addition of ExtremeWireless Radar Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) option which provides sophisticated wireless intrusion prevention and location assessment capabilities. Wired and wireless network integration is further enhanced by the visibility of all the wireless elements through the ExtremeControl Management Suite. Integration between ExtremeControl and the ExtremeWireless portfolio provides end-to-end visibility of wireless access points, appliances, and wireless clients from the ExtremeControl Center Console. The integration delivers improved network management efficiency and wired/wireless infrastructure topology mapping and visibility for network administrators.Further integration with ExtremeControl Center Inventory Manager effectively centralizes distribution of software and tracking of configuration changes. Integrated Security Wireless IDS and IPS enhances security with embedded wireless intrusion prevention through ExtremeWireless Radar. When deployed in conjunction with the ExtremeSecurity Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), full packet inspection, adaptive signature pattern matching, protocol analysis, and behavioral anomaly detection are delivered for both wired and wireless users. Further, ExtremeControl's identity based policy privileges are unified across the wired and wireless infrastructure to deliver role-based access control – regardless of connectivity method. The ExtremeControl policies ensure only the right users have access to the right information, from the right place, at the right time. Third party authentication systems can also be integrated with the use of the External Captive Portal interface. High Performance and High Availability ExtremeWireless delivers the perfect combination of high- performance and high-availability demanded by today's wireless applications. By combining unique voice optimization features and the latest in industry standards, ExtremeWireless provides enterprise grade reliability for all users. High Scalability The ExtremeWireless portfolio supports from a single AP to 2,000 APs per wireless appliance, providing linear scalability from small to large wireless deployments. In addition, wireless appliances can be networked to scale beyond the limits of a single appliance or availability pair to offer a multi-wireless appliance mobility zone. Mobility zones enable seamless roaming across a large number of wireless appliances while still delivering real-time sessionavailability services without requiring the purchase of additional AP licenses for redundancy. ExtremeWireless provides true end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) with each appliance and AP supporting native IP prioritization (DiffServ, TOS, Precedence), Ethernet 802.1p, as well as 802.11e's WMM and TSPEC wireless QoS standards.ExtremeWireless devices support distinct queues on all interfaces, whether wired or wireless. When voice and data traffic are running on the same AP, voice traffic can be prioritized to ensure minimal delay and jitter for optimal voice quality. The wireless appliances are able to translate WMM prioritized traffic to existing QoS prioritization schemes on the wired network (TOS, DSCP, etc.). Fast and Secure Roaming for Seamless Voice and Data Mobility ExtremeWireless Appliances manage sessions centrally to ensure fast, secure, and seamless roaming as users and devices move across the campus. Seamless roaming greatly improves productivity by providing true mobility across the enterprise, all transparent to the user. The Wireless Appliances use industry standards to deliver fast and secure roaming. 802.11i pre-authentication (Pre-Auth), 802.11r and 802.11k ensure that the user is authenticated to adjacent APs before entering their coverage range, preserving voice calls as users move throughout the enterprise. Opportunistic Key Caching (OKC) is also a supported mechanism which greatly improves device roaming times for legacy devices. High Availability and Self-Healing Redundant ExtremeWireless Appliances can be deployed across the network and operate in failover or load sharing mode. Access points can be configured for fast-failover mode to allow configuration and service restoration (in tunnel mode) in less than two seconds, thus enabling user sessions to continue uninterrupted. When switching traffic locally, APs continue to provide service even when the link to the wireless appliance is severed and can be configured to resume service should a power outage force them to restart. ExtremeWireless APs also feature Dynamic Radio Management, which enables the network to automatically adapt to changes in the RF environment or failure of any individual APs, ensuring availability and performance to users. Each wireless AP continuously monitors channel use, signal to noise ratio (SNR) for interference, and the receive power of neighboring APs (ExtremeWireless or third party) to adjust their channel and transmit power. ExtremeWireless Appliances ExtremeWireless Appliances \| Supported Features \| V2110(VMware) \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Capacity \| Small \| Medium \| Large \| \| Total APs supported per appliance \| 100 \| 500 \| 1,050 \| \| Total APs supported in standard mode \| 50 \| 250 \| 525 \| \| Additional APs supported in high-availability mode \| 50 \| 250 \| 525 \| \| Total simultaneous users per appliance \| 2,048 \| 8,192 \| 16,384 \| \| Total simultaneous users in standard mode \| 1,024 \| 4,096 \| 8,192 \| \| Additional simultaneous users in high-availability mode \| 1,024 \| 4,096 \| 8,912 \| ExtremeWireless Appliances (cont.) \| Supported Features \| V2110(VMware) \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Hardware Requirements \| Small \| Medium \| Large \| \| CPU \| 2 \| 4 \| 8 \| \| RAM (GB) \| 1 \| 2 \| 4 \| \| Hard Disk (GB) \| 25 \| 25 \| 25 \| \| Interfaces \| \| \| \| \| Manageability \| \| \| \| \| Pre-standard (CAPWAP) \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Integrated VLAN-VNS \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Auto-discovery of new APs \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| CDR/RADIUS accounting \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Visibility through Extreme Control Center \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Integration with Extreme Identity and Access Control \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Performance and Availability \| \| \| \| \| High availability with automatic failover to a backup controller (license included) \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Client mobility with fast failover and session availability \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Dynamic Radio Management (DRM), Flexible Client Access (airtime fairness), Load Balancing & Band-steering \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Support for hybrid traffic forwarding: local switching at AP or controller-based switching (based upon user, application or segment) \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Maximum Throughput (Mixed RFC2544)* Open/Encrypted \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| 2x1 Gbps Host \| 1,870/1,800 \| 1,870/1,800 \| 1,870/1,800 \| \| 2x10 Gbps Host \| 5,000/1,870 \| 10,800/5,000 \| 10,800/5,000 \| \| Dual, hot swappable power supplies \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Advanced filtering and integration with Extreme Control Console Policy Manager \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Application-layer visibility (7,000 + fingerprints) through ExtremeAnalytics \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Management Frame Protection (802.11w) \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Automatic discovery of networks by pre-authenticated devices (802.11u) \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Voice \| \| \| \| \| Voice-over-WLAN Optimization: 802.11e/WMM, U-APSD, TSPEC, CAC, QBSS \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Fast roaming with 802.11r \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Wired-Wireless (DSCP/TOS-to-WMM) QoS Mapping \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Roaming between IP subnets \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Roaming between multiple appliance \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Hardware Requirements \| \| \| \| \| SNMPv2c/v3 \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Routing – OSPF v2 \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| 802.11-802.3 bridging \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| IEEE 802.1D-compliant bridging \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging and trunking \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Proxy ARP \| ✓ \| ✓ \| ✓ \| \| Link Aggregation (Static LAGs) \| N/A \| N/A \| ✓ \| *Performance depends on network interface characteristics of underlying host and on utilization on shared interfaces by other virtual appliances. Supports VMware ESXi 5.5 and 6.0 (requires V10.01 or higher). Hyper-V (Windows Server 2012 R2). Elastic capacities for V2110(VMware)requires V9.21 or higher. ExtremeWireless Appliances (cont.) ExtremeWireless Appliances (cont.) Ordering Information Ordering Information (cont.) Warranty Service and Support As a customer-centric company, Extreme Networks is committed to providing quality products and solutions. In the event that one of our products fails due to a defect, we have developed a comprehensive warranty that protects you and provides a simple way to get your products repaired or media replaced as soon as possible. Select Extreme Networks Wireless Appliance come with a lifetime warranty. Extreme Networks provides comprehensive service offerings that range from Professional Services to design, deploy and optimize customer networks, customized technical training, to service and support tailored to individual customer needs. Please contact your Extreme Networks account executive for more information about Extreme Networks Service and Support. www.extremenetworks.com/support For full warranty terms and conditions please go to: www.extremenetworks.com/support/policies/warranty Power Cords In support of the Extreme Networks Green initiatives, power cords can be ordered separately but need to be specified at the time order. Please refer to www.extremenetworks.com/product/powercords/ for details on power cord availability for this product. http://www.extremenetworks.com/contact
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY Macallan College is the trading name of Macallan College Pty Ltd RTO No: 41030 \| ABN: 36 165 356 141 \| CRICOS No: 03468F Reference: Academic Integrity Policy Version: V1.2 Date: June 2021 Status: Published Copyright Copyright © 2021 Macallan College/ All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The information contained within this document is the property of Macallan College, which is confidential and protected by international copyright laws and any unauthorized use of this document or its contents may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced or translated in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted electronically or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Macallan College. Macallan College Website: www.macallan.edu.au Macallan College Campuses: * Adelaide Campus: Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA * Brisbane Campus : 151 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD * Perth Campus: Level 3, 440 William Street, Perth, 6000 WA * Sydney Campus: Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW DOCUMENT CONTROL Version History \| Version \| Date \| \|---\|---\| \| V1.0 \| October 2019 \| \| V1.1 \| November 2020 \| \| V1.2 \| June 2021 \| Review Process: This policy shall be reviewed annually in compliance with education industry standards including the ESOS Framework including the ESOS Act 2000, the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 and the ELICOS Standards 2018. Next Review Due: June 2022 Macallan College is a trading name of Macallan College Pty Ltd RTO No: 41030 \| ABN: 36 165 356 141 I CRICOS 03468F National Office: Level 1, 155 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD Campus Locations WA: Level 3, 440 Williams Street, Perth 6000 WA - 08 6222 6647 \|QLD: NSW: 151 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD - 07 3124 6163 Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Version 1.2 \| June 2021 Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700 Contents National Office: Level 1, 155 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD NSW: Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700 Version 1.2 \| June 2021 WA: 1. Policy At Macallan College student, it is an expectation that you use integrity in writing when creating your own work. This means you need to use academic integrity to avoid any serious breach of the college Academic Good Standing Policy. To avoid plagiarism (knowingly using someone else's information and ideas without using correct referencing and claiming it as your own) use the table below to help you understand how to remain academically honest. \| You are being academically honest if: \| You are being academically dishonest if \| \|---\|---\| \| \| you: \| \| The ideas or words are commonly used and there is no other or better way to express them \| \| \| The assignment has been written without you reading any texts or other published or unpublished material including internet information \| \| \| You have made the discovery yourself through experimentation or analysis \| \| \| You have synthesised the information and the ideas of others to reach your own conclusions \| \| \| You have acknowledged the information in the paragraphs and body of your essay or written text. \| \| 2. Academic Dishonesty Definition: Academic Dishonesty is defined as intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials from the Trainer or others. Using information, or study aids (such as mobile phones, hand written notes) in any assessment; copying another student's work; submitting work for an in-class examination that has been prepared in advance; representing assessments that were prepared by another person as one's own work; violating the rules governing the assessment process. At Macallan, Academic Dishonesty is a serious breach of Macallan College's Code of Conduct. Examples of Academic Dishonesty include: * Another person assisting in the production of an assessment submission without the express requirement, consent or knowledge of the assessor. * Asking another person to prepare and or submit an assignment on your behalf. * Downloading of content from the internet and submitting on an 'as is' basis Macallan College is a trading name of Macallan College Pty Ltd RTO No: 41030 \| ABN: 36 165 356 141 I CRICOS 03468F National Office: Level 1, 155 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD Campus Locations Level 3, 440 Williams Street, Perth 6000 WA - 08 6222 6647 \|QLD: NSW: 151 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD - 07 3124 6163 Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Version 1.2 \| June 2021 Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700 * Assessments completed dishonestly or by improper means, are considered plagiarized. * referring to someone else's work, ideas or theories as your own by not acknowledging the source/authors * using someone else's original words without placing them in inverted commas * writing words that are almost the same as the original article, lecture, text or journal, even if you have acknowledged the source * paraphrasing without acknowledging the source * Using part or all of an assignment from a previous assessment task without acknowledgement (even if it is your own). * Collusion, such as any unauthorised collaboration in preparation or presentation of work, including knowingly allowing personal work to be copied in any way by others. * Offering or accepting bribes (money or sexual or other favours) * Fabrication or falsification of information or student identity. 3. Considerations in an Academic Misconduct Macallan College will have systematic approach towards the academic misconduct. Following factors will be considered to determine the seriousness of the academic misconduct. - Extent of Misconduct - Intention of student - Type of misconduct - Impact of Misconduct Student might have engaged in academic misconduct because of inadequate study skills and lack of academic writing skills. The college will keep an educating approach towards these scenarios. However, some students will engage in academic misconduct with intent to deceive. This is conscious, pre-mediated form of misconduct, and will be considered as serious breach of the Academic Integrity. This type of misconduct may lead to severe penalties including cancellation of the enrolment. Further to that Students academic record and the stage of the course will be considered while making the decision. 3.1 Academic Integrity Misconduct Penalties Depending on the level of misconduct, The College could consider following penalties under National Code Standard 9. - Written warning letter - Reenrol in the given subject (fees involved) - Cancellation of the enrolment National Office: Level 1, 155 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD NSW: Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700 Version 1.2 \| June 2021 4. What is Referencing? Understanding and using referencing systems is an important part of your academic reading and writing. Referencing can be defined as acknowledging the author or source of information in a text. Referencing is a valuable tool for any academic writer because: * understanding referencing can help you to find additional information for your research * It gives credibility to your interpretations because you can demonstrate how they fit into the field of knowledge about which you are writing * It enables you to acknowledge your sources and avoid charges of plagiarism You use referencing in your assignment writing when you refer to quotations and ideas from your sources of information (in-text referencing). Macallan College uses the APA or Harvard Referencing Style as the main referencing policy. 4.1 What is in-text referencing? In the Harvard style of referencing, in-text references requires the author's family name and the year of publication. Page numbers are always shown for direct quotations. In-text citations direct the reader to the reference list for the source material. 4.2 When should you reference? Make an in-text reference when you: * Directly quote or paraphrase a source * Want to support and validate your argument * Use ideas from a particular source * Include tables and/or figures * Need to demonstrate that you have researched the subject adequately Macallan recognise and promote the use of sites such citethisforme to assist and support students: http://www.citethisforme.com/apa 4.3 Using Direct Quotes Quotations are the exact words taken from any published or unpublished material and must always be enclosed in single quotation marks (""). When acknowledging the source of the quotation in the text, you must include the author's family name, the year of publication and the page number. They are used to portray a writer's meaning and ideas as well as to provide credibility to your own writing. Level 1, 155 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD Campus Locations QLD: NSW: 151 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD - 07 3124 6163 Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Version 1.2 \| June 2021 Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700 5. List of References * University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) 2015, Referencing: A Student's Guide to Harvard Style, Sixth Edition, viewed 15 March 2016 <http://libguides.usc.edu.au/help-referencing>. * TESQA https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest-news/publications/guidance-note-academicintegrity * Griffith University https://www.griffith.edu.au/academic-integrity * UQ University https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-myprogram/student-integrity-and-conduct/academic-integrity-and-student-conduct * APA Series Part Five: APA Reference Page \| Scribendi. (2019). Retrieved 11 November 2019, from https://www.scribendi.com/advice/apa_reference_page.en.html 6. Reference Examples and Guides 6.1 Books Basic Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of book. Location: Publisher. Book with one author Aprilson, A. (2001). The emergency budget task force handbook. Mississippi, TN: Haberdasher. Book with two authors Bringham, D. E., & Knope, S. (2001). Resting heartbeat science (12th ed.). Alahandro, CA: Spaghetti. Book with three to seven authors Christopherson, C., Swanson, R., Labbe, E., & Koltz, R. (2002). Fog pirates: On board the USS Hammerhead. Pickleton: Putters Publishing Place. Book with more than seven authors Christopherson, C., Swanson, R., Labbe, E., Koltz, R., Niderbacher, L. A., Potter, H. J., . . . Smith, S. (2003). Penne and the Jets: A love story. Albuquerque: Partridge. Edited book with an author O'Hanlon, B. (1942). Safety: How to be safe literally all the time. L.T. Thompson (Ed.). San Diego: Goldstein. Books with no author Encyclopedia of Football (12th ed.). (2002). New York: Sporting Publishers Inc. Books by a corporate author or organization Canadian Pumpkinology Association. (2009). The truth about rats and skunks: Nature's worst enemies. Toronto: La Fraude Publishers. National Office: Level 1, 155 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD NSW: Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700 Version 1.2 \| June 2021 Chapter in a book or entry in a reference book Graeve, M. J. (2009). Catching the big one: How fishing helped me find my center. In A. Hovel (Ed.), The anthology of modern fishing (pp. 42–63). Ann Arbor: Maven Publishing Company. Two or more works by the same author Zruna, J. (1993). Adequate lawn care 101. Detroit: University of Michigan. Zruna, J. (1998). Common lawn pests and how to destroy them effectively. Florida: Simon & Penguin. 6.2 Periodicals Basic Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), page number. 6.3 Journal articles Basic Coxswain, A. D., Blursdale, F., Landover, T. T., & Sanchez, J. (1986). Analyzing the psychology of odd juxtaposition. Name Technology, 42(1), 121–342. Journal article with DOI Coxswain, A. D., Blursdale, F., Landover, T. T., & Sanchez, J. (1986). Analyzing the psychology of odd juxtaposition. Name Technology, 42(1), 121–342. doi:01.2345678910 Journal article with more than seven authors Christopherson, C., Swanson, R., Labbe, E., Koltz, R., Niderbacher, L. A., Potter, H. J., . . . Smith, S. (2009). Studying pumpkins in the wild. Modern Pumpkinology, 10(2), 12–36. 6.4 Newspaper article Faker, B. (2009, June 30). Local woman grows world's biggest pumpkin. The Nowheresville Daily Chronicle, pp. D3. 6.5 Magazine LaFrambois, K. (2003, May). Why do people treat their pets better than other humans? Vanity Circus, 87, 121–140. 6.6 Electronic sources Entire website The Green Bay Packers. (2011). The official website of the Green Bay Packers. Retrieved from http://www.packers.com/ Page on a website Mueller, D. (2011, Mar. 14). How the Packers won my heart and then the Super Bowl. Retrieved from http://www.veryunofficialpackersfansite.com Campus Locations WA: Level 3, 440 Williams Street, Perth 6000 WA - 08 6222 6647 \| QLD: 151 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD - 07 3124 6163 NSW: Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700 Version 1.2 \| June 2021 Article in an online scholarly journal Paulson, R. (2001). Soapmaking: A journey through the dirty world of saponification. Journal of Pierce and Pierce, 55. Retrieved from http://www.journalofpierceandpierce.com Article from online newspaper Faker, B. (2009, June 30). Local woman grows world's biggest pumpkin. The Nowhereville Daily Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.nowherevilledc.com Email Do not include personal communication in your reference list. Simply parenthetically site the name of the communicator, the words "personal communication," and the date in your main text. (A. Rodgers, personal communication, April 1, 2011). 6.7 Other common non-print sources Published dissertation Jennings, J. J. (2010). Critiquing Paul Ratsmith's theory of modern pumpkinology: The truth about pumpkins and rats (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Important Dissertations and Theses database. (Access No. 12345) Unpublished dissertation Jennings, J. J. (2010). Critiquing Paul Ratsmith's theory of modern pumpkinology: The truth about pumpkins and rats (Doctoral dissertation). University of Nowheresville, Nowheresville. Published proceedings Ashfed, K. (2011). How to be really good at everything. In A. Muller (Ed.), The 2010 Conference of Talented People. Toronto: The Big Publishing Company. Government document Canada Revenue Agency. (2010). Average exchange rates for 2009 (RC4152 Rev. 10). Retrieved from http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4152/rc4152-09e.html 6.8 Other common non-print sources Film Hewitt, P. (Director). (2006). Zoom: Academy for superheroes. USA: Revolution Studios. Single episode from a television series Peg, S. (Writer), & Knit, A. (Director). (2009). Cooking with chocolate [Television series episode]. In K. Ashfod (Executive producer), Fancy Eats. Toronto: Food Broadcasting. Recording Boyd, P. T. (2004). Living the Dream [Recorded by H. J. Boyd]. On Motivational Thoughts [CD]. Toronto: Brock Audio. Macallan College is a trading name of Macallan College Pty Ltd RTO No: 41030 \| ABN: 36 165 356 141 I CRICOS 03468F Level 1, 155 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD Campus Locations QLD: NSW: 151 Wellington Rd, East Brisbane 4169 QLD - 07 3124 6163 Level 1, 11 Parkes Street, Harris Park 2150 NSW - 02 8820 9990 \|SA: Version 1.2 \| June 2021 Level 10, 50 Grenfell Street, Adelaide 5000 SA - 08 7109 1700
Latin American Journal of Ophthalmology Neuro-ophthalmology/OncologyReview Article Sebaceous gland carcinoma of ocular region in India: A brief literature review for disease management Ankit Srivastava 1 , Sarangpani Sharan 2 1Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Prayagraj, 2Department of Ophthalmology, Rama Medical College Hospital and Research Center, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. ABSTRACT *Corresponding author: Ankit Srivastava, Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. firstname.lastname@example.org Received: 27 June 2021 Accepted: 14 July 2021 Published: 14August 2021 DOI 10.25259/LAJO_6_2021 Quick Response Code: Sebaceous gland carcinoma (SGC) is slow growing, but the most aggressive and lethal eyelid malignancy. Histologically, SGC can be classified based on cell types, cytoarchitecture, and growth patterns. A previously published article illustrates the molecular genetic framework stating the drivers of sebaceous carcinoma. Today, every effort has been made to treat and eradicate ocular disease, therefore, early diagnosis and appropriate management are required to use a multimodal approach that can reduce the mortality rate in patients with SGC. Treatment with the conventional technique has improved visual and systemic prognosis, however, therapeutic target to treat cancer is a much better option than other modalities. Thus, new insight into the natural and molecular-oriented treatment modalities may lead to the development of new effective strategies, along with the conventional method. Keywords: Clinicopathological, Eyelid, Natural products, Sebaceous gland carcinoma, Therapeutic target INTRODUCTION Ocular oncology is increasing rapidly with new developments and attracting broad, worldwide attention as well. This field covers a diverse spectrum of ocular benign or metastatic tumors, ranging from lymphoma to retinoblastoma to melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), sebaceous gland carcinoma (SGC), and adenoid cystic carcinoma. Most of the ocular malignancies are treatable if detected early on time. However, some malignancies become highly problematic due to their metastatic behavior and cause a potential threat to both sight and life. Among the various ocular malignancies mentioned elsewhere, eyelid tumors are the most commonly known in the AsianIndian population. Approximately 5% of skin tumor occurs in the eyelid. [ 1] Among them, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common eyelid malignancy worldwide 85–90 % [2] followed by SCC 10–12% [3] and SGC 1%. [4] Mostly known, SGC used to be a uniformly fatal disease and has become the topmost malignancy over this past century. It is the most aggressive tumor that is associated with the hair follicle and abundantly present in the skin where more hair is found with a slight predominance in females. High mitotic activity is found in the sebaceous gland but the neoplasm arising from here is uncommon. It mimics various benign and malignant lesions, therefore, shows variability in clinical presentation. At present, in most countries, SGC is the most successfully treated ocular cancer. In other countries except for Asia, the incidence among eyelid malignancies is 1–5.5%. [5] However, in Asian-Indian races, it comprises 25–40% of all eyelid neoplasm. Clinically, it masquerades benign and inflammatory conditions such as chalazion and blepharitis which may is is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. ©2021 Published by Scientific Scholar on behalf of Latin American Journal of Ophthalmology result in late diagnosis. [6] It may involve forniceal and bulbar conjunctiva with diffuse thickening of the eyelid. An irregular yellow mass appears on the caruncle in SGC. From this review, we are emphasizing the outline of SGC based on existing literature and also highlighting the treatment and therapeutic option which is one of the most challenging aspects for prognosis and management of the disease. LITERATURE SURVEY The literature survey for the present review was based on results searched on PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar database search using the words eyelid tumors, sebaceous carcinoma, SGC, sebaceous neoplasm, and sebaceous cell carcinoma. Selected literature under this review was published only in the English language. In addition, some relevant references were also gathered and included from the selected articles. FEATURES AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SGC Sebaceous carcinoma commonly arises from the ocular adnexa and eyelid but may also be found in the periocular area. It is observed that the majority of all skin malignancies around 5–10% occur in the eyelid and among all the eyelid malignancies, BCC is mostly known. [1] In the United States, BCC is mostly acknowledged in about 90%, SGC accounts for 5% followed by SCC 4% and 1% covers the other malignancies. [4] However, due to differences in geographical variation, the incidence of different malignancies would vary. Similarly, SGC shows mystifying variation area to area according to geographic area surveyed and hence appears to have racial preferences. Reports from Florida states the annual incidence of patients having eyelid malignancies was 0.5 per million in older than 20 years. [7] In contrast, reports from China and India reflect higher incidence 31.2–39.0% of patients suffering from eyelid malignancies. The incidence has risen over the last years because of the longer lifetime of individuals (sebaceous carcinoma tends to be a neoplasm that affects older individuals), increased awareness of the disease by pathologist, dermatologist, ophthalmologist, or the fact that the United States contains a more varied population mainly from Asia. Moreover, there has been an increase in sebaceous carcinoma of the periorbital area rather than the orbital tumor. [8] MAJOR RISK FACTORS OF SGC SGC has some major risk factors which include patient's age, prior exposure to UV, systemic association, and patients infected with HIV and Muir-Torre syndrome [Figure 1]. CLINICAL FEATURES Sebaceous carcinoma of the eyelid commonly can masquerade as a benign condition (masquerade syndrome), often resulting in a delay in diagnosis. [9] This, in turn, can increase the chance of local recurrence, metastasis, and death. Finding suggests that SC may sometimes grow outward and become pedunculated with keratinization and also possess a cutaneous horn-like appearance. It occurs most commonly in the eyelid margin from the gland of Zeis. [10,11] Less commonly, SGC may ulcerate and have BCC appearance. The most common clinical manifestation presents as a firm, sessile to round, painless, and subcutaneous nodule in the eyelid. [12] It assumes a yellow color due to the presence of lipid in the mass. Eventually, it causes loss of cilia, a feature present in other tumors too. The second most common manifestation is pseudoinflammatory which present as diffuse unilateral thickening of the eyelid. This presentation is more likely to extend to the epithelium of nearby structures such as the cornea and conjunctiva. The lack of a nodule causes the clinician to suspect an inflammatory condition. [13,14] It is also suggested that SGC must be ruled out in unilateral blepharitis in an older patient that does not respond to standard treatment, and thus, biopsy is indicated. With the development of sebaceous carcinoma in the caruncle, it looks like an irregular, yellow mass in the medial canthal lesion. [15] Sebaceous carcinoma of the eyebrow has the appearance of a deep cutaneous mass that may be difficult to distinguish from the epidermal inclusion sebaceous cyst. Sebaceous carcinoma may also present as diffuse involvement of the eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea, and anterior orbital tissue. Progressive enlargement of the sebaceous carcinoma in the lacrimal gland region may be found in very rare instances. [16,17] ORIGIN OF OCULAR SEBACEOUS CARCINOMA Sebaceous carcinoma develops from some specific gland and periorbital area including gland of Zeis, meibomian gland, glands associated with hair follicle, caruncle, conjunctiva, and sebaceous gland with eyebrow which are discussed below: Gland of Zeis gives rise to 10% sebaceous carcinoma. SGC of the eyelid is more profound at the upper eyelid but it may also found at both the upper and lower eyelids simultaneously. The incidence of sebaceous carcinoma arising from the caruncle is very low approximately 5-10%. Number of ophthalmic literatures suggests that sebaceous carcinoma of the eyebrow is rarely observed. DIFFERENT CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC OF SGC SGC is the most aggressive tumor of the eyelid, thus its accurate diagnosis and treatment are important. Its diagnosis is difficult because SGC resembles several neoplastic lesions and inflammatory conditions such as chalazion or chronic blepharoconjunctivitis and blepharitis leading to the term "masquerading syndrome." [18,19] The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) recommendation defined tumor node metastasis to access the tumor staging. AJCC classification on the recent staging of SGC based on the eighth edition is given in Table 1. [20] METHODS OF SPREAD Metastasis of the original tumor cells to sites distant from the original sites may take the majority of the death associated with cancer. This quite complicated process is also observed in sebaceous carcinoma which is one of the most clinically challenging aspects. The different methods of spread highlighted in Figure 2. PATHOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF SEBACEOUS CARCINOMA SGC is often misdiagnosed with other periocular and eyelid malignancies during the histopathological diagnosis [21] which Figure 2: Sebaceous carcinoma has ability to migrate beyond its original location. Here are some of the methods given through which sebaceous carcinoma is shown to exhibit metastasis. makes it challenging in the present scenario. Therefore, sebaceous carcinoma is misdiagnosed with BCC, SCC, or other malignancies. Even when the diagnosis is correct, there Table 1: AJCC cancer staging manual giving details on each part of the TNM system for eyelid cancer (eighth edition). [38] \| Primary tumor (T) \| Definition \| \|---\|---\| \| TX Primary tumor cannot be evaluated T0 No primary tumor Tis Refers to carcinoma in situ T1 Size of tumor ≤10 mm in diameter T1a No invasion of tarsal plate or eyelid margin T1b Invasion of tumor in tarsal plate or eyelid margin T1c Involvement of tumor in full thickness of eyelid T2 Tumor size >10 mm but ≤20 mm in diameter T2a No invasion of tarsal plate or eyelid margin T2b Invasion of tumor in tarsal plate or eyelid margin T2c Involvement of tumor in full thickness of eyelid T3 Tumor size >20 mm but ≤30 mm in diameter T3a No invasion of tarsal plate or eyelid margin T3b Invasion of tumor in tarsal plate or eyelid margin T3c Involvement of tumor in full thickness of eyelid T4 Tumor invading the orbital, facial, and ocular structure T4a Tumor invading the intraorbital and ocular structure T4b Tumor invading the lacrimal sac, nasolacrimal duct, brain and erosion of bony orbital walls, or those with paranasal sinus Lymph node (N) NX Regional lymph node cannot be evaluated N0 Refers to no regional lymph node metastasis N1 Regional lymph node metastasis <3 cm in diameter N1a Metastasis based on clinical evaluation or imaging N1b Metastasis proved by histopathology N2 Regional lymph node metastasis >3 cm in diameter with involvement of bilateral and contralateral lymph node N2a Metastasis based on clinical evaluation or imaging N2b Metastasis proved by histopathology Distant metastasis (M) M0 No distant metastasis evaluated M1 Metastasis to other body parts \| \| \| AJCC: American Joint Committee on Cancer, TNM: Tumor node metastasis \| \| is often a misinterpretation of the margins. About 25% of cases of Mohs microsurgery technique fall under the category of non-reliable. [8] This type of misinterpretation often leads to inappropriate treatment in most cases. GROSS PATHOLOGY No specific gross characteristics regarding SGC have been reported. Neoplasms may have yellow color due to lipid deposition. Specimens of the tumor eyelid biopsy may show it arising in the tarsal plate. MICROSCOPIC PATHOLOGY Apart from several methods applied to classify the neoplasm, some more histopathological patterns are recognized such as lobular, comedocarcinoma, papillary, and mixed. [22,23] A wellknown characteristic feature of SGC is its ability to exhibit intraepithelial spread into the conjunctival, eyelid, and corneal epithelium; [24] this occurs in 44–80% of the cases. [25] Regardless of the pattern of growth discussed elsewhere, SGC has distinct cytologic features such as individual cells having finely vacuolated, frothy cytoplasm. [12] Lipid deposition in the tumor may induce a foreign body granulomatous reaction that may resemble a chalazion clinically. Pleomorphism and high nuclear mitotic rate are frequent features. A useful stain for SGC is oil-red O stain which highlights the lipid deposition in the glandular cells. Hence, for the final diagnosis, the entire histopathologic features must be taken accurately. Pathology of the diseases can be made only for looking into the morphological characteristics. It was also concluded that the morphology of SGC can be classified by the degree of differentiation of cells ultimately differentiated into well defined, moderately and poorly defined. Various clinicopathological factors are reported to indicate a poor prognosis in SGC and include lymphovascular and orbital invasion, involvement of both upper and lower eyelids, poor differentiation, multicentric origin, long duration of symptoms, large tumor size, an infiltrative pattern, and pagetoid invasion of epithelia of the skin or conjunctiva. [23] According to tumor, invasiveness SGC may be minimally infiltrative, moderately infiltrative, and highly infiltrative groups. Tumors originating from the glands of Zeis have a better prognosis. Furthermore, origin from the upper lids is associated with an adverse prognosis compared to origin from lower lids. [26] IMPORTANT MOLECULAR ALTERATION IN SGC Several studies have investigated the genetic alteration driving the sebaceous carcinoma of the eyelid. Sebaceous carcinoma is considered as a marker for the Muir-Torre syndrome, an autosomal dominant condition often associated with germline mutation of mismatch repair (MMR) genes MLH1, PMS2, MSH6, and MSH2. [27,28] MMR-deficient cancers have high risk of mutation, caused mostly by UV radiation or oxidative stress results accumulation of reactive oxygen species [Figure 3]. Deficient expression and lack of MMR genes often occur in coordination with loss of other DNA repair genes in cancer. Moreover, carcinoma defective in these genes shows replication error generating a pattern known as microsatellite instability often develop internal malignancies such as endometrial, gastric, genitourinary tract, and colorectal cancer. [29] In addition to the above, it is well known that p53 helps in maintaining cellular integrity and differentiation, however, alteration in the p53 genes has been associated with poor prognosis and plays a major role in carcinogenesis. In a study, approx. 67% of SGC tumors had missense and non-sense mutation in p53 genes and showed immunoreactivity in 50–100% of SGC cases which can indicate alteration of p53 signaling. [30] Moreover, under normal circumstances, expression of Wnt and SonicHedgehog (Shh) was required during stem cell renewal and embryogenesis. Whereas multipotent stem cells required increased expression of Wnt, Shh, and LEF-1 for differentiation into the hair follicle progenitor and sebocyte progenitor, finally developed into the sebaceous gland. The previous studies also revealed the defective β -catenin binding site in the Lef-1 [31] leads to accumulation of β -catenin in the cytoplasm and shows overexpression in eyelid developed sebaceous skin tumor and also resulting in upregulation of Indian hedgehog protein expression promotes proliferation of sebaceous precursor cells. [32] THERAPEUTIC TARGET AND TREATMENT FOR SGC It is well understood that clinical diagnosis of SGC is challenging due to masquerading nature, inappropriate Figure 3: General hypothesis for oxidative damage to DNA repair activity and tumorigenesis. Accumulation of ROS Oxidative stress damage to DNA Loss of DNA mismatch repair activity Mutation Altered cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis Figure 4: Depicting the different treatment and therapeutic target in sebaceous gland carcinoma. management, delayed detection, and differentiation from other eyelid cancer contribute to poor outcomes. Conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and exenteration [Figure 4] are the methods that are used to manage the SGC patients. Recent multimodal therapy is also helpful in improved management for SGC including a combination of high-dose chemotherapy plus surgery, radiotherapy, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, conventional therapies sometimes are life threatening, therefore, natural products have been considered for their anticancer activity. [33] Indigenous component present in the natural products such as flavonoids, alkaloids, and taxanes has been used to develop chemotherapeutic drugs to treat and cure various cancers such as leukemia, breast, prostate, and ovary including ocular carcinoma. [34-38] Since, little is known about the molecular target as well, here, we highlighted the molecular target implicated in the pathogenesis of SGC. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES In eyelid malignancy, SGC is most common in the Indian population. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment is a major challenge in the present scenario, since no significant prognostic marker is available. With this study, we hope to elaborate the translational research in ocular oncology, and further study will help to improve the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy. 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UNESCO Publishing United Nations Educational, Scientiﬁc and Cultural Organization Rethinking Education Towards a global common good? Towards a global common good ? Rethinking Education Published in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France © UNESCO 2015 ISBN 978-92-3-100088-1 This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/ terms-use-ccbysa-en). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The members of the Senior Experts' Group are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in the publication and for the opinions expressed therein. These are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Graphic design: UNESCO Cover photo credit: © Shutterstock / Arthimedes Printed by UNESCO Printed in France Foreword What education do we need for the 21st century? What is the purpose of education in the current context of societal transformation? How should learning be organized? These questions inspired the ideas presented in this publication. In the spirit of two landmark UNESCO publications, Learning to Be: The world of education today and tomorrow (1972), the 'Faure Report', and Learning: The treasure within (1996), the 'Delors Report,' I am convinced we need to think big again today about education. For these are turbulent times. The world is getting younger, and aspirations for human rights and dignity are rising. Societies are more connected than ever, but intolerance and conflict remain rife. New power hubs are emerging, but inequalities are deepening and the planet is under pressure. Opportunities for sustainable and inclusive development are vast, but challenges are steep and complex. The world is changing – education must also change. Societies everywhere are undergoing deep transformation, and this calls for new forms of education to foster the competencies that societies and economies need, today and tomorrow. This means moving beyond literacy and numeracy, to focus on learning environments and on new approaches to learning for greater justice, social equity and global solidarity. Education must be about learning to live on a planet under pressure. It must be about cultural literacy, on the basis of respect and equal dignity, helping to weave together the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. This is a humanist vision of education as an essential common good. I believe this vision renews with the inspiration of the UNESCO Constitution, agreed 70 years ago, while reflecting new times and demands. Education is key to the global integrated framework of sustainable development goals. Education is at the heart of our efforts both to adapt to change and to transform the world within which we live. A quality basic education is the necessary foundation for learning throughout life in a complex and rapidly changing world. Across the world, we have seen great progress in expanding learning opportunities for all. Yet we must draw the right lessons to chart a new course forward. Access is not enough; we need a new focus on the quality of education and the relevance of learning, on what children, youth and adults are actually learning. Schooling and formal education are essential, but we must widen the angle, to foster learning throughout life. Getting girls into primary school is vital, but we must help them all the way through secondary and beyond. We need an ever stronger focus on teachers and educators as change agents across the board. There is no more powerful transformative force than education – to promote human rights and dignity, to eradicate poverty and deepen sustainability, to build a better future for all, founded on equal rights and social justice, respect for cultural diversity, and international solidarity and shared responsibility, all of which are fundamental aspects of our common humanity. This is why we must think big again and re-vision education in a changing world. For this, we need debate and dialogue across the board, and that is the goal of this publication – to be both aspirational and inspirational, to speak to new times. Irina Bokova Director-General of UNESCO Acknowledgements I am pleased to see this publication released at this particular historical juncture when the international education and development community moves towards the global framework of Sustainable Development Goals. The present publication is the result of my early discussions with Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, during her first mandate. She strongly supported the idea of reviewing the 'Delors Report' in order to identify future orientations of global education. She wisely wished to demonstrate that, beyond its lead technical role in the Education for All movement, UNESCO also has an important intellectual leadership role in international education. It is in this perspective that the Director-General of UNESCO established a Senior Experts' Group to rethink education in a changing world. The group of international experts was tasked with preparing a succinct document that identified issues likely to affect the organization of learning and to stimulate debate on a vision for education. The group was co-chaired by Ms Amina J. Mohammed, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning and Assistant Secretary-General, and Professor W. John Morgan, UNESCO Chair at the University of Nottingham, in the United Kingdom. Other members of the Senior Experts' Group included: Mr Peter Ronald DeSouza, Professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, India; Mr Georges Haddad, Professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France; Ms Fadia Kiwan, Director Emeritus of the Institut des Sciences Politiques at Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon; Mr Fred van Leeuwen, Secretary-General of Education International; Mr Teiichi Sato, Professor at the International University of Health and Welfare in Japan; and Ms Sylvia Schmelkes, President of the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education in Mexico. From the outset, the Director-General gave the UNESCO Education Sector strong support to undertake this project. Coordinated by the Education Research and Foresight team, the Group met in Paris in February 2013, February 2014, and December 2014 to develop their ideas and debate successive drafts of their text. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the members of the Senior Experts' Group for their invaluable contribution to this important collective endeavour. The UNESCO Education Sector is very grateful for their efforts and commitment. This publication would not have been possible without the contribution of numerous people, external experts as well as UNESCO colleagues. I would like to acknowledge and thank them for their support: Abdeljalil Akkari (University of Geneva), Massimo Amadio (UNESCO International Bureau of Education), David Atchoarena (UNESCO Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems), Sylvain Aubry (Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), Néjib Ayed (Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization), Aaron Benavot (Education for All Global Monitoring Report), Mark Bray (University of Hong Kong), Arne Carlsen (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning), Michel Carton (Network of International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training), Borhene Chakroun (UNESCO Section for Youth, Literacy and Skills Development), Kai-ming Cheng (University of Hong Kong), Maren Elfert (University of British Columbia), Paulin J. Hountondji (National Council of Education of Benin), Klaus Hüfner (Freie Universität Berlin), Ruth Kagia (Results for Development), Taeyoung Kang (POSCO Research Institute, Seoul), Maria Khan (Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education), Valérie Liechti (Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation), Candy Lugas (UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning), Ian Macpherson (Open Society Foundations), Rolla Moumne Beulque (UNESCO Section of Education Policy), Renato Opertti (UNESCO International Bureau of Education), Svein Osttveit (Executive Office, UNESCO Education Sector), David Post (Education for All Global Monitoring Report), Sheldon Shaeffer (Specialist on Early Childhood Education and Governance), Dennis Sinyolo (Education International), and Rosa-Maria Torres (Instituto Fronesis, Quito). Finally, I am grateful to the Education Research and Foresight team at UNESCO for bringing this project to fruition. Initiated by Georges Haddad, former Director of the team, the drafting process was led and coordinated by Sobhi Tawil, Senior Programme Specialist. They were assisted by Rita Locatelli and Luca Solesin from the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Ethics of International Cooperation at the University of Bergamo, Italy, as well as by Huong Le Thu, Programme Specialist at UNESCO. Other research assistants included Marie Cougoureux, Jiawen Li, Giorgiana Maciuca, Guillermo Nino Valdehita, Victor Nouis, Marion Poutrel, Hélène Verrue and Shan Yin. Qian Tang, Ph.D. Assistant Director-General for Education Contents List of boxes Executive summary The changes in the world today are characterized by new levels of complexity and contradiction. These changes generate tensions for which education is expected to prepare individuals and communities by giving them the capability to adapt and to respond. This publication contributes to rethinking education and learning in this context. It builds on one of UNESCO's main tasks as a global observatory of social transformation with the objective of stimulating public policy debate. It is a call for dialogue among all stakeholders. It is inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development, based on respect for life and human dignity, equal rights, social justice, cultural diversity, international solidarity, and shared responsibility for a sustainable future. These are the fundamentals of our common humanity. This book enhances the vision provided by the two landmark UNESCO publications: Learning to Be: The world of education today and tomorrow (1972), the 'Faure Report', and Learning: The treasure within (1996), the 'Delors Report'. Sustainable development: A central concern The aspiration of sustainable development requires us to resolve common problems and tensions and to recognize new horizons. Economic growth and the creation of wealth have reduced global poverty rates, but vulnerability, inequality, exclusion and violence have increased within and across societies throughout the world. Unsustainable patterns of economic production and consumption contribute to global warming, environmental degradation and an upsurge in natural disasters. Moreover, while international human rights frameworks have been strengthened over the past several decades, the implementation and protection of these norms remain a challenge. For example, despite the progressive empowerment of women through greater access to education, they continue to face discrimination in public life and in employment. Violence against women and children, particularly girls, continues to undermine their rights. Again, while technological development contributes to greater interconnectedness and offers new avenues for exchange, cooperation and solidarity, we also see an increase in cultural and religious intolerance, identity-based political mobilization and conflict. Education must find ways of responding to such challenges, taking into account multiple worldviews and alternative knowledge systems, as well as new frontiers in science and technology such as the advances in neurosciences and the developments in digital technology. Rethinking the purpose of education and the organization of learning has never been more urgent. Reaffirming a humanistic approach to education Education alone cannot hope to solve all development challenges, but a humanistic and holistic approach to education can and should contribute to achieving a new development model. In such a model, economic growth must be guided by environmental stewardship and by concern for peace, inclusion and social justice. The ethical and moral principles of a humanistic approach to development stand against violence, intolerance, discrimination and exclusion. Regarding education and learning, it means going beyond narrow utilitarianism and economism to integrate the multiple dimensions of human existence. This approach emphasizes the inclusion of people who are often subject to discrimination – women and girls, indigenous people, persons with disabilities, migrants, the elderly and people living in countries affected by conflict. It requires an open and flexible approach to learning that is both lifelong and life-wide: an approach that provides the opportunity for all to realize their potential for a sustainable future and a life of dignity. This humanistic approach has implications for the definition of learning content and pedagogies, as well as for the role of teachers and other educators. It is even more relevant given the rapid development of new technologies, in particular digital technologies. Local and global policy-making in a complex world The escalating levels of social and economic complexity present a number of challenges for education policy-making in today's globalized world. The intensification of economic globalization is producing patterns of low-employment growth, rising youth unemployment and vulnerable employment. While the trends point to a growing disconnection between education and the fast-changing world of work, they also represent an opportunity to reconsider the link between education and societal development. Furthermore, the increasing mobility of learners and workers across national borders and the new patterns of knowledge and skills transfer require new ways of recognizing, validating and assessing learning. Regarding citizenship, the challenge for national education systems is to shape identities, and to promote awareness of and a sense of responsibility for others in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. The expansion of access to education worldwide over the past several decades is placing greater pressure on public financing. Additionally, the demand has grown in recent years for voice in public affairs and for the involvement of non-state actors in education, at both national and global levels. This diversification of partnerships is blurring the boundaries between public and private, posing problems for the democratic governance of education. In short, there is a growing need to reconcile the contributions and demands of the three regulators of social behaviour: society, state and market. Recontextualizing education and knowledge as global common goods In light of this rapidly changing reality, we need to rethink the normative principles that guide educational governance: in particular, the right to education and the notion of education as a public good. Indeed, we often refer to education as a human right and as a public good in international education discourse. Yet, while these principles are relatively uncontested at the level of basic education, there is no general agreement, in much of the discussion, about their applicability to post-basic education and training. To what extent does the right to education, and the principle of public good, apply also to non-formal and informal education, which are less institutionalized, if at all? Therefore a concern for knowledge – understood as the information, understanding, skills, values and attitudes acquired through learning – is central to any discussion of the purpose of education. The authors propose that both knowledge and education be considered common goods. This implies that the creation of knowledge, as well as its acquisition, validation and use, are common to all people as part of a collective societal endeavour. The notion of common good allows us to go beyond the influence of an individualistic socioeconomic theory inherent to the notion of 'public good'. It emphasizes a participatory process in defining what is a common good, which takes into account a diversity of contexts, concepts of well-being and knowledge ecosystems. Knowledge is an inherent part of the common heritage of humanity. Given the need for sustainable development in an increasingly interdependent world, education and knowledge should, therefore, be considered global common goods. Inspired by the value of solidarity grounded in our common humanity, the principle of knowledge and education as global common goods has implications for the roles and responsibilities of the diverse stakeholders. This holds true for international organizations such as UNESCO, which has a global observatory and normative function qualifying it to promote and guide global public policy debate. Considerations for the future As we attempt to reconcile the purpose and organization of learning as a collective societal endeavour, the following questions may serve as first steps towards debate: While the four pillars of learning – to know, to do, to be, and to live together – are still relevant, they are threatened by globalization and by the resurgence of identity politics. How can they be strengthened and renewed? How can education respond to the challenges of achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability? How can a plurality of worldviews be reconciled through a humanistic approach to education? How can such a humanistic approach be realized through educational policies and practices? What are the implications of globalization for national policies and decisionmaking in education? How should education be financed? What are the specific implications for teacher education, training, development and support? What are the implications for education of the distinction between the concepts of the private good, the public good, and the common good? Diverse stakeholders with their multiple perspectives should be brought together to share research findings and to articulate normative principles in the guidance of policy. UNESCO, as an intellectual agency and think tank, can provide the platform for such debate and dialogue, enhancing our understanding of new approaches to education policy and provision, with the aim of sustaining humanity and its common well-being. Introduction 13 Introduction "Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace." Confucius, Chinese philosopher (551-479 BC) A call for dialogue This is a contribution to re-visioning education in a changing world and builds on one of UNESCO's main tasks as a global observatory of social transformation. Its purpose is to stimulate public policy debate focused specifically on education in a changing world. It is a call for dialogue inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development based on principles of respect for life and human dignity, equal rights and social justice, respect for cultural diversity, and international solidarity and shared responsibility, all of which are fundamental aspects of our common humanity. It is intended to be both aspirational and inspirational, speaking to new times and to everyone across the world with a stake in education. It is written in the spirit of the two landmark UNESCO publications: Learning to Be: The world of education today and tomorrow, the 1972 'Faure Report'; and Learning: The treasure within, the 1996 'Delors Report'. Looking back to see ahead 1 In re-visioning education and learning for the future, we must build upon the legacy of past analyses. The 1972 Faure Report, for instance, established the two interrelated notions of the learning society and lifelong education at a time when traditional education systems were being challenged. As technological progress and social change accelerated, the report said, no one could expect that a person's initial education would serve them throughout their life. School, while remaining the essential means 1 Adapted from Morgan, W. J. and White, I. 2013. Looking backward to see ahead: The Faure and Delors reports and the post-2015 development agenda. Zeitschrift Weiterbildung, No. 4, pp. 40-43. for transmitting organized knowledge, would be supplemented by other aspects of social life – social institutions, the work environment, leisure, the media. The report advocated the right and necessity of each individual to learn for their own personal, social, economic, political and cultural development. It affirmed lifelong education as the keystone of educational policies in both developing and developed countries. 2 The 1996 Delors Report proposed an integrated vision of education based on two key concepts, 'learning throughout life' and the four pillars of learning, to know, to do, to live together, and to be. It was not in itself a blueprint for educational reform, but rather a basis for reflection and debate about what choices should be made in formulating policies. The report argued that choices about education were determined by choices about what kind of society we wished to live in. Beyond education's immediate functionality, it considered the formation of the whole person to be an essential part of education's purpose. 3 The Delors Report was aligned closely with the moral and intellectual principles that underpin UNESCO, and therefore its analysis and recommendations were more humanistic and less instrumental and market-driven than other education reform studies of the time. 4 The Faure and Delors reports have undoubtedly inspired education policy worldwide, 5 but now we must recognize that the global context has undergone significant transformation in its intellectual and material landscape since the 1970s and again since the 1990s. This second decade of the twenty-first century marks a new historical juncture, bringing with it different challenges and fresh opportunities for human learning and development. We are entering a new historical phase characterized by the interconnectedness and interdependency of societies and by new levels of complexity, uncertainty and tensions. An emerging global context for learning The situation around the world today is characterized by a number of paradoxes. While the intensification of economic globalization has reduced global poverty, it is also producing patterns of low-employment growth, rising youth unemployment and vulnerable employment. Economic globalization is also widening inequalities, between and within countries. Educational systems contribute to these inequalities by ignoring the educational needs of students in disadvantage and of many living in poor countries, while at the same time concentrating educational opportunities among the affluent, thus making high-quality training and education very exclusive. Current patterns of economic growth, coupled with demographic growth and urbanization, are depleting 2 Medel-Añonuevo, C., Oshako, T. and Mauch, W. 2001. Revisiting lifelong learning for the 21st century Hamburg, UNESCO Institute for Education. . 3 Power, C. N. 1997. Learning: a means or an end? A look at the Delors Report and its implications for educational renewal. Prospects, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, p.118. 4 Ibid. 5 For a discussion of this see, for example, Tawil, S. and Cougoureux, M. 2013. Revisiting Learning: The treasure within – Assessing the influence of the 1996 Delors report. Paris, UNESCO Education Research and Foresight, ERF Occasional Papers, No. 4; Elfert, M. 2015. UNESCO, the Faure report, the Delors report, and the political utopia of lifelong learning. European Journal of Education, 50.1, pp. 88-100. non-renewable natural resources and polluting the environment, causing irreversible ecological damage and climate change. Furthermore, along with growing recognition of cultural diversity (whether historically inherent to nation-states or resulting from greater migration and mobility), we also note a dramatic increase in cultural and religious chauvinism and in identity-based political mobilization and violence. Terrorism, drug-related violence, wars and internal conflicts and even intra-family and schoolrelated violence are mounting. These patterns of violence raise questions for education in its capacity to shape values and attitudes for living together. Additionally, as a result of such conflicts and crises, almost 30 million children are deprived of their right to a basic education, creating generations of uneducated future adults who are too often ignored in development policies. These issues are fundamental challenges for human understanding of others and for social cohesion across the globe. At the same time, we are witnessing a greater demand for voice in public affairs in a changing context of local and global governance. The spectacular progress in internet connectivity, mobile technologies and other digital media, combined with the democratization of access to public education and the development of different forms of private education, is transforming patterns of social, civic and political engagement. Additionally, the greater mobility of workers and learners between countries, across jobs and in learning spaces intensifies the need to reconsider how learning and competencies are recognized, validated and assessed. The changes taking place have implications for education and signal the emergence of a new global context for learning. Not all of these changes call for educational policy responses, but in any case they are forging new conditions. They require not only new practices, but also new perspectives from which to understand the nature of learning and the role of knowledge and education in human development. This new context of societal transformation demands that we revisit the purpose of education and the organization of learning. What is meant by knowledge, learning and education? Knowledge is central to any discussion of learning and may be understood as the way in which individuals and societies apply meaning to experience. It can therefore be seen broadly as the information, understanding, skills, values and attitudes acquired through learning. As such, knowledge is linked inextricably to the cultural, social, environmental and institutional contexts in which it is created and reproduced. 6 Learning is understood here to be the process of acquiring such knowledge. It is both a process and the result of that process; a means, as well as an end; an individual practice as well as a collective endeavour. Learning is a multifaceted reality defined by the context. What knowledge is acquired and why, where, when and how it is used 6 European Science Foundation. 2011. Responses to Environmental and Societal Challenges for our Unstable Earth (RESCUE). ESF Forward Look – ESF-COST 'Frontier of Science' joint initiative. Strasbourg/ Brussels, European Science Foundation/European Cooperation in Science and Technology. represent fundamental questions for the development of individuals and societies alike. Education is understood here to mean learning that is deliberate, intentional, purposeful and organized. Formal and non-formal educational opportunities suppose a certain degree of institutionalization. A great deal of learning, however, is much less institutionalized, if at all, even when it is intentional and deliberate. Such informal education, less organized and structured than either formal or non-formal education, may include learning activities that occur in the work place (for instance, internships), in the local community and in daily life, on a self-directed, family-directed, or socially-directed basis. 7 Finally, it is important to note that much of what we learn in life is neither deliberate nor intentional. This informal learning is inherent to all experiences of socialization. The discussion that follows, however, is restricted to learning that is intentional and organized. Organization of the publication Inspired by a central concern for sustainable human and social development, the first section outlines some of the trends, tensions and contradictions in today's process of What knowledge is acquired and why, where, when and how it is used represent fundamental questions for the development of individuals and societies alike. global social transformation, as well as the new knowledge horizons that it offers. At the same time, the section highlights the need to explore alternative approaches to human well-being, including an acknowledgement of the diversity of worldviews and knowledge systems, and the need to sustain them. The second section reaffirms a humanistic approach, stressing the need for an integrated approach to education based on renewed ethical and moral foundations. It calls for an education process that is inclusive and does not simply reproduce inequalities. In the changing global landscape of education, the role of teachers and other educators is vital for developing critical thinking and independent judgement, rather than unreflective conformity. The next section examines issues linked to educational policy-making in a complex world. These include the challenges of recognizing and responding to the gap between formal education and employment; of recognizing and validating learning in a world of increasing mobility across borders, professional occupations and learning spaces; and of rethinking citizenship education in an increasingly globalized world, balancing respect for plurality with the universal values and concern for our common humanity. Finally, we consider the complexities of national policy-making in education in the context of potential forms of global governance. 7 Ibid. The fourth section explores the need to recontextualize foundational principles for the governance of education, particularly the right to education and the principle of education as a public good. It proposes that greater attention be paid in education policy to knowledge, and to the ways in which it is created, accessed, acquired, validated and used. It also suggests the need to recontextualize the foundational principles that govern the organization of education, in particular the principle of education as a public good. It proposes that considering education and knowledge to be global common goods might provide a useful way to reconcile the purpose and organization of learning as a collective societal endeavour in a changing world. The concluding section sums up the key ideas and puts forward questions for further debate. 1. Sustainable development: A central concern 19 1. Sustainable development: A central concern "We ought to think that we are one of the leaves of a tree, and the tree is all of humanity. We cannot live without others, without the tree." Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist and conductor In revisiting the purpose of education, our vision is guided by a central concern for sustainable human and social development. Sustainability is understood as the responsible action of individuals and societies towards a better future for all, locally and globally – one in which social justice and environmental stewardship guide socioeconomic development. The changes in today's interconnected and interdependent world are bringing new levels of complexity, tensions and paradoxes, as well as new knowledge horizons that we need to consider. Such patterns of change require efforts to explore alternative approaches to progress and to human well-being. " " Challenges and tensions The Delors Report identified a number of tensions generated by technological, economic and social change. They included tensions between the global and the local; the universal and the particular; tradition and modernity; the spiritual and the material; long term and short term considerations; the need for competition and the ideal of equality of opportunity; and the expansion of knowledge and our capacity to assimilate it. These seven tensions remain useful perspectives from which to view the current dynamics of social transformation. Some are taking on new meaning, with fresh tensions emerging. These include patterns of economic growth characterized by rising vulnerability, growing inequality, increased ecological stress, and rising intolerance and violence. Finally, while there has been progress in human rights, implementation of norms often remains a challenge. Ecological stress and unsustainable patterns of economic production and consumption Ensuring growth has long been understood as the purpose of development, based on the premise that economic growth generates positive effects that eventually guarantee greater well-being for all. However, unsustainable patterns of production and consumption point to fundamental contradictions in a dominant model of development focused on economic growth. As a consequence of unhindered growth and overexploitation of natural areas, climate change is producing an increase in natural disasters, putting poor countries particularly at great risk. Indeed, sustainability has emerged as a central development concern in the face of climate change, the degradation of vital natural resources such as water, and the loss of biodiversity. The changes in today's interconnected and interdependent world are bringing new levels of complexity, tensions and paradoxes, as well as new knowledge horizons that we need to consider. In the latter part of the twentieth century (1960-2000), water use doubled, food consumption and production increased 2.5 times and wood consumption tripled. The upsurge was driven by demographic growth. The world population almost tripled in the second half of the twentieth century, growing from some 2.5 billion in 1950 to over 7 billion in 2013, and it is expected to climb to over 8 billion in 2025. 8 It is estimated that by 2030, demand for food will rise at least 35 per cent, demand for water by 40 per cent, and demand for energy by 50 per cent. 9 Moreover, for the first time, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas. By 2050, two-thirds of the world population, or over 6 billion persons, will do so. 10 By then, it is estimated that 80 per cent of the urban population of the world will be concentrated in cities and towns of the global South. 11 The growth of the world's urban population, combined with the expansion of middle class lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production, are having an adverse impact on the environment and on climate change, and increasing the risk of natural disasters worldwide. 12 These 8 UN DESA. 2013. World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision. New York, United Nations. Most of this growth has taken place and will continue to take place in the global South. The share of the total world population in the global South grew from 66% in 1950 to 82% in 2010. This amount is expected to further increase to 86% by 2050 and to 88% by 2100. 9 National Intelligence Council. 2012. Global Trends 2030: Alternative worlds. Washington, DC, National Intelligence Council. 10 UN DESA. 2012. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2011 Revision. New York, United Nations. 11 UN-HABITAT. 2013. UN-HABITAT Global Activities Report 2013. Our presence and partnerships. Nairobi, UN-HABITAT. 12 SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyle 2050. 2011. Sustainable Lifestyle: Today's facts and Tomorrow's trends Amsterdam, SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyle 2050. . upheavals pose a fundamental threat to lives, livelihoods and public health across the world. Unplanned or poorly planned urbanization is increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters and extreme climate conditions. The unprecedented rate of urban growth is setting the social, political, cultural and environmental trends of the world. Consequently, sustainable urbanization has become one of the most pressing challenges facing the global community in the twenty-first century. 13 These patterns of demographic growth and urbanization also have important implications for the institutional arrangements and partnerships required to ensure the provision of relevant and flexible educational opportunities from a lifelong learning perspective. The proportion of the elderly in the overall population is projected to double by 2050, 14 together with greater demand for more diversified adult education and training. Ensuring the projected increase in the working age population in Africa translates into a demographic dividend 15 will require the provision of relevant education and training opportunities throughout life. Greater wealth but rising vulnerability and growing inequalities Global rates of poverty declined by half between 1990 and 2010. This decline in poverty is largely a result of robust rates of economic growth observed in emerging economies, as well as in many countries in Africa, and this despite the global financial and economic crisis of 2008. It is expected that the middle classes in the developing world will continue to expand substantially over the next fifteen to twenty years, with some of the most rapid growth taking place in China and in India. 16 However, significant disparities persist across the world and poverty rates vary considerably among the diverse regions of the world. 17 Patterns of strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth are not always generating the levels of employment required, nor the type of jobs desired. Employment opportunities are not expanding sufficiently to keep up with the growing labour force. Over 200 million people were unemployed in 2013 around the world, and global unemployment is set to increase further. The regions that have experienced the bulk of the increase in global unemployment such as East Asia, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have also experienced declining job quality. Vulnerable employment accounts currently for almost half of total employment and has contributed to the number of workers living below or very near the poverty line. Persons in vulnerable employment are much more 13 United Nations Human Settlement Programme, UN-Habitat, www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?page=article_ fr_s&id_article=819 [Accessed February 2015]. 14 UN DESA. 2013. World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision. New York, United Nations. 15 Drummond, P., Thakoor, V. and Yu, S. 2014. Africa Rising: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend. IMF Working Paper 14/43. International Monetary Fund. 16 National Intelligence Council. 2012. Global Trends 2030: Alternative worlds. Washington, DC, National Intelligence Council. 17 While the poverty rate in East Asia and the Pacific was estimated at 12.5% in 2010, it was over 30% for South Asia and close to 50% in Sub-Saharan Africa. IMF and World Bank. 2013. Global Monitoring Report 2013. Rural-Urban Dynamics and the Millennium Development Goals. Washington, DC, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. likely to have limited or no access to social security or secure income than wage and salaried workers. 18 The lack of basic social protection in most countries is exacerbating such problems and contributing to rising inequality, both across and within the majority of countries in the global North, as well as in the global South. 19 The past quarter of a century has seen wealth become ever more concentrated in the hands of fewer people. 20 The wealth of the world is divided thus: almost half to the richest one per cent, the other half to the remaining 99 per cent. 21 Such rapidly widening income inequality is contributing to social exclusion and undermining social cohesion. In all societies, extreme inequalities are a source of social tension and a potential catalyst of political instability and violent conflict. Box 1. High income inequality in Latin America despite strong economic growth Latin America and the Caribbean remains one of the regions with the highest levels of income inequality, and this despite strong economic growth and improved social indicators observed over the past decade. The report observed that: 'Declines in the wage share have been attributed to the impact of laboursaving technological change and to a general weakening of labour market regulations and institutions. Such declines are likely to affect individuals in the middle and bottom of the income distribution disproportionately, since they rely mostly on labour income.' In addition, the report noted that 'highlyunequal land distribution has created social and political tensions and is a source of economic inefficiency, as small landholders frequently lack access to credit and other resources to increase productivity, while big owners may not have had enough incentive to do so.' Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2013. Inequality Matters. Report of the World Social Situation 2013. New York, United Nations. Growing interconnectedness, but rising intolerance and violence The development of new digital technologies has resulted in an exponential growth in the volume of information and knowledge available, and made them more readily accessible to greater numbers of people throughout the world. As such, information and communication technologies can play an essential role in the sharing of knowledge and expertise in the service of sustainable development and in a spirit of solidarity. And yet, for many observers, the world is witnessing rising levels of ethnic, cultural and religious intolerance, often using the same communication technologies for ideological and political mobilization to promote exclusivist worldviews. This mobilization often leads to further criminal and political violence and to armed conflict. 18 International Labour Office. 2014. Global Employment Trends 2014. Geneva, International Labour Office. 19 UN DESA. 2013. Inequality matters. Report on the World Social Situation 2013. New York, United Nations. 20 See World Economic Forum. 2014. Outlook on the Global Agenda 2015. Global Agenda Councils. pp. 8-10. 21 Oxfam. 2014. Working for the Few: Political capture and economic inequality. Oxfam Briefing Paper No. 178. Oxford, UK, Oxfam. Violence against women and girls tends to increase in times of crisis and instability, both during and after periods of upheaval and displacement caused by armed conflict. In such situations violence against women is widespread and may be systematic when rape, forced prostitution or sex trafficking are used by armed groups as a tactic of warfare. 22 Women are also more likely to be internally displaced, resulting in poor health and educational achievements, 23 which also has a direct effect on the treatment and condition of families and children. Violence – including criminal violence linked to drug production and trafficking (extreme problems in certain parts of the world such as Central America), political instability and armed conflict – continues to threaten lives and to prevent social and economic development. 24 It is estimated that some 500 million people live in countries at risk of instability and conflict. 25 The economic impact of containing and dealing with the consequences of global violence has been estimated at close to 10 trillion US dollars: more than 11 per cent of global GDP, or twice the combined GDP of African countries in 2013. 26 Furthermore, the share of public budgets invested in security and the military diverts significant resources from development. Global military expenditures have continued to grow since 2000, reaching 1,742 billion US dollars worldwide in 2012 27 , and a number of countries devote a greater share of their GDP to military spending than to education. All this has important implications for the design and implementation of conflictsensitive educational policies. These need to be inclusive, both in their formulation and in their implementation, if education is not simply to reproduce inequalities and social tensions that may be catalysts of violence and political instability. Human rights education has an important role to play in raising awareness about the issues that give rise to conflict and the means to its just resolution. Such education is important to promote the key principle of non-discrimination and the protection of life and human 22 UN Women. 2013. A Transformative Stand-alone Goal on Achieving Gender Equality, Women's Rights and Women's Empowerment. New York, UN Women. 23 World Bank. 2011. World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development. Washington, DC, The World Bank. 24 Markets for drugs are mainly found in the developed world, but it is countries in the developing world that are involved in their production, transformation, and traffic. The market is large and growing, and consequently so is the drug industry. Violence accompanies the drug industry because rival groups fight for territories. The drug industry is labour-intensive, needing untrained personnel to carry out many of its activities. In many countries, it is mainly young boys who join the trade. This implies dropping out of education and placing their lives in continuous danger, in exchange for attractive payments. Drug production entails the occupation of large territories and the domination of the resident population. Also, drug trafficking leads to other criminal activities – extortion, human trafficking and sexual slavery, kidnapping, etc. – that in general place personal security at risk in many places. Central American countries, Mexico, Columbia and some countries in western Asia are victims of this scourge. A solution to this problem is yet to be found. 25 Global Peace Index and Institute for Economics and Peace. 2014. Global Peace Index 2014. Institute for Economics and Peace. 26 Ibid. 27 Figures are in constant (2011) US$ prices and exchange rates. SIPRI Database, www.sipri.org/research/ armaments/milex [Accessed February 2015]. dignity of all in times of violence and crisis. This requires the guarantee of safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. Human rights: Progress and challenges Universal human rights are a collective aspiration towards a common ideal, whereby human beings are respected in their dignity independently of other differences and distinctions, and full opportunities are provided for their full development. 28 However, the gap observed between the adoption of international normative frameworks and their implementation represents a growing tension between the dynamics of power and the rule of rights codified as law. The aspiration to establish the rule of law and justice, both internationally and nationally, is frustrated in several instances by the hegemony of powerful interest groups. The challenge is how to ensure universal human rights through the rule of law, as well as through social, cultural and ethical norms. Gender has long been a key element in discrimination. Women's rights have been strengthened over the past few decades, notably through efforts to expand the application of the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the implementation of the Framework for Action of the International Conference of Beijing (1995). Yet while considerable progress has been made in ensuring greater gender equality in access to health and to education, much less progress has been made in enhancing the voice and participation of women in social, economic and political life. 29 The majority of those living in extreme poverty are women. 30 They also constitute the majority of the world's illiterate youth and adults. 31 Moreover, women occupy less than 20 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide. 32 The initially fragile situation of women in the labour market, and particularly in the informal sector, is becoming more precarious in the face of the brutal competition for jobs resulting from reduced employment opportunities, and the impact of successive economic and financial crises. Currently, half of the women in the labour force are in vulnerable employment, with no job security and no protection against economic shocks. 33 This adds to existing patterns of discrimination against women in salaries and career prospects. 28 The universality of human rights was first set out in the 1948 Universal Declaration and later by the Charter of Human Rights composed of successive conventions adopted by the United Nations and ratified by governments. 29 UN. 2013. A New Global Partnership: Eradicate poverty and transform economies through sustainable development, Report of the High-level Panel of eminent persons on the post-2015 development agenda. New York, United Nations. 30 Ibid. 31 UNESCO. 2014. Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014. Paris, UNESCO. 32 UN Women. 2011. Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice. New York, UN Women. 33 ILO. 2012. Global Employment Trends for Women. Geneva, ILO. " " New knowledge horizons The cyber world One of the defining features of development today is the emergence and expansion of the cyber world, stimulated by the spectacular growth in internet connectivity and mobile penetration. 34 We live in a connected world. An estimated 40 per cent of the world's population now uses the internet and this number is growing at a remarkable rate. 35 While there are significant variations in internet connectivity among countries and regions, the number of households with such links in the global South has now overtaken those in the global North. Moreover, over 70 per cent of mobile telephone subscriptions worldwide are now in the global South. 36 Five billion people are expected to go from no to full connectivity within the next twenty years. 37 However, there are still significant gaps among countries and regions, for example between urban and rural areas. Limited broadband speed and lack of connectivity hamper access to knowledge, participation in society and economic development. The internet has transformed how people access information and knowledge, how they interact, and the direction of public management and business. Digital connectivity holds promise for gains in health, education, communication, leisure and well-being. 38 Artificial intelligence advances, 3D printers, holographic recreation, instant transcription, voice-recognition and gesture-recognition software are only some examples of what is being tested. Digital technologies are reshaping human activity from daily life to international relations, from work to leisure, redefining multiple aspects of our private and public life. Such technologies have expanded opportunities for freedom of expression and for social, civic and political mobilization, but they also raise important concerns. The availability of personal information in the cyber world, for example, brings up significant issues of privacy and security. New spaces for communication and socialization are transforming what constitutes the idea of 'social' and they require enforceable legal and other safeguards to prevent their overuse, abuse and misuse. 39 Examples of such misuse of the internet, mobile technology and social media range from cyber-bullying to criminal activity, even to terrorism. In this new cyber world, educators need to 34 International Telecommunication Union. 2013. Trends in Telecommunication Reform: Transnational aspects of regulation in a networked society. Geneva, International Telecommunication Union. 35 ITU. 2013. The world in 2014: Fact and Figures. Geneva, ITU. 36 ITU. 2014. Trends in Telecommunication Reform, Special Edition. Fourth-generation regulation. Geneva, ITU. 37 Schmidt, E. and Cohen, J. 2013. The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business. New York, Knopf. 38 Ibid. 39 Hart, A.D. and Hart Frejd, S. 2013. The Digital Invasion: How Technology Is Shaping You and Your Relationships. Ada, MI, Baker Books. better prepare new generations of 'digital natives' 40 to deal with the ethical and social dimensions of not only existing digital technologies but also those yet to be invented. Advances in the neurosciences Recent developments in the neurosciences are increasingly attracting the interest of the education community seeking to better understand the interactions between biological processes and human learning. While it may still be premature for such developments to inform education policy, their potential to improve teaching and learning practices shows great promise. For example, the latest insights into how the brain develops and operates at different stages in life are contributing to our understanding of how and when we learn. Some of the most significant insights concern the 'sensitive periods' of learning activities 41 , indicating language acquisition is at its peak at an early age. This underlines the importance of early childhood education and the potential for multiple language learning in the early years. Other findings point to the 'plasticity' of the brain and its capacity to change in response to environmental demands throughout life. 42 This supports the idea of lifelong learning and the provision of appropriate learning opportunities for all regardless of age. In addition, we must acknowledge the impact of environmental factors such as nutrition, sleep, sport and recreation on optimal brain functioning. Equally important, we must acknowledge the need for holistic approaches that recognize the close interdependence of physical and intellectual well-being, as well as the interplay of the emotional and cognitive, analytical and creative brain. The new research directions in neurosciences will add to our understanding of the nature-nurture relationship, helping us thereby to fine-tune our educational initiatives. Climate change and alternative energy sources Climate change is one of the defining challenges of this century, in terms of both the responses required to address it, and the means necessary to face its adverse impacts. Mitigation efforts call for a concerted engagement to contain emissions and prevent further drastic consequences on the planet; adaptation entails reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience to its impacts. Education plays a paramount role in raising awareness and promoting behavioural change for both climate change mitigation and adaptation. 43 40 Prensky, M. 2001. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9, No. 5. 41 OECD 2007. Understanding the brain: The birth of a learning science. Paris, EDUCERI-OECD. 42 Ibid. 43 Lutz, W., Muttarak, R. and Striessnig, E. 2014. Universal education is key to enhanced climate adaptation. Science. 28 November 2014. Vol. 346, No. 6213. Education is key to climate adaptation. www.iiasa.ac.at/ web/home/about/news/20141127-Science-Pop.html [Accessed February 2015]. Education is a key factor in promoting and facilitating the collective transition to using alternative non-carbon renewable sources, which can mitigate the adverse impact of climate change. To make the shift away from carbon to non-carbon energy sources, we need to change beliefs and perceptions and foster mind sets that facilitate the transition. Energy infrastructure by itself will not result in the appropriate changes. At the same time, education represents a key component of adaptive capacity, as the knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to adapt lives and livelihoods to the ecological, social and economic realities of a changing environment must be transmitted to the present and next generations. The 2014 Lima Ministerial Declaration on Education and Awareness-raising encourages 'governments to develop education strategies that incorporate the issue of climate change in curricula and to include awareness-raising on climate change in the design and implementation of national development and climate change strategies and policies in line with their national priorities and competencies.' Creativity, cultural innovation and youth New forms of cultural and artistic expression have emerged in recent years. These are the result of acculturation impelled by the growth of connectivity and cultural exchange worldwide. The process is driven largely by young people. We see a new public aesthetic being expressed, rich in its inherent plurality, and we encounter a new willingness to innovate with form in each of the domains the youth inhabit, from fashion to food, music and personal relationships. The more than one billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the world today are the most informed, active, connected and mobile generation the world has ever seen. 44 It is estimated that over 90 per cent of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 in the world today are on some form of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. They spend considerable time on social media exploring and sharing the results of this exploration. This generates an environment of greater awareness and understanding of other cultures and an engagement with issues of aesthetics worldwide, leading to a recognition of the importance of other knowledge systems. Cultural diversity has become increasingly relevant as a source of invention and innovation; it is today a valuable resource for sustainable human development. 45 44 'Youth-support' by Chernor Bah, Chair, Youth Advocacy Group for Global Education First Initiative (GEFI); Panel discussions: 'Enabling conditions for the delivery of quality global citizenship education: Where are we? Where do we want to go?' Global Citizenship Education: Enabling Conditions & Perspectives, 16 May 2014, UNESCO, Paris. www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/Chernor- Bah_16May2014.pdf [Accessed February 2015]. 45 UNESCO. 2009. UNESCO World Report Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue. Paris, UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001852/185202e.pdf [Accessed February 2015]. " " Exploring alternative approaches Acknowledging the diversity of worldviews in a plural world Exploring alternative approaches to human progress and well-being is crucial as we confront the complexity of current development patterns. It is important to highlight the diversity of societies, both in the global North and in the global South. Cultural diversity is humanity's greatest source of creativity and wealth. It entails diverse ways of viewing the world. It provides different approaches to solving problems that affect us all and valuing fundamental aspects of life: the natural ecosystem, the community, the individual, religion and spirituality. We must recognize We must recognize the diversity of lived realities while reaffirming a common core of universal values. the diversity of lived realities while reaffirming a common core of universal values. Because diversity makes any international definition and approach difficult to achieve, perspectives that look beyond traditional indicators of health, education and income are very welcome. Unfortunately, the subjective and contextual dimensions inherent to such diverse conceptions of human well-being continue to make many current policy approaches partial and inadequate. 46 46 While there is no shared understanding of what the notion of 'well-being' entails at the international level, it is now well-established that recourse to traditional socio-economic indicators is far from sufficient. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has recently gone beyond the Human Development Index (HDI), which integrates indicators relative to income, health and educational status. Concern for growing inequality and gender issues have seen further elaborations in terms of the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), the Gender Development Index (GDI), and the Gender Inequality Index (GII). Attempts to go beyond indicators inspired by a very narrow conception of human progress include a range of initiatives exploring alternative measures of inclusion and sustainability at the global level. The Inclusive Wealth Index proposed by the United Nations University is one example being proposed. Others are: Better Life Initiative (OECD); EDP: Environmentally Adjusted Net Domestic Product (UN SEEA93); EPI: Environmental Performance Index (Yale University); ESI: Environmental Sustainability Index (Yale University); GPI: Genuine Progress Indicators (Redefining Progress); Green Growth Indicators (OECD); Genuine Savings (Pearce, Atkinson & Hamilton); HCI: Human Capital Index (World Economic Forum); ISEW: Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (Cobb & Daly); NNW: Net National Welfare (Japanese Government); SDI: Sustainable Development Indicators (EU; UK Government). Box 2. The encounter of diverse knowledge systems The European culture has come to us not only with its own knowledge but with its velocity. Though our assimilation of it is imperfect and the consequent aberrations numerous, still it is rousing our intellectual life from its inertia of formal habits into glowing consciousness by the very contradiction it offers to our own mental traditions. What I object to is the artificial arrangement by which this foreign education tends to occupy all the space of our national mind and thus kills, or hampers, the great opportunity for the creation of a new thought power by a new combination of truths. It is this which makes me urge that all the elements in our own culture have to be strengthened, not to resist the Western culture, but truly to accept and assimilate it, and use it for our food and not as our burden; to get mastery over this culture, and not live at its outskirts as the hewers of texts and the drawers of book-learning. Source: Tagore, R. 1996. The Centre of Indian Culture. Sisir Kumar Das (ed.), The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, Vol. 2, Plays, Stories, Essays. New Delhi, Sahitya Akademi, p. 486. Integrating alternative knowledge systems Alternatives to the dominant model of knowledge must be explored. Alternative knowledge systems need to be recognized and properly accounted for, rather than Alternative knowledge systems need to be recognized and properly accounted for, rather than relegated to an inferior status. relegated to an inferior status. Societies everywhere can learn a great deal from each other by being more open to the discovery and understanding of other worldviews. There is much to learn, for instance, from rural societies across the world, particularly indigenous ones, about the relationship of human society to the natural environment. In many indigenous cultures, the Earth is considered the Mother. It or any of its products cannot be damaged without a valid reason, most often relating to survival. In many cultures, the human being is considered a member of nature, equal in rights and not superior to other living beings. Many rural societies have circular conceptions of time, not linear ones; they are linked to agricultural production, the progression of the seasons, and festivities and rituals that enhance the spiritual well-being of communities. In the same way, approaches to collective decision-making differ. Some societies have recourse to democracy and to voting to make collective decisions, even when in small groups; other societies seek consensus, which means argument, discussion and convincing. An endless array of different worldviews is available for the enrichment of all, if we are willing to abandon our certainties and open our minds to the possibilities of different explanations of reality. It is essential to recall – as have thinkers Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Rabindranath Tagore and others – that when we privilege one form of knowledge, we in fact privilege a system of power. The future of education and development in today's world requires fostering a dialogue among different worldviews with the aim of integrating knowledge systems originating in diverse realities, and to establish our common heritage. Voices from the global South need to be heard in international debates on education. For example, in Andean communities in Latin America development is expressed through the notion of sumak kawsay, the Quechua word for 'buen vivir', or 'good living'. Rooted in indigenous cultures and worldviews, sumak kawsay has been proposed as an alternative conception of development, and has been incorporated into the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia. Mahatma Gandhi's concept of 'trusteeship', by which we hold the Earth's wealth not as 'owners' but as 'trustees' of all living creatures and future generations, is also worth considering. 47 Box 3. Sumak Kawsay: An alternative view of development The concept of sumak kawsay is rooted in the worldview of the Quechua peoples of the Andes in Ecuador. Referred to as 'buen vivir' in Spanish, the concept of sumak kawsay translates loosely in English as 'good living' or 'well living'. It connotes a harmonious collective development that conceives of the individual within the context of the social and cultural communities and his or her natural environment. Rooted in the indigenous belief system of the Quechua, the concept incorporates western critiques of dominant development models to offer an alternative paradigm based on harmony between human beings, as well as between human beings and their natural environments. The concept has inspired the recent revision of the Constitution of Ecuador which refers to a 'new form of public co-existence, in diversity and in harmony with nature, to achieve the good way of living, the sumak kawsay'. The Constitution is based on the recognition of the 'right of the population to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment that guarantees sustainability and the good way of living (sumak kawsay)'. The Constitution further specifies that the following shall be a responsibility of the State: 'To promote the generation and production of knowledge, to foster scientific and technological research, and to upgrade ancestral wisdom to thus contribute to the achievement of the good way of living (sumak kawsay).' 48 Re-visioning education in a diverse world The purpose of education must therefore be revisited in light of a renewed vision of sustainable human and social development that is both equitable and viable. This 47 M. K. Gandhi, 1960. Trusteeship. Compiled by Ravindra Kelekar. Ahemadabad, India, Jitendra T. Desai Navajivan Mudranalaya. 48 See Articles no. 14 and no. 387 of the Constitution of Ecuador: Art. 14 - Se reconoce el derecho de la población a vivir en un ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado, que garantice la sostenibilidad y el buen vivir, sumak kawsay; Art. 387.- Será responsabilidad del Estado: […] 2. Promover la generación y producción de conocimiento, fomentar la investigación científica y tecnológica, y potenciar los saberes ancestrales, para así contribuir a la realización del buen vivir, al sumak kawsay. vision of sustainability must take into consideration the social, environmental and economic dimensions of human development and the various ways in which these relate to education: 'An empowering education is one that builds the human resources we need to be productive, to continue to learn, to solve problems, to be creative, and to live together and with nature in peace and harmony. When nations ensure that such an education is accessible to all throughout their lives, a quiet revolution is set in motion: education becomes the engine of sustainable development and the key to a better world. ' 49 Education can, and must, contribute to a new vision of sustainable global development. Box 4. Promoting sustainable development through education 'Education, including formal education, public awareness and training, should be recognized as a process by which human beings and societies can reach the fullest potential. Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of people to address environment and development issues.' Agenda 21, Article 36, Paragraph 3. 1992. The 2014 Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development invites governments 'to reinforce the integration of ESD into education, training, and sustainable development policies.' All forms of organized learning can be both adaptive and transformative. Basic education of good quality and further learning and training are essential to enable individuals and communities to adapt to environmental, social and economic change at local and global levels. But learning is also crucial for empowerment and the development Dominant utilitarian conceptions of education should accede to the expression of other ways of understanding human well-being, and thus, to a focus on the relevance of education as a common good. of capabilities to effect social transformation. Indeed, education can contribute to the more challenging task of transforming our mind-set and our worldview. Education is central to developing the capabilities required to expand the opportunities people need to lead meaningful lives in equal dignity. A renewed vision of education should include developing critical thinking, independent judgement and debate. Improvements in the quality of education, and in the provision of economically and socially relevant learning as determined by individuals and communities, are intrinsic to making these shifts. The right to quality education is the right to meaningful and relevant learning. However, learning needs vary across communities in a diverse world. Relevant learning must 49 Power, C. 2015. The Power of Education: Education for All, Development, Globalisation and UNESCO. London, Springer. therefore reflect what each culture, each human group, defines as what is required to live in dignity. We must accept that there are many different ways of defining the quality of life, and thus very diverse ways of defining what needs to be learned. Dominant utilitarian conceptions of education should accede to the expression of other ways of understanding human well-being, and thus, to a focus on the relevance of education as a common good. This implies hearing the silent voices of those who have not yet been heard. The immense wealth that such diversity represents can enlighten us all in our collective quest for well-being. A humanistic perspective is a necessary basis of alternative approaches to education and human well-being. 2. Reaffirming a humanistic approach 2. Reaffirming a humanistic approach "My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together." Desmond Tutu, South African social rights activist and bishop Sustaining and enhancing the dignity, capacity and welfare of the human person, in relation to others and to nature, should be the fundamental purpose of education in the twenty-first century. Such an aspiration may be designated humanism, which it should be UNESCO's mission to develop both conceptually and in practice. The concept of humanism has a long tradition in UNESCO. As far back as 1953, UNESCO published the proceedings of an international round-table discussion on 'Humanism and Education in East and West' that it had convened in New Delhi. 50 The concept of humanism also has a long tradition in diverse cultures and religious traditions, as well as numerous and differing philosophical interpretations. For instance, one prominent interpretation of humanism has identified it with atheism and secular rationalism. This was extended to other philosophies, such as phenomenology or existentialism, which see an ontological difference between humanity and the rest of the natural world. However, there are also powerful religious interpretations of humanism that view humankind's achievements – educational, cultural and scientific – as mature examples of its relationship to nature, the universe and a Creator. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, criticisms of both anthropocentric and theocentric humanisms have come from post-modernists, some feminists, ecologists 50 UNESCO Unity and Diversity of Cultures. 1953. Humanism and Education in East and West: An international round-table discussion. Paris, UNESCO. and, more recently, from those who see themselves as trans-humanists or even posthumanists, with their calls for biological selection and radical enhancement. Each of these interpretations raises fundamental moral and ethical issues that are clearly matters of educational concern. " " A humanistic approach to education A humanistic vision reaffirms a set of universal ethical principles that should be the foundation for an integrated approach to the purpose and organization of education for all. Such an approach has implications for the design of learning processes that promote the acquisition of relevant knowledge and the development of competencies in the service of our common humanity. A humanistic approach takes the debate on education beyond its utilitarian role in economic development. It has a central concern for inclusiveness and for an education that does not exclude and marginalize. It serves as a guide to dealing with the transformation of the global learning landscape, one in which the role of teachers and other educators continues as central to facilitating learning for the sustainable development of all. Countering dominant development discourse As we address the larger question of the aims and purposes of education and the type of society to which we aspire, we need to consider cultural, social, economic, ethical and civic dimensions. The economic functions of education are undoubtedly important, but we must go beyond the strictly utilitarian vision and the human capital approach that characterizes much of international development discourse. 51 Education is not only about the acquisition of skills, it is also about values of respect for life and human dignity required for social harmony in a diverse world. Understanding that ethical issues are fundamental to the development process can counter the current dominant discourse. Such an understanding enhances the role of education in developing the capabilities required for people to lead meaningful and dignified lives in line with Amartya Sen's alternative view of development. 52 An integrated approach based on sound ethical and moral foundations It is necessary, therefore, to reassert a humanistic approach to learning throughout life for social, economic and cultural development. Naturally, focus on particular dimensions may shift in different learning settings and at different stages of the life course. But in reaffirming the relevance of lifelong learning as the organizing principle for education, 51 The two pages devoted to education in the 2013 High-Level Panel report on post-2015 development, for instance, are couched in the language of the human capital approach, referring to returns on investment in education and its contribution to the formation of 'productive citizens'. 52 Sen, A. 1999. Development as Freedom. New York, Random House; Sen, A. 1999. Commodities and Capabilities. New Delhi, Oxford University Press. it is critical to integrate the social, economic and cultural dimensions. 53 A humanistic approach to education goes beyond the notion of scientific humanism, which was proposed as the guiding principle for UNESCO by its first Director-General Julian Huxley and taken up in the 1972 Faure Report. 54 As noted above, the concept of Sustaining and enhancing the dignity, capacity and welfare of the human person in relation to others, and to nature, should be the fundamental purpose of education in the twenty-first century. humanism has given rise to several, often conflicting, interpretations, each of which raises fundamental moral and ethical issues that are clearly matters of educational concern. It can be argued that sustaining and enhancing the dignity, capacity and welfare of the human person in relation to others, and to nature, should be the fundamental purpose of education in the twenty-first century. 55 The humanistic values that should be the foundations and purpose of education include: respect for life and human dignity, equal rights and social justice, cultural and social diversity, and a sense of human solidarity and shared responsibility for our common future. A dialogical approach to learning is required, as encouraged, for instance, by Martin Buber 56 and Paulo Freire. 57 We also have to reject learning systems that alienate individuals and treat them as commodities, and of social practices that divide and dehumanize people. It is crucial to educate in such values and principles if we are to achieve sustainability and peace. By broadening its scope in these ways, education can be transformative and contribute to a sustainable future for all. Based on this ethical foundation, critical thinking, independent judgement, problem-solving, and information and media literacy skills are the keys to developing transformative attitudes. An integrated and humanistic approach to education, as that presented in the 1996 Delors Report, is all the more relevant in today's world where sustainability has become a central concern of global development. The dimensions of sustainable development, in which economic growth is guided by environmental stewardship and concern for social justice, require an integrated approach to education that addresses multiple social, ethical, economic, cultural, civic and spiritual dimensions. 53 It is worth noting that the proposed education-related sustainable development goal beyond 2015 is framed in terms of lifelong learning: 'Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all'. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/ documents/1579SDGs%20Proposal.pdf [Accessed February 2015]. 54 See Huxley, J. 1946. UNESCO: Its purpose and philosophy. Paris, UNESCO Preparatory Commission; and, the recent reference to this in Haddad, G. and Aubin, J. P. 2013. Toward a humanism of knowledge, action and cooperation. International Review of Education, Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 331-341. 55 See for example the collection of articles in 'On Dignity', Diogenes, August 2007, Nol. 54, No. 3, http:// dio.sagepub.com/content/54/3.toc#content-block [Accessed February 2015]. 56 Morgan, W. J. and Guilherme, A. 2014. Buber and Education: Dialogue as conflict resolution. London, Routledge. 57 See, for example, Roberts, P. 2000. Education, Literacy, and Humanization: Exploring the work of Paulo Freire. Westport, CT and London, Bergin and Garvey. We need a holistic approach to education and learning that overcomes the traditional dichotomies between cognitive, emotional and ethical aspects. Overcoming the dichotomy between cognitive and other forms of learning is increasingly being recognized as essential to education. This is true even among those who focus on the measurement of learning achievement in school education. More holistic assessment frameworks have recently been proposed that go beyond traditional domains of academic learning to include, for example, social and emotional learning or culture and the arts. 58 These attempts indicate the recognized need to go beyond conventional academic learning, despite the serious reservations about the feasibility of capturing such important emotional, social and ethical learning though measurement, especially at the global level. Reinterpreting and protecting the four pillars of education One of the most influential concepts of the 1996 Delors Report was that of the four pillars of learning. Formal education, the report argued, tends to emphasize certain types of knowledge to the detriment of others that are essential to sustaining human development. It affirmed that equal attention should be paid, in all organized learning, to each of the four pillars: 59 # # Learning to know – a broad general knowledge with the opportunity to work in depth on a small number of subjects. # # Learning to do – to acquire not only occupational skills but also the competence to deal with many situations and to work in teams. # # Learning to be – to develop one's personality and to be able to act with growing autonomy, judgment and personal responsibility. # # Learning to live together – by developing an understanding of other people and an appreciation of interdependence. The idea of the integrated approach to education reflected in the four pillars of learning has had significant influence on policy debates, teacher training and curriculum development in a range of countries worldwide. A recent example: the four pillars were used as the inspirational starting point of the Spanish Basque basic schooling curriculum and adapted for its development. These four pillars of learning remain relevant to an integrated approach to education. Their generic nature allows for interpretation of the type of integrated learning required in response to different contexts and times. The pillars themselves might need fresh interpretation, given growing concern for sustainability. Learning to live together, for example, must go beyond the social and cultural dimensions of human interaction to include a concern for the relationship of human society with the natural environment. 58 See, for instance, the work of the international Learning Metrics Task Force. 59 Delors, J. et al. 1996. Learning: The treasure within.Paris, UNESCO. Of greater concern is that the four pillars of learning are fundamentally under threat in the context of current societal challenges, and particularly the pillars of learning to be and The four pillars of learning are fundamentally under threat in the context of current societal challenges, and particularly the pillars of learning to be and to live together. to live together, which best reflect the socialization function of education. The strengthening of ethical principles and values in the process of learning is essential to protecting these pillars of a humanistic vision of education. Learning to learn and the development of competencies Much international debate is taking place now about the types of skills and competencies required in the current context of complexity and uncertainty. However, the diverse and often overlapping definitions of skills and competencies, and the multiple ways of categorizing them, can create confusion. Although the terms skills and competencies are often used interchangeably, a clear difference exists between the two. Competencies are broader in scope. They refer to the ability to use knowledge – understood broadly as encompassing information, understanding, skills, values, and attitudes – in specific contexts and to meet demands. Box 5. Foundation, transferable, and technical and vocational skills The EFA Global Monitoring Report 2012 proposes a useful approach to different types of skills in relation to the world of work. It identifies three main types of skills that all young people need – foundation, transferable, and technical and vocational skills – and the contexts in which they may be acquired: Foundation skills: At their most elemental, foundation skills are the literacy and numeracy skills necessary for getting work that pays enough to meet daily needs. These foundations are also a prerequisite for engaging in further education and training, and for acquiring transferable skills and technical and vocational skills. Transferable skills: Finding and keeping work require a broad range of skills that can be transferred and adapted to different work needs and environments. Transferable skills include analysing problems and reaching appropriate solutions, communicating ideas and information effectively, being creative, showing leadership and conscientiousness, and demonstrating entrepreneurial capabilities. Such skills are nurtured to some extent outside the school environment. They can, however, be further developed through education and training Technical and vocational skills: Many jobs require specific technical know-how, whether related to growing vegetables, using a sewing machine, engaging in bricklaying or carpentry, or working on a computer in an office. Technical and vocational skills can be acquired through work placement programmes linked to secondary schooling and formal technical and vocational education, or through work-based training, including traditional apprenticeships and agricultural cooperatives. Source: UNESCO. 2012. Youth and Skills: Putting education to work. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2012. Paris, UNESCO. The focus on the importance of 'soft', 'transferable', 'non-cognitive' or 'twenty-first century' skills has enriched current thinking on educational content and methods. The underlying and often implicit rationale is the need for creativity and entrepreneurship for greater competitiveness. Although this rationale is key to the economic function of education, it must not overshadow the need to develop those competencies that individuals and communities require for the multiple dimensions of human existence – competencies that contribute to the empowerment of both. Competencies enhance the ability to use the appropriate knowledge (information, understanding, skills and values) creatively and responsibly in given situations to find solutions and establish new ties with others. The knowledge required is not prescribed by a central authority, but identified through schools, teachers and communities. It is knowledge that is not merely transmitted but explored, researched, experimented with, and created according to human need. It is knowledge used for developing basic language and communication skills; for solving problems; and to develop higher-order skills such as logical thinking, analyzing, synthesizing, inferring, deducting, inducting, and thinking hypothetically. It is knowledge that is arrived at in ways that nurture what is perhaps the most important skill of all: the ability to access and critically process information. Learning to learn has never been as important as it is today. Learning to learn has never been as important as it is today. The volume of information now available on the internet is staggering. The challenge becomes how to teach learners to make sense of the vast amount of information they encounter every day, identify credible sources, assess the reliability and validity of what they read, question the authenticity and accuracy of information, connect this new knowledge with prior learning and discern its significance in relation to information they already understand. 60 Rethinking curriculum development What would a humanistic curriculum look like from the perspective of policy formulation and content? Regarding learning content and methods, a humanistic curriculum is certainly one that raises more questions than it provides answers. It promotes respect for diversity and rejection of all forms of (cultural) hegemony, stereotypes and biases. It is a curriculum based on intercultural education that allows for the plurality of society while ensuring balance between pluralism and universal values. In terms of policy, we must recall that curriculum frameworks are tools to bridge broad educational goals and the processes to reach them. For curriculum frameworks to be legitimate, the process 60 Facer, K. 2011. Learning Futures: Education, Technology and Social Challenges. New York, Routledge. of policy dialogue to define educational goals must be participatory and inclusive. 61 Curriculum policy and content must both be guided by the principles of social and economic justice, equality and environmental responsibility that constitute the pillars of sustainable development. " " Ensuring more inclusive education Progress, but persistent inequalities in basic education We have made significant progress in ensuring the right to basic education since 2000, in part driven by the Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) frameworks. This progress is reflected in improved school enrolment ratios, fewer out-of-school children, higher literacy rates particularly among youth, and a narrower gender gap in both school enrolment and adult literacy across the world. Despite this progress, the pledge made as long ago as 1990 by governments and international development partners to 'meet the basic learning needs of all children, youth and adults' has not been kept. Close to 60 million children and 70 million adolescents worldwide still do not have access to effective basic education. In 2011, close to 775 million adults were still considered to have insufficient levels of literacy. Even for those with access to formal basic education, incomplete schooling and education of poor quality are contributing to insufficient levels of basic skills acquisition, with the quality of education and the relevance of learning remaining key concerns. At least 250 million children are still not able to read, write or count adequately even after at least four years in school. 62 Furthermore, significant inequalities among countries persist and national averages in many countries mask striking inequalities within countries in levels of attainment and outcomes in basic education. 63 Traditional factors of marginalization in education such as gender and urban or rural residence continue to combine with income, language, minority status and disability to create 'mutually reinforcing disadvantages', particularly in low-income or conflict-affected countries. 64 61 Amadio, M., Opertti, R., Tedesco, J.C. 2014. Curriculum in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges, Tensions and Open Questions. ERF Working Papers, No. 9. Paris, UNESCO. See also: International Bureau of Education UNESCO. 2013. The Curriculum Debate: Why It Is Important Today. IBE Working Papers on Curriculum Issues No. 10. Geneva, IBE UNESCO. 62 UNESCO. 2014. Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014. Paris, UNESCO. 63 Extracted from Muscat Agreement (2014) which refers to GMR data. More than 57 million children and 69 million adolescents still do not have access to effective basic education. In 2011, an estimated 774 million adults were illiterate. 64 UNESCO. 2011. The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011. Paris, UNESCO. Box 6. Children with disabilities are often overlooked Children with disabilities are often denied their right to education. However, little is known about their school attendance patterns. The collection of data on children with disabilities is not straightforward, but data are vital to ensure that policies are in place to address the constraints these children face. By one estimate, 93 million children under age 14, or 5.1% of the world's children, were living with a 'moderate or severe disability' in 2004. According to the World Health Survey, in 14 of 15 low and middle income countries, people of working age with disabilities were about one-third less likely to have completed primary school. For example, in Bangladesh, 30% of people with disabilities had completed primary school, compared with 48% of those with no disabilities. The corresponding shares were 43% and 57% in Zambia; 56% and 72% in Paraguay. It has been shown that children with a higher risk of disability are far more likely to be denied a chance to go to school. In Bangladesh, Bhutan and Iraq, children with mental impairments were most likely to be denied this right. In Iraq, for instance, 10% of 6- to 9-year-olds with no risk of disability had never been to school in 2006, but 19% of those at risk of having a hearing impairment and 51% of those who were at higher risk of mental disability had never been to school. In Thailand, almost all 6- to 9-year-olds who had no disability had been to school in 2005/06, and yet 34% of those with walking or moving impairments had never been to school. Source: UNESCO. 2014. Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014: Paris, UNESCO. Gender equality in basic education Gender equality in education has traditionally been narrowly equated with gender parity at different levels of formal education. Gender has been a traditional factor of inequality and disparity in education, most often to the disadvantage of girls and women. Yet we note significant progress in narrowing the gap around the world since 2000, with a larger proportion of girls and women accessing different levels of formal education. Indeed, gender parity in primary education has been achieved in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Western Europe. In addition, significant progress has been made since 2000 in narrowing the gender gap, particularly in South and West Asia and to a lesser degree in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States. However, despite the significant progress made, the majority of out-of-school children are girls, while two-thirds of youth and adults with low levels of literacy in the world are women. To help ensure women's empowerment, boys and men must also be engaged in the fight against gender inequality. This must begin with basic education. Box 7. Hearing the voice of girls deprived of education Education is one of the blessings of life – and one of its necessities. Today...I am not a lone voice, I am many. I am those 66 million girls who are deprived of education. And today I am not raising my voice. It is the voice of those 66 million girls. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech by Malala Yousafzai, Oslo, 10 December 2014 Gender parity in secondary and higher education In secondary education, the goal of gender parity has been achieved in a number of regions including Central Asia, East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as North America and Western Europe. In other regions, the gender gap has been narrowing, particularly in South and West Asia and to a lesser degree in the Arab States. The gender gap in secondary enrolment is most evident in sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia and South Asia where average enrolment ratios are the lowest. Regarding tertiary education, however, the proportion of women among university students in sub-Saharan Africa remains small and the goal of gender parity in tertiary education represents an important challenge. Elsewhere in the world, progress has been observed in most regions, with particularly striking progress in the Arab States, East Asia and the Pacific, and South and West Asia. In certain regions, such as Central and Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, North America, the Pacific, and Western Europe, the proportion of women participating in higher education is in fact greater than that of men. This is not only due to the faster growth of girls' enrolment in secondary education, but also to boys' underachievement in and lower completion of secondary education, observed in many regions. The pattern of boys' high drop-out from secondary education in some parts of the world such as the Caribbean and Latin America is another issue of concern because it puts further strain on social cohesion. Education as a potential equalizer Education often reproduces or even exacerbates inequalities, but it can also serve to equalize. Inclusive educational processes are essential for equitable development, and this appears to be true for various levels of educational provision. Early childhood education: It is true, for instance, at the level of early childhood education where we note growing recognition of the foundational importance of early interventions for future learning and life chances. Research results demonstrate that early interventions for young children are essential not only for their own well-being: They also have sustainable, long-term effects on the development of human capital, social cohesion and economic success. Evidence shows that the most disadvantaged children – their disadvantage due, inter alia, to poverty, ethnic and linguistic minority status, gender discrimination, remoteness, disability, violence, and HIV/AIDS status – experience the most dramatic gains from good quality Early Childhood Development programmes; yet it is exactly such children who are least likely to participate in these programmes. 65 Meta-reviews of early interventions identify one reason for their effectiveness: As children get older, the disparity between an average growth trajectory and a delayed trajectory widens. It is now well understood that intervening earlier requires fewer resources and less effort; at the same time, it is more effective. This is especially significant when providing for children with specific disabilities and special needs, for instance those with autism or Asperger syndrome. 66 Box 8. Senegal: The 'Case des Tout-Petits' experience The health and social status of children in Senegal is unfavourable and despite serious efforts the protection of children remains of great concern. In reaction to this situation, Senegalese national authorities now consider early childhood care a priority for development. Since 2002, the 'Case des Tout-Petits', a new model for the development of children in their early years, has coexisted alongside the various structures of formal, non-formal and informal pre-school education. While there is room for improvement, the programme is a valuable community-based experience grounded in local cultural traditions. The 'Case des Tout-Petits' is a community structure for the support of children aged from 0 to 6. The case, or traditional house, connotes a lifestyle, a way of being and thinking, and symbolizes a commitment to African values. The case as a living, socialized, educational place par excellence is considered the starting point for the child's learning in life. These 'cases' were primarily designed for disadvantaged and rural milieus to guarantee access to adequate and integrated services. They are run by the people themselves and represent some 20% of Senegal's early childhood structures. Architecturally, the 'Case des Tout-Petits' is a hexagonal structure comprising two rooms, one for the children's educational activities and the other for parental education. These structures develop a comprehensive and holistic approach to childhood care that includes education, health and nutrition programmes. While participation is not free, fees are lower than in other early childhood care structures within the formal sector. The financial participation is symbolic and allows families to work in synergy around a common good that belongs to the community and that the community is expected to preserve. Source: Adapted from Turpin Bassama, S., 2010. La case des tout-petits au Sénégal. Revue Internationale d'éducation de Sèvres. No. 53-2010, pp. 65–75. Secondary education: It may also be true for secondary and tertiary education. Expansion of access to basic schooling worldwide has increased demand for secondary and tertiary education and concern for vocational skills development, particularly in a context of growing youth unemployment and a process of qualification 65 Global Child Development Group. 2011. Child Development Lancet Series: Executive Summary. www.globalchilddevelopment.org [Accessed February 2015]. 66 Baron-Cohen, S. 2008. The Facts: Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press. and requalification. In some countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean regions, for instance, the expansion of post-basic educational opportunities combined with propoor public policies have been shown to reduce inequality: 'Investment in education, labour market institutions and regulations can change patterns of inequality. In those Latin American countries where inequality has declined, two key factors have contributed to such declines: the expansion of education, and public transfers to the poor…. Increase in public expenditure on education throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, for instance, is leading to rising secondary enrolment and completion rates, and this is becoming a major determinant of the fall in inequality.' 67 Higher education: Access to higher education has known a spectacular expansion over the past fifteen years. Global enrolment in tertiary education has doubled since 2000 with today some 200 million students worldwide, half of whom are women. 68 However, disparities based on income and other factors of social marginalization remain widespread, and this despite a variety of policy measures in recent years. Learners from higher income groups have retained their relative advantage in access to tertiary education across the world. Even in countries with high enrolment rates, the participation of minorities continues to lag behind the national average. It is important to note in this respect that most of the growth in higher education has been and continues to be in the private sector. The growing share of private institutions and the trend towards the privatization of the public sector worldwide have implications for access and equity. Direct and indirect costs of studies in higher education remain the main cause of exclusion. While loan programmes are attractive, they are not widespread. 69 67 UN DESA. 2013. Inequality Matters. Report of the World Social Situation 2013. New York, United Nations. 68 Based on UNESCO Institute of Statistics data. 69 Altbach, P. G., Reisberg, L. and Rumbley, L. E. 2009. Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution. Paris, UNESCO. (Report Prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education) Box 9. Intercultural Universities in Mexico While an estimated 10% of the population of Mexico is indigenous, it is the least represented in higher education. According to estimates, only between 1% and 3% of higher education enrollment in Mexico is indigenous. In 2004, in response to this inequality, the General Coordination for Intercultural and Bilingual Education at the Ministry of Education established Intercultural Universities with the active participation of indigenous organizations and academic institutions in each region. These institutions are located in densely indigenous areas and, though they allow for diversity in enrolment, they are especially intended for the indigenous population. Founded on the principle of intercultural education, they aim to foster dialogue between different cultures and represent a way of responding to both the historical and more recent demands of indigenous peoples. In congruence with the recognition of diversity, Intercultural Universities do not propose a fixed approach to their educational activities. While assuring the respect of some basic principles, each university defines its curriculum according to the needs and potentials of the region in which it is located. Students are engaged in activities that relate them to the surrounding communities through research and development projects, with the aim of working and contributing to the development of their territory, their people and their culture. Twelve Intercultural Universities are currently operating with a total enrollment of approximately 7,000 students and a high proportion of female students. Despite the challenges of financing, of students' living conditions and of political vulnerability that these universities face, they represent an important contribution to the achievement of educational equity. Source: Adapted from Schmelkes, S. 2009. Intercultural Universities in Mexico: Progress and difficulties. Intercultural Education, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 5-17. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14675980802700649 [Accessed February 2015]. " " The transformation of the educational landscape The educational landscape of today's world is undergoing radical transformation with regard to methods, content and spaces of learning. This is true both for schooling and higher education. The increased availability of and access to diverse sources of knowledge are expanding opportunities for learning, which may be less structured and more innovative, affecting the classroom, pedagogy, teacher authority and learning processes. In scale, the current transformation of the learning landscape has been likened to the historical transition from the traditional pre-industrial educational model to the factorymodel initiated in the nineteenth century. In the traditional pre-industrial model, most of what people learned came through the activities of their daily lives and work. In contrast, the model of mass education born of the industrial revolution equated learning – almost exclusively – with schooling. The schooling model, moreover, continues to associate learning essentially with classroom teaching, when in fact a lot of learning (even in traditional educational settings) takes place at home and elsewhere. Nonetheless, the physical space defined by the classroom as the main locus of learning remains a central feature of formal education systems at all levels of learning. 70 Is schooling really over? Some now argue that the schooling model has no future in the digital age as a consequence of the opportunities offered by e-learning, mobile learning and other digital technologies. In this respect it would be worth revisiting the deschooling debates of the 1960s and of the 1970s, notably the work of Paul Goodman 71 and of Ivan Illich. 72 It is true the current industrial model of schooling was designed to meet the production needs of well over a century ago, that modes of learning have changed dramatically over the past two decades, and sources of knowledge have changed, as have the ways in which we exchange and interact with it. It is also true that formal education systems have been slow to change and remain remarkably similar to what they have been for the past two centuries. 73 And yet, schooling remains as important as ever. It is the first step in institutionalized learning and socialization beyond the family, and it is an essential What we need is a more fluid approach to learning as a continuum, in which schooling and formal education institutions interact more closely with other less formalized educational experiences from early childhood throughout life. component of social learning: learning to be and learning to live together. Learning should not be merely an individual process. As a social experience, it requires learning with and through others – through discussion and debate with both peers and teachers. Towards networks of learning spaces Nevertheless, the transformation of the educational landscape in the contemporary world has seen growing recognition of the importance and relevance of learning outside formal institutions. There is a move from traditional educational institutions towards mixed, diverse and complex learning landscapes in which formal, non-formal and informal learning occur through a variety of educational institutions and third-party providers. 74 What we need is a more fluid approach to learning as a continuum, in which schooling and formal education institutions interact more closely with other less formalized educational experiences from early childhood throughout life. The changes in the spaces, times and relations in which learning takes place favour a network of learning spaces where non-formal and informal spaces of learning will interact with and complement formal educational institutions. 70 Frey, T. 2010. The future of education. FuturistSpeaker. www.futuristspeaker.com/2007/03/the-future-ofeducation [Accessed February 2015]. 71 Goodman, P. 1971. Compulsory Miseducation. Harmandsworth, UK, Penguin Books. 72 Illich, I. 1973. Deschooling Society. Harmandsworth, UK, Penguin Books. 73 Davidson, C.N. and Goldberg, D.T. with Jones, Z.M. 2009. The Future of Learning Institutions in the Digital Age. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press (MacArthur Foundation Report on Digital media and Learning). 74 Scott, C. 2015. The Futures of Learning. ERF Working Papers. Paris, UNESCO. Emerging learning spaces Classroom-centred learning is now challenged by the expansion of access to knowledge and the emergence of learning spaces beyond classrooms, schools, universities and other educational institutions. 75 Social media, for instance, can extend classroom work by providing opportunities for such activities as collaboration and co-authoring. Mobile devices enable learners to access educational resources, connect with others or create content, both inside and outside the classroom. 76 Similarly, Massive Open On-Line Courses (MOOCs) in higher education, where a consortium of universities comes together to pool faculty resources in providing course content, have opened up new avenues for reaching wider audiences in higher education across the world. The current context of transformation of the educational landscape offers an opportunity to reconcile all learning spaces by creating synergies between formal education and training institutions and other educational experiences. It also offers new opportunities for experimentation and innovation. Box 10. The 'Hole-in-the-Wall' experiment Dr Sugata Mitra, Chief Scientist at NIIT, is credited with the Hole-in-the-Wall experiment. As early as 1982, he had been toying with the idea of unsupervised learning and computers. Finally, in 1999, Dr Mitra's team carved a 'hole in the wall' that separated the NIIT premises from the adjoining slum in Kalkaji, New Delhi. Through this hole, a freely accessible computer was put up for use. This computer proved to be an instant hit among the slum dwellers, especially the children. With no prior experience, the children learnt to use the computer on their own. This prompted the following hypothesis: The acquisition of basic computing skills by any set of children can be achieved through incidental learning provided the learners are given access to a suitable computing facility, with entertaining and motivating content and some minimal (human) guidance. Encouraged by the success of the Kalkaji experiment, freely accessible computers were set up in Shivpuri (a town in Madhya Pradesh) and in Madantusi (a village in Uttar Pradesh). These experiments came to be known as Hole-in-the-Wall experiments. The findings from Shivpuri and Madantusi confirmed the results of Kalkaji experiments. It appeared that the children in these two places picked up computer skills on their own. This new way of learning has come to be known as Minimally Invasive Education. Since its inception in 1999, the Hole-in-the-Wall experiment has grown from a single computer at Kalkaji, New Delhi, to more than a hundred computers at various locations - even some which are hugely remote and inaccessible – across India and abroad, including Bhutan, Cambodia and the Central African Republic. Note: NIIT Limited is an Indian company based in Gurgaon, India, that operates several for-profit higher education institutions. Source: Adapted from: www.hole-in-the-wall.com [Accessed February 2015] 75 Hannon, V., Patton, A. and Temperley, J. 2011. Developing an Innovation - Ecosystem for Education. Indianapolis, CISCO; Taddei, F. 2009. Training creative and collaborative knowledge-builders: A major challenge for 21st century education. Report prepared for the OECD on the future of education. Paris, OECD. 76 Grimus, M. and Ebner, M. 2013. M-Learning in Sub Saharan Africa Context- What is it about. Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2013, pp. 20282033. Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Mobile learning Recent interest in the use of mobile technologies for learning is considerable. Mobile learning, alone or in combination with other information and communication technologies, is said to enable learning anytime and anywhere. 77 These technologies are continuously evolving, and currently include mobile and smart phones, tablet computers, e-readers, portable audio players and hand-held consoles. The emergence of new technologies has drastically changed the nature of educational processes. Lightweight and portable devices – ranging from mobile phones, tablet PCs, to palmtops – have liberated learning from fixed and predetermined locations, changing the nature of knowledge in modern societies. 78 Learning has thus become more informal, personal and ubiquitous. 79 Mobile technologies are especially interesting for educators because of their lower cost in comparison with desktop computers, and their incorporation of rich resources from the internet. 80 Gaining prominence in various education sectors, mobile learning has furthered basic and higher education, as well as connected formal and informal education. 81 Given their portability and low-cost features, inexpensive mobile learning devices have the potential to increase the accessibility and effectiveness of basic education. 82 Mobile technologies 'hold the key to turning today's digital divide into digital dividends bringing equitable and quality education for all.' 83 Notably, the development of mobile technologies has opened up many possibilities in literacy and language learning. 84 Research has demonstrated mobile technology's effectiveness in improving literacy performance among learners. Because mobile technology can reach a wider audience, it holds the promise of transforming education for children and youth in isolated and other underserved conditions. 85 77 UNESCO. 2013. Policy Guidelines for mobile learning. Paris, UNESCO. 78 O'Malley, C., Vavoula, G., Glew, J.P., Taylor, J., Sharples, M. and Lefrere, P. 2003. MOBIlearn WP4 Guidelines for Learning/Teaching/Tutoring in a Mobile Environment. www2.le.ac.uk/Members/gv18/gvpublications [Accessed February 2015]. 79 Traxler, J. 2009. Current State of Mobile Learning. M. Alley (ed.), Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training Athabasca, AB, Canada, AU Press. pp. 9-24. 80 Kukulska-Hulme, A. 2005. Introduction. J. Traxler and A. Kukulska-Hulme (eds), Mobile learning – A handbook for educators and trainers, New York, Routledge, pp. 1-6. 81 Traxler, op. cit. 82 Kim, P.H. 2009. Action Research Approach on Mobile Learning Design for the Underserved. Education Technology Research Development. Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 415-435. 83 ITU and UNESCO. 2014. Mobile learning week: A revolution for inclusive and better education. UNESCO website. www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/in-focus-articles/mobile-learning-week-a-revolution-forinclusive-better-education [Accessed February 2015]. 84 Joseph, S., Uther, M. 2006. Mobile language learning with multimedia and multi-modal interfaces. Proceedings of the fourth IEEE International Workshop on Wireless, Mobile and Ubiquitous Technology in Education (ICHIT '06), pp. 124-128. 85 Saechao, N. 2012. Harnessing Mobile Learning to Advance Global Literacy. The Asia Foundation. http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2012/09/05/harnessing-mobile-learning-to-advance-global-literacy/ [Accessed February 2015]. Box 11. Mobile literacy for girls in Pakistan The UNESCO Mobile Literacy Project used mobile phones to complement and support a traditional faceto-face literacy course offered to 250 adolescent girls living in remote areas of Pakistan. Illiteracy is an acute problem in Pakistan and disproportionately impacts women and girls. Across the country the adult literacy rate is 69% for males but only 40% for females. Because education research shows that newly acquired literacy skills quickly atrophy without consistent practice, project planners wanted a way to support the girls remotely after they completed the course. The only way to communicate with participating students who lived in villages without computers or reliable fixed-line internet connections was via mobile phones. Programme instructors sent text messages to their students reminding them to practice handwriting skills or reread passages in a workbook. Instructors also posed questions to their students, which the girls answered via text messages. All the activities and communication sought to reinforce the literacy skills the girls had gained during the in-person course. Before the project incorporated mobile devices, only 28% of the girls who completed the literacy course earned an 'A' grade on a follow-up examination. However, with the mobile support over 60% of the girls earned an 'A' grade. Based on this initial success the project is currently being expanded and now reaches over 2,500 students. Source: UNESCO. 2013. Policy Guidelines for Mobile Learning. Paris, UNESCO, p. 15. Massive Open On-line Courses (MOOCs) – Promises and limits Massive Open On-line Courses are also transforming the landscape of higher education to a certain degree. They have generated significant interest from governments, educational institutions and business groups. 86 Yet while MOOCs have become an important platform for expanding higher education accessibility and online education innovation, they have provoked concern about accentuation of inequalities and considerable concern around the issues of pedagogy, quality assurance and poor completion rates, as well as certification and recognition of learning. 87 Quality is a particular worry as MOOCs essentially involve self-study and lack the structure of other online courses. 88 Teaching methods have been criticized as outdated, because most MOOCs still rely on 'information transmission, computer-marked assignments and peer assessment'. 89 The lack of personal interactions and live discussion makes it difficult to fully respond to individual students' needs. 90 86 Yuan, L. and Powell, S. 2013. MOOCs and Open Education: Implications for Higher Education – A White Paper. Centre for Educational Technology, Interoperability and Standards. http://publications.cetis.ac.uk/2013/667 [Accessed February 2015]. 87 Daniel, J.S. 2012. Making Sense of MOOCs: Musings in a Maze of Myth, Paradox and Possibility. Journal of Interactive Media in Education. Vol. 3, No. 18. http://jime.open.ac.uk/article/view/259 [Accessed February 2015]. 88 Butcher, N. and Hoosen, S. 2014. A Guide to Quality in Post-Traditional Online Higher Education. Dallas, TX, Academic Partnerships. www.icde.org/filestore/News/2014_March-April/Guide2.pdf [Accessed February 2015]. 89 Bates, T. 2012. What's right and what's wrong about Coursera-style MOOCs? www.tonybates.ca/2012/08/05/whats-right-and-whats-wrong-about-coursera-style-moocs [Accessed February 2015]. 90 Daniel, op. cit. Likewise, student assessment and certification is often lacking or inadequate in MOOCs. Although institutions have started to award credits for MOOCs, and novel forms of certifications such as badges are being introduced, these are still seen as an inferior form of educational outcome and an inadequate indication of the quality of learning. 91 Such criticisms may be more relevant to universities in the global North, as MOOCs may serve different needs and different constituencies in the global South. Box 12. Towards post-traditional forms of higher education Our usual image of a higher education institution is of a place where people go once in their lives, often between 18 and 22 years old, to move through it in a linear fashion over four years. We think of the classroom and the lecturer as the primary sources of information and the campus as the centre of learning. However, that image is changing rapidly. The workplace is demanding skills such as communication and critical thinking that we may more easily acquire from informal learning experiences than in institutions. […] Likewise, new methods of distance education and online learning are transforming the student experience, even on campus. Source: Butcher, N. and Hoosen, S. 2014. A Guide to Quality in Post-Traditional Online Higher Education. Dallas, TX, Academic Partnerships. Challenges to the traditional university model One of the main challenges for higher education today is how it can respond to the massive global demand for professional qualifications while maintaining its key role The social contract that binds higher education institutions to society at large needs to be redefined in a context of increased global competition. in training for research and through research. The social contract that binds higher education institutions to society at large needs to be redefined in a context of increased global competition. This poses a number of fundamental questions about the future of the university model as we know it. Indeed, the landscape of higher education is being transformed by the diversification of structures and institutions, the internationalization of higher education provision, the development of MOOCs noted above, the emerging culture of assessment of the quality and relevance of learning, and growing public-private partnerships. This changing context has significant implications for financing and human resources, it questions established forms of educational governance, and it raises concerns about the principle of autonomy and academic freedoms that are the foundations of the traditional university model. University rankings: Uses and misuses 92 The development of university rankings reflects an important trend in the internationalization of higher education and the growing interest in the comparison of the quality of higher education institutions. While interest in university rankings has greatly increased, much criticism has also been heard from academics, students, education service providers, policy-makers and development agencies. On the positive side, rankings address the growing demand for accessible, manageably packaged and relatively simple information on the 'quality' of higher education institutions. This demand is fuelled by the need to make informed choices about universities, within a context of the massification of higher education and the fast-growing diversity of providers. For many, rankings have also encouraged transparency of information and accountability of higher education institutions. Critics, however, argue that rankings can divert universities' attention away from teaching and social responsibility towards the type of scientific research valued by indicators used for ranking exercises. There have also been concerns that by applying a limited set of criteria to world universities, and given the strong desire to feature in the top 200 universities, rankings actually encourage the homogenization of higher education institutions, making them less responsive and less relevant to their immediate contexts. The fact that rankings are also said to favour the advantage enjoyed by the 200 best-ranked institutions has important implications for equity. 92 Abstracted and adapted from Marope, P.T.M., Wells, P.J. and Hazelkorn, E. 2013. Rankings and Accountability in Higher Education: Uses and Misuses. Paris, UNESCO. " " The role of educators in the knowledge society Digital technologies do not replace teachers 93 The teacher should be a guide who enables learners, from early childhood throughout their learning trajectories, to develop and advance through the constantly expanding maze of knowledge. The formidable increase in the volume of information and knowledge available requires a qualitative approach to its transmission, dissemination and acquisition, at individual and collective levels. Given the potential of information and communication technologies, the teacher should now be a guide who enables learners, from early childhood throughout their learning trajectories, to develop and advance through the constantly expanding maze of knowledge. In these circumstances, some initially predicted the teaching profession was doomed to a progressive disappearance. Such voices claimed that new digital technologies would gradually replace teachers, bringing about a broader dissemination of knowledge, improved accessibility and, above all, savings in means and resources in the face of enormously expanded access to education. We must recognize, however, that such forecasts are no longer cogent: an effective teaching profession must still be considered a priority of education policies in all countries. Reversing the deprofessionalization of teachers If education is to contribute to the full realization of the individual and a new model of development, teachers and other educators remain key actors. However, although dominant discourse repeatedly articulates the importance of teachers, a number of trends point to a process of deprofessionalization of teachers in both the global North and the global South. These trends include the influx of unqualified teachers, partly in response to teacher shortages, but also for financial reasons; the casualization of teachers through contract-teaching, particularly in higher education where reliance on adjuncts to meet the teaching workload is increasing; the reduced autonomy of teachers; the erosion of the quality of the teaching profession as a result of standardized testing and high-stake teacher evaluations; the encroachment, within educational institutions, of private management techniques; and gaps between the remuneration of teachers and of professionals in other sectors in many countries. 93 Abstracted and adapted from Haddad, G. 2012. Teaching: A profession with a future. Worlds of Education. No. 159. Box 13. Teachers highly trained and regarded in Finland According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Finland is one of the countries with the best achievement scores in reading, mathematics and science for 15-year-olds. While this success could be attributed to many factors, it is largely due to Finland's highly trained, professional and respected teachers. In Finland, teaching is a prestigious career and the Finnish society puts trust in education and teachers. They are highly qualified (requiring at least a Master's degree for full time employment) and job selection is a rigorous process with only the best candidates chosen for teacher training. Teachers have high competence in content knowledge and pedagogy, and are autonomous and reflective academic experts. Source: Niemi, H., Toom, A. and Kallioniemi A. (eds). 2012. Miracle of Education: The Principles and Practices of Teaching and Learning in Finnish Schools .Rotterdam, Sense Publishers. We must, therefore, rethink the content and objectives of teacher education and training. Teachers need to be trained to facilitate learning, to understand diversity, to be inclusive, and to develop competencies for living together and for protecting and improving the environment. They must foster classroom environments that are respectful and secure, encourage self-esteem and autonomy, and use a wide range of pedagogical and didactical strategies. Teachers must relate productively to parents and communities. They need to work in teams with other teachers for the benefit of the school as a whole. Teachers should know their students and their families, and be able to relate teaching to their specific contexts. They should be able to choose relevant content matter and use it productively in the development of competencies. They should use technology together with other materials as instruments for learning. Teachers should be encouraged to continue learning and developing professionally. We also have to offer teachers more attractive, motivating and stable living and working conditions, including salaries and career prospects. This is essential if we are to avoid a dangerous loss of interest that weakens what we consider the world's most important foundational profession. We also have to offer teachers more attractive, motivating and stable living and working conditions, including salaries and career prospects. This is essential if we are to avoid a dangerous loss of interest that weakens what we consider the world's most important foundational profession. The missions and careers of teachers must constantly be recast and reconsidered in the light of new requirements and new challenges to education in a constantly changing globalized world. To this end, teacher training at all levels – from the most general to the most specialized – must better integrate the very essence of the transdisciplinary spirit: an interdisciplinary approach that can enable our teachers and professors to lead us down the road to creativity and rationality, towards a humanism of shared progress and development, with respect for our common natural and cultural heritage. Challenges for the academic profession The status and working conditions of the academic profession worldwide are under strain due to both mass access and budget constraints. While the profession faces different challenges in different regions, the professoriate is confronting significant difficulties everywhere. The expansion of access to higher education has produced a tremendous need for university teachers, but qualified academics are not being produced fast enough to meet the demand. It is possible that up to half of the world's university teachers have only earned a bachelor's degree. In much of the world, half the academic staff is close to retirement. There are also too few new PhDs produced to replace those leaving the profession, since many doctoral candidates drop out early or prefer to work outside of academe because of its inadequate compensation for their work. In many Latin American countries, up to 80 per cent of teachers in higher education are employed part-time. This phenomenon undermines the quality of teaching since university teachers cannot devote their full attention to teaching, let alone to research. Moreover, in recent years, a global academic marketplace has developed: academics are internationally mobile. While better pay is a main motivating factor in explaining such flows, other factors include improved working conditions, particularly research infrastructures, as well as opportunities for advancement and academic freedom. The phenomena of 'brain drain' and of 'brain circulation', which are considered in more detail later, pose challenges to policy-making and provision in higher education. Educators beyond the formal sector Finally, we must recall the essential role that educators play in ensuring learning throughout life and beyond formal education systems. The importance of this role We must recall the essential role that educators play in ensuring learning throughout life and beyond formal education systems. is evidenced in the growth of training programmes worldwide for educators working in a variety of non-formal and informal settings. Such educators provide learning opportunities through community centres, religious organizations, technical and vocational training centres, literacy programmes, voluntary associations, youth groups, sports and arts programmes. The value of such learning opportunities to the development and well-being of individuals and communities is considerable. 3. Education policy-making in a complex world 57 3. Education policy-making in a complex world Globalization is increasingly challenging the autonomy of nation-states and rendering policy-making more complex. For instance, although economic activity is increasingly globalized, political decision-making and action remain essentially at the national level. National policy-makers are thus finding it increasingly difficult to respond to and regulate the consequences of globalization for national development. The impact of the world economic crisis of 2008, for instance, or the rise in youth unemployment, including in countries of the North, are evidence of this reality. In the same way, the growing mobility of learners and workers across national borders, new patterns of brain circulation, as well as new forms of civic engagement are posing fresh challenges for national policy-making. In this section we consider examples of how this affects educational policy-making. " " The growing gap between education and employment Low employment growth and rising vulnerability The intensification of economic globalization is producing patterns of low-employment growth, rising youth unemployment and vulnerable employment, affecting societies both in the global North and in the global South. Low-employment growth has recently affected parts of Europe where a new generation of young people is facing the prospect of entering employment either late or not at all. We should, however, recall that the challenges of matching skill sets acquired through education and training to labour market demand are not new. 94 We should note furthermore that although youth unemployment signals a mismatch between education, training and employment, it 94 See, for example: Blaug, M. 1965. The Rate of Return on Investment in Education in Great Britain. The Manchester School. Vol. 33. is also linked to economic policy choices and political responsibilities. Nevertheless, current employment trends are calling into question the long-established link between formal education and employment, on the basis of which international development discourse and practice have long rationalized investment in human capital. Growing frustration among youth The fact that appropriate jobs are becoming scarcer is causing increasing frustration among families and young graduates around the world. Rising levels of educational attainment among youth, and workers more generally, are leading to increased competition for jobs. In many countries of the global South in particular, the entry into a constricted labour market of large numbers of young people, often the first in their communities to have benefited from expanded access to education, is exacerbating the gap between the aspirations created by formal education and the realities of scarce employment. Significant numbers of those entering formal education for the first time will no longer reap the expected benefits of educational qualifications: employment and the promise of a better future. Disillusion is growing in some segments of society and in certain countries with education as an effective vehicle for upward social mobility and greater well-being. The hope for upward social mobility spurred by the massive expansion of access to educational opportunities since the 1990s is diminishing, not only in many countries in the South, but also in the North. Young people are beginning to question the 'return on investment' of traditional 'high status' educational routes. 95 Yet it is important to take a closer look and better understand the dynamics of this transition from education and training to work among youth. The prolongation of this transition period may be due to various reasons, not all related to the mismatch between skill profiles and labour market needs. Although this transition time can be seen as economically 'unproductive', for some youth it may Disillusion is growing in some segments of society and in certain countries with education as an effective vehicle for upward social mobility and greater well-being. also represent a period of important learning through social engagement, volunteering, travel, leisure, arts and other activities. Moreover, educated youth, even when not in employment, can be at the forefront of civil, social and political engagement. Reconsidering the link between education and the fast-changing world of work A number of responses have been proposed to address this disconnection between formal education and training and the world of work, including retraining of workers, second chance programmes and stronger partnerships with industry. We have also noted a greater focus on career-adaptive competencies. Indeed, the quickening pace 95 Facer, K. 2011. Learning Futures: Education, Technology and Social Challenges. New York, Routledge. of technological and scientific development is making it increasingly difficult to forecast the emergence of new professions and associated skill needs. This has spurred efforts to establish more responsive education and professional skills development that include greater diversification and flexibility, allowing for the adaptation of competencies to rapidly changing needs. It implies ensuring that individuals are more resilient and can develop and apply career adaptive competencies most effectively. 96 These competencies often include more emphasis on what have been variably 'transferable skills', 'twenty-first century skills', and 'non-cognitive skills', including communication, digital literacy, problem-solving, team work and entrepreneurship. Box 14. Strengthening employment opportunities for youth Given the complexity of the youth employment problem, it is often noted that solutions will remain small and marginal if the critical stakeholders fail to band together with clear, comprehensive strategies and commitments. This collective approach to achieving better results and impact has been shown to work in a number of diverse industries and geographies. In South Africa, where two out of three South Africans between the ages of 18 and 28 are unemployed, the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is helping a select group of low-income South African youth 'bridge' to their first jobs in the private sector. Although currently small in scale, the initiative provides a positive model for private sector engagement. Some of South Africa's largest companies in the retail, hospitality and tourism sectors are partnering to provide the job commitments. The South African Development Bank has established a Jobs Fund that provides resources, matched by private investors and employer fees, to allow Harambee to scale up its programmes. In Costa Rica, CAMTIC, the industry association of technology companies, is implementing the Specialist programme to match vulnerable young people with needed Information Technology (IT) skills to fill a gap of several thousand unfilled jobs in the IT sector. Educational institutions, informed by IT companies like Cisco, Microsoft and others, have designed certificate-level training courses that combine soft skills, language and technical training and result in jobs that pay three to five times the country's minimum wage. Source: Banerji, A., Lopez, V., McAuliffe, J., Rosen, A., and Salazar-Xirinachs, J.M., with Ahluwalia, P., Habib, M., and Milberg, T. 2014. An 'E.Y.E.' to the Future: Enhancing Youth Employment. Education and Skills 2.0: New Targets and Innovative Approaches. Geneva, World Economic Forum. Several key questions are thus posed. How can the link between education and employment be strengthened? How can the economic and social value of education and training be enhanced in the current context? How can the relevance of education, particularly at the secondary level, be enhanced to make it more responsive to the lives of young students and to their prospects for employment? Are existing measures sufficient? Ultimately, the solution is employment creation, which implies reinforcing the 96 UNESCO. 2011. Education and Skills for Inclusive and Sustainable Development Beyond 2015. Thematic Think Piece for the UN Task Team on the Post-2015 International Development Agenda. Paris, UNESCO. responsibility of the state for the development of sound employment policies. Education alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment. This requires reconsidering the dominant model of economic development which would also be an opportunity to rethink the link between education and the world of work. Finally, it is important to recognize the importance of learning and relearning that continues beyond formal education and training systems. Relevant competencies are also developed through selflearning, peer-learning, work-based learning (including Education alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment. internships and apprenticeships), on-the-job training, or through other experiences of learning and skills development beyond formal education and training. We must therefore envisage new approaches to education and skills development that capitalize on the full potential of all learning settings. " " Recognizing and validating learning in a mobile world Changing patterns of human mobility Human mobility, both internationally and internally within countries, has reached the highest levels in history. 97 One in seven inhabitants in the world, or approximately one billion people, may be considered to be 'on the move' in today's world. 98 While SouthNorth migration flows continue, South-South migration flows are growing even more rapidly and are likely to increase even faster in the future. 99 Moreover, the 'changing geography of economic growth' 100 , with its consequences for employment and welfare, is encouraging an increasing number of people living in the North to relocate to the South. 101 These shifting patterns of human mobility have important consequences for education and for employment. From brain drain to brain gain Given global demographic trends, the majority of the world's work force is destined to be located in the South. It is estimated that 25 per cent of the world's work force, or the 'global talent pool', will by 2030 be supplied by India alone. Such patterns of brain circulation raise concerns about public funding for education and skills development, given that a significant share of this workforce migrates to live and work abroad. Estimates for 2012 put the cost of such 'human capital flight' from India at 2 billion US dollars. 102 We must note, however, that brain drain can also result in a brain gain, because migrants develop diaspora networks and serve as resources for capital and technological flows to their home countries. 103 97 Rio+20, UNCSD. 2012. Migration and sustainable development. Rio 2012 Issues Briefs. No. 15, p. 1. 98 International Organization for Migration. 2011. World Migration Report 2011. Communicating effectively about migration. Geneva, International Organization for Migration. 99 UN DESA. 2011. Urban Population, Development and the Environment. New York, United Nations. 100 OECD. 2011. Perspectives on Global Development 2012: Social Cohesion in a Shifting World. Paris, OECD. 101 IOM. 2013. Migrant, Well-Being and Development. World Migration Report 2013. Geneva, IOM; OECD. 2013. International Migration Outlook 2013. Paris. OECD. 102 Winthrop, R. and Bulloch, G. 2012. The Talent Paradox: Funding education as a global public good. Brookings Institution. www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2012/11/06-funding-education-winthrop [Accessed February 2015]. 103 Morgan, W. J., Appleton, S. and Sives, A. 2006. Teacher mobility, brain drain and educational resources in the Commonwealth. Educational Paper No. 66. London, UK Government Department for International Development. Box 15. Reverse migration to Bangalore and Hyderabad Bangalore and Hyderabad are considered 'worldwide leading cities' with a niche status in the global Information Technology (IT) sector. During the 1970s and 1980s, there was concern that India was losing its educated workforce to the West, particularly to the United States through a phenomenon known as 'brain drain'. More recently, evidence indicates that reverse brain drain is occurring, as U.S.-trained Indian professionals are returning to their home country in increasing numbers to take advantage of new growth and employment opportunities. Skilled, transnationally active labor forces have an impact on various sectors of the economy, on the social and physical infrastructure of Bangalore and Hyderabad, and in forging and solidifying transnational linkages between India and the United States. Source: Chacko, E., 2007. From brain drain to brain gain: reverse migration to Bangalore and Hyderabad, India's globalizing high tech cities. GeoJournal, 68 (2), pp. 131-140 Increased mobility of workers and learners In addition to increased movement of skilled labour across national borders, we see more mobility of workers across professional occupations. In response to this growing professional and geographical mobility, National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs) have been developed in some 140 countries around the world. Similarly, regional qualification frameworks, often inspired by the European Qualifications Framework (EQFs), have appeared. But the growing scale and the changing patterns of migration are making the mobility of skilled labour increasingly complex and global across all regions of the world. Likewise, the number of globally mobile students has climbed significantly during the first decade of the twenty-first century and is expected to continue escalating. As a result, regional conventions on the recognition of studies, diplomas and degrees in higher education no longer suffice to respond to the internationalization of higher education and the growing mobility of students. Mobility of learners, furthermore, is not confined to the circulation of students between formal educational institutions. It also includes the growing mobility of learners across formal, non-formal and informal learning spaces. This raises questions about the assessment and validation of knowledge and competencies, regardless of the multiple pathways through which they are acquired. Growing interest in large-scale assessments of learning: Benefits and risks From a traditional focus on the content of education and training programmes, we are now shifting to focusing on the recognition, assessment and validation of knowledge acquired. From a traditional focus on the content of education and training programmes, we are now shifting to focusing on the recognition, assessment and validation of knowledge acquired. Beyond the development of outcomes-based national and regional qualifications frameworks, large-scale assessments of skills levels among adults are gaining prominence, such as the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Regarding learners, concern with the quality of education has spurred significant growth in the number and scope of large-scale learning assessments over the past two decades. 104 These large-scale assessments can serve as valuable tools for national accountability of public and private investment in education, particularly by monitoring the learning outcomes of those most disadvantaged by educational systems. But such assessments are also a cause for concern. They risk undermining the quality, relevance and diversity of educational experiences by encouraging teaching to the test and thus a convergence in curriculum development. 105 Policy attention tends to be focused on a narrow range of educational outcomes. The risks associated with large-scale assessments are particularly great when they are used for purposes other than informing educational policy, such as determining teacher pay or school rankings. Towards open and flexible lifelong learning systems Recognition and validation of knowledge and competencies acquired through multiple learning pathways are nonetheless part of a lifelong learning framework. As we have shown, societal developments are reinvigorating the relevance of education that is lifelong and life-wide. The concept is not new, but it maintains its prominence as a means of systematizing and organizing learning in a comprehensive and equitable way. 106 It places the empowerment of learners of all ages at centre stage. 107 Given the challenges of technological and scientific development, and the exponential growth in 104 UNESCO. 2014. Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014. Paris, UNESCO. 105 For the trend toward the globalization of curricula see, for instance, Baker, D. and LeTendre, G.K. 2005. National Differences, Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future of Schooling. Stanford CA, Stanford University Press. See also: IBE UNESCO. 2013. Learning in the post-2015 education and development agenda. Geneva, IBE UNESCO. Text available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic 106 See, for example: UNESCO. 2014. The Muscat Agreement. Global Education for All Meeting. Muscat, Oman 12-14 May 2014, ED-14/EFA/ME/3 and United Nations. 2014. Open Working Group proposal for Sustainable Development Goals. New York, UN General Assembly. 107 UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. 2010. Annual Report 2009. Hamburg, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. information and knowledge that we have noted, lifelong learning is critically important to coping with new employment patterns and achieving the levels and types of competencies required by individuals and societies. The operationalization of open and flexible lifelong learning systems depends on mechanisms for the recognition, validation and assessment of knowledge and competencies across educational and working spaces: # # Linking transparent outcomes-based qualification frameworks Societal developments are reinvigorating the relevance of education that is lifelong and lifewide. It is in this spirit that the Third International Conference on Technical Vocational Education and Training (Shanghai 2012) put forward the following recommendation: 'Support flexible pathways and the accumulation, recognition and transfer of individual learning through transparent, well-articulated outcome-based qualifications systems.' # # Towards 'World Reference Levels' for the recognition of learning? The massive growth of the interregional movement of workers is motivating current feasibility studies on developing World Reference Levels for the recognition of knowledge and competencies at the global level. 108 # # Towards an international convention for the recognition of higher education Beyond regional conventions for the recognition of higher education, UNESCO has recently begun exploring the possibility of elaborating an international convention for the recognition of higher education. " " Rethinking citizenship education in a diverse and interconnected world Emerging expressions of citizenship Public education has always had an important social, civic and political function; it is related to national identity, the creation of a sense of shared destiny and the shaping of citizenship. The notion of citizenship refers to an individual's membership in a political community defined within a nation-state. As such, citizenship can be a contested notion, subject to interpretations, particularly in divided societies. Basic rights associated with citizenship may be denied to minority groups, including migrant groups and refugees. Today the definition of citizenship remains centred on the nation-state, but the concept and its practice is changing under the influence of globalization. 109 Transnational social and political communities, civil society and activism are expressions of emerging 108 Keevy, J. and Chakroun, B. 2015. The use of level descriptors in the twenty-first century. Paris, UNESCO. 109 Adapted from Tawil, S. 2013. Education for 'global citizenship': A framework for discussion. ERF Working Papers, No. 7. Paris, UNESCO. 'post-national' forms of citizenship. 110 By creating new economic, social and cultural spaces beyond nation-states, globalization is contributing to the advent of new modes of identification and mobilization beyond the limits of the national state. Challenges for national education The role of the state in the definition and formation of citizenship is thus being increasingly challenged by the emergence of transnational forms of citizenship. This is true even though the state remains the most important location for citizenship, The role of formal education in civic and political socialization is challenged by the influence of the new spaces, relations and dynamics offered by digital media. both 'as a formal legal status and a normative project or an aspiration'. 111 New communication technologies and social media are an essential catalyst for this transformation, particularly among youth. Indeed, today's youth represent a formidable opportunity as they are the most educated, informed and connected generation in human history. They are increasingly engaged in alternative modes of civil, social and political activism spurred on by social media and technologies that provide them with new avenues for mobilization, collaboration and innovation. The role of formal education in civic and political socialization is challenged by the influence of the new spaces, relations and dynamics offered by digital media. Furthermore, the new digital world characterized by blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media requires us to rethink key notions of and distinctions between the public and the private. Recognition of cultural diversity and rejection of cultural chauvinism There is growing recognition of cultural diversity, whether historically inherent to nation-states (including linguistic and cultural minorities and indigenous peoples) or resulting from migration. Migration, in particular, is contributing to greater cultural diversity within education systems, the workplace and society generally. Yet we are also witnessing a rise in cultural chauvinism and identity-based political mobilization that present serious challenges to social cohesion throughout the world. While cultural diversity is a source of enrichment, it can also give rise to conflict when social cohesion is under strain. Fostering responsible citizenship and solidarity in a global world 112 Education has a crucial role in promoting the knowledge we need to develop: First, a sense of shared destiny with local and national social, cultural, and political 110 Sassen, S. 2002. Towards Post-national and Denationalized Citizenship. E.F. Isin and B.S. Turner (eds), Handbook of Citizenship Studies, London, Sage Publications Ltd, pp. 277-291. 111 Ibid. 112 Tawil, op.cit. environments, as well as with humanity as a whole; second, an awareness of the challenges posed to the development of communities, through an understanding of the interdependence of patterns of social, economic and environmental change at the local and global levels; and third, a commitment to engage in civic and social action based on a sense of individual responsibility towards communities, at the local, national and global levels. # # Celebrating cultural diversity in education Education should celebrate cultural diversity. Enhanced diversity in education can improve the quality of education by introducing both educators and learners to the diversity of perspectives and the variety of lived worlds. The cultural dimension of education must be stressed, in the spirit of the 2001 UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. 113 # # Encouraging inclusive policy-making Increased diversity presents challenges for reaching consensus on educational policy options that most directly influence and shape identity. This aspect is perhaps most explicit in the choice of language(s) of instruction and the nature of citizenship education, including the study of history, geography, social studies and religion in multicultural societies. More inclusive processes of consultation on key policy issues are essential to constructive citizenship education in a diverse world. " " Global governance of education and national policy-making Emerging forms of global governance Systems of norm-setting and regulation in the delivery of global goods such as education are not new, but they are becoming more complex. Traditionally these systems were the responsibility of national governments and inter-governmental organizations, but we are seeing increasing participation by a range of non-state actors. 'There is now a myriad of governmental and non-governmental, for profit and nonprofit, actors involved in multiple – and even competing – governance arrangements at the global level.' 114 The result is a progressive shift in the locus of authority from the state to the global level where it is promoted not only Governance arrangements at the global level have become more complex. 113 Sharp, J. and Vally, R. 2009. Unequal cultures? Racial integration at a South African university and Stoczowski, W. 2009.UNESCO's doctrine of human diversity: a secular soteriology? Anthropology Today 25 (3) June 2009, pp. 3-11. , 114 NORRAG. 2014. Global governance in education and training and the politics of data scoping workshop report. www.norrag.org/en/event/archive/2014/June/16/detail/scoping-meeting-on-the-global-governanceof-education-16-17-june.html [Accessed February 2015]. by intergovernmental organizations but also increasingly by civil society organizations, corporations, foundations and think tanks. Governance arrangements at the global level have also become more complex, as illustrated by multistakeholder arrangements such as the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). The potential influence of global governance arrangements in education and skills development is arguably more controversial than in other development sectors such as health. This is because of the fundamentally political nature of national education policy and the multiple and intertwined ethical, cultural, economic, social and civic dimensions it comprises. Accountability and associated data needs Data are vital to governance and to accountability for the diverse stakeholders involved in and concerned by public education at both national and global levels. At the national level, it is crucial that education authorities be in a position to account for how a significant share of public expenditure (supplemented by sizeable private investment) is ensuring the right of all children, youth and adults to basic educational opportunities that lead to effective and relevant learning. Likewise, it is key that national authorities be able to account for ensuring equal opportunity for post-basic education and training. At the global level, data are increasingly standardized and quantifiable in the form of internationally-comparable statistics, indicators and composite indices, as well as large-scale assessment data, all of which are used for monitoring, benchmarking and rankings. 115 Such data are increasingly used to inform, as well as to legitimate policymaking and investment in education. On the basis of such rationales, there has been a call for a 'data revolution' relative to the various dimensions of development. 116 Indeed, the experience of global target setting within the MDG and EFA experience since 2000 has encouraged reporting of aggregate national data, most often masking the extent of inequality and disparity within countries. If our concern is with equity in the provision of effective and relevant learning opportunities for all, then national targetsetting should allow for the reporting of much more disaggregated data. Data collection and use must go beyond traditional factors of discrimination such as gender and urban or rural residence, to include income and, where possible, minority status. This can be done through better use of alternative data sets such as household living standards, health or labour surveys. Changing patterns of educational financing As access to both basic and post-basic education expands, we have greater awareness of the pressures being placed on public financing of formal education and training systems. The resulting need is to seek more efficient use of these limited resources; to ensure greater accountability in the investment of public resources for education; 115 Ibid. These include PISA, PIACC, UIS and OECD statistics, and SABER. 116 United Nations. 2013. A New Global Partnership: Eradicate poverty and transform economies for sustainable development. The Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. New York, United Nations. and to find ways to supplement them through greater fiscal capacity, advocacy for increased official development assistance and new partnerships with non-state actors. Donors have traditionally played an important role in supplementing national public spending, particularly for basic education. It has been noted that 'Public statements of multilateral institutions suggest a strong commitment to education. In addition, surveys of developing country stakeholders in governments, civil society and the private sector show a strong demand for educational support more widely. However, despite this strong prioritization and demand, there is evidence that multilateral support for basic education is slowing compared with other sectors.' 117 The decline comes precisely at a time when some countries need it most. 118 Indeed, the share of international aid to public education remains important for many low-income countries. In nine countries, all in sub-Saharan Africa, international aid represents more than a quarter of public spending on education. 119 Moreover, the growing recognition of brain circulation across national borders is driving the call for global collective action, in particular for a funding mechanism that may supplement national public expenditure for education as a global public good. 120 The influence of donors on national policy-making Donors not only provide development aid to supplement much needed domestic resources, they also wield tremendous influence on education policy. This can have both positive and negative effects. For example, the Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) have promoted the participation of civil society in Local Education Groups (LEG). This initiative enables civil society to participate in the development of educational programmes together with governments and donors and to track progress towards achieving the EFA goals. 121 However, when donors impose conditions or rules for the giving of aid, governments may be forced to change their policies accordingly. 122 The current trend of financing by results, which a number of donor agencies have adopted, may achieve their desired objectives. But it may be at variance with the policies of individual countries, and at the expense of home-grown, owned, contextually relevant and sustainable solutions. Donors should therefore support governments, local civil society and stakeholders in the development 117 Pauline, R. and Steer, L. 2013. Financing for Global Education Opportunities for Multilateral Action: A report prepared for the UN Special Envoy for Global Education for the High-level Roundtable on Learning for All. Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings Institution and UNESCO EFA GMR. It addresses issues concerning the financing of basic education (Basic Education at risk). www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/09/financing%20global%20education/basic%20 education%20financing%20final%20%20webv2.pdf [Accessed February 2015]. 118 Bokova, I. 2014. Opening Speech. Global Education for All Meeting. 12-14 May 2014. Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/ED_new/pdf/UNESCO-DG.pdf [Accessed February 2015]. 119 UNESCO. 2012. Youth and skills: Putting education to work. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2012. Paris, UNESCO, p. 146. 120 Winthrop, R. and Bulloch, G. 2012. 121 GPE web site www.globalpartnership.org/civil-society-education-fund [Accessed February 2015]. 122 Moyo, D. 2009. Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is Another Way for Africa. London, Penguin Books. and implementation of policies that take into account national aspirations, priorities, contexts and conditions. Changing dynamics of international cooperation Since the publication of the Delors Report (1996) and the adoption of the MDGs (2000), the dynamics of international aid have changed considerably. While North- Since the publication of the Delors Report (1996) and the adoption of the MDGs (2000), the dynamics of international aid have changed considerably. South aid flows remain crucial, South-South and triangular cooperation has been playing an increasingly important role in international development. The global financial crisis and emergence of new economic powers have also contributed to changing relations between countries and creating a new international aid architecture. As countries face increasingly similar difficulties (unemployment, inequalities, climate change, etc.), there is now a call for universality and integration as essential features of the future post-2015 development agenda. Universality indeed implies that all countries will need to change their development path, each with its own approach and according to its own circumstances. This paradigm shift compels us to think in terms of shared responsibilities for a shared future. 4. Education as a common good? 4. Education as a common good? " By regarding education as an end in itself we recognize knowledge to be one of the ultimate values." Abul Kalam Azad, Minister of Education of India (1947-1958) In re-visioning education in a new global context, we need to reconsider not only the purposes of education, but also how learning is organized. In light of the diversification of partnerships and the blurring of boundaries between public and private, we need to rethink the principles that guide educational governance and, in particular, the normative principle of education as a public good and how this should be understood in the changing context of society, state and market. 123 " " The principle of education as a public good under strain Growing call for inclusion, transparency and accountability Individuals and communities are becoming empowered through the deepening of democracy in many countries and through the expanded access to knowledge, both through formal education and through digital technologies. This expansion is prompting a growing demand for voice in public affairs and for change in the modes of local and global governance. Popular demand is increasing for greater accountability, openness, equity and equality in public affairs. Although much of the popular demand for greater 123 Morgan, W. J. and White, I. 2014. Education for Global Development: Reconciling society, state, and market. Weiterbildung, 1, 2014, pp. 38-41. voice is at the local or national levels, it is also increasingly transnational and addresses issues of global concern. A greater role is implied for non-state actors, be they civil society organizations or corporations, in the management of public affairs at the local, national and global levels. This holds true for education policy where both public and private sectors have a stake in the building of inclusive knowledge societies. We see such increased voice having an impact on curricula frameworks, textbooks and policies concerning affirmative action. Popular demand is increasing for greater accountability, openness, equity and equality in public affairs. Growing private engagement in education The trend towards the privatization of education is growing at all levels of provision across the world. Over the past decade, enrolment in private educational institutions has increased, particularly for primary education in lower-income countries, and for post-secondary non-tertiary education in more developed economies and in Central Asia. 124 The privatization of education may be understood as the process of transferring activities, assets, management, functions and responsibilities relating to education from the state or public institutions to private individuals and agencies. 125 In the case of school education, this process takes a variety of forms, including faith schools, low-fee private schools, foreign aid or international schools run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Charter, Contract and Vouchers schools, home schooling and personal tutoring, market-oriented and for-profit schools. 126 While the involvement of the private in education is not new, 'what is new about these manifestations is their scale, scope, and penetration into all aspects of the education endeavour.' 127 The impact of privatization on the right to education The privatization of education can have a positive impact for some social groups, in the form of increased availability of learning opportunities, greater parental choice and a wider range of curricula. However, it can also have negative effects resulting from insufficient or inadequate monitoring and regulation by the public authorities (schools without licences, hiring of untrained teachers and absence of quality assurance), with potential risks for social cohesion and solidarity. Of particular concern: 'Marginalised groups fail to enjoy the bulk of positive impacts and also bear the disproportionate burden of the negative impacts of privatisation.' 128 Furthermore, uncontrolled fees demanded by private providers could undermine universal access to education. More 124 UIS database. Time period: 2000-2011. 125 Adapted from: Right to Education Project. 2014. Privatisation of Education: Global Trends of Human Rights Impacts. London, Right to Education Project. 126 Patrinos, H.A. et al. 2009. The Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnership in Education. Washington, DC, World Bank. Lewis L., and Patrinos H.A. 2012. Impact Evaluation of Private Sector Participation in Education. London, CfBT Education Trust. Right to Education Project. 2014. Privatisation of Education: Global Trends of Human Rights Impacts. London, Right to Education Project. 127 Macpherson, I., Robertson, S. and Walford, G. 2014. Education, Privatization and Social Justice: case studies from Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. Oxford, Symposium Books. 128 The Right to Education Project. 2014. op. cit. generally, this could have a negative impact on the enjoyment of the right to a good quality education and on the realization of equal educational opportunities. Supplemental private tutoring, or 'shadow education', which represents one specific dimension of the privatization of education, is also growing worldwide. 129 Often a symptom of badly functioning school systems, 130 private tutoring, much like other manifestations of private education, can have both positive and negative effects for learners and their teachers. On one hand, teaching can be tailored to the needs of slower learners and teachers can supplement their school salaries. On the other hand, fees for private tutoring may represent a sizeable share of household income, particularly among the poor, and can therefore create inequalities in learning opportunities. And the fact that some teachers may put more effort into private tutoring and neglect their regular duties can adversely affect the quality of teaching and learning at school. 131 The growth of shadow education, the financial resources mobilized by individuals and families, and the concerns regarding possible teacher misconduct and corruption are leading some ministries of education to attempt to regulate the phenomenon. 132 Box 16. Private tutoring damages the educational chances of the poor in Egypt 133 In Egypt, private tuition is a significant part of household education spending, averaging 47% in rural areas and 40% in urban areas. The amount spent annually on private tutoring was reported to be US$2.4 billion, equivalent to 27% of government spending on education in 2011. The investment is viewed as worth the financial strain for families that can pay. However, not everyone can afford it: children from rich households are almost twice as likely to receive private tuition. Children whose families cannot afford private tutoring suffer the consequences of a poor quality formal education system in which teachers are more likely to spend their energy and resources on private tutoring than in the classroom. An important reason for widespread private tuition is that the social status of teachers in Egypt has declined in recent decades as the government began hiring less qualified teachers to meet the demand of growing public education. School-leavers often become teachers not by choice but as a last resort. The undervaluing of teachers in Egyptian society has made teaching one of the lowest-paid government jobs. Teachers thus turn to private tutoring to supplement their salaries. Source: UNESCO. 2014. Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014 Paris, UNESCO. . 129 Bray, M. 2009. Confronting the shadow education system. What government policies for what private tutoring? Paris, UNESCO-IIEP. 130 UNESCO. 2014. Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014. Paris, UNESCO. 131 Bray, M. and Kuo, O. 2014. Regulating Private Tutoring for Public Good. Policy options for supplementary education in Asia. CERC Monograph Series in Comparative and International Education and Development. No. 10. Hong Kong, Comparative Education Research Center and UNESCO Bangkok Office. 132 Ibid. 133 UNESCO. 2014. Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013-2014 Paris, UNESCO. [Based on the following sources: Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (2013); Elbadawy et al. (2007); Hartmann (2007); UNESCO (2012a).] . The reproduction and possible exacerbation of inequalities of learning opportunities resulting from privatization in all its forms raises important questions about the notion of education as a public good and about the role of the state in ensuring the right to education. Recontextualizing the right to education International development discourse often refers to education as both a human right and a public good. The principle of education as a fundamental human right that enables the realization of other human rights is grounded in international normative frameworks. 134 It denotes a role for the state in ensuring the respect, fulfilment and the protection of the right to education. Beyond its role in the provision of education, the state must act as a guarantor of the right to education. Box 17. Respecting, fulfilling and protecting the right to education The reproduction and possible exacerbation of inequalities of learning opportunities resulting from privatization raises important questions about the role of the state in ensuring the right to education. 46. The right to education, like all human rights, imposes three types or levels of obligations on States parties: the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil. In turn, the obligation to fulfil incorporates both an obligation to facilitate and an obligation to provide. 47. The obligation to respect requires States parties to avoid measures that hinder or prevent the enjoyment of the right to education. The obligation to protect requires States parties to take measures that prevent third parties from interfering with the enjoyment of the right to education. The obligation to fulfil (facilitate) requires States to take positive measures that enable and assist individuals and communities to enjoy the right to education. Finally, States parties have an obligation to fulfil (provide) the right to education. As a general rule, States parties are obliged to fulfil (provide) a specific right in the Covenant when an individual or group is unable, for reasons beyond their control, to realize the right themselves by the means at their disposal. However, the extent of this obligation is always subject to the text of the Covenant. Source: UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 1999. General Comment No. 13: The Right to Education (Art. 13 of the Covenant), 8 December 1999, E/C.12/1999/10 (46/47), available at: www.refworld.org/ docid/4538838c22.html [Accessed 6 March 2015] Despite the specific legal obligations related to the various provisions of the right to education, much of the discussion on the right to education has, until recently, focused on schooling, and perhaps even more narrowly on primary schooling. The notion of basic 134 See, in particular, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 26), the 1966 International Covenant on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Art. 13), and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 28). education adopted in 1990 at the World Education Forum (WEF) in Jomtien, Thailand, was broad. It comprised both the basic learning tools, such as literacy and numeracy, and context-responsive basic knowledge, skills and values. From the perspective of formal education, basic education is most often equated with compulsory schooling. The vast majority of countries worldwide have national legislation that defines periods of schooling as compulsory. Seen from this angle, the principle of the right to basic education is uncontested, as is the role of the state in protecting this principle and ensuring equal opportunity. However, while these principles are relatively uncontested at the level of basic education, there is no general agreement about their applicability at post-basic levels of education. 135 The expansion of access to basic schooling has also resulted in a growing demand for secondary and tertiary education and in an increasing concern for vocational skills development, particularly in the context of growing youth unemployment, and with a continuous process of qualification and requalification. Given this growing demand for post-basic education and for lifelong learning, how are the principles of the right to education to be understood and applied? How does it differ from the right to basic (compulsory) schooling in terms of entitlements of rights-claimants and responsibilities of duty-bearers? What are the responsibilities and obligations of the state at post-compulsory levels of education, whether upper secondary education, higher education, and technical and vocational education at secondary and tertiary levels? How can responsibility be shared while preserving the principles of non-discrimination and equality of opportunities in access to post-basic levels of education and training? Blurring of boundaries between public and private Education is often referred to as a public good in international education discourse. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education has underlined the importance of preserving the social interest in education, while promoting the concept of education as a public good. 136 However, the primary responsibility of states in the provision of public education is increasingly being contested with calls for reduced public spending and greater involvement of non-state actors. The multiplication of stakeholders, including civil society organizations, private enterprise and foundations, as well as the diversification of sources of financing, is blurring the boundaries between public and private education. It is no longer clear what the notion of 'public' means in the new global context of learning, characterized by a greater diversification of stakeholders, by the weakening capacity of many nation-states to determine public policies, and by emerging forms of global governance. The nature and degree of private engagement in educational provision is blurring the boundaries between public and private education. This is evident, for example, in the growing reliance of public higher 135 Morgan, W. J. and White, I. 2014. The value of higher education: public or private good? Weiterbildung, 6, 2014, pp. 38-41. 136 Singh, K. 2014. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education. United Nations. A/69/402, 24 September 2014. http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/69/402 [Accessed February 2015]. education institutions on private funding; the growth of both for-profit and nonprofit institutions; and the introduction of business methods in the operation of higher education institutions. Emerging forms of the private – where both basic and post-basic education are opening up increasingly to profit-making and trade and to agendasetting by private, commercial interests – are changing the nature of education from a public to private (consumer) good. 137 The rapidly changing relationship of society, state and market is creating a dilemma. How can the core principle of education as a public good be protected in the new global context in which learning takes place? How can the core principle of education as a public good be protected in the new global context? " " Education and knowledge as global common goods The limits of public good theory Public good theory has a long tradition and has its foundation in market economics. 138 In the 1950s, public goods were defined as those goods 'which all enjoy in common in the sense that each individual's consumption of such a good leads to no subtractions from any other individual's consumption of that good'. 139 The transfer of an essentially economic notion to the field of education has always been somewhat problematic. Public goods are considered to be more directly linked to public and state policy. The term public often leads to a common misunderstanding that 'public goods' are goods provided by the public. 140 On the other hand, common goods have been defined as those goods that, irrespective of any public or private origin, are characterized by a binding destination and necessary for the realization of the fundamental rights of all people. 141 From this perspective the concept of the 'common good' may prove to be a constructive alternative. The common good may be defined as 'constituted by goods that humans share intrinsically in common and that they communicate to each other, such as values, civic virtues and a sense of justice.' 142 It is 'a solidaristic association of persons that is more than the good of individuals in the aggregate'. It is the good of being a community 137 Macpherson, Robertson and Walford, op.cit., p. 9. 138 Menashy, F. 2009. Education as a global public good: the applicability and implications of a framework. Globalisation, Societies and Education, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 307-320. 139 Samuelson, P. A. 1954. The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 387-389. 140 Adapted from Zhang, E. 2010. Community, the Common Good, and Public Healthcare – Confucianism and its relevance to contemporary China. Department of Religion and Philosophy, Hong Kong Baptist University. 141 Adapted from Marella, M.R. 2012. Oltre il pubblico e il privato: per un diritto dei beni comuni. Verona, Ombre Corte. 142 Deneulin, S., and Townsend, N. 2007. Public Goods, Global Public Goods and the Common Good. International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 34 (1-2), pp. 19-36. – 'the good realized in the mutual relationships in and through which human beings achieve their well-being'. 143 The common good is therefore inherent to the relationships that exist among the members of a society tied together in a collective endeavour. Goods of this kind are therefore inherently common in their 'production' as well as in their benefits. 144 From this perspective, the notion of common good allows us to go beyond the limits of the concept of 'public good' in at least three ways: 1. The notion of common good goes beyond the instrumental concept of the public good in which human well-being is framed by individualistic socio-economic The notion of common good goes beyond the instrumental concept of the public good in which human wellbeing is framed by individualistic socioeconomic theory. theory. From a 'common good' perspective, it is not only the 'good life' of individuals that matters, but also the goodness of the life that humans hold in common. 145 It cannot be a personal or parochial good. 146 It is important to emphasize that the recent shift from 'education' to 'learning' in international discourse signals a potential neglect of the collective dimensions and the purpose of education as a social endeavour. This is true both for the broader social outcomes expected of education, and for how educational opportunities are organized. The notion of education as a 'common good' reaffirms the collective dimension of education as a shared social endeavour (shared responsibility and commitment to solidarity). 2. What is meant by the common good can only be defined with regard to the diversity of contexts and conceptions of well-being and common life. Diverse communities will therefore have different understandings of the specific context of the common good. 147 Given the diverse cultural interpretations of what constitutes a common good, public policy needs to recognize and nurture this diversity of contexts, worldviews and knowledge systems, while respecting fundamental rights, if it is not to undermine human well-being. 148 3. The concept emphasizes the participatory process, which is a common good in itself. The shared action is intrinsic, as well as instrumental, to the good itself, with benefits derived also in the course of shared action. 149 Education as a common good therefore necessitates an inclusive process of public policy formulation and implementation with due accountability. Placing common goods beyond the public or private dichotomy implies conceiving and aspiring towards new forms and institutions of participatory democracy. These would need to go beyond 143 Cahill cited in: Deneulin and Townsend, ibid. 144 Adapted from: Deneulin and Townsend, ibid. 145 Deneulin and Townsend, ibid. 146 Holster, K. 2003. The Common Good and Public Education. Educational Theory, 53(3), 347-361. 147 Zhang, op.cit. 148 Deneulin, and Townsend, op.cit. 149 Adapted from Deneulin and Townsend, ibid. current policies of privatization without returning to traditional modes of public management. 150 Recognizing education and knowledge as global common goods Education is the deliberate process of acquiring knowledge and developing the competencies to apply that knowledge in relevant situations. The development and use of knowledge are the ultimate purposes of education, guided by principles of the type of society to which we aspire. If education is seen as this deliberate and organized process of learning, then any discussion about it can no longer be focused solely on the process of acquiring (and validating) knowledge. We must consider not only how knowledge is acquired and validated, but also how access to it is often controlled and, therefore, how access to it can be made commonly available. Box 18. Knowledge creation, control, acquisition, validation and use Knowledge can be understood broadly as encompassing information, understanding, skills, values and attitudes. Competencies refer to the ability to use such knowledge in given situations. Discussions about education (or learning) are habitually concerned with the intentional process of acquiring knowledge and developing the ability (competencies) to use them. Educational efforts are also increasingly concerned with the validation of knowledge acquired. Use Validation Acquisition Control Creation However, discussions about education and learning in today's changing world need to go beyond the process of acquiring, validating and using knowledge: They must also address the fundamental issues of the creation and control of knowledge. Source: Authors Knowledge is the common heritage of humanity. Knowledge, like education, must therefore be considered a global common good. If knowledge is considered only a global public good 151 , access to it is often restricted. 152 The current trend towards the privatization of knowledge production, reproduction and dissemination is a cause for serious concern. The knowledge commons is gradually being privatized through law and, more specifically, through the Intellectual Property Rights regime, which dominates knowledge production. The progressive privatization of the production and reproduction of knowledge is evident in the work of universities, think tanks, Education and knowledge should be considered global common goods. The creation of knowledge, its control, acquisition, validation, and use, are common to all people as a collective social endeavour. consultancy firms and publishing. As a result, much of the knowledge we consider a public good, and which we believe belongs to the knowledge commons, is actually being privatized. This is disturbing, especially when it comes to the ecological and medicinal knowledge of indigenous communities that is being appropriated by global corporations. Some resistance to this trend is emerging among indigenous peoples. It is also producing counter movements of sharing in the digital world such as the Linux software that gives users the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, modify and improve the original product. 153 Given the central concern for sustainable development in an increasingly interdependent world, education and knowledge should thus be considered global common goods. This means that the creation of knowledge, its control, acquisition, validation, and use, are common to all people as a collective social endeavour . The governance of education can no longer be separated from the governance of knowledge. Protecting foundational principles It is important to underline that current international education discourse carries with it a potential for undermining foundational principles that have guided international and national education policy and practice. Indeed, the current international education discourse couched in terms of learning is essentially centred on the results of educational processes and tends to neglect the process of learning. In focusing on results, it is essentially referring to learning achievement 154 : that is, to the knowledge 151 Kaul, I., le Goulven, K. et al. (eds) 1999. Global Public Goods. International Cooperation in the 21st Century, New York, Oxford University Press. 152 Stiglitz, J. 1999. Knowledge as a global public good. In Kaul, I., le Goulven K. et al. (eds), ibid., pp. 308-325. See also UNDP. 1999. Human Development Report. New York, Oxford University Press. 153 www.linuxfoundation.org [Accessed February 2015]. 154 'Learning achievement refers to the actual skills, attitudes, values and level of knowledge acquired by the individual; it implies some measurement or demonstration that learning has occurred.' World Conference on Education for All. 1990. Meeting Basic Learning Needs: A vision for the 1990s. Background Documents. New York, Inter-Agency Commission for the WCEFA. and skills that can most easily be measured. It tends thereby to neglect a much wider spectrum of results of learning, involving knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that can be considered important for individual and societal development, on the grounds that they cannot be measured (easily). Furthermore, learning is seen as an individual process of skill acquisition, and little attention is paid to questions of the purpose of education and the organization of learning opportunities as a collective social endeavour. This discourse thus potentially undermines the principle of education as a common good. Roles and responsibilities in the regulation of common goods Inspired by the values of solidarity and social justice grounded in our common humanity, the principle of knowledge and education as global common goods has implications for the roles and responsibilities of diverse stakeholders in the collective quest for sustainable and inclusive human and social development. # # Enhancing the role of civil society and other partners It is vital, in the current context, to promote a more significant and more explicit role for civil society in education. The current trends towards the commodification of public education should be countered by stronger partnerships with community associations and non-profit organizations. Indeed, education – in its multiple functions – is not only a responsibility of government, but of society as a whole. Good governance in the education sector requires multiple government-civil society partnerships and national education policy should be the result of wide social consultation and national consensus. Innovative mechanisms for financing development by corporate sectors and foundations have been experimented with in recent years, particularly in education. This experimentation has also contributed to the expansion of effective and innovative partnerships among all development partners – countries, private sector, civil society, academia, citizens – to leverage external partners' expertise, capacities and resources. Many examples exist of successful partnerships that have helped achieve tremendous results, even with traditionally considered public goods such as education. Private business can also play a key role by investing in education beyond immediate employment needs as part of its corporate social responsibility. In India, for instance, the state is encouraging private companies to invest 2 per cent of annual turnover in this way. Corporate social responsibility funds could be used to contribute to the social and educational needs of underprivileged communities. Legislation, which provides tax benefits to the businesses concerned, may be required to raise these additional resources. # # Strengthening the role of the state in the regulation of common goods In the current context of economic globalization and market liberalization, the state must maintain its function of ensuring access to and regulating common goods, in education particularly. Education must not be ceded entirely to the market, as it constitutes the first link in the chain of equality of opportunity. From this perspective, the state has two obligations: Education must not be ceded entirely to the market, as it constitutes the first link in the chain of equality of opportunity. 1. To reform public education and to professionalize it, including through countering corruption within the sector using clear procedures making it more accountable to society at large. 2. To monitor and regulate the involvement of the private sector in education. Monitoring should by no means be administrative and bureaucratic – it should not be a policing function. The state's monitoring function should ensure the application of standards adopted by education professionals working in both public and private sectors, as well as of international normative frameworks. # # Strengthening the role of intergovernmental agencies in the regulation of global common goods The international community has a responsibility for the governance of global common goods. Global good governance is an issue for the United Nations system and for other international organizations, which must strengthen their cooperation in both policy and practice. Beyond their technical functions, United Nations agencies have a role in international norm-setting to guide the governance of global common goods such as knowledge, education, and tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall two domains in which UNESCO has taken a lead coordinating and inspirational role: the Education for All movement and the elaboration of the normative aims of education. 155 155 Bray, M. and Kwo, O. 2014. Regulating Private Tutoring for Public Good Policy Options for Supplementary Education in Asia. CERC Monograph Series in Comparative and International Education and Development, No. 10. Comparative Education Research Center, University of Hong Kong. " " Considerations for the way forward This discussion, inspired by a central concern for sustainable human and social development, outlines the trends, tensions and contradictions in global social transformation, as well as the new knowledge horizons offered. It highlights the importance of exploring alternative approaches to human well-being and the diversity of worldviews and knowledge systems, and the need to sustain them. It reaffirms a humanistic education, which calls for an integrated approach based on renewed ethical and moral foundations. It points towards an educational process that is inclusive and does not simply reproduce inequalities: a process in which fairness and accountability are ensured. It emphasizes that the role of teachers and other educators remains central to fostering critical thinking and independent judgement, instead of unreflective conformity. The text examines issues of educational policy-making in a complex world. One, we need to recognize and to respond to the gap between formal education and employment. Two, we must face the challenge of recognizing and validating learning in a world of increasing mobility across borders, professional occupations and learning spaces. Three, we must rethink citizenship education, balancing respect for plurality with universal values and concern for common humanity. Finally, we consider the complexities of national policymaking in education, together with potential forms of global governance. As we signal these issues, many questions remain unanswered. The discussion also explores the need to recontextualize foundational principles for the governance of education, particularly the right to education and the principle of education as a public good. It proposes that greater attention be paid in education policy to knowledge, and to the ways in which it is created, acquired, validated and used. It proposes that considering education and knowledge as global common goods could be a useful approach to reconciling the purpose and organization of learning as a collective societal endeavour in a changing world. There is a need to recontextualize foundational principles for the governance of education, particularly the right to education and the principle of education as a public good. In considering the way forward and as a call for dialogue, a number of questions are proposed for further debate: While the four pillars of learning – to know, to do, to be and to live together – are even more relevant today, they are threatened by both globalization and the resurgence of identity politics. How can they be strengthened and renewed? How can education better respond to the challenges of achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability? How can this humanistic approach be realized through educational policies and practices? How can a plurality of worldviews be reconciled through a humanistic approach to education? What are the threats and the opportunities of globalization for national policy and decision-making in education? How should education be financed? What are the implications for teacher education, training, development and support? What are the implications for education of the distinction between the concepts of private good, public good and common good? UNESCO, as the specialized United Nations agency for education, together with the related areas of science, culture, and communications, should strengthen its role Diverse stakeholders should be brought together to articulate normative principles in the guidance of policy. as a 'laboratory of ideas' monitoring global development trends and the implications for learning. This would be in accordance with UNESCO's educational mandate and its role as an intellectual agency and think tank. 156 Because it is no longer effective to develop policy in isolation, diverse stakeholders with their multiple perspectives should be brought together to share research findings and to articulate normative principles in the guidance of policy. It is also worth noting that UNESCO is exceptional in the United Nations system in having global networks of National Commissions, UNESCO Chairs and specialized institutes. These networks could be used more intensively as a means of reevaluating the purpose and assessing the practice of education on a regular basis, as circumstances and needs change. This should be achieved through a permanent observatory mechanism that reviews and reports on development trends and their implications for education. Humanity has entered a new phase in its history with increasingly rapid developments in science and technology. These have both utopian and dystopian possibilities. For us to benefit in an emancipatory, just and sustainable way, we must understand and manage the opportunities and the risks. Making this possible should be the fundamental purpose of education and learning in the twenty-first century. It should also be the basic task of UNESCO, as a global laboratory of ideas, to enhance our understanding of such possibilities with the aim of sustaining humanity and its common well-being. This publication is intended as a contribution to stimulating the debate. 156 Elfert, M. 2015. UNESCO, the Faure Report, the Delors Report, and the Political Utopia of Lifelong Learning. European Journal of Education. Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 88-100. W e are living in a world characterized by change, complexity and paradox. Economic growth and the creation of wealth have cut global poverty rates, yet vulnerability, inequality, exclusion and violence have escalated within and across societies throughout the world. Unsustainable patterns of economic production and consumption promote global warming, environmental degradation and an upsurge in natural disasters. Moreover, while we have strengthened international human rights frameworks over the past several decades, implementing and protecting these norms remains a challenge. And while technological progress leads to greater interconnectedness and offers new avenues for exchange, cooperation and solidarity, we also see proliferation of cultural and religious intolerance, identity-based political mobilization and conflict. These changes signal the emergence of a new global context for learning that has vital implications for education. Rethinking the purpose of education and the organization of learning has never been more urgent. This book is intended as a call for dialogue. It is inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development, based on respect for life and human dignity, equal rights, social justice, cultural diversity, international solidarity and shared responsibility for a sustainable future. It proposes that we consider education and knowledge as global common goods, in order to reconcile the purpose and organization of education as a collective societal endeavour in a complex world.
Ultracompact 2.4GHz Dual-Channel Wireless Microphone System Blink500 General Introduction The Saramonic Blink500 is an incredibly lightweight, ultracompact and easy-to-use 2-person wireless microphone system for DSLR, Mirrorless and Video cameras, or mobile devices that delivers detailed, broadcast-quality sound. The system series is comprised of three different receivers. The RX receiver has a 3.5mm output and includes TRS and TRRS output cables, allowing it to work with any device with a 3.5mm audio input. The RXDi receiver has a MFi Certiﬁed Lightning output and is designed for Apple iOS devices. And the RXUC receiver has a USB-C output and is designed for devices with a USB-C port, including Android smartphones and tablets. The clip-on transmitter has a great sounding built-in mic and it is small and light enough to clip to shirts and clothing, or you can use it as a traditional beltpack transmitter with the included SR-M1 professional lavalier microphone. No technical knowledge of audio is required to operate. The Blink500 system operates on the interference-free 2.4GHz spectrum and automatically hops to free channels to avoid static noise and audio dropouts. There are six kits available in the Blink500 series: Product Structure 1. Blink500 RX: Clip-On and Shoe-Mountable Receiver ①Power Key Long press to turn on or off the receiver. ② Power and Pairing Indicator Power Functions: Solid Red Light = Low Battery Pairing Functions: Flashing Blue Light (every one second) = Unpaired Quick Flashing Blue Light (every 0.5 second) = Waiting for Pairing Solid Blue Light = Paired Successfully Once the receiver and transmitter are paired, they will be connected with each other automatically, even when powered off and on. ③ USB Type-C Charging Port ④ Charge Indicator Solid Green Light = Charging Battery Light turns off when fully charged. ⑤ Line Out Connect the receiver to a DSLR or Mirrorless camera, camcorder, smartphone, tablet, mixer or ampliﬁer with the supplied output cables. ⑥ Pairing Pin-Hole ⑦ Belt Clip and Standard Cold Shoe Mount 2. Blink500 RXDi: Lightning Receiver ② Pairing Indicator Flashing Blue Light (every one second) = Unpaired Quick Flashing Blue Light (every 0.5 second) = Waiting for Pairing Solid Blue Light = Paired Successfully Once the receiver and transmitter are paired, they will be connected with each other automatically, even when powered off and on. ③ Pairing Pin-Hole ④ Antenna 3. Blink500 RXUC: USB-C Receiver ②Pairing Indicator Flashing Blue Light (every one second) = Unpaired Quick Flashing Blue Light (every 0.5 second) = Waiting for Pairing Solid Blue Light = Paired Successfully Once the receiver and transmitter are paired, they will be connected with each other automatically, even when powered off and on. ③ Pairing Pin-Hole ④ Antenna 4. Blink500 TX: Body-pack Transmitter with Microphone ① Power Key Long press to turn on or off the transmitter. ② Power Indicator, Volume Indicator and Pairing Indicator Power Functions: Solid Red Light = Low Battery When charging: Solid Green Light = Charging Battery Light turns off when fully charged. Volume Functions: Indicates the volume setting in three stages. Pairing Functions: Flashing Blue Light (every one second) = Unpaired Slow Flashing Blue Light (every three seconds) = Paired Successfully 3.5mm Audio Input ③ Connect to the supplied lavalier microphone. ④ USB Typc-C Charging Port ⑤ Belt Clip and Standard Cold Shoe Mount ⑥ Volume Control Buttons & Pair Buttons Adjust the audio level by the "+" and "-" buttons. Default is in the third stage. The transmitter mic will be muted if you turn down the volume till all the lights are turned off. Operation Guide For the Blink500 B1/B2 kit 1. Turn on the transmitter TX by long pressing the power key. 2. Turn on the receiver RX by long pressing the power key. 3. Insert the pairing pin into the pairing pin-hole of RX, press hard and the pair indicator should be quick ﬂashing at every 0.5s. Press both the "+" and "-" button of transmitter TX simultaneously within 10 seconds. 4. The kit will be paired when the RX pair indicator is solid blue and the TX pair indicator is ﬂashing slowly. Note: To pair the second transmitter TX, just repeat the step 3 and 4. 5. Connect the receiver RX to the mic jack of a camera, camcorder, recorder or mixer with the supplied 3.5mm TRS audio cable. Or connect the RX to a smartphone or tablet with the supplied 3.5mm TRS to TRRS audio cable. 6. You are ready to record. Note: The output of receiver RX is line out. You can connect it to speaker system. To avoid noise during connection, before connecting the receiver to a speaker system, please mute the speaker system and do not use the headphones. For the Blink500 B3/B4/B5/B6 kit 1. Turn on the transmitter by long pressing the power key. 2. Plug the RXDi into an iOS device or the RXUC into an USB Type-C device. Please make sure the antenna (yellow side) is oriented on the top of the device, when in landscape mode, to get the best signal. 3. Insert the pairing pin into the pairing pin-hole of RXDi or RXUC, press hard and the pair indicator should be quick ﬂashing at every 0.5s. Press both the "+"and "-" button of transmitter TX simultaneously within 10 seconds. 4. The kit will be paired when the RX pair indicator is solid blue and the TX pair indicator is ﬂash slowly. Note: To pair the second transmitter TX, just repeat the step 3 and 4. 5. You are ready to record. Speciﬁcation Blink500 TX Packing List Blink500 RX 1× Blink500 RX Receiver with Built-In Clip and Camera Shoe-Mount 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated 3.5mm TRS to TRS Output Cable for Cameras 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Output Cable for Smartphones and Tablets 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cables 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 TX 1× Blink500 TX Transmitter with Built-In Microphone and Clip 1× SR-M1 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone 1× Alligator-Style Lavalier Microphone Clip 1× Foam Lavalier Windscreen 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cable 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 RXDi 1× Blink 500 RXDi Receiver with MFi Certiﬁed Apple Lightning Connector 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 RXUC 1× Blink 500 RXUC Receiver with USB-C Connector 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 B1(TX+RX) 1× Blink500 RX Receiver with Built-In Clip and Camera Shoe-Mount 1× Blink500 TX Transmitter with Built-In Microphone and Clip 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated 3.5mm TRS to TRS Output Cable for Cameras 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Output Cable for Smartphones and Tablets 2× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cables 1× SR-M1 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone 1× Alligator-Style Lavalier Microphone Clip 1× Foam Lavalier Windscreen 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 B2(TX+TX+RX) 1× Blink500 RX Receiver with Built-In Clip and Camera Shoe-Mount 2 × Blink500 TX Transmitters with Built-In Microphone and Clip 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated 3.5mm TRS to TRS Output Cable for Cameras 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Output Cable for Smartphones and Tablets 3× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cables 2× SR-M1 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphones 2× Alligator-Style Lavalier Microphone Clips 2× Foam Lavalier Windscreens 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 B3(TX+RXDi) 1× Blink500 RXDi Receiver with MFi Certiﬁed Apple Lightning Connector 1× Blink500 TX Transmitter with Built-In Microphone and Clip 1× SR-M1 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone 1× Alligator-Style Lavalier Microphone Clip 1× Foam Lavalier Windscreen 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cable 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 B4(TX+TX+RXDi) 1× Blink500 RXDi Receiver with MFi Certiﬁed Apple Lightning Connector 2× Blink500 TX Transmitters with Built-In Microphone and Clip 2× SR-M1 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphones 2× Alligator-Style Lavalier Microphone Clips 2× Foam Lavalier Windscreens 2× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cables 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 B5(TX+RXUC) 1× Blink500 RXUC Receiver with USB-C Connector 1× Blink500 TX Transmitter with Built-In Microphone and Clip 1× SR-M1 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphones 1× Alligator-Style Lavalier Microphone Clip 1× Foam Lavalier Windscreen 1× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cable 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Blink500 B6(TX+TX+RXUC) 1× Blink500 RXUC Receiver with USB-C Connector 2× Blink500 TX Transmitters with Built-In Microphone and Clip 2× SR-M1 Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphones 2× Alligator-Style Lavalier Microphone Clips 2× Foam Lavalier Windscreens 2× 1' (30.5 cm) Gold-Plated USB-C to USB-A Charging Cables 1× Pairing Pin 1× Warranty Card 1× User Manual Common Technical Issues and Solutions If you encounter problems when using the Blink500 system, please refer to the follow checklist before contacting technical support. If the problem cannot be solved, please contact the dealer's after-sales service department. Problems Causes Solutions www.saramonic.com Saramonic is a trademark registered and owned by Shenzhen DSQN Investment CO., LTD. COPYRIGHT 2011-2021 SARAMONIC INTERNATIONAL ( A brand of DSQN ) Room 2009, Shenzhou Bairuida Bldg, Banxuegang Road, Bantian Street, Longgang District, Shenzhen, China 518129 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Made in China
Package 'idem' January 27, 2021 ``` Title Inference in Randomized Controlled Trials with Death and Missingness Version 5.1 Author Chenguang Wang [aut, cre], Andrew Leroux [aut, cre], Elizabeth Colantuoni [aut], Daniel O Scharfstein [aut], Trustees of Columbia University [cph] (tools/make_cpp.R, R/stanmodels.R) Maintainer Chenguang Wang <firstname.lastname@example.org> Description In randomized studies involving severely ill patients, functional outcomes are often unobserved due to missed clinic visits, premature withdrawal or death. It is well known that if these unobserved functional outcomes are not handled properly, biased treatment comparisons can be produced. In this package, we implement a procedure for comparing treatments that is based on the composite endpoint of both the functional outcome and survival. The procedure was proposed in Wang et al. (2016) <DOI:10.1111/biom.12594> and Wang et al. (2020) <DOI:10.18637/jss.v093.i12>. It considers missing data imputation with different sensitivity analysis strategies to handle the unobserved functional outcomes not due to death. Depends R (>= 3.4.0), Rcpp (>= 0.12.0), methods License GPL (>= 3) LinkingTo StanHeaders (>= 2.18.0), rstan (>= 2.18.1), BH (>= 1.66.0), Rcpp (>= 0.12.0), RcppEigen (>= 0.3.3.3.0) RcppModules stan_ﬁt4idem_mod Imports rstan (>= 2.18.1), sqldf (>= 0.4), survival (>= 2.38), mice (>= 3.9.0), parallel (>= 3.2) Encoding UTF-8 LazyData true RoxygenNote 7.1.1 Suggests knitr, shiny, rmarkdown, pander, DT, shinythemes VignetteBuilder knitr SystemRequirements GNU make URLhttps://github.com/olssol/idem/ NeedsCompilation yes RepositoryCRAN Date/Publication2021-01-27 09:40:02 UTC R topics documented: Description This package contains the functions for drawing inference in randomized clinical trials with death and intermittent missingness. 3 Notation Consider a two-arm randomized study. Let Yk denote outcome measured at time tk and Z denote a functional endpoint that is a function of Y . Let L denote the survival time. Let X denote the baseline covariates and T denote the treatment assignment. Ranking If two subject were both alive at the end of the study, they are ranked based on functional outcome Z. If at least one subject was dead at the end of the study, they are ranked based on survival time L. Treatment effect, θ is deﬁned as the probability that the outcome for a random individual randomized to treatment T = 0 is less than the outcome of a random individual randomized to treatment T = 1 minus the probability that the outcome for a random individual randomized to treatment T = 0 is greater than the outcome of a random individual randomized to treatment T = 1. Missingness In order to estimate θ in the presence of missing data, we need to impute Z for subjects alive at the end of the study with Yk missing for some k. The benchmark assumption we consider for the imputation is the complete case missing value (CCMV) restrictions. We then consider exponential tilting models for introducing sensitivity parameters for evaluating the robustness of the ﬁndings with regards to different missing data mechanism assumptions. The models are as follows: where S denotes the missingness patterns, S = 1 denotes the completers and βT denotes the sensitivity parameter for arm T . Graphical user interface (GUI) This package provides a web-based GUI. See imShiny for details. References Wang C, Scharfstein DO, Colantuoni E, Girard T, Yan Y (2016). Inference in Randomized Trials with Death and Missingness. <DOI:10.1111/biom.12594> Wang C, Colantuoni E, Leroux A, Scharfstein DO (2020). idem: An R Package for Inferences in Clinical Trials with Death and Missingness. <DOI:10.18637/jss.v093.i12> Example dataset Description The Awakening and Breathing Controlled (ABC) trial randomized critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation 1:1 within each study site to management with a paired sedation plus ventilator weaning protocol involving daily interruption of sedative through spontaneous awakening trials (SATs) and spontaneous breathing trials (SBTs) or sedation per usual care (UC) and SBTs. The example dataset is from a single site substudy in ABC. The researchers assessed differences in cognitive, psychological and functional outcomes at 3 and 12 months after randomization. Format A dataframe with 5 variables: AGE Age TRT Treatment assignment. 0: UC + SBT, 1: SAT + SBT SURV Survival days Y2 Cognitive score at 12 months Y1 Cognitive score at 3 months References T. D. Girard, J. P. Kress, B. D. Fuchs, J. W. W. Thomason, W. D. Schweickert, B. T. Pun, D. B. Taichman, J. G. Dunn, A. S. Pohlman, P. A. Kinniry, J. C. Jackson, A. E. Canonico, R. W. Light, A. K. Shintani, J. L. Thompson, S. M. Gordon, J. B. Hall, R. S. Dittus, G. R. Bernard, and E. W. Ely. Efﬁcacy and safety of a paired sedation and ventilator weaning protocol for mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care (awakening and breathing controlled trial): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet, 371:126-134, 2008. Create data for IDEM analysis Description Create a class IDEMDATA object for IDEM analysis Usage Arguments Details When there are errors in the speciﬁcation, i.e. trt is not a column of data, a class IDEMERROR object will be returned. The detailed errors can be checked by calling print of the IDEMERROR object. Value When the speciﬁcations are correct, a class IDEMDATA list will be returned. The list contains ``` data Original dataset lst.var List of the speciﬁcations ``` Examples Imputation model ﬁtting Description Fit linear imputation models to the observed data from complete survivors for each treatment arm at each time point Usage Arguments ``` A class IDEMDATA object generated by imData ``` Value ``` A class IDEMFIT list of modeling ﬁtting results with the following items im.data Original class IDEMDATA object ``` ``` rst.mdl A list of modeling ﬁtting results for each model with lm results from function lm formula model formula coef model coefﬁcients res residuals h bandwidth of residuals for kernel density estimation ``` See Also imData,idem-package Examples Impute missing data Description Conduct imputation under benchmark assumptions or for sensitivity analysis for a given set of subjects using the model ﬁtting results Usage Arguments Parameter reserved for run idem in GUI mode If TRUE, no imputation will be conducted. The data from subjects that do not need imputation will be returned options to call STAN sampling. These options include chains, iter, warmup, thin, algorithm. See rstan::sampling for details. Random seed Value If imputeNone is TRUE, return a dataset with the original data for the subset of subjects who died at the end of the study or had no missing outcomes. Otherwise, return a class IDEMIMP list with components lst.var List of parameters complete A dataset with the original data for the subset of subjects who died at the end of the study or had no missing outcomes and the n.imp imputed missing outcomes for subjects who need missing value imputation. n.imp Number of imputed complete datasets deltas Imputation sensitivity parameters org.data Original dataset normal Normal assumption for the imputation stan.parSTAN options Examples Impute missing data by mice Description Conduct imputation using the NARFCS model implemented in the mice package Usage Arguments A class IDEMDATA object generated by imData Vector of imputation sensitivity parameters Number of complete datasets required Logical variable that indicates whether clinical outcomes not used in calculating the functional outcome are considered as missing and should be imputed. The default is FALSE, indicating that all missing clinical outcomes will be imputed sequentially Random seed Parameters formice Value A class IDEMIMP list with components lst.var List of parameters complete A dataset with the original data for the subset of subjects who died at the end of the study or had no missing outcomes and the n.imp imputed missing outcomes for subjects who need missing value imputation. n.imp Number of imputed complete datasets deltas Imputation sensitivity parameters org.dataOriginal dataset Examples Impute missing data for MCMC convergence checking Description Call STAN model to impute missing data for an individual subject under benchmark assumption for MCMC convergence checking Usage Arguments ``` original individual subject data A class IDEMFIT results generated by imFitModel. Logical variable indicating whether normality assumption should be made for the residuals STAN parameter. Number of Markov chainsm STAN parameter. Number of iterations STAN parameter. Number of burnin. STAN parameter. See rstan::stan for details. other options to call STAN sampling such as thin, algorithm. See rstan::sampling for details. Random seed ``` Value ``` NULL if there is no missing data in dsub Otherwise, return a class IDEMSINGLE object that contains a list with components dsub original data of the subject rst.stan A stan.fit class result returned from rstan::sampling complete A dataframe with complete data for the selected subject Examples Treatment effect estimation and hypothesis testing Description Estimate treatment effect size. Estimate variation and conduct hypothesis testing by bootstrap analysis. Usage Arguments ``` A class IDEMIMP object returned from imImpAll Number of bootstrap samples Number of cores for parallel computation. Fixed at 1 for Windows. Parameter reserved for run idem in GUI mode Composite quantiles of interest for measuring treatment effect Quantiles for extracting bootstrap conﬁdence intervals Extra options for ranking subjects using the composite endpoint that include • cut.z: Clinically meaningful difference in the functional outcome • cut.surv: Clinically meaningful difference in survival time Random seed Details If n.boot=0, bootstrap analysis will not be conducted. Instead, only the treatment effect size will be estimated using the imputed data. Value A class IDEMTEST list containing lst.var List of speciﬁcation parameters deltas Vector of sensitivity parameters theta A data frame with columns * Delta0: Sensitivity parameter for control arm * Delta1: Sensitivity parameter for intervention arm * Theta: Estimated θ * SD: Standard deviation (when n.boot >0) * PValue: p-value (when n.boot >0 effect.quantilesA data frame with columns * Delta:Sensitivity parameter * TRT:Treatment arm * Q: Quantiles of the composite endpoint to be estimated * QuantY: Estimated quantiles if the quantiles correspond to functional outcome (when n.boot >0) * QuantSurv: Estimated quantiles if the quantiles correspond to survival days (when n.boot >0) * Q: Boostrap quantiles for the QuantY (when n.boot >0) * QSurv: Boostrap quantiles for the QuantSurv (when n.boot >0) bootstrap A list with length n.boot. The ith item is the class IDEMEST list corresponding to the ith bootstrap sample Examples Run Web-Based idem application Description Call Shiny to run idem as a web-based application. Usage Details A web browser will be brought up for users to access the GUI of idem. Examples Plot of IDEMDATA object Description Generate different types of plots for class IDEMDATA objects. Usage Arguments See Also Examples A class IDEMDATA object generated by imData Types of the plot • survivor: Spaghetti plot for subjects alive at the end of the study • missing: Plot the missing patterns of the observed data • KM: Plot Kaplan-Meier survival curves Curve colors of the treatment and control arm for survival plot or colors of the observed and missing data for missingness plot. File name of the result pdf ﬁle. If fname is null, result pdf ﬁle will not be generated Extra arguments for plot Plot model ﬁtting results Description Plot method of the class IDEMFIT to generate model ﬁtting diagnosis plots Usage Arguments A class IDEMFIT object generated by imFitModel Treatment arm selected for the diagnostic plots. If NULL, all treatment arms are included Plot option Additional arguments See Also Examples Plot imputation results Description Generate different types of plots for class IDEMIMP objects generated by imImpAll Usage Arguments A class IDEMIMP object returned from imImpAll Types of the plot * imputed: Plot density of imputed values and the density of the observed outcomes * composite: Generate cumulative plot of the composite survival and functional outcome File name of the result pdf ﬁle. If fname is null, result pdf ﬁle will not be generated Options for generating the plots. type = imputed * deltas: Imputation sensitivity parameter for which to generate the results * endp: If TRUE, plot the densities of the imputed functional outcomes. Otherwise, plot the densities of the imputed outcomes * adjdensity estimation option * colsplot option for colors * ltysplot options for line types * xlimplot options See Also Examples * * options ``` ylimplot options mfrowplot ``` type = composite * at.surv: Sets the range of the survival times to plot in the cumulative distribution function. By default the range is the range of survival values up to the duration of the study * at.z: Sets the range of the functional outcome to plot in the cumulative distribution function. By defualt this is the range of the functional outcomes plus the buffer amount to improve visibility in the transition from survival to functional outcome * p.death: Proportion of the plot width devoted to Survival. By default the cumulative distribution will devote horizontal space to the survival portion that is proportional to the number of subjects who die prior to duration * buffer: Small horizontal gap used to better visually distinguish the transition from survival to functional outcome * delta: Imputation sensitivity parameter for which to generate the results * seg.lab: Labels for the two components of the composite outcome * main: plot options Plot hypothesis testing results Description Generate contour plot of p-values or treatment effect theta for sensitivity analysis results Usage Arguments A class IDEMINFER list generated by imInfer Levels of contour plot Levels of color scale contour plots of pvalue or effect Options for filled.contour Details The plot will only be generated when bootstrap analysis has been conducted. Examples Plot MCMC mixing results Description Plot method of the class IDEMSINGLE to generate traceplot of the imputed missing outcomes Usage Arguments ``` A class IDEMSINGLE object returned from imImpSingle Additional arguments See Also Examples Plot survivors only and SACE analysis results Description Generate a plot of survivor only and survivor average causal effect values Usage Arguments ``` A class summary.IDEMSACE object generated by summary of IDEMINFER contour plots of pvalue or effect Logical value. If True, create a contour plot for given SACE sensitivity parameter. Otherwise, create a plot for treatment effect for given imputation sensitivity parameters Selected treatment arm 0 sensitivity parameters Selected treatment arm 1 sensitivity parameters Single SACE sensitivity parameter Options for plot Details The plot function will only generate the contour plot of p-values or treatment effects on functional outcomes for survivors only analyses. For SACE analysis, the plot function generates contour plot of line plot based on the value of by.sace. Examples Print IDEMDATA object Description Print the speciﬁcation details of class IDEMDATA objects generated by imData Usage Arguments See Also ``` A class IDEMDATA object generated by imData Additional arguments Print error messages Description Print error messages in the parameter speciﬁcations generated by imData Usage Arguments See Also Examples A class IDEMERROR object returned by imData when there are misspeciﬁcations Logical indicator for the format of the error messages. When TRUE, the error messages are formatted in HTML format Additional arguments Print model ﬁtting results Description Print method of the class IDEMFIT generated by imFitModel Usage Arguments ``` A class IDEMFIT object generated by imFitModel Additional arguments ``` Details Print the results from lm for all the models See Also Print imputation results Description Print method for class IDEMIMP objects generated by imImpAll Usage Arguments See Also ``` A class IDEMIMP object returned from imImpAll Extra arguments ``` Print inference results Description Print method of class IDEMINFER for treatment effect estimation and hypothesis testing results Usage Arguments Examples Print MCMC mixing checking result Description Print method for class IDEMSINGLE objects generated by imImpSingle Usage Arguments See Also ``` A class IDEMSINGLE object returned from imImpSingle Additional arguments ``` Print survivors only or SACE analysis results ``` Description Print survivors only or SACE analysis results Usage Arguments Summary of IDEMDATA object Description Summarize the missing data information for class IDEMDATA objects generated by imData. Usage Arguments A class IDEMDATA object returned by imData Types of the summarization * misstable: Summarize the frequencies of each missing pattern * missid: Summarize the indices of subjects that need imputation, i.e. survivors with functional endpoint missing trt: Treatment arms Logical variable that indicates whether clinical outcomes not used in calculating the functional outcome are considered as missing and should be imputed. The default is FALSE, indicating that all missing clinical outcomes will be imputed sequentially Extra arguments 24 Value A dataframe with frequencies of each missing pattern when opt is misstable A vector of indices of subjects that need imputation when opt is missid. A vector of treatment arms in the data when opt is trt. See Also Summary of the inference results Description Summarize survivors only or Survivor Averaged Causal Effect (SACE) based on the imputation and bootstrap analysis Usage Arguments. A class IDEMINFER list generated by imInfer Types of the summary survivor: Survivors only analysis * SACE : Survivor Averaged Causal Effect Vector of sensitivity parameters for SACE estimation. If NULL, the values will be generated based on the standard deviations of the estimated differences in the functional outcomes between the treatment and control arms Optional arguments for summary Details For SACE, the default sensitivity parameters will be determined by the standard deviation of the treatment effect size on the functional outcomes. Value ``` A class summary.IDEMINFER list containing deltas imputation sensitivity parameters n.boot number of bootstrap samples in bootstrap analysis sace.deltas SACE sensitivity parameters when opt = SACE rst A data frame with columns • Delta0: Imputation sensitivity parameter for control arm, • Delta1: Imputation sensitivity parameter for intervention arm • SACE_Delta: SACE sensitivity parameter when opt = SACE • Effect: SACE estimate • LB: Lower bound of the 95 • UB: Upper bound of the 95 • PValue: p-value when when n.boot > 0 in the IDEMINFER object ``` References Chiba Y, VanderWeele TJ (2011). A simple method for principal strata effects when the outcome has been truncated due to death. American Journal of Epidemiology 173(7):745-751. Examples Index ``` abc, 4 idem (idem-package), 2 idem-package, 2 imData, 4, 6, 9, 14, 19, 20, 23, 24 imFitModel, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 20, 21 imImpAll, 7, 11, 15, 16, 21 imImpAll_mice, 8 imImpSingle, 10, 17, 18, 22 imInfer, 11, 17, 22–24 imShiny, 3, 13 plot.IDEMDATA, 13 plot.IDEMFIT, 14 plot.IDEMIMP, 15 plot.IDEMINFER, 16 plot.IDEMSINGLE, 17 plot.summary.IDEMINFER, 18 print.IDEMDATA, 19 print.IDEMERROR, 20 print.IDEMFIT, 20 print.IDEMIMP, 21 print.IDEMINFER, 21 print.IDEMSINGLE, 22 print.summary.IDEMINFER, 23 summary.IDEMDATA, 23 summary.IDEMINFER, 24
RESEARCH Open Access Cumulative live birth rates after IVF/ICSI cycles with sperm prepared by density gradient centrifugation vs. swim‑up: a retrospective study using a propensity score‑matching analysis Meng Rao † , Li Tang † , Longda Wang, Mengxiang Chen, Gaofeng Yan and Shuhua Zhao * Abstract Background:Density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and swim-up (SU) are the two most widely used sperm preparation methods for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). However, existing comparisons of IVF/ICSI outcomes following these sperm preparation methods are insufficient and controversial. Methods:This retrospective study included all first autologous IVF and ICSI cycles performed between March 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020 in a single university-based center. A total of 3608 cycles were matched between DGC and SU using propensity score (PS) matching for potential confounding factors at a ratio of 1:1. The primary outcome was the cumulative live birth rate (cLBR) per aspiration. Results:PS matching provided 719 cycles after DGC and 719 cycles after SU. After adjusting for confounders, the recovery rate, progressive motility rate after sperm preparation, fertilization rate, good-quality embryo rate, and blastocyst formation rate were similar between the DGC and SU groups. The cLBR (odds ratio [OR]=1.143, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.893–1.461) and LBR per transfer (OR=1.082, 95% CI: 0.896–1.307) were also not significantly different between the groups. Furthermore, no significant differences were found in all of the laboratory and clinical outcomes following conventional IVF or ICSI cycles between the two groups. However, a significantly higher fertilization rate (β=0.074, 95% CI: 0.008–0.140) was observed when using poor-quality sperm in the DGC group than in the SU group. Conclusions:Sperm preparation using DGC and SU separately resulted in similar IVF/ICSI outcomes. Further studies are warranted to compare the effects of these methods on IVF/ICSI outcomes when using sperm from subgroups of different quality. Keywords:Sperm preparation, Density gradient centrifugation, Swim-up, IVF, Cumulative live birth rate Background Correspondence: firstname.lastname@example.org †Meng Rao and Li Tang contributed equally to this work. Department of Reproduction and Genetics, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650032, Yunnan Province, China The prevalence of infertility is approximately 12–15% globally [1]. Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have helped millions of couples deliver their own babies [2, 3]. However, the success rates of ARTs are still unsatisfactory. Only approximately one-third of all in vitro © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativeco mmons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles result in a live birth [2, 3]. Semen parameters affect both embryo quality and IVF/ICSI outcomes, and the relative contribution of the sperm to a successful live birth can be hypothesized to be 10–15% [4, 5]. As sperm show high inter-sample heterogeneity, sperm preparation to yield high-quality sperm for fertilization is crucial for improving IVF/ICSI outcomes. The comparisons of ART outcomes after DGC and SU are insufficient due to the limited number of studies and limited sample sizes in the published studies. A Cochrane meta-analysis in 2019 included four randomized controlled trials comprising 370 participants for comparison of the clinical pregnancy rates (CPRs) after artificial insemination with the husband's sample following DGC and SU [32]. No significant difference was found in the CPR between the SU and DGC groups (CPR 22% vs. 24%; odds ratio [OR] =0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51–1.35; I 2 =71%). However, the evidence level was very low because of high heterogeneity and the limited number of participants. The effects of these sperm preparation methods on the IVF/ICSI outcomes have also been found to be inconsistent. For example, Van der Zwalmen et al. [29] reported a higher ongoing pregnancy rate after IVF cycles with sperm prepared by DGC than after IVF cycles with sperm prepared by SU. In contrast, Palini [33] found that the blastulation rates per fertilized oocytes (41.7% vs. 58.5%, p =0.009), blastulation rates per D3 embryos (46.1% vs. 63.7%, p =0.045), and pregnancy rates (25.8% vs. 41.9%, p =0.045) were higher after ICSI in the direct micro SU group than in the DGC group. Swim-up (SU) and density gradient centrifugation (DGC) are the two most widely used sperm preparation methods for ART. Both methods are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for recovering motile spermatozoa with morphologically normal forms and free of seminal plasma, debris, non-germ cells, and dead spermatozoa [6]. Although the efficiencies of these two methods have been compared since the 1980s, most of these studies have focused on semen parameters such as the recovery rate, concentration, progressive motility rate (PR), morphology, and sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) of the recovered sperm. Most of these studies report a higher recovery rate following DGC but a higher PR following SU [7–15]. However, the results regarding the SDF [7, 16–23] and normal morphology rate [7, 12– 15, 20, 21, 24–30] remain contradictory. In addition, only a few studies have evaluated other parameters that may affect IVF/ICSI outcomes. Some of these have reported that sperm prepared by DGC (vs. SU) have better acrosome function, capacitation, and hyper-activation [8, 28, 31], whereas others have found that sperm prepared by SU (vs. DGC) have fewer vacuoles in the heads [7, 23]. Other researchers did not find any significant difference in IVF/ICSI outcomes between the SU and DGC groups [25, 26, 34]. These inconsistent results may be due to the differences in SU and DGC procedures used in different studies and the limited sample sizes. To compare the differences in IVF/ICSI outcomes following sperm preparation by DGC vs. SU, we retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of first IVF/ICSI cycles with sperm prepared by DGC or SU. By propensity score (PS) matching, 719 cycles with sperm prepared by DGC and 719 with sperm prepared by SU were compared for the cumulative live birth rate (cLBR) per aspiration, and the recovery rate, PR after sperm preparation, fertilization rate, good-quality embryo rate, blastocyst formation rate, LBR per transfer. We found no significant difference in the cLBR between the DGC and SU groups or between patient subgroups stratified by the fertilization method (IVF vs. ICSI) and sperm quality (normal vs. poor). Materials and methods Study population and design This retrospective study was conducted in the reproductive center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. First IVF and ICSI cycles performed between March 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020 were assessed for inclusion. Only cycles that resulted in at least one live birth after a fresh embryo transfer (ET) or consecutive frozen ETs or cycles that failed to give a live birth after all available embryos had been transferred were included. The other inclusion criteria were autologous sperm and oocytes, a female age ≤40 years, and sperm prepared by either DGC or SU. Cycles were excluded if (i) the female partner had been diagnosed with recurrent pregnancy loss, uterine malformation, and/or adenomyosis; (ii) male or female chromosomal abnormality was reported; or (iii) surgical sperm or frozen–thawed testicular sperm were used. A total of 3608 cycles were included for further analysis. Semen sample collection, evaluation, and preparation Semen samples were collected on the day of oocyte aspiration following 2–7 days of ejaculatory abstinence. After fluidification, the samples were analyzed according to the WHO guidelines (2010) [6]. A sample was considered to be of poor quality if it had one or more parameters below the reference thresholds (concentration < 15 ×10 6 /mL, total spermatozoa < 39 ×10 6 /mL, and/or PR < 32%). The semen samples were then prepared by SU or DGC, and the recovered sperm were evaluated again by the same technician who had analyzed the sperm samples before preparation. SU: Briefly, semen samples were first transferred to individual 15-mL centrifuge tubes. Then, 2 mL of G-IVF plus (Vitrolife Sweden AB, V. Frölunda, Sweden) was gently layered above the semen. The tubes were inclined at a 45° angle and incubated at 37 °C for 40–60 min. After incubation, 1.5 mL of the supernatant was transferred to a new tube and centrifuged at 300×g for 6 min. The resulting supernatant was discarded, and the sperm pellet was resuspended in 2 mL of G-IVF plus, followed by further centrifugation at 300×g for 6 min. The resulting supernatant was discarded, and the sperm pellet was resuspended in 0.5–1 mL of the culture medium for further use. DGC: A two-layer gradient was prepared with 1.5 mL each of 45 and 90% SpermGrad (Vitrolife Sweden AB, V. Frölunda, Sweden) in 15-mL centrifuge tubes. The semen samples were transferred to the top of the gradient in individual tubes and centrifuged at 300×g for 20 min. The resulting supernatant was discarded, and the pellet was resuspended in 2 mL of G-IVF plus, followed by centrifugation at 300×g for 6 min. The resulting supernatant was again discarded, and the sperm pellet was resuspended in 0.5–1 mL of the culture medium for further use. Ovarian stimulation, oocyte aspiration, fertilization, and ET Different protocols were used for ovarian stimulation according to the woman's condition. The details of these protocols, including the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist or antagonist or other protocols (mild stimulation and progestin-primed ovarian stimulation), have been described in our previous study [35]. After retrieval, oocytes were fertilized via conventional IVF or ICSI. The insemination, evaluation of the fertilization status, Day 3 embryo grading, and blastocyst scoring were performed as described in our previous study [36]. At most, three Day 3 embryos or two blastocysts were transferred. The remaining available embryos were frozen using a vitrification kit (KITAZATO BioPharma, Shizuoka, Japan) and then thawed for a frozen ET if the previous ET cycle had failed. Study variables and outcomes Baseline demographic data of each patient were exported from the ART database of our center. These included age, body mass index (BMI), semen parameters, and smoking and drinking statuses of the male partner; age, BMI, serum concentration of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), and type of infertility of the female partner; and IVF characteristics including the ovarian stimulation protocol, retrieved oocytes, and fertilization method (IVF/ ICSI). The primary outcome in this study was the cLBR per aspiration. The secondary outcomes were the recovery rate, PR after sperm preparation, fertilization rate, goodquality embryo rate, blastocyst formation rate, and LBR per transfer. The recovery rate was calculated as the total number of spermatozoa after sperm preparation divided by the total number of spermatozoa before sperm preparation. The fertilization rate was calculated as the number of normally fertilized oocytes (two pronuclei) divided by the total number of oocytes inseminated (IVF cycle) or the total number of oocytes injected (ICSI cycle). The good-quality embryo rate was calculated as the number of Grade I and II embryos divided by the total number of Day 3 embryos evaluated. The blastocyst formation rate was calculated as the number of blastocysts divided by the number of embryos that underwent blastocyst culture. The cLBR (%) was calculated as the number of oocyte aspiration cycles resulting in at least one live birth divided by the number of aspiration cycles ×100. The LBR was defined as the number of ET cycles resulting in at least one live birth divided by the number of ET cycles. Statistical analysis The initial analyses of demographic data from the DGC (n=2418) and SU (n=1190) groups showed that the mean numbers of retrieved oocytes were 14.2 and 6.8, respectively. Considering that the oocyte number had a significant effect on the cLBR [37] and that the study time span was approximately 5 years, we used PS matching without replacement to match the number of retrieved oocytes and the year of oocyte aspiration between the DGC and SU groups, with a 0.2 standard deviation caliper width and a 1:1 ratio. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the associations of sperm preparation methods with the recovery rate, PR after sperm preparation, fertilization rate, good-quality embryo rate, and blastocyst formation rate. For the recovery rate and PR after sperm preparation, the models were adjusted for male age, total sperm, and PR before preparation. For the fertilization rate, good-quality embryo rate, and blastocyst formation rate, the models were adjusted for male age, sperm quality, female age, female infertility type, ovarian stimulation protocol, number of retrieved oocytes, IVF/ ICSI, and AMH. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships of sperm preparation methods with the cLBR and LBR per ET. For the cLBR, the model was adjusted for male age, sperm Continuous variables with normal distribution are presented as means (standard deviations), whereas those with skewed distribution are presented as medians (interquartile ranges). The significance of differences in the demographic and clinical data between the DGC and SU groups was tested using an analysis of variance (continuous variables with normal distribution), a Mann– Whitney U test (continuous variables with skewed distribution), or a chi-square test (categorical variables). quality, female age, female infertility type, ovarian stimulation protocol, number of retrieved oocytes, IVF/ICSI, and AMH. For the LBR per ET, the model was adjusted for male age, sperm quality, female age, female infertility type, ovarian stimulation protocol, number of retrieved oocytes, IVF/ICSI, AMH, fresh or frozen ET, number of transferred embryos, and the stage of transferred embryos (Day 3 embryo or blastocyst). All tests were two-tailed, and p< 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. SPSS 25.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL) was used for the data analyses. Previous studies have suggested that sperm quality influences the outcomes of sperm prepared by SU and DGC. Thus, we performed subgroup analyses based on sperm quality as well as male age, which is reported to be associated with sperm quality. We also compared the effects of DGC and SU on the outcomes of conventional IVF and ICSI cycles, respectively, as the sperm selection mechanisms are distinct for these two insemination methods. Results Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 3608 couples undergoing their first autologous IVF/ICSI cycles were included in this study. After PS matching, 719 cycles for each group were obtained (Fig. 1). The demographic characteristics of the participants are shown in Table 1. The number of retrieved oocytes was comparable between the DGC and SU groups. The male age, The cLBRs were 62.7 and 58.7% in the DGC and SU groups, respectively (Table 2). After adjusting for confounders, no significant difference was observed in the cLBR (OR =1.143, 95% CI: 0.893–1.461) and the LBR per transfer (OR =1.082, 95% CI: 0.896–1.307) between the groups (Table2). The laboratory outcomes, including the sperm recovery rate, PR after sperm preparation, fertilization rate, good quality embryo rate, and blastocyst formation rate, were similar between the groups (Table2). There were 628 IVF and 91 ICSI cycles in the DGC group, and 622 IVF and 97 ICSI cycles in the SU group. All of the clinical and laboratory outcomes were comparable between the two groups for both patients undergoing conventional IVF and those undergoing ICSI (Table3). BMI, and smoking and drinking statuses were similar between the two groups. The semen parameters, including the total sperm number, concentration, and PR, were better in the SU group than in the DGC group. Consequently, the proportion of men with poor semen parameters was significantly lower in the SU group. The female age, BMI, and infertility type were not significantly different between the groups. Compared with the DGC group, more women in the SU group had a low AMH level (< 1.5 ng/mL) and underwent ovarian stimulation by protocols other than the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist or antagonist. The proportion of conventional IVF or ICSI cycles was similar between the two groups. Table 1Characteristics of included participants DGC Density gradient centrifugation, SU Swim-up, SD Standard deviation, IQR interquartile range, BMI Body mass index, PR Progressive motility rate, AMH AntiMullerian hormone, IVF In vitro fertilization, ICSI Intracytoplasmic sperm injection In total, 193 men had poor semen parameters in the DGC group compared with 118 men in the SU group (Table 4). For cycles with poor-quality sperm, the fertilization rate was significantly higher in the DGC group than in the SU group (β =0.074, 95% CI: 0.008–0.140) (Table 4). There was a trend, although not significant, toward a higher cLBR for cycles with poor-quality sperm in the DGC group (OR =1.539, 95% CI: 0.825–2.823). For cycles with normal-quality sperm, no significant difference was observed in any of the outcomes between the DGC and SU groups (Table4). As a high male age is associated with poor semen parameters and higher SDF [38], we compared the effects of DGC and SU on the outcomes of cycles when using sperm from different male age groups. We found that all of the outcomes were similar between the DGC and SU groups for all age groups (Additional Table1). Discussion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the cLBR after IVF/ICSI cycles with sperm prepared by DGC vs. SU. The cLBR, a key indicator of the Table 2Comparisons of outcomes between cycles preparing sperm with GC and SU DGC Density gradient centrifugation, SU Swim-up, OR Odd ratio, PR Progressive motility rate, cLBR Cumulative live birth rate a Adjusted β (95%CI), DGC vs. SU b Adjusted OR (95%CI), DGC vs. SU Table 3Comparisons of outcomes between cycles preparing sperm with DGC and SU following IVF and ICSI treatments IVF In vitro fertilization, ICSI Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, DGC Density gradient centrifugation, SU Swim-up, PR Progressive motility rate, cLBR Cumulative live birth rate a Adjusted β (95%CI), DGC vs. SU b Adjusted OR (95%CI), DGC vs. SU effect of IVF/ICSI, is superior to the CPR and LBR per transfer for evaluating the effect of male factors, as it takes into consideration the overall embryo quality rather than the quality of just one or two embryos that affect the CPR or LBR per transfer. Our results showed no difference in the cLBR between the DGC and SU groups or between subgroups stratified by the fertilization method (IVF vs. ICSI) and sperm quality (normal vs. poor). These results are consistent with previous reports. For instance, Hammadeh et al. [26] found that the pregnancy rate and implantation rate after conventional IVF cycles with sperm prepared by DGC (n=60) were similar to those with sperm prepared by SU (n =60). Soderlund and Lundin [34] also found no significant differences in pregnancy and the ongoing pregnancy rate between cycles with sperm prepared by DGC (n=63) and those with sperm prepared by SU (n=88). Borges [25] reported that the implantation, pregnancy, and miscarriage rates after intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection were not statistically different between the SU ( n = 44) and DGC ( n = 26) groups. In contrast, another study by Van Der Zwalmen et al. [ 29 ] published in 1991 reported significantly higher ongoing pregnancy and delivery rates after conventional IVF cycles with sperm prepared by DGC ( n = 111) than after those with sperm prepared by SU ( n = 185). However, the authors did not provide the basic demographic characteristics of the included patients and did not adjust for potential confounders. In the current study, the fertilization rate from the sperm of men with poor semen parameters was significantly higher in the DGC group than in the SU group (Table 4). This is consistent with a previous report by Van Der Zwalmen [29]. This finding may be explained by DGC's selection of sperm with good capacitation and acrosome reaction abilities, which are key indicators of the ability of sperm to fertilize an egg [8, 28, 31]. That is, the DGC selects morphologically normal sperm cells, especially sperm with normal heads, based on their specific density. The sperm recovered by DGC Table 4Comparisons of outcomes between GC and SU in men with normal and poor sperm parameters DGC Density gradient centrifugation, SU Swim-up, PR Progressive motility rate, cLBR Cumulative live birth rate a Adjusted β (95%CI), DGC vs. SU b Adjusted OR (95%CI), DGC vs. SU thus have better acrosome function, capacitation, and sperm hyperactivation than those recovered by SU [8, 28, 31]. The resulting higher fertilization rate following DGC increases the number of available embryos and results in a better cLBR relative to SU. Indeed, we found a trend, although not significant, toward a higher cLBR in cycles with sperm prepared by DGC from men with poor semen parameters. These findings further confirm the WHO's fifth recommendation that DGC is a suitable preparation method for sperm from samples with poor semen parameters. This study has several strengths. First, the sample size was large even after applying strict inclusion and In sperm selection during natural conception, tens of millions of spermatozoa are selected at several sites in the female genital tract, namely, the (i) cervix, (ii) uterus, (iii) uterotubal junction, (iv) oviduct, (v) cumulus oophorus, and (vi) zona pellucida. Only 10 2 –10 3 spermatozoa reach the cumulus–oocyte complex and even fewer bind and penetrate the zona pellucida [39]. During ART, natural sperm selection steps are bypassed, especially during ICSI, which bypasses all of these natural steps [5]. As a consequence, different effects may be obtained between IVF or ICSI when using sperm prepared by different methods. We thus compared whether the outcomes of conventional IVF and ICSI cycles differ when using sperm prepared by different methods (DGC vs. SU). The results showed no significant difference in the outcomes of either conventional IVF or ICSI cycles between the DGC and SU groups. exclusion criteria, which has strengthened the reliability of our results. Second, the main outcome of this study was the cLBR per aspiration, which reflects the effect of sperm quality on the overall embryo quality and development potential. Third, a series of potential confounders were adjusted using PS matching and generalized linear or logistic models to avoid bias. However, several limitations of our study remain. First, the retrospective nature of our study suggests an inherent risk of bias, despite adjusting for a series of potential confounders. Second, even if the sample size was large, it was insufficient for robust subgroup analyses. Third, the generality of the conclusion from this study is limited by the single-center design, as the varying laboratory and clinical procedures followed across different centers might affect the ART outcomes. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the largest study to compare the outcomes of IVF/ICSI cycles when using sperm prepared by DGC vs. SU, the two most widely used sperm preparation methods. We found that sperm prepared by these two methods resulted in similar cLBRs. Further study is warranted to compare the effects of these sperm preparation methods on IVF/ICSI outcomes when using sperm from subgroups such as men with poor semen parameters or high SDF. Abbreviations ART: Assisted reproductive technology; IVF: In vitro fertilization; ICSI: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection; SU: Swim-up; DGC: Density gradient centrifugation; WHO: World Health Organization; PR: Progressive motility rate; SDF: Sperm DNA fragmentation; CPR: Clinical pregnancy rate; OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval; PS: Propensity score; cLBR: Cumulative live birth rate; ET: Embryo transfer; BMI: Body mass index; AMH: Anti-Mullerian hormone. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi. org/10.1186/s12958-022-00933-2. Additional file 1: Supplementary Table 1. Comparisons of outcomes between cycles preparing sperm with DGC and SU in cycles with different male age. Acknowledgments Not applicable. Authors' contributions LT and SZ designed the study. MR and SZ performed the data analyses. MR and LT contributed to data acquisition. LW, MC and GY checked the data. SZ wrote the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript. Funding This study was supported by the Basic Research Project of the Yunnan Province-Outstanding Youth Foundation (No. 202101AW070018) and the Health Commission of Yunnan Province under Grant (No. D-2017021). Availability of data and materials The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate The study plan was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Received: 12 December 2021 Accepted: 18 February 2022 References 1. Chandra A, Copen CE, Stephen EH. Infertility and impaired fecundity in the United States, 1982–2010: data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Natl Health Stat Report. 2013;67:1–18. 2. De Geyter C, Calhaz-Jorge C, Kupka MS, Wyns C, Mocanu E, Motrenko T, et al. ART in Europe, 2015: results generated from European registries by ESHRE. Hum Reprod Open. 2020;2020(1):z38. 3. Sunderam S, Kissin DM, Zhang Y, Jewett A, Boulet SL, Warner L, et al. Assisted reproductive technology surveillance - United States, 2017. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2020;69(9):1–20. 4. Colaco S, Sakkas D. Paternal factors contributing to embryo quality. 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PO BOX 93 Dandenong VIC 3175 DX 17520 Dandenong rmbl.com.au Level 5, 225 Lonsdale Street Dandenong VIC 3175 T 03 9213 5700 F 1300 886 662 email@example.com How to report a Reportable Matter A Reportable Matter under this Policy may be reported to our Whistleblower Reports Officer (WRO). The current WRO is Surinder Gurdial (Director/ Senior Compliance Officer of the Company) and he may be contacted via email at firstname.lastname@example.org or via telephone on (03) 9213 5702. . Generally, the WRO is responsible for managing the reporting and any investigatory process, safeguarding the interests of Whistleblowers who report Reportable Matters, and ensuring the integrity of the reporting mechanism under this Policy. A Reportable Matter under this Policy may also be reported to our External Whistleblower Reports Officer (EWRO). The current EWRO is Pam McAlister and Sharyn Cowley and they may be contacted via email at email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.org or via telephone on mob: 0413 316 155 (Pam) or 0422 506 673 (Sharyn). A Whistleblower may also report a Reportable Matter to any other senior manager, officer, auditor (or audit team member) or actuary of the Company. If the Reportable Matter is not initially reported to the WRO or EWRO, it will be passed on to the WRO or EWRO, or to a substitute WRO if it is inappropriate for the existing WRO or EWRO to deal with the matter. It is preferred that any report made under this Policy be in writing, by email or in hard copy, and should be marked 'Strictly Private and Confidential'. The report should: - identify what the Whistleblower believes constitutes the Reportable Matter; - identify to whom the Whistleblower believes the Reportable Matter relates; - identify who the Whistleblower believes the Reportable Matter effects; - set out as much detail as possible as to the relevant factual details that the Whistleblower believes have occurred or are occurring; and - attach any relevant supporting documentation. While reports can be made anonymously if preferred, this may affect the ability to properly consider and investigate the matter reported (including an inability to further communicate with a Whistleblower about a Reportable Matter). Should a report be conveyed by telephone, and where the Whistleblower is not anonymous, the WRO or EWRO will provide the Whistleblower with a written copy of his/her understanding of the report made, which the Whistleblower will then be asked to confirm as accurately reflecting what they have reported. Once such information has been obtained, the WRO or EWRO will assess whether the matter reported qualifies as meeting the definition of a Reportable Matter, and if so, will arrange for an independent investigation to be conducted into the allegations the subject of the report. PO BOX 93 Dandenong VIC 3175 DX 17520 Dandenong rmbl.com.au Level 5, 225 Lonsdale Street Dandenong VIC 3175 T 03 9213 5700 F 1300 886 662 email@example.com Investigation processes Investigation processes will vary depending on the precise nature of the conduct being investigated. The purpose of an investigation is to determine whether or not a Reportable Matter is substantiated, with a view to the Company then rectifying any wrongdoing uncovered (to the extent that this is practicable in all the circumstances), and to take any disciplinary or other appropriate action. The WRO., EWRO and/or the investigator will determine how the investigation is to be conducted. Unless anonymous, a Whistleblower may be asked to provide further details about what he/she has reported, to ensure that the matters raised may be thoroughly investigated and put to others who are implicated. All investigations will be thorough, objective, fair and conducted by an investigator who is independent of: the Whistleblower, anyone who is the subject of the Reportable Matter, and any business unit concerned. Communicating with Whistleblowers about Reportable Matters So far as is practicable, a Whistleblower will be kept informed at regular intervals of the status of Reportable Matters that they have reported, as well as the outcome (subject to privacy and confidentiality considerations). Whistleblower protections There are various protections afforded to individuals who report Reportable Matters or who make other protected disclosures under the Act. Confidentiality The person to whom a Reportable Matter is reported may only disclose the Whistleblower's name or any information that is likely to lead to their identification, if they agree to this or if otherwise authorised under the Act. Anyone involved in handling the report of a Reportable Matter (such as the WRO, EWRO and an investigator) will also ensure that all files relating to the report are kept secure, and that the information received is held in confidence and only disclosed to any persons not connected with the investigation if: - following consultation, the Whistleblower has consented to such disclosure; or - required or permissible by law. It is possible that someone might deduce the identity of a Whistleblower without there having been a breach of confidentiality – for example, if the nature of a report or an investigation points to one particular individual having made it. This would not constitute PO BOX 93 Dandenong VIC 3175 DX 17520 Dandenong rmbl.com.au Level 5, 225 Lonsdale Street Dandenong VIC 3175 T 03 9213 5700 F 1300 886 662 firstname.lastname@example.org a breach of the Act, so long as all reasonable steps have been taken to reduce the risk of a Whistleblower being identified. No victimisation Whistleblowers will not be: - subjected to any Detrimental Conduct (as defined below) because, or partly because, it is believed or suspected that they or any other person reported, may have reported, propose to report, or could report, a Reportable Matter; or - threatened to be subjected to any Detrimental Conduct because they or any other person has reported or may report a Reportable Matter. 'Detrimental Conduct' includes (without limitation): - dismissal of an employee; - injury to an employee in their employment; - alteration of an employee's position or duties to their disadvantage; - discrimination between an employee and other employees; - harassment or intimidation of a person; - harm or injury to a person, including psychological harm; - damage to a person's property; - damage to a person's reputation; - damage to a person's business or financial position; - any other damage to a person. Other support The Company will ensure fairness to all involved as a result of a Reportable Matter being reported under this Policy, including any employees mentioned in a Reportable Matter or to whom it relates. This will be achieved by maintaining confidentiality so far as is reasonably practicable, and by requiring procedural fairness throughout any investigation process. The Company recognises that "blowing the whistle" is likely to be a very stressful and difficult experience, as may be any involvement in an investigation into a Reportable Matter. Accordingly, if any additional support is required, you are encouraged to contact Alex Courtney via email at email@example.com or via telephone on (03) 9213 5703. PO BOX 93 Dandenong VIC 3175 DX 17520 Dandenong rmbl.com.au Level 5, 225 Lonsdale Street Dandenong VIC 3175 T 03 9213 5700 F 1300 886 662 firstname.lastname@example.org Impact of this Policy on your engagement It is a condition of any employment or other engagement by the Company that you will comply at all times with this Policy. However, this Policy does not form part of any agreement with the Company. Any breach of this Policy will be taken very seriously and may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or cessation of any other engagement or contract with the Company. Review It is intended that this Policy will be reviewed from time to time to ensure that it remains consistent with all relevant legislative requirements, as well as changes within the organisation. The Policy may be amended or replaced at any other time at the sole discretion of the Company. Questions Any questions about this Policy should be directed to current WRO – Surinder Gurdial via email at email@example.com or via telephone on (03) 9213 5702, or alternatively the current EWROs – firstname.lastname@example.org or email@example.com or via telephone on mob: 0413 316 155 (Pam) or 0422 506 673 (Sharyn).
[COVER] Shelf registration number: 22- Kanto 63 Document to be filed: Shelf Registration Statement Filed with: Director of Kanto Finance Bureau Date of filing: April 15, 2010 Name of Issuer: Shiseido Company, Limited Name and title of Representative: Shinzo Maeda President & CEO (Representative Director) Place at which the head office is located: 5-5, Ginza 7-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Telephone number: 03 (3572) 5111 Administrative person to contact: Akira Mochizuki Deputy General Manager, Financial Department Nearest contact address: 6-2, Higashi-Shimbashi 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan Telephone number: 03 (6218) 5490 Type of securities to be offered for subscription subject to Shelf Registration: Bonds Scheduled period during which the bonds may be issued: From the effective date of the Shelf Registration under this Shelf Registration Statement (April 23, 2010) through the date on which 2 years will elapse thereafter (April 22, 2012). Scheduled aggregate amount of the issue: 120,000 million yen Items regarding stabilizing transactions: Not applicable Place at which this Shelf Registration Statement is made available for public inspection: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (2-1, Nihombashi Kabutocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan) PART I. INFORMATION PERTAINING TO SECURITIES I. Terms and Conditions of Offering of Bonds for Subscription: The terms and conditions and methods of offering of bonds for subscription, other than as described below, will be described in an "Amendment to the Shelf Registration Statement" or a "Supplemental Document to the Shelf Registration Statement" at each time when the relevant bonds are offered for subscription. 1. Newly Issued Bonds: Undecided 2. Underwriting of Bonds and Commission of Management of Bonds: Undecided 3. Use of proceeds from the New Issue: (1) Amount of proceeds from the new issue Undecided (2) Use of proceeds The net proceeds from the new issuance of bonds will be used for operating funds, plant and equipment funds, bond redemption funds, loan repayment funds and investment and loan funds. II. Terms and Conditions of Offering of Bonds for Sale: Not applicable III. Other Matters to be Described: Not applicable PART II. REFERENCE INFORMATION I. Reference Documents: With regard to the outline of the company, outline of business and other matters listed in Article 5, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan, please refer to the following documents: 1. Annual Securities Report and its Accompanying Documents: Filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau on June 24, 2009 for the 109th fiscal year (from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009) 2. Quarterly Report or Semiannual Report: Filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau on August 7, 2009 for the first quarter of the 110th fiscal year (from April 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009) 3. Quarterly Report or Semiannual Report: Filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau on November 13, 2009 for the second quarter of the 110th fiscal year (from July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009) 4. Quarterly Report or Semiannual Report: Filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau on February 12, 2010 for the third quarter of the 110th fiscal year (from October 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009) 5. Extraordinary Report: For the period from the filing of the Annual Securities Report listed in paragraph 1 above to the date of the filing of this Shelf Registration Statement (April 15, 2010), an Extraordinary Report was filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau as provided for in Article 24-5, paragraph 4 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan and Article 19, paragraph 2, item 2-2 of the Ordinance of the Cabinet Office Concerning Disclosure of Corporate Information, Etc. on July 30, 2009. 6. Extraordinary Report: For the period from the filing of the Annual Securities Report listed in paragraph 1 above to the date of the filing of this Shelf Registration Statement (April 15, 2010), an Extraordinary Report was filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau as provided for in Article 24-5, paragraph 4 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan and Article 19, paragraph 2, item 2-2 of the Ordinance of the Cabinet Office Concerning Disclosure of Corporate Information, Etc. on July 30, 2009. 7. Extraordinary Report: For the period from the filing of the Annual Securities Report listed in paragraph 1 above to the date of the filing of this Shelf Registration Statement (April 15, 2010), an Extraordinary Report was filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau as provided for in Article 24-5, paragraph 4 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan and Article 19, paragraph 2, item 3 of the Ordinance of the Cabinet Office Concerning Disclosure of Corporate Information, Etc. on April 9, 2010. 8. Amendment Report: An Amendment Report (Amendment to the Extraordinary Report listed in paragraph 5 above) was filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau on August 31, 2009. 9. Amendment Report: An Amendment Report (Amendment to the Extraordinary Report listed in paragraph 6 above) was filed with the Director of Kanto Finance Bureau on August 31, 2009. II. Supplemental Information to Reference Documents: With regard to the "business and other risks" described in the Annual Securities Report and the Quarterly Reports (hereinafter referred to as the "Securities Reports, Etc.") listed above as reference documents, no change or other event has occurred for the period from each date of the filing of the Securities Report, Etc. to the date of the filing of this Shelf Registration Statement (April 15, 2010). In the Securities Report, Etc., matters about the future are stated. No change has been made in our judgment about such matters nor is any new matter about the future to be stated as of the date of the filing of this Shelf Registration Statement (April 15, 2010). The matters about the future involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results and achievements to differ from the forecasts stated in the Securities Report, Etc. III. Places at which these Reference Documents are Made Available for Public Inspection: Shiseido Company, Limited, Head Office 5-5, Ginza 7-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. 2-1, Nihombashi Kabutocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan PART III. INFORMATION ON GUARANTORS, ETC. Not applicable DOCUMENT CERTIFYING ELIBIGILITY FOR USING "REFERENCE METHOD" Name of Issuer: Shiseido Company, Limited Name and title of Representative: Shinzo Maeda President & CEO (Representative Director) 1. The Company has submitted its Securities Report for one (1) year on a continuing basis. 2. The Company's issued shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. 3. The average aggregate market value of the Company's listed issued shares for three years exceeds ¥25,000 million. ¥833,666 million (For reference) (Aggregate market value of the Company's listed issued shares as of March 31, 2008) Closing price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange: Total number of common shares issued and outstanding: ¥2,635 x 410,000,000 shares = ¥1,080,350 million (Aggregate market value of the Company's listed issued shares as of March 31, 2009) Closing price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange: Total number of common shares issued and outstanding: ¥1,435 x 410,000,000 shares = ¥588,350 million (Aggregate market value of the Company's listed issued shares as of March 31, 2010) Closing price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange: Total number of common shares issued and outstanding: ¥2,030 x 410,000,000 shares = ¥832,300 million Outline of Business and Changes of Main Financial Data 1. Outline of business: The Shiseido Group, which consists of Shiseido Company, Limited (the "Company"), 86 subsidiaries (82 consolidated subsidiaries and four non-equity method non-consolidated subsidiaries) and 17 affiliates (three equity method affiliates and 14 non-equity method affiliates) (as of December 31, 2009), are mainly engaged in production and sale of cosmetics, cosmetic accessories, toiletries, beauty salon products, health & beauty foods and over-the-counter drugs, as well as research and development related to its business activities and other services. 2. Changes of main financial data: (1) Consolidated financial data: (Notes) 1. Net sales do not include consumption taxes, etc. 2. Fully diluted net income per share for the year ended March 31, 2005 was not entered since net loss was accounted for. 3. The price-earnings ratio for the year ended March 31, 2005 was not entered since net loss was accounted for. \| Month of Settlement of Accounts \| March 2005 \| March 2006 \| March 2007 \| March 2008 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Net Sales (¥ million) \| 639,828 \| 670,957 \| 694,594 \| 723,484 \| \| Operating Income (¥ million) \| - \| - \| - \| 63,465 \| \| Ordinary Income (¥ million) \| 30,574 \| 42,161 \| 53,465 \| 65,088 \| \| Net Income (Loss) (¥ million) \| (8,856) \| 14,435 \| 25,293 \| 35,459 \| \| Net Assets (¥ million) \| 359,003 \| 373,899 \| 403,796 \| 399,738 \| \| Total Assets (¥ million) \| 701,094 \| 671,841 \| 739,832 \| 675,864 \| \| Net Assets per Share (¥) \| 866.46 \| 906.11 \| 940.79 \| 946.22 \| \| Net Income (Loss) per Share (¥) \| (21.50) \| 34.42 \| 60.89 \| 86.05 \| \| Fully Diluted Net Income per Share (¥) \| - \| 34.37 \| 60.71 \| 85.74 \| \| Operating Profitability (%) \| - \| - \| - \| 8.8 \| \| Equity Ratio (%) \| 51.2 \| 55.7 \| 52.5 \| 56.6 \| \| Return on Equity (%) \| (2.4) \| 3.9 \| 6.6 \| 9.2 \| \| Price-Earnings Ratio (times) \| - \| 63.6 \| 39.3 \| 30.6 \| \| Cash Flows from Operating Activities (¥ million) \| 52,433 \| 21,812 \| 69,431 \| 75,307 \| \| Cash Flows from Investing Activities (¥ million) \| (24,900) \| (12,640) \| (18,482) \| (5,802) \| \| Cash Flows from Financing Activities (¥ million) \| 17,421 \| (29,959) \| 1,836 \| (95,882) \| \| Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Year (¥ million) \| 108,280 \| 89,014 \| 145,259 \| 120,393 \| \| Number of Employees [plus, Average Number of Temporary Employees] (person) \| 24,184 [12,044] \| 25,781 [12,274] \| 27,460 [12,177] \| 28,793 [11,213] \| 4. Effective from the year ended March 31, 2007, the Company applied the "Accounting Standard for Presentation of Net Assets in the Balance Sheet" (the Accounting Standards Board of Japan ("ASBJ") Statement No.5) and the "Implementation Guidance on Accounting Standard for Presentation of Net Assets in the Balance Sheet" (ASBJ Guidance No.8) to calculate net assets. 5. As operating income and operating profitability were determined to be entered as from the year ended March 31, 2008, those not publicized for the prior business tyears are not entered. (2) Financial data of the Company: (Notes) 1. Net sales do not include consumption taxes, etc. 2. Effective from the year ended March 31, 2007, the Company applied the "Accounting Standard for Presentation of Net Assets in the Balance Sheet" (the Accounting Standards Board of Japan ("ASBJ") Statement No.5) and the "Implementation Guidance on Accounting Standard for Presentation of Net Assets in the Balance Sheet" (ASBJ Guidance No.8) to calculate net assets. \| Month of Settlement of Accounts \| March 2005 \| March 2006 \| March 2007 \| March 2008 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Net Sales (¥ million) \| 243,032 \| 252,663 \| 282,091 \| 273,158 \| \| Ordinary Income (¥ million) \| 17,419 \| 18,801 \| 28,891 \| 31,031 \| \| Net Income (¥ million) \| 746 \| 8,186 \| 16,749 \| 23,819 \| \| Common Stock (¥ million) \| 64,506 \| 64,506 \| 64,506 \| 64,506 \| \| Common Shares Issued and Outstanding(thousand shares) \| 424,562 \| 424,562 \| 424,562 \| 410,000 \| \| Net Assets (¥ million) \| 371,598 \| 375,638 \| 375,317 \| 355,244 \| \| Total Assets (¥ million) \| 540,267 \| 536,833 \| 559,407 \| 491,009 \| \| Net Assets per Share (¥) \| 896.87 \| 910.44 \| 909.00 \| 878.49 \| \| Cash Dividends per Share (Interim Dividend per Share) (¥) \| 24.00 (11.00) \| 30.00 (15.00) \| 32.00 (16.00) \| 34.00 (17.00) \| \| Net Income per Share (¥) \| 1.78 \| 19.53 \| 40.60 \| 58.42 \| \| Fully Diluted Net Income per Share (¥) \| 1.77 \| 19.50 \| 40.48 \| 58.21 \| \| Equity Ratio (%) \| 68.8 \| 70.0 \| 67.1 \| 72.3 \| \| Return on Equity (%) \| 0.2 \| 2.2 \| 4.5 \| 6.5 \| \| Price-Earnings Ratio (times) \| 794.9 \| 112.1 \| 59.0 \| 45.1 \| \| Payout Ratio (%) \| 1,348.3 \| 153.6 \| 78.8 \| 58.2 \|
JICLT JICLT Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology Vol. 8, No.2 (2013) Moving towards a comprehensive legal framework for electronic identification as a trust service in the European Union 1 Hans Graux 2 Abstract: This paper explores avenues for the creation of a legal framework for electronic identification, specifically by tying this into the future development of the European eSignatures Directive. It builds on the observation that the eSignature Directive has largely been unable to support an internal market for certification service providers, partially because it insufficiently considers the essential link between e-signatures and ancillary services. Electronic identification is one of these ancillary services. The current review of the Directive is an opportunity to remedy this issue. Based on this idea, this paper examines the possibility of creating a comprehensive framework for trust services, that would also include electronic identification services. 3 1. Introduction In recent years, e-signatures have enjoyed increasing attention at the European policy level. As such, this is not surprising: both in the private and public sector, more and more sensitive transactions are conducted electronically, increasing the need for mechanisms that enable trust. E-signatures are a primary example of such a tool, given their stated purpose of serving as a method of authentication. 4 Unfortunately, this increasing policy interest in e-signatures is largely caused by a relatively gloomy observation: advanced e-signatures in the European Union and elsewhere function largely in the context of closed public key frameworks. As long as a signatory remains within that specific context – e-banking applications, national e-government services, and professional document management systems – the policy framework established within that context provides clearly for any problems. But as soon as he attempts to use a digital signature outside of that policy framework, digital signatures are virtually unused. 5 This is a fairly disappointing and sobering conclusion for a technology that was entrusted with the seemingly simple task of replacing the hand written signature. Hand written signatures are at best a moderately reliable authentication tool, whose value stems mainly from the fact that people have been used to it for a long time, rather than from any objective security characteristics and yet, modern technology has failed to come up with a similarly simple, flexible and universally accepted electronic equivalent. 1 Note: this discussion paper is largely based on a more comprehensive article called "Rethinking the e-signatures Directive: on laws, trust services, and the digital single market", which is planned to be published in the Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review in the second half of 2011. 3 Supported by the ongoing study SMART 2010/008 'Feasibility study on an electronic identification, authentication and signature policy (IAS)'. The EU have awarded the contract to DLA Piper, Brussels, supported by subcontractors PricewaterhouseCoopers, SEALED, Studio Notarile Genghini and time.lex. The other of the present article is thus a co-contributor to this study. 2 Hans Graux is an affiliated researcher at the K.U.Leuven – Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and ICT (ICRI – www.icri.be), and a partner at the ICT law firm time.lex (www.timelex.eu) – Hans Graux, Vengerhof 8, 3360 Korbeek-Lo, Belgium 4 As stated in Article 2.12 of the e-Signatures Directive. 5 Dr Aashish Srivastava considered the problems of electronic signatures for his PhD, and some of his findings can be found at 'Businesses' perception of electronic signatures: An Australian study', Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review, 6 (2009) 46 – 56. 2. Background and scope of the eSignature Directive Much of the issues covered in the introduction above are also reflected in the e-signatures Directive, or more formally, Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures. This Directive states its purpose in article 2. It aims "to facilitate the use of electronic signatures and to contribute to their legal recognition. It establishes a legal framework for electronic signatures and certain certification-services in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market." The conceptual framework in European e-signature laws is very much centered around e-signatures as a tool for emulating hand written signatures. While the market access and internal market rules (articles 3 and 4 of the Directive) apply to all types of certification service providers and certification services, the only provision in the Directive that governs the legal effect of these services is focused on achieving equivalence with hand written signatures. This observation may appear to be trivial, but it is not. From a technical perspective, the cryptographic process of signing specific data can serve many other functions which have little to no logical connection to a hand written signature. As examples, one might consider: The Directive is aimed to ensure that legal uncertainties surrounding the value of e-signatures would not become a barrier to the budding e-signatures market in the European Union, or perhaps more accurately, that such uncertainties could reasonably be kept to a minimum. 1. The identification of a person (entity authentication) may use identical technologies, yet there is no intention of achieving equivalence to a hand written signature. 2. The use of electronic stamps or seals, where an entity signs a document to authenticate it on behalf of a legal person (e.g. a company seal or administrative stamp), or even on behalf of an computer system or process, in which hand written signatures may be entirely inappropriate or even nonsensical as an analogy. 3. Authorization management, where the user wants to demonstrate a certain legal mandate (e.g. to confirm the status of doctor, lawyer, notary public, etc) or access/usage right (e.g. the status of employee, citizenship, or simply of being an adult). In these cases, equivalence to a hand written signature may not necessarily be the desired goal. 4. Time stamping, where the equivalence to a hand written signature is irrelevant, since the only intention is to add a trustworthy time reference to a specific transaction. The Directive is only marginally relevant to all of these functions. This is not to say that it has no effect on them: 1. First, the e-signature itself is defined as "data in electronic form which are attached to or logically associated with other electronic data and which serve as a method of authentication" (emphasis added). This definition makes no explicit or implied reference to the purpose of creating a substitute for a hand written signature; indeed, based on this terminology alone, all of the examples above could be said to be covered by the definition of an electronic signature, since they are all methods of authentication (either entity authentication or data authentication). 6 2. Second, the notion of a "certification-service-provider" is very broadly defined in the Directive as "an entity or a legal or natural person who issues certificates or provides other services related to electronic signatures" (emphasis added). Again, the definition is so broad that virtually all types of authentication service providers could be said to be covered. Nonetheless, even under this broad interpretation of the Directive's terminology, the Directive does not provide a material legal framework for the services mentioned above. Admittedly, the market access and internal market provisions of the Directive (mainly article 4.1) apply, meaning that Member States may establish the rules which apply to service providers established on their territories, and that they may not restrict the provision of services originating in another Member State. However, with respect to the legal value of trust services, the relevant provisions of the Directive (article 5 of the Directive) are only 6 Stephen Mason, Electronic Signatures in Law, (2nd edn, Tottel, 2007), 4.5 also illustrates this issue. meaningful when the signatory aims to create a substitute for a hand written signature. In all the other examples mentioned above, it is impossible on the basis of the Directive to link any legal value to a service, other than perhaps to state that its electronic nature does not invalidate it outright. As legal support to a trust service goes, this would appear to be a relatively weak endorsement. The provisions of the Directive thus clearly focus principally on electronic signatures as a substitute for hand written signatures. This emphasis disregards the reality that finding a substitute for hand written signatures is only one possible application of certification services. There are many other varieties of such services, as shown in the graphic below: As it stands, the EU legal framework mainly covers e-signatures, at the exclusion of any other service using, or ancillary to, electronic signatures, such as electronic identification, time-stamping services, long term archiving services, electronic registered mail, or signature validation services. More importantly, there are clear dependencies between these services that affect their viability in the market. As an example, an e-signature as a substitute for a hand written signature is only meaningful if it can be adequately linked to a signatory, either as an identifiable individual, or at least by a pseudonym. Indeed, the eSignature Directive recognizes this issue, as it defines certificates as electronic attestations "which link signature-verification data to a person and confirm the identity of that person" (article 2.9). Similarly, advanced 7 signatures under the Directive must (amongst others) be "uniquely linked to the signatory" 8 and "capable of identifying the signatory" (article 2.2). Thus, when e-signatures are intended to emulate hand written signatures, identification is a prerequisite. Yet the Directive does not address how this should be done, other than to note that the use of pseudonyms in certificates "should not prevent Member States from requiring identification of persons pursuant to Community or national law" (recital 25). This requirement is echoed in Annex II (d) in relation to qualified signature certificates, noting that CSPs must "verify, by appropriate means in accordance with national law, the identity and, if applicable, any specific attributes of the person to whom a qualified certificate is issued." Identification (either as an 7 Interestingly, no such requirement applies to the base notion of "electronic signatures", for which the Directive requires that they 'serve as a method of authentication' in general. This is in line with the observation made above, namely that electronic signatures in general could be interpreted to cover any application of authentication services, but that the Directive only provides a meaningful legal framework for e-signatures as a substitute for hand written signatures. 8 For a critical analysis of this concept, see Stephen Mason, Electronic Signatures in Law, 4.9. independent process preceding the issuing of signature certificates or as a separate type of authentication service) is not harmonized by the Directive in any meaningful way. In short, it is important to recognize that e-signatures are a component of an ecosystem of certification services. When the Directive covers only one element of that ecosystem (and imperfectly at that, as argued above), new market distortions will inevitably arise. The same observation applies to time stamping, another type of certification service that supports the determination of the authenticity of e-signatures. Other ancillary services mentioned in the overview above build on these tools: electronic archiving depends on time stamping, 9 and electronic registered mail requires both reliable identification of the signatories (senders and recipients alike) and time stamping. In the absence of the basic tools, the derivative services cannot be created either. Based on these observations, it would appear that the eSignature Directive is in serious need of review. This may be a good opportunity to broaden the legal framework to ensure that certification services (thus including electronic identification) are more comprehensively covered and to avoid further barriers in the internal market. Obviously, the lessons learned from the eSignature Directive should be considered if this broader approach is taken. 3. A future legal framework for IAS services in Europe: a not-so-modest proposal The Digital Agenda has unambiguously announced a revision of the eSignature Directive, together with a possible Decision to ensure mutual recognition of certain eIDs between Member States. As an input to this process, this paper discusses an ambitious vision for a much more comprehensive framework. This vision builds on a simple but powerful observation: e-authentication systems (to use the terminology of the Digital Agenda) are similar in most respects, but differ in small important details. The policy framework should ideally reflect this. Broadly, an e-authentication Directive could be structured as follows: Logically, the common section would specify the common characteristics of all e-authentication services. Subsequent sections would thereafter focus on specific services and their unique characteristics. As with the current eSignature Directive, it is possible to envisage technical elements that require greater flexibility and more frequent updates to be adopted separately via Commission Decisions. 9 Stefanie Fischer-Dieskau and Daniel Wilke, 'Electronically signed documents: legal requirements and measures for their long-term conservation' Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review, 3 (2006) 40 – 44 4. Consistency and comprehensiveness An important question is how e-authentication services will be defined, and which types of service providers should be covered by such a Directive. The common element of e-authentication services can be derived from the current definition of e-signatures (which, as noted above, is not inherently linked to the emulation of hand written signatures): an e-authentication service is any type of information society service 10 which serves as a method of authentication of electronic data. This definition is technologically neutral, and is sufficiently broad to cover most of the services mentioned above. To provide for the full potential of e-authentication services, it would be appealing to include other services in a common Directive, including electronic archiving, digitization, validation services, and electronic registered mail. It should be acknowledged, however, that the addition of new services may also create unforeseen complexities. To mention two examples: the digitization of paper documents cannot unequivocally be considered to be an information society service, since it is not necessarily provided at a distance; and the introduction of rules for electronic registered mail as an internal market service may well have interesting overlaps with existing EU regulations for postal services. Based on this generic definition, the Directive can define subtypes of e-authentication services, using similar technologically neutral language. As a basic requirement, electronic signatures (both for natural persons and legal entities), electronic identification and time stamping would be obvious candidates for inclusion. These are the fundamental building blocks to make other e-authentication services work, and are thus crucial to an e-authentication framework. Apart from the different definitions, most of the Common Section of the Directive would borrow heavily from the existing eSignature Directive, as the principles of this Directive – if not necessarily the details behind their implementation – are fundamentally sound. Basic principles of the common section would include: 1. Internal market rules based on articles 3 and 4 of the eSignature Directive. The basic rule for all e-authentication services would be free market access, without prior authorization schemes, and applicability of the rules of the service provider's country of establishment. 2. The introduction of two basic tiers of services: general e-authentication services (as determined by the definitions) and qualified e-authentication services. As is currently the case for esignatures, general services need not meet any additional requirements (other than respecting applicable laws, such as the national transpositions of the Data Protection Directive), and benefit from a non-discrimination principle (i.e. they may not be denied legal value on the grounds that they are electronic services or on the grounds that they are not qualified, comparable to the phrasing of article 5.2 of the eSignature Directive). In contrast, qualified services would: a) Be granted a clear legal effect, to be established in the relevant specific section. b) Need to satisfy basic quality requirements. Common quality requirements for all qualified e-authentication services would include independence, liability (comparable to article 6 of the e-signatures Directive), availability of suitably qualified staff, insurance coverage to satisfy its potential liabilities, etc. The common section should only specify requirements that apply to all qualified e-authentication services; requirements that apply only to specific e-authentication service types can be specified in the relevant specific section. 3. The introduction of a mechanism for recognizing equivalent non-European e-authentication service providers, similar to the principles in article 7 of the eSignatures Directive. 4. Rules in relation to supervision, voluntary accreditation, and conformity assessments. These will require some changes compared to the present eSignature Directive: a) Supervision should remain mandatory for qualified e-authentication service providers, and should still be undertaken by national supervisory bodies. However, minimum requirements for appropriate supervision should be set through a Commission Decision, and national 10 Building on the definition provided by the eCommerce Directive 2000/31/EC, which in turn was based on the definitions of Directive 98/34/EC, as amended. supervisory bodies should publish the supervised status of service providers through trusted lists. This would address the weaknesses of the eSignature Directive as described in the introductory section. b) Voluntary accreditation may still be undertaken at the national level by anybody designated to operate such a national voluntary accreditation scheme in the Member State. However, as an important terminological point, it may be useful to no longer describe such accreditation as 'permissions' (the way the current Directive does in article 2.13), since this often makes it virtually impossible to distinguish legitimate voluntary accreditation from forbidden prior authorization. Rather, it may be advisable to simply refer to them as what they should be: quality assurance schemes. c) As a new element, the e-authentication Directive should also permit the establishment of European voluntary accreditation schemes through Commission Decisions. This is a simple but very potent addition to address a crucial problem with accreditation schemes: currently, they may be beneficial at the national level, but they cause disruptions in the internal market. The introduction of common EU level accreditation schemes could address this: an EU accreditation scheme could determine quality requirements that Member States agree on to enable interoperability in cases where a service does not meet the qualified level, but is still 'good enough' for a specific horizontal or vertical application domain. By way of examples, one might consider: i) An EU accreditation scheme formalizing the STORK Quality Authentication Assurance framework, thus allowing any e-ID means to be assessed and accredited against this framework. ii) An EU accreditation scheme for e-procurement, identifying the types of e-signatures accepted for public procurement portals. iii) An EU accreditation scheme for legal services, identifying the basic requirements for eID providers in the legal services sectors (e.g. bar associations, Ministries of Justice, professional bodies of public notaries). iv) An EU accreditation scheme linking international schemes to their European equivalents, which could facilitate the establishment of international interoperability of e-authentication services, with the benefit of a clear legal basis. It would go beyond the purposes of this contribution to assess for each of these examples whether they make business and policy sense or whether they are conceptually sound; but based on discussions in relation to eID and e-signatures – including the contemplated Commission Decision relating to the mutual recognition of eIDs – it would appear that there is a clear need for such instruments. Rather than a one-off Decision for eIDs, it might be beneficial to establish a re-usable approach to establish such EU wide schemes when there is a need and benefit for European administrations, businesses and citizens. 5. Finally, a mechanism will need to be defined for the establishment (or more accurately, the referencing) of standards at the European level. This can be based on the current approach, with a Committee evaluating the need for such standards and formalizations through Commission Decisions. However, the requirement of occasional updates will require some further attention, either by making the Committee permanent, or by clarifying the legal value of updates of referenced standards. 5. Electronic identification as an e-authentication service in this Directive Separately from the Common Section, the details in relation to individual e-authentication services – mainly their specific requirements and legal effect at the qualified level – should be regulated in separate sections. The main challenge in this respect is obviously the definition of clear legal effects for qualified services. While the legal effect of qualified e-signatures (equivalent to hand written signatures) now seems obvious, it would also be necessary to define the legal value of qualified identities or qualified time stamps. However, this is not an insurmountable obstacle. The most difficult type of qualified authentication service is probably the qualified electronic identity, which lacks a clear physical analogy. Since an electronic identity is fundamentally a collection of electronic attributes pertaining to a specific entity, the legal effect of a qualified electronic identity could however be addressed by regulating the reliability of these attributes and the liability model behind their correctness, in much the same way as the eSignatures Directive already does. With respect to qualified certificates – a prerequisite for the creation of qualified electronic signatures – article 6.1 states that certification service providers issuing qualified certificates to the public are as a minimum liable "for damage caused to any entity or legal or natural person who reasonably relies on that certificate: (a) as regards the accuracy at the time of issuance of all information contained in the qualified certificate and as regards the fact that the certificate contains all the details prescribed for a qualified certificate; (b) for assurance that at the time of the issuance of the certificate, the signatory identified in the qualified certificate held the signature-creation data corresponding to the signature-verification data given or identified in the certificate; (c) for assurance that the signature-creation data and the signature-verification data can be used in a complementary manner in cases where the certification-service-provider generates them both; unless the certification-service-provider proves that he has not acted negligently." Similarly, such a certification service provider is also liable for damages resulting from a failure to register revocation of the certificate (article 6.2). Limitations on this liability may be indicated in the certificate itself (articles 6.3 and 6.4). Of course, stronger approaches could also be considered, but are likely to be much less palatable from a political or practical perspective. A significantly more far reaching approach to regulating the legal value of qualified identities would be to require Member States to ensure that the constituent attributes are admissible as evidence in legal proceedings and benefit from a refutable legal presumption of correctness. However, this approach is unlikely to hold much appeal for certain Member States with a strong tradition of official identity documents, who might perceive this model as encroaching upon their monopoly of issuing strong credentials. It may also not appeal due to the reversal of the burden of proof, as it would then be for relying parties to show that the end user's identity claims would not be correct, which might be a costly and complicated process. For these reasons, a lighter liability based approach might be preferable. This liability model certainly has its flaws, notably the lack of any explicit obligation to act on indications that the information in the certificate is no longer correct, and the rather broad flexibility of the liability mitigation options. None the less, this approach of providing assurances of identity through liability may be as viable for qualified identities as they are for qualified signatures. While qualified identities would not benefit from an intuitive equivalence rule, they would at least provide the assurance of monetary compensation. 6. Concluding notes The observations above on the weaknesses of the e-signatures rules are not new, and it is clear that these ambitious suggestions for an e-authentication framework are incomplete and imperfect. The goal of this contribution was however, not to draft a near-final Directive, or to convince the reader that all the answers are readily available. Rather, this paper aims to make and justify a few observations: 1. The current European framework for e-signatures is built on healthy principles, but flawed in many important respects. These issues need to be fixed. Moving towards a comprehensive legal framework for electronic identification.. 2. E-signatures are not the only type of authentication service. Authenticity is a basic building block for trust and security in the information society. By focusing exclusively on e-signatures, the European policy framework will remain incomplete. 3. There is a business opportunity in establishing a coherent and comprehensive framework for authenticity services, including electronic identification. So far, the European Union has failed to do this. Ultimately, the aim of this paper is to add to the discussion on policy, and provide at least one avenue for progress. It is certainly not the only available solution, and may not be the best one. But one thing is clear: the EU needs to be more ambitious. And it cannot afford to wait. . ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ © 2013 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoncommercialNo Derivative Works. Cite as: Graux, Hans. Moving towards a comprehensive legal framework for electronic identification as a trust service in the European Union .Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology, Vol.8 No.2 (April,, 2013)
The European Convention: Bargaining in the shadow of Rhetoric PAUL MAGNETTE and KALYPSO NICOLAÏDIS The European Convention on the Future of Europe was initially presented as a turning point in the history of European integration. This paper argues that, although its composition was broader, its process more transparent and its rules more flexible than classic intergovernmental conferences, the Convention was not Europe’s Philadelphia. Since it took place under the shadow of the IGC and under a leadership especially sensitive to the positions of big member states, the Convention reproduced by enlarge the logic of intergovernmental bargains. Nevertheless, some of the Convention's outcome – the most formal aspects of its draft treaty with less predictable distributional consequences– can be explained by the 'social norm' of constitutional deliberation conveyed by its president and supported by a majority of its members. The advent of constitutional politics, while consistent with prior political dynamics, is thus renewing the language of national interest convergence in the European Union. A constitutional Convention does not come every day in the history of a polity. When in December 2001 at Laeken, the Heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) agreed on the creation of a 'Convention' with a broad and open mandate to prepare the next reform of the treaties, many claimed that this would be remembered as a turning point in the 1 history of European integration . While no-one knew for sure what the outcome of this process would be called, enthusiasts already saw the dawn of a ‘Constitutional moment’ for Europe. Accordingly, the Laeken declaration meant that EU governments acknowledged the limits of intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) as the prevailing approach for revising the EU's basic treaties. Moreover, the story went, if the EU was to survive the most far-reaching enlargement in its history, it had to move from inter-state diplomacy to a politics more closely resembling domestic politics and adopt a new pact to make such evolution irreversible. Was the inflated rhetoric born out? It is no surprise that when, a year and a half later the Convention adopted its 'draft treaty establishing a constitution for Europe' most members of the Convention hailed this outcome as a great success, the proof of the superiority of the 'conventional model'. Others, on the contrary, argued that in spite of all the constitutional rhetoric it generated, the Convention had been no Philadelphia. This had been business as usual after the initial enthusiasm, as classic forms of bargaining between the governments took centre stage. As a result, the draft treaty did little more than codify and clarify the acquis, thereby demonstrating that the logic of treaty reform in the EU remains fundamentally unchanged (Moravcsik 2003). The purpose of this paper is to address this conflict of interpretations and seek to characterise the current phase of European integration. Are we witnessing the advent of a new form of 'constitutional politics' in the EU? Beyond the traditional debate over intergovernmentalism vs supranationalism, can it be that the very fact of writing a constitution would itself make room for a new kind of European politics? We argue that there has indeed been a Convention paradox. On one hand, the negotiations within and around the Convention did not fundamentally differ from previous treaty reform. In spite of the Convention's formal independence from the governments that had given birth to it, the broader range of actors participating in the process, and the public character of their deliberations, there is little doubt that the work of the Convention took place above all 'in the shadow of the IGC' with the familiar patterns of interests and strategies. And yet, on the other hand, the final result of the Convention would not have been imaginable as the output of an IGC. This, we argue was due to two contradictory factors: the 'constitutional ethos' pervading the proceedings of the Convention and the special brand of 'forceful leadership' to which it gave rise which combined in almost eliminating strict veto tactics. WHY A CONVENTION? In the narrow circles of those who follow the evolution of the EU, a 'constitutional legend' is born. It goes as follows. First, the famous speech of the German Minister for foreign affairs Joschka Fisher, in May 2000, resuscitated a 'constitutional ambition' for the EU which, since the failures of the 1950s, had been confined to the federalist groups within and around the EP. This speech gave rise to a broad stream of public reactions among European leaders and intellectuals, and popularised the idea that the EU treaties should be transformed into a single and clear constitution. Second, the how followed the what and the EP, soon supported by the Commission and the traditionally federalist member states, used this context to promote its favourite arguments: since the IGC process is both inefficient and illegitimate, the next revision of the treaties should be prepared by a broader, more representative and open body. It so happened that the Convention which met in 2000 to write the EU's charter of fundamental rights offered an appealing alternative to the IGC method and a credible precedent. Indeed the contrast between its widely acclaimed results and the 'fiasco' at Nice within a month interval could not have been greater. Third, this idea was adopted by the Belgian government and became the top priority of its Presidency in the second half of 2001 leading to the Laeken Declaration.. This is an attractive story emphasising as it does the role of ideas and institutions. Beyond the headlines and collective myth, however, we must, as usual with European politics, examine the intergovernmental bargain which gave birth to the Convention if we are to explain its features. The weight of interests The anti-IGC coalition was not made up of 'idealistic' actors promoting a public and deliberative style of constitution-making in the name of legitimacy and popular sovereignty, against the opaque and interest-based approach of diplomatic negotiations. Instead, proponents of the Convention method from the Nice Summit onwards were those with an obvious interest in this process. For one, the European Parliament and the Commission who, until then, had been excluded from treaty changes 2 would obviously benefit from a process where their representatives would be associated as full and equal partners with governments. The prospect was all the more appealing if they believed that a Convention could be steered to produce 'an offer that cannot be refused' to governments giving them more influence than ever in the past 3 . Second, the representatives of the small member states who supported the idea from the start had good reasons to think that such a process would strengthen their position. The Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice negotiations had demonstrated that their capacity to shape the final outcome of the IGC was marginal (Moravcsik and Nicolaïdis 1999) with only a theoretical recourse to the veto. Within the framework of the Convention, composed of a hundred members, and where the representatives of the governments would have to negotiate with MEPs, commissioners and national parliamentarians, they believed the veto of the big states would be diluted, while the range of opportunities to forge alternative coalitions – with MEPs notably – would be broadened. Obviously, such a prospect was only shared by those governments who wanted to go beyond the status quo – namely, the Benelux, Portugal, Greece and Finland. On the other side of the fence, governments from bigger or more euro-sceptic memberstates were less prone to launch a new Convention. In Britain and Denmark, the experience of the first Convention, created two years earlier to write the EU's Charter of fundamental rights, had left a bitter taste. These two governments had accepted, in June 1999, the German proposal to create this latter body believing it would be under their control. The German government had strongly promoted the 'Charter convention' in light of the Karlsruhe jurisprudence on the EU's fundamental rights deficit and the ensuing domestic support for an EU charter. As with other temporary holders of the rotating presidencies, this was also a chance to 'shape the history' of the EU in an area that mattered to the domestic electorate. The British government had initially pleaded for a 'body' composed of representatives of governments only, but the German government had reiterated its usual stance on associating MEPs 4 . In the meanwhile, the French government, who had been promoting 'parliamentary cooperation' 5 since the early 1990s, argued that national parliamentarians should be part of this organ. The latter would also placate, it was hoped, British opposition. The compromise presented by the Finnish presidency merged the three options – and added that the Commission would also be represented – and it was accepted by its partners at the Tampere Summit in October 1999, apparently without tensions. The British government had required, and obtained, other 'guarantees': this first Convention was supposed to codify the acquis, not to invent new rights; and the decision on the charter's legal status would be left in the hands of the governments. Despite these precautions, the British and Danish governments realised one year later, at the Nice Summit in December 2000, that they had underestimated the autonomy of this first Convention. The 'conventioneers' had adopted a full-fledge Charter of Rights, which in large parts bypassed the acquis. And although concessions had been made to the British government's representative 6 they knew that the symbolic strength of this charter would be important, and that it would be difficult to resist for a long time the demands of most governments for incorporating the Charter in the treaty – and thereby give it full legal force. With such a recent reminder of the power of 'unintended consequences' (Pierson 1996) in the Union, the British and Danish governments were unwilling, in December 2000, to accept a new Convention that would prepare the next IGC. Other governments were reluctant too for their own domestic reasons. Apart from the small federalist countries, only Germany supported this idea at that time. Joschka Fischer's speech had resuscitated constitutional debates in the EU and more specifically, the German government thought of itself as the 'father' of the Charter and of the 'Convention method' making its reproduction an even greater testimony to German farsightedness. There were also more pragmatic calculations: Germany had abandoned its institutional claims in Amsterdam and Nice (smaller Commission; elected president of the Commission; more proportional weighted voting) because they had calculated that they would get them before the next wave of enlargement. And of course, Chancellor Schroeder was keen on collecting electoral points rather than leave the European idea, still more popular in Germany than anywhere else in Europe, in the hands of the Greens and the Conservative opposition. Not least, the likely inclusion in a constitutional text of something akin to a catalogue of competences would placate the vocal Länder, including the ever more popular Bavarian leader, Erwin Teufel. Most of the other governments, however, were either reluctant or sceptical about this process. In France, President Chirac had felt it necessary to affirm his support for the 'constitutional prospect' one month after Fischer's speech (to avoid being seen as the weak part of the Franco-German engine), but the Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, remained more aloof 7 , as did his Minister for foreign affairs and the Quay d'Orsay. Later on, the large support of the centre-left and the centre-right for the idea would constrain them to accept it. The Spanish and Italian governments were reluctant too: Aznar was unwilling to renegotiate what he thought he had won at Nice – the position of Spain among the big states in the weighting of votes and in the distribution of seats in the EP – and Berlusconi hesitated between the traditionally pro-European stance of his country's leading class and public opinion, and his own more 'pragmatic' position and inclination to support the UK line. The other countries' government oscillated between opposition fed by domestic Euroscepticism (Sweden, Austria) and apparent neutrality (Greece, Ireland). Selling the Convention idea How then can we explain the progressive broadening of a pro-Convention coalition leading to the Laeken Declaration in December 2001? Here, both ideas and strategies mattered. The core idea driving the process was certainly that the most radical enlargement in EU history necessitated radical methods. 'Deepening in order to widen' had traditionally been a classic in the EU but this time the deepening called for a qualitative adaptative step. Moreover, the vague but powerful call for democratising the EU called for, at a minimum, not only a revision of the content of the treaties, but also simplification and clarification of its form. And in light of this twin requirement, the alternative to a Convention – the IGC - had demonstrated its limits during the stalemates at Amsterdam and Nice. Instead, the precedent of the first Convention offered an alternative 'model' coherent with 'constitutional' issues, since it comprised European and national parliamentarians and operated in public. In spite of all this, it was far from clear yet that such an exercise of reappraisal ought to lead to an EU constitution. Against this background, the Belgian government implemented a clever racketing-up strategy. A year in advance M. Verhofstadt had decided that the priority of his presidency would be the 'Laeken declaration' launching a new Convention. Accordingly, he convinced his Benelux partners and the other three 'founding members' to support the adoption of a 'declaration on the future of the Union' as last minute footnote to the Treaty of Nice. Apparently innocuous, it called for 'a deeper and wider debate about the future of the European Union' and stated that 'the Swedish and Belgian Presidencies ... will encourage wide-ranging discussions with all interested parties' 8 . The Belgians fought hard for a firm rendez-vous a year hence that would result in a declaration on future reform 9 . As for the content of this future initiative, other member states bulked at anything that may smack of a constitutional agenda. At the same time, could they be threatened by a 'wideranging discussion'? Even the British led by Tony Blair were keen to be seen as a 'reliable' rather than an awkward partner (Menon 2003). As a result, heads of states committed to deal with four issues 'inter alia' namely: delimitation of powers between the EU and the member states, status of the charter, simplification of the treaty, role of national parliaments. Hardly a full blown constitutional agenda. As far as process was concerned, there was no mention of a Convention and the declaration insisted that debates would take place in a large variety of forums, most of which would be national. Undaunted, the Belgian government proceeded to build on these initially vague commitments. An ambivalent compromise The issue was put on the back burner during the next, Swedish, Presidency which had other priorities (the three 'e's of employment, environment and enlargement) and did not in any case want to interfere with what was obviously by then the Belgians' baby. In contrast, the Belgian presidency was entirely geared at producing an historic 'Laeken declaration' reflecting their constitutional ambition for Europe. Not even the September 11 th earthquake, which admittedly dominated the Presidency, succeeded in derailing the Belgian government in its plan. The key to its ultimate success could be described as a strategy of 'withering safeguards'. The Belgians needed to reassure reluctant partners, especially the British, but also the French and Spanish, that governments would remain in control of any future development, both collectively and individually 10 . Indeed this was the basis of a very explicit deal between the Belgian and British Prime ministers, Verhofstadt and Blair. Thus the first and most important safeguard consisted of creating a 'firewall' between a would-be Convention and the IGC to follow. 11 If there was to be a Convention, it would only be a preparatory body, all decisions remaining with the IGC. In this spirit, the British demanded that a clear and short deadline be imposed upon the Convention, so to allow enough time to lapse before the IGC. Most importantly, when the Foreign Minister, Louis Michel initially broached the topic at the start of the presidency, he indicated that the would-be Convention's task would simply be to identify 'options' to be settled by the IGC 12 . It was on this basis that the idea of the Convention was accepted a month later as a matter of principle 13 . But the Belgians could not rest content with what they saw as a recipe for irrelevance. The experience of the Westendorp Group in 1996 had shown that, when the draft submitted to the IGC simply reflects existing divisions, it does not shape ultimate outcomes. Thus, once the principle of the Convention had been agreed, the Belgians reneged on their concession and chose to promote an open compromise 14 . Finally at Laeken, it became untenable even for the British to deny conventioneers their freedom: they would themselves decide to propose a single consensual text or a set of options 15 . Such open-endedness would be tolerable if governments were in control of the Convention itself and thus able to make sure its debate would take place 'in the shadow of the IGC' (read national vetoes). A second category of safeguards thus concerned the composition of the Convention, whereby, as with the first Convention, national representatives would make up for three quarter of membership. Hence the resistance to the European parliament's demand for equality with national parliaments – resulting in only18 out of the 105 seats for the EP and Commission as the sole supranational bodies represented, including Eurosceptics among them. The only major difference with the first experience was equal representation for candidate countries. This could only please member states bent on reinforcing the weight of governments in the institutional system since candidate countries were seen as less prone to integration. Here again, however, the composition safeguard was less fail-proof as it seemed. For one, the candidate countries were precluded from preventing the formation of a consensus. On the other hand, representatives from the two supranational bodies were bound to have disproportional weight, with more knowledge of EU affairs and more resources (working on the spot was bound to help) than their national counterparts. Perhaps most importantly, the biggest contingent, that of national parliamentarians, was the least predictable, with about a third of the representatives drawn from the opposition who could be more federalist, and less bent on national control (at least by the executive) than their government. What then would be the mandate of the Convention? This third category of safeguards was spelled out during the final negotiations at the Laeken Summit and constitutes the bulk of the Laeken Declaration for which the Belgian presidency aimed to be remembered. In order to soften their potentially far-reaching character, the objectives assigned to the Convention were stated in the form of 'questions', the 'questions of Laeken' following an evaluation of the state of the Union 16 . A number of heads of states, however, including Chirac and Blair, were not fooled by such apparent humility. Indeed, the questions were bold, sometimes more than implying the 'right' answer to be expected. The British government in particular proposed about 100 amendments, such as downplaying the diagnostic of the Union's crisis or deleting a sentence criticising the 'deadlocks of unanimity.' They also demanded a broadening of the range of questions to include, beside the rather federalist options put forward by the Presidency, more intergovernmentalist perspectives. Nevertheless, in its breath and call for revisiting the fundamentals the final Laeken declaration reads more like a constitutional agenda than the basis for a classic treaty reform, and in any case goes much beyond the restricted list of left-over agreed at Nice. A fourth and final safeguard became the governments' ultimate trump-card and the object of intense last-hour negotiations at Laeken, when they insisted on nominating the Chair of the Convention instead of letting this matter to the conventioneers. When Jacques Chirac, backed by Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroeder, requested the nomination of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, many of his counterparts from smaller countries (Benelux, Portugal, Finland, Greece) feared a big country bias 17 . They turned out to be right. But while this last safeguard – in effect, the expectation of loyalty on the part of the chair - was to prove most valuable for governments bent on retaining control of the process, it was no guarantee against 'Constitutional ambition' either. In sum, each of the four safeguards extracted by the most sovereignist governments as preconditions for launching a Convention (leeway for the IGC, composition, mandate, Chair) were quite obviously lacking in bite even before the Convention had started. Why did everyone say yes in the end? For one, like many Summits in the history of the EU, the Laeken Summit was a typical case of an 'ambivalent agreement', i.e. an 'agreement based on preference differences and belief differences that cancel each other' (Elster 1998: 101). Federalists and sovereignists each chose to believe that their favoured outcome was made more likely by the initial set up. Yet, contrary to other pre-IGC launch, inter-governmental bargaining would only be one factor in determining the ultimate outcome. All sides knew therefore that the game was very open. While the most powerful states in the EU, especially France and Britain, were obviously critical players in setting up this game, it is hard to see how and why these states would have chosen such an untested route were it not for two additional factors. First, prevailing ideas, from populist clichés to expert opinions, made a straight 'no' increasingly unsustainable throughout this period. Accordingly, the democratic deficit suffered by the Union could no longer be dealt with through the discredited IGC process, calling as it did for radical simplification of the treaties (Closa, 2004; Shaw, 2003). How could governments be seen to say no to broadening and opening up the debate? Second, the Belgian Presidency leveraged this context for all its worth and acted skilfully as a 'policy entrepreneur' by reassuring reluctant member states that credible safeguards were in place while at the very same time maximising the flexibility allowed by those same safeguards. Indeed, the Belgian strategy paid off. During the first months of the Convention, the main 'guarantees' obtained by the British and French governments turned out to be very fragile (Magnette 2004). With the support of the vast majority of the conventioneers, President Giscard announced in his introductory speech that the Convention would try to agree on a single text rather than options, that this text would have a 'constitutional' shape, that it would include all aspects of EU action even those not mentioned in the Laeken declaration, and that he understood the calendar as an indication more than as an obligation. The message was clear: like most Conventions in history, this Convention had enough legitimacy not to feel constrained by firewalls and mandates thus affirming its autonomy vis-à-vis its creators. This did not mean, however, that government control was lost. Indeed, after two or three months of vague and slow discussions christened the 'listening phase', it became clear that if neither the prior safeguard (eg mandate) nor the end game safeguard (options) gave them what they wanted, governments would exert control during the process itself through their representatives in the Convention, who started to emerge as the leading figures of this assembly. Their presence and stance reinforced by the strategy of the Chair ensured that when it came to real business, the Convention would decide in the shadow of the IGC. FORGING COMPROMISES: THE PERSISTENCE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL BARGAINS It was reasonable to expect that the specificity of the Convention method would lead to a broader spectrum of preferences than in conventional IGCs. For one, since governments in Europe are usually the result of coalition politics, they are likely to be more moderate on EU issues than members of their national parliaments. Indeed, there were in the Convention a dozen of 'sovereignist' representatives from national parliaments whose views are usually not heard in IGCs. At the other end of the spectrum, some of the MEPs were more radically federalist than any. More structurally, transnational political parties had a greater potential role to play in structuring positions in an assembly where three fourth membership was made up of parliamentarians, eg more overtly partisan that their executive colleagues. At the same time, the fact that each "component" was to form part of a final consensus, gave them a potential collective veto. Yet, none of these factors played a significant role in the end. If there was a change in the preference patterns compared to previous IGC, they did not translate in bargaining power. Outlyers turned out to be just that, broadening the spectrum of expressed opinions, enlivening the debate but not changing the median position in the Convention on any significant issues. For instance, as it became clear in the last phase of the negotiations that the sovereignists gathered in the 'Union of democracies' would exercise their exit option, there was even less incentive to take their view into account. Neither political parties, nor the components were able to develop coherent visions and positions, except in a few specific instances. Components managed to unite behind 'corporate' interests and to this extent promote changes that had eluded IGCs (protocol on national parliaments, increased scope of co-decision for the European Parliament). Trans-national parties pushed for symbolic ideological gains (mention of the 'social market economy' for the socialists) leading in a few cases to a left-right debate in the Convention (dominated by the PSE, EPP, with the liberals as a middle ground and the Greens and assorted left almost absent). But the big parties only had a superficial unity and on most issues were unable to overcome their divisions and build a coalition to go beyond the status quo. For most representatives, party political or component identity were not the primary determinant of their positions in the Convention. They themselves emphasised the role of party groups as channels to exchange information (Peres 2003) rather than as forums to coordinate positions. Instead, two classic cleavages dominated the debates in the Convention as well as the parallel debates taking place at the national levels (Magnette and Nicolaidis, 2003). First and foremost, the traditional 'federalist' (or 'supranationalist') vs. 'intergovernmentalist' cleavage emerged as clearly and powerfully in the Convention as it had in European politics to date. This was true both on the front of institutional reform and on the substantive policy front. On the policy front, federalists fought the same incremental battle as they had since the beginning of the Union, seeking to extend the reach of QMV voting and co-decision by for the European Parliament. Contrary to what might have been expected from recent developments in the European Parliament voting patterns (Hix, 2001), this cleavage far outweighed the left-right divide in determining substantive positions. The second cleavage dominating the Convention was also familiar to European politics, namely that between big and small countries. But never before had it been so prominent and to some extent this second cleavage overlapped with the first, since most of the small member states take federalist stance (with the exception of Denmark and Sweden). How then did the members of the Convention reach a 'consensus'? Jon Elster argues that when 'the initial distribution of opinion falls short of consensus', the actors 'can go about [taking decisions] in three different ways: arguing, bargaining, and voting' (Elster 1998: 5). This is an exhaustive set of option if we assume that in spite of asymmetries of power and resources, players will not resort to more coercive means of forcing outcomes 18 . Since voting was formally excluded as a mode of decision-making, the conventioneers were condemned to argue and to bargain 19 . Bargaining: under the shadow of the IGC It is no surprise that the bargaining space – that is the set of settlements potentially acceptable to the Convention – should have been bounded by the positions and bottom lines of the most powerful member states. All Convention members were well aware that they were negotiating in the shadow of the IGC to follow and the vetoes that could be wielded therein. In fact, the representatives of the governments loyally defended their interests – as did most of the national parliamentarians nominated by the governments 20 ; the other members, anticipating the IGC, adapted their behaviour to this constraint. In this context, conflicts were dealt with through classic forms of bargaining. The logic of negotiation, and its outcome, were primarily governed by the initial distribution of preferences and their intensity. Although we cannot offer an exhaustive demonstration in this paper, some key examples can illustrate this hypothesis. We divide the issues in four categories. First, a number of non controversial issues commanded consensus early on. Hence, regarding the delimitation of powers between the EU and the member states, all the members agreed that the existing system required 'clarification'. Since only a very small federalist minority wanted to shift competences upwards, and only a very small minority downwards, a consensus rapidly emerged around he objective of an 'improved status quo'. The draft treaty establishes a typology of competences clarifying the present situation. The same logic governed the discussions on the role of national parliaments and on the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity. Although most MEPs and the representatives of the federalistleaning countries initially opposed any innovation in this field, fearing an erosion of the powers of Brussels, it was hard to resist demands supported not only by a large majority of the national parliamentarians but also by a large segment of public opinion. These were not Convention innovations: they had been the object of on-going discussions since Maastricht, and had received growing attention during previous treaty changes 21 . Second, and at the other end of the spectrum, there were indeed highly controversial issues where agreement as a result was skewed in favour of the status quo 22 . Thus, most Polish and Spanish representatives, supported by Christian democrats and conservatives from other member states, requested a mention of Europe's 'Christian heritage' or a mention of God, in the draft treaty. This old recurring question, already discussed by the first Convention on fundamental rights, gave rise to a very strong opposition from France and other countries, and thus never made it into the draft 23 . The same dynamic occurred with another highly symbolic issue: the reference to the EU's 'federal' nature. Strongly opposed by Britain and other governments from countries with large Eurosceptic constituencies it became clear early on that, like in Maastricht a decade earlier, the 'F-word' would not make it into the text. The Presidium did test the waters with its first draft but, after Giscard had heard the oppositions, he decided to mention instead the rather innocuous 'Community way'. Third some issues equally gave rise to opposing coalitions with intense preferences but the strength of those opposing the status quo made change impossible to avoid. The reform of the EU's institutional balance, at the core of the Convention's mandate, clearly fell in this category. As discussed above, in this area, initial ideological polarisation gave way early on to a much more pronounced split between large and small countries. With the exception of Germany, the large states sought to strengthen the role of the European Council – and thereby the role of the governments in the decision-making process. Most of the small states defended existing EU institutions and the rotating presidency of the Council. Germany, driven by ideological concerns, promoted existing EU institutions, sought to strengthen the Commission, without however defending the rotating presidency. A Franco-German compromise made public in January 2003 sought to reconcile the two views by combining the French demand for an EU Council President with the German desire to see the Commission president elected by the parliament (Magnette and Nicolaidis, 2003). A coalition of small states continued to oppose this prospect, while the British governments, backed by Denmark and Spain, remained reluctant to strengthening the EP-Commission pair. The final compromise – reached through very typical intergovernmental bargains where the MEPs stayed on the bench – reflected the Franco-German proposal 24 . As Peter Hain, the British government representative had put it to his Parliament some weeks earlier: 'in the end there will have to be an agreement and a necessary process of adjustment by all parties. We have, for example, been willing to look at, with certain very big safeguards, elect the Commission President through some method, provided that does not involve being hostage to a particular political faction and provided that the outcome is one that the Council can accept. So it is not something we sought and we remain deeply sceptical about it, but if, as part of the end game, getting an elected President of the Council, which is very much a priority for us, involves doing something with the Commission President with those very important safeguards that I mentioned, then that is something that we might have to adjust to' 25 . Finally, as with previous IGCs, there were a wide range of issues, where not only the distribution of preferences but also their intensity was asymmetrical and the agreement reached through classical exchanges of concessions. When some member states realised that they were isolated on points that could not easily be presented as 'red lines', and unable to build a coalition to oppose a reform supported by a very large majority, they made unilateral concessions 26 . The negotiation on the status of the Charter of fundamental rights illustrates this case. Most members made clear, from the very beginning, that they wanted the Charter to be incorporated in the new treaty. Their position was primarily driven by ideological concerns: to placate the critics of the EU. Britain, as well as Denmark, were not enthusiastic about this option because they feared a catalogue of fundamental rights could be used by EU activists to expand EU competences through litigation and was in any case dissonant with British civic culture. But they saw that a simple 'no' could lead to a deep crisis between Britain and its partners, and deprive the British government from the 'gains' it saw in the treaty. So they resorted to demand stringent conditions for their assent 27 . The same kind of bargain occurred on the redefinition of 'qualified majority' used for the votes in the Council. While a large majority supported a simplification of the system, this was very strongly opposed by Spain and Poland who would loose weight under the new system 28 . Unable to forge a coalition against this reform, they extracted a minor concession: the Nice system would remain in force until 2009 29 . Arguing: the rhetoric of simplification If bargains were at its core, what if anything was different about the so-called "Convention method"? To what extent did it heed the expectations of constitutional scholars who argue that the publicity of the debates in convention-type settings and indeed the deliberative nature of such settings can even 'shape outcomes independently of the motives of the participants' (Elster 1998)? Did we witness Elster's 'civilising force of hypocrisy' leading to the kind of comprehensive agreements unachievable through classic smallest common denominator bargaining? Here, rather than drawing general conclusions, which most often could not be empirically demonstrated, it is possible to emphasise distinctions which may help understand under which conditions deliberation could work. First, in terms of actors, it seems necessary to distinguish between at least two types of Convention members. On one hand, most members either had specific mandates from their capitals or strong ideological agenda. On the other hand, there were some members who appeared more open to learning through argumentation, either because they came from new member countries with less entrenched positions or because they cared most about one or two issues (role of regions, role of parliaments) and did not have strong views on others. But the latter did not define what negotiation analysts call 'the zone of possible agreements'. Thus, while there is little doubt that in this Convention as in others, powerful 'social norms' against naked appeals to interest or prejudice induced members to disguise their interests and generally justify their proposal by appeals to the public interest, there is little evidence that debates led actors 'that mattered' to actually modify their preference. In between these two alternatives, however, a certain 'constitutional ethos' led many members to openly rethink the kind of outcomes that, while compatible with existing preferences, would nevertheless constitute a change significant enough to warrant the very label of 'constitutional' conventioneers they had now acquired. Second, one can also distinguish the successive stages of the Convention. To be sure, during the listening phase, the conventioneers did seem to examine thoroughly every possible options, while listening to each other and appealing to the common good (Magnette 2004). But as soon as, by the fall of 2002, concrete issues were put on the table, most government representatives started to openly defend their brief, build coalitions and invoke their veto in the pending IGC. The pendulum had moved back to classic forms of diplomatic bargaining. Third, and most importantly, the nature of the issue at stake largely determined the oscillation between bargaining and arguing. As could be expected, deliberative dynamics played a role for issue-areas where preferences were less intense and consequences less predictable, that is neither institutional nor policy but essentially 'constitutional' issues. These include the definition of the features of the EU legal order (merging of treaties and 'pillars', legal personality of the Union, status of the charter, codification of the primacy of EU law over national law), the legal form of the treaty's basic norms (typology of competences, hierarchy of norms, correspondence between norms and procedures) and the 'constitutional process' itself (the Convention method). According to the Laeken mandate, constitutional issues had to be dealt with by the Convention, at a minimum under the guise of 'simplification' a notion which served as a conceptual anchor for seeking agreement, providing a common analytical lens and a common language on which deliberation could be based. Such emphasis on simplification played both a positive role, helping to 'constitutionalise' the legal order, and a negative role, precluding the creation of new institutions 30 . Specifically, Giscard and the Secretariat working under him used this theme to probe conventioneers into making legal reforms that had been left out of previous IGCs. In several of its notes the Secretariat stepped beyond the remit of a 'description' and in the realm of advocacy. One example, among many others, can illustrate the Secretariat's attitude: 'these procedures are so complex that they are difficult to understand. Their course can often only be followed by specialists. Citizens demand greater simplicity. They want to be able to grasp what is at stake, and to know how the Union makes legislation' 31 . Purporting to raise questions for debate, these reports actually made irrefutable statements: 'Is this increase in the number of instruments a factor of legal uncertainty, and one of the reasons for the opacity of which the Union stands accused? (…) Is the lack of a coherent system of decision-making procedures and their great diversity an additional cause of complexity and opacity?' 32 . As conflicts of interpretation and oppositions of interest increased in the drafting phase, the quest for simplification became an undoubtedly shared purpose reflecting a common belief in the Convention that the Union's complexity and opacity was one of the greatest obstacles to its legitimacy. The most federalist and the most Eurosceptic members who disagreed on everything, agreed on this point. In this climate, the Working groups set up to study the questions of the legal personality of the Union on the one hand and the simplification of the instruments and procedures on the other hand worked rapidly, without being affected by internal tensions. It is worth noting that the second group was considered so innocuous that only three representatives of the governments – of which two were from candidate countries – belonged to it. Both groups were chaired by Giuliano Amato, former head of the Italian cabinet, professor of public law and vice-president of the Convention, who managed to impose formal reasoning in the discussions, suggesting to approach the question of simplification by analogy with national constitutional systems – a type of intellectual projection familiar to EU circles (Weiler 1997, Kohler-Koch 2000, Nicolaidis and Weatherill 2003, Baquero Cruz 2003). On this basis, he convinced the members of his working group, and later the plenary, that a simpler hierarchy of norms, inspired by national constitutional traditions, should replace the existing EU system. He also vigorously promoted the necessity for a stricter correspondence between legal norms and relevant procedures. Thus, a 'legislative act' should be adopted by QMV in the Council and by co-decision with parliament, which in turn implied generalising this procedure to hitherto excluded fields. And of course there had been good political reasons for such exclusion. So the rationale for this change in the Convention was not that QMV would be more efficient, or that the EP might improve the quality of the decisions, but the quest for simplification. The same logic governed the discussions on the merging of the treaties, the suppression of the pillars and the definition of the EU's legal personality. Formalist reasoning also explains why a vast majority supported the codification of the principle of primacy of EU law and the incorporation of the Charter in the new treaty. In this range of topics the reasoning of the conventioneers was in large part dominated by a 'formalist' pattern of thought, which made 'rational deliberation' possible (Magnette 2003). Here, formalist arguments clearly counter-balanced self-interested bargaining. Many members, however, resisted the pull of this kind of arguments, aware of the impact such a quest for simplification might have on their interest. But more often than not, they themselves used rhetorical device to do so, remarking for instance that complexity is often the price to be paid for democracy or that it is a necessary feature of a multi-level EU. The rhetoric of simplification also backfired to the point of generating distrust with regards to institutions when used to support positions which went well beyond the task of clarification 33 . Thus, the rhetoric of simplification offered a minimum consensus on the diagnosis, and helped remind members of their 'noble task' when contemplating potential failure, but its practical impact remained limited. The fusion of the treaties, the suppression of the pillars, the generalisation of the co-decision and QMV in legislative matters, the incorporation of the charter, are important legal and symbolic changes, especially in light of the resistance to change in these areas during prior IGCs. Nevertheless, the rhetoric of simplification only fostered reform where no crucial issue of balance of power was involved and did not help move national bottom lines such as in the case of competences or institutions. Institutional mediations? Did the Convention's institutional framework influence the final outcome? Since the process of the Convention had not been described in details by the Laeken declaration, it was shaped by the Presidium – and more precisely its President. Giscard chose to adopt a weakly institutionalised and flexible process, with the tacit agreement of most members. He divided the life of the Convention into three phases: listening, studying and proposal. During the first three months members were invited to 'present their views on the EU' and to listen to civil society associations. On this basis, the President presented what he called issue-specific 'synthesis' to reduce the scope of discussion, and set up 'working groups' on controversial topics to 'study' the subject and suggest reforms. Finally, after the reports of the working groups had been discussed in plenary sessions, the Presidium presented actual draft articles to the Convention which were supposed to mirror the substance of working group reports and the reactions of the plenary sessions. Members then suggested amendments (and they did! With 1500 amendments solely for the first 15 articles) leading to revised proposals by the Presidium. But, crucially, while the Convention was supposed to remain 'sovereign' in this process, the Presidium acted as the interpreter of the dominant view and was the sole drafter of actual text presented to the floor. In May 2003, at the end of this piecemeal work, it submitted a full draft treaty to the 'components' of the Convention and made ultimate adjustments where this appeared necessary to reach an agreement, before, finally, 'taking notice' of the consensus on June 13, 2003. The sequencing of the debates probably helped reach this consensus by limiting the complexity of multi-party multi-issue bargains reached through linkages across issues. Although as with most negotiations, the conventioneers laboured under the assumption that 'nothing is agreed until everything is agreed' it proved very difficult, in the end, to exchange concessions across issues (such as institutions vs policies, a classic in IGC, or compensations for 'difficult' concessions such as Britain with the Charter). And while this prevented the final outcome from being hostage to a few issues, it may also have prevented useful trades between actors with different intensity of preferences. We argue that, due to both its hybrid character and the style of its President, the Presidium played an important role in shaping the final outcome, by applying the 'single negotiating text' approach and bypassing threats of veto. It leveraged its hybrid nature as a secretariat/mediator and as a college to the fullest. On the one hand, like presidencies in IGCs, it acted as organiser and as mediator with the support of the Convention's Secretariat, seeking to forge a compromise on a step-by-step basis. But it chose to do so, not by leaving options open until a last minute package deal but by submitting a single negotiating text (from the initial draft in the fall to the final set of new versions). This text in turn became the reference or the status quo, with the burden of proof being put on the dissenters. More often then not, after submission of the initial draft articles, the Secretariat in its explanatory comments was able to pit one set of amendments against another, and represent its own initial version with only cosmetic alterations; this was especially true in cases where opposing amendments reflected intense and opposing preferences towards more or less integration such as the distribution of competences or with the decision procedures associated with policies Since on the other hand, the Presidium was a collective organ, a college rather than a single presiding member state it had enough authority to impose its viewpoints, as 'consensual' or at least 'the best possible compromise'. As a sample of the Convention, characterised by the same cleavages and tensions, it was known to arrive at its own compromise through the same mixture of bargaining and argumentation. 34 This made it harder for the rest of the Convention to question its proposals. Moreover, its President mastered the art of communicating with the broader media at regular press conference which he generally attended alone, sometimes presenting his own position as that of the Presidium, and often presenting the latter as that of the whole Convention. In this context, potential vetoes were forestalled (such as that of the group of 16 small and medium size countries on the issue of the Council presidency) and actual ones ignored (as with the sovereignists' Union of democracies proposals). These tactics worked in reaching a 'consensus' which might have eluded a traditional IGC. But they also left a definite 'bad taste' among many delegates, which in the end, might have deprived the Presidium proposal from the kind of legitimacy that a more negotiated text would have. By debating in absolute secrecy, without displaying the textual basis for its own sessions, the Presidium conveyed the idea that the grounds for its decisions were not purely normative. Moreover, within the Presidium itself, the Chair acted with an iron fist, controlling relations with the Secretariat and often submitting proposals to his twelve colleagues a few hours before discussion. By requiring that once a topic had been tabled in the Presidium, members were not allowed to present amendments for debate in the plenary, he sought to signal consensus even where it did not exist. This approach was tested to its limits in the case of the institutional provision where the Presidium was unable to reach a consensus after long acrimonious debates and Giscard chose to present his own proposals as that of the college while recognising that members would probably relax his solidarity rule. It is little wonder then that these provisions never commanded the support of a majority of member states in Convention, with obvious implications for the IGC. More generally, the strategy of the Praesidium consisted in part in eroding the effectiveness of the safeguards some of the member states had fought so hard over in the lead up to the Laeken declaration. Not only would Giscard not contemplate presenting options in cases of obvious forthcoming disagreements in the IGC but the message that the draft Constitution was not meant to be tinkered with by national governments was underpinned symbolically by a solemn signing the text by all conventioneers in the last session in July. Moreover, the mandate of the Convention came incrementally to be read as "Constitutional" with the mention of "draft treaty establishing a [Constitution for Europe]" included extremely discretely in the last drafts produced by the Convention. And finally, in the hours leading to final compromises in June, the Praesidium chose to bypass the strong opposition by small and medium states, highlighting instead the need for balance between the different components of the Convention. The dynamics of the Intergovernmental Conference that followed in the Fall leading to the failure of the Brussels Summit in December 2003 revealed the limits of this strategy. For one, heads of states adamantly refused for Giscard to be part of the IGC. The Convention draft was revisited in a number of important issue-areas including on competences, defense, justice and home affairs and above all of course, institutions. Most importantly, the provisions on institutions presented as "compromise" did not withstand the test of "real bargaining". After the initial divided between the "big" vs other member states, the divide between "big" and "almost big" came to the fore. While France and Germany strongly supported the Convention text which strengthened their own power, Spain and Poland continued to oppose the double majority (50 percents of states, 60 percents of population) that would replace the system of weighting votes agreed at Nice after 2009, while a majority of the small states refused to abandon their 'representation' in the Commission. Although a dozen of possible compromises were put on the table, the Italian presidency was unable to craft an agreement during this final Summit. The so-called "consensus" arrived at in the Convention, without real deliberations and by- -overlooking the strong opposition of two medium states and the great lack of enthusiasm of all small states proved very fragile to say the least 35 . CONCLUSIONS. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? The story sketched out in this paper will be told and retold in support of different theories of integration, ideological views and personal aggrandisement. Our goal was merely to make a simple argument, namely that despite the originality of its composition and procedures, the European Convention did not substantially differ from previous rounds of treaty reform in the EU, except in areas marked by a high level of formalism that could be fitted under the rubric of simplification. In the latter case, the Union was ripe for reform and the Convention appeared to be a close to optimal mechanism to hammer out such reform by providing a deliberative space where arguments in favour acquired the force of powerful social norms. Strategic patterns of negotiation were not absent but at least subdued and ideas mattered – in particular constitutional mimetism. But the largest part of its proceeding – related to the institutions and policies – was dominated by bargaining between the representatives of the governments. Obviously, all convention members knew that they were negotiating under the shadow of the forthcoming IGC and therefore of individual member states vetoes. This in turn had two effects on positions in the convention: it strengthened the hands of member state representatives but it also allowed some of them (especially small states and new members) to acquiesce without enthusiasm in the end, knowing that the final result would be revisited. But, to close the circle, bargaining did itself take place under the shadow of rhetoric. When conventioneers met, they needed to be seen to deliberate like free, equal and rational actors, creating a year and a half of broad ranging debates on the future of the EU unprecedented in its history. 36 Even if they did so under the shadow of the veto, this deliberative ethos did contribute to resolving some constitutional issues in ways unlikely to be revisited by the IGC. Were governments who had reluctantly agreed to the Convention in the first place under the reassurance of safeguard vindicated in their initial position? Or did the more ambitious promoters of a 'constitutional moment' reach with the day in the end? Clearly, the IGC ended up being bound by the Convention, as much as the Convention was constrained by the IGC. There is little doubt that the safeguards initially on offer continued to be withered away by the Convention itself. Although tempted at various points to offer options to the IGC, the Convention managed to produce a single text greatly due to the iron will of its President. Its deadline was pushed from March to June and then July leaving very little time before the opening of the IGC. There was a crucial price to pay for the choice of a president chosen for his allegiance to governments: his disregard for smaller states and his even greater allegiance to the legacy of the Convention itself, hence his crusade against 'detricotage' albeit by the very same governments who had anointed him. This stance on 'untouchability', supported by France and Germany, was to open a new cleavage unforeseen at the beginning of the Convention itself: that between founding members and the rest along side small and big countries. Finally and perhaps more importantly, it proved impossible to resist the selfproclamation by the Convention that it was indeed a Constitutional convention. Although the issue had carefully been left open at Laeken, this was one of the few instances where the interests of all Conventioneers converged: their role in history was at stake. 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(2001), 'Legislative behaviour and party competition in the European Parliament: an application of nominate to the EU', Journal of Common Market Studies, 39/4, 663-688. Holmes, Stephen (1988), 'Gag rules or the politics of omission', in Jon Elster and Rune Slagstad, eds., Constitutionalism and Democracy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Kohler-Koch, Beate (2000), '"Framing": the bottleneck of constructing legitimate institutions', Journal of European Public Policy, 7/4, 513-31. Magnette, Paul (2003), 'Coping with constitutional incompatibilities. Bargains and Rhetoric in the European Convention', Jean Monnet Working Paper, available at Magnette, Paul (2004), 'Deliberation or negotiation? Forging a Constitutional Consensus in the Convention on the Future of Europe', in Erik O. Eriksen, John Fossum, and Augustin Menendez, eds., Developing a Constitution for Europe (London: Routledge). Magnette, Paul and Kalypso Nicolaïdis (2003), Big vs. Small States, Reinventing the Balance, Notes de la Fondation Notre Europe, foreword by Jacques Delors. Menon, Anand (2003), Leading from Behind: Britain and the European Convention, Notes de la Fondation Notre Europe. Moravcsik, Andrew (2003), 'The EU ain't broke', Prospect, 38-45. Moravcsik, Andrew and Kalypso Nicolaïdis (1999), 'Explaining the Treaty of Amsterdam : Interests, Influence, Institutions', Journal of Common Market Studies, 37/1, 59-85. Nicolaidis, Kalypso and Robert Howse, eds., (2001). The Federal Vision: Legitimacy and Levels of Governance in the US and the EU (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Nicolaïdis, Kalypso and Stephen Weatherhill, eds., (2003), Whose Europe? National Models and the Constitution of the European Union (Oxford: European Studies at Oxford). Pierson, Paul (1996), 'The Path to European Integration, A Historical Institutionalist Analysis', Comparative political studies, 29/2, 123-63. Pollack, Mark (1997), 'Delegation, agency and agenda setting in the European Community', International Organisation, 51/1, 99-134. Shaw, Jo (2003), 'Process, Responsibility and Inclusion in EU Constitutionalism', European Law Journal, 9/1, 45-68. Sunstein, Cass (2002), Designing Democracy, What Constitutions Do (Oxford : Oxford University Press). Weiler, Joseph H. (1997), 'The reformation of European constitutionalism', Journal of common Market Studies, 35/1, 97-131. 11 This was the leitmotiv of the discourses made during the Convention's inaugural session, on 28 February 2002. This argument was echoed in many editorials in the next days. 2 Although two members of the EP had been nominated as members of the 'Westendorp group' which prepared the negotiation of the 1996-97 IGC. The MEPs themselves acknowledged that this minimal form of participation did not give them the opportunity to influence the outcome, since this group only identified 'questions' and 'options' and all decisions were left to the IGC. In 1994, before the former enlargement, some MEPs had also suggested the EP should threaten to refuse its 'assent' to the treaty changes to force the governments to adopt the reforms they advocated (Bourlanges-Dury report 1994), but they could not form a majority within their own assembly. Their threat were thus far from credible. 4 Apart from the weight of an implicit constitutional doctrine which states that charters of rights should be written by representative assemblies, not by diplomats, this point was also built on the fact that, in 1989, the EP had adopted a 'declaration of EU rights' and launched the debate on the codification of these rights, until then only present in the Court's jurisprudence. 3 Research on previous treaty changes conclude that the influence of the Commission and of the EP on IGCs simply cannot be demonstrated. See (Pollack 1997). For undemonstrated hypothesis about the role of ideas and institutions, see the special issue of the Journal of European Public Policies, 2002, 9/1. 5 The support for the participation of national parliamentarians in EU politics had been very broad in France since the early 1990s, ranging from the left to the right and as strong in the two heads of the executive as in the Parliament. This can be seen as a projection of France's own constitutional model (where the Senate indirectly represents the sub-units). On this issue, see (Costa and Latek 2001). 7 Jospin's speech on the Future of the EU in May 2001 only came after a long period of hesitation and was generally interpreted as a 'Euro-shy' or even Euroskeptic vision in the French press. However his party was generally more pro-European than him and largely supported the constitutional prospect. 6 These concessions were, on the one hand, a definition of 'social rights' as principles rather than fully justiciable rights, and on the other hand the so-called 'horizontal clause' defining the scope of this charter's legal validity and designed to avoid the extension of EU competences through jurisprudence about rights. 8 Treaty of Nice, Declaration 23. 10 In a speech before the EP in July 2001, M. Verhofstadt refused to associate himself the most enthusiastic claims for a new constitutional convention made by MEPs. In the same period, he gave interviews to the international press where he argued that he favoured a 'third way' between federalism and intergovernmentalism, and he met Tony Blair several times. 9 Interview with Louis Michel, Belgian Minister for foreign affairs, 29 May 2001. 11 This term was used in Coreper circles in the months leading to Laeken to refer not only to the status of potential Convention output, but to the length of time to elapse between it and an IGC, etc. 12 On 21 September 2001, at the Extraordinary European Council of Brussels, Louis Michel clearly mentionned some governments' reluctance : 'Le résultat de la Convention sera présenté sous forme d'options, ce qui devrait rassurer tous ceux qui redoutent de se voir forcer la main', while adding 'S'il ne dépendait que de moi, on irait encore beaucoup plus loin, croyez-moi, que des propositions.' (The outcome of the Convention will be presented as options, which should reassure all those who fear to be coerced into acquiescence. If it were up to me, we'd go much further, believe me, than these propositions'). 14 Verhofstadt indicated this immediately after having announced the agreement on the Convention, in Gent in October 2001, in a discussion with MEPs : 'Er is dus een discussie ontstaan over de vraag of dat nu een consensustekst is dan wel een tekst met opties. Het antwoord is zeer eenvoudig. Dat zal alleszins mijn antwoord zijn binnen enkele weken als wij in Laken samen zijn. (…) Is er geen consensus in de schoot van de conventie, dan vind ik uiteraard dat de opties moeten worden weergegeven. Niet op een neutrale manier, maar wel op een manier waarbij duidelijk wordt aangegeven wat de meerderheidopties zijn, wat de minderheidsopties zijn, wat eventueel de individuele optie is van eén lid van de conventie.' (We will, thus, have a discussion on whether this is now a consensus text rather than a text with options. The answer is very simple. This will be my answer in a few weeks when we will be together in Laeken (…) Is there no consensus within the Convention, then I find it natural that the options must be expressed. Not in a neutral fashion, but in a fashion through which it can be understood clearly what the majority options are, what the minority options are, what, should the occasion arise, the individual options of a member of the Convention is). 13 19 October 2001, declaration after the informal European Council in Gent. 15 The Laeken declaration states that 'The Convention will consider the various issues. It will draw up a final document which may comprise either different options, indicating the degree of support which they received, or recommendations if consensus is achieved.' 17 Chirac's choice was driven in part because he thought the second Convention had to be chaired by a French, since the first Convention had been chaired by a German and in part because he hoped Giscard would not interfere in the French presidential election after having been nominated. The five countries opposing him supported the candidature of a more 'federalist' leader, like Dehaene, Delors or Amato. Others criticised the choice of Giscard, without supporting another candidate (Sweden, Denmark). The Belgian presidency had hoped that the Convention would be chaired by one of the members of its 'Laeken men' group but instead proposed the final compromise in light of the deadlock at Laeken: Giuliano Amato and Jean-Luc Dehaene – indeed members of that group and supported by the small countries would be nominated as vice-presidents. 16 This text, prepared by two academics (Franklin Dehousse and Koen Lenaerts, the latter also being, at that time, the Belgian member of the Court of first instance) had been discussed by a 'Wise committee' composed of Giuliano Amato, Jean-Luc Dehaene, Jacques Delors, Bronislaw Geremek and David Miliband. Mr Verhofstadt insisted that the mandate should be as open as possible and 'without taboo' and he hoped the support of this prestigious and multinational group would give additional authority to the Belgian presidency's proposal. 18 One could argue that, in the European Convention as in most other forums of negotiation, the actors were not equal, so that other forms of negotiation based on an asymmetrical distribution of resources – such as intimidation, cunning, manipulation… - could be used too. We believe this is true but Elster's condition of equality should not be understood in strict terms: in this body, as in many other modern forums, the 'social norm' of civility limited the resort to these behaviours. 20 In most states, one of the two national parliamentarians was drawn from the opposition. But this does not mean that they did not defend national interests. The British conservative MPs, for example, were more critical than the representatives of the government, and this helped them play on the 'domestic' constraint. 19 Since all the member states had been given the same number of seats, and in the absence of a system of weighting votes, a majority could have represented a very small minority of European population. Moreover, the mixed composition of the body rendered a system of weighted votes impossible. Hence the rule, laid down by the Laeken declaration, according to which the final decision had to be taken by 'consensus'. Giscard never really clarified this rule, only stating that 'consensus does not mean unanimity'. Most conventioneers understood that a consensus would be reached if the final draft was accepted without major opposition in each of the components. In June 2003, the draft treaty was considered as adopted 'by consensus', despite the opposition of a group of thirteen conventioneers and alternates who issued a 'minority report', and despite the explicit reservations of at least four government representatives (Spain, Poland, Austria, Portugal). 21 The change in the EP's attitude, which softened its traditional hostility towards the implication of national parliaments in the EU game in their last report on this subject (Napolitano report 2002) influenced the position of the countries which traditionally support the EP – such as the Benelux, Germany and pre-Berlusconi Italy. But this shift of preference was already observable before the Convention. 22 In the past, issues strongly supported and opposed by approximately equal coalitions, always led to nondecisions. Although as we will discuss below, 'constitutional deliberation' is supposed to overcome divisions about values as actors engage into mutual persuasion – contrary to bargains, which are supposed to leave the initial preferences unaffected, there are cases where even 'conventioneers' can only agree to disagree. See (Holmes 1988) and (Sunstein 2001). 24 On this negotiation, see (Magnette and Nicolaïdis 2003). 23 The preamble of the draft treaty mentions 'the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe' but this is a modest concession to those who required a much more explicit reference to Christianity. 25 Peter Hain, Interview in the European Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, 25 March 2003. 27 The 'horizontal clauses' defining the scope of the Charter and making clear that it only applies to EU law and institutions, and cannot be used to expand EU competences, were redefined. Moreover, the 'Commentary' of the Charter written by the Presidium of the first Convention, initially considered as deprived of legal force, was mentioned in the treaty ; this was seen as a means to narrow the scope of interpretation by the Court. Although several members denounced this concession, seen as a legal heresy because a text written by a non-deliberative body will be imposed upon the Court, they accepted it, making clear that they saw this as 'the price to be paid to get the Charter in the treaty'. 26 The reason why they will make concessions in this case is obvious. In some instances, they make concessions on some points because they believe, on the whole, their gains are superior to their losses. But even in the absence of such an incentive, they can be induced to make concessions: as the possibility to leave the EU is very limited, and as they need to preserve their reputation to remain efficient in later negotiations, the governments have no other choice. 28 The Nice treaty adapted the former system of weighting votes to the enlarged EU. But the need to take into account the difference of population of the states made the system very complex, with nine categories of states and a majority defined by a threshold of 255 on 345 votes. This is the reason why a large majority supported the idea that this system should be replaced by a simpler 'double majority', meaning a majority of states representing at least three fifths of the population. 30 This argument was often used to reject Giscard's idea to create a 'Congress'. It also served against other suggestions made to strengthen the role of national parliaments, as for example on the question of the control of subsidiarity. The same argument was often raised when the reform of the Presidency of the Union was discussed, in order to avoid the creation of a new President of the European Council. See notably Miko Kiljunen (Finnish socialist MP), Plenary session, 24 April 2003. 29 While confirming it accepted the final draft, the representative of the Spanish government confirmed they still disagreed with this point. After the end of the Convention, the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar repeated in the press that he intended to renegotiate this point under the IGC. He maintained this position until the end of the Italian Presidency, contributing to the failure of the Brussels Summit on 12 December 2003, as France and Germany were not ready to renegotiate this aspect of the draft treaty. 31 CONV 162/02, 24 July 2002, p. 2. 33 A Eurosceptic member like the Conservative MP David Heathcoat-Amory, used it to require less integration : 'the acquis communautaire must be included in any simplification drive. It is no good again promising simpler measures for the future unless we tackle the complexity of the past at the same time' (Plenary session, 12 September 2002), while the federalist French MEP Alain Lamassoure used the same label to promote more integration : 'Il s'agit d'une proposition qui est inspirée par cette volonté de simplicité qui nous a animée et qui devrait, en dépit d'une apparence paradoxale, être de caractère consensuel. Il s'agit de supprimer totalement la procédure de l'unanimité' (Plenary session, 05 December 2002). 32 CONV 50/02, 15 May 2002, p. 2-3. 34 The fact that the Praesidium did not include all the member states (five were missing) somewhat diminished the legitimacy derived from representativeness. There was also some scepticism as to what "hat" praesidium members actually wore: was Gisela Stuart representing the EP or the British, or Michel Barnier representing the Commission or the French? 36 To be realistic, contrary to other recent Constitutional debates such as that of South Africa or in East and Central Europe, very few actually witnessed the proceedings directly, except for students and the media in the salle d'ecoute or the aficionados listening in on the webcast. 35 At the time of writing (December 2003), the Irish presidency had still not announced its plan concerning the negotiation on the Convention's draft treaty.
1 EVENTS IN PARKS & OPEN SPACES TERMS & CONDITIONS OF HIRE Definitions 1.1 means the person or company whose signature or, in the event of a company, authorised signatory appears on the application form. 1.2 of Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited. 1.3 -Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited, and its offices. 1.4 Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited. - 1.5 a legally binding exchange of promises or agreements between parties that the law will enforce. 1.6 1.7 -Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited or his delegated officer. 2 Application process 2.1 All applications for hire must be made using an application form obtainable from: Events Team Vision - Redbridge, Culture & Leisure, Gardeners Cottage, Valentines Mansion & Gardens, Valentines Park, Emerson Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 4XA Download from: www.visionrcl.org.uk Email to: email@example.com 2.2 Applications may only be received up to but no later than 31 st January of the year when the event is due to take place. Applications received after this date may not be submitted to the Events Team for approval. 2.3 Applicants must be over eighteen years of age or be part of a registered company. 2.4 The hire charge shall be the prevailing charge laid down by Vision-Redbridge, Culture & Leisure Limited and may be changed from time to time. Details are available on request from the Events Team via email on firstname.lastname@example.org 3 2.5 The Hirer must submit a site plan of the event with sufficient notice prior to the event. Failure in doing so may result in cancellation of the Contract. The following guidelines apply: * Large scale events (i.e. 5000 or over persons): Site plans required 6 months prior to event * Medium scale events (i.e. 500-5000 persons): Site plans required 4 months prior to event. * Small scale events (i.e. up to 500 persons): Site plans required 2 months prior to event. 2.6 Fairground equipment to be used must be covered by a current pass certificate issued by booking. Current ADIPS certification and in date insurance certificates must be produced a minimum of four weeks prior to the event. 2.7 information has been received, Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited shall provide the Hirer with written confirmation of the booking. Payment 3.1 The Hirer is required to immediately pay Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure 100% of the hire fee upon receipt of an events checklist from Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited or by the deadlines specified within the event checklist. All outstanding balances must be paid in full no less than 4 weeks prior to the Event. Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited has the right to cancel the booking if payment is not received by the due date. 3.2 The Hirer will be required to immediately pay a refundable damage deposit upon receipt of a written events checklist from Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited. The deposit required will be £518.00, or greater as specified by Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited, in the case of large scale or specialist events. This is refundable providing that the grounds are left in a sound & presentable condition without any damages. Any damages incurred as an indirect/direct consequence of your event may be deducted from your damage deposit or recovered from your organisation after your event. 3.3 In the event that the Hirer cancels the Event, Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited reserves the right to charge an administration fee of £75.00. Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure also reserves the right to deduct the administration fee from the deposit paid by the Hirer 3.4 Unacceptable noise levels, offensive language and general public nuisance caused as a result of the -Redbridge Culture & Leisure responsibility to ensure that these issues are dealt with immediately and on instruction by VRCL Officers. 3.5 The Hirer is required to pay for the provision of any additional services (where available) used during the event such as skips, water and electricity. In the event that the Hirer applies to Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited for skips to be provided at their event for the storage and collection of rubbish, an additional charge will be levied for these services. 3.6 In the event that the Venue requires special clearing services such as the clearance and disposal of animal manure and litter in connection with the Event, Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited will charge the Hirer by raising an additional invoice or retaining part of the deposit, dependant on the costs incurred. 3.7 In the event of loss of any property or equipment belonging to Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited, the Hirer will pay Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited on demand the costs of replacing the same. 3.8 In the event that the Hirer fails to vacate the Venue or to clear the Venue fully at the end of the agreed hire period, Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited reserves the right to charge the Hirer for the hire of the Venue for the additional time. 3.9 Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited may cancel the Hire Contract with immediate effect, if it is felt that the Hirer has breached any terms and conditions set out under subclauses 3.1 3.4. 4 Cancellation/refusal 4.1 Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited reserves the right to refuse or cancel any booking without question and does not accept any liability for any losses that is incurred from its refusal or cancellation of the said booking or of issuing the Contract to the Hirer or any third person. 4.2 Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited reserves the right to terminate their Contract with the Hirer should they feel that the Hirer or his/her employers, agents or consultants do not possess the necessary competency levels required for providing the Event. 4.3 The Hirer must provide to Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited written notification of any cancellation at least a month in advance. In the event of a cancellation, the Hirer shall pay to Vision- Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited such charges as shall represent the cost of cancellation to the Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited and as notified by VRCL upon cancellation of the Event. In the event of cancellation under this sub-clause 4.3 the deposit paid by the Hirer will be non-refundable. 4.4 In the event that the Hirer cancels the Event 3 (three) months prior the Event, VisionRedbridge Culture & Leisure Limited will refund the Hirer the full fee minus the administration fee as mentioned under clause 3.3. Cancellation of the Event by the Hirer between 3 (three) and 2 (two) months prior to the Event will result in Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited retaining 50% of the hire cost plus the administration fee as mentioned under clause 3.3. Cancellation of the Event by the Hirer within 1 (one) month prior to the Event by the Hirer will result in Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited retaining 100% of the hire cost. 5 Venue 5.1 The Hirer is responsible for leaving the Venue in a clean and tidy condition at the conclusion of the Event. If at the end of the hire period there is any remaining debris, Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited shall charge the cost of clearance to the hirer by retaining part or all of the damage deposit or by raising an invoice, depending on the costs 5.2 The Hirer will be required to provide litter pickers or carry out cleaning operations during an Event to minimise the environmental impact on the overall site. 5.3 The Hirer may only allow motorised vehicles onto the site with prior approval from the Event Manager and where permission is granted the Hirer shall be solely responsible for re-instating any damage caused by these vehicles. 5.4 The Hirer shall be fully responsible for all performers, participants, visitors and spectators and shall ensure that the performers, participants, visitors and spectators behave appropriately throughout the Event and shall ensure that, appropriate security and safety measures are taken to avoid offensive, offending or criminal behaviour. 5.5 Where Vision- Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited deem necessary, the Hirer must provide adequate lighting to all public areas within the Venue in the direct vicinity of the event and all exits and entrances from the venue. 5.6 The Hirer is responsible for the management, administration and operation of the Event and for providing sufficient staff to fulfil these conditions. If Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited feels that the Hirer has provided inadequate stewarding, traffic management and/or SIA trained security or other necessary staff, Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited reserves the right to cancel the hire. Where a decision is taken on the grounds of public safety, Vision accepts no liability for the loss of funds by the organiser. 5.7 The Hirer may not remove or obscure VRCL notices or information displayed at the Venue without the prior written consent of Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited. 5.8 The Hirer will be fully responsible for any damages that occur to the venue either directly or indirectly as a result of the Event. In the event of damages occurring Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited, will organise for a contractor to rectify the damage and the Hirer will be responsible to pay the full cost of this work inclusive of administration charges. Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited will make the decision on what constitutes damage. 5.9 The Hirer agrees to ensure that all generators have sufficient barriers so as to be safe to the public. Only diesel generators are permitted on Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure land and properties. 6 Licensing & Noise - Guidance Notes 6.1 All Venues are close to residential properties. The Hirer shall be aware of the need to prevent so far as is possible noise or pollution disturbance to local residents. The Hirer shall ensure that noise pollution be controlled such that levels measured at 1 metre from noise sensitive facades do not in any five minute period exceed: Leq Max Sound Pressure Level Between 9.00am and the permitted time of the end of operation, as prior agreed with the Council on the same day but no later than 6.00pm. 60dBA 70dBA Any other time 55dBA In order to achieve sufficient noise control to comply with the above limits the Hirer is advised to: * Position equipment which is likely to cause a noise or nuisance as far from any residential boundaries as is practicable and in any case at least 30 metres distant. * Ensure that all machinery is in good working order and adequately silenced. * Use barriers (parked vehicles for example) to screen noise sources. * Listen and/or measure noise at the boundary from time to time in order to identify principle noise sources and take remedial action if necessary. 6.2 The Hirer shall not use any amplifiers without the prior written consent from VisionRedbridge Culture & Leisure Limited and the Hirer shall note that amplifiers will not be permitted at certain sites. Where consent is given amplifiers must not exceed 30 kwatts. The Hirer must adhere to the Noise Act 1996 (if applicable) as it relates to the Venue and proposed Event. 6.3 The Hirer must not use, maintain, erect or dismantle any equipment, move any vehicles, carry out any other activity which will, or is likely to create noise or nuisance, between the hours of 11.00pm and 6.00am Monday to Saturday, and 8.00pm Sunday and 6.00am Monday. 6.4 Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited reserves the right to demand that the Hirer reduce the level of noise being generated. VRCL staff will visit the Venue and will amend levels previously set during the Event, as appropriate. 6.5 The Hirer is not permitted to sell alcohol and tobacco at the Venue. The Hirer may make an application to the Council and Vision- Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited in order to obtain the necessary permission for the sale of alcohol and/or tobacco. The Hirer is solely responsible for applying for all licences and copies need to be sent to Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited no later than 4 weeks before the Event. Licences for the sale of alcohol and/or tobacco can be obtained by applying for a g Team: The Licensing Team and Community Safety Department London Borough of Redbridge 10 th Floor, Linton House 255 259 High Road Ilford, Essex, IG1 1NY email@example.com 7 Indemnities 7.1 The Hirer shall indemnify and keep indemnified Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited against the injury to, or death of, any person, and loss of, or damage to, any property including property belonging to Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited except and to the extent that it may arise out of the act, default or negligence of the Council and/or Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited, its employees or agents not being the Hirer or employed by the Hirer and except as aforesaid against all actions, claims, demands, proceedings, damages, costs, charges and expenses whatsoever in respect thereof, or in respect thereto. 7.2 Without thereby limiting its responsibilities under this clause 7, the Hirer shall insure with an insurance company approved by Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited against the injury to, or death of, any person, the loss of, or damage to, any property arising out of nd against all actions, claims, demands, proceedings, damages, costs, charges and expenses in respect thereof. 7.3 The Hirer is responsible for providing appropriate insurance in respect of such risks to third employees and agents. 7.4 The Hirer shall ensure that he/she holds the following minimum insurance covers: * Employer/Employee Liability Insurance of £10 million and * Public Liability Insurance of £5 million. 7.5 Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited shall indemnify and keep indemnified the Hirer against the injury to or death of any person, or loss of, or damage to any property including property belonging to the Hirer to the extent that it may arises out of the act, default, or negligence of Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited, its employees or agents other that the Hirer, its employees and agents and against all actions, claims, demands, proceedings, damages, costs, charges and expenses whatsoever in respect thereof or in relation thereto. Notwithstanding the foregoing Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited shall in no circumstances be liable to the Hirer for any loss or damage (whether direct, indirect or consequential) however caused otherwise than in accordance with an express provision of the Contract. 8 Permitted use 8.1 The Hirer shall not sub-let or use the Venue for any activity or purpose other than those or the Hirer considers sub-letting the Venue, the Hirer shall notify Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited in order that the Chief Executive may consider providing written consent for the same. 10 8.2 The Hirer shall be responsible for liaising with the Metropolitan Police and seeking approval in advance of any Event involving large numbers of people (i.e. over 500) that may cause disruption, noise or nuisance. 8.3 The Hirer is not permitted to occupy the venue outside of the hours and dates specified in the application without prior formal & written notification presented to the Events Team. The use of the venue for additional dates and times outside of those specified in the application form will result in additional fees as specified by the Events Manager. 9 Right of access The Hirer shall permit authorised Council and VRCL Officers entry to all parts of the Venue throughout the hire period. Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited reserves the right to set a limit for the number of persons allowed within the Venue in accordance with the Premises Licence and the Hirer shall comply with any limit set and shall ensure that the limit will not be exceeded. Health and safety 10.1 The Hirer shall provide Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited and the Council with a comprehensive Events Management Plan which must include a detailed and event specific risk assessment and Emergency Plans for each Event, prior to the Event taking place. 10.2 The Hirer shall be responsible for all aspects of safety at the Venue throughout the Event. 10.3 The Hirer agrees to adhere to the minimum standards as laid out in the Event Safety Guide Health & Safety Executive (as amended) and adhering to these terms and conditions. Failure in doing so may result in the Contract being terminated by Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure. 10.4 The Hirer shall be fully responsible for ensuring that all elements of the Event are covered by prevailing guidelines and legislation. The Hirer shall ensure the safety of the Event, the property, equipment and any person attending the Venue. 10.5 The Hirer shall ensure that all generated power supplied shall be fully earth bonded. 10.6 The Hirer shall ensure that a fire risk assessment and appropriate and sufficient fire extinguishers are available, easily visible and ready for use at each exit and additionally where electrical equipment or hazards of a similar nature are present. 10.7 The Hirer shall ensure that the exit from the field is clearly identifiable and shall be are present. 10.8 Hirers proposing to stage the event in a marquee or similar structure must observe the following regulations: * The marquee or Big Top must be stable and erected in a safe manner. All obstructions must be positioned away from exit ways. * At least two independent sources of supply shall be provided to illuminate the marquee if necessary. * Gangways within the marquee must be kept clear at all times and a minimum of 1.1m wide. * Exit ways not less than 1.6m wide shall be provided at the rate of one per 250 members of the audience. * There shall be a sufficient number of stewards to ensure that gangways are kept clear of obstruction. * If it is necessary to heat the marquee or Big Top only air blowers are permitted. 10.9 The Hirer will be responsible for providing adequate first aid cover and for co-ordinating the Emergency Services including the Ambulance, Police and Fire Service. 11 Promotion of the Event 11.1 The Hirer shall not use any fly posting to promote the Event. In the event that flyposting occurs Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited and the London Borough of Redbridge will organise for posters to be removed and will charge the Hirer with the costs of such removal. 11.2 The Hirer agrees to contact and comply with the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority and any other regulatory body prior to the Event taking place. The Hirer must submit copies of all promotional material to be used for the promotion of the Event to the Visionpublication. 12 Traders & Vendors 12.1 The Hirer shall be responsible for the conduct of any concessionaries/vendor appointed for the event. The Hirer shall notify Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited of the names of any concessionaries used during the hire period and provide relevant registration documents. 12.2 The Hirer shall ensure that any concessionary used during the hire period is sufficiently insured. 13 Animals 13.1 All events including animals must comply with the C guidelines. 13.2 In addition to the park application, notice must be given by the hirer to the Licensing Authority of the Council no less than 6 weeks prior of the event. firstname.lastname@example.org 13.3 All vendors who wish to display a dangerous wild animal will need a licence from the Local Authority under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. 13.4 All animals must be held in accommodation which secures that the animal will not escape, which is suitable as regards construction, size, temperature, lighting, ventilation, drainage and cleanliness and which is suitable for the number of animals proposed to be held in the accommodation. 13.5 All animals must be supplied with adequate and suitable food, drink and bedding material and be visited at suitable intervals. 13.6 Vendors must take appropriate steps at all such times be taken for the protection of any animal concerned in case of fire or other emergency 13.7 Vendors must take all reasonable precautions will be taken at all such times to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases. 13.8 Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure reserves the right to refuse the inclusion of animals as part of an event if not satisfied with the documentation provided or based on the advice of the Council or other specialist advisors. 14 Catering 14.1 Health Office and Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited no less than one month prior to the Event. 14.2 The Hirer may only contract caterers who comply fully with the requirements of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 (as amended) and the Food Safety Act 1990 (as amended). 15 Collections/Lotteries 15.1 The Hirer is not permitted to hold any collections, lotteries or gaming of any sort without prior written consent from Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited and the London Borough of Redbridge Licensing Service. If a licence is granted all collections must be made into sealed receptacles. Organisers must fully disclose to Vision where donated funds and beneficiaries are to be allocated. 16 Adjustments/Additions to the above 16.1 (Adjustment to 3.1) The Hirer must pay the full and final fee inclusive of the damage deposit by the date set in written correspondence. Any monies requested by VisionRedbridge Culture & Leisure but not received by this date may result in the cancellation of your event. 16.2 (Adjustment to 3.2) The damage deposit quoted for this activity may be greater than £500 if deemed necessary by VRCL officials. This is refundable providing that the grounds are left in a sound & presentable condition without any damages. Any damages incurred as an indirect/direct consequence of your event may be deducted from your damage deposit or recovered from your organisation after your event. 16.3 Vision-Redbridge Culture & Leisure Limited will request the Hirer to provide suitable ground protection, where necessary, following site inspections prior to and during your event. 16.4 It is the responsibility of the hirer to inspect the grounds prior to and after their event to ensure its suitability for use and to record any damages. In addition, the grounds will be inspected by VRCL officials on the next working day (post event) with any damages recorded and communicated to the hirer. All damages must be compensated for or rectified to a satisfactory standard, as deemed necessary by VRCL Events Team. 16.5 It is the responsibility of the hirer to monitor the weather conditions prior to their event. In the event of wet & inclement weather, the hirer must source and provided appropriate ground protection in consultation with the VRCL Events Team.
NOTE TO FILE JBA Project Code 2017s6427 Contract Middlesbrough Level 1 SFRA Client Middlesbrough Borough Council Date 14 November 2017 Author Mike Williamson Subject Functional Floodplain Update 1 Introduction The functional floodplain (Flood Zone 3b) has been updated from the existing version, delineated as part of a 2010 update 1 to the 2007 SFRA, using the most up-to-date data available. This methodology note explains how the 2010 functional floodplain has been updated. The LPA, LLFA and EA must all agree on the extent of the functional floodplain outline and the methodology used. The identification of functional floodplain should take account of local circumstances and not be defined solely on rigid probability parameters. The local knowledge of the council and EA is therefore crucial in defining the functional floodplain as robustly as possible. 2 Functional Floodplain Definition 2.1 Flood Risk and Coastal Change PPG – Table 1, Paragraph 065 The Flood Zones, referred to in the table below, show the probability of river and sea flooding, ignoring the presence of defences. Flood zones 1, 2 and 3 are included within the Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea). Flood Zone 3b is the functional floodplain and is not included in the Flood Map. This zone is for the use of LPAs and developers. Flood Zone 3a is Flood Zone 3 of the Flood Map that isn't functional floodplain. \| \| Flood Zone \| Definition \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| \| Zone 1 \| \| \| \| Low \| \| \| \| Probability \| \| \| \| Zone 2 \| Land having between a 1 in 100 and 1 in 1,000 annual probability of river flooding; or \| \| \| Medium \| Land having between a 1 in 200 and 1 in 1,000 annual probability of sea flooding. \| \| \| Probability \| (Land shown in light blue on the Flood Map) \| \| \| Zone 3a \| Land having a 1 in 100 or greater annual probability of river flooding; or \| \| \| High \| Land having a 1 in 200 or greater annual probability of sea flooding. \| \| \| Probability \| (Land shown in dark blue on the Flood Map) \| \| Zone 3b The Functional Floodplain \| \| This zone comprises land where water has to flow or be stored in times of flood. \| \| \| \| Local planning authorities should identify in their Strategic Flood Risk Assessments \| \| \| \| areas of functional floodplain and its boundaries accordingly, in agreement with the \| \| \| \| Environment Agency. \| \| \| \| (Not separately distinguished from Zone 3a on the Flood Map) \| Note: The Flood Zones shown on the Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) do not take account of the possible impacts of climate change and consequent changes in the future probability of flooding. Reference should therefore also be made to the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment when considering location and potential future flood risks to developments and land uses. 1 Middlesbrough Council Strategic Surface Water Flooding Study, Final Report, March 2010 Page 1 of 4 NOTE TO FILE JBA Project Code 2017s6427 Contract Middlesbrough Level 1 SFRA Client Middlesbrough Borough Council Date 14 November 2017 Author Mike Williamson Subject Functional Floodplain Update 2.2 Flood Risk and Coastal Change PPG – Paragraph 015 The definition of Flood Zone 3b in Table 1 of the FRCC-PPG explains that LPAs should identify areas of functional floodplain in their Strategic Flood Risk Assessments in discussion with the Environment Agency and the lead local flood authority. The identification of functional floodplain should take account of local circumstances and not be defined solely on rigid probability parameters. However, land which would naturally flood with an annual probability of 1 in 20 (5%) or greater in any year, or is designed to flood (such as a flood attenuation scheme) in an extreme (0.1% annual probability) flood, should provide a starting point for consideration and discussions to identify the functional floodplain. A functional floodplain is a very important planning tool in making space for flood waters when flooding occurs. Generally, development should be directed away from these areas using the Environment Agency's catchment flood management plans, shoreline management plans and local flood risk management strategies produced by lead local flood authorities. The area identified as functional floodplain should take into account the effects of defences and other flood risk management infrastructure. Areas which would naturally flood, but which are prevented from doing so by existing flood defence infrastructure, buildings and major transport infrastructure, will not normally be identified as functional floodplain. If an area is intended to flood, e.g. an upstream flood storage area designed to protect communities further downstream, then this should be safeguarded from development and identified as functional floodplain, even though it might not flood very often. 3 2010 Functional Floodplain Text taken from the 2010 update report: PPS25 recommends that the functional floodplain (Flood Zone 3b) should be defined using modelled 1 in 20 year flood outlines where available. The modelled outline has then been edited using the following methodology: - Inclusion of land which provides a function for flood conveyance or flood storage (e.g. washlands) - Removal of areas benefitting from defences (ABDs) - Removal of developed land. However opportunities to reinstate functional floodplain on brownfield (derelict) sites will be sought. - Removal of major transport infrastructure (e.g. motorways and railways) - Removal of 'dry islands' defined using the 'size standards' within the Environment Agency SFRM Specification for Flood Risk Mapping 2 . For those watercourses that have not been modelled or where a 1 in 20 year flood outline is not available, "Candidate Flood Zone 3b" areas have been identified based on the Environment Agency Flood Zone 3 as a precautionary approach. This has been done by identifying greenfield areas within Flood Zone 3 which should be safeguarded from future development. Storing flood water in these areas during an event could potential reduce risk downstream at urban areas in the future. However, as these candidate areas have not been explicitly modelled (or have used a 1 in 100 year modelled outline) and are partly based on profession judgement, it is important that they are assessed in more detail at a site-specific FRA level if development is planned in the future. Nevertheless it is recommended in this study that they are left as open greenfield for future flood storage or as possible flood compensation needed to allow other development. Previously developed brownfield land, adjacent to watercourses may provide opportunities to incorporate space for flood water to reduce flood risk to new and existing developments. 2 Environment Agency (2006) Strategic Flood Risk Management Specification for Flood Risk Mapping release 1.2 Page 2 of 4 NOTE TO FILE JBA Project Code 2017s6427 Contract Middlesbrough Level 1 SFRA Client Middlesbrough Borough Council Date 14 November 2017 Author Mike Williamson Subject Functional Floodplain Update 4 Functional Floodplain Update The following data sets have been interrogated to update the existing 2010 functional floodplain: - Functional Floodplain outline from 2010 SFRA update - EA Flood Storage Areas (FSA) – none present - EA Areas Benefitting from Defences (ABD) – none present - EA Historic Flood Map (HFM) – present along Ormesby Beck. Inclusion of the HFM means that some areas of the functional floodplain exceed the boundary of Flood Zone 3a - Urban areas - OSOpenMapLocal_Raster (to remove developed areas and transport infrastructure from functional floodplain) 4.1 GIS Methodology - The existing 2010 functional floodplain provided a starting point for review. The 2010 outline was clipped to the MBC boundary - Middle Beck 25 year outline (assumed undefended) from the 2014 Middlesbrough Becks Flood Warning Improvements study was used to update FZ3b along Middle Beck - Spencer Beck 25 year outline (assumed undefended) from the 2014 Middlesbrough Becks Flood Warning Improvements study was used to update FZ3b along Spencer Beck - Ormesby Beck 20 year outline (assumed undefended) from the 2015 Ormesby Beck Flood Modelling Update was used to update FZ3b along Ormesby Beck, Marton West Beck and Newham Beck - The HFM was used in various locations where it was considered appropriate. In some of these areas, the functional floodplain boundary exceeds Flood Zone 3 - The OS Open Data OSOpenMapLocal_Raster Dataset was used to identify urban areas and transport infrastructure to be removed from the functional floodplain. Table 1 below lists the locations where the 2010 functional floodplain has been updated. Any locations not cited remain unchanged from the 2010 version. Table 1 Functional floodplain data sources \| \| Watercourse \| \| Extent \| Data Source \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Middle Beck \| \| From B1380 to Cotswold Avenue, Pallister \| \| \| \| Ormesby Beck \| \| Nunthorpe to Tees \| \| \| \| Marton West Beck \| \| Coulby Newham to Ormesby Beck confluence at A66 \| \| \| \| Newham Beck \| \| Coulby Newham to Marton West Beck confluence \| \| \| \| Spencer Beck \| \| Oakfield Gardens, Ormesby to Tees \| \| \| \| Ormesby Beck \| \| Kentmere Road, Berwick Hills to just north of confluence with Marton West Beck \| \| \| The extent of the functional floodplain outline produced from this SFRA should always be assessed in greater detail where any more detailed study such as a Level 2 SFRA or site-specific FRA are undertaken. Page 3 of 4 NOTE TO FILE JBA Project Code 2017s6427 Contract Middlesbrough Level 1 SFRA Client Middlesbrough Borough Council Date 14 November 2017 Author Mike Williamson Subject Functional Floodplain Update 4.1.1 Cross boundary checks It was required to check the consistency of the Middlesbrough functional floodplain with the functional floodplain of the neighbouring authorities where watercourses crossed or shared authority boundaries. Table 2 shows the comparisons between each. Table 2 Functional floodplain comparisons with adjacent authorities \| Watercourse \| \| Neighbouring \| MBC data source \| \| Neighbouring \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| \| LPA \| \| \| LPA data source \| \| Main Stell \| Redcar and Cleveland \| \| Flood Zone 3 (from 2010 SFRA update) \| Flood Zone 3 (from 2016 Redcar and Cleveland SFRA update) \| \| \| River Tame \| Hambleton \| \| Flood Zone 3 (from 2010 SFRA update) \| Not designated FZ3b \| \| \| Main Stell \| Hambleton \| \| Flood Zone 3 (from 2010 SFRA update) \| Not designated FZ3b \| \| \| Ormesby Beck \| Redcar and Cleveland \| \| 2015 Ormesby Beck Flood Modelling Update \| 2015 Ormesby Beck Flood Modelling Update \| \| \| Middle Beck \| Redcar and Cleveland \| \| 2014 Middlesbrough Becks Flood Warning Improvements study \| Middle Beck & Spencer Beck Data Improvements/JBA Consulting 2008 \| \| \| Spencer Beck \| Redcar and Cleveland \| \| 2014 Middlesbrough Becks Flood Warning Improvements study \| Middle Beck & Spencer Beck Data Improvements/JBA Consulting 2008 \| \| \| Maltby Beck \| Stockton \| \| Flood Zone 3 (from 2010 SFRA update) \| Flood Zone 3 (from 2017 Stockton-on- Tees SFRA update) \| \| Table 2 shows that MBC is using the most up-to-date data available compared to neighbouring authorities. 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FOREWORD BY ALDOUS HUXLEY crimes are justiﬁed, the greatest follies elaborately rationalized. An education that teaches us not how but what to think is an education that calls for a governing class of pastors and masters. But "the very idea of leading somebody is antisocial and ... The First And Last Freedom SelfDefinition.Org Why does Osho call Page 14/35 Read Online Meditation The Osho meditation "the first and last freedom"? Because in his understanding meditation is the dimension through which every individual can realize his own, unique potential - the unlimited personal freedom that is available for all of us. This book is a compilation drawn from Osho's many years of work on meditation. 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Introduces sixty-three meditation techniques, from Page 18/35 Osho Buddhist and Sufi practices to the author's own Dynamic Meditation and Mystic Rose Meditation In this book, you will discover everything you need to practice meditation according to the oldest and greatest authorities, Buddha and Patanjali. Along with, why the man needs meditation at all, why is it so appealing to spiritually mature people, what is its relationship with the soul. Unlike other practices of meditation, dealing only Page 19/35 Read Online Meditation The Osho with the mind (mantra), or only with the body (yoga), or only with emotions (bhakti), which often led to discrepancies that had to be adjusted through various rituals and beliefs, the practice of meditation presented here, encompasses all these dimensions of the man in a harmonious unit. You will see how a human being is composed of all the dimensions of nature, a human being is a microcosm, and therefore, meditation is complete only when the man is being conscious on all dimensions, not only in the body and mind. Such meditation is inherently complete and does not Page 20/35 First And Last Freedom Osho require any supportive means in the form of ideological and religious preconceptions. The meaning of meditation in this book is related to the meaning of man's existence and the consciousness of his soul, to what we were before birth and what we will be after this life, to what we are in absolute terms. Meditation is the connection with the consciousness of the soul, and it is the divine consciousness within us, while beyond it is the consciousness that enables everything, the entire nature. In order to understand this connection of the mind and the divine Page 21/35 Osho consciousness of our soul, in this book, this spiritual sense of meditation is connected with the latest scientific discoveries of the essence of nature. You will discover how the consciousness of your soul is related to the quantum field and the physics of ether, which is the same physics that Nikola Tesla used to create the basics for all modern technology. You will find out what the non Hertzian frequencies through which the physics of the ether works are, how they are related to our thoughts and the creative effect of thoughts on the matter, you will discover Page 22/35 Read Online Meditation The Osho that the powers (siddhi) are actually the effect of the non Hertzian frequencies of quantum mind awareness on physical, Hertzian frequencies. The philosophy of Advaita Vedanta on the unity of everything is wellknown; that our essence (Atman) is actually the Absolute (Brahman) himself. Instead of mechanically repeating it as a formula, here you will find out how this unity actually happens; in reality there is no such thing as a multitude of subatomic particles but only one single 'divine particle' that vibrates at the present moment, much faster than light, according to the Page 23/35 First And Last Freedom Osho principles of fractal geometry and the golden section; therefore here, to us, it seems that there are plenty of particles, things and phenomena. These vibrations create energy, and therefore existence is essentially pure energy. Since that one particle is a reflection of the divine consciousness, everything is essentially pure consciousness. You will see all the evidence that consciousness is not in the body, but that our body only uses the divine consciousness which is in the essence of the very nature. 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First And Last Freedom MEDITATIONS Few ancient works have been as influential as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. 161–180). A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and a profound understanding of human Page 26/35 Read Online Meditation The Osho behavior, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus's insights and advice—on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others—have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. For anyone who struggles to reconcile the demands of leadership with a concern for personal integrity and spiritual wellbeing, the Meditations Page 27/35 First And Last Freedom Osho remains as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago. MEDITATIONS In Gregory Hays's new translation—the first in thirty-five years—Marcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy. In fresh and unencumbered English, Hays vividly conveys the spareness and compression of the original Greek text. Never before have Marcus's insights been so directly and powerfully presented. MEDITATIONS With an Introduction that outlines Marcus's life and career, the essentials of Stoic doctrine, the style and construction of the Meditations, and the work's ongoing influence, this Read Online Meditation The Osho edition makes it possible to First And Last Freedom fully rediscover the thoughts of one of the most enlightened and intelligent leaders of any era. MEDITATIONS Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the emperor struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. While the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation and encouragement, Marcus Aurelius also created one of Read Online Meditation The Osho the greatest of all works of philosophy: a timeless collection that has been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers, and readers throughout the centuries. MEDITATIONS First And Last Freedom Understand the life and teachings of Osho, one of the twentieth century's most unusual gurus and philosophers, in Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic. In 1990, Osho prepared for his departure from the body that had served him for fifty-nine years—in the words of his attending physician—"as calmly as though he were Page 30/35 Osho packing for a weekend in the country." Who was this man, known as the Sex Guru, the "self-appointed bhagwan" (Rajneesh), the Rolls-Royce Guru, the Rich Man's Guru, and simply the Master? Drawn from nearly five thousand hours of Osho's recorded talks, this is the story of his youth and education, his life as a professor of philosophy and years of travel teaching the importance of meditation, and the true legacy he sought to leave behind: a religion-less religion centered on individual awareness and responsibility and the teaching of "Zorba the Buddha," a celebration Page 31/35 Read Online Meditation The Osho of the whole human being. Osho challenges readers to examine and break free of the conditioned belief systems and prejudices that limit their capacity to enjoy life in all its richness. He has been described by the Sunday Times of London as one of the "1000 Makers of the 20th Century" and by Sunday MidDay (India) as one of the ten people—along with Gandhi, Nehru, and Buddha—who have changed the destiny of India. Since his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world. Page 32/35 First And Last Freedom Read Online Meditation The First And Last Freedom Osho Descartes' ideas not only changed the course of Western philosophy but also led to or transformed the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, physics and mathematics, political theory and ethics, psychoanalysis, and literature and the arts. This book reprints Descartes' major works, Discourse on Method and Meditations, and presents essays by leading scholars that explore his contributions in each of those fields and place his ideas in the context of his time and our own. There are chapters by David Weissman Page 33/35 Read Online Meditation The Osho on metaphysics and psychoanalysis, John Post on epistemology, Lou Massa on physics and mathematics, William T. Bluhm on politics and ethics, and Thomas Pavel on literature and art. These essays are accompanied by others by David Weissman and by Stephen Toulmin that introduce the idea of intellectual lineages, discuss the period in which Descartes wrote, and reexamine the premises of his philosophy in light of contemporary philosophical, political, and social thinking. First And Last Freedom Copyright code : aa5fb9c09fe Page 34/35 Copyright : emanuel-ca.jvillage.net Read Online Meditation The First And Last Freedom Osho ddd7211fd62010ca2a9dc
Available online at http://scik.org Commun. Math. Biol. Neurosci. 2022, 2022:42 https://doi.org/10.28919/cmbn/7376 ISSN: 2052-2541 THE EFFECT OF FEAR ON THE DYNAMICS OF TWO COMPETING PREY- ONE PREDATOR SYSTEM INVOLVING INTRA-SPECIFIC COMPETITION FIRAS HUSSEAN MAGHOOL, RAID KAMEL NAJI * Department of Mathematics, College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad-10071, Iraq Copyright © 2022 the author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract: A three-species food web model consisting of two competing prey – one predator with fear is created mathematically in the current work. Intra-specific competition within the predator's population, as well as a modified Holling type II functional response, are used. The study's goal is to look at the role of fear and intra-specific competition. Following a discussion of the solution's existence and uniqueness, other dynamical features of the solution, such as stability, persistence, and local bifurcation, were studied. Ultimately, the system is studied numerically with Matlab to fully understand global dynamics and the impact of altering parameter values. Different dynamical behaviors are discovered, such as stable point, stable line, and bi-stability. Keywords: food-web; fear; intra-specific competition; stability; persistence; bifurcation. 2010 AMS Subject Classification: 92D40, 34D23, 37G10. 1. INTRODUCTION The prey-predator relationship is one of the most essential instruments in the ecological system. Due to its worldwide occurrence and relevance, the interactive features among predators and their * Corresponding author E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.org Received March 21, 2022 1 prey have long been considered and will remain to be one of the core topics across both biology and computational ecology. Mathematics has had a huge impact in recent decades as a mechanism for describing and comprehending biological processes. As a result, biologists have presented mathematicians with a variety of difficult issues, resulting in advancements in the field of nonlinear differential equations. This form of the differential equation has long been significant in the study of theoretical population structure, and it will likely remain so in the future. One of the most wellknown uses of mathematics in biology is the building of system dynamics models for species interactions. Because the effect of indirect predation is greater than that of direct predation, the victim's fear of the predator is also crucial. In recent years, several biologists, experimentalists, and theorists have investigated the implications of supplying extra food to predators in preypredator systems, see [1] and the references therein. As a result of the implementation and use of analytical methodologies, as well as the expansion of computational power, our knowledge of these models has grown. Despite tremendous advances in the prey-predator theory, several hard mathematical and ecological problems remain unsolved. Experimenters and theoreticians face additional challenges as the complexity of differential equations and dimensions grows. Freedman and Waltman [2] investigated three-level food webs with two competing predators feeding on a sole prey as well as a single predator preying on competing prey species. They help to ensure the system's long-term viability. Predation and competition are frequently thought to be major factors affecting species' coexistence in ecological systems [3-4]. Previous research [5–8] has largely focused on two species, making it difficult to explain how fear affects predation rates when multiple species are present. Most studies also ignore the impact of fear on predation rates. Predator species' indirect influence on prey species has a higher impact than direct killing, according to current field studies. As a result, the current research examines predator anxiety and how it affects the behavior of competing prey species as well as predation rates. The competition factor, according to [9-10], indicates a situation in which the environment has few resources and both populations compete for survival. Several academics have recently looked into prey-predator models with two predators competing for prey [11-13]. In a constrained resource setting, Firdiansyah and Nurhidayati [14] developed a prey-predator model with two predators eating a single prey. They described the feeding process using two types of functional responses (Holling types I and II). Furthermore, the fear effect is regarded as an indirect influence generated by both predators in their model. Manna et al. [15] investigated a three-species food web model that included two competitive prey interactions with a generalist predator that feeds on both. They looked at how population distributions were affected by random dispersal of all three species and nonlocal intra-specific competition for two prey species. Maghool and Naji [16] investigate the effects of predation anxiety on the behavior of a three-species food chain. Because each prey in the system has anti-predator properties, the authors used the SokolHowell kind of functional response. As seen, the model is capable of displaying complicated dynamics, including chaos. With these researches in mind, certain prey-predator models have been built in order to obtain more realistic models that correlate to actual natural settings. For example, prey-predator models with the Allee effect have been considered in [17-18]; Mondal et al. [19] recently explored the impact of providing additional food to a predator in a delayed prey-predator scenario under the influence of fear. Prey-predator models with fear have been extensively investigated in [20-22]; prey-predator models with fear and refuge have been studied in [23-24], and the effect of fear and time delay on prey-predator dynamics have been discussed in [25-27]. However, [27] investigates the prey-predator paradigm in the presence of fear and group defense. A modified Holling type II functional response is examined to reflect the interaction between two prey and predator in this research, which is based on a three-species food web model with two competing prey and one predator. Fear, as well as intra-specific competition, are taken into account. The following is a summary of the paper's outline: The model, as well as its dimensionlessness, are detailed in Section 2. The equilibrium points and their current state are described in Section 3. The topic of local stability is discussed in section 4. Section 5 discusses the model's persistence, whereas Section 6 specifies the Basin of attractions for equilibrium points. Section 7 discusses the local bifurcation. The simulation of the model is performed in section 8. Finally, in the concluding section, the concluding and discussion are supplied. 2. THE MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION In this section, an ecological model based on a three-species food web with two prey and one predator is developed and mathematically formulated in the form: where 𝑋(𝑡), 𝑌(𝑡), and 𝑍(𝑡) denote the population size of the first prey, second prey, and predator at time 𝑡 respectively. As per the updated Holling type-II functional response, the two contending preys are expected to develop logistically while being consumed by a predator. The predator's diet is entirely dependent on these two competing prey, and in the absence of them, it decays exponentially. Furthermore, predator species are thought to have intra-specific competition. On the other hand, it is well recognized that the predator has an indirect impact on the prey population by inducing fear and changing the prey's behavior. In fact, the prey population increases awareness, reduces foraging activity, sacrifices higher intake zones and feeds in safer locations, adjusts the reproductive cycle, and so on owing to fear of predation. As a result, the impact of predator-induced anxiety is added to the suggested model, resulting in the model (2): where 𝑋(0) ≥0, 𝑌(0) ≥0 , 𝑍(𝑡) ≥0 , and 𝑔1(𝑋, 𝑌) = 𝑋 1+𝑞1𝑋+𝑞2𝑌 , and 𝑔 2 (𝑋, 𝑌) = 𝑌 1+𝑞1𝑋+𝑞2𝑌 . While, the first and second prey's fear functions are represented by 1 (1+𝑛1𝑍) and 1 (1+𝑛2𝑍) , respectively. In model (2), all of the parameters are supposed for being positive and are described in table (1) below. DYNAMICS OF TWO COMPETING PREY-ONE PREDATOR SYSTEM Table 1: Explanation of parameters. \| \| Parameter \| \| Description \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 𝑟 , 𝑟 1 2 \| \| The net growth rates of the first and second prey respectively. \| \| \| 𝑎 , 𝑎 , 𝑎 1 2 3 \| \| Intra-specific competition rates of the first prey, second prey, and predator respectively. \| \| \| 𝑏 , 𝑏 1 2 \| \| The intensity of intra-specific competition between the two preys. \| \| \| 𝑐 , 𝑐 1 3 \| \| The prey consumption rates. \| \| \| 𝑒 , 𝑒 1 1 \| \| Rates at which meal from the 1st and 2nd prey is converted. \| \| \| 𝑛 , 𝑛 1 2 \| \| Fear levels for the 1st and 2nd prey respectively. \| \| \| 𝑞 , 𝑞 1 1 \| \| Environmental protection rates of the 1st and 2nd prey respectively. \| \| \| 𝑑 \| \| The natural mortality rate of a predator. \| \| The fact that system (2) has 16 parameters makes analysis challenging. As a result, using the nondimensional variables and parameters indicated below, the set of parameters is reduced to 12, providing the model (3). As a result, the nondimensional system that relates to a system (2) is defined as follows: The interactivity functions are defined on ℝ+ 3 = {(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧): 𝑥(𝑡) ≥0, 𝑦(𝑡) ≥0, 𝑧(𝑡) ≥0} . Furthermore, the interactive functions in the system (3) are Lipschitzian functions since they are having continuous partial derivatives. As a result, there is a system (3) solution that is unique. Theorem 1: With initial conditions falling in the ℝ+ 3, all solutions of system (3) are uniformly bounded. Proof. Consider any solution of the system (3) with an initial condition (𝑥0, 𝑦0, 𝑧0) ∈ℝ+ 3. From the first equation of the system (3), it is obtained that: Hence by solving this differential inequality it is obtained that 𝑥≤1 as 𝑡→∞. Similarly, from the second equation of the system (3), it's observed that: 𝑑𝑦 2 𝑑𝑡 ≤𝑚 4 𝑦−𝑚 6 𝑦 , . which gives that 𝑦≤ 𝑚4 𝑚6 as 𝑡→∞ Look to the function 𝑄(𝑡) = 𝑐1𝑥(𝑡) + 𝑐2𝑦(𝑡) + 𝑧(𝑡), then So, by choosing 𝑐1 = 𝑚9, and 𝑐2 = 𝑚10 𝑚8 , it is obtained that: where 𝛿= {1, 𝑚4, 𝑚12}. Therefore, direct computation gives, for 𝑡→∞, that: As a result, all of the solutions in the following region are uniformly bounded. 3. EXISTENCE OF EQUILIBRIUM POINTS The system (3) has a maximum of seven non-negative equilibrium points, the form of which is given below, along with their existence requirements. The vanishing equilibrium point (VEP), denoted by 𝜀0 = (0,0,0) exists at all times. The first axial equilibrium point (FAEP), denoted by 𝜀1 = (1,0,0) exists at all times. The second axial equilibrium point (SAEP), represented by 𝜀2 = (0, 𝑦∗∗, 0) , where 𝑦∗∗ = 𝑚4 𝑚6 , exists at all times. The predator-free equilibrium point (PFEP), represented by 𝜀3 = (𝑥̅, 𝑦̅, 0) , where 𝑥̅ = 𝑚4−𝑚6 𝑚7−𝑚6 and 𝑦̅ = 𝑚7−𝑚4 𝑚7−𝑚6 , exists if and only if one of the following requirements true: However, it is observed there is a line (𝑥+ 𝑦= 1) of PFEP when 𝑚6 = 𝑚4 = 𝑚7. The 1 st prey free equilibrium point (FPYFEP) is denoted by 𝜀4 = (0, 𝑦̅ ̅ , 𝑧̿), where 𝑦̅ ̅ is obtained by the fourth-order polynomial equation's positive root: where: 𝜎 1 = (𝑚 10 −𝑚 3 𝑚 12 )𝑚 3 2 𝑚 5 𝑚 6 𝑚 11 + 𝑚 3 3 𝑚 6 𝑚 11 2, 𝜎 2 𝜎 = 𝑚 3 3 𝜎 4 𝑚 11 10 = 𝑚 (2𝑚 𝑚 5 3𝑚 12 5 𝑚 𝑚 8 6 𝑚 10 (𝑚 𝑚 12 = −2𝑚 2𝑚 3 3 10 −𝑚 3 12 −2𝑚 ) + 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 10 2 𝑚 𝑚 3 𝑚 5 12 𝑚 8 (𝑚 10 ) −3𝑚 𝜎 5 = 𝑚 12 𝑚 8 (𝑚 8 −𝑚 3 𝑚 𝑚 4 𝑚 11 3 ) + 3𝑚 ) + 𝑚 𝑚 11 3 4 𝑚 5 𝑚 12 12 + 3𝑚 𝑚 11 11 −𝑚 3 2 𝑚 3 2 𝑚 𝑚 8 3 12 ) + 𝑚 2, ) −𝑚 4 𝑚 11 6 6 𝑚 (𝑚 2 𝑚 𝑚 11 2. While, 𝑧̅ is given by: If the following adequate conditions are satisfied, the FPYFEP exists uniquely in the first quadrant of the 𝑦𝑧−plane. with one of the conditions listed below (𝑚 11 11 12 𝑚 6 (𝑚 11 5 −𝑚 11 −𝑚 −𝑚 (𝑚 11 3 𝑚 4 ) , 12 𝑚 5 ) + 𝑚 −𝑚 5 𝑚 ) + 𝑚 12 5 8 ) 𝑚 𝑚 11, 6 𝑚 11 (𝑚 10 (𝑚 − 10 − The 2 nd prey free equilibrium point (SPYFEP) is represented by 𝜀5 = (𝑥̂, 0, 𝑧̂) , where 𝑥̂ is provided by a positive root of the fourth-order polynomial equation: where: 𝜌 1 = (𝑚 9 −𝑚 2 𝑚 12 )𝑚 2 2 𝑚 1 𝑚 11 + 𝑚 2 3 𝑚 11 2, 𝜌 2 𝜌 = 𝑚 2 3 = 𝑚 𝑚 9 11 (2𝑚 𝑚 1 (𝑚 1 𝑚 9 −𝑚 9 −2𝑚 2 2 𝑚 2 12 𝑚 11 ) + 3𝑚 ) + 𝑚 2 2 𝑚 12 𝑚 2 2 11 (𝑚 12 (𝑚 𝑚 11 −𝑚 1 −𝑚 1 𝑚 12 11 ) ) + 𝑚 1, 𝑚 11 (𝑚 9 −3𝑚 12 𝑚 𝑚 9 𝑚 2 𝑚 11 + 3𝑚 2 𝑚 11 2 (1 −𝑚 2 ) , 𝜌 5 = 𝑚 12 (𝑚 1 𝑚 12 −𝑚 11 ) −𝑚 11 2. While, 𝑧̂ is given by: If the following adequate conditions are satisfied, the SPYFEP exists uniquely in the first quadrant of the 𝑥𝑧−plane. with one of the conditions listed below If there is a single solution to the following set of algebraic equations, the coexistence equilibrium point (CEP) represented by 𝜀6 = (𝑥 ∗ , 𝑦 ∗ , 𝑧 ∗ ), arises uniquely in the interior of ℝ+ 3. where 𝑓 𝑖; 𝑖= 1,2,3 are written in system (3). Straightforward computation shows that: While, the point (𝑥 ∗ , 𝑦 ∗ ) represents a unique intersection point of the following two isoclines in 2 ) + the interior of the first quadrant of the 𝑥𝑦−plane: Clearly, as 𝑦= 0, the two isoclines become: where: According to the polynomial equations (12a) and (12b), each one has a unique positive root designated by 𝑥1 and 𝑥2, if and only if the following sufficient conditions are met: Keeping the above in mind, the CEP exists uniquely if in addition to conditions (13a) and (13b) the following sufficient conditions are met: 3. LOCAL STABILITY In this section, the local behavior of the above equilibrium points is explored by determining the system's (3) Jacobian matrix at the point (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧): where: , Therefore, the Jacobian matrix at VEP is: Then the eigenvalues are given by 𝜆01 = 1, 𝜆02 = 𝑚4, 𝜆03 = −𝑚12. Hence the VEP (𝜀0) is a saddle point. The Jacobian matrix at FAEP, can be calculated as: Then the eigenvalues of 𝐽 𝜀 1 are given by 𝜆 11 = −1, 𝜆 12 = 𝑚 4 −𝑚 7 , 𝜆 13 = −𝑚 12 + 𝑚 9 1+𝑚 2 . is locally asymptotically stable if and only if the following Hence, the equilibrium point 𝜀1 conditions are met. The Jacobian matrix at the SAEP is calculated as: Therefore, the eigenvalues of 𝐽𝜀2 are given by 𝜆21 = 1 − 𝑦∗∗ , 𝜆22 = −𝑚6 𝑦∗∗ , and 𝜆53 = 𝑚 10 𝑦 ∗∗ 1+𝑚 3 𝑦 ∗∗ −𝑚 12 . As a result, if and only if the following conditions are met, the point 𝜀 2 is locally asymptotically stable: The Jacobian matrix at the PFEP is calculated as: As a result, the characteristic equation of 𝐽𝜀3 can be formulated as: Accordingly, the eigenvalues of 𝐽𝜀3 are computed by: ̅ ̅ ̅ ̅ . As a result the PFEP, given by 𝜀3 , is locally asymptotically stable provided the following requirements are met: ̅ Note that, because condition (23a) satisfies one of the existing criteria given by Eq. (4), the equilibrium point 𝜀3 will be asymptotically stable for any initial points in the first quadrant of the 𝑥𝑦−plane, and it will be a saddle point otherwise. The Jacobian matrix at FPYFEP can be determined by: So the characteristic equation of 𝐽𝜀4 can be represented as: Then the eigenvalues of 𝐽𝜀4 are given by: Hence, the equilibrium point 𝜀4 is locally asymptotically stable if and only if the following sufficient requirements are met: The Jacobian matrix at SPYFEP is determined by: Thus the characteristic equation of 𝐽𝜀5 is formulated as: Accordingly, the eigenvalues of 𝐽𝜀5 can be written as: , As a result, if and only if the following sufficient conditions are met, the SPYFEP is locally asymptotically stable: Finally, the following theorem established sufficient conditions to ensure CEP's local stability. Theorem (2): The CEP is locally asymptotically stable provided that the following sufficient requirements are met where 𝑑𝑖𝑗; 𝑖, 𝑗= 1,2,3 are the Jacobian elements that given in the proof. Proof. Substituting the CEP in the general Jacobian matrix given by Eq. (15) yields that: where: 𝑑 𝑚 𝑥 ∗ 𝑧 ∗ 11 = −𝑥 + ∗ 2 (1+𝑚 2 𝑥 ∗ +𝑚 3 𝑦 ∗ ) 2, 𝑑 𝑚 13 = −𝑥 ( ∗ 1 (1+𝑚 1 𝑧 ∗ ) 2 + 1+𝑚 2 1 𝑥 ∗ +𝑚 3 𝑦 ∗ ) , 𝑑 𝑚 𝑚 𝑦 ∗ 𝑧 ∗ 21 = −𝑚 7 𝑦 + ∗ 2 8 (1+𝑚 2 𝑥 ∗ +𝑚 3 𝑦 ∗ ) 2, 𝑑 𝑚 +(𝑚 𝑚 −𝑚 𝑚)𝑦 ∗ 31 = ( 9 3 9 2 10 ∗ (1+𝑚 2 𝑥 ∗ +𝑚 3 𝑦 ∗ ) 2 ) 𝑧 , 𝑑 33 = −𝑚 11 𝑧 ∗ . Hence the characteristic equation of 𝐽𝜀6 is represented as: where: 𝐴 1 11 = −(𝑑 + 𝑑 22 + 𝑑 33 ,) , with The characteristic equation (32) possesses three negative real part eigenvalues, according to the Routh-Hurwitz criterion, if and only if 𝐴1 > 0, 𝐴3 > 0, and ∆ > 0. Simple computation showed that the Routh-Hurwitz criterion is fulfilled and the proof is complete if the conditions (30a)-(30e) are met. 5. PERSISTENCE The persistence of the system (3) is explored in this section; the system (3) persists if the system's trajectory that starts at a positive initial point, does not approach an omega limit set on the domain's boundary planes. The system (3) contains three subsystems that are located in the 𝑥𝑦− plane, 𝑥𝑧− plane, and 𝑦𝑧−plane, and can be expressed as follows: And The preceding subsystems (33), (34), and (35) have positive equilibrium points in the interior of boundary planes 𝑥𝑦−plane, 𝑥𝑧−plane and 𝑦𝑧−plane, respectively, which coincide with those in the corresponding planes of the system (3). The Bendixson–Dulac theorem is now applied to, determine the possibility of periodic dynamics in boundary planes. Now, consider the following functions 𝛽 1 (𝑥, 𝑦) = 1 𝑥𝑦 , 𝛽 2 (𝑥, 𝑧) = 1 𝑥𝑧 , and 𝛽 3 (𝑦, 𝑧) = 1 𝑦𝑧 . Clearly plane, these functions are positive and is 𝐶 1 function in interior of first quadrants of 𝑥𝑦− 𝑥𝑧− plane and 𝑦𝑧− plane respectively. Moreover, it is obvious that: Therefore, ℘1(𝑥, 𝑦) has the same sign (≠0) almost everywhere in a simply connected region of the 𝑥𝑦−plane. However, ℘2(𝑥, 𝑧), and ℘3(𝑦, 𝑧) have the same sign (≠0) almost everywhere in a simply connected region of the 𝑥𝑧−plane and 𝑦𝑧−plane, respectively, provided the following sufficient requirements are met. Consequently, the persistence requirements of the system (3) are built in the following theorem. Theorem (3): If the border planes do not have periodic dynamics, the system (3) is uniformly persistent as long as the below conditions are met. . ̅ Proof. Define ℑ(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = 𝑥 𝑝 1 𝑦 𝑝 2 𝑧 𝑝 3 , where 𝑝1, 𝑝2, 𝑝3 are positive constants. It is clear that, ℑ(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0 for each (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ∈𝐼𝑛𝑡 ℝ+ 3 , and ℑ(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = 0 if 𝑥, 𝑦 , or 𝑧 approaches zero. Therefore, direct computation gives: where 𝑓 𝑖; 𝑖= 1,2,3, are mentioned in the system (3). The proof is now satisfied according to the average Lyapunov technique if and only if ℚ(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0 for each boundary equilibrium points. Now, since Then, we have that Obviously, ℚ(𝜀0) > 0 is produced by choosing random positive values for 𝑝1 and 𝑝2 that are sufficiently greater than 𝑝3. Note that, ℚ(𝜀1) > 0 is produced due to the conditions (38a) and (38b). Similarly, ℚ(𝜀2) > 0 is produced due to the conditions (38a) and (38b). From the condition (38c), It is obtained that ℚ(𝜀3) > 0 for any positive constant 𝑝3. According to the condition (38d), it is clear that, ℚ(𝜀4) > 0 for any positive constant 𝑝1. Finally, we have: Hence, ℚ(𝜀5) > 0 for any positive constant 𝑝2, due to condition (38e). Thus the system (3) is uniformly persistent, and the proof is done. 6. BASIN OF ATTRACTION The basin of attraction of each asymptotic stable equilibrium point is determined in this section. Furthermore, if and only if their basin of attraction equals the interior of ℝ+ 3 , the equilibrium point is said to be globally asymptotic stable. Theorem (4): If the FAEP is locally asymptotically stable, then it is globally asymptotically stable if and only if the following condition is met. . It is clear the function 𝜓1(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) satisfies that 𝜓1(1,0,0) = 0 , while 𝜓1(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0 , for all values in the region {(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ∈ℝ+ 3 : 𝑥> 0, 𝑦≥0, 𝑧≥0; (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ≠(1,0,0)} . After that, using algebraic manipulation, you get: Under the system's boundedness theorem and the provided condition, it is observed that, 𝑑𝜓1 𝑑𝑡 < 0 . As a result, the derivative, 𝑑𝜓1 𝑑𝑡 , is a negative definite, and then the FAEP is globally asymptotically stable. Theorem (5): Assume that the SAEP is asymptotically stable locally, then their basin of attraction satisfies the following requirements: Proof: Define that It is clear the function 𝜓2 satisfies that 𝜓2(0, 𝑦∗∗, 0) = 0, while 𝜓2(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0, for each values belongs to {(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ∈ℝ+ 3 : 𝑥≥0, 𝑦> 0, 𝑧≥0; (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ≠(0, 𝑦∗∗, 0)} . As a result of some algebraic manipulation, the following is obtained: . According the conditions (40a)-(40b), it is observed that, the derivative 𝑑𝜓2 𝑑𝑡 is negative definite. Then, the basin of attraction of the SAEP satisfies the given requirements. Theorem (6): If the PFEP is locally asymptotically stable, then it is globally asymptotically stable if and only if the following requirements are satisfied: Proof. Consider the function 𝜓 𝑥 𝑦 3 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = (𝑥−𝑥̅ −𝑥̅ln ( 𝑥̅ )) + (𝑦−𝑦̅ −𝑦̅ln ( 𝑦̅ )) + 𝑧. It is easy to verify that 𝜓3(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) satisfies that is 𝜓3(𝑥̅, 𝑦̅, 0) = 0, while 𝜓3(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0, for all values belongs to {(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ∈ℝ+ 3 : 𝑥> 0, 𝑦> 0, 𝑧≥0; (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ≠(𝑥̅, 𝑦̅, 0)}. As a result of some algebraic manipulation with the use of given conditions, the following is obtained: So the derivative 𝑑𝜓3 𝑑𝑡 is negative definite in the interior of ℝ + 3 and hence the PFEP is globally asymptotically stable. Theorem (7): Assume that the FPYFEP is asymptotically stable locally, then their basin of attraction satisfies the following conditions: where Proof: Let. It is obvious that 𝜓4 verifies that is 𝜓4(0, 𝑦̿, 𝑧̿) = 0 , while 𝜓4(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0 , for all values in {(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ∈ℝ+ 3 : 𝑥≥0, 𝑦> 0, 𝑧> 0; (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ≠(0, 𝑦̿, 𝑧̿)} . As a result of some algebraic manipulation, the following is obtained: . Consequently, by the use of the given conditions, it's obtained that: It is obtained that, due to the conditions (42a)-(42d), the derivative 𝑑𝜓4 𝑑𝑡 is negative definite. Therefore, the FPYFEP has a basin of attraction satisfies the given condition. Theorem (8): Suppose that the SPYFEP is asymptotically stable locally, then their basin of attraction satisfies the following conditions: 𝑚 3 𝑧 (1+𝑚 2 𝑥̂) < 1 + 𝑚 7, (43b) where, Proof: Assume that. So 𝜓5 verifies that 𝜓5(𝑥̂, 0, 𝑧̂) = 0, while 𝜓5(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0, for all values belong to {(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ∈ ℝ+ 3 : 𝑥> 0, 𝑦≥0, 𝑧> 0; (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ≠(𝑥̂, 0, 𝑧̂)} . As a result of some algebraic manipulation, the following is obtained: . Consequently, by the use of the given conditions, it's obtained that: Therefore, due to the conditions (43a)-(43d), the derivative 𝑑𝜓5 𝑑𝑡 is negative definite, and then the SPYFEP has a basin of attraction satisfies the given condition. Theorem (9): Suppose that the CEP is asymptotically stable locally, then their basin of attraction satisfies the following conditions: where Proof: Define the function: It is clear that, 𝜓6 verifies that is 𝜓6(𝑥 ∗ , 𝑦 ∗ , 𝑧 ∗ ) = 0 , while 𝜓6(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) > 0 , for all values in {(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ∈ℝ+ 3 : 𝑥> 0, 𝑦> 0, 𝑧> 0; (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) ≠(𝑥∗ , 𝑦 ∗ , 𝑧 ∗)} . As a result of some algebraic manipulation, the following is obtained: Consequently, using (44a)-(44e) gives Note that, 𝑑𝜓6 𝑑𝑡 is clearly negative definite. As a result, the CEP has an attractive basin that satisfies the specified conditions. 7. BIFURCATION ANALYSIS This section examines the effect of modifying the model parameters on the system's dynamical behavior (3) using Sotomayor's theorem for local bifurcation. Remember that a nonhyperbolic equilibrium point in a dynamical system is a required but not sufficient condition for a bifurcation to occur. As a result, the value that renders the equilibrium point a non-hyperbolic point is chosen as a candidate bifurcation parameter. Rewrite the system (3) in the following format: The second directional derivative of the system (3) can also be calculated as follows: where ℒ= (ℓ1, ℓ2, ℓ3) 𝑇 be any non-zero vector, with. The theorems that follow analyze the potential of local bifurcation in the system based on the above calculation (3). Theorem (10): If the condition (18a) is met, then a transcritical bifurcation of the system (3) at the FAEP happens when the parameter 𝑚12 passes over the value 𝑚 12 ∗ = 𝑚9 1+𝑚2 . Proof: At FAEP with 𝑚 12 ∗ , the Jacobian matrix of the system (3) is expressed as: In this matrix, two of the eigenvalues have negative real portions, while the third is zero and denoted 𝜆13 ∗ = 0.Thus FAEP is a non-hyperbolic point at 𝑚 12 ∗ . Let ℒ1 = (ℓ11, ℓ12, ℓ13) 𝑇 be the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆12 ∗ = 0. Thus, 𝐽1ℒ1 = 0, gives that ℒ1 = (−(𝑚1 + 1)ℓ13, 0, ℓ13 ) 𝑇 , and ℓ13 ≠0 is any real number. Now, let Θ1 = (ϑ11, ϑ12, ϑ13) 𝑇 represents the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆12 ∗ = 0, of the matrix 𝐽1 𝑇. Thus, 𝐽1 𝑇 Θ1 = 0 gives that Θ1 = (0,0, ϑ13) 𝑇, where ϑ13 ≠0 is any real number. Following Sotomayor's theorem, gives that: Therefore, Θ1 𝑇 𝐹 𝑚12 (𝜀1, 𝑚 12 ∗ ) = 0, as a result, the first condition for the occurrence of transcritical bifurcation is met. Moreover, since. Also, by using equation (46), it is obtained that Accordingly, the following is obtained: . Hence a transcrtical bifurcation take place. Theorem (11): If the condition (20a) is met, then a transcritical bifurcation of the system (3) at the SAEP happens if 𝑚12 passes through the value 𝑚 12 ∗∗ = 𝑚10𝑦∗∗ 1+𝑚3 𝑦∗∗ . Proof: The Jacobian matrix at (𝜀2, 𝑚 12 ∗∗ ) is determined by: , Obviously, under condition (20a), two of the eigenvalues have negative real portions, while the third is zero and denoted 𝜆23 ∗∗ = 0.Thus SAEP is a non-hyperbolic point at 𝑚 12 ∗∗ . Let ℒ2 = (ℓ21, ℓ22, ℓ23) 𝑇 be the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆23 ∗∗ = 0. Hence, 𝐽2ℒ2 = 0, gives that ℒ2 = (0, 𝐻ℓ23, ℓ23 ) 𝑇 , where 𝐻= − 𝑚4𝑚5 (1+𝑚3 𝑦∗∗ )+𝑚8 𝑚6(1+𝑚3 𝑦∗∗ ) < 0 , and ℓ23 ≠0 is any real number. Now, let Θ2 = (ϑ21, ϑ22, ϑ23) 𝑇 represents the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆23 ∗∗ = 0 of the matrix 𝐽2 𝑇. Thus, 𝐽2 𝑇 Θ2 = 0 gives that Θ2 = (0,0, ϑ23) 𝑇, where ϑ23 ≠0 is any real number. Now, since: Therefore, 𝑇 (𝜀 ∗∗ ) = 0 , hence the first condition for the occurrence of transcritical Θ2 𝐹 𝑚12 2, 𝑚 12 bifurcation is met. Moreover, since Then, Θ2 𝑇 𝐷𝐹 𝑚12 (𝜀5, 𝑚 12 ∗∗ )ℒ5 = −ϑ23ℓ23 ≠0. Also, by using equation (46), it is obtained that: 𝐷 2 𝐹(𝜀 2 , 𝑚 12 ∗∗ )(ℒ 2 , ℒ 2 ) = ( Accordingly, the following is obtained: Hence, in the sense of Sotomayor, a transcrtical bifurcation take place. Theorem (12): If the condition (23a) is met, then a transcritical bifurcation of the system (3) at the PFEP happens when the parameter 𝑚 12 passes over the value 𝑚̅ 12 = 𝑚 9 𝑥 +𝑚 10 𝑦̅ 1+𝑚 2 𝑥̅+𝑚 3 𝑦̅ , if and only if the following condition is satisfied. where 𝛾̅31 is computed in the proof. Proof: The Jacobian matrix at (𝜀2, 𝑚̅12 ) can be represented by: . ̅ Due to the existence of a zero eigenvalue, say 𝜆33 = 0, PFEP becomes a non-hyperbolic point at 𝑚12 = 𝑚̅12, whereas the other two eigenvalues have negative real portions under the condition (23a). Let ℒ3 = (ℓ31, ℓ32, ℓ33) 𝑇 be the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆33 = 0. Thus 𝐽3ℒ3 = 0, gives that: , ̅ Now, let Θ3 = (ϑ31, ϑ32, ϑ33) 𝑇 represents the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆33 = 0 of the matrix 𝐽3 𝑇. Therefore, Θ3 𝑇 𝐹 𝑚12 (𝜀3, 𝑚̅12) = 0, then the first requirement for the transcritical bifurcation is met. Moreover, since Then, Θ3 𝑇 𝐷𝐹 𝑚12 (𝜀3, 𝑚̅12)ℒ3 = −ϑ23ℓ33 ≠0. Also, by using equation (46), it is obtained that: , where Therefore, condition (47) yields that: Hence a transcrtical bifurcation take place. Theorem (13): If the condition (26b) is met, then a transcritical bifurcation of the system (3) at the FPYFEP happens when the parameter 𝑚1 passes over the value 𝑚̿1 = (1+𝑚3𝑦̅ ̅ )(1−𝑦̅ ̅ )−𝑧 𝑧̿(𝑦̅ ̅ (1+𝑚3𝑦̅ ̅ )+𝑧̿) , if and only if the following condition is satisfied. where 𝛾̿11 is computed through the proof. Proof: At the FPYFEP the Jacobian matrix, with 𝑚1 = 𝑚̿1, can be written as: , where 𝑏𝑖𝑗; 𝑖= 2,3. 𝑗= 1,2,3 are written in the Jacobian matrix that given by (24). Hence the determinant of the matrix 𝐽 4 is equal to zero. Therefore two eigenvalues of 𝐽 4 with negative real portions are existing under the condition (26b), while the third eigenvalue is given by 𝜆 41 = 0 , and hence the FPYFEP is a non-hyperbolic point. Let ℒ4 = (ℓ41, ℓ42, ℓ43) 𝑇 be the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆41 = 0. 𝑏 21 𝑏 32 −𝑏 22 𝑏 31 𝑏 22 𝑏 33 −𝑏 23 𝑏 32 , and ℓ 41 ≠0is any real number. Now, let Θ4 = (ϑ41, ϑ42, ϑ43) 𝑇 denotes the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆41 = 0 of the matrix 𝐽4 𝑇. Thus, 𝐽4 𝑇 Θ4 = 0 gives that Θ4 = (ϑ41, 0,0, ) 𝑇, where ϑ41 ≠0 is any real number. Moreover, it is observed that: Therefore, it is obtained that Θ4 𝑇 𝐹 𝑚1 (𝜀4, 𝑚̿1) = 0 , which means the first requirement for the transcritical bifurcation is met. Moreover, since. Consequently, we obtain that: Now, by using equation (46), it is obtained that: , where: Therefore, using condition (48) yields that. Hence a transcrtical bifurcation take place. Theorem (14): If the condition (29b) is met, then a transcritical bifurcation of the system (3) at the SPYFEP happens when the parameter 𝑚7 passes over the value 𝑚̂7 = 1 𝑥̂ [ 𝑚4 (1+𝑚5𝑧̂) − 𝑚8𝑧 (1+𝑚2𝑥̂) ] , if and only if the following condition is satisfied. where 𝛾̂21 is computed in the proof. Proof: The Jacobian matrix at (𝜀7, 𝑚̂7 ) can be written as: where 𝑐𝑖𝑗; 𝑖= 1,3. 𝑗= 1,2,3 are the Jacobian matrix elements that given by (27). Hence the determinant of the matrix 𝐽5 is equal to zero. Therefore it has two eigenvalues with negative real portions under the condition (29b), while the third eigenvalues is 𝜆 ̂ 51 = 0, and hence the SPYFEP is a non-hyperbolic point. Let ℒ5 = (ℓ51, ℓ52, ℓ53) 𝑇 be the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆 ̂ 51 = 0. Thus, 𝐽 𝑐 𝑐 −𝑐 𝑐 5 ℒ 5 = 0, gives that ℒ 5 = (𝐷 1 ℓ 52 , ℓ 52 , D 2 ℓ 52 , where D 1 = 𝑇 13 32 12 33 𝑐 ) 11 𝑐 33 −𝑐 13 𝑐 31 , D 2 = 𝑐12𝑐31−𝑐11𝑐32 𝑐11𝑐33−𝑐13𝑐31 , and ℓ 52 ≠0 is any real number. Now, let Θ5 = (ϑ51, ϑ52, ϑ53) 𝑇 denotes to the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆 ̂ 51 = 0, of the matrix 𝐽5 𝑇. Thus, 𝐽5 𝑇 Θ5 = 0 gives that Θ5 = (0, ϑ52, 0) 𝑇, where ϑ52 ≠0 is any real number. Now, since: Therefore, Θ5 𝑇 𝐹 𝑚7 (𝜀5, 𝑚̂7) = 0, hence the system (3) has no saddle-node bifurcation. Moreover, since Then, Θ5 𝑇 𝐷𝐹 𝑚7 (𝜀5, 𝑚̂7)ℒ5 = 𝑥̂ℓ52ϑ52 ≠0. Also, by using equation (46), it is obtained that: , where, Then, using conditions (49) yields: Hence, in the sense of Sotomayor, a transcrtical bifurcation take place. Theorem (15): If the conditions (30a)-(30d) are met, then a saddle-node bifurcation of the system (3) at the CEP happens when the parameter 𝑚11 passes over the value 𝑚 11 ∗ = 𝑑12𝑑23𝑑31−𝑑13𝑑22.𝑑31−𝑑32(𝑑11𝑑22−𝑑13𝑑21) 𝑧 ∗ (𝑑11𝑑22−𝑑12𝑑21 ) , if and only if the following condition is satisfied. where the symbols of condition (50) are computed in the proof. Proof: The Jacobian matrix at CEP with 𝑚11 = 𝑚11 ∗ can be written as: where the elements 𝑑𝑖𝑗, 𝑖, 𝑗= 1,2,3 are given in the Jacobian matrix (31) with 𝑑33 ∗ = 𝑑33(𝑚 11 ∗ ). Direct computation shows that the determinant of 𝐽6 is equal to zero. Hence the matrix 𝐽6 has a. zero eigenvalue given by 𝜆63 ∗ = 0 , with two negative real portions eigenvalues 𝜆61,62 = −𝐴1±√𝐴1 2 −4𝐴2 2 , where 𝐴1 > 0 and 𝐴2 > 0 are given in Eq. (32). Therefore, the CEP is a non- hyperbolic point. Let ℒ6 = (ℓ61, ℓ62, ℓ63) 𝑇 be the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆63 ∗ = 0. 𝑑13𝑑21−𝑑11𝑑23 𝑑11𝑑22−𝑑12𝑑21 < 0 , and ℓ 63 ≠0 is any real number. Now, let Θ6 = (ϑ61, ϑ62, ϑ63) 𝑇 denotes to the eigenvector conjugate with the eigenvalue 𝜆63 ∗ = 0, of the matrix 𝐽6 𝑇. 𝑑12𝑑31−𝑑11𝑑32 𝑑11𝑑22−𝑑21𝑑12 < 0 , with ϑ 63 ≠0 is any real number. Moreover, it is observed that: Therefore, Θ6 𝑇 𝐹 𝑚11 (𝜀6, 𝑚 11 ∗ ) = −ϑ63𝑧 ∗ 2 ≠0 , Hence the first condition of a saddle node bifurcation is met. Moreover, by using equation (46), it is obtained that: , where. FIRAS HUSSEAN MAGHOOL, RAID KAMEL NAJI Therefore, using the condition (50), it is obtained that Then a saddle-node bifurcation take place. As a parameter reaches a critical point, the Hopf bifurcation refers to the birth or death of a periodic solution from equilibrium at a local level. A Hopf bifurcation occurs when a complex conjugate pair of eigenvalues of the linearised flow at a given position becomes fully imaginary, according to the Poincare-Andronov-Hopf bifurcation theorem. This means that a Hopf bifurcation can only occur in two-dimensional systems or higher. The restrictions that guarantee a Hopf bifurcation at the CEP are presented in below theorem. Theorem (16): Assume that the requirements (30a)-(30d) are met, as well as the following: where, 𝑑𝑖𝑗 and 𝐴𝑖 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖, 𝑗= 1,2,3 are respectively the elements of 𝐽𝜀6 that given by Eq. (31) and the coefficients of the characteristic equation that given by Eq. (32). Then, as the parameter 𝑚7 passes through the value 𝑚 7 ∗, system (3) experiences a Hopf bifurcation at the CEP, where with Proof: According to the form of ∆= 𝐴1𝐴2 −𝐴3 that given in Eq. (32), it is easy to verify that ∆= 0 at 𝑚7 = 𝑚7 ∗, where 𝑚 7 ∗ > 0 if the sufficient conditions (51a)-(51b) are met. Therefore, it is gotten that 𝐴1(𝑚 7 ∗)𝐴2(𝑚 7 ∗) = 𝐴3(𝑚 7 ∗ ). Consequently, Eq. (32) at 𝑚7 = 𝑚7 ∗ becomes where 𝐴1, and 𝐴2 under the conditions (30a)-(30d) are positive. Now, simple calculation steps give that the Eq. (52) has the following roots Note that, when 𝑚7 = 𝑚7 ∗, the first condition of the Hopf bifurcation is satisfied, and then two pure imaginary complex conjugate eigenvalues are arise. These complex conjugate eigenvalues in the vicinity of 𝑚 7 ∗ are adopted the form 𝜆2,3 = 𝛿1(𝑚7) ± 𝑖𝛿2(𝑚7) . As a result, in Eq. (32), substitute 𝜆= 𝛿1(𝑚7) + 𝑖𝛿2(𝑚7) , and then take the derivative with regard to the bifurcation parameter 𝑚7. After comparing the two sides of the appearing equation and equating their real and imaginary components, the following result is obtained: where: Solving the linear system (53), gives that Obviously, we have that 𝛿1(𝑚 7 ∗) = 0 and 𝛿2(𝑚 7 ∗) = √𝐴2(𝑚 7 ∗ ), then the coefficients of Eq. (53) at 𝑚7 = 𝑚7 ∗ become: Π 2 (𝑚 7 ∗ ) = 2𝐴 1 (𝑚 7 ∗ )√𝐴 2 (𝑚 7 ∗ ) , , . Therefore, direct computation gives that Hence, the transversality condition 𝛿1 ′ (𝑚 7 ∗) > 0 is satisfied under the condition (51c). As a result, system (3) experiences Hopf bifurcation at 𝑚7 = 𝑚7 ∗ . 8. NUMERICAL SIMULATION In this part, Matlab is used to solve system (3) numerically. To understand the global dynamics of the system (3) and the implications of varying their parameters, multiple hypothetical sets of parameter values with different initial points are employed. All of the findings are given in the form of phase portraits and time series. The sets of parameters used in this study are given in the table (2). Table 2: Hypothetical sets of parameters: \| parameters \| 𝑚 1 \| 𝑚 2 \| 𝑚 3 \| 𝑚 4 \| 𝑚 5 \| 𝑚 6 \| 𝑚 7 \| 𝑚 8 \| 𝑚 9 \| 𝑚 10 \| 𝑚 11 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Set (1) \| 0.4 \| 4 \| 3 \| 0.9 \| 0.5 \| 0.9 \| 0.8 \| 1 \| 0.1 \| 0.75 \| 0.2 \| The trajectories of system (3) approach asymptotically to the CEP for the set (1), regardless of whether the fear exists or not, as shown in Figures 1b and 1a, respectively. However, raising the first prey's fear rate or decreasing the second prey's fear rate induces extinction in the first prey, and the trajectories of system (3) approach FPYFEP asymptotically, as shown in Figures 1c and 1d, respectively. It is observed that, rising the value of 𝑚3 in the range 𝑚3 > 6.5 leads to approaching to SAEP as shown in Figure 2, for the exemplary value of 𝑚3 = 10. Note that, while condition (20a) is not satisfied and the system has a zero eigenvalue when employing set (1) of data, the SAEP is globally asymptotically stable because condition (20a) is satisfied (20b). Now, varying the parameter 𝑚4 in the range 𝑚4 < 0.8 leads to approach FAEP, while for the range 𝑚4 > 1, the system approaches to FPYFEP as presented in Figures 3a, 3b with 3c respectively for exemplary valuesof 𝑚4. Figures 4a-4b and 4c-4d, show the transferring of the trajectories of system (3) between the FPYFEP and PFEP as the parameter 𝑚6 transfers between the ranges 𝑚6 < 0.8 and 𝑚6 > 0.9, respectively. However, Figures 5a-5b and 6a-6b, demonstrate the existence of stable line of equilibrium point 𝑥+ 𝑦= 1 in the 𝑥𝑦−plane and the asymptotic stability of the system (3) at FAEP when 𝑚7 = 0.9 and 𝑚7 > 0.9, respectively. Now, for the parameters 𝑚8 and 𝑚9 in the ranges 𝑚8 < 0.6 and 𝑚9 > 1.4, it is obtained that the system (3) approaches asymptotically to FPYFEP and SPYFEP as shown in Figures 7a-7b and 8a-8b, respectively. The trajectories of system (3) approach asymptotically to the SAEP when the parameter 𝑤10 is varied in the range 𝑤10 ≤0.4, as shown in Figure 9. When the parameter 𝑤12 is increased above the value of 0.2, the result is similar to that of 𝑤10. While increasing the value of 𝑤11, the value of the predator and the first prey gradually reduces as well, and the trajectories eventually converge to the SAEP. With the preceding in mind, the dynamics of the system (3) are numerically studied utilizing set (2) of data. The goal is to demonstrate that when alternative hypothetical sets of data are used, different sorts of dynamical behavior can be created. However, the theoretical conclusions hold true for a variety of data sets. It is observed that, system (3) undergoes a bi-stability behavior between the FPYFEP and SPYFEP for the set (2) of data, regardless of whether the fear exists or not, as shown in Figures 10b and 10a, respectively. Although the existence of fear does not prevent the bi-stability behavior, it is reduced the populations size due to hiding as anti-predator behavior. However, the presence of fear in either the first or second prey causes extinction in either the first or second prey, and the trajectories of system (3) approach FPYFEP or SPYFEP asymptotically, as shown in Figures 11a-11b and 11c-11d, respectively. 9. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION In this study, in the presence of fear, an ecological model based on a three-species food web with two competing prey and one predator is built. The solution's dynamical properties (stability, persistence, and bifurcation) are studied theoretically. To understand the global dynamics and impacts of modifying the system parameters, numerical simulation of the proposed system is performed using two alternative sets of hypothetical parameter values. The following findings have been presented. 1. The system (3) exhibits a variety of dynamical behaviors depending on the parameter values, including globally asymptotically stable CEP, stable line, bi-stability behavior, periodic, and even chaotic behavior. 2. The system approaches a CEP for an appropriate range of fear rate values in both competing preys. While increasing the fear rate in one of the two competing preys above a certain value causes extinction in that prey due to lack of food and the trajectories approach asymptotically to the opposite planar equilibrium point (see Figure 1). 3. Because the second prey is a stronger competitor than the first prey and represents a preferred food for the predator, rising the environmental safety rate associated with the second prey causes persistence to be lost, and the system's trajectories approach asymptotically to SAEP, as shown in Figure 2. 4. Due to extinction in the predator and first prey as a result of the competitive exclusion principle, decreasing the growth rate of the second prey pushes the trajectories of the system (3) to approach the SAEP, as shown in Figure 3. While increasing the value of this parameter above a certain threshold causes extinction in the first prey, the system's (3) trajectories approach the FPYFEP asymptotically. 5. As illustrated in Figure 4, lowering the intra-specific competition of the second prey below a certain threshold induces extinction in the first prey due to the winning of the second prey in the competition process, and the trajectories then approach the FPYFEP. However, raising the value of this parameter causes extinction in predator species due to the predator's 45 DYNAMICS OF TWO COMPETING PREY-ONE PREDATOR SYSTEM heavy dependence on the second prey for feeding, hence the system's (3) trajectories approach the PFEP. 6. Equating the parameters of growth rate, intra-specific competition, and inter-specific competition of the second prey with one another results in a stable line of PFEPs, as shown in Figure 5. Furthermore, according to set (1) of parameter values, increasing the value of inter-specific competition of second prey causes extinction in second prey and then predator due to the predator's feeding dependency on the second prey. As a result, the system (3)'s trajectories approach FAEP asymptotically, as seen in Figure 6. 7. Reduce the predator's attack rate on the second prey or increase the predator's conversion rate from the first prey yield to the approaching of the trajectories of system (3) to FPYFEP and SPYFEP, respectively, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. 8. Extinction in predator species is caused by lowering the predator's conversion rate from the second prey below a specific value (as shown in Figure 9) or increasing the predator's intra-specific competition, and thus the system's (3) trajectories approach the SAEP. This is due to the fact that the competitive exclusion principle leads to extinction in the first prey as well. 9. For the set (2) of parameter values, Figure 10 shows that system (3) undergoes a bi-stability behavior between the FPYFEP and SPYFEP, regardless of whether the fear exists or not, which indicates the complex dynamics of the system (3). 10. 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IMCES Institute for Multicultural Counseling & Education Services A private non-profit organization, associated with dpi/ngo with ecosoc status of the united nations for human rights· IX. Due Process Philosophy and Purpose Our philosophy is based on the humanistic and existential reality that error is inevitable. Therefore, we accept error and welcome the identification of error along with developing a plan of corrective action, based on the principle of transparency for the benefit of self and others. Our approach is preventative rather than reactive, which leads to punitive action. Our Due Process and Remediation of Problematic Performance is designed to promote professional values, attitudes, and behavior with effective communication and interpersonal skills. The process includes the opportunity to raise awareness and knowledge by providing additional information and education (values, attitudes); facilitating corrective action (behavior); to be implemented through a collaborative structure that supports Residents toward the successful completion of their Resident clinical training program at IMCES (effective communication and interpersonal skills). Our Due Process includes three components: 1) Supporting increased self-awareness, including growth oriented personal therapy, as applicable 2) Increasing knowledge base 3) Infrastructure to monitor and support reaching successful outcome. These would be strategically incorporated on a case-by-case basis with relevancy to address the individual concern. Due process ensures that decisions about Residents are not arbitrary or personally based. It requires that the Training Program identify specific evaluative procedures which are applied to all Residents, and make appropriate appeal procedures available to the postdoctoral Resident. All steps are appropriately implemented and documented. General due process guidelines include: A. Definition of Problematic Performance: Problem behaviors are said to be present when supervisors perceive that a Resident's competence, behavior, attitude, or other characteristic significantly disrupt the quality of his or her clinical services; his or her relationship with peers, supervisors, or other staff; or his or her ability to comply with appropriate standards of professional behavior. It is a matter of professional judgment as to when such behaviors are serious enough to constitute "problematic performance." Of course any violation of law or ethics would certainly be framed as "problematic performance" (e.g., a HIPAA violation in the context of our practice) and would automatically require a formal remediation plan, including probation. B. Informal Staff or Resident Complaints: Supervisory staff and/or Residents are encouraged to seek informal redress of minor complaints directly with the other party, or by using a mentor or the training director as a go-between. Such informal efforts at resolution may involve the Training Director as a point of reference. Failure to resolve issues in this manner may result in a formal performance or behavior complaint or Resident complaint, as the case may be, following the procedures outlined below. Should the matter be unresolved and become a formal issue, the Resident is encouraged to utilize the assigned supervisor, or in the case of conflict of interest, another supervisor, as a consultant throughout the formal process. C. Procedures for Responding to Inadequate Performance: If it is identified that a Resident's skills, professionalism, or personal functioning are problematic, the Clinical Faculty Training Committee, with input from other relevant supervisory staff, initiates the following procedures: A) The negative evaluation(s) will be reviewed with discussion from the Clinical Faculty Training Committee and other supervisors and a determination made as to what action needs to be taken to address the problems identified. B) After reviewing all available information, the Clinical Faculty Training Committee may adopt one or more of the following steps, or take other appropriate action: 1). The Clinical Faculty Training Committee may elect to take no further action. 2). The Clinical Faculty Training Committee directs the supervisor(s) to provide constructive feedback and methods for addressing the identified problem areas. If such efforts are not successful, the issue will be revisited by the Clinical Faculty Training Committee. 3). Where the Clinical Faculty Training Committee deems that remedial action is required, the identified problematic performance or behavior must be systematically addressed. Possible remedial steps include (but are not limited to) the following: a). Increased supervision, either with the same or other supervisors. b). Change in the format, emphasis, and/or focus of supervision. c). Change in or adjunctive training experiences. d). A recommendation that growth oriented personal therapy is undertaken with a clear statement about the issues to be addressed by treatment, such as boundaries, addiction, or poor judgment. e). Recommendations of a leave of absence (with time to be made up at no cost to IMCES). 4). Alternatively, depending upon the gravity of the matter at hand (e.g., a violation of law or ethics, such as a HIPAA or client related violation), the Clinical Faculty Training Committee may issue a formal Remediation Plan which specifies that the committee, through the supervisors and Training Director, will actively and systematically monitor for a specific length of time, the degree to which the Resident addresses, changes, and/or otherwise improves the problem performance or behaviors. The Probation Notice is a written statement to the Resident. The Resident's signature is required; however, in the case of the Resident refusing to sign the Probation Notice, this does not affect the probationary status. The Probation Notice includes the following items: - A description of the problematic performance behavior. - A time frame for the probation during which the problem is expected to be ameliorated. - Specific recommendations for rectifying the problems. 2 - Procedures to assess concurrently whether the problem has been appropriately rectified. 5). Following the delivery of a formal Remediation Plan notice, the Training Director will meet with the Resident to review the required remedial steps. The Resident may elect to accept the conditions or may appeal the Clinical Faculty Training Committee's actions. Once the Clinical Faculty Training Committee has issued an acknowledgement notice of the Remediation Plan, the problem's status will be reviewed within the time frame indicated on the Remediation Plan, or the next formal evaluation, whichever comes first. D. Failure to Correct Problems: When the defined intervention does not rectify the problematic performance within the defined time frame, or when the Resident seems unable or unwilling to alter his or her behavior, the Clinical Faculty Training Committee may need to take further formal action. If a Resident on probation has not improved sufficiently to rectify the problems under the conditions stipulated by the Probation Notice, the Clinical Faculty Training Committee will conduct a formal review and then inform the Resident in writing that the conditions for revoking the probation have not been met. The Committee may then elect to take any of the following steps, or other appropriate action: 1. Continue the Remediation Plan for a specified period of time. 2. Inform the Resident and the Training Director that the Resident will not successfully complete the Resident clinical training program if his/her problematic performance does not change. If by the end of the training year, the Resident has not successfully completed the training requirements, the Clinical Faculty Training Committee may recommend that the Resident be deemed incomplete. The Resident will then be informed that he/she has not successfully completed the program. 3. If problematic behavior continues, supervisors and clinical staff will extend support with the aim of facilitating corrective extension of probationary period with further monitoring and evaluation in a collegial manner in order to reach our expected outcome. If the resident refuses to correct the problematic behavior, the resident's' status remains as an incomplete in their permanent record open for revisiting by resident's choice and willingness to effectively rectify the issue. All of the above steps will be appropriately implemented and documented in ways that are consistent with due process. In addition, we are open to receiving feedback from Residents based on the same philosophy to make the needed appropriate adjustments in our conducting of the training program. The Resident will be asked to sign a Due Process document, in which his/her signature is required, which affirms that he/she has read and understood the Due Process and Remediation of Problematic Performance. All communications related to due process are confidential and the only individuals involved are the resident, the Clinical Faculty Training Committee, and the Program Director. X. Postdoctoral Grievance Resolution Procedure 3 Grievance Procedure Philosophy and Purpose: We recognize that human error is inevitable. Accordingly, we are open to receiving feedback from Postdoctoral Residents to make the appropriate adjustments in conducting the Postdoctoral Resident training program. The aim of our grievance resolution policy is to create a collaborative, coordinated problem-solving professional environment. Grievances Defined In the event a Postdoctoral Resident encounters any difficulties or problems during his/her training experiences, a resident may file a grievance about any supervisor, staff, faculty member or the structure of the program to obtain an independent review. The following procedures are to be followed: Step One: Informal Approach: The resident may initiate an informal way of pointing out their concerns, opinion/feedback. Residents are encouraged to seek informal resolution of minor grievances or complaints directly with the other party, or by using a supervisor or the training director as a go-between. Opportunities for informal resolution include ongoing individual and group supervision, multidisciplinary team meetings, and other peer supported program meetings. Such informal efforts at resolution may also involve the Training Director as the final point of reference. Should the matter be unresolved and become a formal issue, the Resident is encouraged to utilize the assigned supervisor, or in the case of conflict of interest, another supervisor, as a consultant in proceeding with a formal grievance process. Formal Resident Complaints or Grievance Process: This grievance policy for postdoctoral Resident complaints outlines formal procedures for resolving grievances of postdoctoral Residents at IMCES. This grievance procedure is designed to supplement, not to replace, the routine and informal methods of responding to and providing sensible intervention/resolution in a preventative manner. i. Resident discusses the issue with their supervisors; ii. Resident's supervisors discuss the issue with the Clinical Training Faculty Committee. iii. If the issue cannot be resolved by the Clinical Training Faculty Committee, the Postdoctoral 4 Resident may request in writing to the Clinical Training Director and to request a resolution to the problem. The Postdoctoral Resident will provide all supporting documents to the Clinical Training Director. iv. The Clinical Training Director will assign within 5 working days a committee including the IMCES Program Manager, supervisors and one other clinical staff member chosen by the Postdoctoral Resident. Within 14 working days of a grievance, the Clinical Training Director will make a final decision and will announce the formal decision to the Resident. Petition of Resident to Grievance Decision by Clinical Training Director: In the event there is need of a review of the grievance beyond the Training Director, IMCES's Advisory Committee comprised of Supervisors, Faculty, and Professionals from the community would be called on to serve as consultants. XI. Maintenance of Records Each Resident completes three self-evaluations, in addition to the supervisor's completed formal evaluations. All eight evaluations are maintained by the Supervisor in a confidential location within IMCES. Each supervisor maintains records in individual binders of all requirements: The signed document that the Resident understands the policies, procedures, and expectations as described above * The IMCES Resident Evaluation Record, marking the completion of requirements such as a research project * Records evaluating case presentations * Copies of Supervised Professional Experience (SPE) logs * Supervisory Documentation * Copies of notes taken during Clinical Supervision These binders are maintained with each supervisor and are used for final determinations of program successful completion in a confidential, secure location and are submitted to the Training Director for permanent maintenance in a confidential location. The program will maintain information and records of all formal complaints and grievances against the program, of which it is aware, filed against the program and/or against individuals associated with the program since its last accreditation site visit. These records will be made available to the Commission on Accreditation to examine as part of its periodic review of programs. 5
Berberine induces apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway in liver cancer cells NOVIA K.Y. YIP and W.S. HO School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, P.R. China Received January 23, 2013; Accepted April 4, 2013 DOI: 10.3892/or.2013.2543 Abstract. Current chemotherapeutic strategies for liver cancer have limitations. Thus, the demand for complementary medicine is warranted. We evaluated the antitumor potential of berberine, a naturally bioactive phytochemical from Coptis chinensis Franch against Huh7 cancer cells and WRL68 liver cells. The antitumor activity of berberine was evaluated by flow cytometry. The caspase-dependent pathway was assessed using western blot analysis. Results showed that berberine induced the apoptosis of liver cancer cells through procaspase-9, and its effector caspases, procaspase-3 and procaspase-7. Flow cytometry revealed that berberine caused cell cycle arrest at the M/G1 phase. The results of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction showed that berberine increased the expression of Bax, which resulted in the activation of the caspase cascade. The present findings demonstrated that berberine induces the apoptosis of Huh7 cells via the mitochondrial pathway. the risk of liver cancer (4). Alcohol-associated cirrhosis and possibly non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are believed to be related to obesity and are the leading causes of liver cancer (5). However, current chemotherapeutic strategies have serious limitations and yield undesirable side effects. Moreover, no vaccine is available for HCV. Preventive strate gies against HCV and complementary medicine are needed to reduce the number of cancer deaths. Previous studies have reported the pharmacological properties of Coptis chinensis Franch formulation for the treatment of various liver disorders and its major constituent triterpenoids (6-8). One of the major constituent phytochemi cals was demonstrated to exhibit marked anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects on cancer cells. However, the details of its mechanisms are lacking. Introduction Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the seventh most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide (1). Among primary liver cancers occurring worldwide, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the major histological type, which accounts for 70-85% of cases (2). Half of the liver cancer cases and deaths were estimated to occur in China for both men and women (1). The high HCC rate in China and in developing countries largely reflects the elevated prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, with over 8% of the populations in these regions chronically infected with the virus (3). Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection accounts for 33% of the total liver cancer cases in developing countries, and for 20% in developed countries. Interaction of aflatoxin B (AFB) exposure and chronic HBV infection is known to increase Correspondence to: Professor W.S. Ho, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, P.R. China E-mail: email@example.com Key words: berberine, apoptosis, Huh7, anti-proliferative, caspase cascade In the present study, the Huh7 liver cancer cell line and the WRL68 normal liver cell line were used to study the antitumor activity of berberine from Coptis chinensis Franch, which is commonly used in combination with other herbs for the treatment of various diseases. Additionally, the mode of action of berberine in the Huh7 cell line was investigated. Materials and methods Chemicals and reagents. Berberine chloride was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Inc. (China), and Dulbecco's phosphatebuffered saline (DPBS), fetal bovine serum (FBS), a penicillin/ streptomycin antibiotic solution (PS), Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI)-1640 medium, and Trypsin-EDTA (1X) were purchased from Invitrogen Life Technologies (Carlsbad, CA, USA). Minimal essential medium (MEM) was purchased from ATCC (Manassas, VA, USA). 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and sodium bicarbonate were obtained from Sigma Chemicals (St. Louis, MO, USA). Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was purchased from Fisher Scientific Inc. (Rockford, IL, USA). The Millex-GP filter (0.22-µm) was purchased from Millipore (Billerica, MA, USA). Tissue culture flasks (75-cm 2 ) were ordered from Corning, USA. Ninety 6-well microplates were purchased from Iwaki. Culture dishes (100-mm) were purchased from Greiner Bio-One (Germany). Cell treatment. WRL68 liver cells and Huh7 liver cancer cells were grown in RPMI-1640 with 10% FBS. Cells were suspended with fresh complete medium (5 ml) and were centrifuged at 600 x g for 3 min. The cell pellets were washed with 1 ml of DPBS before centrifugation at 600 x g for 3 min. Cells were transferred to a new 75-cm 2 culture flask with 12 ml of complete medium. The flask was stored in a 37˚C incubator supplied with 5% carbon dioxide before use. MTT assay. Huh7 and WRL68 cells (1x10 6 ) were seeded onto a 96-well plate overnight prior to incubation with various concentrations of berberine for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. MTT solution (20 µl) was added to each well, and the plate was maintained at 37˚C with 5% carbon dioxide for 4 h. After incubation, the plate was dried. DMSO (200 µl) was added to dissolve the purple formazan formed in the assay prior to measurement of absorbance at 540 nm. The IC50 value was determined. Detection of apoptosis by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) Annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) co-staining. Huh7 cells were treated according to the manufacturer's protocol. Cells were treated with different concentrations of berberine for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Following berberine treatment, cells were harvested with trypsin and stained according to the BD Pharmingen™ FITC Annexin V staining protocol. The stained cells were analyzed using a FACSCanto™ instrument. Data were analyzed with software FlowJo 7.6.1. Gene expression in berberine-induced apoptotic cells. Total RNA was extracted using the RNeasy mini kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer's protocol. First-strand cDNA was synthesized using 1 µg of total RNA using the Transcriptor First Strand cDNA Synthesis kit (Roche Diagnostics). Anchored-oligo(dT)18 primer was used in the template-master mix. Experimental cocktail was prepared as recommended by RT2 Profiler™ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array system pathway-focused gene expression profiling using real-time PCR protocol. Western blot analysis of gene expression in berberinetreated cells. Huh7 cells (1x10 6 ) were seeded onto a 100-mm culture dish overnight prior to incubation with berberine. Following the incubation of cells with berberine for 72 h, cell lysates were extracted using whole cell lysis buffer. The protein concentration was determined by the DC protein assay (Bio-Rad). The protein was transferred onto a PVDF membrane (Pall Corp.). The blots were treated with blocking solution (5%) for 1 h, and were probed with a specific primary antibody with 5% non-fat milk powder in TBST at 4˚C overnight. After washing with TBST, the blots were treated with the specific HRP-linked secondary antibody for 1 h and were washed thrice. Proteins were detected using Rodeo™ ECL western blotting reagents (USB, Cleveland, OH, USA) according to the manufacturer's protocol. Caspase cascade in berberine-treated cells. Cells were treated with different concentrations of berberine for 72 h. Apo-ONE ® Homogeneous Caspase-3/7 assay was performed according to the 'Promega Technical Bulletin-Apo-ONE ® Homogeneous Caspase-3/7 assay instructions for use of prod ucts G7790, G7791 and G7792'. The plate was incubated and shaken at room temperature for 2 h. The fluorescence of each well was measured (excitation wavelength, 485 nm; emission wavelength, 520 nm). Cell cycle analysis of Huh7 cells. Cells were harvested with trypsin after berberine treatment and washed with cold DPBS twice. Cells were collected by centrifugation and re-suspended in cold 70% (w/v) ethanol at a concentration of 1x10 6 cells/ml for 24 h before being washed by cold DPBS. Cells were re-suspended with 400 µl of PI solution and transferred to a 5-ml polystyrene round-bottom tube at 25˚C in the dark for 15 min prior to analysis by BD FACSCanto™ flow cytometer. Statistical analysis. FACSDiva™ software was used to operate the BD FACSCanto™ flow cytometer. Experimental data were captured and were analyzed by FlowJo 7.6.1. The percentage of cell populations in the G1, G2 and S phases of the cell cycle was recorded. The experiment was performed three times. The ratios of cells in the G0/G1, intra-S and G2/M phases were expressed as means ± SD. Results Berberine induces apoptosis of hepatocellular cells. Effects of berberine on the viability of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells (Fig. 1) and normal liver cells (Fig. 2) were evalu ated by the MTT assay. The IC50 for Huh7 was 10 µM while the IC50 for WRL68 cells was 100 µM berberine following a Table I. IC50 (µM) values for Huh7 and WRL68 liver cell lines after incubation with berberine for different time periods. 72-h treatment. Table I summarizes the IC50 values of the two cell lines after berberine treatment. Apoptosis of HCC cell lines was detected by the BD Pharmingen™ FITC Annexin V Apoptosis Detection Kit I. The results demonstrated that berberine induced the cell death of Huh7 cells. The results showed that cell viability of Huh7 cells was reduced after 24, 48 and 72 h of incubation with berberine (Fig. 3). The percentage of apoptotic cells increased with the increase in berberine concentration. The results showed that berberine induced the apoptosis of Huh7 cells. Gene expression profile in the berberine-treated cells. Gene expression profile in the HCC cell line was assessed by PCR array and real-time PCR. PCR array was used to profile the gene expression in the Huh7 cells. Real-time PCR was used for the quantitative measurement of gene expression in the berberine-treated HCC cells. PCR array was used as a preliminary screening proce dure for genes that were significantly affected by berberine (Fig. 4). The relative gene expression levels in the cell samples were plotted against the control in a scatter plot using the program provided by the manufacturer. The middle line indicates relative fold changes. The left and right lines indicate the fold-change in gene expression threshold, which was defined as 3-fold. Outliers of the left line were found to be genes upregulated by at least 3-fold, which included BCL2, BCL2L1, CASP14, CD40, CIDEA, FASLG, GADD45A, HRK, LTA, TNFRSF10A, TNFRSF10B, CD27, TNFRSF9 and CD70. The outlier of the right line was BCLAF1, which was downregulated by at least 3-fold. Bax, Bid, CIDEA, HRK and p21 were found to be upregulated by berberine in a dose-dependent manner, while AKT and Bcl-2 were found to be downregulated by berberine in a dose-dependent manner. The gene expression of survivin decreased with the increase in berberine concentration. The gene expression of Bcl-2, CIDEA and HRK was validated by real-time PCR (Fig. 5). The real-time PCR results corroborated with the PCR array analysis in regards to the CIDEA gene. Caspase cascade and the cell cycle distribution in the berberine-treated Huh7 cell line. The caspase cascade was evaluated by SDS-PAGE (Fig. 6) and western blot analysis (Fig. 7). The expression of Bcl-2 protein family members including Bcl-2 and Bid, and PARP and PCNA was altered following treatment with berberine (Fig. 8). Cell cycle analysis showed that there was an increase in the G1 cell population with an increase in the concentration of berberine, suggesting that berberine caused G1 phase cell cycle arrest in the Huh7 cells. The cell cycle distribution was Figure 5. RT-PCR analysis indicates that berberine modulates gene expression in Huh7 cells. Total RNA from berberine-treated and untreated Huh7 cells was extracted after 72 h of incubation, and cDNA was synthesized from the total RNA. Real-time PCR was carried out according to the manufacturer's protocol. Bax, Bid, CIDEA, HRK and p21 genes were found to be upregulated while AKT and Bcl-2 were found to be downregulated by berberine in a dose-dependent manner. The gene expression of survivin decreased with the increase in berberine concentration. The data represent the means ± SD of three individual experiments ( ** P<0.01). investigated at three time points: 24, 48 and 72 h, respec tively (Fig. 9). Fig. 9A and B shows that there was a slight increase in the percentage of cells in the G1 phase with an increase in berberine concentration. Fig. 9B-D reveals that the percentage of cells in the G1 phase following treatment with 5, 10 and 20 µM increased by 10% compared with the percentage of cells in the control without berberine treatment. The distribu tion of the cell cycle is shown in Fig. 10. Discussion Berberine was found to reduce the cell viability of Huh7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. It exhibited a relatively reduced effect on normal liver cells. The results suggest that berberine exhibited differential effects on normal and cancer cells. The difference in inhibitory activities suggests that berberine initi ates a different signaling process in normal and cancer cells. FITC Annexin V and PI co-staining revealed that The Cide family is known as the inhibitory subunits of endonucleases, cleavage of which is induced by downstream caspases (9). The results support the notion that berberine induced the apoptosis of cancer cells. Fig. 5 shows that Bax, Bid, CIDEA, HRK and p21 were upregulated, while AKT and Bcl-2 were downregulated in Huh7 cells following treatment with berberine. The change in the gene expression profile suggests that berberine induced the apoptosis of Huh7 cells through their intrinsic pro-apoptotic activity which was reported to be associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in cell death (9). The p21 protein is known to serve as a regulator of cell cycle progression at the G1 phase (10). The increase in p21 gene expression (Fig. 6) suggests that p21 regulated the cell cycle progression following treatment with berberine. The AKT protein was reported to participate in the regula tion of tumor cell survival and proliferation by stabilizing p21 protein (11). Bcl-2 gene expression was decreased in the present study. The results suggest that berberine inhibited the gene expression of the Bcl-2 gene in the HCC cells. An increased gene expression of Bid implies an increased protein expression of Bid in the cytosol. It was reported that survivin is an anti-apoptosis gene expressed in cancer and lymphoma (12,13). The present results indicate that survivin negatively regulated apoptosis by inhibiting caspase activation. The findings demonstrated that berberine may inhibit survivin gene expression in Huh7 cells. The real-time PCR results agreed with the PCR array analysis regarding the HRK gene, which was reported to be inhibited by Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL (13). Previous studies have reported that increased Bcl-2 protein expression causes resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation therapy, while decreasing Bcl-2 expression promotes apoptosis induced by anticancer drugs (10). The results reflect the fact that an overexpression of Bcl-2 may cause accumulation of cells in the G0 phase of the cell cycle distri bution, resulting in chemoresistance (14). The present findings provide experimental evidence that berberine modulated the protein expression of Bcl-2 associated with caspase-3/7 activi ties in HCC cells. Higher caspase-3/7 activities were observed in Huh7 cells. It has been reported that cytochrome c interacts with Apaf-1, which activates caspase-9 (15). The effector caspases, caspase-7 and caspase-3, are downstream targets of caspase-9. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a well-known downstream target of active caspase-3 (16). PARP was reported to produce poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of nuclear proteins with NAD as a substrate. PARP is inactivated by cleavage. The present findings demonstrated that the protein expression of full-length PARP decreased while the cleaved form increased. Since berberine decreased the protein expres sion of procaspase-9 and its downstream effector caspases, procaspase-3 and procaspase-7, it is possible that berberine cleaves caspase-9, caspase-3 and caspase-7. Cleaved caspases become active executioners of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. The protein expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was found to be downregulated by berberine in Huh7 cells. The experimental results indicate that as the expression of PCNA was reduced by berberine, fewer cells were able to repair damaged DNA. berberine caused apoptosis in Huh7 HCC cells (Fig. 3). The results suggest that berberine may halt HCC cells from dividing, thereby prohibiting deregulated cell prolif eration and demonstrate that berberine inhibits the growth of HCC cells by inducing the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, and by arresting the cell cycle at the G1/S phase. Berberine induces apoptotic events in HCC cells through procaspase-9, and its effector caspases, procaspase-3 and procaspase-7. Our findings revealed that berberine possesses potent anticancer activity in human hepatocellular carcinoma. Acknowledgements This study was supported by Tissue Mgfy Ltd. through grant no. 6903292. References 1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Xu J and Ward E: Cancer statistics, 2010. CA Cancer J Clin 60: 277-300, 2010. 3. Campo RA, Rowland JH, Irwin ML, Nathan PC, Gritz ER and Kinney AY: Cancer prevention after cancer: changing the paradigm - a report from the American Society of Preventive Oncology. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 20: 2317-2324, 2011. 2. Perz JF, Armstrong GL, Farrington LA, Hutin YJ and Bell BP: The contributions of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections to cirrhosis and primary liver cancer worldwide. J Hepatol 45: 529-538, 2006. 4. Parkin DM: The global health burden of infection-associated cancers in the year 2002. Int J Cancer 118: 3030-3044, 2006. 6. Mahata S, Bharti AC, Shukla S, Tyagi A, Husain SA and Das BC: Berberine modulates AP-1 activity to suppress HPV transcription and downstream signaling to induce growth arrest and apoptosis in cervical cancer cells. Mol Cancer 10: 39, 2011. 5. El-Serag HB: Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in USA. Hepatol Res 37 (Suppl 2): S88-S94, 2007. 7. Luo Y, Hao Y, Shi TP, Deng WW and Li N: Berberine inhibits cyclin D1 expression via suppressed binding of AP-1 transcrip tion factors to CCND1 AP-1 motif. Acta Pharmacol Sin 29: 628-633, 2008. 9. Ghobrial IM, Witzig TE and Adjei AA: Targeting apoptosis pathways in cancer therapy. CA Cancer J Clin 55: 178-194, 2005. 8. Wu HL, Hsu CY, Liu WH and Yung BY: Berberine-induced apoptosis of human leukemia HL-60 cells is associated with down-regulation of nucleophosmin/B23 and telomerase activity. Int J Cancer 81: 923-929, 1999. 10. Luo Y, Hurwitz J and Massagué J: Cell-cycle inhibition by inde pendent CDK and PCNA binding domains in p21Cip1. Nature 375: 159-161, 1995. 12. Ambrosini G, Adida C and Altieri DC: A novel anti-apoptosis gene, survivin, expressed in cancer and lymphoma. Nat Med 3: 917-921, 1997. 11. Li Y, Dowbenko D and Lasky LA: AKT/PKB phosphorylation of p21 Cip/WAF1 enhances protein stability of p21 Cip/WAF1 and promotes cell survival. J Biol Chem 277: 11352-11361, 2002. 13. Inohara N, Ding L, Chen S and Núñez G. harakiri, a novel regulator of cell death, encodes a protein that activates apoptosis and interacts selectively with survival-promoting proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L). EMBO J 16: 1686-1694, 1997. 15. Earnshaw WC, Martins LM and Kaufmann SH: Mammalian caspases: structure, activation, substrates, and functions during apoptosis. Ann Rev Biochem 68: 383-424, 1999. 14. Reed JC: Bcl-2 family proteins: regulators of apoptosis and chemoresistance in hematologic malignancies. Semin Hematol 34: 9-19, 1997. 16. Boulares AH, Yakovlev AG, Ivanova V, Stoica BA, Wang G, Iyer S and Smulson M: Role of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage in apoptosis. Caspase 3-resistant PARP mutant increases rates of apoptosis in transfected cells. J Biol Chem 274: 22932-22940, 1999.
Medical Image Encryption by Using Modification of SomdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique Al Farissi Informatics Engineering Sriwijaya University Palembang, Indonesia firstname.lastname@example.org AgungWahyuNugroho Informatics Engineering Sriwijaya University Palembang, Indonesia email@example.com MegahMulya Informatics Engineering Sriwijaya University Palembang, Indonesia firstname.lastname@example.org Abstract—The rapid growth of technology led the security of data becomes a very important issue, in particular data on medical field. Therefore the security of data need to be considered. This research will focus on the security of medical image. The appropriate technologies to increase the security of medical image is the image encryption. This research, applied a technique that can encrypt a medical image, it is SompdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique. This technique has three phases, namely Bits Rotation and Reversal, Extended Hill Cipher and Modified MSA Randomization. This research was also conducted on a modification of the stage Extended Hill Cipher that produces a better result so that the security of medical data will be increased. Keywords— Medical Image, Image Encryption, Modification, SD-AEI, Hill Cipher; I. INTRODUCTION With growing technology, data security becomes a very important issue. In an article written by the New England Journal of Medicine states that, often occurs theft of data in medical section [5]. Therefore, the security of data in the medical section requires special attention. The image is part of the medical data that will need security. Image is a visual representation of something that contains information. It contrasts with the text, the image has own its uniqueness because in an image can have a lot of information. The images in the medical section are very secret images and not everyone should know about it. For example, x ray images of brain cancer. Therefore, an application that can encrypt with strong technique is needed. So that images are safe while in storage. Referring to the problems described above, the main objective of this research is to improve security of image in the medical section. Encryption for digital image is the best approach used to resolve this problem [4]. By using encryption, confidentiality of medical digital images will be protected when stored in storage. In this research, the techniquesthat may beappropriateto use is SomdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique [2] It is a technique developed by SomdipDey by combining the three methods namely Bit rotation and reversal, Extended Hill cipher and Modified MSA Randomization [2]. But after doing research this technique has the disadvantage, namely if the key used when the decryption is almost the same as the original key, then the original image is almost visible so that the technique is modified. The modifications that have been done produces better results and resolve problems that occur in the method before modified. The technique, SompdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique, which is used to encrypt the images follows the following algorithm: Stage-1: Bits rotation and reversal method based on password Stage-2: The Extended Hill Cipher technique for Image Encryption.(Modification) Stage-3: Modified MSA Randomization Fig 1. Block Diagram of SompdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique Input Image Bits Rotation and Reversal Extended Hill Cipher Modified MSA Randomization Output Image Password / Key Involutory Matrix Generating Unique Code Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 modification II. ALGORITHM OF SOMPDIP DEY ADVANCED ENCRYPTION MAGE TECHNIQUE 1) BITS ROTATION AND REVERSAL Bits Rotation and Reversal process is the first stage of the technique used in this study. At this stage, the value of each 396 pixel is 24 bits divided into three colours. Key length used for rotation and reversal. Each 8-bit color that has passed this step must unite again to the value of 24-bit pixels then change that occur for the value of each pixel of the input image, because bits rotation and reversal generate an encrypted image. Example: 11000101 ← Example of the value of a color ―Sandi‖ ← Example of key with length 5 characters LR = 5 mod 7 LR = 5 = 11000101 = 10111000 =00011101 ← Bit rotation and inversion results 2) EXTENDED HILL CIPHER Extended Hill Cipher process is the second stage of the technique used in this research. At this stage there are three steps that will be passed are: Step 1: An Involutory Matrix 4x4 is formed by using a key[1][3]To generate an Involutory Matrix, minimum length of alphanumeric password should be four. Step 2 (Modification): Value of each row of pixels is converted into binary numbers. Binary rearranged in reverse order. After that, the binary number is converted again into a decimal number. Therefore, the value of each pixel will change because the value of bits per pixel has been reversed. And it is also done with the columns of the input image. Example: TABLE I EXAMPLE OF PIXELS IN DECIMAL FORM \| 11 \| 12 \| 13 \| 14 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 21 \| 22 \| 23 \| 24 \| \| 31 \| 32 \| 33 \| 34 \| \| 41 \| 42 \| 43 \| 44 \| TABLE II TABLE OF PIXELS THAT HAVE CHANGED IN BINARY FORM \| 001011 \| 001100 \| 001101 \| 001110 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 010101 \| 010110 \| 010111 \| 011000 \| \| 011111 \| 100000 \| 100001 \| 100010 \| TABLE III TABLE OF PIXELS THAT HAVE BEEN REVERSE BY ROW \| 011100 \| 101100 \| 001100 \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 000110 \| 111010 \| 011010 \| \| 010001 \| 100001 \| 000001 \| \| 001101 \| 110101 \| 010101 \| 397 TABLE IV TABLE OF PIXELS THAT HAVE BEEN RETURN IN DECIMAL FORM \| 28 \| 44 \| 12 \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 6 \| 58 \| 26 \| \| 17 \| 33 \| 1 \| \| 13 \| 53 \| 21 \| TABLE V TABLE OF PIXEL BINARY WITH THE NEW VALUE \| 011100 \| 101100 \| 001100 \| 110100 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 000110 \| 111010 \| 011010 \| 101010 \| \| 010001 \| 100001 \| 000001 \| 111110 \| \| 001101 \| 110101 \| 010101 \| 100101 \| TABLE VI TABLE OF PIXELS THAT HAVE BEEN REVERSED BY THE COLUMN \| 101100 \| 101011 \| 101010 \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| 100010 \| 100001 \| 100000 \| \| 011000 \| 010111 \| 010110 \| \| 001110 \| 001101 \| 001100 \| TABLE VII TABLE OF PIXELS FOR FINAL DECIMAL \| 34 \| 33 \| 32 \| 31 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 24 \| 23 \| 22 \| 21 \| \| 14 \| 13 \| 12 \| 11 \| In the second step of the Extended Hill Cipher stage can be analysed that when the number of bits carried rearrangements in reverse on every row, then the resulting value will be changed completely from the original value and when the number of bits carried rearrangements in reverse on each column of pixels, then the value will be returned to original, only pixel values will switch positions. So from the analysis conducted when rearrangements of bits in reverse only done on row then it will produce better images encrypted and in this research will only apply a reversal on the row. Step 3:The results of step 2 the image is processed again with Involutory Matrix[1][3] that was created in step 1 to get the final result of the Extended Hill Cipher method. 3) MODIFIED MSA RANDOMIZATION The Modified MSA Randomization process is the last process in the Sompdip Day Advanced Encryption Image Technique. At this stage, the whole image is broken down into a number of blocks of the image and then randomization technique is applied to each block of the image file. After randomization method is complete, each block is written in the output file as a final encrypted image. Modified MSA Randomization algorithm involves the following steps: Step-1: Function Cycling() Step-2: Function Upshift() Step-3: Function Rightshift() Step-4: Function Left Diagonal Randomization() Step-5: Function Cycling() for ―code‖ number of times Step-6: Function Downshift() Step-7: Function Leftshift() Step-8: Function Right Diagonal Randomization() In Cycling, upshift, Rightshift, and Left Diagonal Randomization functions are repeated n times depending on the value of the unique code generated from the key. To find out how to generate a unique code will be explained below 4) GENERATING UNIQUE CODE This step is needed to generate a unique code from the key (symmetric key) that is used in the Modified MSA Randomization stage to encrypt and decrypt the image file. The code generated from the key or key is case sensitive because to generate a unique code the steps are manipulating every bit key so that if there is the slightest change then the result would be different. Forexample, if P1 P2 P3...Plenisthe characterofthe key wherekey lengthstartingfrom1,2,3,4...len. First stepis to multiply2byiwhere i isthe position ofthe characterkey. Allthe characters in the keyhave beenchanged toan ASCII value. Dothis stepuntilall charactersis complete. And then addall ofthemultiplicationresultsintoanumber. Afteradded, the value isseparatedintoeach characterandeach charactervalueis addedagainto becomethe newnumber. Example of key: AbC P1= A = 65 P2= b = 98 P3= C = 67 N = 652 (1) + 982 (2) + 67*2 (3) = 1058 Unique Code = 1 + 0 + 5 + 8 = 14 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS After testing in encryption and decryption process by using image with any resolution. And also after testing on the technique that has been modified so that the results obtained are quite different from the techniques prior to modification.Includingthe simulation time that required technique which has been modified faster than techniques that have not been modified and when the decryption process on techniques that have not been modified using a key which is almost same as original key, the original image is almost visible while on a technique that has been modified is not visible at all.Further information about the results of the 398 above test will be described in the following tableVIII which testing table of Image 1000 x 998 pixels. TABLE VIII TESTING TABLE OF IMAGE \| Image \| K e y \| Histogram \| Time Process \| Information \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| - \| \| - \| The original image that has not done the encryption process \| \| \| S a n d i \| \| 22.854 seconds \| Encrypted image by using the key ―sandi‖ \| \| \| S a n d i \| \| 16.414 seconds \| Encrypted image from the techniques that have been modified using the key ―sandi‖ \| \| \| 1 2 3 4 5 \| \| 21.276 seconds \| Image of decryption result with any key namely ―12345‖ \| \| \| 1 2 3 4 5 \| \| 15.465 seconds \| Image of decryption result from techniques that have been modified by using any key namely ―12345‖ \| \| \| S a n d \| \| 21.477 seconds \| Image of decryption result by using a key that is almost the same as the real key namely ―sand‖ \| \| \| S a n d \| \| 15.642 seconds \| Image of decryption result from the techniques that have been modified by using a key that is almost the same as the real key namely ―sand‖ \| TABLE IX ENCRYPTIONQUALITYTESTING. In this study also tested the quality of the image encryption by using The Maximum Deviation Measuring Factor (MDF), The Correlation Coefficient Measuring Factor (CCF) and The Irregular Deviation Measuring Factor (IDF)[5]. At the MDF technique if the results is large then the quality encryption is better, at the CCF technique if the result is close to zero then the quality encryption is better, while in the IDF technique if the results is small then the quality encryption is better. Fig. 2 Comparison Chart of Encryption Time Before and After Modification IV. COMPARISON WITH OTHER ENCRYPTION TECHNIQUES The technique that have not been modified namely SompdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique proposed in this paper, is compared with other encryption techniques like SompdipDey Encryption Image (SD-EI)[6], MSA and TTJSA [7]. TABLE 4 shows the difference between SD-AEI encryption technique and other encryption techniques on the basis of time taken to encrypt/decrypt and the encryption processes were executed using ―sandi‖ as password. TABLE X TIME TAKEN TO ENCRYPT/DECRYPT IN SECONDS (SECS) \| Image Size \| SompdipDe y Encryption image \| SompdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique \| MSA \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 512 B \| 2 \| 2 \| 1 \| \| 1 KB \| 2 \| 3 \| 2 \| 399 \| 512 KB \| 4 \| 5 \| 3 \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| 1 MB \| 6 \| 6 \| 5 \| V. CONCLUSION Here, based on the analysis, implementation and testing that has been done in this study, it can be concluded as follows: 1. After testing, a modified technique has several advantages including the time it takes to process faster, and when decryption process done on a technique that has not been modified using key almost the same with key that was used when encryption process then the original image almost looks while when done the technique has been modified original image is not visible at all. 2. When performingencryptionordecryptionprocessby usingthe exact sameinput datathen thetime requiredwillnotalways be the samebecause itdependsonthe condition ofthe computer. 3. The larger the image resolution then comparison time between technique has been modified with original technique getting away as shown in Figure 2. 4. Security of medical digital images was increased by applying SompdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique but when applying SompdipDey Advanced Encryption Image Technique that has been modified medical digital image security would be more increased compared with techniques that have not been modified REFERENCES [1] Bibhudendra. A., Panigrahy. S. K., Patra. S. K. andPanda. G., ―Image Encryption Using Advanced Hill Cipher Algorithm‖, International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering, Vol.1, No. 1, May 2009, pp. 663-667. [2] Dey, S, ―SD-AEI: An advanced encryption technique for images,‖ Digital Information Processing and Communications (ICDIPC), 2012 Second International Conference on, 10-12 July 2012 2012a. 68-73. [3] Saroj K. P,Acharya. B. andJena. D, ―ImageEncryption Using SelfInvertible Key Matrix of Hill Cipher Algorithm‖,1stInternational Conference on Advances in Computing, Chikhli, India,21-22 February 2008. [4] Yicong, Z., Panetta, K. andAgaian, S, ―A lossless encryption method for medical images using edge maps,‖ Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2009. EMBC 2009. Annual International Conference of the IEEE, 3-6 Sept. 2009 2009. 3707-3710. [5] (2013) The NEJM website. [Online]. Available: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1215258 [6] Dey, S, ―SD-EI: A Cryptographic Technique To Encrypt Images‖,Proceedings of ―The International Conference on Cyber Security,CyberWarfare and Digital Forensic (CyberSec 2012)‖, held at KualaLumpur, Malaysia, 2012, pp. 28-32. [7] Nath, A, Chatterjee, T, Das T, Nath J andShayanDey, ―Symmetric key cryptosystem using combined cryptographicalgorithms - Generalized modified Vernam Cipher method, MSAmethod and NJJSAA method: TTJSA algorithm‖, Proceedings of―Information and Communication Technologies (WICT), 2011 ― held atMumbai, 11th – 14th Dec, 2011, Pages:1175-1180.
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All the "endowed," both good and evil, have supernatural powers that are used in the fight. Charlie Bone and the Red Knight by Jenny Nimmo Charlie Bone and the Red Knight Also look out for The Snow Spider trilogy. 'Dark, funny, crackling with magic' ‒ author Artemis Cooper on Midnight for Charlie Bone 'A fast moving, dialogue driven romp with plenty of cliff-hangers for those first hooked into reading by Harry Potter' ‒ Bookseller on Midnight for Charlie Bone Charlie Bone and the Red Knight: Amazon.co.uk: Nimmo ... The eighth and final instalment of the international best-selling series from Jenny Nimmo starring Charlie Bone. The Bloors are gathering their evil forces - thieves, poisoners, kidnappers, swindlers and even murderers from Piminy Street. Charlie Bone and the Red Knight ¦ The Works Charlie Bone is the protagonist of the series. Through his father, he is descended from the Red King and through his mother, from Mathonwy, a Welsh magician and friend of the Red King. 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Charlie appears at several points over the course of Timoken's journey through Africa and into Europe. The two boys become good friends. Though Timoken asks him, Charlie refuses to tell him about the future. Leopards' Gold. Petrello witnesses one of Charlie's secret visits in the Red Castle, and is given a chance to meet him. Charlie Bone ¦ Charlie Bone Wiki ¦ Fandom Charlie Bone and the Beast is a fun and quick read. A few new characters added some fun to the mix with Katya Kettle and Dagbert Endless, whose father is a figure from Cook's past. The interesting addition here are the stone animators and their connection to the past. Charlie Bone and the Beast Children of the Red King ... In the fifth book in Jennie Nimmo's Children of the Red King series, odd things are happening in Charlie Bone's neighborhood. First there is an odd snowstorm and then all the animals disappear. 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Charlie Bone has a special gift- he can hear people in photographs talking.The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor's Academy. Charlie Bone has discovered an unusual gift-he can hear people in photographs talking! His scheming aunts decide to send Read Free Charlie Bone And The Red Knight Children Of King 8 Jenny Nimmo him to Bloor Academy, a school for genius's where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead. Over 3.4 million Charlie Bone books in print!!!Charlie's power is taking on a new dimension as he meets a new cast of characters, including Mr. Pilgrim's replacement, Tantalus Ebony, and the mysterious new student Joshua Tilpin, who appears to be magnetic. But Charlie isn't the only one dealing with changes . . . 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It looks like Charlie's only hope might be the mysterious Red Knight. But who is he? And can he help Charlie defeat the Bloors once and for all? Have you collected all of the Charlie Bone series? Midnight for Charlie Bone Charlie Bone and the Time Twister Charlie Bone and the Blue Boa Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors Charlie Bone and the Hidden King Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock Charlie Bone and the Red Knight Also look out for The Snow Spider trilogy. 'Dark, funny, crackling with magic' - author Artemis Cooper on Midnight for Charlie Bone 'A fast moving, dialogue driven romp with plenty of cliff-hangers for those first hooked into reading by Harry Potter' - Bookseller on Midnight for Charlie Bone Jenny Nimmo is the acclaimed author of the Charlie Bone series. She has won several significant awards for her children's fiction, including the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and the Tir na n-Og Welsh Arts Council award for The Snow Spider. She lives in Wales with her husband, David. When Asa Pike, a Bloor's Academy student with the ability to change into a beast at dusk, goes missing, twelve-year-old Charlie Bone suspects a new classmate, the magically gifted Dagobert Endless, of foul play. The fifth book in the New York Times bestselling CHILDREN OF THE RED KING series!When Charlie turns twelve on New Year's Eve, the Flame Cats give him a grave warning: Something ancient has awoken, and Charlie must be watchful. Soon Charlie learns that the shadow from the Red King's portrait has been released, and that it will do anything to keep Charlie from finding his father. Meanwhile, pets are mysteriously vanishing from the city, and Olivia is in danger of revealing her newfound powers. 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When Charlie and his friends find him, Ollie is alone and hungry, so they promise to help him become visible again. Classic magic and mystery from one of Britain's best-loved authors of fantasy adventure. Perfect for fans of Harry Potter, Eva Ibbotson, Cornelia Funke's Inkheart and Shane Hegarty's Darkmouth. An Academy for magic and special talents. A destiny unfulfilled. A secret legacy. The seventh instalment of the international best-selling series from Jenny Nimmo starring Charlie Bone. The enchanter Count Harken - the shadow in the painting of the Red King - is back and determined to stop Billy from discovering a life-changing family secret. His incredible power reaches out from the dark, magical land of Badlock, through space and time, to wreak revenge on Charlie and his friends. Have you collected all of the Charlie Bone series? Midnight for Charlie Bone Charlie Bone and the Time Twister Charlie Bone and the Blue Boa Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors Charlie Bone and the Hidden Copyright : cjon.co Read Free Charlie Bone And The Red Knight Children Of King 8 Jenny Nimmo King Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock Charlie Bone and the Red Knight Also look out for The Snow Spider trilogy. 'Dark, funny, crackling with magic' ‒ author Artemis Cooper on Midnight for Charlie Bone 'A fast moving, dialogue driven romp with plenty of cliff-hangers for those first hooked into reading by Harry Potter' ‒ Bookseller on Midnight for Charlie Bone Jenny Nimmo is the acclaimed author of the Charlie Bone series. She has won several significant awards for her children's fiction, including the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and the Tir na n-Og Welsh Arts Council award for The Snow Spider. She lives in Wales with her husband, David. Copyright code : 016323f2632b128d026eda93b6352717
ARTICLE 21 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT 21.01 Plan Approval Required 21.01.01 Subject to the requirements of Article 4, a drainage plan is required to be submitted with all applications except that single family and two-family residences are not required to furnish a certification in accordance with Subsection 4.18. 21.01.02 Pursuant to the application requirements in Article 4, plans and information shall be submitted that demonstrate compliance with this Article and Appendix A in regards to stormwater management. 21.02 Diligence in Construction of Drainage Structures 21.02.01 Stormwater management facilities shall be constructed in accordance with approved plans and maintained in proper working condition. 21.02.02 The landowner is responsible for ensuring that the construction of drainage structures and stormwater management measures are completed in accordance with the approved plan and specifications. 21.02.03 In response to a complaint, or as a random check on compliance with the requirements of the Ordinance, the Town may perform a physical inspection of the construction of drainage structures and stormwater management measures, or monitor long term maintenance procedures. Inspections performed by the Town during construction will not relieve the landowner or applicant of their responsibility to install and maintain drainage facilities in accordance with the approved plan. 21.02.04 In accordance with Section 4.18, a written certification shall be submitted prior to issuance of the certificate of occupancy. (Ord. PL04727-050721, 07-01-2021) 21.03 Drainage & Stormwater Management Performance Standards 21.03.01 All drainage structures and stormwater management measures shall be designed, constructed and maintained so that adjacent properties are not unreasonably burdened with surface waters as a result of development activities. Specifically: A. Offsite areas which drain to or across a site proposed for development must be accommodated in the stormwater plans for the development. 1. The stormwater management system must be capable of conveying the existing offsite flows through or around the development such that the volume and rate of flow from the adjacent property is not altered. 2. If offsite flows are carried in the site system, any detention ponds shall be sized to accommodate this flow. B. Stormwater drainage facilities shall be designed to limit the discharge from the site to the rate that existed prior to development of the site. 1. For projects that are redeveloping a developed site, the discharge will be limited to that which occurs before any new development. C. The type and location of the discharge will be as occurred before the current development unless the discharge is to a manmade conveyance system. 1. If the discharge is in a manmade conveyance the Town of Boone will be furnished an easement to the point that the pre-development flows are duplicated. 21.03.02 All site improvements shall be provided with a drainage system that is adequate to prevent the undue retention of surface water on the development site. Surface water shall not be regarded as unduly retained if: A. The retention results from a technique, practice or device deliberately installed as part of an approved sedimentation or stormwater runoff control plan, or B. The retention is not substantially different in location or degree than that experienced on the development site prior to site improvements, unless such retention presents a danger to health or safety. 21.03.03 These competing goals for retention and discharge can be accomplished by designing, constructing and maintaining all stormwater management installations to the extent practicable to: A. Avoid increases in surface runoff volume and velocity by including measures which promote the infiltration of stormwater, B. Maximize the time of concentration of stormwater runoff, and C. Promote the filtration and precipitation of pollutants from stormwater runoff in order to protect the water quality of the receiving watercourse. 21.03.04 The drainage system of a development site shall coordinate with and connect to the drainage systems or drainage ways on surrounding properties or streets where they exist. 21.03.05 All site improvements shall conform to the natural contours of the land, and without disturbance, utilize the preexisting natural and preexisting man-made drainage ways. 21.03.06 Lot boundaries within subdivisions shall be made to coincide with natural and preexisting man-made drainage ways to avoid creation of lots that can only be built upon by altering such drainage ways. 21.03.07 Stormwater shall not be diverted from one natural drainage basin into another. 21.03.08 Stormwater shall not be channeled or directed into sanitary sewers. 21.03.09 Design Storm: A. The minimum design capacity for all storm drainage facilities and cross drainage facilities in public streets shall be the twenty-five (25) year discharge. B. The design of drainage facilities in flood hazard areas shall be consistent with the requirements of Article 30. C. The computation of stormwater runoff shall follow established engineering best practices. Acceptable methods of computation include, but are not limited to, those outlined in the Soil Conservation Service National Engineering Field Manual, the Rational Method, and published U.S. Geological Survey techniques for estimating stream flow. Runoff coefficients shall be based on full development of the watershed to the extent of the current zoning. D. Stormwater detention shall be provided to ensure that the rate of discharge does not exceed the pre-development rate of discharge. In order to demonstrate this, pre and post development hydrographs will be submitted that demonstrate no increase in flow leaving the site during the twenty-five (25) year twenty-four (24) hour storm. Inflowoutflow calculations shall also be submitted for any stormwater detention ponds. 21.03.10 Stormwater pipe for either culverts or closed systems shall be constructed of either reinforced concrete, corrugated steel, or aluminized pipe in conformance with North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Standard Specifications or high-density polyethylene corrugated pipe with smooth interior which meets the product specification of ASHTO M294. A. Corrugated steel pipe shall be fully bituminous coated. In lieu of fully bituminous coated galvanized pipe, aluminized pipe without a bituminous coating may be used. Pipe which carries active stream flow shall be partially paved (paved invert) fully bituminous coated galvanized pipe. In lieu of fully bituminous coated partially paved galvanized pipe, aluminized pipe which has been half bituminous coated and partially paved may be used. Connecting bands shall conform to NCDOT Standard Specifications. B. Minimum pipe diameter shall be eighteen inches (18") for open ended culverts and fifteen inches (15") for closed systems and driveway culverts. Minimum pipe diameter for portions of closed systems placed outside the public right-of-way and privately maintained shall be twelve inches (12"). C. Depth of cover shall be appropriate for the pipe material, pipe wall thickness and anticipated loading. Minimum depth of cover shall be twelve inches (12"). D. Downsizing of culverts within pipe systems is prohibited. E. Storm drainage piping shall be placed in a straight alignment at uniform grade. No changes in alignment shall be allowed except at catch basins, manholes, or other junctions that provide appropriate clean out access. F. Storm drainage structures, including inlet grates and frames, shall conform to NCDOT Standard Specifications. G. No change in pipe material shall be allowed except at storm drainage junctions. H. Existing stormwater conveyance infrastructure on or through any site being considered for development or redevelopment may remain in place and active, subject to the following criteria: 1. The conveyance system meets all requirements of this Article, except Subsection 21.03.10-A and the system is certified by a design professional to be properly sized with capacity to handle the applicable design storm. The design professional shall also provide a qualitative assessment of the system to include observations of visible signs of erosion, scour, corrosion, degradation, or other structural inadequacies, along with recommendations for any suggested improvements. 2. That the landowner will, at their expense, repair or replace the system or components thereof in the event that the system should fail to function at any time in the future. Any such repair or replacement shall be in accordance with all provisions of this Article. I. The centerline of any culverts placed along a roadway shall be a minimum of ten feet (10') from the edge of pavement or edge of unpaved travel way. 1. Due to the extreme topography or other unique features related to a specific driveway, it may not be practical to install the culvert at this location. 2. Upon demonstration of adequate cause, the permit-issuing authority may allow deviations from this requirement. 3. The applicant shall demonstrate that the proposed deviation will result in a culvert that adequately provides the drainage function and minimizes the chance that the ends of the culverts will be damaged. 21.03.11 Hydraulic Design: A. Design capacity headwater elevations for open ended culverts shall be below the roadway shoulder or finished site grade elevation. B. Design capacity hydraulic grade line for closed pipe systems shall be at or below the inlet grate elevation. C. The hydraulic design of culverts and pipe systems shall take into account the effect of tail water and allow for all energy losses within the system. D. Drainage design calculations shall be submitted demonstrating compliance with these regulations. 1. Minimum information required is a tabulation of the system which presents the type of each inlet, time of concentration, volume to the inlet, size of pipe, length of pipe, pipe inverts at both the high and low end, and hydraulic grade line for each pipe section. 21.03.12 End Treatments: A. Headwalls, flared end sections, or other adequate slope protection shall be provided at culvert ends. B. Storm drain outlets shall be protected against erosion by providing energy dissipaters and/or other adequate channel lining. 21.03.13 Open Channels and Ditches: A. Design capacities for open channels and ditches shall be determined by the Manning Equation. 1. The value of the roughness coefficient shall be appropriate for the material encountered and the condition of the channel. B. All ditch bottoms and side slopes shall be stabilized with pavement, stone, or vegetative linings adequate to withstand design velocities. 1. Stone rubble linings shall be placed on filters of washed gravel and/or geotextile fabric. 21.03.14 NCDOT Standard concrete curb or combination curb and gutter is required for the direction and control of stormwater in all parking lots. Alternate effective control measures which are consistent with Subsection 21.03.03 will be considered for approval on a case by case basis. 21.03.15 Use of drainage swales rather than curb and gutter with storm sewers is provided for in Article 23. 21.03.16 Building construction is prohibited from being horizontally closer than: A. Ten feet (10'), from the centerline of drainage culverts less than forty-eight inches (48") in diameter, or Ten feet (10') plus one half the culvert diameter, from the centerline of drainage B. culverts greater than forty-eight inches (48") in diameter. This restriction shall not apply to building roof, foundation drains, or incidental yard drains which originate closer than ten feet (10') to the building and convey stormwater immediately away from the building. 21.03.17 Culverts or pipe systems which convey stormwater to or from existing enclosed drainage facilities shall be connected to the existing facility with an enclosed junction. A. Connections to existing facilities in public rights-of-way shall require the execution of an encroachment agreement with the Town for Town streets or the NCDOT for statemaintained roads. 21.03.18 Where impoundment or detention facilities are included in the design of stormwater management installations, every effort shall be made to minimize the degree of maintenance required to ensure the continuing effectiveness of the facility. A. Maintenance of stormwater impoundment or detention facilities shall be the responsibility of the landowner. B. Where impoundment or detention facilities are to be located in common areas, the applicant shall record with the Watauga County Register of Deeds an instrument setting forth provisions for the establishment of a property owners association for the purpose of assessing dues for maintenance of the facilities by purchasers of property which will be served by the facilities within the development. The applicant shall maintain these facilities until such time that the property owner's association assumes responsibility for maintenance. (Ord. PL04727-050721, 07-01-2021)
South Australian Public Library Network (SAPLN) Privacy Statement This statement sets out Public Library Services' (PLS) policies relating to the privacy of your personal information. This website is operated in compliance with the South Australian Government's Information Privacy Principles. If you were directed to this page from another website, this statement does not apply to any content or function on the other site. 1. Privacy General The South Australian Public Library Network (SAPLN) consists of more than 130 public libraries, working collaboratively to provide a service to all South Australians. The network operates under a Memorandum of Agreement between state and local government. This agreement provides the framework within which both parties contribute to ensuring that all South Australians have access to modern, free public library services. PLS is an administrative unit of the Libraries Board of SA and manages the library database on behalf of the Local Government Association. SAPLN must keep records of members in order to provide a service to you, the customer. This page tells you what records we keep, why we keep them and how this information is protected. It also explains how you can obtain more information about your own record. SAPLN is not an organisation covered by the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) (Privacy Act). However, we are committed to ensuring best practice in all respects, including privacy. This policy is therefore compliant with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act. State Government employees The Code of Ethics (Code) for the South Australian Public Sector is binding on all public sector employees, including those working for the Libraries Board of South Australia and the Department for Education. 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Website Privacy The PLS website collects the following information from users: * personal information, such as your name and current address, to provide you with equitable access to materials and services * your email address, if you supply it under the following circumstances: o in a message by email o in an online form Where we have an online form to collect personal information, such as: * Feedback forms – for the purpose of feedback on library staff, building, services, website or other topic relevant to the Library * Query forms – for the purpose of asking a question or seeking further information on a topic * Any other form that may be placed on the website from time to time This information will only: * Be collected by lawful and fair means * Be used for a lawful purpose * Be collected with your consent, and the purpose for collection should be clear and explicit * Be disclosed to other parties with your consent, except when required under legislation or a court order Any information of a personal nature that may have been collected via an online form is stored in a secure area. 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Your record includes your: * name and address, * telephone number(s), * postal address, where required, * date of birth; and * appropriate parent or guardian details in the case of child members. * for ID verification, we also store either one of the following * current driver's licence number * proof of ID card number * medicare number * health care card number * pension card number * passport number * student ID number/details It also includes details of: * any library items you have on loan, * paid and outstanding fines or lost/damaged book accounts; * any holds you have placed within the previous two years * library items previously loaned where you have requested or enabled this to be recorded on the system SAPLN does not automatically maintain a record of items you have borrowed in the past (only those currently on loan), except for those members that use our Outreach program or where you have chosen to opt-in to this service. We do not provide information on individual borrowing habits to anyone, except when required under legislation or a court order. SAPLN does not make any information on our members available to a commercial third-party other than a debt collection agency. 4. Maintaining accurate records Please notify your local library about any change of name, address, phone number or email address to help us maintain accurate records. 5. Unpaid bills or fines We do keep records of paid and unpaid bills or fines on our system. Where items are not returned to the library, your local library may refer outstanding debts to a debt collection agency. This information consists of name, address and details of the outstanding items. Once items are returned and any fines paid, the matter is removed from the individual record. 6. Active records Your membership is valid for a minimum of three years. If a library card is not used for a period of three years, the membership automatically lapses. 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Examples might be: * "I was looking for information on 'xyz' on your website and was able to find it quickly and easily" * "I feel that there should be more access to 'xyz' within the area that I live" If the information was of a specific nature that may identify you, we would contact you and seek your consent before making your correspondence publicly available. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information from misuse, loss and unauthorised access, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from our online products or services. These activities are conducted at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security. 8. What else you should know about privacy Remember to close your browser when you have finished your user session. 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Original Paper Deep sequencing reveals increased DNA methylation in chronic rat epilepsy Katja Kobow · Antony Kaspi · K. N. Harikrishnan · Katharina Kiese · Mark Ziemann · Ishant Khurana · Ina Fritzsche · Jan Hauke · Eric Hahnen · Roland Coras · Angelika Mühlebner · Assam El‑Osta · Ingmar Blümcke Received: 13 June 2013 / Accepted: 15 August 2013 / Published online: 5 September 2013 © The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com AbstractEpilepsy is a frequent neurological disorder, although onset and progression of seizures remain difficult to predict in affected patients, irrespective of their epileptogenic condition. Previous studies in animal models as well as human epileptic brain tissue revealed a remarkably diverse pattern of gene expression implicating epigenetic changes to contribute to disease progression. Here we mapped for the first time global DNA methylation patterns in chronic epileptic rats and controls. Using methyl-CpG capture associated with massive parallel sequencing (Methyl-Seq) we report the genomic methylation signature of the chronic epileptic state. We observed a predominant increase, rather than loss of DNA methylation in chronic rat epilepsy. Aberrant methylation patterns were inversely correlated with gene expression changes using mRNA sequencing from same animals and tissue specimens. Administration of a ketogenic, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet attenuated seizure progression and ameliorated DNA methylation mediated changes in gene expression. This is the first report of unsupervised clustering of an epigenetic mark being used in epilepsy research to separate epileptic from non-epileptic animals as well as from animals receiving anti-convulsive dietary treatment. We further discuss the potential impact of epigenetic changes as a pathogenic mechanism of epileptogenesis. K. Kobow and A. Kaspi contributed equally. Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00401-013-1168-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. K. Kobow (*) · K. Kiese · I. Fritzsche · R. Coras · I. Blümcke Department of Neuropathology, University Hospital Erlangen, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany e-mail: katja.kobow@uk‑erlangen.de A. Kaspi · K. N. Harikrishnan · M. Ziemann · I. Khurana · A. El‑Osta Epigenetics in Human Health and Disease, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, The Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct, Melbourne, VIC, Australia e-mail: assam.el‑firstname.lastname@example.org J. Hauke · E. Hahnen Center of Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany J. Hauke · E. Hahnen Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany KeywordsEpilepsy · Hippocampus · Epigenetic · DNA methylation · Massive parallel sequencing · Ketogenic diet A. Mühlebner Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria A. El‑Osta Epigenomics Profiling Facility, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, The Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct, Melbourne, VIC, Australia A. El‑Osta Department of Pathology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia A. El‑Osta Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Introduction Approximately 0.5–1 % of people suffers from epilepsy. One frequent epileptic syndrome is associated with drugresistant temporal lobe seizures and hippocampal neurodegeneration, i.e., temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) [9]. Onset with an initial precipitating injury including trauma, inflammation, or prolonged acute symptomatic seizures is most characteristic, followed by a clinically silent latency period before progression of spontaneous recurrent seizures [7, 58]. This pathogenic time course can be recapitulated in experimental animal models of TLE, although specific disease mechanisms remain poorly understood. Array-based profiling studies have detected aberrant gene expression patterns. Several genes implicated in epilepsy have been identified and are thought to participate in inflammation and stress, synaptic transmission and signal transduction, ion transport, cell metabolism as well as synaptic plasticity [4, 16, 22, 26, 45]. We recently hypothesized that a common regulatory trait for these abundant and long-lasting changes in gene expression relates to epigenetic changes such as genomic DNA methylation [34, 35] as well as specific chromatin changes, including histone tail modification. Recent experimental studies provide some evidence for aberrant epigenetic signatures induced by seizures. For example, alterations in histone tail modifications have been reported for histones H3 and H4 [28, 30, 69, 73] as well as phosphorylation of histone variant H2A.X [14]. Furthermore, the neuron restrictive silencing factor (Nrsf), which regulates neuronal gene expression and recruits DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) as well as histone deacetylases (Hdacs), is involved in seizure development and progression [21, 44, 51]. Altered microRNA expression [31] as well as DNA methylation patterns are also observed in rodent epilepsy models [53]. Our group was the first to show that aberrant DNA methylation of the Reelin promoter associated with granule cell dispersion in human TLE [36]. Furthermore, increased DNMT expression was observed in temporal neocortex samples obtained from TLE patients [79]. The experimental results of these studies implicate aberrant DNA methylation in the late, chronic and drugresistant stage of the disease. Herein we used a massive parallel sequencing approach to examine persistent changes in genomic CpG methylation correlated with gene expression in a chronic rat TLE model. Since dietary intake and nutrition are implicated in modifying epigenetic patterns [18], we examined the ketogenic diet (KD) in our model of chronic rat epilepsy. The high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet is well recognized as anti-epileptic therapy with moderate success in man and experimental animal models [33, 38, 50, 54]. In this study, we demonstrate that early administration of an anti-convulsive ketogenic diet is associated with gene regulating DNA methylation changes in rat TLE. Materials and methods Animal model: surgery, induction of status epilepticus and video‑EEG recording The experimental study was approved by the local animal care and use committee in accordance with the European Communities Council Directive (54-2532.1-23/09, Directive 2010/63/EU). Male Wistar rats weighting 300–350 g (Charles-River, Germany; n=14) were kept in individual cages under controlled environmental conditions (12 h dark/light cycles, 20–23 °C and 50 % relative humidity) with drinking and feeding ad libitum. Animals were either fed a standard or ketogenic diet (KD, 4:1 ratio of fat over protein and carbohydrates, specifically designed for rodents and distributed by Altromin, Lage, Germany; data sheet access via http://www.altromin.de/de/upload/media/ specs/sonder/30009.pdf) and weekly controlled for body weight (Supplement Fig. 1a). Representative animals were assigned to continuous video-electroencephalography monitoring (vEEG; n =5; DSI, St. Paul, MN, USA). Electrodes were implanted before seizure induction. Rats were deeply anesthetized with an intraperitoneal injection of a ketamine (57 mg/ kg) and xylazine (9 mg/kg) mixture and placed in a stereotaxic apparatus (Bilaney Consultants, Düsseldorf, Germany). The skull was exposed and two holes were drilled (2 mm lateral to the sagittal suture and 5 mm anterior to the lambda suture, 1 mm diameter) to insert stainless steel screws (1 mm diameter, DIN84, Hummer und Riess, Nuremberg, Germany) passing the bone and touching but not penetrating the dura. Screws were connected with polyimide coated stainless steel lead wire, serving as EEG electrodes. Afterwards, both screws were glued together with lead wires and surrounding bone using dental acrylic. The transmitter (F40-EET, DSI, St. Paul, MN, USA) was placed into a subcutaneous pocket along the animal's dorsal flank. All animals had time to recover for 1 week before further procedures. There were no differences in baseline EEG between animals before further treatment. To induce status epilepticus (SE), animals were injected with a single high dose of the muscarinic receptor agonist pilocarpine (PILO; 340 mg/kg, i.p.; Sigma-Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany). Peripheral cholinergic effects were minimized by administration of methyl scopolamine (1 mg/kg, s.c.; 30 min before injection of pilocarpine; TCI Europe NV, Zwijndrecht, Belgium). Animals that experienced no SE within 45 min after first pilocarpine administration were treated for a second time with half the application dosis (175 mg/kg, i.p.). After 60 min SE duration, animals received administration of diazepam (8 mg/kg, i.m.; Sigma-Aldrich). One hour following diazepam treatment glucose depots (2×5 ml) were subcutaneously injected to help animals to recover. Age matched control rats (CTRL; n =5) received methyl scopolamine and saline (0.9 % NaCl; Sigma-Aldrich) injections only. Behavioral seizures were scaled from 1 to 5 according to Racine [61]. SE was defined as minimum three Racine "class 5" behavioral seizures within 10 min and was identified, where applicable, from EEG recordings by high-amplitude and -frequency discharges. All rats were continuously monitored (video or vEEG, 24 h/7 days) following pilocarpine injections. The observation period lasted 84 days. Available EEGs (PILO n=3/4 and PILO+KD n=2/5) were automatically screened for spontaneous seizure activity using the NeuroScore software (DSI). An EEG seizure was defined as a period of consistent, repetitive changes in amplitude and frequency of electrical activity that persisted for more than 10 s (Supplement Fig. 1c). Video images were used to confirm a clinical seizure where EEG abnormalities were detected. Behavioural seizures were further evaluated for the following parameters: latency to the appearance of first spontaneous seizure after SE in days; seizure severity according to Racine's scale; seizure duration in seconds; seizure frequency defined as the total number of detected seizures per week and life time seizures. Neuropathological evaluation of our rat TLE model was performed in video-monitored reference cohorts (CTRL, PILO and PILO +KD; n =3 each) treated as described above, but terminated 4 weeks following SE or sham injection. A detailed description of method and results is provided in the legend to Supplement Fig. 2. Tissue preparation For tissue preparation ether anesthetized animals were decapitated, the sculls opened and overlaying cortex removed for preparation of dorsal hippocampus. Five-mmthick hippocampal slices were prepared along the septotemporal axis and collected in icecold PBS, thereby, removing blood contamination. Hippocampi were snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80 °C until further use. Each probe was individually processed and not pooled with other samples. For downstream applications hippocampus was homogenized in ice cold 1× PBS and divided into equal volumes for DNA and RNA extraction. DNA methylation profiling Ten mg rat hippocampal tissue was used for genomic DNA extraction using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Massive parallel sequencing of enriched methylated DNA was performed as described previously [57]. Briefly, 500 ng of rat hippocampal DNA from each animal (n=14) was fragmented to a median size of 200–300 bp and subjected to methylated DNA capture according to the MethylMiner protocol (Invitrogen, Darmstadt, Germany), exclusively enabling capture of methylated double stranded DNA. Fragmented and enriched DNA was eluted at high salt concentrations (2 M NaCl). Ten ng of enriched DNA was used in library preparation using the NEBNext DNA Library Prep Reagent Set for Illumina (New England Biolabs, Frankfurt/Main, Germany). Quality of sequencing libraries was assayed using the Shimadzu MultiNA capillary electrophoresis system (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). Libraries were sequenced at a concentration of 10 pM on the Illumina Genome Analyzer IIx (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) with a 36 bp single read length. Image analysis and base-calling were performed with OLBv1.8 software. Sequenced tags were aligned to the rat genome RN4 using BWA (version 0.5.9) with default alignment parameters [43]. Profiles of DNA methylation were compared between all pairwise combinations of samples using the MACS peak calling software (version 1.4.0 rc2) with a fixed shift size of 75 bp and a significance cut-off of 10E-05 [78]. Genomic regions showing different methylation patterns between pairs of samples were merged using Bedtools [59]. Duplicate reads which aligned to the same location in a given sample were removed from further analysis. The numbers of read tags aligning to each region were summarized using a custom python script producing a matrix of counts (tags per region per sample). The regions were non-differentially filtered for regions, where the sum of tag counts was below the 50th centile. These count data were tested for differential tag abundance using Bayesian shrinkage of a negative binomial model implemented in edgeR [64], and normalized using trimmed mean normalization [65]. An adjusted p value was calculated using the Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) [6]. Filtered gene lists meeting our significance criteria were submitted to pathway analysis using resources supplied by the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) [27]. Gene expression profiling Ten mg rat hippocampal tissue was used for total RNA extraction using the Trizol method, followed by DNAse digestion. RNA quality was verified on the Shimadzu MultiNA capillary electrophoresis system (Shimadzu). Following Dynabead Oligo(dT) enrichment (Invitrogen), mRNA was prepared into sequence ready libraries with the NEBNext mRNA Library Prep Reagent Set for Illumina (New England Biolabs). These samples were sequenced as above. Sequenced tags were aligned to the rat genome RN4 using BWA (version 0.5.9) using default alignment parameters [43]. The numbers of read tags aligning to each gene were extracted using a custom python script producing a matrix of counts with regions based on the Ensembl transcript annotation (version 66). Genes were non-differentially filtered for tag counts sums below the 30th centile. This count data was tested for differential tag abundance using Bayesian shrinkage of a negative binomial model implemented for in edgeR [64], and normalized using trimmed mean normalization [65]. An adjusted p value was calculated using the Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) [6]. Gene set enrichment analysis of expression Rank scores for differential mRNA expression were calculated as −log10 (p value) multiplied by the sign of the edgeR fold change so that upregulated genes had positive scores. These rank scores were used to test for correlations between mRNA expression and DNA methylation or ChIPSeq derived gene sets using the GSEA preranked method based on 1,000 gene set permutations [72]. Sets of differentially methylated genes were derived by taking the differentially methylated regions for each pairwise comparison between PILO, and PILO+KD with CTRL filtered for a p value <0.01 as determined by edgeR analysis, and separated into increased and decreased methylation. If any of these regions were co-located with either a gene body, TSS, promoter (−3 kb from TSS), exon or intron they were assigned to that gene set, e.g., genes with an exon overlapping a region of increased methylation. The clustered transcription factor data set was downloaded (ftp://hgdownload.cse.ucsc.edu/ apache/htdocs/goldenpath/hg19/encodeDCC/apache/ htdocs/goldenpath/hg19/encodeDCC/wgEncodeRegTfbsClus tered/) from the ENCODE profiling project [17]. A gene set for each transcription factor and cell line was generated by intersecting ChIP-Seq data with promoter annotation (−3 kb from TSS) using Ensembl human genes (version 66), and assigning the intersecting gene promoters to that gene set. This analysis generated 425 gene sets, of which 403 (depending on gene set size) were used in GSEA. Rat genes were mapped to Human genes using Homologene [1]. Quantification of gene expression Total RNA was isolated using TRIzol (Invitrogen). Genomic DNA contamination was removed by DNAse treatment (Qiagen). First-strand cDNA synthesis was performed using the SuperScript II first strand synthesis Kit (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Gene expression was analyzed on an ABI Prism 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR Detection System (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA). Forward and reverse primers were used at 100 nM together with Power SYBR Green Master Mix (Applied Biosystems). Reactions were incubated at 95 °C for 10 min, followed by 40 cycles of 95 °C for 10 s and 60 °C for 30 s. For relative quantification (comparative ΔΔCt method), gene expression was assessed at least in triplicates and normalized to internal reference Actb and Gapdh. cDNA specific primers were designed as follows: Camkk2 fw-AGAACTGCACACTGGTCGAG, rev-CCGGCTACCTTCAAATGGGT; Il10rb fw-CTGGAGCCATGGACAACTTACT, rev-GGAGGGGTTGTTTCATCACTG; Actb fw-GAGAAGAGCTATGAGCTGCC, rev-TCCATACCCAGGAAGGAAGG; Gapdh fw-GGCTGGCATTGCTCTCAATG, rev-CATGTAGGCCATGAGGTCCA. Bisulfite sequencing DNA samples were processed for methylation-specific sequencing as described previously [25, 36]. Briefly, 1μg of genomic DNA was bisulfite converted using EpiTect DNA Bisulfite Kit (Qiagen), the region of interest pre-amplified, subcloned using topoisomerase TA vector (Invitrogen) and white colonies were selected and grown in LB broth. Plasmid was purified using Gene Jet Plasmid Miniprep Kit (Fermentas, St. Leon-Rot, Germany) and clones sequenced (commercial sequencing facility of GATC Biotech, Konstanz, Germany). A minimum of six clones per subject with proven insertion of the PCR fragment were analyzed. Sequences were quality controlled and aligned using the CLC sequence viewer v. 6.3 (CLC bio) and Quantitation tool for Methylation Analysis software (RIKEN). Primers used for bisulfite sequencing were the following: Camkk2_BIS fw-TTTAGAGGGGATTTGAGTTTTT, rev-ATCCACCAATAAATCCAAATATTAC; Il10rb_BIS fw-GGGTTAGGATTGAGTTTGTAGAT, revTAAATAATAAAACCACCAAATTTATACTC. Data access Methyl-Seq and mRNA-Seq data were deposited in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO; http://www.ncbi.n lm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE50080). Results Massive parallel sequencing identifies distinct genomic DNA methylation profiles in chronic rat epilepsy compared with controls DNA methylation is a major epigenetic regulator of gene suppression [52], and has been implicated in experimental and human temporal lobe epilepsies [36, 53, 79]. However, our knowledge on genomic methylation mediating gene expression changes in epilepsy is limited (1) to few specific gene loci comprehensively analyzed and (2) to the early stage of the disease (during or immediately following SE). To examine the role of genomic DNA methylation in the chronic epileptic state, we used Methyl-capture and massive parallel sequencing (Methyl-Seq) of hippocampal tissue obtained from rats 12 weeks following pilocarpine induced status epilepticus (PILO, n =4) and compared these with respective healthy controls (CTRL, n =5). We also examined gene expression changes using mRNA sequencing (mRNA-Seq) from the same tissue specimens to analyze the biological relevance of methylation changes (Fig.1a). Whole-genome DNA methylation profiling was performed as previously described [12, 57]. A minimum of 15 million short single reads (36 bp) was sequenced per sample, and an average 83 % of the short reads mapped unambiguously to the rat genome (RN4). The other 17 % of reads were likely to originate from repetitive DNA. Interindividual sample comparison revealed 310,070 regions covering 203,265,410 bp with variant methylation (~7.3 % of the rat genome). Pairwise comparison of global DNA methylation detected strong differences in methylation patterns between all CTRL and PILO samples. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to assess and visualize underlying differences in DNA methylation profiles between samples and phenotypes. As shown in Fig. 1b, DNA methylation profiles readily discriminated samples into discrete groups according to the treatment. To further examine changes in DNA methylation and its association with phenotype we mapped methylation profiles to the rat genome using Circos [39]. Increased (hyper-) and decreased (hypo-) methylation in PILO samples were assigned to each chromosome and shown in red and green, respectively (Fig. 2a). We observed phenotype-specific regionalization of hyper- and hypomethylation events, which targeted the entire genome except chromosome X. Our analysis identified 2,573 individual loci that discriminate between chronic epileptic and control animals (cut-off p< 0.01). Thereof, 1,452 loci were hypermethylated and 1,121 loci hypomethylated in chronic epilepsy samples compared to controls. These data imply that DNA methylation patterns of PILO animals are indeed distinguishable from the reference CTRL animals. Differential DNA methylation in chronic rat epilepsy is mainly confined to gene bodies Because hypermethylation of CpG-rich promoters is commonly regarded as a strong indicator of gene suppression in physiologic and pathologic conditions [77], we examined the extent of DNA methylation at different genomic regions. We compared the distribution of genomic methylation at CpG islands (CGI), non-genic and genic regions (gene body including 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions), promoters (3 kb upstream of transcription start), transcriptional start sites (TSS) and exons as well as introns in the dissected hippocampi of chronic epileptic animals relative to controls. Differentially methylated regions were Fig. 1 Deep sequencing (Methyl-Seq) revealed increased genomic DNA methylation in chronic rat epilepsy. a Study design, b heat map displaying hierarchical clustering of samples and genomic regions according to differential methylation profiles (yellow methylation up, red methylation down). A specific DNA methylation signature characterized chronic rat epilepsy. CTRL sham injected, healthy controls; PILO pilocarpine injected, chronic epileptic animals. Clustering was performed by taking the trimmed mean normalized values for differential regions as defined by edgeR analysis with a p value <0.01. These values were normalized to the standard normal distribution before performing Euclidean distance based hierarchical clustering on both regions and samples using the heatmap.2 function in the R package gplots 1 3 normalized and expressed as log2 odds ratios of observed differences compared to non-differentially methylated genomic features. We report the mean frequency of methylation changes with upper and lower 95 % confidence intervals for the genomic features (Fig.2b). We identified a significant increase in DNA methylation content in chronic epilepsy specimen, when comparing hyper- and hypomethylation events at specific genomic features. Table1 shows predominant increase in DNA methylation at CGIs and gene bodies, exons as well as introns (Fisher's Exact Test, p< 0.05). Generally, DNA methylation changes were frequently found at CpG islands (CGI) as well as genic and non-genic regions. Regarding non-genic sites, we did not so much observe differential methylation of gene promoters (Fig. 2b). Instead, we detected changes more readily distal from coding regions of genes. Gene expression profiling in chronic epileptic rats We have previously postulated DNA methylation changes as potential cause of aberrant gene expression in experimental and human TLE [34, 35]. To test this hypothesis, we compared genomic methylation patterns with gene expression data derived from same hippocampal specimens using mRNA-Seq (n=3 per treatment group). Gene expression profiling identified 1,502 genes that were differentially expressed in chronic epileptic rats compared to healthy controls (cut-off p< 0.01; Fig.3). Gene annotation in DAVID [27] revealed biological functions implicated in pathomechanisms underlying chronic epilepsy, which was consistent with previous reports from animal and human studies using epileptic brain tissue. KEGG pathway analysis of downregulated genes in chronic epileptic hippocampi (n=517) showed enrichment for MAPK and calcium signaling, axon guidance, long-term depression and potentiation, whereas overexpressed genes (n=985) were associated with pathways participating in chronic inflammation, immune response, and neurodegeneration (Table2). Furthermore, we observed a large number of seizurerelated genes [40] to be differentially expressed in PILO animals, including voltage-gated calcium, potassium or sodium channels (Cacng2, Itpr1, Kcna1, Kcna2, Kcnq2, Scn4b, Scn8a), calcium pumps (Atp2a2), neurotransmitter receptors (Gabrd), G-protein-coupled receptors (Gpr56) as well as components of the cytoskeleton (Gfap), proteins implicated in cell adhesion (Pcdh19), transcription factors (Tgif1) and metabolic enzymes (Ndufa2, Npc2) shown in Table3. We also identified genes, which have not been previously associated with brain function, seizure generation or epilepsy-related processes. Recent experimental results in human TLE detected altered expression of DNMT isoforms [79]. These enzymes are involved in the establishment or maintenance of genomic DNA methylation patterns [19, 55, 79]. Analysis of our mRNA-Seq data revealed no significant change in gene expression for the DNA methyltransferases Dnmt1, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in the PILO cohort. But chromatin structure and function may not exclusively be regulated through DNA methylation. We report differential gene expression of other key epigenetic enzymes and downstream effector proteins implicated in histone acetylation and methylation, as well as micro RNA processing and Table 1 Genomic features targeted by DNA methylation Table shows statistics comparing ratio of the number of increased versus decreased methylated regions (cut-off p< 0.01) across genomic features. p value calculated with Fisher's exact test (p< 0.05 was considered significant) − CGI CpG island, TSS transcriptional start site, OL number of loci overlapping feature (overlap≥1 bp), NOL number of loci not overlapping feature, CI confidence interval Fig. 3 mRNA-Seq identified highly distinct gene expression signatures in chronic rat epilepsy and controls. Heat map displaying hierarchical clustering of samples and genes according to differential expression profiles normalized to the standard normal distribution (yellow expression up, red expression down). Treatment groups can be clearly differentiated by their expression profiles. CTRL sham injected, healthy controls; PILO chronic epileptic animals. Clustering was performed by taking the trimmed mean normalized values for genes as defined by edgeR analysis with a p value <0.01. These values were normalized to the standard normal distribution before performing Euclidean distance based hierarchical clustering on both regions and samples using the heatmap.2 function in the R package gplots [72] using the ranked mRNA results and sets of differentially methylated genes as described above. In PILO animals, differential DNA methylation targeted 1,180 specific gene loci (overlap ≥1 bp with annotated promoter, TSS or gene body). Generally, these DNA methylation changes were not associated with alterations in gene expression (n =930, 79 %). However, for 250 gene loci (21 %) a strong correlation between differential DNA methylation and gene expression was identified. DNA hypermethylation of gene bodies, introns as well as exons was clearly associated with gene silencing in chronic rat epilepsy, but we did not find hypermethylation of gene promoters correlated with gene suppression (Fig.4 upper panel, and Supplement Table 1). In contrast, decreased methylation was associated with increased gene expression and a feature of exons, introns, TSS and gene promoters (Fig.4 lower panel, and Supplement Table 1). ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling (manual inspection and GO term analysis, cut-off p< 0.01, Table 4). These results suggest that different epigenetic pathways could be involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy and maintenance of the chronic disease state. DNA methylation is inversely correlated with gene expression in chronic epileptic rats Next we determined whether DNA methylation changes targeted gene expression in our model of chronic epilepsy. A Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed To understand biological pathways targeted by altered gene expression patterns and DNA methylation, we performed Functional Annotation Clustering using DAVID. This analysis identified enrichment of genes implicated in cytoskeleton organization, immune response and inflammation, neuronal development and differentiation, cell adhesion, as well as cell projection. Furthermore, we observed changes in genes involved in calcium signaling, DNA binding and transcription, programmed cell death, and synaptic transmission (enrichment score for all clusters >1.5). Taken together, GSEA would support a biological relevance of DNA methylation changes in our experimental epilepsy model. Validation of candidate genes in epilepsy Next we sought to validate DNA methylation targeted gene expression. Bisulfite sequencing was used to verify differential methylation from Methyl-Seq in chronic rat epilepsy compared to healthy controls. To quantify differences in CpG methylation between PILO and CTRL, Table 2 Functional enrichment of GO terms and KEGG pathways in chronic rat epilepsy gene expression GO gene ontology, KEGG Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes, count number of genes from our data set contributing to GO term and KEGG pathway enrichment, rno Rattus Norvegicus Mann–Whitney U test was performed. Fisher's Exact Test was further calculated to analyze the independence of CpG methylation between two treatment groups at a particular CpG site. The schematic shown in Fig. 5 (middle panel) illustrates the gene and its chromosomal localization as well as the location of the amplicon examined using bisulfite sequencing. We confirmed the hypermethylation status of Camkk2 (Ca 2 + /Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2, beta; RN4 genome assembly, chr12:3493640834936667; Mann–Whitney U test p =1E −07; Fig. 5a, left panel; Supplement Table 2a), a key enzyme in Ca 2 + signaling involved in hippocampus-dependent long-term memory, and hypomethylation of the Il10rb locus (interleukin 10 receptor, beta; RN4, chr11:31381431-31381722; Mann–Whitney U test p =1E-06; Fig. 5b, left panel; Supplement Table 2b), an endogenous cytokine receptor involved in anti-inflammation and neuroprotection, in chronic rat epilepsy compared to healthy controls. We further validated gene expression changes identified by mRNA-Seq using qRT-PCR. Camkk2 gene expression was significantly reduced in PILO animals (unpaired two-tailed t test, p =6.0E-04; Fig. 5a, right panel) and consistent with increased gene methylation. Increased expression of Il10rb (unpaired two-tailed t test, p=9.3E03; Fig. 5b, right panel) was inversely correlated with a hypomethylation phenotype in chronic rat epilepsy. These results confirm gene expression changes mediated by DNA methylation, as identified in our genome-wide sequencing Table 3 Differential gene expression of epilepsy-related genes According to Gene Cards, JaxMice Database and Lemke et al. [40] logFC log2 fold change, leading sign indicates direction of change (+, increase; −, decrease), FDR false discovery rate, BFNS benign familial neonatal seizures, GEFS+ generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus, IGE idiopathic generalized epilepsy, JME juvenile myoclonic epilepsy approaches, using independent assays such as bisulfite sequencing and qRT-PCR, respectively. Ketogenic diet ameliorates seizure‑induced DNA methylation in chronic rat epilepsy Next we explored whether anti-epileptic treatment could change DNA methylation mediated gene expression in our experimental animal model, because medically refractory epilepsies frequently respond to strict dietary regimens. Indeed, the ketogenic diet (KD), a high-fat, moderate protein diet with low carbohydrate content has been implicated in regulating gene expression by modifying chromatin structure [ 68 ]. To test our hypothesis that a ketogenic diet could alter DNA methylation mediated gene expression we fed a subset of animals with a non-calorie restricted KD (PILO + KD) immediately following SE. KD treatment had no effect on SE as the initial precipitating injury. We tested ketosis as reliable parameter that the KD changed the animals' metabolism 2 weeks after initial treatment using standard reagent strips for urine analysis, i.e., "ketosticks" (Bayer, Leverkusen, Germany; Supplement Fig. 2). To assess any effect of dietary treatment on clinical phenotype, behavioral seizures were continuously monitored Table 4 Epigenetic signature in gene expression According to GO terms and manual inspection logFC log2 fold change, leading sign indicates direction of change ( + , increase; − , decrease), FDR false discovery rate, DNMT DNA methyltransferase, HAT Histone acetyltransferase, HMT Histone methyltransferase, miR microRNA, 5mC 5-methyl-cytosin Fig. 4 Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of methylated promoters, TSS and gene bodies were performed against the rank of our mRNA-Seq data from same samples. GSEA was separately performed for gene sets showing increased or decreased methylation in chronic rat epilepsy. A strong correlation (FDR < 0.25 was considered significant) was observed between gene body methylation and gene repression, and conversely, between loss of intragenic methylation and activated gene expression. Promoter hypermethylation was not associated with gene repression. FDR false discovery rate, T thousand, CTRL sham injected, healthy controls, PILO pilocarpine injected, chronic epileptic animals. Supplement Table 1 contains comprehensive GSEA statistics during the entire study period of 12 weeks after SE. Compared to SE-experienced animals fed a standard diet, KD administration did not result in differences regarding latency period or mean severity and duration of clinical seizures. A significant difference, however, was detected according to seizure frequency per week (paired two-tailed (red bar). Asterisks indicate significance (unpaired two-tailed t test, p< 0.05). a Camkk2 showed hypermethylation and concomitant gene repression in PILO versus CTRL. b Hypomethylation of the Il10rb locus and increased gene expression could be confirmed in PILO versus CTRL t test, p =4.0E-04; mean ±SEM: PILO =24.5 ±4.7, PILO+KD=6.9±1.9) with a reduction in seizure burden upon KD treatment and apparent delay in the chronification of the disease (Supplement Fig. 1b). Recordings from subdural electrodes and limited sample numbers with vEEG-monitoring did not allow meaningful quantification of KD effects on EEG data, but comparison of Racine stage 5 clinical seizures and baseline EEG provided no evidence for treatment specific differences between PILO and PILO+KD (Supplement Fig. 1c). We analyzed differential methylation in epileptic animals assigned to anti-epileptic dietary treatment. Pairwise analysis of PILO +KD versus CTRL identified 1,785 loci that were differentially methylated. Thereof, 1,003 loci associated with hypermethylation and 782 regions with hypomethylation. Interestingly, the targeted genomic regions showed limited overlap with regions previously identified in our untreated epileptic PILO animals (Fig.6a, blue). In KD-treated animals we observed strong reduction in DNA methylation at gene bodies as well as intronic and exonic regions. These results clearly show that genomic DNA methylation patterns of CTRL and PILO animals are distinguishable from the PILO +KD group. All animals from the PILO and PILO +KD group experienced convulsive seizures within 48 h preceding their termination (unpaired two-tailed t test, p> 0.05), suggesting that differences in methylation between groups were not dependent on the time point of their last seizure. Gene expression profiling in KD-treated rats identified 400 differentially regulated genes compared to over 1,500 aberrantly expressed genes in PILO (cut-off p< 0.01; Fig. 6b). Gene expression again was inversely correlated with genomic DNA methylation patterns (Supplement Table 1). To determine whether expression changes were associated with the anti-seizure phenotype and not induced by the diet, we compared our mRNA-Seq data with a recently described gene expression profile (GEO Data Set 954) derived from healthy, non-epileptic rats receiving a KD [10]. Consistent with our hypothesis that an anti-convulsive dietary treatment could alter DNA methylation mediated gene expression in rat epilepsy there was no correlation between the reference CTRL+KD and our PILO+KD (data not shown). Validation experiments of our candidate genes, Camkk2 and Il10rb, provide additional evidence that the ketogenic diet may be useful to ameliorate aberrant seizure-associated DNA methylation (Mann–Whitney U test, p Camkk2 =2.5E02 and p Il10rb =2.1E-02; Fig. 6c) and concomitant gene expression (one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc test, p Camkk2 =3.4E-03 and p Il10rb =2.0E-02; Fig.6d). Gene expression profiles reveal further regulatory pathways implicated in chronic epilepsy Gene expression is coordinated by complex regulatory mechanisms that involve transcription factor binding and chromatin modification including DNA methylation. To explore mechanisms that serve to regulate coordinated gene expression changes in chronic rat epilepsy we examined our mRNA-Seq data for changes consistent with Fig. 6 Comparison of differential DNA methylation and gene expression patterns in pilocarpine injected, epileptic animals receiving anti-convulsive ketogenic diet (PILO +KD, blue) or no treatment (PILO, red). The KD treatment partially ameliorated molecular changes associated with chronic rat epilepsy. Effects were more pronounced on a genomic scale than at certain loci of selected candidate genes. a Venn diagram displaying overlap in differential DNA methylation between PILO and PILO +KD compared to CTRL. KD-treated animals showed a distinct genomic methylation profile compared to untreated chronic rat epilepsy. Administration of the KD seemed to have rescued a majority of affected loci. b Venn diagram displaying overlap in differential gene expression between PILO and PILO+KD compared to CTRL. KD-treated animals showed a distinct gene expression pattern compared to untreated chronic rat epilepsy. A majority of differentially expressed genes in PILO were rescued upon KD treatment. Genes exclusively expressed in PILO+KD may have contributed to adverse side effects. c Bisulfite sequencing results. Camkk2 hypermethylation in PILO animals was significantly reduced by KD treatment (Mann–Whitney U test, p< 0.05). Further, hypomethylation of the Il10rb locus in PILO was reversed in KD+PILO. White dots represent unmethylated and black dots methylated CpGs. d Gene expression of Camkk2 and Il10rb in PILO and PILO +KD. KD treatment partially rescued Camkk2 gene expression, but had no significant effect on Il10rb. C, CTRL control (white bar); P, PILO chronic epileptic animals (red bar); KD, PILO+KD pilocarpine injected animals receiving anti-convulsive ketogenic dietary treatment (blue bar). Asterisks indicate significance (univariate one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc test, p< 0.05) transcription factor signaling using GSEA. We found that genes downregulated in our epilepsy model (PILO and PILO+KD) shared binding motifs for neuron restrictive silencing factor (Nrsf) and suppressor of zeste 12 (Suz12). The former is a major transcriptional regulator of neuronal gene expression that recruits Dnmts and Hdacs, and the latter is a central component of the Polycomb repressor complex 2 (Prc2). Downregulated genes from PILO and PILO +KD animals with Suz12/Prc2 binding capacity were generally hypomethylated, consistent with a recent study [24]. Examination of upregulated genes in PILO and PILO +KD animals identified that nuclear factor kappa B (Nfkb), K(lysine) acetyltransferase 2 (Kat2a), zinc finger ZZ domain containing 3 (Zzz3), general transcription factor IIB (Gtf2b) and p300 binding motifs were commonly shared. Nfkb is a rapidly acting primary transcription factor that plays a key role in regulating inflammation and immune response also in epilepsy [74]. Kat2a, Zzz3 and p300 are distinguished transcriptional activators, which share histone acetyltransferase activity [70]. Taken together, our results indicate that important transcription factors, which serve to function in chromatin modification, together with DNA methylation may participate in regulating common patterns of gene expression in chronic epilepsy. Discussion This is the first report describing genome-wide changes in DNA methylation in the chronic stage of rat TLE. Dissecting rat hippocampal tissue, mRNA sequencing identified deregulation of seizure- and epilepsy-related genes, metabolic and key epigenetic enzymes or regulators. DNA methylation was found to be inversely correlated with gene expression, and candidate genes were validated using bisulfite sequencing and real-time PCR. Ketogenic diet, a well recognized anti-epileptic treatment in children with severe, chronic epilepsy [13, 54], attenuated seizure burden, delayed chronification of the disease and partially rescued the DNA methylation and corresponding gene expression phenotype. DNA methylation not only regulates cell fate determination and maturation in the brain but also plays a role for the induction of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, memory and cognition [20, 41, 42, 60]. The importance of epigenetic tuning of higher order brain function is emphasized by a growing number of neurological diseases that associate with alterations in DNA methylation, including autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, brain tumors, spinal muscular atrophy and, more recently, epilepsy [35]. So far, epigenetic gene regulation in epileptogenesis had only been investigated for individual candidate genes (e.g., Reelin, BDNF, GluR2) and/or focused on the very early stage of the disease, during or immediately following SE [36, 47, 53, 73]. Our present study is unique for its simultaneous DNA methylation and gene expression profiling, suggesting DNA methylation as potential molecular pathomechanism in chronic epilepsy contributing to the deregulation of multiple genes. We observed specific DNA methylation signatures, which readily discriminate chronic epileptic PILO from reference CTRL and PILO+KD animals using hierarchical cluster analysis. Genome-wide unsupervised clustering of an epigenetic mark could distinguish epileptic from non-epileptic animals. We observed more frequent hypermethylation of genes in rats with chronic epilepsy. Indeed, changes in DNA methylation were predominantly located at CGIs within gene bodies, and generally did not target gene promoters. A similar pattern of gene body methylation was recently described in the healthy rat and human methylome [15, 67]. In this study, DNA methylation was inversely correlated with gene expression. Targeted validation experiments supported this finding, providing some evidence for the biological significance of seizure-associated DNA methylation changes. Both hyper- and hypomethylation events were detected with subsequent gene repression or activation. The calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2, beta (Camkk2) was down-regulated in our chronic epileptic animals when compared to controls and showed intragenic hypermethylation. Camkk2 is a key enzyme in calcium signaling, which mainly phosphorylates Camk1 and Camk4 as well as AMP-activated protein kinase (Ampk). It further seems to be involved in hippocampal activation of the transcription factor cAMP response element binding protein (Creb1) and downstream immediate early genes [62]. Camkk2 is highly expressed in the brain, and involved in long-term potentiation and hippocampus-dependent memory formation [56], granule cell development [37] and cortical axon elongation [2]. Thus, altered expression of Camkk2 may contribute to seizureassociated memory impairment. In contrast, the Il10rb was hypomethylation in the chronic epileptic PILO cohort and this was consistent with increased gene expression. Il10rb belongs to the cytokine receptor family and is an essential accessory chain for the active IL-10 receptor complex. The localization of the IL-10 receptor in five major regions of the rat brain including hippocampus supports a central role in inflammation signaling [76]. Interestingly, the expression of IL-10 is elevated during the course of most major diseases in the CNS including TLE and promotes survival of neurons and all glial cells in the brain by blocking the effects of proapoptotic cytokines and promoting expression of cell survival signals [32, 71]. Therefore, overexpression of IL10rb in rat epilepsy could be a compensatory mechanism to limit brain damage following seizures. Genome-wide profiling also clearly identified methylation changes that did not correspond with gene expression changes. Transcriptional regulation is dependent on several mechanisms that include chromatin remodeling, microRNAs, histone modifications as well as transcription factor binding together with DNA methylation. Consistent with this, we identified differential gene expression for a number of epigenetic enzymes (Table 4 ) as well as binding motifs for key transcriptional activators (Nfkb, Kat2a, Zzz3, Gtf2b, p300) and repressors (Nrsf, Suz12) overrepresented in our gene sets. Interestingly, some transcription factors also function to regulate chromatin structure [ 3 , 29 , 46 , 70 ]. Our analysis highlighted Prc2 interaction conferred by Suz12. Previous studies suggest that the Prc2 complex may serve as a recruiting platform also for Dnmts, thereby linking two epigenetic repression systems [ 66 , 75 ]. Our data do not support this interplay as downregulated genes with Suz12 response element did not show increased DNA methylation. This finding is in line with recent studies, where authors showed that trimethylation of histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27) and DNA methylation are mutually exclusive particularly at CGIs [ 11 , 24 ]. Taken together, our in silico analysis of common transcription factor binding motifs supports a model of transcriptional regulation in chronic rat epilepsy, where gene activation is conferred by histone acetylation and gene suppression mediated by antagonistic effects of DNA and histone methylation. In this study, DNA methylation provided a strong signal to separate chronic epileptic rats from healthy controls, but it remained unsolved, whether the presence of spontaneous seizures (epilepsy) led to altered methylation, or if altered methylation influenced seizures. To test the first hypothesis, we analyzed whether early administration of a high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) would partially rescue the seizure-associated and gene regulating DNA methylation changes in our rat TLE model. The KD is a clinically effective treatment in children with epilepsy and severe cognitive impairment, pharmacoresistant to conventional and even newer anti-convulsant medications [54]. We show that KD administration in our epilepsy model partially attenuated seizure burden, delayed disease progression and interfered with aberrant seizure-related genomic and locus specific alterations in DNA methylation and gene expression. How the ketogenic diet works to control or attenuate seizures remains poorly understood [13, 48]. The mechanisms proposed include metabolic changes (restricting glycolysis, increasing fatty acid oxidation, mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis), increased GABAergic inhibition, modulation of oxidative stress and neuroprotection [63]. It is most likely that described mechanisms work complementary, and we suggest that direct or indirect induction of epigenetic changes may add to this complexity [23, 49, 68]. Consistent with our hypothesis that gene expression changes associated with the anti-seizure phenotype, we compared a differential gene list derived from a recent study involving also non-epileptic KD-treated control animals [10] with the rank of our PILO +KD cohort. Comparison of data sets showed no correlation of gene expression patterns with diet, supporting the idea that the anti-convulsive properties of the KD contribute to DNA methylation mediated gene expression changes in PILO +KD. Future studies could determine whether DNA methylation affects seizures using known DNMT inhibitors. Since they have not been tested thoroughly this remains speculative. The proposed relationship between neuronal hypersynchronous activity and gene regulation mediated by epigenetic changes could also be explored beyond the present study design to address timing and signal transition from the acute to the chronic disease phase as well as cell-specificity of epigenetic events. We cannot exclude that regional differences in DNA methylation and gene expression in our study may have been masked in part using whole hippocampus. Prospective utilization of microdissected homogenous cell populations from specific hippocampal subfields will help to decipher where exactly seizure-related DNA methylation changes occur (e.g., glia or the neuronal subpopulations of pyramidal and granular cells), and which of the detected signals in the present study were only related to cell composition effects in the different samples. In conclusion, the characterization of mechanisms underlying epigenetic changes in the chronic epileptic brain should lead to a better understanding of disease. We consider that our genome-wide analyses provide a comprehensive profile of DNA methylation mediated gene expression changes, and may help to identify new regulatory targets in epilepsy, which again could be addressed by novel treatment strategies. By defining the principal events mediating epigenomic changes it is anticipated that novel approaches will be developed to inhibit, attenuate or reverse the persistent deleterious consequences of seizures in the epileptic brain. AcknowledgmentsWe kindly thank T. Jungbauer and B. Rings for their expert technical assistance. This work was supported by EpiGENet (DFG Bl 421/3-1). Assam El-Osta is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. Conflict of interestAll authors confirm that there is no conflict of interest in relation to this article. Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited. References 1. NCBI Resource Coordinators (2013) Database resources of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Nucleic Acids Res 41:D8–D20 2. 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Consolidated Financial Statements August 31, 2018 and 2017 Utah Film Center Independent Auditor's Report To the Board of Directors Utah Film Center Salt Lake City, Utah Report on the Consolidated Financial Statements We have audited the accompanying consolidated financial statements of Utah Film Center, which comprise the consolidated statements of financial position as of August 31, 2018 and 2017, and the related consolidated statements of activities, functional expenses, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements. Management's Responsibility for the Consolidated Financial Statements Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; this includes the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. Auditor's Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor's judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity's preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity's internal control. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. Opinion In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Utah Film Center as of August 31, 2018 and 2017, and the changes in its net assets and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Salt Lake City, Utah December 19, 2018 5 Triad Center, Ste. 600\|Salt Lake City, UT 84180-1106\|T 801.532.2200\|F 801.532.7944\|EOE Consolidated Statements of Financial Position 3 19,501 2,231 29,822 46,369 61,075 97,184 18,658 61,994 4,507 65,360 55,256 16,707 9,851 9,858,306 (92,002) 61,376 2,158 18,723 23,615 40,838 165,892 74,326 6,778,295 26,297 74,433 5,198 72,931 54,090 72,462 922,054 10,780 10,070 8,413,538 (5,181) 8,408,357 6 Note 1 - Principal Activity and Significant Accounting Policies Organization Utah Film Center (UFC) is a nonprofit corporation organized to bring the world of film to local audiences through free community screenings and discussions, outreach programs, and visiting artists and professionals. UFC also acts as a fiscal sponsor for select film projects. UFC emphasizes social content and artistic excellence and presents documentary, independent, and dramatic cinema year-round. 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LGBT Film Festival - Damn These Heels! is a community event that illuminates LGBT issues, ideas, hopes and yearnings through the power of film. o Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children and Youth - Tumbleweeds is the only festival of its kind in the intermountain west and provides children ages 4-14 with access to films from around the world. * Utah Film Circuit – The Utah Film Circuit provides Utah's under-served communities with access to the best independent, international and documentary films that they would otherwise not have an opportunity to see. UFC works closely with locally based groups, who select, promote and coordinate programming for their specific community, based on UFC's core programming. * Education – UFC offers multiple development services and training of K-12 educators on how to integrate film making and the media arts into educational settings. UFC works closely with community partners to fund and offer its education programs. * Artist Foundry – The Artist Foundry was created to fill a need and empower local independent filmmakers to create fresh cinematic stories through community, resources, and infrastructure. * Fiscal Sponsorship – UFC acts as a fiscal sponsor for select film projects that are consistent with its mission, that emphasize social content and artistic excellence, including documentary, independent and dramatic films. Through the fiscal sponsorship program, UFC can ensure funding agencies and contributors that funds are well managed and spent according to their guidelines. Utah Film Support Foundation (the Foundation) is a separate nonprofit organization established solely to hold investments and to assist in funding UFC's operating rent costs. The Foundation is governed by a separate Board of Directors, the majority of which are appointed by UFC's Board of Directors. The Board of Directors of the Foundation authorizes supporting distributions to UFC or on behalf of UFC. Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Utah Film Center and Utah Film Support Foundation (effective with the establishment of the Foundation during the year ended August 31, 2017) because the Utah Film Center has both control and an economic interest in the Foundation. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Unless otherwise noted, these consolidated entities are hereinafter referred to as "the Center." Restricted Cash Restricted cash is restricted by the board for use in the fiscal sponsorship program including the payment of grants payable (Note 6). Contributions Receivable The Center records contributions receivable expected to be collected within one year at net realizable value. 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All other donor-restricted contributions are reported as increases in temporarily or permanently restricted net assets, depending on the nature of the restrictions. When a restriction expires, temporarily restricted net assets are reclassified to unrestricted net assets and reported in the statement of activities as net assets released from restrictions. Permanently Restricted Net Assets – Net assets whose use is limited by donor-imposed restrictions that neither expire by the passage of time nor can be fulfilled or otherwise removed by action of the Center. The restrictions stipulate that resources be maintained permanently but permit the Center to expend the income generated in accordance with the provisions of the agreements. At August 31, 2018 and 2017, the Center has no permanently restricted net assets. Revenue and Revenue Recognition Revenue is recognized when earned. Program service fees and payments under cost-reimbursable contracts received in advance are deferred to the applicable period in which the related services are performed or expenditures are incurred, respectively. Contributions are recognized when cash, securities or other assets, an unconditional promise to give, or notification of a beneficial interest is received. Conditional contributions receivable are not recognized until the conditions on which they depend have been substantially met. Donated Services and In-Kind Contributions Volunteers contribute significant amounts of time to the Center's program services, administration, and fundraising and development activities; however, the financial statements do not reflect the value of these contributed services because they do not meet recognition criteria prescribed by generally accepted accounting principles. Contributed goods are recorded at fair value at the date of donation. The Center records donated professional services at the respective fair values of the services received (Note 9). Advertising Costs Advertising costs are expensed as incurred, and approximated $147,000 and $73,000, during the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Functional Allocation of Expenses The costs of program and supporting services activities have been summarized on a functional basis in the consolidated statements of activities. The consolidated statements of functional expenses present the natural classification detail of expenses by function. Accordingly, certain costs have been allocated among the programs and supporting services benefited. Income Taxes The Center is organized as a Utah nonprofit corporation and has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Center is annually required to file a Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) with the IRS. In addition, the Center is subject to income tax on net income that is derived from business activities that are unrelated to its exempt purposes. The Center has determined it is not subject to unrelated business income tax and has not filed an Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return (Form 990-T) with the IRS. Management believes that it has appropriate support for any tax positions taken affecting its annual filing requirements and, as such, does not have any uncertain tax positions that are material to the consolidated financial statements. The Center would recognize future accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits and liabilities in income tax expense if such interest and penalties are incurred. Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates and those differences could be material. Financial Instruments of Credit Risk The Center manages deposit concentration risk by placing cash, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit with financial institutions believed by management to be creditworthy. At times, amounts on deposit may exceed insured limits or include uninsured investments in money market mutual funds. To date, the Center has not experienced losses in any of these accounts. Credit risk associated with contributions receivable is considered to be limited due to high historical collection rates and because substantial portions of the outstanding amounts are due from governmental agencies and foundations supportive of the Center's mission. Subsequent Events Management has evaluated subsequent events through December 19, 2018, the date the financial statements were available to be issued. Note 2 - Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures The Center reports certain assets at fair value in the consolidated financial statements. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset in an orderly transaction in the principal, or most advantageous, market at the measurement date under current market conditions regardless of whether that price is directly observable or estimated using another valuation technique. Inputs used to determine fair value refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the reporting entity's own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best information available. A three-tier hierarchy categorizes the inputs as follows: Level 1 – Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that we can access at the measurement date. Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, and market-corroborated inputs. Level 3 – Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability. In these situations, the Center develop inputs using the best information available in the circumstances. In some cases, the inputs used to measure the fair value of an asset or a liability might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those cases, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the same level of the fair value hierarchy as the lowest level input that is significant to the entire measurement. Assessing the significance of a particular input to entire measurement requires judgment, taking into account factors specific to the asset or liability. The categorization of an asset within the hierarchy is based upon the pricing transparency of the asset and does not necessarily correspond to our assessment of the quality, risk or liquidity profile of the asset or liability. At August 31, 2018 and 2017, investment assets are valued based on appraised values of the underlying assets invested in or values determined by management based on operating cash flows and an applied market based rate of capitalization expected to be used by a potential buyer of the investment and are classified within Level 3. The following table presents assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis at August 31, 2018: The following table presents assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis at August 31, 2017: Fair Value Measurements at Report Date Using Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) Operating investments Ownership interest in real estate limited liability companies 475,000 $ - $ - $ 475,000 $ Below is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balance of assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017: Fair Value Measurements at Report Date Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Ownership Interests 475,000 $ 31,653 73,160 (73,160) 506,653 $ Year Ended August 31, 2018 Balance, August 31, 2017 Unrealized gains Distributions from ownership interest in real estate limited liability companies Withdrawals Balance, August 31, 2018 Total Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Fair Value Measurements at Report Date Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Note 3 - Net Investment Return Net investment return consists of the following for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017: 2018 2017 Note 4 - Contributions Receivable Contributions receivable consists of the following for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017: Note 5 - Property and Equipment Property and equipment consists of the following for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017: Note 6 - Grants Payable Grants payable consists of amounts payable under the fiscal sponsorship program as follows for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017: Note 7 - Leases The Organization leases office space under an operating lease, and equipment under a capital lease expiring at various dates through 2023. Future minimum lease payments are as follows: Rent expense for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017, was $73,600 and $62,040, respectively. Leased property under capital leases at August 31, 2018 and 2017, includes: Note 8 - Temporarily Restricted Net Assets Temporarily restricted net assets consists of the following for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017: (a) During the year ended August 31, 2017, a contribution of ownership interests in real estate limited liabilities companies was made to the Utah Film Support Foundation (the Foundation), which is a Type I supporting organization under the Internal Revenue Code, and which exists solely to support the Utah Film Center. Under terms of the Foundation's organizing and governing documents, the Center controls the governing board of the Foundation. The Center, by virtue of its control of the Foundation's governing body, has the authority and control to determine how the assets and income from the Foundation are to be used by the Center. The Center has chosen to classify the nets assets as restricted for office rent during the period of its current lease. Note 9 - Donated Professional Services, Materials, and Facilities The Center received donated professional services, materials, and facilities as follows for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017: During the year ended August 31, 2017, the Center received and capitalized a donation of office furniture and improvements valued at $83,200. Note 10 - Related Party Transactions During the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017, the Center leased office space from an entity that is affiliated with certain members of the board of directors of the Foundation (see Note 7). Rent expense relating to this lease for the years ended August 31, 2018 and 2017 totals $73,600 and $62,040, respectively. During the year ended August 31, 2017, $20,680 was not required to be paid and is therefore recorded as in-kind donated rent. During the year ended August 31, 2017, the Center received a contribution of ownership interests in real estate limited liability companies totaling $475,000 from entities affiliated with certain members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation (see Notes 2 and 8).
Evolution Academy Trust Risk Assessment Policy Contents 1. Introduction Employers are required to conduct suitable and sufficient risk assessments. An employer with five or more employees must record significant findings of their risk assessments. Each risk needs to be managed and controlled as far as is reasonably practicable. 2. Government Guidance Evolution Academy Trust takes account of the Department for Education's (DFE) guidance Health and Safety: Responsibilities and Duties for Schools. The guidance stresses the importance of assessing risks and putting into place proportionate control measure. It also discusses the legal requirement to record details of risk assessment, the measures taken to reduce these risks and expected outcomes. The employees of Evolution Academy Trust take a 'common sense' and 'proportionate' approach to risk assessment and risk management. 3. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Guidance Definitions The HSE definitions are: * A hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer etc.; and * The risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be. Sensible Risk Assessment According to the HSE, sensible risk assessment is NOT about: * Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm; * Scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks; * Stopping important recreational and learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed; * Creating a totally risk-free society; or * Generating useless paperwork mountains. The HSE state that sensible approach to risk management is about: * Ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected; * Enabling innovation and learning not stifling them; * Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage significant risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action; * Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing significant risks - both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences; and * Enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility. Evolution Academy Trust takes note of the HSE advice in its risk management policies and practices. 4. Aims The aims of this policy are to: * Explain Evolution Academy Trust's requirements for risk assessment and management; and * Set out the various responsibilities. 5. Statement of Intent Evolution Academy Trust and its member schools: * Take all reasonable steps to provide safe and healthy conditions for pupils, employees and others who may be affected by its activities; * Assess risks to the health, safety and welfare of staff, pupils and others affected by the actions; and * Take sensible and proportionate steps to ensure compliance with all relevant health and safety legislation. 6. Responsibilities This risk management policy is largely dependent upon the total co-operation of every person who works in a member school of Evolution Academy Trust. All employees of Evolution Academy Trust and its member schools co-operate in ensuring the health and safety of all staff, students and visitors and for carrying out suitable and sufficient assessments in accordance with this policy. Trustees The Trustees are responsible for: * Ensuring that Evolution Academy Trust has in place a Health and Safety Policy and risk management procedures that are fit for purpose and reviewed annually; * Ensuring that the Head Teacher/Principal takes into account the views and recommendations of the staff; and * Appointing a Trustee to liaise with member schools on health and safety policies and procedures and the school's risk management. Health and Safety Committee Within its total responsibilities, the school Health and Safety Committee will: * Take into account Evolution Academy Trust's statement of intent and policies; * Make and review regularly specific health, safety, welfare and security arrangements for implementing this policy; * Consider accident, incident and ill health records and statistics; * Consider reports of any internal and external inspections; * Consider the school's management of risks; * Make recommendations on risk management; and * Make recommendations on risk management training. Head Teacher/Principal The Head Teacher/Principal (or, when absent, a nominated deputy) will be responsible for the overall implementation of Evolution Academy Trust's Health and Safety Policy in their school. As far as risk management is concerned, the Head Teacher/Principal of each school is responsible for and therefore does: * Ensure safe working conditions for all persons in the school (staff, students, visitors etc.); * Ensure safe working practices and procedures throughout the school, including those relating to the provision and use of machinery and other apparatus; * Ensure that staff are consulted appropriately on issues that affect them; * Determine in consultation with the Competent Person which risk assessments should be considered exceptional and be written, taking into account the DfE guidance Health and Safety: Responsibilities and Duties for Schools (see also the 'Written Records of Risk Assessments' section further down in this policy); * Ensure that the health and safety training needs of all staff and students are identified and appropriate training provided; * Encourage staff, students and others to promote health and safety and to suggest ways of reducing risks; * Ensure that sufficient and appropriate risk assessments are carried out and effective control measures are determined and carried out; * Delegate to appropriate tasks for the day-to-day implementation of the policy; * Delegate appropriate tasks to relevant staff; and * Ensure that relevant users are effectively using the school's health and safety management system. * Delegate as appropriate: * A representative to meet with staff health and safety representatives; * Ensure that teaching, administrative, catering and all ancillary staff are aware of aspects of the Health and Safety Policy that affect them; * Ensure that contractors and persons hiring any part of the premises are aware of the school policy; * Put in place procedures for ensuring that supply and peripatetic staff, visiting sports coaches and voluntary helpers understand and implement the Health and Safety Policy as appropriate; and * Oversee the efficient use of the school's health and safety management system to prompt and record the proper discharge of all necessary relevant risk management tasks. Head of Estates and Facilities (HEF) The HEF will work with the Trust's nominated and suitably qualified and 'competent person' (Handsam) and the Head Teacher/Principal in connection with risk management and therefore does: * Manage, co-ordinate and monitor health and safety matters; * Ensure that the Trust's Health and Safety Policy and systems are implemented; * Report regularly on health and safety issues; * Liaise as appropriate with the member of the Trustees with health and safety responsibility; * Maintain a suitable system for reporting accidents, near misses and concerns about staff or student welfare; * Ensure that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out and appropriate controls are implemented; * Ensure provision is made for the Head Teacher/Principal to obtain advice on which risk assessments should be written having taken into account Health and Safety: Responsibilities and Duties for Schools (see the 'Written Records of Risk Assessments' section further down in this policy); * Ensure that all contractors carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments and have a risk management system in place before carrying out work in the school; * Engage with the health and safety experts as appropriate, receive their reports and take any necessary action; * Ensure that fire risk assessments are carried out, appropriate equipment is in place and properly maintained, that regular fire drills are carried out recorded and monitored, that the required notices are in place and that appropriate training is given to relevant staff in accordance with the school's Fire Safety Policy; A competent person is someone with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to manage health and safety or else provide advice. The school has a duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to ensure access to competent advice. Staff with Departmental/Area Responsibilities Heads of departments/areas will be appropriately trained and are responsible to the Head Teacher/Principal through the HSM for the implementation and operation of the Health and Safety Policy and risk management as they affect their areas of responsibility. In order to discharge this responsibility, heads of departments/areas do: * Familiarise themselves with Evolution Academy Trust's Health and Safety Policy and all regulations and codes of practice relevant to the work in their areas of responsibility; * Participate as required in the work of Evolution Academy Trust member schools Health and Safety Committee; * Use the school's health and safety management system to record completion of the relevant tasks; * Ensure that risk assessments are carried out on any specific risk identified in the department/area and ensure that effective measures are taken to control those risks; * Provide appropriate health and safety information to relevant persons; and * Report any health and safety concerns to the HSM. The Staff All members of staff at Evolution Academy Trust member schools must: * Take all reasonable steps to safeguard the health and safety of themselves, all other staff, students in their care and any other persons who may be affected by their actions; * Understand and use the school reporting systems; * Take reasonable precautions in safeguarding themselves and others; * Know and understand the school's and any departmental health and safety policies; * Participate in assessing risks and the management of identified risks as appropriate; * Alert the Head Teacher/Principal, heads of areas/departments or HEF as appropriate to any potential hazard noticed; * Report any unsafe working practices to the HEF; * Report any concerns they may have about the health, safety and welfare of any student in their charge in line with the school's 'safeguarding students' procedures; * Ensure that no person uses a prescribed dangerous machine unless fully instructed in the dangers and precautions to be observed and have either received sufficient training in work at the machine, or are being supervised by someone with a thorough working knowledge of the machine; * Ensure that they are familiar with fire drills, fire alarm systems, means of escape and evacuation procedures. Staff should ensure that there is a fire drill notice clearly visible in the rooms in which they work; * Use the school's health and safety management system where relevant; and * Participate in any relevant training. 7. Training All staff required by Evolution Academy Trust member schools to produce risk assessments will undergo training provided by the Trust's nominated training provider. The training and recording of training will be managed locally by the individual school. Refresher training will be given every two years or sooner. 8. Risk Management Procedures Types of Risk Strategic risks or those affecting the whole school will be assessed by the HSM. Specific risks relating to specific activities will be assessed by the person in charge of the activity. Dynamic or continuing risks will be assessed and managed by the relevant person who is in charge at the time that the risk manifests itself. Procedure for Making an Assessment Evolution Academy Trust member schools follow the below procedure, which is adapted from the procedure recommended by the HSE: 1. Identify possible problems/risks; 2. Consider what needs to be done to minimise them; 3. Define the necessary actions; 4. Identify people to be responsible for their actions; 5. Set a time frame; 6. Implement; 7. Monitor progress; and 8. Review at the end. Following the assessment, the risk will be designated 'HIGH', 'MEDIUM', or 'LOW'. Appropriate controls will be determined, along with an identified person responsible for the control and a time by which the control must be completed and the risk made safe as far as is reasonably practicable. Carrying out the Controls In all cases in Evolution Academy Trust member schools, risks WILL be controlled either temporarily or permanently as soon as they have been identified. Activities identified as a very high risk should be stopped immediately until control measures have been identified and implemented and it has been considered how to deliver it safely. Risk Levels In determining the level of seriousness of the risk, two factors have to be assessed: * Risk severity; and * Risk likelihood. Risk likelihood will range from 'near impossible' to 'almost certain', while risk severity will range from 'insignificant' to 'fatal'. See Appendix A: Risk Assessment Template. Dynamic Risk Assessment Dynamic risk assessment is on the spot risk assessment by the relevant person who is in charge at the time that the risk manifests itself. For example, if plan A on an educational visit were to fall through and another activity needed to be arranged very last minute, the person in charge would mentally observe, assess and analyse the activity to identify and prevent/reduce risks. Another example could be a last minute idea for an activity during a lesson to engage pupils, for example asking pupils to act out a poem in English. Evolution Academy Trust encourages staff to quickly write down their thought process after a dynamic risk assessment on how they assessed the risk and what decisions they made in terms of potential hazards and control measures. 9. Written Records of Risk Assessments The DfE guidance Health and Safety: Responsibilities and Duties for Schools stresses the importance of recording details of risk assessment, the measures taken to reduce these risks and expected outcomes. There is no legal requirement for any particular layout of a risk assessment. There are many different versions. Evolution Academy Trust will use the risk assessment template in Appendix A of this policy. 10. Monitoring and Review The central trust team and Head Teacher/Principal will monitor the implementation of the policy and will report to the Trustees. The Trustees will review this policy annually and assess its implementation and effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout all trust member schools. Date of next review: ___________________ Signed: ______________________________ Date: _______________ Printed: ______________________________ Chair of Governors Signed: ______________________________ Date: _______________ Printed: ______________________________ Head Teacher/Principal APPENDIX A: RISK ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE Making risk assessments in the workplace is covered by the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999. There is no law about how risk assessments should be done or recorded, although the HSE has issued guidance on these. Although some risks cannot be prevented, you should always look to eliminate a risk where it is possible. Controlling risks that cannot be prevented should be focused on doing what is "reasonably practicable", with the aim to protect anyone likely to come into contact with the risk. No risk is averted by the amount of writing in a risk assessment. Be brief and to the point. For guidance on using the risk assessment, see table and explanations below. When Done \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| ?? : ? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| ?? : ?? \| \| \| \| Date: Date: \| \| \| \| Signature: \| \| Date: \| Please rate the Risk Severity and the Risk Likelihood using the below table both before and after the Control Measures. \| \| Risk Likelihood \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Risk Severity \| Total Risk calculation table \| 1: Near impossible \| \| 2: Unlikely \| \| 3: Notable chance \| \| 4: Likely \| \| 5: Almost certain \| \| \| \| 1: Insignificant \| \| 1 \| \| 2 \| \| 3 \| \| 4 \| \| 5 \| \| \| 2: Minor injuries \| \| 2 \| \| 4 \| \| 6 \| \| 8 \| \| 10 \| \| \| 3: Notable injuries \| \| 3 \| \| 6 \| \| 9 \| \| 12 \| \| 15 \| \| \| 4: Major injuries \| \| 4 \| \| 8 \| \| 12 \| \| 16 \| \| 20 \| \| \| 5: Fatal \| \| 5 \| \| 10 \| \| 15 \| \| 20 \| \| 25 \| Likelihood and severity form a ratio created by taking the number affixed to the relevant level of each in the white box – for example a "near impossible" risk likelihood and "minor injuries" risk severity would form a ratio of 1:2. These figures are then multiplied to form the inherent risk score, in this case 2. Repeat this process to ascertain your remaining likelihood and severity after control measures and then multiply the ratio to find your residual risk score. Risk Rating Calculation Total Risk = Remaining Risk Severity X Remaining Risk Likelihood A Total Risk score of 1-9 should mean you are safe to undertake the activity as long as the required control measures are in place throughout. A Total Risk score of 9-12 should mean you reconsider control measures, method or even necessity of activity before undertaking it. A Total Risk score of 13-25 should mean you do not undertake the activity at all until you have completely reconsidered how to deliver it safely. Please Also Note All risk assessments should be approved and signed by SMT/SLT/line management as appropriate. All accidents and incidents must be recorded in line with the school/academy's policy. Also report near misses – not just accidents or incidents. END OF DOCUMENT
ASSESSING CYBERCRIME LAWS FROM A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE ASSESSING CYBERCRIME LAWS FROM A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE1 The development of this document was made possible with support from the United States Department of State. GPD is grateful to all those who provided comments and feedback on earlier drafts of the document. This work is licensed under Creative Commons, Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike Contents p. 5 Foreword pp. 7-11 Section 1: Understanding cybercrime * What is cybercrime? * What is cybercrime legislation? pp. 12—21 Section 2: Framework for analysing cybercrime legislation * Substantive elements * Procedural elements pp. 22—25 Section 3: Conditions and safeguards pp. 26—37 Annexes * Terminology * Key points to look out for in cybercrime legislation * Good and bad practice examples * Expanded methodology Foreword This tool aims to support the development of human rights-respecting cybercrime legislation. Drawing upon international standards, it provides a standalone framework for assessing the different elements of cybercrime legislation from a human rights perspective. It also provides examples of good and poor practice from existing pieces of cybercrime legislation across the world, and highlights further considerations, beyond the text of the legislation, that governments and other stakeholders should take into account when developing or revising cybercrime legislation. HOW DO I USE THE GUIDE? WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR? Section 1 of this tool sets out a brief background of cybercrime as an issue, what cybercrime legislation looks like, and how to use this tool. Section 2 provides a framework for analysing the key elements of cybercrime legislation, how these can respect and protect human rights, and provides examples of good practice seen in existing cybercrime legislation. Section 3 sets out further considerations, beyond the text of the legislation itself, that are necessary when it comes to enforcement. Annex 1 to this tool provides definitions of some of the key terms used in this tool (these are all highlighted in bold blue text throughout the tool), while Annex 2 distils the tool into a summary of 10 key things to look out for in cybercrime legislation from a human rights perspective. Annex 3 sets out a list of real life examples—both good and bad—of cybercrime legislation. The tool can be used both by those within governments who are developing or revising legislation themselves and other stakeholders, such as civil society organisations, who are engaging in that process. While designed primarily for use at the point at which cybercrime legislation is being developed or revised, it can also be used to assess existing cybercrime legislation to identify areas where reform might be needed. METHODOLOGY The methodology used in this tool is based on international human rights law, primarily the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as its elaboration and interpretation by UN Treaty Bodies. It also substantially draws on the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime (the Budapest Convention), which came into force in 2004 as the first multilateral treaty on cybercrime. For a more detailed rationale for our methodological approach, see Annex 4. 01 Understanding cybercrime legislation In this section, we first set out an explanation of what cybercrime is and what cybercrime legislation looks like. We then explain how to use this tool to assess specific elements of cybercrime legislation from a human rights perspective. What is cybercrime? While there is no single, universally used definition of "cybercrime", criminal offences which can constitute cybercrimes can be divided into two broad categories: 1. Cyber-dependent crimes: crimes that can be committed only through the use of computers and other ICTs. e.g unauthorised data access and interference (or, hacking). 2. Cyber-enabled crimes: crimes which can be committed without computers or ICTs, but can also be committed, and potentially increased in scale or reach, with them. e.g. fraud In practice, the line between these two categories is sometimes blurred and cybercrime legislation may not make a distinction between them. While cyber-dependent crimes, because of their nature, require specific criminal offences which make reference to the use of ICTs, the same is not necessarily true for cyber-enabled crimes. A criminal offence of fraud or theft, for example, can be committed either using ICTs or without them. In the majority of cases, a generally worded criminal offence should be able to cover both categories of cybercrime. In some cases, depending on the nature of the criminal offence, all that might be needed is to ensure that the wording of the offence explicitly includes language that ensures that it would apply to situations where it is committed using ICTs. What is cybercrime legislation? Cybercrime legislation will ordinarily comprise two types of provisions: 1. Substantive elements: the specific criminal offences that are prohibited. 2. Procedural elements: the tools, mechanisms and powers established by the legislation to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of those criminal offences. Depending on the particular legal system in a state, cybercrime legislation can take different forms. It might be a standalone piece of legislation, spread across different pieces of legislation, or part of a much more comprehensive instrument, such as a Criminal or Penal Code. As explained in the Methodology in Annex 4, this tool draws in particular upon the Budapest Convention, in relation to both substantive and procedural elements. From a human rights perspective, the Budapest Convention—while not perfect—is the best existing example of a framework which, if incorporated appropriately into domestic legislation, mitigates risks to human rights, and actively protects and enhances the enjoyment of human rights. 02 Framework for analysing cybercrime legislation This section looks at different elements of cybercrime legislation. For each element, we set out what its links are to human rights, what a rightsrespecting provision should look like, and any further considerations that you should bear in mind when developing or reviewing the element. A list of good (and bad) examples for each of the elements covered can be found in Annex 3. Substantive elements Cyber dependent crimes (i) Unauthorised access (ii) Unauthorised interception Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Criminal offences of unauthorised access help protect individuals' right to privacy, both by ensuring that they alone have control over their property (which includes their computers and devices) and the information, communications or data contained within. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The criminal offence should prohibit the access to a computer system, or any part of one, without authorisation. * The criminal offence should require an intention to access the computer system, or any part of one, and knowledge that it is unauthorised. What further considerations are needed? * Some states require additional elements to be satisfied for the offence to be committed, e.g. that it involves the infringement of security measures, is done with the intent of obtaining computer data or some other dishonest intent, or is done in relation to a computer system that is connected to another computer system. But a broader offence without these qualifications is preferable from a human rights perspective, as it captures more activity that could potentially infringe upon the right to privacy. * Some model laws include further criminal offences, like "unauthorised remaining" (remaining logged into a computer system, or continuing to use it) and "data espionage" (obtaining computer data which are not meant for the person). Such offences are unnecessary. Why is this important from a human rights perspective? The purpose of prohibiting unauthorised interception of the transmission of data is to prevent people from being able to access or view others' information, data or communications where they are not authorised to do so. This has strong links to the right to privacy, since it relates to individuals' control over their information, communications and data. How should this element be formulated in the law? The criminal offence should prohibit the unauthorised interception by technical means of either any nonpublic transmission to, from or within a computer system; or electromagnetic emissions from a computer system that are carrying computer data. The criminal offence should require an intention to intercept the transmission or emissions. What further considerations are needed? Some states require additional elements to be satisfied for the offence to be committed, e.g. that there be dishonest intent, or that the interception take place in relation to a computer system that is connected to another computer system. As above, a broader offence without these qualifications is preferable from a human rights perspective. Substantive elements Cyber dependent crimes (iii) Data interference (iv) System interference Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Criminal offences of data interference can therefore protect individuals' right to privacy by ensuring that they retain control over the information, communications or data contained within their computers and other devices. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The criminal offence should prohibit the damaging, deletion, deterioration, alteration or suppression of computer data without authorisation. * The criminal offence should require an intention to commit one of these acts. What further considerations are needed there? * It might be beneficial to clarify that an offence can be committed regardless of whether the effect of the act is permanent or temporary. * Some states require additional elements to be satisfied for the offence to be committed, e.g. that the act resulted in serious harm. While the Budapest Convention allows countries to make their own interpretations of what constitutes such serious harm, its Explanatory Report provides that "Parties should notify the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of their interpretation if use is made of this reservation possibility". Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Criminal offences of system interference help protect individuals' right to privacy by ensuring that they alone have control over the data contained within their computers and other devices, and protect their right to freedom of expression by ensuring that communications remain open and uninterrupted. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The criminal offence should prohibit hindering or interfering with the functioning of a computer system, or with a person who is lawfully using or operating a computer system, without authorisation. * The criminal offence should require an intention to commit one of the acts. What further considerations are needed there? * It might be beneficial, for the purpose of legal certainty, to clarify that "hinder" includes (but is not limited to): * causing electromagnetic interference to a computer system; * cutting the electricity supply to a computer system; * corrupting a computer system by any means; and * inputting, destroying, deleting or altering computer data. Some model laws include a further offence of interfering with systems used for critical infrastructure operations. The Budapest Convention does not make this distinction—which is best practice, as it avoids both the duplication of offences, and potential risks arising from an overly broad definition of "critical infrastructure". Substantive elements Cyber dependent crimes (v) Offences relating to the misuse of items How should this element be formulated in the law? Why is this important from a human rights perspective? As cyber-dependent crimes, committing one of the four offences listed above necessitates the use of a computer, and potentially other "items" (the term used in the Budapest Convention), such as pieces of physical equipment, computer programs, or passwords. These items are often developed specifically to be used to commit cyber-dependent crimes (and, potentially, cyber-enabled crimes). Creating offences relating to these items—such as their production, sale or supply— can help further reduce the occurrence of cybercrimes by making it less likely that the necessary items will be accessible to those who wish to commit them. They therefore indirectly help protect individuals' rights to privacy and freedom of expression. The criminal offence should prohibit the following acts, without authorisation: * producing, selling, procuring for use, importing, exporting, distributing or otherwise making available: * a computer password, access code or similar data by which the whole or any part of a computer system is capable of being accessed; or * a device, including a computer program, that is designed or adapted for the purpose of committing one of the four offences listed above; or * having an item mentioned above in his or her possession. The criminal offence should require an intention that the item be used by the person, or any other person, for the purpose of committing one of the four cyberdependent offences listed above. Substantive elements Cyber enabled crimes (i) Computer-related forgery (ii) Computer-related fraud Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Unlike almost all other cybercrimes listed in this tool, offences of forgery do not have any particular impact upon the rights to privacy or freedom of expression. They can, of course, still lead to other societal and individual harms. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The criminal offence should prohibit the unauthorised input, alteration, deletion, or suppression of computer data, resulting in inauthentic data. * The criminal offence should require an intention that the computer data be considered or acted upon for legal purposes as if it were authentic, regardless of whether or not the data is directly readable and intelligible. What further considerations are needed there? Some states have taken a narrower approach to the mental culpability requirement of this criminal offence and require an additional qualifying element, such as an intention to defraud, or for there to be some other dishonest intent. Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Computer-related fraud is included in the Budapest Convention to reflect the fact that many assets are now represented in computer systems. Offences of fraud can adversely impact upon the right to privacy, primarily when an individual fraudulently impersonates another or assumes their identity. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The criminal offence should prohibit the unauthorised causing of a loss of property to another person through the input, alteration, deletion or suppression of computer data, or an interference with the functioning of a computer system. * The criminal offence should require an intention to fraudulently or dishonestly procure an economic benefit for oneself or another person. Substantive elements Cyber dependent crimes (iii) Offences related to child sexual abuse material What further considerations are needed there? Why is this important from a human rights perspective? The ability to create and distribute images and videos online has made it far easier for images and videos of child sexual abuse (child sexual abuse material) to be shared. While not primarily considered as infringing the rights to privacy or freedom of expression, the sexual abuse of children is a gross violation of children's rights. How should this element be formulated in the law? The criminal offence should prohibit the following: * producing child sexual abuse material for the purpose of its distribution through a computer system; * distributing or transmitting child sexual abuse material through a computer system; * offering or making available child sexual abuse material through a computer system; * procuring child sexual abuse material through a computer system for oneself or for another person; * possessing child sexual abuse material in a computer system or on a computer-data storage medium. The offence should require an intention to commit any of the above acts. It might be beneficial to clarify that there are certain, limited defences when the person's actions were for a legitimate scientific, research, media or law enforcement purpose. (iv) Other substantive offences As noted above, there is not always a need for cyberenabled crimes to be addressed through specific criminal offences which only apply when their commission involves ICTs. However, there are various examples of cybercrime legislation which include additional substantive offences. Some of these, such as provisions prohibiting the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, may be considered rights-promoting provisions. But many of these offences, including those provided below, are broadly worded and pose risks to human rights, particularly freedom of expression. We present a few examples of bad practice in Annex 3. Procedural elements (i) Expedited preservation of computer data Why is this important from a human rights perspective? provision enable the automatic disclosure of the data to the competent authority. Data disclosure should be regulated under a separate provision (see below, under "Production orders"). This relates to the preservation of computer data held by telecommunications or internet service providers, so that it can be used by law enforcement in their investigations. This data may well include personal information, however, and therefore falls within the scope of concerned individuals' rights to privacy. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The provision should require that any order to preserve computer data be made by an individual of at least a specified rank within a competent authority, such as a police officer. * The provision should require the individual to be satisfied that the computer data that is the subject of the order is "reasonably required for the purposes of a criminal investigation". * The provision should only enable the individual to order or obtain the computer data in specified criminal investigations or proceedings, and not generally. * The provision should also require the individual to be satisfied that "there is a risk that the computer data may be destroyed or rendered inaccessible". * The provision should set a maximum period for which the computer data must be preserved. * The provision should require that any order be made by written notice to the person who is in control of the computer system. * The provision should not require a service provider to collect or retain any particular data, nor should the provision require them to introduce new technical capabilities. Nor should the * The provision should ensure that any order to preserve traffic data can be made to multiple service providers where more than one was involved in the transmission of that traffic data. (ii) Production orders Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Since computer data and subscriber information—often crucial to law enforcement investigations—is generally held by third parties, cybercrime legislation usually includes provisions to enable the law enforcement to gain access to it. As both computer data and subscriber information include personal information, this provision can pose risks to individuals' rights to privacy. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The provision should require that any order to produce computer data or subscriber information should be made by a judge or magistrate. * The provision should only enable a production order to be made in relation to specified computer data or subscriber information. * The provision should require that any application for a production order be made by an individual of at least a specified rank within a competent authority, such as a police officer. * The provision should only enable a production order to be made for the purposes of specified criminal investigations or proceedings, and not generally. * Where a production order for computer data which constitutes content data is being sought, the provision should only enable this to be made for the most serious offences which should themselves be enumerated in the legislation. * For computer data, it should only be possible for a production order to be directed toward a person where that data is under the person's "possession or control". * The provision should require the judge or magistrate to be satisfied that the computer data or subscriber information that is the subject of the order is "reasonably required for the purpose of a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings". * For subscriber information, it should only be possible for a production order to be directed toward the relevant service provider. * The provision should not require a person or a service provider to collect or retain any particular data or information, nor should the provision require them to introduce new technical capabilities. (iii) Search and seizure of computer data Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Powers for law enforcement agencies to seize and search physical items for the purpose of criminal investigations and proceedings are a standard part of criminal procedural law. In some jurisdictions, these general powers may also be available in relation to computer data, in which case separate provisions may not be needed. However, in many jurisdictions, these general powers do not apply, or sit awkwardly with the non-physical nature of computer data, making specific powers necessary. As with the seizure and search of any physical items, the right to privacy is almost always engaged by the search and seizure of computer data, which is likely to contain personal information. How should this element be formulated in the law? There is rarely one standard procedural provision for this. Sometimes it will be proportionate for a law enforcement agent to be able to seize and search items when a person is arrested—e.g. if an item in their possession obviously relates to that offence. In other situations, proportionality may require a warrant or order from a magistrate or judge beforehand. (iv) Real-time collection of traffic data Why is this important from a human rights perspective? Being able to access and collect traffic data in real time, in appropriate circumstances, is critical to ensuring that law enforcement agencies are able to investigate and prevent cybercrimes before harm is caused, or to mitigate their impact. However, the interception of traffic data is an intrusion into affected individuals' right to privacy; revealing who they are communicating with, when and for how long, their location at the time of the communications, as well as the websites that they visit. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The provision should allow competent authorities to access or collect traffic data - with the assistance of service providers if necessary - in real time, if certain conditions (set out below) are met. * The provision should require that any traffic data collected or recorded can only be accessed by a competent authority with judicial authorisation, or an individual of at least a specified rank within the competent authority. * The provision should also allow competent authorities to require service providers to collect traffic data in real time, and to provide it to those authorities, if certain conditions (set out below) are met. * The provision should only enable the collection or recording of traffic data in relation to specified communications and for a specified duration, rather than generally. * The provision should require the authorising judge or individual of at least a specified rank to be satisfied that access to the traffic data is relevant to a particular criminal investigation and a proportionate measure. (v) Interception of content data Why is this important from a human rights perspective? * Content data refers to the content of a communication, i.e. the actual message or information being conveyed by a communication, as opposed to the traffic data. This content data can be criminal in and of itself—e.gif it is child pornography—or evidence of another criminal offence, such as communications which reveal the planning of a crime. * However, the interception of content data is a heavy intrusion into affected individuals' right to privacy, meaning that strong safeguards are necessary to ensure that the power is only available when necessary and proportionate. How should this element be formulated in the law? * The provision should allow competent authorities to access or collect content data - with the assistance of service providers if necessary - in real time, if certain conditions (set out below) are met. * The provision should require that any content data recorded can only be accessed by a competent authority with judicial authorisation, or an individual of at least a specified rank within the competent authority. * The provision should also allow competent authorities to require service providers to collect content data in real time, and to provide it to those authorities, if certain conditions (set out below) are met. * The provision should only enable access to content data in relation to specified content data or a specified individual, and for a specified duration, rather than generally. * The provision should require the authorising judge or individual of at least a specified rank to be satisfied that access to the content data is necessary and proportionate, and that no less intrusive measure would be effective in achieving the aim sought. * The provision should only enable access to content data in relation to the most serious offences and these should be set out in law. 03 Conditions and safeguards As noted in Section 1, states have obligations under international human rights law to respect, protect and promote human rights. In this Section, we outline how cybercrime legislation can align with these obligations. Conditions and safeguards Cybercrime legislation needs to be drafted, implemented and enforced in a way consistent with states' obligations under international human rights law. Recognition of this requirement is reinforced in the Budapest Convention which, through Article 15, requires states parties to: "ensure that the establishment, implementation and application of the powers and procedures provided for in this Section are subject to conditions and safeguards provided for under its domestic law, which shall provide for the adequate protection of human rights and liberties, including rights arising pursuant to obligations it has undertaken under the 1950 Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the 1966 United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other applicable international human rights instruments, and which shall incorporate the principle of proportionality." There are a number of levels at which conditions and safeguards can exist: * In relation to each specific criminal offence or procedural provision; * In relation to the criminal law generally; and * In relation to cybercrimes generally; * In relation to the national legal framework generally. The necessary conditions and safeguards for each specific criminal offence or procedural provisions are set out in Section 3 of this guide. However, states should also consider what further conditions and safeguards are necessary in relation to the three other levels. While this section of the guide does not provide a comprehensive list of those conditions and safeguards, there are a number which will be common across states and should be considered essential. Conditions and safeguards in relation to cybercrimes generally The procedural provisions which give powers to law enforcement agencies should only be used in relation to the specified cybercrimes. There should always be a requirement that clearly articulated thresholds are met before a judge or magistrate is able to authorise certain actions. There should always be a requirement for any action taken to be proportionate, and for the rights of individuals and third parties to be taken into account. Conditions and safeguards in relation to the criminal law generally There should be sufficient training for judges and law enforcement agencies on cybercrime legislation and human rights, as part of their broader training. There should be effective and independent oversight of the actions of law enforcement agencies and the use of their powers under cybercrime legislation. The criminal law should ensure general procedural rights, including the presumption of innocence, the right to fair trial, equality of arms, and the prohibition of prosecution for the same offence more than once. The criminal law should allow for appropriate defences to criminal offences, such as necessity and duress. The criminal procedural law should allow for prosecutorial discretion not to prosecute offences where it would not be in the public interest to do so. Conditions and safeguards in relation to the national legal framework generally The existence of a fully independent and impartial judicial system, and respect for the rule of law. The existence of a general human rights framework in the state - either through the constitution or specific legislation - which obliges public authorities, including law enforcement agencies, to act compatibly with human rights, and through which legislation and the actions of public authorities can be challenged on human rights grounds. Annexes Annex 1: Terminology Access: The term "access" is not defined in any existing frameworks, however the Explanatory Report to the Budapest Convention notes that it should include "the entering of the whole or any part of a computer system (hardware, components, stored data of the system installed, directories, traffic and content-related data)" but that it would not include "the mere sending of an e-mail message or file to that system". Competent authority: The "competent authority" in a state is the judicial, administrative or other law enforcement authority that is empowered by domestic law to order, authorise or undertake the execution of procedural measures for the purpose of collection or production of evidence with respect to specific criminal investigations or proceedings. Authorisation: The term "authorisation" means either the express permission of the owner of the computer or device, or some other lawful reason or justification. See also "unauthorised". Child sexual abuse imagery / child pornography: While the term "child pornography" is increasingly seen as inappropriate given that it suggests a degree of complicity or consent on the part of the child, it is still the term used in many legal instruments, including the Budapest Convention. The term "child sexual abuse material" (CSAM) (or sometimes "child sexual abuse imagery" (CSAI)) is now considered to be more appropriate to describe the phenomenon. The term is partially defined in the Budapest Convention as including "pornographic material that visually depicts: (a) a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct; (b) a person appearing to be a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct; or (c) realistic images representing a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct". * Note 2: The Budapest Convention allows states parties to exclude (b) and (c) from the definition of "child pornography". * Note 1: The Budapest Convention leaves it to the discretion of states parties as to what age a person should be considered "minor", suggesting that it include all persons under the age of 18 years, but allowing states parties to set a lower age limit of not less than 16 years. Computer data: The term "computer data" is defined in the Budapest Convention as: "Any representation of facts, information or concepts in a form suitable for processing in a computer system, including a program suitable to cause a computer system to perform a function". Computer system: The term "computer system" is defined in the Budapest Convention as: "Any device or a group of interconnected or related devices, one or more of which, pursuant to a program, performs automatic processing of data". Content data: The term "content data" is not defined in the Budapest Convention, but should be understood to refer to the content of a communication, i.e. everything that is part of a communication that is not traffic data. Service provider: The term "service provider" is defined in the Budapest Convention as: "(a) any public or private entity that provides to users of its service the ability to communicate by means of a computer system, and (b) any other entity that processes or stores computer data on behalf of such communication service or users of such service." Specified rank: The term "specified rank" refers to the rank of individual within the state's competent authority who has sufficient seniority to be able to order, authorise or undertake the execution of procedural measures for the purpose of collection or production of evidence with respect to specific criminal investigations or proceedings. Subscriber information: The term "subscriber information" is defined in the Budapest Convention as: "Any information contained in the form of computer data or any other form that is held by a service provider, relating to subscribers of its services other than traffic or content data and by which can be established: (a) the type of communication service used, the technical provisions taken thereto and the period of service; (b) the subscriber's identity, postal or geographic address, telephone and other access number, billing and payment information, available on the basis of the service agreement or arrangement; (c) any other information on the site of the installation of communication equipment, available on the basis of the service agreement or arrangement." Traffic data: The term "traffic data" is defined in the Budapest Convention as: "Any computer data relating to a communication by means of a computer system, generated by a computer system that formed a part in the chain of communication, indicating the communication's origin, destination, route, time, date, size, duration, or type of underlying service." Unauthorised: An action should be deemed to be unauthorised unless it took place with the express permission of the owner, or the person who took the action had a lawful reason or justification to do so. Annex 2: Key points to look out for in cybercrime legislation 1. The criminal offence should generally be limited to, and modelled on, those contained in the Budapest Convention. enforcement agency with a high level of seniority. 2. Each criminal offence should be provided for in a stand-alone section or article in national legislation. Even similar offences, such as data interference and system interference, should not be combined but provided as separate offences. 8. Any procedural provisions which give law enforcement agencies powers which interfere with the right to privacy should only be permissible where an assessment has been made their particular use is necessary and proportionate, and then alternative measures would be less effective. 3. The wording of criminal offences and procedural elements should reflect the technically-neutral language used in the Budapest Convention. Technology specific offences or non-neutral terms should be avoided. 5. Any cyber-enabled criminal offences which prohibit certain forms of online content or activity should be consistent with criminal offences relating to offline forms of expression and activity. Both the scope and potential punishments should be consistent. Forms of expression or activity should not be prohibited solely when they take place online. 4. Any cyber-enabled criminal offences which prohibit certain forms of online content or activity should be clear and precise in scope, pursue a legitimate aim listed under Article 19(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and be proportionate. 6. Any procedural provisions which give law enforcement agencies powers which interfere with the right to privacy should be limited to the most serious criminal offences and time-limited. 7. Any procedural provisions which give law enforcement agencies powers which interfere with the right to privacy should ordinarily require authorisation from a judicial authority. Where this is not possible, and for less intrusive measures only, exercise of the powers should at least require authorisation from an individual within the law 9. Sanctions for criminal offences or non-compliance with procedural powers should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Disproportionate penalties, such as excessive fines or periods of imprisonment, should be avoided, and judges given discretion to ensure that they impose an appropriate sanction. 10. The legislation should not authorise internet shutdowns, network disruptions or any other measure which restricts the ability of individuals to use the internet. Annex 3: Good and bad examples of practice For each element of a cybercrime law, as set out in the Framework, we've chosen a real life example of good practice, drawn from different countries around the world. The text for each of these good practice examples can be taken as a "model"—insofar as it aligns with the core provisions and parameters of the Budapest Convention. We've also highlighted a few examples of bad practice, and explained why these fall short of a rights-respecting approach. Substantive elements Cyber-dependent crimes (i) Unauthorised access Good Practice (Botswana): Section 4(1)(a) of the Cybercrime and Computer Related Crimes Act, 2018 prohibits unauthorised access. It provides that "any person who (a) intentionally accesses or attempts to access the whole or any part of a computer or computer system knowing that the access he or she intends to secure is unauthorised (...) commits an offence". This provision is closely modelled on the wording of the offence of illegal access in the Budapest Convention. (ii) Unauthorised interception Good Practice (Tonga): Section 7 of the Computer Crimes Act prohibits "illegal interception of data" and provides that "A person who, willfully without lawful excuse, intercepts by technical means: (a) any transmission to, from or within a computer system; or (b) electromagnetic emissions from a computer system that are carrying computer data, commits an offence". This provision is closely modelled on the wording of the offence of illegal interception in the Budapest Convention. (iii) Data interference Good Practice (Tanzania): Section 7(1) of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 prohibits "illegal data interference" and provides that "A person who intentionally and unlawfully (a) damages or deteriorates computer data; (b) deletes computer data; (c) alters computer data; (d) renders computer data meaningless, useless or ineffective; (e) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use of computer data; (f) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with any person in the lawful use of computer data; or (g) denies access to computer data to any person authorized to access it, commits an offence". This provision contains all the essential elements of the offence of data interference in the Budapest Convention. (iv) System interference Good Practice (Romania): Article 45 of the Law 161/2003 on preventing and fighting cybercrime prohibits "system interference". It provides "The act of causing serious hindering, without right, of the functioning of a computer system, by inputting, transmitting, altering, deleting or deteriorating computer data or by restricting the access to such data is a criminal offence". This provision is closely modelled on the wording of the offence of system interference in the Budapest Convention. While the mental element is not provided for in this particular article, the Criminal Code specifies that intention is required. (v) Offences relating to the misuse of items Good Practice (Philippines): Section 4(a)(5) of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 provides that the following are criminal offences: "(i) The use, production, sale, procurement, importation, distribution, or otherwise making available, without right, of: (aa) A device, including a computer program, designed or adapted primarily for the purpose of committing any of the offenses under this Act; or (bb) A computer password, access code, or similar data by which the whole or any part of a computer system is capable of being accessed with intent that it be used for the purpose of committing any of the offenses under this Act. (ii) The possession of an item referred to in paragraphs 5(i)(aa) or (bb) above with intent to use said devices for the purpose of committing any of the offenses under this section". These provisions are closely modelled on the wording of the offence of misuse of devices in the Budapest Convention. (b) Cyber-enabled crimes (i) Computer-related forgery Good Practice (Fiji): Section 9 of the Cybercrime Act 2020 prohibits computer-related forgery and provides that "A person who without lawful authority or reasonable excuse inputs, alters, deletes or suppresses computer data, resulting in inauthentic data with the intention of obtaining a gain for the person or another person, or causing loss to another person or exposing another person to risk of loss, commits an offence". This provision is closely modelled on the wording of the offence of computer-related forgery in the Budapest Convention. (ii) Computer-related fraud Good Practice (Antigua and Barbuda): Section 7(1) of the Electronic Crimes Act 2013 provides that: "A person commits the offence of electronic fraud if that person intentionally and without lawful excuse, induces another person to enter into a relationship with intent to defraud that person or cause that other person to act to his own detriment, or suffer financial loss or loss of property, by – (a) any input, alteration, deletion, or suppression of computer data; or (b) any interference with the functioning of an electronic system". This provision contains all essential elements of the offence of computer-related fraud in the Budapest Convention. (iii) Offences related to child sexual abuse material Good Practice (Nigeria): Section 23 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 provides that "(1) Any person who intentionally uses any computer system or network in or for (a) producing child pornography; (b) offering or making available child pornography; (c) distributing or transmitting child pornography; (d) procuring child pornography for oneself or for another person; (e) possessing child pornography in a computer system or on a computer-data storage medium: commits an offence". This provision is closely modelled on the wording of offences related to child pornography in the Budapest Convention. Bad Practice (Oman): Article 14 of the Cybercrime Law provides that "The penalty with imprisonment for a period not less than one month and not exceeding one year and a fine not less than OMR one hundred and not exceeding OMR one thousand or by either penalty, shall be applied to any person who uses the informational network or the information technology facilities to produce or procure or distribute or make available or transmit or sale or purchase or import pornography materials, unless such actions were permitted for scientific or technical purposes. The punishment shall be for a period not less than one year and not exceeding three years and a fine not less than OMR one thousand and not exceeding OMR five thousands if the subject matter of the pornography program is a juvenile of less than eighteen years of age or he is meant by the criminal act and the same punishment shall be applied to any person who uses the informational network or the facilities of the information technology to possess juvenile pornography". This provision criminalises both pornography and child sexual abuse material, which would deviate significantly from the Budapest Convention. (iv) Other substantive offences Bad Practice (Cameroon): Section 78 of the Law N° 2010/012 of 21 December 2010 on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime in Cameroon broadly prohibits the dissemination of false information and provides that "(1) Whoever uses electronic communications or an information system to design, to publish or propagate a piece of information without being able to attest its veracity or prove that the said piece of information was true shall be punished with imprisonment for from 06 (six) months to 02 (two) years or a fine of from 5,000,000 (five million) to 10,000,000 (ten million) CFA francs or both of such fine and imprisonment. (2) The penalties provided for in Subsection 1 above shall be doubled where the offence is committed with the aim of disturbing public peace." This provision may pose risks to individuals' right to freedom of expression online because it is unclear how to determine whether information is true, or the scope of what information is covered by this law. Section 78 does not provide clear guidance for individuals and could provide an overly wide degree of discretion to those charged with the enforcement of this law. Bad Practice (Saudi Arabia): Article 7(1) of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law prohibits "cyber terrorism" and provides that "Any person who commits one of the following cyber crimes shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, and a fine not exceeding five million riyals or to either punishment: (1) The construction or publicising of a website on the information network or on a computer for terrorist organisations to facilitate communication with leaders or members of such organizations, finance them, promote their ideologies, publicise methods of making incendiary devices or explosives, or any other means used in terrorist activities." While the criminalisation of terrorist content online is not in and of itself a threat to freedom of expression, this particular offence is superfluous as it would not cover activity that is not already prohibited in a general terrorism-related offence. Creating separate offences for activity when they take place with and without a computer is not always appropriate. In most cases, as with this one, a generally worded offence should be able to cover the different ways that it can be committed, including through the use of a computer system. Bad Practice (Uganda): Section 24(2) of the Computer Misuse Act, 2011 prohibits "cyber harassment" and provides that "For purposes of this section cyber harassment is the use of a computer for any of the following purposes—(a) making any request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene, lewd, lascivious or indecent; (b) threatening to inflict injury or physical harm to the person or property of any person; or (c) knowingly permits any electronic communications device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in this section." Section 24(2)(a) poses a clear threat to freedom of expression as it broadly prohibits any requests, suggestions or proposals which are "obscene, lewd, lascivious or indecent". However, section 24(2)(b) which prohibits "threatening to inflict injury or physical harm to the person or property of any person" is likely to be a permissible restriction as the offence is clear in scope and would pursue a legitimate aim under international human rights law. Still, as noted above, creating separate offences for activity when they take place with and without ICTs is rarely appropriate. In this case, it would be best practice to instead ensure that the wording of the offline offence explicitly includes language that ensures that it would apply to its commission via computer system, particularly when there are specifics around its commission in those circumstances that do not exist otherwise. Bad Practice (Kuwait): Article 6 of the Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes prohibits "challenging, ridiculing or insulting God, the Holy Quran, the Prophets, the good companions or the wives of the Prophet, "criticising the Emir or quoting him without a special permission written by the Emiri Diwan" and "insulting the judiciary or members of the Public Prosecution or infringing on the integrity and neutrality of the judiciary or the decisions of the courts or the investigative bodies". Article 6 of this law imposes sanctions for insulting religion and religious figures, and for criticising the Emir or the judicial system online. These offences pursue aims which are not legitimate and would not constitute permissible restrictions on freedom of expression under international human rights law. Procedural elements (a) Expedited preservation of computer data Good Practice (Nauru): Section 27 of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 regulates the expedited preservation of computer data. It specifies that: "(1) Where a police officer is satisfied that: (a) electronic data is stored in an electronic device is reasonably required for the purpose of a criminal investigation; and (b) there is a risk that the data may be destroyed or rendered inaccessible, the police officer may, by written notice given to a person in control of the electronic device, require the person to ensure that the data specified in the notice be preserved for a period of up to 7 days. (2) A judge, magistrate or registrar may upon application authorise an extension not exceeding 14 days." This provision is closely modelled on the procedural provision of 'expedited preservation of stored computer data' in the Budapest Convention. It also contains relevant safeguards and conditions as provided for in Article 15 of the Convention. (b) Production orders Good Practice (Mauritius): Section 13 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act 2003 specifies the procedure for a production order and provides that "(1) Where the disclosure of data is required for the purposes of a criminal investigation or the prosecution of an offence, an investigatory authority may apply to the Judge in Chambers for an order compelling – (a) any person to submit specified data in that person's possession or control, which is stored in a computer system; and (b) any service provider offering its services to submit subscriber information in relation to such services in that service provider's possession or control." This provision is closely modelled on the procedural provision of 'production order' in the Budapest Convention. It also contains relevant safeguards and conditions as provided for in Article 15 of the Convention. (c) Search and seizure of computer data Good Practice (Jamaica): Section 18 of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015 sets out the procedure for search and seizure warrants, and provides that: "(1) A Resident Magistrate may issue a warrant under this subsection, if satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that there may be in place any computer material that (a) may be relevant as evidence in proving an offence; or (b) has been acquired by a person for, or in, the commission of an offence or as a result of the commission of an offence. (2) A warrant under subsection (1) shall authorise a constable, with such assistance as may be necessary, to enter the place specified in the warrant to search for and seize the computer material". The definition of 'computer material' in this Act includes computer data. This provision is closely modelled on the procedural provision of 'search and seizure of stored computer data' in the Budapest Convention. It also contains relevant safeguards and conditions as provided for in Article 15 of the Convention. (d) Real-time collection of traffic data Good Practice (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines): Section 22 of the Cybercrime Act, 2016 sets out the requirements for a real-time collection of traffic data. It provides that "(1) A Judge, if satisfied on an ex parte application by a police officer that there is reasonable ground to believe that traffic data associated with a specified communication is reasonably required for the purpose of a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings, may order a person in control of the traffic data to – (a) collect or record traffic data associated with a specified communication during a specified period; or (b) permit and assist a specified police officer to collect or record that data. (2) A Judge, if satisfied on an ex parte application by a police officer that there is reasonable ground to believe that traffic data is reasonably required for the purpose of a criminal investigation, may authorize a police officer to collect or record traffic data associated with a specified communication during a specified period through application of technical means." This provision is closely modelled on the procedural provision of 'real-time collection of traffic data' in the Budapest Convention. It also contains relevant safeguards and conditions as provided for in Article 15 of the Convention. (e) Interception of content data Good Practice (Ghana): Sections 73 and 74 of the Cybersecurity Act 2020 set out the procedure and requirements for the application and issuing of a warrant for the interception of content data. Section 73 requires that a designated officer apply to the High Court for an interception warrant to collect or record content data, and this application must demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to authorise the warrant connected with a particular person or premise under investigation for the purposes of national security, prevention or detection of a serious offence, etc. The application must also explain the rationale for why the content data sought will be available and identify the type of content data and users. Section 73 further requires that the application must "(e) indicate what measures shall be taken to prepare and ensure that the content data will be procured (i) whilst maintaining the privacy of other users, customers and third parties; and (ii) without the disclosure of the data of any party not part of the investigation". Section 74 further requires the High Court to only grant the application when they are satisfied of "the extent of interception is commensurate, proportionate and necessary for the purposes of a specific criminal investigation or prosecution; (c) measures shall be taken to ensure that the content data is intercepted whilst maintaining the privacy of other users, customers and third parties and without the disclosure of information and data of any party not part of the investigation; and (d) the investigation may be frustrated or seriously prejudiced unless the interception is permitted". These provisions are closely modelled on the procedural provision of "interception of content data" in the Budapest Convention. They also contain relevant safeguards and conditions as provided for in Article 15 of the Convention. Annex 4: Expanded methodology The most relevant human rights impacted by cybercrime legislation are the rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Article 17 of the ICCPR guarantees the right to privacy and provides that "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence". The right to privacy includes control over one's personal property (which includes computers and other devices), control over personal information and data, and the ability to communicate with others privately. Article 19 of the ICCPR guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the right to receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds regardless of frontiers. The right to freedom of expression encompasses the right to search for, receive and impart information, ideas and communications of all kinds, through any media (and therefore online as well as offline). While taking the Budapest Convention as its starting point, this tool notes that there have been criticisms of the Convention from a human rights perspective. In particular, some have suggested that the powers that the Convention provides for law enforcement agencies to investigate cybercrime are set out broadly and not matched by sufficient safeguards to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of expression. This criticism stems, in part, from the fact that the Budapest Convention leaves it to the states which have ratified it to ensure sufficient safeguards for human rights exist within their domestic legal frameworks, rather than prescriptively detailing what those safeguards should be. As such, this tool seeks to set out more clearly what safeguards should exist in relation to relevant provisions. As is well-established under international human rights law, any measure which interferes with either the right to privacy or the right to freedom of expression will amount to a breach of those rights unless it can be justified. In order to be justified, any restriction must meet a three-part test, namely that (i) there is a clear legal basis for the restriction, (ii) it pursues a legitimate aim, and (iii) it is necessary and proportionate to achieve that aim. Beyond these general human rights frameworks, the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime (the Budapest Convention) provides a useful starting point for countries looking to develop cybercrime laws in a rights-respecting manner. The Budapest Convention came into force in 2004 as the first multilateral treaty on cybercrime. It seeks to harmonise national laws on cybercrime, support the investigation of these crimes, and foster international cooperation. In addition to the Budapest Convention, there are a range of other frameworks for cybercrime legislation that have been developed, including the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention), the Commonwealth Model Law on Computer and Computer Related Crime, and three Model Laws developed by the International Telecommunication Union for different regions. While there are similarities between the provisions of these frameworks and the Budapest Convention, they also diverge in many aspects and often in ways that may result in an overall lower level of protection for human rights. As such, this tool uses the Budapest Convention as its starting point, while noting the criticisms highlighted above. GLOBAL PARTNERSDIGITAL ASSESSING CYBERCRIME LAWS FROM A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE39
AN ESSAY ON GENERAL LONGSTREET'S PROPOSED FLANKING MANEUVER Terrence L. Salada and John D. Wedo One of the most persistent controversies surrounding the Battle of Gettysburg is Lieutenant General James Longstreet's advice to General Robert E. Lee that the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) should disengage and effect a wide strategic flanking movement around the Army of the Potomac (AOP). Chances are almost everyone reading this article has been involved in a discussion of the battle where this topic arises. Proponents of the move think that it might have resulted in a Confederate victory and even ended the war. Critics argue that the move was a bad idea for a number of reasons, and that General Lee's decision against the move was sound militarily. Curiously, although each side is adamant about its position, few offer analysis of the proposed move to explain why it was good or bad. Worse, proponents offer no details on how the move would happen or how it would be successful: its objective, route, and timetable for instance. Most arguments refer to well-known valid generalities such as the lack of cavalry or the bad roads. Some descriptions, such as that in Jeffrey C. Hall's The Stand of the Union Army at Gettysburg refer to the move with generic terms such as a flanking movement or by a map showing a large curved arrow from the Confederate position passing through Fairfield south to Emmitsburg thence east with no definite end point. (1) This essay tries to supply some of the details of what such a move might have entailed. These details include both contemporary knowledge and hindsight. This article distinguishes between the strategic flanking movement proposed by General Longstreet and the tactical flanking movement around Big Round Top proposed by Major General John Bell Hood later on July 2. Although the two types are listed among the move-to-the-right options, they are actually different, and each has its own set of distances, movements, logistics, and time scales. Glenn Tucker in Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg has an entire chapter on General Longstreet's flanking proposal, and covers both the strategic and tactical options. (2) Scott Bowden and Bill Ward in Last Chance for Victory, give a good analysis of General Lee's five options for the morning of July 2 with special emphasis on the southward strategic flanking movement. (3) Combining these two sources presents a detailed analysis of all the options. This essay concentrates on only the strategic flanking movement east of South Mountain around the proximate Federal left: it does not cover a flanking movement involving a return to the west side of South Mountain. Published opinions on General Longstreet's suggestion run the gamut. Tucker writes that "Longstreet should not have been discredited for holding a contrary--and, as it developed, a superior--view." (4) Harry W. Pfanz in Gettysburg: The Second Day writes that it "made a lot of sense in the abstract." (5) Douglas Southall Freeman in Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command Volume 3: Gettysburg to Appomattox refers to lack of cavalry and "days of delay" in a move to the right; he proposes no route. (6) Jeffrey D. Wert in General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier, A Biography, writes, "Longstreet's proposal of a vague flank movement was impractical, and Lee rightly dismissed it at the time." (7) Finally, Bowden and Ward call it Lee's "worst choice." (8) One can guess that personal opinions are similar. Some disclaimers are warranted. This essay does not suggest that General Lee actually considered all of these points; rather, it suggests to the modern critic items to consider in judging his decision on the flanking movement. That decision was to not do it. General Lee himself never left a complete list of reasons he chose to stay and fight, and this essay does not try to fill that void. Nowhere does this article impugn the generalship of General Lee or General Longstreet nor does it overplay the generalship of General George G. Meade, commander of the AOP. None of the points presented suggest that the ANV was in any way substandard or inferior at that point during this campaign or the war. Such inapt suggestions would undermine the usefulness of the list. Finally, rather than trying to determine who is "correct," it is useful to study this discussion objectively between General Lee and General Longstreet as a disagreement between professionals who regarded each other highly: General Lee, the commander, seeking advice from his most trusted lieutenant, and General Longstreet, the proven, loyal subordinate, offering his best analysis and opinion to his superior. The scene has become classic. Early on July 2, 1863 General Lee and General Longstreet view the Federal line from Seminary Hill, and they discuss the next move after one day's unexpected fighting on July 1. General Longstreet, commander of the First Corps, studied the Federal position, and he suggested to General Lee that it was too strong and that the army should disengage and move to the right. This would allow the ANV to find a suitable defensive position to force the AOP to attack it. General Lee also studied the Federal position and had conferred with his other corps commanders, Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell and Lt. Gen A. P. Hill, Second Corps and Third Corps, respectively. From this, he decided against the move: the rest of the battle ensued. The controversy lives to this day. In analyzing any event, it is important to distinguish between what the participants knew and what hindsight now tells us. For instance, for Bowdon and Ward, in Last Chance for Victory, this is a major theme. They analyze each decision by what participant knew and not by the result, and offer insights as to how History might view certain decisions were an outcome different. For instance, they suggest that had the AOP lost the battle, General John Reynold's decision to send in two corps piecemeal on July 1 might be deemed a major cause of the Federal defeat. The Federal victory, however, obscures the beating taken by the First and Eleventh Corps, and it is rarely mentioned as a bad tactical choice. (9) This distinction between contemporary knowledge (for clarity, what General Lee knew) and hindsight (for clarity, what we know) is important, and it means this: Judge General Lee only by what he knew. Judge your own opinion and that of others by hindsight: modify your opinion as required. Further, the analysis presented herein should serve as an example of what a position should entail when proposed. For example, it is one thing to say blithely, "Well, suppose that General Lee decided to move West of South Mountain?" and another to say, "General Lee could have moved West of South Mountain, and here are possible positions, routes, timetable, and possible Federal reactions." The difference between the two statements is not small; rather, it is a chasm. The first statement is mere speculation and the stuff of unsubstantiated "what-ifs." Most of these seem to exist solely to reclaim victory for the losing side whether North or South, and they provide no substantive historical insight as to what actually happened. The second statement involves analysis which affords the true historical analyst ample opportunity to reconsider the original proposition if its details show it to be untenable. Here then, is a list of considerations in analyzing General Lee's decision to not heed General Longstreet's advice: Lack of Stuart's Cavalry. This point is so basic as to be axiomatic. General Stuart's ride around the AOP and more important, out of contact with Ewell's corps, affected every aspect of the ANV's operations during this period: reconnaissance, screening, mapping. Even the report of the AOP's proximity came not from Stuart, but from General Longstreet's paid spy, Harrison. Lesser known impacts are the location of Pickett's division 30 miles behind away from the battle to guard wagons and the use of the already small staffs of General Lee and others for reconnaissance and messenger duty, both normally cavalry tasks. General Lee was so painfully aware of this that on July 1, he asked almost every messenger reporting to him if he heard of General Stuart's whereabouts, an embarrassing situation for an army commander. Federal Convergence. Before General Lee's order to concentrate, the ANV, minus Stuart, is spread out from Chambersburg to York. When General Lee learned of the AOP's location and marching speed from Longstreet's paid spy Harrison, he immediately ordered the ANV to concentrate near Cashtown or Gettysburg. Thus, it is the AOP's surprise (to General Lee) rapid approach and apparent concentration that force General Lee to concentrate quickly his army. The military principle of concentration of force would dictate this regardless of who was the Federal commander. Federal Competence. When General Lee learns that General George Meade is now the Federal commander, having replaced General Joseph Hooker, he says two things about Meade: that he will make no mistake, and that he will take advantage of any Confederate mistake. No contemporary has offered an interpretation of this statement, so History must take it at face value. As such, it sounds as if General Lee is giving Meade a pretty good grade, knowing Meade from the Old Army and from his current war record, and that he thinks that Meade is someone to take seriously. (10) As for the army, there were several indications that the AOP was to be taken seriously. The Battle of Brandy Station on June 9 showed a competent and confident Federal cavalry; since then, it had dogged the Confederate advance, fighting a number of battles along the way. It was clearly doing its job, and well. Federal infantry fought bravely (Fredericksburg) and well (Antietam). Bad or indecisive generalship caused Federal defeats, and not the fighting qualities of the Union soldier. Confederate generals knew the fighting qualities of their Federal counterparts—Hancock, Sedgwick, and Hunt for example. Meade's appointment as commander indicated to General Lee at least, that this was an able complement to a good army. Likewise, on July 1, even though the ANV defeated two Federal corps, the latter had fought well almost all day long. Then in mid-afternoon, after fighting all day and being outnumbered and outflanked, the Federal army retreated to positions stronger than those held by the Confederates. History concentrates far too much on the late afternoon retreat, commonly called a "rout," and ignores the entire day's fighting. Pfanz, in Gettysburg: The First Day, places total casualties at roughly 9,500 for the Federals and 6,500 for the Confederates. (11) General Lee could only estimate the Federal numbers, but he might have had some idea of his own losses as reported to him from his generals even though his orders were to avoid a general engagement. Although slightly askew between defender and attacker, the numbers should tell the modern historian that although the Federals retreated at day's end, they inflicted damage on the ANV. Confederate Convergence. At the start of July 2, only Stuart's cavalry and Longstreet's corps were not assembled with the army, but were on their way. Thus, at great effort and casualty, the ANV was concentrated. Static, non-cavalry surveillance indicated that the AOP was also concentrating, and that it did not appear to be leaving. Unlike Chancellorsville, no opportunity availed itself to General Lee on the morning of July 2 to disperse the ANV, especially because Stuart's cavalry was not available to supply the required information on terrain, enemy location and strength, and so forth. General Lee knew that two Federal corps were already in the area and not moving, the 1st and the 11th, but he basically had no firm idea where were the other five corps. It would be easy for a competent engineer like General Lee to start with the scout Harrison's reported map locations of the other corps and to extrapolate their arrival times. Moving the army southward with five Federal corps unaccounted for (and no cavalry to find them), opened the possibility that the ANV could run into them piecemeal on unfavorable ground under unfavorable circumstances. (This being the reason he concentrated the army in the first place.) At this point, therefore, General Lee knew where both armies were, and with no cavalry, that was the best he could ask for. Water. The importance of water cannot be overestimated. In 1863, local water supplies were limited to streams and wells, there being no major river nearby. Using a figure of 2,500 for the population of the town, the encampment of both armies, with a combined total of around 150,000 men and thousands of animals, increased the human drain on the local water supply by sixty-fold. (12) Local water stocks would be used up quickly, and streams would quickly be fouled by the effluent of about 200,000 more mammals. (For comparison, today, the entire population of Adams County is about 90,000.) Combine this with the developing AOP supply line originating at Westminster, and it is clear that staying in the area for an extended duration was not a good option. (13) General Lee, therefore, had to decide quickly. Weather. This is truly hindsight because scientific weather forecasting did not exist in 1863, and it would not for another 70 years or so. Neither General Lee nor General Meade had insight, capability, or advantage here. Weather impacts all military operations, but the weather after the battle, known to historians, must be considered for its impact on possible army positions during a proposed move. The July heat and humidity affected both armies equally. This should be clear to historians from the number of Union stragglers on the march north and by the slow, dusty march of General Hood's and General Lafayette McLaws's divisions on the afternoon on July 2. The record shows also that it did rain heavily on the night of July 4 a few hours after the retreat began and on the night of July 7, and that these were torrential rains. (14) It is for historians to consider the effect that these unpredicted storms would have had on projected dispositions of the ANV spread out in a wide maneuver south. The Radial Roads. The most obvious cartographic feature of the town is the radial road network. Eleven roads enter as if from all points of the clock, and one can imagine easily both commanders viewing the town as a good convergence point. At the start of July 2, the Federals controlled firmly the Taneytown Road and Baltimore Pike south and east of town. The Emmitsburg Road was under Federal influence: divisions were using it to approach the town and cavalry patrolled it, but it was not safely behind Federal lines as were the two aforementioned roads. The Confederates controlled the rest. Also, three of these roads were improved, all-weather roads: Baltimore, Chambersburg, and York. (15) Of these, the Confederates controlled the last two. All Confederate-controlled roads, however, were the wrong roads for a move to the right, at least in the Gettysburg area. Worse, the next major road around the clock from the Emmitsburg Road is the Fairfield (or Hagerstown) Road (Modern PA Route 116) which leads west southwest. Thus, the converging road network that served both armies so well in the approach to the town now worked heavily in the AOP's favor because it controlled the roads that General Lee needed for a southward flanking movement. (Remember that this essay covers only a flanking movement east of South Mountain.) In addition, the positions of the armies relative to the town and the roads meant that Meade could respond to a Confederate flank attempt easier than General Lee could make it. The position of the Federal VI Corps is an example of the Federal advantage here. The largest corps in the AOP, it arrived on the Baltimore Pike [Modern PA Route 97] on mid-afternoon of Jul 2. Its position on that road behind Big Round Top is normally counted as one of the potential obstacles to the success of General Hood's proposed envelopment around that hillock, but it also applies to Longstreet's proposed turning movement. Had General Lee decided on Jul 2 to disengage the ANV to swing south and east, then no Confederate attack occurs on Jul 2. The VI Corps then occupies miles of the Baltimore Pike through Littlestown, and this road is one of the three improved, all-weather roads radiating from town. An early move to set up the ANV for this southward maneuver is to disengage General Ewell's II Corps from its position northeast and north of town. With no threat from the north and with the ANV moving to the south and east, the powerful and well-lead VI Corps is in good position on a good road southeast of town to move southwest, south, or southeast, as needed, to dispute the Confederate movement directly or on the flank. The Transverse Roads. Coddington, in The Gettysburg Campaign, states that the radial roads were connected by lateral roads forming "weblike complex of highways." He states further that the network of roads and the open terrain "would lend themselves to rapid military maneuver for offensive operations," but does not specify tactical or strategic operations. (16) To be clear, there was in 1863 (or today for that matter) no beltway around Gettysburg like I-495 around Washington, D.C. Instead the transverse roads linking the 11 radial roads are mostly farm lanes. According to an 1858 map, they are disjointed and not plentiful. (17) Bowden and Ward describe them more accurately (as is covered below) as "small overland trails that would have slowed the march rate of the army to a crawl." (18) Whereas they were fine for local farm needs, one must question their ability to support an army of 70,000 men plus wagons and animals in a movement requiring speed. A study of these roads in the crucial area between the Fairfield Road and Emmitsburg confirms why General Lee's choice to not move south might have been the better option. Two ways, singly or together, exist to perform such a study: 1. Transfer the 1858 roads to a modern local road map, and travel those roads documenting their features. (In this case, the modern map was from a local real estate company, so any map serves.) 2. Use an internet map tool that includes roads, terrain, and satellite views. The authors performed the first method in the Fall of 2008, and used the second method when required for follow-up. Because the 1858 map has no road names, the modern road names are used. In addition, the map ends at the Pennsylvania-Maryland border just south of the small town of Greenmount, Pennsylvania. Emmitsburg is just south of the state line, so within the limit of the available map, Greenmount is close enough to Emmitsburg to suffice. For the analysis, it is helpful to break up the area of interest into three rough sections: - The Chambersburg-Gettysburg-Greencastle triangle, called here the Logistical Triangle, seven miles long between Chambersburg and Greencastle with the other two sides being about 20 miles each. - The Cashtown-Gettysburg-Fairfield triangle, called here the Tactical Triangle, which is the eastern part of the first triangle, about eight miles on each side. - The Fairfield-Gettysburg-Greenmount triangle, called here the Southern Triangle, Fairfield to Gettysburg, eight miles apart, Gettysburg to Greenmount, seven miles, Fairfield to Greenmount, six miles. Greenmount is just north of the border PennsylvaniaMaryland border from Emmitsburg. Relative to a southward maneuver, features of this area are: 1. There is no direct road south from Gettysburg. Within the Logistical Triangle, the straightest and most direct routes (with fewer stops and dog legs) run west or southwest. The best of these is the Fairfield Road (Modern PA Route 116). From the Cashtown Road (Modern U.S Route 30) leading southwest are Herr's Ridge Road (two miles from Gettysburg) and Knoxlyn Road (three miles from Gettysburg) both lead southwest and both intersect the Fairfield Road, at three and six miles, respectively. North of the Fairfield Road intersection, the Knoxlyn Road branches west onto Knox road, and this ends at Carroll's Tract Road in Ortanna about three miles north of Fairfield. At this point looking west is a mountain running southwest to northeast from Fairfield. It can be found on a map easily because west of town the railroad line from Gettysburg curves to the southwest, and these tracks (and Carroll's Tract Road) follow the mountain. (This track, by the way, is the modern extension of the rail line in the "unfinished railroad cut" at the time of the battle.) This mountain eight miles west of Gettysburg represents the westernmost limit of the maneuverability of the ANV within the Logistical Triangle, and it must be considered in any discussion of a move to the south. Carroll's Tract Road enters Fairfield eight miles southwest of Gettysburg. Within this area, the roads are of varying grades, with some stretches being steep enough to make slow going for men, wagons, or artillery. From Knoxlyn road, two roads lead southeast, Blackhorse Tavern and KnoxlynOrtanna. They intersect at the Fairfield Road within a half mile of each other, with the Blackhorse Tavern Road being the more eastern of the two and crossing the Fairfield Road. The Knoxlyn-Ortanna Road ends there. Herr Ridge Road ends at the Fairfield Road one half mile east of Blackhorse Tavern. Within a mile, therefore, three roads converge at the Fairfield Road--from west to east, Knoxlyn-Ortanna, Blackhorse Tavern, and Herr Ridge--with only one road, Blackhorse Tavern, leading southeast into the Southern Triangle. Proponents of the move must address the potential for a bottleneck here. An alternative, but farther, route to the Fairfield Road is the aforementioned Knoxlyn-Knox-Carroll's Tract Route, which has a length of about eleven miles. Starting at the Fairfield Road in the Southern Triangle, Blackhorse Tavern Road ends at Millerstown Road. Taking this east intersects the Emmitsburg Road at the Peach Orchard. This intersection is within sight of Little Round Top and Federal left where General John Buford's cavalry bivouacked the night of July 1, and from which Colonel Thomas Devin sent patrols out on the Emmitsburg Road. (19) Also, on the morning of July 2 units of the Federal Third Corps were on the Emmitsburg road. (20) With the potential for a bottleneck and discovery, this option, therefore, does not appear to be a good one. The maneuver route might need to be west of this conjunction. Continuing southeast from Carroll's Tract Road near Fairfield, one has two choices of parallel southeast roads: Water Station Road about one-half mile to the west and Bullfrog Road to the east. Both end at or near the Emmitsburg Road (Modern US Route 15) near Greenmount at about 8 miles and 7 miles south of Gettysburg, respectively. The total travel distance from Gettysburg through Ortanna and Fairfield to Greenmount is thus about 17 miles. This spot is still three miles west of a line drawn directly south from Gettysburg, using the modern village of Barlow (and the modern Greenmount-Barlow Road) as the reference point. A mile-long section of Bullfrog Road between McGlaughin and Pumping Station Roads was steep enough that our car switched automatically into second gear, indicating that it might not be a good road for wagons or artillery drawn by animals. Despite the steep grade, to get directly south of Gettysburg using this route entails 17 miles from behind the Confederate lines to near Emmetsburg. At an assumed speed of 2 miles/hour (for a corps-sized unit), this represents a minimum eight-hour detour for the entire army to march just to arrive at the first moderately clear area. According to a campaign map in Coddington (Map 1), a road existed between Emmitsburg to Taneytown and thence to Westminster (Modern MD Route 140), but getting there involves moving and maneuvering the ANV through the areas described above. (21) In addition, had General Lee followed Longstreet's advice and moved on the morning of July 2, much of the areas described above would have been un-scouted and unmapped, making such a move into the unknown unattractive, especially with a large, competently led Federal army one mile away with easy access out of town on the radial roads south. The geographic result, then, is that east-west road movement in this area (required by the ANV) is difficult, but that north-south movement (required by the AOP) is easier. Meade could therefore respond to Lee's movements easier than Lee could make them. 2. Concealment is not guaranteed. Prior to its concentration, the ANV was well concealed behind the Blue Ridge for most of its journey north. Units of the Second Corps east of Harrisburg were more in the open than those starting from Harrisburg and extending to the southwest, but with the AOP in Maryland, this was no problem. Competent cavalry on either side could determine quickly the location of the opposing forces. For example, General Buford's troopers needed only a few hours on June 30 to determine accurately the disposition of the ANV in the immediate areas from the west to the east of town. It is difficult to imagine three divisions of Federal cavalry becoming suddenly idle, inert, or ineffective such that a move of the entire ANV a few miles south would go unnoticed. Within the Tactical Triangle west of Knoxlyn Road one is concealed adequately from ground observation (such as cavalry) from the east. East of Knoxlyn Road, from the Wheatfield Road to Emmitsburg, all roads leading east or southeast from the Fairfield Road are in fairly flat terrain, and all must end at or cross the Emmitsburg Road. East of the Emmitsburg Road from Greenmount is also flat and conducive to unfettered northsouth movement, as discovered by Federals marching toward the town before the battle. In this area between the Emmitsburg Road and the Taneytown Road, there appear to be two or three east-west roads, the modern Greenmount-Barlow Road for instance, all of which appear as non-linear farm lanes with turns enough (to service the local farms) to extend the three-mile linear distance to about four or five miles. Proponents of the move must consider the flat, open terrain here, the lack of Confederate cavalry, and the presence of Federal cavalry in the Emmitsburg area on the morning of July 2 relative to the routes available. On July 1, General Daniel Sickles left two brigades and two batteries in Emmitsburg to guard the Federal left and rear. (22) From June 28 to July 2, Colonel Ulric Dahlgren and a small patrol probed behind South Mountain as far as Waynesboro and Greencastle. And on the same day, a reserve cavalry brigade was assigned to Emmitsburg. (23) The point is that the Southern Triangle had plenty of Federal forces present throughout the battle so that it is highly probable that any large-scale Confederate maneuver would have been detected readily. In addition, on July 2, General Buford was granted a refit, although his losses from the previous day were small. His two brigades departed from the Federal left for Westminster in the morning, and the encamped the night in Taneytown. (24) It is difficult to imagine a better place than Taneytown or Westminster for General Buford's division to be placed to cover the Federal left against a grand Confederate swing south and east. It is unknown of course how much of these deployments General Lee was aware of on the morning of July 2, but it is clear that by plan or by accident, ample Federal forces were in the area proposed by the move to detect it. 3. An Extensive Timetable Comes into Play. At some point, the discussion must shift to time. Armies on the march were limited by the roads, by topography, and by both the biological speed of humans and animals and the biological ability of humans and animals to carry (or pull) loads. There is no slashing, high-speed, blitzkrieg-type movement here. With no radio, communications are restricted similarly. For instance, had General Lee decided on the morning of July 2 to move south and then east, he would have to address his supply line. Without modification, it would extend along the two northern sides of the Logistical Triangle and then curve southwest to south to east either 11 or 17 miles depending on the route. With this northern arc already 27 miles in length, this would mean a supply line arcing north and south 38 to 44 miles for an army moving south and east. It is inconceivable that a commander of General Lee's ability would attempt such a maneuver resulting in a circuitous supply with a minimum pointless length of about 40 miles just to get directly south of town. Proponents of the move must address this supply line and the time required to modify it. For instance, shifting to Fairfield-Waynesboro involves moving a large subset of up to 40 miles of wagons from Gettysburg to Waysneboro backward to go through Waynesboro. If General Lee decided to re-route his supply line as described above, some wagons would continue forward, and some wagons would have to turn back through the Cashtown pass to travel along the southern leg of the Logistic Triangle. Planning such a move of both army and supplies would take some time. Upon deciding which wagons would go where, orders would be required to the corps commanders and then to the quartermasters and then to the wagons. At a liberal speed of four miles/hour, it would take couriers a minimum of five hours to inform the wagons at the midpoint of 20 miles. Planning the move, writing the orders, and informing the participants would therefore take the better part of the day to reach the farthest wagons. This means that such a maneuver south could not start until the evening of July 2 or the morning of July 3 at the earliest. Once informed of the plan, affected wagons along the upper arc of the Logistical Triangle must be turned around and sent on their way back to Waynesboro. (It might be useful to imagine how quickly such a logistical re-alignment could occur today with instantaneous communication and mechanized vehicles on the 1863 roads. Given all this, it would still require a number of hours to plan and effect with the limitations of the routes outlines above.) Switching to fighting units, on the morning of July 2, Longstreet's First Corps was spread from Chambersburg to Cashtown meaning that the southern leg of the future Confederate battle line was not yet in place. Only the Second and Third Corps were deployed in an arc west to north to east of the town. The Cashtown Road therefore contained Third Corps wagons and two divisions of the First Corps, and it would be required for crossing of the Third Corps and much of the Second Corps to enter the Tactical Triangle directly behind the north-south Confederate line. Very little of the ANV was south of the town where Longstreet's flanking movement required them to be. General Lee and his corps commanders and staff would have to plan this too. With the AOP one mile away, a phased withdrawal of the northern units south would occur. In addition, the wounded from the previous day's fighting would require attention: if ordered to move, Confederate army surgeons must perform triage to determine who should be ordered back, and arrangements made to load them on wagons and send them home. Luckily, History has examples to evaluate these moves. One measure is the march of General Longstreet's two divisions from the Cashtown Road on July 2. Starting at Herr Ridge, General McLaws used mainly the farm lanes to reach the assigned assembly area south of the Third Corps positions instead of traveling off-road as Colonel E. P. Alexander's artillery had done. Because of the countermarch to avoid detection, the entire distance of two to four miles took between four and five hours, and was "not easy," largely because McLaws stuck to "farm lanes or very poor public roads." (25) Coddington calls this trek "a comedy of errors such as one might expect of inexperienced commanders and raw militia." (26) In addition, this movement without cavalry to scout and screen serves as a "laboratory" for a proposed flanking movement without cavalry. Another example is the Confederate retreat. After Pickett's Charge on July 3, it took about 24 hours for the first wagons to move on the retreat route for the wounded up the Cashtown Road. Of course, the number of wounded on July 3 was much larger than on July 1, but this is another indicator that finite, extended time is required for such moves: they are not instantaneous. The first ambulances left on the Cashtown Road by 5:30 p.m. on July 4, and the first retreating army units of the Third Corps left the area on the Fairfield Road on July 4 after dark. (27) These moves therefore took about a day to start, but because they were traveling on diverging roads from the town, they involved less coordination that funneling the entire army south. The ANV executed its retreat with the assistance of Stuart's cavalry and with a Federal army across the field equally spent from three days of fighting. Neither of these conditions would be true on July 2. The move-to-the-right discussion starts and ends with Stuart's cavalry. It arrived on the afternoon of July 2, and all indications are that both men and horses were exhausted. (28) Replacement mounts were not plentiful, and those animals returning from the trek required considerable rest, feeding, and care. (Compare this to General Buford's cavalry division which, as previously written, was approved for rest and refit at Westminster. Such was the quality of the Federal supply system.) Although the Confederate cavalry performed well covering the ANV's retreat from July 4 until July 14, it is correct to ask if Stuart's divisions could be ready quickly for a continuation of an offensive campaign of indeterminate duration. Of course, on the morning of July 2 General Lee still had no contact with Stuart, and he had no idea when it would occur. Proponents of the move must address the condition of the Confederate cavalry, and the time required to restore it to an operational level for another extended campaign of unknown duration. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION After a relatively easy three-week campaign with almost no substantive Federal interference, the ANV was stretched out in a poor position to meet the fast-moving AOP. General Robert E. Lee, upon learning of the Federal positions from a spy (and not from General Stuart) solved brilliantly the immediate problem of concentrating his army to meet the threat. In doing so, it not only concentrated in a relatively short two days, but did it so well that it outmaneuvered two Federal corps on July 1 and dealt them serious damage. For a number of reasons not covered in this essay, at the end of a day's hard fighting, the AOP controlled the high ground, and units of both armies were still moving to the area. In the early morning of July 2, General Stuart's cavalry was still absent, and the ANV was still concentrating. For whatever reasons, General James Longstreet was the only corps commander advocating that the army disengage and swing wide to the south and east. Although General Lee valued General Longstreet as a commander, he disagreed, and he chose instead to not make that maneuver, indicating that he would stay and fight. The question is not who was "right" or "wrong"; rather, the question is whether General Lee's decision was militarily sound based on what he knew on the morning of July 2. The evidence indicates that it was sound militarily based on its own merits. Further, the analysis presented herein shows that a strategic maneuver south and east would be difficult based largely on geographic and logistical decisions not generally investigated. The battle having started, daybreak presented few options and many unknowns. General Lee chose the course which, in his mind, minimized the unknowns with the primary mission of defeating the opposing army. In short, staying put presented General Lee with fewer problems, less risk, and more control than in making the move. This conclusion, however, has limits. First, stating that General Lee's decision was sound does not mean that General Longstreet was "wrong." The efficacy of the choice-not-taken can never be proved, and neither should the accusation of "incorrectness" be made. This essay does not do so. Second, an assumption of this essay is that History should judge decisions based on what the participants knew when they made those decisions and to filter out the effects of hindsight on those decisions. Concluding that General Lee's decision was sound does not mean it caused the defeat or that it caused other decisions in that battle. It is one of a sequence of decisions and actions, each of which sets the stage for the next. After deciding to not maneuver south (or north for that matter), General Lee could have attacked, awaited a Federal attack, or retreated. It is irresponsible to blame other decisions or actions, good or bad, on this singular decision. As an extreme, fabricated example, to ascribe the Confederate brigade deployment in Pickett's Charge to General Lee's decision on July 2 is to ignore all intervening events, and this is not good historical analysis. Yet, some believe that the decision to ignore Longstreet's advice led naturally to the defeat, and this extension is no more valid than the previous example. The hope is that Lee's decision presented herein receives proper historical and analytical analysis, free from speciousness, forlorn hope, and blame. As such, deeper analysis beyond that presented herein is welcome, if not for historical precision (which should be the goal), but to give General Lee overdue recognition for performing his duty properly on the morning of July 2, 1863. REFERENCES 1 Jeffrey C. Hall, The Stand of the Union Army at Gettysburg (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2003, p. 85 Map 3-6 Confederate strategic redeployment possibilities. 2 Glenn Tucker, Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg (Dayton, Ohio: Morningside Bookshop, 1982), Chap 4, pp. 50-70. 3 Scott Bowden and Bill Ward, Last Chance for Victory: Robert E. Lee and the Gettysburg Campaign (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capa Press, Perseus Groups Books, 2001), pp. 226-238. 4 Tucker, Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg, p. 54. 5 Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The Second Day (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1987), p. 27. 6 Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants, 3 volumes (New York: Schribner, 1944), 3: 109. 7 Jeffrey D. Wert, General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier: A Biography (New York: Simon & Shuster, 1993), p. 258. 8 Bowden and Ward, Last Chance for Victory, p234. 9 Ibid. p. 197-198. 10 Ibid. p. 143. 11 Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001), pp. 350-351. 12 Glenn Tucker, High Tide at Gettysburg (New York: Konecky and Konecky, 1958), Chap 15, p. 223. 13 Bowden and Ward, Last Chance for Victory, p. 234-235. 14 Coddington, Edwin B., The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1968, pp. 542, 555, 810-811 Footnotes 25, 27, 33. 15 Ibid. p. 265. 16 Ibid. p. 265. 17 1858 Map of Adams County, Drawn from Actual Survey by G.M. Hopkins, CE. Traced from an original print for the Adams County Historical Society. 18 Bowden and Ward, Last Chance for Victory, p. 231. 19 Longacre, The Cavalry at Gettysburg, p. 204. 20 Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign, p. 335-336. 21 Ibid., Map 1, pp. 52-53. 22 Ibid., pp. 325. 23 Edward G. Longacre, The Cavalry at Gettysburg (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1986), pp. 208-210. 24 Ibid, p. 205. 25 Pfanz, Gettysburg: The Second Day, p. 121. 26 Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign, p. 378. 27 Ibid, p. 538. 28 Longacre, The Cavalry at Gettysburg, pp. 193-202. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank graciously those persons who assisted us in paper. Professor Roger J. Cuffey, Ph.D, Depart of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, confirmed our suspicion to study the transverse road network around Gettysburg, and he offered other suggestions especially on logistics. D. Scott Hartwig, Supervisory Historian, Gettysburg National Military Park, offered dialogue and suggestions early in its development, and he reviewed an early copy. In addition, Michael Krikorian, Sarah Williams, and James Zimmerman of Lockheed Martin reviewed this document on their own time at our request with the same rigor as if it were a deliverable, technical contract document, and they checked it for technical completeness, internal consistency, and grammar and spelling. Finally, Andrea Wedo, daughter of one author, a specialist in geographic information systems, reviewed the paper concentrating on its cartographic and topographic terminology. Errors in the final version remain the responsibility of the authors.
Palm/Passion Sunday 9 April 2017 The Mission and Discipleship Council would like to thank Rev Dr Douglas Galbraith, Honorary Secretary of the Church Service Society, for his thoughts on Palm/Passion Sunday. Introduction Why two names for this Sunday? For centuries, the fifth Sunday in Lent began the two week season of 'Passiontide' which lasted until the dawn of Easter Day and was known as 'Passion Sunday'. The name 'Palm Sunday' is also ancient and it was on that Sunday that the story of the Passion was read, beginning with Christ's entry into Jerusalem. Mid-twentieth century changes in the Roman calendar fused the two names, and the adoption of the twin name is now widespread, perhaps also acknowledging the density and length of the Passion narrative. This has also led to the presenting of the themes as an either-or, which can cause a dilemma. The growing popularity in the Reformed churches of Good Friday observances allows for a hearing of the Passion narrative, but for very many this part of the story may not be heard at its appropriate time. Perhaps, therefore, where the Palm Sunday Gospel is prioritised, readings, sermon and song should be careful to acknowledge the whole drama of the Passion. Recoverable Palm Sunday customs Two long-standing practices associated with Palm Sunday might be suggestive for contemporary worship. One is that where the Passion narrative was read or chanted, three contrasting voices were used, respectively for the words of Christ, for the narrator, and for the voices of other participants including the crowd. The second is that the congregations would process within or round the outside of the church bearing palms or their equivalent, and it could include a ceremony of the bishop / minister knocking on the church door before re-entering. Not all might wish or be able to join in such a procession but in this dramatic action there would be meaning for those remaining in their places as much as for those who withdraw to process and return. Scripture passages overview Palm Sunday Gospel and Psalm Matthew 21: 1-11 Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29 It is remarkable how many Old Testament references there are in this account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. A major source was this day's psalm, which was one that pilgrims are said to have sung going up for the feast of the tabernacles. There is 'Hosanna' (v.25 'save us'); 'Blessed is the one that comes in the name of the Lord' (v.26, a welcome to pilgrims); the idea of entering through city gates (v.19); the ritual shaking of foliage (v.27); the humble king on a donkey (Zech.9:9); the spreading of garments as a spontaneous gesture of respect (2 Kings 9:13). It is almost as if this narrative were a fabrication from OT soundbites! However, it is best understood as the young church coming to an understanding, from their own telling, reflection, and prayer, of the significance of the event. In asking, 'what did Jesus intend, what was going through his own mind, and through the mind of the disciples and bystanders?' it was inevitable that people would have found answers in their own cultural background – in sayings, song, and story. Both life and art develop out of people's past as well as their grappling with the issues of the day. It was not until the story had run its course: through Holy Week, when the true nature of the longawaited Messiah was revealed; Easter, when disciples and many others (1 Cor.15:6) had a strong experience of the living presence of one whom they believed dead; and Pentecost, when a quite unusual surge of power and clarity of understanding swept through those from amongst whom the church was emerging, that its full meaning could be grasped. Then would the many strands of this incident come together to reveal to the followers of Jesus that this Kingdom-bearer was more like a Servant who, suffering with humanity, radically challenged the culture that had borne the story. The Passion Sunday readings Isaiah 50:4-9a Philippians 2: 5-11 Matthew 26: 14-27: 66 or Matthew 27: 11-54 Psalm 31:9-16 The Old Testament and Epistle readings not only correspond in their themes but also in the fact that they are songs. Verses 6-11 in the Philippians reading are thought to quote one of the earliest Christian hymns, while the Isaiah passage is known as the Third Servant Song, one of Four (Isaiah: 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-9, 52:13-53:12). Many suggestions have been made as to the identity of the Servant: a particular historical figure, perhaps, whose costly suffering would bring about the healing and restoring of a nation at that time in exile, or indeed the whole nation itself, the remnant of humanity, destined to suffer on behalf of others and thus to win the world for God. What is certain is that not only did the concept help form Jesus' own insights into the kind of Messiah he was to be, but, more than most passages from the Old Testament, they contributed to the new church's theological understanding of the person of Christ and the nature of discipleship. Which readings to select The OT and Epistle readings could be used along with either the Entry gospel or one of the Passion narratives. If the latter, perhaps the Palm Sunday reading could be used additionally as a kind of 'introit' at the opening of the service, in the way Scripture Sentences are often used, and delivered by three voices: Jesus, narrator, and one for the OT quotations and the response of the crowd. Sermon ideas Since the choices and the focus in local churches will vary, the suggestions below relate to each reading rather than an overall theme or themes for the day. They may be combined in different ways, or developed separately. Sermon focusing on the Entry gospel This is Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday celebrates the kingship of Christ. It commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus the Messiah into Jerusalem, the eternal city, the centre of the religious and political life of Israel. The whole multitude rejoiced and praised God by saying, 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord'. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and the people asked, who is this? The Christian church always answers, He is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the Messiah, the king (T V Philip). Just as the significance of the Entry into Jerusalem was grasped and shared with the help of traditional sayings and songs (see note on readings, above), so too a people's culture is an important factor in shaping their understanding of Christian faith and discipleship. At the same time, however, the Gospel radically challenges the values of the culture and points to its healing and reconciliation in the Kingdom of God. The sermon might reflect on the many OT references in the Entry narrative, and on the role of a people's culture and upbringing in bringing understanding of new events or challenges in their lives and in the life of the world, and then go on to show how in the gospel the cultural expectations are fulfilled in a different way, 'further disclosure' (Bridget - - Pag e\|5 Nichols in theChurch Times ), and how in the Passion of Christ, his death and resurrection, God goes beyond the limits of human culture and, in Christ, brings hope and the promise of transformation. Points and illustrations might include: - how our culture shapes our individual lives [e.g. courting customs, what a bride wears; the attitudes we adopt in doing our job – the welcoming receptionist, the efficient sympathy of the nurse, the caution of the lawyer, the bedside manner of the doctor, the courtesy of the civil servant, (the saintliness of the minister!?), the cheeriness of the postman; not to mention knowing what car goes with our station in life and where we should take our holidays]; - how our culture (and religion too) can also 'tell' us who we should hate, who matter and who don't, what we should hope for, what we should value most. The sermon could explore this as it affects individuals: - our own growth and development are similarly punctuated by past events and circumstances not fully understood at the time but which strengthen, pattern and illuminate our path of discipleship; some things, however, may fail to contribute to our growth because they are uncomfortable to look back on, or, the opposite, we look with rose-tinted spectacles at a period in our lives and refuse to recognise the truth; we are unable therefore to draw nourishment, life, refreshment from our past; sometimes we need to look back and re-evaluate relationships and experiences for the sake of wholeness and freedom; at this time it may be helpful to look upon our own past story in the light of the story of the Passion of Christ, and the outcome of Easter when reconciliation became a reality and fears were laid to rest; at this time we are again called and invited to step beyond the things that keep us from growing into the full love of God, into what Paul called the maturity of Christ; there is always a further step to be taken on the Christian journey, a 'further disclosure'. Sermon on Passion Sunday themes: first approach – Isaiah 50 The sermon could begin by showing how the Third Servant Song, considered in the context of the Passion of Christ, provides a profile of discipleship. 1. The Christian disciple must have the tongue of a teacher, showing in her life Jesus' call to love and service. We may feel this is 'not us', yet all of us 'teach' in some form, often without realising what we are doing. It could be grannies passing on wisdom, a craft worker training an apprentice, people analysing the performance of their team or explaining their political view over a pint, participants in a 'mumsnet' type of website sharing their experience and expertise. Even if not consciously teaching, our conversation or bearing may be eloquent of some spiritual wisdom or moral priority; as the passage suggests, we 'teach' not to pontificate but to 'sustain the weary with a word'. 2. The Christian disciple is also to be a learner, and not Sunday by Sunday but 'morning by morning'. In the song, what is learned is to accept adversity and to keep one's inner balance whatever life will bring. Such a spiritual maturity does not come without effort; we need guidance and information on which to build faithful discipleship. It used to be that holy festivals and visual aids like statues and learning the psalms or the creed by heart or daily services in our parish churches fed the spiritual lives of our forebears. Today opportunities to listen and learn as Christians, in addition to weekly worship, may seem to be fewer, but they do exist: group Bible study, notes that help Bible reading and private devotions, patterns of spirituality (such as Ignatian), discussion / prayer groups in Lent or Advent, and so on. We can also give our listening ear practice with the care with which we listen to and hear other people with whom we come in contact, when we are often the nearest person to give help and support, and we give thanks for the way people can rise to an occasion and bring more than they thought to a person's dilemma or grief or loneliness, bringing into that situation the God who cares. 3. The Christian disciple is ready to offer service that is costly. True discipleship, says the song, refuses the way of power, of retaliation, and with humility and patience accepts what life brings. This gracious and humble giving of place to others removes the tension from a situation, where fear and pride can block a solution, a way through, whether it is in a close relationship or an approach to strangers - be they refugees or people down the street, or indeed nation to nation seeking to live in peace. Thus is opened the way to the reconciliation that is a foretaste of God's kingdom. The sermon could then address the feeling many will have that the physical and mental suffering and setback in the song is beyond our experience, that it is more about people in extreme situations and in other places. There is also the difficulty that the modern world teaches, and seems to require, more assertive stances. The sermon could invite hearers to think of the concept of being a 'fully engaged' disciple as an alternative to a 'suffering' servant to help the passage resonate for them: - to be fully engaged can involve a response to life that reaches deep into our beings, one that can leave us 'spent'. - meditating at this time on the life and ministry of Christ, echoed in the Philippians hymn, we seem him engaging with the sick beyond the palliative right through to the point of healing; engaging with religion not just to understand but to the point of re-interpreting it even for the experts; engaging with his culture and happy to draw on it for his teaching, but at the same time pointing to alternatives – 'let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone'; engaging in debate, he doesn't just win his point but leaves others speechless; engaging with the working life of the people by being able, although a carpenter, to tell the fishermen where the fish were to be found. - what we see in the life of Christ is someone who so deeply and fully engages with human life that he takes people beyond life to a new dimension: he healed not just people's bodies but their souls at the same time and gave them a new freedom; his speech was not just words but the very Word of God; he reminded them of their Law, but brought a new commandment; he called people from their working life, like the fishermen, into new work which would change lives not just feed mouths; indeed his engagement with humanity was to move them into a place where they would find intimacy with God, salvation and wholeness and peace that was beyond anything they knew before. The sermon might conclude with reference to today's passage from Philippians: - We ourselves at some level share this engagement with life, giving ourselves wholly to family or to work or to those in need, struggling with those who are difficult to know or demanding to put up with, doing long hours, tackling yet another task we have never had to do before, and do we not often find ourselves drained, undervalued, wondering if something has been worth the effort, or helpless in the face of a task which seems too great, just like the suffering - servant in our song. But do we not also find ourselves so often fulfilled after our engagement, strengthened, buoyant? These insights about Christ and about discipleship are echoed in the hymn in Philippians. It reminds us that the Passion, culminating in death and resurrection, was not some new dramatic episode in Christ's life but an unchecked continuation of his level of engagement with humanity and with God. For the resurrection was a natural progression from Christ's depth of engagement with life right to the point of it breaking down with the demands he made on humanity. There was only one way to go, on to Easter. To engage with life as he did meant engaging with what was beyond life. We rejoice that the resurrection is not a rejection of what went before but a culmination. It means that as we engage fully in life in a costly way, we may also find something of resurrection, of renewal, of reconciliation, and of peace. Sermon on Passion Sunday themes: second approach – Philippians 2:7-8 "(Christ Jesus…) emptied himself… And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death…” This second approach (which could be allied with earlier material if desired) would be to read the Philippians passage in the context of the larger, global, canvas, and address issues of international justice and peace. The following quotes material from a sermon by a former colleague, the Indian theologian and church historian Dr T V Philip, originally a member of the Mar Thoma Church. Eloquently written, it is here left intact: This Sunday is also called Passion Sunday. If Palm Sunday publicly announces that Jesus is king, Passion Sunday reminds us that the Messiah who is the king is the suffering Messiah, the one who is crucified. He is the king who suffers for and with his people. His kingly rule is exercised through suffering and rejection. Jesus suffered and died not only for the people, but also with the people. He summed up in his Passion the passion of all those who suffer and die unjustly. Jesus was the victim of the religion and politics of his time. Religion, politics, the authorities and powers of his day crushed him because his teachings and actions went against their vested interests. In the eyes of Roman Law, Jesus clearly had done nothing to deserve death. Pilate told the Jewish leaders so. Yet he feared insurrection and handed Jesus over to be crucified. It was the policy of the political leaders to keep law and order at any cost. Was Jesus the only victim of the inhumanity of fellow human beings, of religion and politics? No, Jesus was only one out of millions. There were thousands of people at the time of Jesus, and millions of people today, who were and are crushed and destroyed by those who hold power and authority, whether religious, political, economic or cultural. Jesus' cross was not the only cross then. Jesus' cross is not the only cross today. Thousands and thousands of crosses of innocent women, children and men, old and young, are raised every day all over the world - the crosses of the exploited, oppressed, tortured and destroyed by the powerful and the mighty of this world. Jesus cried, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me'. He still cries. In that cry of dereliction, we hear the cries of all God's children everywhere. Jesus is the crucified people. Human history is written in the blood of those fallen victims of inhumanity committed by the powerful. History consists of heart-breaking stories told in tears by countless women, men and children living in our world today. Their story and their history is part of the story of Jesus' passion. Jesus has recapitulated in his passion the passion of all his people of all times. To speak of Passion Sunday is to speak of a God who has come to be part of the passion of his people. The cross of Jesus is the cross of God. The crosses of millions of innocent people are also the crosses of God. The cross of Jesus tells us a secret, it reveals to us a hidden truth about God: where God is to be found, where God is to be heard. Time with Children The children might prepare for this service in Sunday School on the previous Sunday or be guided through by their teachers on the day. What follows is based on the old custom of the Palm Sunday procession, and using Hymn 366 whose tune is an nursery rhyme and children's playground song. The melody has many variants and your congregation may know the tune in some form; if not, it is very easy to learn, as in real life as school children picked it up from peers and children from their parent or guardian. At the beginning, or after the first prayer, the children knock on the door and process into church singing Hymn 366 with the congregation. They are carrying branches to represent Palms. They may process round the congregation before taking their seats. The minister makes the procession the starting point, asking children what they felt like walking in the procession. S/he then says a little about the gospel account of the Entry. S/he now seeks a volunteer to be escorted to the back of the church and then come in on her/his own, during which verse three of the hymn could be sung ('If the soldiers draw their swords, will we dare...'). Alternatively, all the children could be asked to come in one by one, not starting until the one before had sat down. The minister again asks what it felt like to be in a one-person procession. This could lead to showing how Jesus after that day had to walk on his own. This enables her to indicate that as Christians we also find that we cannot always behave or believe what the crowd does, and we have to be strong to go it alone if we feel we are right (as suggested in vv.3-4 of the hymn). Prayers Opening prayer God, you loved the world so much that you embraced it in all its suffering in your beloved Son Jesus Christ: who sought the way of the cross that he might come to Easter and offer us the way back to you. We thank you, Almighty God, for this space apart, not just on this Sunday morning but in the week that is to come - space to become more receptive to the incredible promise of new life: life to challenge all that is deathly in our world, life to challenge all that is dull in our hearts. Help us to use this time, not just in prayer at worship, but in the thoughtfulness in which we go about these coming days, listening for your voice in all we do, as you challenge the habits that restrict us and the assumptions that close our minds. Or this Opening Prayer may be used: Easter draws near; the pace quickens; the clamour grows; rumours fly; the opposition marshalls its forces. The disciples, ordinary men and women, bewildered among unfamiliar scenes, faced down by institutions, blunder after you, their Teacher, Lord, Jesus Christ. May our own journey through these days be not clouded by foreknowledge, by knowing too well what happened, so that we might be able to see what we have not yet seen in the events of this coming week, and also what we would rather not see. Holy Spirit, descend on us as we worship; bring us together, help us to journey with you – Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A prayer of confession could follow here or elsewhere (for an example, see below). The first prayer may conclude with one of these Collects for this day from Common Order p.664, or one of them may be used at the presentation of the Offering: 1. The Entry into Jerusalem Lord Jesus Christ, on the first Palm Sunday you entered the rebellious city where you were to die. Enter our hearts, we pray, and subdue them to yourself. And as your disciples blessed your coming and spread garments and branches in your way, make us ready to lay at your feet all that we have and are, that we too may bless your coming in the name of the Lord. Common Order 2. The Passion of Christ Almighty and ever-living God, in tender love for all our human race you sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take our flesh and suffer death upon a cross. Grant that we may follow the example of his great humility, and share in the glory of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Common Order A Prayer of Confession on themes from the Passion Narrative from Dorothy McRae-McMahon, Liturgies for Daily Life, altered, by permission (It is from a series by this Australian author, published by SPCK, of orders of worship for various seasons and pastoral occasions as marked in a local church.) Dear God, whose grace still hangs before all history, if we have come to find you with our weapons as well as our lanterns and torches, pretending to be searching for you even as we set out to betray the love for which you stand; forgive us, Jesus Christ. If we would rather warm ourselves before the fires of approval instead of owning our friendship with you, telling ourselves we will wait for another day to be brave: forgive us, Jesus Christ. If we sometimes carefully avoid being defiled, rather than standing beside those who are rejected as unclean by others, as though that is true holiness: forgive us, Jesus Christ. When our own lives become too challenging, and we are tempted to say, ‘Away with him’, rather than defending your life: forgive us, Jesus Christ. The word to us in Christ: Even the faithless, even the fearful, even the weak, are carried into the love of God as they stand in humble confession before the cross which holds the transforming love of God. We are indeed forgiven, Thanks be to you, O Jesus Christ. This responsive prayer appears in Common Order p. 436 and is especially suitable when children are present: Humble and riding on a donkey, we greet you; acclaimed by crowds and carolled by children, we cheer you; moving from the peace of the countryside to the corridors of power, we salute you – CHRIST OUR LORD. You are giving the beast of burden a new dignity; you are giving majesty a new face; you are giving those who long for redemption a new song to sing. With them, with heart and voice, we shout – 'HOSANNA!' Amen. If the Isaiah passage is being used, this new collect, based on it, could accompany the presentation of the Offering God with us, you waken us morning by morning to savour the world, to love others, and to learn of your purposes, sharpen our ears and our senses that, walking with Christ, and taught by his words and example, we may fully embrace his Passion and with him be brought to Resurrection. Collect on Isaiah 50:4-9a The following two prayers have long been uttered in the church. One may be selected during the prayers of intercession when praying for the Church: 1. Gelasian Sacramentary, 7 th century AD O God of unchangeable power and eternal light, look favourably on your whole church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; and by the peaceful operation of your providence, carry out the work of our salvation. And let the whole world feel and see that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and all things are returning to perfection through him from whom they took their origin; even through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 2. Ambrose 4 th century AD Merciful Lord, the Comforter and Teacher of thy faithful people, increase in thy Church the desire which thou hast given, and confirm the hearts of those who hope in thee by enabling them to understand the depth of thy promises; that all thine adopted sons and daughters may even now behold with the eyes of faith, and patiently wait for, the light which as yet thou does not openly manifest; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The prayer of intercession may include prayers for suffering servants in our day Hear our prayers also on this day for those who risk all to worship, Christian communities who are suffering persecution at this time, who flee the violence or continue to live in the ruins, who fear reprisal, kidnap, and the destruction of buildings, or who can no longer enter their cities, razed to the ground or occupied by others. We pray for those who embark on long and dangerous journeys seeking a place of safety and space to rebuild their lives. We pray for world leaders uniting to counter violence and its outcome, and pray that the whole church with even greater urgency may seek ways of making known the promise of reconciliation raised before all humankind in the Cross of Christ. Musical suggestions Palm Sunday theme Where there is a Sunday School, 366 or 368 or 369 could be learned in advance The Psalm CH4 78 (Psalm 118) Oh, set ye open unto me Passion Sunday theme and others in this section of the hymn book Hymns especially relating to Philippians 2:5-11 The Psalm CH4 25 (Psalm 31) In you, O Lord (for reading responsively by the congregation) CH4 270 Put all your trust in God (closely based on the psalm) Additional Resources Pray Now is designed to be a starting point for what you might look for in prayers. People of the Way is available from St Andrew Press. The Spirituality of Conflict website publishes reflections on the Sunday gospel readings in the 3-year lectionary cycle of the church. The reflections explore the themes of conflict within the gospels and offer questions and commentary for private reading, group discussions and public worship. Whilst most of the content will be connected to the Revised Common Lectionary, some will relate to occasions throughout the year – everything from St Patrick's Day to World AIDS Day. All of the content is free to download, use and share with others. Quick Guides are designed to help people with the various elements of leading worship, gathering community and ordering space. You may wish to email these three links to the people reading Scripture on Sunday to support them in their involvement in worship: Managing your nerves; Creative readings; Worship at the Lectern Resourcing Mission is host to Starters for Sunday archive material and other key mission resources for download and purchase. Online booking is available for Mission & Discipleship events. The Mission and Discipleship Council would like to express its thanks to the Rev Dr Douglas Galbraith for providing us with this material. Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.
Collaboration in Belief Organizations Interviewers: Paul Verschure (Convergent Science Network) Julia Lupp (Ernst Strüngmann Forum) Welcome to the Ernst Strüngmann Forum podcasts—a series of discussions designed to explore how people collaborate under real-life settings. Joining us in the series are high-profile experts from diverse areas in society, whose experiences will lend insight to what collaboration is, what it requires, and why it might break down. This series is produced in collaboration with the Convergent Science Network. P. Verschure My name is Paul Verschure and together with my colleague, Julia Lupp, we are speaking today with Rafael Malpica-Padilla, who is the Executive Director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Division for Global Mission. Welcome, Rafael. Could you give a short description of your biographical trajectory that brought you to where you are today? R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla Thank you Paul and Julia for this opportunity to be in conversation with you. As my name may suggest, I am of a Hispanic or Latino background and was born and raised as a Lutheran in the island of Puerto Rico. I did my undergrad in Puerto Rico and then my theological studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Afterward, I returned to Puerto Rico, where I was ordained and served at my first parish. When the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) came together as a merger of three church bodies in the United States, I was elected the Bishop of the Caribbean synod, that is Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. After serving as bishop in the Caribbean synod, I joined the church-wide staff as part of the Division for Global Mission as area secretary for Latin America, then became the executive director for the Division for Global Mission for about 16 or 17 years. As of February 2022, the ELCA has entered a new redesign: I was appointed executive director of a new home area known as Service and Justice, which brings together all of our global work in terms of mission, development work, advocacy, and ethnic and racial ministries. In how many countries is your organization active? We are active in about 90 countries with companion or member churches of the Lutheran World Federation, but with other organizations and churches as well. So Rafael, could you give me your definition of collaboration and what it is good for? Well, I think that collaboration is coming together to build on each other's strengths and to provide a space where the skill competencies that we all bring, come together to address a specific issue. As we collaborate, they are three things that are really important. First, that we understand the differentiation between the two collaborators, whether individuals or entities. What each one brings, their own idiosyncrasies, their own identities. Second, what is the complementarity between those two companions, where they can work together? What is the intersectionality between those skills and competencies? Third, who has the capacity to implement and how can we do that either individually, together, or any other way, that will benefit the goal that we have before us? Thank you for this comprehensive definition. Is it predicated on, let's say, the context of a church, the religious context in which you operate? Or do you see this as a generic model that would work outside and inside the context in which you are actually active? Well, I think that it came up primarily within the context of a church and my work there. But in my experience, it is something that works across sectors. It is something that will work outside of a church structure because the basis for this understanding of collaboration comes from outside of the church. I was very influenced by the work of Paolo Freire, a Brazilian educator, who understands that journey toward collaboration as paying attention to the other that we meet in that venture of coming together. So, I would say that it will work outside of a church setting as well. R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla J. Lupp R. Malpica-Padilla In your example now, there is a shared sense then of, let's say, the humanity: the coming together, which might also be a form of empathy toward another and a flexibility where there might be a collision between objectives. Is that correct to say? Yes, that is central. In addition to a theological or educational perspective, that will inform our notion of collaboration. I think that there is something more fundamental and basic and it is what you just shared Paul. How do we understand the other? I say from my perspective of a church that that the biggest methodological question is not the theory behind mission. The methodological question is how do I engage the other? Because if I am not able to see the face of God in the other, or to see the relationality between me and the other, then my engagement with the other, each one in which I made that other the object of my actions, that is not collaboration. So otherness, or alterity as Emmanuel Levinas would define it, is key for this understanding of collaboration. Very clear, but there is an interesting relationship because you might argue that this idea of the other – someone to relate to and to understand as opposed to instrumentalizing or controlling – might exist prior to a religious elaboration of the other. Would you agree with that? Would you see that that is actually a more fundamental, let's say, human drive or instinct on which religion also is predicated? Sure, it is that basic core of our shared humanity. It is our common understanding of ourselves. I mean, philosophically there are some people that say that you need the other to gain understanding of yourself. So the process is reversed. It is not me making the other an object of my action; at the end of the day, it is through engagement with the other that I achieve my self-consciousness. So, there is this dynamic relationship between the "I" and the "thou": both need each other. They need that basic humanity. And if we use that as a basic principle, then, as you said, we can expand that theologically as well as anthropologically and develop systems that will allow us to achieve the end, which is the common good for that other and myself and the community that is formed through that engagement. I'd like to go back for a second, Rafael, if we could, to the way that you described collaboration in this three-step fashion: understanding the differences of the other, understanding where there's intersection or complementary interests, and then a capacity to implement. I could imagine that understanding the differences and the people that are involved in that collaboration might pose a few problems. What binds people together to enable one to look for the intersection or the commonalities between people? So that not only the differences are perceived but the commonalities as well. What binds people together beyond a belief structure? Obviously, the belief structure would do that. But are there other factors or methods that you use to get past the differences? Well, I think that the first step is to acknowledge the differences, not to assume those differences. So, when two cultures meet, they never meet on a level plane. There is what I would call the asymmetry, seeing the relationship. Those are the differences, whether those are historical, social, political, economical. So, once you understand those differences, that is the differentiation, then you can move toward that complementarity. You acknowledge the differences, but the differences are not used for the domination of one over the other, or the exclusion. In the end, the basic question when we meet another person is, who's subjectivity is going to be raised to the level of normativity, and that is always a transactional relationship, that is the give and take between the differentiation and the complementarity to create something anew. So you have your story and my story. But when we meet it is a new reality. It becomes our story. Then we need to create the conditions for this space, while maintaining our specific differentiation. How do we live in that space that brings us together and creates a new reality? That for me is basic, it is the stepping-stone toward R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla something else and that something is: How can we build together a better world for you and for me? I would say that that is the basic goal. So, in the way you describe it now, in a very objective, neutral way, you can see how that would work in a small collective like our conversation right now, maybe a family. But if we start to scale that up to hundreds or thousands of millions of individuals, how do we maintain those principles? How does such scaling occur? Within your own organizations, which entail thousands of people, how do you get that scaling step from these very core human values into a complex collaborative system? It may sound reductionist, but it involves a basic, simple communication and engagement with the other. When I meet you, your life is a text (either as an individual, a society, or a community); my life is a text. As some philosophers have proposed, the key is: How do we enter into conversations so that we can create intertextuality, this meeting of the horizons, yours and mine. You need to really work hard on that because you have to come to the table assuming a level playing field: that the other has the same values as you; that the other has the capacity to articulate his or her own context so that that context will meet mine and then together envision that new reality that will serve as the starting point for our conversations. That's the system that we use when we engage a very small community or the government of South Sudan, e.g., when we addressed the issue of health care in Juba. It is that basic principle of understanding the differences, identifying the complementarity, and then empowering individuals to engage together in that new space that we are creating. I understand. However, what I am trying to see is whether religious frameworks may not be so effective to stabilize and consolidate collaborative processes, because (a) they're very sophisticated systems and (b) they do give a shared ontology. You say, well, if we are part of this same church, the same religion, there are certain things we agree to that we're not going to question. There are certain rules of conduct, for instance, and certain realities that we just accept. We won't question them. Would you agree with the point of view that religion is a scaling step in collaboration because it takes away ambiguity and potential sources of conflict? People believe in a similar reality and in the methods to access that reality, in certain value systems that make us conduct in certain ways, even when the immediate situation looks very adverse. Yes, that is true. I think that in religion, we can find either a tool that will support that engagement, some shared values, either in a sophisticated way or in the very basic ways, e.g., in the Latin American context with the Christian-based communities. There, we saw it come to a very basic understanding. At the same time, and that's the flip side of religion, it also has the capacity to divide people rather than bring us together; it also creates divisions. So that's why we need to always find systems that give us a check and balance to avoid those pitfalls. Could you elaborate on those pitfalls? Why would a system which enhances collaboration or stabilizes it also instill division? What's the mechanism here? Why does this happen? Could you repeat that question? Earlier you said that although religion can enhance collaboration, it can also lead to division and thus obstruct collaboration. Why does that happen? Can you provide examples of this kind of breakdown? In my experience of when engaging that other (whether it is a religious order or political order), we are going back to what the common denominator that will allow for greater engagement. In the end, that is our shared humanity. Whether you understand that from a religious context or a political context, both of us as human beings have needs, aspirations, and dreams for a better society. These things transcend political or R. Malpica-Padilla J. Lupp R. Malpica-Padilla J. Lupp R. Malpica-Padilla religious systems and speaks to basic needs. The mother in a community in Africa wants to provide better health care, better food, and better housing for her child. The same is true for a mother in south Chicago. My job or role is then how to become a broker, a midwife, so that those two stories knit together and create shared space. The function of people like me and organizations like a church or NGOs, or even governments is to support that system that has been created, that shares a space of humanity, that brings together the hopes and aspirations. Such common humanity is the foundation upon which we can build a collaboration. You said earlier that if we start to elaborate in a religious context or a context of ideas or knowledge systems, this could lead to conflict because religions can collide; dogmas might be different, and people might get confused about the reality behind the dogma. Have you experienced this kind of breakdown? How can it be overcome? It can be overcome. This is my very personal opinion, and I'm sure that there are theologians who will disagree with me, but as you said, the problem with the religious encounter is when that encounter is mediated by dogmatism, by a need to not only clearly state what "I" believe, but in the end to make you believe in my own system. However, if we go to a very basic definition of religion using the Latin root, religare, which means to reconnect, the basis or common denominator for every religious system is how that religare, that reconnection happens (a) between an individual and God, however they define their God, and (b) between individuals themselves. So, if we understand religion as that ability for us to reconnect with one another based on some shared principles, we have a better chance to avoid the pitfall of dogmatism which leads to the imposition of my subjectivity as normative for everyone. Can we look at a specific example? In your work with this global mission, I could imagine that you encounter many different groups of people in many different cultural settings, so there certainly cannot be a one-size-fits-all to manage the various things that go on among these different groups. For example, what would happen say, in a church in Germany, would be perhaps different than in the Sudan or in Latin America. I would imagine that the cultural values of these different settings would somehow impact the narrative between you, the global missions program, and the individual groups. How do you manage this potential conflict? Well, that's why, again, going back to Paolo Freire and the hermeneutical or interpretation cycle of Latin American, either pedagogy or theology, which is always the action/reflection method, one always needs to be in conversation with the context and to reflect on that. Once you agree on something, you need to do more reflection. This constant dynamic between action and reflection allows you to identify the pitfalls and build a system that goes beyond that. If you don't do this, you are just leveling the playing field using your own tools. So, for example, I am Latino by birth and the missionaries that came to Puerto Rico were people from a Swedish background who came from the United States. We Puerto Ricans are a fun people. We love our music and dancing, which I was doing during the day. But when it came time to worship, then I had to worship like the Swedes. There were elements of my story that were not allowed in that relationship between me and the other. So, as I say, I was Puerto Rican by day and Lutheran by night. How is that managed nowadays? You have to come to a point where you deconstruct that system. And in deconstructing the system, you need to come with your own story, with your own idiosyncrasy – meeting that other and engaging in that conversation to discover what is common, what is the shared space, and from that shared space to figure out how we continue to build without the imposition of one to the other. Because once you enter into imposition, we are talking about, you know, colonizing. You draw a line between your R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla story and my story. And usually when you do that, God is on my side and God justifies whatever actions I want to do to you. I mean, that is the history of humankind right there. So, we need to deconstruct that system. And the only way for us to deconstruct that system is to engage in otherness and embracing differences. I get that and I agree with you, however, this is not easy, right? So what you're describing, the route that you're describing is a route of reflection, meditation, and intellectual effort. How do you communicate that? How do you educate people to follow such a route, especially in the face of very fundamental existential threats? How do you approach that from the perspective of your church? Well, as you said, we need to do it through education. We need to present what we understand is the core of our beliefs and how that shows up. I usually say to people, and this may sound simple at times, it may sound offensive; I am speaking of the American context, now in the United States; I say to people: "If I offend you, I must apologize, because I try to seek together a better place for all of us here in the US context. But if the gospel offends you, then you have to pick it up with someone else." Jimmy Carter, our former president, said, "How could you describe yourself as a Christian nation?" And right now, we have an impasse in our Congress where a sector of the political spectrum doesn't want to invest 3.5 trillion dollars to provide health care, childcare, tax credits for children, and to build the human infrastructure. So, I criticize that from a religious perspective and the basic common denominator between the one that I shared with you earlier is what Jesus said: Jesus came to give life abundantly for us. That is my bottom line. That's what I engage. My job, from the perspective of global missions or service and justice, is how to engage any other—be it a political other or a religious other—so that together we can build a society where there is sufficient sustainable livelihood for all, because that's what Jesus came to do. Now, within my own church, I have people that will label me as a political animal because they operate not from the perspective of the way of Jesus, but from the perspective of American civil religion. And that is different. The process of education, as Paolo Freire said, is very interesting because from the perspective of the oppressed, the educational process will lead to your own liberation. But then the onus is on you; that is: How do you free your own oppressor? That is really the challenge. I would like to go back in time a bit, because your career, a large part of it, also developed in parallel to a lot of turmoil in Latin America. Revolutions, dictatorships, attempts to build democratic societies in which I would imagine that you, as you became increasingly more active and more important in in your church, were trying to have an influence, were trying to mediate. Can you describe that process and what the impact has been on your own thinking and on the countries in point? The hardest part for any individual or for any church is that you need to have clarity about what is about to happen to you. You cannot do it from a noncommitted perspective. There were many that engaged the Latin America reality or the reality of life under apartheid in South Africa, from what I will call an intellectual perspective. Let's understand this to see how we can work with it. The process that I envision is harder because the first step is for you to be immersed in the reality that you seek to understand or to address; you have to be committed. You have to put, as we say here in the US, some "skin in the game." That will determine the level of engagement for you as an individual or as a church as you accompany those processes. I firmly believe in one of Karl Marx's critiques of Feuerbach's philosophical system. In 11th thesis, Karl Marx says the purpose of the philosopher, and I will adapt this, the purpose of the theologian is not to understand the world, but to change it. Now, for you to create the space where such change could happen, you need to put in some skin. You cannot pretend to engage it from a noncommittal space. R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla Right now, in the US, my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is one of the whitest denominations in this country: 96% white. And now we want to be new, younger, and diverse. We want to invite people from other ethnic communities. When speaking about this change, my own conversation or my conversation with my own church is to raise a simple question: Just because we now want to be more diverse, what gives you the idea that Latinx people, African American people, etc. will come to our church when historically we as a church have not been present in their struggles. That is the crucial. The church or any organization that engages communities needs to be part of their struggle. That's what the church rediscovered after the Second Vatican Council in the Latin American context. That's why you had two churches: the hierarchy and the church of the poor. Are you saying that during the time of the dictatorships in Latin America (e.g., in the 70s, 80s) your church did not have sufficient skin in that game to be of any influence? Well, in that particular case, not that much. We had missionaries that were serving there, and during the Pinochet dictatorship, an organization came together which served marginalized, economically marginalized societies. So, there was some skin. That happened in communities; resiliency was built in those communities. But in terms of engaging with the political scene, we didn't have that much skin. There was, however, a German missionary, Helmut Frenz, who really confronted Pinochet. So, I think that the church has to be part of those processes for liberation when marginalized peoples raise their voices. Look at what happened in Namibia, for example, where 90% of the population was at that time Lutheran. Why? Because the church was driving, the church was part. Not necessarily because the church saw itself as a protagonist, but the church was one among many that were working together toward the liberation and transformation of those societies. And transformation is not just a cosmetic change to a system. All systems will allow for transformation; that's how they keep minority people happy. We think that we are making progress, but we are not. Because in the end, the system leads to homeostasis, to that balance; that's how they keep their hegemony from a system perspective. Transformation needs displacement – displacement at the margins. That was the experience of the Latin American churches, of the church in Namibia, of the church in South Africa. And I believe that that is where God is calling the church in the context of the United States. When you have the rise of nativism and populism from the right, or as some people will say fascism, how does the church respond? I believe that God is calling Jesus's church to a new exodus, an exodus to the margins, for it is there at the margin that we will find others, and those others will become not the object of our actions; they are our liberators. They will become the disrupters for hegemonic systems that engage from the perspective of doing something for others, not doing things with and among. In turn, not only is the life of the other is transformed, but my life is transformed as well. Transformation needs to happen on both sides. But in terms of displacement, you could argue that confronting the bigger struggle (the nationalism, nativism, fascism or neoliberal forces that's on the rise) becomes a rearguard battle. In some sense, you are evading a direct confrontation with those when you say, well, let's then focus on the ones that have been displaced by these main forces that now seem to structure our society. Are you not marginalizing the potential of your religion and your church to bring about a larger change in society, or do I not understand the process? No, because it is not an either-or type of process, it's both-and. At the same time that we journey toward the margin to find those oppressed and work together in their liberation, we need also to address the system. In 1993, we adopted a social statement, For Peace in God's World, to describe the church in three unique ways. And most ELCA members will agree with two wholeheartedly. First, we say that the church needs to J. Lupp R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla be a healing presence in the world. That is when we go to the margins, etc. Second, the church needs to be a reconciling presence in the world, and no one questions that because at the end of the day, we try to do that, to become bridges between individuals. But the third can make people pause: the church is to be a disturbing presence in the world, and it is precisely that disturbing presence—through our advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill, at the United Nations, at state legislatures—that addresses the larger question. So, again, it's not either-or, it's both-and. I find this very interesting because if you are not intimately involved with a group like this, it's very easy to equate global missions with what you described earlier: as the Swede who comes into Puerto Rico and brings in their top-down system of whatever. Now you are describing a completely different situation. And I find that a really positive change. From your position in global missions, I assume you have quite a lot of influence in the ECLA. How do you practically go about this? Is this organized on a local level, like the going to the state legislatures or food bank drives? If so, how does it scale up to a more effective national level, say, in the United States, to impact policy? Yes, we try to use the learnings from our global engagement to understand and to work in the local context. Why do we do that? Well, because before we needed to go outside of the United States to find the world. Well, the reality is that the whole world is living next door to us. From that perspective, we are using a word that was coined by a Roman Catholic theologian here in Chicago, "glocal," meaning global and local. We face a glocal reality. We start from that base of transformation in local communities: How do we organize to provide better food or address health care needs? Or in these days, the negative, the impact of COVID on black communities in the United States, the issue of refugees from Haiti, or from Latin America; that is our starting point to provide services to those communities, engaging them, reconciling them. So that's the healing and the reconciling. But we cannot stop there. We need to advocate at the level of state legislatures, e.g., in Texas where they have passed, from my perspective, a horrific law about abortion. How can we engage in supporting women's reproductive rights? At the same time, how do we work with the U.S. Congress through our offices? Right now, we have the situation with COVID. How do we engage with the United Nations to address the issue of intellectual property and challenge Big Pharma to allow for the generic production of vaccines, so that people in Africa, where only 1% of the population is vaccinated, gain access? I can love people, feed them, I can do all that, but if I don't work with the system to effect transformation, nothing will happen. We will get stuck. So our actions have to be really comprehensive. But Rafael, the consequences of what you're saying is that in order to disrupt, you have to set your targets to disrupt, and that in some sense now becomes a discussion that is not only within the confines of a religious organization. Now, you are a social organization that has political objectives (e.g., in defense of female reproductive rights). That involves political commitment. How do you shape the political agenda to understand where to disrupt and where to be, let's say, compliant and empathic? We do that through various ways. For example, as we have mentioned, the educational component is really important. We need to educate people, and we have a network throughout the church that provides for that engagement. We need to provide the tools for individuals to really engage in an issue, to understand it. We have a strong social teaching policy basis and we have what I will call the system to deliver that. We also have a very strong advocacy network, both at the level of state legislatures, where we have offices throughout the United States, as well as in Congress. And, we have the way to activate those networks. That is important. But here comes the issue—the issue that is currently affecting the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—and that is: such engagement in this blue and red reality of the United States is seen as partisan. So many people that sit in the pews of our R. Malpica-Padilla J. Lupp R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla congregation think that those of us involved at the national level are way too liberal. I don't apologize for this. I cannot allow any political ideology to claim for itself what belongs to the gospel. So when I engage, and when I engage to advocate for women's reproductive rights, I am not supporting Joe Biden's agenda; I am not against Donald Trump's agenda; I am following the way of Jesus. And I have to explain that, which is often the hardest thing for people to understand. There is a cartoonist called the Naked Pastor and he has a cartoon that depicts a church with people inside the church leaning against the door while Jesus is outside the door. And the caption reads: "Don't let him in, he will change everything." We need to adopt the mindset of Jesus. As one of my friends and former bosses says, "Jesus did not come to die. We need to do away with those atonement theories. Jesus came to live. It was his mission, his radical mission that placed him on the cross." And if we are a group of people that bear that name, we must be open to assume that concequence. So that is at the heart of everything we do, it is to follow the way of Jesus, which was a way not only for those that followed him, it was the way for everyone. Whether they were in the church or external to it. OK, I understand. Your commitment to the teachings of Jesus defines implicitly where your political commitments will lie. Still, within that you must prioritize. For instance, we can look at ecological collapse, the rights of female reproduction, and a whole slew of other political challenges: How do you prioritize action? Well, we do we do that in conversation with people. I cannot prioritize from my office at the building in Chicago or from my home. Priorities will come from my engagement with the communities. One staff member asked me the other day, "Rafael, I like when you speak about liberation as the outcome. How can we shape that liberation?" I said, "We never shape someone else's liberation. We need to engage with those communities in conversation and they will define how liberation will look like. Then I need to decide whether or not I will join that cause, whether or not I will join the struggle." The church produces, as I said, social statements. I have budget priorities. I have programmatic emphasis. All of that is secondary. That helps me make decisions. What is key and where the priority comes is when I enter into conversation with that other and in that conversation, they define how they understand their context and how liberation will look like. And then the question comes to me, are you willing to walk with them? And then I align the resources according to those programmatic priorities, but they set the agenda. So, you're not talking about top down, but rather this concept of being immersed within the group and accompanying the needs or responding to the needs of the people that you walk with. Yes. All politics, as someone said, is local. All engagement is local. I cannot come from the outside and say this is what you need. I need to listen to you and carefully listen to what that other is saying. And then I need to make the decision whether or not I will join in that walk. And when I commit, I need to understand that when I go into that walk it is not to redirect others so that my outcome will be the goal. I have to commit so that their outcome becomes a reality, and that's always hard, especially for Americans who always like to be in the driver's seat. We need to be in the passenger seat, really listening to those communities. And that happens outside of the United States as well as when we listen to vulnerable communities. Still, in that collective process there might be disagreement or even a stalemate. How do you break deadlock in such a process? That is the hard question, and there is no magic wand for us to do that. I would say that it is all about sitting down and listening to the other; about give and take. It is for us to never lose the elasticity. Just imagine a rubber band. When things go bad it is when the rubber band loses its elasticity. So you go to one side or the other. In any engagement, R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla I always need to work on the possibility of expanding, but then coming to that center. The key is for us to identify what is that common center, what is that shared space that will provide for the stretching and the coming back together. We have talked about many possible ones: our shared humanity, the shared space for engagement and how we define it. And, for some of us, in a certain context, the way of Jesus—that basic way of Jesus, full of life, full life for all of God's children, whether those children are Christians, or Muslims, or atheists, or no faith. Our goal is to build a better world. I believe that God's dream for the world is for the world to be a reflection of that extreme relationality that we find in our understanding of God. And, in the end, I think that we can work together with people of all faiths as well as with civil society to create that kind of world. The question for us is: How are we going to address the -isms that are rising up, that get in the way of that? That is really the hard political question. To propagate that within your own organization, I assume that you rely on a hierarchical structure in which these considerations are being made and communicated, because otherwise it will be unmanageable? How does hierarchy then work within that context? I would say it is an instrument. It is an instrument for achieving a goal. I have never believed in trickledown anything, trickledown economics or anything else, so the dangers of understanding the hierarchy in that sense is problematic. But yes, for example, we have this space for ideation, coming together. We bring together members of the Conference of Bishops, people from congregations, and community organizers and create the space to bounce around each other's ideas and then agree on (a) to identify the strengths of each member around the table, (b) to pinpoint the complementarity, and (c) to identify who has the capacity to do what and the structure facilitate that conversation. Working outside the organization, we may encounter competition or collaboration with other religious organizations, which may make very different assumptions about the world. So how do you promote collaboration between different religious organizations? You mentioned Muslims earlier, but this might involve Hinduism, Buddhism, or the different variations of Christianity or the Judeo-Christian tradition. How can such collaboration be managed constructively? Well, as I have been saying, you need to come together and create the space for that conversation; this will permit the identification of a common denominator and allow for collaboration. That is key. After that process has happened, if a possible complementarity cannot be identified, either due to dogmatism or strong differences, then what I do is to move on. There is a management theory developed by a French woman and a Japanese fellow called the "Blue Ocean Strategy." The principle of that theory is that you never engage your competition because this would result in a red ocean, where you feed on each other; you need to move away from this and create a blue ocean. So if I cannot find a common space for collaboration, I do not engage the resistance because this will consume time and energy. I just move on to create that blue ocean. And for that, I need to find the meeting of minds, people that are willing to build not on their specificity, but on their commonality. It is hard work. You have to be very selective about who are or will be your strategic allies. But also in that conversation, you need to have very clear in your mind what your non-negotiables are. I am willing to negotiate, but you need to understand what are your non-negotiables, because I cannot cross that line. To identify that line is very important. So what are non-negotiables for ELCA? I don't know if at this moment I can identify those, but if I use the social teachings, one non-negotiable is our understanding of economic life or, which is a sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all. That is a non-negotiable. Justice, equity is a nonR. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla P. Verschure R. Malpica-Padilla negotiable. Dismantling patriarchal, dehumanizing systems is a non-negotiable for us. And for me, at the end of the day, so too is the way of Jesus. There is a philosopher, a theologian here in the United States by the name of John Caputo, who wrote a book playing off the popular notion of W.W.J.D. (What would Jesus do?) and redefining it as: What would Jesus deconstruct? His theory is that Jesus is the main deconstructionist for the church, and the challenge for the church lies in the "irreducible gap"—the irreducible gap between Jesus and itself. What I'm trying to do is to reduce that gap between Jesus that is called deconstructionist and the church as it exists today. For me, that that is my non-negotiable: the way of Jesus, the gospel of Jesus, which stands to deconstruct all these -isms and this self-centeredness of the individual or of nations. It is Jesus that stands up against American exceptionalism, against individualism, against nativism. That will be my non-negotiable. I cannot reduce Jesus to an ATM that gives blessings to people. No, Jesus is the deconstructionist that comes... But do you see social media companies (e.g., Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) as being at loggerheads with these non-negotiables. Well, look at what happened yesterday here in the United States with Facebook. That is the conversation that we had early on in our political analysis programs, and we are debating that. What is the role of these companies in, for example, benefiting from hate, from misinformation? Then the question is, from a church perspective: What will Jesus say in that context. How can you bring Jesus into that conversation? That is always the difficult thing because, you know, in my experience, many Christians don't want to bring Jesus into it. They bring Christ, and Christ is a human construct. So, we build Christ with our sociopolitical ideologies, but Jesus of Nazareth? He is clear. Well, clearer, some theologians would say. So the question is: How can we bring the disruption that Jesus brings to those lives of -isms that are so prevalent in our context? To follow up, if we look at all of these challenges we face, do you believe humanity will ever be able to create, manage, and sustain constructive collaboration? Or are we incapable? Paul, if I answer that question for you, I could sell a lot of books. It is really a very important question. But the simple truth is, I don't know. I don't know. At times I feel that I am trapped between Luther and Karl Marx. Luther had a very negative anthropology; he described human beings as a bag full of worms. On the other hand, Marx had a very positive anthropology, and that's why his system failed. He wasn't able to factor in that small word "sin." So how do you live between those two? At the end of the day, I need to believe in the potential of humanity, but there are certain things that we need to do. We will not solve any problem with nice clichés or ideas. We really need to get to work on the basis and really, really hold, "we the people," as the US Constitution says. The people need to rise up. We the people need to hold our governments accountable and say enough is enough. There are enough resources in this world for all of us to have and enjoy the life full of abundance that Jesus promised. So how do we get at it? Not by making everyone Christian, but by working from our basic humanity. We have the capacity to build resilient communities where people will enjoy life and happiness. But we have to get to work. But every individual human is able to get that message right. So if I would give you magic powers and you could change one feature of humans so that they would be able to actually establish collaboration, what's the one feature you would change? I would, either…I don't know if I would call it change of feature or appropriate one. You know, of course, I will come at this from my religious perspective that is deeply rooted in social transformation. And that is what we Lutherans understand happens to all through justification. Justification is a big theological word. But Luther said that God comes to us to free ourselves from us, so that we can concentrate on the other. So if J. Lupp R. Malpica-Padilla every human being could receive that gift to displace our eyesight from our own belly button and engage the other and concentrate on serving the neighbor in need, neighbor love, that's what I would give to everyone. My magic wand would give every human being neighbor love. And if we do that, then I think that we can go back and dream the dream that God dreamt when God decided to create. We have messed this up, but neighbor love can get us back to that original intent. Rafael Malpica-Padilla, thank you very much for this conversation. We appreciate your time and insights. Thank you, Paul and Julia, for the opportunity. It was a pleasure to be in conversation with you.
Brushless Direct Current Electric Motor Design with Minimum Cogging Torque Muhammad Nizam Mechanical Engineering, Post Graduate Program Sebelas Maret University Surakarta, Indonesia email@example.com Abstract— Cogging torque is one of the factors that influence electric motor efficiency. Many methods have been used to reduce the cogging torque. One of the methods is the determination of the number of slots and poles fraction. This study was intended to determine the number of slots and poles fraction to get a minimum of cogging torque. Research was done by ANSYS software. By varying the number of slots and poles, the data cogging torque and torque ripple were observed. It was found that the lesser difference between the number of slots and poles produced lower cogging torque. More numbers of slots would reduce the cogging torque. The smallest cogging torque was produced at difference in the number of slots and poles of 1 and 2. For slots more than four, the cogging torque produced were irregular. Keywords— design; cogging torque; brushless motor; I. INTRODUCTION Brushless Direct current Electric Motor (BLDC motor) is widely used in various fields and intended to replace conventional brushed motor. It is supported by the development of nano particles, electromagnetic materials, technology switching and in particular to support the very high-speed switching process [1]. BLDC motor works without using brushes to produce a commutation effect and so it has many advantages, such as do not require periodic treatments because of the absence of noise, minimizing carbon snarled, no arising of sparks. The researches of the electric motors are much highlighted by researchers in the field of transportation. Electric motors demand for vehicles are high to replace fossil fuels based vehicles [2]. In transportation, BLDC motors are required to have high torque required to fulfill the energy needs against the vehicles traction. In practice, the usage of threephase BLDC motor is preferred compared to single phase because it does not have a dead point. Hery Tri Waloyo Mechanical Engineering, Post Graduate Program Sebelas Maret University Surakarta, Indonesia firstname.lastname@example.org Inayati Chemical Engineering Department Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia email@example.com Designing a BLDC motors need to pay attention to some aspects and the most important is its efficiency. One factor which affecting its efficiency is the existence of cogging torque. Large cogging torque causes vibration and noise which reduces the efficiency. Axial motor with variation on the number of poles will affect the asymmetry of the back-EMF, cogging torque, torque and reduce the electromagnetic torque ripple [3]. Adding an additional gap can reduce cogging torque and electromagnetic torque ripple. After reaching a maximum gap addition, the cogging torque will be at steady state [4]. Calculation and simulation are needed to design a motor with minimum cogging torque. Methods that are widely used in process analysis and engineering is the Finite Element method (FEM). FEM can be applied in process analysis including construction, structure, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid. Wide application areas can be analyzed using this method, thus it can be said that the FEM can be applied to any engineering analysis [5]. The development of computing and programming contributed to the increasing of field that can be solved [8]. FEM is effective to solve complex geometry, where the usual solution to the ordinary derivative equation cannot provide a solution [9]. Complex issue of boundary value problems on a single dimension or two dimensions or even three dimensions can be solved with better [10]. Simulation to initiate the design process can be performed by using 2D or 3D. For the initial design of the limited parameters used 2D simulations. More detail simulation can be done using 3D simulation. A disadvantage of 3D simulation is time consuming and simulation tools used are very complex [11,12]. II. BASIC THEORY A. DC motor DC Motor is composed of rotating part or rotor and fixed part or stator. Stator has fixed pole that is generated by permanent magnets or coils. Rotor produces rotates magnetic 280 field by a coil and core or armature. An electric current flows in the rotor from the voltage source by using a brush which is usually made from carbon materials. Carbon brush form mechanically contact, connected to the copper link at the end of the rotor. Commutators are copper connector that connected to the coils of the rotor. In a rotation, carbon brush moves from one copper segment to the next forming current flow. Poles difference direction will cause the force acting on the rotor at tangential direction and affects the amount of torque produced. B. BLDC motor BLDC motors can be classified as synchronous motor. The rotational speed of its rotor is equal to the change in the magnetic polarization. In BLDC motor, pole change was done on the stator component. Its stator consists of coils and cores. Rotor is static magnets, which are generated by permanent magnets. The position sensor is used to find out the position of the motor poles. Inverter is used to regulate the amount of current should be provided. Semiconductor switches are used to get the effect of pole change. BLDC Motor used in this paper was a motor with three phase electricity. To get a good power, Y electrical circuit type was used. Electrical interaction can be simply modeled by the equation 1-4. Where v, i and e states inter-phase voltage, phase current and phase back-emf, which are in three phases named a, b and c. Electrical resistance is symbolized by R and L is the inductance. Te and TL are the electrical torque and load torque. J is the inertia of the rotor, the friction constants is kf states, and ωm is the rotor speed. Back-emf and torque can be calculated using equation 5-8. C. Location of Permanent Magnet Based on the arrangement of the rotor and stator, BLDC motors [6] are divided into two types, i.e, inner rotor and outer rotor. Each type has its advantages (fig.1). In inner rotor, heat dissipation process is easier because the stator coils are placed at outside. In outer rotor, coil stator is protected from the dangers that come from outside. 281 Conventional motors using brushes have been widely abandoned due to its draw backs. BLDC motors have some advantages compared to the brushed motor such as better speed-torque characteristic, high dynamic response and efficiency, longer life time, minimum noise during greater snd its speed range[7]. D. Cogging Torque Cogging torque is a force resulted from the interaction between the rotor and stator. During switching process by semiconductors, there are conditions where there is no current flowing in the stator. Cogging torque is not very desirable, especially at low speeds. At high speed, the impact of the cogging torque is dispensed by the moment of inertia of the motor. Cogging torque greatly affects the performance of BLDC motors because it can cause speed ripple and vibration. Cogging torque can only be minimized because in practice it is not possible to eliminate its existence. Cogging torque is closely related to the flux density so that the cogging reduction also reduces flux density. The existence of the cogging torque can be minimized by several methods such as with skewing stator stack or magnets, fractional slots per pole, modulating drive current waveform, optimizing the magnet pole arc or width. Most methods for reducing cogging torque also resulted in reducing the power electromotive which consequently reduces the total torque that can be generated [7]. III. METHODOLOGY A. Design of Study Research was carried out by using ANSYS software. This study was aimed to observe the effect of the number of slots and poles of the cogging torque generated. Simulation was started by determining the variation of the number of slots and poles. Then, it was followed by setting the fraction of the number of slots and poles. Variation of the difference of one to four run, then cogging torque was examined for each variation. Finally, the torque ripple, which was influenced by cogging torque, was analyzed and it was varied at minimal cogging torque value. B. Equipment and Materials Research was done by the software, to model the electric motor related specified parameters. BLDC motors used in the simulation is three-phase. Variables of this research were the number of stator slots and poles. Parameters of the motor used in this study are shown in table I. TABLE I. GLOBAL PARAMETER DESIGN \| Parameter \| Value \| Unit \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| Rate Voltage \| 72 \| Volt \| \| Rate Speed \| 1500 \| rpm \| \| Rated Power \| 550 \| watt \| \| Diameter luar stator \| 200 \| mm \| \| Diameter dalam stator \| 100 \| mm \| \| Diameter luar rotor \| 99 \| mm \| Important parameter in designing stator slots is the shape of the stator. Fig. 2 shows the shape of the stator slot shape used in this study while table II presents the parameters of the slot. TABLE II. STATOR SLOT PARAMETER \| Parameter \| Value \| Unit \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| Hs0 \| 1.3 \| mm \| \| Hs1 \| 2 \| mm \| \| Hs2 \| 25 \| mm \| \| Bs0 \| 0.5 \| mm \| \| Bs1 \| 10 \| mm \| \| Bs2 \| 18 \| mm \| \| Rs \| 3 \| mm \| IV. SIMULATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This section describes the BLDC motor performance test with at varied number of slots and poles. By using the software, determination of the number of stator slots and poles are possible to be done. Tests were done to observe the effect of the fractions number of stator slots and poles on the generated cogging torque. Cogging torque will cause torque ripple. The simulation results are described as follows: 282 A. Restrictions on the Number of Slots and Poles In the simulation, the size (Table II) and the shape of the stator slot structure as shown in fig. 2 were kept constant. By increasing the number of stator slots, while the slot opening size is kept constant, the size of the stator core slots will be smaller. Tests were done on a BLDC motor with stator core slots so that the maximum number of slots was limited to the maximum. Simulations using three-phase motors were very suitable for traction purposes. The electric motor was designed plan will be used to drive an electric car. Due to the use of three-phase motors, the numbers of stator slots were multiplication of three. The number of allowable slots and pole with predetermined parameters are shown in Table III. TABLE III. MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM POLE NUMBER AT SPESIFIC SLOT NUMBER \| Slot Number \| Poles Number \| \| \|---\|---\|---\| \| \| Min \| Max \| \| 3 \| 2 \| 4 \| \| 6 \| 2 \| 10 \| \| 9 \| 2 \| 16 \| \| 12 \| 2 \| 22 \| \| 15 \| 2 \| 28 \| \| 18 \| 2 \| 34 \| \| 21 \| 2 \| 40 \| \| 24 \| 2 \| 44 \| \| 27 \| 2 \| 50 \| The minimum number of slots allowed was 3 and then the multiple of 3. At number of 27, it was found that the size of the slot stator core has reached a minimum size so that the maximum number of slots was limited to this size. B. Cogging Torque Cogging torque is the interaction between the stator core at no-current and a permanent magnet during the commutating process. Simulation on the effect of the fraction of the number of slots and poles in the electric motor was done by using ANSYS software. In each experiment, the variation of the fraction of the number of stator slots and poles resulted cogging torque data as function of electrical degree as shown in Fig. 3. Figure 3 shows the cogging torque which was generated when the number of poles was half of the number of slots. As seen from that figure, there are two full cogging torque waves in one full rotation. Both graphs almost were coincide but they had different maximum values. In motor with 12 slots and 6 poles (S12P6) the maximum cogging torque value was 214.9 x 10 -3 Nm. While motor with 24 slots and 12 poles (S24P12) produced lower cogging torque value of 132.4 x 10 -3 Nm. From the results, it can be seen that increasing the number of slots reduced the cogging torque. The tests on cogging torque in BLDC motor was then continued on group of the number of poles and slots difference from 1, 2, 3 and 4. During these tests, the difference between the number of poles and slots fraction one was calculated by adding and subtracting by 1 (+1 or -1) from the number of stator slots. Result on the cogging torque at the number of poles is at one more than number of slots is shown in Fig. 4. After a 90-degree, waves reached the same point and they were repeated periodically. Electrical Degree (deg) Fig. 4. Cogging Torque at Poles = Slot + 1 Figure 5 shows the results when the test was done for the difference of +2. From that figure, it can be seen that it needed 180 degrees to reach the same value and repeated periodically. 150 From varied tests, it was found that when the difference was odd number (1 and 3) the repetition occurred after 90 degrees period. The complete results are presented in table IV. The number of similar peaks and valleys shows that full waves cogging torque formed were repeated. From the data in Table IV it can be seen that the more number of slots produced bigger cogging torque waves. When the difference was even (2 and 4), the repetition of the cycle must cover 180 degrees. Complete data can be seen in Table V which shows that the of cogging torque wave increased by increasing the number of slots, except for 24 slots and 28 poles and for 24 slots and 20 poles because these configuration had lesser waves. These phenomena occurred because of the greater number of slots and the difference 283 reduced the total energy produced as results of the interaction torque generated each slot and the permanent magnet. TABLE IV. THE PERIOD AT 90 DEGREE REPETED Number of cogging torque waves affected the magnitude of the torque ripple. The longer cogging torque periods produced smaller peak value. The magnitude of the peak value of cogging torque for each group of slots and poles difference can be seen in fig. 6 - 9. Fig. 6 shows the cogging torque generated on the number of poles and slots with difference of 1. That figure shows that in the same number of stator slot, the cogging torque produced was nearly the same. With the increasing number of stator slots, large cogging torque became smaller. Cogging torque with the negative difference was always smaller than the positive difference at the same number of stator slots. The magnitudes of the cogging torque with the slot and pole number fraction difference of 2 were almost identical for all varied configuration. The magnitude of the cogging torque in the negative pole number was smaller than the cogging torque magnitude at positive pole for each variation, as shown in Fig. 7. TABLE V. THE PERIOD AT 180 DEGREE REPEATED \| variation \| Number of waves \| \| \| comparison \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| \| peak \| trough \| sum \| \| \| P=S+2 \| \| \| \| \| \| S6P8 \| 4 \| 4 \| 4 \| 1 \| \| S12P14 \| 7 \| 7 \| 7 \| 1.75 \| \| S18P20 \| 10 \| 10 \| 10 \| 2.5 \| \| S24P26 \| 13 \| 13 \| 13 \| 3.25 \| \| P=S-2 \| \| \| \| \| \| S6P4 \| 2 \| 2 \| 2 \| 1 \| \| S12P10 \| 5 \| 5 \| 5 \| 1.25 \| \| S18P16 \| 8 \| 8 \| 8 \| 2 \| \| S24P22 \| 11 \| 11 \| 11 \| 2.75 \| \| P=S+4 \| \| \| \| \| \| S6P10 \| 5 \| 5 \| 5 \| 1 \| \| S12P16 \| 7 \| 7 \| 7 \| 1.4 \| \| S18P22 \| 10 \| 10 \| 10 \| 2 \| \| S24P28 \| 7 \| 7 \| 7 \| 1.4 \| \| P=S-4 \| \| \| \| \| \| S6P2 \| 1 \| 1 \| 1 \| 1 \| \| S12P8 \| 2 \| 2 \| 2 \| 2 \| \| S18P14 \| 7 \| 7 \| 7 \| 7 \| \| S24P20 \| 1 \| 1 \| 1 \| 1 \| Figure 8 shows not all variations of slots and poles with difference of 3 produced cogging torque with adjacent values, 284 as happened for the difference of one or two. The biggest differences were in slot 21 where the cogging torque produced was 33.54% higher. At the pole difference of 4(Fig. 9), obtained results did not have a specific pattern. With the same number of slots, the cogging torque formed was much different. Negative cogging torque was not always smaller as another variation. These happened because the period of the cogging torque waves generated was irregular as described above, so it affected on the peak value. The magnitudes of the cogging torque were compared based on the positive and negative difference and they were presented in fig. 10 and 11. At the difference +1, the magnitude of the cogging torque was smallest for each variation. Almost in all variation, the margin of three slots had the highest cogging torque but at low value at variation 4. Lowest value of cogging torque was at the difference of +1 and were on variation 4 or 27 slots and 28 poles (S27P28). As well as in positive difference, the lowest value of torque was the variation 4 and the negative difference of 1 or S27P26. From the data, it can be seen that the magnitude of the smallest cogging torque was at the difference between 1 and 2. In the following section the existence of torque ripple will be discussed. C. Torque Ripple The influence of the cogging torque presence is the torque ripple. Simulation of the torque ripple was done at certain motor speed. Average maximum speed of the motor was 1100 rpm, and simulation was done for low speed (300 rpm), medium (600 rpm) and high (900 rpm). Figure 12 and 13 present the torque deviation width, generated for each configuration. From fig. 12 it can be seen that higher motor speed produced narrower torque deviation width. It can be explained that the inertia of the moving objects reduced the influence of cogging torque. However, when the width of deviation was compared to the average torque, the results showed the opposite effects, as in depicted in fig. 13. It can be seen that the torque produced at higher speed was bigger. 285 V. CONCLUSION The simulations on electric motor using ANSYS software were conducted to determine slots and poles, which produced minimum torque. Slots and poles configuration were varied for the simulation. From the results, it can be concluded that the magnitude of the cogging torque was strongly influenced by variations in the number of slots and poles. Increasing the number of slots produced smaller cogging torque. The greater the difference between number of slots and poles, the greater cogging torque produced. Minimum cogging torque was obtained by a margin of 1. For margin more than 4, the magnitude of cogging torque was irregular. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was supported by DP2M, Directorate of High Education, Ministry of Education and Culture Republik Indonesia, through "Penelitian Unggulan Perguruan Tinggi" grant Sebelas Maret University with the contract no: 351/UN27.11/PN/2014. REFERENCES [1] Beaty, H W., and Kirtley, J., Electric motor Handbook, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998. [2] Jang, S.M.., Cho, H.W., and Choi, S.K.," Design and analysis of at high speed brushless DC motor for centrifugal compressor," IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 43, No. 6, 2573-2575, June 2007. [3] Zang,W. and Mingyao, L. Influence of Rotor Pole Number on Optimal Para meters in E-core Axial Field Flux-switching Permanent Magnet Machine, International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Busan, Korea, 978-1-4799-1447-0/13, 2013 [4] C. Xia , Z. Chen , T. Shi , and H. Wang, Cogging Torque Modeling and Analyzing for Surface-Mounted Permanent Magnet Machines With Auxiliary Slots IEEE Transactions On Magnetics, vol.49, no.9, september 2013. [5] Yedamale, P., Brushless DC (BLDC) motor Fundamental, Microchip Technology Inc., 2003. [6] Choi J H, Kim J H, Kim D H, Design and Parametric Analysis of Axial Flux PM Motors with Minimized Cogging Torque, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 45, pp. 2855 - 2858 19, May 2009. [7] Hanselman, D.C, Brushless Permanent Magnet Design, McGraw-hill Inc., 1994. [8] Bathe, K. J., Finite Element Procedure, Prentice Hall Inc., 1996. [9] Braess, D., FINITE ELEMENTS Theory, Fast Solvers, and Applications in Elasticity Theory , Cambridge University Press, New York, 2007. [10] Becker, E. B., Carey, G. F., Oden, J. T., Finite Element An Introduction, Prentice Hall Inc., 1981. [11] Wang, S., Kang, J. and Park, K., "Comparison of 2d and 3D FEA of a BLDC motor" The International Journal and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Vol 19 No. 2 MCB University Press. UK., 2000 [12] Lowther, D. A. and Forgani, B., "A comparison of 2D and 3D analysis methods for the prediction of cogging torque in an electrical machine having skewed slots" The International Journal and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Vol 20 No. 2 MCB University Press. UK., 2001
READY SET CHOKE Written by Hayden Bownds Story by Hayden Bownds & Cristian Cruzio FADE IN: INT. CASTING OFFICE - DAY A foot taps. Hands curl a script, tightly. Many people line the walls. Waiting. A WOMAN comes out with a sheet of paper. Next. CASTING ASSISTANT LARRY, 20's, stops tapping his foot and looks around, nervous. He toggles his vision from the woman to the others. CASTING ASSISTANT (CONT'D) Who's next? He's at the front of the line. He gets up and leaves. Someone else goes into the room. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT Dozens of people go in and out of the house. Groups cluster together, CHATTING. A party's in full swing. LANDON, 20's, tries to warm up a prospective girl. LANDON You know what they say about guys who are tall... She looks uninterested. LANDON (CONT'D) They sleep longer in bed. He smiles. She turns and ankles away. LANDON (CONT'D) It's about height... He chases after her. ALAN, 20's, SINGS karaoke. He's drunk. ALAN ...Sprung from cages on Highway 9 Chrome wheeled, fuel injected, and steppin' out over the line Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back - it's a death trap, it's a suicide rap... (animated) People dance and CHEER. Larry dances amongst the crowd. ALAN (CONT'D) 'Cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to run. Yes, Larry, we were... Larry smiles and bumps into LARKIN, 20's. She drops her cup of beer on to her shoes. LARKIN Watch where you're flailing those things. That's expensive beer you've spilled on my inexpensive shoes. LARRY I was born to run, baby. What's your name? Larkin. LARKIN He continues bouncing around. She smiles. He grabs her hand. LARRY Larkin, come with me. I know where they keep the stash. They pass SONNY, 20's, as they exit to the backyard. Sonny checks his phone. There's a missed call from Mildred. He pockets his phone as RENE, 30's, comes over. SONNY You know Alan, right? RENE I was one of the producers on the last film. I'm Sonny. SONNY He shakes her hand. RENE Rene. What do you do? SONNY We just shot a film I directed. RENE What's it about? SONNY It's kind of a cross between horror and comedy, but more experimental. RENE How avant garde of you. Where can I see it? SONNY It's not quite finished. We have to do some re-shoots. She pulls a business card from her purse and hands it to him. RENE Call me when you have a cut of the film. I gotta run. SONNY I will. Thank you. He looks at the card. Smiles back to her. She leans closer. RENE Or call before... She smiles and heads through the crowd. He watches her as she goes. His PHONE rings. It's Mildred, again. He answers. SONNY Hey, babe... BACKYARD Many people scatter the lot. Larry and Larkin are at the beer table. He hands her a fresh one. She accepts. LARRY Here ya' go. But you have to get the next one. LARKIN So this constitutes as you buying me a drink? LARRY Unoffically. Although it wouldn't be a date. I have a girlfriend. LARKIN Oh, and where is she tonight? LARRY She's more of a chamomile tea and Netflix kind of gal. Parties aren't really her thing. LARKIN And what kind of gal are you? LARRY A loud mouth, Bruce Springsteen dancing, spilling beers on girl's shoes kind. They LAUGH. LARKIN More of a Streisand fan, myself. LARRY The river? Thunder road? She shakes her head. LARRY (CONT'D) Okay, favorite bands on three. Ready, set, go. LARRY (CONT'D) Springsteen. Bowie. The Clash. Tegan and Sara. Sia. Streisand. LARRY Did you say Tegan and Sara? You a fan? LARKIN LARRY They're the lesbian sisters, right? LARKIN You say it like there's something wrong with that. LARRY No. Nothing wrong. Just don't buy lesbians is all. She looks turned off. LARRY (CONT'D) I can buy gay guys because everyone needs dick. They just need it. Lesbians just need a good dicking. LARKIN She's stunned. LARRY (CONT'D) Chasing Amy? You seen it? LARKIN Sounds like a great movie... LARRY One of my favorites. LARKIN Is that what you do? LARRY I'm on the cusp of my acting career. More so a writer. My friends and I shot a film that I wrote. It's kind of cool. LARKIN Hopefully more complex than nonchivalrous banter about sexuality. It is. LARRY Alan stops singing as they sip their beers. LARKIN You sing too? LARRY I act, I write, I sing. I'm a myriad of talent. Don't let your boyfriend get jealous. LARKIN Sly way of asking if I have a boyfriend. LARRY I wasn't... I don't. LARKIN LARRY Either way. I have a girlfriend so don't be getting any ideas. They head towards the front. ROBBIE, 20's, steps out. ROBBIE Hey, it's late. I open tomorrow. She notices Larry. LARKIN Robbie, this is... She pretends to forget his name. He holds out his hand. Larry. LARRY Robbie gives a fake smile and shakes his hand. LARRY (CONT'D) Nice to meet you. Likewise. ROBBIE (to Larkin) Ready? Larry looks excited. Larkin annoyed. LARRY Want to join us in karaoke? ROBBIE If you want to stay - LARKIN No. It's fine. ROBBIE Larkin, it's okay. LARKIN No. Let's go home. A wry smile from Robbie. ROBBIE I'll be in the car. She heads away. LARRY Looks like somebody's in trouble. She pounds the rest of her cup. LARRY (CONT'D) Don't think I could live with roommates again. LARKIN This isn't your house? LARRY I live with my girlfriend. LARKIN Aren't ya'll roommates? LARRY Technically. We weren't friends before we started dating. Kind of have that divide. Know what I mean? LARKIN Yeah. I do. See ya' around, Larry. She cheers' her empty glass with his, then hands it to him. She goes. Larry watches her disappear as Sonny approaches. SONNY I may have found us a producer. LARRY Nice. Who is it? Sonny eyes the business card. SONNY Rene Curuthers. She was an EP on the film Alan did. Ah. LARRY They look disappointed. SONNY I know. The film sucked. But, she's a contact. LARRY Better than what we got. SONNY How'd the audition go earlier? LARRY You hear of a film casting a mute, sweaty ball of nerves, I'm the guy. SONNY You're a good actor. LARRY You've never seen me act. SONNY I know you and I know you can do it. If Alan can do it, so can you. They look over to Alan. He's LAUGHING with two girls. Landon comes over. Alan looks over and gestures getting head. LANDON Look at him. Lands a leading role and the women swarm. And I'm over here like fucking Icarus. LARRY Gotta spread your wings. You'll meet someone. SONNY Yeah. You're a great guy. Be glad you're not like Alan or Icarus. They sip their beers and look back to Alan again. SONNY (CONT'D) We all know what happens when you fly too close to the sun. INT. PEHLIA'S HOUSE - NIGHT PHELIA, 20's is asleep in bed. Larry comes into the darkened room. He kicks the corner of the bed. She wakes up. Shit! LARRY PHELIA What time is it? LARRY It's late. Or early I guess. He crawls into bed and tries to kiss her. PHELIA You smell like beer. LARRY I just brushed my teeth. PHELIA I have a showing early. Would you mind sleeping on the couch? Caught off guard. Sure. LARRY She touches his arm affectionately, then turns over. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - NIGHT Sonny turns out the light in the bathroom. He lies down beside MILDRED, 20's. She's excited to see him. MILDRED How was the party? SONNY It was good. He gives her a kiss. She enjoys it. She kisses him again. MILDRED Make any contacts? SONNY It was more of an Alan show. Did meet someone though. We'll see. MILDRED You're so talented. You're going to be an amazing filmmaker. He smiles and kisses her again. She pulls him close. MILDRED (CONT'D) I was thinking earlier, you know how you're such a horror fan? Wouldn't it be really fun if our wedding was costume themed? SONNY That's a little unconventional. MILDRED We used to be unconventional. I don't want a big wedding. Something small and cute. Sonny looks uncomfortable. He pulls off the covers. MILDRED (CONT'D) Sonny, I'm talking about way in the future. You don't have to leave. SONNY I want to do some work before bed. He kisses her head, then leaves the room. She's heartbroken. LIVING ROOM Sonny watches edits of the film on his computer. He studies Rene's card. The film trails on. INT. PHELIA'S HOUSE - MORNING Larry wakes on the couch. He's a mess. He finds a note on the kitchen table. He smiles. EXT. CAFE - DAY JACKIE, EVALYNN and LYNETTE, 40's, African American, sit at a table CHATTING and LAUGHING. EVALYNN We used to be a hot spring of romance. Over time he became more distant - never wanting to do anything with me. Finally one night he comes home drunk on la vostra, smelling of cheap perfume - a little lipstick around his collar and tells me the embers have burned out. Our divorce was finalized six months later. He was right about one thing. The embers may have burned out, but the alimony hasn't. The women LAUGH as Mildred saunters over. MILDRED Hi. I'm here for the meet up. The women look up at her in question. LATER The women are entranced. MILDRED It was our sophomore year of college. We were both at a party. Not together. Just at the same place at the same time. Some girlfriends and I were taking a photo and he jumped in. I thought it was cute. And he was obviously really cute. So, I took a picture with just him. We didn't speak the whole rest of the night. When I posted the pictures on facebook someone tagged him in it. I stalked him virtually for a few days until he finally messaged me. We've been together ever since. The women are silent. Lynnette, leans forward. LYNNETTE And you suspect he's cheating! MILDRED No. I don't think he's cheating. EVALYNN If he's not now than he will. Mildred looks over the women. Jackie, leans forward. JACKIE Honey, sounds like you're in a relationship. This is divorcee's unanimous. MILDRED That's just it. I am in a relationship. We've been together for five years. We used to be spontaneously in love. Now I'm afraid he might be bored of me. EVALYNN You want him to put a ring on your finger, is that it? MILDRED Isn't that what every girl wants? EVALYNN Baby, they say hindsight is twentytwenty. If I could do it again - JACKIE Let's not discourage the poor girl. All marriages don't end in divorce. That was our unfortunate outcome, but there are many good things about marriage. The women SIGH in agreement. JACKIE (CONT'D) How's the sex? MILDRED The sex is good. Although, there's no real comparison. We've only been with each other. LYNNETTE That's it right there! What? MILDRED LYNETTE If you're wondering why after five years he's not asked you to marry him - knowing he'll ever be with only one woman is the reason. MILDRED You really think so? EVALYNN Men weren't meant to be monogamous. It's our job to keep them in check. The woman agree. JACKIE Try doing something spontaneous again. Help him remember why ya'll fell in love in the first place. EVALYNN If that doesn't light a fire under him - I'm afraid nothing will. Mildred sits back, horrified. EXT. BURBANK MOUNTAIN - DAY Larry is a sweaty mess, hyperventilating as he ascends the mountain. Phelia jogs in place at the top. Waiting. LARRY I made it. Doesn't look that difficult from the bottom, but once you get going... He comes near her. She hands him a bottle of water. He chugs. PHELIA How are you feeling today? LARRY Kind of hung over. I'm burning it off. This is good. He tries to kiss her. She gives him a cheek and a hug. LARRY (CONT'D) How'd the showing go? It sold. PHELIA LARRY That's great. He goes for a kiss again. She declines. LARRY (CONT'D) What's wrong? Why are we up here? Phelia paces toward the edge. Turns back, facing him. PHELIA Have you ever been up here before? LARRY I've scaled every mountain in LA. One of the many perks of being an Angelino. She looks at him incredulously. LARRY (CONT'D) Okay, I'm not an Angelino. She continues to scrutinize him. LARRY (CONT'D) Okay, I've never been up here. Big deal. PHELIA Nothing's a big deal to you. LARRY I asked you - you declined. Are you pissed you didn't come to the party last night? (beat) PHELIA This has nothing to do with the party. Which I declined to attend because I have a job. Places to be. People count on me. LARRY I'm up here, aren't I? Where is this coming from suddenly? Wait. Are you saying you can't count on me? I take you places. I pay my share of the rent. (pissed) Two joggers stride passed. JOGGER How's it going? Phelia and Larry wave them off. PHELIA Larry, it's not sudden. The signs were there? LARRY What signs? PHELIA The distance between us. Shorthand conversations. LARRY I thought you were just giving me space to work on my acting and writing. Being supportive like a good girlfriend. PHLEIA How'd the audition go? Did you actually say any lines this time? Larry's embarrassed. She turns and looks out over the city. PHELIA Look at this. He comes over and peers out. LARRY Looks like an Anna Schmidt painting. What's a landscape have to do with anything? PHELIA I don't think I see us going the distance. Not anymore. You see places and stuff you may not notice up close until you look at it from a distance. Puts things in perspective, you know? (faces him) LARRY Are you using a tourist trail as a metaphor to break up with me? PHELIA I just realize I've got a career and my boyfriend's an aspiring hyphenate who still collects an allowance from his father. Larry takes a few steps back in disbelief. LARRY At least he supports my career. She's put back. PHELIA When's the last time you spoke to him? Silence. She starts to jog in place. PHELIA (CONT'D) I've given this a lot of thought. I'd like you out of the apartment by the end of the week. LARRY Where am I supposed to go in two days? PHELIA You've got nothing but time and an expansive bank account. You'll figure it out. I'm sorry, Larry. He watches her jog away toward the top of the mountain. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT Alan opens the front door - revealing Larry with some boxes. LARRY Honey, I'm home. ALAN I know you're method, but damn this is extreme even for you. LARRY This isn't me acting, Alan. She really broke up with me. ALAN I know you're not acting. I actually believe you. He LAUGHS as Larry comes in. LARRY'S ROOM Alan opens the door. It's cluttered with film equipment and miscellaneous stuff. He and Larry come in. ALAN This should do for now. We'll find a place for all this shit. Larry sets his boxes down in a corner. LIVING ROOM Alan and Larry come in. ALAN Everything's figured into the rent. Don't worry about this month. LARRY Money's not an issue. ALAN Not that I mind or nothing, but why don't you get your own place? If my dad funded me I'd have a sick pad to bring women over to. LARRY I'm going through a break up. That's the last thing on my mind. Silence. ALAN Hey, I get it. It's cool. You need to forget about Phelia though. She was a total bitch. LARRY She's not a bitch. ALAN She broke up with you. That's bitchy. LARRY Yeah, but she's not a bitch. ALAN Maybe just a little. Larry stands back, awkwardly. LARRY Okay. She's kind of a bitch. Thanks for putting me up. ALAN I'll get the blow up mattress INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - BATHROOM - NIGHT Mildred stares at her reflection and takes a deep breath. Sonny bursts in, scaring her. She SCREAMS. MILDRED Don't do that. SONNY You love it. They hug and LAUGH. SONNY (CONT'D) I was going over the footage. We have to do more re-shoots. MILDRED I'm sorry, babe. SONNY Got to get it perfect. He kisses her forehead and walks out into the - KITCHEN She follows behind. MILDRED Sonny, I need to tell you something. He grabs some leftovers from the fridge and prepares a meal. She watches him. His back to her. SONNY What is it? MILDRED I'm - I'm pregnant. She stands, uneasy. He slowly looks at her over his shoulder. SONNY We haven't had sex in awhile. Are you sure? She nods. He comes over to her. She sways, nervously. SONNY (CONT'D) This - is great news. MILDRED You're okay? SONNY Of course. Are you okay? Yes. MILDRED SONNY We're going to have a baby. He gives her a big hug. They both look concerned. MILDRED I think we should wait awhile before we tell anyone. Okay... SONNY INT. LARRY'S ROOM - NIGHT The room's cluttered. Larry airs up a blow-up mattress. He stops and grabs his phone. INTERCUT BETWEEN: INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - SAME A PHONE rings on a bedside table. MIKE comes in and answers. MIKE Go for Mike. Larry jumps up and steadies himself. LARRY Dad. It's Larry. MIKE Larry? Is that you? LARRY Yeah, it's me. MIKE You get a new phone? LARRY No, same phone. MIKE I didn't recognize the number. How you doing? You get the deposit? A CAR pulls up outside. LARRY Yeah, thank you. That's actually not what I was calling about. MIKE Listen, right now's not a real good time. But, let's get together sometime. How's that sound? LARRY You really want to? The front door opens. Kid YELLS. Door SLAMS. MIKE Why don't you call me back in half an hour? We can talk about it then. LARRY Okay. Looking forward to it, dad. MIKE Alright. Talk soon. Larry hangs up and looks upset. Mike hangs up his phone. RACHAEL, 40's and her son ALEX, 12, come in. Alex has football gear on and runs over to Mike. MIKE (CONT'D) There he is. How was practice? He picks him up and kisses Rachael. RACHAEL I think we have the next Tony Romo on our hands. MIKE That's my boy. RACHAEL Who was that? He sets Alex down. MIKE Work stuff. Who's hungry? Alex CHEERS and runs out of the room. Mike kisses Rachael and follows. His phone's still on the table. LARRY'S ROOM - LATER The mattress is fully blown up. Larry puts stuff away. Hours have passed. He grabs his phone and calls again. INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - SAME His phone has five missed calls. A DOORBELL fades as - INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Larry answers the front door. Sonny stands, jubilant. SONNY What are you doing here? She's fucking pregnant! (realizing) BACKYARD Alan, Larry and Sonny sit around a fire pit. Beer cans splay the surrounding area. ALAN You continue to sleep with the same girl it's only a matter of time. LARRY So she's pregnant. Ya'll were heading that way eventually. Landon comes out. He hands everyone a beer. He sits beside them and loads a pipe. SONNY Eventually. Yeah. LANDON Don't see how it's not great news. I'd love to have a kid. Sonny pops the tab and downs the beer. LANDON (CONT'D) You're going to ask her to marry you, right? Sonny looks them over. SONNY How many girls have you guys been with? Not you Alan. Probably can't even count 'em all on one hand. ALAN What can I say? I'm talented. Alan pops his tab close to Landon's face as he hits the pipe. SONNY Larry, I know you're in the middle of a break up. Sorry. But how many do you wonder ever think about you? The guys sit back. SONNY (CONT'D) Ever think about that? LARRY I am now. And I feel worse. Why do you want to cheat on Mildred? LANDON Ya'll are the epitome of a perfect relationship. Larry cracks open his beer. SONNY I don't want to cheat on her. I just want to know what it's like with someone else. To be missed by someone else. I do want to marry her. Yes. But now that she's pregnant - it's got me questioning would I be doing it out of love or necessity. ALAN There's far too many women to just settle for one. LANDON Maybe you disconnect the notion of monogamy to satiate your ego. Ever think about that? ALAN Fuck you, sound guy. Always with your boom pole in my face. Sound speeding. Sound speeding. LANDON At least I'm secure in what I do. Not always chasing an identity. LARRY Guys, a little empathy right now... The guys settle. LARRY (CONT'D) Necessity? Sonny, you met the love of your life young and sidestepped bad relationships and the one breakup you thought you'd never have. Alan stands and faces them. ALAN Listen. I've been with the most women here so - hear my two cents. Landon you may want to listen too. Landon gives him the bird. ALAN (CONT'D) (MORE) Sonny, I say experience another woman before you tie the knot. It'll give you peace of mind. ALAN (CONT'D) (looks them over) Don't want to go all your days never knowing what it's like. Larry get over the bitch who broke your heart. I know she's not a bitch. But she is right now. And there's someone better. And Landon Just fuck someone already. The guys explode in LAUGHTER. They cheers their beers. Landon cheers' his pipe. SONNY Okay, okay. Enough with the relational repartee. Can we discuss the shoot tomorrow? ALAN Yes. Thank you. He sits back down. LANDON How long are we looking at? SONNY Call time's nine thirty. Should be no longer than six hours. ALAN Is this the only scene we're doing? SONNY Tomorrow. Yes. We'll schedule the other scenes later. Once we get these, we're set! LARRY We're still good for Halloween? LANDON What's Halloween? ALAN (smiling) The release, stupid. I'm kidding. SONNY Alright. Let's finish this movie! INT. JUICE SHOP - DAY A BLENDER shuts off. Robbie cuts fruits and vegetables. She pours a drink and comes over to the counter. ROBBIE Ginger peach with soy. She hands a customer the smoothy. They leave. ROY, 40's, comes in with a clipboard, checking inventory. ROBBIE (CONT'D) Add peaches to the list. On there. ROY He looks up at her. ROY (CONT'D) Peaches aren't one of our tops. How are we out already? Robbie pops a peach into her mouth. He goes back to writing. ROY (CONT'D) You two are going to put me out of business. ROBBIE Seattle won't know what hit 'em. Last I heard, business is thriving. ROY They better. I'm loosing my two favorite employees. Unless ya'll want to stay. Or one of you? She smiles, empathetically. ROBBIE A new city will be good for us. ROY Big step. Where is Larkin? She's scheduled today, right? ROBBIE She visited her parents last night. Ya know - the talk. Roy emotes total understanding. ROY Yikes. In that case moving may be your only option. ROBBIE Thanks for the reassurance. He smiles and hands her the list of inventory. ROY Head over when she gets here. He goes to the back. Robbie cleans behind the counter. Larkin rushes in. Hair a mess. Unshowered. Roy here? LARKIN ROBBIE Don't stress. I talked to him. Larkin hangs her coat on a rack in the back and comes around the counter. She ties an apron around her waist. LARKIN Traffic was abysmal. They've got the 405 totally backed up. Robbie grabs her purse and comes over, antsy. ROBBIE So, spill it. How'd it go? What? LARKIN ROBBIE Your parents. Did you talk to them? Larkin looks shocked. ROBBIE (CONT'D) You didn't come home. I figured they killed you or something. LARKIN Oh, yeah. No, I did. And... ROBBIE Larkin takes a minute. LARKIN To my astonishment, they were really cool about it. Robbie is gleeful. She gives her a big hug. LARKIN (CONT'D) Don't know why I was stressing. ROBBIE Larkin, this is so great. She pulls out of the hug and faces her. She sniffs. ROBBIE (CONT'D) Did you shower this morning? LARKIN Didn't have time. Robbie grabs her hands and smiles big. ROBBIE This is a big step for us. She pulls Larkin close and gives her a sensual kiss. ROBBIE (CONT'D) Never know how parents will take news of you having a girlfriend. Let alone moving to a new city. Robbie gives her a small peck, then heads away. She throws Larkin a stick of deodorant. ROBBIE (CONT'D) Off to the market. Need anything? LARKIN I'm all set. Larkin smiles anxiously as Robbie leaves. She squats down and applies the deodorant. The door CHIMES. LARKIN (CONT'D) Welcome to moon juice. Be right with you. She grabs supplies out of the fridge and rises to see Larry. Instant recognition. LARRY Hey, Streisand. LARKIN Mister born to run, spilling booze on girls shoes singing Larry. LARRY You remember. Sorry about that. LARKIN have taken a turn for the worst. I've recovered. Although my shoes LARRY I'll get you new shoes. LARKIN I'm kidding. LARRY You work here? LARKIN No, I have a fruit fetish. I just have to be around them. Mango's and oranges... She starts messaging the fruit. Larry smiles, sheepish. LARKIN (CONT'D) You're supposed to be an actor. That's your que. Improve. Ahh. LARRY She drops the fruit and comes closer. LARKIN (laughing) Forget it. The scene's ruined. What are you having? Larry looks over the menu. He's undecided. LARRY I never know what to order in these places. LARKIN You go to these places a lot? LARRY Not as often as I probably should. I need to hydrate. LARKIN I'll fix you up. She starts preparing a drink. LARRY Nothing too fruity. Or tangy. LARKIN I got you. So, what are you doing in this part of town? LARRY Remember me telling you about the film my friends and I shot? Yeah. LARKIN LARRY Well, we're doing some re-shoots. LARKIN At Echo Park lake? Yeah. LARRY LARKIN Just don't go there at night. The dregs of this illustrious city amass with their guns, drugs, and gangs oh my. Jesus. LARRY LARKIN Just stay away at night. LARRY I will. Thanks for the tip. She brings over his drink. LARKIN Here you are, sir. He sips it. LARRY It's good. Not tart. Not too sweet. LARKIN Coconut milk, coconut water, mango, orange and Ice. All the body needs. LARRY I'm feeling hydrated already. How much do I owe you? LARKIN This constitutes as me buying your drink. Don't tell your girlfriend. LARRY Ah. I wouldn't. She broke up with me anyway. Ouch. LARKIN LARRY Guess it would've been wise to be friends before we dated after all. Larkin looks understanding. LARRY (CONT'D) I should get back. Thank you. He holds up his drink. She gestures a gun, winks and CLUCKS her tongue. He smiles and leaves. EXT. ECHO PARK LAKE - DAY A small film crew is in place. Sonny's behind the camera. Landon holds a boom mic over a bench. Alan acts the scene. SONNY Cut. That was great. Let's move on. ALAN I'll be in my trailer. Larry comes over. Landon meets them. LARRY Guess who I just ran into. LANDON You didn't get us drinks? What? LARRY LANDON You went to get us all drinks. Where's ours? LARRY Oh, shit. Here. He holds out his smoothie. Landon sips it. SONNY Who'd you run into? LARRY Larkin. The girl from the other night. She works at the juice shop. SONNY Yeah? Did you get her number? LARRY We got to talking - she was making my drink... SONNY So, that's a no. LARRY Maybe I'm not ready. (looks at Landon) Give me that. He grabs his drink back. It's empty. Ahh. LANDON LARRY Dick. How's the shoot? SONNY Going good. Got about five more shots and we'll be wrapped. ALAN O.S Are we ready yet? SONNY Let's get back to it. They head back to the crew. LANDON Can't believe you didn't get us a drink. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - NIGHT Mildred watches tv from the couch in one of Sonny's shirts. Sonny comes through the door with sacks of groceries. SONNY (shuts door) Hey, babe. What're you watching? MILDRED Big Brother. SONNY That show's still airing? MILDRED Twenty one seasons strong. She runs over to him. I love it. MILDRED (CONT'D) SONNY I know you do. Nice shirt. He kisses her forehead. MILDRED What did you get? SONNY One percent milk. Fruits, granola green leafy vegetables high in protein. He un-sacks the groceries from atop the counter. MILDRED Are we dieting? SONNY I thought it would be good. For the baby in all. Mildred smiles, uneasy. SONNY (CONT'D) You shouldn't be the only one making changes. She watches him load the fridge. Agitated. MILDRED Do you think we should talk about the next step. He slams the drawer in the fridge and comes over to her. SONNY Mildred, I don't think right now's the best time to discuss marriage. MILDRED I thought you loved me. SONNY I do love you. MILDRED I don't want to break up. So, that's what couples do after years of being in a relationship. They get married or break up. (tears up) SONNY We're not breaking up, Milly. I just don't think right now's the best time to think about that. Especially with a baby on the way. He kisses the top of her head. She smiles. SONNY (CONT'D) I love you. MILDRED I love you. He takes off his jacket and heads away. SONNY I'm gonna jump in the shower. She watches him go into the bedroom. SHOWER - LATER The water cuts off. Sonny steps out and dries himself. His PHONE chimes. He sees a text from Rene: Hey director man! He contemplates responding. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - BATHROOM - NIGHT Sounds of SEX resound from Alan's room. Three used condoms are strewn on the floor near the waste basket. Landon stands at the doorway in contempt. Larry comes over. LARRY What are you doing? LANDON Came in here to take a piss to the sight of that. He points to the condoms. LARRY You do know what that is, right? LANDON I may not have sex that often, but I'm not a rookie. LARRY I don't have sex either. LANDON You just got out of a relationship. LARRY We'll be single together. He pats Landon's shoulder and leaves. Landon uses the toilet brush to throw the condoms down the commode. He flushes. LARRY'S ROOM Larry's on his blow up bed, browsing backstage and various acting websites. His focus is drawn to facebook. He scrolls through a woman's page who looks happy. He frowns. BACKYARD Larry's at the fire table with his phone to his ear. Carly? LARRY EXT. PARK - DAY Larry smokes a cigarette in a swing. He looks up as CARLY, 20's, approaches with a bag of lunch. CARLY I'm sorry. I don't have much time. He stands. She hugs him. CARLY (CONT'D) I was so surprised to see Larry Rivers calling me out of the blue. LARRY Been awhile. I know. They sit in the swings. She munches on a sandwich. CARLY How are you? God, it's been ages. He's distraught. LARRY I know. How - how are you? Seem to be doing quite well. CARLY I am. I've been working for a new tech company. Got myself a fella. A couple kids. LARRY Whole new you. Barely recognize you. You look great. She smiles with a mouthful. CARLY So, come on. What's the story with you? Kids, a girlfriend, career? He takes a long drag of his cigarette. LARRY No kids. As of a few days ago no girlfriend. And still chasing a dismal future in the film industry. Any luck? CARLY He makes a "zero" with his fingers. Silence. CARLY (CONT'D) It'll happen. You had a lot of tenacity from what I remember. LARRY And you had a lot of talent. CARLY It used to be fun. LARRY Yeah, well it's all kind of got me rethinking everything. What? CARLY LARRY The break up. The success. Lack there of, rather. Kind of wanted to ask you something. Shoot. CARLY LARRY Do you ever think about me? LARRY (CONT'D) Your silence says it all. CARLY Let me swallow, jerk. LARRY Did that a few times. She hits his arm, playful. CARLY Do you ever cross my mind? Sure. LARRY What happened to us? CARLY What naturally happens when people start to drift apart. What do you want me to say? He nods. CARLY (CONT'D) I've got two beautiful kids. A husband I'm hopelessly in love with and a successful career. Acting led me to achieve my goals. He thinks. Her ALARM chimes. LARRY Guess I'm just wondering how it feels to be missed. Feel important. CARLY We had some good times together. I miss them occasionally, but that was a long time ago. We're both different people than we were then. LARRY We did have some good times. Larry tries a smile. She LAUGHS. CARLY Remember the time we went to that party and convinced everyone we were the shit? And everyone believed us. God, that was fun. They LAUGH. LARRY Why'd you quite acting? I was sure you were one of the ones who was going to make it big. CARLY I did too for a long time. Then I was inundated by the hustle. It was either waitressing to do auditions or get a real job. I got lucky. Found a start-up where I met my husband. Never looked back. LARRY Would you do it again if you could? Achieve your acing goals? CARLY You mean would I do it differently if I could go back? CARLY (CONT'D) Shit. I have to go. They stand and hug. LARRY I'm happy for you. Really. CARLY You've got a drive a lot of people don't. I didn't. She kisses his cheek and dashes off. He heads the other way. Larry! CARLY O.S. He faces her. CARLY You're important. You just need to surround yourself with people who make you realize it. He smiles. She waves and heads away. EXT. BURBANK MOUNTAIN - DAY Larry slowly climbs his way to the top of the mountain. He grabs at his ankle as he stops and looks out over the edge. LARKIN O.S. Are you following me? Startled, he turns to see Larkin sitting on a bench. LARRY Call it serendipity. He paces over. LARKIN Serendipity only exits in cheesy romance movies. LARRY I used to love Cusack. LARKIN All icons eventually crash and burn. He sits beside her. He smiles. LARRY This is where she did it. Did what? LARKIN LARRY Broke up with me. LARKIN My guess - she used the city scape. LARRY Spoken truly as one versed with the sentiment. LARKIN I've brought someone up here a time or two. LARRY What are you doing up here? Avoiding. LARKIN LARRY Avoiding what? She checks her phone. LARRY (CONT'D) Phelia used to speak in shorthand. Told me I'd never reach the top. LARKIN Nonsense. All you need's endurance. Doesn't require any skill. LARKIN (CONT'D) Come on. We'll do it together. LARRY Maybe another time. I think I disjointed my ankle on the way up. LARKIN Let me see. He wobbles up and rests his foot on the bench. She starts to massages it. Anything? LARKIN (CONT'D) LARRY I'm feeling something. What are you, a masseuse? LARKIN Maybe one day. How's that? He steps down and walks it off. LARRY You're good. LARKIN Let's do this. She stands, ready to ascend the mountain. LARRY Want to grab a bite? Can't climb mountains on empty stomachs. Larkin checks her phone. There's an unread text from her mom. LARKIN Yeah. Let's do it. They descend the mountain. EXT. PARK - DAY Kids run around the play scape. Mildred sits with Jackie, Lynette and Evalynn. MILDRED I told him I was pregnant. JACKIE You don't look pregnant. How far are you? MILDRED I'm not pregnant. I was just following your advice. EVALYNN I don't remember us telling you to lie. MILDRED Ya'll said I should do something spontaneous again. To reignite the spark. So I did. JACKIE A little white lie may seem like a good idea to get the ball rolling, but it always bites you in the end. MILDRED I could be pregnant. I'm feeling a little nauseous right now. LYNETTE Let me tell you something. In my heyday I had the men lined up. Couldn't get away from 'em. But my eyes were set on just one. He never showed me the time of day. So, I found out what he was into and that's who I became. We fell in love, started a life together, but eventually the truth came out. MILDRED But that's only one relationship. You eventually found your husband and got married. LYNETTE Honey, that was my husband and we did get married. But my lies were the basis of our relationship which gradually became the precursor to my divorce. A ball rolls up to them. An African American man jogs over and grabs it with a smile. They check him out. He smiles and runs off. Lynette refocuses. LYNETTE (CONT'D) If lies are the foundation to your relationship, sooner or later it's going to give way and collapse. Mildred sits back, apprehensive. BEGIN MONTAGE: EXT. CITY - DAY Larry and Larkin ride scooters through the city. EXT. FOOD TRUCK - DAY Larry and Larkin grab food. Sit in the park. Laugh. EXT. ECHO PARK LAKE - DAY Sonny, Alan, Landon and Larry are among a small crew filming. INT. JUICE SHOP - DAY Robbie and Larkin are working. They seem distant. Larry comes in. She laughs. Robbie watches, concerned. EXT./ INT. CLOTHING STORE - DAY Larry and Larkin pull up on scooters. Browse through clothes. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - NIGHT Mildred and Sonny lay in bed. She stares at the wall. He faces away, texting Rene. INT. PSYCHIC HOUSE - NIGHT Larry and Larkin get their palms read. They make fun of it. END MONTAGE: INT. JUICE SHOP - DAY Robbie's behind the counter, hanging Halloween decorations. Happy couples litter the lobby. Roy comes up to her. ROY Store will be operational early November. You and Larkin still interested? He crosses his fingers. (soto) ROY (CONT'D) No. No. No. ROBBIE We still want to go. He looks bummed and hands her two forms. ROY Here are the transfer forms. Can't change your mind, can I? Robbie looks to the couples, then back to him. ROBBIE Nothing's going to change our mind. He smiles and heads away. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Larry and Larkin work a puzzle and sip whisky. LARKIN I can't remember the last time I did a puzzle. LARRY My dad and I used to do puzzles when I was a kid. LARKIN I'm sure whisky wasn't involved. LARRY Maybe there should've been. LARKIN Ya'll aren't close now? He shakes his head. LARRY We rarely saw each other after my parent's split. He's got a new family now and a monthly deposit's the closest relationship we have. LARKIN Parent's can be assholes. LARRY You don't get along with your parent's either? LARKIN Don't think they'd support my lifestyle. LARRY What? You not having a boyfriend? This tilts the mood. LARRY (CONT'D) I'm sorry I didn't mean... LARKIN Little more complicated than that. LARRY This puzzle's complicated. Got to be more specific. LARKIN A puzzle just takes time. LARRY Well, you have to put in the time if it's going to work. She stares at him. LARRY (CONT'D) Maybe I should have worked harder for Phelia. LARKIN Maybe ya'll just weren't meant to be together. LARRY Or maybe I was too complacent. LARKIN How'd ya'll get together? LARRY Movies. Ironically. LARKIN Why's that Ironic? LARRY She thought it was cool to date an actor. Ultimately, it was the fact that I wasn't a working actor that led her putting my heart in a blender and watching it spin around to a beautiful oblivion. Larkin SINGS the lyrics with him. LARKIN (MORE) You're a myriad of talent from what I recall. LARKIN (CONT'D) Don't let some shallow broad sway you from your dreams. I'm trying to figure out how ya'll dated so long. LARRY You know when you've been in one bad relationship after another then you finally find one that works? Larkin really gets hit by this. I do. LARKIN She leans in. This could be a moment, unbeknownst to him. LARRY Think that's all it was. We worked until we finally didn't anymore. She wanted someone with a stable career. Not someone quoting popculture, fixated on becoming a Matt Damon or John August. LARKIN I love Big Fish! Me too! LARRY (beat) Favorite movies on three. Ready, set, go. LARKIN Steel Magnolias. Mystic Pizza. Pretty Woman. LARRY (CONT'D) Good will Hunting. Dead Poets Society. Point break LARRY (CONT'D) 1991 Point Break. Not the remake. LARKIN Never saw either. LARRY That's because you were consumed with all of Julia Roberts' movies. Shut up. LARKIN LARRY Steele Magnolias was my favorite movie at one point. Swear to God. LARKIN You just became my new favorite person. LARRY I like romantic movies on occasion. When they're actually good. LARKIN Name one you've seen recently. He thinks for a moment. LARRY Okay. This one kind of flew under the radar. Celeste and Jesse... LARKIN ...Forever! I loved that movie! LARRY They were such a great couple. Bummer they didn't end up together. She puts a puzzle piece in. It's a little awkward. LARRY (CONT'D) Can't believe we actually finished. LARKIN Put the final piece in. LARRY I don't have it. Must have fallen on the floor. They lean over and crawl around, searching. They come face to face. Another opportunity. They stare into each other's eyes. Landon comes into the house. Moment dismissed. LANDON What's up guys? LARRY Hey. What are you up too? LANDON Had to get some new batteries for my boom. He holds up a bag. LANDON (CONT'D) I'll leave you two. He smiles and heads out. Larry and Larkin smile. Re-shoots. LARRY LARKIN Gotcha. I'm gonna use the bathroom. Okay. LARRY INT. LANDON'S ROOM - SAME Landon places new batteries into his boom mic. He puts his headphones on. The front door is super loud as it opens. ALAN V.O. Hey, everybody. Landon jerks the headphones off and sets the mic aside. He exits his room. LIVING ROOM Alan stands in front of Larry with CELIA, 20's. ALAN This is Larry. He wrote the script. Tries his hand at acting. Alan LAUGHS, sarcastically. Larry waves. Landon comes out, rubbing his ear. LANDON Thanks for the announcement. Nearly blew out my eardrum. Alan looks over. ALAN That stiff breeze is Landon. He does sound. Landon waves. ALAN (CONT'D) This is Celia. We met on set earlier. We're going to run lines. LANDON Try to keep it down. He wonders out. Alan throws a script down on the puzzle. LARRY What's this? ALAN I stuck my neck out on the line for you. Got you an audition. Larry flips through it. LARRY Don't think I'm much of an actor. ALAN Not going to know if you don't try. He winks to Larry as he and Celia leave the room. ALAN O.S. Don't fuck it up or it's my ass. Larry flips through the script as Larkin comes back in. LARKIN You got an audition? LARRY Yeah. Hopefully I don't fuck it up. LARKIN First step - get inside the room. LARRY As the late George Burns said, acting's all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made. He LAUGHS. Larkin's uncomfortable. LARKIN I should probably go. Didn't realize how late it was. She heads for the door. Larry follows. LARRY We haven't found the missing piece. LARKIN I can't tonight. Call you tomorrow. She gives him a quick hug and darts out of the front door. INT. SONNY'S HOUSE - NIGHT Sonny's on the couch watching a horror flick. He texts on his phone with a smile. Mildred comes in the room. MILDRED What are you watching? The Omen. SONNY MILDRED I liked Julia Stiles' better. SONNY You're kidding, right? It's pointless and distasteful liken to Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho. MILDRED It's just a movie, Sonny. She starts to head away. He gets up and follows her into the - KITCHEN She eats pickles straight from the jar. SONNY They both abridge future generations from appreciating the encapsulated classics like this, The Excorcist and Rosemary's Baby. She sets the jar aside and finds a pot. SONNY (CONT'D) All of which have led me to entertain the idea - you may be birthing the Antichrist. He does jarring gestures to scare her. MILDRED Don't say that. SONNY I'm kidding. Our kid's going to be a saint. She fills the pot with water from the faucet. MILDRED I need to tell you something. She starts to fidget. He comes near. SONNY What is it? MILDRED Are you hungry? I'll make dinner. She puts the pot on the stove and lights the burner. SONNY Milly. You've been acting strange all week. What's going on? She steadies herself. MILDRED I'm not pregnant. (whispering) SONNY What? I can't hear you. MILDRED I'm not pregnant. (whispering) SONNY Milly! Just say it! MILDRED I'm not pregnant! Sonny takes a step back. Catches his breath. MILLY Please say something. SONNY You lied to me? MILDRED A white lie. Remember how we used to be - in love and spontaneous? Now it feels like we're just together for the sake of being together. Evalynn, Jackie and Lynnette said I should do something to bring back the spark. SONNY Who? Who? And who? MILDRED The girls from my meet up. SONNY Wait - what? Milly, what the hell are you talking about? She turns the burner off and wonders away from the stove. MILDRED You never talk about marriage. Statistically, if a couple's relationship lasts longer than three years and they aren't married they likely never will. SONNY Where did you hear that? MILDRED From the meet up. SONNY Why are you going to a meet up? MILDRED I feel like I'm not enough for you anymore and maybe that's why you don't want to get married. SONNY Instead of just talking to me, you thought lying would prompt me to want to marry you? She starts crying. SONNY (CONT'D) Why are you so fixated on this? We're together. Why can't you just be happy with that? Sonny... MILDRED SONNY I never said you weren't enough. I never stopped loving you - and I never lied to you. He grabs his jacket. Looks at her one last time, then leaves. She falls to the floor, SOBBING. INT. ROBBIE & LARKIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT Larkin comes in. There's a plate of food next to a lit candle. Robbie meets her in the kitchen. ROBBIE I made you a plate hours ago. Larkin kisses her. LARKIN I'm sorry. I was out with Larry and lost track of time. Robbie looks at her, inspecting. ROBBIE Larkin, should I be worried? LARKIN What do you mean? ROBBIE You know what I mean. LARKIN We're passed this, Robbie. We're just friends. ROBBIE He knows you're gay right? LARKIN Of course... Larkin kisses her again. Robbie sticks the plate into the microwave. Larkin takes off her coat and sits at the table. She notices the transfer forms. One signed. The other blank. LARKIN (CONT'D) What's this? ROBBIE Transfer forms for Seattle. LARKIN I thought we still had some time. Robbie sets the plate in front of her. ROBBIE This is what we both wanted. And you've already told your parents, didn't you? Larkin nods as she browses the forms. Robbie sits beside her. ROBBIE (CONT'D) We both still want this, right? Yes. LARKIN ROBBIE That's convincing. When you fist purposed this idea it was you and me. Remember? Forget all the bull shit and start over. Together. Tell me I'm crazy, are you pulling away? Larkin grabs her hand. LARKIN I'm not pulling away. It's still you and me. But moving may not be the best idea. Not right now. Robbie sits back, deflated. ROBBIE Does your not wanting to move have anything to do with Larry? LARKIN Don't be silly. I can still have friends. ROBBIE As long as that's all it is. It is... LARKIN Robbie gives her a sensual kiss. They both enjoy it. ROBBIE We can wait. If you want. Give you time to tell your friend goodbye. She heads out of the room. Larkin watches her. LARKIN I've got a sneaky suspicion he's gay and not ready to face it. ROBBIE Everyone faces it eventually. What? LARKIN The truth. ROBBIE Larkin stares, blankly. EXT. BAR PATIO - NIGHT Sonny and Rene are at a table. Sonny's drunk. He takes shot after shot. Slurps his drinks down. SONNY She told me she was pregnant. He slams a shot. Rene's entertained. SONNY (CONT'D) Her relational group put her up to it. All because I haven't asked her to marry me. He finishes his drink. Rene takes a small sip. He BELCHES. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Mildred cries on the couch. A reality show plays on the tv. EXT. BAR - PARKING LOT - NIGHT Rene aids Sonny to her car. He's wasted. SONNY (hick-ups) Maybe I thought about never being with another woman. But it was never serious because I love her. And she loves me. That's all that matters, right? RENE What's your address? EXT./INT. RENE'S HOUSE - SAME Rene pulls into the driveway. She aids Sonny out of the car. SONNY We've only been with each other. And that's okay. She's the only one I want. I want to marry her. LIVING ROOM Rene comes in with a glass of water. She hands it to Sonny and sits beside him. He's really drunk. SONNY I love her. So much. I shouldn't be here. I need to go home. RENE Maybe you should lay down. He looks at her, then pukes wildly on himself. INT. RENE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY The room is bright. Sonny wakes up in bed. Alone. He looks around confused. He lifts the sheets. His eyes bulge. He lays back, rubbing his head. SONNY What have I done? Rene stands in the threshold, clothed and sipping coffee. Morning. RENE Sonny jolts up. She comes into the room. SONNY Oh, god. I took advantage of you. I'm so ashamed of myself. He sits on the edge of the bed. SONNY (CONT'D) Where are my clothes? RENE In the dryer. SONNY In the dryer? Why? He tries to think. SONNY (CONT'D) I didn't... He gestures with his hands. RENE Just a little. She gestures also and smiles. SONNY God. I'm so embarrassed. So we didn't... She shakes her head. RENE Maybe take it easy on the vodka cranberries. He jumps out of bed, excited. SONNY I have to go tell her that I love her. I have to ask her to marry me. RENE May wanna put on some pants first. EXT. BJ'S RESTAURANT - PARKING LOT - DAY Rene pulls up beside Sonny's car. He opens the door. SONNY I'm really sorry about last night. RENE We've all been there. SONNY I never want to go there again. He gets out. Shuts the door. SONNY (CONT'D) Thank you for taking care of me. She smiles. RENE Call me when the film's finished. Only then. SONNY They smile. He heads away. RENE Hey, Sonny. He faces her. RENE (CONT'D) She's a lucky girl. EXT. FARMERS MARKET - DAY The place is happening. People scatter the lot. Stopping at vendors buying things. Larkin and Larry approach a tent. LARRY This is where you shop? Who eats this stuff? LARKIN It's healthy. LARRY But not filling. My parent's used to make me eat this shit. Don't know how you do it volitionally. They walk on. LARRY (CONT'D) (beat) You know what I hate most about shopping? Toilet paper. I know everyone uses it. I'm just embarrassed buying it. LARKIN Know of another way of wiping your ass the rest of us are unaware of? LARRY Not yet. But when I do I'll let you know. All that paper for shit. Such a waste. No pun intended. LARKIN That's the most environmentally conscious thing I've heard you say yet. LARRY I care about the environment. To some extent. I mean, how else are you going to get your vegetables? They stop at a vendor. She loads a sack. He looks around. LARKIN I thought more on what we talked about the other night. LARRY What, Eve Six? LARKIN No. Begrudgingly. About your dad. LARRY What about him? LARKIN I think you should call him. Tell him how you feel. LARRY Tried that. All I am to him is a monthly expense. They stop. She faces him. LARKIN I don't believe that. You should tell him how you feel. If he's still not receptive, to hell with him. At least he heard you say it. Larry thinks for a few moments. LARRY How about this? I'll call my dad, but you have to tell your parent's whatever the hell it is you're so afraid of telling them. Deal? Larkin's hesitant. LARRY (CONT'D) That's the only way. LARKIN If you call your dad, I'll talk to my parents. She holds out her pinky. He hooks his around hers. They go. LARRY What are you getting me into? LARKIN A healthier lifestyle, hopefully. They stop at another tent. She grabs some vegetables. LARKIN (CONT'D) We got to get you eating better. LARRY I'll eat better, but I get to cook it for you. LARKIN You make me dinner? LARRY You think just because I'm a guy I can't cook? That's widely sexist. LARKIN I've seen the things you eat. No thanks. Larry grabs some vegetables. LARRY Come on. Let me make you dinner. You pick it - I'll cook it. He grabs a few other various vegetables. LARRY (CONT'D) We'll do a little of this. Some of that. I don't know what this is. He puts a vegetable back. LARRY (CONT'D) What do you say? LARKIN You think you can swing a swanky, healthy, emphasis on healthy, dinner - I'd love to see it. LARRY How about tonight - your place? My place? LARKIN LARRY Yeah. Unless you and Robbie have something planned already. She thinks for a moment. LARKIN Robbie'll be at the store all night. Let's do it. He smiles and starts loading a sack of vegetables. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - DAY Sonny burst through the door with a SCREAM to scare her. SONNY Milly, you home? He runs around the house. It's empty. He stops and thinks. He finds her laptop on the couch. He grabs it and sees an invitation for a relations meet up at moon juice. He slams it shut and runs out of the house. INT. JUICE SHOP - DAY The shop is busy. Evalynn, Lynette and Jackie console Mildred as she CRIES. EVALYNN It's okay, sweetheart. JACKIE So, you had a fight. You told a lie, but at least you had good intentions. MILDRED My good intentions may have ruined the only good thing in my life. LYNETTE Hey, come on now. If he's too blind to see what he's got in front of him - it's his loss. EVALYNN It's not over yet, baby. Sonny comes through the doors. Robbie's at the counter. ROBBIE Welcome to moon juice. Sonny looks around. Spots Mildred in the back. Comes over. MILDRED We were fine until I kept pressing him to get married. Lynette hands her a tissue. She blows her nose. LYNETTE It's natural for a woman to want marriage and a family. MILDRED We already were a family. We had a great relationship. So many good times. He criticizes the movies I like. I think he thinks I hate it, but I love it. Because that's what he's passionate about. I love how he scares me randomly, then wraps his arms around me. The way he calls me Milly and kisses my forehead. Or the times we just lay together in total silence. Sonny stands behind them. The women notice. MILDRED (CONT'D) I let my insecurities get in the way of the best thing in my life. Title or no title - it doesn't matter because I already had the relationship that I wanted. Now I'm not sure if he still loves me or if I'll ever be good enough again. Mildred notices the women staring behind her. SONNY You were always good enough. She faces him. SONNY (CONT'D) (MORE) I don't want to talk about marriage because it scares me. That I won't be good enough. You're the only girl I've ever wanted. Sure I wonder what it may be like apart, but then I realize I wouldn't know what to do. I only know you. SONNY (CONT'D) I only know us. I love the way you eat pickles straight from the jar and how you wear my clothes when you watch reality tv. The way you pull me close in bed at night. The way you grab my face when you kiss me. That's all I want to know. I want to make you happy because, Milly, you make me happy and I couldn't do this life without you. He bends down on one knee. The woman gape. Milly's a mess. SONNY (CONT'D) I should've done this a long time ago. I let fear guide me instead the one emotion I know the most. I love you Mildred. Will you be my wife? Will you marry me? Milly jumps up and hugs him so tight. The lobby of patrons watch the scene. She grabs his face and kisses him. The women and the lobby APPLAUD. Robbie watches from the counter. Sonny puts a ring on Mildred's finger. MILDRED I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together and make so many more good times. SONNY You were always my best time. He kisses her. It's a beautiful moment. INT. LARKIN'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT Steaming pots boil on the stove. Vegetables and food strewn across the counter. Larry and Larkin dance and cook. Try this. LARRY He spoon-feeds her a bite of food. She enjoys it. LARRY (CONT'D) Vegan or not - this guy can cook. LARKIN So you can saute' vegetables. I'm mildly impressed. He LAUGHS. Wait here. LARKIN She runs into the other room. Larry stands, contemplative. LARRY How's the sauce? I like. LARKIN O.S (beat) Take your shirt off. Intrigued, he does as he's instructed. He slowly starts unbuttoning his shirt. Larkin comes in with a bag. LARRY What's this? She sets the bag on the counter and helps him unbutton his shirt, lasciviously. They're getting closer. He lifts his arms out of his shirt. She tosses it aside and pulls out a nice button down shirt. LARKIN Something to wear for your audition. He slides it on. They button it together. LARRY Larkin, this is great. The chemistry's palpable. The moment's interrupted by her PHONE ringing. She looks at it, then to him. Should we? LARKIN LARRY You haven't tasted anything yet. He ladle's some sauce from a pot. Some drips onto his shirt as he wields it over for her to taste. LARKIN Shit. Sorry. LARRY There goes one of my three shirts. He smiles. She answers. They SCAM THE CALLER and LAUGH hysterically as Robbie comes through the door. She drops a bag of groceries, startling them. They go silent. ROBBIE What's going on? Larry and Larkin try to be nonchalant. Robbie comes closer. Bouquet of flowers in her hand. LARRY Apparently it was the IRS... Robbie's uninterested. LARKIN Larry wanted to try his hand at cooking. Prove men are just as fit to be in the kitchen as women. I thought you were working tonight? Robbie comes into the kitchen. Larkin steps away from Larry. ROBBIE Usually unbutton your shirt to cook, Larry? LARRY I spilled some sauce - I was going to clean... LARKIN It's not what you think, Robbie. Larry looks at her, then to Robbie. ROBBIE Do you really think I'm that naive? LARKIN We're just making an innocent dinner. Robbie's on the verge of tears. LARRY Maybe I should go. LARKIN No. You don't have to leave. LARRY I don't want to get in between roommates. Robbie shoots Larkin a dagger. Roommates? ROBBIE Larry edges away. LARRY I'll call you later. He shoots out of the house. ROBBIE He doesn't know about us, does he? LARKIN He's just a friend. You're blowing this out of proportion. ROBBIE Out of proportion? Friends don't make romantic dinners! LARKIN We used to. That's who we were. And now we're - this. ROBBIE This? What do you mean this? I thought you were happy. LARKIN I was. I am. Everything happened so fast. It's just a little confusing. ROBBIE Confusing? You didn't just walk in on your girlfriend about to cheat on you with a half naked guy. She throws the bouquet at the wall. Pedals everywhere. LARKIN Nothing happened! ROBBIE Maybe I should have waited five more minutes. Larkin's silent. LARKIN You want us to move to Seattle. Play some pseudo fucking family and just forget I've ever been with guys. I can't do that, Robbie. This is new to me, remember? I miss having my best friend to talk to. ROBBIE I am your best friend! I remember deciding together to be in a relationship. You're heart trampled on so many times - I swore I'd never do that to you and now here you are doing it to me. Robbie CRIES. Larkin stands back, unsure. ROBBIE (CONT'D) Do you want to be with me or not? Long silence. LARKIN Maybe things moved a little fast. ROBBIE Fast as in us living together? Being in this relationship? Or deciding to move to Seattle? Which is it, Larkin? LARKIN We went from zero to a hundred in a short stint of time. I just need a little space to process everything. ROBBIE You need a little space? Okay, fine. Get the hell out. Larkin's taken aback. ROBBIE (CONT'D) I won't take up any more of your space. You can have all the space you need. Robbie... Go! LARKIN ROBBIE Larkin doesn't move. ROBBIE (CONT'D) Get out! Leave - go! Larkin scurries out of the house. Robbie careens over the table in a SOB. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT Larry slogs into the house. He leans up against the door. RUMMAGING from the kitchen. He looks over. Alan comes around the corner with two plates of food. Naked. LARRY What are you doing? ALAN Getting something to eat. LARRY Why are you naked? ALAN No one was home. Celia's here. LARRY Landon's car's out front. Alan shakes his head. ALAN Perv. Aren't you supposed to be with Larkin? LARRY Didn't really go as planned. ALAN beat) Sorry, bro. Audition tomorrow, huh? Excited? Larry sighs. LARRY I don't know why you guys think I'm going to be this great actor. ALAN I never said great, okay? (joking) He thinks. LARRY I'm not sure what I'm good at. ALAN Why don't you stick to writing? The film was pretty good. Larry considers. LARRY Can I ask you something? ALAN Yeah, but make it quick. LARRY Are you happy? ALAN You know what makes me happy? That time between action and cut. In those moments I can really lose myself and totally find myself all at the same time. To me, that's happiness. LARRY What about a relationship? ALAN Everyone needs to stop obsessing over love and relationships. LARRY You think so? ALAN I really do. If you love yourself, be a good person - and stop thinking about it so hard everything just sort of happens. Larry thinks. LARRY Celia again. Some record for you. Alan shrugs. ALAN You'll find what makes you happy. He leaves the room. LANDON'S ROOM Landon's at his computer vigorously masturbating with headphones on. Larry burst through the door. LANDON What the fuck! Knock much? Larry jumps back, shielding his face away. LARRY I didn't see anything. I'm sorry. Landon closes the door. Larry leans against the wall. LANDON O.S. What are you doing? I thought you weren't home. LARRY I just got here. Was seeing what you're up too. Wish I hadn't. LANDON O.S. Hey, I have something I think you should hear. LARRY I don't want to hear your porn. Larry opens the door and stands in the threshold. Landon's behind his computer. LANDON I was going through clips and I found this. Landon unplugs his headphones and turns up the volume. ON COMPUTER - DOOR shuts. TOILET SEAT slams. PHONE rings. LARKIN V.O. He babe. Just at a friends house. I didn't realize how late it is. No, I'll be home soon. Love you, too. Larry's heart sinks. Landon turns the volume off. LANDON I left the mic on when I changed the batteries the other day. LARRY That could be nothing. LANDON Sorry, man. I think she has a boyfriend. He's speechless. DOORBELL chimes. LIVING ROOM Larry ambles over to the door and opens it. He's surprised to see Larkin. They lock eyes, then she pounces on him. They kiss, finally, moving further into the room. It's ferocious, but full of passion. They knock things over. She unbuttons his shirt. His hands explore her body. In between kisses - LARRY Is everything. Okay with -- She takes his shirt off and throws it aside. They continue to kiss. She steadies herself. LARKIN Don't talk. She continues to kiss him. LARRY I don't wanna cause any problems. She slowly moves away. LARKIN I need to tell you something. LARRY Fuck. Landon was right. You have a boyfriend, don't you? LARKIN I don't have a boyfriend. LARRY Oh, thank God. I'm gay. He's taken aback. LARKIN LARRY Wait - What? LARKIN Robbie's my girlfriend. Larry backs away. LARRY You're telling me that raving bitch back there's your girlfriend? LARKIN That bitch is my best friend. Larry paces away from her in thought. LARRY What the fuck, Larkin? Of all the times we've been together it didn't occur to you to mention you're a lesbian? Larkin CRIES. LARKIN I wanted to tell you, but we were always having such a good time - I didn't want it to end. LARRY What to end? Our friendship or this clandestine relationship we've been having? LARKIN We met at a pivotal point in my life. Yeah, maybe I wasn't entirely truthful with you, but it doesn't change the way I feel. LARRY Maybe? Don't you realize someone else's emotions are involved? Take some fucking responsibility. How could you do this? Larkin comes near him. LARKIN (MORE) It wasn't planned. Okay? Dating guys wasn't something I was ever good at. LARKIN (CONT'D) As you said, after being hurt time and time again, a relationship between Robbie and I just happened and it worked. Then I met you and all my emotions went for a fucking ride. LARRY How am I suppose to feel about this? You were keeping a secret life. You played me, Larkin. You fucking used me to give your broken heart some justification. LARKIN It wasn't like that. I swear to God. It was never like that. Larry backs away. About to cry. LARRY How can I believe you? Our entire relationship's been one big lie. LARKIN But it felt right. She tries to touch him. LARKIN (CONT'D) It still does. He opens the door. LARRY Not anymore. She reluctantly steps outside. Turns back, facing him. LARKIN So that's it? Show me out. No fighting - just throw us away. He looks at her. LARRY There never was an us. He slams the door. Larkin burst into tears and runs away. LIVING ROOM Larry leans against the door. Landon, Alan and Celia run in. They stare at each other, empathetically. Larry slogs out. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Sonny and Mildred make love. INT. ROBBIE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Robbie CRIES with a hand-drawn sign of a heart with, "Best friends forever and her and Larkin's names" written in it. EXT. MUHOLLAND DRIVE - NIGHT Larkin gets out of her car with a wine bottle. She looks out over the city. She sips the wine and CRIES. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - LARRY'S ROOM - NIGHT Larry's in bed, tossing and turning. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - LARRY'S ROOM - DAY An ALARM blasts. Larry springs up and clicks it off. Oh, no! LARRY He jolts out of bed. BATHROOM Larry showers. He brushes his teeth and scrubs his body. LIVING ROOM He finds his keys and darts out of the house. EXT. MUHOLLAND DRIVE - DAY Larkin's asleep in her car. Her PHONE rings. She answers. LARKIN Robbie? Oh shit. Be right there. INT. LARRY'S CAR - DRIVING - DAY Larry's stuck in traffic. He punches the steering wheel. Great! LARRY He grabs his phone and dials. INTERCUT BETWEEN: EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY A football practice is in full swing. Mike comes out of the bathroom. His PHONE rings. He answers. MIKE This is Mike. LARRY Dad, it's Larry. MIKE Hey, Larry. I meant to save your new number. Sorry. LARRY It's not a new number. Mike walks along the fence toward the stands. MIKE How you doing? Everything alright? LARRY I tried calling you back. You never returned any of my calls. MIKE I know, son. I'm sorry about that. LARRY What's all that noise? MIKE I'm at a ball game. Now's not such a good time. Can I call you back? Mike walks up to the stands and hands Rachael a bottle of water. She WHISTLES. The phone emits STATIC. LARRY You always say that. MIKE Listen, son. You there? He checks his phone. LARRY If you don't want to talk to me stop answering. Stop giving me money. Live your stupid life with your stupid family. Forget I exist. Larry checks his phone. It's dead. He throws it in the seat. The stadium CHEERS. Mike CLAPS and gives a phony smile. RACHAEL That was him, wasn't it? He looks at her. RACHAEL (CONT'D) Honey, I thought we discussed this. MIKE I know. I'm gonna take care of it. She touches his leg. CHEERS. Go Alex! RACHAEL Mike tries to be sincere and CLAPS. A PARENT leans over. PARENT That your boy? MIKE Yes, sir. Which one's yours? PARENT Number twelve. MIKE Boy can catch. PARENT (pats Mike's shoulder) Spend every moment we get practicing. Gotta cherish these times, am I right? Before we know it, they'll be grown and we'll be lucky just to get a hello from time to time. The man smiles and CHEERS. Mike deliberates. INT. CASTING OFFICE - DAY Larry runs in past empty chairs. He checks his phone. He KNOCKS on the open door and stands in the threshold. LARRY Excuse me. I'm Larry Rivers. I had an audition. I'm a little late. Two casting directors pack their things. MALES CASTING DIRECTOR Auditions are closed. Larry's heart sinks. He comes into the room. LARRY I know. I'm really sorry. Would you please make an exception? The casting directors look at each other, then to him. Larry smiles and stands at the front. FEMALE CASTING DIRECTOR We got your name. Just begin when you're ready. Larry nods. Steadies himself. Looks at the script then tries to get the words out. Nothing. He fidgets. Tunnel vision. The casting directors look at each other, then to him. MALE CASTING DIRECTOR If you don't mind, it's been kind of a long morning. He takes a breath. He pulls up the script. He looks at them. LARRY I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He runs out of the room. EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY Larry gets into his car. He sits in silence for a moment. He breaks down in a SOB. INT. JUICE SHOP - DAY The shop's got some business. Larkin slouches over the counter. Roy stocks the fridges. LARKIN I messed up, Roy. ROY Yeah. You did. That girl loves you, you know? LARKIN (beat) Why does life have to be so complicated? Tell me what to do. ROY I can't tell you what to do. LARKIN How did you know this is what you wanted to do the rest of your life? ROY Guess it was when Sam left me. LARKIN Was it difficult when you came out to your parents? Roy finishes and comes over to the counter. ROY Came out? What do you mean? LARKIN You know - about being gay. He looks confused. ROY I'm not gay. LARKIN What do you mean you're not gay? You're flamboyant and sensitive. I thought Sam -- ROY Samantha was my wife. She sighs. LARKIN I'm in total shock right now. ROY She's the one who wanted to own a business, I never did. LARKIN She divorced you because you didn't want to own a business? ROY No. She divorced me because I was unfaithful. LARKIN Ah - hard forgiving infidelity. Ever think about rectifying the relationship? ROY I did for a long time. But never got around to it. Why not? LARKIN ROY I was always too afraid. LARKIN Never too late... ROY She died. Several years ago. LARKIN Shit, Roy. You've never mentioned this before. ROY It's not something I'm proud of. He hands Larkin a picture of him and Samantha. LARKIN She's beautiful. Bet she would've forgiven you if you would've asked. She hands him back the picture. He leans on the counter. ROY I'm sure Robbie will forgive you if you just ask. Larkin steps away. ROY (CONT'D) Or maybe you two are only meant to be friends. LARKIN Either way, someone gets hurt. I'm between a rock and a hard place. I've already failed my parents. I don't want to fail her too. ROY Fear of failure only tends to make us fail. I never got to apologize to Sam. I opened this place to honor her. Look at it now. LARKIN Yeah. And now you're opening a second place. ROY And losing my two best employees. Larkin sighs. He hugs her. ROY (CONT'D) The things we keep in are sometimes the things that keep us apart. Think on it. Tell 'em how you feel. Don't make the same mistake I did. She smiles. He heads away. EXT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - BACKYARD - NIGHT Sonny, Larry and Landon sit around the fire pit. LANDON Wait, is she still pregnant? SONNY No. Long story. I don't know why I was fighting it. I love her. I don't need gratification from anyone else. LARRY Congratulations. I'm happy for you. SONNY you and Larkin. Thanks, guys. And I'm sorry about LARRY I'm getting used to bad news. Alan runs out back. ALAN Speaking of bad news, what the fuck happened at the audition? SONNY Alan, cut him some slack. He's going through a hard time. LARRY I'm not like you guys. I'm no actor. I'm not a filmmaker. I can't even keep relationships together. ALAN I told you, stop trying so hard and it'll just happen. LANDON Says the guy who brings home a different woman each night. Who opts to take shitty roles in shitty movies no one will ever see. ALAN At least I'm talented enough to be in front of the camera, Lurch. You just do sound. When's the last time you had sex or have you ever? Fuck off! LANDON LARRY Not everyone needs to have sex with different women to feel important. ALAN Just lesbians, though. SONNY Stop! Why is everyone fighting? We're all friends here. Everyone settles. Sonny's agitated. SONNY (CONT'D) We made a film. Remember? We all had our roles. Larry you wrote it. Landon you did the sound. Alan, you were the lead. The premier's in two weeks. That's what we should be hyped about. Not who fucks who or who does what. What we do in our private lives is no one's business unless we choose to share it. I came over here to tell my best friends I'm getting married. And you're all going to be there. Fuck! The guys are silent. Sonny looks them over. SONNY (CONT'D) Sorry for yelling. Now, I've got a wedding to plan. He leaves. Alan, Larry and Landon sit, stunned. ALAN I'm sorry. I love you guys. LANDON I'm sorry, too. Alan and Landon hug. LARRY Yeah, me too. All three group hug. They come out of it. LARRY (CONT'D) I'm sorry about the audition. ALAN Maybe acting's not your gig. But you'll know what is once you do it. He pats Larry's shoulders. ALAN (CONT'D) I'm meeting Celia. I'll catch you guys later. He leaves. Larry and Landon sit in silence for a few moments. LANDON You want to know why I do sound? He LAUGHS. LARRY You're tall? LANDON There's something beautiful in the rhythmic sounds of everyday life. Everything happening and not happening at once. It's blissful. LARRY I've never heard it. LANDON We can all hear it when we're really listening. LARRY What's it sound like? Listen. LANDON Landon closes his eyes and tilts his head back. Larry does likewise. The sounds of the CITY become audible. It's mesmerizing. EXT. CLIVE & SANDRA'S HOUSE - DAY SANDRA. 50's, opens the door seeing Larkin. They embrace. INT. LARRY'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Larry stares at his reflection in a mirror. He takes off his shirt Larkin gave him. He holds it, dearly. INT. CLIVE & SANDRA'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT Larkin and Sandra are at a table. CLIVE, 50's, sets dinner down in front of them, then joins. Larkin picks at the food. SANDRA How's Robbie? LARKIN She's good. SANDRA You're looking a little thin. Are you getting enough to eat? CLIVE You haven't touched your plate. LARKIN I'm actually a vegan now. CLIVE Vegan? Since when? She shrugs. Clive munches his food. CLIVE (CONT'D) Been awhile since we've seen you. SANDRA We'll just give you more of the vegetables then. She begins to load Larkin's plate with salad. LARKIN Mom, it's fine. SANDRA You need to eat, honey. CLIVE Have some more potatoes. SANDRA There's butter in there. He shrugs and continues eating. Sandra scoops more vegetables on to her plate. Larkin's annoyed. LARKIN Stop! I'm fine, okay? Larkin CRIES. Her parents are dumbstruck. LARKIN (CONT'D) I don't need you worrying about me eating. I'm an adult now. SANDRA Why are you getting emotional? LARKIN I'm just a big disappointment. SANDRA Why would you say that? LARKIN I'm not married. I don't have kids. I don't know what I'm doing with my life. SANDRA That doesn't mean you're a disappointment. She hugs Larkin. LARKIN And that we're together. I came over here to tell you Robbie and I are moving to Seattle. (takes a breath) SANDRA Together, together? Larkin nods. SANDRA (CONT'D) This why you've been avoiding us? LARKIN Are you mad? SANDRA Why would we be mad? LARKIN Probably not how you imagined your daughter. CLIVE How's that? LARKIN I'm a thirty year old gay barista. SANDRA You're exactly how we imagined you. Clive takes a bite. CLIVE Are you happy? Larkin sits back. LARKIN I don't know anymore. We're kind of in a fight right now. SANDRA Do you love her? LARKIN I thought I did. I think I'm falling for someone else. A guy. I don't want to hurt her. SANDRA Honey, happiness comes in the most unexpected ways sometimes. You have to give the heart what the heart desires. Sometimes that hurts. LARKIN I thought I was done hurting. I was finally starting to feel happy. CLIVE It may feel like it takes a lifetime to find what makes us happy, but you can't force it. You'll only be lying to yourself. Sandra hugs her. SANDRA We're so proud of you. Gay, straight, kids, no kids. Wherever you are, whatever you do; You're always our baby. And we love you. LARKIN Thanks, mom. Clive hugs them. LARKIN'S ROOM Sandra opens the door. Her and Larkin hug. Sandra leaves. Larkin sits on the bed. Looks around the room. INT. LARRY'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT Larry makes a heathy dinner. He scrolls through spotify and listens to Tegan and Sara. He really enjoys the music. INT. ROBBIE & LARKIN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY Larkin comes in. Robbie meets her with a big hug. They kiss. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY Sonny and Mildred plan their wedding. They're so in love. EXT. PARK - DAY Larkin and Robbie are on a bench. A jogger is cramping at a fence. Larkin helps. He runs away. She contemplates. EXT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT Alan opens a car door. He kisses Celia. She gets in. He watches her drive away. EXT. FILM SET - DAY Landon does sound for a shoot. He seems to enjoy it. INT. ROBBIE & LARKIN'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Larkin and Robbie are curled on the couch together. Chasing Amy plays on the tv. Larkin laughs and looks over at Robbie. INT. SONNY & MILDRED'S HOUSE - DAY They mark the calendar on Halloween for their wedding which is also the day of their film premier. They kiss. EXT. BURBANK MOUNTAIN - DAY Larry climbs to the top. He looks out over the city, triumphant and alone. EXT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT Mildred, Sonny, Larry, Landon and Alan are all smiles. INT. ROBBIE & LARKIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT Robbie and Larkin pack boxes. Larkin packs a closet. Finds Larry's shirt. Holds it, dearly. INT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY Larry eats cereal. Celeste and Jesse plays in the BG. Larry sits up from the couch and inspects the cereal box. He moves his foot and finds the puzzle piece. He holds it up. EXT./INT. JUICE SHOP - NIGHT Robbie and Larkin are with Roy. He has the forms. He hugs both of them. He walks away. Robbie and Larkin hug. Larry watches from the street corner. His heart sinks. He turns and gets inside of an - INT. UBER - NIGHT He continues to watch Robbie and Larkin as they drive away. INT./EXT. ROBBIE & LARKIN'S HOUSE - DAY Robbie and Larkin are both in tears. They hug and look out at the empty house. STREET Larkin loads a box into her car. Looks back at the house. Gets in and drives away. EXT. SANTA BARBARA BEACH - DAY Dozens of people sit at the edge of the beach in Halloween costumes. Larry has several cereal boxes with knifes in them. Sonny is dressed as Beetlejuice and Mildred as Lidia. They're at the front with a preist. I do. MILDRED PREIST And do you Sonny take Mildred as your wife? SONNY You bet I do. PREIST A kiss makes it official. They smile and kiss. Larry watches, heartsick yet happy. Sonny and Mildred run down the aisle. EXT. BEACH - DANCE FLOOR - DAY Everyone dances in their costumes. Alan and Celia are in matching costumes. Evalynn and Lynette are dressed like an avocado and toast. They talk with Mildred. LYNETTE You look so beautiful. MILDRED Thank you. Ya'll really helped me these past few weeks. EVALYNN I don't want to be seeing you coming to the meetings no more. You're married now. Be happy. MILDRED I enjoy hanging out with ya'll. EVALYNN You don't want to hang out with a couple of bitter divorcee's. JACKIE There's a lot more to life than complaining about failed relationships. I see that now. She hugs Mildred and sees Landon smoking to the side alone. She walks over. Lynette hugs Mildred. LYNETTE Congratulations, girl. You make me feel young again. Jackie approaches Landon. He's dressed as Gomez from The Adam's Family. JACKIE Who you supposed to be? LANDON Ever see The Adam's Family? She steps back. JACKIE Who do you think I'm dressed as? She's Morticia from the movie. He smiles. LANDON Where's your date? Have two. JACKIE She points to a table. Two kids eat food, dressed as Pugsley and Wednesday from The Adam's Family. And you? JACKIE (CONT'D) He shrugs. They stare into each other's eyes. LANDON I drink, I smoke, I cuss, I fuck. Take me at face value and you won't be disappointed. JACKIE I'm a middle-aged, divorced single mother. I've been with the worst. Cara Mia. LANDON JACKIE Mon Cherie. He holds out his arm. She takes it as they go to dance. TABLE Larry's alone. He chugs wine and stares at the puzzle piece. Sonny comes over. Larry hugs him. LARRY I'm so happy for you. And great costume. Really. Thank you. He hugs him again. Anything? SONNY SONNY (CONT'D) Larry shakes his head. LARRY She made her choice. Sonny pats his shoulder. Larry smiles. LARRY (CONT'D) What are you doing here? Go dance with your wife! SONNY Just had to check on my boy. Sonny stands, looks to Mildred. They lock eyes. SONNY (CONT'D) I'm going to dance with my wife. Looks back to Larry. SONNY (CONT'D) You going to be okay? LARRY I'll be fine. DANCE FLOOR Sonny and Mildred slow dance. Couples gradually join in. EXT. BEACH - LATER Alan, Landon and Larry walk along the beach. The reception's in the distance behind them. ALAN I can't believe he went through with it. LARRY They've practically been married for years. Just finally said I do. ALAN Landon, saw you busting a move with that cougar. Good job. LANDON What can I say? Baby got back. They stop. ALAN Her kids may have a new step-dad. LANDON Don't jump the gun. ALAN Speaking of that. Fella's I'd like to make an announcement. I'm officially a one woman man. LARRY You and Celia? ALAN That's right. LANDON Never thought I'd see the day. ALAN She makes me happy. (turns to Larry) Sorry this day's not celebratory for all of us. LARRY (pulls them close) Hey, you know what? It's okay. I'm going to use this time to focus on myself. I'm happy for my friends. Can we hug it out right now? They all hug tight. LARRY (CONT'D) I may not know where I'm heading in life, but I've got some great friends who'll help me get there. SONNY O.S. Guys! We're setting sail! They break the hug. ALAN Time to get your sea legs. They head over to the - DOCK Sonny, Mildred and others are in a sailboat. Alan Kisses Celia. Landon picks up Pugsley and sets him inside. He and Jackie smile and follow suit. Larry lags behind. His PHONE rings. He looks shocked, then answers. LARRY Hey. Yeah. Yeah, I'll meet you. EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY Larry wanders into the middle of the field and looks around. Catch. MIKE O.S. Larry turns to a football coming at him. He catches it. MIKE What'chya wearing? LARRY Costume themed wedding. He tosses the ball to Mike. MIKE Thought maybe it was for a movie. LARRY Not so likely. MIKE Changed your mind on the movie business? Larry shrugs. MIKE (CONT'D) Remember when we used to throw a ball around when you were younger? Larry throws the ball back. LARRY Don't remember much of those years. BLEACHERS Larry and Mike sit at the top of the stadium. LARRY Why aren't we a part of each other's life? MIKE When your mom and I separated it felt like I fell into a deep hole. And all I could do was climb my way out and start over. It was wrong and unfair. I've been a bad person. LARRY Everyone makes bad decisions. Doesn't mean we're bad people. MIKE I've always wanted to be there for you, Larry. I just didn't know how. They sit in silence. MIKE (CONT'D) You familiar with the bible? LARRY Not really. MIKE There's a story in there about the Israelites escaping from bondage and one city that stood in the way. LARRY I think I know the story. Mike looks at him, sincere. MIKE Not a day goes by I don't wish I could tear down these walls between us and start over. You've always been my Jericho. (beat) LARRY Why haven't you? MIKE I cower behind things I let fall apart. You're brave. You know what you want in life and go after it. LARRY Don't really think the acting thing's going to pan out. MIKE So what? Something else'll come along and you'll conquer that. As long as you're happy. LARRY I don't want you giving me money anymore. I want to support myself. MIKE Rachael and I want you in our life. I want to be a father to you. LARRY Be a father to me emotionally. Not financially Larry looks like he could cry. Mike gives him a big hug. MIKE I want that. I've wanted that for a long time. And I'm sorry it's taken me this long to make it happen. LARRY I want that, too. MIKE Don't worry about the acting thing. I believe in you, son. Only things we can't obtain are the things we don't go after. He pulls him into a hug. The sailboat HONKS from the ocean. LARRY Are you doing anything later? Larry rises. MIKE I've set this time aside for you. LARRY A film I wrote's showing tonight. It'd be really cool if you came. Mike smiles. Larry begins to descend the stairs. MIKE I'll be there. Where you going? He looks at his dad. LARRY To take my Jericho. He runs down the bleachers. EXT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - BACKYARD - NIGHT Dozens of people in costumes sit, facing a projector screen. Sonny's at the front. SONNY Thank you all for making this day so incredible. Mildred and I aren't much for big celebrations, but together you've made this day unforgettable for both of us. Everyone CHEERS. SONNY (CONT'D) Now the moment we've all been anticipating. The world premier of Necroapocalypse. He sits with Mildred. The MOVIE plays. He kisses her. EXT. ROBBIE & LARKIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT Larry KNOCKS on the door, repeatedly. A woman answers the door with a bowl of candy. CANDY LADY Aren't you a little old? Larry shakes his head and darts off. EXT. ALAN & LANDON'S HOUSE - BACKYARD - NIGHT Everyone's engaged in the movie. Landon and Jackie sit next to one another. Landon grabs her hand. She smiles. Mike, Rachael and Alex are in the audience. Larry ambles in and sits with them at the back. The movie ends. People APPLAUD. Sonny takes the front. SONNY Thank you everyone. The cast. He opens his arm to reveal Alan and a few other actors. They smile and bow. Where's... SONNY (CONT'D) He scours the audience and spots Larry with his family. SONNY (CONT'D) There he is. Round of applause for our writer, Larry. Everyone APPLAUDS. Larry holds up his beer. SONNY (CONT'D) (claps) None of this would've been possible if you hadn't written such an amazing script. Once again. Thank you so much for coming out and making this day so special. The Bom Pops are setting up inside. Everyone get in there! CHEERS. APPLAUDS. Sonny steps back and smiles to Mildred. Rene comes over. RENE Not bad, Sonny. SONNY Yeah? You liked it? RENE I think you've got something here. She eyes Mildred. RENE (CONT'D) That the lucky lady? SONNY That's her. RENE You're gonna be a great husband. She shakes his hand. RENE (CONT'D) We'll be in touch. She heads away. Sonny goes over to Mildred. Larry's with Mike, Rachael and Alex. MIKE You wrote that? LARRY What'd you think? MIKE I liked it. A lot. RACHAEL It was really good. MIKE Larry, this is Rachael. Rachael gives him a big hug. RACHAEL So nice to finally meet you. LARRY Who's this tough guy? I'm Alex. ALEX They pound fists. Mike pulls Larry into a hug. MIKE I want us to be a part of each other's life. I love you, son. LARRY I love you, too. RACHAEL You're a part of this family, Larry. She hugs him. MIKE I've got your number saved. Larry smiles. Rene comes over. Larry? RENE Yes. LARRY He nods. RENE You wrote the film? RENE (CONT'D) Nice work. You union? LARRY No. Unfortunately. RENE I've got many projects in development that need a writer. She hands him her card. RENE (CONT'D) Call me if you're interested. LARRY I am. Thank you very much. MIKE I'm proud of you, son. She leaves. Rachael sees Alex dancing with Wednesday and Pugsley. She smiles and pulls Mike toward the house. MIKE (CONT'D) You coming in? LARRY I'll be in in a minute. They smile. Mike follows Rachael inside. Larry inspects the card. MUSIC blares. Alan and Celia head in. ALAN Never came out and asked before, but - will you go steady with me? Celia laughs and kisses him as they go inside. ALAN (CONT'D) I need something verbal. I'm new to this. Are we gonna be exclusive? LIVING ROOM People dance in costumes to the band. Landon's with Jackie. Evalynn and Lynette with young guys. Sonny and Mildred dance. PATIO Larry lights a cigarette. Larkin comes over wearing a white trash bag and a mask. LARKIN Trick or treat? He gives her a wry smile. She takes off the mask. He's in shock when he realizes it's her. LARRY Nice costume. LARKIN I like yours, too. I saw you with your dad. Looks like ya'll made up. LARRY We did. I heard you moved. I did. LARKIN LARRY With Robbie? She shakes her head. He comes closer to her. LARKIN I'm staying with my folks. Figuring out what I'm gonna to do next. LARRY So, you finally told them. Were they understanding? They were. LARKIN LARRY Larkin, I didn't handle what you were trying to tell me as best as I could. I wasn't considering your emotions or what you were going through. LARKIN I shouldn't have put you in that position. LARRY I shouldn't have shoved you out. LARKIN I should have been honest with you. LARRY I should have fought for us. LARKIN When there was an us. LARRY All I want to know is - How come you don't want me now? Why don't you wanna wait this out? Maybe you would've been something I'd be good at. And maybe I would have been something you'd be good at. LARKIN Are you paraphrasing different Tegan and Sara songs? LARRY You were right. They're so good. LARKIN I know! And you were right... He looks confused. LARKIN (CONT'D) Every lesbian just needs some good deep dicking. LARRY You watched it! He lights up. LARKIN Not one of my favorites. LARRY Nostalgia can be blinding. Where's Robbie? Seattle. LARKIN LARRY You didn't want to go with her? LARKIN I've been in many bad relationships and I was gearing up for another if I didn't tell her how I felt. LARRY What did you tell her? They move closer to each other. LARKIN Sometimes it's the things we keep in that keeps us apart. And I don't want to keep anything in anymore. LARRY How'd she take it? ...Closer... LARKIN She'll be alright. LARRY Are you upset? LARKIN I'll get over it. ...Closer... LARRY Does that mean, you and me... LARKIN I'm here, aren't I? Are we... She grabs his hand. Ready... He pulls her close. Set... LARRY They kiss. Landon sees and kisses Jackie. Alan cheers when he sees them kissing. He turns to Celia and they make out. Sonny and Mildred LAUGH. They stare into each other's eyes. LARRY LARKIN SONNY I love you, wife. MILDRED I love you, husband. They share a passionate kiss. Alex, Wednesday and Pugsley are all dancing together. Mike and Rachael laugh, then kiss. The Bom Pops start to play a Tegan and Sara cover. Larry and Larkin jump out of the kiss. LARKIN I love this song. LARRY I love this song. They race into the crowd and dance with Landon, Jackie, Alan, Celia, Sonny, Mildred, Mike and Rachael as the song plays. INT. LARRY & LARKIN'S APARTMENT - DAY Larry writes a script on his computer. He looks up as Larkin comes in wearing yoga attire. LARKIN How's it coming? LARRY I think it's going to be a hit. She gives him a kiss. LARKIN Got my first client. Wish me luck. LARRY You're going to do great. Her PHONE chimes. It's Robbie face timing. Larry runs over. Robbie! LARKIN Hey! ROBBIE LARRY Hi, Robbie. ROBBIE Hey, Larry. LARKIN Let me see the new place. ON PHONE: Robbie pans around the new shop. It's really nice. LARKIN (CONT'D) That's so you. I love it. ROBBIE We like it. We? LARKIN Robbie pans the phone revealing ELISE. She waves. Robbie! LARKIN (CONT'D) Robbie shrugs. She zooms in on a sign hanging on the wall behind the counter. It's the heart with, "Best friends forever and their names" written in it. ROBBIE We're opening. Just had to show you the place. Love you, Larkin. Robbie flashes a peace sign. LARKIN Love you, Robbie. Friends for life. She gives a peace sign in return. ROBBIE Friends for life. They click off the phone. LARRY She looks happy. LARKIN I'm happy for her. LARRY Are you happy? She smiles big, hugs him, then kisses him passionately. FADE OUT: THE END
1.3 Enlightenment Thinkers and Democratic Government Standard 1.3: Enlightenment Thinkers and Democratic Government Explain the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on the American Revolution and the framework of American government. (Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Studies) [8.T1.3] FOCUS QUESTION: How did the Enlightenment Contribute to the Growth of Democratic Principles of Government? "British Museum Room 1 Enlightenment" by Mendhak is licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.0 The Enlightenment (or Age of Reason) is the term used to define the outpouring of philosophical, scientific, and political knowledge in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century. European civilization had already experienced the Renaissance (1300-1600) and the Scientific Revolution (1550-1700). The Enlightenment further transformed intellectual and political life based on the application of science to dramatically alter traditional beliefs and practices. Explore our resourcesforhistoryteachers wiki page to learn more about the Main Ideas of Enlightenment Thinkers. Enlightenment thinkers believed that rational reasoning could apply to all forms of human activity. Their writing can be "broadly understood to stand for the claim that all individuals have the right to share their own ends for themselves rather than let others do it for them" (Pagden, 2013, p. x). Politically, they asked what was the proper relationship of the citizen to the monarch or the state. They held that society existed as a contract between individuals and some larger political entity. They advanced the idea of freedom and equality before the law. Enlightenment ideas about how governments should be organized and function influenced both the American and French Revolutions. The Enlightenment is commonly associated with men whose writing and thinking combined philosophy, politics, economics and science, notably John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Isaac Newton and Thomas Jefferson. Women too, though often downplayed or ignored in the textbooks and curriculum frameworks, contributed change-producing ideas and actions, including Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe de Gouges, Mary Astell, Caroline Herschel, Emile du Chatelet, and Maria Sybilla Merian. Explore our resourcesforhistoryteachers wiki page to learn more about The Enlightenment, Principles of Democratic Government and Women's Political Empowerment. How did the Enlightenment's optimistic faith in the discovery and application of natural law to human life inspire revolution and reform throughout the world? As the National Center for History in Schools (1992) noted: "The first great upheavals to be marked though surely not 'caused' - by Enlightenment thought were the American and French revolutions, and they opened the modern era of world history" (p. 262). The modules in this topic explore the catalysts for revolutionary change through the writings and actions of men and women philosophers, scientists, and change-makers. Modules for this Standard Include: INVESTIGATE: Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau and their 1. Influence on Government UNCOVER: Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe De Gouges, and the 2. Rights of Women ENGAGE: Who Were History's Most Important Women Change- 3. Makers in Math, Science, and Politics? MEDIA LITERACY CONNECTIONS: 21st Century Women STEM Innovators 1. INVESTIGATE: Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau and Their Influence on Government The American Revolution and the subsequent framework of American government were heavily influenced by John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau - three Enlightenment philosophers who "developed theories of government in which some or even all the people would govern" (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2019, para. 10). Each rejected in one way or another the views of Thomas Hobbes who believed government must be led by an all-powerful king. The Constitutional Rights Foundation has characterized Locke as a "reluctant" democrat because he favored a representative government, Montesquieu a "balanced" democrat who favored a combination of a king checked by a legislative body, and Rousseau an "extreme" democrat because he believed everyone should vote. Each influenced the founding and development of United States government. You can learn more about these philosophers and their philosophies at our wiki pages: Political, Economic and Intellectual Influences on the American Revolution and Main Ideas of Men and Women Enlightenment Thinkers. John Locke John Locke (1632-1704) was a political theorist who is remembered as the father of modern republican government. He believed a state could only be legitimate if it received the consent of the governed through a social contract. In Locke's view, social contract theory protected the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. If this did not happen, he argued, the people had a right to rebel. His ideas about the consent of the governed and the right to rebellion would later influence the supporters of the American Revolution and the framers of the U.S. Constitution. Locke supported England's constitutional monarchy and promoted democratic governments with a system of checks and balances. Thomas Jefferson's famous quote from the Declaration of Independence was based on Lockean philosophy: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." In Locke's view, all men—literally men and not women—had the political rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of private property. He also believed that human beings, because of divine will are by nature inherently good and can make their own reasonable decisions if left alone by the government. John Locke wrote Two Treatises on Civil Government (1690). Watch this Video summarizing and highlighting his main ideas. Baron de Montesquieu Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) is perhaps best known for his belief in the separation of governmental powers. Inspired by England's Glorious Revolution and Constitutional Monarchy, Montesquieu believed that in an ideal state there are two types of governmental authority: the sovereign (King/President) and 1. the administrative powers (bureaucracy). 2. In Montesquieu's view, there are also three administrative powers within a state, each providing a check and balance on the others: the legislature (parliament/congress), 1. the executive (king/head of state), 2. the judiciary (court system). 3. The purpose behind this system of checks and balances was to prevent a single individual or group of people from having full control of the state. Ironically, while Montesquieu was inspired by Britain's Constitutional monarchy, England during the time period did not practice separation of governmental powers. Indeed, until the late 1800s, the British Monarchy effectively ruled the nation with the help of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. To this day, England still does not have an official written constitution. The idea of a constitutional government with three separate branches of the state would later become essential in the writing of the American constitution. To get any official new legislation passed into law, the U.S. President must always work together with Congress. This is a legacy of Montesquieu's political philosophy in practice today. Jean Jacques Rousseau Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that human beings are basically good by nature, but historical events have corrupted them and the present state of civil society. Although "he did not go to school for a single day and was essentially self-taught, his writings included a political theory that deeply influenced the American Founding Fathers and the French Revolutionaries. . ." (Damrosch, 2005, p. 1). In Rousseau's ideal world, people would live in small communal farming communities and make decisions democratically. His 1762 work, The Social Contract, begins with the famous line, "Man was born free, but everywhere he is in chains" (para. 2). Rousseau believed that people could regain their lost freedom by creating a society where citizens choose to obey laws they themselves created, giving up some personal self gains in exchange for a wider common good. He advocated for direct democracy where everyone's votes determine what happens politically. To read more, explore an interactive transcript for the "Introduction to Rousseau: The Social Contract" video using VidReader, a tool that creates interactive transcripts for YouTube videos. Suggested Learning Activities Research and Report Compare and contrast the ideas of two Enlightenment Philosophers from the following list: Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan, Chapters 13-14 (1651) John Locke: Two Treatises of Government Baron de Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws (1748) Jean Jacques Rousseau: Social Contract Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence (1776) Thomas Paine: Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776 - 1783) Olympe de Gouges: The Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizen (1791) Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) Mary Astell: A Serious Proposal to the Ladies (1694) Margaret Cavendish: The Atomic Poems (1653) Emile du Chatelet: Institutions Physiques (1741) Participate in a Simulation An Enlightenment Salon by Robert Davidson, WhitmanHanson Regional High School Write a Social Contract for Your Classroom A social contract is an agreement made between a government and its people, or in this case, between students and a teacher. Through class discussion and individual writing, develop a social contract for your classroom and publish it on Google Classroom or some other learning management system. Questions to consider include: Based on your experiences so far, what is the role of your civics teacher? In your opinion, do you think the rules in your class are fair or unfair? Why do you say this? In your opinion, do you think the activities the teacher assigns actually helps you learn? Why do you say this? On a scale of 1-5, how much would you say your understanding of civics has increased (1 being not at all, 5 being you know much more now than you did before the class)? What is AT LEAST one way in which the teacher could make your civics education experience more effective for you as a learner (rules, information, assignment types, organization, structure, etc.)? Online Resources about Enlightenment Philosophers Political Theory - Thomas Hobbes, a video describing how the views of Hobbes were influenced by the conflict occurring in England. Introduction to John Locke, a short video on Locke's Two Treatises of Government. The Political Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Hobbes advocated an absolute monarchy, happening in most of Europe at the time, as the best form of government John Locke Mini-Lesson, iCivics Women from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen by Marquis de Lafayette with Thomas Jefferson (1789) Women of the Enlightenment slideshow explains how different philosophers, like Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Diderot viewed women 2.UNCOVER: Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe de Gouges, and the Rights of Women Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 - 1797) was a writer and advocate for women's rights. She believed that women should be given greater education because of their importance in raising children and being not just wives but partners or "companions" with their husbands. Her personal life, that included an illegitimate child, love affairs, and suicide attempts, was considered scandalous at the time. She died at age 38. Her daughter was Mary Shelley, author of the novel, Frankenstein. Mary Wollstonecraft believed that women should have the same rights as men (including life and liberty). In A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790), she opposed monarchy and aristocracy. In 1792, she published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in which she asked: "How many women thus waste life away the prey of discontent, who might have practised as physicians, regulated a farm, managed a shop, and stood erect, supported by their own industry, instead of hanging their heads surcharged with the dew of sensibility, that consumes the beauty to which it at first gave lustre" (p. Wollstonecraft also urged establishment of a national education system with mixed gender schools; such education would give women the right to earn their own living (British Library Book/Manuscript Annotation). Olympe de Gouges Olympe de Gouges (1748 - 1793) was a French writer and activist for women's rights during the French Revolution. She was the author of The Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizen (1791), a powerful call for gender equality and political change. She was subsequently beheaded during the Reign of Terror, the only woman executed for her political writing during that time. She wrote, "A woman has the right to be guillotined; she should also have the right to debate" (quoted in "The Writer's Almanac," November 3, 2019). Olympe de Gouges' activism contrasted dramatically with the traditional gender roles women were expected to play in European society. Although women did not have many rights and privileges, de Gouges used ideas from the Enlightenment to advocate for greater rights for women and enslaved Black people. Suggested Learning Activities Create a Digital Poster Design a visual representation of Mary Wollstonecraft's and Olympe de Gouges' writings: A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) The Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizen, Olympe de Gouges (1791) Construct Women Change-Maker Trading Cards Design trading cards for important women changemakers in history Include name, image, and key facts about the person and what makes her unique and important in history Based on a scientist trading card project by Jaye C. Gardiner Online Resources for Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe De Gouges and Rights of Women View a Brief Illustrated Video Biography of Mary Wollstonecraft Take a Quiz on Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" A brief biography, Olympe de Gouges, is online from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Olympe de Gouges historical biography page on resourcesforhistoryteachers The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen The Declaration of Independence 3.ENGAGE: Who Were History's Important Women Change-Makers in Math, Science, and Politics? Ada Lovelace was the daughter of poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabelle Milbanke. She is considered the first computer programmer. Ada Lovelace did not conform to traditional gender roles and expectations, focusing on mathematics and coding in a time when women were not taught math. She became a correspondent to mathematician Charles Babbage who was in the process of creating the plans for the Difference Machine, the world's first calculator. She created notes on the machine and its step sequences and those notes became the first computer "code." Learn more at Ada Lovelace, Mathematician and First Computer Programmer. Katherine Johnson was a mathematician and physicist at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) who was one of the African American women whose math and science work were essential to the success of early United States space exploration, including the 1962 flight when John Glenn became the first American man to orbit the earth. Her work in STEM was the basis for the book Hidden Figures (Shetterly, 2016) and 2017 movie. Katherine Johnson was a pioneer in civil rights as well. She was one of the first Black students to integrate graduate schools in West Virginia; the third African American to earn a doctoral degree in mathematics; and a Presidential Medal of Honor recipient. Sisters in Innovation: 20 Women Inventors You Should Know from The Mighty Girl website provides an engaging historical overview from Jeanne Villepreux-Power and Margaret E. Knight to modern-day scientists and innovators. Check out as well Ignite Her Curiosity: 60 Children's Books to Inspire Science-Loving Girls from the same website. There is historical background for women in math and science at the wiki page Women of the Scientific Revolution. Media Literacy Connections: 21st Century Women STEM Innovators Women, whose work in philosophy, science, and politics is often neglected or marginalized in history textbooks and curriculum framework, made change-producing discoveries and advances during the Enlightenment and in every era since. However, still in today's digital age, the most well-known figures are men: Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. In the following activities, you will explore the accomplishments of 21st century women innovators in the media and think about how to encourage more girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM): Activity 1: Finding Women in STEM in the Media Activity 2: Increasing Participation of Girls in STEM Activity 3: Analyze the Portrayal of Women in Science and Politics Then and Now Suggested Learning Activities State Your View Have the accomplishments of women such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Katherine Johnson been intentionally excluded or just omitted from textbooks and curriculum frameworks? Why is it important to recognize the contributions of women in math, science, and politics? Create a Digital Poster Design a poster about a woman from the 17th and 18th centuries who made prominent discoveries in math and science fields, but who has been largely ignored for their contributions. Include a picture, the position she had, the impact she made, and two additional facts. resourcesforhistoryteachers wiki online biography pages for each woman: Beatrix Potter - Author and Natural Scientist Caroline Herschel - An Astronomer who, with her brother, discovered the planet Uranus Ada Lovelace - Mathematician and First Computer Programmer Mary Anning - Fossil Finder and Paleontologist Marie Curie - Scientist and Two-Time Nobel Prize Recipient Conduct a 20th Century Trailblazers/Change-Makers Tournament A Women Trailblazers/Change-Makers Tournament is a way to uncover the hidden histories and untold stories of women who made significant contributions in math, science, or politics, but who have been largely ignored in textbooks and curriculum frameworks. Here is a Women Trailblazers March Madness Game with additional women change-makers to feature in a March Madness Tournament. Suggested 20th Century women trailblazers and changemakers include: Grace Hopper, Computer Pioneer Rachel Carson, Environmental Activist Jane Goodall, Primatologist and Anthropologist Rosalind Franklin, Molecular Biologist Hedy Lamarr, Hollywood Actress and Inventor Shirley Chisholm, African American Presidential Candidate Propose Wikipedia Edits ViewYou Can Help Fix Wikipedia's Gender Imbalance - Here's How To Do It, TED.com (March 9, 2020) about one woman's work fixing Wikipedia's lack of information about women scientist, inventors, changemakers. Create a poster or infographic using online resources such as Canva or other creator app or software, OR DRAW BY HAND A POSTER or INFOGRAPHIC that briefly, succinctly explains to students HOW to create or improve a wiki page for an unknown woman scientist, inventor or change-makers. Interactive Viewing: Watch and Respond to Microsoft's #MakeWhatsNext Ad Begin viewing and stop at 0:09 where you see the first question about inventors. Write as many responses as you can in 60 seconds. Resume viewing and stop at 0:24 when you see the second question about women inventors. Write as many responses responses as you can in 60 second. What surprised you about the lists? Did you have difficulty listing women inventors? Why is this often the case for not only students, but adults as well? Online Resources for Women Trailblazers Historian Margaret Rossiter's efforts to showcase women in science (Women Scientists Were Written Out of History. It's Margaret Rossiter's Lifelong Mission to Fix That). Rossiter has identified what she calls the Matilda Effect, the pattern that male scientists and "masculine" topics are frequently seen as demonstrating higher scientific quality than those associated with women in science or related fields. Conclusion for Standard 3 This standard's Investigate examined the work of John Locke, including his "Two Treatises of Government" (1690) and social contract theory, as well as Montesquieu's formulation of checks and balances to prevent a single individual or group of people from having full control of the state. Uncover focused on the French feminist Olympe De Gouges who in 1791 published the Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizen, a stirring call for the equality of women during the French Revolution. Engage asked what women in history and current society were important trailblazers, innovators, and change-makers in math, science, and politics. Maloy, R. W. & Trust, T. (2020). Building Democracy for All. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/democracy
REVIEW ARTICLE Superior Vena Cava Syndrome – Possibilities of Intervention Therapy Beran S. 2 nd Department of internal medicine – cardiology and angiology, 1 st Medical Faculty, Charles University in Prague SUMMARY Superior vena cava syndrome is a relatively frequent complication in patients with lung or mediastinal malignant disease. Standard treatment is usually based on radiotherapy or chemotherapy. During the last 20 years endovascular methods such as stent implantation and local thrombolysis have been increasingly employed, being more effective in the treatment of superior vena cava obstruction or stenosis. Key words: superior vena cava syndrome, stent, thrombolysis. Be Čas. Lék. čes., 2006, 145, pp. 349–352. Superior vena cava syndrome is a complex of symptoms caused by deterioration of blood flow through the superior vena cava (SVC) to the right heart atrium, resulting in congestion of blood in the upper part of the body. The syndrome was first described by William Hunter in a patient with an aortic aneurysm in 1757 (1). electrodes is not infrequent. On the other hand, mediastinal fibrosis is a less common cause, resulting most often from previous lung and mediastinal radiotherapy (8). CLINICAL PICTURE SVC syndrome symptoms follow from the venous congestion in the drained areas. The seriousness of the syndrome depends on its onset rapidity and on the duration of the SVC obstruction, as well as on the related possibility of the dilatation of collateral circulation. Moreover, it depends on the location of obstruction. If there is a stenosis or obstruction above the azygous vein ostium, the collateral flow is ensured via this vein contrary to the obstruction below the azygous vein ostium (9). Venous hypertension can produce headaches, a feeling of pressure in the neck and head, dizziness, syncopes and coughing. There may be other apparent symptoms of SVC syndrome, such as oedemas of the face, neck and arms, a noticeable dilatation of neck and arms veins, lips and face cyanosis or even a coma in the final stage (10, 11). DIAGNOSIS If the syndrome is fully expressed, the diagnosis is already evident from the medical history and physical examination. The diagnosis can, however, be specified by a quantity of non-invasive and invasive examination methods. An X-ray of the heart and lungs may reveal a widened mediastinum, pleural exudate and mediastinal or hilar tumour, particularly on the right side (6). Sometimes dilatation of the azygous vein can be apparent (12). A Duplex ultrasonic examination is a non-invasive method that cannot picture the superior vena cava directly, but it well represents the subclavial and possibly brachiocephalic veins. On the basis of indirect signs, such as breathing variability of blood flow or dilata- ANATOMY OF THE SUPERIOR VENA CAVA SVC is a thin – walled vessel about 6-8 cm long, situated in the upper mediastinum. It is formed by the joining of two brachiocephalic veins and flows to the right atrium. It is in close contact with the trachea, right bronchus, aorta, pulmonary artery and thymus. It is also surrounded by lymph nodes. Dorsally, the azygous vein flows into the SVC and may represent an important collateral circulation if the SVC is obstructed (2, 3). ETIOLOGY The causes of superior vena cava obstruction have changed during the years. While until the first half of the last century the syndrome was mainly caused by the pressure of tuberculous or syphilitic aortic aneurysms (4), nowadays more than 80 % of SVC syndromes are triggered by an advanced malignant disease, most frequently by bronchogenic carcinoma and particularly its small–cell type, by non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and by metastatic mediastinal tumours (5, 6). Thyroid carcinomas and thymomes are more rare causes. SVC syndrome may be caused either by an external SVC compression, or possibly by a stenosis-related thrombosis or a direct infiltration of a tumour into the vessel. Approximately 5-15 % of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma and 3-8 % of patients with NHL develop SVC syndrome (7). Benign etiology is a more rare cause of SVC syndrome, occurring in approximately 15-20 % of all cases (6, 7), but considering the increasing frequency of central venous catheters and stimulating electrodes implementing, SVC thrombosis related to venous catheters and cardiostimulating tion during the Valsalva manoeuvre, a duplex ultrasonic examination can reveal suspicion of central obstruction. Computer tomography (CT) is a non-invasive examination making it possible to display in detail anatomical structures, the cause and extent of obstruction and of the collateral circulation. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) provides a higher-quality image of anatomical structures than CT; however, in our context NMR availability is still limited, and it is contraindicated in patients with an implanted pacemaker. Contrast phlebography remains the gold standard in diagnostics. It makes it possible to display the level and extent of the obstruction and of the collateral circulation, as well as potential presence of thrombi. In specialised departments an endovascular intervention can be carried out simultaneously. The phlebographic findings are the cornerstone of the Standford-Doty classification of the obstruction types: I. type: < 90 % SVC stenosis and a patent azygous vein, II. type: 90-100 % stenosis of SVC and a patent azygous vein, III. type: 90-100 % stenosis of SVC with a reverse circulation in a patent azygous vein and IV. type: occlusion of SVC and its supplying veins (3). The main disadvantage of a phlebographic examination is its invasive character and the necessity use of a contrast agent. There are other alternatives of examination of the primary disease aetiology, such as bronchoscopy, pleural exudate puncture and mediastinoscopy. TREATMENT Treatment of the superior vena cava syndrome depends on the cause of obstruction, gravity of symptoms, the patient's prognosis and wishes. Pharmacotherapy In addition to the elevation of the upper part of the body, we use diuretics and corticosteroids to induce regression of the swelling and anticoagulant therapy to prevent thrombosis progression. This treatment, however, has very limited clinical effect (10, 13). Radiotherapy, chemotherapy If the aetiogogy of the SVC syndrome is a malignancy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or a combination of the two - depending on the histological type of the tumour - form the basis of treatment. Most studies are aimed at bronchogenic carcinoma, which is the main cause of SVC stenosis or occlusion. Radiotherapy in radiosensitive and chemotherapy in chemosensitive tumours represents a standard treatment and brings symptomatic relief due to the reduction in tumour tissue volume. The effect of radiotherapy ranges from 46 to 90 % within 2 weeks (14-16) while the effect of chemotherapy oscillates between 62 to 80 % in the treatment of small-cell bronchogenic carcinoma (17, 18). Furthermore, a combination of both treatment methods can be used (17). Analysis from the Cochrane Clinical Trials Register including 2 randomised and 44 non-randomised studies of the treatment of SVC obstruction in bronchogenic lung carcinoma (and more particularly in its small-cell type) notes the effect of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy on the regression of difficulties caused by the SVC syndrome in 77 % with recurrence in 17 %. In non-small-cell varieties of bronchogenic carcinoma chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy led to the regression of symptoms only in 60 %, with recurrence in 19 %. These traditional methods lead to a clinical effect with a delay of 2-4 weeks (17, 19, 20). Surgical treatment Until recently a bypass operation was the only alternative treatment in the event of failure of conservative therapy with a very good and long patency, and it still remains an alternative if there is failure of endovascular treatment or if a radical resection of a tumour can be effected. Owing to a very good and long patency – 88 % of patient bypasses with an average observation period of almost 11 years (20) – some authors prefer this method for cases of benign causes of the SVC syndrome (21-24). In patients suffering from a malignant disease that are in a general bad state, the necessity of sternotomy is the main inconvenience. Stent implantation, local thrombolysis The history of metal stents use in the superior vena cava started in 1986, when Charnsangajev carried out successful angioplasty of SVC for the first time, with a stent implantation in 7 dogs with the mediastinal fibrosis (25). Since then the method has become an appropriate alternative to a standard conservative treatment. Its technical success with a subsequent rapid clinical effect has ranged from 90 to 100 % in most of the published studies. In the above-mentioned meta-analysis from the Cochrane Clinical Trials Register, stent implantation led to a regression of symptoms in 95 %, with a recurrence of SVC syndrome in 11 %, but another recanalization was possible in most cases; therefore the long-term patency was 92 % (17). In the event of an extensive SVC thrombosis stent implantation is accompanied by local thrombolysis. In his study, Kee effected local thrombolysis in 27 patients with an acute SVC thrombosis of malignant etiology that in itself led to recanalization in 4 patients (15 %), while the remained patients underwent a stent implantation. During the local thrombolysis one patient with a small-cell carcinoma of lung died of pulmonary embolism of thrombotic and tuberculous masses (26). Other papers show a similar or better technical and clinical effect (27-31). The rapidity of endovascular therapy is also advantageous – the clinical effect comes in a short interval of 2-4 days (26-31). Local thrombolysis effected before proper stent implantation decreases the volume of thrombotic material that could embolise during the procedure. The dissolution of the thrombotic mass also reveals the cause of SVC obstruction, thus reducing the number and length of stents necessary for the recanalization of the obstruction - which, incidentally, brings a considerable economic benefit (26). The evident disadvantage of this therapy is an increased risk of bleeding complications in patients with an increased risk of potentially fatal bleeding due to their principal tumour disease. According to the published studies, fatal bleeding complications during the local thrombolysis occur in 0-5 %; only one small study with 10 patients noted a complication rate of 10 % (1 patient died) (26-31). OWN EXPERIENCES During the period of October 2002 to December 2004 three patients with acute superior vena cava syndrome of malignant etiology were admitted to the ward of angiologic intensive care of the 2 nd internal clinic of cardiology and angiology, 1 st Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague. Two patients had already undergone unsuccessful treatment in another hospital – 1x systemic thrombolysis and 1x percutaneuous aspiration thrombectomy were performed without any considerable effect. The aetiology was as follows: a relapse of malignant thymoma, Ewing's sarcoma and stomach adenocarcinoma. SVC thrombosis in the patient with Ewing's sarcoma was associated with the central venous catheter. Intervention performance After sonographic or CT verification of the SVC obstruction, we bilaterally spiked the brachialis vein and inserted the 6F case by Seldinger method, in local anaesthesia under sonographic or X-ray control. Via the cases we performed a phlebography to reveal the character and the extent of the disease. The thrombosis and the complete SVC obstruction were present in all three cases. The first patient had patent brachiocephalic veins (Fig. 1, 2, 3). The second patient had a thrombosis of both SVC and left brachiocephalic vein (Fig. 4, 5) and the third patient had a thrombosis of SVC, both brachiocephalic and subclavia veins and a unilateral thrombosis of the left axillaris vein. We administered Heparin 5000 U IV and via the cases, by means of soft hydrophilic conductors, we inserted local thrombolysis catheters with lateral orifices into the coagulum. We commonly use the recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator (rt-PA, Actilyse ® , alteplasum) in the total dose of 1 mg/h into the catheters, and we applied heparin in an initial dose of 1250 U/h into the inserted case, with the dose adjustment according to APTT. The target value should be between 2-3 multiples of normal values. We performed a control phlebographic examination at intervals of 12 to 24 hours to consider the treatment effect and reposition of inserted catheters. The total time of local thrombolysis was on average 57.6 hours (38-60 hours); in one case the local thrombolysis alone led to Figure 2. The first patient after 22 hours of thrombolysis (partial SVC recanalization with residual thrombi) Figure 4. The second patient: phlebography from both brachial veins, thrombosis of axillar vein on the left, both subclavial veins and both brachiocephalic veins are occluded, the superior vein cava fills poorly Figure 5. The second patient after 60 hours of local thrombolysis and bilateral implantation of 2 self-expanding stents on boundary of subclavial and brachiocephalic veins (residual thrombosis in the subclavial vein on the right, contrast agent however flows away very well from the periphery) a complete opening of the venous vascular system, while in the two remaining cases an intervention performance followed – the implantation of stents into the SVC or into the brachiocephalic trunks and the subclavian vein. A quick regression of the swelling of the upper part of body and the regression of subjective symptoms came in all cases. In all patients we continued anticoagulant treatment by lowmolecular heparin and a subsequent warfarinization after the performance. No complications appeared in our patients during the local thrombolysis and during their stay in our ward (on average 6.6 days). Subsequently 2 patients died during the following observation – one died of intracranial bleeding caused by brain metastases (using the therapy of low-molecular heparin) 2 weeks after the operation. The second patient died of the progression of his malignant disease after 3 months. The third patient has been without clinical signs of relapse of SVC syndrome, and the intervented veins have still been patent according to the executed examination as well. CONCLUSION Superior vena cava syndrome is a relatively frequent complication in patients with lung or mediastinal malignancy. The standard treatment on the basis of radiotherapy or chemotherapy is successful in a wide range of 45-80 %; however the clinical effect comes with a delay of 2-4 weeks. Endovascular treatment – stent implantation – is a highly effective method in short lesions, with a technical and clinical successfulness of 90-100 % and a quick effect. Local thrombolysis followed by angioplasty and possibly stent implantation is an appropriate method in an extensive thrombosis of SVC and other veins draining the upper part of body. The risk of fatal bleeding in local thrombolysis is 4-10 % according to the published papers. In contrast to radiotherapy, endovascular treatment allows reintervention in cases of relapse of SVC syndrome. The high cost of the intervention performance is a disadvantage, but it is still a fraction of sum expended for the total treatment cost of patients with the malignant disease. The surgical treatment is an alternative for the cases of failure of conservative and intervention therapy or for patients with benign causes of the superior vena cava obstruction. Abbreviations aPTT – Activated Partial Tromboplastin Time CT – computer tomography SVC – superior vena cava NHL – non-Hodgkin lymphoma rt-PA – recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator LITERATURE 1. Hunter, W.: The history of an aneurysm of the aorta with some remarks on aneurysms in general. Med. Obs. Inq (Lond), 1757, 1, pp. 323-357. 2. Skinner, D. B., Alzman, E. W., Scannell, J. G.: The challenge of superior vena caval obstruction. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 1965, 49, pp. 8244-8253. 3. Standford, W., Doty, D. B.: The role of venography and surgery in the managment of patients with superior vena cava obstruction. Ann. Thorac. Surg., 1986, 41, pp. 158-163. 4. Mcintire, F., Sykes, E. M. Jr.: Obstruction of the superior vena cava: A review of the literature and report of two personal cases. Ann. Intern. Med., 1949, 30, pp. 925-960. 5. D' Louge, G., Rigsby, L.: Evaluating the superior vena cava syndrome. J. Am. Med. Assoc., 1981, 245, pp. 951-953. 6. Parish, J. M., Marschke, R. F. Jr., Dines, D. E. et al.: Etiologic consideration in superior vena cava syndrome. Mayo Clin. Proc., 1981, 56, pp. 407-413. 7. Nieto, A. F., Doty, D. B.: Superior vena cava obstruction: Clinical syndrome, etiology, and treatment. Curr. Probl. Cancer, 1986, 10, pp. 441484. 8. Gray, B. H., Olin, J. W., Graor, R. A. et al.: Safety and efficacy of thrombolytic therapy for superior vena cava syndrome. Chest, 1991, 99, pp. 54-59. 9. Bhimji, S.: Superior vena cava syndrome. Hospitál Physician, 1999, 1, pp. 42-63. 10. Baker, G., Barnes, H.: Superior vena cava syndrome: etiology, diagnosis and treatment. Am. J. Crit. Care, 1992, 1, pp. 54-61. 11. Kalra, M., Gloviczki, P., Andrews, J. C. et al.: Open surgical and endovascular treatment of superior vena cava syndrome caused by nonmalignant disease. J. Vasc. Surg., 2003, 38, pp. 215-223. 12. LagunaDel Estal, P., Gazapo Navarro, T., Murillas Angoitti, J. et al.: Superior vena cava syndrome: A study based on 81 cases. Ann. Med. Interna, 1998, 15, pp. 470-475. 13. Escalance, C. P.: Causes and managment of superior vena cava syndrome. Oncology, 1993, 7, pp. 61-68. 14. Armstrong, B. A., Perez, C. A., Simpson, J. R. et al.: Role of irradiation in the managment of superior vena cava syndrome. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 1987, 13, pp. 531-539. 15. Davenport, D., Ferree, C., Blake, D. et al.: Response of superior vena cava syndrome to radiation therapy. Cancer, 1976, 38, pp.1577-1580. 16. Ghosh, B. C., Cliffton, E. E.: Malignant tumors with superior vena cava obstruction. NY State J. Med., 1973, pp. 283-289. 17. Urban, T., Lebedu, B., Chastang, C. et al.: Superior vena cava syndrome in small-cell lung karcer. Arch. Intern. Med., 1993, 153, pp. 384387. 18. Wurschmidt, F., Bunemann, H., Heilmann, H. P.: Small cell lung cancor with and withaut superior vena cava syndrome: a multi-variate analys of prognostic factor in 408 cencases. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 1995, 33, pp. 77-82. 19. Rowll, N. P., Gleeson, F. V.: Steroids, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and stents for superior vena caval obstruction in carcinoma of the bronchus: a systematic review. Clin. Oncol., 2002, 14, pp. 338-351. 20. Nicholson, A. A., Ettles, D. F., Arnold, A. et al.: Treatment of malignant vena cava obstructio: metal stents or radiation therapy. J. Vasc. Interv. Radiol., 1997, 8, pp. 781-788. 21. Doty, J. R., Flores, J. H., Doty, D. B.: Superior vena cava obstruction: bypass using spiral vein graft. Ann. Thorac. Surg., 1999, 67, pp. 11111116. 22. Doty, D. B., Doty, J. R., Jones, K. W.: Bypass of superior vena cava. Fifteen years' experience with spiral vein graft for obstruction of superior vena cava caused by benign disease. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 1990, 99, pp. 889-895. 23. Doty, D. B.: Bypass of superior vena cava: Six years' experience with spiral vein graft for obstruction of superior vena cava due to benign and malignant disease. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 1983, 1, pp. 326-338. 24. Yellin, A., Rosen, A., Reichert, N., Lieberman, Y.: Superior vena cava syndrome: The myth-the facts. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis., 1990, 141, pp. 1114-1118. 25. Charnsangajev, C., Carrasco, C., Wallace, S. et al.: Stenosis of the vena cava: preliminary assessment of treatment with expande metalic stents. Radiology, 1986, 161, pp. 295-298. 26. Kee, S. T., Kinoshita, L., Razavi, M. K. et al.: Superior vena cava syndrome: treatment with catheter-directed thrombolysis and endovascular stent placement. Radiology, 1998, 206, pp. 187-193. 27. Dyet, J. F., Nicholson, A. A., Cook, A. M.: The use of the Wallstent endovascular prosthesis in the treatment of malignant obstruction of the superior vena cava. Clin. Radiol., 1993, 48, pp. 381-385. 28. Thony, F., Moro, D., Witmeyer, P. et al.: Endovasular treatment of superior vena cava obstruction in patients with malignancies. Eur. Radiol., 1999, 9, pp. 965-971. 29. Wilson, E., Lyn, E., Lynn, A. et al.: Radiological stenting provides effective palliation in malignant central venous obstruction. Clin. Oncol., 2002, 14, pp. 228-232. 30. Zhang, F., Wu, P., Huang, J.: Treatment of superior vena cava syndrome in cancer patients with intravascular stent and local thrombolysis. Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi, 2000, 22, pp. 507-509. 31. GMathias, K., Jager, H., Willaschek, J. et al.: Interventional radiology in central venous obstructions. Dilatation, stent implantation, thrombolysis. Radiologie, 1998, 38, pp. 606-613.
Subaru Legacy Forester 2000 Thru 2006 All Models Haynes Repair Manual The Chilton 2010 Chrysler Service Manuals now include even better graphics and expanded procedures! Chilton's editors have put together the most current automotive repair information available to assist users during daily repairs. This new two-volume manual set allows users to accurately and efficiently diagnose and repair late-model cars and trucks. Trust the step-by-step procedures and helpful illustrations that only Chilton can provide. These manuals cover 2008 and 2009 models plus available 2010 models. Haynes manuals are written specifically for the do-it-yourselfer, yet are complete enough to be used by professional mechanics. Since 1960 Haynes has produced manuals written from hands-on experience based on a vehicle teardown with hundreds of photos and illustrations, making Haynes the world leader in automotive repair information. 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Describes basic maintenance procedures and show how to make repairs on the engine, fuel system, electrical system, transmission, suspension, steering, body, and brakes This is an automotive maintenance and repair manual for the VW Beetle vehicles. The book is suitable for the DIY mechanic. Haynes manuals are written specifically for the do-it-yourselfer, yet are complete enough to be used by professional mechanics. Since 1960 Haynes has produced manuals written from handson experience based on a vehicle teardown with hundreds of photos and illustrations, making Haynes the world leader in automotive repair information. Covers Chevy S-10 and GMC Sonoma pickups (1994-2004), Blazer and Jimmy (1995-2004), GMC Envoy (1998-2001), and Oldsmobile Bravada & Isuzu Hombre (1996-2001). The Emily Post Institute, the most trusted brand in etiquette, tackles the latest issues regarding how we interact along with classic etiquette and manners advice in this updated and gorgeously packaged edition. 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Sára Hungler & Zsuzsanna Árendás The level playing field of Hungarian social partners before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Case studies from the automotive industry * [firstname.lastname@example.org] (Centre for Social Sciences, Budapest) [email@example.com] (Centre for Social Sciences, Budapest) Abstract For numerous reasons, social dialogue in Hungary generally does not fulfil its role on the national, sectoral, or workplace level. Social dialogue as a democratic process is dysfunctional, since its institutions and mechanisms are not imple mented democratically, and no real dialogue or actual debate take place. Instead, these mechanisms work in a top-down manner – the illiberal state and its cen tral governing bodies expect certain solutions and answers, leaving no scope for transparent democratic dialogue with the relevant social partners. Against this background, in 2019 major strike activity was witnessed in the automotive sector. However, in 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hungarian govern ment deployed its full power by adopting the 'Authorization Act,' which allowed the government to introduce significant restrictions, practically without any time limits, any debate in parliament, or guarantee of swift and effective con stitutional review. Our research paper investigates these recent developments in social dialogue using a case study, with the aim of understanding the forces underlying the collective action organized in the automotive sector. Our research demonstrates that, due to the lack of institutional guarantees, social dialogue is very fragile in Hungary, and the landslide victory in 2019 was a mere reflection of labour shortages. Our mixed methodology – which combines legal and soci ological approaches – is suitable for examining this complex issue; interviews conducted with representatives of labour and employers provide deep insight into motives and action in a circumvented level playing field. Keywords: social dialogue; COVID-19; collective action; automotive industry; Hungary ∗ This article is based on research findings of the authors associated with the ETHOS – Towards a European THe ory Of juStice and fairness, European Commission Horizon 2020 research project. Project No: 727112.: https:// ethos-europe.eu; and the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) 128498 'Social Inte gration in Visegrad Countries' research project. Intersections. EEJSP 7(3): 201–222. DOI: 10.17356/ieejsp.v7i3.811 http://intersections.tk.mta.hu 1. Introduction Involvement in decision making that affects one's life is an essential part of human dignity (Sinzheimer & Shumway, 1920). This principle should be followed in all areas of civil society, encompassing the political and economic spheres and including workplaces. Trade unions have traditionally represented the voice of workers through collective bargaining (Bogg & Novitz, 2012). Historically, industrial democracy became an effective force within the workers' movement primarily due to ideas about representative democracy (Müller-Jentsch, 1995). The principle of industrial democracy implies the replacement of unilateral regulations by joint decisions about matters concerning workplaces or employment conditions (Kahn-Freund, 1961). Thus, it is a form of socio-economic philosophy which proposes that citizenship rights in employment should allow workers to partially or completely participate in the running of an industrial or commercial organization. Industrial relations have been subject to major transformation due to structural changes under capitalism (Boltanski & Chiapello, 2006). Because of changes in the institutional frame work of the welfare state and forms of employment, individual career paths have become less predictable. These trends have made the labour market more dynamic, and have cre ated more diverse forms of work and new jobs, requiring different skills, while they have the potential to contribute to increasing inequality and challenge time-honoured institutions. The vision of a just society has been seriously compromised and affected the material, insti tutional, and psychological building blocks of collective action (Lahire, 2011). However, few empirical studies have analysed collective responses to unjust treatment at workplaces in the Central-East-European (CEE) region. Our project can thus contribute to the literature on CEE labour unionization due to its analysis of the motives and the role of trade unions behind collective mobilization. While adapting the varieties of capitalism (VoC) approach to the CEE context, Nölke and Vliegenthart (Nölke & Vliegenthart, 2009; Vliegenthart, 2010) identify a type specific to CEE that they name the dependent market economy (DME), characterized by structural dependence on foreign direct investment (FDI) that is drawn to an abundant supply of comparatively cheap and skilled labour, and by the possibility of strong hierarchical control from headquarters to local subsidiaries. As the authors state, FDI and foreign-owned bank investment are the primary sources of investment in these countries. Labour relations are typically non-conflictual, and skilled labour is mainly attracted not by extremely attractive financial conditions but through high-standard working conditions. DMEs are decentralized, while multinational companies (MNC) are typically uninterested in (or even strongly object to) getting involved in national- or sectoral-level collective bargaining (Adăscăliței & Guga, 2018). This is important to keep in mind when trying to understand the various difficulties and obstacles involved in labour organizing and collective action at various levels in Hungary. While analysing the various agencies involved in these processes (or lack thereof) on the governmental, trade union (TU), and employer side, the larger context of the political-economic context cannot be stressed enough. 2. Methods We adopted a mixed-methods approach during our research, conducting qualitative inter views among union representatives and complementing it with quantitative data on TUs and media reports about union activities in the country. The fieldwork for this article was conducted in two main stages, the first one during July– October 2019, and the second one beginning just before the outbreak of the Covid-19 epi demic, and concluding during the pandemic in the form of online or telephonic interviews. The rest of the interviews were undertaken in person in Budapest and some other major cities in Hungary. Representatives of major nationwide TUs, as well as local unionists, were inter viewed. We used a semi-structured interview format, thus the main questions for the discus sion were identical for all interviewees, but the latter were provided with the opportunity to answer these questions at length and adapt them to the specific situation of the organization they were representing. We interviewed representatives of two nationwide organizations, two confederation leaders, two representatives of an office in charge of a transnational TU form of collaboration, one representative of a local independent union and two local-level representa tives of a large national TU (altogether nine interviews). 3. The employment situation in Hungary The automotive industry generates almost 21 per cent of total exports in Hungary, making it one of the most important sectors of the national economy. There are more than 600 associ ated companies present in the country, employing a total of 100,000 people. Four large auto motive manufacturers have production facilities in Hungary: Suzuki, Audi, Opel, and Daim ler. Manufacturers' large-scale investments have attracted numerous other investments from suppliers, and small- and medium-sized local automotive companies have also become stable and strategic partners of car manufacturers. Cooperation between the representatives of the automotive sector and educational and academic institutions is strong and focuses on R&D. Numerous multinationals have set up R&D centres in Hungary, including Audi, Bosch, KnorrBremse, and Thyssen-Krupp. The employment situation in Hungary can be characterized by the parallel existence of unemployment and labour shortages. While the unemployment rate was one of the lowest in the EU before the Covid outbreak, the employment rate has since been rising. 1 At first glance, the data seem to be contradictory; however, they may be explained by regulations concerning unemployment benefits: those who lost their jobs due the pandemic were unable to look for new positions and therefore were not qualified as jobseekers, thus were listed in statistics as 'inactive.' 2 (Figure 1). Employment in Hungary continued to grow in 2019; various government measures con tributed significantly to the increase in the number of people employed, such as large public work programmes and a reduction in taxes and work-related social contributions: accord ingly, the employment rate of the population aged 15–74 was 70.1 per cent in 2020. By the end of 2019, employers in the primary labour market had advertised vacancies numbering 270,600 – 11.2 per cent more than in the previous year. The skilled positions most sought after by jobseekers in the private sector in 2019 were – among others – shop assistant, general office administrator, security guard, bodyguard, waiter, and cook. 3 Some of the occupations which 1 Hungarian Central Statistical Office (https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xftp/gyor/mun/mun2006.html). 2 According to the definition of Act IV of 1991 Art 54 para (9), a jobseeker is an unemployed person who is cooperating with the national authorities and actively seeking a job. 3 At the time, 42.5 per cent of all jobseekers had completed the maximum eight years of primary education, 22.7 per cent had graduated from a vocational or skilled workers' training school, another 25.9 per cent had passed the secondary school leaving examination, and 6.4 per cent held a college or university degree. were identified with labour shortages in Hungary were truck drivers, industrial mechanics, and construction-related labour (European Commission, 2019). The number of vacant positions in the industrial sector is one of the highest; in this sector, the proportion of vacancies is also very large, which reveals problems with the educational system. Vocational schooling in industry is now based on a dual structure; students spend their apprenticeships obtaining particular skills that are not easily convertible to other areas. This overly narrow specification hinders labour market opportunities as employers other than those where training was completed cannot benefit from employees' knowledge. Due to the dual system, the general knowledge of students is also rather weak, and many graduates struggle with understanding basic instructions. The problems with this dual educational sys tem were summarized by a trade union leader as follows: 'students do not leave vocational school with a profession; they are not car mechanics or locksmiths, but only skilled workers who are unable to work independently […] this creates huge problems for employers, as peo ple with only basic training cannot operate very expensive machines [in car manufacturing plants] and they cannot do any other jobs within the factory either' (D6.4-4). 'Low-skilled employees, therefore, hamper internal flexibility at businesses. One of the characteristics of MDEs is that MNCs are only willing to spend limited amounts on the further qualification of employees, thus highly skilled professionals are more appreciated by employers than before, and we can witness real competition to retain human resources. This competition has a cer tain upward effect on wages and working conditions' (D6.4-4). As a trade union leader stated before the COVID-19 outbreak, 'workers do not even need trade unions [to fight for their rights] – employers are willing to pay more voluntarily. If employees are unsatisfied with wages or employment conditions, they simply resign and move on. And with low wages and bad working conditions, an employer cannot fill the vacancies' (D6.4-6). Another trade union leader mentioned that 'smart employers increase wages to maintain a high quality workforce that is loyal to the company. But it costs a fortune, of course, and it has to be agreed by head quarters' (D6.4-5) (Figure 2, 3). 4. Social dialogue in Hungary The government has made great efforts to reduce the influence of social partners. Labour law reform was accompanied by the abolition of the tripartite National Interest Reconciliation Forum and drastically interventions in industrial relations. Afterwards, social dialogue as a democratic process became dysfunctional, since new institutions and mechanisms were not implemented democratically, and no real dialogue has taken place. Instead, these mechanisms work in a topdown manner; the illiberal state and its central governing bodies expect certain solutions and answers, leaving no scope for transparent democratic dialogue with the relevant social partners. 4.1 Tripartite social dialogue After the abolition of the tripartite National Interest Reconciliation Forum in 2010, a two-tier social dialogue model emerged in Hungary. On the one hand, there is an official body which involves representatives from many different areas of society, but which operates without any government agents. On the other hand, there is an informal council that was established by the government by a civil law contract, of which only selected organizations are part (Árendás & Hungler, 2019). The common denominator of these forums is that neither of them fulfils the requirements for national-level tripartite social dialogue that are set forth by ILO Convention No 144. 4 As an interviewee noted, 'the negotiations are like window displays: we meet and talk, then nothing happens. The aim is to demonstrate to the EU that we have tripartite social dialogue in Hungary' (confederation leader; D6.4-2) The government has effectively eliminated social partners from the employment policy making process, which has an important spill over effect on lower levels of social dialogue as well. Instead of genuine social dialogue, the related ministries and other government agents directly negotiate with certain large (multinational) business partners. An interviewee stated that 'every single amendment of the Labour Code involves a direct demand from employers' representatives; the government takes the instructions and has parliament [where they have a two-thirds majority] vote for them' (trade union leader; D.6.5_2020-04) A good example of this is an amendment of the Labour Code adopted in December 2018 (quickly nicknamed the 'slave law'). 5 The law was adopted without prior consultation with social partners through the tripartite structure and overrode the massive opposition of trade unions and a wide coalition of civil organizations and opposition parties. Demonstrations and road blockades were organ ized around the country. The law increased the amount of annual overtime permissible to 400 hours (from 250) and also increased the working time banking reference period to 36 months (from 12). 6 These amendments may in practice lead to the excessive vulnerability of employees and further shift the balance in favour of employers. Commentators and trade union repre sentatives argued that the latter was a part of the government's agreement with one of the big automotive companies that had triggered a 1 billion EUR investment (even though the project has now been delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak). Trade unions opposed the adopted changes, presenting expert arguments and appealing to political decision-makers and the pub lic. Following adoption in parliament by government parties, in less than 48 hours over 11,000 4 The Convention on Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards), 1976 (No. 144). Tripartite dia logue means that representatives of employers and employees as well as the government should participate in negotiations on an equal footing. The Convention provides that Contracting Parties undertake the duty to operate procedures which ensure effective consultation concerning matters related to the activities of the International Labour Organisation between representatives of the government, employers and workers, while employers and workers are represented on an equal footing in any bodies through which consultations are undertaken. Hungary ratified Convention C-144 in 1994 (Árendás and Hungler 2019). 5 Act No CXVI of 2018. The Minister of Innovation and Technology denied the allegations. 6 Working time flexibility is primarily ensured through implementing and allocating cumulative working time (or 'working time banking') insofar as the actual working time schedule can be adjusted to the labour force requirements of companies. If working time banking is applied, the maximum working hours (without over time) within the banking period shall be calculated based on the standard daily working time (eight hours) and standard work patterns (five working days a week). Gov. Subsidy Number of vacancies Figure 4: Government subsidy (in 1000 HUF) and number of vacancies created by car manufac turers between 2004 and 2020 (source: Hungarian Government, authors' compilation). 8 Table 1: Government subsidy (in 1000 HUF) and number of vacancies created by the country of origin of companies in the automotive sector between 2016 and 2020 (Source: Hungarian Government, authors' compilation). 9 \| \| Gov.subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Number of vacancy \| Gov.subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Number of vacancy \| Gov.subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Number of vacancy \| Gov.subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Number of vacancy \| Gov.subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Number of vacancy \| Gov.subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Number of vacancy \| Gov.subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Number of vacancy \| Total Gov. subsidy (1000 HUF) \| Total Nr. of vacancy \| \|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\|---\| \| Germany \| 27 673 726 \| 1631 \| 32 974 531 \| 1667 \| 34 657 187 \| 3334 \| 13 572 736 \| 1971 \| 31 217 495 \| 2785 \| 1 413 042 \| 323 \| 3 027 879 \| 1028 \| 144 536 596 \| 12 739 \| \| Hungary \| 0 \| 0 \| 1 482 576 \| 100 \| 5 173 926 \| 797 \| 0 \| 0 \| 1 316 497 \| 155 \| 6 026 635 \| 380 \| 0 \| 0 \| 13 999 634 \| 1432 \| \| Other EEC \| 0 \| 0 \| 2 877 288 \| 205 \| 436 848 \| 115 \| 2 752 493 \| 367 \| 0 \| 0 \| 2 980 211 \| 850 \| 0 \| 0 \| 9 046 840 \| 1537 \| \| Japan \| 0 \| 0 \| 3 721 244 \| 391 \| 2 771 899 \| 300 \| 746 509 \| 120 \| 1 918 280 \| 160 \| 794 240 \| 129 \| 1 995 200 \| 300 \| 11 947 372 \| 1400 \| \| South-Korea \| 121 76 610 \| 697 \| 769 275 \| 135 \| 8 174 775 \| 410 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 21 120 660 \| 1242 \| \| USA \| 0 \| 0 \| 1 242 411 \| 220 \| 0 \| 0 \| 4 616 099 \| 800 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 761 250 \| 109 \| 6 619 760 \| 1129 \| \| Other non-EEC \| 1 361 177 \| 110 \| 0 \| 0 \| 3 377 997 \| 532 \| 769 275 \| 100 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 0 \| 406 033 \| 100 \| 5 914 482 \| 842 \| \| Total \| 41 211 513 \| 2438 \| 430 67 325 \| 2718 \| 54 592 632 \| 5488 \| 22 457 112 \| 3358 \| 34 452 272 \| 3100 \| 11 214 128 \| 1682 \| 6 190 362 \| 1537 \| 213 185 344 \| 20 321 \| signatures were added to online petitions calling on the president to send the law back. None of these activities had any effect on the government or the adopted law. 7 Another TU representative summed up their limited space for manoeuvre by referring to 2012, as marked by the introduction of the new Labour Code in Hungary and its negative effects on employees: 'In 2012, the new LC was passed, and, as a consequence, and also due to the constant amendments, employees and TUs ended up in a much worse situation. Their rights have been taken away or been infringed, and thus TUs and labour representatives have got into a very difficult situation at workplaces.' The Hungarian government has declared certain multinational companies to be its strate gic partners (see Figure 4); for example, at an opening ceremony of an Audi plant, Prime Min ister Orbán highlighted that 'Hungary is today inconceivable without the presence of Audi' 7 https://www.kormany.hu/download/c/39/d1000/EKD_tamogatas_2014-2020_HIPA.pdf while Audi's CEO replied that the company felt 'at home' in Hungary. 8 This is not an isolated case among German businesses; international corporations have been important enablers of Orbán's illiberal turn. The government has subsidized German automotive companies much more heavily than other players in the sector, while in return these companies have created more than twice as many jobs in the past six years as their competitors (see Table 1), which goes some way towards explaining their 'vested' interest in maintaining the current legal and economic order. 'As a consequence, legal battles against MNCs have become extremely diffi cult to fight' (D6.5-3), summed up one of the trade unionists based at the national headquar ters. The latter implicitly questioned the legal impartiality of courts, recounting how a legal decision had been made against their union in connection with a strike-related situation in one of the Hungarian automobile manufacturing plants. The courts in Hungary today are not suitable for giving clear declarations about the minimum-level service provision during a strike. The best example is the strike situation in M three years ago, when the court basically ruled against our union, declaring that we had not taken the necessary steps. Okay, but the problem starts with the fact that if I declare a strike forty-eight hours in advance, then management has time to change the entire shift, making our strike impossible.9 Due to the unpredictable preconditions, it is very difficult to organize a strike in Hungary nowadays…. (D6.5-5) Under the state of emergency associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, taking such action has become simply impossible, as will be discussed below.(Figure 4, Table 1). 4.2 Sectoral- and enterprise-level social dialogue The weakness of sectoral-level collective bargaining is partly attributable to historical reasons. After the regime change in 1990, large state-owned enterprises were privatized, and in the newly established market economy there was a significant share of small and medium-sized enterprises (Borbély & Neumann, 2019). Despite the establishment of Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees in 2009, social partners have shown little interest in bargaining and only a few agreements have been concluded. The employers' organizations represented in these sectoral committees employ only a small proportion of employees so the effort to create sector-wide uniform working conditions would not pay off. The economic crisis of 2008 also took its toll on sectoral bargaining, as long-term planning concerning finances and human resources became increasingly difficult for employers (Gyulavári & Kártyás, 2015). Moreover, in MDEs trans national companies do not accept a high union density or comprehensive sectoral collective agreements (Nölke & Vliegenthart, 2009). Correspondingly, sectoral social dialogue has lacked vitality and failed to become an important means of negotiation, even though the European Union has made considerable efforts to strengthen it (Gyulavári, 2018). Traditionally, the main level of bargaining takes place at the enterprise level (Borbély & Neumann, 2015), and single employers conclude over 90 per cent of collective agreements,10 although the number of col lective agreements that have been concluded has significantly decreased over the past decade (Figure 5). 8 Benner and Reinicke (2017), https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2017-07-27/investing-illiberalism. 9 According to the Labour Code, collective agreements can define working time schedules shorter than the statutory 96 hours. 10 National Labour Office database on collective agreements, http://mkir.gov.hu/lista2_1_3_1.php 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Figure 5: Number of collective agreements concluded between 2006 and 2019. Source: National Labour Office database on collective agreements; authors' compilation. The crisis had a measurable effect on the number of newly concluded collective agree ments; the sharp drop in 2010 may be attributed to uncertainties related to the re-codification of the Labour Code. However, the new Labour Code, which came into effect in 2012, changed the rules of representation and circumvented trade union rights (Horváth, Hungler, Petrovics, & Rácz, 2019). The number of agreements newly concluded on an enterprise level dropped to 10 in 2019, which is an unprecedented decrease.11 One explanation for this is the extremely fragmented nature of TUs, especially in the automotive sector. Even though trade union den sity and collective agreement coverage in the automotive sector is overall higher than aver age (Müller, Vandaele, & Waddington, 2019), there are many small trade unions operating in the sector, making interest representation difficult.12 For example, at Audi five trade unions are present, most of which have minimal membership, whereas the independent trade union (Audi Hungary Independent Trade Union, AHFSZ) organizes 70 percent of employees.13 As an interviewee described it, 'fragmentation dates back to the 1990s when independent trade unions mushroomed as a part of the democratic transition. Later on, some of these trade unions became politicized […] since we all know how much financial support the government gives to its political allies, and we can see that for a certain amount of money you can buy [their] loyalty' (D6.4-1). In the automotive sector, other factors contribute to the disunity. Multinational car manufacturing companies have large supply chains in which employers belong to industrial sectors other than the automotive one, such as metals, textiles or glass works, and sector-specific unions organize employees, instead of the latter being organized by an inter-sectoral union. As an interviewee stated: 'if we combined all the people up into one organization, we would have a really large membership, like 50-60 thousand people. Such 11 Data extracted from the Ministry's registry of collective agreements; information only available in Hungarian (http://www.mkir.gov.hu/). 12 In the absence of official data it is rather difficult to estimate the actual level of trade union density: data are combined from trade union reports about membership data and ETUI reports. 13 Data collated from AHFSZ's and Audi's websites. a large trade union would be able to shape sectoral policy and would be able to conclude col lective agreements that create significant change' (trade unionist; D6.5-5). The lack of sectoral and inter-sectoral dialogue between employers and workers' organi zations is explained by a TU representative as being a consequence of one-sided governmental steps that 'please' employers and do not prevent the exploitation of workers – considered a precondition of the country's competitiveness. In other words, MNCs are not forced to negotiate with each other (e.g. about maximum working hours) to retain workforce; instead, the government is approached to bend legislation in favour of the needs of large employers in local labour markets. You ask me why sectoral dialogue doesn't work in Hungary… Due to large automobile manufac turers such as A or B. There is no appropriate legal environment which would force them to sit together and negotiate on the meso level [i.e. sectoral social dialogue]. For instance, the upper ceiling for extra working hours could have been negotiated. What did they do instead? They [the employer] walked into the sectoral ministry, they complained about their issues, and the law was modified. They submit their orders to the government and the Faculty of Law in X, and Y's legal office start working on their request and a new law is made. That's why there is no sectoral dia logue with the TUs. They are not forced to talk to us. This is how it was before 1990, even though the situation was not as evident and strong [clearly defined] as it is now…' (trade unionist, D.6.5-2) This tendency remains after the COVID-19 pandemic, as after the emergency situation was called off, special regulations were enacted to deal with the aftermath of the outbreak. Act LVIII of 2020 upheld the possibility for employers to unilaterally introduce a 24-month working-time banking scheme, which was one of the special provisions of the emergency labour laws. 14 When speaking of the major barriers and opportunities to sectoral representation, as illus trated through a case study of the automobile industry, several factors need to be accounted for. The latter is a sector with significant weight and importance in the national – and global – economy (generating 10 per cent of yearly GDP in Hungary), 15 which has also been affected by the increasing labour deficit in the region. In the pre-pandemic context, the bargaining position of collective representation, including independent factory unions, works councils, and large nationwide unions spread across the metallurgy sector, was perceived to be rela tively strong in terms of workers' representation. However, the fragmented landscape in the automobile (and metallurgy) sector did not help the cause, as pointed out by the different union representatives. This fragmentation is often lamented as being the factor that prevents different pro- actors from joining forces. One of the large union's representatives, while acknowledging the need for sectoral cooperation and thus representation, admitted the lack of willingness at the top level of leadership: 'There is an increasing need for sectoral collective agreements, especially in the automobile industry. This can't take place without the XY union [names an independent union], or without ZY union [the biggest union in the sector] either; the two unions should 14 Government Decree 104/2020 (VI.10.) on working time. Formerly, following Articles 16 and 18 of Directive 2003/88/EC on working time the reference period for working time banking longer than four months was to be decided by collective agreement (Section 94 of the Hungarian Labour Code). The newer government decree overwrote this rule. 15 Hungarian Central Statistical Office, https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xstadat/xstadat_evkozi/e_oia004b.html?f bclid=IwAR2j4Nj7AuH907i7kIs4pFfFVADl7Ltz8dChDOth3KS5C4BWhGYDqiFW5Sw. cooperate... But unfortunately, our leadership doesn't see the need for it yet…' (an employee of an office in charge of transnational cooperation; D 6.5-1.1). As one of the union represent atives pointed out, collective agreements are a regular topic of discussion. As argued on the TU side, they would be in the interest of both employers and employees, leading to more stable and reliable industrial relations. 'We have been saying for a long time that we need a multi-employer collective agreement on the enterprise level. 16 This would serve the interests both of employees and employers' (D6.5-2). Why multi-employer agreements are not concluded in this sector is related to multiple factors: malfunctioning industrial relations on the national level, a lack of transparency on the governmental side when it comes to individual 'deals' with some of the major employers (German car manufacturers), legislation that favours employers and permits TUs minimal scope to manoeuvre. Even when the economic situation – associated with significant labour shortages emerging in different sectors of the industry – points to the good bargaining posi tion of workers' representation, these one-off chances are not capitalized upon on a sectoral level, but only through individual deals on a plant level. A similar pattern has recently been noted with Romanian industrial relations (Vallasek & Petrovics, 2019) Moreover, beyond the sectoral level, certain aspects of regional or transnational charac teristics emerge during emblematic moments in these relations, such as during wage negoti ations at the major Hungarian plants involved in automobile production. During these wage negotiations of the last two or three years, a clear CEE context has emerged, involving com parisons of Hungarian workers' wages to those paid in the plants of neighbouring countries being the basis of wage demands. Salaries are the highest in NN factory in a Hungarian context, but it turns out that in the XY con cern they are the lowest…We work sincerely, with good quality, and still get the lowest wages. This is all what it's all about. The tension came from this, too; the factory did not want it [industrial action] to become a trend. Because last year it happened in Slovakia, or was it the Czech Republic? The Hungarians have accepted that they will never have German wages, but will not swallow the fact that the Hungarian worker is not worth a Slovak or a Czech one… (D6.5-6) Data suggest that salaries in the CEE region indeed differ; the variation in the gross aver age monthly salary in the automotive industry ranges from EUR 472 in Ukraine, EUR 801 in Serbia, EUR 1,145 in Hungary, EUR 1,326 in Croatia, EUR 1,470 in Slovakia, EUR 1,561 in the Czech Republic, to EUR 1,545 in Slovenia. 17 To add to the complexity of the picture, the automobile industry began facing labour shortages during the pre-COVID context and is undergoing a major transformation due to technology changes (related to the shift from traditional petrol-driven cars to electric ones) and due to the increase in robotization and the variation in demand for labour qualifica tions. The pandemic situation with lockdowns temporarily halted production lines, changed the distribution of labour, and limited the mobility of workers. Moreover, due to the govern 16 Multi-level collective agreements are concluded with a trade union and an employer's interest representation organization and cover all employees of the contracting employer(s); however, these are different from sec toral-level collective agreements, which are concluded by sectoral collective bargaining committees and cover the whole industry sector, not only the contracting parties' employees. 17 https://www.paylab.com/newsroom/growing-pressure-on-automotive-industry-wage-growth-in-centraland-southern-europe/50291, Hungarian Central Statistical Office, http://www.salaryexplorer.com/salary-sur vey.php?loc=54&loctype=1&job=10&jobtype=1. ment's special powers to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, the government was able to unilaterally adopt measures that directly affected labour law. Employers received the right to modify work schedules that had already been announced;18 employers could unilaterally order employees to work from home or to work remotely; employers had the right to take necessary and justi fied measures to check the health of employees. During the state of emergency, parties were allowed to freely change labour conditions and wages by modifying labour contracts. This provision allowed for deviations from the Labour Code, including from binding legislative provisions which conferred more extensive rights and greater protection for employees, such as those related to rest periods or damages.19 It is argued, however, that this interim regula tion favoured the unilateral desire of employers to modify the content of labour contracts, as the individual bargaining power of employees is rather weak. As long as the decree was in force, the provisions of collective agreements that permitted derogation from the rules set out in Section 6 could not be applied.20 Employers were also able to expand the reference period for working time banking unilaterally.21 This was another major hit to trade union rights that followed the above-mentioned 'slave act', as formerly this type of derogation was subject to collective agreement. Amendments made either unilaterally or by mutual agreement were in force until the conclusion of a period of thirty days following the end of the state of emer gency. However, after the state of emergency was lifted, the law reinforced the extended refer ence period for working time banking and stipulated that collective agreements that regulated this issue were not applicable. Since the government provided significant financial support for the automotive industry in 2020 right after the end of the official state of emergency in order to create new jobs, these employers will probably not be keen to bargain collectively – and in the meanwhile, they will expect industrial peace to be ensured by the government. 5. Collective action The right to organize a strike is guaranteed by the Basic Law of Hungary and Act No VII of 1989 on Strikes. Strikes may be organized to protect the economic and social interests of employees. Although it is a right of employees, strikes are usually organized by trade unions, while holding solidarity strikes is the exclusive competence of trade unions. The Act on Strikes was amended in 2010 to the detriment of trade unions and employees. Amendments concern ing minimum service level22 created a two-tier regulatory system. In some sectors, the mini mum service level is defined by statutory norms.23 In other fields, parties have to agree on the minimum service level. If their negotiations fail, the labour court defines the level following the last offer of the employer. The court process is very sluggish in practice, even though the 18 Labour Code section 97 para (5). 19 Normally only collective agreements may lead to derogation from rules about employment relationships that are to the detriment of employees. See Art 277. of the Labour Code. 20 Government Decree No 47/2020 (III. 18.) section 6.; for the full text in English see: https://njt.hu/translated/ doc/J2020R0047K_20200319_FIN.pdf; opposition politicians filed a claim at the constitutional court to abolish the decree, arguing that the unlimited scope given to employers and employees to deviate from the binding rules of the Labour Code was unconstitutional and infringed several EU regulations and directives, such as GDPR (case no. II/00887/2020): however, it is unlikely that the constitutional court will decide on the merits, as the piece of legislation questioned is no longer in force. 21 Government Decree 104/2020 (VI. 10.). 22 Businesses that carry out essential public services are required to provide a minimum level of service during strikes. No statutory norm defines the individual scope of this regulation; it is decided on a case-by-case basis by courts. 23 At the moment, two areas are covered by the law – public transport and postal services. law proscribes a short, five-day procedural deadline.24 In many cases, a final decision takes months, or even half a year, which makes striking meaningless, as demands become obsolete. As an interviewee explained: We informed the employer about our demands together with the proposed days of the strike in September 2019. The employer disagreed with our proposal, thus, the court procedure started. The formal deadline for decision making would have been 31 October 2019. When no decision was made, we filed a complaint at the end of November, but the court rejected it. The first instance deci sion was eventually delivered on 24 January 2020, by which the court decided that our proposal for minimum service level provision was not appropriate, as potential changes in the weather were not taken into account, and the required service level could increase in the case of bad weather. Both parties asked for a revision, and finally the second instance decision was delivered in May 2020, prohibiting the strike altogether due to the COVID-19 situation, as strikes cannot be organized if public safety and health is threatened. (D6-5-6) No doubt, the strike would have been organized lawfully if the court decision had been rendered in time. While the minimum service level has not been decided, a strike cannot be lawfully organ ized. Therefore, the newly introduced system has had a coercive psychological effect on trade unions because the burden of engaging in potentially unlawful action on organizers is overly heavy. The amendments have had a detrimental effect on the number of strikes: between 2010 and 2019 a total of 341 instances of collective action were organized, only 64 of which were strikes or warning strikes. Due to the uncertainty about the lawfulness of collective action and the administrative burden related to the court process, civil organizations prefer to organize activities other 24 Act CXVIII of 2017. Section 1. para (1). than striking – mostly marches, which are governed by the act on freedom of assembly.25 These alternatives are significantly less effective than strikes. While employees' demands are rarely fulfilled completely, strikes and warning strikes are the most effective means of protest: around 60 per cent of them have led to at least partial success (Berki, 2019). (Figure 6). Against this legal and institutional background, it was rather surprising that strike activ ity significantly increased in 2019. In that year, 16 strikes were organized, significantly more than the number of actions that took place in previous years. The proportion of collective action organized by trade unions has been growing: in 2019 it was 75 per cent. In 48 cases, more than one trade union took part; however, only one action was organized by a trade union confederation (Berki, 2019) (Figure 7; 8). Data suggest that most collective action is aimed at increasing wages. Even though the national average wage grew by 81 per cent between 2010 and 2019, 26 it is not evenly distrib uted among workers. The statutory minimum wage has increased year by year; however, it does not have an upward effect on the whole wage structure. Experts suggest that about half of the active population earn less than average, and about 1.1 million workers are on mini mum wage, which is approximately 24 per cent of all employed people 27 (Berki, 2019, pp. 7-8). This unevenness creates huge tension between workers, especially in situations when due to labour shortages employers need to hire new staff for significantly higher wages than those of employees who have a longer period of service. Labour shortages have become a severe problem for employers in the past few years as it is estimated that about 400,000 qualified workers have left Hungary to work abroad. To handle this challenge, third-country nationals have been increasingly hired – mostly from Ukraine, Serbia, and Mongolia. However, due to cultural differences and hidden costs such as travel and housing allowances, this solution does not in many cases solve the problem but creates new ones. As a trade union leader claimed: 'employees [from third countries] who work for our suppliers make a lot of waste […] even if they are a lot cheaper than locals, it [this approach] is a dead-end […] and there are many cultural problems with them too' (interview with a local TU representative; D 6.5-3). Against this background, the automotive sector was hit by a wave of strike action in 2019. In January, the internal trade union at the Audi plant in Győr (AHFSZ) called for a strike that paralyzed not only the Hungarian but the German production site as well. After the 156-hour strike, which was the longest one since the 1990s, AHFSZ partially achieved their demand for an increase in wages. When production in several European locations was also threatened, the carmaker agreed to an 18 per cent increase in wages. 28 In March 2019, workers at Korean tire maker Hankook's plant in Dunaújváros, central Hungary, started a strike over remuneration that was supported by more than 80 per cent of workers. Hankook's management flatly rejected the trade union's demands and strongly har assed and intimidated strikers, then offered 50 per cent wage increases for those who broke the strike. A lack of good faith bargaining led to a two-hour warning strike on 6 March that caused the company to increase pay by 13.6 per cent; however that increase was awarded without direct discussion with the union. A full strike began on 12 March, involving demands for a higher and more evenly distributed increase to pay and benefits, and lasted for 10 days. Strikers received wide solidarity support from unions in Hungary and abroad. The overall 25 Act no. LV of 2018 on freedom of assembly. 26 Central Statistical Office of Hungary: https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xstadat/xstadat_hosszu/h_qli001.html. 27 Central Statistical Office, Hungary: https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xftp/gyor/fog/fog1906.html 28 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-audi-hungary-strike/audis-hungarian-workers-end-one-weekstrike-trade-union-idUSKCN1PO2D0 gains successfully negotiated for workers combine different improvements that add up to an average of an 18.5 per cent increase. 29 In Kecskemét, workers at the Daimler plant won an increase in wages of over 20 per cent. At Mercedes, a two-year wage agreement was concluded following long negotiations between trade unions (the Union of Metal Workers and the Free 29 The settlement included a 6 per cent increase in the shift allowance for all, improvements in the annual per sonal bonus, a raise in the seniority loyalty bonus, and a fairer distribution of wage increases. http://www. industriall-union.org/vdsz-historic-hungarian-hankook-strike-settled-with-major-gains. Trade Union of Engineers and Technicians) with the employer increasing the basic salary by 35 per cent over two years. 30 Interestingly, even though tension was very high, employers refused to negotiate with trade unions or employee representatives in most cases, clearly demonstrating the spillover effect of the national-level social dialogue. At the Hankook plant, instead of bargain ing employers provided unilaterally created wage schemes for employees that were at first rejected by the trade union. Audi's local management also delayed negotiations until the Hun garian strike started affecting production in Germany, which resulted in one of the longest work stoppages of the past 30 years. Employees and trade unions were not only very determined to win higher wages, but in certain cases the latter created a solidarity fund to pay social aid to those who were on strike and therefore would not receive wages for those days when work was stopped. Partially due to this, trade union membership significantly increased during the strikes; for example, the number of members of the independent trade union at Audi increased to 9,300 from 8,700. 31 The sudden increase in organizational membership gave high hope to certain trade unions and a wave of mobilization started in the metallurgical sector right after the successful Audi and Hankook strikes. On the one hand, the successful strikes sent an alarm signal to other TNCs. Some of the big players willingly engaged in bargaining with trade unions to avoid strikes; successful wage negotiations were reported at Robert Bosch and Mercedes-Benz factories. On the other hand, some players in the sector did not change their strategy and successfully continued to reject negotiations, despite the strike threat; no collective bargaining took place at Starters E-Compo nents Generators Automotive Hungary or Thyssen-Krupp, even though workers are organized by the same union which achieved a good deal at Hankook. 32 The toughest situation arose at the Suzuki plant, where the trade union leader was dismissed with immediate effect, and the man agement announced a new wage scheme that bypassed the trade union. 33 It is agreed that demands for representation are more or less present, although some TU representatives admitted that the specific scenario of a labour shortage before the pan demic was a natural law of business that worked for employees (Hepple, 2005). If labour con ditions are not sufficiently good, and salaries are too low, workers can just walk away. Even if new labour is hired in their place, the qualifications of the latter will typically be inferior, leading to negative impacts on production and quality, thus replacing staff does not make economic sense for employers. This was roughly the logic in the case of the two major strikes in the automobile industry in 2019 and the foundation of workers' bargaining power, and ulti mately, the satisfaction of their demands. 6. An alternative to collective bargaining: Third-country nationals as temporary agency workers It is often reported that employers try to prevent the raising of salaries and get away with poor working conditions by employing subcontracted labour or third-country nationals. Subcon 30 News release: https://fr.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN13J1CO 31 News release: https://partizan.merce.hu/2020/05/01/suzuki-szakszervezet-eltiprasa-tortenet-kirugtak-parti zan-dokumentumfilm/. 32 News release: https://www.napi.hu/magyar_vallalatok/no_a_feszultseg_a_magyar_bosch-nal_is_berharc_a_ jarmuipari_cegeknel.677774.html. 33 News release: https://merce.hu/2020/02/26/egyoldalu-berrendezest-hajtana-vegre-suzuki-a-szakszervezetmagasabb-fizetesert-targyalna/. tractors are typically made to bid against each other, which leads to cutbacks in salaries, as in terms of costs other components of bids are difficult to reduce. Since Hungarian wages are still much higher than those in Ukraine or Serbia, employers – although they face many challenges – are not forced to increase domestic salaries as they can hire 'cheaper' foreign workers. This creates an additional impediment to trade unions when they fight for higher wages and better working conditions. Moreover, the above-men tioned 'slave act' provides that employees can 'voluntarily' take on extra overtime. Due to this amendment, the annual amount of overtime that is permissible has been increased from 250 hours to 400 hours. 34 Voluntary overtime is definitely more beneficial for those employees who are temporarily working away from their families, thus free time is less valuable for them than an overtime allowance. Despite the political rhetoric of the Hungarian government, which is headstrong about preventing immigration, gentle concessions behind the scenes have been made in the area of imported foreign labour. Since 2016, the employment of third-country nationals has been considerably less bureaucratic than before: the finance minister can decide on the number of people who may be hired without a working visa. The number of third-country nationals who can be employed in Hungary is around 55–59 thousand people per calendar year. 35 However, it is estimated that the actual number of third-country workers is much higher, at around 75 thousand people. 36 These labourers or 'agency workers,' 37 typically from neighbouring non-EU countries such as Ukraine and Serbia, but more recently even from the Far East, including countries such as the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, and Mongolia, have been brought in to ease the labour demand in some sectors via agencies that recruit and 'sell' labour to specific employers. In the automobile industry, the latter agencies are typically used by sub-contrac tors on a temporary basis. During the COVID-19 outbreak, when production lines had to be stopped and the need for labour force subsided, they were the first to be dismissed and 'shipped back' to their respective countries. 38 It seems from our interview data that the TUs are not very interested in organizing this for eign segment of the workforce for various reasons. First, agency workers stay only temporarily in the host country, and their loyalty toward unions (or employers) is therefore questionable; second, as they are not permanently involved in the host country's labour market, they do not constitute competition for domestic workers; third, they are difficult to organize for many rea sons, such as cultural differences like the language barrier (Meszmann & Fedyuk, 2020). As one of the TU representatives put it: 'There are serious cultural problems with the Serbian, Ukrain ian, and Mongolian workforce', by which the former means the additional costs and 'hidden risks' involved in employing people from abroad. 'If they [employers] don't pay the market price 34 Labour Code (Act I of 2012), Section 2 Art. 109. 35 Announcement by the minister of finance, Official Gazette, 2019/7 (II. 14.). 36 A news release about the conference of the Hungarian Economists Society: https://index.hu/gaz dasag/2020/03/05/munkaeropiac_kulfoldi_munkavallalok_munkaerohiany/. The speakers also argued that the National Bureau of Employment refuses to provide statistics about migrant workers. 37 Temporary agency employment is when a worker is employed by a temporary work agency and is then hired out to undertake work at (and under the supervision of) the user company. There is considered to be no em ployment relationship between the temporary agency worker and the user company, although there may be legal obligations of the user company to the temporary agency worker, especially concerning health and safe ty. The relevant labour contracts are of limited or unspecified duration, with no guarantee of continuation. The hiring firm pays fees to the agency, and the agency pays the employees' wages (even if the hiring company has not yet paid the agency). Flexibility for both worker and employer is a key feature of agency work. 38 News release: https://www.promenad.hu/2020/03/12/koronavirus-utazgathatnak-e-a-vasarhelyi-vendegmunkasok -es-szurik-e-oket/. for the workforce, additional costs quickly emerge such as accommodation costs, or additional costs linked to 'special workers' [a category defined in Hungarian labour law to define employ ees aged over 65, people with physical challenges, women returning after maternity leave etc. ]' (D6.4-5). As the same TU representative summed it up, the main problem with 'agency workers' is their 'low level of loyalty' to the company and greater turnover (D6.4-5). One can, of course, reverse the conclusion and ask how loyal an employee should be expected to be after two or three months of agency work associated with a minimum level of job-related safety and a con stant threat of being laid off at any time. Fluctuation is a consequence of such work, not a cause – it is characteristic of the vulnerable situation of 'agency workers.' 39 Hence, it is more or less clear from these interview excerpts that large unions do not want to deal with agency workers as their situation is unstable and perhaps not worth fighting for, and also because there are still relatively few of them and they are used as a buffer in volatile production situations when the labour demand of a sector/ particular plant keeps changing rapidly. Even though the EU directive on temporary agency work 40 stipulates that Member States may provide that, under conditions that they define, temporary agency workers count when calculating the threshold above which bodies representing workers provided for by Community and national law and collective agreements are to be formed in the user undertak ing in the same way as if they were workers employed directly for the same period of time by the user undertaking, 41 the Hungarian law renders that only employees directly employed are counted. 42 Therefore, trade unions ultimately protect regular, domestic workers and are not interested in putting extra effort into organizing agency workers (Benassi & Vlandas, 2016; Benassi, Dorigatti & Pannini, 2019). 43 7. Transnational industrial relations Since the 1970s, various mechanisms, processes, and institutions have appeared within the framework of the European Union to promote transnational social dialogue (Ales et al., 2006). However, many problems related to international collective bargaining remain as unresolved now as they were at the start. As Otto Kahn-Freund pointed out, industrial relations are power relations, and while most of the issues related to national industrial relations have been sorted out, they recur on the European and international level. Rojot argues that in the relationship between trade unions and employers' associations these issues are similar, regardless of their geographical location (Rojot, 2013). The first and most important issue is related to the transmission of power, which also affects bargaining power. National and local unions are not yet ready to empower their inter national federations, while international federations are unable to demonstrate sufficient bar 39 According to the Hungarian Labour Code, agency workers can be dismissed if the user company terminates the commercial contract; their salaries do not need to be equal to those of permanent employees until the 184th day of their assignment; and their entitlement to severance payment is subject to the length of service at the last assignment (sections 2019-220 of the Labour Code). 40 Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on temporary agency work OJ L 327, 5.12.2008, p. 9–14. 41 Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on temporary agency work; Article 7.2. 42 Labour Code section 276 para (2) point a). 43 Although it is a general trend in Europe, it is noteworthy that in Germany collective agreements have been concluded about agency work in the metalworking sector, where labor is strong and united (see Jaehrling, Wagner & Weinkopf, 2016). gaining power. Had they been able to build up enough bargaining power, there would have been memorable international collective actions, such as strikes or boycotts – Rojot states. On the employers' side, it is argued that management has no power to control its entire net work of subcontractors and cannot influence decision making related to the workplace further down the supply chain. These power-related issues are strongly connected to the question of legitimacy. If bargaining were eventually to take place, it would be difficult to clarify who should bargain and for which constituency. Both trade unions and employers' associations are divided by national, political, and industrial interests; therefore, it is always doubtful whether an organization can sincerely represent another one during negotiations. This ideological divi sion can be seen in the case of Hungary. A further problem raised by transnational collective bargaining is the enforceability of transnational company agreements. Enforcement may be broken down into three intercon nected issues. The first is that transnational company agreements are generally not legally binding. Based on national law, they could be treated as valid agreements; however, there are quite different traditions of industrial relations across Europe concerning the legal character istics of agreements, especially collective agreements (Schiek, 2005). 44 Second, to this day there is no international forum at which transnational company agreements may be contested. Fur thermore, third, there is no legal international remedy. Although to date there have been relatively few examples of complaints concerning inter national framework agreements, in January 2019 IndustriALL 45 suspended its global declara tion on social rights and industrial relations at automotive company Volkswagen for the rea son that the enterprise refused to allow workers at one of its plants in the United States to join a union. 46 This example demonstrates that any complaints that are raised are often related to breaches in the provisions of agreements on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Since these agreements serve to promote key features of the respective national models of social partnership and cooperative industrial relations, they are more relevant to companies that have headquarters located in social market economies where collective inter est representation is the basis for the regulation of work and the labour market. It is therefore not surprising that the spread of framework agreements has so far remained quite limited among transnational enterprises. Accordingly, the voluntary nature and the lack of remedy seriously question the actual impact of international framework agreements. Cross-border collective bargaining emerged with the European Monetary Union (EMU) to avoid a race to the bottom in wages due to international competitiveness. The creation of the EMU and the requirements and constraints regarding the coordination of collective bargain ing can be seen as the main driver for developing wage coordination at the EU level (European Parliament, 2011). Absent of any European legislation, TCB has continued to develop in a legal vacuum. The spontaneous forces that have emerged, however, have been more beneficial for management than labour (Senatori, 2013). This may be explained by the power asymmetry between labour and management, as most of these transnational negotiations happened in the shadow of the economic crisis when job losses were at stake (European Parliament, 2013). Workers were played off against each other, and forced to agree to accept lower wages and detrimental 44 For example, in the UK a collective agreement is assumed to be voluntary and not legally binding unless it is set out in writing and contains a statement that the parties intend it to be of legal effect. 45 IndustriALL Global Union represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy, and manufac turing sectors. 46 http://www.industriall-union.org/industriall-suspends-global-agreement-with-volkswagen working conditions. Employee representatives, such as trade unions and European Works Councils, were forced to reframe their traditional sets of goals and redefine collective interests, shaped around a pluralistic notion of solidarity (Sciarra, 2010). Globalization has not empow ered workers and trade unions as much as MNCs have benefited from it. As trade unions are usually constrained by their national laws, instead of seeking international partnerships they have no other choice but to follow a nationalist-protectionist strategy (Kagnicioglu, 2013). A different type of logic was represented by a Hungarian TU representative who argued that the interests of the German and Hungarian workers coincide, inasmuch as the earlier achieve ments of German trade unionism now need to be defended on the semi-peripheries of Europe where German capital tries to find cheap(er) labour under worse working conditions. If these 'double standards' are allowed by local TUs, it will have – or already has had – a negative impact on achievements regarding workers' rights in the 'mainlands' (TU representative; D 6.5-1). Hungarian interests are identical to German ones, as the latter ones need to be defended right here. When we fight against the precarity of the Hungarian worker when we defend wages, then our interests are the same. It is weird to say, but ultimately, we are reducing the marketability of our country, or at least we are making it into more difficult terrain. A lot of things are being tried out here by the Germans and taken back as examples of best practice to Germany. You don't want to work 35 hours a week? Okay, but I will make them work in Hungary for even 48 hours a week. I will take production there. The blackmailing potential of the company will increase this way. They will transfer some of the shifts here, and sooner or later will close down production [in Germany]. IG Metal has its basis among blue-collar, not among white-collar workers. They try to guard the basic values that were fought for 10 or 20 or 30 years ago. (employee working for the office for international cooperation at a major TU; D 6.5_2020_01) Another TU representative was slightly more cautious about adopting the German model, pointing out the different socio-economic traditions of the two regions (Germany and Hun gary) – and the cultural differences too. 'There is no footprint in front of us in the snow, and we don't know how this is going to work out – if the German practice can be transferred here, and if cultural differences can be fought against. But it seems it can work…' (D6.5-6). Since the automobile industry has become a leading sector in several countries of the region, including in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania, it seems almost evi dent that a certain degree of knowledge sharing and mutual learning is taking place among the TUs in these countries, resulting in regional transnationalism. The biggest Hungarian TU in the automobile industry is part of several transnational, European-level, world-wide movements, as well as regional collaboration in the metallurgical sector. They also maintain bilateral relations with their Swedish and Danish counterparts; the latter seem to involve a lively working relationship on a day-to-day basis. The so-called Vienna Memorandum refers to TU cooperation between Slovak, Czech, Austrian, and German TUs, involving regular meet ings and joint strategic planning. The near future, with rising economic instability and rapidly increasing unemployment rates, will definitely call for not only stronger sectoral and national industrial relations, but also for clear regional TU strategies, envisaged both from below (local unions) and from above (from pre-existing and emerging transnational structures). While in the period succeeding the economic crisis of 2008 plant-level negotiations proved to be the most effective, and often the only way of engaging in real social dialogue, the current situation needs more sectoral solidarity and solidarity beyond state borders. Fragmentation on multiple levels works against labour interests and will deepen the crisis. 8. Conclusions As the Hungarian government has systematically bypassed social partners in decision-mak ing processes, it was not surprising that emergency decrees were enacted without any form of consultation. The first state of emergency was formally lifted in mid-June 2020; however, revocation of the special powers was illusionary, leaving the authorities with enhanced pow ers. 47 First, a 'coronavirus protection act' adopted by parliament on 30 March enabled the cabinet to rule by decree until it decided to end the state of emergency. Second, regulations that weakened the bargaining positions of social partners remained in force; by lifting the binding power of collective agreements regarding certain issues, the government reinforced the message that social partners are unimportant and could be belittled when employment conditions are being settled. This approach further increases the power imbalance between employees and employers in the automotive industry, where wages and employment condi tions have been subject to market forces rather than social dialogue. The crisis has already had an impact on the employment rate: more than 110 thousand people lost their jobs during the pandemic, and the unemployment rate had increased from 3.8 per cent to 6 per cent by June 2020. If employees are left without collective protection in times of recession, their precarity will drastically increase, deepening the social and economic crisis in the country. References Adăscăliței, D. & Guga, Ș. (2018) Tensions in the periphery: Dependence and the trajectory of a low-cost productive model in the Central and Eastern European automotive industry. Eu ropean Urban and Regional Studies, 27(1), 18–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776418795205 Ales, E., Engblom, Jaspers, T., Laulom, S., Sciarra, S., Sobczak & Valdes Dal-Re. (2006) Trans Directorate General Employment, national Collective Bargaining. Past, Present and Future. Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. European Commission. Berki, E. (2019). Munkaügyi akciók 2010 és 2019 között Magyarországon, különös tekintettel a sztrájkra [Labour Actions in Hungary between 2010 and 2019, with a Special Focus on Strikes]. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Bogg, A. & Novitz, T. (2012) Investigating voice at vork. Comparative Labor Law & Policy Jour nal, 33(3), 323–354. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2081978 Boltanski, L. & Chiapello, E. (2006) The New Spirit of Capitalism. Verso. Borbély, S. & Neumann, L. (2015) Similarities and diversity in the development of wages and collective bargaining in central and eastern European countries – a comparison of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In G. Van Gyes, & T. Schulten (Eds.), Wage bargaining un der the new European Economic Governance Alternative strategies for inclusive growth. ETIU. Dudás, K., Halmos, S. & Kártyás, G. (2018). A munkajog szerepe a munkaerőhiány kezelésében – Kutatási zárótanulmány [The Role of Labour Law in Tackling the Shortage of Workforce: Final Report]. Közösen a Jövő Munkahelyeiért Alapítvány. European Parliament (2011) Cross-border collective bargaining and transnational social dia logue. European Union. 47 Even though the government eventually revoked the Enabling Act (Act LVII of 2020 and Government Decree No. 282/2020 (VI. 17.)), this unprecedented concentration of power has further weakened social dialogue and allowed the government to adopt labour market measures that bypass social partners. European Parliament (2013) Report on cross-border collective bargaining and transnational social dialogue, A7-0258/2013. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-72013-0386_EN.html Gyulavári, T. (2018) Chasing the Holy Grail? Stumbling collective bargaining in Eastern Eu rope and the Hungarian experiment. In L. Sylvaine (Ed.), Collective Bargaining Develop ments in Times of Crisis (pp. 29–47). Wolters Kluwer. Horváth, I., Hungler, S., Petrovics, Z. & Rácz, R. (2019) Case study: Hungary: Improving knowl edge on the impact of Central- and Eastern European social partners on competitive la bour market reforms facing the global crisis, VS/2016/0368. http://www.ceelab.eu/assets/ images/case_study_hungary_en.pdf International Labour Organisation (2004) Les normes internationales du travail:un patrimoine pour l'avenir. J.-C. Javillier & B. Gernigon (Eds.). International Labour Organisation. Jaehrling, K., Wagner, I. & Weinkopf, C. (2016) Reducing precarious work in Europe through social dialogue: The case of Germany. http://www.iaq.uni-due.de/publikation.php?y=2016 Kagnicioglu, D. (2013) Effects of global unions on union organising efforts on Turkey: The case of IKEA. In E. Ales & I. Senatori (Eds.), The Transnational Dimension of Labour Relations (pp. 209–227). Giappichelli. Lahire, B. (2011) The Plural Actor. Polity. Meszmann, T. T. & Fedyuk, O. (2020) Non-local workers in Hungarian automotives. Chang ing environments for worker mobility and modes of interest formation. Friedrich Erbert Schtiftung, CEU. Müller-Jentsch, W. (1995) Industrial democracy: From representative codetermination to di rect participation. International Journal of Political Economy, 25(3), 50–60. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/08911916.1995.11643906 Nölke, A. & Vliegenthart, A. (2009) Enlarging the Varieties of Capitalism: The Emergence of Dependent Market Economies in East Central Europe. World Politics, 61, 670-702. doi:10.1017/S0043887109990098 Rojot, J. (2013) The unresolved questions in transnational industrial relations. In E. Ales, & I. Senatori (Eds.), The Transnational Dimension of Labour Relations: A New Order in the Making? (pp. 83–86). Giappichelli. Schiek, D. (2005) Autonomous collective agreements as a regulatory device in European la bour law: How to read Article 139 EC. Industrial Law Journal, 34(1), 23–56. https://doi. org/10.1093/ilj/34.1.23 Sciarra, S. (2010) Collective exit strategies: New ideas in transnational labour law. In G. Dav idov & B. Langille (Eds.), The Idea of Labour Law (pp. 405–419). Oxford University Press. Senatori, I. (2013) Transnational company bargaining and the discourse of the European Com mission. In E. Ales & I. Senatori (Eds.), The Transnational Dimension of Labour Relations (pp. 87–109). Giappichelli. Sinzheimer, H. & Shumway, D. B. (1920) The development of labour legislation in Germany. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 92(1), 35–40. https://doi. org/10.1177/000271622009200110 Vallasek, M. & Petrovics, Z. (2019) Improving knowledge on the impact of Central-and Eastern European social partners on competitive labour market reforms facing the global crisis. Ma gyar Gyáriparosok Szövetsége. Vliegenthart, A. (2010) Bringing dependency back in: the economic crisis in post-socialist Europe and the continued relevance of dependent development. 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PROCEEDINGS Open Access A comparison of two collapsing methods in different approaches Carmen Dering 1 , Arne Schillert 1 , Inke R König 1 , Andreas Ziegler 1,2* FromGenetic Analysis Workshop 18 Stevenson, WA, USA. 13-17 October 2012 Abstract Sequencing technologies have enabled the investigation of whole genomes of many individuals in parallel. Studies have shown that the joint consideration of multiple rare variants may explain a relevant proportion of the genetic basis for disease so that grouping of rare variants, termed collapsing, can enrich the association signal. Following this assumption, we investigate the type I error and the power of two proposed collapsing methods (combined multivariate and collapsing method and the functional principal component analysis [FPCA]-based statistic) using the case-control data provided for the Genetic Analysis Workshop 18 with knowledge of the true model. Variants with a minor allele frequency (MAF) of 0.05 or less were collapsed per gene for combined multivariate and collapsing. Neither of the methods detected any of the truly associated genes reliably. Although combined multivariate and collapsing identified one gene with a power of 0.66, it had an unacceptably high falsepositive rate of 75%. In contrast, FPCA covered the type I error level well but at the cost of low power. A strict filtering of variants by small MAF might lead to a better performance of the collapsing methods. Furthermore, the inclusion of information on functionality of the variants could be helpful. Background In recent years, several technologies have been released that allow the sequencing of whole genomes of large groups of individuals. Millions of rare mutations in the genome can be identified, and both common and rare variants can be analyzed jointly. This technology also enables analyses following the common disease-rare variant (CD-RV) hypothesis, which states that disease etiology is caused by multiple rare variants with moderate to high penetrances [1]. Studies have shown that the joint consideration of multiple rare variants may partly explain the genetic basis of disease [2]. To this end, grouping of rare variants in a region of interest (ROI), such as a gene, could enrich the association signal. Several approaches, termed collapsing methods or burden methods, incorporate this concept (for reviews, see [3-5]). * Correspondence: firstname.lastname@example.org Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Statistik, Universität zu Lübeck, 1 Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Haus. 24, 23562 Lübeck, Germany Full list of author information is available at the end of the article In this study, we compare two collapsing methods that use the genetic information in different ways. Specifically, we consider the combined multivariate and collapsing (CMC) method [6] and functional principal component analysis (FPCA)-based statistic [7] to test for groupwise association with the simulated disease status in unrelated individuals. For comparison, we used the case-control data provided for the Genetic Analysis Workshop 18 (GAW18) with knowledge of the answers. Methods Functional principal component analysis-based statistic Luo et al [7] use the genome continuum model [8] and principal component analysis (PCA) as the basis for their test statistic. After scaling each ROI to the interval of [0, 1] a ROI-wise integral function f of a linear combination of the genotype data and a normalized weight function is constructed. To capture the genetic variations in the genotype function, the weight function is chosen to maximize the variance of f. This setting results in an optimization problem that can be transformed to a PCA or an eigenfunction problem. Therefore, the solution delivers not only the optimal weight functions but also principal component functions for the genotype data of the considered ROI. Because the optimization problem consists of integral functions and is difficult to solve in closed form, a solution is derived by discretizing the continuous eigenanalysis problem. Finally, principal component scores are constructed using the derived principal component functions and the genotype data. These then form the basis of the final FPCA test statistic, which considers the mean squared distance of averages of these principal components scores in cases and controls. Combined multivariate and collapsing method The CMC method combines collapsing with a multivariate test [6]. The group of variants is divided into subgroups on the basis of predefined criteria, such as allele frequencies. The variants within each subgroup are collapsed, and a multivariate test, such as Hotelling's T 2 test or Fisher's product method, is applied for the analysis of all groups of variants together. In this analysis, Fisher's product method was used. Material We applied both methods to case-control data provided for GAW18. Genotypes were provided for odd-numbered autosomes, but we dropped chromosome 5 data because of quality issues. We considered the simulated dichotomous phenotype of hypertension (HTN) in the sample of unrelated individuals and defined those individuals as cases who were defined as affected at least once at any time point of investigation. Controls were defined as the complement set of the cases. In the original data set, there were 157 unrelated individuals. However, only data from 142 of these individuals were used by the GAW18 organizers to create the 200-replicate data set. Because of the definition of case and control status with longitudinal data, the total numbers of cases and controls differed for each replicate, but in median, there was a ratio of cases to controls of about 0.84 over all replicates. Analyses were restricted to minor allele counts, so dosage files were used. Gene information data was obtained by merging singlenucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data with the ENSEMBL database [9]. In total, there were 8,348,674 SNPs, of which 4,017,987 could be matched to ENSEMBL data. Figure 1 Type I error rate with respect to proportion of unassociated genes of combined multivariate and collapsing (CMC) method and the functional principal component analysis (FPCA). Cumulative proportion of unassociated genes exceeding a given type I error using the CMC method and FPCA. Figure 2 Power of the combined multivariate and collapsing (CMC) method and the functional principal component analysis (FPCA). Power of the CMC method and FPCA in a Manhattan-like plot for all odd-numbered autosomes but chromosome 5. Table 1 Power of top genes for both methods. Power of top four genes, with gene information, where power of combined multivariate and collapsing (CMC) method and of the functional principal component analysis (FPCA) is 0.05 or greater. Furthermore, data merging resulted in 15,578 genes, of which 14,525 were included in the analysis because they had at least two variants; those containing only monomorphic variants were dropped. On the basis of these assumptions, we dropped 4 of the original 54 associated genes of the simulated data. For our analyses, we used a modified version of the FPCA function provided by Luo et al [7] in R. All further analyses were done in R version 2.15.0 [10]. For CMC, variants were collapsed with a minor allele frequency (MAF) of 0.05 or less, and variants with a larger MAF were investigated separately for each gene. The global significance level was set to 0.05. Results Figure 1 shows the cumulative proportion of unassociated genes exceeding a given type I error using CMC and FPCA. It can be seen that for FPCA, about 92% of the genes are below a false-positive rate of 0.05, but this is true for only about 25% of the genes using CMC. The maximum type I error of a single gene is about 0.88 in CMC and 0.55 in FPCA. Figure 2 shows the power for both methods. Whereas CMC had its highest power of 0.66 for gene KRT23, FPCA had its highest power in gene SAT2 with 0.30. The second highest power of FPCA is in gene DBP with 0.075. Table 1 shows the genes that had a power of 0.05 or greater in both methods. The most frequently identified gene by both methods simultaneously was SAT2. The power of FPCA to detect this gene was 0.3; for CMC, it was 0.33. Discussion In this study, we compared two different collapsing approaches using the GAW18 data. We considered the simulated dichotomous phenotype HTN among the unrelated individuals without any restriction to MAF or covariates. The proportion of unassociated genes exceeding a given type I error of 0.08 for FPCA was moderate, but CMC's corresponding proportion of 0.75 was highly unacceptable. The power of both methods was too low for identifying most of the truly associated genes. Because CMC had a high falsepositive rate, it cannot be used reliably for judging power. Its greatest power of 0.66 was observed for the gene KRT23. Table 1 illustrates that both methods fail in identifying associated genes in the simulated data set. Possibly, a strict filtering of variants by small MAFs would lead to better performance. Furthermore, the exclusion of best-guess genotypes or the inclusion of knowledge about functionality of the variants could be helpful. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors' contributions AZ designed the overall study, CD and AS conducted statistical analyses and CD and IRK drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements and declarations The work of CD was supported by an intramural grant from the Medical Faculty of the University of Lübeck. The GAW is supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant R01 GM031575. The GAW18 whole genome sequence data were provided by the Type 2 Diabetes Genetic Exploration by Next-Generation Sequencing in Ethnic Samples (T2D-GENES) Consortium, which is supported by NIH grants U01 DK085524, U01 DK085584, U01 DK085501, U01 DK085526, and U01 DK085545. The other genetic and phenotypic data for GAW18 were provided by the San Antonio Family Heart Study and San Antonio Family Diabetes/Gallbladder Study, which are supported by NIH grants P01 HL045222, R01 DK047482, and R01 DK053889. The GAW is supported by NIH grant R01 GM031575. This article has been published as part of BMC Proceedings Volume 8 Supplement 1, 2014: Genetic Analysis Workshop 18. The full contents of the supplement are available online at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcproc/ supplements/8/S1. Publication charges for this supplement were funded by the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. Authors' details 1 Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Statistik, Universität zu Lübeck, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Haus. 24, 23562 Lübeck, Germany. 2 Zentrum für Klinische Studien, Universität zu Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Haus. 2, 23562, Lübeck, Germany. Published: 17 June 2014 References 1. Iyengar SK, Elston RC: The genetic basis of complex traits: rare variants or "common gene, common disease"? Methods Mol Biol 2007, 376:71-84. 2. Cohen JC, Kiss RS, Pertsemlidis A, Marcel YL, McPherson R, Hobbs HH: Multiple rare alleles contribute to low plasma levels of HDL cholesterol. Science2004,305:869-872. 3. Dering C, Hemmelmann C, Pugh E, Ziegler A: Statistical analysis of rare sequence variants: an overview of collapsing methods. Genet Epidemiol 2011, 35(suppl 1):S12-S17. 4. Asimit J, Zeggini E: Rare variant association analysis methods for complex traits. Annu Rev Genet 2010, 44:293-308. 5. Bansal V, Libiger O, Torkamani A, Schork NJ: Statistical analysis strategies for association studies involving rare variants. Nat Rev Genet 2010, 11:773-785. 6. Li B, Leal SM: Methods for detecting associations with rare variants for common diseases: application to analysis of sequence data. Am J Hum Genet 2008, 83:311-321. 7. Luo L, Boerwinkle E, Xiong M: Association studies for next-generation sequencing. Genome Res 2011, 21:1099-1108. 8. Bickeböller H, Houwing-Duistermaat JJ, Wang X, Yan X: Dealing with high dimensionality for the identification of common and rare variants as main effects and for gene-environment interaction. Genet Epidemiol 2011, 35(suppl 1):S35-S40. 9. Flicek P, Amode MR, Barrell D, Beal K, Brent S, Carvalho-Silva D, Clapham P, Coates G, Fairley S, Fitzgerald S, et al: Ensembl 2012. Nucleic Acids Res 2012, 40:D84-D90. 10. R Development Core Team: A language and environment for statistical computing Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2012. doi:10.1186/1753-6561-8-S1-S8 Cite this article as: Dering et al.: A comparison of two collapsing methods in different approaches. BMC Proceedings 2014 8(Suppl 1):S8. Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: * Convenient online submission * Thorough peer review * No space constraints or color ﬁgure charges * Immediate publication on acceptance * Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar * Research which is freely available for redistribution Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit
NELIP Writing Workshop and Conferencing Strategies "Just wanted to update you on my progress in teaching writing. You said that if I teach it, they will learn. I have been very explicit about the strategies and today I had a student write a paper that met all my criteria. So thank you so much for the class and advice. I am feeling much better about my teaching of writing." - Austin School Principal/Teacher, February 2016 (email) The teacher quoted above participated in an interactive class offered by the coordinator assigned to early literacy. Nevada Early Literacy Intervention Program (NELIP) is designed to meet the literacy needs of all elementary teachers in the Northeastern Region. The interactive class is offered in all six counties in an effort to fulfill the assignment of reaching elementary teachers. The class focus is always in either reading, word study, or writing. The last two years have focused on writing due to the increased interest in writing instruction brought about by Nevada Academic Content Standards (NVACS). What impact can an interactive writing strategies class have on teachers and students? It can give teachers specific strategies to empower their students, it can build teacher confidence in writing instruction which then carries over into confident student writers, it can forever change the way writing is taught. Preparation, Materials and Participants The coordinator had observed that teachers across the region were attempting to implement writer's workshop in their classrooms with varying degrees of success and many were running into similar difficulties. Also, conferencing with student writers was a common concern. Thus, the coordinator searched for texts that would offer strategies to address the difficulties of writer's workshop and the challenges of conferring with student writers. In this region there are many teachers who are isolated geographically, but others feel isolated in their teaching of writing. One of the goals of the class this year was to partner each teacher with another teacher in a grade alike situation so that they could confer about successes, challenges, and next steps. Technology was embedded in the class to partner teachers across the area. The first text chosen was The Unstoppable Writing Teacher: Real Strategies for the Real Classroom by M. Colleen Cruz. This book was selected because it tackles the common concerns, struggles, and roadblocks that all writing teachers face, and helps teachers engage in problem solving those challenges. "We can't solve all the problems we're faced with in writing instruction, but we can choose how to respond to them. And our responses will make all the difference" (Cruz, 2015, p. 8). To address individual needs, the coordinator asked each teacher to name their biggest 'monster' (it is often 'time') and then work with reflection, reading, and partner talk to make an action plan. Then, of course, to follow through with the action plan and reflect again and plan again each class meeting. The second text, to address conferencing concerns, was Let's Talk, One-on-One: Peer and Small-Group Writing Conferences by Mark Overmeyer. Throughout this book, Mark describes how classroom talk benefits students in a variety of ways, from discovering their interests and backgrounds as writers to helping them develop the language to reflect on their writing progress. This book is packed with real classroom examples and stories to help educators make conferences more manageable and meaningful. Thirty teachers registered for the class; twenty-one finished the class and received graduate level credit. Eleven teachers were from Humboldt County, eight from Elko County, one from Lander County, and one from Pershing County. Interactive Classes and Requirements Class requirements included the following: * fifteen hours of seat time, during which teachers engaged in discussions around the required reading for each class; * a classroom observation by the instructor during which the teacher taught a writing minilesson, after which the teacher and the coordinator reflected on the lesson; * a partnership with another teacher using a shared Google Doc (shared between the teachers and the coordinator). In this Google Doc they engaged in a discussion about writing instruction challenges, successes, and next steps. They offered each other advice and support, encouragement, and celebrated success; * a final reflective paper. The class met six times during the months of September 2015 to November 2015. Each class was 2.5 hours and always began with a writing reflection which was focused on an individual challenge they identified as something they wanted to work on during this class. Next, a discussion of the required reading was done in small, site-based groups, using a protocol to give equal voice to all. It is sometimes challenging in an interactive situation to include the 'singletons' (we had a single teacher in Austin and one in Lovelock), but they were included with the Elko group during discussion time. Insights and big ideas from the text were then shared out with the whole group by taking turns between sites. Three classes were devoted to each text. Each class ended with a partner time, during which each pair connected via phone and/or Google Doc. Goals were set and reported on. Classroom Observations The classroom observation serves multiple purposes: it allows the instructor to build rapport with the teacher by getting a first-hand look at their teaching situation, it makes the teacher accountable for implementing the class content (in this case, writing workshop and/or conferencing), and it offers the opportunity for the instructor to offer face-to-face feedback to each teacher. Visits to multi-grade classrooms, observations of teachers instructing in writing, and eager writers tackling the challenge with enthusiasm make the observations the coordinator's favorite part of the class—even with long drives to outlying corners of the region. It is rewarding to the coordinator to see teachers trying to implement strategies that they have learned about in class. And often, the feedback portion is a real ah-ha to the teacher. They want to learn, that is why they are taking the class, and so they welcome feedback and reflection. It is sad, but true, that teachers do wonderful things in their classroom that are rarely seen and appreciated by another teacher. If the coordinator can shine some light on the good things they are doing, it is a win-win and gladly received. Technology The coordinator wanted to implement technology as part of the class to meet 21st Century literacy advances and to offer teachers the opportunity to participate in an activity that they may want to try with their own students. The technology implemented was mainly through Google Docs. Two different Google Docs were created and used during the class. For the first one, teachers were paired up with a teacher from another county or area that was in a similar grade level. They created a Google Doc that was also shared with the coordinator. The responsibility was given each class for them to correspond via the Doc to reflect on their successes, challenges, and next steps and to set goals. They were to offer advice to their partner, share resources, pictures, stories, just about anything that they thought might help. The coordinator went into each Doc after each class and responded to the pair, answering questions, and giving advice and thoughts. Many of the partnerships were magical; great growth and sharing were done. Several struggled with Internet connections (outlying areas often have limited connection) and two didn't find the Doc to be helpful. Overall, it was useful for the coordinator to get the ongoing sense of what the challenges were and be able to respond immediately to any questions or misconceptions. The coordinator would do this again, counting it as a success. A second Google Doc was one shared by all. The coordinator created it, shared it, and invited teachers to put big ideas on it so that others could see their thinking. This was little used, except for a couple of teachers, until the coordinator decided to make this a part of the required discussion. During the small group site discussion of the text, the coordinator asked each group to have a scribe (who was on the Google Doc) and when the group found a big idea, the scribe put it directly into the Doc. This really upped the game of accountability and added some spice to the discussion. On the down side, it was difficult for several sites to get on the Doc and they had to add thoughts later (when they went to home computers). These are real challenges faced in outlying areas that impact the learning of teachers and students. Following is an excerpt from one teacher (from the shared Big Ideas Google Doc): In class, during our whole group discussion, I found it interesting that many other members highlighted how important "language" is in the world of writing. How powerful it will be if we can teach our students how to talk about their own writing as well as their peers. These talking/language opportunities allow our students to hear positive, constructive and inspiration words about writing in general, as well as, their own writing specifically. Just like learning how to discuss books during book clubs…we can teach our students how informed writers speak about each other's writing. Perhaps we begin by using sentence stems that begin to help them formulate their thoughts and to keep the conversation flowing. Some students may be confident enough to generate their own beginning of conversations. Imagine what writers we will help to create for the future when we teach them how to write and talk about writing. What wonderful conversations will occur? I imagine that students...future adults…will use this language/conversation skill taught through writing, reading and speaking that will so enrich their lives and others. Perhaps this will lead these writers to become one of the great writers of the future to help us to understand the human condition and our world around us better. Then we can learn, connect and feel with others who may live thousands of miles away. But through their writing we may feel like they are sitting right next to us with a cup of tea engaged in a great conversation that touches our souls. What a wonderful thing that will be! Conclusions In reading over the final reflection papers of the teachers who took the class, the coordinator found positive comments overall. Teachers felt supported in their writing instruction. The technology piece was a frustration for a few, but most felt it was a valid way to share thinking and some might try it in their classrooms. Here are a few comments from teachers who participated in the class: Reading The Unstoppable Writing Teacher opened my eyes to the importance of students writing every day and gave me ideas of realistic goals to set in my classroom to make the most of writing time. My initial goal was to get my students more comfortable writing independently and to encourage them to come up with their own ideas for writing instead of giving the students writing prompts. The chapter "I am not sure how to work with students who don't know English" was very helpful for me to support the students who were struggling to get started and get more comfortable writing. -2nd Grade Teacher I really liked reading Let's Talk. It was an easy read with so many ideas that I have now turned into goals. Conferencing in the middle of the room, the use of the author's chair, and information to use to create anchor charts. I have gained many ideas for my ELL students as well from this book. (Which was one of my goals in the beginning, to help reach my ELL students.) I enjoyed talking to my partners as well as reading their posts on Google Docs. I always left feeling better about my ability as a teacher. It is nice to hear that others share the same struggles as you. They had some amazing suggestions for my low ELL student that has worked tremendously. So many ideas for me to contemplate and implement. From my student being afraid not unmotivated to starting writing where my student is at, not necessarily where my class is at. These were all strategies that I have used that have made a huge difference in the writing of my student. I feel more prepared to teach writing in the future if I have a student at the same level. -4th Grade Teacher The texts read discussed practical, do it today strategies for writer's workshop dilemmas and gave class participants ideas and examples of conferencing with student writers. Teachers left the class having set goals, carried out action steps and reflected on progress. The resources they have will carry them forward in writing instruction and student conferencing. An interactive class can have lifelong impact on instruction, forever changing the way instruction is delivered, teacher knowledge and confidence level.
Regulation of the Ministry of Finance on the "Establishment of the Guidelines of the Accounting Standards Board" Note 16 In force from: 01.01.2019 Applicable to the accounting periods, starting on 01.01.2018 or later. ASBG 16 SERVICE CONCESSION ARRANGEMENTS NOTES 1-3 – EXAMPLES OBJECTIVE AND BASIS FOR PREPARARTION 1. The objective of this Accounting Standards Board's guideline ASBG 16 "Service Concession Arrangements" is to describe the accounting policies for the classification and recognition of service concession arrangements entered into between public and private sector bodies in both private and public sector accounting entities' financial statements prepared in accordance with the Estonian financial reporting standard (hereinafter also the financial statement). Estonian financial reporting standard is a body of financial reporting requirements directed at the public and based on the internationally accepted accounting and reporting principles, which principal requirements are established by the Accounting Act and which is specified by a regulation of the minister responsible for the area established on the basis of subsection 34 (4) of the Accounting Act (hereinafter guideline of the Standards Board or for short ASBG). 2. ASBG 16 is based on Section 34 of IFRS for SMEs "Specialised Activities" and on concepts defined in Sections 2 "Concepts and Pervasive Principles", 17 "Property, Plant and Equipment", 18 "Intangible Assets other than Goodwill", 21 "Provisions and Contingencies", 11 "Basic Financial Instruments" and "Glossary of Terms". In areas where ASBG 16 does not specify a particular accounting method but that are covered by IFRS for SMEs, it is recommended to abide by the accounting methods described in the relevant international standards. SCOPE 3. ASBG 16 "Service Concession Arrangements" must be applied for the classification and recognition of service concession arrangements entered into between public and private sector bodies by private sector entities' financial statements prepared in accordance with the Estonian financial reporting standard. In classification and recognition of service concession arrangements, the public sector bodies proceed from the public sector financial accounting and reporting guidelines. DEFINITIONS 4. The following terms are used in this guideline with the meanings specified: Service concession arrangements are contract-based long-term cooperation projects between a public sector body and a private sector body whereby the private sector body provides public services using a specific asset (infrastructure asset) and (IFRS for SMEs 34.12): (a) the public sector body controls or regulates which public services the private sector body must provide, to whom, and at what price; and (b) the public sector body obtains control over the infrastructure asset at the end of the contract term (either through ownership, discounted purchase option or some other manner). A public sector body is the state, a state accounting entity, a local government body, another legal person in public law and other legal person under their direct or indirect predominant influence, incl. a company under direct or indirect control of public sector bodies if it does not intend to maximise its profit when entering into a service concession arrangement. A private sector body is a company, incl. a company under direct or indirect control of public sector body if it intends to maximise its profit when entering into a service concession arrangement, a sole proprietor or other legal person that is not a public sector body. Public services are services, which pursuant to law or general practice, are to be provided by public sector bodies, including services related to the operation or maintenance of infrastructure assets necessary for public sector bodies to provide services. An asset is a resource under control of an accounting entity that: (a) has occurred as a result of past events and (b) is estimated to bring economic benefits in the future (participates in the realisation of set targets for non-profit accounting entities). (IFRS for SMEs 2.15) A financial asset is an asset that is: (a) cash; (b) a contractual right to receive cash or other financial assets from another entity (e.g. trade receivables); (c) a contractual right to exchange financial assets with another party under conditions that are potentially favourable (e.g. derivatives with positive fair value); (d) equity instrument of another entity (e.g. investment in the shares of another entity). (IFRS for SMEs Glossary of Terms). Property, plant and equipment are tangible assets that an entity uses for the production of goods, rendering of services, for rental to others, or for administrative purposes (a nonprofit accounting entity for attaining the goals set for it) and that are expected to be used during a period exceeding one year. (IFRS for SMEs 17.2). Intangible assets are non-monetary assets without physical substance that are clearly identifiable from other assets. (IFRS for SMEs 18.2) A liability is an obligation of an accounting entity (a) which arises from the past events; and (b) the release from which is expected to reduce the economically useful resources. (IFRS for SMEs 2.15). A financial liability is a contractual obligation: (a) to deliver cash or other financial assets to another entity; or (b) to exchange financial assets with another entity under conditions that are potentially unfavourable to the entity. (IFRS for SMEs Glossary of Terms). A contingent liability is a possible or present obligation: (a) the settlement of which is not probable; or (b) whose amount cannot be measured with sufficient reliability. (IFRS for SMEs 2.40, 21.12) A provision is a liability of uncertain timing or amount. (IFRS for SMEs 21.1) The effective interest rate method is the calculation of the amortised cost of a financial asset or a financial liability using its effective interest rate. (IFRS for SMEs 11.16). The effective interest rate is the rate that discounts the estimated future cash flows arising from the financial asset or the financial liability to the carrying amount of the financial asset or the financial liability. (IFRS for SMEs 11.16). Fair value is the amount for which an asset could be exchanged or a liability settled in a transaction between knowledgeable, willing and independent parties in an arm's length transaction. (IFRS for SMEs 2.34 (b)) 5. In many countries, infrastructure assets requiring a large initial investment such as roads, bridges, tunnels, prisons, hospitals, airports, water and sewerage pipelines, energy distribution and telecommunications networks have traditionally been built and operated by public sector bodies and financed from their budget. Some countries have started using various forms of public-private partnership (PPP) in order to include private sector bodies in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure assets. Objectives for carrying out PPP projects may be for example to leverage private sector competence, increase service quality, public sector cost savings or to spread risks. Service concession arrangements are one of the forms of PPP projects, whereby a public sector body grants to a private sector body the longterm right to provide services related to a certain infrastructure asset. 6. Service concession arrangements are typically characterised by the following circumstances (IFRS for SMEs 34.12): (a) a public sector body contracts with a private sector body to partially or fully provide certain public services; (b) a private sector body provides public services related to an infrastructure asset for a time period, in the volume and quality specified in the contract; (c) the contract provides for an initial price that the private sector body may charge for public services provided and terms for changing the price; (d) the contract provides for the terms, which quality requirements the infrastructure asset must meet at the end of the contract term and whether it is delivered to the public sector body free of charge at the end of the contract term or for a charge substantially lower than its fair value at the time of delivery. 7. This guideline shall apply in cases where (IFRS for SMEs 34.12): (a) the service concession arrangement provides for the construction, acquisition or reconstruction of an infrastructure asset prior to providing a service by a private sector body, based on quality criteria specified by a public sector body; or (b) a public sector body grants to a private sector body the right to use an existing infrastructure asset for providing a service (e.g. through right of superficies or usufruct). 8. This guideline shall also apply if the duration of a service concession arrangement covers the entire useful life of an infrastructure asset, irrespective of who obtains control over the infrastructure asset after the end of the contract term. 9. This guideline shall apply both when a public sector body pays for all services provided by a private sector body using an infrastructure asset, as well as if part or all of the public services provided at an infrastructure asset are purchased by other users. Prices and terms for changing them may be determined by the contract that is the basis for the service concession arrangement or derive from law. (IFRS for SMEs 34.13). 10. This guideline shall also apply if a public sector body does not have full control over service prices. It shall be deemed to have control over prices even if a contract specifies the upper limit for prices or if a private sector body bears the obligation to transfer profit exceeding a certain level to a public sector body. 11. A public sector body's control over an infrastructure asset at the end of the contract term also means that the private sector body shall not have the right to independently sell or pledge the infrastructure asset and the public sector body shall continue to have the right to decide over the future use of the asset until the end of its useful life. 12. If an infrastructure asset is partially used to provide a public service and partially not, different components of the asset are addressed separately if they can be divided into different cash-generating units based on the concept provided in ASBG 5 "Property, Plant and Equipment and Intangible Assets". If a public sector body does not regulate the use of a certain infrastructure asset component, it may be a lease agreement between a public sector body and a private sector body that must be accounted for based on the ASBG 9 "Accounting for Leases". 13. In practice, service concession arrangements may adopt different forms and various terms, so it may be insufficient to rely on this guideline alone. Each contract should be accounted for based on its substance. In case of complex additional terms and conditions that do not correspond to situations described in this guideline, accounting policies should be selected based on other guidelines of the Accounting Standards Board, IFRS for SMEs, and their conceptual framework. RECOGNITION IN PRIVATE SECTOR BODIES' FINANCIAL STATEMENTS General Rules 14. As a private sector body owns the right to use an infrastructure asset to provide public services only on terms prescribed by a public sector body, control over the use of the infrastructure asset belongs to the public sector body. Therefore, the private sector body shall not recognise the infrastructure asset as property, plant and equipment on its balance sheet. (IFRS for SMEs 34.14, 34.15). 15. A private sector body shall not recognise an infrastructure asset as its property, plant and equipment or as its leased asset. A private sector body shall recognise revenue from services rendered, including from the sale of construction and reconstruction services based on ASBG 10 "Revenue Recognition" at the fair value of the consideration receivable (IFRS for SMEs 34.16). If a private sector body renders more than one service as part of a service concession arrangement (e.g. both construction or reconstruction as well as operation service) and the consideration receivable for them has not been separately determined in the contract, the total revenue shall be allocated between different services based on the ratio of their fair values. Construction or Reconstruction Services 16. A private sector body shall recognise revenue generated from construction or reconstruction services as operating income and expenses incurred in the same period as operating expenses based on the stage of completion method described in the ASBG 10 "Revenue Recognition". (IFRS for SMEs 34.16). 17. A private sector body shall recognise its right to the consideration for construction or reconstruction services either as financial assets or intangible assets depending on whether the right is unconditional or not. (IFRS for SMEs 34.14, 34.15). 18. If a private sector body has an unconditional right to receive cash or other financial assets from a public sector body in exchange for construction and reconstruction services, the receivable shall be recognised as a financial asset based on the guideline ASBG 3 "Financial Instruments". (IFRS for SMEs 34.14) An unconditional right means that a public sector body is obligated to pay to the private sector body either a determinable amount or the difference between a determinable amount and amounts receivable from service users, even if the size of the consideration depends on meeting the quality or deadline criteria set for construction or reconstruction services. Example in Note 1 to this guideline describes the recognition of such service concession arrangements whereby a private sector body has an unconditional right to receive cash, therefore it recognises on its balance sheet the relevant receivable (financial asset) from the public sector body. 19. A private sector body shall recognise as intangible assets and as income received for the construction and reconstruction services the right (incl. license) to use the infrastructural asset and sell the related public services to the users of the service. (IFRS for SMEs 34.15) A right to sell public services to service users is not an unconditional right to receive cash because the consideration received from the sale of services depends on the volume of service usage. Such right is accounted for as intangible asset pursuant to ASBG 5 "Property, Plant and Equipment and Intangible Assets". Example in Note 2 to this guideline describes the accounting for a service concession arrangement whereby a private sector body has the right to sell public services related to an infrastructure asset to service users and thus recognises the relevant intangible asset on its balance sheet. 20. If a private sector body is paid for construction or reconstruction services rendered partially in financial assets (i.e. with an unconditional right to receive cash or another financial asset) and partially in intangible assets (i.e. with a right to use an infrastructure asset to provide a public service), both components shall be recognised separately based on the fair value ratio of these components. (IFRS for SMEs 34.13) Example in Note 3 to this guideline describes the accounting for a service concession arrangement whereby a private sector body has an unconditional right to receive from a public sector body a certain minimum amount of cash and at the same time has the right to sell public services related to an infrastructure asset to service users, thus it recognises both financial assets and intangible assets on its balance sheet. Operation Services and Additional Services 21. The accounting for operation services related to an infrastructure asset (including for example maintenance and repair services) shall be based on ASBG 10 "Revenue Recognition". (IFRS for SMEs 34.16). 22. If a private sector body is obligated to perform additional construction and reconstruction work at an infrastructure asset during the contract term (e.g. related to a requirement to maintain assets at a certain quality level) and the private sector body lacks an unconditional right to receive payment for such work, the private sector body shall recognise on its balance sheet a provision with regard to the expenses resulting from performing reconstruction work based on the ASBG 8 "Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets". In recognising provisions, the opinion of management or other experts regarding the amount probably needed for settling the liability and the timing of realisation of the liability shall be used. Borrowing Costs 23. Borrowing costs are not capitalised into the cost of assets. (IFRS for SMEs 25.2). COMPARISON WITH IFRS FOR SMES 24. The accounting policies prescribed in ASBG 16 for private sector bodies are in compliance with the accounting policies provided in section 34 of IFRS for SMEs. NOTE 1 Example - Private sector body recognising financial assets A public authority (public sector body) enters into a contract with an operator (private sector body) based on which the operator shall build a new road within two years and must maintain and repair it over the next eight years. Contract terms mandate that the operator must also lay a new road surface at the end of the 8th year. Based on the contract, the public authority must pay to the operator from year 3 to year 10 for the construction and maintenance of the road 200 thousand euros each year (i.e. a total of 1.6 million euros over eight years). Services provided by the operator under the contract, estimated price and fair value of the services (in thousands of euros) are as follows: Due to the different timing of the expenditures related to the project and the consideration receivable, the effective interest rate of the project is 6.18% per annum and the total interest income is 344 thousand euros. The allocation of the consideration between different services and the effective interest rate of the project may or may not be prescribed by the contract. If they are prescribed by the contract, the project should be recognised based on the allocation of the consideration in the contract (assuming that this allocation is based on the fair value of service components). Otherwise the consideration should be allocated to different services based on the management's or experts' estimate regarding the fair value of these components. The operator finances services provided under the contract with a loan carrying an interest rate of 6.7% per annum. To simplify the example. it is assumed that all payments always take place once per year at the end of the year. The operator shall recognise revenue and expenses from providing services based on ASBG 10 "Revenue Recognition". The expenses of construction, maintenance and repair work and laying a new surface and revenue from providing those services shall be recognised based on the stage of completion of these services. As the public authority pays for those services in part later, a receivable from the public authority (financial asset) shall also be recognised and interest income shall be recognised on this receivable based on the project's effective interest rate. The operator's accounting entries (in thousands of euros) for revenue recognition in the first three years: Revenue from providing construction services in the first year (fair value of construction works): D Receivable from public authority 525 C Revenue from providing construction services 525 Revenue in the second year: a) from providing construction services (fair value of construction works) D Receivable from public authority 525 C Revenue from providing construction services 525 b) interest income (525 * 6.18%) D Receivable from public authority 32 C Interest income 32 Revenue in the third year: a) from providing maintenance services (fair value of maintenance and repair works) D Receivable from public authority 12 C Revenue from providing maintenance services 12 b) interest income ((525+525+32) * 6.18%) D Receivable from public authority 67 C Interest income 67 Expenses related to the project and loan and interest payments shall also be recognised. From year 3, the consideration receivable from the public authority shall also be recognised as a reduction of the receivable from the public authority. D Cash 200 C Receivable from public authority 200 Overview of the cash flows related to the project and its impact on the operator's income statement and balance sheet (in thousands of euros) is provided below. Overview of the operator's cash flows NOTE 2 Example - Private sector body recognising intangible assets Assumptions for the example are the same as in Note 1, except the method of receiving revenue from road operation. The public authority does not pay to the operator for its services. Instead, the operator is given a contractual right to collect a fixed service charge for each vehicle using the road. The operator assumes that the number of vehicles using the road will remain the same from year 3 until 10 and the consideration collected each year will be 200 thousand euros. Based on the ASBG 5 "Property, Plant and Equipment and Intangible Assets", the operator shall recognise on its balance sheet an intangible asset (right to use the road for generating revenue) at its fair value which is the fair value of the revenue receivable for the construction services. The operator's entries (in thousands of euros) during the construction period regarding the recognition of revenue and intangible assets. a) in the first year (fair value of construction works): D Intangible assets 525 C Revenue from providing construction services b) in the second year (fair value of construction works): D Intangible assets 525 C Revenue from providing construction services 525 Expenses related to the project and loan and interest payments shall also be recognised. From year 3, amortisation of intangible assets shall be expensed (1050 / 8 = 131.3 thousand euros each year) and service charges collected from drivers (in thousands of euros) for using the road shall be recognised as revenue. D Depreciation expense 131 C Intangible assets 131 D Cash 200 C Revenue from road operation 200 As the operator has the obligation to lay a new road surface in year 8 but lacks an unconditional right to receive payment for it, it shall recognise a liability on its balance sheet for the laying of a new road surface based on ASBG 8 "Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets". A provision for the laying of a new road surface shall be established in years 3 to 8 based on the ratio of the number of vehicles having used the road by the reporting date to the total number of vehicles estimated to use the road until the new road 525 surface is laid and discounting the liability at the discount rate determined according to ASBG 8 (the discount rate used in this example is 6%). Setting up a provision (in thousands of euros) Assuming that consideration is received from road users according to plan, the operator's cash flows broken down by year shall be the same as in Note 1. Overview of the impact of the project on the operator's income statement and balance sheet (in thousands of euros) is provided below. Overview of the operator's income statement NOTE 3 Example - Private sector body recognising financial assets and intangible assets Assumptions for the example are the same as in Note 2, except for an additional guarantee granted by the public authority to the operator for guaranteeing revenue generated by road operation - if the service charges collected from road users by the operator are below 700 thousand euros, the public authority shall pay the difference and interest on the difference at the rate of 6.18%. The operator still assumes that the number of vehicles using the road will remain the same from year 3 until 10 and the consideration collected each year will be 200 thousand euros. The operator shall recognise revenue from providing construction services partially as a financial asset (unconditional right to receive at least 700 thousand euros) and partially as an intangible asset (right to use the road to be built for generating revenue). As the charge for providing the construction services is guaranteed within 67% (700 / 1,050), the financial asset (liability) is recognised within this extent and intangible assets are recognised within the remaining extent. The recognition by the operator of revenue on construction works and assets (in thousand euros) during the construction period shall be as follows: Service charges collected from drivers using the road shall be allocated into collection of the receivable and revenue. Given the annual interest calculated on the carrying amount of the receivable (6.18% per annum), a total of 936 thousand euros (700 thousand euros of principal and 236 thousand euros of interest) shall be spent on repayment of the receivable. Accordingly, each year 936 / 8 = 117 thousand euros are recognised as collection of receivable. The remaining part of accumulated service charges (200 - 117 = 83 thousand euros) is recorded as period income. Expenses related to the project and loan and interest payments shall also be recognised. From year 3, amortisation of intangible assets shall also be expensed (each year 350 / 8 = 44 thousand euros). The provision established for laying a new road surface shall be recognised in the same manner as in Note 2. Assuming that consideration is received from road users according to plan, the operator's cash flows broken down by year shall be the same as in Note 1. Overview of the impact of the project on the operator's income statement and balance sheet (in thousands of euros) is provided below.
South African Society of Psychiatrists Unit 16, Northcliff Office Park, 203 Beyers Naude Drive, Northcliff, 2115 Tel: (+27)(11) 340 9000; Fax: (+27)(11) 782 0270; Email: email@example.com PO Box 2127, Cresta, 2118 Registration No.: 2007/012757/08 2 August 2018 HEALTH CARE WORKERS' PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO BE HEALTH ADVOCATES Both the Gauteng Department of Health's Life Esidimeni or "Marathon" project, as it was described at the time, unfolding over more than two years from 2015 to 2017, as well as the more recent incident in March 2018 of reported concerns about possible human rights violations at Tower Hospital in the Eastern Cape, compelled the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) to identify its responsibility and to find its voice in terms of health advocacy. The SASOP realised that it had to act publicly as the protector of the interests of its members, of the discipline of Psychiatry as well as of serving the community and had to develop the capacity and process to engage in these occurrences, through which what became extended advocacy processes engaging with several stake holders and partners. However, following the collective effort by the South African Society of Psychiatrists, as well as of individual clinicians' in this regard, some observers have been critical of this activity, arguing that professionals should keep themselves to providing clinical services as salaried workers employed by government departments and to adhere to principles of e.g. the Public Service Act which regulates such employer-employee relationships. As a result many individual clinicians are unsure about how to approach the matter of health advocacy and how to report concerns and problems in a correct way internally as employees, and/or externally as members of professional associations. Many health workers engaged in health advocacy also often reflect on how much "trouble" they could have avoided, it they did not try to play their role as health advocate. It is therefore imperative to clarify to the position of health workers', including medical practitioners' and psychiatrists' professional responsibility to be health advocates. In this regard. It should firstly be noted that at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA), as well as training facilities in the form of the faculties of Health Sciences across the country, have all embraced the "CanMED's" principles of medical education in their curricula, alluding to the profile of the graduates that must be produced, to include the role of being an advocate. The WITS Faculty of Health Sciences, for example, has adopted a formal course in health advocacy for all its undergraduate health sciences students , from therapeutic sciences (nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy) to clinical sciences (medical, clinical assistants). In addition, the College of Psychiatrists amongst other of Colleges of Medicine f South African has adopted advocacy as one of seven "core competencies" that candidates qualifying with its FCPsych qualification must demonstrate, namely being a medical expert/clinical decision make, communicator, collaborator, manager, health advocate, scholar and professional. 1 According to 1 College of Psychiatrists (C PSYCH). Regulations for Admission to the Fellowship of the College of Psychiatrists of South Africa. Appendix F(B), p20 (Nov 2016) Available from: https://www.cmsa.co.za/view_exam.aspx?QualificationID=30; Accessed 27 April 2018 this, candidates are required to also be knowledgeable about and be able to apply the principles and processes of (mental) health promotion and (psychiatric disorder) illness prevention. This includes the ability to inform and educate patients and their families effectively. With its experiences to date, the SASOP has therefore partnered with the Rural Health Action Project (RHAP) to assist the Society with the training of its members in several provinces, on how to be health advocates, considering the legal and professional contexts in which different clinicians are working. 2 During 2018, the RHAP's "VOICE Project" has already been presented in four provinces, with workshops also attended by other categories of mental health staff, such as occupational therapists, nurses and psychologists. The VOICE program assists health care professionals to understand the legal foundation of advocacy, as well as raising concerns and whistle blowing to improve standards, using internal mechanisms and external mechanisms, advocacy in terms of the roles of the health care practitioner, and organizations that can assist. 3 According to this guide, health care workers can advocate for a better health system through different roles at times: (1) Representative (speaking for); (2) Accompanying (speaking with); (3) Empowering (enabling); (4) Mediating (facilitating communication); (5) Modelling (demonstrating practice); and (6) Negotiating (bargaining); and (7) Networking (building coalitions). The guide further provides an overview of the legal foundations, of raising concerns and whistle-blowing - including what protection can be obtained through the Protected Disclosure's Act, No 26 of 2000, of how to use "internal" and "external" mechanisms to resolve an issue, as well as on organizations that can assist health care providers with addressing and avoiding health care failures. The RHAP can be contacted about this guide, as well as about arranging training for health care workers at www.rhap.org.za or firstname.lastname@example.org; and tel 010 601 7427. According to Marije Versteeg-Mojanaga from the RHAP, principles that apply for clinicians to be activists, include: - Medical (and health) practitioners have an ethical duty and a professional responsibility to act in the best interest of their patients. This duty includes advocacy for patients, both as a group (such as advocating as a public mental health care group) and as individuals – according to the World Medical Association. - While the SA Public Service Regulations of 2001 and updated in 2012, state that health care providers are expected to raise any problems with their immediate supervisor and are not to criticise government policy "irresponsibly" in the public domain, it also state that health care providers must put the public interest first in the execution of duties. - It is important for health care workers to be informed about ethical guidelines by the HPCSA, the legislative and policy framework in which they are working, in particular the constitutional mandate for advocacy. Several sections of the South African Constitution are protecting individual and organizational rights. Other rights statements are e.g. the Patient Rights Charter, and Health Worker Rights, which include the right to expose corruption and unethical practices and to claim compensation if dismissed as a result of a protected disclosure. - Sometimes internal or external "reporting" of health care challenged and patient rights violations is required, which can also be done confidentially and anonymously. 2 SASOP. SASOP-RHAP STATEMENT ON MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY TRAINING. Jan 2018. Available: https://www.sasop.co.za/Statements/Advocacy_Training_2018; Accessed 27 July 2018 3 Rural Health Advocacy Project. VOICE. A Health Care Provider's Guide to Reporting Healthcare Challenges: Principles, Tools & Strategies. Version 2. April 2017. - The Protected Disclosure Act provides protection for people who blow the whistle on conduct that is prejudicial to public interest. Health care workers can ensure that they are protected by going through one if the "four doors" that the Act proscribes, namely: (1) First Door – disclosure to an employer; (2) Second Door - Disclosure to a legal advisor; (3) Third Door - Disclosure to a regulatory or independent body; (4) Fourth Door – "General protected disclosures" apply when disclosure happened outside the first three doors because of a good cause. The latter include: (1) the impropriety is of an exceptionally serious nature; (2) the disclosure has been made to an employer and no action has been taken within reasonable period; (3) the employee has reason to believe that the evidence will be concealed or destroyed if the disclosure is made to the employer and there is no prescribed regulatory body to approach; or (4) the employee has reason to believe that he or she will be subject to occupations detriment. - Reporting of wrongdoing is about ensuring that "malpractice, fraud, corruption, dangers that compromise patient health and safety" are dealt with, in a manner that promote individual responsibility and organisational accountability. It is not only a right but also a duty to report conduct that is prejudicial to public interest. - Any employment contract will be invalid if it conflicts with the Protected Disclosures Act and Public Service Act, 4 which states that ". . . an employee, in the course of his or her official duties, shall report to the appropriate authorities, fraud, corruption, nepotism, maladministration and any other act which constitutes an offence or which is prejudicial to the public interest." - According to the Protected Disclosure Act: Practical Guidelines for Employees (No 70231, August 2011): o By remaining silent about corruption, offences or other malpractices taking place in the workplace, an employee contributes to, and becomes part of, a culture of fostering such improprieties. o Every employer and employee has a responsibility to disclose criminal and other irregular conduct in the workplace - A 10-step advocacy framework include: (1) Taking action: overcoming obstacles to action (2) Selecting an issue: identifying and drawing attention to an issue (3) Understanding the political context: identifying the key people to influence (4) Building the evidence base: doing our homework and mapping the potential roles of relevant players (5) Engaging others: winning the support of key individuals/organisations (6) Elaborating strategic plans: collectively identify goals and objectives and best ways to achieve them (7) Communicating messages and implementing plans: delivering your messages and counteracting the efforts of opposing interest groups (8) Seizing opportunities: timing interventions and actions for maximum impact (9) Being accountable: monitoring and evaluating process and impact (10) Catalysing health development: build sustainable capacity throughout the process In terms of the dilemma of dual loyalties that health workers may experience in terms of being employees, or service providers to funders, the Physicians for Human Rights and School of Public Health and Primary Health Care at UCT, already in 2002 drafted a guide on how to approach such problems as individuals or collectively, as 4 Protected Disclosures Act, Act 26 of 2000 and amended (Act 5 of 2017) a professional association. 5 They defined dual loyalty as "simultaneous obligations, express or implied, to a patient and to a third party, often the state." They noted that "health professional ethics have long stressed the need for loyalty to people in their care", . . . but, "in the modern world, however, health professionals are increasingly asked to weigh their devotion to patients against service to the objectives of government or other third parties." . . . "Dual loyalty poses particular challenges for health professionals throughout the world when the subordination of the patient's interests to state or other purposes risks violating the patient's human rights." Mechanisms proposed by the group for national professional societies to promote human rights include: (1) Establish professional practice standards to address dual loyalty and human rights (2) Hold members accountable to these standards through appropriate disciplinary action (3) Facilitate adoption of self-audits by health workers (4) Make advisers and counsellors available skilled in human rights and ethics (5) Provide direct support for health professionals in high-risk situations (6) Establish or facilitate an independent oversight and reporting structure to play an ombudsman role (7) Newsletters and websites to raise awareness; conduct ongoing debates (8) Initiate and support ongoing ethical and human-rights training (9) Ensure that constitutions of national professional organisations establish the organisation as independent of the state (10) Submit shadow reports to United Nations treaty-monitoring bodies for human-rights treaties (11) Advocate for legal, administrative and social changes that will enable health professionals to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of their patients (12) Develop plans and invest resources to increase members' support for these organisational actions
ASSEMBLY, No. 5310 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 218th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MAY 13, 2019 Sponsored by: Assemblyman ROBERT AUTH District 39 (Bergen and Passaic) Assemblyman EDWARD H. THOMSON District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean) Co-Sponsored by: Assemblymen DiMaio, DePhillips, Assemblywoman Schepisi, Assemblyman Peters, Assemblywoman B.DeCroce and Assemblyman Mejia SYNOPSIS Requires certain toll road operators and bi-state agency to allow drivers to choose towing company. CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT As introduced. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 2 AN ACT concerning towing services on certain toll roads, amending P.L.1948, c.454, P.L.1991, c.252, and R.S.32:14-20, and repealing sections 2 and 3 of P.L.2002, c.77. BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. Section 5 of P.L.1948, c.454 (C.27:23-5) is amended to read as follows: 5. General grant of powers. The authority shall be a body corporate and politic and shall have perpetual succession and shall have the following powers: [(a)] a. To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business; [(b)] b. To adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure; [(c)] c. To maintain an office at such place or places within the State as it may designate and to organize itself into such subdepartments, operating divisions, or units as it deems appropriate; [(d)] d. To sue and be sued in its own name; [(e)] e. To acquire, improve, construct, maintain, repair, manage, and operate transportation projects or any part thereof at such locations as shall be established by law or by the authority; [(f)] f. To borrow money and issue negotiable bonds for any of its corporate purposes, and to secure the same through the pledging of tolls and other revenues and proceeds of such bonds, or other available sources, and to refund its bonds, and to enter into any credit agreement, all as provided in [this act] P.L.1948, c.454 (C.27:23-1 et seq.); [(g)] g. In the exercise of any of its powers, by resolution to fix and revise from time to time and charge and collect tolls, fees, licenses, rents, concession charges, and other charges for each transportation project or any part thereof constructed or acquired by it. No toll revenues derived from the New Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway shall be used or available for any transportation project other than a highway project and all transportation projects other than highway projects shall be selfsustaining; provided however that such toll revenues may be used to finance or support the costs of non-highway transportation projects on an interim basis according to such terms, with or without interest, as the authority shall establish; [(h)] h. To establish rules and regulations for the use of any project including restrictions on the type, weight, and size of vehicles utilizing transportation projects, and also including the power to exclude from any part of a highway project any traffic A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 3 other than passenger automobiles if the authority finds that such part is not suitable or sufficient as a highway to carry mixed traffic; [(i)] i. To acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under [this act] P.L.1948, c.454 (C.27:23-1 et seq.); [(j)] j. To acquire in the name of the authority by purchase 6 or otherwise, on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it 7 may deem proper, or by the exercise of the power of eminent 8 domain, except as against the State of New Jersey, any land and 9 other property, which it may determine is reasonably necessary for 10 any transportation project or feeder road or for the relocation or 11 reconstruction of any highway by the authority under the provisions 12 of this act and any and all rights, title and interest in such land and 13 other property, including public lands, parks, playgrounds, 14 reservations, highways, or parkways, owned by or in which the 15 State of New Jersey or any county, city, borough, town, township, 16 village, or other political subdivision of the State of New Jersey has 17 any right, title, or interest, or parts thereof or rights therein and any 18 fee simple absolute or any lesser interest in private property, and 19 any fee simple absolute in, easements upon, or the benefit of 20 restrictions upon, abutting property to preserve and protect 21 transportation projects. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Upon the exercise of the power of eminent domain, the compensation to be paid thereunder shall be ascertained and paid in the manner provided in the "Eminent Domain Act of 1971," P.L.1971, c.361 (C.20:3-1 et seq.), insofar as the provisions thereof are applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions contained in [this act] P.L.1948, c.454 (C.27:23-1 et seq.). The authority may join in separate subdivisions in one petition or complaint the descriptions of any number of tracts or parcels of land or property to be condemned and the names of any number of owners and other parties who may have an interest therein and all such land or property included in said petition or complaint may be condemned in a single proceeding; provided, however, that separate awards be made for each tract or parcel of land or property; and provided, further, that each of said tracts or parcels of land or property lies wholly in or has a substantial part of its value lying wholly within the same county. Upon the filing of such petition or complaint or at any time 39 thereafter the authority may file with the clerk of the county in 40 which such property is located and also with the Clerk of the 41 Superior Court a declaration of taking, signed by the authority, 42 declaring that possession of one or more of the tracts or parcels of 43 land or property described in the petition or complaint is thereby 44 being taken by and for the use of the authority. The said declaration 45 of taking shall be sufficient if it sets forth: (1) a description of each 46 tract or parcel of land or property to be so taken sufficient for the 47 identification thereof, to which there may or may not be attached a 48 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 4 plan or map thereof; (2) a statement of the estate or interest in the said land or property being taken; and (3) a statement of the sum of money estimated by the authority by resolution to be just compensation for the taking of the estate or interest in each tract or parcel of land or property described in said declaration. Upon the filing of the said declaration, the authority shall deposit with the Clerk of the Superior Court the amount of the estimated compensation stated in said declaration. Upon the filing of the said declaration as aforesaid and depositing with the Clerk of the Superior Court the amount of the estimated compensation stated in said declaration, the authority, without other process or proceedings, shall be entitled to the exclusive possession and use of each tract of land or property described in said declaration and may forthwith enter into and take possession of said land or property, it being the intent of this provision that the proceedings for compensation or any other proceedings relating to the taking of said land or interest therein or other property shall not delay the taking of possession thereof and the use thereof by the authority for the purpose or purposes for which the authority is authorized by law to acquire or condemn such land or other property or interest therein. The authority shall cause notice of the filing of said declaration 22 and the making of said deposit to be served upon each party in 23 interest named in the petition residing in this State, either personally 24 or by leaving a copy thereof at [his] the person's residence, if 25 known, and upon each party in interest residing out of the State, by 26 mailing a copy thereof to [him at his] the person at the person's 27 residence, if known. In the event that the residence of any such 28 party or the name of such party is unknown, such notice shall be 29 published at least once in a newspaper published or circulating in 30 the county or counties in which the land is located. Upon the 31 application of any party in interest and after notice to other parties 32 in interest, including the authority, any judge of the Superior Court 33 assigned to sit for said county may order that the money deposited 34 with the Clerk of the Superior Court or any part thereof be paid 35 forthwith to the person or persons entitled thereto for or on account 36 of the just compensation to be awarded in said proceeding; 37 provided, that each such person shall have filed with the Clerk of 38 the Superior Court a consent in writing that, in the event the award 39 in the condemnation proceeding shall be less than the amount 40 deposited, the court, after notice as herein provided and hearing, 41 may determine [his] the person's liability, if any, for the return of 42 such difference or any part thereof and enter judgment therefor. If 43 the amount of the award as finally determined shall exceed the 44 amount so deposited, the person or persons to whom the award is 45 payable shall be entitled to recover from the authority the difference 46 between the amount of the deposit and the amount of the award, 47 with interest at the rate of six per centum (6%) per annum thereon 48 A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 5 from the date of making the deposit. If the amount of the award 1 shall be less than the amount so deposited, the Clerk of the Superior 2 Court shall return the difference between the amount of the award 3 and the deposit to the authority, unless the amount of the deposit or 4 any part thereof shall have theretofore been distributed, in which 5 event the court, on petition of the authority and notice to all persons 6 interested in the award and affording them an opportunity to be 7 heard, shall enter judgment in favor of the authority for such 8 difference against the party or parties liable for the return thereof. 9 The authority shall cause notice of the date fixed for such hearing to 10 be served upon each party thereto residing in this State, either 11 personally or by leaving a copy thereof at [his] the person's 12 residence, if known, and upon each party residing out of the State, 13 by mailing a copy to [him at his] the person at the person's 14 residence, if known. In the event that the residence of any party or 15 the name of such party is unknown, such notice shall be published 16 at least once in a newspaper published or circulating in the county 17 or counties in which the land is located. Such service, mailing, or 18 publication shall be made at least 10 days before the date fixed for 19 such hearing. 20 21 22 23 24 Whenever under the "Eminent Domain Act of 1971["] ," P.L.1971, c.361 (C. 20:3-1 et seq.), the amount of the award may be paid into court, payment may be made into the Superior Court and may be distributed according to law; 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 [(k)] k. To designate the locations, and establish, limit and control such points of ingress to and egress from each highway or transportation project as may be necessary or desirable in the judgment of the authority to insure the proper operation and maintenance of such project, and to prohibit entrance to such project from any point or points not so designated; [(l)] l. To make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under [this act] P.L.1948, c.454 (C.27:23-1 et seq.) and to enter into contracts with federal, State and local governments and private entities for the financing, administration, operation, management, and construction of transportation projects; [(m)] m. To appoint such additional officers, who need not be members of the authority, as the authority deems advisable, and to employ consulting engineers, attorneys, accountants, construction [and] experts, financial experts, superintendents, managers, and such other similarly situated employees and agents as may be necessary in its judgment; to fix their compensation; and to promote and discharge such officers, employees, and agents, all without regard to the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes; [(n)] n. To receive and accept from any federal agency, subject to the approval of the Governor, grants for or in aid of the acquisition or construction of any transportation project or any part 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 6 thereof, and to receive and accept aid or contributions, from any source, of either money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied only for the purposes for which such grants and contributions may be made; [(o)] o. To do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly or impliedly granted in [this act] P.L.1948, c.454 (C.27:23-1 et seq.); [(p)] p. Subject to any agreement with the bondholders, to invest moneys of the authority not required for immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds, in such obligations, securities, and other investments as the authority shall deem prudent; [(q)] q. To apply for, receive, and accept from any federal agency, any bistate agency, or the State and any subdivision thereof, grants for or in aid of the planning, acquisition, management, maintenance, operation, or construction of any project, and to receive and accept aid or contributions from any other public or private source, of either money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for which those grants and contributions may be made; [(r)] r. To procure and enter into contracts for any type of insurance and to indemnify against loss or damage to property from any cause, including the loss of use and occupancy and business interruption, death or injury of any person, employee liability, any act of any member, officer, employee, or servant of the authority, whether part-time, compensated, or uncompensated, in the performance of the duties of office or employment or any other insurable risk or any other losses in connection with property, operations, assets, or obligations in any amounts and from any insurers as are deemed desirable. In addition, the authority may carry its own liability insurance; [(s)] s. To adopt regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to [provide open and competitive procedures for awarding contracts for towing and storage services. Towing and storage services on a highway project may be provided on a rotating basis, provided that the authority determines that there would be no additional cost to the authority, excepting administrative costs, as a result of those services being provided on a rotating basis. The regulations shall fix maximum towing and storage fees, and establish objective criteria to be considered in awarding a contract for towing and storage services which shall include, but shall not be limited to, reliability, experience, response time, acceptance of credit cards and prepaid towing contracts, adequate equipment to safely handle a sufficient volume of common vehicle types under a variety of traffic and weather conditions, location of storage and repair facilities, security of vehicles towed or stored, financial return to the authority, A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 7 maintenance of adequate liability insurance, and appropriate 1 safeguards to protect the personal safety of customers, including 2 considerations related to the criminal background of employees. 3 The Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and 4 Public Safety shall provide, at the authority's request, a report to the 5 6 authority on any prospective contractor for which the division has information relevant to the prospective contractor's service record, 7 subject to the provisions of the New Jersey consumer fraud act, 8 P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). The Division of Insurance Fraud 9 Prevention in the Department of Banking and Insurance also shall 10 provide, at the authority's request, a report to the authority on any 11 prospective contractor for which the division has information 12 relevant to the prospective contractor's service record, subject to the 13 "New Jersey Insurance Fraud Prevention Act," P.L.1983, c.320 14 (C.17:33A-1 et seq.)] allow motor vehicle operators on the 15 16 authority's toll roads to select a towing company for the provision 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 of towing and storage services, provided however, that the authority may award contracts for towing and storage of motor vehicles deemed abandoned; [(t)] t. To adopt, prior to the Transfer Date and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds, notes, or other obligations on such terms as otherwise provided for in this act for the retirement by defeasance, redemption, secondary market purchase, tender payment at maturity, or otherwise, of all of the New Jersey Highway Authority's outstanding bonds, notes, or other obligations, as if the Transfer Date transferring to the authority the rights, duties, and obligations to operate, maintain, and manage the Garden State Parkway had already occurred; and [(u)] u. To transfer, sell, dispose of, or otherwise relinquish all right, title, or interest in the Garden State Arts Center, and any related or auxiliary facilities, to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, established by P.L.1971, c.137 (C.5:10-1 et seq.), or to any other entity, according to such terms and process as the authority may establish in its discretion. (cf: P.L.2003, c.79, s.9) 37 2. Section 7 of P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-7) is amended to 38 read as follows: 39 40 7. The authority shall have the following powers: a. To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the 41 conduct of its business; 42 b. To adopt an official common seal and alter it at its pleasure; 43 c. To maintain an office at a place or places within the State as 44 it may designate; 45 d. To sue and be sued in its own name; 46 e. To acquire, construct, maintain, operate, and support 47 projects; 48 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 8 f. To assist in planning for the development of the transportation system in South Jersey, in conjunction with federal, State, local, and other public entities, as appropriate; g. To acquire, construct, maintain, and operate feeder roads; h. To issue bonds or notes of the authority for the purposes of this act and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof as provided in this act; i. In the exercise of any of its powers, to fix and revise from time to time and charge and collect tolls, fares, passenger facility charges, or other charges for transit over or use of any project of the authority, including but not limited to any reduced fare or charge programs as deemed appropriate by the authority; and to determine levels of service to be provided by the authority either directly or by contract. Any revenues collected shall be available to the authority for use in furtherance of any of the purposes of [this act] the "South Jersey Transportation Authority Act," P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-1 et seq.); j. To set and collect rents, fees, charges, or other payments for the lease, use, occupancy or disposition of properties owned or leased by the authority. Any revenues collected shall be available to the authority for use in furtherance of any of the purposes of [this act] the "South Jersey Transportation Authority Act," P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-1 et seq.); k. To enter into contracts with any public or private entity to operate motorbus regular route service, motorbus charter service, marine passenger service, rail passenger service, and air passenger service or portions or functions thereof; however, these contracts shall not supplant any services operated pursuant to the "New Jersey Public Transportation Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-1 et seq.); l. To acquire, lease as lessee or lessor, own, rent, use, hold, and dispose of real property and personal property or any interest therein, in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under [this act] the "South Jersey Transportation Authority Act," P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-1 et seq.); m. To acquire in the name of the authority by purchase, gift or 36 otherwise, on terms and conditions and in a manner as the authority 37 may deem proper, or by the exercise of the power of eminent 38 domain except as against the State of New Jersey, any land and 39 other property which the authority may determine is necessary for 40 any project or for the relocation or reconstruction of any public 41 highway by the authority under the provisions of [this act] the 42 "South Jersey Transportation Authority Act," P.L.1991, c.252 43 (C.27:25A-1 et seq.) or the construction of any feeder road which 44 the authority is or may be authorized to construct and any and all 45 rights, title, and interest in that land and other property, including 46 public lands, parks, playgrounds, reservations, highways, or 47 parkways owned by or in which the State of New Jersey or any 48 A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 9 county, municipality, or other governmental subdivision of South 1 Jersey or any other federal, State or local government entity has any 2 right, title, or interest, or parts thereof or rights therein, and any fee 3 simple absolute or any lesser interest in private property, and any 4 fee simple absolute in, easements upon, or the benefit of restrictions 5 upon abutting property to preserve and protect projects; 6 n. To grant by franchise, lease, or otherwise, the use of any 7 project, facility, or property owned and controlled by the authority 8 to any person for the consideration and for the period or periods of 9 time and upon terms and conditions as are agreed upon, including 10 but not limited to, the condition that the lessee may construct or 11 provide any buildings or structures for the project facility or 12 property or portions thereof; 13 14 15 16 17 18 o. To locate and designate, and to establish, limit, and control points of ingress to and egress from each project as may be necessary or desirable in the judgment of the authority to insure the proper operation and maintenance of that project and to prohibit entrance to a project from any point or points not so designated; 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 p. Subject to the limitations of [this act] the "South Jersey Transportation Authority Act," P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-1 et seq.), to acquire, construct, maintain, or operate any public highway connecting with any one or more projects which in the opinion of the authority will increase the use of a project or projects, to take over for construction, maintenance or operation any existing public highway as a feeder road and to realign any existing public highway and build additional sections of road over new alignment in connection with that existing public highway; q. To establish rules and regulations pursuant to the 28 "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et 29 seq.) as are necessary for the management and regulation of its 30 affairs, the use, maintenance, and operation of the transportation 31 system, any project, the properties of the authority and the provision 32 of paratransit services to and from any transportation project and to 33 establish a plan for the management, control and regulation of 34 motorbus regular route and motorbus charter services, except for 35 those services which are operated pursuant to the "New Jersey 36 Public Transportation Act of 1979," P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-1 et 37 seq.); 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 r. To apply for, receive and accept from any federal agency, any bi-State agency, or the State and any subdivision thereof, subject to the approval of the commissioner, grants for or in aid of the planning, acquisition, or construction of any project, and to receive and accept aid or contributions from any other public or private source, of either money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied only for the purposes for which those grants and contributions may be made; 47 48 s. Subject to the limitations of [this act] the "South Jersey Transportation Authority Act," P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-1 et A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 10 1 seq.), to determine the location, type ,and character of any project and all other matters in connection with the project; 2 t. Subject to the rights and security interests of the holders 3 from time to time of bonds or notes issued by the authority, to enter 4 into contracts with the State or the department or the New Jersey 5 Transportation Trust Fund Authority, providing for the payment 6 from the revenues of the authority to the State or to the New Jersey 7 Transportation Trust Fund Authority of the amount or amounts of 8 revenues that may be set forth in or determined in accordance with 9 the contracts, provided, that the payments shall be used solely for 10 11 financing projects in South Jersey, including the payment of principal and interest on any bonds, notes or other obligations 12 issued or entered into by the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund 13 Authority, the proceeds of which shall be allocated by the New 14 Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority to projects within South 15 Jersey; any contracts authorized pursuant to this subsection may 16 17 include conditions and covenants necessary and desirable to 18 facilitate the issuance and sale of bonds, notes, and other obligations of the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority; 19 u. To enter into contracts or agreements with any entity for the 20 entity to issue bonds or notes on behalf of the authority and to make 21 payments to the entity to secure those bonds or notes; 22 23 24 25 26 27 v. To establish any reserves, funds, or accounts as may be deemed necessary by the authority and to deposit authority revenues in interest bearing accounts or in the State of New Jersey Cash Management Fund established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1977 c.281 (C.52:18A-90.4); 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 w. To procure and enter into contracts for any type of insurance and indemnify against loss or damage to property from any cause, including the loss of use and occupancy and business interruption, death or injury of any person, employee liability, any act of any member, officer, employee, or servant of the authority, whether part-time, compensated, or uncompensated, in the performance of the duties of office or employment or any other insurable risk or any other losses in connection with property, operations, assets, or obligations in any amounts and from any insurers as are deemed 37 desirable. In addition, the authority may carry its own liability insurance; [and] 38 39 x. To enter into any and all agreements or contracts, execute 40 41 any and all instruments, and do and perform any and all acts or things necessary, convenient or desirable for the purposes of the 42 authority or to carry out any power expressly given in [this act] "South Jersey Transportation Authority Act," P.L.1991, c.252 43 44 (C.27:25A-1 et seq.); and 45 y. To adopt regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to allow 46 47 motor vehicle operators on the authority's toll roads to select a 48 towing company for the provision of towing and storage services, 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 11 provided however, that the authority may award contracts for towing and storage of motor vehicles deemed abandoned. (cf: P.L.1991, c.252, s.7) 3. R.S.32:14-20 is amended to read as follows: 32:14-20. a. (1) The Palisades Interstate Park Commission may erect and operate elevators and escalators at such places in the park as it may deem necessary or expedient. The commission may provide and operate or provide by lease, charter, concession, exclusive or nonexclusive privilege, or otherwise, for the operation of such other facilities, including hotels, restaurants, stands, booths, amusements, docks, wharves, and any and all means of transportation to, from or in the park, for the use and enjoyment of the park by the public and for increasing the accessibility thereof to the public as it may deem to be necessary or expedient. The 16 commission may also provide at its discretion, by proper rules or regulations, the terms upon and the manner in which those facilities 17 18 may be used. The commission shall not issue or consent to 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 licenses, privileges, or franchises to individuals or corporations for the operation for private profit of any facility, utility, or device within the portions of the park in this State, except upon terms which will limit the operation of those licenses, franchises, or privileges to a period not exceeding 20 years in any event. (2) No such license, privilege, or franchise shall be authorized or awarded except after proper advertisement and to the responsible person who will, in open competition, offer to pay to the commission the highest return therefor. (3) All proceeds derived from the operation of those facilities or from any of the operations of the commission in this State shall be used by the commission for the development and management of the portions of the park in this State. b. (1) The commission shall [have power to make, alter, 32 amend, and repeal rules and] adopt regulations for the use and 33 government of the park as located within the limits of the State of 34 New Jersey, and of those parts of the State, county, and other public 35 highways as lie within the boundaries of those portions of the park 36 and of all lands, parks, and parkways in this State under the 37 jurisdiction of the commission. No rule or regulation made by the 38 commission relating to traffic on the roads under the jurisdiction of 39 the commission in the State of New Jersey shall require the 40 approval of any other commission or of any board, nor the holding 41 of a public hearing in connection with the adoption of the rule or 42 regulation. No rule or regulation heretofore made by the 43 commission relating to traffic shall be deemed to have required the 44 approval of any other commission or board, or the holding of any 45 public hearing in connection with the adoption of the rule or 46 regulation. 47 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 12 (2) The commission shall adopt regulations to allow motor vehicle operators on the Palisades Interstate Parkway or any road under the jurisdiction of the commission to select a towing company for the provision of towing and storage services, provided however that the commission may award contracts for towing and storage of motor vehicles deemed abandoned. c. (1) If a person violates any rule or regulation adopted or issued by the commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section, the commission may institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive relief to prohibit and prevent the violation and the court may proceed in a summary manner. (2) (a) A person who violates any rule or regulation adopted or issued by the commission pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall be guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense. (b) In addition, a person who violates any rule or regulation adopted or issued by the commission pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $1,500, plus restitution if applicable, for each offense, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c. 274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.) or in any case before a court of competent jurisdiction wherein injunctive relief has been requested. The Superior Court and municipal courts shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine violations of subsection a. of this section. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense. If the violation results in pecuniary gain to the violator, or the violator willfully or wantonly causes injury or damage to property, including but not limited to natural resources, the violator shall be liable to an additional civil penalty equal to three times the value of the pecuniary gain or injury or damage to property. (c) Penalties assessed pursuant to this paragraph shall be in addition to any other civil or criminal penalties that may be applicable pursuant to law. (cf: P.L.2005, c.330, s.3) 4. The following sections are repealed: Section 2 of P.L.2002, c.77 (C.27:23-6.2); and Section 3 of P.L.2002, c.77 (C.27:25A-8.1). 5. a. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect immediately. b. Section 3 of this act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the State of New York of legislation having an identical effect as section 3 of this act; but if the State of New York shall already have enacted such legislation, section 3 of this act shall take effect immediately. A5310 AUTH, THOMSON 13 c. Section 4 of this act shall take effect upon the effective date of the regulations promulgated pursuant to sections 1 and 2 of this act. STATEMENT 6 This bill requires the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), 7 which has jurisdiction over the New Jersey Turnpike and the 8 Garden State Parkway, and the South Jersey Transportation 9 Authority (SJTA), which has jurisdiction over the Atlantic City 10 Expressway, to adopt regulations that allow motor vehicle operators 11 on the respective authorities' toll roads to select a towing company 12 for the provision of towing and storage services, provided however, 13 that the respective authority may award contracts for towing and 14 storage of motor vehicles deemed abandoned. The bill also requires 15 the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (commission), which has 16 jurisdiction over the Palisades Interstate Parkway, to adopt similar 17 regulations for the Palisades Interstate Parkway and other roadways 18 under the jurisdiction of the commission. 19 The bill repeals sections of law concerning the registration of 20 towing companies by the NJTA and SJTA. 21

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