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@@4089241 IN BOX SPECIAL REPORT </p> CHINA IN 2011 </p> 1 : " China Is Communist in Name Only . " WRONG . If Vladimir Lenin were reincarnated in 21st-century Beijing and managed to avert his eyes from the city 's glittering skyscrapers and conspicuous consumption , he would instantly recognize in the ruling Chinese Communist Party a replica of the system he designed nearly a century ago for the victors of the Bolshevik Revolution . One need only look at the party 's structure to see how communist -- and Leninist -- China 's political system remains . Sure , China long ago dumped the core of the communist economic system , replacing rigid central planning with commercially minded state enterprises that coexist with a vigorous private sector . Yet for all their liberalization of the economy , Chinese leaders have been careful to keep control of the commanding heights of politics through the party 's grip on the " three Ps " : personnel , propaganda , and the People 's Liberation Army . </p> The PLA is the party 's military , not the country 's . Unlike in the West , where controversies often arise about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party is on constant guard for the opposite phenomenon , the depoliticization of the military . Their fear is straightforward : the loss of party control over the generals and their troops . In 1989 , one senior general refused to march his soldiers into Beijing to clear students out of Tiananmen Square , an incident now seared into the ruling class 's collective memory . After all , the army 's crackdown on the demonstrations preserved the party 's hold on power in 1989 , and its leaders have since worked hard to keep the generals on their side , should they be needed to put down protests again . </p> As in the Soviet Union , the party controls the media through its Propaganda Department , which issues daily directives , both formally on paper and in emails and text messages , and informally over the phone , to the media . The directives set out , often in detail , how news considered sensitive by the party -- such as the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo -- should be handled or whether it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the party dictates all senior personnel appointments in ministries and companies , universities and the media , through a shadowy and little-known body called the Organization Department . Through the department , the party oversees just about every significant position in every field in the country . Clearly , the Chinese remember Stalin 's dictate that the cadres decide everything . </p> Indeed , if you benchmark the Chinese Communist Party against a definitional checklist authored by Robert Service , the veteran historian of the Soviet Union , the similarities are remarkable . As with communism in its heyday elsewhere , the party in China has eradicated or emasculated political rivals , eliminated the autonomy of the courts and media , restricted religion and civil society , denigrated rival versions of nationhood , centralized political power , established extensive networks of security police , and dispatched dissidents to labor camps . There is a good reason why the Chinese system is often described as " market-Leninism . " </p> 2 : " The Party Controls All Aspects of Life in China . " NOT ANYMORE . No question , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 1949 until his death in 1976 . In those bad old days , ordinary workers had to ask their supervisors ' permission not only to get married , but to move in with their spouses . Even the precise timing for starting a family relied on a nod from on high . </p> Since then , the Chinese Communist Party has recognized that such intensive interference in people 's personal lives is a liability in building a modern economy . Under the reforms kick-started by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s , the party has gradually removed itself from the private lives of all but the most recalcitrant of dissidents . The waning in the 1980s and 1990s of the old cradle-to-grave system of state workplaces , health care , and other social services also dismantled an intricate system of controls centered on neighborhood committees , which among other purposes were used for snooping on ordinary citizens . </p> The party has benefited hugely from this shift , even if many young people these days have little knowledge of what the party does and consider it irrelevant to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not encouraged to take an interest in the party 's internal operations , anyway . Powerful party organs like the Organization and Propaganda Departments do not have signs outside their offices . They have no listed phone numbers . Their low profile has been strategically smart , keeping their day-to-day doings out of public view while allowing the party to take full credit for the country 's rapid economic growth . This is how China 's grand bargain works : The party allows citizens great leeway to improve their lives , as long as they keep out of politics . </p> 3 : " The Internet Will Topple the Party . " NOPE . Bill Clinton famously remarked a decade ago that the efforts of Chinese leaders to control the Internet were doomed , akin to " nailing Jello to a wall . " It turns out the former president was right , but not in the way he thought . Far from being a conveyor belt for Western democratic values , the Internet in China has largely done the opposite . The " Great Firewall " works well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Behind the firewall , however , hypernationalist netizens have a much freer hand . </p> The Chinese Communist Party has always draped itself in the cloak of nationalism to secure popular support and played up the powerful narrative of China 's historical humiliation by the West . Even run-of-the-mill foreign-investment proposals are sometimes compared to the " Eight Allied Armies " that invaded and occupied Beijing in 1900 . But when such views bubble up on the Internet , the government often skillfully manages to channel them to its own ends , as when Beijing used an online outburst of anti-Japanese sentiment to pressure Tokyo after a Chinese fishing-boat captain was arrested in Japanese waters . Such bullying tactics may not help China 's image abroad , but they have reinforced support at home for the party , which the state media is keen to portray as standing up to foreign powers . </p> Through its Propaganda Department , the party uses a variety of often creative tactics to ensure that its voice dominates the web . Not only does each locality have its own specially trained Internet police to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also overseen a system for granting small cash payments to netizens who post pro-government comments on Internet bulletin boards and discussion groups . Moreover , the dominant national Internet portals know that their profitable business models depend on keeping subversive content off their sites . If they consistently flout the rules , they can simply be shut down . </p> 4 : " Other Countries Want to Follow the China Model . " GOOD LUCK . Of course , many developing countries are envious of China 's rise . Which poor country would n't want three decades of 10 percent annual growth ? And which despot would n't want 10 percent growth and an assurance that he or she would meanwhile stay in power for the long haul ? China undoubtedly has important lessons to teach other countries about how to manage development , from fine-tuning reforms by testing them in different parts of the country to managing urbanization so that large cities are not overrun by slums and shantytowns . </p> Moreover , China has done this while consciously flouting advice from the West , using the market without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , foreign bankers trekked to Beijing to sell the gospel of financial liberalization , telling Chinese officials to float their currency and open their capital account . Who could blame China 's leaders for detecting the evident self-interest in such advice and rejecting it ? China 's success has given rise to the fashionable notion of a new " Beijing Consensus " that eschews the imposition of free markets and democracy that were hallmarks of the older " Washington Consensus . " In its place , the Beijing Consensus supposedly offers pragmatic economics and made-to-order authoritarian politics . </p> But look closer at the China model , and it is clear that it is not so easily replicated . Most developing countries do not have China 's bureaucratic depth and tradition , nor do they have the ability to mobilize resources and control personnel in the way that China 's party structure allows . Could the Democratic Republic of the Congo ever establish and manage an Organization Department ? China 's authoritarianism works because it has the party 's resources to back it up . </p> 5 : " The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Or at least for the foreseeable future . Unlike in Taiwan and South Korea , China 's middle class has not emerged with any clear demand for Western-style democracy . There are some obvious reasons why . All three of China 's close Asian neighbors , including Japan , became democracies at different times and in different circumstances . But all were effectively U.S. protectorates , and Washington was crucial in forcing through democratic change or institutionalizing it . South Korea 's decision to announce elections ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics , for example , was made under direct U.S. pressure . Japan and South Korea are also smaller and more homogeneous societies , lacking the vast continental reach of China and its multitude of clashing nationalities and ethnic groups . And needless to say , none underwent a communist revolution whose founding principle was driving foreign imperialists out of the country . </p> China 's urban middle class may wish for more political freedom , but it has n't dared rise up en masse against the state because it has so much to lose . Over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ array of economic reforms , even as it has clamped down hard on dissent . The freedom to consume -- be it in the form of cars , real estate , or well-stocked supermarkets -- is much more attractive than vague notions of democracy , especially when individuals pushing for political reform could lose their livelihoods and even their freedom . The cost of opposing the party is prohibitively high . Hence the hotbeds of unrest in recent years have mostly been rural areas , where China 's poorest , who are least invested in the country 's economic miracle , reside . " Workers of the world unite ! You have nothing to lose except your mortgages " does n't quite cut it as a revolutionary slogan . </p> All this is why some analysts see splits within the party as a more likely vehicle for political change . Like any large political organization , the Chinese Communist Party is factionalized along multiple lines , ranging from local fiefdoms ( exemplified on the national stage by the " Shanghai Gang " under former President Jiang Zemin ) to internal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Communist Youth League through Jiang 's successor Hu Jintao ) . There are also clear policy disputes over everything from the proper pace of political liberalization to the extent of the private sector 's role in the economy . </p> But highlighting these differences can obscure the larger reality . Since 1989 , when the party split at the top and almost came asunder , the cardinal rule has been no public divisions in the Politburo . Today , top-level cooperation is as much the norm as debilitating factional competition . Xi Jinping , the heir apparent , is set to take over at the next party congress in 2012 . Assuming his likely deputy , Li Keqiang , follows with the usual five-year term , China 's top leadership seems set until 2022 . For the Chinese , the United States looks increasingly like a banana republic by comparison . </p> The idea that China would one day become a democracy was always a Western notion , born of our theories about how political systems evolve . Yet all evidence so far suggests these theories are wrong . The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China to be a Western democracy -- and it seems to have all the tools it needs to ensure that it does n't become one . </p> Richard McGregor , former Beijing bureau chief of the Financial Times , is author of The Party : The Secret World of China 's Communist Rulers . </p> By RICHARD MCGREGOR </p>

@@4089341 Chocolate is not only a delectable treat all around the world , but a good example of an engineered food that has been designed and built industrially . Food scientists and engineers have learned to control the taste and flavor of chocolate , as well as its structure and thermal properties , so it has just the right texture and melts at just the right speed when we bite into it . </p> Industrially , the structure of chocolate is the result of a series of complex process operations , based on the trials and errors of thousands of cooks over hundreds of years . Today , we would like to be able to model how to create and modify that structure without so many trials and errors . </p> This represents a significant challenge , since molten chocolate is a complex non-Newtonian fluid , a material whose viscosity changes with the applied shear force . So are mayonnaise , peanut butter , egg whites , and also multigrade lubricants , molten polymers , and industrial slurries . </p> These liquids are much more difficult to model than Newtonian fluids like water . Nevertheless , some of the methods @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the food industry . </p> Understanding the mechanics and chemistry of chocolate production helps us design manufacturing processes and new types of products . It also makes it possible to find better ways to reduce fat and sugar content while retaining chocolate as an experience that people crave . Many of the lessons learned by working with chocolate can be applied to other foods to improve their taste and nutritional qualities to make better use of natural food resources in an increasingly hungry world . </p> Making Microstructured Foods The food industry has to produce products that people want to eat at a price they can afford . Foods are often physically complex fluids and soft solids , with rheological and material properties that are time- and process-dependent , and which have a natural variation . The microstructure of the material , at micrometer to millimeter scales , is critical to taste as well as nutrition . Creation of microstructure is very difficult to describe in engineering terms , but uses a combination of mechanical process such as mixing , heating , and cooling that act on the chemistry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the baking of bread , the material starts as flour and water , which is mixed to create a Theologically complex multiphase mixture of air and dough . The viscosity of the dough changes by several orders of magnitude over about one minute , and the structure then becomes a solid . Building a model of this is very difficult , and there is still no efficient model that describes the creation of bread 's structure ; but as bread has been made efficiently for several thousand years , clearly the experiment has proven easier than theory . </p> Many emulsion-based foods share these same non-Newtonian properties and offer similar challenges to modeling . Margarines and spreads , for example , are made by combining shear and temperature . First shear creates the droplet structure , and then-chilling produces a continuous phase which is solid enough to prevent droplet ripening . ( Droplets ripen when their size changes over time , and this eventually causes the emulsion to break down . ) </p> To manufacture foods to meet consumer demands it is thus important to understand how structure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as : </p> * Breakdown in the mouth determines the taste , texture , and eating pleasure of each product . </p> * Breakdown in the stomach and gastrointestinal tract determines what nutrients are transferred to the body and at what rate . </p> To control breakdown , so that the food is optimal in the mouth and in digestion , requires a combined understanding of food chemistry and material science , together with knowledge of how processing affects food structure , chemistry , and attractiveness . This understanding can be exploited to make , for example , low-fat products whose microstructure produces a mouth feel similar to the original . </p> Heat Transfer in Chocolate Chocolate is a complex structured product , a mixture of a dispersed hydrophilic phase made of sugar and cocoa solids in a continuous fat matrix rich in cocoa butter . The fat crystal structure determines both the macroscopic and sensory properties of chocolate . </p> The manufacture of chocolate involves a series of controlled thermal processes . The engineering problem is that there are many different crystalline states of cocoa butter , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using X-ray diffraction ( XRD ) and differential scanning calorimetry ( DSC ) . These polymorphs ( traditionally numbered using Roman numerals I-VI ) have different crystal structures and melting points between 14 and 32 C ( 57-90F ) . </p> The form that is attractive to the consumer , and is thus desired by the manufacturer , is form V , which melts rapidly in the mouth . Form V also has attractive mechanical and optical properties , giving chocolate a glossy surface and the ability to fracture . In addition , this form is easy to manufacture , as the chocolate sets in such a way that it readily demolds at the end of the process . </p> But it is not the thermodynamically stable form -- which can be seen when chocolate is heated and then cooled . As it cools , it " blooms , " that is , the cocoa butter separates from the rest of the material to yield a mottled , phase-separated form . This is not only unattractive in appearance , but it forms crystals that do not melt at body temperature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sold commercially is thus kinetically trapped . To make form V efficiently requires either the addition of seed crystals or a complex series of heating and shear processes that temper chocolate so it will solidify into the correct form . </p> Tempering is central to chocolate making . Shear and temperature are applied to the chocolate to create nuclei of the right form . </p> The liquid chocolate is then either poured into molds or poured in a curtain to cover the centers of chocolate bars . Conventional processing methods use slow cooling tunnels , reducing temperatures by 1-2 C per minute , which allows correctly tempered chocolate to set into the form required by the consumer . </p> Conventional solidification of chocolate has been extensively studied using differential scanning calorimetry , which involves measuring the heat flow required to melt or solidify the material . The combination of shear and time causes the polymorphic form to change from one which will result in untempered chocolate to one which gives the correct form . </p> For instance , data show that below some shear rate the material switches from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in stable tempered chocolate in the final product , to one that melts at 13 C , which will result in unstable and untempered chocolate . This type of process can be modeled relatively simply using conventional computational heat transfer programs if data for the variation of effective specific heat capacity , C , measured by differential scanning calorimetry as a function of cooling rate , are used in the thermal conduction equation </p> chocolate START TO FINISH </p> pre-formatted table For conventional cooling rates of 1-3 C /min. , this approach is sufficient to model cooling rates and does not require kinetic data for the rate of crystallization . But what happens if we want to cool our chocolate at faster rates ? This approach fails at higher cooling rates , and we require both kinetic and thermal data . </p> ' Frozen Come ' Processing Yet there is at least one exception to the rule that chocolate must cool slowly . Recently , processes have been developed that use cooling rates of tens of degrees per second for short times . Such processes include the manufacturing of thin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often filled later . Known as the frozen cone process , it involves the short application ( typically 3 seconds ) of a cold plunger ( held at about -20 C ) to shape the product to the required geometry , followed by traditional cooling tunnels . Conventional theory suggests that this should not produce a tempered product . Since the products are widely sold , the theory clearly needs modifying . </p> To explain how this can happen it is necessary to develop some kinetic understanding of the processes . At the University of Birmingham 's Centre for Formulation Engineering , we cooled and heated chocolate through rapid programmed temperature changes and then studied what happened using differential scanning calorimetry . </p> We fitted the data to six kinetic processes . To make the.modeling easier , the system of six polymorphs and liquid chocolate was simplified to model only three materials : stable solids , unstable solids , and melt . The stable solids are chocolate polymorphs that will lead to the correct final product , while the unstable solids are polymorphs that will lead to untempered chocolate . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , growth of stable and unstable phases , and the melting of the stable and unstable solids . </p> The model simplifies the number of crystal forms , but this simplification makes it possible to model differential scanning calorimetry data . Once fitted to differential scanning calorimetry data over a range of cooling rates , the model can then be used both to predict behaviour and to explain what is happening in the process . </p> The model can be used to show how ' frozen cone ' methods work . The thermal conductivity of chocolate is so low that the layer of chocolate affected by the short cooling stage -- and cooled into the untempered form -- is only a few hundred micrometers thick . Most of the material cools at the slow rates required to make conventionally tempered product . Much of the untempered material in that thin , flash-frozen layer transforms into a tempered structure after it is reheated by heat transfer from the rest of the chocolate , which was not affected by the frozen cone . </p> For chocolate processors , this is valuable information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for different chocolate products . Using the validated numerical model , we could estimate the time required to solidify the chocolate for different processing geometries and temperatures . </p> Research Challenges Overall , food processes are commonplace , but not well understood . They involve a large number of engineering processes . Improving the efficiency of these processes will create safer , healthier , and more sustainable foods . The challenge for the scientist and engineer is to understand the interaction between processing and structure , so we can control the taste and nutrient delivery of our products . </p> We have described work on chocolate that can be used to explain industrial processes , but we also could have discussed the design of baking or margarine processes . The engineering model makes it easier to understand existing processes and to design new ones . </p> Frozen cone technology ( far left ) can produce an entire assortment of chocolates in a single cycle . A frozen cone ( left ) close up . Rapid chilling ( below ) rapidly freezes chocolate into a hollow shape . It is then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conventional chocolates . </p> The structure of the product is important both in enhancing consumer response ( as taste and mouth feel ) and in providing nutrition ( by delivery to the stomach and GI tract ) . Little is known about the processes of digestion and the best way to deliver food to the body . Eating and digestion constitute a complex mixing and reaction problem that has not been widely studied by engineers . Yet this type of understanding is needed to enable rational design of better foods , and to design materials that deliver the right molecule at the right time . </p> Work at University of Birmingham described here was carried out as part of projects funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council , the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council , and the Technology Strategy Board of the U.K. The research received industrial support from Cadbury , Magna Ltd. , Campden BRI , Heineken , Unilever , and others . This article is based on a keynote speech delivered at the August 2010 International Heat Transfer Conference lHTCU in Washington , D.C. Further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Peter Fryer is head of the School of Chemical Engineering and Serafim Bakalis a Birmingham Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. </p> By Peter Fryer , Head of the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham in the U.K and Serafim Bakalis , Bakalis a Birmingham Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham in the U.K </p>

@@4117141 In this article the author discusses the role that committees play within a university 's bureaucracy . This article takes a close look at key committees on the university campus and how they shape policy and practice . It explores how committees can prove to be a vital and needed avenue to change . The author sees committees as " the life blood of a university " and discusses how they have become ingrained and institutionalize within the university system regardless of the size of the institution . The article concludes that although committees are flawed and often used to trumpet personal agendas they can in the end be beneficial to the smooth and efficient running of a university . </p> The dreaded nine letter word that spreads loathing and frustration throughout the academic community . Those within the university setting know the word all too well . Even though most universities require their personnel to serve on at least one or two annually , z many individuals spend a good deal of their time avoiding participation on them . Both within and outside of academia the perception of committee work is usually quite negative . Fred Allen called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a group decide that nothing can be done . " This belief that committees hinder and forestall needed change is quite prevalent within many universities . As a result , often committees are seen as ineffective and its members ' efforts viewed as a waste of valuable time . The reality is though , that whether or not they are seen as inefficient , they are indeed crucial to higher education . They are in fact the life blood of a university . No matter the size of the school , no matter its mission or focus , no matter the breath of its resources , committees are an integral institutionalize part of the day to day running of any institution . Throughout a university there are many different types of committees designed to fulfill specific functions within well defined areas of influence . </p> The University Level Committee work on the university level is seen as critical to a school 's mission . There are many committees formed on this level to meet specific needs . Some are more important than others . One of the most important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ helps develop a university 's vision as well as formulate strategies to plan and guide the institution 's future . There are also varied leadership committees on the university level that work to teach effective leadership skills to present and future leaders at the school . Other important university committees include budget committees , tenure granting committees , and curriculum committees , to name but a few . Each and every one of these committees is tasked to deal with issues that affect the institution as a whole . </p> The Department Level On the department level there is also a wide array of committees . Some of these are faculty based including faculty hiring committees , tenure recommendation committees , and handbook committees . Others such as department curriculum committees deal with the development , revision , and implementation of new courses or programs . There can be accreditation or assessment committees on the departmental level as well . There can even be committees designed to self police department policies and personnel . </p> The Student Level Universities establish key student centered committees . These include committees dealing with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student appeals about grades , or readmission , or even faculty complaints . There are also committees to monitor the progress of students , and still others to set academic and disciplinary policies and procedures . All are viewed as vital for providing a quality education to the students . </p> The Committee Structure Committees can be standing committees with fixed responsibilities or temporary ad hoc committees , including taskforces established to accomplishing specific goals . These temporary committees include such entities as steering committees for accreditation , budget committees , crisis committees , building committees , fundraising committees , and even flu committees . Within the organizational bureaucratic structure of the committee framework committees are often divided into sub-committees . These smaller versions of the larger committee are assigned specific goals to achieve . The belief is that people working on specific tasks will function more efficiently . These sub-committees also in theory work to promote shared governance by involving a larger number of faculty and staff , who in turn provide more input and greater " buy in " to the goals of the committee . </p> In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be literally dozens and dozens of committees all working simultaneously and supposedly in coordination with each other . Together they greatly impact the daily work and lives of faculty , staff , and students . </p> Ineffective Committees Charles Kettering said that " If you want to kill any idea in the world today , get a committee working on it . " </p> It is true that some committees are inefficient and some actually hinder more than help the overall goals of a university . In fact , at times some committees make a concerted effort to derail any new initiatives . This can be done for several reasons . Committees may simply decide to maintain the status quo out of fear of causing problems . In conjunction with this is the belief that no one can get into trouble if nothing is done . At other times the thought is that if no initiatives are moved forward , than no extra work and no new resources would be required . When any of these occurs important opportunities to make valuable changes are thwarted . </p> It is also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision will be correct or in the best interest of a university or its students . David Coblit points out " A committee can make a decision that is dumber than any of its members . " </p> Although committee participation can be a time consuming inefficient process which can often be frustrating and produce questionable results at times , for the most part the use of committees is preferable to the alternative . This would be a top down decision making model with very little input from departments , faculty , staff , or students . </p> New Initiatives Committees , if utilized effectively , can be successful avenues for planting seeds for important ideas . For example , if an individual wishes to champion a special initiative or bring an important idea to the forefront , that person can begin by introducing the idea at a committee meeting . If that individual then serves on a second committee the idea can then be reintroduced at that committee 's meeting as well with the additionally benefit of being able to state that the idea had been already discussed at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divulge the fact that it was the individual who presented the idea initially . It is sufficient to state that the idea was discussed elsewhere . </p> The key here is for an individual to be on as many committees as possible so the process can be repeated over and over again gaining more momentum each time . Eventually , as this momentum grows the individual will be able to reintroduce the idea in committee after committee and report that the initiative is being discussed on a wide scale in multiple committees . </p> Consequently , as the idea is discussed in a number of committees in this manner there is less and less incentive for someone to challenge the idea since " it is being discussed all across campus . " Effectively employing this strategy also gives an individual the opportunity to piggyback one idea on another . </p> Personal Incentives The key for any individual working within a university is to select the proper committees on which to serve . Careful selection and participation in the more important and influential committees will not only provide opportunities to develop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one 's own personal sphere of influence in the process . </p> Committee participation can be advantageous for the individual in several other ways . </p> Actively serving and especially chairing a committee , makes the individual seem dedicated to a university and its causes . These committees also work to build personal power bases by allowing the individual greater input into the decision making process and by providing the opportunity to network with key university personnel . </p> Committee participation also provides those who work on them the opportunity to gain inside knowledge and information not available to those who do not serve . This knowledge allows committee members to have a better understanding of what is occurring on campus and to see the " bigger picture " regarding campus strategies , allocation of resources , initiatives , and even campus politics . They are privy to both current and future university plans and goals . This information can prove invaluable on many levels . </p> Conclusions In the final analysis most committees are effective and are beneficial to the smooth and efficient running of a university . As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an integral part of the operation of any campus . </p> More importantly , committees will also continue to serve as the venue for academic change within a university . Therefore it just makes good sense for an individual to serve on as many committees as time and energy will allow . This service will most assuredly result in both professional and personal gain for any individual who is willing to put in the extra effort . </p> If individuals understand the real importance of committee work they may be able to see that this nine letter word called " committee " can lead to another more sought after nine letter word , " promotion ; " promotion of an individual 's ideas ; promotion of an individual 's professional success ; and promotion of an individual 's personal influence and power . </p> As Graham Summer so rationally advocated " If you live in a country run by committee , be on the committee . " This advice is well worth heeding . </p> References Allen , F. ( 2011 ) . **25;53817;TOOLONG </p> Coblit , D. ( 2011 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . **25;53871;TOOLONG </p> Summer , G. ( 2011 ) . **25;53898;TOOLONG </p> By Joseph Simplicio , Dr. , Educational Consultant </p>

@@4117241 IT 'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY in heaven , as all days are , Renowned scientists and mathematicians are lodged here , in a special section of paradise ( and quite a few engineers have managed to infiltrate down through the eons . ) </p> On this particular day a visitor might note several ethereal residents floating around in a cloud-speckled field of blue . This particular group includes : Eratosthenes , who measured the circumference of earth with a stick , the sun , and a deep well ; Galileo Galilei , who made his own telescopes , defined the early solar system , and founded the science of mechanics ; Marie Curie , ( Madame , if you please ) ; Isaac Newton ; Albert Einstein ; and Michael Faraday , among many others . The last is sitting on a small , comfortable cloud relating an anecdote about a nearsighted laboratory assistant and his misadventure with a visiting dignitary 's hat that he mistook for a storage vessel for spent acids . </p> As he approaches his punchline , the authoritative voice of Saint Peter reverberates across the sky . As the official gatekeeper and majordomo of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ </p> In a roaring baritone , Peter bellows out : " All right , you people ! I 've had it with you . Some of you have been hanging around here for over a thousand years and all you do is loaf and tell jokes . Also , I have n't seen a lot of you at heavenly choir practice lately . There are big problems down on earth , what with the planet heating up and the demand for energy outpacing its supply . If something is n't done about it , everybody down there will die . That would give us an overload problem here that we could n't handle . The boss is calling for a Cosmic-Council Conclave to vote appropriations to finance expansion of our facilities . The other place , down below , will be facing a similar problem housing their share of the crowd . The boss wants several of you to form an ad hoc committee to come up with some ideas to solve earth 's problems . Some of you will probably have to go down there for a closer look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me know what you come up with , so I can brief the boss . You know where to find me -- in the little house by the pearly gates . </p> Newton : " It appears that master Peter is having a problem with his liver again . " </p> Galileo ( a contentious and cranky old codger -- you 'd be too if you 'd been interviewed by the Inquisition on their executive model rack ) : " the last time he got this way , we all caught " </p> " Do n't use that word around here ! " bellows Peter . </p> Galileo : " I do n't think there 's going to be a quick fix on this one . " </p> Marie Curie , who has a flair for organization , suggests a meeting of all several million scientists currently registered in heaven . Her organizational skills do n't include practicality . </p> Newton : " Marie , by the time everyone gets to speak , we 'll be well past final judgment day . " ( Newton , standing in his seventeenth-century @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a figure from a deck of playing cards . Peter once suggested that he wear a linen gown like most of the other inhabitants . But Newton would n't hear of it and insisted that what he 'd worn on earth should be quite acceptable in the hereafter . ) </p> " Besides , Wolfgang Pauli was telling me the other day that he was thoroughly convinced that his famous Exclusion Principle applies to heavenly beings on the astral plane as well as to the electrons in an atom . Be that so , it might be impossible to crowd all those souls into one heavenly system . Let us study the problem from our perspective and come up with a few possible solutions . The London Times should have some pertinent information . Let 's send one of the cherubs down to fetch a copy . Louis , you pay the angel for the paper and be sure to give him a tip . " </p> Louis de Broglie ( Nobel Prize winner and legitimate pretender to the Bourbon throne of France ) : " Why do I always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Because you owned your own castle in the middle of the Seine . Besides , you won your Nobel Prize for something you wrote in your Ph.D . dissertation -- which no one else has ever done . </p> De Broglie : " Does that mean that I 'm made of money ? " </p> Newton : " Yes . " </p> Einstein : " Why not get some input from two of our youngest members : Evariste Galois and Neils Abel . As you all know , Galois was killed in a duel at age twenty , soon after he 'd created the mathematical field of group theory and before he could possibly solve the quintic equation problem that has baffled mathematicians for centuries . " </p> " Big deal , " mutters Galileo . </p> " Shut up , " whispers Curie . </p> " As I was about to say , before being so rudely interrupted , " continues Einstein , " Young Abel died of starvation and tuberculosis before he could win acclaim for his proof that the quintic equation could n't be solved by formula @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation . " </p> Enrico Fermi : " No matter how you slice this loaf of bread , it 's going to involve atomic energy . I did n't work myself to death at an early age so my achievement of nuclear fission would be junked because the corporate hyenas and their bought-and-paid-for politicians tried to exploit it for quick profit before all aspects such as waste disposal and effective safety procedures were worked out . I have an idea about deactivating radioactive waste using some of the energy released by the fission . </p> " By recycling just a small portion of the energy now wasted by inadequate insulation , most if not all of these troublesome radioactive isotopes could be accelerated along their normal decay paths to their final , natural , nonradioactive states , such as lead . " </p> Walther Nernst : " Yes , but what about the second law of thermodynamics ? " </p> Fermi : " You and Nicholas Carnot did a fine job of defining entropy , Walther , but you have trouble applying it . The radioactive wastes wo n't be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to their final , natural end-products : non-radioactive , non-harmful to man . What would have taken thousands of years will be achieved in minutes , days , or perhaps weeks . " </p> " This nontoxic trash could be placed anywhere without radiation danger to anyone . We might even be able to fill in some of the potholes in the American interstate system . Something the politicians are doing nothing about . " </p> Farady : " Enrico , you know it is improper to make political statements or to voice such agenda here . " </p> Fermi : " There can be no technical fix without first a political one , for the simple reason that the politicians control the money . And they in turn are controlled by the for-profit corporations . Unless they get their hands on it , somehow , nothing will happen . " </p> Curie : " The world 's two biggest polluters , China and the United States , are controlled by small , elite segments of their respective populations : in China a self-serving bureaucracy -- in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The rotten selfish bastards . " ( A clap of thunder sounds . ) </p> Authoritarian voice : " Watch your language . " </p> Galileo : " Sorry , boss . " </p> Curie : " It seems there can be no scientific fix until the dual cancers of corporate greed and political corruption are eliminated . " </p> Edward Jenner ( the " Father of Immunology " ) : " Perhaps if the world went back to single-celled life-forms without the corrupt and deviant human species -- he who fouls his own environment as well as those of all other lifeforms -- the next time around evolution might produce a dominant form that 's more in line with reality . " </p> A slight rumble comes from the sky . </p> Newton : " It appears that ' evolution ' is still a bad word around here . " </p> Fermi : " It was n't a very loud rumble , perhaps the word is gaining acceptance . " </p> Faraday : " It 's important that we establish an agenda before we go flying down to earth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boss . " </p> Galileo : " What are we going to do about the politicians and their corporate bosses ? " </p> Curie : " To recite our not well-established mantra , ' If there is to be a technical fix , it must be implemented through a political fix . ' " </p> Thomas Edison : " I wonder if Elizabeth I had any idea what a monster she was unleashing on the world when she issued the first patents of corporation to the Honorable East India Opium and Tea Company . " </p> Newton : " ' T is a sad state , but we must get around it . " </p> Nernst : " In the nineteenth century , when Mount Krakatau detonated , a lot of debris was blasted into the stratosphere . For five years much of it remained aloft , reflecting sunlight back into space . The result was some of the coolest years experienced in modern times . If we could use hydrogen bombs to trigger off a string of volcanoes along the earth 's equator , we might be able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made . " </p> Curie : " Walther , stick to thermodynamics . " </p> Galileo : " To get back to my point : It wo n't do a bit of good to talk to the politicians unless we offer them something . Currently , systems are so corrupt , at least one of them has gone so far as to give the instruments of the very wealthy -- that is , corporations -- legal personhood . This way , when corporate executives do something criminal , they can hide behind the corporation that takes the blame , gets slapped on the wrist , and gets fined some paltry amount . " </p> Joseph Priestly ( controversial clergyman and chemist ) : " I must echo Isaac 's lament , ' t is a sad affair . I was chased out of England and my house burned to the ground because I said that English coal miners should be treated with respect and their labors fairly rewarded . </p> " I ended up in the colonies , where I met and befriended Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin . While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by means of which I discovered anti-phlogiston , which most people now call oxygen , except the Germans , who call it Sauerstoff . I too agree that a technical solution wo n't work until the power brokers and the politicians they own allow it . That wo n't happen until the corporation can exploit it for quick profit , which of course would be done in the cheapest possible way -- probably causing more economic and environmental damage than before . " </p> Fermi : " On a technical note , in 1956 Alvarez and Teller published a little-noticed letter in Physical Reviews describing the fusion of two deuterium atoms in the gas phase . The electrons in these atoms had been replaced by two negatively charged mesons ( pions ) ; an enormous amount of energy was released , which could probably be controlled . If the pions could be produced economically , this could be the key to almost unlimited energy . But it 's back to the politicians , as always . " </p> Evariste Galois : " I got killed in a stupid duel over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimate the temperature changes on earth that will result if the planet 's tilt is changed slightly by the judicious application of hydrogen bombs so that " </p> Galileo : " Nonsense . If anything , the average temperature would increase and the tilt would have to be changed every six months . " </p> Galois : " It was just a thought . " </p> Galileo : " Not a very good one . " </p> Ferdinand de Lesseps : " I discovered certain things about cloud formations above construction sites and how they moderated temperatures when I was building the Panama Canal . If that bastard Teddy Roosevelt sky rumbles again had n't interfered and stirred up resistance among the indigenous people , I would have completed the canal and worked out the weather patterns . Of course , yellow fever and those gutless financiers withdrawing their support because Teddy huffed and puffed had a lot to do with my failure . " </p> Faraday : " I never dreamed I would say it , but we must bribe the politicians -- offer them something the corporations ca @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talking about ? " </p> Faraday : " You 're standing on it . Or perhaps I should say floating in it . We all know that a great many politicians never end up here ; they often go to the other place , along with greedy corporate executives and lobbyist-bagmen . Let us get authority from the boss to offer key politicians access to heaven , if they play ball with us on our agenda . " </p> Newton : " Good ! It 's settled then . First we get Peter to intercede about immigration quotas for politicians . Then some of us should go down to the hot place to get input from the pols down there . We 'll need fireproof passports and refrigerated space suits . " </p> All : " Let 's go ! " </p> By JOE MURPHY </p> Joe Murphy , Ph.D. , is a former research chemist and one-time disc jockey who says he grew up oblivious to the desperation and financial devastation wreaked by corporate game-play . In retirement he 's discovered two things about himself : I ) He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberal -- politically and socially -- than he used to be . Ultimately both factors have steered him toward writing . </p>

@@4117441 The Holy Grail of screenwriting is a story that will immediately make agents , producers , directors and actors sit up and take notice . A recent rereading of the advertising classic Ogilvy on Advertising revealed that David Ogilvy , the godfather of modern advertising , had the prescription not only for ads with big ideas but also scripts . </p> " You will never win fame and fortune , " he writes , " unless you invent big ideas . It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product . Unless your advertising contains a big idea , it will pass like a ship in the night . " </p> In screenplay terms , this does n't mean you have to write one of those big summer action movies . In this case , " big " means impactful . A " small " film can have big ideas -- for example , the issue of having a child when you 're not in a relationship , which was the theme of the very successful film Juno . Another example is the classic novel and film To Kill a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the inspiration for their careers . </p> Ogilvy suggested asking yourself five questions to determine whether something really is a big idea : </p> * Did it make me gasp when I first saw it ? </p> * Do I wish I had thought of it myself ? </p> * Is it unique ? </p> * Does it fit the strategy to perfection ? </p> * Could it be used for 30 years ? </p> In movie terms , questions one through three make sense as they are . For question four we might substitute , " Does it fulfill the demands of the genre to perfection ? " In other words , if it 's a comedy , is it really funny ? If it 's a horror picture , is it truly scary ? And the fifth question could translate to , " Will people still want to see it in 30 years ? " </p> It 's a tall order , and probably only one out of 100 or 1,000 of your ideas will let you answer yes to all five questions . All the more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come up with a true winner . </p> Would n't it be easier just to try to follow a formula ? You know , the hero 's journey , the three acts , the 22 steps , or one of the other templates . Could you not just fill in the blanks ? </p> The answer is no . You 're not going to get a unique story by slavishly making your story fit a predetermined pattern . Here 's what Ogilvy said about how to come up with these kinds of big ideas : " Big ideas come from the unconscious . This is true in art , in science , and in advertising . But your unconscious has to be well informed , or your idea will be irrelevant . Stuff your conscious mind with information , then unhook your rational thought process . " </p> My point is not to demonize the idea of the three-act structure or the hero 's journey , etc. , but to say they should be your servants , not your master . Your story , which comes from the unconscious and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ craft of screenwriting , must come first . </p> Your big idea can take many forms . The core of a big idea could also be called the theme . Probably it will be something about which you feel strongly . The great advantage screenwriters and novelists have is that they can clothe their beliefs so well in entertainment , with such a great choice of genres , that even a familiar theme can become fresh again . The way that you express your theme often is the part of the big idea that makes people take notice . </p> For example , one of the great lessons of life is that sometimes the best thing you can do for someone you love is to let them go . This could be addressed in a romantic drama in which the lovers realize that their dreams for their lives are too different , or a drama about the spouse of a terminally ill person who is refusing further treatment . </p> It could even be addressed in a science-fiction context-indeed , it was , in E.T. , when young Eliott realized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must help him leave . </p> Finding a new way to express a universal theme is key . It certainly worked for Steven Spielberg , and also for James Cameron when he decided to re-tell the Romeo and Juliet tale on a sinking ship . </p> Ways to get a big idea Here 's how you can encourage your subconscious mind to come up with the kind of big ideas that fit Ogilvy 's criteria : </p> * Keep a record of your dreams . Many unique stories , like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , have been inspired by dreams . </p> * Read widely , especially stories that have stood the test of time , as part of your campaign to make your unconscious well-informed . </p> * Take a notebook with you wherever you go , so you can catch fleeting thoughts ( or you can record them using your cell phone ) . </p> * When you see a movie that has an emotional impact on you , that you feel compelled to talk about to your friends , that you want to see again , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are much harder to conjure than the special effects in big-budget movies . </p> * Have regular brainstorming sessions where you start with a list of random words and see what ideas each one prompts . When you are brainstorming , remember to go for quantity and do n't judge the ideas as you go along . Write down all the ideas that come up , even the ones you know immediately are bad ones . </p> Later , when you sit down to evaluate what you 've come up with , you may find that combining two " bad " ideas results in one great one . Simply retelling the Romeo and Juliet story in a conventional setting would have been a weak idea , as would re-telling only the story of the Titanic 's demise . It was the combination of the two that made Titanic a huge hit . </p> A few things to play with When you have decided on a theme and want to explore a variety of ways to make it fresh , here are some elements you can play with : </p> * @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ford , benefits from taking place largely within an Amish community because it brings a man who lives by the gun into a location where nonviolence is the highest value . </p> * The gender of the protagonist . As stereotypes dissolve , this is not as big a factor as it once was , but reversing the expected roles can still add novelty , especially in comedies . One example is making Arnold Schwarzenegger a kindergarten teacher in Kindergarten Cop . </p> * The nature of the players . </p> Would your story work as an animated film ? Or could one or more of your characters be a robot , an alien , or a talking animal ? District 9 created a fresh take on apartheid by making the oppressed minority aliens . </p> The point is not to come up with a gimmick for the sake of it ; the goal is to find a means of telling the story that transforms it into a big idea . When you try out some of these variations you may find that you have a sudden " Aha ! @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't stop too soon When brainstorming , it 's tempting to stop when we have a good idea . As writers , we are itching to get to the good part -- the actual writing of the script . But , as Ogilvy knew , the really big ideas are rare . When you have a good concept , continue to generate more . And then generate some more yet . It 's not the good idea you 're looking for ; it 's the great one . </p> When you 've found that , and written a terrific screenplay based on it , you may have created something unique that will make people gasp , that other writers will wish they 'd thought of , that is right on target for its genre , and that will still be on people 's " must-see " list in 30 years ' time . </p> If you can do that , Hollywood and the international film industry will be clamoring for your work . Now there 's a big idea ! </p> A few screenwriting ' commandments ' that may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screenwriters offer my take on " The Ten Commandments of Scriptwriting ( and why you should break them ) . " Following are some of those " rules . " ( Read the piece in full in the Top Tips section of yourwritingcoach.com , and sign up for my free newsletter at screenwritingsuccess.com . ) </p> Thou shalt make thy protagonists likable . Did you like the godfather ( the man , not the film ) ? Hannibal Lecter ? Did you like Rick in Casablanca ( at least for the first two-thirds of the film ) ? Probably not , but odds are you found them fascinating . If your script makes us want to see what happens next to the protagonist , that 's enough . </p> Thou shalt make thy dialogue short . One screenwriting book actually dictates , " Do n't write any dialogue longer than three lines . " Hmm , just as well Tarantino did n't read that before writing Pulp Fiction , or Alan Ball before writing American Beauty . If you have intelligent , articulate characters , why gag them ? If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the audience wo n't balk at longer speeches . </p> Thou shalt have a villain opposing thy protagonist . This is n't actually wrong , just not always necessary . Obviously , if you 're writing a flick in which terrorists are trying to blow up the world or a serial killer is stalking your detective , you 'll need a good bad guy . But many of the most interesting films look at how we can be our own worst enemy , or how we have to battle our circumstances ( The Full Monty , Annie Hall , Citizen Kane ) . These films are harder to write because they do n't fit as easily into structural formulas and they ask the writer to look more deeply into himself . They can be tougher to sell because they do n't appeal to the youngest audiences . However , when they work , they 're the kinds of movies that stick in peoples minds for years . </p> Thou shalt write full character biographies and outlines . For some writers , having an exact road map for their script @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For others , it takes all the creative joy out of writing . Each of us has to find our own way . For example , I have found that getting to know my characters via visualizations is a hundred times more effective than writing character bios-but it might not work that way for you . </p> Thou shalt not be original . Surely nobody is saying " Do n't be original " ? Oh yes they are , just not in those exact words . Many of the scriptwriting books tell you it 's poison to write for older protagonists ( tell that to the makers of Waking Ned Devine ) , or in an unpopular genre ( see Unforgiven ) , or complex stories that may confuse the audience ( like The Usual Suspects ? ) . The fact is that every breakthrough film is , by definition , different from the norm . </p> Thou shalt make thy endings happy . Did Pulp Fiction have a happy ending ? What about American Beauty ? What about Y Tu Mam Tambin ? . A lot of excellent films @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of real life rather than the neat conclusions of many Hollywood studio offerings . Of course , there 's nothing wrong with a happy ending , if it fits your story , but if it does n't , stay true to your story . </p> By Jurgen Wolff </p> Jurgen Wolff has written more than 100 TV episodes for shows that include Family Ties , Benson and Relic Hunter . His miniseries , Midnight Man , starred Rob Lowe , and his feature film , The Real Hawaii Spitz , starred Kelsey Grammer . He has also been a script doctor on films starring Eddie Murphy , Michael Caine and Kim Cattrall . His latest book is Your Writing Coach ( Nicholas Brealey ) , which covers the writing process from idea through to publication or production . </p>

@@4117541 ADULTS </p> ROUGH SLEEPING </p> A group of women who sleep rough in London refuse help , seeing homelessness as their choice . They do not take drugs or abuse alcohol but may have undiagnosed mental health issues . We asked three College of Social Work representatives what they would do in response to two such cases The options for professionals Victoria Hart , social worker , approved mental health professional and spokesperson for The College of Social Work It seems we need to be mindful of a number of things in relation to Andrea . What exactly is the " problem " that is caused by her behaviour ? Is it more about concerns of society rather than concerns that she has for herself ? </p> According to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 , we make an assumption of capacity , and just because she is 66 this does not encumber her with any specific remit to be " vulnerable " under safeguarding guidelines . There has to be a specific need or " vulnerability " , and age alone is not enough for us to make assumptions about what is in her best interests . </p> Services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unless she does present a risk to herself or others to a degree that would warrant compulsory action being taken such as a detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 . </p> She has built up informal networks with the police so my advice would be to continue with a befriending/outreach service and to be mindful of any particular changes in her presentation . </p> Claire Barcham , professional practice development adviser , The College of Social Work Whatever the temptations to intervene robustly for the sake of someone 's welfare , we have to respect people 's liberty to lead the lives they rationally choose . </p> In this case , the worker has clearly identified that , although Andrea has views that are different from those of other people in her community , she is conscious of the possible outcomes of her decisions . </p> Respecting her right to make these decisions while ensuring that Andrea knows how to get help in the future is key . It may also make it more likely that Andrea will seek help from the outreach team in the future should she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to alienate her further . </p> It might be useful to see whether Andrea can identify situations where she might want help , and who she would plan to ask for that help . The worker might also then be able to work with a worst case scenario should any of these situations arise . </p> Chris Russell , social worker working with older people and spokesperson for The College of Social Work Andrea is well known in her community and I would make the best use of this . Although she has consistently refused help , people 's circumstances change , especially in relation to physical health as they get older . </p> I would gather colleagues from health services , the police and others who , it is clear , Andrea knows well and has regular contact with , and ask them to construct plans to engage with Andrea at the point she requests help , or becomes in need of assistance , as a victim of crime for example . </p> Andrea 's community associates know her better than anyone and they are an essential resource @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longer term . The group could be informal or be part of local arrangements for adult safeguarding . </p> I do n't believe this will be a swift route to success but a key part of good practice is planning ahead and having appropriate contingencies in place . </p> The options for professionals Victoria Hart There are issues regarding choice and capacity in Beatrice 's case , including the right of people to make " unwise " decisions . However , there is plainly a potential vulnerability due to her fluid retention , which may also mask other physical health problems . </p> It is important to say , though , that there has been no diagnosis of mental health needs and it may be that statutory services can not provide the services that instinctively we might assume should be involved . </p> Eccentricity does n't necessarily mean you would lack the capacity to make a decision whether to engage , although there is clear evidence that she is amenable to building relationships as she did with the outreach worker . </p> In this situation , regular , reliable outreach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beatrice will build a relationship of trust with a key worker who will be able to encourage her to access more services . </p> The Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets clear guidelines about the limits of imposing services on people who do not wish to access them . Although it is important to offer assistance , we need to be mindful that people have autonomy and choice . </p> Claire Barcham Beatrice 's story is not an unfamiliar one . As the outreach worker indicates , there is likely to be a long road ahead before she can be engaged by services . I was impressed by the </p> work of the CPN in going to the library which emphasises the importance of getting to know her own world view and what is important to her . It may , for example , be feasible to engage with her about the possibility of returning to work and what might need to happen in order for that to happen . </p> It is possible that there is an underlying mental health problem which she is able to mask with her intellect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only be able to manage if she is not faced with a stressful event . </p> As a consequence , while she may not be sectionable at present , I would n't rule out this possibility in the future . </p> Given her Irish ancestry , it might be worth asking local Catholic churches whether they know her . If so , depending on the priest , they may provide a useful alliance either to encourage Beatrice to accept help or to alert professionals if her situation deteriorates . </p> Chris Russell Some success has already been achieved here , for example through a contact and gathering greater knowledge of Beatrice . </p> The Steven Hoskin serious case review would be a useful resource to consider . Significant learning from this was that professionals must continue to try to engage with people they assess as vulnerable , even when they are discouraged from doing so . </p> Contemporary adult safeguarding practice would promote prevention in this situation , so I would make a safeguarding referral as a formal method of formulating an engagement and safety plan . </p> Beatrice 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the past and has ambitions to be so again in the future . This could be a route to engaging her . </p> Library staff could play a part in reporting concerns for her , while it may also be possible to engage her through her interest in the services the library provides . </p> Beatrice has chronic health difficulties . Thus , I would establish links with health services locally where she might present in an emergency , and make plans to maximise opportunities for engagement should she do so . </p> Case study : Andrea Andrea has been homeless for the past 32 of her 66 years . She is known in her part of London for the plastic shopping bags that are tied over her feet with string and the many layers of clothing she wears underneath one of her capes . </p> She spends her days organising her correspondence , writing regularly to " people " , though she will not discuss who . Local hospital security staff recognise Andrea as she enters the building to wash and change the dressings on her lower legs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near the social services office and most afternoons she can be seen in a car park where she also prepares her lunch . She refers to the green area as her garden . Police are regularly in contact with her - she informs them of people breaking the law , " obstructing the pavement , parking offences " . </p> She has been sectioned once but staff ultimately decided there was no reason to maintain the section . </p> Andrea likes living independently and according to her own values . </p> She resents being patronised by " charity " and is aware of how to seek help should she need to . She has a range of casual jobs and is aware of her pension though chooses not to draw it . </p> Andrea has often been verbally aggressive and offensive to passers-by and to people who approach her , but she insists these outbursts are provoked by people insistent on giving her charity when she has already refused and are not related to any psychotic beliefs . </p> Andrea has not had any convictions or cautions relating to this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to others , but there is a concern that it does put her at risk from others . </p> However , she is aware of her personal safety and does not engage in reckless behaviour . </p> She has not seen her GP since 1965 and has always eschewed orthodox treatments , but homelessness charity Thames Reach says she is aware of the consequences of disease and life-threatening conditions . </p> She has told people that she does not wish to be reviewed or followed up by mental health or other outreach services ( including a social services homeless team ) . Although she understands their purposes , she prefers her network of friends in the neighbourhood who offer her " support on her terms " and do not " impose upon her " . </p> Andrea has also refused housing options from the council and meals-on-wheels . </p> Your views on Andrea * Matleo : Try to establish what her support network is and why it works for her . Does it offer a listening ear , acceptance of her lifestyle choices or knowing that if things go pear-shaped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making some links in a non-oppressive way with the support network it can be reiterated to Andrea and others that previously offered help can always be accepted in the future , should she wish . </p> * Selks : Perhaps it 's more about offering choices that increase safety or health ( such as a free mobile phone , access to a healthy meal a day ) rather than attempting to impose a " rescue " on them that they do not want . </p> * Sunny Yellow : Ultimately , there is a difference between someone appreciating the situation they are putting themselves in and still choosing to make those choices however unorthodox they may seem to the public and someone who does not appear to be fully able to appreciate what they are choosing to do . </p> * Join the debate at http : //bit.ly/p6N8Wv </p> Case study : Beatrice Beatrice is a 42-year-old Irish woman who has slept rough in and around two outer London boroughs for two-and-a-half-years . </p> Preferring to get about at night , when it is quieter , Beatrice sleeps during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . </p> She has some circulatory and fluid retention problems that distend her ankles and age her . Her reluctance to engage with services was typified by her supplying an alias which made background checks difficult , and her refusal of all accommodation offers . </p> Little is known of her background though it is believed she may have worked as a personal assistant in the City and she has said she wants to return to work at some point . </p> An initial meeting with a community psychiatric nurse was met with a large degree of disdain . Beatrice felt patronised and responded similarly . But the same nurse also went to the local library , where Beatrice was a member , and following enquiries could establish her true identity . </p> She was assessed under the Mental Health Act in June but was not considered sectionable , though she did agree to engage with a community mental health team manager . </p> Ultimately , Beatrice convinced the manager that this was a lifestyle choice , that she did not have a mental illness and was not depressed . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a visit , but kept the engagement on a casual , chatty level with reassurances that there was no pressure . </p> How far should professionals go In trying to help rough sleepers who refuse to engage with services ? </p> Some of the women on the streets describe rough sleeping as a lifestyle choice </p> Edited By Mithran Samuel </p>

@@4118041 CHILDREN : PARENTAL SUBSTANCE MISUSE </p> Hair tests have helped social workers with difficult child protection cases involving parental substance misuse , but they have their limits , reports Ben Willis Parental substance abuse remains a huge factor when it comes to putting children at risk in the UK . Research last year by Alcohol Concern and the Children 's Society estimated that 2.6 million children in the UK live with a parent whose drinking could lead to neglect or abuse . </p> For social workers it is notoriously difficult to know whether a parent who claims to have kicked their habit is being truthful and whether their new , reformed lifestyle can survive temptation . As a result , social workers are becoming more reliant on hair strand-testing to profile patterns of drug and alcohol use . </p> " It 's difficult to give numbers , but a significant proportion of care cases now use these tests , " says Jacqui Gilliatt , a family law barrister . " Drug-testing has been commonly used for a long time now , and is generally quite precise ; alcohol hair-testing is increasingly in use as more and more people become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " In almost all cases where drugs or alcohol are suspected , these tests are being used , " agrees Avi Lasarow , chief executive of one of the top hair-testing companies in the UK , Trimega Laboratories . </p> Lasarow 's company is looking to use the tests to map substance abuse among would-be adopters . They are also lobbying the government for the UK 's 35,000 or so foster carers to undergo drug and alcohol tests . </p> But are the tests reliable and accurate ? For drugs , hair analysis can profile usage going back as long as the hair sample allows - as much as 12 months if it is long enough , says Graham Sievers , director of Trichotech , another leading hair testing company . </p> " It 's a very good way of analysing people who are still having a problem with drugs and those who have got over any problem and beaten the addiction . If someone with a known heroin addiction is now saying they 've been clean for four or five months , and their hair is 12cm long , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . We can show where heroin was occurring in the sample 10-11 months ago and where over the last six months the drug has declined to zero . " </p> TESTS FOR ALCOHOL USE Tests for alcohol are not so conclusive . Hair strand tests for alcohol can look at one or both of two different chemical markers that indicate whether or not a person has been drinking . But because these markers can be deposited in the body through certain foods or be washed out through shampooing , hair strand tests revealing low levels of these chemicals are not conclusive . </p> " Hair alcohol tests are less definitive and can only really determine chronic excessive alcohol use , " says Sievers . " If they show elevated levels of the markers above a certain amount , that is a helpful indicator of someone who might have an excessive alcohol problem . But hair alcohol tests can not be used for sobriety testing . So if a test is negative - ie below a cut off point - it does n't mean a person has not been drinking . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court case at the end of 2010 ( see box ) . In essence the judgment concluded that because of the current limitations of hair alcohol testing at low levels of detection , such tests should only be used to prove excessive alcohol abuse . </p> For Gilliatt , hair alcohol testing should only ever be regarded as one piece of the evidence jigsaw in a childcare case . " This case showed that it 's very important to acknowledge these tests are part of a picture , but if everything else points in another direction , you should n't just look at the numbers on one test . </p> " These procedures have come to be looked at almost like they 're a pregnancy test , showing a ' yes ' or ' no . ' They need to be seen as a much more subtle indicator that might point you in a particular direction , " she concludes . </p> Sievers agrees that , while a hair drug test can achieve something close to a ' yes ' or ' no ' answer on whether or not a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more circumspection : " In child protection cases people want a black and white answer . But it 's imperative the courts understand you need a basket of tests , including a clinical assessment . " </p> But Lasarow maintains that a hair alcohol test is still invaluable in helping build up an overall picture of a case . " Back in 2006 , all social services had to go on was how many empty bottles were in a person 's house , whether the house looked healthy , and so on . Now we are able to provide a bigger insight into a person 's background . So if that 's being used properly and not over-relied on , that 's a valuable tool . " </p> TIPS FOR BEST PRACTICE Before requesting a test , first establish what it 's for - to prove abstinence , or to prove someone 's claims they had a one-off incidence of drug-taking three months ago ? Understanding this will help determine the most appropriate test . </p> Get legal representation to help interpret the test results and decide how to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests such as blood or urine to back up the findings of a hair strand test . Physical tests should be corroborated with a clinical assessment . </p> Watch out for other signs of a parent 's possible substance misuse - although beware that some people 's breath can smell of alcohol even if they do not drink . </p> CASE LAW : RICHMOND COUNCIL v B In November last year , Mr Justice Moylan ruled against the removal of a child from the care of a mother suspected by the London Borough of Richmond of alcohol abuse . </p> A test of the mother 's hair by TrichoTech suggested she had been drinking , although the the amounts were very low . However , a further test by Trimega gave a negative result . </p> Having heard evidence as to why the two different sets of results were contradictory , the judge made several points on the use of hair alcohol tests in future child protection cases . </p> He said both forms of hair alcohol tests available should be used . Trichotech only tested for one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) - while Trimega tested for both ETG and a second - fatty acid ethyl esters ( FAEE ) . Each test has strengths and weaknesses . </p> The judgment also warned against the use of hair strand tests to measure low levels of alcohol use or even abstinence . He noted that at the moment , hair strand tests were unable to distinguish between abstinence and social drinking because there was a risk of false negatives . However , the judgment did acknowledge that in the future , with more research and empirical data , this could change . </p> In determining excessive alcohol consumption , the judgment said hair testing was still a reliable tool . However , this came with the caveat that a hair test should only form one element of the picture of evidence and that analysis of hair samples should cover a minimum three-month period . </p> Where a court is seeking to determine if a person is consuming alcohol at lower levels , the judge said other forms of testing - such as random urine or breathalyser tests - would be more helpful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judgment said physical tests should be backed up by clinical observation . </p> Below and right : Analysis of hair is more useful in establishing drug use than in cases involving alcohol </p> REPORTS BY Ben Willis ; EDITED BY Judy Cooper </p>

@@4119041 Based on NAEP data , many adolescents may not be adequately prepared for postsecondary education . This is a Year Five report from a seven-year longitudinal study of a student cohort starting in sixth grade year ( n=50 ) . It uses a quasi-experimental design , and collects data from surveys , interviews , and reflective statements to evaluate mentoring strategies and outcomes . Year Five findings suggest that improvements in students ' college perceptions , state mandated test scores , and high school perseverance may be associated with mentor-led initiatives including college visits , goal setting , tutoring , career investigations , role model presentations , writing projects , and presentations about college preparation and life . </p> Reports on the educational attainment of adults and on the college readiness of adolescents provide disturbing news , particularly regarding African-Americans and Hispanic students . Recent data about high school graduation rates indicate that nationally , about 71 percent of all students graduate from high school on time with a regular diploma , but barely half of African-American and Hispanic students earn diplomas with their peers ( Sum , 2009 ) . Each year approximately 1.2 million students fail to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are categorized as in minority groups ( Diplomas Count , 2009 ) . Students who drop out of high school may have a grim economic future . According to Swanson ( 2003 ) only one-third ( 37 percent ) of high school dropouts nationwide are steadily employed , and they are more than twice as likely to live in poverty . </p> Trends in college readiness education attainment among adolescents are discouraging . Recent NAEP academic achievement reports ( National Assessment Governing Board , n.d. ) indicate only small percentages of eighth graders rank within the ' at or above proficient ' category for various subject areas and a significant gap exists so that Hispanic and African-American groups underachieve when compared to other population groups . The reading , math , and science NAEP scores of young adolescents and the current drop-out rates force the question : how many wiII be ready for college in four years ? Overall the gap in education preparation among Whites , Hispanics , and Blacks , as evident in their scaled scores , will result in many minority students being poorly prepared for higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LITERATURE The need to begin preparation for post-secondary education during middle school has been recognized for a long time , funded nationally , and supported at state and local levels . The literature includes articles , handbooks and guidelines for this process , and calls to action in the case of minority and underserved populations . </p> PLANNING TRANSITION FOR COLLEGE STARTING IN THE MIDDLE GRADES </p> The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program ( GEAR UP ) was created in 1998 and provides college-planning activities and related information to students , typically starting in middle school , and helps build relationships among school districts , colleges , and other community stakeholders . Based on site visits to 20 GEAR UP partnerships and descriptive information from 1 8 schools , Muraskin ( 2003 ) reported that tutoring was the most common type of support . In their " Year 4 " baseline report , conducted in north-central West Virginia , Finch and Cowley ( 2003 b ) summarized that tenth graders ' postsecondary plans had been positively influenced by the GEAR UP program . </p> The Federal TRIO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shared similar academic preparation goals with GEAR UP . TRIO , originally named this because it offered three programs , now includes eight outreach and support programs designed to help low-income , first-generation college students and students who have disabilities , progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs . </p> Predating GEAR UP are many state and locally funded programs such as Michigan 's Project Awareness and Baltimore 's Early Guidance Model . Flores ( 1993 ) reported that the goal of this Michigan program was to heighten students ' post-secondary aspirations through five interventions . Baltimore City Schools ' Early Guidance Model ( Gray , 1986 ) for middle/junior high school students supported this early post-secondary planning goal and extended it to elementary level students , suggesting that at an early age children need academic encouragement and need to envision going to college . Calls to action concerning the educational needs of minority and underserved populations have been raised for decades . Camblin ( 2003 ) described concerns about underserved students not attending college at the same rate as their White , middle- , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the lack of opportunity for underserved students starting in middle school . </p> The " Creating a College Culture Project " ( McClafferty , McDonough , &; Nunez , 2002 ) emerged from concerns about the declining number of college-bound students from a southern California cluster of 24 schools that were ethnically and racially diverse . McClafferty recommended that schools should create a " college culture " : a school culture that encourages all students to consider college by introducing information about higher education opportunities during early adolescence and in high school . This concept of creating a college culture among diverse adolescents , many who are considered " at-risk " of not graduating from high school , underlies our current project which uses mentoring as a key strategy to support at risk students during their middle school and high school years . </p> MENTORING DURING MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL Mentoring , the foundation for creating a college culture in our study , was initiated with a cohort of students in their sixth grade and has supported them from sixth through their current year , tenth grade . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Ference and Rhodes ( 2002 ) , describing a program very similar to our project , report that a mentoring program for at-risk middle school students at a professional development school site using preservice teachers enrolled in methods classes improved the grades of two-thirds of the young students and was a positive experience for the mentors . Herrera , Vang , and Gale ( 2002 ) investigated three mentoring programs for middle school students and report associated improvements in students ' academic performance and attitudes . </p> After evaluating the impact of mentoring on middle and high school student achievement , attendance , and behavior , Illig ( 1999 ) cautiously suggested that academic mentoring may provide some benefits for children and concludes that additional research is needed . In our study , the cohort of students was mentored by preservice teachers in a variety of educational activities that help create a college culture . Highlights from these mentoring activities include the mentor helping to guide college visits each year during the past five years . As the young students toured the campus the mentors explained how college ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residential halls and dining halls , and student athletic facilities . During the first three visits the mentors guided the young students through a writing marathon process ( Radcliffe &; Stephens , 2010 ) in which the students wrote reflections as they toured campus . Another writing activity guided by the mentors involved helping the students write digital stories about how to be successful in school and also about their future career plans . To help the young adolescents pass critical , state mandated tests in eighth grade the preservice teachers provided year-long tutoring in language arts and mathematics . Typically one mentor worked with two students throughout the semester , coaching them twice each week in half hour sessions . </p> As this cohort of students entered high school we shifted the mentoring focus to helping these students set goals and to sup porting their self-efficacy . Based on goal theory , mentoring should focus on the meaning students attach to achievement situations and the purpose to the actions taken ( Ames , 1992 ; Barker , Dowson &; Mclnerney , 2002 , Martin &; Dowson , 2009 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our study preservice teachers guided high school students in completing a goal orientation survey and discussing the meaning of goals . Within a college bound culture , reasons for engaging in a particular behavior or pursing a particular goal can become clearly defined ( Dowson &; Mclnerney , 2001 ) . Consistent with this the preservice teachers then assisted the high school students in setting short and long term goals that would support success in high school and a college-going future . </p> One of the main objectives in our study was to help the high school students develop high self efficacy . According to Bandura ( 1986,1997 ) , and Schunk and Miller ( 2002 ) , self-belief , motivation , and achievement develop when a caring , goal directed relationship emerges . The social relationship between our students and their preservice teachers became supportive and caring as they participated in weekly conversations , college information presentations , and college tours . The preservice teachers were committed to building a comfortable working relationship with their mentees , much in line with reports from Bandura ( 1986,1997 ) and Schunk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and achievement develop when a caring goal directed relationship emerges during mentoring . </p> RESEARCH PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of our seven-year research is to determine if creating a college-going culture through long-term mentoring of academically and economically at-risk students , starting in their sixth grade year and continuing through high school , has a positive impact on these students ' education . Our research question is , " Will a multi-faceted set of mentor-led strategies including college visits , goal setting , tutoring , career investigations , role model presentations , writing projects , and presentations about college preparation and life have a positive effect on students ' aspirations to attend college and their success gaining acceptance by a post-secondary institution ? " These strategies support the over-arching design of this research study , illustrated in Table 1 , Mentoring Goals and Strategies in Middle School by Grade Level ( 6th-8th ) to Support Building a College-Going Culture , which presents five mentoring goals . Plans for continuation of the strategies are included in Table 2 , Mentoring Goals and Strategies in High School by Grade Level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ </p> This Year Five report describes research findings as well as factors and shifts occurring during the first five years of our seven year project that engages pre-service teachers in mentoring students , starting in students ' sixth grade year and continuing though high school , in order to create a college-going culture among the cohort of at-risk students . This report responds to several research questions about mentoring including ( a ) how have the students been supported by pre-service teachers through mentoring initiatives during grades 6-10 ; ( b ) how has this mentoring support changed over the five years ; and ( c ) what is the nature of the relationships between the men-tored students and their mentors ? Two additional research questions focus on broader topics including ; ( d ) how have the students ' perceptions and aspirations about college changed during grades 6-10 ; and ( e ) how do the treatment group and control group students compare in perceptions and aspirations about college , drop-out rates after ninth grade , and scores on state-man dated assessments in a critical college preparation subject : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ design involving randomly selected participants for the treatment and control groups , a series of data collection steps over the long term of the study , and data sources that include surveys , interviews , written reflective statements , student projects , and student enrollment and academic performance measures . </p> PARTICIPANTS The participants initially included 1 69 students who attended a rural school district located 10 miles outside of a major metropolitan area . Students in the treatment and control groups entered the study in Fall 2005 , when they were in the sixth grade . The school district 's guidelines for academically and economically at-risk students , which include 13 statutory criteria such as low grades in two foundation subjects , were used to identify students for the study . With the assistance of school administrators , 100 students were randomly selected from the pool of about 120 at-risk students , 50 to serve in the treatment group and 50 to serve in a control group for our quasi-experimental research design . </p> During the first three years of the study , when the subjects were in grades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject attrition resulting in a treatment group of 40 students and a control group of 40 students . A third student group , students ( n = 35 ) who were on the school 's Fall 2006 honor roll ( students who achieved all A and B grades ) , served as a second comparison group during the middle school grades . Another middle school comparison group , students who were neither at risk nor on the Fall 2006 honor roll , included 34 students who we have categorized as the routine group . During years four and five of the study , a number of the high school participants withdrew from the high school ( and district ) resulting in 33 treatment group students and 29 control group students at the end of the Fall 2009 semester . The composition of the participants in this study is 60% Hispanic , 30% Anglo , and 7% African-American . </p> The participants also include preservice teachers , typically college juniors and seniors , enrolled in two teacher preparation classes that are taught in a blended approach on the public school campus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different group of about 25 to 30 preservice teachers meets twice a week from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the public school campus where the students under study are enrolled . Other participants include the school 's principal , academic dean , and the curriculum coordinator who are active planners and administrators in this project . </p> FIELD PROCEDURES This long term study is being conducted during the students ' normal school day and as part of the preservice teachers ' scheduled professional development courses that are hosted at the public school . Typically the student , or sometimes a pair of students , and a preservice teacher work together in a school classroom.The list and timetable for mentoring activities are illustrated in Tables 1 and 2 which describe mentoring goals and strategies by grade levels ( 6th-8th ) , and grade levels ( 9th-12th ) respectively . Parent permission signatures are collected for students ' participation in the project , and for each college visit . The school provides bus transportation for the students ' visit to the college which is conducted as an all-day field trip . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tools including written self-surveys , structured written reflective reports , structured interviews , and digital stories prepared with Microsoft PowerPoint . School records were a source for students ' scores on the state mandated TAKS test ( Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills ) , and allowed tracking students ' annual registration in the school district , an indicator of attendance and drop-out trends . </p> Each year we investigated students ' perceptions about college through written surveys that included 11 Likert-type questions such as " How difficult do you think getting accepted into college is ? " The surveys allowed us to compare treatment group students ' college perceptions as they progressed through several grades in the study , and also to compare the treatment group 's responses to the survey results of the control , routine , and honor roll groups . Data was collected directly from the treatment group students about their college perceptions through an on-line survey created in www.survey-monkey.com . The survey questions included " What is the most important thing to do now in order to attend college later ? " </p> During the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students created three digital stories , responding to three different prompts including " Describe an interest or positive experience at school " , " What career or job do you want during your twenties ? " , and " What must students do to be successful in middle school ? " The content of the stories provided insight into students ' career goals and perceptions of how to get there . </p> The treatment group students were interviewed by the preservice teachers to investigate their experiences with their college campus tour . An example question is " What is one thing you remember about your visit ? " We also collected the preservice teachers ' written reflections about the tours . At the end of the second year of the study we used an unstructured interview approach with the principal to explore her perceptions of the need for the study , the impacts of the research project components , and the benefits for her students . </p> During the treatment groups ' eighth grade year , when the mentoring support focused on tutoring the students in preparation for the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a critical college preparation content area : math . In response to the high school principal 's suggestion , support for the students shifted in their ninth grade year to individual mentoring , focused on defining short and long term goals . Data about the students ' goal orientation was collected from the cohort of students using the Manual for the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales ( Midgley , et a I. , 2000 ) to formulate our questions . </p> DATA ANALYSIS The hand written and online surveys included Likert-like questions , each with five response options . As an example , the question " How difficult do you think getting accepted into college is ? " included five response options ranging from " not so difficult " to " too difficult for me " . Responses were analyzed using SPSS ( Statistical Package for the Social Sciences ) statistical test software to determine mean scores and to analyze variation among groups . Higher mean scores were interpreted to suggest higher aspirations or more positive perceptions regarding college-going issues . For the state TAKS assessment , group mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students in the treatment group and the control group . Chart 1 , Students ' Math Scores by Year , graphs the groups ' scores . </p> The responses to questions on structured written surveys and interviews were reviewed by the authors who looked for repetition of terms or statements . For example , a tally of responses to the question " How did the visit to the university impact the students ' perceptions about attending a university ? " netted eight responses that included " excited " , five responses stating " enjoyed it " , four responses indicating " interested " , two responses of " overwhelmed " , and so on . The authors reported their consensus on the collective meaning of such data . For example , in the above case the authors concluded that students had positive perceptions . </p> FINDINGS Our findings are organized by the following five research questions . How have the students been mentored , and how did this support our project goals ? </p> The timetable and types of mentoring support are outlined in Table 1 , Mentoring Goals and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Support Building a College-Going Culture , and in Table 2 which describes subsequent support in high school . In summary the mentors hosted the students on college tours each Spring during which the students attended college classes and presentations about college admission and financial aid procedures . A significant mentoring effort during the tours was the preservice teachers ' initiative in guiding the students to reflect on their experiences of college through a writing marathon approach . The students ' responses on follow-up surveys , which indicated that they gained positive perceptions of college , support our project goals numbered one through three ( Table I ) . </p> During their eighth grade year , the students ' mentors tutored them in preparation for the state mandated TAKS test . Based on the mentor 's content strength in language arts or mathematics , the mentors individually tutored students who were weak in either language arts or mathematics . This significant mentoring initiative may have contributed to all of the students passing their TAKS tests , which also supports our project goal number four ( Table I ) . </p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ helped the students set short and long term goals that support success in high school and a college-going future . Once every other week for at least thirty minutes , the mentors met with their student(s) to discuss the students ' goals and progress . The principal stated that this mentoring initiative was very important to insuring that the students stayed in school . Noteworthy , fewer of the mentored students withdrew from school as compared to the control group students . This outcome is critical to supporting all of our project goals . </p> How HAS THIS MENTORING SUPPORT CHANGED OVER THE FIVE YEARS ? The nature of the college visits has changed in three ways . With each annual visit we reduced the structure for the visit in terms of a defined , detailed plan of specific places to visit and a timetable for each visit stop . Related to this we gave more power to the young students to select where they wanted to tour and how long they wanted to spend at each tour stop . Finally , we increased the tour 's emphasis on presenting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the nature of residential life . </p> The type of support for the young students shifted during their sixth through tenth grade years as the students matured and their school setting changed . Mentoring during their sixth and seventh grade years addressed helping them explore future career interests , recognize the importance of education to their future , and discover the nature of college . Mentor support during the students ' eighth grade was shifted at the request of the middle school principal who asked that the mentors tutor the students in mathematics and language arts to help them pass the state mandated eighth grade TAKS test . </p> The mentoring support shifted again in ninth grade at the suggestion of the high school principal who requested that the mentors help support the ninth grade students ' adjustment to the rigors of high school life . Specifically the support focused on one-on-one mentoring that in ninth grade addressed helping the students find a niche in high school , and then expanded during ninth and tenth grade into setting short and long term goals that support success in high school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of presentations about college shifted after the students entered high school . During their middle school years college information had been presented only once a year , when the young students were on a college campus tour . Starting in ninth grade we hosted several college presentations each year at the high school . For example , during one semester preservice teachers presented on the topic of ' college student athletes ' . </p> The schedules for meetings between the students and their mentors became more flexible after the students entered high school . During their middle school years the young students met twice a week with their mentor during their first period at school . In high school the students and mentors met during several lunch meetings each semester . In addition , the students were able to meet with their mentor in one of the student 's daily classes where the mentor was scheduled to fulfill preservice teacher assignments . </p> The final shift in mentoring involved a gradual reduction in our role as researchers to structure the mentoring role . The mentoring role during middle school was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The preservice teachers ' professor closely guided their mentoring efforts , and required a product such as the young students ' digital stories . This locus of control shifted in high school to a more flexible and individualized mentoring approach where during lunch and/or in a morning class the high school student and mentor met to identify goals and discuss how to achieve them . </p> WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MENTORED STUDENTS AND THEIR MENTORS ? </p> During the students ' sixth through eighth grade years , the mentors followed a teaching role . They helped their young charges learn how to write a digital story , how to engage in a writing marathon , and how to complete language arts or mathematics homework assignments . The relationships between mentors and the middle school students were typically trusting , respectful , and individualized . The students often showed pride in working with a mentor ; sometimes the middle school students would point out to their peers : " there 's my mentor . " </p> Positive relationships continued in high school where the ninth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a college student , their mentor . Students were accustomed to seeing mentors in their school and were comfortable talking to them . Mentors were amazed at how open and accepting their mentees appeared . Students shared their interests , accomplishments in sports , their success or lack of success in classes , and how they saw themselves in the future . The mentor-mentee relationship became causal and supportive where mentors showed interests in how the student was adjusting to high school , whether they had found supportive friends , and if they were involved in athletics or belonged to a club . </p> HOW HAVE THE STUDENTS ' COLLEGE PERCEPTIONS AND ASPIRATIONS CHANGED DURING GRADES 7-10 ? </p> The impact of the project on the treatment group students ' perceptions about college based on a survey administered in 7th , 8th , 9th and 10th grade about college perceptions , revealed that these students initially had positive perceptions , and that these perceptions became more positive . The difference , using paired samples , between the mean scores of the 31 students who took the survey during 7th and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ p = .02 , with the 8th grade scores ( M = 43 ) exceeding the 7th grade scores ( M = 41 ) . The difference between the mean scores of the 24 students who took the same survey during the 8th and 9th grades was also statistically significant , ( 23 ) = -2.07 , p = .050 , with the 9th grade scores ( M = 44 ) exceeding the 8th grade scores ( M = 42 ) . The mean scores of the 19 students who took the survey during the 9th and 10th grades was not statistically significant , t(18) = .09 , p = .93 , with the 10th grade scores ( M = 45 ) equivalent to the 9th grade scores ( M = 45 ) . </p> The four-point gain in scores ( 10% ) over the span of four surveys has some practical significance . A mean score above 33 is interpreted as suggesting a positive perception about college . Supporting this , the preservice teachers who mentored the students consistently reported that the students were positive about the prospect of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IN THEIR COLLEGE PERCEPTIONS AND ASPIRATIONS , THEIR MATH SCORES ON STATE-MANDATED ASSESSMENTS , AND THEIR DROP-OUT RATES AFTER 9TH GRADE ? </p> Surveys administered at the end of eighth grade revealed that the treatment group students ' perceptions about college were more positive than the perceptions of students in the control , routine , and honor roll groups . The treatment group had the highest mean score on the survey ( M = 44 ) , followed by the honor roll group ( M = 42 ) , the routine group ( M = 40 ) , and the control group ( M = 39 ) . A NOVA test results for differences in perceptions of treatment , control , routine , and honor roll groups revealed a statistically significant difference , F ( 3,133 ) = 4.1 73 , p = .007 , in mean scores for the groups . Tukey HSD post-hoc tests suggested that treatment students ' perceptions about college were more positive than the control group 's . </p> During the first two years of high school a number of students stopped attending high school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher attrition than the treatment group . School and district enrollment records revealed that seven of the forty treatment group students , representing 17594 of their group withdrew from the school . They are not attending school elsewhere in the district . Eleven of the forty control group student , representing 28.5% of their group , withdrew and are not attending school in the district </p> Tracking of students math scores on the state mandated TAKS assessment at the end of 7th , 8th and 9th grade ? revealed rising scores for the treatment group and declining scores for the control group as illustrated in Chart 1 , Students ' Math Scores by Year </p> DISCUSSON OF FINDINGS RELATED TO SHIFTS IN MENTORING AND OUTCOME PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS HAVE PERFORMED A VARIETY OF MENTORINO ROLES . </p> The pre-service teachers performed five different roles , charging their roles in response to the students needs and level of maturity . Initially they as sumed the role of a teacher , helping the student in sixth and seventh grades learn how to write a digital story and how to engage in a writing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guide , declined in the level of authority as the students matured . Mentors fed the college tours when the student were in the sixth and seventh grades , they fecilitated the tours when the students became eighth graders , and finally they served as tour chaperones after the students entered high school . During the students ' eighth grade the pre-service teachers ' key role was to tutor the students in preparation for their state-mandated math and language arts assessments . When the students entered high school the pre-service teachers assumed a distinctly different role , to help the students set short and long term goals , and to coach them on how to find a niche in high school . Throughout the mentoring of students during their sixth-tenth grade years , the pre-service teachers regularly acted as a role model in both formal approaches , such as giving a presentation about being a college athlete , and in less formal approaches including daily discussions about how to be successful in school and the importance of college . </p> MANY FACTORS HAVE INFLUENCED THE NEED TO CHANGE MENTORING ROLES @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college tours changed due to three factors . As the young students matured and became more familiar with the nature of a college campus they needed less structure to guide their visit . After several tours , students gained specific interests in the college campus which led them to choose their visit stops . Finally , as the young students became more familiar with the nature of college life , they developed interests and concerns in some of the challenging aspects such as admission procedures , financial aid needs , and residential hall life-styles . In response to this , we added presentations about these topics to the college tour agenda . </p> The support for the young students shifted to tutoring during their eighth grade year because of a critical factor . These young students had to pass the state-man dated TAKS assessment modules in order to be accepted into high school . Mentoring support changed again as the students entered ninth grade because of another critical factor . These students needed support to help insure that they stayed in high school rather than dropping out . Their high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goals that would sustain them in high school and that they might not find a high school niche that would help them develop a sense of belongingness and identity . In response the pre-service teachers focused their mentoring support on goal-setting with the ninth graders . </p> Starting in high school , mentoring opportunities to learn about college were expanded from the pre-service teachers leading an annual college tour to giving presentations at the high school about college life . The factor causing this change is that when students progress to high school their need to know about college admissions and financial aid becomes more acute and relevant to setting academic goals , student activity goals , and after-school employment goals . </p> In high school , the meetings between ninth graders and preservice teachers became less compulsory because unlike the middle school 's schedule which included a daily advisory period , there was no slot in the high school schedule other than a lunch period during which all ninth graders and all preservice teachers could meet . Also , unlike the middle school where attendance in the daily advisory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting with a preservice teacher during lunch was a voluntary decision by the ninth grader . Because meetings were not compulsory in ninth grade it became important to motivate the ninth graders to meet by offering a series of pizza lunch meetings during which the students and their mentors met . In the tenth grade we were able to improve on structuring meetings by assigning the student 's mentor to a classroom that the student attended daily . </p> The mentoring role shifted from being highly structured in terms of tasks and schedules which were designed by the pre-service teachers ' professors and were product oriented , to a more individualized mentoring approach because the needs of the students were changing . In middle school , young students need an organized introduction to college because they are very uninformed about college . Our structured , guided , and product oriented approach helped introduce the middle school students to the nature of college . However , as the students gained knowledge about college and also entered high school where they began to be confronted with their individual future after graduation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Beginning in high school the preservice teachers met individually with their ninth graders to discuss individual goals and how to achieve them . </p> RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MENTORS AND MENTEES CHANGED FOR SEVERAL REASONS </p> The relationship between mentors and mentees shifted over five years as the young adolescents matriculated from sixth graders to tenth graders . As twelve-year-old youngsters the mentees ' relationship with their mentors was a student to teacher relationship in which the preservice teacher presented instruction and led college campus tours . Over the course of five years this evolved to a more casual adolescent to adult-model relationship in which the preservice teacher helped their mentee set goals , shared college experiences , and chaperoned college campus tours . Of the five factors that caused this shift the most significant was the growing maturity of the mentees in terms of social , emotional , physical , and intellectual characteristics . A related factor was the closing of the age gap between mentees and mentors . The age of the mentors remained constant since each semester new mentors , typically 21- or 22-year-old preservice teachers , rotated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the program at age 12 were 16 years old at the end of the fifth year of the study . Both factors , the mentees ' growing maturity and the closing of this age gap , led to less formality and authority in the mentoring relationship . Contributing to this relaxation in the relationship was the third factor , the intentional shift in the program from emphasizing instruction and tutoring by the mentors to concentrating on individualized goal-setting support from the mentors . Another factor , the shift in climate from a middle school to a high school setting , created a more grown-up setting that encouraged adult-like behavior in the mentees . Finally , after four years of experience in the building a college-going culture program , the mentees gained comfort and understanding in how to relate to their mentoring preservice teachers . </p> The findings of our research suggest that there may be positive relationships between participation in the multiple facets of our building a college-culture program and student outcomes including growth in positive perceptions and aspirations about college , perseverance in school as opposed to withdrawing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ factors may also influence students ' college perceptions , high school perseverance , and academic scores . For example , students ' perceptions about high school and college may be impacted by discussions with peers and family members , the influence of role models through popular media , college marketing as appearing on the internet , and high school guidance office communications . In addition students ' academic scores on state mandated tests may be impacted by the variety of instruction efforts at school including individualized instruction , summer classes , and tutoring . </p> DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS IN RESPONSE TO FIVE MENTORING GOALS GOAL #7 : STUDENTS WILL UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF COLLEGE </p> Our key strategy for helping students understand the nature of college was escorting them on a day-long campus visit each Spring which involved them in writing about their visit through a writing marathon , allowed them to help plan their visit stops , and engaged them in college information presentations . After participating in several visits it became clear that the students were learning about college based on a review of their writing marathon responses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hall and was so amazed . I 've never seen a stage like it . It was so much better than the one we have at our school . " In addition they were taking charge of planning the itinerary for their campus walk , asking informed questions during presentations , and demonstrating more insight about college as evident in their post-tour survey responses such as " The classes are huge which is good because there is bound to be one person that can help you . " </p> GOAL #2 : STUDENTS WILL RECOGNIZE THAT A COLLEGE EDUCATION MAY BE IMPORTANT TO THEIR FUTURE SUCCESS </p> Two key strategies for helping students recognize that a college education may be important to their future success included the digital story assignments and the motivational presentations about college , typically presented by currently enrolled college students . Reviews of the students ' digital stories about their future careers revealed that they often described plans for attending college as they shared their vision of developing a career . For example a student explained " want to attend college so I can go into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a question with a statement indicating commitment to college such as " When I am a college freshman " Finally , students ' aspirations toward college were very evident in their written survey responses such as " want to go here when I am older . I want to be a business owner of a major corporation . " </p> GOAL #3 : STUDENTS WILL GAIN POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS AND ASPIRATIONS ABOUT COLLEGE </p> In written reflections about the marathons the preservice teachers consistently reported that the students were excited and positive about their visit and about the prospect of college . As previously reported in this report , students ' perceptions about college based on a survey administered in 7th , 8th , 9th and 10th grades about college perceptions revealed that their perceptions became more positive over several years . </p> GOAL #4 : STUDENTS WILL PREPARE ACADEMICALLY FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION </p> A key strategy for helping students prepare academically for college admissions was tutoring them twice per week in mathematics and/or language arts during their eighth grade year . Tutoring during this year was critical to the students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assessments in order to enter high school and because some high school level college-track type courses are dependent on success in middle school courses , particularly in pre-algebra . Students ' math scores increased as previously illustrated in this report and all students passed the state-mandated tests including math . </p> GOAL #5 : STUDENTS WILL SET SHORT AND LONG TERM GOALS CONSISTENT WITH A COLLEGE-GOING FUTURE . </p> A review of students ' written goals reveals that many of their goals are consistent with a college-going culture . For example one student wrote , " My chosen plan is to go to college , get a bachelors degree in political science , then go to a Texas law school in Houston to be a lawyer . " Another student wrote , " My chosen plan is to graduate high school and maybe take two years of community college and after that decide if I want to take two more at another college or try to a good job . " The mentors also reported that their students were setting goals consistent with going to college . A mentor explained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his goals included : " high SAT/ACT scores , and acceptance into college . " Another mentor reported that her student 's goals were to improve her GPA and maintain good status at school so that she can apply for college . </p> CONCLUSION The U.S. Department of Labor ( 2005 ) forecasts 13% growth in the national workforce between 2004 and 2014 . Many of the projected jobs will require an associate or four-year college degree . Projections of the attainment of college certificates and degrees among future workers fall short of predicted workforce needs ( National Association of Manufacturers , 2007 ) . The current study is significant because the findings from this study at year five of the seven year term suggest that the project 's many strategies to build a college-going culture through mentoring may be associated with students ' growth in positive perceptions and aspirations about college , perseverance in school as opposed to withdrawing , and improvement in state-mandated assessment scores . These factors may contribute to improving these students ' likelihood of attending college . </p> As this project continues , we will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school and we will continue to adjust the mentoring approaches as appropriate to meet the project 's five mentoring goals and to build a college-going culture . </p> Table 1 . Mentoring Goals and Strategies in Middles School by Grade Level ( 6th-8th ) to Support Building a Colleage-Going Culture pre-formatted table Figure 1 . Students ' Math Scores By Year </p> References Ames , C. ( 1992 ) . Classrooms : Goals , structures and student motivation . Journal of Educational Psychology , 84(3) , 261 -271 . </p> Bandura , A. ( 1986 ) . Social foundations of thought and action : A social cognitive theory . Upper Saddle River , New Jersey : Prentice Hall . </p> Bandura , A. ( 1997 ) . Self-efficacy : The exercise of control . New York , NY : Freeman . Barker , K. , Dowson , M. , &; Mclnerney , D. M. ( 2002 ) . Performance approach , performance avoidance and depth of information processing : A fresh look at relations between students ' academic motivation and cognition . Educational Psychology , 22(5) , 571-589 . </p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grades : Putting all students on track for college . Honolulu . HI : Pacific Resources for Education and Learning . </p> Dowson , M. , &; Mclnerney , D. M. ( 2001 ) . Psychological parameters of students ' social and work avoidance goals . A qualitative investigation . Journal of Educational Psychology , 930 ) , 35-42 . </p> Diplomas count 2009 . Broader horizons:The challenge of college readiness for all students . ( 2009 ) . Education Week , 28(34) , 56 . </p> Ference , R. A. , &; Rhodes , W. H. ( 2002 ) . Preservice teachers are making a difference by mentoring middle school students . Middle School Journal , 33(5) , 41-46 . </p> Finch , N. L , &; Cowley , K. S. ( 2003 ) . Fairmont State College Gear Up Project : Year 4 baseline seventh-grade survey and tenth-grade follow-up survey ( 2002-2003 ) . Gaining early awareness and readiness for undergraduate programs . A EL , Inc. , Charleston , WV:AEL . </p> Flores , A. ( 1993 , July ) . Early awareness strategies and their measurement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Michigan 's Project Awareness on Middle School Students . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators , San Diego , CA . </p> Gray , S. B. ( 1986 , October ) . Keeping the options open : Early guidance as the key . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the College Board National Forum , New York , NY . </p> Herrera , C , Vang , Z. , &; Gale , L. Y. ( 2002 ) . Group mentoring : A study of mentoring groups in three programs . Philadelphia , PA : Public/Private Ventures . </p> Illig , D. C. ( 1999 ) . An evaluation of the academic volunteer and mentor service program . Sacramento , CA : California Research Bureau . </p> Martin , A. J. , &; Dowson , M. ( 2009 ) . Interpersonal relationships , motivation , engagement , and achievement : Yields for theory , current issues , and educational practice . Review of Educational Research , 79(1) , 327-365 . </p> McClafferty , K. A. , McDonough , P. M. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . What is a college culture ? Facilitating college preparation through organizational change . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association , New Orleans , LA . </p> Midgley , C , Maehr , M. L. , Hruda , L. , Anderman , E. M. , Anderman , L. , Freeman , K. E. , et a I. ( 2000 ) . Manual for the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales ( PALS ) . Ann Arbor , Ml : University of Michigan . </p> Muraskin , L. ( 2003 ) . National evaluation of Gear Up : A summary of the first two years ( Report No . PPSS-Doc-2003-13 ) . Washington , DC : Department of Education Office of the Under Secretary . </p> National Assessment Governing Board , ( n.d . ) The nations report card . Retrieved from http : //nationsreportcard.gov </p> National Association of Manufacturers . ( 2007 ) . Nations report card highlights skills gap . Washington , DC : National Association of Manufacturers . Retrieved from http : **87;14988;TOOLONG </p> Pintrich , P. R. , Marx , R. W. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beyond cold conceptual change : The role of motivational beliefs and classroom contextual factors in the process of conceptual change . Review of Educational Research , 63(2) , 167-199 . </p> Radcliffe , R. A. , &; Stephens , L. C. ( 2010 ) Writing marathons help build students ' college aspirations and strengthen their literacy skills . Clearing House , 83(1) , 20-25 . </p> Schunk , D. H. , &; Miller , S. D. ( 2002 ) . Self-efficacy and adolescents ' motivation . In F. Pajares &; T. Urdan ( Eds . ) , Academic motivation of adolescents ( pp. 29-52 ) . Greenwich , CT : Information Age . </p> Spellings , M. ( 2006 ) . A test of leadership : Charting the future of U. S. higher education.Washington , DC : U. S. Department of Education . Retrieved from http : **69;15077;TOOLONG </p> Sum , A. ( 2009 ) . Left behind in America : The nation 's dropout crisis . Boston , MA : Center for Labor Market Studies , Northeastern University . </p> Swanson , C. B. , &; Chaplin , D. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ count . Washington , DC : Education Policy Center , Urban Institute . </p> U. S. Department of Education , ( n.d . ) . Federal Trio Programs . Retrieved from http : //www.ed.gov/ab **36;15148;TOOLONG </p> U. S. Department of Labor . ( 2005 ) . Occupational outlook handbook : Tomorrow 's jobs . Washington , D. C : U. S. Department of Labor . Retrieved from http : **29;15186;TOOLONG </p> By RICHARD RADCLIFFE , PH.D . and BETH BOS , ED.D </p> RICHARD RADCLIFFE , PH.D. , is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas State University in San Marcos , Texas . </p> BETH BOS , ED.D. , is an Assistant Professor of Education at Indiana University Northwest . </p>

@@4119141 Objectives . We assessed the effect of social marketing incentives on dispositions toward retrofitting and retrofitting behavior among farmers whose tractors lacked rollover protective structures . </p> Methods . From 2006 to 2007 , we conducted a quasi -- randomized controlled trial with 391 farm owners in New York and Pennsylvania surveyed before and after exposure to 1 of 3 tractor retrofitting incentive combinations . These combinations were offered in 3 trial regions ; region 1 received rebates ; region 2 received rebates , messages , and promotion and was considered the social marketing region ; and region 3 received messages and promotion . A fourth region served as a control . </p> Results . The social marketing region generated the greatest increases in readiness to retrofit , intentions to retrofit , and message recall . In addition , postintervention stage of change , intentions , attitudes , subjective norms , and perceived behavioral control levels were higher among farmers who had retrofitted tractors . </p> Conclusions . Our results showed that a social marketing approach ( financial incentives , tailored messages , and promotion ) had the greatest influence on message recall , readiness to retrofit tractors , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fairly good predictors of tractor retrofitting behaviors . ( Am J Public Health . 2011 ; 101:678-684 . ) </p> National Safety Council statistics show that farming has the highest fatality rate among US industries , 1 with rates roughly 8 times the national average. 2 Although state-to-state variation exists , 3-5 it is estimated that more than one third of farm deaths in this country are tractor-related. 6 </p> Roughly half of tractor-related deaths result from overturns. 7 Overturn fatalities occur when tractors lacking a roll bar or cab turn over , crushing the operator . Certified roll bars or cabs , referred to as rollover protective structures ( ROPSs ) , have been shown to dramatically reduce injuries and fatalities. 6 These devices limit the extent of the roll and hold the operator in a protective zone , provided seatbelts are used . </p> In 1985 , ROPSs became standard equipment on new tractors. 8 Before 1985 , farmers frequently declined to purchase ROPSs to avoid the extra expense . Acquiring ROPSs for pre-1985 models entails locating , purchasing , and either self-installing or paying for installation . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percentage of tractors with ROPSs ( 30% -- 50% at the time the study was conducted ) and annual rates of overturn fatalities ( 7/100 000 tractors ) have improved more slowly than in other developed nations. 7 Trends from 1960 to the late 1980s in Sweden ( from 17 to 0.3 deaths/100 000 tractors ) , 9 Denmark ( from 30 to 2 deaths/100 000 tractors ) , 9 West Germany ( from 6.7 to 1.3 deaths/100 000 tractors ) , 10 and Australia ( reduction of unprotected tractors from 24% to 7% ) 11 have been more encouraging . </p> The lack of progress in the United States is likely attributable to several barriers . Installing a ROPS can be expensive and time consuming . A ROPS typically costs $600 to $1500 , and several telephone calls may be required to locate the appropriate model. 12 Lack of farmer interest has also been cited as a potential barrier. 13 Successful programs in other countries have addressed these barriers by providing financial assistance and legislating mandatory installation . However , resistance to regulation from US farmers makes other approaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marketing may be an effective means of increasing the percentage of ROPS-protected tractors. 6 Social marketing identifies a population 's needs , values , and barriers to change and designs interventions that address them . This approach differs from traditional interventions because it appeals to existing values and norms rather than trying to change them . Although the literature contains reports on the impact of financial assistance and messages on behavior , 12 15 it lacks a scientific evaluation of which incentives or combination of incentives is most effective . No evaluation of the effect of social marketing on tractor retrofitting has been conducted . </p> The goals of the New York State ROPS Rebate Program are to increase the proportion of ROPS-equipped tractors and to increase farmers ' readiness to retrofit . We previously described the program design , 16 target population identification , 17 and identification of barriers to tractor retrofitting. 18 We also reported data from the rebate program 's hotline , along with inspections of self-installed ROPSs. 19-21 Recently , we assessed the effect of retrofitting incentives and the overall efficacy of the rebate program . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 2 in Pennsylvania . The first , in northern New York , comprised Jefferson , St Lawrence , and Franklin counties , and the second , in central New York , comprised Otsego , Chenango , Madison , Herkimer , and Oneida counties . At random , the first region was selected to receive only the financial rebate ; the second region received both the rebate and the social marketing messages and promotion ( legislation stipulated that the rebate be offered throughout New York State ) . We designated region 2 as the social marketing region . </p> Our third region , in western Pennsylvania , consisted of Erie , Crawford , Mercer , and Venango counties ; the fourth , in the south-central part of the state , covered Westmoreland , Somerset , and Fayette counties . At random , the third region received the messages and promotion , and the fourth received nothing ( control ) . No rebates were offered in Pennsylvania . </p> We selected counties with high percentages of small crop and livestock farms , which accounted for 85% of New York farms with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The 4 regions were widely dispersed . Also , although Herkimer County shares a border with St Lawrence County , the Adirondack State Park provides a substantial natural barrier . To prevent cross-contamination of study regions , we distributed messages as inserts in popular farm periodicals that were circulated only in the social marketing and messages and promotion regions . </p> We selected a sampling frame of 4766 small crop and livestock farms from National Agricultural Statistics Service databases . Small farms fell in the lowest quartile of annual sales for their respective commodity ( crop or livestock ) . Farms with annual sales less than $1000 were excluded . Crop farmers produced oilseeds , grains , other crops , and hay . Livestock farms raised pigs , cattle , calves , sheep , goats , horses , poultry , fish , and other animals . We had to contact 1848 farms from our list of 4766 to identify 1284 with at least 1 non-ROPS tractor . </p> Surveys We collected baseline and follow-up survey data from June 2006 to May 2007 . The survey instruments measured outcome variables associated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of change -- transtheoretical model ( TTM ) . 23 We derived the planned behavior questions from a previously tested survey. 24 Respondents were contacted by telephone to complete the baseline and follow-up surveys . We conducted the baseline survey 5 months before the intervention was launched and the follow-up survey at the end of the 6-month intervention period . Incentives in each of the 3 intervention regions were made available for the duration of the 6-month period . We assessed demographic data at both baseline and follow-up . </p> We designed the planned behavior questions to provide direct measures of opinions about retrofitting ( attitudes ) , retrofitting attitudes of influential others ( subjective norms ) , perceived ability to retrofit ( perceived behavioral control ) , and intentions to retrofit ( behavioral intention ) . We used the TTM questions to assign respondents to 1 of 7 levels of readiness to retrofit ( **26;5225;TOOLONG , precontemplation motivation , early contemplation , late contemplation , decision -- determination , action 1 , and action 2 ) . </p> Only respondents who completed a baseline survey were contacted for follow-up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the original survey according to respondents ' circumstances : the respondent had not retrofitted since baseline and still had at least 1 tractor lacking a ROPS , the respondent had retrofitted since baseline , or the respondent had no tractors to retrofit because unprotected tractors had been eliminated . The 4 TTM questions that assessed steps taken to retrofit ( questions 4-7 ) were removed for respondents who had retrofitted or no longer had tractors to retrofit . The planned behavior questions in the follow-up survey were reworded accordingly . Respondents were also asked whether they had seen tractor retrofitting advertisements in the previous 6 months . To assess bias , we compared baseline data of the 391 respondents ( farm owners who completed baseline and follow-up surveys ) with data from the 352 dropouts ( farm owners who completed the baseline survey only ) . </p> To measure attitudes , respondents were asked to respond to 5 statements . Each statement was prefaced with " Installing a roll-over protective structure on at least one of my unprotected tractors is " </p> * bad farm practice or good farm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inconvenient or convenient , * unnecessary or necessary , and * irresponsible or responsible . Respondents rated each statement on a 10-point scale , with the highest number indicating favorable retrofitting attitudes . For example , a participant would be asked , " On a scale of one to ten , how would you rate the following statement , ' Installing a roll-over protective structure on at least one of my unprotected tractors is bad farm practice or good farm practice , ' one being very bad and 10 being very good . " Responses were averaged to provide an overall attitude score . </p> The subjective norms score was the averaged response to 3 statements about perceived pressure from significant others to retrofit . The 5 potential responses were scored from 1 to 5 , with 1 indicating strongly disagree ( 1 point ) and 5 indicating strongly agree ( 5 points ) . </p> Four statements regarding perceived behavioral control were similarly scored . The behavioral intention score was the average response to 3 questions about intention to retrofit . This score was then multiplied by a factor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( multiplied by 5 ) , in 2 years ( 4 ) , in 3 years ( 3 ) , in 4 years ( 2 ) , or in 5 to 10 years ( 1 ) . </p> We derived a TTM level from responses to 7 questions : </p> TTM level 1 -- respondents felt ROPSs were unimportant and had not considered retrofitting ( precontemplation -- knowledge ) . </p> TTM level 2 -- respondents felt ROPSs were important but had not considered retrofitting ( precontemplation -- motivation ) . </p> TTM level 3 -- respondents had considered retrofitting but had not talked to a dealer ( early contemplation ) . </p> TTM level 4 -- respondents had talked to a dealer but had not set a date to retrofit ( late contemplation ) . </p> TTM level 5 -- respondents had set a date but had not yet retrofitted ( decision -- determination ) . </p> TTM level 6 -- respondents had retrofitted a tractor but still had 1 or more unprotected tractors ( action 1 ) . </p> TTM level 7 -- respondents had retrofitted a tractor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . </p> For analytic purposes , we combined levels 3 and 4 into a single category called contemplation . </p> Interventions A financial incentive was available to all farms in study region 1 ( rebate only ) and study region 2 ( the social marketing region ) . This incentive consisted of a 70% rebate of the entire cost to retrofit , with a maximum of $600 . We publicized the rebate via advertisements in newspapers , newsletters , and popular farm magazines . We also distributed poster advertisements for display in showrooms of equipment dealers , veterinary offices , and cooperative extension offices . Toll-free hotline assistance in locating the appropriate ROPS kit and comparing pricing was available in the rebate-only region , the social marketing region , and region 3 ( messages and promotion ) . </p> For the social marketing region and the messages and promotion region , we developed advertisements through social marketing research and distributed them as inserts in newspapers , newsletters , and popular farm magazines . The advertisements were also displayed on 8-by 10-foot banners on farms located in high-traffic areas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cooperative extension offices , and tractor dealers . Farm equipment dealers in these 2 regions also received promotional items such as note pads and coffee mugs to encourage their promotion of the program . Figure 1 illustrates the 4 treatment groups . </p> We telephoned respondents who completed the baseline and follow-up questionnaires after 3 years to ask whether they had retrofitted a tractor . We compared these responses with the scores for the 5 behavioral variables measured in the postintervention survey . </p> RESULTS The response rate for the baseline survey was 81.5% ( 1046/1284 ) . Of these 1046 , 214 respondents were from region 1 ( the rebate-only region ) , 227 from region 2 ( the social marketing region ) , 282 from region 3 ( the messages and promotion region ) , and 323 from region 4 ( the control region ) . We discarded 303 questionnaires because of interviewer errors . Of the 743 remaining respondents , 391 completed a follow-up survey ( 52.6% ) . Of these , 350 ( 89.5% ) completed the 3-year retrofitting assessment survey . Eighteen of these 350 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start of the intervention . </p> The average age of the 391 respondents who completed both baseline and follow-up surveys was 60 years . The average number of tractors per farm was 3 . Respondents reported an average of 464 hours of tractor use annually for all farm tractors . The average age of the 352 study dropouts was 59 years . Among dropouts , the average hours of annual tractor usage for all tractors was 362 , and the number of tractors was 3 . Statistical comparisons between respondents and dropouts did not reveal significant differences in age ( P=.3 ) , number of tractors ( P=.999 ) , or total annual hours of tractor usage for all tractors ( P=.14 ) . Comparisons of preintervention TTM and planned behavior scores between respondents and dropouts also detected no significant differences . </p> FIGURE 1-Incentives provided in each study region to encourage farmers to install rollover protective structures on unprotected tractors , New York and Pennsylvania , 2006-2007 . </p> The proportion who reported seeing advertisements differed significantly by region ( P &lt;.001 ) . Among respondents in the rebate-only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social marketing region , 39% ; in the region that received only the messages and promotion , 21% ; and in the control region , 10% . Although data were available for only 81 respondents , we noted a marked difference in the proportion who reported talking to a dealer between those who had seen advertisements ( 19.1% ) and those who had not ( 8.3% ) . </p> The analysis of variance model for the change in TTM level showed a significant main effect between regions ( P=.004 ) but no significant effect for having seen the advertisements or the interaction of advertisement exposure and region . Post hoc comparisons found the largest differences between the social marketing region and the messages and promotion region ( +0.37 vs -0.12 ; P=.04 ) and between the social marketing region and the control region ( +0.37 vs -0.12 ; P=.04 ) . </p> In addition to comparing mean changes , we compared the distribution of baseline and follow-up TTM scores ( Figure 2 ) . In the 2 regions that received rebate offers ( the rebate-only and social marketing regions ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to contemplation . The most significant increase in follow-up TTM score occurred in the social marketing region , where we found a 21% increase in individuals in the contemplation phase . </p> FIGURE 2-Changes in farmers ' transtheoretical model distribution after exposure to incentives designed to encourage the installation of rollover protective structures on unprotected tractors in the ( a ) rebate only , ( b ) social marketing , ( c ) messages and promotion , and ( d ) control regions of the study : New York and Pennsylvania , 2006-2007 . </p> The most significant increase in the mean behavioral intention score occurred in the social marketing region , where the mean behavioral intention score after the intervention was roughly 4 times the baseline value . Figure 3 provides a comparison of baseline and follow-up intention scores for each region . We detected no significant increases in the rebate-only and messages and promotion regions . Mean intention scores in the control region decreased from baseline to follow-up . Analysis of variance comparisons of changes in baseline and follow-up scores for the 4 study regions indicated significant differences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between the social marketing region and the messages and promotion region ( 4.3 vs 0.2 ; P=.009 ) . </p> FIGURE 3-Changes in farmers ' intentions to install rollover protective structures after exposure to incentives in study regions , New York and Pennsylvania , 2006-2007 . </p> The correlation of behavioral intention with attitudes ( r=0.16 ; P=.006 ) , subjective norms ( r=0.42 ; P&lt;.001 ) , and perceived behavioral control ( r=0.2 ; P&lt;.001 ) established that the subjective norms measure was the most highly correlated of the 3 . When we used multiple regression modeling of these 3 variables to predict behavioral intention , only subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were independently predictive . </p> Comparisons of changes in subjective norms scores following the intervention found the most notable increase in the social marketing region ( 0.22 ) , followed by the rebate-only region ( 0.09 ) , the messages and promotion region ( 0.01 ) , and the control region ( -0.02 ) . However , changes between baseline and follow-up subjective norm scores for each region were not statistically significant ( P=.08 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 5 behavioral variables ( TTM , intentions , attitudes , subjective norms , perceived behavioral control ) were all higher for the retrofitters . Three of these 5 differences , TTM ( P=.053 ) , subjective norms ( P=.005 ) , and attitudes ( P=.022 ) , were significant . None of the pre- to postintervention changes in these 5 variables were significant between retrofitters and nonretrofitters . </p> TABLE 1 -- Comparison of 5 Behavioral Measures in the Postintervention Condition Between Retrofitters and Nonretrofitters of Tractor Rollover Protective Structures : New York and Pennsylvania , 2006-2007 pre-formatted table Note . TTM = transtheoretical model . </p> DISCUSSION Social marketing incorporates incentives and marketing activities to convince individuals that the benefits of a recommended behavior exceed the costs. 25 Successful marketing requires a clear understanding of the barriers to change and the development of strategies to address them . In the case of ROPS retrofitting , substantial barriers have been identified. 18 Prominent among these blocks are the cost and complexity of retrofitting tractors . The impact of rebates was studied in New York , where farmers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That study noted that 20% of farmers would n't retrofit , even if the entire cost was rebated . The author concluded that retrofitting logistics provided a significant barrier to retrofitting beyond cost . Among the most substantial barriers to retrofitting is optimistic bias , 26 wherein farmers consistently deny personal risk from a hazard they readily acknowledge. 18 </p> Although social marketing campaigns and various ROPS incentives have been proposed , 6 no comprehensive assessment of these was previously conducted . We systematically assessed the effect of different combinations of retrofitting incentives and the role that social marketing might play in enhancing readiness to retrofit . The campaign elements in this trial consisted of financial incentives , an ROPS hotline , and a series of tested promotional messages . Although an assessment of the hotline 's independent effect would have been valuable , this evaluation would have required offering it in only 1 region , making it impossible to collect valuable demographic and tractor information that could be used for future comparisons between the study regions . </p> Our results indicated that although rebates increased farmers ' readiness and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marketing messages and promotion holds the most promise for increasing retrofitting activity . The most significant shift in baseline and follow-up TTM scores was found in the social marketing region , with a greater than 20% increase in the proportion considering retrofitting . By contrast , the rebate-only region saw an increase of roughly 15% . Social marketing messages without rebates did not appear to generate any significant changes . This finding may indicate that although messages address the perceptual barriers to retrofitting , cost is the most influential barrier . </p> We observed the largest increase in intention to retrofit in the social marketing region . The difference between this region and the rebate-only region was much larger for this endpoint than for TTM level . Although the rebate-only region showed some increase in intention scores , the postintervention score in the social marketing region was 4 times as high as the preintervention score . </p> Because all 5 behavioral measures assessed in the postintervention follow-up ( TTM behavioral intentions , attitudes , subjective norms , and perceived behavioral control ) were higher among retrofitters , we can reasonably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That retrofitting was not shown to be related to pre- to postintervention changes in these 5 variables is also informative . These 2 results together imply that unless the intervention can move respondents to some threshold level , they are unlikely to retrofit . Thus , a relatively modest change of half a point in TTM may result in retrofitting for a respondent who starts at TTM level 3 or 4 ( early contemplation or late contemplation ) . Conversely , a considerably larger change of 1.5 points in TTM level may do little to change behavior in a respondent who starts at level 1 ( precontemplation -- knowledge ) . </p> Another interesting finding was the role that social norms could play in encouraging retrofitting . In the analysis of correlations between behavioral precedents and intentions , increases in subjective norms were most highly correlated with increases in behavioral intention . Strong correlations between subjective norms and health behaviors have been noted in the public health literature 27-29 and in agricultural health and safety research. 30 31 These correlations have also been found for binge drinking among college students. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ research studies , along with comments from university administrators , indicates that successful campaigns aimed at reducing college binge drinking emphasized that most students do not drink excessively. 34 Some schools have reported a 20% drop in reported drinking in response to subjective norms marketing campaigns . </p> Comparisons of the proportion of individuals who remembered seeing advertisements in the different regions indicated that the combination of rebates and social marketing messages and promotion also increased message recall . A search of the public health literature did not identify studies comparing the effects of messages and incentives combined with the independent effects of these components . However , our study indicated that messages were more visible when they focused on making targeted behaviors more appealing as well as easier . </p> Limitations A review of the errors that rendered 303 of the baseline surveys unusable indicated that 3 of the interviewers had not correctly completed the second half of a question tree . These errors appeared to be related to the surveyors ' abilities , not the participants ' characteristics . </p> The follow-up survey 's 53% response rate may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sample . However , a comparison of baseline survey measures between respondents who completed the follow-up and those who did not indicated that these 2 groups did not differ significantly . </p> Rebate funding was provided by the New York State legislature and was thus not available to Pennsylvania farmers . For this reason , we could not completely randomize interventions . However , farmers targeted in Pennsylvania had personal and farm demographics indistinguishable from those of their New York neighbors . Although outcomes may have been affected by regional differences as opposed to actual intervention exposures , our data did not indicate this . Because we made comparisons by calculating intraindividual differences in baseline and follow-up survey scores , a bias related to geography would have had to occur in relation to the intervention response , which appears unlikely . </p> Conclusions Our results showed that a social marketing approach combining financial incentives , tailored messages , and promotion had the greatest influence on message recall , readiness to retrofit tractors , and intentions to retrofit tractors . This finding indicates that cost is not the only barrier farmers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retrofitting will likely involve more than providing money . Our results also provide evidence that behavioral variables are valid predictors of tractor retrofitting behaviors and that subjective norms are particularly influential in a farmer 's decision to retrofit . </p> This article was accepted June 11 , 2010 . </p> Acknowledgments This research was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ( grant 5U500H007542-06 ) . Research was conducted in partnership with faculty members from the Centre for Global Health at Ume University , with support from FAS , the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research ( grant 2006-1512 ) . </p> The authors thank Steve Ropel and the other staff from the New York State office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service for assisting with this study . Their participation was invaluable and considerably appreciated . </p> Human Participant Protection This study was approved by the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital institutional review board . Verbal consent was obtained from all survey participants , and all study personnel were institutional review board certified . </p> References 1 . Unintentional injuries at work by industry United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Itasca , IL : National Safety Council ; 2007:48 . </p> 2 . Bureau of Labor Statistics . Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries by private industry sector , 2005 figure . Available at : http : **41;5253;TOOLONG . Accessed December 13 , 2010 . </p> 3 . Murphy D. Pennsylvania farm and agricultural fatalities 2000-2004 . Penn State Cooperative Extension Agric Saf Health New . 2006 ; 18:1-2 . </p> 4 . Goodman RA , Smith JD , Sikes RK , Rogers DL , Mickey JL . Fatalities associated with farm tractor injuries : an epidemiologic study . Public Health Rep. 1985 ; 100(3) : 329-333 . </p> 5 . Karlson T , Noren J. Farm tractor fatalities : the failure of voluntary safety standards . Am J Public Health 1979 ; 69(2):146-149 . </p> 6 . NIOSH Center Directors . National Agricultural Tractor Safety Initiative . Swenson E , ed . Seattle : University of Washington ; 2004:3 . </p> 7 . Myers JR , Snyder KA , Hard DL , et al . Statistics and epidemiology of tractor fatalities -- a historical perspective . J Agric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanderson WT , Madsen MD , Rautiainen R , et al . Tractor overturn concerns in Iowa : perspectives from the Keokuk County Rural Health Study . J Agric Saf Health . 2006 ; 12(1):71-81 . </p> 9 . Thelin A. Rollover fatalities -- Nordic perspectives . J Agric Saf Health . 1998 ; 4(3):157-160 . </p> 10 . Springfeldt B. Rollover of tractors -- international experiences . Saf Sci. 1996 ; 24(2):95-110 . </p> 11 . Day L , Rechnitzer G , Lough J. An Australian experience with tractor rollover protective structure rebate programs : process , impact and outcome evaluation . Accid Anal Prev. 2004 ; 36(5):861-867 . </p> 12 . Hallman EM . ROPS retrofitting : measuring effectiveness of incentives and uncovering inherent barriers to success . J Agric Saf Health . 2005 ; 11 ( 1 ) : 75-84 . </p> 13 . Kelsey TW , Jenkins PL , May J. Factors influencing tractor owners ' potential demands for rollover protective structures . J Agric Saf Health 1996 ; 2(2):35-42 . </p> 14 . National Agricultural Tractor Safety Initiative presentation , Keystone , CO , June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Accessed November 1 , 2008 . </p> 15 . Morgan SE , Cole HP , Struttman T , Piercy L. Stories or statistics ? Farmers ' attitudes toward messages in an agricultural safety campaign . J Agric Saf Health . 2001 ; 8(2):225-239 . </p> 16 . Sorensen JA , May J , Ostby-Mailing R , et al . Encouraging the installation of rollover protective structures in New York State : the design of a social marketing intervention . Scand J Public Health . 2008 ; 36(8):859-869 . </p> 17 . May JJ , Sorenson JA , Burdick PA , Earle-Richardson GB , Jenkins PL . Rollover protection on New York tractors and farmers ' readiness for change . J Agric Saf Health . 2006 ; 12(3):199-213 . </p> 18 . Sorensen JA , May JJ , Paap K , Purschwitz MA , Emmelin M. Encouraging farmers to retrofit tractors : a qualitative analysis of risk perceptions amongst a group of high risk farmers in New York . J Agric Saf Health 2008 ; 14(1):105-117 . </p> 19 . National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health . NIOSH protecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : http : **61;5350;TOOLONG . Accessed January 11 , 2011 . </p> 20 . Viebrock S , Earle-Richardson G , Sorensen JA , Westenbroek T , O'Hara P , May JJ . The New York State ROPS Retrofit Promotion Program utilizing a retrofit rebate and farmer 's hotline -- observations from a social marketing intervention . Paper presented at : National Institute for Farm Safety Conference ; June 24-28 , 2007 ; Penticton , British Columbia , Canada . </p> 21 . Sorensen JA , McKenzie EA Jr , Purschwitz M , Jenkins PL , O'Hara P , May JJ . Results from inspections of farmer-installed rollover protective structures . J Agromedicine. 2001 ; 16(1):19-29 . </p> 22 . Ajzen I. The theory of planned behavior . Organ Behav Hum Decis Process . 1991 ; 50(2):179-211 . </p> 23 . Prochaska JO , DiClemente CC . Stages and processes of self-change of smoking : toward an integrative model of change . J Consult Clin Psychol. 1983 ; 51(3):390-395 . </p> 24 . Francis JJ , Eccles MP , Johnston M , et al . Constructing Questionnaires Based on the Theory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Newcastle Upon Tyne , UK : Centre for Health Services Research ; 2004 . </p> 25 . Andreasen AR . Marketing Social Change . San Frandsco , CA : Jossey-Bass ; 1995 . </p> 26 . Weinstein ND . Why it wo n't happen to me : perceptions of risk factors and susceptibility . Health Psychol. 1984 ; 3(5):431-157 . </p> 27 . Olds RS , Thombs DL . The relationship of adolescent perceptions of peer norms and parent involvement to cigarette and alcohol use . J Sch Health . 2001 ; 71(6):223-228 . </p> 28 . Ahern J , Galea S , Hubbard A , Syme SL . Neighborhood smoking norms modify the relation between colledive efficacy and smoking behavior . Drug Alcohol Depend 2009 ; 100(1-2):138-145 . </p> 29 . Nolan JM , Schultz PW , Cialdini RB , Goldstein NJ , Griskevicius V. Normative social influence is underdetected . Pers Soc Psychol Bull . 2008 ; 34(7):913-923 . </p> 30 . Pratt PD . Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Farm Kit Usage Among Farmers in Six Illinois Counties master 's thesis . Urbana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . </p> 31 . Colmont A , Van den Broucke S. Measuring determinants of occupational health related behavior in Flemish farmers : an application of the theory of planned behavior . J Safety Res. 2008 ; 39(1):55-64 . </p> 32 . Broadwater K , Curtin L , Martz DM , Zrull MC . College student drinking : perception of the norm and behavioral intentions . Addict Behav. 2006 ; 31(4):632-640 . </p> 33 . Meltzer H. Review of Social Norms and the Behavior of College Students . J Educ Psychol. 1942 ; 33(3):236-238 . </p> 34 . Zernike K. New tactic on college drinking : play it down . New York Times . October 3 , 2000 . Available at : http : **80;5413;TOOLONG . Accessed September 26 , 2008 . </p> By Julie A. Sorensen , PhD , Julie A. Sorensen is with the Northeast Center for Agricultural and Occupational Health/New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health at the Bassett Healthcare Network , Cooperstown , 1 Atwell Rd , Cooperstown , NY 13326 ( e-mail : **26;5495;TOOLONG ) . ; Paul L. Jenkins , PhD , Paul L. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health/New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health at the Bassett Healthcare Network , Cooperstown. ; Maria Emmelin , PhD , Maria Emmelin is with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences , Ume University , Ume , Sweden. ; Hans Stenlund , MS , Hans Stenlund is with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences , Ume University , Ume , Sweden. ; Lars Weinehall , MD , PhD , Lars Weinehall is with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences , Ume University , Ume , Sweden. ; Giulia B. Earle-Richardson , PhD , Giulia B. Earle-Richardson is with the Northeast Center for Agricultural and Occupational Health/New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health at the Bassett Healthcare Network , Cooperstown. and John J. May , MD , John J. May is with the Northeast Center for Agricultural and Occupational Health/New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health at the Bassett Healthcare Network , Cooperstown . </p>

@@4119541 Prescribing nurse </p> The recent amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act means that non-medical prescribers can now prescribe controlled drugs ( CDs ) for patients in pain . This does not purport to be a comprehensive guide to CDs but offers some insight into their place on the analgesic ladder </p> Pain is one of the commonest reasons why individuals consult healthcare practitioners in the UK . Indeed in 2011 primary healthcare was responsible for spending over 440 million on analgesics that are available over the counter , which works out as an average of 8.80 per person.1 If you include analgesics that are only available on prescription then the cost to the NHS is considerable . After mental health issues , musculoskeletal pain is one of the leading causes of long term absence from work which brings an added financial burden to society.2-4 Pain is also the commonest presenting complaint of osteoarthritis , 5 which is becoming an increasingly common condition with the increasing age of our society . </p> Consider Joan , a 78 year old lady . She is brought to see you by her daughter complaining of pain in both knees . The pain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a problem when she is walking but is also keeping her awake at night . What would you consider ? </p> Osteoarthritis inevitably increases with age so it is likely that Joan is describing pain secondary to degenerative joint disease . As well as being briefed on her full medical history and current medication , it is important to get a clear history of the pain , including its duration , character and any exacerbating or alleviating factors . On examining her it is worth considering not only her knee joints but also her hip joints , as there can often be referred pain from one to another . However , the key area to think about is what effect this pain is having on her life . Lack of sleep may be causing her some emotional distress that will in turn exacerbate the pain . She may also be becoming socially isolated due to her pain if it is restricting her mobility . Sometimes using validated pain scores or orthopaedic scores6 can be useful in quantifying the level of her pain and so enable you to make an assessment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are now widely available , including in other languages.7 </p> OTC PREPARATIONS Joan tells you that she has been taking occasional Panadol Extra for her pain when it is at its worst but she has not been using anything on a regular basis . </p> Getting a clear history of what strategies Joan has already tried with regard to her pain is obviously important . If you are unfamiliar with the brand that the patient describes then it is worth checking in the OTC Directory8 -- in this instance Joan is trying a combination of paracetamol and caffeine , which may in fact be contributing to her sleep problems . Joan is also trying a rescue-based approach to her pain management , whereas it is preferable to try and anticipate the pain and so reduce its occurrence . </p> Anticipating pain before it occurs can often lead to an overall reduction in a patient 's need for analgesics as it ensures that the circulating levels of analgesics are always sufficient to suppress the pain signals in the descending nerve pathways . So the first step to recommend to Joan may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and to take 2 x 500mg tablets four times daily . Joan could buy her paracetamol over the counter at very low cost . However , the maximum that she can buy at any one time is 32 tablets , which will only last her 4 days if she follows your recommendations , so a prescription may well be warranted to ensure that she has sufficient medication to last for a reasonable period of time . Given Joan 's age this will also be free of charge to her as an individual . </p> NON-OPIOIDS Joan takes 2 x 500mg paracetamol tablets regularly ( i.e 4 times a day so that she has 24hr cover ) each day for the next three months with good pain relief . However , she then develops further pain , particularly in her right knee and so comes back to see you . </p> Joan may be experiencing a flare of her osteoarthritis but she may have developed an injury so again a clear history is important to try and establish what has happened . Whenever an individual 's pain changes in severity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reflects a deterioration in their original presenting condition , or if it is due to some other pathology . For pain in particular it is also important to continue to take a holistic approach to the assessment as psychological and social factors have a significant role to play . For an acute flare of OA it is worth considering short-term treatment with non-steroidal inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs ) , such as naproxen , assuming that there are no absolute contra-indications to them . These are obviously not without their consequences -- Joan is likely to have a degree of renal impairment by virtue of her age and she will be more prone to gastrointestinal side effects . Co-prescribing a proton pump inhibitor ( PPI ) , such as omeprazole , will help to ameliorate this risk but brings with it an increased risk of clostridium difficile infection9 and community acquired pneumonia.10 It is also worth bearing in mind what other medications Joan is on , as the risk of significant drug interactions goes up with poly-pharmacy . Topical NSAIDs can also be useful and are recommended by NICE , 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are centrally mediated , rather than being a direct irritant effect of oral medication . Topical capsaicin can help in some circumstances , particularly for relatively superficial joints such as hands and knees . Joan may also benefit from non-pharmacological approaches to her pain such as heat treatment or physiotherapy . </p> OPIOID FOR MILD TO MODERATE PAIN Joan takes regular paracetamol and naproxen 500mgs twice daily and omeprazole 20mgs for two weeks . Her pain settles and she is able to go back to regular paracetamol only . However , her pain then progresses , particularly at night , such that she is being kept awake by her pain and has non-restorative sleep . She also now describes pain in her lower back . </p> It appears that Joan 's osteoarthritis has now progressed , with a resultant increase in her pain . Once again a change in her presentation should cause you to reflect on whether there is an alternative diagnosis ( e.g osteoporosis , metastatic disease ) that might be contributing to her condition . It is worth revisiting her pain and orthopaedic scores as it may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her . However , the advent of back pain suggests there may now be some spinal involvement for which there is little role for surgery . So it is likely that Joan needs to move up a level on the pain ladder . ( Figure 1 ) This was originally devised by the World Health Organization in relation to cancer pain but can be usefully adapted for other situations . " </p> You consider that Joan now needs to move up the ladder so you add in a mild opioid . For Joan the most convenient preparation would probably be a combination tablet of both paracetamol and codeine , although this gives you less flexibility in the dosing schedule . Given that Joan 's pain appears to be predominantly at night , you could consider continuing with regular paracetamol for her daytime pain relief and giving her codeine and paracetamol at night . This would help prevent drowsiness , a recognised side effect of codeine , being a problem in the day whilst helping with her sleep . The other common side effects to be aware of are nausea , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she may need to take laxatives . </p> Combination preparations for codeine and paracetamol come in various strengths e.g co-codamol 8/500 ( ie/8 mg codeine with 500mg paracetamol ) , co-dydramol 10/500 or co-codamol forte 30/500 . It makes sense to start with the lowest effective dose and it is worth bearing in mind that doses of codeine above 30mg there is minimal increase in effectiveness but side effects become more of an issue.12 The lowest effective dose of codeine has not been established in practice as most trials use doses of 30-60mg codeine , however some patients , particularly older ones , are very sensitive to potential side effects.13 Tramadol can also be a useful opioid analgesic although its effect is often limited by nausea in older people . In terms of potency , codeine is l/20th the strength of morphine , whereas tramadol is 1/10th . </p> ADJUVANT ANALGESIA Joan settles on co-dydramol 10/500 at a dose of two tablets four times daily . She has few side effects apart from constipation , which you manage to control with Movicol on alternate days . She then develops an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and needles in her right foot . </p> The character of Joan 's pain has now changed . Rather than the dull ache that she previously described that is typical of osteoarthritis she now describes burning pain . This is typical of neuropathic pain and , in Joan 's case , is likely to be due to the arthritis in her spine causing irritation of her sciatic nerve . It is important to rule out any red flag symptoms for cauda equina syndrome such as bowel or bladder dysfunction and saddle anaesthesia . Assuming that none of these are present then the focus is back to addressing Joan 's pain . Again a short-term trial of an NSAID may help to settle down any inflammation . However , for neuropathic pain an adjuvant analgesic is likely to be the most effective treatment . Neuropathic pain is also very uncomfortable so it is worth screening Joan for any underlying depressive illness as this will inevitably increase her perception of pain . </p> In terms of adjuvant medications there are two main avenues to explore -- tricyclic anti-depressants , such as amitriptyline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a faster onset of action , with positive benefits often being seen within one to two weeks , and they are considerably cheaper , so it makes sense to start with a trial of amitriptyline . Side effects can be a problem and some people , particularly the elderly , are very sensitive to them so it is worth starting with a very small dose , even as little as 10-20mg , and titrating upwards after a few days . It is also worth discussing with patients their role as anti-depressants ( albeit usually at a higher dose ) as otherwise they may well read the patient information leaflet and then decide not to try the medication . </p> If amitriptyline is not effective then you can try switching to gabapentin , again starting at a low dose of 300mgs daily and actively titrating it upwards . However this can take up to 4 - 6 weeks to have its full effect . The two drugs can also be used in combination with one another to enhance their effectiveness , although inevitably this also increases the side effect profile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is a precursor of gabapentin . This does appear to have a better side effect profile but is also significantly more expensive so it should probably be reserved for those who have not tolerated gabapentin . </p> Side effects to be particularly aware of are constipation and drowsiness , particularly in combination with opioids . Postural hypotension can also be an issue and is a significant cause of falls in the elderly.14,15 </p> Joan starts amitriptyline 10mgs , which she increases to 25mg after three days . She takes it at 9pm each night and continues with her regular co-dydramol . She finds that she needs to increase her Movicol to each day but otherwise has no problems . However her daughter reports that Joan is having increasing difficulty in managing her medications . </p> Pain regimens can become increasingly complex for older individuals to manage and so need to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that concordance is maximised and side effects minimised . It is also worth checking that patients are not continuing to supplement their prescribed medication with OTC preparations as this can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NSAIDS . Also , as osteoarthritis can become widespread there may be issues with gaining access to medication if it is dispensed in childproof containers . Visual impairment may also cause difficulties distinguishing between different medications . </p> BREAKTHROUGH PAIN You arrange for Joan to have her medication dispensed in a weekly dosette box . This works well until Joan has a fall downstairs and sustains a fractured neck of femur . Joan undergoes a hemi-arthroplasty but continues to complain of widespread pain . On her discharge from hospital she is now on sustained release morphine 30mgs twice daily , amitriptyline 50mgs node and Movicol . She also has some oral morphine solution . </p> While Joan is in hospital it appears that her paracetamol has been discontinued . It is worth considering restarting this as it can have a synergistic effect with morphine and so enables the dose of morphine to be decreased . However , it is also worth encouraging Joan to make use of her oral morphine solution so as to get a clear picture of what dose she actually needs to become pain free , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Ideally she should be using l/6th of her daily dose as her breakthrough dose ; in this instance that would be 10mg . </p> NEXT STEPS Joan restarts her paracetamol and also adds in the oral morphine solution on a prn basis . Over the next three days she uses an additional 20mgs of morphine in each 24 hour period . However , her daughter says that although Joan 's pain appears to be well controlled she is not sure that she is managing the tablets properly despite her dosette box . Consequently you discuss Joan 's case with one of the GPs as to how best to address Joan 's pain needs . </p> Oral medication is clearly the route of choice for most patients both for its ease of use and also as it is often the most cost effective formulation . However , there can sometimes be a role for other routes of administration . In this instance it may be worth considering changing Joan onto a patch as this is much less dependent upon her remembering to take it . However you need to remember @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Joan will still need to continue oral medication if you feel that the paracetamol or , more likely , the amitriptyline still have a role to play . There are two main choices of patch -- fentanyl , which needs to be applied twice weekly and buprenorphine , which is applied either twice weekly or weekly , depending upon the formulation . </p> After discussion with the GP you conclude together that a buprenorphine patch would suit Joan best as her daughter can apply this when she comes to visit . Given Joan 's current morphine dose , the starting dose of the patch should be 52.5ucg/hr . ( Table 1 ) For the first patch you show her daughter how to apply it at the same time as Joan takes her last sustained morphine preparation . To make it easier for Joan , you both decide to stop the paracetamol but continue the amitriptyline so Joan is just taking one 50mg tablet each evening . This works really well for Joan and she is even able to decrease her laxative usage . You also arrange for a local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . </p> CONCLUSION Managing pain is a complex mixture of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods . It is likely that in Joan 's case the decreased social isolation from the befriending scheme is at least as important as maximising her analgesic therapy . So in any individual with chronic pain , particularly if their analgesic requirements appear to be escalating , it is worth ensuring that you take a holistic approach to their assessment . This means addressing the social and psychological components of their condition as well as just the possible physical causes of pain . In younger patients with chronic pain it is also worth considering formal pain management programmes that will take all these aspects into consideration . Mindfulness also has an increasing role to play.16 </p> TABLE 1 : DOSE EQUIVALENCES OF OPIOIDS pqp FIGURE 1 . WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ( WHO ) ANALGESIC LADDER </p> Oral , non-opioid analgesics are the first step on the pain ladder </p> REFERENCES 1 . Hughes , D Painkillers cost the NHS in England 442 million a year http : **36;125410;TOOLONG ( accessed 20 March 2012 ) </p> 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : **71;125448;TOOLONG **81;125521;TOOLONG ( accessed 2 April 2012 ) </p> 3 . Jones , J.R. , Huxtable , C.S. and Hodgson , J.T. ( 2006 ) Self-reported work-related illness in 2004/05 : Results from the Labour Force Survey . Health and Safety Executive , National Statistics </p> 4 . Silverstein , M. ( 2008 ) . Meeting the challenges of an aging workforce . American Journal of Industrial Medicine , 51,269-280 </p> 5 . The Care and Management of Osteoarthritis in Adults http : //www.nice.org.uk/CG59 ( accessed 20 March 2012 ) </p> 6. **25;125604;TOOLONG ( accessed 20 March 2012 ) </p> 7 . Pain scales in multiple languages http : **62;125631;TOOLONG ( accessed March 20 2012 ) </p> 8 . OTC Directory PAGB ( available on-line at **27;125695;TOOLONG ) </p> 9 . Cunningham R , et al . Proton pump inhibitors as a risk factor for Clostridium difficile diarrhoea . Journal of Hospital Infection 2003 54 : 243-245 </p> 10 . Can the use of proton pump inhibitors increase the risk of community acquired pneumonia infection ? http : **51;125724;TOOLONG -- A **99;125777;TOOLONG ( accessed 20 March 2012 ) </p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 March 2012 ) </p> 12. de Craen AJ , Di Giulio G , Lampe-Schoenmaeckers JE , et al . Analgesic efficacy and safety of paracetamol-codeine combinations versus paracetamol alone : a systematic review . BMJ 1996 Aug 10 ; 313(7053):321-5 . </p> 13 . The management of persistent pain in older persons J Am Geriatr Soc 2002 Jun ; 50 ( 6 Suppl ) : S205-24 . </p> 14 . T Kwok , J Liddle , IR Hastie . Postural Hypotension and Falls Postgrad MedJ3 1995 ; 71:278-283 </p> 15 . Recurrent Falls http : **46;125944;TOOLONG ( accessed April 2 2012 ) </p> 16 . Chronic pain http : **43;125992;TOOLONG ( accessed March 20 2012 ) </p> By Mandy Fry , Dr </p> Mandy Fry , Portfolio GP &; Associate Lecturer in Primary Care , Oxford Brookes </p>

@@4119641 Objectives . We considered interactions between physical activity and body mass index ( BMI ) and neighborhood factors . </p> Methods . We used recursive partitioning to identify predictors of low recreational physical activity ( &lt;2.5 hours/week ) and overweight and obesity ( BMI ? 25.0 kg/m 2 ) among 118 315 women in the California Teachers Study . Neighborhood characteristics were based on 2000 US Census data and Reference US business listings . </p> Results . Low physical activity and being overweight or obese were associated with individual sociodemographic characteristics , including race/ethnicity and age . Among White women aged 36 to 75 years , living in neighborhoods with more household crowding was associated with a higher probability of low physical activity ( 54% vs 45% to 51% ) . In less crowded neighborhoods where more people worked outside the home , the existence of fewer neighborhood amenities was associated with a higher probability of low physical activity ( 51% vs 46% ) . Among non-African American middle-aged women , living in neighborhoods with a lower socioeconomic status was associated with a higher probability of being overweight or obese ( 46% to 59% vs 38% in high-socioeconomic status @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , overweight and obesity , and the built environment varied by sociodemographic characteristics in this educated population . ( Am J Public Health . 2012 ; 102:689-697 . ) </p> The prevalence of overweight and obesity has reached epidemic levels in the United States . The most recent national prevalence data report that 68% of US adults are overweight or obese. 1 This prevalence poses a significant public health problem given that obesity is a risk factor for many chronic conditions and certain cancers. 1-3 Because of the health benefits of physical activity in preventing and treating overweight and obesity , increasing physical activity has become a public health priority. 4 </p> With these high levels of overweight and obesity in the United States , 1 researchers have begun to search for neighborhood factors , including the built environment that may influence physical activity and overweight or obesity . The built environment comprises the physical attributes of a person 's surroundings , including the existence and condition of sidewalks and walking trails for walking and other types of recreation , the spatial configuration of street networks , the availability of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The research to date suggests that elements of the built environment influence physical activity and levels of overweight or obesity. 5-7 Most studies , however , have focused on relatively specific geographic areas ( e.g. , a given city or county ) , have not assessed the influence of the built environment across different sociodemographic groups , and have not considered interactions between individual and neighborhood factors . </p> We aimed to determine the association between measures of the built environment and physical activity levels and body mass index ( BMI , defined as weight in kg divided by height in m 2 ) across geographically and sociodemographically diverse neighborhoods . We applied recursive partitioning , a tree-based classification method , to identify both independent associations and interactions between these variables in a large , established cohort of California women . </p> METHODS The California Teachers Study ( CTS ) is a prospective study of 133 479 women who were active or retired California teachers or administrators at the time the cohort was established in 1995 to 1996. 8 Women joined the cohort by completing a self-administered questionnaire that assessed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ physical activity during the past 3 years ) as well as personal and family medical history ( including height and weight ) . </p> Geocoding The current study was based on 118 315 CTS participants who resided in California at the time of the baseline survey and for whom residential address could be geocoded to a census block group . Residential addresses at study entry were geocoded through a variety of efforts described previously. 9 Briefly , batch geocoding was performed by Geographic Data Technology GDT ( Geographic Data Technologies , Lebanon , NH ) . We then made extensive efforts to manually geocode addresses that could not be geocoded by the batch method . Together , these approaches resulted in assigning 95% of California baseline residences to a latitude and longitude and 98% to a US Census block group . </p> Outcome Data Information on physical activity and BMI was obtained from responses to the baseline questionnaire . Women were asked about their physical activity levels over the previous 3 years , including the average number of hours per week and the number of months per year that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running , basketball , cycling on hills ) and moderate ( e.g. , brisk walking , golf , volleyball , cycling on level streets ) exercise activities or sports . The average hours per week and months per year of moderate and strenuous physical activity were summed and categorized into either meeting ( ? 2.5 hours per week , henceforth referred to as high ) , or not meeting ( &lt;2.5 hours per week , henceforth referred to as low ) , the physical activity recommendations of the American Cancer Society. 3 Long-term metrics of these physical activity measures have been associated with cancer risk and mortality in this cohort 10-12 We excluded women from the physical activity analysis for whom physical activity data were missing ( n=948 ) . </p> Weight ( lb ) and height ( ft , in ) as self-reported at baseline were used to calculate BMI , which was then categorized as normal weight ( &lt;25.0 kg/m 2 ) and Overweight or obese ( ? 25.0 kg/m 2 ) . 2We excluded from the BMI analysis women with missing ( n=5290 ) or extreme ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . </p> Sociodemographic Characteristics Age at baseline was calculated from self-reported birth date and the date the questionnaire was completed . Self-reported race/ethnicity was categorized as non-Hispanic White ( henceforth referred to as White ) , African American or Black , Hispanic , Asian or Pacific Islander , and other or not reported . All public school teachers and administrators have at least a college education ; therefore , education as a measure of individual socioeconomic status ( SES ) is not useful within this cohort . However , individual SES for these women is partially determined by spousal income as well as other factors that are reflected in the diversity of neighborhoods in which they live. 9Thus , we used 2000 US Census data to characterize neighborhood urbanization and SES at the block group according to the address of residence at baseline. 9 The degree of urbanization was categorized into 5 groups : urban , suburban , city , small town , and rural. 9 This SES metric incorporates population measures of average neighborhood education , income , and occupation , as described elsewhere , 9 and was categorized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the state . </p> Built Environment Measures We derived measures of neighborhood housing and commuting characteristics from 2000 US Census data . Neighborhood density was characterized at the block group level by several measures : population density ( number of people/m 2 ) , household crowding ( percentage of occupied households with 1 or more persons/room ) , percentage of total housing units that are not single family dwellings , and percentage of total housing units that are housing structures with more than 10 units . Population-based commuting characteristics were summarized in the following manner : means of transportation ( % of individuals in the block group who traveled to work via car or motorcycle , public transportation , walking or bicycle , other means , or worked at home ) and typical travel time to work ( % of individuals in the block group who traveled &lt;30 , 30-44 , 45-59 , or ? 60 min/d to work ) . </p> We obtained information on street connectivity , which was calculated at the US Census tract level , from the Rand Center for Population Health and Health Disparities. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ street blocks , the ? and ? ratios were used to characterize the directness of links and density of connections in neighborhoods such that high values of these ratios ( i.e. , close to 1.0 ) indicated a pedestrian- friendly area with many short links and intersections and few dead ends. 13 These measures have been shown to be predictive of health behaviors and outcomes in previous studies. 5 14-17 </p> We derived information on neighborhood amenities from Reference USA business listing data for 2002. 18 Businesses of interest for the study were downloaded from the complete database , and their addresses were geocoded to a latitude and longitude by using ArcView GIS software ( Esri , Redlands , CA ) . The number of businesses within a 400- or 1600-meter buffer around a participant 's residence was determined as amenities because these distances have been associated with physical activity and BMI. 14 19-21We selected and categorized businesses on the basis of a priori hypotheses regarding the influence such amenities might have on neighborhood walkability and BMI 14 22 23 as Mows : social capital ( museums , historical sites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and spectator sports ) ; recreation facilities ( golf courses and country clubs , siding facilities , marinas , fitness and recreational sports centers , bowling centers , and other amusement and recreation industries ) ; beer , wine , and liquor stores ; retail stores ; gasoline stations ; convenience stores ; restaurants and eating places ; specialty food stores ; bars ; parking lots and garages ; and supermarkets and other grocery stores . Additionally , composite measures were created of desirable amenities ( the number of social capital amenities and recreation facilities ) , undesirable amenities ( the number of beer , wine , and liquor stores ; gasoline stations ; and convenience stores ) , and total destinations . Total destinations has been shown to be a reliable indicator of walkability. 24 </p> Statistical Analysis We used recursive partitioning , 25-27 conducted by using the RPART routine in the R statistical software program , 26 to identify mutually exclusive subgroups of participants that varied with regard to the outcomes of interest ( BMI and physical activity ) . Recursive partitioning is a nonparametric regression method that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the lowest average misclassification rate for classifying future observations . The terminal nodes of the tree partition the participants into subgroups according to a set of explanatory variables . Starting with the original data set , recursive partitioning splits each node by examining each variable and selecting 1 binary split across the members in that node based on a variable that maximizes the purity in the outcome . This process is repeated until further partitioning is not possible . Because the final tree over-fits the data , 10-fold cross-validation is used to prune the tree. 27 Finally , the " one-standard error " heuristic is used to find the simplest tree with a cross-validated error estimate no more than one standard error larger than the best tree. 27 Recursive partitioning can detect multi-way interactions and handle highly correlated variables ; however , this method is less well-known and is not as powerful as parametric methods when the form of the underlying model is parametric and correctly specified . </p> We performed separate analyses for dichotomized outcomes of BMI and physical activity . We submitted 49 explanatory variables into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighborhood urbanization , SES , population density , 3 measures of housing density , 4 street connectivity measures , 9 measures of population commuting characteristics , and 22 specific and 6 composite neighborhood amenities within both 400 and 1600 meters of the residence . Because the results were similar for the neighborhood amenities variables regardless of buffer size , we only presented the results that assessed the 1600-meter buffer . </p> We used logistic regression models for low physical activity and overweight or obesity to estimate the adjusted odds ratios for categorical variables that represented each subgroup ( terminal node ) from the recursive partitioning analyses . Odds ratios were adjusted for age and BMI in the analyses of physical activity or age and physical activity in the analyses of BMI . </p> RESULTS Most of the women included in these analyses were aged 46 to 75 years , were White , and had a normal BMI ( Table 1 ) . Nearly half of the participants engaged in moderate or strenuous physical activity for at least 2.5 hours per week , on average , in the 3 years before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were suburban , in the upper 2 quartiles of SES , had little or no household crowding , and were composed predominantly of single family homes . The participants " neighborhoods tended to have relatively low average street connectivity ( a ratio=0.15 ; y ratio=0.43 ) and a high average percentage of residents commuting to work by car or motorcycle . The most common neighborhood services within 1600 meters of the participants ' homes were restaurants and eating establishments ( mean number=32.6 ) , followed by retail stores ( mean number=14.7 ) , social capital facilities ( mean number=5.2 ) , and supermarkets and grocery stores ( mean number=4.9 ) . </p> The built environment characteristics of the participants ' residences varied by neighborhood SES ( Table 2 ) . Compared with the lower SES neighborhoods , the highest SES neighborhoods were more likely to be suburban and to have lower population density , less household crowding , and a higher proportion of single-family homes . Block sizes were somewhat smaller in high-SES neighborhoods , and the percentage of the population that worked at home was lower in low-SES neighborhoods @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . </p> Predictors of Physical Activity The recursive partitioning analysis of physical activity identified 7 subgroups of women with variable probabilities of low physical activity ( Table 3 ) . Women aged 76 years or older ( node 1 ) and Hispanic , African American , and Asian/Pacific Islander women younger than 76 years ( node 2 ) had the highest probabilities of low physical activity ( 66% and 60% , respectively ) , whereas White women and those of other or not reported race/ethnicity aged 35 years or younger ( node 3 ) were the most active , with only a 40% probability of low physical activity . Among the majority of women , those who were aged 36 to 75 years and of White or other or not reported race/ ethnicity , physical activity level varied by aspects of the built environment . Among these women , those who lived in neighborhoods with more household crowding ( node 4 ) were slightly more likely to have low physical activity levels ( 54% ) than were women in neighborhoods with less household crowding ( nodes 5 , 6 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ranging from 45% to 51% ) . In less crowded neighborhoods that also had a higher percentage of people who worked at home , women with more desirable amenities ( node 7 ) were 5% less likely to have low levels of physical activity ( probability=46% ) than were women who lived in neighborhoods with fewer of these types of destinations ( node 6 ; probability=51% ) . </p> Even after adjustment for age and BMI , older women ( ? 76 years ) and women of Hispanic , African American , and Asian/Pacific Islander race/ethnicity who were younger than 76 years were at least 2 times more likely to engage in low levels of physical activity than were young ( ? 35 years ) White women ( Table 3 ) . Compared with young White women . White women aged 36 to 75 years who lived in neighborhoods with more household crowding or in neighborhoods with less crowding but fewer desirable amenities were at least 1.5-fold more likely to be less physically active . Further adjustment of these models for neighborhood SES did not change these results ( data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Demographic and Neighborhood Characteristics at Recruitment Among Study Participants : California Teachers Study , 1995-1996 </p> Age , y , no. ( % ) ? 35 13 919 ( 11.8 ) 36-45 22 155 ( 18.7 ) 46-75 72 468 ( 61.2 ) ? 76 9773 ( 8.3 ) Race/Ethnicity , no. ( % ) White ( non-Hispanic ) 102 135 ( 86.3 ) Hispanic 5089 ( 4.3 ) Asian/Pacific Islander 4321 ( 3.7 ) African American 3179 ( 2.7 ) Other or not reported 3591 ( 3.0 ) BMI , no. ( % ) Normal , &lt;25.0 69 103 ( 58.4 ) Overweight , 25.0-29.9 28 140 ( 23.8 ) Obese , ? 30.0 15 782 ( 13.3 ) Unknown 5290 ( 4.5 ) Recent moderate or strenuous physical activity , no. ( % ) Low activity , &lt;2.5 h/wk 58 973 ( 49.8 ) High activity , ? 2.5 h/wk 58 394 ( 49.4 ) Unknown 948 ( 0.8 ) Area of residence , no. ( % ) Rural 14 151 ( 12.0 ) Small town 4075 ( 3.4 ) City 21 783 ( 18.4 ) Suburban 65 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unknown 451 ( 0.4 ) Neighborhood SES quartile , a no. ( % ) 1st , low 4821 ( 4.1 ) 2nd 19 799 ( 16.7 ) 3rd 38 615 ( 32.5 ) 4th , high 54 591 ( 46.1 ) Unknown 489 ( 0.4 ) Population density quartile , a no. ( % ) 0.00-0.86 people/1000 m 2 29 589 ( 25.0 ) 0.87-1.91 people/1000 m 2 29 569 ( 25.0 ) 1.92-2.98 people/1000 m 2 29 581 ( 25.0 ) 2.99-66.76 peopie/1000 m 2 29 575 ( 25.0 ) Unknown 1 ( &lt;0.1 ) Housing density , a % , mean SD Crowding : occupied households with ? 1 person/room 6.9 8.8 Nonsingle family housing units 22.6 25.2 Housing structures with ? 10 units 10.0 16.2 Commuting characteristics , a % , mean SD Car/motorcycle 89.0 8.3 Public transportation 3.0 5.2 Walking or bicycle 2.5 4.1 </p> TABLE : TABLE 1 -- Demographic and Neighborhood Characteristics at Recruitment Among Study Participants : California Teachers Study , 1995-1996 </p> Other means 0.6 1.1 Working at home 4.9 3.8 &lt;30 min 62.7 14.3 30-44 min 19.5 8.6 45-59 min 8.1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mean SD ? : ratio of streets/possible intersections 0.43 0.05 ? : ratio of loops/possible loops 0.15 0.07 Median area of street blocks , sq ft 480 878 1221 385 Median length of street blocks , ft 2843 1564 No. of specific neighborhood amenities within 1600 m from address , mean SD Social capital 5.2 9.2 Beer , wine , and liquor stores 2.5 3.3 Recreation facilities 3.9 4.0 Retail stores 14.7 18.0 Gasoline stations 2.5 2.5 Convenience stores 1.3 1.6 Restaurants and eating places 32.6 46.0 Specialty food stores 3.5 5.9 Bars 1.9 5.4 Parking lots and garages &lt;1 0.3 Supermarkets and other grocery stores 4.9 8.6 Desirable amenitiesc 9.1 12.2 Undesirable amenitiesd 6.3 6.1 Total destinations 73.1 95.2 </p> Note . BMI = body mass index , defined as weight in kg divided by height in m 2 ; SES=socioeconomic status . The sample size was n = 118315 . </p> aBased on 2000 US Census block group data . </p> bBased on 2000 US Census tract data . </p> cDesirable amenities included social capital ( museums , historical sites , and similar institutions ; theaters ; associations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ golf courses and country clubs , skiing facilities , marinas , fitness and recreational sports centers , bowling centers , and other amusement and recreation industries ) . </p> dUndesirable amenities included beer , wine , and liquor stores ; gasoline stations ; and convenience stores . </p> Predictors of Overweight and Obesity Our recursive partitioning analyses for BMI identified 5 subgroups of women with variable probabilities of being overweight or obese ( Table 4 ) . Overall , the lowest probability of being overweight ( 33% ) was observed among the youngest ( ? 45 years ) and oldest ( ? 76 years ) women ( node 1 ) . Only among middle-aged ( 46-75years ) women were neighborhood SES and race/ethnicity associated with various probabilities of being overweight . In high-SES neighborhoods , African American women ( node 3 ) had a substantially higher probability ( 58% ) of being overweight than did women of all other race/ethnicities ( node 2 ; probability=38% ) . In lower SES neighborhoods , African American and Hispanic women and women of other or not reported race/ethnicity ( node 5 ) had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White and Asian/Pacific Islander women ( node 4 ; probability=46% ) . After adjustment for age and physical activity , African American women in all SES neighborhoods and Hispanic women in the lower 3 quartiles of neighborhood SES had more than a 2.4-fold increased odds of being overweight compared with younger or older women . </p> DISCUSSION In this population of highly educated women living throughout the geographically diverse state of California , we found that a few elements of the built environment , including household crowding , commuting characteristics , and proximity to desirable neighborhood amenities , were associated with meeting physical activity recommendations , but only among White women . We did not find any specific measures of the built environment to be associated with overweight or obesity . Physical activity was also associated with age and race/ethnicity , and overweight or obesity was related to age , race/ethnicity , and neighborhood SES . Our analysis is unique in its application of recursive partitioning to identify interactive effects among individual and neighborhood predictors of physical activity and overweight and obesity . Most previous studies of these associations did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characteristics of the built environment , although characteristics of the built environment are strongly related to neighborhood racial/ethnic composition and SES. 6 7 28-32 </p> TABLE : TABLE 2 -- Built Environment Characteristics by Quartile of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status ( SES ) : California Teachers Study , 1995-1996 </p> Characteristic SES : Low , 1st to 3rd Quartiles ( n = 63 235 ) SES : High , 4th Quartile ( n = 54 591 ) pa Area of residence , no. ( % ) &lt;.001 Rural 11 952 ( 18.9 ) 2194 ( 4.0 ) Small Town 3779 ( 6.0 ) 296 ( 0.5 ) City 14086 ( 22.3 ) 7686 ( 14.1 ) Suburban 25 824 ( 40.8 ) 39 747 ( 72.8 ) Urban 7594 ( 12.0 ) 4668 ( 8.6 ) Population density quartiles , b no. ( % ) &lt;.001 0.00000-0.00086 people/m 2 16 906 ( 26.7 ) 12 423 ( 22.8 ) 0.00087-0.00191 people/m 2 12 090 ( 19.1 ) 17 383 ( 31.8 ) 0.00192-0.00298 people/m 2 15481 ( 24.5 ) 14 034 ( 25.7 ) 0.00299-0.06676 people/m 2 18 758 ( 29.7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % , mean SD Crowding : occupied households with ? 1 person/room 10.3 ( 10.4 ) 3.0 ( 3.5 ) &lt;.001 Nonsingle family housing units 27.2 ( 25.6 ) 17.3 ( 23.6 ) &lt;.001 Housing structures with ? 10 units 10.9 ( 16.7 ) 8.9 ( 16.3 ) &lt;.001 Street connectivity , c mean ( SD ) &lt;.001 ? : ratio of streets/possible intersections 0.44 ( 0.05 ) 0.42 ( 0.05 ) &lt;.001 ? : ratio of loops/possible loops 0.16 ( 0.07 ) 0.13 ( 0.07 ) &lt;.001 Median area of street blocks , sq ft 577 427 ( 1 539 695 ) 366 702 ( 667 541 ) &lt;.001 Median length of street blocks , ft 2944.4 ( 1913.4 ) 2720.6 ( 991.9 ) &lt;.001 Commuting characteristics , a % , mean ( SD ) &lt;.001 Car/motorcycle 89.6 ( 8.2 ) 88.4 ( 8.4 ) &lt;.001 Public transportation 3.0 ( 5.2 ) 2.9 ( 5.0 ) .193 Walking or bicycle 2.9 ( 4.4 ) 2.1 ( 3.8 ) &lt;.001 Other means 0.7 ( 1.2 ) 0.5 ( 0.9 ) &lt;.001 Working at home 3.9 ( 3.4 ) 6.0 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 14.0 ) &lt;.001 30-44 min 18.6 ( 8.7 ) 20.6 ( 8.4 ) &lt;.001 45-59 min 7.6 ( 5.3 ) 8.6 ( 5.5 ) &lt;.001 ? 60 min 9.9 ( 7.3 ) 9.5 ( 6.3 ) &lt;.001 No. of specific neighborhood amenities within 1600 m from address , mean ( SD ) Social capital 4.8 ( 8.4 ) 5.8 ( 9.9 ) &lt;.001 Beer , wine , and liquor stores 2.7 ( 3.5 ) 2.2 ( 3.1 ) &lt;.001 Recreation facilities 3.6 ( 3.8 ) 4.2 ( 4.3 ) &lt;.001 Retail stores 14.3 ( 17.6 ) 15.2 ( 18.4 ) &lt;.001 Gasoline stations 2.7 ( 2.6 ) 2.3 ( 2.4 ) &lt;.001 Convenience stores 1.6 ( 1.7 ) 1.0 ( 1.3 ) &lt;.001 Restaurants and eating places 33.0 ( 46.3 ) 32.1 ( 45.5 ) &lt;.001 Specialty food stores 3.7 ( 6.2 ) 3.3 ( 5.6 ) &lt;.001 Bars 2.1 ( 5.6 ) 1.6 ( 5.2 ) &lt;.001 Parking lots and garages &lt;0.1 ( 0.2 ) 0.1 ( 0.3 ) &lt;.001 Supermarkets and other grocery stores 5.8 ( 9.3 ) 4.0 ( 7.5 ) &lt;.001 Desirable amenitiesd 8.4 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 6.4 ) 5.5 ( 5.6 ) &lt;.001 Total destinations 74.4 ( 96.2 ) 71.8 ( 94.2 ) &lt;.001 </p> Note . SES=socioeconomic status . </p> aT-tests and ? 2 statistics were used , where appropriate , to test for differences by SES categories . </p> bBased on 2000 US Census block group data . </p> cBased on 2000 US Census tract data . </p> dDesirable amenities included social capital ( museums , historical sites , and similar institutions ; theaters ; associations ; performing arts ; spectator sports ) and recreation ( golf courses and country clubs , skiing facilities , marinas , fitness and recreational sports centers , bowling centers , and other amusement and recreation industries ) . </p> eUndesirable amenities included beer , wine , and liquor stores ; gasoline stations ; and convenience stores . </p> TABLE : TABLE 3 -- Probability of Low Physical Activity and Logistic Regression Modeling of the Risk Subgroups Identified From Recursive Partitioning : California Teachers Study , 1995-1996 </p> Age , Years Race/Ethnicity Crowdinga Work at Homeb Desirable Amenitiesc Terminal Node No . Probability of Low Physical Activity ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 0.65 , 0.67 ) 2.99 2.95 &lt;76 Hispanic , African American , and API 2 12 235 0.60 ( 0.59 , 0.61 ) 2.29 2.16 ? 35 White and other 3 11 494 0.40 ( 0.39 , 0.40 ) 1.00 1.00 36-75 White and other ? 8% 4 19 344 0.54 ( 0.53 , 0.55 ) 1.80 1.65 &lt;8% ? 3.9% 5 40 277 0.45 ( 0.45 , 0.45 ) 1.25 1.21 &lt;3.9% &lt;11.5 6 19666 0.51 ( 0.51 , 0.52 ) 1.61 1.51 ? 11.5 7 4860 0.46 ( 0.45 , 0.47 ) 1.31 1.25 </p> Note . AOR=adjusted odds ratio ; API=Asian and Pacific Islander ; CI = confidence interval ; OR=odds ratio . Low physical activity is defined as moderate or strenuous physical activity of &lt;2.5 h/wk . </p> aPercentage of housing units with 1 or more occupants per room . </p> bPercentage who worked at home . </p> cDesirable amenities included social capital ( museums , historical sites , and similar institutions ; theaters ; associations ; performing arts ; and spectator sports ) and recreation ( golf courses and country clubs , skiing facilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centers , and other amusement and recreation industries ) . </p> dAdjusted for age and body mass index ( continuous ) . </p> Previous studies have suggested that physical activity , primarily in the form of walking , is related to the built environment , with increasing activity levels associated with greater residential density , land-use mix , street connectivity , and access to recreational areas. 5 15 16 19 33-35The associations between our measure of recreational moderate or strenuous physical activity and the built environment were limited to middle-aged White women and were not as strong as findings from previous studies of walking , likely because of the differing physical activity measure . Among middle-aged White women , however , our finding of greater physical activity among those who lived in neighborhoods with more desirable amenities is consistent with several previous studies that considered more global measures of physical activity . These previous studies found greater levels of physical activity among people living near recreational resources such as parte , schools , and sports facilities. 28 36-38 Household crowding and neighborhood commuting characteristics were also related to physical activity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in neighborhoods with more household crowding were less likely to meet physical activity recommendations . Our findings suggest that neighborhood attributes that facilitate recreational physical activity may differ from neighborhood attributes that favor walking for transportation. 5 Furthermore , because the distributions of our household crowding and commuting variables varied strongly by neighborhood SES and because physical inactivity is associated with lower SES , 15 39 40 these associations could also have been due to some residual SES-related effect particularly individual-level SES . </p> TABLE : TABLE 4 -- Probability of Being Overweight or Obese and Logistic Regression Modeling of the Risk Subgroups Identified From Recursive Partitioning : California Teachers Study , 1995-1996 </p> Age , Years Neighborhood SES Race/Ethnicity Terminal Node No . Probability of Overweight or Obese ( 95% CI ) OR AORa ? 45 or ? 76 1 43 495 0.33 ( 0.32 , 0.33 ) 1.00 1.00 46-75 Highest quartile African American 3 772 0.58 ( 0.54 , 0.61 ) 2.80 2.47 White , Hispanic API , and other 2 34 737 0.38 ( 0.37 , 0.38 ) 1.25 1.18 Lower 3 quartiles White and API @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hispanic African American , and other 5 3411 0.59 ( 0.58 , 0.61 ) 3.03 2.68 </p> Note . AOR=adjusted odds ratio ; API = Asian and Pacific Islander ; BMI = body mass index ; OR=odds ratio ; SES=socioeconomic status . Overweight or obese defined as BMI ? 25 kg/m 2 . </p> aAdjusted for age and physical activity . </p> Our recursive partitioning results indicate that the relationship between neighborhood SES and overweight or obesity is not uniform across racial/ethnic groups . Specifically , the probability of being overweight or obese was highest for African American women , regardless of neighborhood SES , whereas for women of other race/ethnicities , living in lower SES neighborhoods was associated with a higher probability of being overweight or obese . Although the lack of association between overweight and obesily and the built environment measures in our study differs from previous studies that found a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity associated with increased neighborhood walkability 6 7 17 19 33-35 41 42 and to lesser degree with neighborhood accessibility to food establishments that offer healthy food options , 7 research on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that these associations may vary by sociodemographic characteristics . It has been hypothesized that people living in low-SES neighborhoods may be more influenced by the built environment because of transportation constraints or limited opportunities for mobility 7 43 ; however , there are few consistent data to support this notion , 44 perhaps because of the mediating influence of race/ethnicity , which is often not considered . In a population-based study in Atlanta , Georgia , elements of the built environment were related to walking behavior and obesity among White men but were not as evident among African Americans and women . 45 In the same Atlanta study population , built environment features considered to enhance walkability were associated with lower rates of overweight among White , highly educated men , but relationships were opposite among women , non-White men , and less-educated men. 15 Similarly , a recent analysis of national prevalence data reported that low neighborhood SES was associated with higher BMI among Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites , but not among African Americans. 46 By contrast , a recent study of predominantly low-income , Mexican-bom Hispanics living in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 47 ; others have reported a similar positive association among Hispanics living in predominantly immigrant neighborhoods. 46 </p> The associations found in this population of educated professional women , although internally valid , may not be generalizable to other populations . Nearly half of CTS respondents reported meeting the American Cancer Society guidelines for physical activity , compared with only about one third of non-Hispanic White respondents to the 2005 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey , 40 and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among our study participants was considerably lower ( 37% ) than were national ( 69% ) 48 or Californian ( 47% ) 8 prevalence data . However , the relationships between the sociodemographic variables and physical activity and overweight and obesity found in our study are consistent with those found in other studies . In the present study , older women , regardless of race/ethnicity , and younger African American , Asian/Pacific Islander , and Hispanic women had the highest probabilities of not meeting physical activity recommendations , which is consistent with well-documented lower levels of physical activity among minority women and older women. 49 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with national prevalence data indicating that the rates of overweight and obesity increase with age 1 51 and are higher among non-White populations and in lower SES areas. 6 50 52-54 </p> Similar to most studies on this topic , this analysis was limited to cross-sectional data ; therefore , the effects of the built environment can not be distinguished from associations resulting from the self-selection of individuals to live in neighborhoods with certain attributes . We had no subjective measurements of the built environment ( e.g. , how safe it feels , how one uses their environment ) , which are likely to affect behavior as well. 14 Contrary to most previous studies , which generally focused on relatively small ( and usually urban ) geographic areas , our study included women from a broad geographic area with a diversity of social and built environments . We were able to consider a large number of established and objectively measured elements of the built environment that were not subject to recall bias . Finally , our study sample provided a unique opportunity to evaluate neighborhood SES among a cohort of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is one measure of individual SES . </p> Our findings suggest that the associations between physical activity and overweight and obesity and the built environment vary by sociodemographic characteristics and highlight the importance of considering these interactions in future research . We found that characteristics of the built environment were related to physical activity among White women . In addition , whereas neighborhood SES influenced the probability of being overweight or obese for most women , this was not the case for African American women . This is important given that the obesity epidemic in the United States disproportionately affects socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority populations . The relationship between neighborhood SES and overweight and obesity , despite relative homogeneity in education in this cohort , highlights the importance of SES and underscores the need for improving our understanding of the contextual factors associated with neighborhood SES . </p> Reprints can be ordered at http : //www.ajph.org by clicking the " Reprints/Eprints " link . </p> This article was accepted December 28 , 2010 . </p> Acknowledgments This work was supported by National Cancer Institute funds ( R03 CA128009 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Research Fund ( contract 97-10500 ) . The collection of the cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Public Health as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 103885 ; the National Cancer Institute 's Surveillance , Epidemiology and End Results Program under contract NO1-PC-35136 awarded to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California ( formerly the Northern California Cancer Center ) , contract N01-PC-35139 awarded to the University of Southern California , and contract N02-PC-15105 awarded to the Public Health Institute ; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's National Program of Cancer Registries , under agreement #U55/CCR921930-02 awarded to the Public Health Institute . </p> The authors thank Melissa Kealey for her contributions to this work and the California Teachers Study Steering Committee , who are responsible for the formation and maintenance of the cohort within which this study was conducted but who did not directly contribute to the current paper : Hoda Anton-Culver , Ellen T. Chang , Christina A. Clarke , Dennis Deapen , Katherine D. Henderson , James Lacey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Frederick Schmaucher , Daniel O. Strain , Giske Ursin , Dee W. West , Sophia Wong , and Argyrios Ziogas . </p> Note . The funding sources did not contribute to the design or conduction on of the study nor the writing or submission of this article . The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and endorsement by the State of California , Department of Health Services , the National Cancer Institute , and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or their contractors and subcontractors is not intended nor should be inferred . </p> Human Participant Protection Cancer Prevention Institute of California ( CPIC ) institutional review board approval was received for this study . </p> References 1 . Flegal KM , Carroll MD , Ogden CL , Curtin LR . Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults , 1999-2008 . JAMA . 2010 ; 303(3):235-241 . </p> 2 . Bianchini F , Kaaks R , Vainio H. Overweight , obesity , and cancer risk . Lancet Oncol. 2002 ; 3(9):565-574 . </p> 3 . Kushi LH , Byers T , Doyle C @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Physical Activity for cancer prevention : reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity . CA Cancer J Clin. 2006 ; 56(5):254-281 , quiz 313-314 . </p> 4 . US Department of Health and Human Services . 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans . Washington , DC : US Department of Health and Human Services ; 2008 . Available at : http : **53;4255;TOOLONG . Accessed June 1 , 2011 . </p> 5 . Saelens BE , Handy SL . Built environment correlates of walking : a review . Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 ; 40 ( 7 suppl ) : S550-S566 . </p> 6 . Booth KM , Pinkston MM , Poston WS . Obesity and the built environment J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 ; 105 ( 5 suppl. 1 ) : S110-S117 . </p> 7 . Papas MA , Alberg AJ , Ewing R , Helzlsouer KJ , Gary TL , Klassen AC . The built environment and obesity . Epidemiol Rev. 2007 ; 29:129-143 . </p> 8 . Bernstein L , Allen M , Anton-Culver H , et al . High breast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California Teachers Study ( United States ) . Cancer Causes Control . 2002 ; 13(7):625-635 . </p> 9 . Reynolds P , Hurley S , Goldberg DE , et al . Regional variations in breast cancer among California teachers . Epidemiology. 2004 ; 15(6):746-754 . </p> 10 . Mai PL , Sullivan-Halley J , Ursin G , et al . Physical activity and colon cancer risk among women in the California Teachers Study . Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 ; 16(3):517-525 . </p> 11 . Dallal CM , Sullivan-Halley J , Ross RK , et al . Long-term recreational physical activity and risk of invasive and in situ breast cancer : the California Teachers Study . Arch Intern Med 2007 ; 167(4):408-415 . </p> 12 . West-Wright CN , Henderson KD , Sullivan-Halley J , et al . Long-term and recent recreational physical activity and survival after breast cancer : the California Teachers Study . Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 ; 18(11):2851-2859 . </p> 13 . Center for Population Health and Health Disparities Data Core . Pittsburgh , PA : Center for Population Health and Health Disparities , RAND Corp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day K , Forsyth A , Sallis JF . Measuring the built environment for physical activity : state of the science . Am J Prev Med. 2009 ; 36 ( 4 suppl ) : S99-S123 . </p> 15 . Frank LD , Kerr J , Sallis JF , Miles R , Chapman J. A hierarchy of sociodemographic and environmental correlates of walking and obesity . Prev Med. 2008 ; 47(2):172-178 . </p> 16 . Frank LD , Schmid TL , Sallis JF , Chapman J , Saelens BE . Linking objectively measured physical activity with objectively measured urban form : findings from SMARTRAQ . Am J Prev Med 2005 ; 28 ( 2 suppl. 2 ) : 117-125 . </p> 17 . Li F , Harmer PA , Cardinal BJ , et al . Built environment , adiposity , and physical activity in adults aged 50-75 . Am J Prev Med. 2008 ; 35(1):38-46 . </p> 18 . Reference USA . US Businesses Database . Omaha , NE : InfoUSA ; 2003 . </p> 19 . Smith KR , Brown BB , Yamada I , Kowaleski-Jones L , Zick CD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , design , and new diversity measures . Am J Prev Med. 2008 ; 35(3):237-244 . </p> 20 . McGinn AP , Evenson KR , Herring AH , Huston SL , Rodriguez DA Exploring associations between physical activity and perceived and objective measures of the built environment . J Urban Health . 2007 ; 84(2):162-184 . </p> 21 . Nagel CL , Carlson NE , Bosworth M , Michael YL . The relation between neighborhood built environment and walking activity among older adults . Am J Epidemiol. 2008 ; 168(4):461-468 . </p> 22 . Lee C , Vernaz Moudon A. The 3Ds + R : Quantifying land use and urban form correlates of walking . Transp Res Part D Trans Environ. 2006 ; 11(3):204-215 . </p> 23 . Yen IH , Kaplan GA . Neighborhood social environment and risk of death : multilevel evidence from the Alameda County Study . Am J Epidemiol. 1999 ; 149(10):898-907 . </p> 24 . Moudon AV , Lee C , Cheadle AD , et al . Attributes of environments supporting walking . Am J Health Promot. 2007 ; 21(5):448-459 . </p> 25 . Nelson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ H. Recursive partitioning for the identification of disease risk subgroups : a case-control study of subarachnoid hemorrhage . J Clin Epidemiol. 1998 ; 51(3):199-209 . </p> 26 . Atkinson EJ , Therneau TM . An Introduction to Recursive Partitioning Using the RPART Routines . Rochester , MN : Mayo Foundation ; 2000 . </p> 27 . Brieman L , Friedman JH , Olshen RA , Stone CJ . Classification and Regression Trees . Belmont , CA : Wads worth ; 1984 . </p> 28 . Gordon-Larsen P , Nelson MC , Page P , Popkin BM . Inequality in the built environment underlies key health disparities in physical activity and obesity . Pediatrics . 2006 ; 117(2):417-424 . </p> 29 . Ross CE , Mirowsky J. Neighborhood disadvantage , disorder , and health . J Health Soc Behav. 2001 ; 42(3):258-276 . </p> 30 . Moore LV , Diez Roux AV . Associations of neighborhood characteristics with the location and type of food stores . Am J Public Health . 2006 ; 96(2):325-331 . </p> 31 . Reidpath DD , Burns C , Garrard J , Mahoney M , Townsend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmental determinants of obesity . Health Place . 2002 ; 8(2):141-145 . </p> 32 . Diez Roux AV . Estimating neighborhood health effects : the challenges of causal inference in a complex world . Soc Sci Med. 2004 ; 58(10):1953-1960 . </p> 33 . Saelens BE , Sallis JF , Black JB , Chen D. Neighbor-hood-based differences in physical activity : an environment scale evaluation . Am J Public Health . 2003 ; 93(9):1552-1558 . </p> 34 . Ewing R , Schmid T , Killingsworth R , Zlot A , Raudenbush S. Relationship between urban sprawl and physical activity , obesity , and morbidity . Am J Health Promot. 2003 ; 18(1):47-57 . </p> 35 . Berke EM , Koepsell TD , Moudon AV , Hoskins RE , Larson EB . Association of the built environment with physical activity and obesity in older persons . Am J Public Health . 2007 ; 97(3):486-492 . </p> 36 . Diez Roux AV , Evenson KR , McGinn AP , et al . Availability of recreation resources and physical activity in adults . Am J Public Health . 2007 ; 97(3):493-499 . </p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The effects of neighborhood density and street connectivity on walking behavior : the Twin Cities walking study . Epidemiol Perspect Innov. 2007 ; 4:16 . </p> 38 . King WC , Belle SH , Brach JS , Simkin-Silverman LR , Soska T , Kriska AM . Objective measures of neighborhood environment and physical activity in older women . Am J Prev Med 2005 ; 28(5):461-469 . </p> 39 . Winkleby MA , Kraemer HC , Ahn DK , Varady AN . Ethnic and socioeconomic differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors : findings for women from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey , 1988-1994 . JAMA . 1998 ; 280(4):356-362 . </p> 40 . US Department of Health and Human Services , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . 2007 State Demographic Data Comparison . In : Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System ( BRFSS ) . US Physical Activity Statistics ; 2007 . </p> 41 . Mobley LR , Root ED , Finkelstein EA , Khavjou O , Farris RP , Will JC . Environment , obesity , and cardiovascular disease risk in low-income women . Am J @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A , Roux AV , Free LM , Miller D , Neckerman KM , Weiss CC . The urban built environment and obesity in New York City : a multilevel analysis . Am J Health Promot. 2007 ; 21 ( 4 suppl ) : 326-334 . </p> 43 . Black JL , Macinko J. Neighborhoods and obesity . Nutr Rev. 2008 ; 66(1):2-20 . </p> 44 . Lovasi GS , Neckerman KM , Quinn JW , Weiss CC , Rundle A. Effect of individual or neighborhood disadvantage on the association between neighborhood walk-ability and body mass index . Am J Public Health . 2009 ; 99(2):279-284 . </p> 45 . Frank LD , Andresen MA , Schmid TL . Obesity relationships with community design , physical activity , and time spent in cars . Am J Prev Med 2004 ; 27(2):87-96 . </p> 46 . Do DP , Dubowitz T , Bird CE , Lurie N , Escarce JJ , Finch BK . Neighborhood context and ethnicity differences in body mass index : a multilevel analysis using the NHANES III survey ( 1988-1994 ) . Econ Hum Biol. 2007 ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Examining the relationships among built environment , physical activity , and body mass index in El Paso , TX . Prev Med. 2005 ; 40(6):831-841 . </p> 48 . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Healthy Weight , Overweight , and Obesity Among U.S. Adults . Hyattsville , MD : National Center for Health Statistics ; 2003 . </p> 49 . US Department of Health and Human Services , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Leisure Time Physical Activity . In : Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data From the January-June 2008 National Health Interview Survey . Hyattsville , MD : National Center for Health Statistics ; 2008 . </p> 50 . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Differences in prevalence of obesity among Black , White , and Hispanic adults-United States , 2006-2008 . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2009 ; 58(27):740-744 . </p> 51 . Ogden CL , Carroll MD , Curtin LR , McDowell MA , Tabak CJ , Flegal KM . Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States , 1999-2004 . JAMA . 2006 ; 295(13):1549-1555 . </p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Rogowski J. Neighborhoods and obesity in later life . Am J Public Health . 2008 ; 98(11):2065-2071 . </p> 53 . Ellaway A , Anderson A , Macintyre S. Does area of residence affect body size and shape ? Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1997 ; 21(4):304-308 . </p> 54 . Cubbin C , Hadden WC , Winkleby MA . Neighborhood context and cardiovascular disease risk factors : the contribution of material deprivation . Ethn Dis . 2001 ; 11(4):687-700 . </p> By Theresa H.M. Keegan , PhD , MS , Theresa H.M. Keegan is with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California , Fremont CA . Cancer Prevention Institute of California , 2201 Walnut Avenue , Suite 300 , Fremont , CA 94538 ( e-mail : theresa.keegan@CPIC.org ) . ; Susan Hurley , MPH , Susan Hurley is with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California , Fremont CA. ; Debbie Goldberg , MS , Debbie Goldberg is with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California , Fremont CA. ; David O. Nelson , PhD , David O. Nelson is with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California , Fremont CA. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Cancer Prevention Institute of California , Fremont CA. ; Leslie Bernstein , PhD , Leslie Bernstein is with the Division of Cancer Etiology , Department of Population Sciences , City of Hope National Medical Center , Duarte , CA. ; Pam L. Horn-Ross , PhD , Pam L. Horn-Ross is with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California , Fremont CA. and Scarlett L. Gomez , PhD , Scarlett L. Gomez is with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California , Fremont CA . </p>

@@4119741 We studied rickettsioses in southern Sri Lanka . Of 883 febrile patients with paired serum samples , 156 ( 17.7% ) had acute rickettsioses ; rickettsioses were unsuspected at presentation . Additionally , 342 ( 38.7% ) had exposure to spotted fever and/or typhus group rickettsioses and 121 ( 13.7% ) scrub typhus . Increased awareness of rickettsioses and better tests are needed . </p> DISPATCHES </p> Globally , rickettsioses are increasingly recognized as causes of undifferentiated fever . Paired serum samples are infrequently obtained , but testing acute-phase serum alone is insensitive ( IgG is initially absent ) and nonspecific ( IgG can persist for years , and IgM results represent crossreactions ) . Sentinel studies in Malaysia ( 1 ) , Thailand ( 2 ) , India ( 3 ) , Laos ( 4 ) , and Nepal ( 5 ) suggest that scrub and murine typhus are frequent and that misdiagnosis as enteric fever results in ineffective therapy ( 5 ) . Unrecognized rickettsial species are likely present in Sri Lanka , an island connected to the southern tip of India by an underwater 30-km land bridge . Kularatne reported acute rickettsioses diagnosed by using only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fever in hilly central Sri Lanka ( 6 ) ; another study in the Western Province confirmed few ( 5/31cases ) of suspected rickettsioses ( 7 ) . Both studies were limited by selective enrollment . To characterize rickettsioses among undifferentiated febrile illnesses in southern Sri Lanka , we prospectively studied patients who came to a large hospital . </p> The Study Consecutive patients ? 2 years of age with fever ( &gt;38C tympanic ) who came to Teaching Hospital Karapitiya were enrolled ( 8 ) . Standardized epidemiologic and clinical data and blood were obtained during acute illness and 2-4 weeks later . During the study ( March-October 2007 ) , the atmospheric temperature ranged from 27.5C-32C ( high ) to 24C-26C ( low ) , and rainfall was variable ( mean 301 mm/mo , range 36-657 mm/mo ) . </p> Because rickettsial species broadly cross-react within groups ( 9 , 10 ) , paired serum samples were tested by using an IgG indirect immunofluorescence assay ( IFA ) and Rickettsia rickettsii and R. typhi antigens ( Focus Diagnostics , Cypress , CA , USA ) to identify infections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( TGR ) rickettsial infections . Serum samples reactive at a titer of 80 were considered potentially positive and were titered . </p> To identify scrub typhus ( ST ) infections , we tested paired serum samples using IgG ELISA as described ( 11 ) , except for use of recombinant antigens ( 0.2 g each of r56 Chimeric1 , Gilliam , and Kato strains ) to detect antibodies to Orientia tsutsugamushi . Comparative blind testing of 200 serum samples with an established ( pooled-antigen ) quantitative assay enabled validation ( 12 ) . </p> Acute rickettsioses ( SFGR , TGR , and ST ) required a ? 4-fold rise in specific IgG titer or its equivalent ; patients with equal SFGR and TGR convalescent-phase titers were SFGR/TGR group-indeterminate . IgG ( titer ? 160 ) in acutephase serum defined rickettsial exposure ( seroprevalence ) . Stata IC version 11.0 ( StataCorp LP , College Station , TX , USA ) was used for analyses . </p> We analyzed paired serum samples for rickettsioses for 883 ( 81.9% ) of 1,079 patients . Median acute-convalescent phase follow-up was 21 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without paired serum samples were comparable ( 8 ) . Acute rickettsioses were documented in 156 ( 17.7% ) patients ( Table 1 ) . The increase in convalescent-phase geometric mean titer was 14-fold ( 845 ) for SFGR , 17-fold ( 920 ) for TGR , and 11-fold ( 951 ) for SFGR/TGR rickettsiae . </p> Acute rickettsioses were found in 19.7% of patients ? 18 years of age and 10.5% of patients &lt;18 years of age ( p = 0.003 ) ; patients with rickettisoses were older than those without rickettsioses ( median age 34.5 vs. 28.0 years ; p = 0.005 ) ( Figure 1 ) . Among patients &lt;18 years of age , acute rickettsioses were more common in male than in female patients ( 14.6% vs. 5.8% ; p&lt;0.05 ) . Patients with acute ST alone were older than those with other rickettsioses and those without rickettsioses ( median 36.5 vs. 34.4 vs. 28.0 years ; p = 0.02 ) and more likely to report rice paddy exposure ( 44.4% vs. 15.1% vs. 9.3% ; p = 0.001 ) . More acute rickettsioses occurred during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of other rickettsioses ) , whereas more nonrickettsial infections ( 67.0% ) occurred during the drier period of March-June ( p&lt;0.0001 ) ( Figure 2 ) . </p> Acute rickettsioses were clinically similar to each other and to nonrickettsial febrile illnesses , except for frequency of cough , oliguria , and conjunctival suffusion ( Table 1 ) . Except for a higher temperature with SFGR than with TGR infection ( mean 38.6 vs. 38.2C ; p = 0.006 ) , no feature differentiated these rickettsial infections . Conjunctival suffusion was more common ( p = 0.004 ) with ST ( 35.3% ) than with SFGR/TGR ( 12.8% ) or no rickettsiosis ( 12.8% ) . </p> Antecedent antimicrobial drug use was commonly reported in patients with ( 45/115 39.1% ) and without ( 195/536 36.4% ; p = 0.58 ) rickettsioses . Amoxicillin and cephalosporins were administered most frequently in both groups ( 16.8% and 20.3% ; p = 0.40 ) , but infrequent administration of doxycycline ( 0.9% and 1.1% ; p = 0.82 ) was recorded for 813 patients with paired serum samples , including 139 with acute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3/139 , sensitivity 2.2% , 95% CI 0.447%-6.2% ) . Rickettsioses were also infrequently confirmed when diagnosed clinically ( 3 SFGR rickettsioses among 9 with suspected scrub typhus ; positive predictive value 33.3% , 95% CI 7.5- 70.1 ) and rarely treated appropriately ( 2/9 given doxycycline , 1 with SFGR rickettsiosis ) . Patients with rickettsioses were hospitalized longer than others ( median 5 vs. 4 days ; p = 0.01 ) , although the proportion hospitalized was similar . No one with confirmed rickettsioses died , but 11 of 12 patients died before follow-up . </p> At enrollment , 292 ( 33.1% ) patients had IgG-confirmed rickettsial exposure . However , only 59 ( 20.2% ) had a 4-fold increase in titer , and 97 ( 62.2% ) of 156 acute infections were identified as rickettsioses by seroconversion . Exposures to rodents and rice paddies were associated with TGR rickettsiae and O. tsutsugamushi IgG ( Table 2 ) . Farmers were more likely ( p = 0.01 ) to have IgG against O. tsutsugamushi ( 5.7% ) than SFGR/TGR rickettsiae IgG alone ( 4.3% ) or no rickettsial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at either sampling were used to denote rickettsial exposure ( preexisting or acute ) , 342 ( 38.7% ) patients had exposure to SFGR and/or TGR rickettsiae . If a lower titer ( ? 80 ) were used , 398 ( 45.1% ) had such exposure . Similarly , 121 ( 13.7% ) patients had either acute- or convalescent-phase IgG against O. tsutsugamushi . </p> Conclusions We documented endemic rickettsioses as a major cause of acute febrile illness in southern Sri Lanka . Epidemiologic features could not differentiate acute infection from prior exposure . Rickettsioses were infrequently suspected and not treated empirically when suspected . Underrecognition of rickettsioses could reflect nonspecific clinical features , limited diagnostic tools , lack of awareness that rickettsioses occur or cause severe illness , and absence of evidencebased local algorithms for acute febrile illness . </p> Studies in neighboring regions have used flawed methods , including spectrum bias , small sample size , selective enrollment , and testing acute-phase serum only . In many instances , clinical features were not predictive ( 5 , 13 ) ; however , older age was reported with rickettsioses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ST compared with TGR rickettsiosis ( 4 ) . Although part of the rickettsial triad , rash is often absent initially ( 10 ) and among unselected febrile patients ( 5 , 14 ) . SFGR/ TGR cross-reactions and apparent co-infections could also impair clinical differentiation of specific rickettsioses . Laboratory abnormalities associated with ST ( 3 ) could reflect disease severity , not etiology , and such testing is often unavailable . Divergent conclusions might reflect different study populations , diagnostic criteria , reference groups , features evaluated , or real geographic differences . </p> Our estimate of rickettsioses is conservative . Confirmation required follow-up ( return or home visit ) ; the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer accepts a single high titer to confirm R. rickettsii infection ( 10 ) . We required a 4-fold rise in titer even for seroconversions because IFA results are subjective , even among experts . We used R. rickettsii as a surrogate antigen , which could be less sensitive for detecting local SFGR . We chose ELISA for ST because a commercial IFA was not available and IFA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . </p> Optimal clinical management of acute rickettsioses requires development of locally tested , evidence-based algorithms for acute febrile illness . Better diagnostic tests are needed to identify new species , elucidate vector-host relationships , and enable appropriate therapy . Molecular approaches hold promise but will require prospective validation . </p> Acknowledgments We thank the members of the microbiology laboratory at the Medical Faculty , University of Ruhuna , and the clinical staff at Teaching Hospital Karapitya for their assistance ; P. L. Ariyananda for support of the study ; Cynthia Binanay for project management ; our clinical research team , especially Vathsala Abeygunawardane , for enrollment of patients ; and Wei Mei Ching and Allen Richards for providing antigens and protocols for assessment of scrub typhus . </p> Patient enrollment was supported by the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health and the Duke University Medical Center Chancellor 's Tsunami Relief Fund . Laboratory testing and M.E.R. were supported by a Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health Junior Faculty grant ; a Clinician Scientist Career Development Award from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine ; and the National Institute of Allergy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . </p> Table 1 . Clinical and laboratory characteristics of febrile patients with and without acute rickettsial infections , southern Sri Lanka , 2007* pre-formatted table * Values are % patients except as indicated . SFGR , spotted fever group rickettsiae ; TGR , typhus group rickettsiae ; IQR , intraquartile range ; ANC , absolute neutrophil count ; ALC , absolute lymphocyte count . </p> Kruskal-Wallis test to compare proportions and non-normally distributed continuous variables . Analysis of variance test to compare normally distributed continuous variables . </p> n = 309 ; 6/6 with rickettsioses and rash had eschars , compared with 11/22 of those without rickettsioses ( p&lt;0.001 ) . </p> Table 2 . Epidemiologic characteristics of patients with and without IgG evidence of rickettsial exposure at enrollment , southern Sri Lanka , 2007* pqp * Values are % patients unless otherwise indicated . SFGR , spotted fever group rickettsiae ; TGR , typhus group rickettsiae ; IQR , interquartile range . </p> Includes 8 patients with apparent SFGR or TGR co-infections . </p> Kruskal-Wallis test to compare proportions across groups . </p> Figure 1 . Proportion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group , southern Sri Lanka , 2007 . </p> Figure 2 . Proportion of febrile patients with acute rickettsial infections , by month , southern Sri Lanka , March-October 2007 . </p> References 1 . Brown GW , Shirai A , Jegathesan M , Burke DS , Twartz JC , Saunders JP , et al . Febrile illness in Malaysia-an analysis of 1,629 hospitalized patients . Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1984 ; 33:311-5 . </p> 2 . Suttinont C , Losuwanaluk K , Niwatayakul K , Hoontrakul S , Intaranongpai W , Silpasakorn S , et al . Causes of acute , undifferentiated , febrile illness in rural Thailand : results of a prospective observational study . Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2006 ; 100:363-70. http : **37;68030;TOOLONG </p> 3 . Varghese GM , Abraham OC , Mathai D , Thomas K , Aaron R , Kavitha ML , et al . Scrub typhus among hospitalised patients with febrile illness in south India : magnitude and clinical predictors . J Infect. 2006 ; 52:56-60. http : **39;68069;TOOLONG </p> 4 . Phongmany S , Rolain JM , Phetsouvanh R , Blacksell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Rickettsial infections and fever , Vientiane , Laos . Emerg Infect Dis . 2006 ; 12:256-62. http : **35;68110;TOOLONG </p> 5 . Murdoch DR , Woods CW , Zimmerman MD , Dull PM , Belbase RH , Keenan AJ , et al . The etiology of febrile illness in adults presenting to Patan hospital in Kathmandu , Nepal . Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2004 ; 70:670-5 . </p> 6 . Kularatne SA , Edirisingha JS , Gawarammana IB , Urakami H , Chenchittikul M , Kaiho I. Emerging rickettsial infections in Sri Lanka : the pattern in the hilly Central Province . Trop Med Int Health . 2003 ; 8:803-11. http : **45;68147;TOOLONG </p> 7 . Premaratna R , Loftis AD , Chandrasena TG , Dasch GA , de Silva HJ . Rickettsial infections and their clinical presentations in the Western Province of Sri Lanka : a hospital-based study . Int J Infect Dis . 2008 ; 12:198-202. http : **39;68194;TOOLONG </p> 8 . Reller ME , Bodinayake C , Nagahawatte A , Devasiri V , Kodikara-Arachichi W , Strouse JJ , et al . Leptospirosis as frequent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Emerg Infect Dis . 2011 ; 17:1678-84. http : **35;68235;TOOLONG </p> 9 . Hechemy KE , Raoult D , Fox J , Han Y , Elliott LB , Rawlings J. Crossreaction of immune sera from patients with rickettsial diseases . J Med Microbiol. 1989 ; 29:199-202. http : **38;68272;TOOLONG </p> 10 . Chapman AS , Bakken JS , Folk SM , Paddock CD , Bloch KC , Krusell A , et al . Diagnosis and management of tickborne rickettsial diseases : Rocky Mountain spotted fever , ehrlichioses , and anaplasmosis-United States : a practical guide for physicians and other health-care and public health professionals . MMWR Recomm Rep. 2006 ; 55:1-27 . </p> 11 . Chen HW , Zhang Z , Huber E , Mutumanje E , Chao CC , Ching WM . Kinetics and magnitude of antibody responses against the conserved 47-kilodalton antigen and the variable 56-kilodalton antigen in scrub typhus patients . Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2011 ; 18:1021-7. http : **33;68312;TOOLONG </p> 12 . Coleman RE , Sangkasuwan V , Suwanabun N , Eamsila C , Mungviriya S , Devine P , et al . Comparative evaluation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antibody to Orientia tsutsugamushi in Thailand . Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2002 ; 67:497-503 . </p> 13 . Duffy PE , Le Guillouzic H , Gass RF , Innis BL . Murine typhus identified as a major cause of febrile illness in a camp for displaced Khmers in Thailand . Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1990 ; 43:520-6 . </p> 14 . Ellis RD , Fukuda MM , McDaniel P , Welch K , Nisalak A , Murray CK , et al . Causes of fever in adults on the Thai-Myanmar border . Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2006 ; 74:108-13 . </p> 15 . Blacksell SD , Bryant NJ , Paris DH , Doust JA , Sakoda Y , Day NP . Scrub typhus serologic testing with the indirect immunofluorescence method as a diagnostic gold standard : a lack of consensus leads to a lot of confusion . Clin Infect Dis . 2007 ; 44:391-401. http : **27;68347;TOOLONG </p> The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the institutions with which the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , Baltimore , Maryland , USA ; Champica Bodinayake , Medical Faculty of University of Ruhuna , Galle , Sri Lanka ; Ajith Nagahawatte , Medical Faculty of University of Ruhuna , Galle , Sri Lanka ; Vasantha Devasiri , Medical Faculty of University of Ruhuna , Galle , Sri Lanka ; Wasantha Kodikara-Arachichi , Medical Faculty of University of Ruhuna , Galle , Sri Lanka ; John J. Strouse , Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , Baltimore , Maryland , USA ; Judith E. Flom , Johns Hopkins School of Public Health , Baltimore ; Truls stbye , Duke University School of Medicine , Durham , North Carolina , USA ; Christopher W. Woods , Duke University School of Medicine , Durham , North Carolina , USA and J. Stephen Dumler , Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , Baltimore , Maryland , USA </p> Dr Reller is a pediatric and adult infectious diseases physician , medical microbiologist , and clinical investigator at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine . Her main research interests include study of the epidemiology of acute febrile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Megan E. Reller , Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions , 720 Rutland Ave , Ross 624 , Baltimore , MD 21205 , USA ; email : mreller1@jhmi.edu </p> This content is in the Public Domain . </p>

@@4120041 Prescribing nurse </p> Irritable bowel syndrome can be both distressing and socially disabling , but good patient care can make it easier for sufferers to cope with this often life-long condition Irritable bowel syndrome ( IBS ) is one of the most common , multifactorial , functional gastrointestinal disorders seen in primary care . Affecting 10-20% of the population , it is most commonly seen for the first time in the 20-30 year age group although it is not uncommon to see teenagers or older people presenting for the first time.1 </p> More prevalent in the female population ( 2:1 female:male ) , IBS is characterised by episodes of diarrhoea and/or constipation together with abdominal cramping and bloating , which can be both distressing and socially disabling in its extreme form . </p> Previously , IBS was considered to be a diagnosis of exclusion , where patients were subjected to embarrassing and often unnecessary investigations to eliminate other gastrointestinal disorders , before a diagnosis of IBS was given on the basis of ' it 's not anything else ' . This is now seen as neither evidence-based nor cost-effective care.2 The current evidence for good patient care and management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ red flag symptoms that require further referral , provide drug , psychological and lifestyle advice and develop a partnership with the patient , for what for many will be a life-long condition . </p> PATHOPHYSIOLOGY The colon is the last five feet of the intestine and serves two functions in the body . Firstly it dehydrates and stores the stool so that , normally , a well-formed soft stool occurs . Secondly rhythmic contractions of the colon move the stool into the rectum , storing it there until it can be evacuated . </p> Much of the evidence suggests that there is both motor and sensory dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract in patients with IBS.3 The gut reactivity is often altered and results in changes in gut motility or gut secretion giving symptoms of diarrhoea or constipation . This is in response to a variety of stimuli which may be environmental ( such as life stress ) or affecting the gut lumen ( bacterial , foods , toxins or inflammation ) .4 Drossman4 also suggests that there is hypersensitivity of the gut , resulting in enhanced perception of pain and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contractions for prolonged periods of time , while one part of the colon is contracting with no regard for another part or when the contractions are greatly reduced . </p> ASSESSMENT &; DIAGNOSIS Diagnosing IBS is imprecise as there is no one specific investigation that can be used to give a definitive diagnosis and each patient 's array of symptoms may be diverse with different exacerbating factors . </p> History taking should include abdominal and bowel symptoms plus an assessment of dietary and lifestyle habits . Keeping a diary to identify exacerbating factors and the symptoms they produce is often helpful . It will take several appointments before a diagnosis can be made . </p> Anyone presenting with a 6-month history of abdominal pain , distension , bloating or a change in bowel habit should be assessed for IBS.1 However , initial assessment is ultimately aimed at identifying red flag indicators for serious gastroenterological conditions and making the appropriate referral for further investigations . These include unintentional or unexplained weight loss , rectal bleeding , family history of bowel or ovarian cancer , a change in bowel habit , anaemia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ box 1 ) . </p> In the past IBS was classified using the Manning criteria ( box 2 ) , however , it was felt that these criteria were not specific enough and the criteria devised by a group of gastroenterologists from the Rome Foundation should be used.5 </p> The Rome III criteria recommend that a diagnosis of IBS be made when a patient has abdominal pain or discomfort for at least 3 months in the previous 12 months and the pain or discomfort shows two of the following features : </p> * The pain is relieved with defecation * Onset of pain is associated with a change in frequency of passing stools ( more or less frequent ) * Onset of pain is associated with a change in form ( appearance ) of stools ( hard , loose , lumpy , more fluid ) It may be appropriate to use the Bristol stool chart ( Figure 1 ) to help patients establish the form of their stools and open questioning should be used to establish specifics of bowel habit . </p> NICE1 suggests that in addition to the above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the following symptoms should also be present : </p> - a change in the passage of the stool ( incomplete emptying , straining or urgency ) </p> - abdominal bloating or distension </p> - symptoms exacerbated by eating </p> - mucus in the stool </p> Other related symptoms might include nausea , backache , bladder symptoms or tiredness , together with the common IBS risk factors of : </p> * Female under the age of 50 years </p> * Previous GI infections ( IBS symptoms may be present in up to 30% of patients following bacterial gastroenteritis ) 6 </p> * Previous history of sexual or physical abuse.7 </p> Stress is often considered to be a risk factor and patients may feel their symptoms correlate to episodes of life stresses , but currently the substantive evidence for this link is weak8 as researchers have been unable to identify the biological mechanism for this ; however , it should not be ruled out as a trigger when looking at the management of the condition.1 </p> Clinical examination should find all observations within the normal ranges and abdominal examination of the patient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uncommon to have mild right or left lower quadrant tenderness on palpation or active bowel sounds on auscultation . </p> Investigations should be undertaken in patients who meet the diagnostic criteria : </p> * ESR and CRP should be normal , if raised this may indicate other inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis or crohn 's disease . </p> * A full blood count should be undertaken to exclude anaemia , which may indicate GI bleeding or again be present in inflammatory bowel diseases . </p> * Coeliac disease should be excluded by performing Endomysial antibodies ( EMA ) or Tissue transglutaminase ( TTG ) . </p> Unless specifically indicated from the history other investigations are not recommended ( box 3 ) .1 </p> MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW The management of IBS should be a patient-centred partnership between the healthcare professional and the patient . The individual treatment and management plan should be multifaceted and flexible to incorporate the variations of the condition . It should cover pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies together with dietary and lifestyle measures that are acceptable and achievable to the patient . </p> It is important to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but reassure that it is not dangerous and does not predispose the patient to other bowel conditions or cancer . The healthcare professional 's responsibility lies with supporting the patient , providing advice and education , together with pharmacological treatments that may be necessary . Firmly establishing the idea of self-help is fundamental to successful management , empowering the patient to take control of the symptoms by employing strategies to either lessen , or cope with , the effects they are experiencing . </p> DIETARY ADVICE Dietary changes can be the key to controlling the symptoms of IBS , but it is important to remember that what works for one person will not necessarily work for another . Using the diary to identify exacerbating foods is valuable as fibre , lactose , fructose , sorbitol and caffeine are known precipitates , but patients should not just cut out individual foods . Lactose intolerance is present in approximately 10% of patients with IBS9 but total avoidance may not lead to complete symptom relief therefore exclusions should only be advised by a dietician with careful monitoring.1 </p> Traditionally IBS patients were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this may be detrimental . There are two types of dietary fibre , soluble ( root vegetables , legumes , fruit , barley and oats ) which readily ferment in the colon to produce gases and physiologically active by-products or insoluble fibre ( nuts , seeds , potato skins , bran and wholegrain bread ) that is metabolically inert , but absorbs water as it moves through the GI tract providing bulk to the stool . Therefore the need to increase or decrease the type of fibre that is being taken in the diet will depend on whether the IBS is more constipation- or diarrhoea-predominant ( box 4 ) . </p> Symptoms of wind or bloating can be helped by employing the following recommendations from the British Dietetics Association : </p> * Limit fruit to 3 portions per day </p> * Reduce intake of resistant starches i.e. those that are not completely digested ( part baked breads , reheated potato products , processed foods such as pasta dishes , biscuits and cakes ) </p> * Add golden linseed or oats to the diet , or </p> * Add a live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is recommended the same one is used for at least a month , but if there is no improvement another could be tried as they contain different bacteria.1 </p> All patients should be encouraged to develop good eating habits ( Box 5 ) . </p> LIFESTYLE ADVICE Patients with IBS should be encouraged to ensure there is time for relaxation within their day , as relaxation turns off the natural stress responses , hence relaxing the colonic spasms . Relaxation can be in many forms including simple breathing exercises , meditation , yoga or more physical exercise such as running , swimming or walking . Exercise itself is also recommended , so an assessment and discussion around the amount and type of exercise should be had with the patient . NICE1 suggests using the General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire ( GPPAQ ) to identify those with low activity levels and offering brief verbal interventions . As with any increase in exercise , this should be undertaken on a gradual basis but the DH suggest a target goal of 30 minutes moderate intensity exercise at least fives times each week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the current predominant symptom . </p> Antispasmodics act on gut muscle at cell level to relax them thus improving the symptoms of pain , bloating and bowel habits . There appears to be no difference between antimuscarinics such as mebeverine hydrochloride or smooth muscle relaxants such as alverine citrate . </p> Antimotility drugs are useful during episodes of acute diarrhoea ; loperamide is significantly more effective at reducing diarrhoea and preventing recurrence than co-phenotrope . However , there is limited evidence of loperamide 's efficacy in relieving pain and improving longer-term bowel habit . </p> Stimulant laxatives such as senna can be used to treat episodes of acute constipation as they improve stool consistency and frequency , however in IBS the aim is to keep the bowel function and motility stable - type 4 , and as such an osmotic laxative such as polyethylene glycol is more likely to stabilise bowel form and regularity . Lactulose is not recommended . </p> If laxatives , antispasmodics or antimotility medication are not effective , a low dose tricyclic antidepressant ( TCA ) can be tried . It is thought the mode of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in all symptoms , ( although all studies so far have used high doses of TCAs ) . Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) may also be tried if the TCA is ineffective ; again , the mode of action is unclear although SSRIs can cause diarrhoea as a side effect so may be more effective in those with IBS-C . It is unknown if the newer selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors ( SNRIs ) have a place in IBS treatment , however much larger scale trials comparing all three types of antidepressants are proposed to establish a firm evidence base . </p> PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS Psychological interventions of cognitive behavioural therapy ( CBT ) , hypnotherapy and psychological therapy should be considered either in isolation or in combination with pharmacological treatment . Again , the physiological mechanism for the effectiveness of these methods is vague and the research has its limitations . Although NICE recommends their use , it has been unable to establish firm evidence for which stage they are most effective , so suggests patients who have tried pharmacological treatments for at least a year may benefit from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stressful , hence the cycle of discomfort and stress is self-maintaining . Gut-focused hypnotherapy for IBS seems to work by lowering the patient 's overall anxiety , lowering the perception of pain and discomfort and by directing positive images to the gut , thus interrupting the cycle . </p> CBT aims to solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions , behaviours and thoughts through a goal-oriented , systematic process . Its benefit is that it can be individualised and as such a programme pertinent to each individual can be employed focusing on the specific issues that are troublesome for that patient . Drossman and colleagues3 found significant improvements in anxiety levels as well as physical symptoms when CBT was used as therapy for IBS patients . </p> NOT RECOMMENDED Often cited as treatments or therapies , the following have no substantive evidence base and as such should not be recommended : aloe vera , acupuncture , reflexology , herbal remedies and prebiotics . </p> CONCLUSION IBS is a common condition seen in primary care . Successful treatment is dependent upon thorough and appropriate assessment and investigation identifying red flag symptoms and referring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current symptoms and may include pharmacological , lifestyle and psychological interventions . </p> BOX 1 . RED FLAG INDICATORS * Unintentional or unexplained weight loss </p> * Rectal Bleeding </p> * Family history of bowel or ovarian cancer </p> * A change in bowel habit to looser and/or more frequent stools , persisting for more than 6 weeks in a person over 60 years </p> * Anaemia </p> * Abdominal masses </p> * Rectal masses </p> * Inflammatory markers for inflammatory bowel disease </p> BOX 2 . MANNING CRITERIA ( 1978 ) * Abdominal pain relieved by defecation </p> * Looser stools with the onset of abdominal pain </p> * More frequent stools with the onset of abdominal pain </p> * Abdominal distension </p> * Passage of mucus in the stools </p> * Sensation of incomplete evacuation of the bowel </p> BOX 3 . INVESTIGATIONS NOT RECOMMENDED TO DIAGNOSE IBS * Abdominal ultrasound * Sigmoidoscopy , colonoscopy or barium enema * Thyroid function tests * Stool samples for parasites or ova * Faecal occult bloods * Hydrogen breath tests BOX 4 . ROME III : SUB-TYPING IBS BY PREDOMINANT STOOL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or lumpy stools for ? 25% of bowel movements and loose ( mushy ) or watery stools for ? 25% of bowel movements . * IBS with diarrhoea ( IBS-D ) : loose ( mushy ) or watery stools for ? 25% of bowel movements and hard or lumpy stool for ? 25% of bowel movements . * Mixed IBS ( IBS-M ) : hard or lumpy stools for ? 25% of bowel movements and loose ( mushy ) or watery stools for ? 25% of bowel movements . * Unspecified IBS : insufficient abnormality of stool consistency to meet criteria for IBS-C , IBS-D , or IBS-M BOX 5 . GOOD EATING HABITS * Eat regular meals avoiding large gaps between meals * Try not to skip meals or eat late at night * Take your time when eating meals ensuring you sit down to eat , and chew your food well * Drink a minimum of 8 cups of water or non-caffeinated fluid each day * Reduce fizzy drinks and alcohol * Reduce tea and coffee to 3 cups per day * Reduce resistant starch intake * Avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 Separate hart lumps , like nuts ( hard to pass ) </p> Type 2 Sausage-shaped but lumpy </p> Type 3 Like a sausage but with cracks on its surface </p> Type 4 Like a sausage or snake , smooth and soft </p> Type 5 Soft blobs with clear-cut edges ( passed easily ) </p> Type 6 Fluffy pieces with ragged edges , a mushy stool </p> Type 7 Watery , no solid pieces ENTIRELY LIQUID </p> Reproduced by kind permission of Dr KW Heaton . Reader in Medicine at the University of Bristol , 2000 Produced by Norgine Pharmaceuticals Limited . </p> Irritable bowel syndrome : motor and sensory dysfunction of the colon , resulting in pain , bloating and irregular bowel habits . NB Barium X-ray is not recommended as a diagnostic test </p> REFERENCES 1 . NICE Clinical guideline 61 . Irritable bowel syndrome in adults : Diagnosis and management of irritable bowel syndrome in primary care . NICE 2008 . </p> 2 . Spiegel BM , DeRosa VP . Gralnek IM. et al . Testing for celiac sprue in irritable bowel syndrome with predominant diarrheoa : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Kellow JE , Azpiroz F , Delvaux M , et al . Applied principles of neurogastroenterology : physiology/motility sensation . Gastroenterology. 2006:130:1412-1420 . </p> 4 . Drossman DA . Camilleri M , Mayes FA . AGA technical review on irritable bowel syndrome . Gastroenterology. 2002:123:2108-2131 . </p> 5 . Drossman D E Rome III : The Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Third Edition . Virginia : Degnon Associates , Inc. , 2006 . </p> 6 . Dunlop SP . Jenkins D , Spiller RC . Distinctive clinical , psychological , and histological features of postinfective irritable bowel syndrome . Am J Gastroenterol. 2003:98:1578-83 . </p> 7 . Drossman DA , Talley NJ , Leserman J , et al . Sexual and physical abuse and gastrointestinal illness . Review and recommendations . Ann Intern Med. 1995:123:782-794 . </p> 8 . Bennettb EJ , Tennant CC , Piessea C , et al . Level of chronic life stress predicts clinical outcome in irritable bowel syndrome . Gut.1998 ; 43:256-261 . </p> 9 . Bohmer C. J. and Tuynman H. A. The clinical relevance of lactose malabsorption in irritable bowel syndrome . European Journal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for IBS http : **56;118079;TOOLONG accessed 30/9/11 </p> By Stephanie Garner </p> Stephanie Garner , RGN , BSc Nurse Practitioner MSt ( Cantab ) Primary and Community Care , **25;118137;TOOLONG Prescriber Advanced Nurse Practitioner , The North Brink Practice , Wisbech . </p>

@@4156041 Background # Leaders of an urban school district organized more than 200 schools into smaller professional learning communities ( PLCs ) so that teams of reading teachers could collaborate for the purposes of learning , joint lesson planning , and problem-solving . The purpose of the study was to determine if urban students ' reading achievement increased as a result of weekly collaboration among teachers in a large , urban school district in Texas . Repeated measures ANOVA results and pair-wise comparisons from quantitative findings revealed that statistically significant growth rates ( p&lt;.05 ) occurred after PLCs were established . Qualitative data showed that teachers perceived PLCs as impacting their classroom practices and students ' achievement . Sixteen categories and two subcategories provided support for four broad themes that emerged from teachers ' responses to focus-group interview questions . The current investigation represents the reading portion of a larger study that analyzed students ' reading and math data over a S-year period for increases after initiating PLCs as the primary professional-development strategy for teachers , principals , and other educators. # From the inception of Why Johnny Ca n't Read ( Flesch , 1955 ) to the No Child @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and national levels have given great attention to the most effective ways to develop quality educators . This national attention on teacher training , curriculum , and instruction is outlined in detail with each revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( ESEA ) . An urban school district in Texas borrowed the notion of Professional Learning Communities ( PLCs ) from the business sector and facilitated this professional development strategy with more than 200 schools . # In Texas and across the nation , significant achievement gaps continued to exist between different student groups . Illustrations of such variations between subgroups were evident in the spring 2010 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills ( TAKS ) reading data . Students who met standard included 81.2% of African Americans ; 84.8% of Hispanics ; 93.6% of Whites ; 83.1% of Economically Disadvantaged students ; 49.9% of Special Education Students ; 68.5% of Limited English Proficient ( LEP ) students ; and 74.9% of At-Risk students . As a result of consistent collaboration among teachers , students ' reading achievement increased across the district . # Literature Review @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increases in organizational change or student achievement data after consistent facilitation of PLCs . Consideration of professional collaboration began with Follett ( 1924 ) , whose interest in the human-relations movement in business led to self-governing ways of relating in the workplace . Since Follett 's time , the ideas of relating and professional collaboration in the workplace have burgeoned into the development of PLCs in school districts as an alternative to the one-shot staff development approach . This augmentation was largely due to growing evidence that when teachers consistently collaborate and problem-solve , student achievement is enhanced ( NSDC , 2001 ) . # In 1969 , Chin and Benne investigated different strategies to impact teacher change and concluded that the normative-reeducative model was most effective with influencing change in teachers ' classroom practices . With the normative-reeducative model , teachers viewed change as a natural process because they were directly involved in decision-making . Chin and Benne reported that , through collaboration over a period of time , teachers were empowered with problem-solving techniques . # In the 1970s and 1980s , attention to collaboration continued to flourish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transformational leadership supported Follett 's ( 1924 ) work on relating in the workplace to further develop the notion of PLCs . PLCs were undergirded by a human and participatory philosophy that manifested through collaboration in the workplace regarding organizational improvement . Knowles ( 1979 ) advocated that a traditional assumption regarding adult learning--that a person was fully equipped to practice a profession upon completion of formal professional training-proved ineffective . According to Knowles , the rapidly changing technology and communal or shared situations caused a person 's skill level to depreciate unless he or she engaged in a lifelong program of professional development . For instance , an individual who fluently used a typewriter in the 1970s probably required ongoing professional development in the workplace in order to operate a computer and word-processing program in the 21st century . Knowles ' assumption contradicted the one-shot workshop model for professional development and increased support for job-embedded collaboration and learning . # Little ( 1982 ) conducted an ethnographic study that involved three high-performing and three low-performing schools in an urban school district for a 19-week period and concluded that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the high- and low-performing schools represented in the study . Sparks ( 1983 ) extended Chin and Benne 's theory ( 1969 ) that one-shot presentations did not allow for gradual change , which entails opportunities for regular discussions of problems related to the implementation of new learning . DuFour and Eaker ( 1998 ) advocated that one of the most promising strategies for sustained , substantive school improvement was developing the ability of teachers and principals to function as PLCs . After completing a correlational study involving 46 secondary teachers , Guskey ( 1985 , 1986 ) proposed the following alternative professional development model : ( a ) change is gradual and challenging ; ( b ) teachers need regular feedback on student achievement ; and ( c ) teachers require ongoing support and follow-up after the first training . # Findings from studies conducted in the 1990s augmented support for PLCs . McQuarrie and Wood ( 1991 ) outlined misunderstandings regarding classroom practice that were discussed by teachers during weekly PLCs . For instance , teachers rarely made connections to instructional issues in their classrooms by attending one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff development approach did not align with research and theory that underpinned teacher change ( Chin &amp; Benne , 1969 ; Sparks , 1983 ; Guskey , 1985 ) . McQuarrie and Wood concluded that change , specifically in classroom practices , is accomplished in phases over time . # Similarly , Hoban , Hastings , Luccarda , and Lloyd ( 1997 ) found that participation in weekly PLCs among high-school science teachers enhanced both the teachers ' and students ' learning . In their analysis , Hoban et al . summarized an innovative 3-year professional development program , called Enhanced Action Learning , that used PLCs . During PLC meetings and collaborative sessions , teachers collectively focused on science content and how to address science skills at each grade level . As the establishment of PLCs strengthened collaboration among these teams of high-school science teachers , major changes occurred in their classroom practices that ultimately positively impacted students ' learning . # By the 21st century , school districts across the country continued to replace the one-shot workshop model for teacher development with organized PLCs . An illustration of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Linek , Fleener , Fazio , Raine , and KleKamp 's findings in 2003 . Collaboration between university professors and a public school district resulted in improved student achievement at three of the lowest-performing elementary schools . Once more , findings supported continuous collaboration as pivotal to shifting the education focus from how teachers teach to how children learn . Castle , Arends , and Rockwood ( 2008 ) collected student achievement data over a 6-year period from two low-performing elementary schools with similar demographics . Students at the elementary school where teachers participated in weekly PLCs showed a 35% increase in fourth- and fifth-grade reading scores . Mokhtari , Thoma , and Edwards ( 2009 ) described reflections from two reading specialists and a principal who served students at an elementary school in the midwestern region of the United States . Students showed improvements across all grade levels after the principal established PLCs and collaborated alongside teachers . Fischer and Hamer ( 2010 ) facilitated professional development at a middle school over a 5-year period . As a result of consistent professional learning , state-mandated-testing results improved in mathematics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The current study added credence to Chin and Benne 's ( 1969 ) findings that changes in classroom practice occur when teachers participate in the change process . According to Hord ( 2009 ) , the mission of a school is student learning , and the most important variable in whether students achieve is teaching quality . PLCs provide a vehicle for teachers to problem solve and improve their teaching . # Method # This study followed a causal-comparative research design and utilized mixed methods . According to Patten ( 2009 ) , a causal-comparative research design allows researchers to examine the past for causes of a current circumstance when it is not possible to carry out an experiment . A combination of purposeful and stratified sampling was employed for selection of the 76 participating schools and 35 teacher interviewees . Because this study represented the reading portion of a larger study , 17 of the 35 teachers taught reading or language arts . These types of samplings allowed the principal investigator to select participants from low- , medium- , and high-performing schools for exploration . # The primary investigator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relationships that may have accounted for variations in student achievement . The TAKS was the instrument used to collect quantitative data for reading over a 5-year period . A repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze overall percentage passing within elementary , middle , and high school groups . Within-group variances and contrasts determined if scores changed significantly during district-wide implementation of PLCs . The significance level was set at .05. # The qualitative portion of the study consisted of nine audio-taped focus-group interviews ; each focus group was comprised of three or four teachers . Responses from focus-group interviews provided support for four broad themes : ( a ) collaborative teacher learning ; ( b ) data-driven decisions ; ( c ) curriculum , instruction , and student learning ; and ( d ) school culture . # Findings # The study explored two research questions : ( a ) What differences existed in the overall percentage passing in reading achievement data for elementary , middle , and high schools during district-wide implementation of PLCs ? and ( b ) What were teachers ' perceptions of PLC activities and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question was that several statistically significant improvements occurred in student-achievement data during district-wide implementation of PLCs . Repeated measures ANOVA and pair-wise comparisons revealed statistically significant differences in elementary , middle , and high school achievement on the TAKS in reading after 3 years ( 2006-2010 ) of district-wide implementation of PLCs . A small effect size of .33% for mean percentage passing in elementary reading was noted ( Table 1 ) . Large effect sizes of .75% for middle schools and .67% for high schools were noted for mean percentage passing in reading ( Tables 2 and 3 ) . # The answer to the second research question was that teachers at elementary , middle , and high schools believed that PLCs provided avenues for them to learn and positively impacted their classroom practices . Teachers ' responses from audio-taped focus-group interviews led to 16 categories and 2 subcategories of valuable feedback ( see Figure ) . These categories and subcategories provided support for four major themes : ( a ) collaborative teacher learning ; ( b ) data-driven decisions ; ( c ) curriculum , instruction , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Collaborative teacher learning . Each participating teacher agreed that professional collaboration was facilitated on his or her campus . The process of building knowledge and support was collaborative , either by learning from colleagues or learning from other sources . Teachers expressed appreciation for opportunities to learn with their teams rather than in isolation . For example , teachers reported that their knowledge was increased when they compared and contrasted different techniques they used to help students master the TAKS standards in reading . Curriculum specialists were invited to present at PLCs , which increased teacher knowledge . At some schools , teachers reported that principals participated in book studies along with them . # Data-driven decisions . Teachers reported that data from multiple sources , such as teacher observations and anecdotal notes , student work samples , weekly common assessments , district database , TAKS scores , Iowa Test of Basic Skills ( ITBS ) scores , and Scholastic Achievement Test ( SAT ) scores were used to inform instruction . Those interviewed indicated that the majority of time in their PLCs was focused on student assessment data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data revealed weaknesses in their instructional practices . # Curriculum , instruction , and student learning . Teachers outlined several reading skills and teaching strategies they discussed during PLCs to address students ' needs collectively . Reading discussions centered around , but were not limited to , the following skills : fluency , inference , vocabulary development , analysis of characters , theme , tone , mood , context clues , and critical thinking . Effective instructional strategies teachers discussed during PLCs and used to help students master reading skills and strategies entailed use of common academic language , hands-on activities , projects , graphic organizers , rhymes , mnemonic devices , real-life situations , skill-based small groups , and student-generated class presentations . # School culture . Several patterns emerged from teacher responses by subject , level , academic-performance ratings , ethnicity , gender , and experience . Most notable was that all teachers agreed that professional collaboration was implemented on their campuses . Moreover , teachers at the high-performing schools found that collaborating before school , in the hallways , during lunchtime , and other times of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ collaborative culture assured that all teachers had a forum for questions and problem-solving . # Discussion # Findings in the current study provided three main implications for practice in school districts , as well as practice in the private sector . First , this study contributed to research on PLCs by providing further evidence that potent connections among student achievement , teacher collaboration , and change continue to exist in the 21st century ( Chin &amp; Benne , 1969 ; Little , 1982 ; Sparks , 1983 ; Guskey , 1985 ; NSDC , 2001 ; Castle , Arends , &amp; Rockwood , 2008 ) . Significant increases in the reading mean percentage passing on the TAKS occurred during district-wide implementation of PLCs . The extent of collaboration that focused on student achievement among teachers may have accounted for variations in the overall mean percentage passing score for each school . If teachers only collaborated formally , their participation in PLCs may have been to project compliant behavior rather than to analyze students ' data . This implication is consistent with previous research that change is gradual and challenging ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # Second , because student achievement in reading appeared to improve as a result of district-wide implementation of PLCs , this urban school district should continue PLCs as a professional-development strategy for K-12 teachers . In the current study , teachers reported that during PLCs they learned by collaborating with one another and from other sources . This implication provided further evidence that an established culture of teacher collaboration is critical to student achievement ( Little , 1982 ; Hoban &amp; Hastings , 1997 ; Linek et al. , 2003 ; Fischer &amp; Hamer , 2010 ) . In 2009 , Hord concluded that the most important variable in student achievement is teaching quality . Research presented in this study confirmed that consistent participation in PLCs influenced teaching quality and student learning . # The third implication involves school culture . PLCs seemed embedded in the cultures of campuses rated as Academically Recognized or Academically Exemplary , where more than 80% and more than 90% of the students , respectively , passed the TAKS . For example , focus-group interview data revealed that these teachers collaborated before school , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as during scheduled PLC sessions . These teachers reported that , along with their principals , they identified issues and also collaboratively solved the issues based on data . In contrast , teachers at campuses rated as Academically Acceptable , i.e. , with at least a 70% passing rate , reported less collaboration , and , during the interview , they focused on issues such as school-wide discipline , ill-prepared colleagues , and what they considered as lack of principal support . Perception of the principal as detached from PLCs and from the process of problem-solving school-wide issues seemed to contribute to low-performing rates on the TAKS . According to Mokhtari , Thoma , and Edwards ( 2009 ) , students showed improvements across all grade levels after the principal established weekly PLCs . Perhaps principals might consider consistently participating in PLCs alongside of teachers to assist with analysis of data and problem-solving to ensure that students ' needs are addressed . # Three limitations affected this study and lay foundation for further research on PLCs in this urban school district . First , several schools included in the study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teachers and the school 's culture . At the time of data collection , the teachers were not fully acquainted with the principals ' expectations and communication and leadership styles . Therefore , further research is needed to assess truly the impact of the principal and PLC . Second , teachers at Academically Unacceptable campuses opted out of audio-taped focus-group interviews , leaving no insights into their PLCs and school culture . Further research at these campuses would provide insight into strengths , weaknesses , and the type of support that is required to accelerate student performance . Third , the majority of teachers who participated in the focus-group interviews were African American and White females . Future investigations might target feedback from males , Hispanics , Asians , and Native Americans . Additional insights from the perceptions of males and minority teachers could enhance an understanding of the relationship between PLCs , student achievement , and reform . # Conclusion # The PLC is a concept that stemmed from the business sector . When implemented as a professional-development strategy , PLCs can lead to organizational improvements in the areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The purpose of this study was to determine if the reading achievement of students in urban schools increased as a result of weekly teacher collaboration in the form of PLCs . The current study utilized quantitative and qualitative methods and concluded that student achievement increased over a 3-year period . However , based on feedback from teachers , variations in elementary , middle , and high-school achievement may have been related to different variables such as school culture , the level of collaboration between teachers , and involvement of the principal . Finding the right equation for improving any organization is a monumental task . Nevertheless , results from this study provide strong support that collaboration through PLCs is an important piece of the equation for continuous improvement . # Table 1 Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Met Standard on Elementary Schools TAKS Reading TABLE # Note . Wilks ' Lambda = .669 , F ( 4,35 ) = 4.32 , p = .006 , h = .33h = .33 # Table 2 Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Met Standard on Middle School TAKS Reading TABLE # Note . Wilks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 12.0 , p &lt;.001 , h = .75 # Table 3 Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Met Standard on High School TAKS Reading TABLE # Note . Wilks ' Lambda = .327 , F ( 4,13 ) = 6.68 , p = .004 , h = .67 # Figure . Summary of responses , categories , and themes from audio-taped interviews TABLE # Note . Sample responses in column two represent only 2-3 of the 17 participating teachers . # Teachers analyze data and collaborate on strategies in a PLC. #

@@4156141 School impairment is often defined in terms of impairment in academic progress ( i.e. , poor grades ) . Poor academic performance can occur for several reasons , including poor homework completion , being off task during class lectures , and inefficient study habits . However , school impairment can include other factors such as a student 's inability to interact with teachers and peers and the inability to ask for help when needed . The current study evaluates the Classroom Performance Survey , a measure that includes items pertaining to areas of strengths and weakness for students and specifically designed to assess functioning in secondary schools . Using data from 875 high school students , results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed two factors , Academic Competence and Interpersonal Competence . Normative data on the measure for adolescents are presented and implications for practice and intervention development are discussed . # Children , Research , and Public Policy # School impairment may occur for many reasons , including low cognitive ability , stressful events , poor instruction , and mental health disorders . Regardless of the cause , school impairment is likely to have substantial long-term negative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is predictive of poor outcomes , including high school dropout , substance use , delinquency , and poor emotional wellness ( see Hawkins , 1997 , for a review ) . Given the long-term negative and positive effects of functioning in school , it is not surprising that school functioning is a common focus of assessment . Specifically , measuring school functioning and impairment is important to determine eligibility for services , inform psychiatric diagnoses , and identify response to interventions ( American Psychological Association , 2000 ; Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act , 2004 ) . # School functioning includes both academic skills and academic enablers ( DiPerna &amp; Elliott , 2000 ) and contextual variables ( Pianta &amp; Walsh , 1996 ) . Impairment in school is a common reason of referral for assessment or additional services , including special education . Of the 370 school psychologists who responded to a recent survey , a majority reported academic problems as the most common reason for referral ( Bramlett , Murphy , Johnson , Wallingsford , &amp; Hall , 2002 ) . Similarly , best practices for diagnosing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a diagnostic criterion for many disorders . Finally , measures of school functioning play an important role in the measurement of responses to interventions ( Chafouleas , Volpe , Gresham , &amp; Cook , 2010 ) . # Although there are measures of school impairment ( e.g. , Diperna &amp; Elliott , 2000 ) , most have not been designed for the unique environment and demands of a high school . Successful functioning at the secondary level is far more complex than in the younger grades , partly because of the multiple settings across a student 's day ( Kent et al. , 2011 ) . Teachers ' expectations at the high school level vary considerably between classes and , as a result , a student 's level of functioning is likely to be inconsistent across classes . Thus , unlike elementary schools , there is often not one person in a secondary school who can serve as a source for comprehensive information about a student 's functioning and impairment ( Evans , Allen , Moore , &amp; Strauss , 2005 ) . Therefore , the challenges associated with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because of the complexity of secondary school academic demands ( e.g. , long-term projects , expectation for independent tracking of tasks ) and social behavior ( e.g. , variability in behavioral expectations between classes , management of relations between large number of peers and multiple teachers ) , successful school functioning may involve more variables than during elementary school . Second , because students have many teachers who see students in a variety of contexts , it may not be possible to identify one informant to complete a measure . # In spite of the challenges associated with assessing school impairment and functioning in secondary school , there is a need for an efficient and psychometrically sound measure to inform school personnel . Further , the value of assessment is greatly enhanced if it can directly inform intervention development . The purpose of the current study was ( a ) to examine the validity of the Classroom Performance Survey as a measure of school functioning with high school students and ( b ) to collect normative data on the measure for this age group . # Defining School Impairment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broad set of domains , it is often best operationalized by grades , discipline problems , and scores on standardized tests . In fact , grades are used to gain admission to postsecondary education , often considered by potential employers , and used to determine which students receive honors ( e.g. , Dean 's List , Honor Roll ) . Given their widespread use as a global index of school functioning , grades have also been used as an outcome measure for school-based interventions ( e.g. , Schultz , Evans , &amp; Serpell , 2009 ) . This widespread reliance on grades as an indicator of school functioning persists in spite of indications that they are a poor metric ( Allen , 2005 ) . In addition to problems with psychometric properties , grades also fail to identify the specific problems that lead to the poor grades and thus are not helpful for prescribing interventions . For example , poor grades may be the result of failing to submit assignments , poor performance on tests , or difficulty taking notes . Thus , grades have value as a measure of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also have many limitations related to psychometric properties and lack of specificity. # Although grades are one global index of school functioning , they fail to reflect many nonacademic concepts that students learn at school , including how to effectively socialize with peers and authority figures such as teachers ( Berns , 2007 ) . These lessons are especially salient in secondary school as adolescence is a period in which students are refining their self-concepts and social identities ( Steinberg &amp; Morris , 2001 ) . Students also learn responsibility and independence as they gain skills related to managing their time , completing assignments , and participating in after school activities . In an effort to account for the complex nature of school functioning , Pianta and Walsh ( 1996 ) proposed the Contextual Systems Model . The Contextual Systems Model includes four interrelated systems : child , family , classroom , and culture . All of the variables included in the model have been found to be strongly associated with school functioning in the literature ( Pianta &amp; Walsh , 1996 ) . The child level includes variables such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the parent--child relationship and family environment . Classroom-level variables include the teacher--child relationship and classroom environment . Finally , culture-level variables include societal values and beliefs . # Although the Contextual Systems Model is a comprehensive model , it is unlikely that one informant would be able to adequately respond to items regarding every system ( child , family , classroom , and culture ) . Another model proposed by DiPerna and Elliott ( 2000 ) focuses exclusively on school-level factors and includes clusters of skills , attitudes , and behaviors that contribute to academic competence . These clusters include study skills , interpersonal skills , academic skills , engagement , and motivation . All clusters in the model except academic skills are considered enablers that contribute to academic competence by enabling success in the school environment and facilitating the acquisition of skills being taught . There is evidence that the clusters in this model predict functioning at school ( DiPerna &amp; Elliott , 2000 ) and a teacher rating measure was developed that reflects this model . # We propose that another way to conceptualize the variables just described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and interpersonal skills . Academic skills include behaviors such as one 's ability to study for exams , take good notes in class , and turn in assignments on time , whereas school-related interpersonal skills include behaviors such as cooperating with other students , asking for help when needed , and getting along with peers and teachers . These two categories are a slight reorganization of the academic skills and academic enablers distinction made by DiPerna and Elliott ( 2000 ) . According to our reorganization of the model , school impairment can be defined as deficits in academic skills ( including study skills ) , interpersonal skills , or both . If the purpose of an assessment targeting academic success is to be comprehensive , then items assessing home and community contexts as well as other potential academic enablers such as motivation and engagement will be important to include in the measure . If efficiency is a priority , then only the classroom contexts and fewer categories of behavior may be prioritized. # Measuring School Impairment in Secondary Schools # There are contextual challenges associated with assessing school functioning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ functioning more difficult than it is for children in elementary schools . One of the main challenges is determining an informant who can provide the information being sought . One may consider obtaining information regarding impairment directly from the student ; however , students may overinflate their performance or complete measures with minimal effort ( Smith , Pelham , Gnagy , Molina , &amp; Evans , 2000 ) . Given the limitations of self-report , one may consider other informants in the student 's life such as parents . However , parents often have limited knowledge regarding their child 's school impairment as adolescents communicate little with their parents regarding day-to-day school activities ( Larson , Richards , Moneta , Holmbeck , &amp; Duckett , 1996 ) . In addition , parents may have little to no knowledge regarding classroom-level variables such as the teacher--child relationship or classroom expectations . Although teachers have detailed information about students ' functioning in their classroom , they have their own limitations and biases ( e.g. , Abikoff , Courtney , Pelham , &amp; Koplewicz , 1993 ) . However , compared to parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assessing school functioning as they have extensive experience with adolescents ' behavior in the context of their classes . High school teachers see numerous students throughout the day in multiple contexts ( e.g. , classroom , lunchroom , hallways ) . Therefore , a high school teacher may have more knowledge of " normative " adolescent behavior than do parents . Yet , obtaining teacher ratings in secondary school poses special considerations as each student can have five to eight teachers for 1 hour or less in differing contexts throughout the day . In addition , each teacher has many more students than most elementary school teachers and therefore may not know each individual student well . # There have been a variety of recommendations for gathering teacher rating data for secondary school students , including recommendations to obtain ratings from specific teachers ( e.g. , English and math ; Anastopoulos &amp; Shelton , 2001 ) , to administering rating scales to all teachers ( Robin , 1998 ) . These recommendations are not empirically supported and questions exist about how to interpret ratings from one or multiple teachers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teachers rating the same students ( Evans , Allen , Moore , &amp; Strauss , 2005 ; Molina , Pelham , Blumenthal , &amp; Galiszewski , 1998 ) . This lack of agreement is partly from differences in behavior and performance between classes for the same student . Given this lack of agreement and the variability in student behavior across classrooms , each classroom may need to be considered an independent setting in which there may be varying levels of functioning and impairment . Multiple ratings also have the advantage of identifying classrooms that should be targeted for intervention as well as determining classrooms or environments in which the student is succeeding . Given the recommendation for gathering multiple ratings and the potential need to ask some teachers for multiple ratings over time ( e.g. , progress monitoring ) , there is an advantage for measures that are relatively brief . # Selecting Measures of School Impairment # Our review to this point suggests that when measuring school functioning in high schools , there are benefits to measures that are brief and completed by multiple classroom teachers . In addition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inform intervention prescription , then assessments that include specific questions or factors indicating problems that can inform intervention selection are preferable . Our review of the literature indicated that there are four assessment instruments that evaluate school functioning for high school students . These are described in the following . # Impairment Rating Scale ( IRS ) # The IRS is a 5- ( teacher version ) to 7-item ( parent version ) measure that requires raters to indicate a student 's level of impairment in the areas of relationship with peers , academic , family , and self-esteem . High scores indicate an extreme problem and a high need for treatment . The IRS has been examined for use in secondary schools and has been shown to be reliable and valid for use with an adolescent population ( Evans et al. , 2011 , in press ) . Scores may be interpreted to indicate whether impairment exists within a given domain and it takes little time for teachers to complete . The IRS includes a teacher version , can be administered to several teachers , and is brief . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can indicate the presence of impairment , it does not provide the detailed information needed for selecting interventions . # Homework Problems Checklist ( HPC ) # The HPC ( Anesko , Schoiock , Ramirez , &amp; Levine , 1987 ) is a 20-item parent report measure of homework-related behaviors . Unfortunately , there are no normative data available to inform use in secondary schools . Although it may be useful to obtain information specific to homework completion , many other behaviors central to academic impairment are not assessed . In addition , there is only a parent report version of the HPC as it only assesses academic activities conducted at home . # Academic Competence Evaluation Scale ( ACES ) # The ACES ( DiPerna &amp; Elliott , 2000 ) was created to measure the skills , attitudes , and behaviors most pertinent to school impairment . It is a 73-item measure that includes a teacher version and norms for students in kindergarten through 12th grade . Item content ranges from rating academic skills , such as reading comprehension and computation , to following directions in the classroom and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of academic behaviors , the ACES contains only one form--in other words , students in kindergarten are assessed with the same items as those in 12th grade . Therefore , the ACES may not be sensitive to some of the most unique adolescent academic behaviors that pertain to academic functioning ( e.g. , long-term planning ) . The benefit of providing details about a broad range of behaviors relevant to school impairment comes at the cost of being a long and time-consuming measure to complete . This can be particularly problematic when using it to measure response to an intervention through frequent administrations or when administered for a large number of students , as this may lead to excessive teacher burden . Finally , the ACES manual and protocols , unlike the IRS or HPC , must be purchased through the publisher . # Classroom Performance Survey ( CPS ) # The CPS was designed by the Public and Professional Education Committee of the Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder ( 1996 ) . As impairment in school is common among individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort to provide professionals with a brief measure of classroom functioning specific to secondary school settings . The 22-item ( 20 Likert-type and 2 non-Likert ) measure includes questions pertaining to deficits commonly associated with adolescents with ADHD and that have been associated with poor academic outcomes in the literature . The CPS has been used to investigate the nature of school impairment in students ' with ADHD ( Kent et al. , 2010 ) as well as treatment outcome research ( e.g. , Evans , Schultz , DeMars , &amp; Davis , 2011 ; Meyer &amp; Kelley , 2007 ) . # Because the CPS is a relative brief measure , it could be used as a screener to indicate when more assessment ( e.g. , referral for special education ) is needed ; however , it also includes specific items that have implications for interventions such as questions about taking notes in class , turning in assignments on time , and asking for help when needed . A major disadvantage of the CPS is that it has not been psychometrically evaluated and does not have normative data . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brief measure of school functioning that can be completed by teachers and inform the prescribing of individualized interventions , the CPS appears to be a good candidate for further development and study . # Current Study # Although the CPS was developed to measure school functioning and impairment with adolescents , it has not been evaluated for this use . The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the construct validity of the CPS with an adolescent population . The first aim was to explore the factor structure of the CPS using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses techniques . Because this was the first study examining the structure of the CPS , results may indicate modifications to the items that will be made and further tested . The second aim was to calculate the reliability of the factors and provide school professionals with normative data on each item and scale by gender . The third aim was to examine two additional non-Likert scale items on the CPS in terms their construct validity and clinical utility . # Method # Participants # Schools . Data were collected from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigators in the Center for Adolescent Research in Schools ( CARS ; IES : R324C080006 ) . Data on the schools that participated in this study are presented in Table 1 . # Teachers . Responses were collected from 146 high school teachers ( 69.9% female ) . Teachers self-identified as 82.5% Caucasian , 3.4% African American , 9.8% Asian , and 2.8% Other . A minority of the respondents were special education teachers ( 11% ) and the remainder of the teachers were evenly distributed across class types ( 25.8% language arts , 19.5% social studies , 18.1% science , and 26.5% math ) . On average , at the time of the study , teachers had been teaching for 11.51 years ( SD = 10.06 , median = 9.00 ) . # Students . Students ( n = 875 ; 52.8% female ) were selected by participating teachers following a set of decision rules ( see student selection section below ) provided by the investigators . Teachers reported that the students in the sample were 36.9% Caucasian , 39.8% African American , 9.8% Hispanic , 0.7% Asian , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a trend of declining numbers with higher grades ( 33% 9th , 28.6% 10th , 19.1% 11th , and 17.9% 12th ) . Student demographic information was based on teacher report . # Measures # Classroom Performance Survey ( CPS ) . The CPS is a 20-item Likert-type response measure that includes items regarding students ' classroom behaviors . It includes items such as " brings necessary materials to class " and " relates positively to teacher(s) . " A score of 1 on an item indicates always , 3 indicates sometimes , and a score of 5 indicates never . Therefore , higher scores on the measure indicate the presence of more impairment and lower scores indicate higher levels of functioning . In this study , we used a recently revised version of the CPS by Robin ( 1998 ) , which includes two additional non-Likert items regarding the percentage of assignments turned in by the student and the percentage of assignments completed by the average student in the same classroom . There are no psychometric data available on the CPS . This article is the first to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # IRS--Teacher Version . The IRS ( Fabiano et al. , 2006 ) is a 5-item assessment that includes teachers ' ratings of peer relations , relationship with teacher , academic progress , classroom functioning , self-esteem , and overall severity on a 7-point scale . Teachers place a mark on a line representing the adolescent 's severity of impairment from 0 indicating no problem and definitely does not need treatment to 6 indicating extreme problem and definitely needs treatment . A score of 3 or above is considered " impaired " in that domain whereas a score of 2 or below is considered " nonimpaired . " In addition , teachers are given space to provide narrative information . This measure has demonstrated , in four samples of children with ADHD and matched comparison children , good temporal stability ( 1-year correlations ranged from .54 to .76 ; p &lt; .01 ) and appropriate correlations with other impairment ratings and behavioral measures ( correlations ranged from .58 to .85 ; p &lt; .01 ; Fabiano et al. , 2006 ) . It also correlates with other measures of impairment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Setterberg , Bird , &amp; Gould , 1992 ) , Impact on Family Scale ( Sheeber &amp; Johnson , 1992 ) , and the Daily Hassles Scale ( Crnic &amp; Greenberg , 1990 ) . # Procedures # Teacher recruitment . Administrators at schools collaborating with investigators at five of the seven sites involved with the Center for Adolescent Research in Schools were contacted by investigators to recruit individual teachers from each school for this study ( see Table 1 ) . The investigators explained the purpose and procedures of the study and time required of participating teachers . After school administrators provided consent to participate in the study , all teachers in the collaborating schools were contacted via a letter describing the study and inviting the teacher to participate . Once a teacher signed and returned a letter agreeing to participate , the teacher was given instructions for randomly selecting 3 male and 3 female students ( see student selection ) , completing the three rating scales ( IRS , CPS , and the Disruptive Behavior Disorder Rating Scale DBD , which is not analyzed here ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at many participating schools to explain the purposes of the study and answer questions . During this initial phase of teacher recruitment , teachers completed appropriate informed consent procedures . # To encourage participation , teachers from each school who completed the procedures were entered in a drawing ( three prizes were awarded at each school ) and winners were paid up to 75 dollars . Parent and student consents were not obtained as no identifying information about students was collected and the researchers did not have direct contact with students . Although exact response rate by school was not obtained , we estimated , based on a subsample of participating schools , that an average of 32.64% of eligible teachers at each school indicated they wished to participate . The response rate was calculated by obtaining the total number of core academic teachers from three participating schools and dividing that number by the number of students in each school . This provided the number of core academic teachers per student . We then used this number to estimate the number of teachers at each school based on their student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed to participate . # Distribution and collection of packets . Packets containing six sets of three rating scales ( i.e. , the DBD , the IRS , and the CPS ) were created with ID numbers for each teacher and were distributed . Thus , each teacher was given one set of rating scales for each of his/her participating students . Each distributed packet was constructed in the following order : cover letter , student selection form , demographic questionnaire , CPS , IRS , and DBD . Teachers were instructed to return the completed sealed packets to a box in the school mailroom within 2 weeks after distribution . Completed packets were collected at least once a week for 2 weeks . After the first week of data collection , investigators sent reminder cards or e-mails to participating teachers . Reminder cards and e-mails thanked teachers for their participation but also reminded them of the final date of data collection . # Student selection . Specific instructions for selecting students were provided to teachers to eliminate teacher selection bias based on behavior , gender , or other student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gender , based on the order in which students ' names appeared in the teachers ' grade books for their first period class . To achieve unbiased selection , teachers selected the first , third , and fifth student from their roster but also used the following procedures . Teachers added the seventh student on the roster to the list of those being rated if the student was not the fourth participant of the same gender as the first three , but teachers proceeded to the ninth student on their roster if the seventh student was the fourth of the same gender . The teachers then continued this process until 3 males and 3 females were selected , but if a teacher arrived at the end of the roster and did not yet have 3 boys and 3 girls , then the teacher continued the selection process by choosing the second student on the roster and continued through all of the even-numbered students until 3 boys and 3 girls were selected . # Analyses # To address the first aim of the study ( establishing the factor structure of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a randomly selected third of the participants ' data and eliminated items with either poor loadings or equal loadings onto multiple factors . Once the factor structure finalized , we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis on the remaining two-thirds of the data . To further explore the validity of the CPS factors , we correlated each factor with items on the IRS . To address the second aim ( examine reliability and present normative data ) , we calculated reliability estimates for each of the factors and calculated means and standard deviations for each item . Finally , to address the third aim ( examining the validity and clinical utility of the two additional CPS items ) , we calculated the means and standard deviations on these items and examined the relationship between these items and the IRS. # Results # Factor Analysis of the CPS # As this is the first psychometric analysis , we began by conducting an exploratory factor analysis ( EFA ) in order to determine if the items were measuring one large construct ( e.g. , overall school functioning ) or were measuring several independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class tasks , homework tasks ) . The EFA was conducted with the 20 Likert-type items using 269 randomly selected students balanced across site and across gender ( approximately one-third of the sample ) . As CFAs require a larger sample than EFAs , we decided that two-thirds of the sample would be used in the CFA and the remaining would be used in the EFA . Because we collected ratings of 6 students from each participating teacher , the standard errors and X2 statistics of the EFAs and confirmatory factor analyses ( CFAs ) were adjusted to account for nonindependence of observations using multilevel modeling in Mplus ( CLUSTER function ) . Using oblique rotation , results showed that maintaining two factors produced the most adequate fit while maintaining the highest discrimination between item loadings and obtaining the greatest conceptual clarity between the factors . # Based on the item loadings , the factors appeared to involve Academic Competence ( e.g. , turning in homework , doing well on tests ) and Interpersonal Competence ( e.g. , asking for help when needed , getting along with peers ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar magnitude . This can cause difficulty in terms of fitting a model using CFA as well as create problems with scoring and interpretation . Therefore , we began the process of item reduction employing a method described by Worthington and Whittaker ( 2006 ) in which items are eliminated if the difference between the loadings of an item onto each factor is less than 0.15 . After each item was deleted , the EFA was rerun to estimate new factor loadings . This process continued until items no longer met Worthington and Whittaker 's ( 2006 ) criteria . Using this process , 3 items were eliminated from the measure ( Items 9 , 12 and 15 ) . In addition , 2 more items ( Items 10 and 11 ) were eliminated based on their high correlation with each other as well as the low variance accounted for in the factors by these items . In other words , these 2 items appeared highly related to each other and only slightly related to the larger constructs Academic Competence or Interpersonal Competence . The final resulting EFA produced two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 13 , and 14 ) and Interpersonal Competence ( Items 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , and 20 ; see Table 3 for item descriptions ) . # To assess the fit of the model produced by the EFA with another sample , we used CFA using robust weighted least squares estimation with the remaining 591 participants ' data . The correlation matrix analyzed is included in Table 2 . The ? for the two-factor model ( Academic Competence and Interpersonal Competence ) was ? ( 89 ) = 632.99 , p &lt; .001 , indicating inadequate fit . However , for sample sizes larger than 400 , the ? test will almost always be significant ( Schumacker &amp; Lomax , 2004 ) . # Based on recommendations by Yu and Muthen ( 2002 ) , we also examined the Comparative Fit Index ( CFI ) and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation ( RMSEA ) in addition to the Weighted Root Mean Square Residual ( WRMR ) . Recommended cutoffs are less than or equal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the RMSEA ( Browne &amp; Cudeck , 1993 ) , and 0.95 or above for the CFI ( Hu &amp; Bender , 1999 ) . The two-factor model met two of the recommended cutoffs of the three fit indices ( WRMR = 1.56 , RMSEA = 0.10 , CFI = 0.98 ) . Although there is room for improvement with regard to model fit , several points were considered . First , the cutoff values suggested from other authors are just that , suggestions , and are not gold standards ( Marsh , 2004 ) . It may be that the fit indices for this model are close enough to the cutoff to warrant adequate fit ( i.e. , WRMR cutoff of 1.00 and a value of 1.56 ) . Second , it has been recommended that determining adequate model fit only includes investigating one measure of incremental fit ( the CFI ) and one measure of absolute fit ( the RMSEA ; Byrne , 1998 ) . Using these recommendations , the model tested warrants interpretation . Therefore , based on the conceptual and statistical interpretation of the model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good fit and will be interpreted . The standardized and unstandardized solutions for the two-factor model are presented in Table 3. # CPS and Its Relationship to Other Measures of Impairment # To further evaluate the validity of the CPS and the two factors found in our analyses , we examined the correlation between the CPS factors and specific domains of impairment on the IRS , and these results are presented in Table 4 ( i.e. , academic progress , interactions with peers , relationship with teachers , and classroom functioning ) . Consistent with our interpretation of the factors , the Academic Competency factor on the CPS correlated most strongly with impaired academic progress on the IRS ( r = .73 ; high scores indicate impairment on both ) and less so with impaired interactions with peers ( r = .47 ) . In addition , the Interpersonal Competence factor correlated most strongly with impaired relationship with teachers ( r = .70 ) . Although there are no large differences in some of these correlations , the results suggest that the two factors of the CPS are most related @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support for their construct validity . # Reliability of the CPS # Our second aim was to further investigate the psychometric properties of the CPS by calculating the composite reliability ( coefficient omega ) of each factor ( Table 5 ) . Coefficient omega is often used to calculate reliability when researchers are interested in the extent to which items measure the same latent variable ( Zinbarg , Revelle , Yovel , &amp; Li , 2005 ) . These results revealed that both Academic Competence and Interpersonal Competence factors are highly reliable ( 0.98 and 0.91 , respectively ) . Normative data on the measure for an adolescent population ages 14-19 are presented by item , by factor , and by gender in Table 5 . These results show that the mean frequency of interpersonal problems was slightly lower than the mean frequency of academic competency problems . Further , recording assignments consistently were reported as the most frequently occurring problem and respect for property was the least common problem . # Clinical Utility of the CPS # The third aim of this study was to examine the clinical utility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to indicate the percent of assignments completed and submitted on time by the student being assessed and the percent of assignments completed and submitted on time by the average student in the class . The mean percentages and standard deviations for these 2 items are included in Table 5 . In addition , we sought to explore the validity of these 2 items using each of these percentages in a multiple regression equation to predict academic impairment scores on the IRS . We hypothesized that the absolute amount of assignments the target student turns in completed and on time should influence a teacher 's perception of academic impairment . However , some classrooms may have lower expectations for students than do others . For example , a student turning in only 50% of his/her assignments may be perceived as more impaired in a classroom where 100% of assignments are turned in by all other students , compared to a classroom where the average is 60% . Therefore , we decided to enter the absolute percentage of assignments turned in by the target student into the model first and then enter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking the percentage reported for the target student and subtracting the percentage turned in by the typical student ( negative values indicate the target student is performing below the typical student average ; M = -3.3 , SD = 27.6 ) . # Results of this analysis indicated that both the absolute amount of assignments submitted b = -.54 , f(560) = -9.1 , p &lt; .001 and the discrepancy score b = -.20 , t(560) = -4.19 , p &lt; .001 significantly contributed to the prediction of teachers ' ratings of academic impairment on the IRS R = .51 , F ( 2 , 560 ) = 428.08 , p &lt; .001 . For every percent increase in the amount of assignments submitted on time by the target student , ratings of academic impairment decreased by .54 . Similarly , for every positive percent increase in the discrepancy ( i.e. , the difference between the target student 's completion rate and the classroom completion rate ) score , academic impairment decreased by .20. # To further evaluate this relationship , we compared the frequency of assignment completion among students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( rated as 3 or above ) and students rated as unimpaired ( less than 3 ) . These results , as expected , indicated that the students whose teachers rated them as academically impaired completed an average of only 45.0% ( SD = 28.8 ) of their assignments . Conversely , students rated as nonimpaired completed an average of 83.7% ( SD = 19.2 ) of assignments . The difference in assignment completion between impaired and nonimpaired students was statistically significant ? = 335.09 ( 1 , 64 ) , p &lt; .001 . Next , we examined a frequency distribution of the percentage of assignments completed by each student ( see Figure 1 ) . Within each group of students , we determined the portions who were rated as academically impaired on the IRS and these portions are indicated by the dark portions of the bars in Figure 1 . As can be seen in the figure , the portion of the groups who were rated as impaired becomes smaller as the percentage of homework completed becomes greater . It is worth noting that there are students who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rated as academically impaired by their teachers and there are students who completed 90% of their assignments or more who were rated as academically impaired . As evidenced by the correlations in Table 4 , completing assignments is related to teachers ' ratings of academic impairment , but does not completely account for it . # Discussion # The primary aim of this study was to examine the reliability and construct validity of the CPS with an adolescent population . Overall , the revised version of the CPS appears to be a viable option for those wishing to measure school impairment . The measure is brief , completed by teachers , and provides very specific information about the nature of impairment . # A Two-Factor Model of Impairment # The two factors established from the CPS were Academic Competence and Interpersonal Competence . One of the limitations of some teacher ratings of social functioning is that they sometimes ask high school teachers about social behavior that can not be adequately judged in classrooms . Consistent with the goals of the task force that created the items for this measure , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CPS refer to behaviors that are observable by the teacher during the time he/she has the student in class . For example , the interpersonal items focus on behaviors such as asking a teacher for assistance , communicating well with the teacher , and getting along with other students . The mean item scores for this factor indicate that typical high school students demonstrate appropriate interpersonal behaviors more often than " sometimes " and a rating of " always " is within one standard deviation of the mean . # The 10 items that are the Academic Competence factor target specific classroom behaviors and levels of performance that are critical to successful academic functioning in high school ( e.g. , assignment completion , quality work , arrives with materials on time , and test performance ) . The 2 items pertaining to assignment completion ( Completes homework on time and Records assignments consistently ) had the highest mean scores indicating that teachers believe this to be a common area for problems . In fact , a student would be within one standard deviation of the mean with a rating of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A score of 4 could be interpreted as " rarely " or " infrequently " and our results indicate that this characterization of responsibility for one 's homework assignments is normal . These 2 items have the largest difference in means between boys and girls , but the normal range includes students rated as problematic for both . Performance on tests and accuracy on assignments were the two items rated as the next most common areas for problems . These 4 items on the academic competence factor are most related to activities that influence grades and as a result may be the most closely monitored by teachers . Greater attention to the activities assessed by these 4 items than the others may contribute to the higher ratings . Overall , the mean scores indicate that typical high school students complete these academic activities more often than sometimes , but the normal range for some of the items includes students who teachers rate as closer to never than always . # Lack of Gender Differences # Normative data are presented in Table 5 and indicate that teachers ' ratings of girls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ item . Although this difference is interesting , there seems to be little justification for using same-sex norms when interpreting indices of impairment at school . Functioning is an interaction between individual competencies and expectations or normative behaviors in the setting being assessed . So unless the expectations for successful school functioning are different for boys and girls , interpretation of scores using same-sex norms may be confusing . To the degree that academic and interpersonal expectations between the genders in high school are equivalent , score interpretation will be aided by using the normative data for both genders. # Homework Completion # As described in the results section , the percentage of assignments completed by those rated as impaired ( 45% ) was significantly less than the percentage completed by those rated as not impaired ( 83.7% ) on the academic impairment item on the IRS r(428) = 20.56 , p &lt; .001 . Furthermore , the percentage of assignments completed by the student being assessed contributed to the prediction of academic impairment ratings on the IRS . In addition to the assignment completion score , the difference score @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added to the prediction of impairment . This difference score adds to the prediction by taking into account the normative behavior in the classroom . It was interesting to note that the mean percentage of assignments completed on time were quite similar for the target student and average student in the class ( as would be predicted ) . A review of the data indicate that approximately 11% of the teachers reported that the average student in the class only completes and submits assignments on time 60% of the time or less . Only 17% of the teachers reported that the average student completes and submits assignments on time 90% of the time or more . These data document the large variability in expectations and normative behavior between high school classrooms and the importance of gathering information about the classroom when interpreting scores specific to a student being assessed . # Potential Implications for Treatment # These results indicate that the CPS could result in data that may be useful for various decisions with high school students . We believe that the two-factor structure of the CPS could be used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , after administering the questionnaire to teachers , school professionals could identify the student 's primary domain of impairment ( e.g. , academic competence , interpersonal competence , or both ) . Responses to individual items on each factor can specifically inform the prescription of interventions . For example , problems completing tasks on time could lead to evidence-based organization interventions ( Sadler , Evans , Schultz , &amp; Zoromski , 2011 ) . If the student does not take notes during class , an intervention may be developed in which the teacher teaches the student to take notes and checks the student 's notebook after class and rewards specific note-taking behaviors ( Evans , Pelham , &amp; Grudberg , 1995 ) . Furthermore , if a student does not get along well with the teacher , the student may require a behavior management plan in the classroom or may benefit from an interpersonal skills group ( Sadler , Evans , Schultz , &amp; Zoromski , 2011 ) . The CPS may also be used to assess progress or identify another area of impairment . The use of the CPS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studies may wish to examine the potential use of the CPS for treatment prescription and to monitor student progress . # Scores on the scales or items may serve as indices to measure response to interventions , although there is very little research to support its sensitivity to change . The studies that have used this to measure outcomes have reported improvement in teachers ' ratings in response to interventions ( Evans et al. , 2011 ; Meyer &amp; Kelley , 2007 ) . These studies used a total score for all 20 items and analyzed the percentage of completed assignments . Conducting analyses using the two scales may enhance sensitivity to treatment response . # Limitations and Future Directions # One of the limitations of this study is the lack of indices , other than teacher report , that could be used to validate the items and factors . Grades , observations , or self-report data could have added to our evaluation of validity . Another limitation of this study is that the teachers and schools were not selected at random and each teacher completed six ratings . Many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the investigators at each of the six sites in the Center for Adolescent Research in Schools . The sample was comprised of a group of teachers who volunteered at each school . Although the sample included a large number of minority students and communities with a wide range of income levels , it was not randomly selected . In addition , we do not have the exact response rate of teachers who agreed to participate in the study and were forced to estimate based on a sample of schools . Finally , measurement packets were not counterbalanced ; therefore , we were not able to evaluate order effects . # In spite of the limitations , these data support the use of the CPS as a tool to measure the school impairment of high school students . The focus on the measurement of impairment has increased in the last decade as it has become clear that impairment , more than symptoms , is the priority for stakeholders and should be the target of interventions . A review of the published literature indicates that the school impairment of adolescents has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Perhaps the complexities of secondary schools and the adolescents themselves have been limiting factors in this line of research . These data provide some evidence for the reliability and validity of the CPS for secondary school students ; however , future research should focus on other psychometric aspect of the measure , including test-retest and inter-rater reliability , sensitivity , and specificity . Future studies may seek to pilot additional items that may be highly correlated with impairment in secondary schools . Because the Interpersonal Competence domain only contains 5 items , there may be other student behaviors in this domain that lead to impairment ( e.g. , speaking out of turn ) . Future studies may also test the use of the CPS as an intervention prescription tool and as a treatment outcome measure . # Funding for this study was provided by the Institute of Education Sciences to Lee Kern , Steven W. Evans , and Tim Lewis . The authors thank the staff of the Center for Adolescent Research in Schools and all of the staff at the collaborating high schools for their assistance with this project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ = 143 ) and Students ( n = 875 ) TABLE Table 2 CPS Correlation Matrix ( N = 875 ) TABLE Table 3 Standardized and Unstandardized Two Factor Solution ( N =591 ) TABLE Table 4 Correlations Between CPS Factors and IRS Items ( N = 875 ) TABLE Table 5 Reliability and Normative Data TABLE # Note : Scores on CPS range from 1 to 5 ; 1 = Always ; 3 = Sometimes ; 5 = Never ; therefore , higher scores equate more impairment . # * The number of males and female students does not add up to the total number as some participants did not indicate whether their student was male or female . # Figure 1 . Relationship between academic impairment and homework completion ( N = 875 ) . #

@@4156241 THE INSIDE TRACK # In thousands of classrooms around the world , you will see teachers working with small groups of children using leveled books in guided reading lessons . The teachers are enthusiastic about providing instruction to the students in ways that allow them to observe their individual strengths while working toward further learning goals . Books are selected with specific students in mind so that with strong teaching , readers can meet the demands of more challenging texts over time . # Readers are actively engaged in the lesson as they learn how to take words apart , flexibly and efficiently , while attending to the meaning of a text . They begin thinking about the text before reading , attend to the meaning while reading , and are invited to share their thinking after reading . They deepen their understanding of a variety of texts through thoughtful conversation . The teachers have embraced guided reading , " an instructional context for supporting each reader 's development of effective strategies for processing novel texts at increasingly challenging levels of difficulty " ( Fountas &amp; Pinnell , 1996 , p. 25 ) . # As we look back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guided reading , we recognize that there has been a large shift in schools to include guided reading as an essential element of high-quality literacy education . With its roots in New Zealand classrooms ( Clay , 1991 ; Holdaway , 1979 ) , guided reading has shifted the lens in the teaching of reading to a focus on a deeper understanding of how readers build effective processing systems over time and an examination of the critical role of texts and expert teaching in the process ( see Figure 1 ) . # We realize that there is always more to be accomplished to ensure that every child is successfully literate , and that is our thesis in this article -- the exciting romance with guided reading is well underway , and the reality is that continuous professional learning is needed to ensure that this instructional approach is powerful . # There is an important difference between implementing parts of a guided reading lesson and using guided reading to bring readers from where they are to as far as the teaching can take them in a given school year . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students , we hope that , as you read this article , your effective practice will be confirmed while you also find resonance with some of the points of challenge that will expand your professional expertise . If you are a system leader , we hope you will find new ways to support the educators on your team as they continue to refine and expand the power of their professional practice . # The Romance # As an instructional practice , guided reading is flourishing . As teachers move to a guided reading approach , the most frequent question they ask is : What are the rest of the students doing ? The first agenda for the teacher is to build a community of readers and writers in the classroom so the students are engaged and independent in meaningful and productive language and literacy opportunities while the teacher meets with small groups ( Fountas &amp; Pinnell , 1996 , 2001 ) . The teaching decisions within guided reading lessons become the next horizon . Next we discuss some of the changes that have taken place with the infusion of guided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a wonderful diversity of children ; differentiated instruction is needed to reach all of them . Many teachers have embraced small-group teaching as a way of effectively teaching the broad range of learners in their classrooms . Because readers engage with texts within their control ( with supportive teaching ) , teachers have the opportunity to see students reading books with proficient processing every day . In addition , it is vital to support students in taking on more challenging texts so that they can grow as readers , using the text gradient as a " ladder of progress " ( Clay , 1991 , p. 215 ) . Inherent in the concept of guided reading is the idea that students learn best when they are provided strong instructional support to extend themselves by reading texts that are on the edge of their learning -- not too easy but not too hard ( Vygotsky 1978 ) . # Using Leveled Books # One of the most important changes related to guided reading is in the type of books used and the way they are used . Teachers have learned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to use the levels as a guide for putting the right book in the hands of students ( Fountas &amp; Pinnell , 1996 ) . The term level has become a household word ; teachers use the gradiert of texts to organize collections of books for instruction . They collaborate to create beautiful book rooms that bring teachers across the grade levels to select books from Fountas and Pinnell ( 1996 , 2001,2011 ) levels A through Z. # In many schools , neatly organized boxes , shelves , or baskets make it possible for teachers to " shop " in the common book room . They can access a wide variety of genres and topics and make careful text selections . Book rooms often have special sections for books that are not leveled -- enlarged texts ( " big books " ) and tubs of books organized by topic , author , or genre for interactive read-aloud or book club discussions . # Publishers have responded to teachers ' " love affair " with leveled books by issuing thousands of new fiction and nonfiction titles each year . Most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one sitting so readers can learn something new about the reading process -- strategic actions that they can apply to the longer texts that they read independently . The individual titles enable teachers to choose different books for different groups so that they can design a student 's literacy program and students can take " different paths to common outcomes " ( Clay , 1998 ) . # Conducting Benchmark Assessment Conferences # Because they need to learn students ' instructional and independent reading levels , teachers engage in authentic , text-based assessment conferences that involve students in reading real books as a measure of how they read , a process that 20 years ago was new to many . Administered during the first weeks of school , an assessment conference with a set of carefully leveled texts yields reliable data to guide teaching ( e.g. , Fountas and Pinnell , 2012 ) . The information gained from systematic assessment of the way a reader works through text provides teachers with new understandings of the reading process . Teachers are learning that accurate word reading is not the only goal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ search for and use a variety of sources of information in the text are key to proficiency. # Using Running Records to Determine Reading Levels # A large number of teachers have learned to use the standardized procedure of running records ( Clay , 1993 ) to make assessment more robust . They can code the students ' reading behaviors and score the records , noting accuracy levels . From that information , they make decisions about the level that is appropriate for students to read independently ( independent level ) and the level at which it would be productive to begin instruction ( instructional level ) . Sound assessment changes teachers ' thinking about the reading process and is integral to teaching . # Using a Gradient of Text to Select Books # The A to Z text level gradient ( Fountas &amp; Pinnell , 1996 ) has become a teacher 's tool for selecting different texts for different groups of children . Teachers have learned to avoid the daily struggle with very difficult material that will not permit smooth , proficient processing -- no matter how expert the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will help students read proficiently and learn more as readers every day , always with the goal of reading at grade level or above . Teachers look to the gradient as a series of goals represented as sets of reading competencies to reach across the school years . # Attending to Elements of Proficient Reading : Decoding , Comprehension , and Fluency # Assessment of students ' reading levels and the teaching that grows out of it go beyond accurate word reading . In addition to the goal of effective word solving , teachers are concerned about comprehension of texts . Many students learn to decode very well and can read words with high accuracy . Their thinking , though , remains superficial , sometimes limited to retelling or remembering details or facts . # Comprehension is assessed in different ways , usually after reading . Attention is increasingly focused on comprehension as the central factor in determining a student 's ability to read at a level . Fluency , too , has gained importance in teaching , especially because it figures so strongly in effective reading . Teachers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efficiently , and specific instruction is dedicated to the development of reading fluency. # Using the Elements of a Guided Reading Lesson # Teachers have learned the parts of the guided reading lesson -- internalized the elements , in fact , so that they consistently provide an introduction to a text , interact with students briefly as appropriate while reading , guide the discussion , make teaching points after reading , and engage students in targeted word work to help them learn more about how words work . They have learned ways of extending comprehension through writing , drawing , or further discussion . Even students know the parts of the lesson in a way that promotes efficient work . # Building Classroom Libraries for Choice Reading # Teachers have realized the importance of a wide inventory of choice reading in building students ' processing systems . They have created beautifully organized classroom libraries filled with a range of fiction and nonfiction texts that encourage students ' independent reading . You can notice books with their covers faced front , arranged by author , topic , or genre , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recognition . Students choose books according to their interests and spend large amounts of time engaged with texts of their choice that do not require teacher support for independent reading . # The End of the Beginning # All these developments have been accomplished with tremendous effort and vision on the part of teachers , administrators , and others in the schools or district . It takes great effort , leadership , teamwork , and resources to turn a school or district in the direction of rich , rigorous , differentiated instruction . Creating a schedule , learning about effective management , collecting and organizing leveled books , providing an authentic assessment system and preparing teachers to use it , and providing the basic professional development to get guided reading underway -- all are challenging tasks . Having an efficiently running guided reading program is an accomplishment , and educators are justifiably proud of it . However , as Winston Churchill said , " Now this is not the end . It is not even the beginning of the end . But it is , perhaps , the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the journey , and the reality is that there will be more for everyone to learn as we move forward . We have summarized our general observations of the accomplishments of decades of guided reading and the challenges ahead in Figure 2. # Of course , our descriptions will not fit any one teacher or group of teachers , but along with relevant challenges , we hope they provoke thinking by raising some issues related to growth and change . The compelling benefits of guided reading for students may elude us unless we attend to the teaching decisions that assure that every student in our care climbs the ladder of success . Let 's think about some of the areas of refinement that lie ahead in our journey of developing expertise . # The Reality # The deep change we strive for begins with the why , not the how , so our practices can grow from our coherent theory . Our theory can also grow from our practice as we use the analysis of reading behaviors to build our shared understandings and vision . To change our practices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understandings . If we bring our old thinking to a new practice , the rationales may not fit ( Wollman , 2007 ) . Teaching practice may often be enacted in a way that is inconsistent with or even contrary to the underlying theory that led to its development ( Brown &amp; Campione , 1996 ; Sperling &amp; Freedman , 2001 ) . # The practice of guided reading may appear simple , yet it is not simply another word for the small-group instruction of the past . We address three big areas that offer new learning in the refinement of teaching in guided reading lessons , bringing together the romance in guided reading with the reality of its depth . These areas can be summarized as readers and the reading process , texts , and teaching . As we discuss each area , notice the aspects that reflect your growing edge as a reading teacher . # A Shared Understanding of the Process of Reading # Some teachers have learned to be satisfied with their students simply reading accurately . This practice has led to pushing students up levels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them to think within , beyond , and about texts at each level . The goal of the guided reading lesson for students is not just to read " this book " or even to understand a single text . The goal of guided reading is to help students build their reading power -- to build a network of strategic actions for processing texts . We have described 12 systems of strategic activities , all operating simultaneously in the reader 's head ( see Figure 3 ) . # Thinking Within the Text . The first six systems we categorize as " thinking within the text . " These activities are solving words , monitoring and correcting , searching for and using information , summarizing information in a way that the reader can remember it , adjusting reading for different purposes and genres , and sustaining fluency . All these actions work together as the reader moves through the text . It is essential to solve words ; after all , reading must be accurate . It is just as important to engage the other systems . Readers constantly search @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they know when they are making errors , and if necessary , they correct them . They reconstruct the important information and use it to interpret the next part of the text . Kaye 's ( 2006 ) study of the word solving of proficient second-grade readers showed the following : # When students are efficiently processing text , they flexibly draw from a vast response repertoire . They use their expertise in language and their knowledge of print , stories , and the world to problem solve as they read . Supported by mostly correct responding , readers are able to momentarily direct their attention to the detail of letters and sounds as needed . When they need to problem solve words in greater detail , second graders can draw upon their orthographic and phonological knowledge with incredible flexibility and efficiency , usually using the larger subword units . Then they are free to get back to the message of the text . ( p. 71 ) # Thinking Beyond the Text . The next four systems call for " thinking beyond the text . " They are inferring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a transaction between the text and the reader ( Rosenblatt , 1994 ) ; that is , the reader constructs unique meanings through integrating background knowledge , emotions , attitudes , and expectations with the meaning the writer expresses . # When several of us read the same text , we do try to understand the writer 's message and share much with each other . At the same time , each reader 's interpretation is unique . Readers infer what the writer means but does not say ; they make connections with their personal experiences and other texts . They bring content knowledge to the text and synthesize new ideas . They make predictions before , during , and after reading . # Thinking About the Text . The last two systems represent how the proficient reader analyzes and critiques the text . Readers hold up the text as an object that they can look back at and analyze . They notice aspects of the writer 's craft -- appreciate language , literary devices such as use of symbolism , how characters and their development are revealed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accurate ? Objective ? Interesting ? Well written ? # A Complex Theory . Reading is far more than looking at individual words and saying them . Readers are in the fortunate position of encountering language that is created mostly by unknown individuals who may be distant in space and time . The systems of strategic actions take place simultaneously in the brain during the complex process of reading . The proficient reader develops a network like a computer , only thousands of times faster and more complex . The brain learns , making new connections constantly and expanding the system . Clay ( 1991 ) described the process : # This reading work clocks up more experience for the network with each of the features of print attended to . It allows the partially familiar to become familiar and the new to become familiar in an ever-changing sequence . Meaning is checked against letter sequence or vice versa , phonological recoding is checked against speech vocabulary , new meanings are checked against the grammatical and semantic contexts of the sentence and the story , and so on . Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ direction this may allow the network to become a more effective network . However the generative process only operates when the reading is ' good , ' that is , successful enough to free attention to pick up new information at the point of problem-solving . An interlocking network of appropriate strategies which include monitoring and evaluation of consonance or dissonance among messages that ought to agree is central to this model of a system which extends itself , ( pp. 328-329 ) # The amazing thing is that all of this complex cognitive activity is accomplished simultaneously and at lightning speed ; proficient readers are largely unconscious of it ( Clay 1991 ) . We are writing here about the efficient , effective , fluent processing that allows readers to keep the greater part of attention on the meaning of the text . Teachers can not see into the brains of effective readers , and the process breaks down the moment you make readers try to describe their processing ( much like watching your fingers while playing the piano ) . # However , skillful teachers have a sharp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the evidence of processing shown in the behaviors of students -- how they read and what they reveal through conversation about what they read . Understanding the reading behaviors that are evident in a student who is processing well helps the teacher detect inefficient or ineffective reading and take steps to offer support . You can also notice the way proficient readers change over time ; sometimes progress is detectable every day ! # When students engage in smooth , efficient processing of text with deep understanding , they can steadily increase their abilities . That means much more than just moving up levels ; the goal is to build effective processing systems . It is n't easy , but guided reading offers that opportunity . # Fluent Processing : An Essential Element of Effective Reading . Deep comprehension is not synonymous with speed , nor , surprisingly , is reading fluency . Some in the educational community seem to have become obsessed with speed . However , measuring fluency only as words per minute is a simplistic view and a procedure that may do harm . In our work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and intonation far more than rate . # Rasinski and Hamman ( 2010 ) reviewed the research and found that the norms for reading speed have gone up , but these increases have not been matched by improvement in comprehension . They believe that the way reading fluency has been measured has influenced practice and in some places had a devastating effect on reading itself . We now see students who read rapidly and robotically often skipping without problem solving every word not instantly recognized . The result is a loss of comprehension and confusion for the student about what it means to read . # We recognize that proficient readers do move along at a satisfying rate , but fluency ca n't be measured by rate alone -- certainly not by measuring the rate of reading word lists . Reading fluency means the efficient and effective processing of meaningful , connected , communicative language . According to Newkirk ( 2011 ) , " the fluent reader is demonstrating comprehension , taking cues from the text , and taking pleasure in finding the right tempo for the text " ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does not mean the laborious , word-to-word struggle to read something that is clearly too hard or the reader . And he says there is no ideal speed . The speed has to do with the relationship we have with what we read . He describes his own entry to a book : # I enter a book carefully , trying to get a feel for this writer/narrator/teller that I will spend time with . I hear the language , feel the movement of sentences , pay attention to punctuation , sense pauses , feel the writer 's energy ( or lack of it ) , construct the voice and temperament of the writer , ( p. 1 ) # Oral Language : An Essential Element of Effective Reading . Reading is language and language is thinking . One of the purposes of guided reading is to bring the control of oral language to the processing of a text . Of course , oral and written language have important and subtle differences , but oral language is the most powerful system the young child brings to initial experiences with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still plays a strong role . The most obvious is the role of the oral vocabulary , which is extremely important . However , teachers also consider the reader 's grasp of sentence complexity and the speaker 's understanding of metaphor , simile , expression , idioms , and other nuances of speech . # Students ' language development is important , and there is no better way to expand it than to engage them in lively conversation ( not just questions and answers ) about any exciting subject as well as about books . When students talk about their reading , they tend to use the language of texts , which is usually more complex than their own . Guided reading includes such discussion every day , and teachers are working toward richer conversations that will extend students ' language far beyond a dry recounting of the story . # Using Systematic Assessment # The assessment system needs to provide the behavioral evidence that is consistent with a shared understanding of the reading process . It should link directly to our teaching . Good assessment is the foundation for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information about the learners you will teach . The " noticing " teacher tunes in to the individual reader and observes how the reader works through a text and thinks about how the reading sounds . For some teachers , assessment stops at finding levels because they have not had the opportunity to develop further understandings of the value of specific behaviors to inform teaching . The assessment may be used to report levels , and then the data are filed without the benefit of their richness . # Using Assessment to Group and Regroup Readers . In a comprehensive approach to literacy education , small-group teaching is needed for the careful observation and specific teaching of individuals that it allows , as well as for efficiency in teaching and the social learning that benefits each student . For some teachers , guided reading groups may have become the fixed-ability groups of the past . Teachers need to become expert in forming and reforming groups to allow for the differences in learning that are evident in students . Some students may not develop the same reading behaviors in the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key to effective teaching is your ability to make different decisions for different students at different points in time , honoring the complexity of development . # A key concept related to guided reading is that grouping is dynamic -- temporary , not static . Teachers group and regroup students as they gain behavioral evidence of their progress . In our experience , the reason groups do n't change enough is that no systematic ongoing assessment system is in place for teachers to use to check their informal observations with what students demonstrate when asked to read a text without teacher support . When teachers use ongoing running records in a systematic way ( more frequently with lower achieving students and less frequently with higher achieving students ) , the data are used to make ongoing adjustments to groups . Often the only assessment in place is beginning , middle , and end of year assessment , and nothing systematic happens in between . # Often teachers have a history of using prescriptive programs in which students are expected to pass through the same books or materials so groups may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In guided reading , text selection does not follow a fixed sequence that students must progress through ; there are no workbooks or worksheets that must be completed before moving forward . Teachers are expected to select different books for the groups and to move students more quickly or slowly forward as informed by their expert analysis . # Using Assessment to Guide Teaching All Year . A system for interval assessment such as a benchmark assessment conference using running records even two or three times a year is not enough . The benchmark information is old news in a few weeks . To make effective decisions for readers , you also need an efficient system for ongoing assessment using running records . A running record using yesterday 's instructional book takes the place of benchmark assessment with " unseen text . " The running record becomes a useful tool for assessing the effects of yesterday 's teaching on the reader . # Your professional development may have stopped with coding and scoring reading behaviors ; you may not have had the opportunity to become expert at their analysis and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coding and scoring , you make a big shift in the way you think about your teaching decisions in the lesson . Rather than teaching the level or the book , you notice and are able to use the behavioral evidence to guide your next teaching moves . We see this kind of teaching as the " precision teaching " that makes guided reading lessons powerful . Reading teachers are like scientists gathering precise data and using it to form hypotheses . For example , you can use running records or benchmark assessments to : # * Assess the accuracy level # * Assess fluency # * Observe and code oral reading behaviors systematically to note what students do at difficulty or at error and learn how students are solving problems with text # * Engage the student in conversation to assess comprehension at several levels # From Assessment to Teaching : Using a Continuum of Literacy Learning . When you understand the complexity of the reading process , you are able to teach toward the competencies of proficient readers . A precise description of the behaviors of proficient readers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading . A level is not a score ; it stands for a set of behaviors and understandings that you can observe for evidence of , teach for , and reinforce at every level . # Think about all the behaviors that are observable in readers who process a text well . Of course the behaviors of effective processing at level A will look very different from those at level C or M or S. To support your ability to teach for changes in reading behaviors over time , we developed The Continuum of Literacy Learning Grades PreK-8 : A Guide to Teaching ( Pinnell &amp; Fountas , 2011 ) . The Continuum provides a detailed description of the behaviors of proficient readers that are evident in oral reading , in talk , and in writing about reading so that you can teach for change in reading behaviors over time . # Understanding Leveled Texts and Their Demands on Readers # The Fountas &amp; Pinnell A-Z text gradient and high-quality leveled books are powerful tools in the teaching of reading ( see Figure 4 ) . The appropriate text allows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proficient readers , students must experience successful processing daily . Not only should they be able to read books independently , building interest , stamina , and fluency ; they also need to tackle harder books that provide the opportunity to grow more skillful as a reader . # Successful processing of the more challenging text is made possible by an expert teacher 's careful text selection and strong teaching . If the book is too difficult , then the processing will not be proficient , no matter how much teaching you do . # Consider the situation when every student in the room ( and sometimes in the grade level ) is reading the same book . Most of the readers will not be encountering text that , with teacher support , causes them to expand their reading powers . For some , the books are too easy ; for many , much too hard . There are many reasons for whole-group instruction , and we recommend that it take place every day in interactive read-aloud or reading minilessons . However , ensuring that all students develop an effective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does not meet the varied needs of diverse students . # Many teachers use levels to select the books for students , but that raises several more questions . First , not all leveled books are equal . Just because a book has a level does not mean it is a high-quality selection . Some leveled books are formulaic or not accurately leveled . Teachers need to look carefully at books in the purchasing process to assure they are well written and illustrated . They also need to check to be sure that the Fountas and Pinnell level has been accurately determined . It will be frustrating to select a book and begin to use it with a group , only to find it is too easy or too difficult to support learning . Second , when teachers understand the 10 text characteristics that are used to determine the level , they understand its demands on the reader and can use it in a more powerful way in teaching . # Understanding a text is far more than noticing hard words and coming up with information or a " main @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a text requires a reader to think -- the demands that every text makes on the reader . We consider an understanding of text characteristics an extremely important area of teacher expertise . # Teachers do more than apply mechanical formulas by looking at sentence and word length ( although those are important ) ; we recommend an analysis that takes into account text complexity . We have described 10 characteristics of text difficulty ( see Figure 5 ) . # Teachers consider the characteristics of genres and special forms ; some genres and forms are more difficult than others , with simpler and more complex texts of every type . Teachers notice and understand the text structure -- the way it is organized -- as well as underlying structures such as compare and contrast . They assess the level of content ( what background knowledge will be required ) and the themes and ideas . Highly abstract themes and ideas make a text more challenging . Many texts have complex language and literary features such as elaborate plots , hard-to-read dialogue , or figurative language that make the texts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Sentence complexity , too , is a factor , one that is usually measured by mechanical readability formulas . Works with many embedded clauses and long sentences are harder . Teachers also consider the number of long , multisyllabic , or hard to decode words in a text and the complexity of the vocabulary . Illustrations in fiction can add meaning or mood to the text , and graphics in nonfiction offer additional complex information . Book and print features play a role as well . The size of print , layout , punctuation , and other text features such as charts , diagrams or sidebars -- all go into the analysis of text difficulty . # Using these characteristics , we created the A to Z text gradient to give teachers a useful tool for guided reading instruction and a picture of student progress over time ( see Figure 6 ) . Notice how Ronald has progressed from kindergarten through grade 8 in a high-quality instructional program . # The gradient offers guidance in selecting texts , but it 's important to remember that levels are not written @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figure into their processing of texts so that most students read along a fairly narrow range of levels , depending on interest and whether they are working independently or with strong support . We would not situate a reader at a single level and insist that all reading be there . # The ability to analyze texts represents important teacher knowledge that takes time to develop . Many teachers of guided reading have spent a great deal of time analyzing and comparing texts using the 10 characteristics and have become " quick " analyzers of texts . They match up their understandings with their knowledge of the students in the group . When they teach a guided reading lesson , they can plan quickly what they need to say in the introduction and anticipate key understandings to talk about in the discussion . When you understand the inner workings of a text , you can introduce it well and guide a powerful discussion . # Teaching for a Processing System : The Role of Facilitative Talk in Expanding Reading Power # At first , guided reading may be perceived only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ books , and following a lesson framework . Often , teachers use the small-group format , the steps of the lesson , and a set of leveled books but bring their old theory to this new practice . Professional development support does not go far enough to enable them to do powerful teaching beyond these initial steps . Guided reading is much more . It is an instructional context within which the precise teaching moves and language choices are related to the behaviors observed , moment by moment , and which guide the reader to engage in problem solving that expands his or her reading power . # The skilled teacher of guided reading makes decisions throughout the lesson that are responsive to the learners . Each element supports readers in a different way , with the goal of helping them think and act for themselves . You expertly shape the introduction to support readers ' ability to successfully process the text . The introduction sets the stage for effective reading of the text . During reading , you can use language to demonstrate , prompt , and support the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a critical area of your expertise . Through precise language , you facilitate readers ' problem-solving power and their ability to initiate effective actions as they become self-regulating readers ( Clay , 2001 ) . Use language in specific ways to demonstrate , show or teach , prompt for , and reinforce strategic actions . With brief yet powerful facilitative language , you can scaffold students during the time you sample oral reading . Short , focused interactions with individuals allow readers to learn how to problem solve for themselves ( Fountas &amp; Pinnell , 2009 ) . Some examples of precise language that helps students build a processing system are presented in Figure 7. # As your students discuss the text , you can use facilitative language that promotes dialogue . Get readers thinking and using what they know . Through the discussion , they expand comprehension . Your teaching points address the precise needs of the learners you teach . They involve responsive teaching based on your observation of the readers and the opportunities offered by the text . Notice the examples of specific language to support analytic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 ) . # Through word work , you help readers develop flexibility with words and word parts , noticing syllables , working with letters and sounds , and understanding the morphemic structure of words . The option to extend the understanding of a text involves more than just an assignment . Many teachers of guided reading have students use their readers ' notebooks to write about their reading in a way that supports and expands their comprehension . # Using Self-Reflection to Grow in Teaching Guided Reading # High-quality highly effective implementation of guided reading involves a process of self-reflection . You are very fortunate if you have a colleague with whom you can talk analytically about lessons . Each time you work with a small group of students , you can learn a little more and hone your teaching skills . ( We believe that students who have teachers who also are learning are equally fortunate . That makes the whole experience a lot more exciting ! ) In Figures 9 and 10 , we offer some guidance for you to pause and ponder . Ask yourself some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find that you become more aware of the skillful teaching moves you have made , as well as the thought that " I might have ? " or " tomorrow I will ? " . Reflective teaching is rewarding because you are learning from teaching . # Providing Variety and Choice in the Reading Program # Educators have sometimes made the mistake of thinking that guided reading is the reading program or that all of the books students read should be leveled . We have argued against the overuse of levels . We have never recommended that the school library or classroom libraries be leveled or that levels be reported to parents . # We want students to learn to select books the way experienced readers do -- according to their own interests , by trying a bit of the book , by noticing the topic or the author . Teachers can help students learn how to choose books that are right for them to read independently . This is a life skill . The text gradient and leveled books are a teacher 's tool , not a child 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Levels are for books , not children . # Guided reading provides the small-group instruction that allows for a closer tailoring to individual strengths and needs ; however , students also need age-appropriate , grade-appropriate texts . Therefore , guided reading must be only one component of a comprehensive , high-quality literacy effort that includes interactive read-aloud , literature discussion in small groups , readers ' workshop with whole-group minilessons , independent reading and individual conferences , and the use of mentor texts for writing workshop . Students learn in whole group , small group , and individual settings . # Guided reading instruction takes place within a larger framework that brings coherence to the students ' school experience . It does not stand alone . The expert teacher is able to draw students ' attention to important concepts across instructional contexts . For example , a teacher may help students attend to how readers need to think about not only what the writer says ( states ) , but also what he or she means ( implies ) in contexts such as these : # * Guided reading ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( small-group book clubs or whole class , not leveled books ) # * Interactive read-aloud ( whole class , not leveled books ) # * Independent reading with conferences ( individual , not leveled books , self-selected ) # * Reading minilessons ( whole class , not leveled books ) # In guided reading and interactive read-aloud , the teacher selects the book ; in other contexts , students have choice . They are taught ways to assess a text to determine whether it will be interesting and readable . Whole-class minilessons often involve using a whole range of books as mentor texts . The entire literacy/language program represents a smooth , coherent whole in which students engage a variety of strategic actions to process a wide variety of texts . # Growth Over Time # The lesson of guided reading development over the years is that it can not be described as a series of mechanical steps or " parts " of a lesson . The lesson structure is only the beginning of providing effective small-group instruction for students of all ages . Powerful teaching within the lesson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on what aspects of guided reading tend to be easiest or hardest for teachers to take on . Bryk et al . ( 2007 ) found empirical evidence for teacher development of some of the complexities of guided reading . He and his colleagues constructed an instrument called the Developing Language and Literacy Teaching rubrics and tested it for reliability . A series of controlled , systematic observations indicated that the instrument distinguished between " novices " and " experts " in several contexts for literacy teaching . # A very helpful result of the study was that the analysis of items revealed a " scale " that provided evidence of the dimensions of instruction from less to more frequently observed ( item difficulty ) , and this item map was consistent across teachers . The researchers were able to demonstrate increasing levels of sophistication . In Figure 11 , you see the chart for development of levels of expertise in guided reading . # On the horizontal axis , you see dimensions of instruction , and on the vertical axis , you see the level of item difficulty , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ develop this area of expertise in guided reading , and these items tended to separate novices from more expert teachers . It seems that early on , teachers take on tasks such as book selection ( aided by the levels and the bookroom ) and parts of the lesson such as text introduction . We would argue that even these components require complex thinking and can be improved once acquired . Effective prompting for use of strategies also raises the sophistication , and , finally , acting " in the moment " to engage students in a rich discussion and make teaching points based on observation are the most challenging on this scale . In addition , when we consider that this study was completed before a great deal of new research on comprehension was accomplished , the need for ongoing professional development is compelling indeed . # We realize that achieving a high level of expertise in guided reading is not easy . It takes time and usually the support of a coach or staff developer . Research indicates that it is fairly easy to take on the basic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the lesson . However , that is only the beginning of teacher expertise . Teaching for strategic actions and " on your feet " interaction with students is much more challenging . # You bring an enormous and complex body of understandings to the teaching of guided reading . Yet , with appropriate high-quality professional development and ongoing support , it is possible for every teacher to implement guided reading more powerfully in every classroom . Skilled teachers of guided reading have the pleasure of seeing shifts in their students ' reading ability every week -- sometimes every day . Through guided reading , students can learn to deeply comprehend texts . And perhaps most importantly , they experience the pleasure of reading well every day . # To make the guided reading journey successful , we call for resources in the form of excellently written , attractive , and engaging leveled books and for access to high-quality professional development for teachers . Our own experience indicates that one-to-one literacy coaching with a highly trained and knowledgeable professional developer is very effective . An important federally funded study supports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ &amp; Bryk , 2008 ; see **29;37868;TOOLONG for a summary ) . Teachers had professional development and coaching over four years to implement all elements of a literacy framework . The research team gathered data on 8,500 children who had passed through grades K-3 in 17 schools ; they collected fall and spring Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills ( DIBELS ) and Terra Nova data from these students as well as observational data on 240 teachers . The primary findings showed that : # * The average rate of student learning increased by 16% in the first implementation year , 28% in the second year , and 32% in the third year -- very substantial increases . # * Teacher expertise increased substantially , and the rate of improvement coincided with the extent of coaching teachers received . # * Professional communication among teachers in the schools increased over the three-year implementation , and the literacy coordinator ( coach ) became more central in the schools ' communication networks . # Guided reading was only one component of the literacy framework implemented in the schools researched in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The importance of the literacy coach , who conducts professional development sessions , models good teaching , and most importantly observes teachers in the classroom and dialogues with them to collegially mentor their growth in understanding and implementation of effective teaching , appeared to be paramount in the process . And even these schools were only at the beginning of the journey . However , the study shows that achieving substantial schoolwide growth is possible if a community of educators are willing to undertake the journey . # The Beginning # In this article , we have described some wonderful changes that have brought teaching closer to students . If we take a romantic view , we could say that once we have the book room , small-group lessons , and leveled books and things are running smoothly , we have arrived in the implementation of guided reading . However , the heart of this article is what we have learned from many years of engaging teachers and students in guided reading -- what its true potential is , and what it takes to realize it . That 's the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facing reality reaps endlessly positive rewards . Facing reality means that there is more exciting learning to do . Teaching and managing educational systems is energizing when we are working collaboratively toward new goals . The accomplishments we have already made simply give way to new insights . # You may have made a very good beginning in using guided reading to develop your students ' reading power , and that is a satisfying accomplishment . It is also a development that enables you to have important insights that you can build upon . As you look at your educational program , you may be noticing some of the issues we have described here . That can put you on the path to work toward even higher goals on behalf of your students . We hope you are excited to know that more challenges lie ahead in your growing professional expertise and that there are tools to help you meet those challenges . # " The teaching decisions within guided reading become the next horizon . " # " Sound assessment changes teachers ' thinking about the reading process and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ independent self-monitoring behavior and the ability to search for and use a variety of sources of information in the text are key to proficiency. " # " It takes great effort , leadership , teamwork , and resources to turn a school or district in the direction of rich , rigorous , differentiated instruction . " # " The reader constructs unique meanings through integrating background knowledge , emotions , attitudes , and expectations with the meaning the writer expresses . " # " When students engage in smooth , efficient processing of text with deep understanding , they can steadily increase their abilities . " # " Teachers need to become expert in forming and reforming groups to allow f or the differences in learning that are evident in students . " # " Good assessment is the foundation f or effective teaching " # " Successful processing of the more challenging text is made possible by an expert teacher 's careful text selection and strong teaching/ ' # " The ability to analyze texts represents important teacher knowledge that takes time to develop . " # " The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instruction ? Powerful teaching within the lesson requires much more . " # " Teaching for strategic actions and ' on your feet ' interaction with students is much more challenging . " # " Achieving substantial schoolwide growth is possible if a community of educators are willing to undertake the journey . " # Figure 1 Structure of a Guided Reading Lesson # Figure 2 Decades of Guided Reading # Figure 3 A Network of Processing Systems for Reading # Figure 4 F&amp;P Text Level Gradient # Figure 5 Ten Characteristics Related to Text Difficulty # Figure 6 Record of Book-Reading Progress # Figure 7 Facilitative Talk # Figure 8 Examples of Language to Support Analytic Thinking About Text # Figure 9 Pause and Ponder : Teaching the Reader # Figure 10 Pause and Ponder : Results of the Lesson # Figure 11 Development of Expertise in Guided Reading # REFERENCES # Biancarosa , G. , Hough , H. , Dexter , E. , &amp; Bryk , A. ( 2008 , March ) . Assessing the value-added effects of coaching on student learning . Paper presented at the meeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brown , A.L. , &amp; Campione , J.C . ( 1996 ) . Psychological theory and the design of innovative learning environments : On procedures , principles and systems . In Glaser , R. ( Ed . ) , Innovations in learning : New environments for education ( pp. 289-325 ) . Mahwah , NJ : Erlbaum. # Bryk , A. , Kerbow , D. , Pinnell , G.S. , Rodgers , E. , Hung , C , Scharer , P.L. , et al . ( 2007 ) . Measuring change in the instructional practices of literacy teachers . Unpublished manuscript . # Clay M.M. ( 1991 ) . Becoming literate : The construction of inner control . Auckland , New Zealand : Heinemann. # Clay M.M. ( 1993 ) . An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Clay M.M. ( 1998 ) . Different paths to common outcomes . Portland , ME : Stenhouse. # Clay M.M. ( 2001 ) . Change over time in children 's literacy development . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Fountas , I.C. , &amp; Pinnell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Good first teaching for all children . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Fountas , I.C. , &amp; Pinnell , G.S . ( 2001 ) . Guiding readers and writers : Teaching comprehension , genre , and content literacy . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Fountas , I.C. , &amp; Pinnell , G.S . ( 2009 ) . Prompting guide part 1 : For oral reading and early writing . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Fountas , I.C. , &amp; Pinnell , G.S . ( 2011 ) . Fountas and Pinnell benchmark assessment systems 1 and 2 ( 2nd ed . ) . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Fountas , I.C. , &amp; Pinnell , G.S . ( 2012 ) . Prompting guide part 2 : For comprehension . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Holdaway , D. ( 1979 ) . Foundations of literacy . Sydney , Australia : Ashton Scholastic . # Kaye , E.L . ( 2006 ) . Second graders ' reading behaviors : A study of variety , complexity , and change . Literacy Teaching and Learning , 10(2) , 51-75. # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow reading . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Pinnell , G.S. , &amp; Fountas , I.C. ( 2011 ) . The continuum of literacy learning , grades preK-8 : A guide to teaching ( 2nd ed . ) . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Rasinski , T. , &amp; Hamman , P. ( 2010 ) . Fluency : Why it is " Not Hot . " Reading Today , 28 , 26. # Rosenblatt , L.M. ( 1994 ) . The transactional theory of reading and writing . In R.B. Ruddell , M.R. Ruddell , &amp; H. Singer ( Eds . ) , Theoretical models and processes of reading ( 4th ed. , pp. 1057-1092 ) . Newark , DE : International Reading Association . **25;37899;TOOLONG # Sperling , M. , &amp; Freedman , S.W. ( 2001 ) . Research on writing . In Richardson , V. ( Ed . ) , Handbook of research on teaching ( 4th ed. , pp. 370-389 ) . Washington , DC : American Educational Research Association . # Vygotsky L.S. ( 1978 ) . Mind and society : The development of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Press . # Wollman , J.E . ( 2007 ) . " Are we on the same book and page ? " The value of shared theory and vision . Language Arts , 84(5) , 410-418. #

@@4156341 Apparel design faculty teach students fashion with eyes on the global garment-making network and the diverse cultural influences driving modern styles # From the world 's fashion capital of New York City to the streets of small-town America , the range of clothes we wear reflects our diverse personal tastes and the environments we live in . But our sense of fashion also draws on international influences , such as the diffusion of different cultures into mainstream styles and the global network for designing and creating apparel . # Globalization influences the fashion industry on every level : Stores of all types , from exclusive boutiques to superstores like Target , carry apparel by designers from a variety of backgrounds ; American designers are influenced by symbols and traditions from other cultures ; and the vast majority of our clothing is manufactured abroad . # Learning to understand and respect the global nature of the fashion industry is an essential component of the apparel design program in the Department of Fiber Science &amp; Apparel Design in the College of Human Ecology . Faculty members conduct research on these issues and bring their findings into the classroom , equipping students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the entire process of making clothing -- from sourcing materials to manufacturing , marketing , and selling garments -- as well as understanding the cultural traditions underpinning specific design aesthetics . # Apparel design professors also convey their own perspectives about diversity and globalization , teaching students to think critically about the meaning of multiculturalism in fashion . # " This is a global economy , " explained Charlotte Jirousek , associate professor of apparel design . " There are connections in everything -- in food , in technology , and , of course , in fashion . For our students , it 's important they come to understand the entire path , from a designer working on a mood board to actually dyeing the textiles and sewing them up . " # Grasping fashion 's global history # In classes , apparel students learn about the history of supply chains and textile arts across the globe to understand the complex nature of the modern fashion industry . # Jirousek , in particular , studies interactions between eastern and western cultures in fashion design and dress , particularly Turkey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Her research has documented many traditional Turkish textile techniques -- rapidly disappearing due to industrialization -- and has sought to preserve their place in history . # Early in her career , Jirousek came to appreciate the eastern textile tradition and the impact of the Ottoman Empire on the history of fashion , after spending several years in Turkey with the Peace Corps. # " There 's been a tendency to ignore that part of the world even though it was a center of trade and culture , " she said . " The more I learned about that history , the more shocked I was about how absolutely blind we were to anything that happened outside of the West . " # Jirousek teaches about the history and language of design beyond European and American borders in several of her classes , including an introductory class for undergraduates , " Art Design and Visual Thinking , " and two graduate-level classes : " Aesthetics and Meaning in World Dress " and " The History of Color , Design , and Textiles . " # She also curates the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 9,000 items of apparel dating from the 18th century to the present , as well as a substantial collection of ethnographic textiles and costumes . The collection allows students to view samples of apparel and textiles from across history and around the world . # Human Ecology students regularly incorporate non-western viewpoints and aesthetics into their work . Case in point : Matilda Ceesay , a senior apparel design major , created a line for the 2012 Cornell Fashion Collective runway show based on cultural traditions of her homeland , Gambia . Ceesay imagined her collection as a blend of traditional African style with more modern western trends . She called it " Njehringe , " which means " worth " in the language of the Wolof people of West Africa . " When creating my silhouettes , the object was to create a collection that was distinctly African , " Ceesay told the online magazine designboom. # Apparel design students also have the opportunity to witness the global nature of the fashion industry firsthand . Students can participate in a course that culminates in a two-week trip to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by visiting everything from cotton fields to small handloom shops to state-of-the-art factories . " The whole array is possible , and they see the reality of it all , " Jirousek said . # Assistant professor Tasha Lewis , who joined the FSAD department last winter , teaches about the global economics of fashion . She 's studied , for instance , how small-scale fashion designers and businesses operate under the North American Free Trade Agreement and how designers in Mexico and Panama reference traditional cultural elements in their work . # " A lot of countries have contemporary designers and markets where people are trying to export their cultural identity , " she said . " It 's a way to promote manufacturing in their countries , but also to create something unique and develop their national economy . " # Her research , published in the . Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management , involved a case study of two apparel businesses in Mexico . Based on the results , she developed guidelines to help small business owners and communities promote development through apparel production and export @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fashion trend spreads widely or becomes popular , it is called " diffusion . " When a trend moves from one culture to another , it is called " appropriation . " Both happen regularly in the fashion world , and understanding these phenomena are an essential part of the curriculum for apparel design students . # " The factor of ' cool ' often starts in a subculture , " explained Lewis , who is studying the evolution of fashion in hip hop culture . " It 's important for our students to understand how the process of diffusion happens , so that when they see something in a store window at the mall , they understand where it comes from . " # She recently completed an article in press with the journal Fashiofi Practice about the influence of hip hop culture on mainstream fashion -- specifically how Russell Simmons , co-founder of Def Jam records , created and marketed the fashion line Phat Farm . # " Early on , hip hop fashion did not have its own aesthetic , " she explained . " It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adapted by African-American and Latino consumers . Fans imitated what the musicians wore . Then a new wave of musicians developed their own fashion lines . " # Today , Simmons 's latest fashion line , Argyleculture , is displayed in Macy 's next to iconic American brands such as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger . " Now hip hop brands have a larger , diverse group of consumers , " Lewis said . In her interview with Simmons , he explained the impact of hip hop culture in the context of a post-racial America , where hip hop music has a more global appeal and the fashion has followed along the same lines . # Giving students the tools to understand these types of multicultural dynamics in fashion and teaching them to think critically about all aspects of their work is a hallmark of the integrated learning experience at the College of Human Ecology . # " We teach our students about the process of diffusion and cultural appropriation so they can consider what it means in their own work , " Lewis said . " It is important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We teach them to consider all of the aspects of culture in their work . " # " This is a global economy . There are connections in everything -- in food , in technology , and , of course , in fashion . For our students , it 's important they come to understand the entire path , from a designer working on a mood board to actually dyeing the textiles and sewing them up . " -- Charlotte Jirousek # FSAD assistant professor Tasha Lewis lectures to students about traditional Indian garments becoming popular in mainstream fashion . # FSAD professor Charlotte Jirousek examines a traditional Romanian wedding dress from the Cornell Costume and Textile Collection , a resource for teaching about historical and contemporary dress . # FSAD student Matilda Ceesay 's collection for the 2012 Cornell Fashion Collective runway show ( on model ) offered a bold take on conventional African garments . #

@@4156441 What do a mouse , an angry girl , and a terrible monster have in common ? They 're all characters intentionally illustrated to provide ways for children to interpret literature for literary understanding # " Alice ? having nothing to do ? peeped into the book her sister was reading , but it had no pictures or conversations in it , ' and what use is a book , ' thought Alice , ' without pictures or conversations ? ' " ( Carroll , 1865 , p. 11 ) . # It is likely Alice would be even more enamored with pictures if she encountered contemporary fictional picture books in which illustrations so often play a critical role in developing literary elements -- those building blocks of fiction that enable readers to understand , interpret , and respond to literature . Literary elements such as setting , plot , and character are intertwined and all make significant contributions to a reader 's understanding and interpretations of stories ( Lukens &amp; Cline , 1995 ) . # However , we believe that character may be particularly critical to literary meaning making , and in this article we explore the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the characters they meet in fictional picture books and how teachers can help children learn to more fully use this pictorial information . # Characters and Character Development # Characters are important to readers for many reasons . First , characters " enlist readers , hold their interests , unravel plots , and affect lives " ( Martinez &amp; Roser , 2005 , p. vi ) . Kiefer ( 2010 ) observed that characterization in children 's literature is so important that even " long after we have forgotten the names " ( p. 18 ) of picture books from our childhood , we often still recall the names and personalities of many characters because " they came alive in the pages of books , and will forever live in our memories " ( p. 19 ) . # However , characters do more than draw readers in and entice them . Characters have been described as the driving force of stories ( Cullinan &amp; Galda , 1998 ) , and Emery ( 1996 ) argued , " character states , such as their desires , feelings , thoughts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story together " ( p. 534 ) . # These arguments suggest that character understanding may be crucial to readers ' literary meaning making , especially in light of the interconnections that exist among character intentions , conflicts , and thematic understanding ( Golden &amp; Guthrie , 1986 ) . In fact , in her study of children 's understanding of literary theme , Lehr ( 1991 ) found that children who discussed character motivation were better able to talk about the central theme of the stories they read . Therefore , understanding characters may serve as an important pathway to deeper levels of meaning . # Character Development Through Illustrations # Characterization in stories -- including picture books -- can be complex , encompassing character traits , motivations and goals , feelings , and relationships . In stories without illustrations , we know that readers learn about a character through what the character says and does , through what others say about the character , and through what the narrator reveals . However , how do these different facets of character emerge in picture books ? # The question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which stories are told through the interplay of pictures and text ( Arizpe &amp; Styles , 2003 ; Nodelman , 1988 ; Schwarcz &amp; Schwarcz , 1991 ; Sipe , 2008a ) . It is because of this interplay that picture books have been described as stories told twice , " once through the text and once through illustration " ( Agosto , 1999 , p. 267 ) . # Given the significant contributions of both illustrations and written words in picture books , readers must thoughtfully attend to both sign systems -- the visual as well as the verbal -- to deeply understand the characters . However , Sipe ( 2008a ) argued that reading visual images is not something children do automatically ; rather it is something that must be learned . Thus readers need to develop insights into the principles of visual art , including understandings of the commonly held meanings conveyed by color , line , shape , and texture ( Sipe , 2008a ) . # For example , when children encounter the extensive use of red in story illustrations , if they are familiar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to perceive anger , danger , or love depending on the context of the color 's use in the illustration . Also , when children are taught to understand artistic conventions such as perspective , size , position on the page , and the use of frames , they are better able to interpret illustrators ' uses of these devices when they encounter them in the artwork in picture books ( Moebius , 1986 ) . # Although these principles and conventions come into play as illustrators work to craft the various elements of stories including character , there is not complete agreement on how characters are revealed in picture books . In their discussion of characterization , Nikolajeva and Scott ( 2001 ) maintained that the illustrations in picture books lend themselves to developing external facets of character such as appearance , gender , and age , whereas internal facets of character are more likely to emerge through the author 's words . Nonetheless , these scholars do concede that some facets of inner character can be revealed through illustrations by means of character " poses , gestures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( p. 82 ) . # Deliberate Attention to Visual Possibilities # However , illustrations in picture books may contribute far more to character development than what Nikolajeva and Scott ( 2001 ) suggested . In their analysis of the development of literary elements in picture books , Martinez and Harmon ( in press ) found that visual information in picture books for younger children played a dominant role in the development of character traits , interests , and emotions . Moebius ( 1986 ) and Nodelman ( 1988 ) also described ways that illustrators convey meaning about character , including through the use of color and the positioning of characters on the page . # Given the potential importance of illustrations in character development , young children reading ( or listening to ) picture books must attend not only to the words of stories , but also to visual information if they are to understand the characters they meet in picture books . In his investigations of young children 's meaning making during storytime , Sipe ( Sipe , 2008a ; Sipe &amp; Brightman , 2005 ; Sipe &amp; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to understand the feelings , thoughts , and motivations of the characters they met in stories , and illustrations were a rich source of information the children used in making these character inferences . Sipe also reported on some of the visual conventions the children relied on as they worked to understand characters , including the use of color to convey emotion and line to convey character movement . # However , illustrators use a variety of devices to bring their characters to life , and given the importance of picture book illustrations in developing characters , we wanted to gain greater insight into the kinds of visual information that young children draw on in their attempts to understand characters . Therefore , we undertook an investigation in a second-grade classroom to address the following question : What kinds of pictorial information do young children use to gain insights into the characters they meet in picture books ? # What We Did # The second-grade classroom in which we observed is located in an elementary school in rural South Texas that primarily serves white ( 49% ) and Hispanic ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boys and 8 girls , in the class in which we conducted our study . # Because we wanted to know what kinds of visual information children use to understand characters , we selected three picture books with particularly rich characterization for the teacher to read aloud to her students -- When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really , Really Angry by Molly Bang ( 1999 ) , Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems ( 2005 ) , and Lilly 's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes ( 1996 ) . Table 1 contains summaries of the three books . The classroom teacher indicated that she had never read the three books to her students . # For each of the three stories , we selected three illustrations to use in talking with the children . We chose each illustration with an eye toward ensuring that the children would have the opportunity to talk about pictures in which illustrators used a variety of visual elements and conventions to develop characters . # In Table 2 , we describe the illustrations the children were asked to talk about and identify devices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Because the pages in the books are not numbered , we identify the pages to which the children responded by referring to openings , using Sipe 's ( 2008a ) definition of the term in which the " first opening is the two pages where the text of the book begins and the openings are numbered after this " ( p. 256 ) . # Over the course of three weeks , two of us ( Lori and Angeli ) visited the second-grade classroom once a week during story time . On each visit we observed as the teacher read aloud and talked with her students about one of the stories . During story time the teacher invited the students to sit on the floor in front of her as she read . # The teacher ensured that each student could see the illustrations in the book , and she even asked students to move closer when she thought they might not be able to see the pictures . When there were relatively few words on a page , the teacher held up the book as she read so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more extended text , the teacher typically would read and then hold up the book so children could see the accompanying illustration . # Story time was an interactive experience in this second-grade classroom . The teacher typically began each story session by talking a bit about the issues in the story . For instance , before reading the When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really , Really Angry , she asked the students to think about what makes them happy and to think about what it feels like when they are angry . # During and after the storybook reading , the teacher asked questions and invited discussions about the book . During the reading , the children were often asked to make predictions about what might happen next in the story . The teacher also posed simple recall questions and encouraged students to make connections between the experiences of story characters and their own personal experiences . However , little if any of the talk during the read-alouds focused on characterization as revealed through illustrations . # The first week we visited the class , the teacher read aloud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the second week , she shared Leonardo the Terrible Monster ; and the third week , she read aloud Lilly 's Purple Plastic Purse . As we observed each read-aloud , we audio recorded the talk and took notes so that we could more fully describe the story time interactions . Immediately after each read-aloud , we talked with each student individually in the school library . # During these interviews , we showed each child the pre-selected illustrations from the book one by one and asked , " What do you see in the illustration ? " We typically followed up this initial question by asking , " How do you know ? " or " What clues help you know that ? " Although we were interested in gaining insight into the pictorial information children used to understand the story character , we never specifically asked the children to talk about character . We transcribed the audio recordings of the interviews . # Student Insights Into Character # Even though we did not ask the children specifically about the characters in the stories , this was the literary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viewed the illustrations -- illustrations chosen because they featured main characters prominently . The children made a variety of inferences about the characters , including inferences about character feelings , thoughts , and relationships , as well as inferences about changes in characters ' feelings , thoughts , and relationships . # As we looked closely at the children 's responses to determine the kinds of visual information they used to make character inferences , we found that they were particularly attentive to pictorial story content , such as character actions , facial expressions , and body posture , and the way in which characters related to one another . Children also referred to some of the elements of art in supporting character inferences , in particular , the illustrator 's use of color and line . However , we found that the children did not appear to be attuned to many of the visual devices intentionally used by illustrators . In many cases , they typically did not talk about symbols , position of characters , and other visual content that clearly conveyed important information about characters . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interview transcripts that reveal the kinds of visual information the children drew on in supporting their inferences about the characters they met in the three books . # Pictorial Content # The second graders we interviewed were all attuned to three types of pictorial content that revealed significant information about characters -- facial expressions , body postures , and characters ' actions . # Facial Expressions . In the book When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really , Really Angry , the facial expressions of the main character conveyed important information about Sophie 's ( the main character ) feelings . Like most of the children , Emily ( all names are pseudonyms ) talked about the way in which the illustrator drew Sophie 's eyes , mouth , and eyebrows in opening 6 ( see Table 2 for descriptions of openings ) of the story and understood what this revealed about the character : # Interviewer ( Lori ) : Tell me about this picture . What do you see happening ? # Emily : It shows her about to explode because she 's really mad . Because her eyes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Interviewer ( Lori ) : What is her face showing ? # Emily : Madness . # How is it showing madness ? # Emily : Her mouth is n't smiling , it 's just straight and her eyebrows are going down . # Action . The children also discussed ways in which a character 's actions yielded insights into the character . For example , in Leonardo the Terrible Monster , Emma , in discussing opening 12 , supported her inference about Leonardo by referring to the actions of the character that were revealed pictorially : # Interviewer ( Lori ) : What 's happening in this picture now ? # Emma : He 's Leonardo happy because he scared a little boy and made him cry . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : Yes ? How do you know that ? How does the picture give you clues ? # Emma : Cause he is going like this ! Emma demonstrates pulling her arm in , doing the same " arm tuck " done by Leonardo. # Interviewer ( Lori ) : Can you describe that ? # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ! # Interviewer ( Lori ) : It does ? But how is he doing it ? He is holding his hand how ? # Emma : In a fist and going like this . Emma demonstrates the action again. # Symbol . Two of the illustrations we used contained symbols that revealed information about characters ( see Table 2 ) . Although some of the children talked about these symbols , most did not . In opening 6 of When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really , Really Angry , author and illustrator Molly Bang described Sophie as " a volcano ready to explode " and included an actual volcano in the illustration with the word explode serving as the lava emerging from the volcano . A few of the children , including Caren , talked about the meaning behind this symbol : # Interviewer ( Lori ) : What do you see in that picture ? # Caren : She 's getting really really angry in this picture . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : How do you know ? # Caren : Because there 's a volcano @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Lori ) : And what does that mean to you ? # Caren : It means that she 's really really really angry ! # Interviewer ( Lori ) : So when you see a volcano you think about ? . # Caren : Something getting angry and blowing up . # Although most of the children did not appear to understand the significance of these symbols , we believe it is telling that some children used them to better understand story characters . # Pictorial Devices # In justifying their inferences about characters , most students drew on their understanding of two art elements -- color and line . # Color . In talking about When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really , Really Angry , almost all the children talked about the illustrator 's use of color to convey information about the main character 's feelings , in particular , associating the use of red with Sophie 's feelings of anger . Many also talked about how changes in color signaled change in the character 's feelings . They stated that the color red meant Sophie was angry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responding to opening 7 , Aaron talked about this change in color : # Interviewer ( Lori ) : Can you tell me what is happening in this picture ? # Aaron : This is where she is getting all her madness out and she sits there and is alone and where she kind of like talks to herself and tells herself to calm down because nobody deserves that . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : You said that here she is calming down . Is there any clue that tells you she is calming down ? # Aaron : Cause it use to be red around her and now it 's turning orange . She calmed down and came back home . # Although color was not a major device used to convey character information in Leonardo the Terrible Monster , one student did pick up on a subtle use of color when he observed that the background color of the page was " even darker purple " when the character was feeling sadder . # Line . Most of the children talked about illustrators ' use of line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opening of Lilly 's Purple Plastic Purse , which depicts an angry Lilly in one panel with swirling round lines for eyes , Aston had this to say about Lilly 's eyes : # Aston : They 're red and they look mad . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : What else told you that she 's mad ? # Aston : The swirly things . # Although the children justified many of their character inferences by pointing out illustrators ' use of color and line , there were three important pictorial devices that contributed information about characters that most children did not talk about -- the illustrator 's manipulation of size , the position of characters within the illustration , and the breaking of frames that surrounded illustrations . Nonetheless , as the following examples show , a few of the children appeared to understand these devices . # Size . In opening 16 of Leonardo the Terrible Monster , Mo Willems completely filled the double-page spread with a close-up of Leonardo 's thoughtful-looking face . Yet only JoAnn talked about the significance of the size of Leonardo 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Interviewer ( Lori ) : What 's happening on this page ? # JoAnn : He was making the decision ? that he would be his friend . And not scare anybody anymore . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : You said he was making a decision , what kind of decision ? # JoAnn : A big decision . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : And what gives you a clue that it 's a big decision ? # JoAnn : Because of how they drew his face , everything is big ! # In opening 9 of Lilly 's Purple Plastic Purse , Kevin Henkes also uses a change in size to suggest an important character change . In this opening , Lilly is depicted in a series of four panels , and in each panel Lilly is drawn progressively smaller . In responding to this opening , Dallas talked about this change in size : # Interviewer ( Lori ) : What 's happening in this picture ? # Dallas : She is getting smaller and smaller and smaller . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : Do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : That she is getting sad . # Although JoAnn and Dallas appeared to understand the significance of these size changes , size may be a more subtle artistic device , because few of the other second graders made references to these size changes . # Breaking the Frame . In opening 16 of Lilly 's Purple Plastic Purse , Lilly is again portrayed in a series of four panels , and in the fourth panel , a joyful Lilly is seen leaping out of the panel ( i.e. , breaking the frame ) . Vickie was one of the few children to talk about the significance of this artistic device : # Interviewer ( Lori ) : What is happening there ? # Vickie : She 's getting happy . She 's smiling and she 's skipping and hopping . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : How can you tell she 's skipping and hopping ? # Vickie : Because those lines make her hop . student pointing to a dotted line showing the pathway of the character 's movement # Interviewer ( Lori ) : Anything else you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's hopping out of the picture . # Interviewer ( Lori ) : And what does that tell you ? # Vickie : That she 's really happy . # What We Learned # The interview excerpts that we have shared show examples of children using visual information to better understand the characters they meet in stories . However , we also found that the children were not attuned to many types of visual clues embedded in illustrations . This suggests that teachers have important work to do in fostering children 's visual literacy . # The second graders supported their character inferences largely by attending to the facial expressions , body posture , and character actions depicted in illustrations , as well as their understandings of the ways that illustrators use color and line to convey character information . Yet the images we shared with children contained other important visual information that the children either missed or did not talk about . # For instance , in one of the illustrations from Leonardo the Terrible Monster , a dejected Leonardo is positioned in the bottom corner of the page @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positionality to convey character information . Also , most of the children did not make mention of the symbols illustrators embedded in illustrations or the use of the artistic devices of changing the size of a character and showing a character breaking the frame surrounding an illustration . # We believe that our findings dovetail with the work of others who have explored children 's responses to picture books and suggest that young children are capable of using visual information to understand characters ( Sipe , 2008b ; Sipe &amp; Brightman , 2005 ; Sipe &amp; Ghiso , 2005 ) . Children also appear to be aware of the importance of visual information in picture books . At the conclusion of each interview , we asked each child how the illustrations in picture books helped them . Their responses showed they valued images for the information they provided about characters . # For example , Vera responded by saying , " They help me think what 's happening in the story because the motions that they 're doing . " Mike answered , " Cause they show expression . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing and his action , how he 's feeling . They show his mouth and sometimes they put tears by eyes that show that he 's sad . " JoAnn said that pictures " show if something is big or little or the colors tell you something too . " She went on to say , " When Sophie got really really angry , it showed on the body with colors. " # What Teachers Can Do # Teachers have an important role in enriching " their students ' aesthetic appreciation and understanding of the visual features of picture books " ( Sipe , 2008b , p. 213 ) . In fact , Sipe ( 2008a ) described teachers as the " enablers of children 's meaning making from picture books " ( p. 386 ) . Stepping into this supportive role , with the aim of helping children learn to use illustration clues ( as well as text clues ) to understand characters , requires that teachers prepare for and carefully orchestrate read-alouds. # Preparing for Read-Alouds # Some teachers come to the read-aloud with a background in art @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowledge about art , a good first step is building one 's own understanding of how illustrators convey meaning about characters . In Table 3 , we list some resources teachers can use in learning more about the illustrator 's craft . # To explore visual characterization with children also requires the careful selection of picture books for the read aloud . In Table 4 , we include a listing of character-rich picture books and identify visual devices of note that the illustrators of these books use in developing character . # Once a book is selected , we recommend that teachers carefully prepare for the read-aloud . Eeds and Peterson ( 1991 ) envisioned teachers stepping into the role of " curator " ( p. 119 ) , or one who helps students develop literary insights . Preparation is the key to becoming a curator , and perhaps the best preparation is simply lingering over and reflecting on ways in which both the visual and verbal texts work to convey important information about characters . Also , in viewing the illustrations , teachers can ask themselves questions about characters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they seem to say about the characters ? # * Do the lines communicate meaning about character emotions ? How ? # * Where is the character placed on the page ? What might this say about the character ? # * What is of note about the facial expressions of the character ? # * What do the actions and body posture of the character tell us ? # These steps should help to ensure that teachers will be prepared to guide children in their explorations of the images in picture books . # Orchestrating Read-Alouds # Preparation for a read-aloud is an important first step , but what happens in the read-aloud is of paramount importance . First , teachers must ensure that all the children can see the illustrations and that they have time to linger over them . Just as we extended invitations in our interviews to look closely at illustrations , teachers too can pose such invitations by asking , " What do you see ? " and " How do you know ? " # Teachers can also ensure that children have opportunities to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use with more complex picture books ( Pantaleo , 2002 , 2004 ) . As children explore illustrations together , they extend and refine one another 's responses , which is just what happened when Ms. McGlothlin 's students studied the cover of A Beasty Story ( Martin , 2002 ) : # Jacob : I think it is going to be about the four mice and the ghost because they look scared . They look happy right here but the ghosts scared them too much . # Sara : The mouse in the middle is going like this . holding her hands over her mouth # Ms. McGlothlin : Look at the mice real close and see if they are different . # Victor : Because one is like this and the next one is like that and the next one is like this mimicking the motions/facial expressions of the mice on the cover . And they have happy faces . # Sadie : But the last ones have scared faces . # Not only do children benefit from opportunities to explore illustrations collaboratively , but also researchers have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insights into illustrations ( and the story ) deepen even further ( Arizpe &amp; Styles , 2003 ) . # Finally , to help children learn more about how illustrators communicate character information , a teacher can step into the role of curator during read-aloud discussions and draw attention to particular artistic devices illustrators rely on to develop character ( Maloch &amp; Duncan , 2006 ) . For example , in sharing Lilly 's Purple Plastic Purse , a teacher might highlight the illustration of Lilly " breaking the frame " by noting , " This picture tells me how happy Lilly is ! She is so happy that she is jumping right out of the picture ! " # We began by talking about the importance of character understanding to literary meaning making . In picture books , this means that readers must be able to " read " both illustrations and the text of stories . We believe that the visual aspects of picture books have never received the same attention as written text . Therefore , it is only when we take steps to ensure that children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children will be able to fully explore the characters they meet in picture books . # " Readers must thoughtfully attend to both sign systems -- the visual as well as the verbal -- to deeply understand the characters . " # " The children did not appear to be attuned to many of the visual devices intentionally used by illustrators. " # " Many children talked about how changes in color signaled change in the character 's feelings . " # " In justifying their inferences about characters , most students drew on their understanding of two art elements -- color and line . " # " Teachers have important work to do in fostering children 's visual literacy . " # Pause and Ponder # * Do I value and attend to illustrations as much as the written text during picture book read-alouds ? # * How can we make sure children become aware of the devices illustrators use to develop characters in picture books ? # * Why is it important to understand illustrators ' contributions in the development of characters in picture books ? # TAKE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a picture book , think about the characters -- what are they like , how do they feel , how do they change ? How do the illustrations help in conveying this information ? Be prepared to guide children in recognizing these different facets of character . # 2 . When reading aloud , invite the children to talk about what they learn about the characters from the words and from the images.3 . During reading , encourage children to talk about the characters.4 . Become a curator and talk with the children about particular ways ( the children may not have noticed ) that illustrators help readers understand characters . MORE TO EXPLORE # ReadWriteThink.org Lesson Plan # * " Using Picture Books to Teach Plot Development and Conflict Resolution " by Lisa Storm Fink # IRA Books # * Children 's Literature in the Reading Program : An Invitation to Read ( 3rd ed. ) edited by Deborah A. Wooten and Bernice E. Cullinan * What Should I Read Aloud ? A Guide to 200 Best-Selling Picture Books by Nancy A. Anderson # IRA Journal Articles # * @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " by Kathleen Ellen 0'Neil , The Reading Teacher , November 2011 # * " ' Reading ' the Painting : Exploring Visual Literacy in the Primary Grades " by T. Lee Williams , The Reading Teacher , April 2007 # * " Young Children and Radical Change Characteristics in Picture Books " by Sylvia Pantaleo , The Reading Teacher , October 2004 # Table 1 Summaries of Books Used in the Study TABLE Table 2 Book Openings Used in Interviews TABLE Table 3 Professional Resources Containing Information About Illustrator Craft Books TABLE Table 4 Picture Books With Strong Character Development Through Illustrations TABLE REFERENCES # Agosto , D.E . ( 1999 ) . One and inseparable : Interdependent storytelling in picture storybooks . Children 's Literature in Education , 30(4) , 267-280. **27;39035;TOOLONG # Arizpe , E. , &amp; Styles , M. ( 2003 ) . Children reading pictures : Interpreting visual texts . New York : Routledge. # Cullinan , B.E. , &amp; Galda , L. ( 1998 ) . Literature and the child ( 4th ed . ) . Fort Worth : Harcourt Brace College Publishers . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1991 ) . Teacher as curator : Learning to talk about literature . The Reading Teacher , 45(2) , 118-126. # Emery D.W. ( 1996 ) . Helping readers comprehend stories from the characters ' perspectives . The Reading Teacher , 49(7) , 534-541. # Golden J.M. , &amp; Guthrie , J.T. ( 1986 ) . Convergence and divergence in reader response to literature . Reading Research Quarterly , 21(4) , 408-421. doi:10.2307/747613 # Kiefer , B.Z. , &amp; Tyson , C.A. ( 2010 ) . Charlotte Huck 's children 's literature : A brief guide . New York : McGraw-Hill. # Lehr , S.S. ( 1991 ) . The child 's developing sense of theme : Responses to literature . New York : Teachers College Press . # Lukens , R.J. , &amp; Cline , R.K.J. ( 1995 ) . A critical handbook of literature for young adults . New York : Addison-Wesley. # Maloch , B. , &amp; Duncan , D. ( 2006 , December ) . " Big loud voice : You have important thing to say " : The nature of students initiations during one teacher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Conference , Miami , FL. # Martinez , M. &amp; Harmon , J. ( in press ) . Picture/ text relationships : An investigation of literary elements in picturebooks . Literacy Research and Instruction . # Martinez , M. , &amp; Roser , N.L. ( 2005 ) . Students ' developing understanding of character . In N.L. Roser , M. Martinez , J. Yokota , &amp; S.F. O'Neal ( Eds . ) , What a character ! Character study as a gateway to literary understanding ( pp. 6-13 ) . Newark , DE : International Reading Association . # Moebius , W. ( 1986 ) . Introduction to picturebook codes . Word and Image , 2(2) , 141-158. # Nikolajeva , M. , &amp; Scott , C. ( 2001 ) . How picturebooks work . New York : Garland. # Nodelman , P. ( 1988 ) . Words about pictures : The narrative art of children 's picture books . Athens : University of Georgia Press . # Pantaleo , S. ( 2002 ) . Grade one students meet David Wiesner 's three pigs . Journal of Children 's Literature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . Young children interpret the metafictive in Anthony Browne 's Voices in the Park . Journal of Early Childhood Literacy , 4(2) , 211-233. # Schwarcz , J. , &amp; Schwarcz , C. ( 1991 ) . The picture book comes of age . Chicago : American Library Association . # Sipe , L.R. ( 2008a ) . Storytime : Young children 's literary understanding in the classroom . New York : Teachers College Press . # Sipe , L.R. ( 2008b ) . Young children 's visual meaning making in response to picturebooks . In J. Flood , S.B. Heath , &amp; D. Lapp ( Eds . ) , Handbook of research on teaching literacy through the communicative and visual arts ( Vol. 2 , pp. 381-391 ) . New York : Lawrence Erlbaum. # Sipe , L.R. , &amp; Brightman , A. ( 2005 ) . Young children 's visual meaning-making during readalouds of picture storybooks . Fifty-fourth National Reading Conference yearbook ( pp. 349-361 ) . Chicago : National Reading Conference . # Sipe , L.R. , &amp; Ghiso , M.P . ( 2005 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understandings of character through picturebook illustrations . In N. Roser &amp; M. Martinez ( Eds . ) , What a characters ! Character study as a guide to literary meaning making in grades K-8 ( pp. 134-153 ) . Newark , DE : International Reading Association . # LITERATURE CITED # Bang , M. ( 1999 ) . When Sophie gets angry -- really really angry . New York : Blue Sky . # Carroll , L. ( 1865 ) . Alice 's adventures in wonderland . London , UK : Macmillan . # Dewdney A. ( 2005 ) . Llama llama red pajama . New York : Viking . # Durand , H. ( 2011 ) . Mitchell 's license . Somerville , MA : Candlewick. # Duvoisin , R. ( 2000 ) . Petunia . New York : Knopf. # Falconer , I. ( 2000 ) . Olivia . New York : Atheneum. # Frazee , M. ( 2010 ) . The boss baby . New York : Beach Lane . # Gravett , E. ( 2009 ) . The odd egg . New York : Simon &amp; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . New York : Greenwillow. # Henkes , K. ( 1996 ) . Lilly 's purple plastic purse . New York : Greenwillow. # Henkes , K. ( 2010 ) . Wemberly worried . New York : Greenwillow. # Hoffman , M. ( 1991 ) . Amazing Grace . New York : Dial . # Lester , H. ( 2002 ) . Hooray for Wodney Wat . New York : Sandpiper. # Martin , B. ( 2002 ) . A beasty story . New York : Sandpiper. # Rathman , P. ( 1995 ) . Officer Buckle and Gloria . New York : Putnam. # Sendak , M. ( 1963 ) . Where the wild things are . New York : HarperCollins. # Shannon , D. ( 1998 ) . No , David ! New York : Blue Sky . # Soto , G. ( 1996 ) . Too many tamales . New York : Puffin . # Watt , M. ( 2008 ) . Scaredy squirrel . Toronto , ON , Canada : Kids Can Press . # Watt , M. ( 2009 ) . Chester . Toronto , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D. ( 2010 ) . Art and Max . New York : Clarion . # Willems , M. ( 2003 ) . Do n't let the pigeon drive the bus . New York : Hyperion. # Willems , M. ( 2005 ) . Leonardo the terrible monster . New York : Hyperion. # Willems , M. ( 2010 ) . Knuffle bunny free : An unexpected diversion . New York : Balzer &amp; Bray #

@@4156541 Prescribing Nurse # The practice nurse will often see patients presenting with pain , but there is more than one type of pain and therefore , crucially , more than one type of approach to management # Neuropathic pain is a particular sort of pain which is caused by nerve injury and which responds only partially or , sometimes , not at all , to ' traditional ' analgesics such as paracetamol and opiates. # Postherpetic neuralgia ( PHN ) is a form of neuropathic pain that can follow an attack of shingles. # In this article we discuss the pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches that may help to manage neuropathic pain and minimize its occurrence after shingles. # Neuropathic pain is common.12 The practice nurse will frequently see patients who are in pain , sometimes incidental to the consultation ( they might have come in for a dressing , or a blood pressure review ) , but sometimes it will be central to their attendance . # Pain is distressing for patients and healthcare professionals and if the pain is chronic its likely that many treatments will have been tried . # The practice nurse can pay a huge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pain , taking a new pain history and looking for possible presence of undertreated neuropathic pain . # WHAT IS NEUROPATHIC PAIN ? # Neuropathic pain is caused by damaged or malfunctioning nerves , 3 and can originate in the peripheral or central nervous system . # Central neuropathic pain originates in the brain and spinal cord and may be due to physical injury such as trauma , or injury by disease processes such as multiple sclerosis or stroke . # Peripheral neuropathic pain originates with damage to peripheral nerves , most commonly due to diabetes , closely followed by the post-herpetic neuralgia of shingles . Other causes include vitamin deficiencies , damage to or pressure on nerves from tumours , vertebral collapse , prolapsed intervertebral disc , carpal tunnel syndrome , HIV , radiotherapy , burns and chemotherapy . # Some cancers produce inflammatory molecules which can cause neuropathic pain at sites distant from the tumour itself : neuropathic pain is common in cancer . # The mechanisms of long-term neuropathic pain can include abnormal regeneration of damaged nerves , and sensitisation ( or altered pain thresholds ) both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ? # Surveys suggest that 7 to 8% of people in Europe are affected by neuropathic pain , many with diabetic neuropathy.12 This figure is likely to rise over time with the increasing prevalence of diabetes . # WHAT IS NEUROPATHIC PAIN LIKE ? # All pain is unpleasant , and like any pain c neuropathic pain may be more or less severe - so in this sense it is no worse or better than nociceptive pain . # However , neuropathic pain has a number of characteristic features which should alert you to its presence in the patient before you . These include burning or tingling , electric shock-like sensations , hyperaesthesia , dysaesthesia and allodynia.3 These terms are defined in Box 1 . Nociceptive pain , on the other hand , is often described as dull and aching , and lacks the unusual qualities of altered sensations , numbness and tingling. # It is important to remember that it is common for both types of pain to be present simultaneously , particularly in cases of tissue injury and inflammation , such as cancer and central nervous system ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A PAIN HISTORY # The essential features of a pain history are shown in Box 2 , but far more important than knowing what to ask is reminding yourself to ask it in the first place . # The fact that someone has presented many times with the same pain does not mean there is no value in a fresh pain history . Ask again , and remember that pain may change over time , but may do this so subtly that patients are not really aware of it themselves . They may need to reassess the situation , their symptoms and their expectations too . # SHINGLES AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN # Shingles is caused by reactivation of the chickenpox virus ( herpes zoster ) which , after primary infection , lies dormant in the anterior horn cells of peripheral sensory nerves , adjacent to the spine . When the virus reactivates it travels back down nerve axons to infect the skin in the region of the nerve with the classic painful rash . This normally heals in 10-14 days , but residual nerve pain can linger for months or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PHN normally affects only the area of skin served by the nerve affected by the shingles attack , and is probably due to nerve damage by the virus . The pain can be excruciating . # Factors which make developing PHN more likely are listed in Box 3. # Prevention of post herpetic neuralgia ( PHN ) # Unfortunately there is nothing that perfectly prevents PHN , but vaccination has been shown to reduce the incidence of herpes zoster by 51.3% in a study of 38,000 adults aged 60 and older who received the vaccine . The vaccine also reduced by 66.5% the number of cases of PHN and reduced the severity and duration of pain and discomfort associated with shingles , by 61.1%.45 # Starting antiviral therapy early within 72 hours of onset - may reduce the chance of PHN. # Oral amitriptyline started in the first two days of the shingles also reduces the incidence of PHN. # Oral steroids do n't prevent PHN although they are used in ophthalmic shingles to reduce the inflammatory response in the eye . # TREATMENT # Treatment of neuropathic pain can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be necessary to aim for management rather than cure . Most evidence for treatment has been gathered from studying post herpetic pain and diabetes , but it is likely that what we have learned can be translated to treatment of other causes of nerve pain . # Non-pharmacological treatments # The first and most important thing is to recognize a neuropathic pain element in the patient 's symptoms and share your understanding with them . Your explanation to the patient will need to be tailored to their understanding and needs - but as for many people fear of the unknown is an important factor in pain , this in itself may help . # Patients should be encouraged to keep a pain score , marking severity on 11-point numeric rating scale , where 0 is no pain at all , and 10 is the worst imaginable pain . They need to define at what level their pain is bearable and what level they would realistically be prepared to live with.6 # Doing this may provide patients with a different view of the success you and they are having at managing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Psychological/cognitive strategies , such as cognitive behavioural therapy ( CBT ) can help manage the patient 's response to the pain . # Other treatments for neuropathic pain are similar to those for all pain : # * Exercise , activity and socialising to improve mood , and as a distractor from pain . # * Pacing the day to break up tasks . # * Relaxation therapies such as audiotapes , massage and meditation . # * Transcutaneuous electrical nerve stimulation ( TENS ) devices , which deliver a tingling sensation to the skin near the site of pain and may mask the pain or distract from it . # Some patients find rubbing , or warming affected areas with heated wheat bags helpful . # Eating foods with a high thiamine content , e.g. yeast , wholegrain cereals , beans and nuts , or taking a thiamine supplement , may be helpful for diabetic neuropathy. # Pharmacological treatments # Neuropathic pain can be very difficult to treat and not all patients achieve even partial relief . Working out what 's best can be a challenge since all patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ single best answer for any one patient . But there are a number of guidelines available , including the recently updated clinical guidance from NICE.3 ( Box 4 ) # The drugs that are used are usually classified according to their licensed indication - thus antidepressants , antiepileptics and others have specific use in neuropathic pain . Not all are licensed for use in neuropathic pain ( Table 1 ) . This is important as when prescribing off license , good practice expects us to inform patients of this fact and what it means . However , one can add that the use of such drugs to treat pain is tried and tested and evidence based . # These drugs work because some of the transmitter systems and conduction channels involved in neuropathic pain are also involved in other conditions .. # Most commonly used treatments are certain antidepressants e.g. amitriptyline , selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors ( SNRIs ) , anticonvulsants , especially pregabalin and gabapentin , and topical lidocaine . Opioid analgesics have their uses and may be helpful adjuncts . # Some drug treatments for neuropathic pain will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not always true . Not all drugs will work for all patients , and many have to be taken in gradually increasing doses to manage intolerance , and may need to be tapered off upon discontinuation to manage withdrawal syndromes. # Antidepressants # Patients may need to be reassured that antidepressants will relieve neuropathic pain in patients who are not depressed , and that they are not being labeled as depressed . NICE recommends offering amitriptyline ( a tricyclic antidepressant ) or duloxetine ( an SNRI ) for all neuropathic pain except for trigeminal neuralgia . ( Box 4 ) # Anticonvulsants # Pregabalin and gabapentin are also recommended for all neuropathic pain ( Box 4 ) except trigeminal neuralgia where carbamazepine is the recommended initial treatment . Lamotrigine can be helpful after stroke and in HIV neuropathy. # Opioids # Opioids are not first line treatments in neuropathic pain . Methadone is frequently used as it affects specific receptors that play a role in neuropathic pain . Tramadol should only be considered as ' rescue ' analgesia because of concerns about long-term use.3 # Topical agents # In some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like lidocaine ( a slow release patch is available ) , or topical anti-inflammatories can provide relief . # Topical capsaicin , a chilli-like substance found naturally in peppers , can be extremely helpful in reducing abnormal skin sensitivity , and can be considered for patients with localized neuropathic pain who wish to avoid , or can not tolerate , oral treatments.3 # Cannabinoids # Cannabis sativa extract is approved as a pain medication in many countries but in the UK , should not be initiated outside specialist pain centres.3 It may be beneficial in HIV neuropathy. # THE PATIENT IN PAIN : AFFECT AND APPROACH # Neuropathic pain , particularly when longstanding , can be a source of enormous misery for patients . Moreover it can result in overmedication with opiates and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as healthcare professionals struggle to manage it without success . # People who are depressed experience worse pain . Indeed all pain has two components - the pain itself and our emotional and psychological response to it . # The meaning of pain to the patient is also very important . The pain of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and helplessness whereas PHN pain has the possibility of a cure and considerably less uncertainty . # Patients expectations may need adjustment . It can be an enormous issue for patients to reduce their expectations from being pain free - which they may never achieve - to a situation in which their pain is , at least , more manageable than it currently is . This is compounded by altered sensitivity to the pain and feelings of hopelessness and despair . # It 's important , when treating neuropathic pain , to bear all this in mind . If the patient does not believe that you can help them then you are unlikely to do so . Making rash promises about what they can expect from your treatment will only worsen this ' doomloop ' . It 's important to be hopeful but realistic , and to approach issues in partnership with the patient . # CONCLUSION # There are many sets of published guidance on pain management , most of which take account of treatment cost . NICE guidance addresses this and has given us some building blocks and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with neuropathic pain . # Under-treatment of any pain leads to anxious patients , loss of trust in us and a sense of failure in health professionals . This can lead us to labeling patients as difficult or demanding , and results in clinicians switching off their diagnostic antennae and adopting a defensive response . # It is always worth a fresh look . Correctly recognising undertreated neuropathic pain can turn this vicious cycle around , and sometimes simple solutions can be found . # BOX 1 . FEATURES OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN # * Hyperaesthesia - heightened sensitivity to sensations including light touch # * Altered temperature sensitivity - hot or cold or both # * Dysaesthesia - abnormal sensations or sensations not corresponding to the stimulus # * Burning sensations # * Allodynia - experiencing light touch as painful # * Phantom limb pain # * Burning pains # * Paraesthesiae - pins and needles # * Continuous and episodic types ( both may be present ) # * Electric shock sensations # * Numbness # * Itching # * Coldness # * Intermittent # * Spontaneously episodic # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pain history , ask about : # * Onset # * Nature ( burning , stabbing , aching ) # * Location # * Localisation ( diffuse , focused , varying ) # * Associated feelings ( e.g. burning , numbness ) # * What makes it better # * What makes it worse # * Pattern over time - coming and going ? # * Constant or pulsating/throbbing # * Effect on # - daily life # - appetite # - sleep # - work # - personal relationships # * Mood , and effect on mood # * Medication history # - Side effects and intolerance # * Pain scores on an 11-point numerical rating scale , where 0 is no pain/least pain and 10 is worst it can be # * Expectations # * Patient 's view of what has happened so far # BOX 3 . FACTORS INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD OF PHN # * Older age ( &gt;50 years ) # * Female sex # * Presence of severe pain during the attack of shingles # * A more extensive and severe rash # * @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pain and paraesthesia before the shingles rash develops ) # * Psychosocial factors including anxiety and lack of social support may predispose # * Caucasian # * Immunocompromise and/or debility # - Risk of PHN is low in the jaw , neck , sacral , and lumbar regions # - Risk is moderate in the thoracic area # - The highest risk is in the trigeminal area , especially the ophthalmic division , and the brachial plexus # WHY ANALGESICS MAY NOT WORK # Diagnostic # Failure to recognize pain type neuropathic pain , nociceptive pain , bone pain # Incorrect underlying diagnosis # Patient # Poor compliance with medication due to intolerance , lack of faith in an effect , lack of organisation # Patient unable to ' cash ' prescriptions due to cost # Drug dependency # Controlled drug diversion ( most often feared by professionals ) # Excessive patient expectations - pain may be controlled but not eliminated # Central or imprinted pain Medication headache # Disease # Progression of disease # BOX 4 . UPDATED NICE GUIDANCE3 # * Offer a choice of amitriptyline , duloxetine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( except trigeminal neuralgia ) # * If the initial treatment is not effective or is not tolerated , offer one of the remaining 3 drugs , and consider switching again if the second and third drugs tried are also not effective or not tolerated # * Consider tramadol only if acute rescue therapy is needed # * Consider capsaicin cream for people with localised neuropathic pain who wish to avoid , or who can not tolerate , oral treatments # * Do NOT initiate cannabis sativa extract , capsaicin patch , venlafaxine or opioids e.g. morphine in non-specialist settings unless advised to do so # * Consider referring the person to a specialist pain service and/or condition-specific service at any stage , including initial presentation , if the patient has severe pain , their pain significantly limits their lifestyle , daily activities or sleep , or their underlying health condition as deteriorated # TAKE HOME MESSAGES # * Neuropathic pain is a distinct pain type # * It occurs most commonly in diabetes as diabetic neuropathy and after shingles as post herpetic neuropathy # * Pain can be severe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will suggest that pain is neuropathic # * Neuropathic and nociceptive pain commonly coexist # * Treatments for neuropathic pain are different than those for nociceptive pain , although there is some crossover effect # * There is no agreed WHO treatment ladder for neuropathic pain but NICE has issued updated guidance this month ( November 2013 ) on evidence-based treatment and a stepwise approach # RESOURCES # The British Pain Society http : **29;28219;TOOLONG # International Association for the Study of Pain http : //www.iasp-pain.org # NICE Updated guidance on neuropathic pain http : **28;28250;TOOLONG **26;28280;TOOLONG # TABLE 1 . LICENSED TREATMENTS3 TABLE # Neuropathic pain responds only marginally , and sometimes not at all , to conventional analgesics # REFERENCES 1 . International Association for the Study of Pain . Pharmacological management of neuropathic pain . Clinical Updates 2010 ; 18(9) . Available online at : http : // **33;28308;TOOLONG ? Section=Ho ... cfm&amp;ContentlD=12215 # 2 . Bouhassira D , Lanteri-Minet M , Attal N , Laurent B , Touboul C ( June 2008 ) . Prevalence of chronic pain with neuropathic characteristics in the general population . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NICE : Neuropathic pain : pharmacological management ( CG173 ) . ( Updates CG96 ) Nov 2013 . Available at : http : **39;28343;TOOLONG ... # 4 . Oxman MN , Levin MJ , Johnson GR , et al . A vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in older adults . N Eng J Med 2005:35:2271-84. # 5 . Oxman MN , Levin MJ , Shingles Prevention Study Group ( March 2008 ) . Vaccination against Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia . J Infect Dis 2008 ; 197 ( Suppl 2 ) : S228-36 # 6 . Royal United Hospital , Bath , Pain Clinic Guidance . Available at : http : **35;28384;TOOLONG **44;28421;TOOLONG ... accessed 15/3/13 #

@@4156641 The Motivation to Read Profile -- Revised # Designing effective and engaging instruction means considering the motivational needs of students . The MPR-R is a tool that supports teachers in creating motivating classroom contexts for literacy . # " If they are n't motivated , they wo n't learn ! " So goes the maxim often used by teacher educators to convey the importance of engagement and motivation to learning and achievement with their preservice teachers . For most classroom teachers , recognizing when students are engaged in literacy activities -- and perhaps more glaringly , when they are not -- is a process that is key to evaluating the potential success of the instruction being offered . # Students who are engaged have their eyes on what they are doing , are ardently attending to the teacher 's read-aloud , or are in reflective repose as they read independently . Going deeper beneath these behavioral manifestations of their literacy engagement , students who are motivated to participate in literacy instruction are on task , cognitively and strategically engaged with the material , and perhaps affectively responding to the activity as well , enthusiastically sharing what they 've read @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support for the tie between reading motivation and reading achievement ( Baker &amp; Wigfield , 1999 ; Guthrie &amp; Wigfield , 2005 ; Pintrich , 2003 ; Taboada , Tonks , Wigfield , &amp; Guthrie , 2009 ) . Motivation can be described as a willingness to engage in an activity and a willingness to persist in that activity , even when it becomes difficult ( Urdan &amp; Schoenfelder , 2006 ) . Therefore , the Motivation to Read Profile ( MRP ; Gambrell , Palmer , Codling , &amp; Mazzoni , 1996 ) was designed to guide the teacher in determining students ' perceived value of reading and self-concept as readers such that appropriate instructional decisions could be made . The MRP is also widely used in literacy research as a measure of student motivation for reading ( Applegate &amp; Applegate , 2010 ; Marinak &amp; Gambrell , 2010 ; Quirk , Schwanenflugel , &amp; Webb , 2009 ; Shaaban , 2006 ) . # More recently , the research focus on achievement motivation has shifted from that of an individual construct to one that can be influenced by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2006 ) . They observed : " As psychologists have rediscovered , motivated behavior in school results from a combination of student and situational characteristics " ( p. 345 ) . Therefore , the purpose of this article is to report on an updated and more reliable revision of the Motivation to Read Profile ( MRP-R ) and to engage in a discussion of how periodic , classwide administration of the MRP-R can inform practices to support motivating classroom contexts . # Theoretical Framework # The expectancy-value theory of motivation ( Eccles , 1983 ) is used to describe the construct of reading motivation for the MRP-R , as with the original MRP . Expectancy-value theory posits that motivation is determined by an individual 's perception that they will be successful in performing a task ( expectancy ) and that they perceive a value in accomplishing the task . Perceptions of expectancy are based on Bandura 's ( 1977 ) work on self-efficacy , which he described as self-judgment of a domain-specific ability to perform a task successfully . Expectancy is therefore thought to arise from the individual 's task-specific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimations of students ' motivation to read are determined by assessing both their self-concept as readers and their value of reading . # Revising the MRP # As the original MRP was developed in 1996 , a revision that would reflect the cultural and linguistic changes that occurred in the ensuing decade was needed . For example , digital reading sources were not considered in the original version but now are explored in the revised conversational interview . Four researchers met to review the original MRP items , which included 10 items designed to measure value of reading and 10 items designed to measure self-concept as a reader , as well as the conversational interview that accompanies the scaled survey . # The MRP was designed to be applicable to grades 2 through 6 , practical for classroom use , group administered , and able to reflect value of reading and self-concept as a reader . A four-point scale was chosen to avoid neutral responses and because the breadth of scale was suitable for elementary students ( Case &amp; Khanna , 1981 ; Nitko , 1983 ) . A set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researchers and then evaluated for construct validity by the research panel . # Four classroom teachers were asked to perform a trait assessment on the remaining items to determine whether the items would tap self-concept as a reader or value of reading . The items that received 100% trait agreement were included in the field testing of the original MRP with 330 third through fifth graders from 4 eastern U.S. schools . The scales were found to be reliable ( self-concept = .75 ; value = .82 ) . Validity of the original scales was also confirmed through inter-scale correlations and correlations with reading achievement ( Gambrell et al. , 1996 ) . # The reading survey was designed as a self-report instrument that could be administered to the whole class or a small group , depending on the teacher support required . The four-point ordinal scale includes ranked responses with 10 items for each subscale . Self-concept as a reader is assessed through items # such as , " I think I am a reader " and " When I have trouble figuring out a word I do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to tap value of reading include " Reading is something I like to do ? . " , and " My friends think reading is ? " . A conversational interview was designed for individual administration such that further exploration of student perceptions of value of reading and self-concept as a reader could occur . # The authors , all either having assisted in the development of the MRP or having experience in using the MRP for classroom practice or research , met to discuss the survey items and conversational interview , the two components of the original assessment . One item was replaced to query student perceptions of out-of-school reading as opposed to future perspectives for reading . Seven of the original items were kept without changes , and 12 items were either revised in the stem portion with an eye to cultural and linguistic changes to provide clarity or in the responses to improve reliability of the scale . # The conversational interview was also revised from a paper version to a digitally accessible version that could be completed using a laptop or tablet . The structure was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ value of reading to more clearly align with the survey items . In addition , questions were added to prompt students to indicate their use of digital texts while maintaining the original focus on reading for entertainment ( narrative ) and for information ( expository ) . An area at the bottom of the interview form is provided for recording comments and a teacher plan for adjustments in instruction that would be suitable based on the integrated results of the survey and interview . # The structure of the MRP-R is over-viewed in Figure 1 . # Field Testing the MRP-R # The reading survey was administered to students in three schools in the mid-Atlantic and Southern regions of the United States -- one in Virginia , one in Pennsylvania , and one in South Carolina . In all , 118 third graders , 104 fourth graders , and 54 fifth graders received permission to take the MRP-R , resulting in 281 students . Teachers were invited to participate and received packets that outlined the administration procedures and scoring guidelines ( Figures 2 and 4 ) as well as copies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 and 5 ) for their students . Student scores were loaded into a spreadsheet and validity and reliability testing was conducted using Mplus statistical software . # Reliability and Validity # Reliability testing using Cronbach 's ( 1951 ) alpha revealed an ? = .87 for the full scale , an ? = .85 for the value subscale , and an ? = .81 for the self-concept scale . As the scale for the survey items was ordinal , a nonparametric analysis was used to determine validity using a root mean square error of approximation ( RMSEA ) . An RMSEA estimate of .089 was revealed with a confidence interval of .081-.098 . The probability of RMSEA ? = .05 was .000. # Considering the ordinal nature of the survey scale , reliability and validity estimates are judged to be well within acceptable ranges for both classroom use and research purposes . When compared with the original version , the internal consistency of the value scale increased from .82 to .85 , and the internal consistency of the self-concept scale increased from .75 to .81 . As the scale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increases , the authors can undertake additional testing that would allow a disaggregation of data by grade and by gender . # Administering the MRP-R # The reading survey can be administered to a whole class or small groups . The conversational interview is to be administered individually . # Administration and Scoring of the Reading Survey # The reading survey can be administered in whole or in part , depending on the age of the students and time limits . In all , the teacher should allow 20-25 minutes to give the entire survey or 15 minutes if giving 10 items at a time over 2 separate sessions . The teacher can introduce the survey by previewing the importance of knowing what motivates students to read such that appropriate instruction can be provided . Students should be made aware that there are no right or wrong answers and that knowing what they really feel about reading is of greatest importance . The administration guidelines for giving the MRP-R reading survey are provided in Figure 2. # The survey begins with two demographic items ( grade and gender ) that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the possible responses before considering their answers . When the teacher rereads the item and prompt , students are instructed to clearly mark the response that is best for them . By reading all items and responses aloud , students of all reading levels are supported in responding to the items , as reading ability is not a confounding variable . The student version of the reading survey is provided in Figure 3. # After the surveys are administered , a score for each subscale , value of reading and self-concept as a reader , is obtained . Adding the two subscale scores derives a total score for motivation for reading . Because the response sets are not uniformly listed from least to most motivated , a scoring guide is provided ( Figure 4 ) to aide in determining the appropriate score for each item . The teacher may wish to make a note of items that would be interesting to probe during the conversational interview ( particularly low scoring items ) by circling the item number . # Administration of the Conversational Interview # The conversational interview is designed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about their perceptions of reading . A copy is provided in Figure 5 . These responses are helpful in understanding a student 's survey results as well as to aid in individualizing programs to enhance motivation for reading . The conversational interview can also be administered in whole or in part , as there are separate sections for self-concept as a reader and value of reading . Each section requires about five minutes . The interview includes topical questions with follow-up prompts , such as the following : " What kinds of books do you like to read ? " " Do you read different things at home than at school ? " " What kind of reader are you ? " # Research and Classroom Implications # The scientific importance of the MRP-R is that it permits an updated and more reliable estimate of two theoretically based subconstructs of motivation for research purposes in grades 2 through 6 . Teachers will benefit from having a reliable measure for assessing these important components of motivation for reading . The classwide results can be entered into a spreadsheet , and an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to suggest changes in classroom practices that would support growth in value of reading or to nurture self-concepts as a reader . Additionally , the scores for individual students can be used to determine personalized plans for supporting students in developing increased motivation for reading and therefore increased reading achievement . # Organizing Responses # Using a spreadsheet , such as Excel , create headings for each item by number and list students ' names in the first column ( see Figure 6 ) . Using the scoring guidelines to determine the score for each item , write the score in the margin beside the item number on the student copy of the reading survey and then input the scores into the spreadsheet . Adding the odd-numbered items together will give you a self-concept score ( out of 40 ) , and adding the even-numbered items will give you a value score ( out of 40 ) . You can create a formula in Excel that will add the subscores automatically as you enter the scores . Similarly , a total score is determined by adding the two subscores together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entered , is to highlight in yellow any items that receive a low score ( such as a 1 or a 2 ) to see what can be learned from those items . For example , if a student reports a 1 for item 16 ( " When my teacher reads books out loud , I think it is boring " ) , you might want to explore the types of books that the student finds interesting during the conversational interview . If several students respond similarly , you may choose to implement a practice by which you preview several books for potential read-alouds and then have students vote on choices . It is also interesting to look at items for which boys and girls respond differently as a group . # Looking across the spreadsheet at individual student responses gives you an idea of items to explore on the conversational interview for each student , while observing trends in low scores classwide ( by column ) would give you an indication of whole-class needs . For example , noting a group of students who respond with a 1 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I do n't know , I can never figure it out " ) , a reading group can be designed to work on word-attack skills . # Using the MRP-R to Inform Instruction # Considering the body of research that connects and supports the relationship between motivation and reading proficiency ( Guthrie &amp; Wigfield , 2005 ; Pintrich , 2003 ; Taboada , Tonks , Wigfield , &amp; Guthrie , 2009 ) , taking the motivational temperature of your class , and identifying the motivational makeup of individual students in your class are key elements in developing instruction that meets the needs of all of your students . Just as an informal reading inventory or benchmark assessment gives you a read on the pulse of what your students can do or already know , a quick check of their motivation at the beginning and midpoint of the school year may guide you in tailoring instruction that will support student motivation and engagement in literacy learning . # Supporting Self-Concept as a Reader . # Self-concept as a reader arises from students ' task-specific perceptions of being able to successfully negotiate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decoding new words , using comprehension strategies effectively , and expressing their thoughts about what they have read . As Solheim ( 2011 ) suggested , " the level of self-efficacy affects how much students understand of the texts they read but probably also the degree to which they are able to demonstrate what they have actually understood " ( p. 22 ) . A student who has a healthy self-concept as a reader is more likely to approach the reading tasks with enthusiasm and interest , to engage in strategic reading practices , and to be interested in sharing what he or she has read ( Guthrie &amp; Wigfield , 2005 ; Pressley , 2002 ) . Therefore , understanding a student 's self-concept as a reader prepares the teacher to provide the support required for engaged reading . # The odd-numbered items in the reading survey indicate the students ' perceptions of themselves as readers and provide information regarding the aspects of reading that may prove troublesome for some . Item 3 , for example , asks students to decide how easily they can figure out new words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading comprehension . Low scores for these items might suggest that individual or small-group follow-up is important to further isolate the difficulties experienced in decoding or comprehension strategy use that might lead to these perceptions of low self-efficacy for these tasks . Further exploration during the conversational interview might also be helpful in developing specific teaching plans for supporting these students . # Item 17 states , " When I am in a group talking about books I have read , I hate ; do n't like ; like ; or love to talk about my ideas . " Some students feel they succeed in developing a general understanding of a story or a topic but feel less than adequate in expressing these interpretations . Low scores on this item , particularly if seen in several students , might indicate a need to provide more explicit instruction and modeling in how to talk about and respond to text . As collaboration about texts has been found to be a motivating element of instruction ( Christie , Tolmie , Thurston , Howe , &amp; Topping , 2009 ; Reznitskaya , 2012 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their motivation . # Students may perceive their ability to read silently as very different from their ability to read aloud . Item 19 provides a window to student perceptions of reading aloud , and low scores here might suggest some need for development of oral reading fluency , such as Readers Theatre , or practicing a piece for recording a VoiceThread or Podcast book recommendation . # Value of Reading . The idea of reading as something that is valued , either an activity or as a goal , stems from the work of Eccles ( 1983 ) in developing the expectancy-value theory of motivation . The value of participating in a reading task is related to how personally interesting it is , how important the task is deemed to be , and how the successful completion of the task serves future needs . Therefore , if students feel that reading is interesting because they enjoy being absorbed or informed by text ( reading as an activity ) , or think that becoming a good reader will help them in their future careers ( reading as a goal ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading task presented . Students who are interested in reading for these intrinsic , or personal , reasons will likely be more open to instruction and development ( Pressley , 2002 ) . # The even-numbered items on the reading survey target students ' perceptions of value of reading . Some of the items query a student 's thoughts about individual or recreational reading ( items 2 , 14 , 18 , and 20 ) , and others look at reading as a social practice ( items 4 , 6 , 10 , and16 ) . Students who indicate low scores on the " reading as an individual practice " items may benefit from an independent reading program that guides students in finding personally interesting books at a " just-right " reading level . Often , students find reading to be a dissatisfying activity when they can not find books on topics they enjoy at a level that they can independently read . Again , following up low responses on the survey with targeted questions in the conversational interview regarding reading interests and preferences can position the teacher to modify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Similarly , the items that explore reading as a social practice ( text discussions , social views of reading and readers , libraries as resources ) may guide teachers in adjusting or modifying classroom practices to influence the value students place on reading as a socially mediated practice . For example , if several students in the class respond to item 10 , " I think libraries are , " with " a really boring place to spend time , " then the teacher should carefully consider ways that students use the library . Creating authentic purposes for using the library , such as for individual research , creating an individualized text set of books and materials on a topic of personal interest , and instituting collective practices such as reviewing books for potential classroom library acquisition or student-led book clubs , would create a value for the library as a personal and community resource . # Reading can also be valued as an achievement goal that is important to a student 's future perspective . In this sense , becoming a good reader is valued because it can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 12 , in particular , indicate a student 's perception that becoming a good reader is valuable to their future goals . A student who is interested in extreme weather professions , such as tornado chasing or hurricane predicting , may develop an increased value for the goal of becoming a good reader by being exposed to meteorological reports . The conversational interview is a valuable tool for discovering a student 's personal and professional interests such that targeted reading activities can be developed that would support interest in reading as an activity as well as a valued achievement goal . # Motivation Assessment as a Classroom Practice # Assessing the individual and collective views of students regarding their value of reading and self-concept as readers is a classroom practice that supports effective teaching , group planning , and individual instruction . Ideally , the MRP-R can be administered at the beginning of the year for the teacher to take the initial pulse of the class and to influence both whole-group topics and small-group needs . The MRP-R can be given again at midyear break to check for changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in place after the initial administration . A final check at the end of the academic year provides feedback regarding program modifications and individual student interventions that may inform potential adaptations in the following school year . In all , the classroom teacher can develop an expanded view of student , group , and classwide student needs with very little investment of time , even with three administrations of the MRP-R per year . # Understanding the clear ties between motivation and achievement , and given the highly variable ability levels , interests , and learning backgrounds of students , the effective classroom teacher integrates all available knowledge of students to design engaging and comprehensive instruction . The MRP-R is a tool available to teachers that will guide them in developing instructional practices that support students in becoming engaged and strategic readers for both personal and academic literacy needs . # Pause and Ponder # As a classroom teacher , how do you typically determine the reading motivation of your students ? What have you done to support the reading motivation of your students ? What benefits might you derive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three times per year ( beginning , midpoint , end ) ? What might you learn from the conversational interview that would help you to understand an individual student 's motivational needs ? How might the MRP-R be used with students demonstrating high , average , and low motivation ? TAKE ACTION ! # 1 . Create a file that contains the reading survey spreadsheets and conversational interviews of your students ( either digital or hardcopy ) . The conversational interview has a place to enter the reading survey scores and also room for comments and planning . Refer to this information when developing new units of study and also when determining flexible reading groups so that students ' motivational needs can be considered . # 2 . Use the planning section of the conversational interview form to note specific changes in grouping , topics , texts , or practices that you implement . At the next administration of the MRP-R , refer back to your notes and record any changes in motivation . This will help you to evaluate the effectiveness of your modifications . # REFERENCES Applegate , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . A study of thoughtful literacy and the motivation to read . The Reading Teacher , 64(4) , 226-234. # Baker , L. , &amp; Wigfield , A. ( 1999 ) . Dimensions of children 's motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity and reading achievement . Reading Research Quarterly , 34(4) , 452-477. # Bandura , A. ( 1977 ) . Social learning theory . New York , NY : General Learning . # Case , R. , &amp; Khanna , F. ( 1981 ) . The missing links : Stages in children 's progression from sensorimotor to logical thought . In K.W. Fischer ( Ed . ) , New directions for child development ( Vol. 12 , pp. 21-32 ) . San Francisco , CA : Jossey-Bass. # Christie , D. , Tolmie , A. , Thurston , A. , Howe , C. , &amp; Topping , K. ( 2009 ) . Supporting group work in Scottish primary classrooms : Improving the quality of collaborative dialogue . Cambridge Journal of Education , 39 ( 1 ) , 141-156. # Cronbach , L.J . ( 1951 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Psychometrika , 16(3) , 297-334. # Eccles , J.S. ( 1983 ) . Expectancies , values , and academic behavior . In J.T. Spencer ( Ed . ) , Achievement and achievement motivation ( pp. 75-146 ) . San Francisco , CA : W.H. Freeman . # Gambrell , L.B. , Palmer , B.M. , Codling , R.M. , &amp; Mazzoni , S.A. ( 1996 ) . Assessing motivation to read . The Reading Teacher , 49(7) , 518-533. # Guthrie , J.T. , &amp; Wigfield , A. ( 2005 ) . Roles of motivation and engagement in reading comprehension assessment . In S.G. Paris , &amp; S.A. Stahl ( Eds . ) , Children 's reading comprehension and assessment ( pp. 187-213 ) . Mahwah , NJ : Erlbaum. # Marinak , B.A. , &amp; Gambrell , L.B. ( 2010 ) . Reading motivation : Exploring the gender gap . Literacy Research and Instruction , 49(2) , 129-141. # Nitko , A.J. ( 1983 ) . Educational tests and measurement : An introduction . New York , NY : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. # Pintrich , P.R . ( 2003 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student motivation in learning and teaching contexts . Journal of Educational Psychology , 95(4) , 667-686. # Pressley , M. ( 2002 ) . Reading instruction that works : The case for balanced reading ( 2nd ed . ) . New York , NY : Guilford. # Quirk , M. , Schwanenflugel , P.J. , &amp; Webb , M. ( 2009 ) . A short-term longitudinal study of the relationship between motivation to read and reading fluency skill in second grade . Journal of Literacy Research , 41(2) , 196-227. # Reznitskaya , A. ( 2012 ) . Dialogic teaching : Rethinking language use during literature discussions . The Reading Teacher , 65(7) , 446-456. # Shaaban , K. ( 2006 ) . An initial study of the effects of cooperative learning on reading comprehension , vocabulary acquisition , and motivation to read . Reading Psychology , 27(5) , 377-403. # Solheim , O.J. ( 2011 ) . The impact of reading self-efficacy and task value on reading comprehension scores in different item formats . Reading Psychology , 32(1) , 1-27. # Taboada , A. , Tonks , S.M. , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . Effects of motivational and cognitive variables on reading comprehension . Reading and Writing , 22(1) , 85-106. # Urdan , T. , &amp; Schoenfelder , E. ( 2006 ) . Classroom effects on student motivation : Goal structures , social relationships , and competence beliefs . Journal of School Psychology , 44(5) , 331-349. # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : Figure 1 MRP-R Component Overview # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : Figure 2 Administration Guidelines for the Reading Survey # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : Figure 3 Reading Survey # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : Figure 4 Scoring Guidelines for the Reading Survey # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : Figure 5 Conversational Interview # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : Figure 6 Example of Excel Spreadsheet for Reading Survey #

@@4156941 Common Core State Standards # Jeremy was a fourth-grade student with mild intellectual disability . On the morning of his scheduled individualized education program ( IEP ) meeting , Jeremy 's mother brought him to school . When Mrs. Malaney , Jeremy 's special education teacher , commented that his IEP meeting would begin in a few minutes his mother was surprised ; she said she did not know that there was a meeting scheduled . Mrs. Malaney responded that she had given Jeremy a note to bring home , but that he had probably forgotten it in his backpack . After rearranging her morning schedule , Jeremy 's mother said she could stay for the meeting . # When Jeremy 's mother sat down to meet with Mrs. Malaney and Principal Cleveland , she asked if the meeting could be postponed because she wanted Jeremy 's father and his fourth-grade general education teacher to attend as well . The principal told her that they could not reschedule the meeting ; they needed to finish and sign the IEP that morning . Mr. Cleveland also explained that because he and Jeremy 's teachers had already discussed and written most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be there . # Jeremy 's mother had wanted her son 's fourth-grade teacher to be at the meeting so they could talk about having Jeremy 's tests read to him . Mr. Cleveland said that because Jeremy 's teacher was currently in class she could not attend the meeting , and not to worry about the tests because Jeremy spent 5 hours a day in Mrs. Malaney 's resource room . School policy did not allow for test modifications for students with intellectual disability , only for students with learning disabilities . Mr. Cleveland had another meeting in 15 minutes and said they needed to discuss Jeremy 's goals and finish the IEP meeting so he would not be late . # We hope that this scenario does not sound familiar . The school-based personnel made a number of serious procedural errors in planning and conducting Jeremy 's IEP meeting , errors so serious that it is likely that a hearing officer or court would rule that the mistakes led to a denial of providing a free appropriate public education ( FAPE ) to a student with disabilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2006 ) . However , common procedural errors made in the IEP process can be avoided when IEP teams understand the importance of the IEP , are familiar with the essence of serious procedural errors , and follow good practices . # The IEP is the cornerstone of IDEA . Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive statement of a student 's educational needs , state measurable goals , and identify specially designed instruction and related services that will be provided to meet those needs ( Bateman , 2011 ) . In fact , the IEP is so important that it is at the center of most special education disputes in hearings or courts ; thus , its importance can not be overestimated ( Bateman , 2011 ) . # Since 1975 , when the use of IEPs was mandated , the process of creating them has been plagued with errors ( Bateman , 2011 ; Yell , 2012 ) . When those errors deny a student FAPE , they can result in school district losses in due process hearings and court cases . It is important for special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ errors and how they can be avoided . # Types of Procedural Errors # Two major types of IEP errors are most common , procedural and substantive . Procedural obligations compel school personnel to follow the specific requirements of the law when developing an IEP . Those requirements include ( a ) providing prior written notice of IEP meetings to parents , ( b ) adhering to state-mandated timelines , ( c ) involving a student 's parents in education decision making , ( d ) conducting complete and individualized evaluations , ( e ) ensuring that all the necessary team members attend IEP meetings , ( f ) including appropriate content in the IEP , and ( g ) ensuring that the IEP is implemented as written ( Bateman , 2011 ; Yell , 2012 ) . The substantive obligations of IDEA require IEP teams to develop and implement a plan that is designed to provide educational benefit for the student . To ensure that these requirements are met , the IEP team must ( a ) assess the student 's academic and functional needs ; ( b ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) write goals that are complete , appropriate , and measurable ; ( d ) provide special education and related services that are effective and based on peer-reviewed research ; and ( e ) monitor the student 's progress toward his or her goals and make instructional changes when necessary ( Yell , 2012 ) . # Even though districts are required to comply with IDEA 'S procedural requirements , mistakes in this area do not automatically lead to finding of a denial of FAPE . When IDEA was amended and reauthorized in 2004 , Congress clarified that , when confronted with issues regarding FAPE , hearing officers are to make their decisions based on substantive grounds ( i.e. , was an IEP reasonably calculated to confer educational benefit ? ) . Further , there are only three types of procedural errors that are so serious that if they are committed by school personnel they may result in a ruling that FAPE was denied : those that # * Impede the child 's right to FAPE. # * Impede the parents ' opportunity to participate in the decision-making process . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S.C. 1415f3 EI-III ) . # Error : Not Including Students ' Parents in the IEP Process # According to the U.S. Supreme Court , the IEP is the central vehicle for ensuring collaboration and cooperation between a child 's parents or guardian and school-based personnel ( Schaffer v. Weast , 2005 ) . Central to the IEP , therefore , is the concept that decisions concerning educational programming and placement will be made by the IEP team , which includes the student 's parents . Language in the IDEA regulations note that the effectiveness of educating children with disabilities depends on " strengthening the role and responsibility of parents and ensuring that families of such children have meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at school and at home " ( 34 C.F.R. 1400c5B ) . Consequently , school personnel must take steps to ensure that one or both parents are present in the meeting or are given the opportunity to participate in the IEP process . In fact , none of IDEA 'S procedural rights is more vigorously protected by the courts ( Bateman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amanda J. v. Clark County School District ( 2001 ) wrote that interference with parental participation in the IEP development undermines the very essence of IDEA because an IEP which truly addresses the unique needs of the child can be developed only if the people who know the child the best are fully involved and informed . Thus , when school officials either intentionally or unintentionally leave a student 's parents out of the IEP development process , it is very likely that they have seriously violated IDEA 'S primary procedural mandate . Such a violation almost automatically results in rulings that a school district has denied a student FAPE . Clearly , school district personnel must make good-faith efforts to ensure that parents are involved in all aspects of IEP development . # School officials may hold the IEP meeting if they are unable to convince parents to attend ; in such cases , schools must document efforts to secure parental participation by keeping # ( 1 ) Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls ; # ( 2 ) Copies of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and # ( 3 ) Detailed records of visits made to the parent 's home or place of employment and the results of those visits. ( 34 C.F.R. 300.322 d ) . # This is not to suggest that parents have the final word on educational decisions , only that they are integral members of the IEP team . When a student 's parents choose not to be involved in the IEP process , and there is evidence that school officials made efforts to involve them in the development of the IEP , hearing officers and courts have tended to hold that the parents have waived their rights under the IDEA ( Bateman , 2011 ) # Court Cases and Parental Involvement . In Drobnicki by Drobnicki v. Poway Unified School District ( 2009 ) , the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the school district violated IDEA when school personnel failed to schedule the IEP meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place . Specifically , district personnel did not ascertain the availability of parents before scheduling the child 's IEP meeting . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attend the scheduled date , the district made no attempt to contact the parents to change the date . Instead , the district notified the parents they could participate at the scheduled date via speakerphone . Although the use of a speakerphone is acceptable if neither parent can attend in person , it should be used as a last resort and only after attempts to reschedule to a mutually agreed upon time and place . # On the other hand , the court for the D.C. Circuit in Paolella v. District of Columbia ( 2006 ) found that a school district had offered a student 's parents a meaningful opportunity to participate in the development of the student 's IEP , even though the final decision of the team was contrary to the parents ' wishes . In this case , the school district personnel had presented the testimony of a placement specialist and a school psychologist that a student did not need placement in a private school . After visiting the school , the parents disagreed with the IEP team 's decision and filed a due process complaint that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The court noted that the school district had decided that the private placement was not necessary but they had allowed the parents to be meaningfully involved because district personnel had considered the parent 's request . # In an important ruling issued on June 13 , 2013 , the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the Hawaii Department of Education had violated FAPE by holding the student 's IEP meeting without the participation of a parent . In the case , Doug C. v. State of Hawaii Department of Education ( 2013 ) , Doug C. the father of Spencer , an 18-year student with autism , had requested that he be present at his son 's IEP meeting . District officials , however , were concerned because Spencer 's annual review was overdue . They went ahead and held the IEP meeting without the father 's participation , and they also refused to reschedule the meeting . Doug C. filed for a due process hearing and contended that the district had denied FAPE because parents had not been allowed to participate in the IEP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judge for the U.S. District Court , held that the school district had not denied Spencer a FAPE . The Appeals Court , however , overturned the decisions of the hearing officer and the U.S. District Court and ruled that the school district had denied FAPE . The court noted that parental involvement is the very essence of the IDEA and that the school district had held the IEP meeting over the father 's repeated objections . The Appeals Court also noted that the district 's argument that the meeting had to be held because of the expiration of the IEP was without merit because parental participation trumps the annual deadline and because the district 's obligation to provide services does not end just because an annual IEP review is overdue . Holding the IEP meeting without the father 's participation was a procedural violation which seriously infringed on the parent 's right to participate and denied the student educational opportunity . # Tips for Ensuring Parental Participation in the IEP Process . It is essential that every effort be made to coordinate with parents and guardians when scheduling the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes making efforts to ensure that IEP meetings are scheduled at a mutually agreeable time and place , which can include holding meetings by conference calls or via the Internet . The IEP Meeting Worksheet ( Figure 1 ) functions as a tracking system that documents attempts to coordinate with parents and when required notices were sent to parents . # Another method for documenting parental involvement is to assign a person ( other than the person running the meeting ) to keep written notes at the IEP meeting ; these notes should include parental contributions and the IEP team 's discussion of these contributions . At the end of the IEP meeting , these notes should be read and signed by the team members . Keeping meeting notes shows that parents were actively encouraged to contribute to the IEP meeting and that their thoughts and opinions were considered and discussed in a thoughtful manner . # Error : Predetermining a Student 's IEP Services or Placement # Predetermination occurs when the school-based personnel on an IEP team essentially decide on a student 's special education services , a student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the actual IEP meeting , thus failing to involve a student 's parents in making these important decisions . Predetermination is a serious error that can lead to a denial of FAPE , and thus a violation of IDEA ( Bateman , 2011 ; Yell , 2012 ) . When school personnel engage in predetermination they essentially exclude a student 's parents from the decision-making process ; again , violating the primary procedural protection of the IDEA . # This does not mean that the school-based personnel on an IEP team can not prepare a draft IEP . It can be helpful to present a draft IEP at the meeting in the interest of efficiency and as a starting point for the IEP team 's discussion ; however , the document should be clearly labeled as a draft and all team members must understand that the IEP will be finalized only after the IEP has been edited over the course of the meeting to reflect the input and feedback of all team members . Preparatory activities held before the IEP meetings are permissible as long as school-based team members come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's services and placement . As the judge in Doyle v. Arlington ( 1992 ) wrote , " school officials must come to the IEP table with an open mind . But this does not mean they should come to the IEP table with a blank mind " ( p. 2 ) . # Court Cases and Predetermination . Deal v. Hamilton County Board of Education ( 2004 ) is perhaps the most widely known case regarding predetermination . In this case , the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a school district had denied a student FAPE because the school 's IEP team had predetermined his placement by adhering to the district 's unofficial policy of refusing to consider requests for applied behavior analysis home services . Because the procedural violation of predetermination effectively deprived the parents of meaningful participation , the violation amounted to a denial of FAPE. # Tips for Avoiding Predetermining IEP Services and Placement . One way to avoid predetermination is to solicit input from all team members prior to the IEP meeting . For example , the IEP team can send parents a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the IEP meeting notice to solicit feedback that can be incorporated in the draft IEP . If the parents return the form in advance , this will allow the team to receive input on parents ' perceptions that can be incorporated into the draft IEP . In addition , this also helps them gauge whether the family is satisfied with the current placement and provision of services . If parents list anything unexpected on the form , the special education teacher can follow up with them prior to the meeting so that IEP team members are prepared to address the parents ' concerns in the meeting ( Weishaar , 2011 ) . Even if parents do n't return the documents until the meeting , completing the form in advance will encourage them to think about their perspective on their student 's education before the meeting . This will help parents understand they have equal partnership in the planning of their student 's IEP. # Another method that can be used to avoid predetermination is to assign someone from the school to contact a student 's parents before the IEP meeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and what kinds of information they can provide to help the IEP team craft a meaningful IEP . Keeping written notes of the meeting , as suggested in the previous section , also ensures that the record will include parental contributions regarding special education services and placement and the team 's discussion of these contributions . # Error : Determining Placement Before Programming # The law is clear that placement decisions must be made after the team has developed the student 's goals and services in the IEP . Determining a student 's placement prior to programming can amount to a denial of FAPE . A student 's placement " must be based on the child 's IEP " ( 34 C.F.R. 300.116b2006 ) , because only after the program has been determined will a team have a basis for determining where the student 's needs can best be met ( Bateman , 2011 ; Yell , 2012 ) . When an IEP team decides placement before programming the team is engaging in a practice that has been referred to as " shoehorning " ( Slater , 2010 ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the placement rather then developing an individualized program . # Court Cases and Placement . In Spielberg v. Henrico County Public Schools ( 1988 ) , the Henrico County School District had been paying the tuition of Jonathan Spielberg , a student with severe intellectual disability , to attend a private residential school in Pennsylvania where he received year-round schooling as well as after-school care . The school district conducted a reevaluation of Jonathan and developed an IEP that called for his educational services to be delivered in a public facility instead of the private school . Jonathan 's parents appealed the school district 's decision . A federal district court ruled that the school district had followed the requirements of the law . The parents appealed the decision . The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that school officials had violated the law 's procedures , thereby denying Jonathan FAPE , when they decided to change his placement and then develop an IEP to carry out their decision . The circuit court noted that making a placement decision before developing an IEP on which to base a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ C.F.R. 300.552 ) and the spirit and intent of the law . # Tips for Avoiding Placing a Student Before Programming . Members of the IEP team need to discuss the goals and services a student needs before discussing placement . If parents request that placement be addressed prior to programming , an IEP team member ( perhaps the representative of the local education agency or special education teacher ) can explain the sequence of decisions that must be followed in the IEP meeting and why this order needs to be followed . # One way to ensure that goals and services are addressed before placement is to begin the meeting with a brief discussion of the topics to be covered during the IEP meeting , the order in which these topics will be addressed , and the rationale for addressing topics in the particular order in which they will be discussed . It can be helpful to provide parents with an outline of the meeting . Again , taking notes during the meeting and having all IEP team members sign them at the conclusion records the decision-making sequence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the discussion of goals and services and their input , or lack thereof . # Error : Not Fielding an Appropriate IEP Team # IDEA requires that an IEP team include # ( 1 ) The parents of the child ; # ( 2 ) Not less than one regular education teacher of the child ( if the child is , or may be , participating in the regular education environment ) ; # ( 3 ) Not less than one special education teacher of the child , or where appropriate , not less then one special education provider of the child ; # ( 4 ) A representative of the public agency who # ( i ) Is qualified to provide , or supervise the provision of , specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities ; # ( ii ) Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum ; and # ( iii ) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency . # ( 5 ) An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results ? ; # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expertise regarding the child , including related services personnel as appropriate ; and # ( 7 ) Whenever appropriate , the child with a disability . ( 34 C.F.R. 300.321 a ) # IEPs must be accessible to " each regular education teacher , special education teacher , related services provider , and any other service provider who is responsible for its implementation " ( 34 C.F.R. 300.323d ) . # Any of these participants do not need to attend the IEP meeting if their area of curriculum or related services is not to be modified or discussed . In such cases , however , it is important that the parent and district have agreed to the excusal in writing . In situations in which the team member 's area of contribution will be discussed at the meeting , excusal may still be granted if that team member submits written input to the parent and district prior to the meeting and the district personnel and the student 's parents agree in writing ( 34 C.F.R. 300.321 el and 2 ) . However , best practice suggests a complete team is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teams should not overuse this excusal provision in situations when a team member 's area is being discussed . # Court Cases and the IEP Team . A number of cases have addressed the importance of fielding the required team members to develop a student 's IEP . For example , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard a case where a school district failed to include a general education teacher at an IEP meeting for a 4-year-old child with autism . The school district personnel in this case stated that it was unnecessary to have a general education teacher at the meeting because they did not believe that the teacher would make a meaningful contribution to the meeting-even though one of the reasons for the meetings was to discuss the child 's inclusion in the general education setting ( Deal v. Hamilton County Board of Education , 2004 ) . In finding for the parents on this issue , the circuit court judge held that input provided by a general education teacher is vitally important in considering the extent to which a student with disabilities may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student 's individual needs might be met within that classroom Deal v. Hamilton County Board of Education , 2004 ) . # Tips for Ensuring a Complete IEP Team . In addition to ensuring full participation of parents , the person who runs the IEP team meeting ( often the case manager ) must ensure that the necessary team members are at the IEP meeting . If there is a legitimate reason that a team member can not attend , the case manager must ensure that the excusal procedures of the IDEA are followed . # In addition , the case manager should take steps to include people who are not on the IEP team but who may have useful information that the team should consider when developing the IEP . For example , the case manager could obtain input from the student as well as teachers and other service providers prior to the meeting see Yell , 2012 , for other mandates regarding each participating member ) . Figure 3 provides an example of a planning worksheet that can be completed by students prior to their IEP meeting . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with teachers depending on the student 's strengths , abilities , or preferences . Obtaining feedback from students is especially important if the student will not be participating in all or part of the IEP meeting . # It 's especially important to solicit feedback from teachers and service providers prior to the IEP meeting ( in person or via e-mail ) if the student receives services from numerous subject area or elective teachers , because usually only one general education teacher will be present at the meeting . Teachers can provide valuable information on a student 's present level of performance that may be unique to the content area or setting in which they provide services . For example , the demands of physical education may change and intensify as a student with other health or orthopedic impairments progresses through school . If feedback from the physical education teacher is not solicited , the case manager may not be aware of all the supplementary aids and services or modifications that should be included in the IEP. # In cases in which feedback is solicited before the meeting , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , the team should use the information as a resource when developing the IEP . Such notes or feedback could appear to a hearing officer or a court to be attempts to bypass parental involvement or final decisions , which could lead to a ruling that the IEP was predetermined . # Coordinating the schedules of multiple IEP team members can be a daunting task . For this reason , starting well in advance of the IEP annual review date will lessen the stress of confirming participation by all . In addition , using an organization system similar to the one presented in Figure 1 can aid teachers in keeping track of when members confirm that they 'll be able to attend . # Error : Failing to Implement the IEP as Written # A frequent area of procedural special education disputes occurs when educators fail to implement the IEP as written . A student 's IEP can be impeccably developed but if it is not actually implemented it may comprise a denial of FAPE , and thus violate IDEA . An IEP is a legally binding document , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Every service listed in the IEP must be delivered in the way and manner it is described in the IEP , including frequency , duration , and location . This includes not only the special education services outlined in the document but also the related services . There have been instances in which deliberate decisions made by teachers not to deliver the services in the IEP have led to lawsuits for monetary damages ( Bateman , 2011 ) . This procedural violation is so serious that Melinda Jacobs , an attorney who represents school districts in special education litigation , listed it as the first of her " Seven Deadly Sins " that lead to litigation ( Jacobs , 2013 ) . # Court Cases and Failure to Implement an IEP . Jacobs ( 2013 ) noted that in due process hearings in which parents have participated in the development of their child 's IEP , the school district will usually win or lose based on the faithfulness of its implementation of the IEP . One of the most recent cases to address such a problem was Woods v. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a school district in Michigan failed to implement an IEP because the district did not provide the resource room services nor did they provide educators with the services of an autism consultant as listed in the IEP . The court ordered the school district to provide a significant amount of compensatory services to the child . # Similarly , in District of Columbia Public Schools ( 2012 ) , a child with a learning disability who attended a charter school did not receive 5 hours per week of writing instruction as specified in his IEP . The school district 's failure to fully implement the IEP was found to be a material violation of IDEA and constituted a denial of FAPE . The school district was ordered to provide private tutoring services to the child as compensatory education services . # In addition to being a violation of IDEA , when school districts fail to implement a student 's IEP , this could also be a violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act Eastern Lebanon County , PA , School District , 2010 ) . # Delaying implementation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in D.D . v. New York City Board of Education ( 2nd Cir. 2006 ) , the school district had put three preschool children on a waiting list for several months after developing their IEPs . According to the court , this delay amounted to a denial of FAPE. # Tips for Ensuring That an IEP Is Implemented as Written . Failing to implement an IEP as written is one of the most serious procedural errors that a school district can make . Unfortunately , this has been and continues to be the grist of many due process hearings and court cases . Yet , avoiding this problem appears to be quite simple : Implement the IEP with fidelity . According to Jacobs ( 2013 ) , there are no acceptable excuses for failing to implement every aspect of the IEP ( e.g. , " I do n't have time , " " He 's just lazy , " " It 's not fair to other students " ) . # All district staff who will be implementing a student 's IEP should be informed of their specific responsibilities regarding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and program modifications . In middle schools and high schools where students may have multiple teachers , the IEP team must ensure that all teachers understand their responsibilities as defined by a student 's IEP , even though the teacher may have not been part of the team . Requiring all teachers to read the IEP may not be as successful as developing and having them read a simple form that summarizes and informs teachers of their specific responsibilities . # Avoiding Procedural Errors # A student 's IEP is the heart and soul of IDEA and the means of providing FAPE to students with disabilities ( Bateman , 2011 ; Yell , 2012 ) . Because of its importance , special educators need to understand how to properly develop and implement an IEP , including following both procedural and substantive requirements . Violations of either type of requirement can be a denial of FAPE and a violation of IDEA . Table 1 provides a list of do 's and don'ts regarding the procedural obligations of IEP team members . There are also actions that school district personnel can take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ensure that procedural errors are avoided . # Before the IEP Meeting # One of the most serious errors that school-based IEP team members can make is to predetermine the services or placement to be offered in an IEP . It is permissible to discuss the IEP in an informal manner and even to develop a draft IEP . However , formal meetings should not be held prior to the IEP meeting , unless the student 's parents are also at the meeting . Parents must understand and believe that their knowledge and opinions are an important part of deliberations during the IEP meeting . To ensure that parents are included in a meaningful way , school officials may want to consider having a school-based team member or other school official contact the parents prior to the meeting to talk with them about the upcoming IEP meeting and their important role in it . Clear , focused , and positive communication is key in an IEP meeting , and it begins prior to the meeting ( Bateman , 2011 ) . # During the IEP Meeting # All final decisions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made at the IEP meeting . It is critical to ensure that a student 's parents are encouraged to offer their thoughts and opinions during the meeting . If a draft IEP is brought to the meeting , parents and school-based personnel must understand that it is only a working document that can and should be altered during the deliberations . The meeting should follow an agenda and all school-based personnel must stay focused on the topic being discussed . Discussions should be conducted in a focused , thoughtful , and polite manner . A school-based IEP team member ( other than the person running the IEP meeting ) should be assigned to take notes , which should be read and signed by all at the conclusion of the meeting . Again , it is important to note that not all the parents ' opinions and suggestions must be accepted ; however , they must be discussed and given careful consideration . # Following the IEP Meeting # Following the meeting , a student 's parents should be given a copy of the IEP , and the person who conducted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the process . All of a student 's teachers and involved school staff ( e.g. , counselors , school nurse ) must understand their responsibilities as outlined in the IEP , because all aspects of a student 's special education must be implemented as written . If school-based team members believe that procedural errors were made in the IEP process , someone should immediately contact the student 's parents and discuss the possible problem . If necessary , another meeting should be held to address these problems . # Conclusion # In this article we have discussed the major procedural errors that , when committed , will almost certainly lead to a ruling that a school district has denied a student FAPE , a violation of IDEA . Errors such as failure to involve families , predetermining placement , or failing to implement the IEP fully result in a student 's parents not meaningfully participating in the development of their child 's IEP . It is extremely important that school districts provide professional development for all administrators , teachers , and staff in the importance of avoiding these and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and faithfully implemented it is much more likely that students will receive meaningful educational benefit , and schools will meet both the spirit and intent of IDEA . # Table 1 . Procedural Do 's and Don'ts in IEP Development TABLE # Note . IEP = individualized education program ; IDEA = Individuals With Disabilities Education Act . # Figure 1 . IEP Meeting Worksheet # Student : Date : # Parents : # IEP Case Manager : # Procedural Safeguard Notice sent : # Parents notified about evaluation : # Method(s) of contact : # Mutually agreed on time and place for IEP meeting : # IEP meeting date : # 1st notice sent : 2nd notice sent : # IEP Team Members : # LEA Representative : # Parents : # Special Education Teacher : # General Education Teacher : # Person who can interpret instructional implications of the evaluation results : # Others : # IEP to take effect on : # Note . IEP = Individualized education program ; LEA = local education agency . # Figure 2 . Parent IEP Planning Worksheet # Student : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # To develop the best possible plan for your child , we need your assistance and knowledge of your child . Please take a few minutes to answer the questions below and return to the case manager . All information will be kept confidential . Thank you very much . # 1 ) What do you believe are the strengths of your child ( personally and academically ) ? # 2 ) How do you think your child learns best ? What kind of situation makes learning easiest ? 3 ) What are your child 's favorite activities ? 4 ) Does your child have any behaviors that are of concern to you or your family members ? ( If so , please describe. ) 5 ) How does your child usually react when upset and how do you respond to this behavior ? 6 ) What does your child plan to do after high school ? What do you anticipate he or she will do ? # Note . IEP = Individualized education program . # Figure 3 . Student IEP Planning Worksheet # Name : Date : # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to discuss a plan that will help you do well in school . Please fill out the information below . Your input , ideas , and concerns are important in your plan . # 1 ) In what areas of school have you had the most success this year ? # 2 ) In what areas of school have you had problems this year ? 3 ) With what school activities do you need help ? 4 ) What could your teachers do for you that might help you do better in your classes or with any problems you are having ? 5 ) How much time do you spend on homework ? How much time do you spend studying for tests ? Do you work alone or with help ? 6 ) What do you want to do after high school ? Is there a particular career you are interested in right now ? # Note . IEP = Individualized education program . #

@@4157341 Purpose : This study examined the development and validation of a criterion-referenced Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale ( SELPS ) that was designed to assess the oral language skills of sequential bilingual children ages 4-8 . This article reports results for the English proficiency portion of the scale . # Method : The SELPS assesses syntactic complexity , grammatical accuracy , verbal fluency , and lexical diversity based on 2 story retell tasks . In Study 1 , 40 children were given 2 story retell tasks to evaluate the reliability of parallel forms . In Study 2 , 76 children participated in the validation of the scale against language sample measures and teacher ratings of language proficiency. # Results : Study 1 indicated no significant differences between the SELPS scores on the 2 stories . Study 2 indicated that the SELPS scores correlated significantly with their counterpart language sample measures . Correlations between the SELPS and teacher ratings were moderate . # Conclusions : The 2 story retells elicited comparable SELPS scores , providing a valuable tool for test-retest conditions in the assessment of language proficiency . Correlations between the SELPS scores and external variables indicated that these measures assessed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the validity of inferences about language proficiency based on the SELPS score . # LSHSS # Research Article # Key Words : English language proficiency ; assessment ; rating scale ; sequential bilinguals # Language proficiency ( LP ) is the ability to speak and comprehend a language on a continuum from non-proficient to native-like proficiency . LP assessment remains a controversial area in language acquisition and testing due to ongoing debates about the theoretical framework and definition of the construct ( e.g. , Martin-Beltrn , 2010 ; McNamara , 1996 ; Solrzano , 2008 ) . Over the years , numerous competing frameworks of LP have been proposed ( e.g. , Canale &amp; Swain , 1980 ; Cummins , 1976 ; McNamara , 1996 ; Skehan , 1998 ) , yet there is still little agreement on how to conceptualize LP and its underlying dimensions . For example , communicative competence models ( Bachman , 1990 ; Bachman &amp; Palmer , 1982 ; Canale &amp; Swain , 1980 ) characterize the construct of LP as communicative competence , whereas processing-based models focus on the language tasks a learner can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Pienemann , 1998 ; Robinson , Tin , &amp; Urwin , 1995 ; Skehan , 1998 ) . In addition , according to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ( American Educational Research Association AERA , American Psychological Association APA , &amp; the National Council on Measurement in Education NCME , 1999 ) , few reliable measures exist that provide valid score inferences for children 's LP ( Bedore &amp; Pea , 2008 ; MacSwan , Rolstad , &amp; Glass , 2002 ; Pray , 2005 ; Solrzano , 2008 ) . # For sequential bilinguals , LP assessment is particularly challenging with respect to a second language ( L2 ) . These children learn their native language ( L1 ) from birth and are exposed to an L2 after the age of 3 years ( Kohnert , 2004 ) , while still developing their L1 . Sequential bilinguals represent a fast-growing population in the public schools , accounting for 10.4% of the total school student enrollment in the United States in 2009-2010 ( Aud et al. , 2012 ) . When working with sequential bilingual children , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused by a low level of linguistic attainment due to insufficient exposure to a particular language and language difficulties that are due to language impairment . # When examining children 's language ability , the language in which a child is tested is critical . The language used in testing can have a significant effect on the results and interpretation of test scores ( Bedore &amp; Pea , 2008 ; Bedore et al. , 2012 ; Goldstein , 2006 ) . When sequential bilinguals with typical language development are assessed in a language in which they have not attained native-like proficiency , their performance on traditional language measures , such as language sample analysis ( LSA ) or standardized tests , may resemble the performance of monolingual children with language impairment ( e.g. , Hkansson &amp; Nettlebladt , 1996 ; Paradis , 2010 ; Paradis &amp; Crago , 2000 ) . Before administering measures of language impairment , the child 's LP must be assessed to determine the appropriate language for testing . # Assessment of LP in Sequential Bilingual Children # Prior to the No Child Left Behind Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SEAs ) employed a variety of methods to identify LP in sequential bilinguals , including home language-use surveys , criterion-referenced tests , achievement tests , and LP tests ( Kindler , 2002 ) . According to the Survey of the States ' Limited English Proficient Students and Available Educational Programs and Services 2000-2001 Summary Report ( Kindler , 2002 ) , out of 56 SEAs that participated in the survey , 51 reported using LP tests for student identification and placement purposes . Despite the popularity of these LP tests among educators and practitioners , the psychometric properties and conceptual framework of such measures have been frequently criticized ( e.g. , Larkin , Restrepo , &amp; Morgan , 2007 ; MacSwan &amp; Rolstad , 2006 ; Pray , 2005 ) . For example , Pray ( 2005 ) administered the oral English subtests of the Language Assessment Scales ( De Avila &amp; Duncan , 2005 ) , the IDEA Proficiency Test ( Ballard , Tighe , &amp; Dalton , 2005 ) , and the Woodcock-Muoz Language Survey ( Woodcock , Muoz-Sandoval , Ruef , &amp; Alvarado , 2005 ) to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fourth and fifth grades from varying socioeconomic backgrounds . Although results indicated no significant differences between the non-Hispanic White and Hispanic students , and found no effect of socioeconomic status ( SES ) on the students ' performance on the LP tests , none of the students was classified as proficient or advanced proficient on the Woodcock-Muoz Language Survey , and only 85% of the students were identified as proficient in their L1 by the IDEA Language Proficiency Test . The Language Assessment Scales was the only measure that identified 100% of the monolingual English-speaking children as proficient in their L1. # Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ( 2002 ) , states are required to develop standards of English LP that are focused on academic language skills and to periodically assess LP attainment based on these standards . However , focusing on academic language is problematic because oral LP and academic achievement are confounded in these assessments ( MacSwan &amp; Rolstad , 2006 ) . Despite numerous attempts to define the construct of academic language , there is little systematic research on what language skills the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is distinctive from social language ( Bailey &amp; Huang , 2011 ) . For instance , low performance on a measure confounded by academic skills may not indicate low LP , but instead may indicate limited academic skills due to suboptimal education ( e.g. , MacSwan , 2000 ; MacSwan &amp; Rolstad , 2006 ) . On the other hand , bilingual children who are learning English as their L2 , but who have prior educational experience in theirL1 , may perform better on measures of academic language in comparison to bilingual peers who do not have similar experience in their L1. # Teacher ratings . Teacher ratings are another type of assessment that has been used to evaluate English LP in bilingual children ( Bedore , Pea , Joyner , &amp; Macken , 2011 ; Gutirrez-Clellen &amp; Kreiter , 2003 ; Restrepo , 1998 ; Restrepo &amp; Gutirrez-Clellen , 2001 ) . Gutirrez-Clellen and Kreiter ( 2003 ) argued that teachers are more accurate than parents in their assessment of English LP in bilingual children because parents ' English LP levels may interfere with their ratings . In addition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LP were moderately and significantly correlated with the proportion of grammatical utterances in language samples ( r = .44 ) . Similarly , Bedore et al . ( 2011 ) reported that teacher ratings on a 5-point Likert-type scale were weakly but significantly correlated with language scores on English semantics and morphosyntax subtests in Spanish-English bilingual children ages 4 ; 0-5 ; 11 ( years ; months ) ( Kendall 's t coefficient of .18 and .23 , respectively ) . It is important to note , however , that these correlations may have reached significance because of the large sample size . # LSA . LSA is considered the gold standard in the assessment of oral language skills in speech-language pathology ( Heilmann et al. , 2008 ; Heilmann , Miller , Nockerts , &amp; Dunaway , 2010 ; Miller et al. , 2006 ) and in LP assessment ( MacSwan &amp; Rolstad , 2006 ) . LSA requires eliciting a language sample , transcribing the sample , and coding and analyzing language features such as syntactic length and complexity , grammatical accuracy , and lexical diversity . The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether or not a child has a speech and language disorder , but the purpose for LP assessment is to characterize the child 's L2 productions . LSA offers several advantages over norm-referenced tests because it simultaneously assesses multiple areas of an individual 's language and provides a direct representation of an integrated language performance in a meaningful communication context ( Heilmann et al. , 2010 ) . Further , LSA is a reliable form of assessment . Heilmann et al . ( 2008 ) showed the stability of language sample scores over a period of 2 months , with correlation coefficients ranging from .65 for the mean length of utterance ( MLU ) to .79 for the total number of different words ( NDW ) . Coding reliability was 98%-100%. # Rating scales . One drawback to using LSA as a measure of LP is the time it takes to transcribe and code the language samples . Nevertheless , LSAs are important for validating LP assessments . One possible alternative to LSA is online rating of language , which may be more efficient than transcription if raters can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ score interpretations can be demonstrated . Rating scales are frequently used in LP assessment ( Brindley , 1998 ; North , 2000 ) to address this problem . Results may be represented by scores plotted on two intersecting axes , with one axis representing a continuum of increasing language ability from nonproficient to native-like proficiency that describes the stages or levels of acquisition and the second axis representing categories or domains that are related to a theoretical framework of LP ( Brindley , 1998 ; North , 2000 ) . Rating scales such as this offer a number of advantages for defining LP globally in terms of real-life performance within a specific context of language use . They establish a meaningful frame of reference and provide a useful method for comparing individuals within a population ( North , 2000 ) . # Study Purpose # The purpose of this study was to develop a criterion-referenced Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale ( SELPS ) that yields valid and reliable score interpretations based on the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ( AERA , APA , &amp;NCME , 1999 ) and on L2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are several important steps in test development , including description of a theoretical model of an ability or trait , generation of an operational definition , administration of measures to collect observations , and evaluation of the evidence in terms of the initial hypothesis ( Gorin , 2006 ) . The SELPS aims to measure the level of oral LP in 4- to 8-year-old sequential bilingual children learning English as an L2 in order to identify whether a child has sufficient skills in the L2 to be tested in English . The present study reports the development and preliminary validation of the SELPS for assessment of the English LP component . # To this end , we first reviewed the extant literature on LP , from which we derived our definition of the construct for scale development . Then , we operationalized the construct of LP and developed a rating scale and two parallel language tasks that elicited behavioral evidence of the construct of L2 proficiency . This was accomplished in two studies . Study 1 was dedicated to the evaluation of parallel forms of the language elicitation task using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question : Do parallel forms of the language elicitation task elicit comparable SELPS ratings ? Study 2 was dedicated to the evaluation of the construct validity of the score inferences based on the SELPS by examining the relationship of the subscale and scaled scores with external measures . Study 2 addressed the following research questions : ( a ) Are SELPS subscale and scaled scores related to scores on counterpart language sample measures ? and ( b ) Are SELPS scores related to teacher ratings of L2 proficiency ? # Theoretical Framework of LP # Syntactic complexity , grammatical accuracy , verbal fluency , and lexical diversity refer to the domains of learners ' performance that are used to describe the continuum of LP ( e.g. , Iwashita , Brown , McNamara , &amp; O'Hagan , 2008 ; Norris &amp; Ortega , 2009 ; Skehan , 2009 ) . Although there is some variability in how these domains have been operationalized , there is consensus regarding their usefulness in describing L2 acquisition levels ( Housen &amp; Kuiken , 2009 ; Iwashita , 2010 ; Pallotti , 2009 ; Skehan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the length , elaborateness , and variety of verbal utterances produced by an L2 learner . The MLU based on the number of words per sentence is associated with oral L2 proficiency in young adults . The more proficient the language learner is , the higher the sentence complexity in his or her oral and written language is ( Iwashita , 2006 ; Iwashita et al. , 2008 ) . In addition , the MLU in English as an L2 has been found to increase with age in sequential bilingual children ages 4-7 years ( Miller et al. , 2006 ; Muoz , Gillam , Pea , &amp; Gulley-Faehnle , 2003 ) . # Grammatical accuracy . Grammatical accuracy is indexed by the degree of deviation from a target norm , which is measured using metrics such as frequencies , ratios , and formulas focused on the identification of grammatical errors ( Housen &amp; Kuiken , 2009 ; Pallotti , 2009 ) . Muoz et al . ( 2003 ) reported that predominantly English-speaking bilingual children ages 3 ; 10-4 ; 8 produced on average 59% grammatically correct utterances in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 ; 0-5 ; 6 produced on average 80% grammatically correct utterances in the same task . Similarly , Fiestas and Pea ( 2004 ) reported that Spanish-English bilingual children ages 4 ; 0-6 ; 11 who were fluent speakers of English had 80% grammatical utterances in a storytelling elicited by a wordless picture book . Chondrogianni and Marinis ( 2011 ) found that after 6 years of English exposure , school-age bilingual children demonstrated increased grammatical accuracy in their production of tense and nontense morphemes , except for a few children , who continued to demonstrate difficulties with English past tense . # Verbal fluency . Verbal fluency is a learner 's control over his or her language knowledge manifested by temporal variables such as speech rate , pauses , false starts , reformulations , and repetitions ( e.g. , Housen &amp; Kuiken , 2009 ; Riazantseva , 2001 ) . LP has been found to affect verbal fluency in terms of duration , pause frequency ( Riazantseva , 2001 ) , and speech rate , as measured by the total number of syllables per minute ( Kormos &amp; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Bedore , Pea , and Nagy ( 2005 ) , sequential bilingual children ages 4-7 years demonstrated higher rates of repetition at the sound , word , and phrase level in storytelling in English and Spanish compared to dominant Spanish- or English-speaking children who had been in contact with Spanish or English &lt;20%of the time , respectively , indicating that language proficiency impacts verbal fluency in children . # Lexical diversity . Lexical diversity is the variety and specificity of words that are produced by a speaker . Lexical diversity is measured using a variety of methods , including the NDW and type-token ratios ( e.g. , Golberg , Paradis , &amp; Crago , 2008 ; Muoz et al. , 2003 ) . Lexical diversity has been shown to predict L2 proficiency ( Iwashita et al. , 2008 ; Zareva , Schwanenflugel , &amp; Nikolova , 2005 ) . Studies suggest that the NDW is a sensitive developmental measure of lexical skills in young Spanish-English bilingual children ( Golberg et al. , 2008 ; Muoz et al. , 2003 ) . # Stages of LP Development # Tabors ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in sequential bilingual children : ( a ) home language use , ( b ) nonverbal period , ( c ) telegraphic and formulaic use , and ( d ) productive language use . During the home language stage , children continue to speak their L1 as if people around them can understand and speak the same language ( Saville-Troike , 1987 ; Tabors , 2008 ) . When children realize that use of their home language is not effective , they enter a period of nonverbal communication . During the nonverbal period , children abandon any attempts to communicate in their L1 and may use nonverbal communication instead ( Tabors , 2008 ) . The presence of the nonverbal period has been documented across young L2 learners from a variety of linguistic backgrounds ( e.g. , in American children learning French : Ervin-Tripp , 1974 ; in Japanese-speaking children learning English : Hakuta , 1978 ; Itoh &amp; Hatch , 1978 ) . # The telegraphic language stage refers to a similar stage of language development in monolingual children ( Brown &amp; Fraser , 1963 ) in which utterances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inflections and function words ( e.g. , *Mommy give applejuice ; Tabors , 2008 ) . The use of formulaic language is referred to as the production of unanalyzed phrases , which other speakers have been observed to use ( e.g. , I do n't know ; Peters , 1983 ; Tabors , 2008 ) . Finally , the stage of productive language use begins when children learn a number of vocabulary words and phrases that allow them to construct their own utterances and go beyond the production of telegraphic and formulaic sentences . During this stage of acquisition , children may use formulaic phrases as building blocks of their early language productions ( e.g. , * I got a big ) and continue making grammatical errors ( Tabors , 2008 ) . Although these stages represent increasing LP , children eventually master the system , and thus , we argue that after the productive stage , there is a proficient or advanced stage in which children have command of the grammatical , fluency , and lexical components of language and exhibit minimal errors . # Development of the SELPS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assessment design that incorporated cognitive theory into the test development process ( e.g. , AERA , APA , &amp; NCME , 1999 ; Embertson &amp; Gorin , 2001 ; Gorin , 2006 ; National Research Council , 2001 ) . Scale development proceeded in three stages : ( a ) description of a theoretical model and generation of an operational definition , ( b ) administration of measures to collect observations , and ( c ) evaluation of the evidence in terms of the initial hypothesis ( Gorin , 2006 ) . # Construct definition . We defined LP as a continuum of oral language skills ranging from nonproficiency at one end to native-like proficiency at the other , which is based on a functional linguistic approach to L2 acquisition . LP is viewed as linguistic knowledge and the ability to implement the linguistic knowledge to a specified level of performance in a situation defined by cognitive and linguistic demands ( Bialystok , 2001 ) . Unlike most available standardized LP measures , in the present study , the construct of LP was considered independently from literacy and other school-related @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( MacSwan &amp; Rolstad , 2006 ) . # The SELPS was constructed to be administered in conjunction with a story retell task that elicits a language sample . The story retell task was adopted based on literature suggesting that in sequential bilinguals , such tasks are likely to elicit longer utterances and more complex grammatical structures than spontaneous conversation or story generation ( Gazella &amp; Stockman , 2003 ; Gutirrez-Clellen , 2002 ; Restrepo &amp; Gutirrez-Clellen , 2001 ) . Further , the story retell discourse context is authentic for young children and incorporates language comprehension and production ( Skarakis-Doyle &amp; Dempsey , 2008 ) . Language comprehension is considered a prerequisite for the ability to produce a story ( Pickert &amp; Chase , 1978 ; Skarakis-Doyle &amp; Dempsey , 2008 ) . In addition , story retelling elicits the different components of language , which allows for efficient assessment of LP. # SELPS construct map . The scores from the SELPS were used to make criterion-referenced decisions regarding L2 proficiency based on the four domains of oral language production--syntactic complexity , grammatical accuracy , verbal fluency , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Figure 1 ) . Each SELPS subscale differentiated among up to five levels of oral LP , with each higher level subsuming lower levels . The levels of LP were modified from Tabors ' ( 2008 ) general stages of English language acquisition and were similar to some classifications of oral LP in L2 learners ( Krashen &amp; Terrell , 1983 ) . # The construct map of the SELPS , with behavioral descriptors for each subscale assessing each of the four LP domains , the SELPS levels , and the corresponding Tabors ' ( 2008 ) stages is presented in Figure 1 . Tabors ' first stage , home language use , is not assessed by the SELPS because during this stage , children continue speaking their L1 . Tabors ' stage of productive language use was divided into three SELPS levels : short sentences and phrases with multiple errors , full sentences with a few grammatical errors , and native-like production . Qualitative and quantitative differences in LP among levels were expected across the proposed domains of LP . Nondevelopmental errors in the grammatical accuracy subscale were defined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as " are happy " instead of " they are happy " and " boy is get turtle " instead of " the boy is getting a turtle " or " the boy gets a turtle . " # Scoring the SELPS subscales . For each of the proposed domains , the rating criteria were generated to correspond with the levels of the construct map ( see Figure 1 ) . The subscale ratings ranged from 1 to 4 for syntactic complexity and lexical diversity and from 1 to 5 for grammatical accuracy and verbal fluency ; 1 indicated the lowest level of performance , and 5 indicated the highest level of performance . The subscale score ranges for syntactic complexity and lexical diversity were based on pilot work for the scale development , which suggested that the reduced ranges were optimal . Adding an additional level 5 to the syntactic complexity and lexical diversity subscales created difficulty with reliable separation of levels 4 and 5 , suggesting that children with high levels of L2 proficiency demonstrate less distinct syntactic and lexical skills than children with low levels of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expectations for each level of LP . The inferences about overall LP level were made by a single scaled score that was based on the four subscale scores . The highest scores on all subscales resulted in an overall score of 5 . If there were at least three subscale scores assigned to one level , that score resulted in assignment of an overall LP score at that same level ( e.g. , three subscale scores of 3 resulted in an overall LP score of 3 ) . If two subscales scores were assigned to one level and the other two to the adjacent level , those were averaged to provide an overall score ( e.g. , two scores of 3 and two scores of 4 resulted in an overall LP score of 3.5 ) . In a few cases in which there were fewer than two subscale scores assigned to one level , or the two scores were assigned to a non-adjacent level , then the average score was interpreted as follows : ( a ) scores of 2.00-2.24 were assigned a level of 2 , ( b ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( c ) scores of 3.00-3.24 were assigned a level of 3 , ( d ) scores of 3.25-3.99 were assigned a level of 3.5 , ( e ) scores of 4.00-4.24 were assigned a level of 4 , and ( f ) scores of 4.25-4.44 were assigned a level of 4.5. # Study 1 : Subscale and Scaled Score Reliability # The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the proposed scale based on the theoretical SELPS structure and subscale construct map . This issue was examined via parallel forms reliability . # Method # Participants # Forty sequential bilingual children learning English as an L2 and attending English-only schools in Arizona were recruited as part of a larger study on the development of a language screener in predominantly Spanish-speaking children . Nineteen girls and 21 boys ages 54-101 months ( M = 74.38 ; SD = 12.03 ) participated in the study . Different age groups were included to ensure that the participants had different levels of L2 proficiency . All participants were enrolled in English language development classrooms in the Phoenix metropolitan area and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free and reduced-price lunch program at school . Participants were selected based on the following criteria : ( a ) spoke Spanish at home at least 50% of the time based on parent report , ( b ) were exposed to English after 3 years of age based on parent report , ( c ) scored ? 75 on the nonverbal scale of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children , Second Edition ( K-ABC-II ; Kaufman &amp; Kaufman , 2004 ) , and ( d ) passed a bilateral hearing screening at 20 dB HL in the frequency region from 1000 through 4000 Hz ( American National Standards Institute , 1969 ) . # Measures # Qualification measures . Parent report and children 's enrollment in English language development classrooms were used to qualify children for participation in the study . Parent report included questions pertaining to the child 's language background , degree of exposure to two languages , and exposure patterns to English . Parent report has been used to identify the age of L2 exposure and the amounts of L2 input outside school in sequential bilingual children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . # The K-ABC-II is a standardized measure of cognitive ability for children ages 3 to 18 years . It was used to exclude children with a nonverbal inventory ( NVI ) standard score &lt;75 . According to the test manual , the NVI can be used with bilingual children who are not fluent in English . The test includes instructions and a scoring guide for administering the scale in Spanish and nonverbally using pantomime and motoric responses . The norming sample included &gt;500 Hispanic children , minimizing the effects of ethnic background on the score interpretations . In addition , the manual reported that ethnicity accounted for &lt;5% of the variance of the NVI after controlling for SES , mother 's level of education , and gender . The composite score test-retest reliabilities ranged from .87 to .95. # Experimental measures . Two parallel forms of the SELPS were developed by manipulating the story retell component of the assessment . Each form used a different story , but the same rating scale was applied to both language samples . The parallel SELPS story retell tasks used the modified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1973 ) and A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and a Friend ( Mayer &amp; Mayer , 1971 ) . Scripts for each story were adapted from the publicly available scripts from the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts ( SALT ) software website ( http : **38;462;TOOLONG ... To ensure equivalence in story length and complexity , the number of T-units ( Hunt , 1970 ) , mean length of T-units , and number of pictures presented to participants were controlled in each story and across stories . A T-unit was defined as an independent clause with its dependent ( subordinate ) clauses . There were 43 T-units and 25 pictures in each story that was presented to the children . The mean length of T-units for Frog on His Own was 12.00 , and the mean length of T-units for A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and a Friend was 12.65. # We developed standardized procedures for task administration and prompting to encourage oral productions . Raters were allowed to ask general questions if a child struggled with the retell ( e.g. , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ? ) and to briefly affirm and encourage the children , especially in the beginning of the retell . If children started to switch to their L1 or spoke about unrelated topics , the raters redirected the children multiple times if necessary . # Procedure # Rater training . Raters were bilingual English-Spanish-speaking graduate students in the department of speech and hearing science . Because use of the SELPS requires a rater to understand the linguistic bases of oral language ( e.g. , to differentiate between telegraphic speech and multiple grammatical errors ) , each rater was required to attend a series of training sessions . During the training sessions , a number of the prescored and recorded language samples of children at different LP levels were scored by all raters together and were discussed until score agreement was reached . Raters had to reach 100% accuracy in rating all of the samples before they could score independently . # Story retell administration . All children completed the two story retell tasks on the same day , but the sequence of administration was counterbalanced across children to account for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the child while the child looked at the pictures in the book . Then the child was asked to look at the pictures and to tell the story back to the examiner . To minimize memory load , the book was made available to the children . The children 's story retells were audio-recorded using a digital Ipod nano ( Apple Inc. ) or Olympus WS-600 digital voice recorder . The audio recordings of the story retells were rated , using the SELPS , by two trained raters . Each story was rated on a different day without knowledge of other retell scores . # Analysis # Interrater reliability . Before evaluating the parallel forms reliability , we examined the interrater agreement by having a third rater independently score 15 randomly selected story retells ( 18% ) . One hundred percent of the SELPS scores were within a .5 score difference between the two raters . A linear weighted kappa was calculated to evaluate the agreement based on the distance between the two SELPS scores . The greater the distance between the two scores , the less weight it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for calculating weights : # weight = 1 = distance/maximum possible distance # Kappa ( ? ) values range from -1 to 1 , with negative values indicating poorer than chance agreement , 0 indicating exactly chance agreement , and positive values indicating better than chance agreement ( Fleiss &amp; Cohen , 1973 ) . According to Landis and Koch ( 1977 ) , ? values &lt;0 represent poor agreement , values of .01-.20 represent slight agreement , values of .21-.40 represent fair agreement , values of .41-.60 represent moderate agreement , values of .61-.80 represent substantial agreement , and values of .81-1.00 represent almost perfect agreement . The weighted k value yielded a value of .81 , which indicates almost perfect agreement between the two SELPS scores . # The agreement between the subscale scores within a range of +/- one score point was 100% and yielded a ? value of 1 for the syntactic complexity scores ( perfect agreement ) , a value of .47 for the grammatical accuracy scores ( moderate agreement ) , a value of .68 for the verbal fluency scores ( substantial agreement ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scores ( almost perfect agreement ) . # Parallel forms reliability . To estimate parallel forms reliability for the two story retell tasks , we conducted three analyses : ( a ) a Wilcoxon test evaluating differences between the medians of scores on the two story retell tasks ; ( b ) Spearman 's rho correlations investigating whether there was a linear relationship between the corresponding subscale scores on the two story retell tasks and a linear relationship between the overall scaled scores ; and ( c ) the percentage agreement between the two SELPS scores and the linear weighted ? evaluating the proportion of weighted agreement corrected for chance . # The Wilcoxon test represents an alternative to paired-samples t tests and is more appropriate for ordinal-level data . # It involves ranking the difference between the scaled scores on the two story retells for each child . The Spearman 's rho correlations were selected as more appropriate for the ordinal-level data than a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient . # Results # Descriptive statistics ( median , interquartile range , mean , standard deviation , and skew ) for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are presented in Table 1 . Syntactic complexity and lexical diversity subscale score distributions for the two story retells were negatively skewed as a result of the large number of children who received the highest possible scores on the two subscales : 33 children ( 82.5% ) and 34 children ( 85.0% ) received a score of 4 on the syntactic complexity subscale for Frog on His Own and A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and a Friend , respectively , and 30 children ( 75.0% ) and 27 children ( 67.5% ) received a score of 4 on the lexical diversity subscale for Frog on His Own and A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and a Friend , respectively . The scaled score distributions on both story retells were negatively skewed as a result of the large number of children who received high overall scaled scores : 23 children ( 57.5% ) and 19 children ( 47.5% ) received an overall scaled score of 4.5. or 5.0 for Frog on His Own and A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 to 5 on both story retell tasks , indicating that the participants ' LP was past the nonverbal period of L2 acquisition . The scale describes a continuum of L2 proficiency from a nonverbal period to native-like proficiency ; thus , the skewed score distributions were due to characteristics of the study participants . # For estimates of parallel forms reliability , results of the Wilcoxon test indicated a nonsignificant difference between all of the subscale scores for the two story retell tasks ( z = -1.00 , p = .32 , r = -.11 for syntactic complexity ; z = -.27 , p = .78 , r = -.03 for grammatical accuracy ; z = -1.70 , p = .09 , r = -.19 for verbal fluency ; and z =.00 , p = 1.0 , r = 0 for lexical diversity ) . The results also indicated a nonsignificant difference between the overall scaled scores on the two story retell tasks , z = -1.37 , p = .17 , r = -.15 . In addition , the effect size estimates demonstrated that the story accounted for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mean of the ranks in favor of the scaled scores on the Frog on His Own story was 11.86 ; the mean of the ranks in favor of the scaled scores on the A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and a Friend story was 10.88. # Next , we examined the Spearman 's rho correlations between the four subscale scores on the two retell tasks . Using the Sidak ( 1967 ) adjustment of the Bonferroni procedure to control for Type I error , a p value &lt;.001 was required for significance . The following formula was used to calculate a p value : ? S-B = 1 - ( 1 - ? FWE ) 1/c , where ? aS-B is the Sidak-Bonferroni alpha level used to determine significance , ? FWE is the desired family wise error of .05 , and c is the number of correlations ( Sidak , 1967 ) . This approach has less impact on statistical power and is considered less conservative in comparison with the Bonferroni procedure ( Keppel &amp; Wickens , 2004 ) . # The results indicated statistically significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , p &lt; .001 ; the grammatical accuracy scores , r = .63 , p &lt; .001 ; the verbal fluency scores , r = .59 , p &lt; .001 ; and the lexical diversity scores , r = .82 , p &lt; .001 . The correlation between the overall scaled scores on the two stories was statistically significant and strong in magnitude , r = .78 , p &lt; .001 . Finally , the percentage agreement within half of a point between the two overall scaled scores was 87.5% . The weighted k value was .62 , which indicates substantial agreement between the scores assigned to the two story retell tasks . # Discussion # The SELPS was constructed as a criterion-referenced rating scale to assess the level of English LP in sequential bilingual children learning English as an L2 in order to identify their English developmental stage . The theoretical framework of the SELPS considers syntactic complexity , grammatical accuracy , verbal fluency , and lexical diversity as the four areas of language performance describing the continuum of L2 proficiency ( Iwashita , 2010 ; Iwashita et al. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ &amp; Ortega , 2009 ; Skehan , 2009 ) . The five levels of oral LP in the SELPS were based on the modified Tabors ' ( 2008 ) stages of L2 acquisition . To elicit the behavioral evidence of L2 proficiency , the two story retell tasks were based on wordless storybooks . The story retell task incorporated both language comprehension and language production ( Skarakis-Doyle &amp; Dempsey , 2008 ) and was more likely to elicit longer utterances and complex grammatical structures than spontaneous conversation or story generation in sequential bilinguals ( Gutirrez-Clellen , 2002 ; Restrepo &amp; Gutirrez-Clellen , 2001 ) . # To investigate whether the two story retell tasks elicited comparable language performance in bilingual children based on the SELPS , we conducted three analyses . The first analysis indicated that there were no differences between the corresponding subscale and scaled scores on the two story retells . These results suggest that on average , children 's performance on the two tasks did not differ . The second analysis revealed significant medium-to-large correlations between the corresponding subscale scores on each of the stories and large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who received high scores on one story retell task were likely to receive high scores on the second story retell task , regardless of which story was administered first , and children who received low scores on one story retell task were likely to receive low scores on the second story retell task . The third analysis revealed substantial agreement between the two scaled scores . # Overall , results indicated that the SELPS provides comparable ratings of LP based on the two story retell tasks . Using the two stories provided a valuable tool for test-retest conditions in the assessment of L2 proficiency and allowed memory effects to be eliminated . However , it is important to note that all of the participants were expected to have some exposure to the task of storytelling ; therefore , the elicited language productions were not influenced by novelty . The results may be different for children who did not have any previous exposure to the story retell task . # Study 2 : Validity Evidence # Study 2 aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of the SELPS as a measure of English @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SELPS scores with theoretically related external variables such as language sample measures and teacher ratings of English LP. # Method # Participants # Seventy-six sequential bilingual children learning English as an L2 attending English-only schools in Arizona participated in this study . Of the 76 participants , 21 ( 9 boys and 12 girls ) also participated in Study 1 . Because these children had completed two story retells , the SELPS scores from one administration were randomly selected for analysis in Study 2 . There were 43 girls and 33 boys ages 59-108 months ( M = 76.71 ; SD = 11.76 ) . All participants were enrolled in English language development classrooms in schools in the Phoenix metropolitan area and were from low-SES homes based on participation in the free and reduced-price lunch program . Participants were selected using the same selection criteria described in Study 1 . In addition , to ensure that participants had typical language development , all children were required to pass the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals--4 , Spanish Edition ( CELF--4 ; Wiig , Secord , &amp; Semel , 2006 ) with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development were randomly selected from a larger study of Spanish-English-speaking children . Children with language impairment were not selected for the validation because their L2 characteristics could be influenced by language impairment rather than level of L2 proficiency. # The CELF-4 is a standardized measure that is used to identify language impairment in primarily Spanish-speaking children ages 5 to 21 . The standardization sample included bilingual Spanish-English students , and the test manual reported that Spanish was the L1 of all participants . The core subtests administered to our study participants included Concepts and Directions , Word Structures , Sentence Repetition , and Formulating Sentences . The test-retest reliability across subtests ranged from .80 to .95 . The test mean is 100 and the standard deviation is 15. # External Validation Measures # Teacher ratings . A questionnaire was used to obtain teacher ratings of children 's English LP based on a 5-point Likert-type scale , with a score of 1 indicating that a child can not speak English at all and a score of 5 indicating that a child has native-like English LP . The rating scale was similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1998 ) and in Gutirrez-Clellen and Kreiter ( 2003 ) . # Language sample measures . Story retelling samples used for obtaining the SELPS scores were orthographically transcribed using SALT ( Miller &amp; Iglesias , 2008 ) . Running speech was segmented into T-units and then coded for subordinate clauses and ungrammatical sentences . On average , children produced 28 T-units in their language samples . SALT was used to generate values for the following variables from the transcribed language samples : ( a ) mean length of utterance in words ( MLUw ) ; ( b ) NDW ; ( c ) ungrammaticality index ( UG ; a total number of ungrammatical sentences divided by a total number of T-units ) ; ( d ) subordination index ( SI ; a total number of subordinate clauses divided by a total number of T-units ) ; and ( e ) percentage of maze words ( PMW ) , such as false starts , repetitions , and reformulations , to total number of words produced in the transcript . MLUw and SI were selected as measures of syntactic length and complexity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ; NDW was selected as a measure of lexical diversity . Although NDW is affected by utterance length ( Klee , 1992 ) , it is considered a robust indicator of lexical skills when the language elicitation procedure is standardized . UG was used as a global measure of grammatical accuracy ( Iwashita , 2010 ; Iwashita et al. , 2008 ) , and PMW was used as a measure of verbal fluency ( Fiestas et al. , 2005 ; Heilmann et al. , 2010 ) . # Procedure # The administration of the story retell task was based on the procedures discussed in Study 1 . Forty-one children ( 53.9% ) listened and retold the story A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and a Friend , and 35 children ( 46.1% ) listened and retold the story Frog on His Own . A research assistant orthographically transcribed the recorded story retelling samples and then coded them using SALT ( Miller &amp; Iglesias , 2008 ) . To ensure reliability of transcriptions and coding , two independent transcribers checked 100% of the transcriptions . Any discrepancies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Analysis # Interrater reliability . Before examining validity evidence , we examined the reliability of the scores for this sample by having a third rater independently score 15 randomly selected story retells ( 19.6% ) . The agreement between the two SELPS scaled scores within a .5 score difference was 100% . The weighted k value yielded a value of .88 , which indicates almost perfect agreement between the two SELPS scaled scores . The agreement between the subscale scores within a range of 1 score point was 100% and yielded a k value of 1 for syntactic complexity scores ( perfect agreement ) , a value of .72 for grammatical accuracy scores ( substantial agreement ) , a value of .81 for verbal fluency scores ( almost perfect agreement ) , and a value of .63 for lexical diversity scores ( substantial agreement ) . Kappa values were interpreted according to Landis and Koch ( 1977 ) . # Validity evidence . As evidence of the external relationships between the SELPS and other methods of LP assessment , we computed bivariate correlations among the measures . The relationship between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were examined using nonparametric correlations , as this represents the most appropriate analysis for the ordinal-level data . # Large significant correlations were predicted between the language sample measures and the subscale and scaled scores , which would support the validity of the inferences about English LP based on the SELPS ; small correlations would suggest that language sample variables and the SELPS scores measure different constructs . It was further expected that large significant correlations between the teacher ratings and the SELPS scores would support the validity of the inferences about English LP based on the SELPS ; small correlations would suggest that the teacher ratings and the SELPS measure different constructs . # Results # Descriptive statistics ( mean , standard deviation , median , interquartile range , skew , standard error of skew , and minimum and maximum scores ) for the SELPS subscale and scaled scores , the language sample variables , and the teacher ratings are presented in Table 2 . The minimum observed subscale and scaled score on the SELPS was 2 , which indicated that all of the participants were past the nonverbal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the language sample variables at each SELPS level are presented in Table 3 . Due to the small sample size for some of the SELPS levels , statistical analysis was not used to evaluate whether there were significant mean differences for all language sample variables across different scaled scores . However , descriptive statistics indicated an increase in MLUw , SI , and NDW and a decrease in UG and PMW with the increasing SELPS scores . There was a slight increase in the mean of PMW from the SELPS scaled score of 3.5 ( M= .10 ) to the SELPS scaled score of 4.0 ( M = .18 ) , possibly due to the increase in the length of retells. # Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated to investigate whether there was a linear relationship between the subscale and scaled scores and the corresponding language sample variables . Because the language sample variables represented continuous data , for the purposes of the analyses , the subscale and scaled scores were also treated as continuous variables . Using the Sidak ( 1967 ) adjustment of the Bonferroni procedure to control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ required for significance . # Results indicated statistically significant correlations between MLUw and the syntactic complexity scores , r = .42 , p &lt; .001 , between UG and the grammatical accuracy scores , r = -.66 , p &lt; .001 , and between NDW and the lexical diversity scores , r = .43 , p &lt; .001 . However , the syntactic complexity subscale scores were not significantly correlated with SI , r = .28 , p = .014 , and the verbal fluency scores were not significantly correlated with PMW , r = -.35 , p = .002 . The SELPS scaled scores were significantly correlated with MLUw ( r = .53 , p &lt; .001 ) , UG ( r = -.63 , p &lt; .001 ) , and NDW ( r = .50 , p &lt; .001 ) , but not with SI ( r = .34 , p = .003 ) or PMW ( r = -.36 , p = .002 ) . # To investigate whether there was a linear relationship between the SELPS and the teacher ratings , we conducted Spearman 's rho @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teacher ratings of English LP . Using the Sidak-Bonferroni approach to control for Type I error , a p value &lt;.004 was required for significance . There were moderate and significant correlations between the SELPS scaled score and the teacher ratings of LP , r = .46 , p = .001 . In addition , the teacher ratings were moderately and significantly correlated with the grammatical accuracy subscale scores , r = .47 , p = .001 , the verbal fluency subscale scores , r = .43 , p = .001 , and the lexical diversity subscale scores , r = .36 , p = .001 , but not the syntactic complexity subscale scores , r = .46 , p = .029. # Discussion # Study 2 examined construct validity evidence based on the relationship between the SELPS scores and two theoretically related variables : language sample measures and teacher ratings of English LP . LSA was selected as an unbiased measure in the assessment of oral language skills in sequential bilingual children ( Gutirrez-Clellen &amp; Simon-Cereijido , 2009 ; Restrepo , 1998 ) . Teacher ratings were selected as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ format ( i.e. , a rating scale ; Bedore et al. , 2011 ; Gutirrez-Clellen &amp; Kreiter , 2003 ; Restrepo &amp; Gutirrez-Clellen , 2001 ) . No existing standardized measures of L2 proficiency were selected because they confound oral language skills and academic achievement ( MacSwan &amp; Rolstad , 2006 ; Pray , 2005 ) . # There were significant moderate-to-large correlations between the SELPS subscale and scaled scores and the corresponding language sample measures , indicating that the SELPS and the language sample measures assessed similar language abilities . However , it is possible that there was some degree of nonnormality in the distributions of the subscale and scaled scores that subsequently reduced variability in the observed data and affected the magnitude of the correlation analysis . The SELPS offers a general description of L2 proficiency levels and is intended to be used as a screener ; thus , higher correlations with the language sample measures were not expected . # The SELPS levels captured the continuum of oral LP skills as demonstrated by the increase in the MLUw , SI , and NDW , and by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SELPS scores . The decrease in the UG and PMW was expected and indicated that children with greater L2 proficiency made fewer grammatical errors and used fewer maze words than those with lower L2 proficiency. # When we consider the results in relation to other studies , there are some similarities in the performance of children at a higher level of LP based on the language sample measures . Specifically , children at the highest SELPS level had , on average , 73% grammatical utterances and 13% maze words in their story retells , which is comparable with the mean percentage of grammatical utterances ( M = 79.64% ) and the mean percentage of maze words ( M = 20% ) in story tells elicited by a wordless picture book in proficient Spanish-English bilingual children ages 4 ; 0-6 ; 11 ( Fiestas et al. , 2005 ; Fiestas &amp; Pea , 2004 ) . However , children at the highest SELPS level demonstrated , on average , a higher MLUw ( M = 7.14 ) than reported in the previous research on proficient Spanish-English bilingual children ( M = @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is possible that differences in the story elicitation technique influenced these results . Fiestas and Pea ( 2004 ) used a story generation technique based on a wordless picture book rather than story retelling ; thus , the higher MLUw in the current study was expected . # Among the language sample measures , the SI and PMW were not significantly correlated with the scores from the corresponding SELPS subscales . The nonsignificant correlations between the syntactic complexity subscale and the SI may have been influenced by a lack of subordinate clauses in the children 's story retells in which the total number of clauses was almost equal to the number of T-units . The stories used in the story retell tasks included a linear temporal progression of events and had comparable values on the SI ( 1.23 and 1.22 ) that were slightly higher than the mean of the SI in children 's retells , indicating that the story scripts could have influenced the amount of subordination produced by the children . The syntactic complexity subscale , however , significantly correlated with the MLUw . It is possible that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fluency across LP levels as expected . Other measures of verbal fluency , such as percentage of maze words per minute , should be examined in future studies . # Teacher ratings of English LP were considered as a second external validation measure that assesses language skills . The SELPS scaled scores and teacher ratings of English LP on a 5-point Likert-type scale were moderately and significantly correlated . The current finding corroborates those of Gutirrez-Clellen and Kreiter ( 2003 ) , who reported moderate correlations between teacher rating and the proportion of grammatical T-units in Spanish-English bilingual children , and those of Bedore et al . ( 2011 ) , who found significant associations between teacher ratings and language scores on English semantics and morphosyntax scores . This finding indicates that higher scores on the SELPS are more likely to be associated with higher scores on the teacher scale and , conversely , lower scores on the SELPS are more likely to be associated with lower scores on the teacher scale . # Overall , these results provide empirical evidence regarding the validity of inferences about L2 proficiency based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were used for the validation phase and to assign the SELPS scores , the study validated that the rating matched the observed language behavior . The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ( AERA , APA , &amp; NCME , 1999 ) recommend that evidence to support the validity of a measure should be considered in terms of several aspects or sources of evidence . Based on the complexity of validity evidence , it is crucial to recognize that no single study can examine all possible aspects to support the intended purpose of the measure and thus , a series of studies should be conducted to build a sufficient validity argument to support the desired interpretations . # LSA is considered the gold standard in language assessment ( Heilmann et al. , 2008 , 2010 ; Miller et al. , 2006 ) . Therefore , high and significant correlations between the subscale and overall scaled scores with the language sample measures indicated that the operationalization of the construct of LP into different subcomponents is valid . Further , validation of the ratings with objective and quantifiable measures provided evidence that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more efficient and ecologically valid assessment method . Moreover , the increase in values by increase in proficiency stage indicates that the scale is sensitive to changes in LP. # Study Limitations # Several limitations of the current study warrant discussion . The SELPS required raters to have sufficient training and background knowledge about the different aspects of L2 proficiency . Interrater differences may introduce some challenges in terms of establishing reliability and consistency of scoring . Thus , it is recommended that raters receive a substantial amount of training and demonstrate an adequate level of interrater reliability before administering the task and scoring it . Further , it is possible that raters may need refresher trainings to prevent rater drift in reliability . # The SELPS subscale scores range from 1 to 5 ; however , further investigations are necessary to examine whether this range is sufficient to capture the differences in L2 proficiency levels . None of the participants recruited for this study received a score &lt;2 , which restricted the variability in the observed scores and may have subsequently influenced the results of the statistical analyses . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L2 proficiency ; however , including children who are in the nonverbal period of L2 acquisition may not add much to the validity analysis . In addition , the participants had some exposure to the story retell task as a part of their academic experience ; thus , the elicited language productions were not influenced by the novelty of the task . Younger children and children with no prior schooling experiences may not perform well on this task . Different methods may be necessary for these children . Also , the current scale requires validation with older children . # Finally , the use of the SELPS to rate a child 's native language is not appropriate and has not been validated for this purpose . Therefore , the use of the scale for both languages in a bilingual child needs further study . In addition , raters should be exposed to native speakers of each language to ensure that they can differentiate between L1 and L2 proficiency. # Conclusions # The SELPS was designed as a criterion-referenced rating scale of L2 proficiency that assesses syntactic complexity , grammatical accuracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story retell tasks . The scale can be used as a screener of English LP in sequential bilingual children ages 4-8 to determine whether a child has sufficient skills in their L2 to be further tested in English . The scale is not intended to diagnose language impairment in sequential bilingual children because it is based on the framework of typical L2 development . Further , language disorders may impact performance on this measure ; thus , a child 's language use must be documented as well as any concerns about language development as a critical component of the LP assessment process . # The story retell task was selected due to its relative universality and the general structural organization across cultures . The task incorporates both language comprehension and language production ( Pickert &amp; Chase , 1978 ; Skarakis-Doyle &amp; Dempsey , 2008 ) and is more likely to elicit longer utterances and complex grammatical structures than any other elicitation technique ( Gutirrez-Clellen , 2002 ; Restrepo &amp; Gutirrez-Clellen , 2001 ) . The results of this study indicated that the two stories elicited comparable levels of L2 proficiency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represents a valuable tool for test-retest conditions in the assessment of L2 proficiency by eliminating a memory effect due to repeated use of the same storybooks. # This study provided empirical evidence of validity of score inferences based on the SELPS when it is evaluated against spontaneous language samples measures , the gold standard in oral language assessment ( Heilmann et al. , 2008 , 2010 ; Miller et al. , 2006 ) , and teacher ratings of LP . Results indicated that the SELPS and language sample measures , including MLUw , NDW , and UG , are measuring similar language skills . Further , results suggested that the SELPS and teacher ratings tap related aspects of L2 proficiency. # Acknowledgments # The data in this research were collected with support from Grant R324A080024 by the U.S. Department of Education , Institute of Education Science . Portions of the results were presented at the Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders in 2009 and the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2009 and 2011. # Table 1 . Descriptive statistics for the subscale and scaled scores on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Mayer , 1973 ) and A Boy , a Dog , a Frog , and a Friend ( Mayer &amp; Mayer , 1971 ) . TABLE # Note . SE - standard error ; SC = syntactic complexity ; GA = grammatical accuracy ; VF = verbal fluency ; LD = lexical diversity ; OSS = overall scaled score . # Table 2 . Descriptive statistics for the Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale ( SELPS ) subscale and scaled scores , language sample variables , and teacher ratings TABLE # Note . MLUw = mean length of utterance in words ; SI = subordination index ; UG = ungrammaticality index ; PMW = percentage of maze words to total number of words ; NDW = total number of different words . # Table 3 . The mean and standard deviation of the language sample variables at each SELPS level TABLE Figure 1 . The Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale construct map . SC = syntactic complexity ; GA = grammatical accuracy ; VF = verbal fluency ; LD = lexical diversity . TABLE

@@4157441 Advanced practice # Several well established cancer screening programmes in the UK have been shown to reduce mortality through early detection and treatment , but there are disadvantages and dilemmas associated with screening as well as the obvious advantages and benefits # Worldwide , a great variety of screening programmes aimed at detecting conditions and reducing mortality by early treatment have been implemented . Some of the UK programmes -- for cervical cancer and breast cancer have been established for over 20 years.1,2 Others e.g. colorectal cancer have been introduced more recently.3 Conditions such as prostate cancer are currently being investigated to assess whether it is possible to establish an effective screening programme for them.4 However , questions remain . Are all screening programmes effective and by what criteria should they be judged ? # This article examines the evidence surrounding established cancer screening programmes and considers whether they are an effective utilisation of limited NHS resources and in the best interests of the individuals participating in the programmes . This article uses the WHO criteria for screening tests to explore some of these issues , particularly with regard to the potential harms caused by over diagnosis and treatment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # WHO CRITERIA FOR SCREENING PROGRAMMES # The World Health Organization ( WHO ) spent some time deliberating over what a good screening programme should entail , and came up with a list of criteria.5 ( Box 2 ) # The programme should screen for a common condition that : # * has a significant health impact on the population # * is treatable , and # * has better outcomes if detected early . # The test should be acceptable to the population being tested , specific to the condition ( few false positives ) and sensitive in picking up the presence of the condition ( few false negatives ) . In addition the costs , in terms of the screening , diagnosis and treatment costs , must balance against the health gain of the population . # PREVALENCE OF THE CONDITION IN THE POPULATION # In order for a screening programme to be effective there needs to be a significant prevalence of the condition in the population being tested . This is the rationale for targeting specific groups of individuals who are at higher risk of a specific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # If there is a low prevalence then a large number of individuals will have to be screened to identify the few who have the condition . Another , unwanted consequence of a low prevalence is an increase in the likelihood of a false positive result . This reduces the positive predictive value ( PPV ) of the test . ( Table 1 ) # There is currently some disparity in the population to be screened for colorectal cancer in the different countries of Great Britain , with some screening programmes aimed at the population between 50 years and 74 years and others not offering the screening programmes to those under 60 years.6 Screening across the maximum population is planned to be rolled out nationwide in the near future . # Offering colorectal screening to younger people could have some negative implications . Colorectal cancer is associated with advancing age.7 The younger the population screened , the lower the incidence of the condition in that population . This increases the proportion of people who will have a false positive test and be subjected to unnecessary further investigation . # ACCEPTABILITY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a screening programme then the greater the potential benefit to the population in terms of identifying individuals with the condition . # One of the influencing factors to uptake rate is the acceptability of the test.5 Colorectal cancer screening with the faecal occult blood test ( FOBt ) requires individuals to take several stool samples and post them to the screening laboratory . Uptake of the programme is low with between 40% and 60% of those eligible taking up the initial offer of screening.8 However this may still be a more acceptable option than the alternative , optical colonoscopy , screening test.9 # Interestingly the uptake of the cervical screening programme is reported as 78.6%,10 which suggests that it is too simplistic to say that it is purely the acceptability of the test that dictates the uptake rate . It is just one of the factors . # ACCURACY OF THE SCREENING TEST # In any screening programme , the aim is to identify those individuals who have got the condition at an early , treatable phase of the disease . Some screening programmes are more effective at this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is likely to pick up most individuals with the condition , but it is important to also exclude as many individuals as possible who do not have it . This is in order to reduce the need for otherwise healthy individuals to be exposed to further investigations , with their associated risks and financial costs . As illustrated in table 3 the PPV of the tests used in current screening programmes ranges from 9% to 32%. # In the case of the use of FOBt screening for colorectal cancer , the test used only tests indirectly for the presence of blood in the faeces . It is not , however , specific to human blood and can be affected by other things , such as dietary intake of meat and certain vegetables . In addition to this , blood in the stools is not in itself diagnostic of colorectal cancer . There may be bleeding from higher up the gastrointestinal tract , or contamination from haemorrhoids.11 Consequently the resultant PPV value is poor ( 10% ) with only one in ten positive FOBt correctly identifying individuals with colorectal cancer or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prostate specific antigen ( PSA ) testing for prostate cancer seems to be better , with between 10 and 32% of those with a positive PSA being identified by further testing as having cancer of the prostate.1314 However , this does not mean that treatment would be the best option for all those identified.4 # ' GOLD STANDARD ' DIAGNOSTIC TESTS # Once an individual has been identified by the screening test as potentially having the condition then , usually , further diagnostic tests are required . The ' gold standard ' is the best test available , used under reasonable circumstances ( e.g. not requiring the removal of an organ ) that will diagnose the condition . Ideally , the gold standard test should be 100% sensitive and 100% specific for the condition . In the real world , this is rarely the case . Therefore , those individuals identified by screening will need further tests that may give a false positive or false negative result . # The ' gold standard ' for diagnosing prostate cancer is transrectal biopsy.15 There is still , however , a risk of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diagnosis ( of up to 50% ) of cancer which would not have led to any clinically significant disease.16 # Similarly , the diagnostic test for colorectal cancer used in the UK is optical colonoscopy . However , there is evidence that this investigation can under-diagnose pre-cancerous structures depending on their shape or location.17,18 # It is known that in some situations asymptomatic cancer , i.e. the presence of cancerous cells without symptoms , does not progress to a symptomatic phase , or cause death over the lifetime of the individual.19 There has been considerable controversy in recent years , following the publication of a Nordic Cochrane review that estimates that ' as many as one in three breast cancers are over-diagnosed. ' 20 # The authors assert that these women have had needless treatment for breast cancer that would not have caused death or symptoms . # HARM CAUSED BY SCREENING PROGRAMMES # Screening programmes are often discussed in terms of their benefits to society , particularly with regard to early diagnosis and treatment of potentially lethal conditions . However , in order to ensure informed consent is obtained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be explained . As has been discussed , there is the potential for over diagnosis of some conditions , resulting in individuals being subjected to unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments.20,8 # Sometimes the diagnostic procedure itself has some risks . The recent review of the first one million FOBt screenings in England indicated that there was a 0.09% rate of perforation of the bowel during the diagnostic colonoscopy.8 This may seem inconsequential compared with the benefits of early treatment of colorectal cancer , but many of these adverse events are likely to have occurred in otherwise healthy individuals . # In prostate cancer screening , the diagnostic test that would be used is a transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy of the prostate . This procedure has potential adverse effects of bleeding , infection and pain.4 With the current paucity of evidence that screening for prostate cancer reduces mortality , the harms of the diagnostic test have even greater relevance . # COST EFFECTIVENESS # It is often difficult to quantify the cost effectiveness of screening programmes as the costs of the programme need to be set against the reduction in productivity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduction in future costs of treatment at a later stage of the disease if it is not detected early . Therefore the effectiveness of a programme is often described in terms of the number of lives saved . # The results of a 20 year follow up study of colorectal cancer screening indicates that 638 individuals needed to be offered screening for 6 years to prevent one death over a 20 year period.21 # The quality of the research evidence for prostate cancer screening has come under scrutiny and there is dispute as to whether a screening programme would actually lead to a reduction in prostate cancer mortality.4 However , in a European study for screening for prostate cancer it has been estimated that within the 55-69 year age group 1,410 men needed to be offered screening and 48 would need treatment to prevent one cancer death in 10 years.22 # REDUCTION IN MORTALITY # The aim of any screening programme is the early detection of the condition with a view to more successful treatment . Many of the programmes have established that they reduce the mortality rate associated with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to whether this is the case in prostate cancer screening . The issue is complicated by the problem of over diagnosis , which may imply treatment has reduced the risk of mortality in some individuals who would not have been affected by their cancer . Furthermore , within the clinical trials , there is no statistical difference in the all cause mortality rate between those screened and those not screened as most individuals die from a cause other than the target condition . # CHANGES IN PREVALENCE OF THE CONDITION # The cervical cancer screening programme has been running in the UK since 1988 and it is estimated that there has been a substantial reduction in mortality due to detection and treatment of early changes in the cervical cells.23 However , since the discovery of the causal link between human papilloma virus ( HPV ) and the development of invasive cervical carcinoma26 there has been the opportunity to initiate a vaccination programme against HPV which aims to reduce the viral infection rates in women . This will have a significant effect on the incidence of cervical cancer in future populations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programme as it stands today.27 # TARGETING SCREENING IN THE FUTURE # The benefits of genetic screening of populations to identify those at higher risk of specific cancers ( breast , prostate ) is now being investigated.28 This work has indicated that , by identifying high risk individuals , fewer people will need to participate in a screening programme with no reduction in the rate of diagnosis of cancer . If the cost of genetic testing is competitive , this could have a significant impact on the cost of the screening programme . Only those individuals identified as being at high risk by the genetic test would need to be screened , resulting in fewer tests needing to be preformed . This may well be the way forward in helping to limit the impact of unnecessary investigations and treatment on healthy individuals . # CONCLUSION # The NHS has invested heavily in a variety of screening programmes that have demonstrated an effective reduction in mortality rates from specific cancers . However , all the programmes have their limitations ; of particular concern is the potential for over diagnosis , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harm that this can cause . Consideration has been given to the population groups that should be targeted by these programmes but there may be issues around increased risk of false positive tests occurring in populations with a low prevalence of the condition . # Screening programmes need to remain under constant review and should be re-evaluated in response to the emergence of new evidence and medical advances that may affect their viability . We have a duty of care , not only to those who have a condition but also to those who do not . # LEARNING OUTCOMES # After working through this article you will be able to : # * Identify the key features of an effective screening programme # * Define sensitivity and specificity # * Describe the effect of a reduction of prevalence of a condition on the positive predictive value of a test # * Discuss the disadvantages of some of the current national cancer screening programmes . # BOX 1 . KEY TERMS # Sensitivity : The percentage of people with the condition who have a positive test result # Specificity : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ negative test result # Prevalence : The proportion of a population who have the condition # Positive predictive value : The proportion of people who have a positive test result who have the condition # Negative predictive value : The proportion of people who have a negative test result who do not have the condition # Surrogate marker : a measurement that is associated with a clinical condition that can indicate its presence . # BOX 2 . WHO CRITERIA5 # 1 . Should be an important health problem . # 2 . Should be an accepted treatment.3 . Facilities for diagnosis and treatment should be available.4 . Should be a recognizable latent or early symptomatic stage.5 . Should be a suitable test or examination.6 . The test should be acceptable to the population.7 . The natural history of the condition should be adequately understood.8 . There should be an agreed policy on whom to treat as patients.9 . The cost of case-finding , diagnosis and treatment of patients should be economically balanced in relation to possible expenditure on medical care as a whole.10 . Case-finding should be a continuing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project . ACTIVITY 1 # Examine the uptake rates for breast , cervical and colorectal cancer screening in your practice . # Do they match the national averages ? # If not , consider why they might be higher , or lower . # If uptake is low in your area what steps could you take to improve it ? # ACTIVITY 2 # Review the patient information materials about cancer screening programmes that you hold in your practice . # Do they provide information about the risks as well as the benefits of the screening programme ? # CASE STUDY 1 # Mrs Harris , a 62year old , has had no health concerns , is a non-smoker , eats a healthy diet and remains active . She comes to see you as she wants to discuss the recent positive result of her FOBt . She tells you that she was careful to perform the test as instructed and she wants to know whether the test result means that she has cancer . # Answer : # Begin you consultation by asking Mrs Harris what is her understanding of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that explains the significance of a positive test . The evidence shows that the PPV of FOBt is around 10% . This means that she has a 10% chance that a colonoscopy will detect cancer or premalignant polyps . You could explore her feelings about the need for a further test . She will have had information about attending a specialist screening nurse clinic who can give her more information . http : **39;24755;TOOLONG ... # CASE STUDY 2 # Mr Jackson , a 56 year old man , has been encouraged by his wife to come and see you about getting a blood test done to see if he has prostate cancer . However , he is not sure why he is here as he feels fit and healthy and never had a day off work in his life . # Answer : # Begin your consultation by asking Mr Jackson what his understanding is of prostate cancer . There is not the evidence for a screening programme for prostate cancer but patients who are at high risk of the condition might benefit from a screening test . However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not diagnostic and has a high false positive rate , particularly if the patient is in a ' low risk ' group . There is also the problem of over diagnosis and treatment and the risks associated with the diagnostic procedure required ( trans rectal biopsy ) i.e. pain , bleeding , infection . # The NHS National Screening Programme provides a GP pack with a patient information sheet for asymptomatic patients concerned about prostate cancer . http : **39;24796;TOOLONG ... # CASE STUDY 3 # A 51 year old woman , with no specific risk factors for breast cancer has had an invitation to attend a screening mammography . She has read reports casting doubt on the accuracy of the procedure in correctly picking up breast cancer . She wants to discuss with you the risks and benefits of having the mammogram. # Answer : # This is a difficult one . There is evidence that there is significant over diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer . However there is also evidence that the screening programme reduces the mortality rate from breast cancer . Both of these have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Screening Programmes website which has a publication on line that looks at the areas of uncertainty around diagnosis and treatment . However it is quite a technical document so may not be fully accessible to her . You could use your communication skills to help her explore her feelings and opinion about the risks and benefits which may help her come to a decision . http : **29;24837;TOOLONG **39;24868;TOOLONG # LEARNING POINTS # * The WHO criteria for screening tests identify the key components of an effective screening programme . # * The sensitivity of a test is the percentage of people with the condition who have a positive test result . # * The specificity of a test is the percentage of people without the condition who have a negative test result . # * If the prevalence of a condition reduces then it increases the likelihood of a positive test being a false positive result . # * Several of the national screening programmes have a low PPV resulting in the majority of further diagnostic tests being performed on healthy individuals . # * Diagnosis of some cancers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an over diagnosis of the condition , i.e. identification of abnormalities that would not go on to cause symptoms or death . # TABLE 1 . POSITIVE PREDICTABLE VALUE OF DIFFERENT SCREENING PROGRAMMES TABLE REFERENCES 1 . NHS Cervical Screening Programme http : **39;24909;TOOLONG ... # 2 . NHS Breast Screening Programme http : **39;24950;TOOLONG ... **27;24991;TOOLONG # 3 . NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme http : **35;25020;TOOLONG nhsbcsp-organised.html # 4 . Ilic D , O'Connor D , Green S et al . Screening for prostate cancer : an updated Cochrane systematic review . 2011 ; 107(6) : 882-891 http : **38;25057;TOOLONG # 5 . Wilson JMG , Jungner G. Principles and practice of screening for disease . Geneva . WHO. 1968 Available from : http : **39;25097;TOOLONG ... # 6 . UK National Screening Committee http : **39;25138;TOOLONG ... # 7 . Ko CW , Sonnenberg A. Comparing Risks and Benefits of Colorectal Cancer Screening in Elderly Patients . Gastroenterology 2005 ; 129:1163-1170 # 8 . Logan RFA , Patnick J , Nickerson C et al . Outcomes of the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme ( BCSP ) in England @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 61(10) : 1439-1466 # 9 . Almog R , Ezra G , Lavi I et al . The public prefers fecal occult blood test over colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening . Eur . J Cancer Prev 2008 ; 17(5):430-437 # 10 . NHS Cervical Screening Programme Annual Review 2011 http : //www.cancerscreening. **44;25179;TOOLONG ... # 11 . Fraser CG . Faecal occult blood test - eliminate , enhance or update ? Ann Clin Biochem 2008 ; 45(2):117-121 # 12 . Levin TR . Colorectal cancer screening : new opportunities . Surg Oncol Clin N Am 1999:8:673-691 # 13 . Grubb RL , Pinsky PF , Greenlee RT et al . Prostate cancer screening in the Prostate Lung Colorectal and Ovarian cancer screening trial : update on findings from the initial four rounds of screening in a randomized trial . BJU Int . 2008 ; 102(11):1524-1530. # 14 . Catalona WJ , Richie JP , Ahmann FR , et al . Comparison of digital rectal examination and serum prostate specific antigen in the early detection of prostate cancer : results of a multicenter clinical trial of 6630 men . J Ural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15 . Mistry K , Cable G. Meta-analysis of prostate-specific antigen and digital rectal examination as screening tests for prostate carcinoma J Am Board Fam Pract. 2003 ; 16(2):95-101 # 16 . Shariat SF , Roehrborn CG . Using biopsy to detect prostate cancer . Rev Urol. 2008 ; 10(4):262-280 # 17 . Singh H , Turner D , Xue et al . Risk of developing colorectal cancer following a negative colonoscopy examination : evidence for a 10-year interval between colonoscopies . JAMA 2006 ; 295(20) : 2366-2373 # 18 . Pickhardt PJ , Nugent PJ , Mysleviec PA , et al . Location of adenomas missed by optical colonoscopy . Ann Intern Med 2004 ; 141:352-359 # 19 . Black WC . Overdiagnosis : An underrecognised cause of confusion and harm in cancer . J Nat Cane Inst 2000 ; 92(16):1280 # 20 . Jrgensen K J. Overdiagnosis in publicly organised mammography screening programmes : systematic review of incidence trends . BMJ 2009 ; 339 : b2587 # 21 . Scholefield JH , Moss SM , Mangham CM et al . Nottingham trial of faecal occult blood testing for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; 61 ( 7 ) : 1036-40 # 22 . Schroder FH , Hugosson J , Roobol MJ et al . Screening and prostate-cancer mortality in a randomized European study . N Engl J Med 2009 ; 360:1320-1328. # 23 . Peto J , Gilham C , Fletcher O et al . The cervical cancer epidemic that screening has prevented in the UK . Lancet 2004 ; 364(9430):249-56. # 24 . Blanks RG , Moss SM , McGahan CE et al . Effect of NHS breast screening programme on mortality from breast cancer in England and Wales , 1990-8 : comparison of observed with predicted mortality . BMJ 2000 ; 321:665 # 25 . Parkin DM , Tappenden P , Olsen AH et al . Predicting the impact of the screening programme for colorectal cancer in the UK . J Med Screen 2008 ; 15(4):163-74. # 26 . Walboomers JMM , Jacobs MV , Manos MM et al . Human papilloma virus is a necessary cause of invasive cervical cancer worldwide . J Pathol 1999 ; 189(1):12-19 # 27 . Franco EL , Cuzick J , Hildsheim A et al @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the era of HPV vaccination . Vaccine 2006 ; suppl 24(3) : 171-177 # 28 . Pashayan N , Duffy SW , Chowdhury S et al . Polygenic susceptibility to prostate and breast cancer : implications for personalised screening . British Journal of Cancer 2011 ; 104(10) : 1656-1663 # 29 . Kerlikowske K , Grady D , Barclay J et al ( 1993 ) Positive Predictive Value of Screening Mammography by Age and Family History of Breast Cancer JAMA.270 ; 20:2444-2450 #

@@4157541 Gestures can mean different things in various cultures . Here 's how one music educator uses nonverbal communication to make sure all students understand directions and remain on task # Many American schools today have richly diverse classrooms composed of immigrants with a limited vocabulary or little command of the English language . Now more than ever , music educators must explore new , creative , and effective ways to communicate with this ever-changing student population . Although most teachers rely primarily on verbal communication in the classroom , others are introducing nonverbal communication--the process of communicating through sending and receiving wordless messages with their students . This technique has become increasingly helpful in communicating with students when English is not their primary language . Music educators must be prepared to teach students from many cultures . We need to develop effective strategies of communication , which in turn will contribute to the success of our music programs . # Keywords : classroom management ; communication ; cross-cultural competency ; ELL ; gesture ; message ; multicultural ; nonverbal ; strings ; teacher education ; elementary # Sude is from Turkey , Nahom is from Ethiopia , Yji is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are just four of the students in Jami Bolton 's string class in Alexandria , Virginia , who are recent arrivals to the United States and who speak very little English . Since this has become a common scenario in a number of schools--richly diverse classrooms composed of immigrants with a limited vocabulary or scant knowledge of the English language--Bolton has found a way to communicate with all her students , and it involves very little talking . Although most teachers primarily use verbal communication in the classroom , she relies heavily on that second dimension of **39;19710;TOOLONG by sending and receiving wordless messages.1 This technique is increasingly helpful when communicating to students who are English language learners ( ELL ) . # A Typical Rehearsal Day # Bolton 's classroom may look like a typical instrumental music class when you walk through the door , but when you look around , you will see a bead jar used as part of a classroom management strategy . Bolton explains : # When the students are either following the class rules or they are on task , I add beads to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are rewarded with a day of musical games or music-related movies . I encourage them to make individual suggestions , and then they vote as a class . When students are not following directions or paying attention , I remind them to focus and get back on task by shaking the jar . The shaking is a warning that means if they continue to be disruptive , I will remove a small number of beads . If it should come to that , they immediately refocus on the task at hand . They do not want to make the class lose beads and delay reward day . This strategy allows them to monitor each other 's behavior , which leaves more time for music learning . # Bolton greets her class at the door with a smile , and the students quickly find their seats , guided by the nametags on the music stands . She has a list of four rules on a poster board mounted at the front of the class : ( 1 ) Be respectful , ( 2 ) Be responsible , ( 3 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She points to a rule when she notices students are off task , but she does not say anything . She also has a song list written on the whiteboard as part of the day 's agenda , so that as she is tuning the violins and cellos , students can match the number of the song on the board with the number in their methods books to review the pieces at their seats , playing pizzicato . At other times , she uses flash cards . Rather than speaking the bow directions , when students see her hold up a flash card with a musical symbol that looks like a staple ( ? ) , they know it means " down-bow . " When they see a flash card of a symbol , they know it means " up-bow . " After tuning the instruments , she claps her hands twice and makes a two-handed cutoff gesture while positioned in front of the ensemble . The students know that the rehearsal is about to begin , so they put their instruments in rest position . # Once Bolton is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ board , points to a rhythm , and says , " Please count this with me . " After the rhythm has been counted four times , she uses a big red magnetic arrow to point to the top of the day 's work , an agenda , where " D scale " is written . She affixes another magnet on the board that says " pizz " ( pizzicato ) , then taps each foot on the floor once , bringing an imaginary instrument into playing position . The students tap their feet on the floor in response as they scoot to the edge of their chairs , sit up straight , and bring their instruments into playing position . With an inhale and a nod from the teacher , the students begin to play the scale pizzicato in the rhythm shown on the board . # After the pizzicato scale is complete , Bolton removes the magnet that says " pizz " and replaces it with one that says " arco . " She again taps each foot on the floor and raises another imaginary instrument to playing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing position and picking up their bows . Once more with an inhale and a nod from the teacher , the students play the scale , this time using their bows . After they finish playing the scale , Bolton gestures to put her imaginary bow on her stand and her imaginary instrument in rest position , and the students respond by mirroring her with their real instruments . " Thank you for carefully using the rhythm we counted as you played the D scale . Now , please turn to song number 23 , " she says as she points to the number on the board . With very few words , the students are warmed up and attentive , and they continue to participate in the rehearsal . # Global Communities of the Future # More than 60 percent of the students at Bolton 's school are ELL , a trend that is common in the United States . Schools in the United States , because of diversity through immigration , will continue to reflect a growing multicultural society . According to the Pew Research Center , nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an immigrant in 2050 , compared with one in eight ( 12 percent ) in 2005.2 Many of our classrooms already reflect this cultural diversity , and yet there is a need for increased awareness about reaching all our students . Experts indicate , although there is no precise account , that New York City alone is home to more than eight hundred languages.3 English is a second language to 5.5 million students in the United States , and by 2025 , one of every four students in this country 's public school system is expected to be limited in English proficiency when he or she enters the public school system.4 # Defining Nonverbal Communication # Before teachers can implement the principles of positive nonverbal communication , they must recognize the existence of nonverbal language.5 There are three areas of nonverbal communication : paralanguage ( which refers to the extraverbal elements , such as tone , volume , and hesitations , that are associated with speech ) ; proxemics ( the study of the ways that individuals use space in their environment ) , a term coined by cultural anthropologist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pattern of body movement in human interaction ) , coined by anthropologist Ray L. Birdwhistell.6 Nonverbal communication can also be intentional or unintentional . This article focuses primarily on kinesics as we explore how body movement can affect communication in music classrooms and rehearsals . # Communication professors Barbara M. Grant and Dorothy Grant Hennings , in their study of teacher behavior and in their book The Teacher Moves : An Analysis of Nonverbal Activity , identified three categories of instructional motions : conducting , acting , and wielding.7 They contend that teachers consciously perform these instructional motions because they add to rather than detract from their verbal teaching . They also believe that all teachers possess a personal nonverbal repertoire of motions . For instance , many educators use a short clapping pattern in which the teacher claps the rhythm and the students clap the pattern back as an echo . This technique is usually implemented when the teacher is trying to gain students ' attention , such as when the class has lost focus , or perhaps when it is time to put music or books away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would fall under the conducting category . One could think of it in the same way as one might imagine a conductor leading a symphony orchestra in a performance through various gestures without speaking . Clapping is a physical motion used by teachers in a variety of ways to get their students to focus . It prevents the teacher from having to shout over the cacophony of voices and instrumental sounds , and the side benefit is that it contributes to preserving vocal health . ( It should be noted that in Jamaica , clapping one 's hands is one way to hail a cab ! 8 ) Another example of conducting is to shut the lights off and on again to quiet the class down or to transition from one teaching segment to another . Once the teacher has the students ' attention , he or she may also use a gesture in an effort to continue in silence to the next activity of the day , such as placing a pointer finger vertically in front of closed lips without uttering a shhh sound . # The second instructional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to clarify what they are trying to communicate . For instance , the teacher might use an index finger to point to his or her head to communicate , " Think through this . " Holding up five fingers can tell the clarinet players to begin at measure 5 , so the teacher holds up five fingers while pointing to the fifth measure of a piece . Sometimes the teacher uses role-playing to assume the identity of an object . For example , to convey the fingering for the note F# on the D string of a violin , the teacher can use the right forearm as a representation for the fingerboard of the violins ( forearm , bent at the elbow , arm facing toward him or her ) while demonstrating with the left-hand fingers on the right forearm that the second finger is close to the third finger because it is a half step . # The wielding instructional motion occurs when the teacher interacts with objects or materials that are part of his or her environment . This may include thumbing through a techniques book , looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the time , or walking over to a music stand occupied by two fourth-grade students and writing a homework assignment in their techniques book . All of these motions take on meaning only in the context in which they occur.9 ( The forearm example in the previous paragraph is just one example of a gesture within music-class culture that has absolutely no meaning in any other context . ) Bolton communicates with her students by using gestures so that she is understood without using many words . Psychologist Paul Ekman , in his article " Movement with Precise Meanings , " states that symbolic gestures ( also known as emblems ) must have a precise meaning or a limited set of alternative meanings and are used when speech is constrained or not possible . He continues to note that emblems vary within ethnic groups or cultures , and " if an action is truly an emblem , the message it stands for is unambiguous even when the action is seen totally out of context . " 10 In her classroom , Bolton relies on intentional nonverbal behavior and gestures . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ band class to have students set their embouchure is to place her right-hand " pointer " finger over her lips with the finger pad touching the lips . ( At times , she uses the pointer finger placed over the lips in a vertical position with the pad of the finger facing to the left in order to indicate quiet , as in " Shhh " ) . # According to researchers William B. Gudykunst and Young Yun Kim , symbols exist because " a group of people agree to consider them as such . There is not a natural connection between symbols and their referents " ( which are the things or ideas that a symbol refers to ) .11 Therefore , when implementing such symbols , music teachers need to keep in mind that communication is contextual . According to communication professor Stephen W. Littlejohn , " communication always occurs in a context and the nature of communication depends in large measure on this context . " 12 Music teachers communicate with students differently than do colleagues teaching math . Gesturing is integral in daily music classes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ music ensemble class is a special culture of students who could all benefit from communicating through gestures during their rehearsals together . Whether it is the teacher generating the gestures , or the students expanding on them , sharing this form of communication is precisely what can tie together people who otherwise might not feel as if they are a unified group . Cross-cultural communication is the awareness of particular values or beliefs within cultures in order to be able to draw comparisons and communicate appropriately.13 It has become more commonplace for teachers to incorporate gestures to communicate with their students more effectively and universally in classrooms that are diverse . Teachers using gestures correctly are cross-culturally sensitive so as to facilitate cross-cultural understanding . # Cross-Cultural Awareness # Emblems or gestures might have different meanings in different cultures , and therefore , misunderstandings are sometimes inevitable . Most children learn gesturing even before they master their verbal skills , so their nonverbal repertoire is extensive and growing.14 They are primed to learn how to communicate in a more sophisticated way with their music teacher as they learn to develop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the languages that are represented in the classroom . This information can usually be accessed through guidance counselors in the school or from student responses in preassessment surveys . Aside from academic research , Bolton studies and familiarizes herself with cross-cultural gestures by reflecting on firsthand experiences , or even trial by error . # One day I used the " thumbs-up " gesture the thumb pointing upward while the other fingers are closed into the palm of the hand because my students did a wonderful job playing through their song and I wanted to compliment them . One boy raised his hand and told me that my gesture meant something bad . I was stunned , because I never thought that I would ever do something to offend one of my students . On further reflection , it occurred to me that the students and I could come up with our own gestures to replace those that some learned were offensive . # Researchers Andrea DeCapua and Ann C. Wintergerst warn us that " our preconceptions and attitudes may often lead us to misunderstand , misinterpret , or even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cross-cultural encounters . " 15 Prudent music teachers are reflective practitioners who respond to unexpected situations , such as when our students misunderstand or misinterpret our actions or intentions . # Even though we gesture all the time , for most of us , it is usually automatic--we rarely give it a second thought . In most of our daily interactions , we regularly use various symbolic gestures to indicate or reflect certain emotions or sentiments . One gesture may be familiar to some and have a specific and clear meaning , but it may be meaningless in another culture . For example , the V sign ( with the two fingers and the palm facing out ) in the United States means victory ; however , this same gesture in Australia , New Zealand , and Great Britain has an insulting and offensive interpretation . Other examples are the thumbs-up gesture and the " okay " sign ( in which an O is made with the thumb and forefinger or middle finger , with arm extended and bent at the elbow ) that for most Americans indicate a job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , teachers often use these gestures to compliment their students because they are understood to be a positive form of nonverbal communication . These gestures might seem well suited when students are performing a scale or technique exercise during a group lesson and a teacher wants to show approval without spoiling the moment by uttering any words . However , these same , seemingly innocuous gestures are inappropriate or unacceptable in other cultures . The thumbs-up sign has unfavorable meanings in many other countries across the globe , including Australia and Nigeria , where a thumbs-up gesture is perceived as rude . A teacher should not be surprised if , when motioning to a student to " come here , " the student does not comply . When a teacher holds up his or her arm with palm facing inward and waves the fingers in the same direction ( a gesture typically used in the United States to mean " come here " ) , students from the Philippines , Korea , and parts of Latin America would find the gesture rude ; students from other countries , such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for someone attempting to summon his or her dog.16 The " okay " sign ( with thumb and forefinger or middle finger forming a circle ) is an American gesture that is well known and used often ; however , in Brazil and Argentina , it is considered rude . A French person , on the other hand , would read the gesture as meaning " zero " or worthless , and in Japan , it is a symbol for money.17 # Bolton saw a need to create another emblem that reflected a job well done so as not to offend or confuse her students . Instead , she will smile , or smile with a wink , or use the American Sign Language gesture for " thank you . " The thank-you gesture involves putting the fingers of your flat dominant hand near your lips and then moving your hand forward and a bit downward in the direction of the person you are thanking , and smiling . # Teachers Generating Repertoire # When teachers devise a repertoire of gestures and symbols , they should make sure that their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Teachers also need to be receptive of their students ' input and incorporate their suggestions into the emblem-creating process . Bolton and her students have developed various emblems for her instrumental music class over time in order to accommodate diverse learners each year . The system uses the three categories of instructional motions ( conducting , acting , and wielding ) identified by Grant and Grant Hennings in their study of teacher behavior.19 # Gestures in the Music Ensemble # The best time to introduce students to the nonverbal classroom is in the first class on the first day of school . The best practice is to introduce a new nonverbal element into lessons one at a time.20 Eventually , a long-term goal would be to supplement the gestures with the English language equivalent . This should be done slowly and systematically when students reach the stage to be weaned from the system . Setting up a daily routine is easily accomplished beginning with simple , sequential gestures in a type of " Do as I 'm doing ; follow me " game . Bolton finds that the key to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eye contact and clear , encouraging , and slightly exaggerated facial expressions . # Culture and Nonverbal Communication # What is culture , and how is it related to nonverbal behavior ? According to psychologist Aaron Wolfgang , " culture is an abstract term that defines a broad range of activities in which individuals express themselves . " 21 He states that " culture can be viewed as an organized body of rules , allowing for individual differences , concerning the ways individuals bound together by such things as common boundaries , customs , institutions , values , languages , nonverbal behavior , arts , should behave toward one another and toward objects in their surroundings . " 22 Speech and communications professor Dale G. Leathers defines culture as " those values , beliefs , customs , rules , laws , and communicative behaviors that can be used to differentiate one societal group from another . " 23 Different cultures see the world from different points of view . # Culture Shock # Images and messages we receive and transmit are profoundly shaped by our culture . It makes sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the more the value of culture shock dissipates , while the more differences there are between two cultures , the greater one 's culture shock will be . According to researchers Andrea DeCapua and Ann C. Wintergerst , " culture shock is a combination of unfamiliar stimuli and a loss of familiar signs , signals , practices , and customs of social intercourse. " 24 The phrase itself was coined by the anthropologist Kalvero Oberg , who introduced the concept of culture shock as the distress of newcomers to a different culture experience as a result of being confronted with an environment in which their familiar signs and patterns of social interaction are no longer valid.25 Teachers have a responsibility to be aware and sensitive to students who are learning a new language . Since culture shock often manifests itself with feelings of stress , anxiety , depression , and other emotional or physical upsets , teachers can work toward easing these maladies by becoming educated in cross-cultural understanding and recognizing the large role culture plays in the adjustment of new students to the classroom.26 The classroom can be an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be like for an ELL for whom language learning can be extremely traumatic because it threatens his or her sense of self and worldview.27 Many teachers have not been in a similar situation and therefore do not understand the situational anxiety that is the result of reduced feelings of self-efficacy and negative appraisals.28 ELLs tend to have a difficult time in school , involving both cognitive and linguistic challenges as a result of their limited English proficiency.29 # Benefits of Nonverbal Communication # In addition to practicing good vocal health and preserving our voices , there are many benefits for both teachers and students when the teacher implements symbolic gestures in place of words . This is especially true in the choral rehearsal , where singers often strain their voices . One such technique choral directors can us is a simple scooping-up gesture of the hands with palms facing upward motioning for students to rise from their seats to a standing posture . Assigning three typical postures through the use of gestures ( 1 = sitting , ready to sing ; 2 = standing ; and 3 = sitting , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ placing two fingers from the right hand into the palm of the left hand facing up indicating to stand ; holding up the pointer finger of the right hand indicating posture 1 , which is a seated but ready-to-sing posture ; and the third , holding up three fingers of the right hand , indicating a seated rest position . The first two gestures can be used in general music classes when the teacher asks students to sit or stand contingent on the next activity . Use of such gestures puts the music at the center of attention ; furthermore , a teacher 's modeling through a nonverbal example rather than a verbal one is sometimes a more effective way to be understood and a quicker way of emphasizing the point.30 # Nonverbal communication ( through the use of gestures ) is one way that anxiety can be reduced in the classroom , especially for those students who do not speak the dominant language . Bolton states , " The more I find myself using gestures , the more I realize how it helps all the students , not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gesturing , then we are all speaking the same language . Students do not have to worry about fitting in or feeling foolish when they do not understand the meaning of the directions or because they can not speak the dominant language . They can actively participate without worry about how they are perceived by others . " # Just as visual symbols are displayed as a matter of convenience at most tourist destinations where people are not expected to read or speak a particular language , teachers implementing gestures facilitate an understanding of what students are expected to do in the classroom without talking . Minimal teacher talk means more time for learning and making music . When students are able to express themselves more freely , confidence rebounds . When the students are more confident , they are more focused and have a heightened sense of listening . # They would likely feel that they were in a safe environment because their communication would be limited to the gestures required specifically for functioning in the music classroom . Delivery of instructions would be simplified and classroom management would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their playing , but they would be focused on watching the teacher for the next set of instructions or feedback . Nonverbal routines simplify classroom management so that instruction is facilitated and not overly explained . Since students share the same set of gestures , they are able to work in small groups , which encourages participation and teamwork while ensuring that the learning experience is not disrupted.31 Working in like-instrument groups is effective because students can implement gestures to help correct each other 's fingerings and to reinforce correct posture by mirroring through peer teaching . Students helping each other facilitates learning and promotes self-efficacy . Teachers and students who use this special classroom language put everyone on the same level playing field , afford all students the same learning experiences , and heighten cross-cultural awareness . # Increased Efficiency and Understanding There are many benefits for implementing nonverbal emblems that , according to Steve Darn of the Teacher Development Unit at the Izmir University of Economic in Turkey , when used effectively , can add a positive extra dimension to the language by assisting in a wide range @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the meanings of the gestures and symbols must be taught and learned in the same way that students learn essential classroom language , because they have meaning in the context of the classroom . The following is Darn 's list of benefits : # 1 . Reducing unnecessary teacher talking time # 2 . Increasing modes of expression3 . Confidence building4 . Reducing fear of silence5 . Encouraging active participation6 . Improving listening skills7 . Clear instructions8 . Efficient classroom management9 . Safe classroom environment10 . Improving performance in pair and group activities11 . Self and peer correction12 . Avoiding misunderstandings13 . Improving intercultural competence . In an age of globalization or global interconnectedness , we will have to continue to meet new challenges it poses and acquire new intercultural communication skills as these changes occur and affect our lives on so many levels.33 We as music educators must be prepared to teach all students regardless of the number of languages spoken in our music rehearsals or classrooms . We need to develop effective strategies of communication , which in turn will contribute to the success of our music programs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all students feel secure to be creative and comfortable with their peers and with their teachers . I think researcher Maeetta Johnson said it best when she wrote , " Using a variety of communication enhancers can make the classroom an exciting place to learn . " 34 Elements to Ponder when Creating Nonverbal Communication for Music Classrooms # There are many variables to be aware of when designing symbolic gestures for a music-class culture . Consider the following : # * Each world culture has its own distinct nonverbal communication system . # * Gestural emblems are prone to misinterpretation within homogeneous and heterogeneous groups . # * Symbolic gestures are not perceived in the same way by different cultures . # * Teachers need to be sensitive to students ' nonverbal style of communication and culture . # * Nonverbal behavior requires awareness in the multicultural classroom . # * Teachers in turn should learn to express some of their students ' nonverbal gestures to show acceptance and understanding . # * Teachers need to be culturally flexible and learn to operate and adapt to their students ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be aware of and respect cultural differences . # * Teachers need to show patience and allow time for students to become accustomed to new classroom procedures . # * Teachers need to be aware that some students come from a more formal and authoritarian school environment , and some come from school environments that may be characterized as permissive and informal.35 # Notes 1 . Robert Koch , " The Teacher and Nonverbal Communication , " Theory into Practice 10 , no. 4 ( October 1971 ) : 231. # 2 . J. Passel and D. Cohn , " Immigration to Play a Lead Role in Future U.S. Growth " ( Washington , DC : Pew Research Center , February 11 , 2008 ) , accessed October 9 , 2011 , http : **26;19751;TOOLONG **37;19779;TOOLONG # 3 . Sam Roberts , " Listening to ( and Saving ) the World 's Languages , " The New York Times , August 28 , 2010. # 4 . Marcela Sanchez , " No Spanish-Speaking Child Left Behind , " The Washington Post , March 2 , 2007 , accessed October @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 . Andrea DeCapua and Ann C. Wintergerst , Crossing Cultures in the Language Classroom ( Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press , 2004 ) , 118. # 6 . Randall P. Harrison , Beyond Words : An Introduction to Nonverbal Communication ( Englewood Cliffs , NJ : Prentice Hall , 1974 ) , 12. # 7 . Barbara M. Grant and Dorothy Grant Hennings , The Teacher Moves : An Analysis of Non-Verbal Activity ( New York : Teachers College Press , Columbia University , 1971 ) , 11. # 8 . Aaron Wolfgang , ed. , Nonverbal Behavior : Applications and Cultural Implications ( New York : Academic Press , 1979 ) , 167. # 9 . Grant and Grant Hennings , The Teacher Moves , 15. # 10 . Paul Ekman , " Movements with Precise Meanings , " Journal of Communication 26 , no. 3 ( 1976 ) : 14-26. # 11 . W. B. Gudykunst and Y. Y. Kim , Communicating with Strangers : An Approach to Intercultural Communication , 3rd ed . ( New York : McGraw-Hill , 1997 ) , 6. # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 3rd ed . ( Belmont , CA : Wadsworth , 1989 ) , 152. # 13 . DeCapua and Wintergerst , Crossing Cultures , iv . # 14 . Dale G. Leathers , Successful Nonverbal Communication : Principles and Applications ( Boston , MA : Allyn &amp; Bacon , 1997 ) , 333. # 15 . DeCapua and Wintergerst , Crossing Cultures , 8. # 16 . Larry A. Samovaer , Richard E. Porter , and Edwin R. McDaniel , Communication between Cultures ( Boston , MA : Wadsworth , Cengage Learning , 2010 ) , 243. # 17 . Roger E. Axtell , Gestures : The Do 's and Taboos of Body Language around the World ( New York : Wiley , 1998 ) , 43-44. # 18 . Steve Darn , " Aspects of Nonverbal Communication , " Internet TESL Journal 11 , no. 2 ( February 2005 ) , 1-6 , http : //iteslj.org/. # 19 . Grant and Grant Hennings , The Teacher Moves . # 20 . Darn , " Aspects of Nonverbal Communication . " # 21 . Wolfgang , Nonverbal Behavior , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Successful Nonverbal Communication , 333. # 24 . DeCapua and Wintergerst , Crossing Cultures , 107. # 25 . Kalvero Oberg , " Culture Shock : Adjustment to a New Cultural Environment , " Practical Anthropology 7 ( 1960 ) : 177-82. # 26 . Wolfgang , Nonverbal Behavior , 160. # 27 . A. Z. Guiora , " Introduction : An Epistemology for the Language Sciences , " Language Learning 33 ( 1983 ) : 6-11. # 28 . Norman Diffey , " The Other Side of the Desk : Experiencing Learning a New Language , " TESL Canada Journal 8 ( 1990 ) : 27-36. # 29 . Samovaer , Porter , and McDaniel , Communication , 347. # 30 . Alan J. Gumm , " The Speechless Rehearsal , " Choral Journal ( February 2010 ) : 18. # 31 . Marva Barnett , " Replacing Teacher Talk with Gestures : Nonverbal Communication in the Foreign Language Classroom , " Foreign Language Annuals 16 , no. 3 ( May 1983 ) : 173. # 32 . Darn , " Aspects of Nonverbal Communication . " # 33 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2. # 34 . Maeetta B. Johnson , Communication in the Classroom ( Savannah , GA , 1999 ) , 12 ( ERIC ED 436802 ) . # 35 . DeCapua and Wintergerst , Crossing Cultures , 8. #

@@4157641 STEM Education # Co-Teaching in Science and Mathematics # Co-teaching is an increasingly used inclusive practice implemented by administrators to provide effective instruction in classrooms that have students with diverse learning needs . Co-teaching has several different models ; of these , " station teaching " can provide a meaningful way for general educators and special educators to work collaboratively in a science , technology , engineering , and mathematics ( STEM ) inclusive classroom . # The accountability standards in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Individuals with Disability Education Act set the stage for more students with special needs to be included in general education mathematics and science classrooms . Because general education teachers in these classrooms often may have limited experience or professional development to prepare them to teach a diverse group of students including those with special needs , it is both logical and practical to add a special education teacher to the classroom to meet students ' diverse learning needs . Increasing the achievement of all students should be the ultimate goal of bringing two educators with unique skill sets into the co-teaching relationship ( Dieker , 2001 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , their roles are often undefined , leading to confusion . Scantlebury , Gallo-Fox , and Wassell ( 2007 ) stressed that starting a dialogue of co-teaching responsibilities is necessary to develop deep collaborative skills focused on student learning . This type of synergistic relationship is needed in all classes , but can be harder to develop in mathematics and science classrooms if there are gaps between the preparation and knowledge base of the two teachers . " Station teaching , " one model of co-teaching , can be useful in creating a successful co-teaching partnership in the secondary science and mathematics classroom . Co-teachers can utilize station teaching in mathematics and science to ensure strong academic outcomes for the wide range of learners in today 's classrooms . # Station Teaching # Station teaching provides co-teachers with both time and a method to successfully instruct smaller groups of students in the use of tools and content in any subject area , but is particularly well suited to mathematics and science . By using stations , both teachers are able to infuse best practices , targeted supports , and ongoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into instruction . For example , teachers can use content enhancement routines ( see University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning , 2012 ) that support the use of direct instruction to teach key vocabulary in learning mathematics and science , along with research-based tools such as the Vocabulary LINCing Routine ( Ellis , 2000 ) . This enables students to grow the content-area vocabulary needed for rich dialogue involving mathematics and science content . Station teaching also can be used to differentiate high-quality Tier 1 instruction within a response-to-intervention model ( see RTI Action Network , 2011 ) . Quality Tier 1 instruction includes the use of tools such as graphic organizers , concept maps , scaffolding , and memory devices . These tools can be used in mathematics and science stations to help increase memory and engagement while constructing the necessary background and content knowledge . # Although station teaching requires joint planning time , teachers can use alternative planning strategies--such as a co-planning book ( Dieker , 2006 ) or computerized planning charts--if joint planning time can not be arranged . Because content is delivered in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the content into multiple learning activities that occur in the same classroom around similar content foci . Station teaching enables teachers to divide the content and reduces student-to-teacher ratio through the use of small-group instruction while increasing opportunities for student-to-teacher interactions . Student grouping strategies can be homogeneous or heterogeneous based on the content and focus of the stations . # The number of stations may vary depending on the structure of the lesson and needs of the students . A common strategy includes both teachers each leading a station , with an optional third station used for independent student work ( Cook &amp; Friend , 2004 ; Welch , 2000 ) . Independent student workstations should include explicit instructions accompanied by teacher monitoring to ensure that learning objectives are met ( Cook &amp; Friend , 2004 ) . # Although there is a limited amount of literature directly related to using station teaching as the preferred model for co-taught instruction , many recent research studies conclude that there is a need to utilize various models of co-teaching to increase the effectiveness of the model ( Scruggs , Mastropieri , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the opportunity for increased interactions between teachers ' and all students , and more differentiated instruction . Co-teaching research studies have identified a lack of station teaching in inclusive STEM classes ( Magiera , Smith , Zigmond , &amp; Gebauer 2005 ; Morocco &amp; Aguilar , 2002 ) , even though station teaching provides an opportunity for special educators to individualize instruction and to teach skills and strategies that are necessary for some and beneficial to all . The new Common Core State Standards ( see http : //www.corestandards.org/ ) encourage teachers to focus on skills such as higher order thinking , deep knowledge , substantive conversations , and connections outside the classroom . Station teaching provides a convenient opportunity for co-teachers to design lessons to promote the skills necessary to successfully access the Common Core State Standards . # In mathematics and science classrooms , the critical component of vocabulary instruction often is either dismissed or minimized with a typical flash card approach . Station teaching provides real and relevant opportunities to engage students with content vocabulary . Using vocabulary stations can support developing content area literacy for students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to challenges with the vocabulary . Although vocabulary knowledge is the strongest predictor of student performance on content-study tasks ( Espin &amp; Deno , 1995 ) , students with disabilities who are included in general education classrooms require more support with vocabulary development than has been traditionally offered ( Wannarka , 2010 ) . Creating stations to address the key vocabulary in mathematics and science will impact student-learning gains ; while particularly helpful for students with disabilities , this approach benefits all students . # Once all students have a strong understanding of key vocabulary terms , teachers can use supportive dialogue and defense strategies not only in station groups but also in whole class discussions . Having a prepared protocol that allows students to make claims , defend claims , and support the rationale behind those claims in a firm but friendly way will also promote students ' social skills needs . # Co-Teaching Science # Mrs. Smith is a science teacher in her fourth year of teaching . She agreed to co-teach with Mr. Grady , a special education teacher , in an inclusive high school lab-science classroom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disabilities . The two teachers worked together daily in three sections of co-taught biology and had one 45-minute afternoon planning session each week . They decided to divide content based on the students ' needs and focus on literacy , organization , and social skills . # Once a week , when their school had a shortened professional development day ( and the teachers had found that they did not have time to do hands-on science ) , Mrs. Smith and Mr. Grady implemented what they called " Flip-Flop-Fish , " a station-teaching routine . The station teaching routine minimized the use of typical test-prep materials ( e.g. , paper-and-pencil or bubble worksheets ) and included 15-minute instructional activities to engage and instruct students ; students " flip-flopped " in two groups between the stations , and " fished " for information from classroom materials and Internet resources ( see box , " Flip-Flop-Fish Lesson Plan " ) . # Using stations regularly can create focused conversation , increasing content language use for all students . For teachers it creates ownership of lesson instruction and the belief that their combined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In station teaching , both teachers engage students in activities , allowing students to communicate their ideas through positive discourse , researching plausible ideas concerning content-area knowledge , and applying new knowledge in various ways . The sample Flip-Flop-Fish lesson clearly addresses the nature of science and , more important , allows all students to engage in the scientific method while being supported by their co-teachers. # Co-Teaching Mathematics # Co-teaching also can be used effectively in middle school mathematics . Mrs. Williams , a mathematics teacher , and Ms. Jones , a special education teacher , co-taught a class of 30 students with an average of 10 students with disabilities . They utilized three learning stations as a means of providing opportunities for reteaching and independent practice , and to incorporate time for students to learn tips on how to problem solve . The teachers did not share a common planning time , so they utilized a computerized planning chart that they accessed in a shared folder in the school 's network ( Google Docs , Dropbox , and Pbwiki are other options for co-teachers to share and work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planning , the teachers were able to plan for their own stations independently , therefore minimizing the amount of joint planning time necessary for implementation . # Mrs. Williams and Ms. Jones , like Mrs. Smith and Mr. Grady , generally used station teaching on short professional development days . They also used station teaching on days when they wanted to give their students time to complete independent work or guided practice , and in order to provide students with additional small group support . For example , after Mrs. Williams introduced a lesson on solving word problems on Monday , they planned a three-station learning session for Tuesday , to provide opportunities for small group instruction , independent practice , and academic support to help students develop strategies to solve complex word problems . On Monday , as a formative assessment , students completed exit slips ( solving one mathematics problem with a written explanation to support their answers ) . Based on the students ' responses , the teachers grouped them for Tuesday 's class : # * At Station 1 , Mrs. Williams reviewed algebraic equations without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ms. Jones provided a think-aloud , presenting the metacognitive strategies students need to use to solve the problems . The goal of this type of activity is to help students use self-talk in order to break down word problems . # * At Station 3 , students completed independent work on word problems using a process sheet that mirrored the think-alouds ( the metacognitive process ) Ms. Jones modeled in Station 2 ( see box , " Additional Process Supports " ) . # This type of ongoing three-station structure ( see Table 1 ) allows co-teachers to have a stronger role and voice in the classroom , while at the same time promoting greater learning outcomes for students . As illustrated by the table , there are benefits and challenges to both the traditional and Station Teaching classroom configurations . When working in a co-teaching setting consider classroom configuration as it impacts the students in your class . # Stations can be used in any order , as they are all related and provide students the opportunity to review , practice , and receive tips on how to decode @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the group that needs the most support begin in Station 1 , where the general education teacher can review or reteach the previous day 's content . Students whose exit slips reveal them needing the most assistance would sequentially rotate through Stations 2 and 3 . In contrast , students whose exit slips indicate that they need little support might start at Station 3 and work backwards . The mathematics teacher can customize the support provided in Station 1 to the needs of each group of students . This station teaching method can provide students the feedback and positive coaching that is needed for academic progress . # Co-teachers can use their strengths to differentiate instruction to help students gain mathematics knowledge independently and through direct instruction in small groups . Once this structure is in place , planning time each week is dramatically reduced . # Impacts of Station Teaching # Benefits for Students # When creating stations , it 's important to keep in mind students ' individualized education program ( IEP ) goals . Stations can focus on reading , writing , or social skills depending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ providing support for a wide range of skills for all students . Station teaching gives teachers flexibility to vary interactions ( e.g. , teacher-student , student-student , student-hands-on materials ) . Students who benefit from concrete examples can participate in a station learning activity with concrete materials prior to moving on to more abstract concepts . Moving students through the stations by placing them in stations that support their academic weaknesses minimizes the frustration that students often experience and can reduce behavior problems . Small-group instruction in station teaching encourages all students to take learning risks , defend their answers when grappling with challenging content , and ask questions that support the development of metacognitive thought processes . The teacher is always available to monitor , coach , and support students as their skills grow in the content area . # Benefits for Science and Mathematics Instruction # A word that gets every teacher 's attention is time . When planning time is short and different teaching styles are merged or new teams created , station teaching is a great way to start . The independence of the station method @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minimal conflict , using their unique skills to benefit students . Over time , as the relationship grows to one of synergy or time allows more planning , other co-teaching models can be integrated into the co-teaching plan . It is important that both teachers have a clear understanding of the curriculum map , and what each bring in skills into the co-taught classroom . In mathematics and science , often both teachers are not at the same level with the content or with working with students with disabilities . Each teacher brings something different to each station ( e.g. , literacy vs. advanced science/mathematics knowledge ) . # Figure 1 illustrates how station teaching can combine mathematics and science content instruction , incorporating technology . Using a station teaching model permits grouping students in a variety of ways , enabling teachers to address learning across a range of content areas . This type of station teaching could even be used by three teachers ( i.e. , a mathematics teacher , science teacher , and special education teacher ) in a synergistic model that provides instruction across content areas while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Murawski ( 2012 ) noted that the greatest concerns about co-teaching include time to plan and mixing personalities . The station teaching model provides an opportunity for professionals across content areas to work in the same environment and utilizes their different talents to increase learning outcomes for all students . Unlike the one lead-one support model , where the special educator is sometimes perceived as taking a role more like that of an aide or paraeducator , station teaching can truly utilize both teachers ' expertise . Within station teaching , each educator is able to isolate key content and instruct students within small groups , with an overall goal of impacting student learning . By using station teaching , teachers can deliver mathematics and science content in small doses in each station , monitoring small groups of students to ensure learning mastery . Stations allow teachers to preteach , reteach , and explore content in isolated chunks . There is enough content within mathematics and science curriculums for both teachers to find something meaningful to teach in small 15- to 20-minute lessons . # Implementing Station Teaching in Your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teaching for the first time , we recommend that you consider the 2 x 2 format ( two stations led by each of the two co-teachers ) before using a 3 x 2 setup ( three stations , with each teacher leading a station and one station for independently engaged activity ) . By beginning with the 2 x 2 strategy , both the general education teacher and the special education teacher can focus on guiding an activity with two separate groups in the classroom and are not distracted by the independent student group . After you have completed the 2 x 2 model successfully , consider moving to a 3 x 2 . This structure supports two small groups with one independent group working alone with technology or some sort of cooperative learning group where teacher support is not expected . # Table 2 provides our " top 10 " principles for general and special educators when leading mathematics and science stations . These ideas are easy to integrate , incorporate strategies that specifically meet the needs of students with disabilities , and will increase your success in using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support structure when creating a third or even fourth station in your classroom ( see box , " Technology Resources for Station Teaching " ) . Moving students into a third or fourth station creates an even further reduced student-to-teacher ratio and allows for greater remediation , enrichment , and , of course--the bottom line--increasing student learning gains . # Final Thoughts # Co-teaching offers the opportunity for teachers to collaborate and provide instruction to diverse learners in inclusive settings . The station teaching model is an effective way to teach secondary science and mathematics content while increasing student learning gains . Station teaching can promote the use of technology and communication while decreasing student-to-teacher ratios and allowing for more direct support and small-group instruction . This is a win-win situation for students and teachers alike . With more and more states moving to end-of-the-course exams in science and mathematics , ensuring the mastery of content and utilizing the strength of both general and special education teachers is critical . Developing and maintaining an effective co-teaching partnership using station teaching to provide instruction on a regular basis will help ensure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support to students with disabilities . # Flip-Flop-Fish Station Teaching Lesson Plan # Mrs. Jones and Mr. Grady developed a crime scene investigation-themed lesson to teach students about blood typing and analysis . In this lesson , students are divided into two groups , identified as " detectives " or " doctors " ; each group uses the same blood samples and has a station-specific worksheet to complete . ( The two groups " flip-flop " after completing each station 's activities. ) # * Students starting in Station A ( Detectives ) receive information about three possible suspects ' blood types , then gather clues from the " crime scene . " The " detectives " must hypothesize who the assailant is and defend their answers based on forensic clues discovered at the scene . # * Students starting in Station B ( Doctors ) examine blood samples of different " patients , " looking at prepared slides of blood cells and comparing these to classroom resources . The students note characteristics of the blood samples and of diseases of the blood to identify whether their patient samples have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In their assessment , the " doctors " use books , media , posters , and web sites such as the Ohio State University 's Wexner Medical Center 's Hematology and Blood Disorder Glossary ( http : **38;58418;TOOLONG ... # In both stations , students must defend their answers based on the scientific information gathered in the day 's events . To assist students in understanding the relevant content science vocabulary , the teachers also have a third " vocabulary " station , decorated with pictures and examples , where students can access information ( print- and Internet-based ) on all science vocabulary used in the activity . # Additional Process Supports # A series of short instructional videos modeling the use of the process sheet could also support students as they learn to use the form during their independent work . Students would view the videos to check their own work ; to watch the process of solving multistep and challenging mathematical problems ; and to use the feedback from the video to review , self-assess , and correct their work . Such videos can be made without editing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , corrected in a recorded think-aloud--further demonstrating the power of this important metacognitive method . # Technology Resources for Station Teaching # Internet resources # CAST Science Writer for lab report writing ( see http : **32;58458;TOOLONG ) # Khan Academy ( see http : //www.khanacademy.org/ ) math and science instructional sets and review assessments # Nobel Peace Prize web site with math and science educational games ( see http : **33;58492;TOOLONG ) # General tips # ? If technology is limited , implement collaborative working pairs to share computers . # ? When using an interactive whiteboard , limit choices into prepared flip charts or embed text , activities , and images ( see Glogster EDU http : //edu.glogster.com/ ) . # ? Set up links to web sites on computer desktop ( or in a Word document ) to support students ' directed web engagement ( i.e. , webquest ) . # ? Provide station instructions via a prerecorded teacher video presentation . # ? Have students create video responses . # ? Incorporate accessible text and reading materials ( e.g. , audio books or e-readers ) for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 . Traditional Classroom Configuration Versus Station Teaching Classroom Configuration TABLE Table 2 . Principles of Station Teaching for Co-Teachers # Top 10 Ideas for General Education ( Content Area ) Teachers # ? Introduce new critical mathematics or science content . # ? Group by student data ( i.e. , formative quiz results ) . # ? Reteach or preteach critical content . # ? Expand thinking on topics that have already been introduced to the class . # ? Complete mini hands-on demonstrations with real-world mathematics or science examples . # ? Use students ' individualized education program ( IEP ) goals , objectives , and accommodations to plan small-group instruction ( note specific items related to mathematics and science ) . # ? Allow students time to grapple with a problem and encourage civil discourse . # ? Use a timer for pacing . # ? Know which students have IEPs and whether goals relate to mathematics and science content . # ? Use questioning techniques to enhance inquiry learning , leading students to experience natural phenomena . # Top 10 Ideas for Special Education Teachers # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science content area teacher is currently teaching at all times . # ? When in doubt , teach the most critical mathematics or science vocabulary to students in small groups first . # ? Coach all students to set goals for learning . # ? Support all students in maintaining an organized mathematics or science inquiry notebook . # ? Use a timer for pacing . # ? Incorporate the use of visuals such as graphic organizers . # ? Teach mnemonic devices to promote memorizing difficult concepts . # ? Incorporate mathematics or science manipulatives and other tangible representations of the content . # ? Refer to classroom charts ( periodic charts , math formulas ) to promote memory . # ? Provide opportunities for alternative assessments of content ( e.g. , oral assessments for students who struggle with written tasks ) . # Figure 1 . Stations to Impact Learning # Science # Cast Science Writer ( see http : **32;58568;TOOLONG ) # Filament Games , Crazy Planet ( see **30;58602;TOOLONG ) # Immune Attack ( see www.fas.org/immuneattack ) # Khan Academy ( see www.khanacademy.org ) # Nobel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vocabulary ( see skeva.tamu.edu/index.php ) # 1 . Explicit vocabulary teaching # 2 . Content-based game training3 . Supportive divergent dialogue4 . Increased engagement/ time on task5 . Reducing teacher-student ratio6 . Increasing reinforcement/feedback7 . Technology tools to support learning # Mathematics # ALEKS ( see www.aleks.com ) # Khan Academy ( see www.khanacademy.org ) # Math Fact Fluency ( see www.reflexmath.com ) # National Library of Virtual Manipulative ( see http : **35;58667;TOOLONG ) # Online Math Learning ( see **37;58704;TOOLONG ) # TIMEZ Attack ( see http : //www.bigbrainz.com ) #

@@4157741 " Saudi Woman Beheaded for Witchcraft " read media headlines around the world on December 13 , 2011 . News reports described how a 60-year-old woman was executed after being convicted of practicing witchcraft on the basis of such evidence as books on witchcraft , veils , and glass bottles full of an " unknown liquid used for sorcery . " 1 Yet the majority of news accounts implied that the woman was a victim of persecution by the Saudi government ; as one of Amnesty International 's directors declared : " The charge of sorcery has often been used in Saudi Arabia to punish people , generally after unfair trials , for exercising their right to freedom of speech or religion . " 2 # No Western reporters seemed to consider that the victim was actually practicing witchcraft , or why witchcraft is considered by the desert kingdom a crime punishable by death . In the West , there is a societal need to place this seemingly inexplicable incident in an understandable context such as the violation of human rights rather than examining this Islamic tradition that includes the belief , practice , and prohibition of magic . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ termed Islamic magic is prevalent throughout the Muslim world , manifested in the theological concept of jinn , inhabiting the entire sphere of the Muslim occult . Furthermore , magical beliefs can constitute an existential and political threat to Islamic religious leaders , provoking severe punishments and strict prohibitions of any practice not sanctioned by their authority . Conversely , political leaders , including Iran 's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , Taliban leader Mullah Omar , and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari , have employed magical beliefs to advance their political agendas. # ISLAMIC WITCH HUNTS # Belief in witchcraft , sorcery , magic , ghosts , and demons is widespread and pervasive throughout the Muslim world . Magical beliefs are expressed in the wearing of amulets , consulting spiritual healers and fortunetellers , shrine worship , exorcisms , animal sacrifice , and numerous customs and rituals that provide protection from the evil eye , demons , and jinn . Fears associated with these beliefs range from hauntings and curses to illness , poverty , and everyday misfortunes . Supernatural practices that are intended to bring good fortune , health , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Magical beliefs are not relegated to rural or poverty-stricken areas . On the contrary , they are observable in every segment of society regardless of socioeconomic status . # One of the more popular customs is fortunetelling , which is different from the Western practice , which is usually relegated to the status of a carnival act and specific to predicting the future . Generally , the practice of fortunetelling in the Middle East focuses more on spiritual protection and family counseling than prediction and prophecy . In addition to reading cards , dice , palms , and coffee grounds , activities include selling amulets to ward off evil spirits and providing advice for marital problems . In Afghanistan , fortunetellers operate out of small shops or outside of mosques and shrines across the country but are rarely consulted to portend the future ; most often their clients are women or the elderly seeking guidance for problems affecting their families . In Iran , fortunetelling has become increasingly popular , and people of all ages turn to fortunetellers in search of happiness and security.3 In Pakistan , fortunetelling and belief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ television shows.4 # All magical practices are denounced as un-Islamic by clerics . Although they condemn fortunetelling , the practice is not punished as severely as witchcraft and sorcery . This is likely due to the fact that fortunetelling is viewed as using magic to acquire unseen knowledge while sorcery is viewed as intentionally practicing malevolent or black magic . Recently , in Afghanistan , Gaza , Bahrain , and Saudi Arabia , stricter laws , arrests , and executions have resulted in efforts to deter magical practices . In January 2008 , Afghan religious elders banned dozens of traditional fortunetellers in Mazar-i-Sharif from the area near the Hazrat Ali shrine.5 In 2010 , the Islamist group Hamas , ruling the Gaza Strip , conducted a campaign against witchcraft in the area , arresting 150 women , who were then forced to sign confessions and statements renouncing the practice.6 According to Hamas " the activities of these women represent a real social danger , also because they risk ' breaking up families , ' causing divorce and frittering away of money . Sometimes their activities also have criminal repercussions . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large anti-witchcraft posters at mosques , universities , and government offices warning women against magical practices and providing information to Gaza residents wishing to accuse their neighbors of the crime.8 In August 2010 , the campaign escalated to violence when a 62-year-old woman known as a traditional healer was murdered in front of her house by unidentified men after she was accused by her neighbors of practicing witchcraft.9 In January 2012 , Hamas declared the profession of fortunetelling illegal and " forced 142 fortunetellers to sign written statements averring that they would stop trying to predict the future and sell trinkets that are supposed to offer personal protection . " 10 # In Egypt , Khalil Fadel , a prominent Egyptian psychiatrist , claimed that many Egyptians , including the highly-educated , were spending large amounts of money on sorcery and superstition and warned that growing superstition among Egyptians was threatening the country 's national security , dependent as it was on the mental health of the nation.11 Under current law , people alleged to be sorcerers can be arrested in Egypt for fraud , but now that the Muslim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it is conceivable that soon witchcraft could be designated a crime of apostasy , punishable by death . # In April 2009 , Bahrain passed strict sorcery laws after x-rays revealed packages containing hair , nails , and blood were being shipped there ; witchcraft and sorcery are now criminal offences that can result in fines or prison , followed by deportation.12 # Neighboring Saudi Arabia enforces the most severe penalties for designated magical crimes . The threat of black magic is taken so seriously there that , in May 2009 , an anti-witchcraft unit was created to combat it , along with traditional healing and fortunetelling , and placed under the control of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice ( CPV ) , which employs Saudi Arabia 's religious police , the mutaween . " On the CPV 's website , a hotline encourages citizens across the kingdom to report cases of sorcery to local officials for immediate treatment . " 13 Nine specialized centers were set up in large cities to deal with practitioners of black magic . # A large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were Africans and Indonesians as black magic is often attributed to foreign workers , particularly maids.14 In September 2011 , hundreds of Saudi women complained when the Shura Council ( an advisory body ) granted permission for Moroccan women , internationally reputed by Muslims as masters of black magic , to work as maids in Saudi households.15 The wives claimed it was " tantamount to allowing the use of black magic in their homes to steal their husbands ? the issue was not lacking trust in their husbands , but their men were powerless to ward off spells . " 16 Foreign domestic workers in the kingdom are accused of sorcery regularly either due to their traditional practices or because Saudi men , facing charges of sexual harassment , want to discredit their accusers.17 # Nor is prosecution for witchcraft in Saudi Arabia restricted to women . In 2010 , Ali Sabat , host of a Lebanese satellite television program that provided psychic advice for callers from around the Arab world , was imprisoned while on the hajj pilgrimage.18 In a closed court hearing with no representation , he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' publicly for several years before millions of viewers . " 19 As a result of international pressure , he received a last minute reprieve , and his sentence was eventually reduced to fifteen years in prison . # Others had no such luck . There have been several executions for similar crimes : In September 2011 , a Sudanese man was beheaded for the crime of witchcraft and sorcery , having been caught in a sting operation set in motion by the religious police and then convicted in a closed trial . In April 2011 , thirty officers from the CPV attended a three-day training workshop in the Eastern Province to investigate black magic crimes . The anti-witchcraft unit 's specialized training apparently also involved learning Qur'anic healing rituals to destroy the effects of black magic . There are detailed Islamic treatises on neutralizing black magic that include entire exorcism rites and purification rituals for the destruction of amulets and other magical items . Thus the irony results that neutralizing the effects of spells also constitutes magical practices , albeit legalized ones . # In brief , there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world ; many are in violation of interpretations of the Shari'a ( Islamic law ) , and in some countries , that is punishable by death . European witch hunts ended when the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment brought empirical reason to the fore , and rationality eventually replaced the West 's superstitious worldviews . The Islamic view of sorcery and witchcraft is significantly different . In contemporary Islamic witch hunts , there is an accepted , long-established , theologically-sanctioned supernatural tradition . Although science was cultivated in Muslim lands during Islam 's Golden Age , witch hunts never ceased because the Enlightenment 's rationalist ideologies did not replace the Islamic magical world-view . Rather , Islamic witch hunts have evolved into a combination of primal ritual and modern technology where videos of exorcisms and beheadings are available on the Internet.20 # JINN AND THE MUSLIM OCCULT # To fully comprehend contemporary witch hunts and the prevalence of magical beliefs in the Muslim world , it is necessary to understand the concept of jinn . Jinn provide Islamic explanations for evil , illness , health , wealth , and position @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in between . The word jinn ( also written as jinnee , djinn , djinni , genii or genie ) is derived from the Arabic root j-n-n meaning to hide or be hidden , similar to the Latin origins of the word " occult " ( hidden ) . # In the West , occult practices are marginalized and relegated to pagan traditions or the mystical aspects of religious traditions . In Islam , however , jinn are an integral part of Islamic theology . According to the Qur'an , God created humans from clay , angels from light , and jinn from smokeless fire : " Although belief in jinn is not one of the five pillars of Islam , one ca n't be Muslim if he/she does n't have faith in their existence . ? Indeed , the Qur'anic message itself is addressed to both humans and jinn , considered the only two intelligent species on earth . " 21 While frequently described as angels and demons , jinn are actually a third category--complex , intermediary beings who , similar to humans , have free will and can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to worship God and will be judged on the Day of Judgment according to their deeds.23 # Evil jinn are referred to as shayatin , or devils , and Iblis ( Satan ) is their chief.24 They can take the form of humans or animals with many of the fears associated with Islamic purification rites expressed in the symbolic attributes of the jinn . For example , in Islam , dogs , urine , feces , and blood are intrinsically impure , and jinn are known to shape-shift to dogs , accept impure animal sacrifice , and dwell in bathrooms , graveyards , and other unclean places . Muslims believe that evil jinn are spiritual entities that can enter and possess people and exercise supernatural influence over them . Women are considered to be more vulnerable to jinn because they are thought to be weaker in their faith and impure several days of the month.25 # While jinn have been relegated to fantasy characters in the West , to countless believing Muslims , there is no doubt that they exist . An August 2009 Gallup poll , for example , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in jinn.26 Witches , sorcerers , and fortunetellers are all believed to be under the guidance of jinn and are sometimes referred to as " jinn catchers. " # Jinn are intrinsically intertwined with the practice of both licit Qur'anic magic and illicit black magic ( sihir ) . Black magic is considered to be worked by those who have learned to summon evil jinn to serve them while Qur'anic magic invokes the guidance of God to exorcise the demons . Even spiritual healers with good intentions who do not employ Qur'anic healing methods can be designated as witches and sorcerers : In Saudi Arabia , only qualified individuals , usually natives designated by the religious authorities , are allowed to practice Qur'anic treatment methods ; most of those arrested and beheaded for sorcery and witchcraft tend to be foreigners regardless of whether or not they were practicing Qur'anic medicine . # Despite regulations , an entire industry of professional exorcists who perform Qur'anic healing has arisen to meet demand throughout the Middle East and among Western Muslims with exorcists openly advertising on the Internet , using Facebook and Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ techniques and publicizing actual exorcisms . Qur'anicHealers.com , a division of Spiritual Superpower Inc. , for example , has a Paypal account , contact information for Qur'anic healers in twelve countries and a post office box in Artesia , California.27 # Clerics , police , and politicians carefully negotiate the political , religious , legal , moral , and ethical issues that arise from dealing with this world of spirits with each country having its own laws to regulate various practices . For example , although exorcists are not prohibited in Gaza , Hamas considers most of them con artists , claiming to have exposed thirty cases of fraud in 2010 : " We caught some suspects red-handed ? using magic to separate married couples ? It was all an act of deception and exploitation . Some people handed over fortunes , and one woman gave all her jewelry to one of these exorcists. " 28 # Abusive , quasi-medical practices have also been committed in the name of Qur'anic magic . Despite the fact that there are hospitals with psychiatric sections in Afghanistan , a common practice there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ritually exorcise the jinn " possessing " them . Patients are fed a strict diet of bread and black pepper , do not have a change of clothing , and sleep on the ground . Those who do not survive the treatments are buried in earthen mounds around the shrine . While doctors in Muslim lands recognize physical and mental illnesses , some are inclined to attribute inexplicable cases to possession . And although there are mullahs and religious scholars reportedly against these practices , the custom continues . There is no doubt that clerics believe in the powers of jinn ; they would no more question the existence of jinn than they would the Qur'an. # THE POLITICS OF MAGIC # Jinn can represent an existential and political threat to religious leaders . Religious clerics condemn or actively ban illicit spiritual healing not because of the atrocities that have been committed , or because people are being defrauded , or even out of a conviction to save people 's souls from evil but out of fear that jinn exist and can be induced to subvert their authority . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the belief in jinn to further their political agendas . Sheikh Ahmed Namir , a cleric and Hamas leader , perpetuates anti-Semitic tropes , claiming that economic hardship and psychological traumas in the Gaza Strip have encouraged evil Christian and Jewish jinn to possess Palestinians.29 Palestinian stories of jinn possession are full of classic anti-Semitic propaganda and symbolism ; in one case of " possession , " for example , the attempted murder of a child by her mother was blamed on " sixty-seven Jewish jinn , " transforming the ancient blood libel accusation into a new and bizarre form.30 Not surprisingly , exorcizing Jewish jinn has become a growing business in Gaza : # Sheikh Abu Khaled , a Palestinian exorcist , said the number of possessed Muslims has more than tripled : " 1 suspect that Jewish magicians send jinns to us here in Gaza . In fact , most of my patients are possessed with Jewish jinns. " 31 # Some leaders allude to possessing supernatural powers in order to self-aggrandize but this can also backfire . Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told followers in 2005 that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech to the U.N . General Assembly , in which the foreign leaders in the hall were transfixed , unable to blink for a half hour . " 32 But in May 2011 , Ahmadinejad 's supernatural " powers " resulted in the arrests of two dozen of his aides , charged by opposing religious clerics with practicing black magic and invoking jinn . While most Western reporters scoffed at the story of imprisoned exorcists , The Wall Street Journal interviewed a renowned Iranian sorcerer , Seyed Sadigh , who claimed that dozens of Iran 's top government officials consult him on matters of national security and that he used jinn to infiltrate Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies : " Mr. Sadigh says he does n't waste jinn powers on trivial matters such as love and money . Rather , he contacts jinn who can help out on matters of national security and the regime 's political stability . His regular roll call includes jinn who work for ? the Mossad , and for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency . " 33 # It would appear that the accusations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president and the country 's supreme leader , Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i , making this both an actual and political witch hunt . The primary target of the arrests was Ahmadinejad 's chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei whose " alternative Messianic version of Islam ? includes aspects of the occult and a more limited role for clerics . " 34 Not surprisingly , Sadigh reinforced this notion , declaring , " I have information that Ahmadinejad is under a spell , and they are now trying to cast one on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamene'i to obey them blindly. " 35 Sadigh the sorcerer negotiates the politics of magic like a pro , changing allegiances to align himself with whoever seems to be on top and selling his services to him . Perhaps the real power behind the Iranian government resides with the jinn catchers. # Mullah Omar , the Pashtun founder of the Taliban , is widely perceived as magically protected.36 Laying claim to the Afghan tradition of charismatic mullahs with supernatural powers , Omar adopted the same strategy , removing a cloak , believed by many Afghans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a shrine in Kandahar and wearing it openly.37 Since legend decreed that the chest holding the cloak could only be opened when touched by a true leader of the Muslims , wearing it gave him the status of an Afghan hero endowed with extraordinary mystical powers . When Kabul fell to his forces , his supernatural status was confirmed . # Knowing that the Pashtun emphasize dreams as a form of revelation , Omar cultivated the idea that God spoke to him through his dreams and claimed that he based his most crucial policy decisions on them . # CONCLUSIONS # Whether to appease a superstitious people or out of sincerely-held belief , Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari sacrifices a black goat nearly every day to ward off the evil eye and provide protection from black magic.38 He , along with Ahmadinejad and Mullah Omar , understands that knowledge of local customs , jinn , and magical practices has significant political value . A superstitious population presents numerous opportunities to communicate fear , apprehension , or awe and to exert influence . # Knowledge of local myths , customs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as warfare , but Westerners do not know how to deal with belief in supernatural phenomena , continually applying a rational , scientific approach to cultures that engage in magical thinking and refusing to acknowledge the political significance of these beliefs . Currently , U.S. policymakers can not even publicly acknowledge that acts of terrorism are based on Islamist religious ideologies , much less give credence to jinn. # U.S. leaders tend to attribute the root causes of violence to secular , social , and economic factors such as poverty , illness , illiteracy , and hunger . This has resulted in a strategy to win the hearts and minds of the people by providing food , shelter , education , and medicine . These operations have consistently failed because Islamic religious and political leaders understand that their people primarily view the root cause of their difficulties as a spiritual problem . Instead of freedom , they foster faith . The Islamic strategy is to win souls by providing supernatural protection , via God or jinn . Hearts and minds will then follow . # 1 The New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dec. 13 , 2011 ; CNN , Dec. 13 , 2011 ; al-Jazeera TV ( Doha ) , Dec. 13 , 2011. # 2 Amnesty International , Dec. 12 , 2011 ; al-Jazeera TV ( Doha ) , Dec. 13 , 2011 ; The Telegraph ( London ) , Dec. 13 , 2011.3 Reuters , Nov. 25 , 2007.4 Chowrangi blog , May 18 , 2011.5 Reuters , Jan. 27 , 2008.6 International Mediterranean News Service ( ANSAmed ) , Jan. 15 , 2011.7 Ibid.8 Ibid.9 Ma'an News Agency ( Bethlehem ) , Aug. 19 , 2010.10 Arutz Sheva ( Beit El and Petah Tikva ) , Jan. 3 , 2012.11 The Huffington Post ( New York ) , Sept. 6 , 2009.12 Gulf Daily News ( Manama , Bahrain ) , Apr. 1 , 2009 ; Muslim Media Network , May 13 , 2010.13 The Jerusalem Post , July 20 , 2011.14 Arab News ( Riyadh ) , Apr. 4 , 2011.15 Morocco Board News ( Washington , D.C. ) , Oct. 1 , 2011 ; The Jerusalem Post , Oct. 22 , 2011.16 The Jerusalem Post , Oct. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Uri Friedman , " How Do You Prove Someone 's a Witch in Saudi Arabia ? " Foreign Policy , Dec. 13 , 2011.18 Emirates 24/7 ( Dubai ) , Apr. 23 , 2011.19 The New York Times , Apr. 2 , 2010.20 All videos accessed Jan. 4 , 2013 , YouTube : " Islamic Exorcism , " June 7 , 2006 , " Exorcism in Islam , " July 29 , 2007 , " Ruyati Binti Sapubi--An Indonesian Maid in Saudi Arabia Beheaded , " June 18 , 2011 , " Man beheaded in carpark as per Muslim Shariah law . " 21 Amira El-Zein , Islam , Arabs and the Intelligent World of the Jinn ( Syracuse : Syracuse University Press , 2009 ) , p. x.22 Ibid. , p. xi.23 Reinhold Loeffler , Islam in Practice : Religious Beliefs in a Persian Village ( Albany : State University of New York Press , 1988 ) , p. 46.24 Sam Shamoun , " Qur'an Incoherence and Contradiction : Is Satan an Angel or a Jinn ? " Answering-islam.org , accessed Dec. 28 , 2012 ; " Jinn According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 28 , 2012.25 Gerda Sengers , Women and Demons ; Cult Healing in Islamic Egypt ( Leiden : Brill , 2003 ) , p. 163.26 " Pakistanis ' Belief in Super Natural Beings , " Gilani Poll-Gallup Pakistan , Islamabad , Aug. 31 , 2009.27 Qur'anicHealers.com , accessed Dec. 28 , 2012.28 Reuters , Mar. 11 , 2011.29 Ibid.30 Celia E. Rothenberg , Spirits of Palestine : Gender , Society and Stories of the Jinn ( Lanham , Md. : Lexington Books , 2004 ) , pp. 77-8.31 Robert S. Robins and Jerrold M. Post , Political Paranoia : The Psychopolitics of Hatred ( New Haven : Yale University Press , 1997 ) , p. 56.32 ABC News , May 9 , 2011.33 The Wall Street Journal , June 10 , 2011.34 ABC News , May 9 , 2011 ; ibid , June 10 , 2011.35 The Wall Street Journal , June 10 , 2011.36 Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason , " Understanding the Taliban and Insurgency in Afghanistan , " Orbis , Winter 2007.37 Ibid.38 The Guardian ( London ) , Jan. 27 , 2010 ; ABC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ December 2011 , the world was shocked to learn that Saudi authorities had beheaded a 60-year-old woman for witchcraft . Westerners attempt to explain such barbaric behavior as punishment for something considered a political crime such as speaking freely , but the truth is that Saudis--and other Muslims--believe in the supernatural and in the practice of the dark arts . # Ali Sabat , seen here with two of his children , was the host of a Lebanese satellite television program that provided psychic advice for Arab callers . He was sentenced to death by a Saudi court while on pilgrimage there " because he had practiced ' sorcery ' publicly ? before millions of viewers . " As a result of international pressure , he received a last minute reprieve with his sentence reduced to fifteen years in prison . # Saudi Arabia 's dreaded morality police , the mutaween , have a specially trained unit to combat witches and practitioners of black magic . Ironically , they are taught to use legalized Qur'anic spells to neutralize the effects of supposed black magic spells . #

@@4157841 BORDER WARS # IN DECEMBER , THE MNDEZ REYES FAMILY BECAME the latest in a series of political asylum cases in Montreal that have gained the media 's attention.1 The Canadian government definitively denied refugee status to this Mexican family of four , ordering them to leave the country in three weeks ' time , by mid-January 2013 . The father , Fernando Reyes , affirmed that on three occasions he was kidnapped in Mexico , the third time in the company of his then 11-year-old son . This recurrent violence finally pushed him and his family to seek political asylum in Canada in 2008 . In a final effort to try to influence the government 's decision and to publicly denounce Canadian treatment of Mexican asylum seekers , the family turned to the media to publicize their case . Since October 2011 , when Paula Ortiz was obliged to leave Canada--leaving behind two Canadian-born small children--numerous such cases have received significant media attention . # Such cases have served to illuminate a much broader but largely silent and invisible phenomenon , as thousands of other Mexican asylum seekers have also been forcibly expelled from Canada in recent years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three major processes : increased North American economic integration ; the transformation in the nature of state and social violence in Mexico ; and radical policy reform that renders political asylum increasingly and durably inaccessible , particularly for peoples from the Global South . # From the early 1990s to 2009 , the number of Mexicans seeking political asylum in Canada steadily and quite dramatically increased . While they numbered about 250 in 1994--the year NAFTA went into effect--their number increased to 3,350 in 2005 , causing Mexicans to become the most common seekers of asylum on Canada ; the yearly petition rate finally reached over 9,000 in 2009 . To definitively counter this " emerging crisis , " in July 2009 , the Canadian government implemented a visa requirement on all Mexicans traveling to Canada . The requirement--expensive , complex , designed to exclude--acts as a legal wall , making it impossible for most Mexicans to reach Canada and preventing them from applying for political asylum once in the country.2 # Without a visa , Mexicans can no longer reach Canada by taking a direct international flight , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until 2009 , Mexicans could cross the U.S.-Canada border overland to request asylum . Migrants traveling overland now have to apply for political asylum in the United States . In other words , unauthorized migrants in the United States can not apply for asylum at the Canadian border . The 2009 implementation of the Canadian visa has effectively harmonized the visa policies of the United States and Canada . Acceptance rates for asylum in the United States , however , are much lower than in Canada , and those who cross the border to the United States to seek political refuge are systematically imprisoned . Yet the number of Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States has also increased in recent years . # To justify this legal wall , the Canadian government mobilized potent discourses that sought to categorically and unequivocally undermine the legitimacy and political subjectivity of Mexican asylum seekers . According to the Canadian government , the vast majority of applications were " false " or " bogus . " Drawing on deeply engrained stereotypes , these people were portrayed simply as " economic migrants " seeking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canada . Thus , according to Jason Kenney , Canada 's minister of Citizenship , Immigration and Multiculturalism , they were not in need of state protection and were " abusing " the Canadian asylum policy . He accused Mexican asylum seekers , furthermore , of being " queue jumpers " in the immigration line.3 This argument is also deeply pernicious . Not only does it connote that Mexicans are trying to cheat the system , but it also wrongly implies that they could qualify to migrate to Canada under other means . There are no " queues " available for most Mexicans to jump . Recursively reinforcing and reflecting these discourses , the acceptance rate of petitions for asylum continued to decrease as the number of applicants increased . In the years leading up to and following the imposition of the visa , acceptance rates hovered between 8% and 17%. # Curiously , particular postures from within the Canadian government contradict the overarching position of the Canadian government vis--vis contemporary violence in Mexico , as well as the motivations of Mexican asylum seekers . For example , the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens to " exercise a high degree of caution " when traveling to Mexico , discouraging in particular all " nonessential travel " in northern states.4 The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada ( IBRC ) has recognized , furthermore , that certain rejected asylum claimants were under threat of persecution and suffered from " generalized " forms of violence . The IBRC justified denying these individuals refugee status because " generalized violence " does not fall into the types of persecution recognized by the Geneva Convention . This fact calls into question the categories of persecution maintained by the Geneva Convention and not the legitimacy of asylum seekers ' petitions . # When the Canadian government imposed the visa requirement in 2009 , thousands of Mexicans who had applied for asylum were still in Canada awaiting the evaluation of their asylum applications . Since then , we have documented the lives of many of these people in Montreal as they have struggled individually and collectively for the recognition of their rights while seeking to reframe discourses and debates regarding Mexico . Although it is difficult to know for certain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the process of adjudicating the last of the cases from the pre-2009 visa period ; thus , this massive yet largely invisible migration of people is now nearing an end . Examining political asylum from the vantage point of their lives , however , poses crucial questions about the meaning and status of political asylum today , particularly as countries throughout the Global North now use asylum policies as tools for exclusion rather than as instruments for promoting broad humanitarian action.5 # Contrary to the simplistic portrait frequently bandied about by the Canadian government , the research that we have conducted suggests that the causes of this novel but short-lived migratory flow are complex . While economic factors do play a role , reducing Mexican asylum seekers to " economic migrants " is , in our view , deeply prejudicial . According to interviews that we have conducted with asylum seekers , multiple and diverse forms of violence underpinned many people 's life stories , including gendered forms of violence ( directed against both women and homosexuals ) , violence spawned by narco-trafficking and the Mexican government 's recent war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and insecurity , and targeted state-sponsored violence against social movement leaders and political and human rights activists . To this list must be added the practices of state impunity . These include direct , often violent acts of retribution against individuals who denounce government officials and members of the police for corruption or other crimes , as well as the generalized lack of police and judicial protection in Mexico , which renders most Mexicans systematically vulnerable to all forms of violence . # Unsurprisingly , and in a mutually reinforcing manner , many of these same individuals have also suffered from acute forms of economic insecurity . Testimonials varied greatly , but many spoke of the difficulty of making ends meet ; the increasing repression against unauthorized migrants in the United States and the violence at the U.S.-Mexico border , which make migration to the United States more difficult ; and the threat to habitual livelihoods with the spread of criminal networks throughout rural Mexico . In this sense , we believe that this migration flow has deeply entwined political and economic causes . Thus , as is the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asylum seekers destabilize the hard categorical distinction that the Canadian government seeks to impose on migrants through labels such as political refugees ( and " real " asylum seekers ) or economic migrants ( and " false " asylum seekers ) . Maintaining these strong categorical distinctions represents , in fact , just another state strategy of border enforcement . In contrast to the Canadian government 's characterizations , we believe , from an ethical and analytical viewpoint , that this migration flow might be best categorized as a form of " survival migration , " or mobility caused by an existential threat to the personhood of individuals , families , or communities.6 In other words , multifaceted forms of human insecurity , both political and economic , underpin this mixed migratory flow . # The fact that the political and economic causes of Mexican asylum seeking can be found , at least partially , in processes that operate at the transnational ( or properly North American ) scale , directly linked to the process of North American integration , adds complexity to the situation . The flow of arms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of drug money ; the increasing repression of unauthorized migrants in the United States ; and the destruction of Mexican livelihoods and environments in urban and rural areas linked to neoliberal economic policies , including the very notable presence of Canadian mining companies on Mexican soil , all contribute to the multifaceted forms of violence and the concomitant production of human insecurity that characterize contemporary Mexican society . Three asylum cases with which we are familiar sit clearly at the crosscurrents of these processes : first , a bank teller who was pressured by drug traffickers to launder money , which surely would have filtered into the global financial system ; second , a social movement activist who struggled against a Canadian mining company in San Luis Potosi ; and third , another activist centrally involved in the student movement against privatization at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 2000 . All three were granted asylum , yet the current visa requirement would make similar petitions virtually impossible today . # In addition to recasting how we understand the motivations and causes of asylum seeking among Mexicans , our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into question the dominant discourses and practices of the Canadian government regarding asylum . Locally , many of the people with whom we have interacted have been criminalized . Men , in particular , frequently spent time in detention , either upon arrival in Canada or just before the set date of expulsion . Furthermore , almost across the board and regardless of skills or background , asylum seekers have been pushed into the low-wage economy in Montreal . They typically receive wages under the table or work for minimum wage in private homes as domestics , in restaurants , and in factories . The nature of work that asylum seekers performed spoke of exploitation and vulnerability , rather than of individuals who were " abusing " the system . In different ways , both of these trends ( criminalization and informality ) durably blur the line between asylum seekers and clandestine and undocumented workers , further reinforcing the former 's lack of legitimacy . # At the transnational scale , the phenomenon of asylum seeking among Mexicans highlights an emerging pattern of transnational itinerant movement or homelessness in North @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lived with his family as an unauthorized immigrant in the United States , losing his job twice due to raids by immigration officials in the United States . At the church that he frequented , he received advice and aid to apply for asylum in Canada . However , the request was eventually denied . Just before his and his family 's expulsion , Canadian immigration officials detained him , asserting that he was at risk of flight . As stated simply by another family we interviewed who had also lived in all three countries , " We are not wanted anywhere . " Furthermore , upon return to Mexico , many of our contacts felt that they could not return to their previous hometowns or states . For example , a homosexual , whom we shall call David , suffered violence at the hands of a police officer and onetime sexual partner . When he returned to Mexico--he was also detained before being expelled--he believed that he could not go back to his previous home , opting instead to try his chances in a different state . Another notable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of extortion by the Zetas , a trafficking gang . Unable to pay their " quota " and fearing for their lives , the family applied for asylum in Canada but were turned down because of the " generalized " nature of the violence from which they suffered . When they return , they plan to migrate to a different region in Mexico , with slim hopes of acquiring land there to cultivate . # An increasing number of Mexican asylum seekers choose to stay in Canada clandestinely . Cristina , for example , has made this very difficult and complicated choice . She was a victim of severe sexual violence at the hands of competing narco-trafficking networks . Given this history , she considers the personal bodily safety that she feels in Canada well worth the isolation , invisibility , and illegality of her current situation . In Canada , being clandestine means living fully in the shadows with no access to any state services , such as education or health care . # Taken together , the patterns of mobility highlighted above force us to consider the degree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and homeless , with no government willing to offer them protection or defend their rights . This idea of " statelessness " was strongly reflected in recent comments made by Mexican president Enrique Pea Nieto while on his pre-inaugural North American diplomatic tour . In a joint press conference in Ottawa given by Pea Nieto and Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper on November 28 , the thorny issue of the visa travel restriction arose . In response , Harper affirmed that " we would ultimately like to see visa-free travel with Mexico , " but that Canada has to complete ongoing reforms to its immigration system before doing so . Pea Nieto responded by stating , " As Mr. Harper said , the visa requirement is the result of excessive refugee claims that were perhaps unfounded--citizens of our country who claim refugee status , which got them access to social security benefits in this country . " 7 Sadly , Pea Nieto 's words simply reinforce and legitimize the Canadian government 's prejudicial posture toward Mexican asylum seekers . # In Canada , the fate of Mexican asylum seekers has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the primary objective of which is to stem the flow of refuge claimants . Perverse as it would seem , Mexico has served as a useful " example " to justify such reforms . The use of a visa requirement , systematically applied to countries of the Global South , combined with the safe third-country agreement with the United States , prevents potential asylum seekers from ever reaching Canadian soil . These legal instruments mean that the Canadian boundary now operates in a partially de-territorialized manner , running through airports and embassies , while increasingly relying on U.S. border enforcement practices as well . # For those people who somehow do manage to arrive in Canada seeking political refuge , the very recent law C-31 , which took effect December 15 , has quite dramatically changed how their cases will be evaluated . Indeed , this law , which has been categorically condemned by immigrant and refugee activists , further undermines the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in multiple ways . According to the Canadian Council for Refugees , the following issues are of particular concern : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficult for asylum seekers to prepare their cases ; it creates distinct national categories , which will inevitably lead to unequal treatment among asylum seekers from different countries ; it opens the door for prolonged imprisonment ; and it delays the possibility of family reunification for those granted asylum.8 The border is hardening not only externally but internally as well . # 1 . Lisa-Marie Gervais , " Immigration--pas de rpit pour l'expulsion des demandeurs d'asile , " Le Devoir ( Montreal ) , December 28 , 2012. # 2 . See Patricia Martin and Annie Lapalme , " Mexican Mobility and Canada : Hardening Boundaries and Growing Resistance , " Border Wars ( blog ) , August 8 , 2012 , available at nacla.org.3 . See Citizenship and Immigration ministry , Canada , " Canada Imposes a Visa on Mexico " ( press release ) , July 13 , 2009 , available at cic.gc.ca , and Michelle Collins , " Cabinet Pulls the Plug on Mexican and Czech Visa-Free Travel , " Centre for International Governance Innovation , July 15 , 2009 , available at cigionline.org.4 . Travel Advisory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " Refuge or Refusal : The Geography of Exclusion , " in Violent Geographies : Fear , Terror and Political Violence , ed . Derek Gregory and Allan Pred ( Routledge , 2007 ) , 77-91.6 . Alexander Betts , " Survival Migration : A New Protection Framework , " Global Governance 16 : ( 2010 ) : 361-82.7 . CBC World News , " Canada Preparing to Drop Visa Rule for Mexican Visitors , " November , 28 , 2012 , available at cbc.ca8 . See Canadian Council for Refugees , " Concerns About Changes to the Refugee Determination System , " undated , available at ccrweb.ca. # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : President Enrique Pea of Mexico meets with Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada . # PHOTO ( BLACK &amp; WHITE ) : The Mndez Reyes family in Ottawa . #

@@4157941 The cultural material in interwar periodicals of protest is a vital site of information regarding the complex history of Canada 's early-twentieth-century " woman question . " It also has much to tell us about the tangled history of the welfare state in Canada and its relation to women 's discourses of reform , which might seem surprising , given that the magazine of interest here , The Woman Worker , was published between 1926 and 1929 by an affiliate of the Communist Party of Canada ( CPC ) .1 Yet , as later Communist periodicals such as Masses ( 1932-1934 ) and the Daily Clarion ( 1936-1939 ) attest , the CPC and its affiliates made significant contributions to nascent ideas about the welfare state in modern Canada . This is particularly true of the periods during which the CPC was engaged in " united " and " Popular Front " initiatives , through the 1920s and during the latter half of the 1930s , for example.2 Nonetheless , what Dennis Guest calls the " largely unrecorded history of attempts to introduce citizen participation ' into policy making and administration " ( 85 ) that is embodied in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the far left ) has not played much part in shaping narratives of the development of the welfare state in Canada.3 Less visible still is the role of women , and particularly working-class and immigrant women , in this ephemeral history of " citizen participation . " Important groundwork has been laid : studies in labour history , such as Margaret Hobbs ' and Joan Sangster 's invaluable 1999 survey of The Woman Worker , have mined early- and mid-twentieth-century periodicals of protest for their political arguments and as sources for social history , and literary critics have begun the work of analyzing the literary content of and the role played by women editors and writers within these publications.4 This essay will build on this historical and literary scholarship to examine how the cultural material in the pages of The Woman Worker plays a crucial role in its performance of protest . Yet the object of social and political change is not constant in The Woman Worker , a fact that can be attributed to the political and cultural eclecticism of its creators and readers and that testifies to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ periodical was engaging . A contradictory iconography and discourse of womanhood , and hence of political change , runs through the periodical 's poetry and fiction : if what one reader calls the " rebel woman " gestures obviously to The Woman Worker 's Communist affiliations , its support of equal-rights feminism , and its fraught negotiations with a masculinist tradition of workers ' verse , a figure I characterize as the " little woman " suggests its equally frequent recourse to the ideologies of parliamentary reform and maternal feminism , as well as its use and revision of the Anglo-American novel of social reform . # The Woman Worker and Its Contexts # Labour historians have long appreciated the value of the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century protest press , and their work is a wonderful resource for understanding its contents . By the 1920s , the leftist periodical press was a central part of creative and political culture in Canada . The first major leftist periodical in Canada was the weekly newspaper of the Nine-Hour Movement , the Ontario Workman ( 1872-1875 ) , which featured a fair quantity of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the growth of trade unionism and political radicalism in Canada . According to R W. Watt , by the 1920s , these periodicals " emerged not merely from the dissident minority among the working classes , but from the respectable middle-class intellectuals who had earlier remained aloof " ( 467 ) . Literary and cultural scholars in Canada have , for many years , acknowledged the importance of the mid-twentieth-century " little-magazine " movement , but only recently have scholars interested in the cultural history of protest begun to examine periodicals that an earlier generation of scholars deemed unliterary and thus outside the movement . While foundational essays such as Ruth I. McKenzie 's " Proletarian Literature in Canada " ( 1939 ) and Watts " The Literature of Protest " ( 1965 ) mapped out literary histories of protest in Canada that brought previously occluded periodicals into literary-critical view , these scholars also clearly felt ambivalent about the aesthetic qualities of the " horatory chants and indignant diatribes " they were recuperating ( Watt 471-72 ) . Contemporary critics such as James Doyle , Caren Irr , Dean Irvine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Watt , and find historical and cultural interest in the interwar leftist periodical press in Canada , particularly the press of the troubled 1930s and publications such as Masses and New Frontier ( 1934-1936 ) . Irvine and Rifkind follow trends in the new modernist studies and cultural studies ( for instance , in the work of Michael Denning and Cary Nelson ) and seek to validate Canada 's early-twentieth-century protest press by incorporating its experiments into the modernist fold . Indeed , in his history of women 's participation in Canada 's modernist " little magazine " movement , Irvine insists on the inclusion of interwar leftist publications such as The Woman Worker , claiming that despite its origins in the CPC newspaper The Worker ( 1922-1936 ) , its " typical little magazine format " renders it an example of a category that he modifies to include " those non-commercial literary , arts , and cultural-interest magazines whose editors facilitated and participated in the construction of a magazine culture for their contributors and readers--but not , primarily , for profit " ( 195 , 16 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of literary modernisms arrival in Canada does not fully explain the literary , aesthetic , and political eclecticism of a periodical like The Woman Worker . # Left of such well-known progressive periodicals as the Canadian Forum ( 1920-2000 ) , numerous serial publications flourished in the 1920s ; The Woman Worker was one of them . The Woman Worker was published by the Toronto-based Canadian Federation of Women 's Labor Leagues ( CFWLL ) . Although Women 's Labor Leagues in Canada predate the First World War , these groups assumed a new organizational structure in the wake of the creation of the CPC in 1921.5 At the urging of the International Women 's Secretariat of the Communist International ( Comintern ) , the CPC set up a Women 's Department in 1924 and began to demonstrate a new " measure of sympathy for women 's particular oppression " ( Sangster 27-32 ) . This Department strove to centralize the scattered WLL movement under the Toronto-based CFWLL--a not inconsiderable task , given the mixed heritage of the movement in British WLLs and the Finnish " sewing circles " attached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considering the ethnic diversity and regionally specific political priorities of these groups ( Hobbs and Sangster 8-9 ; Sangster 45-52 ) . Florence Custance was the national secretary of the CFWLL , and she became editor of The Woman Worker when it was launched as an organizational tool from an office at 211 Milverton Blvd. in Toronto in 1926.6 Modest in appearance but professionally printed by the Sutherland Printshop in Toronto , devoid of colour save the muted green front and back cover , small in stature ( just shy of twenty-four centimetres tall and sixteen centimetres wide ) , and almost entirely without images , the sixteen-page Woman Worker was antithetical in every way to the large-format , mass-circulation magazines with glossy paper and full-page illustrations that became so popular in the first decades of the twentieth century.7 It did , however , share a ten-cent price tag with its mass-market peers , such as Canadian Home Journal ( 1896-1958 ) . The Woman Worker attempted to reach readers who were bombarded by the visual pleasures of such periodicals as Canadian Home Journal , Mayfair ( 1927-1961 ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that some League members , such as the women who attended a 1926 miners ' picnic in Blairmore , Alberta , compared it unfavourably to its more colourful counterparts.8 # As a leftist periodical published by and for women , The Woman Worker represents a significant first in Canadian history : its contemporaries on the left--Holos Robitnytsi ( 1922-1924 ) and Robitnysia ( 1924-1937 ) , which were published by the Women 's Section of the United Labor-Farmer Temple Association--were edited by men , and more general attempts in the socialist periodical press to include women 's voices or to address their specific concerns were generally confined to " women 's columns " ( Hobbs and Sangster 8 ) . The Woman Worker began as such a column in 1924-- " The Working Women 's Section " of the CPC paper The Worker . If this initial effort in many ways anticipates the politicized character of its progeny , later women 's columns in CPC publications , such as the " With Our Women " column that ran during the 1930s in The Worker ( later called the Daily Clarion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political activists and more about their identities as homemakers who might be seeking recipes , housekeeping advice , and dressmaking patterns . Columns such as " With Our Women " spoke to working-class women by adapting but not fundamentally challenging the conception of women in new forms of mass media , such as mass-circulation magazines and movies . For example , in the 5 February 1936 issue of The Worker , the editor of " With Our Women , " Anne Smith , offers the column 's typical fare : a pattern for a suit " to brighten up the wardrobe , " a recipe for potato soup , and tips for removing white rings on wooden furniture ( 4 ) . Somewhat ironically , Beatrice Ferneyhough 's contribution to this column on 16 May 1936 laments the lack of a socialist magazine for working-class , Canadian women who must content themselves with the " nauseous gushings " of mass-market magazines ( 6 ) ; that Ferneyhough does not refer directly to the example set by The Woman Worker in the 1920s speaks to the marginal place that the CFWLL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CPC. # The Woman Worker demonstrates an entirely different conception of its female reader than one finds in either the mass-market women 's magazines of the period or the women 's columns of the leftist press , distance made this clear in the first issue ( July 1926 ) , with her declaration that the periodical would " not contain fashions and patterns , and we are leaving recipes for cooking to the cook book " ( " Success " 33 ) . Like the WLLs themselves , which often formed book discussion groups and organized lectures , The Woman Worker took as its mission the education of its readers . Moreover , like Maurice Spector , the editor of the CPC paper The Worker , Custance was " prepared to acknowledge the promotion of literary culture as part of the papers responsibilities , " following the priority granted to the arts in post-revolutionary Russia , where a " dogmatic party line " concerning artistic production had not yet been drawn ( Doyle 62-63 ) . In each monthly issue , readers of The Woman Worker were treated to editorials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; a short story , poem , or book review ; and regular , frequently reader-authored features such as " Our Labor Leagues at Work , " " Our Educational Page , " " Notes and Happenings , " " Questions We Are Asked , " " Our Letter Box , " and " Shop and Factory Life . " Despite the fact that The Woman Worker declared itself , on the final page of every issue , in the service of " all working women , whether they work in the factory , at home , or in office , " the Leagues themselves , where most of the periodical 's readers were generated , " never brought in substantial numbers of wage-earning women " ( Hobbs and Sangster 10 ) . It is therefore striking that Custance chose not to repeat or adapt for working-class women the messages of the rapidly proliferating mass-circulation magazines that were aimed at North American housewives ; rather , she offered a political alternative that emphasized above all else the importance of unionization to working-class women and their families . # " Rebel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cultural politics of The Woman Worker is the division in early feminist thought that historians identify as the split between equal-rights feminism and maternal ( or social ) feminism . If the first " held that women were entitled by right of their common humanity to equal rights with men , " the latter , which emerged from the late-nineteenth-century North American reform movement , " held that women were fundamentally different from men , and thus deserved access to specific rights ( such as the vote ) because they had by nature and by training ' maternal ' virtues such as compassion , self-control , nurturance , compromise , and moral purity " ( Dean 59 ) . As Misao Dean points out , this difference was not particularly visible in Canada 's first wave of feminism ( because equal-rights feminism was associated with US-American republicanism and because of other conservative influences in English-Canadian thought ) ( 119 , n. 4 ) ; however , analysis of The Woman Worker demonstrates that equal-rights arguments strongly influenced WLL discourse . For example , references to the new forms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( the legalization of abortion , the acceptance of civil marriage , an amended family law code that established women 's equal status in marriage ) are abundant in the pages of The Woman Worker.9 Somewhat paradoxically , these exaltations of equal rights are often articulated alongside the maternal-feminist arguments that the middle-class counterparts of the WLLs--the Women 's Christian Temperance Union , the Young Women 's Christian Association , and the National Council of Women--embraced. # Two figures who , in various guises , populate the pages of the periodical , illustrate perfectly the contradiction between equal-rights feminism and its maternal counterpart : the first , the " rebel woman , " is militant , unabashed in her demands for revolutionary change , a proponent of equal rights for men and women , and is almost never characterized as a mother ; the second , a figure I call the " little woman , " is a suffering mother who either struggles to make ends meet on her husband 's wage or is forced into " wage slavery , " suffers from poor health due to poverty and frequent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two figures demonstrate the ambivalent and sometimes contradictory feminist politics of The Woman Worker--a politics that must be understood in relation to several key related contexts : the " peripheral status of the woman question within the Party " ( Sangster 52 ) ; the diverse membership and relative local autonomy of the WLLs ; and the " united front " strategy of the periodical , which frequently led to collaboration with middle-class women 's reform organizations ( 4445 ) . Although Custance was a staunch Communist supporter and important party member , not all of the local leagues or their members reflected her radical political commitments , and there remained , throughout the existence of the League , " some tension between the firm Communist leadership provided by the Women 's Department and a more politically eclectic membership " ( Hobbs and Sangster 9 ) . For example , the ethnic diversity of the Leagues--there were Anglo-Canadian , Jewish , Finnish , and Ukrainian groups , among others--reflected the many traditions of leftist organizing that were activated under the name of the CF WLL , all of which brought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . " # I take the phrase " rebel woman " from the April 1928 issue of The Woman Worker , in which Custance reminds readers that she is seeking an image for the cover page . She notes that " our Rebel Woman " sent in a submission that " shows a working woman dressed as a soldier--with gun in hand--ready for action . " Custance s response is playful and approbatory : " But since we are not allowed to send pictures which depict violence through the mail , we shall be compelled to keep the picture in storage for the time being . It is far too good to be destroyed " ( " This Would Kill " 5 ) .10 Literally invisible to readers but evoked with a paradoxical mixture of humour and menace , the " rebel woman " was a militant , revolutionary figure who could not circulate easily in 1920s Canada ; nevertheless , she had a crucial function in the periodical . The CPC and the CFWLL viewed The Woman Worker as an " important counterweight " to the influence of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ housewives ( Hobbs and Sangster 10 ) ; the " rebel woman " was perhaps the heaviest stone in this counterweight. # The figure of the " rebel woman " is particularly visible in the poetry that appeared in the pages of The Woman Worker . The ubiquity of this figure in the periodical 's poetry is not surprising , given the function poetry assumed in other leftist periodicals from the 1920s . Analyzing literary and cultural material in the CPC 's periodicals The Worker and Young Worker ( 1924-1936 ) , Doyle observes that contributors in the 1920s " seemed to find poetry more suitable than fiction to the expression of the positive aspects of the revolutionary struggle " ( 72 ) . Indeed , poetry appears more commonly than fiction in the pages of The Woman Worker , particularly after May 1927 , when a new column , " Shop and Factory Life , " largely displaced short fiction with " true " tales from shop and factory floors . As in many Canadian socialist periodicals from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries , creative content was often reprinted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Communist writers in the 1920s ? continued , like their radical predecessors , to owe more to nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century British , Canadian , and US traditions than to the Russian Revolution and its aesthetic reverberations , " largely because socialists in Canada had little access to the aesthetic debates of post-revolutionary Russia until the 1930s ( Doyle 63-64 ) . Nonetheless , contributors to The Woman Worker had a rich " revolutionary chorus " of leftist songs and ballads from which to draw poetic inspiration . " One note in this chorus that seems especially important in the making of the " rebel woman " is US-American labour activist Joe Hill 's " The Rebel Girl " ( 1911 ) , which was a key text in the interwar , leftist repertoire of song . Hill was a popular songwriter for the Industrial Workers of the World , and " The Rebel Girl " announces the importance of women to revolutionary action : # That 's the Rebel Girl , that 's the Rebel Girl ! To the working class she 's a precious pearl . She brings courage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We 've had girls before , but we need some more In the Industrial Workers of the World , For it 's great to fight for freedom With a Rebel Girl . ( 293 ) # While Hill 's " Rebel Girl " becomes a woman in The Woman Worker 's invisible icon , this insistence is not followed through in the periodical 's poetry , which often leaves the rebel figure deliberately unmarked in terms of gender , a fact that suggests the discomfort with which WLL members attempted to adopt the leftist " revolutionary chorus " as their own . # " A Rebel , " reprinted in The Woman Worker ( January 1927 ) from the Glasgow Forward ( " sent in by a reader of The Woman Worker " ) , offers a particularly good example of the optimistic , militant verse in the periodical that urged women to revolutionary action . Using the ballad stanza , which has deep roots in folk culture and masculine , working-class traditions of song , " A Rebel " exploits the well-known rhythm of alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaker , who urges his or her silent auditor to action : # The time is ripe for action , Bill , Let 's stand together , true , And move to take the wealth we make , Shall we--me and you ? ( 13 ) # The speaker of " A Rebel " may offer a verbal corollary to the image submitted to The Woman Worker by " our Rebel Woman , " but the speaker 's gender is unclear , which may be the reason the poem was reprinted in The Woman Worker , where its ambiguity strongly suggests a woman speaker apostrophizing her meek mate . The ballad form of " A Rebel , " however , was a staple of popular workers ' verse for centuries in western Europe and North America , and the poem 's gender ambiguity can not eclipse the strong male tradition it exists within . Transposing the ballad to Canadian contexts , versifiers such as T. Phillips Thompson ( in his 1892 Labor Reform Songster ) and , somewhat later , Dawn Fraser ( whose pre-war ballads were collected in Songs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around 1919 ) were important figures in Canada 's late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century tradition of workers ' poetry . This was a resolutely male tradition , despite the presence of some female voices , such as that of Marie Joussaye.12 # Other poems sent to the periodical by readers from the WLLs complement the revolutionary optimism of " A Rebel . " " A May Day Tribute " ( May 1928 ) , for example , critiques the doctrine of Christian meekness and figures the inexorable coming of the revolution , again in the familiar rhythm of iambic tetrameter and with a dramatic nod to the international left in its concluding line : # It comes--O mighty , onward , surging force No earthly power can stay thy course From that inevitable meeting place Of uprising workers of every race All barriers shall be swept away Or thrown aside to rot-decay With Victory at last we 'll Hail THE WORKERS'INTERNATIONALE ! ( 7-8 ) # The author of this poem , identified only as " M.C. , " contributed other strident verse to The Woman Worker , such as " Courage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ action through the first-person plural : " Till the tyrant is down and lies crushed at our feet " ( 8 ) . The employment of the first-person plural as a metonym for the international left is a strategy common to the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century male tradition of workers ' verse . The production of poems such as " A Rebel , " " A May Day Tribute , " and " Courage " in the pages of a periodical destined for women readers widens this collective " we " to include women , but the poems do not specifically apostrophize them . Contributors to The Woman Worker were clearly hesitant to employ verse as a form of protest specific to women 's experiences , probably because of the weight of the male tradition of workers ' poetry and song . Moreover , this tradition was amplified in its masculinism during what Ian McKay calls Canadian socialisms " second formation " ( 1917i935 ) " when a " tough-minded military language " and iconography permeated the leftist press ( 94 ) . # However , the ballad form was turned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Woman Worker . " Prostitutes " a ballad submitted by " A Reader " and published on the same page as " A Rebel , " lambastes the hypocrisy that calls her trade prostitution but allows other evils to flourish : # Your preachers preach a lie for gain , Your statesmen war for loot , But only I in all the world Am called a prostitute . ( 13 ) # Given the frequent attention devoted in The Woman Worker to the exploitation of young working " girls " and the dangers of the " white slave trade " and prostitution generally , this ballad , which speaks in the voice of a prostitute who wants to know why she should not " live on their wealth / As price of their desire ? " is remarkable . Further evidence of the fact that " Prostitutes " is pushing the limits of the speakable is the author 's means of self-identification ; like many contributors to The Woman Worker , " A Reader " prefers to remain anonymous . # Of course , the gender ambiguity of initials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Courage " were actually authored by female readers . Indeed , the most frequent contributor of poetry to The Woman Worker was a man who did not belong to a local WLL--Robert Whitaker , the well-known British-American socialist , writer , and Baptist minister from La Crescenta , California . Unlike many of the contributions to The Woman Worker , Whitaker s work is signed with his full name and his place of residence . Only one of Whitaker s eight poems echoes the discourse of the " Rebel Woman " : like " Prostitutes , " " The First Stone " ( February 1929 ) employs a first-person , female speaker who condemns the hypocrisy of those male clerics and lawyers who " sell " their " brains " but condemn her work as illegal ( 8 ) . Almost all of Whitaker s other poems rely on male speakers and the figure of universal brotherhood in order to communicate a desire for worldwide socialism . Whitaker s dominant presence in The Woman Worker suggests its editor 's desire to connect the publication to a more international socialist community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the male voice with verse as a form of protest , and the possibility that the periodical had difficulty attracting poetic contributions from Canadian WLL members . Indeed , the regular column " Our Labor Leagues at Work " never cites the writing of fiction and poetry as one of the regular undertakings of the local WLLs. # The " rebel woman , " despite her powerful presence in The Woman Worker , was not alone . The most immediate evidence of this fact is the cover image , which first appeared on the July-August 1928 issue . Although Custance obviously preferred the " rebel woman , " she chose WLL member Aileen Hautamakis considerably tamer submission , which features a short-haired woman holding a book--symbolizing " KNOWLEDGE " --in her right hand , and a flaming torch--representative of " ENLIGHTENMENT " --in her left hand ( " Readers-Please Take Notice " 10 ) . This woman is reminiscent of the ancient figure of " Lady Justice , " who is often depicted holding a sword in her right hand and the scales of justice in her left . There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a far cry from her gun-toting counterpart . Custances compromise speaks to her desire to communicate with a broad spectrum of women-it is significant that the upheld book is not identified--as well as her intention to stay within the limits of legality . This tamer icon of womanhood was accompanied within the pages of the periodical by the " little woman " --a figure who constantly shadows her rebellious counterpart . The epithet comes from A. D. A. 's story " Modern Values Struggle " ( December 1926 ) , which follows the travails of a " little woman " a " poor little victim " of child labour who moves from the factories of England to an unnamed Canadian city where the prospects for a young , working-class family are dim indeed . The figure of the " little woman " is consistent in The Woman Worker : as in this story , she is hardworking , morally respectable , and thrifty but physically exhausted from excessive--often waged--labour . Indeed , her entry into waged labour is invariably the catalyst for greater troubles ; the waged work of married @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harmful to family life and " an unfortunate burden , not a right " ( Hobbs and Sangster 39 ) . In keeping with this message regarding the need to safeguard women as mothers or as potential mothers , the final page of each issue of The Woman Worker ( until June 1928 ) announces the periodicals commitment to the " protection of womanhood , " the " care of motherhood , " and " co-operation in place of competition . " # While the " Rebel Woman " is prominent in the poetry published in The Woman Worker , the " little woman " more often finds her home in its short fiction . As was the case with the poetry of protest in the 1920s , leftist writers of short fiction in Canada , lacking access to cultural debates from Soviet Russia , tended to look to nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century US-American and British models for inspiration ( Doyle 63-64 ) . The variegated strains of the nineteenth-century , Anglo-American print culture of social reform exercised considerable influence on contributors to The Woman Worker . Narratives of reform were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centuries and had the added advantage of already being associated with women 's writing , even if they were likely tainted , in the eyes of some WLLers , by their frequently overt Christian mission . In their portrayal of endangered working women , many of the stories in The Woman Worker owe a debt to narratives of social reform such as Harold Begbie 's A London Girl ( 1925 ) , which was positively reviewed in the second issue ( August 1926 ) as a novel that encourages the reader to revile " those who set themselves to destroy the lives and beautiful bodies of young girls " ( 10 ) . Other stories , such as the anonymously authored " The Story of Ellen Kenealey ( A True Story from Life ) " ( July 1926 ) , depend on the didactic melodrama of some reform narratives in order to lend urgency and appeal to their messages concerning the dangers of working life for women in cities . In " The Story of Ellen Kenealey , " the eponymous protagonist is out of work , unmarried , aging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ via an internally focalized narrator : " Who was there to give her shelter or assistance when her last cent was gone ? No one . What would she be in the eyes of the law ? A vagrant " ( i2 ) . Desperate , Ellen commits suicide by swallowing carbolic acid . # Yet the short fiction published in The Woman Worker was not all sensational formula and didactic narrative intervention : in their daring foray into social realism and analyses of structural ills , they are striking examples of the realist fiction that was beginning to emerge in 1920s Canada . Contributors of short stories were , like Jessie Georgina Sime , writing a new Canadian fiction of working-class women 's urban experiences . As Carole Gerson contends , these experiences were , with a few exceptions , invisible in Canadian writing prior to the First World War ( A Purer Taste 140 ) . Much earlier than in Canada , according to Amanda Claybaugh , British and US-American reform narratives expanded the domain of artistic representation to include such previously invisible experiences , places , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prisons , factories , slums , and madhouses ; prostitutes , laborers , servants , and slaves " ( 6 ) . Such a widened view was clearly valued by contributors to The Woman Worker . A. D. A. , for example , lauds Elizabeth Gaskell 's Mary Barton ( 1848 ) in the April 1927 issue for its realistic portrayal of the " lives of industrial workers " ( " Mary Barton " 10 ) . A Victorian novel of social reform with a decidedly nineteenth-century interventionist narrative style , Mary Barton is also a pioneering example of realism for its topographical accuracy ; its evocation of the texture of daily , working-class life ; and its attention to the " regional specificity " of the Lancashire dialect ( Foster xii ) . A comparable realism that employs Canadian settings and idiomatic language appears in The Woman Worker in stories such as " A Price for Bread " ( February 1927 ) , " Something Wrong Somewhere " ( March 1927 ) , " The Spectre Named--Poverty " ( May 1928 ) , and " Compliments of the Season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trials of working-class women without heavy-handed intervention from the narrator and without resorting to the improbable , sensational , or idealistic resolutions typical of the romance tendencies of many nineteenth-century reform narratives , particularly as these flowed from the pens of Canadian women writers such as Agnes Maule Machar.13 # Often the stories in The Women Worker are detached narrations of the everyday troubles of working women ; at other times , recalling the intrusive narrative didacticism of the earlier novel of reform , the narrators are distinctly interventionist , appraising structural problems underlying workplace misery , offering direct political commentary on the injustices the stories depict , and calling for legislative change . However , the didactic stories in The Woman Worker reject the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century emphasis on noblesse oblige and voluntary middle-class benevolence that is so often at the centre of what Claybaugh calls " one of the most common scenes in reformist writing : the investigative visit " ( 7 ) .14 For example , despite its invocation of the suffering " little woman , " A. D. A. 's " Modern Values Struggle " ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reform narratives that precede it , call in a middle-class savior ; instead , the protagonist abandons her ungrateful family for work on a western farm and a relationship of " comradeship " with one of the farm 's male labourers . More commonly , the stories supplant the resolution proffered by a benevolent employer with calls for an active , interventionist state . In A. D. A. 's short story " The Shack Builder " ( September 1926 ) , a working-class housewife , Mary , is left without any means of support when her husband unexpectedly dies and she is denied Mothers ' Allowance because of her ownership of a meagre " shack . " The same authors " A Modern Virgin " ( January 1927 ) is a story that warns the reader of the sexual danger inherent in domestic work and advocates legislative solutions to the predatory tendencies of male employers . A. D. A. 's contributions to " Shop and Factory Life , " a column that contained " true tales " from the world of waged work , similarly promote government and legislative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ June 1927 column , for example , the author tells the story of " Esther , " a recent Polish immigrant whose employers systematically underpay her . A. D. A. helps Esther file a complaint at the Minimum Wage Board and , although the author recognizes that unionization is a surer means of protection , she shows readers how to navigate the legal bodies that are ostensibly meant to guarantee certain standards in the workplace ( " Shop and Factory Life " 5-7 ) . It is in such advocacy of protective measures that one finds The Woman Worker engaged in the project of beckoning forth a strong welfare state.15 # In some cases , contributors of prose merged the " little woman " with her more militant counterpart , and stories like this are powerful demonstrations of the competing ideologies that shaped The Woman Worker . A. D. A. 's " We Visit the Mountain " ( October 1926 ) offers an account of a woman ( the first-person narrator ) canvassing her neighbourhood in Ontario on behalf of a labour candidate . After encountering various disappointing types , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rebel woman " ( 9-10 ) . This " rebel " immediately declares that , unlike those who precede her , she will cast her vote for " the man who can help the workers " ( 10 ) . She finishes her denunciation of capitalist oppression with a flourish : # In Russia the workers were compelled to take drastic action . I tell you , that is what will happen in Canada one of these days , and it may not be so very far off . Do not misunderstand me . I love Canada . I am not unpatriotic . I have heard that you people in the Labor Movement want to destroy our country , that you have no use for it . ( 10-11 ) # The narrator receives this speech with enthusiasm ; this " real rebel , " she affirms , " was figuring things out pretty correctly " ( 11 ) . The narrator then hastens to offer one correction : " we in the Labor Movement liked Canada so much that we wanted Canada for the only useful people , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessities " ( 11 ) . Other elements in the story echo this apparent coexistence of the discourses of revolutionary socialism and parliamentary legality : while the narrator champions the " courageous " Agnes Macphail ( Canada 's first woman MP and a member of the Progressive Party ) , she concludes with a militant apostrophe that urges women readers to remove " the chains of bondage " and to turn their " mountain of ignorance " into a " seething volcano of working class activity and consciousness " ( 11 ) . " We Visit the Mountain " thus merges the periodical 's familiar language of state protection with a didactic call for class struggle that anticipates the politics and aesthetics of the socialist realism thats emerged out of Soviet Russia in the early 1930s. # It is important to emphasize that the protective legislation and social welfare measures advocated through the " little woman " were treated in the pages of The Woman Worker as short-term compromises that would precede the working-class rule gestured to in the figure of the " Rebel Woman . " Yet understanding CPC-affiliated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exceptions rather than as contributors to a discourse of state reform that was ultimately absorbed in the postwar " passive revolution " does these groups and their political and cultural labours a historical disservice.16 Feminist literary and labour historians in Canada have for several decades emphasized the contributions of white , middle-class women to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century discourses of reform17 ; less well-known is the fact that ostensibly radical women 's groups in this same period were employing literary discourse drawn from a diverse leftist-progressive spectrum as a means of articulating ideas that ultimately influenced welfare-state thinking . In so doing , these women were also rewriting the fin de sicle narrative of noblesse oblige and attempting to write the new forms of realism that so dramatically altered Canadian fiction in the modern period . Moreover , this analysis of the cultural material in The Woman Worker offers evidence of the fact that equal-rights feminism did , albeit hesitantly , find articulation in interwar Canada ; inspired by examples of women 's emancipation in post-revolutionary Russia that were trickling into the Canadian Communist press in this period , creative contributors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but their dependence on masculinist traditions of workers ' poetry made this undertaking a fraught one . Lacking ideological and ethnic homogeneity and struggling to assert a message rooted in class and gender identification , the diverse women of Canada 's WLLs nonetheless left a significant creative print culture of dissent that reminds us of the politically eclectic heritage of the welfare state , the convoluted emergence of women 's leftist writing via nineteenth-century forms , and of the contested nature of the " woman question " in 1920s Canada . # NOTES 1 This article cites the extant copy of The Woman Worker that is housed at the National Library in Ottawa . Margaret Hobbs ' and Joan Sangster s study of The Woman Worker , which reprints the first issue of the periodical in its entirety , may be downloaded from the website of Athabasca University Press . # 2 Prior to the " crisis " between 1928 and 1931 in the CPC , which was provoked by the Trotskyist-Stalinist split , the party pursued open collaboration with diverse elements of the labour movement , even the conservative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # 3 The role of the political left , particularly social democrats , vis--vis the development of the welfare state has been well documented , but the ways in which leftist organizations employed periodicals as a means of calling the welfare state into being require further examination . This is especially true of Communist periodicals because CPC organizations have not often been considered in relation to the history of the welfare state or of social democracy in Canada ( McKay 74 ) . # 4 For the work of literary critics , see , for example : Doyle , Irr , Irvine , Rifkind , and Rimstead. # 5 The CPC initially operated through a legal front , the Workers Party of Canada , but , as the result of a Comintern directive in 1924 , began identifying itself as the Communist Party of Canada ( Angus 91-102 ) . # 6 For further discussion of the circumstances motivating the formation of the periodical , see Hobbs and Sangster , 7-13 . As the editorial of the October 1928 issue tells us , the October-December 1928 issues of The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was seriously ill ( " Important Notice " 3-4 ) . Custance 's " Important Notice " in the January 1929 issue indicates that she was editing once again in the new year ( 14 ) , but this was short-lived : the last issue of the periodical appeared in April of 1929 , and Custance died in July of that same year ( Hobbs and Sangster 12 ) . # 7 In the first issue , Custance relates that The Woman Worker first existed as a " feeble " mimeographed publication ; she is clearly proud of the professionally printed magazine that appeared in 1926 ( " Success " 32 ) . The first issue boasts a dark green cover of cardstock with black type ; all subsequent issues bear a lighter green cover of thinner , slightly glossier paper . # 8 See Mary Norths letter in the October 1926 issue . Although , according to the October 1927 issue , WLLs continued to multiply during the 1920s ( ten in 1924 and thirty-seven in ! 927 ) ( " Federation News " 15 ) , attracting readers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ League represented ten subscribers , the circulation of the periodical probably never exceeded five hundred copies per month , given that the leagues continued to grow after 1927 . The left-leaning Canadian Forum had approximately 1,900 subscribers in 1929 and the mass-circulation women 's magazine Chatelaine boasted 180,000 subscribers by *933 ( Djwa 8 ; Bruusgaard ; des Rivieres , Gerson , and Saint-Jacques 248-51 ) . # 9 Many articles in The Woman Worker are reports on contemporary life in Soviet Russia , and all of them mention women 's emancipation . See , for one example among many : Beatrice Green , " Women 's Freedom in Soviet Russia " ( January 1927 ) . # 10 In referring to the laws that controlled the content of printed matter that circulated through the post , Custance is alluding to regulations that imposed real limits on the expression of socialist thought in this period . In the April 1927 " Notes and Happenings " section , Custance decries the fact that the Customs Department had banned the importation of the socialist periodical New Masses from the United States ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I take the concept of " revolutionary chorus " from Cary Nelsons study of the poetry of the US-American left , Revolutionary Memory . # 12 Joussaye is perhaps best known for her poem " Only a Working Girl , " which appeared in her first book The Songs That Quinte Sang ( 1895 ) . See Gerson , " Marie Joussaye 's ' Labor 's Greeting . ' " # 13 For a discussion of the novel of social reform in nineteenth-century Canada , see Gerson , A Purer Taste and Canadian Women in Print , Vipond , and Watt . # 14 Gerson discusses the role of noblesse oblige ( the belief that employers could be relied upon to institute reforms in order to improve the lives of their employees ) in the work of both Machar and Joussaye in chapter 8 of Canadian Women in Print . See also Watt ( 461 ) and Vipond ( 40-41 ) . # 15 Hobbs and Sangster observe that , despite the ultimate preference in The Woman Worker for worker-driven unionization , government benevolence was frequently accepted as a short-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Woman Worker are filled with editorials , articles , short fiction , and letters that urge the state to adopt and enforce labour laws and social welfare measures such as minimum wages , mothers ' allowances , oldage pensions , workmen 's compensation ( even for women working in the home ! ) , and unemployment insurance . # 16 The term " passive revolution " comes from the work of Antonio Gramsci , who employs it to describe modern welfare-state formation in his essay " Americanism and Fordism " ( in Selections from the Prison Notebooks ) . # 17 See , for example , Bacchi , Devereux , Fiamengo , Gerson ( Canadian Women in Print ) , Mitchinson , and Valverde. # WORKS CITED # A. D. A. " Mary Barton , by Mrs. Gaskell . " Rev. of Mary Barton , by Elizabeth Gaskell . The # Woman Worker Apr. 1927:10-12 . Print . # ---- . " Modern Values Struggle . " The Woman Worker Dec. 1926 : 9-13 . Print . # ---- . " A Modern Virgin . " The Woman Worker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " The Shack Builder . " The Woman Worker Sept. 1926:10-12 . Print . # ---- . " Shop and Factory Life . " The Woman Worker June 1927 : 5-7 . Print . # ---- . " We Visit the Mountain . " The Woman Worker Oct. 1926 : 9-11 . Print . Angus , Ian . Canadian Bolsheviks : The Early Years of the Communist Party of Canada . # Montreal : Vanguard , 1981 . Print . Bacchi , Carol Lee . Liberation Deferred ? The Ideas of the English-Canadian Suffragists , # 1877-1918 . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 1982 . Print . Bruusgaard , Emily . " Chatelaine Magazine . " Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing . # McMaster University , 8 Oct 2009 . Web . 8 Mar 2013 . Claybaugh , Amanda . The Novel of Purpose : Literature and Social Reform in the Anglo-American World . Ithaca : Cornell UP , 2007 . Print . # Custance , Florence . " Important Notice . " The Woman Worker Jan. 1929:14 . Print . # ---- . " Readers-Please Take Notice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # ---- . " Success to the " Woman Worker ' . " The Woman Worker July 1926:32-33 . Print . # ---- . " This Would Kill Senator Beaubien . " The Woman Worker Apr. 1928 : 5 . Print . # ---- . " War Is Declared on ' Demoralizing Literature . " ' The Woman Worker Apr. 1927 : 5 . Print . Dean , Misao . Practising Femininity : Domestic Realism and the Performance of Gender in # Early Canadian Fiction . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 1998 . Print . Denning , Michael . The Cultural Front : The Laboring of American Culture in the Twentieth # Century . New York : Verso , 1996 . Print , des Rivires , Marie-Jose , Carole Gerson , and Denis Saint-Jacques . " Women 's Magazines . " # History of the Book in Canada . Vol. 3 . Ed . Carole Gerson and Jacques Michon . Toronto : # U of Toronto P , 2007. 248-51 . Print . Devereux , Cecily . Growing a Race : Nellie L. McClung and the Fiction of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2006 . Print . Djwa , Sandra . " The Canadian Forum : Literary Catalyst . " Studies in Canadian Literature 1.1 ( 1976 ) : 7-25 . Print . # Doyle , James . Progressive Heritage : The Evolution of a Politically Radical Literary Tradition in Canada . Waterloo : Wilfrid Laurier UP , 2002 . Print . # " Federation News . " The Woman Worker . Oct. 1927:13-16 . Print . Ferneyhough , Beatrice . " We Need a Women 's Magazine . " Daily Clarion 16 May 1936 : 6 . Print . # Fiamengo , Janice . The Woman 's Page : Journalism and Rhetoric in Early Canada . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 2008 . Print . # Fraser , Dawn . Songs of Siberia and Rhymes of the Road . Glace Bay : Eastern Publishing , 1919 . Print . # Foster , Shirley . " Introduction . " Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell . Oxford : Oxford UP , 2006. vi-xxvi . Print . # Gerson . Carole . Canadian Women in Print , 1750-1918 . Waterloo : Wilfrid Laurier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marie Joussaye 's ' Labor 's Greeting ' . " Canadian Poetry 53 ( 2003 ) : 87-95 . Print . # ---- . A Purer Taste : The Writing and Reading of Fiction in English in Nineteenth-Century Canada . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 1989 . Print . # Gramsci , Antonio . Selections from the Prison Notebooks . Ed. and Trans . Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith . New York : International Publishers , 2008 . Print . # Green , Beatrice . " Women 's Freedom in Soviet Russia . " The Woman Worker Jan. 1927:5-7 . Print . # Guest , Dennis . The Emergence of Social Security in Canada . Vancouver : U of British Columbia P , 1985 . Print . # Hill , Joe . " The Rebel Girl . " American Working-Class Literature : An Anthology . Ed . Nicholas Coles and Janet Zandy . New York : Oxford UP , 2006. 292-93 . Print . # Hobbs , Margaret and Joan Sangster . The Woman Worker : 1926-1929 . St. John 's : Canadian Committee on Labour History @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " Editorial . The Woman Worker Oct. 1928 : 3-4 . Print . # Irr , Caren . The Suburb of Dissent : Cultural Politics in the United States and Canada during the 1930s . Durham : Duke UP , 1998 . Print . # Irvine , Dean . Editing Modernity : Women and Little-Magazine Cultures in Canada , 1916 1956 . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 2008 . Print . # " A London Girl . " Rev. of A London Girl , by Harold Begbie . The Woman Worker Aug. 1926 : 10 . Print . # M.C. " Courage . " The Woman Worker Sept. 1928 : 8 . Print . # ---- . " A May Day Tribute . " The Woman Worker May 1928 : 7-8 . Print . # McKay , Ian . " For a New Kind of History : A Reconnaissance of 100 Years of Canadian # Socialism . " Labour I Le travail 46 ( 2000 ) : 69-125 . Print . McKenzie , Ruth I. " Proletarian Literature in Canada . " Dalhousie Review 19 ( 1939 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " Early Women 's Organizations and Social Reform : Prelude to the Welfare State . " The Benevolent State : The Growth of Welfare in Canada . Ed . Allan Moscovitch and Jim Alberts . Toronto : Garamond , 1987. 77-92 . Print . # Nelson , Cary . Revolutionary Memory : Recovering the Poetry of the American Left . New York : Routledge , 2001 . Print . # North , Mary . Letter . The Woman Worker Oct. 1926:16 . Print . # " Prostitutes . " The Woman Worker Jan. 1927:13 . Print . # " A Rebel . " The Woman Worker Jan. 1927:13 . Print . # Rifkind , Candida . Comrades and Critics : Women , Literature , and the Left in 1930s Canada . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 2009 . Print . # Rimstead , Roxanne . Remnants of Nation : On Poverty Narratives by Women . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 2001 . Print . # Sangster , Joan . Dreams of Equality : Women on the Canadian Left , 1920-1950 . Toronto : McClelland &amp; Stewart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " With Our Women . " The Worker 5 Feb. 1936 : 4 . Print . # " The Story of Ellen Kenealey ( A True Story from Life ) . " The Woman Worker July 1926 : 29-31 . Print . # Thompson , T. Phillips . The Labor Reform Songster . Philadelphia : Journal of the Knights of Labor , 1892 . Print . # Valverde , Maria . The Age of Light , Soap , and Water : Moral Reform in English Canada , 1885-1925 . Toronto : McClelland &amp; Stewart , 1991 . Print . # Vipond , Mary . " Blessed Are the Peacemakers : The Labour Question in Canadian Social Gospel Fiction . " Journal of Canadian Studies 10 ( August 1975 ) : 32-43 . Print . # Watt , F. W. " The Literature of Protest . " The Literary History of Canada . Gen. Ed . Carl Klinck . Vol. 1 . Toronto : U of Toronto P , 1976. 473-89 . Print . # Whitaker , Robert . " The First Stone . " The Woman Worker Feb. 1929 : @ @ @ @ @

@@4158041 MODERN DEMOCRACY IS , ABOVE ALL ELSE , a procedural ideal . To be sure , high substantive hopes are often placed in democracy . Yet the essence of democracy lies not in the specific outcomes that it may ( or may not ) help reach , but in a set of procedures that ensure , in the words of Philippe Schmitter and Terry Karl , that " rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens , " who act primarily " through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives . " 1 Historically , the main political arena in which democratic procedures have been implemented , and the main reference point for democratic theory , has been the state . According to a well-established argument , the democratization of non-state entities--such as international and supranational organizations or transnational networks with various degrees of institutionalization--is therefore faced with significant conceptual and practical challenges.2 This article seeks to assess the severity of these challenges : Can democratic procedures be transferred to political entities " beyond the state , " or is democracy doomed to failure in non-state contexts ? # The European Union ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer this question.3 The EU , according to most accounts , is not a state--nor does it claim to be one . It has , on the other hand , been embroiled in debates about democratization for at least the past two decades . Given the growth of its policy responsibilities , the old argument that democracy is not needed in the EU has lost its persuasiveness . This argument relied on the assumption that EU decisions concern only issues about which citizens care very little , 4 not least because these decisions are mainly regulatory in kind and do not have any distributive impact.5 Both claims no longer hold . This is dramatically illustrated by the EU 's response to the Eurozone financial crisis , during which EU leaders authorized significant financial transfers between member states while forcing the recipients of bailout funds to adopt far-reaching austerity measures , often with painful impact on the citizens . # The growing consequentiality of EU decisions has , over the past decades , motivated a number of reforms to the EU treaties that aimed explicitly at democratization . The EU now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governance institution . These reforms have not been enough , however , to lay to rest concerns about the EU 's " democratic deficit . " The reason for these concerns is that the crucial democratic principle of accountability is still insufficiently realized . Neither the making of public policy nor the selection of leadership personnel in the EU is subject to open political competition in the public realm , and the decisions taken on these issues are not visibly affected by citizens ' political participation.6 As a result , it is unclear who deserves praise or blame for EU decisions , and what can be done if one wants to " throw the rascals out . " # This article discusses whether the EU 's non-state character lies at the root of these difficulties in democratization . The article proceeds in three steps . First , it canvasses the main arguments used to claim that democracy can not easily be detached from the state and transferred to the EU level . Second , it shows that these arguments take insufficient account of the multilevel character of the EU , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to support the EU 's democratic legitimation . The core problem of democratization in the EU is therefore not due to the fact that the EU is not a state ; the emphasis that some authors put on its non-state character as an obstacle to democratization is misplaced . Rather , as the third section shows , the " democratic deficit " of the EU is rooted in the peculiar institutional design of its multilevel system . The concluding section develops some thoughts about the lessons that these findings hold for other non-state entities in world politics . # TRANSFERRING DEMOCRACY TO NON-STATE ENTITIES # What Is the Problem ? # The modern state can be defined by three bundles of characteristics.7 First and foremost , it is a system of governing institutions designed to generate and implement binding collective decisions for a specific territory and population . This implies that states possess a developed decision-making and administrative apparatus , regulated by law , and generally funded through taxation . A second bundle of characteristics focuses on the state 's internal and external sovereignty . This means that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that the state exercises a monopoly of force within its territory , and that it can regulate its affairs without outside interference . Finally , a third bundle of characteristics focuses on the state 's internal and external recognition . Internally , this refers to the state 's legitimacy in the eyes of the population , most importantly to the fact that the citizens consider themselves members of the state and respect its monopoly of force . Externally , it means that a state 's existence , character , and sovereignty are acknowledged by other international actors ( states and international organizations ) . # As Table 1 shows , the EU possesses many state-like features , but falls short of statehood in the full sense of the term . Its governing institutions can only operate through the member states , which implement their rules , finance their activities , and define the EU 's territory and population . Furthermore , the EU 's sovereignty and recognition are problematic , in both cases primarily in the internal rather than in the external sense : With respect to sovereignty , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own competences--it lacks what German jurisprudence calls Kompetenz-Kompetenz--and that it does not have institutions that directly interact on a regular basis with the citizens , let alone exercise a monopoly of force . With respect to recognition , the crucial problem is that the citizens ' sense of belonging to the EU , and to a European political community , remains weak . # Can we make a case , then , that the EU would need to acquire these missing state features to become fully democratic ? In the literature on the EU 's democratization , three versions of this argument can be identified . The first of these positions focuses on sovereignty , especially the EU 's lack of Kompetenz-Kompetenz . This position has been brought forward in contributions by legal scholars--most prominently Dieter Grimm8--in discussions of the EU 's constitutional project that ultimately failed in 2005 . Regarding the relationship between democracy and the state , it makes the following claims : # Democracy means popular sovereignty ; it requires that citizens exercise collective self-rule in regard to all aspects of political life . This includes decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governing institutions . # For the EU , full-scale democratization would hence imply that EU citizens , and not member states , have the power to decide about the EU 's constitution , and the competences the EU is granted therein . This means that the power to decide about EU competences would be exercised at the EU level ( by the people of the EU , rather than the peoples of the member states ) . In other words , the EU would gain Kompetenz-Kompetenz. # If the EU possessed Kompetenz-Kompetenz , this would enable it to acquire the other missing institutional elements of sovereign statehood as well . As Grimm argues , an EU with a constitution legitimated by the citizens " would in principle also have the power within the constitution to decide ? on its endowment with resources , including taxation , instead of being dependent on transfers from the Member States . These features are not those of an association of States . They typify the State . " 9 # In this line of reasoning , full-scale democratization would automatically make the EU a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The prospect of an EU state , however , is generally seen as undesirable by authors arguing for this position . One reason is that the citizens do not seem ready to accept it . A second reason is that it would have negative implications for the member states . After all , the traditional doctrine of German constitutional law treats sovereignty as indivisible.10 In this view , if Kompetenz-Kompetenz--the crucial element of sovereignty--were acquired by the EU , the member states would lose it . Hence , their statehood , and by implication their democracy , would be undermined.11 The only feasible solution to the EU 's democratic deficit , therefore , is less European integration , not more European democracy . # The second argument that is commonly used to establish a link between European democracy and statehood focuses on another aspect in which the EU currently diverges from the state model , namely its precarious legitimacy in the population . This position can be associated with a republican conception in democratic theory . Authors applying this conception , such as Claus Offe or Stefano Bartolini , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weakness of European identities and the resulting fragmentation of Europe 's public sphere . We can summarize this argument as follows : # Democracy requires a demos--a community of citizens who identify with the polity and all of its members , are willing to become engaged for it , and accept personal concessions for the polity 's greater good . This is necessary to enable political deliberation in a common public sphere , to aid the emergence of intermediary political structures such as parties and interest groups , and to foster a sense of solidarity in the population that can legitimate majority decisions and redistributive policies . # At the state level , such a demos developed in the interrelated processes of democratization and nation building . Democratic nation states ground their demos in the nation , which constitutes the most important source of citizen solidarity and identity . # While a demos based on transnational foundations is not inconceivable , there is as of now little evidence that strong forms of solidarity and identity have developed , or even can develop , beyond the state . As Offe argues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it " lacks the capacities which have played a crucial role in the formation of the societies of nation states , namely the capacity to impose military conscription and action , to impose educational standards and curricular powers , and to directly extract taxes from ( what only then would be ) a ' European people . " ' 13 # We should note that in contrast to the first argument , the connection between democracy and the state that is posited here is historical and not conceptual . This is why the second argument is independent of the first : Most proponents of the first argument have no problems accepting the second argument as well , but the reverse is not true . In fact , there are optimistic versions of the republican position , by authors such as Jrgen Habermas , 14 which claim that if the EU acquired additional institutional features of statehood , such as fiscal autonomy and powers to implement social programs with immediate relevance for the citizens , it would become more visible in the population and a transnational demos and public sphere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ converge in concluding that an EU with the existing non-state features--little direct interaction between EU institutions and citizens , no popular legitimation of the EU constitution and its division of competences , little grounding of EU institutions in imagined communities--cannot be democratic in the full sense of the term . # In contrast to the first two arguments , the third argument used to establish a linkage between democracy and the state relies not on a specific substantive understanding of democracy , but on the idea that democracy has , over time , come to be associated with certain state-based ideas and institutions . The problem , then , is not that non-state entities can not conceivably be democratized , but that their democratization would require a change in entrenched conceptions of democracy . Variants of this argument have been presented by authors such as Philippe Schmitter and Michael Goodhart.15 Their reasoning is as follows : # The EU is a non-state entity ; in Schmitter 's language , it can best be described as a " consortio " ( an entity in which there is a multitude of distinct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next ) or even a " condominio " ( an entity in which not only functional , but also territorial constituencies vary depending on the policy domain in question ) . # In such an entity , conceptions of democracy that assume a unified people , territory , and polity demarcated by the borders of the state are no longer appropriate . In order to democratize itself , the EU would have to come up with new types of democratic citizen rights and decision-making rules , which diverge from mechanisms used at the state level . # Existing theories of democracy have been devised for the state . Likewise , the citizens ' democratic socialization has occurred in state contexts . This has led to the dominance of state-based understandings of democracy . These understandings of democracy , however , are at odds with the institutions that would work for democratizing the EU . In other words , mechanisms that would be functionally appropriate to the EU risk not being recognized as " democratic " by citizens and academic observers alike . # The relationship that this argument establishes between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The EU , in Goodhart 's words , " is not the kind of thing that can be democratic on modern accounts of democracy . " 16 Again , optimistic versions of the argument exist , most prominently in contributions to deliberative democratic theory , 17 which insist that new understandings of democracy can develop over time . But even these positions agree that unless conceptions of democracy change , or the EU becomes a state , the idea of EU democracy is fraught with serious internal contradictions . # EU DEMOCRACY AND THE MEMBER STATES # What the State-centered Arguments Miss # All of the arguments surveyed in the preceding section come to the conclusion that the non-state character of the EU is a fundamental obstacle to its democratization . Their weakness , however , is that they all fall victim to what Kalypso Nicoladis has called the " tyranny of dichotomies " in debates over European integration.18 In their own way , each of the above arguments sets up a very clear-cut distinction between state and EU ( read : non-state ) contexts that overlooks how profoundly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For the first line of reasoning , the crucial dichotomy is between sovereign entities with Kompetenz-Kompetenz ( that is , states ) and non-sovereign entities without it ( non-states ) . This distinction is exaggerated in two ways.19 First , the argument mistakenly assumes that polities in which the democratic criterion of popular sovereignty is fully realized--meaning that the citizens have legitimated the basic constitutional structure--are by necessity also sovereign in the sense of possessing unlimited Kompetenz-Kompetenz within the resulting constitutional system . This assumption is at the basis of the claim that the activation of EU citizens as democratic constitution makers , for instance by requiring that a democratic constitution of the EU be ratified in an EU-wide referendum , would automatically put the EU on the slippery slope toward sovereign statehood . Yet even if we agree that in an EU democracy , EU citizens would have to act as pouvoirs constituants , deciding about the initial division of powers between the EU and its member states , this tells us nothing about the pouvoirs constitus that control shifts of powers within the resulting constitutional system . In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could well establish the EU as a system with limited competences , where Kompetenz-Kompetenz rests with the citizens of the member states , so that their democratically elected parliaments or governments would have to agree to any extension of EU powers . # From the perspective of the sovereignty-based argument , it might be objected that what matters here is not so much the outcome of the constitutionalization process , but rather its agent : Even if democratic constitutionalization merely ratifies the existing division of powers , the fact that EU citizens have acted in the process means that the role of pouvoir constituant has shifted to the European level , and ultimate sovereignty resides there . This line of reasoning , however , only accentuates a second problem with the argument : its conception of omnipresent and indivisible sovereignty , which assumes that in multilevel systems , one political level--and its citizenry--must ultimately reign supreme . One only needs to look to federal systems to realize that this is not the case . Within a federal constitution , Kompetenz-Kompetenz is explicitly shared between the federation and its subunits , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ levels are ruled out.20 Interpreted from the vantage point of democratic theory , we can say that in such a system , the citizens of the federation and the citizens of the subunits exercise sovereignty jointly , and this might entail activities both as pouvoir constituant and pouvoir constitu . Even Carl Schmitt , an author who surely can not be accused of underestimating sovereignty and its political and constitutional importance , acknowledged that in a federation , attempts to unequivocally place sovereignty at one political level are inappropriate . " It is part of the character of a federation , " he wrote , " that the question of sovereignty between the federation and the subunits always remains open , as long as the federation as such exists alongside the subunits as such . " 21 There is no reason why federal-type arrangements should not be possible in the interaction between the EU and its member states . If this is acknowledged as a possibility , the argument that democratization of the EU , which would give EU citizens a stronger constitutional role at the European level , would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be upheld . # A similar kind of dichotomous thinking is evident in the second line of argument , which draws a distinction between entities that possess a demos ( which have historically only been states ) , and entities that do not possess one ( non-states ) . There are two problems here : First , it is difficult--if not impossible--to define precisely how strong a population 's common identities and feelings of solidarity must be in order to turn it into a demos . This does not undermine the general idea that democracy presupposes some sense of belonging on the part of citizens . However , the no-demos thesis provides no measurable standards with which to assess whether the forms of belonging that have developed in the EU are really too weak to make democracy work . Empirical research shows that many EU citizens do identify with Europe , even though national identities remain stronger and are more widely shared , and that a European public sphere is slowly developing through linkages between national institutions and publics.22 The social infrastructure on which democracy relies is therefore not completely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is strong enough to sustain a form of democracy that operates exclusively at the EU level is a moot point . After all , and this is the second issue that is overlooked in the no-demos argument , the form of democracy that is taking shape in the EU is defined by the fact that it is operating at multiple levels . In this system , supranational democratic procedures , which can be said to require a European demos , are only one of three core channels of democratic input.23 In addition to this channel , citizen participation also occurs through domestic democratic processes in the member states , which rely on the national demoi and influence the EU 's intergovernmental procedures , and through transnational mechanisms such as interest group consultations , in which functionally defined sectoral demoi ( for example , business owners , farmers , trade union members , environmentalists , etc. ) can become active . It is difficult to imagine a workable strategy for further democratization that would not build on the continued existence of these multiple democratic channels . This structure implies , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one demos , but in multiple demoi . The EU might hence be more adequately described as a " demoi-cracy " that is , in the words of Nicoladis , " predicated on the mutual recognition , confrontation , and ever more demanding sharing of our respective and separate identities--not on their merger . " 24 This implies that there is no prospect for an EU state , but also no need for the EU to become one , since its democracy will ( have to ) be based on a much weaker and more heterogeneous conception of demos than that which developed at the nation-state level . # This reasoning could be read as supporting the third position summarized above , which argues that the main problem in democratizing non-state entities lies in the fact that this democratization requires non-standard institutional mechanisms which are difficult to legitimate based on established democratic models . However , not one of the three existing democratic channels in the EU , if viewed by itself , consists of mechanisms that are fundamentally at odds with state-based democratic politics , and is unfamiliar to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for almost all proposals that have been made for the EU 's further democratization . The third argument hence exaggerates the differences between state-based democratic mechanisms and those realized in , or appropriate for , the EU as a non-state entity . It overlooks that , to a very significant extent , it is the state that provides the conceptual basis--and legitimacy--for EU institutions and procedures . # This is most obvious in the intergovernmental channel of EU democracy . This channel , which operates through domestic democratic processes and the cooperation of member-state governments at the EU level , especially in the Council , seeks to explicitly transfer the legitimacy of the member-states to the EU . We can call this a logic of derivation : The EU is democratic because--and as long as--it exercises its competences under the control of national democratic representatives ; EU institutions hence derive their legitimacy from the democratic legitimacy of the member states . In the supranational channel of EU democracy , a different type of legitimacy relationship between the EU and the state is established . This one relies not on procedural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimacy of supranational democratic institutions , such as the European Parliament , is justified by pointing out that they are structurally similar--or at least functionally equivalent--to state-level institutions . Here , it is precisely the state-like character of some EU institutions that is at the core of its legitimacy , both as an anchor of existing public support and as a foundation-stone to build on in making the EU more democratic . ( This explains why proponents of a more supranational EU have sought to equip the EU with additional state-like imagery--flags , anthems , holidays , and the like. ) # Neither the logic of derivation nor the logic of analogy necessarily results in positive assessments of the EU . First , both logics can be applied in arguments that see legitimacy deficits at the state level spill over into the EU realm , so that in effect the EU 's legitimacy is undermined . Second , there is also the possibility of applying the logics in a negative way , criticizing that relationships of derivation or analogy between the EU and the member states are all too strong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warnings of an EU " superstate , " which are grounded in the impression that the EU has become excessively state-like . For our purposes , it is not important precisely which legitimacy relationships between the EU and its member states are constructed in any particular context ; what matters is that such relationships are regularly established when the EU 's legitimacy is at issue in political or academic debates . This indicates that EU institutions can be evaluated from an explicitly state-based reference point ; the EU 's intergovernmental and supranational features are hence by no means unintelligible for observers accustomed to state-based politics . # The same is true for the EU 's nascent institutions of transnational democracy , which at present consist mainly of procedures for systematic consultation with organized civil society in the process of drawing up legislative initiatives.25 While these consultations , carried out primarily by the European Commission , have been described as more systematic and more institutionalized than similar procedures at the member-state level , the idea of lobbying by--and consultation of--major stakeholders is nothing that the citizens of the member states are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that have been made to further invigorate transnational democracy , such as an extension and radicalization of the new European Citizens ' Initiative.26 While mechanisms of direct democracy are used to various extents in different member states , their popularity has grown significantly in recent decades , and it would be an exaggeration to argue that they are fundamentally at odds with established , state-based understandings of democracy . # This analysis casts doubt on the claim that state-based criteria of democracy are by their very nature " inadequate and inappropriate " for the EU , 27 and/or that the democratization of the EU requires the invention of new institutions that differ from those used at the state level . What is more , even proposals that do suggest innovative institutions are sometimes justified with reference to state-based politics . The clearest evidence of this is provided by Schmitter 's own ideas for making the EU more democratic , which include holding separate elections for the length of a representative 's term of office , granting multiple votes to child-rearing parents , or providing tax funding to semi-public interest groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these proposals , according to Schmitter , is that democratic procedures at the EU level should be " as different as possible from national ones , " 28 so that citizens perceive some democratic " value added " provided by the EU . This reasoning can be described as a logic of complementarity in which the EU is legitimate precisely because it has political features , or achieves political results , that are absent in the member states . Like the logics of derivation and analogy , this logic grounds the legitimacy of EU institutions in an explicit comparison with institutions at the state level . Despite his concerns that democratic procedures diverging from the state model would not be seen as legitimate , Schmitter 's own democratization strategy thus banks on the opposite effect , namely , that citizens would view unconventional procedures at the EU level as a useful addition to the more conventional ones established in the member states . # Two conclusions can be drawn from these considerations . First , there is no convincing evidence that the EU 's non-state character presents insurmountable obstacles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be constructed to claim that only states can be fully democratic withstands scrutiny , at least when applied to the EU . One reason for this--and this is the second conclusion--is that the EU is not usefully described as a case of " democracy beyond the state " in the first place . The EU and its member states are so intimately interwoven that the EU is better described as an emerging and incomplete " democracy with the state , " an entity that , while not itself a state , draws extensively on the state in its constitutional structure and democratic institutions , as well as legitimation practices . # DEMOCRATIZING EU GOVERNANCE # Where the Real Challenge Lies # These conclusions bring up two further questions , pointing in different analytical directions . The first is of interest primarily to students of the EU : If it is not its non-state character , what is the reason for the difficulties that the EU has experienced in its democratization ? The second question focuses on the applicability of the above arguments beyond the EU : Are they more restricted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other cases conventionally discussed as " democracy beyond the state " as well ? This section will focus on answering the first question , while the second question will be addressed in the concluding paragraphs . # As the preceding section has shown , the difficulties in democratizing the EU are not due to the lack of channels for democratic input . The EU presently has three main democratic channels--supranational , intergovernmental , and transnational--and all of them can , in principle , influence the outcome of EU decision making . This multichannel structure reflects realities in European society , in which political problems ( and the ensuing policy responses ) affect different subgroups of the population--all Europeans , the citizens of specific member states , or functional subgroups of the EU population--and in which the citizens possess variegated allegiances to demoi of different encompassingness and at multiple political levels . # Why , then , does this system not currently provide the desired level of democratic accountability ? Two factors are of central importance here : the first has to do with the EU 's institutional design , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become politicized among EU citizens . With respect to institutional design , the crucial problem lies in the interconnection--or " coupling " --between the three channels of democratic input.29 Such coupling is a regular feature in multilevel systems ; it is often impossible to determine in which channel of political input a problem should be dealt with , either because a problem concerns multiple constituencies ( or demoi ) at the same time , or because there is an incongruence between the constituency affected by the problem and the demos that commands citizens ' loyalty , solidarity , and engagement . ( The latter problem has been evident in the Eurozone financial crisis . The crisis has shown that while financial imbalances within and between the Euro states have effects on all Europeans , as well as on sectoral communities such as banks , most EU citizens consider fiscal policy an area that is appropriately decided at the member-state level , whereas the influence of the EU and sectoral policy communities is resented . In other words , the real-world community affected by a problem and the imagined community that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identical. ) # Whenever a political problem concerns more than one demos , democratic multilevel systems have to make decisions in a way that engages multiple democratic channels , and then combines their input into one final decision . The democratic problems of the EU derive to a significant extent from the specific system it has devised to provide for such inter-channel linkage . This system has been described as " loose coupling " ; 30 it is characterized by an informal and flexible cascade of consensus-oriented negotiations between member-state and EU politicians and bureaucrats . Contentious political issues in the EU go through multiple rounds of bilateral and multilateral consultations between member states as well as " trilogues " involving representatives from the European Parliament , the Council , and the European Commission , in which mutually acceptable solutions are hammered out . In contrast to systems of " tight coupling " in many federations , which are characterized by more formalized conciliation procedures ( for instance between two legislative chambers ) , this system provides for relatively efficient policymaking . Its downside , however , lies in its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the EU 's " loose coupling " that makes it difficult for the citizens to follow what is going on , to participate in a meaningful way by exerting outside pressure on the negotiations , and to hold decision makers to account after an agreement has been reached . # In other words , while the challenge of coupling of various democratic channels exists in all multilevel systems , 32 the problem with the institutional solution found in the EU is that it one-sidedly privileges efficiency over accountability , and elite negotiation over citizen participation . As a result , the citizens ' democratic input--be it in the form of electoral participation ( at the European and national level ) or through civil society--never translates directly into specific political outputs . This problem is not rooted in the EU 's non-state character ; it could in principle be addressed institutionally by reforming the mechanisms of inter-channel coupling . Proposals for such reforms have been widely discussed in the academic literature ; most of them do not diverge radically from institutions of state-based democracy . They include disentangling , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EU institutions and political levels to reduce the need for coupling in the first place , 33 increasing the transparency of intergovernmental and inter-institutional negotiations and providing for more parliamentary oversight , 34 as well as introducing mechanisms of direct democracy as additional participation and accountability devices.35 # It is clear that all of these democratization measures would come at a price of reduced effectiveness . This is why they tend to be viewed skeptically by many politicians . It is less obvious , however , why there has not been a more pronounced " democracy movement " in the European citizenry pushing for such reforms . To understand this lack of societal pressure for institutional reform , we must examine the ways in which citizens engage politically with the EU . Research has shown that over the past decades , a remarkable " politicization " of European integration has occurred , meaning that the EU has gained saliency in citizens ' political opinions and discourses . 36 However , this politicization is shaped by the fact that citizens ' knowledge about EU institutions and processes remains fragmentary . Citizen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ill-informed ; they concern general issues such as the benefits and costs of membership or questions of enlargement much more than the EU 's day-to-day activities . # This pattern of " uninformed politicization " also influences how citizens discuss the question of democracy in the EU . In a series of focus groups that my research team recently conducted in four EU member states , the majority of participants complained quite vocally about a lack of democracy in the EU.37 However , they did not define this " democratic deficit " in institutional terms ; what was expressed was rather a much more diffuse , yet also much more fundamental feeling of disenfranchisement , a sense of being ruled by an organization about which one knows far too little and which appears remote and inaccessible . In this framing , it is by no means self-evident that institutional reform is a solution to the EU 's democratic problems . In our focus groups , many of the participants who complained about the lack of democracy were also highly skeptical of proposals to bring about democratization , inasmuch as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EU institutions that they viewed with suspicion . # The result is a vicious circle : The perception of the EU as inaccessible discourages citizens from becoming more engaged , which in turn encourages EU-level decision makers to stick to existing practices of " loose coupling , " which make the EU appear so inaccessible in the first place . The democratic deficit of the EU , in other words , is institutionally derived , but its persistence can be explained by the attitudes and perceptions of European citizens . This combination of problems is not rooted in the non-state character of the EU . The institutional sources of the democratic deficit lie in the EU 's peculiar system of " loose coupling " between various democratic channels ; they are not an unavoidable consequence of the EU 's nature as a system of divided sovereignty . The lack of citizen pressure for institutional democratization reflects a lack of knowledge about the EU ; it does not indicate that citizens do not consider the EU politically salient , do not form opinions about European affairs , or do not treat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' lack of knowledge about European affairs , finally , is probably best explained as a legacy of neofunctionalist integration strategies , which for decades sought to actively demobilize citizens ; 38 it does not derive from the fact that the EU 's complex institutional system necessarily exceeds the cognitive capacities of citizens socialized in state-based democratic contexts . # Viewed in this light , democratization of the EU is not a matter of turning a non-state entity into a state , but ultimately one of institutional design , coupled with explicit attempts at politically educating and mobilizing the citizens . It requires activities not only by EU institutions , but also by the member states , whose communication channels and educational institutions are indispensable if Europeans are to become more competent multilevel citizens . This is of course much easier said than done , especially given the fact that political leaders and elites at the EU and member-state levels have a limited desire for more active and informed citizen participation in EU politics . Still , we can conclude that the EU 's non-state character implies no insurmountable obstacles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a question of political will . # DEMOCRACY AND THE STATE # Where Do We Go From Here ? # Based on the considerations presented so far , it is clear that there is no necessary connection between the EU 's lack of statehood and its deficit in democracy . While the EU has experienced significant problems in its democratization , these problems can in principle be overcome without turning the EU into a state . The question that remains is whether these findings are peculiar to the EU as a system of ( incomplete and/or emerging ) " democracy with the state , " or whether they can be generalized to other non-state constellations , such as international organizations more generally , transnational networks , or perhaps even private actors such as multinational business corporations . # Two arguments are relevant for answering this question . On the one hand , the peculiarities of the EU construction , if compared to other institutions involved in global governance , should not be underestimated . A number of specific features of the EU system make it an unusually fertile ground for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These features include the strong role of the member states and their democratic institutions in governance at the EU level , the sophisticated--and in many respects **25;11696;TOOLONG architecture of the EU , the ( gradual ) emergence of European identities in the population , as well as the density of transnational connections across member states . All these features make it particularly likely that legitimacy relationships between EU governance and democratic practices at the member-state level--constructed according to the logics of derivation , analogy , and possibly complementarity--can be established . # On the other hand , at least some of the arguments made in this article do not apply to the EU alone . Most importantly , the insights that democracy is not conceptually tied to polities that possess unlimited sovereignty and that it can , with appropriate institutional design , also be realized in entities whose demos is less cohesive than that of the nation , are certainly valuable for other non-state entities in global politics . The same is true for the observation that political institutions and practices in entities seemingly " beyond the state " are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens accustomed to state-based politics . Even outside of the EU , internationalization processes involve mostly a " diffusion " of governance responsibilities rather than an outright shift of responsibilities away from the state.39 As a result , many activities that used to be monopolized by the state are now exercised jointly by the state and various international actors , but states retain a crucial role in the process , and often shape the policies of international actors from the inside . There are , in other words , fewer instances of governance that is truly " beyond the state " than is often assumed . The analysis above demonstrates that this reduces the conceptual and practical difficulties of transferring democratic institutions first established at the state level . # All of this does not imply that the democratization of world politics is easy . Even in the EU , with its relatively favorable context , the level of democratization that could thus far be achieved remains insufficient . The experience of the EU suggests that the democratization of global governance presupposes not only the right kind of institutional design--one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also requires the education and mobilization of the citizens . This is an ambitious objective . The claim that democracy presupposes a state , however , erects artificial barriers that make a difficult task appear impossible . # 1 Philippe C. Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl , " What Democracy Is ? And Is Not , " Journal of Democracy 2 ( Summer 1991 ) : 75-88 , at 76. # 2 Joseph H. H. Weiler , " The Geology of International Law : Governance , Democracy , and Legitimacy , " Zeitschrift fr auslndisches ffentliches Recht und Verwaltungsrecht 64 ( Summer 2004 ) : 547-562 ; Grinne de Brca , " Developing Democracy beyond the State , " Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 46 ( 2008 ) : 221-278.3 Michael T. Greven and Louis W. Pauly , eds. , Democracy beyond the State : The European Dilemma and the Emerging Global Order ( Lanham : Rowman &amp; Littlefield , 2000 ) ; Michael Zrn , " Democratic Governance beyond the Nation-State : The EU and Other International Institutions , " European Journal of International Relations 6 ( June 2000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Democratic Deficit : Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union , " Journal of Common Market Studies 40 ( November 2002 ) : 603-624.5 Giandomenico Majone , " Europe 's ' Democratic Deficit ' : The Question of Standards , " European Law Journal 4 ( March 1998 ) : 5-28.6 Andreas Fllesdal and Simon Hix , " Why There Is a Democratic Deficit in the EU : A Response to Majone and Moravcsik , " Journal of Common Market Studies 44 ( May 2006 ) : 533-562 ; Simon Hix , What 's Wrong with the European Union and How to Fix It ( Cambridge : Polity Press , 2008 ) .7 Arthur Benz , Der moderne Staat : Grundlagen der politologischen Analyse , 2d ed . ( Munich : Oldenbourg , 2008 ) ; Christopher Pierson , The Modern State , 3d ed . ( London : Routledge , 2011 ) . In contrast to these authors , my definition excludes the aspects of democracy and constitutionalism , which are often considered core elements of the normative idea of modern statehood , but whose absence generally does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grimm , " Does Europe Need a Constitution ? " European Law Journal 1 ( November 1995 ) : 282-302 ; Dieter Grimm , " Constitutionalism beyond the Nation State " in Stefan Voigt and Hans Jrgen Wagener , eds. , Constitutions , Markets and Law : Recent Experiences in Transition Economies ( Cheltenham : Edward Elgar , 2002 ) : 317-323 . See also Olaf Asbach , " Verfassung und Demokratie in der Europischen Union : Zur Kritik der Debatte um eine Konstitutionalisierung Europas , " Leviathan 30 ( June 2002 ) : 267-297 ; Carsten A. Gnther , " Der Verfassungsvertrag : Ein Modell fr die Europische Union ? " Zeitschrift fr Parlamentsfragen 33 ( June 2002 ) : 347-360.9 Grimm , " Does Europe Need a Constitution ? " 299.10 Georg Jellinek , Allgemeine Staatslehre , 3d ed . ( Berlin : Hring Verlag , 1912 ) , 496-504.11 Asbach , " Verfassung und Demokratie " ; Gnther , " Der Verfassungsvertrag. " 12 Claus Offe , " Is There , Or Can There Be , a ' European Society " ' in Ines Katenhusen and Wolfram @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ der Europischen Integration auf Institutionenwandel und neue Konturen des demokratischen Verfassungsstaates ( Opladen : Leske+Budrich , 2003 ) , 71-89 ; Stefano Bartolini , Restructuring Europe : Centre Formation , System Building , and Political Structuring between the Nation State and the European Union ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2005 ) .13 Offe , " European Society , " 73-74.14 Jrgen Habermas , Time of Transitions ( Cambridge : Polity Press , 2006 ) , 89-110.15 Philippe C. Schmitter , How to Democratize the European Union ? And Why Bother ? ( Lanham , MD : Rowman &amp; Littlefield , 1999 ) , especially 10-19 ; Michael Goodhart , " Europe 's Democratic Deficits through the Looking Glass : The European Union as a Challenge for Democracy , " Perspectives on Politics 5 ( September 2007 ) : 567-584.16 Goodhart , " Europe 's Democratic Deficits , " 575.17 Erik O. Eriksen and John Erik Fossum , eds. , Democracy in the European Union : Integration through Deliberation ? ( London : Routledge , 2000 ) ; Erik O. Erikson , The Unfinished Democratization of Europe ( Oxford @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , " The New Constitution as European ' Demoi-cracy ' ? " Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 7 ( Spring 2004 ) : 76-93.19 Vivien Schmidt , Democracy in Europe : The EU and National Polities ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2006 ) , 8-29.20 In the EU , some first steps toward such a division of sovereignty have already been taken : Once the member states have delegated decision-making powers to the EU , they have lost full Kompetenz-Kompetenz , since clawing back the delegated powers would require unanimous agreement of all member states.21 Carl Schmitt , Verfassungslehre ( Munich : Duncker &amp; Humblot , 1928 ) , 373 . Translation by the author.22 Thomas Risse , A Community of Europeans ? Transnational Identities and Public Spheres ( Ithaca , NY : Cornell University Press , 2010 ) .23 Achim Hurrelmann and Joan DeBardeleben , " Democratic Dilemmas in EU Multilevel Governance : Untangling the Gordian Knot , " European Political Science Review 1 ( July 2009 ) : 229-247.24 Nicoladis , " The New Constitution , " 84 . On the concept of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the European Union : Towards the Deterritorialization of Democracy " in Samantha Besson and Jos Luis Mart , eds. , Deliberative Democracy and its Discontents ( Aldershot : Ashgate , 2006 ) : 181-214 ; James Bohman , Democracy across Borders : From Dmos to Dmoi ( Cambridge : MIT Press , 2007 ) ; Francis Cheneval and Frank Schimmelfennig , " The Case for Demoicracy in the European Union " Journal of Common Market Studies 51 ( March 2013 ) : 334-350.25 Justin Greenwood , Interest Representation in the European Union ( Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan , 2007 ) ; Beate Kohler-Koch and Christine Quittkat , De-Mystification of Participatory Democracy : EU Governance and Civil Society ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2013 ) .26 Yannis Papadopoulos , " Implementing ( and Radicalizing ) Art . I-47.4 of the Constitution : Is the Addition of Some ( Semi- ) Direct Democracy to the Nascent Consociational European Federation just Swiss Folklore ? " Journal of European Public Policy 12 ( July 2005 ) : 448-467.27 Goodhart , " Europe 's Democratic Deficits , " 578.28 Schmitter , How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , " Democratic Dilemmas , " 238-240.30 Arthur Benz , " The European Union as a Loosely Coupled Multi-level System " in Henrik Enderlein , Sonja Wlti , and Michael Zrn , eds. , Handbook on Multi-level Governance ( Cheltenham : Edward Elgar , 2011 ) , 214-226.31 Arthur Benz , " Compounded Representation in EU Multi-Level Governance " in Beate Kohler-Koch , ed. , Linking EU and National Governance ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2003 ) , 82-110 ; Arthur Benz , " Policy-Making and Accountability in EU Multilevel Governance " in Arthur Benz and Yannis Papadopoulos , eds. , Governance and Democracy : Comparing National , European and Transnational Experiences ( London : Routledge , 2006 ) , 99-114.32 Jennifer Smith , " Federalism and Democratic Accountability " in Joan DeBardeleben and Achim Hurrelmann , eds. , Democratic Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance : Legitimacy , Representation and Accountability in the European Union ( Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan , 2007 ) , 38-58.33 Benz , " Policy-Making and Accountability . " 34 Hix , What 's Wrong with the European Union.35 Heidrun Abromeit , Democracy in Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Berghahn , 1998 ) ; Papadopoulos , " Implementing ( and Radicalizing ) Art . I-47.4 " .36 Liesbeth Hooghe and Gary Marks , " A Postfunctionalist Theory of European Integration : From Permissive Consensus to Constraining Dissensus , " British Journal of Political Science 39 ( January 2009 ) : 1-23 ; Pieter de Wilde and Michael Zrn , " Can the Politicization of European Integration be Reversed ? " Journal of Common Market Studies 50 , Supplement S1 ( March 2012 ) : 137-153.37 Achim Hurrelmann , Anna Gora , and Andrea Wagner , " The Politicization of European Integration : More than an Elite Affair ? " Political Studies , Early View Publication , DOI : 10.1111/1467-9248.12090 ( 2013 ) .38 Giandomenico Majone , Dilemmas of European Integration : The Ambiguities and Pitfalls of Integration by Stealth ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2005 ) .39 Achim Hurrelmann , Stephan Leibfried , Kerstin Martens , and Peter Mayer , eds. , Transforming the Golden-Age Nation State ( Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan , 2007 ) . TABLE 1 State and Non-State Features of the EU #

@@4158141 We detected ferret coronaviruses in 44 ( 55.7% ) of 79 pet ferrets tested in Japan and classified the viruses into 2 genotypes on the basis of genotype-specific PCR . Our results show that 2 ferret coronaviruses that cause feline infectious peritonitis-like disease and epizootic catarrhal enteritis are enzootic among ferrets in Japan . # DISPATCHES # An epizootic catarrhal enteritis ( ECE ) was first recognized in domestic ferrets ( Mustelo putorius furo ) in the United States in 2000 ( 1 ) . The causative agent of ECE was demonstrated to be a novel ferret coronavirus ( FRCoV ) belonging to the genus Alphacoronavirus ( 1 , 2 ) . Ferrets with ECE showed general clinical signs of lethargy , anorexia , and vomiting and had foul-smelling , green mucous-laden diarrhea . A systemic infection of ferrets closely resembling feline infectious peritonitis ( FIP ) was subsequently reported among ferrets in the United States and Europe . The causative agent was also shown to be an Alphacoronavirus , which was named ferret systemic coronavirus ( FRSCV ) ( 3 , 4 ) ; this virus was found to be genetically distinct from those associated with ECE and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Other cases of ECE and ferret infectious peritonitis have since been described in the United States and in Europe ( 2-4 , 6 , 7 ) . One case of pathology-confirmed FIP-like disease has been described among domestic ferrets in Japan ( 8 ) . The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of coronavirus among domestic ferrets seen by veterinarians in various parts of Japan . # The Study # Fecal samples were collected during August 2012-July 2013 from 79 ferrets from 10 animal hospitals scattered across 5 prefectures in Japan . Most of the ferrets were brought to veterinarians for clinical signs such as diarrhea , abdominal masses , and hypergammaglobulinemia ; some had signs unrelated to coronavirus infection or were asymptomatic ( Table 1 ) . The diarrhea tended to be mild , unlike with ECE , and was found in coronavirus-negative and -positive animals . # RNA was extracted from fecal samples by using the QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit ( QIAGEN , Hilden , Germany ) , and reverse transcription PCR ( RT-PCR ) was performed by using the QIAGEN OneStep RT-PCR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IN-7 , which amplify the open reading frame ( ORF ) 1b region , encoding RNA-dependent RNA polymerase ( RdRp ) . This primer pair can amplify nucleic acids from many coronaviruses in the subfamily Coronavirinae ( 9 ) . Of 79 samples , 33 ( 41.8% ) were positive for coronaviruses by RT-PCR ( Table 2 ) . Nucleotide sequences were determined for the amplified fragments and used to construct a phylogenetic tree ( Figure 1 ) . The coronaviruses detected in this study belonged to the genus Alphacoronavirus but formed a separate species from those of other species . The identities with feline coronavirus , transmissible gastroenteritis virus , porcine respiratory coronavirus , and mink coronavirus were 73.5%-75.9% , 73.5%-76.1% , 73.8%-76.1% , and 80.2%-84.0% , respectively . # On the basis of additional sequence data , a new primer pair was designed : forward FRCoV RdRp-F1 ( 5 ' -GTT GGT TGC TGC ACA CAT AG-3 ' ) and reverse FRCoV RdRp-R1 ( 5 ' -GGA GAA GTG CTT ACG CAA ATA-3 ' ) . Results for RT-PCR using this new primer set showed that 44 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which was a higher number than that obtained by using the published coronavirus consensus primers ( 55.7% vs. 41.8% ) ( Table 2 ) . Two samples that had positive results by consensus primers had negative results by the new primers : sample 22 had many mutations in the primer binding site ( Figure 1 ) , whereas sample 40 had few mutations. # On the basis of the partial sequences of the spike gene , Wise et al . ( 5 ) reported that the known ferret coronaviruses could be divided into 2 genotypes : genotype 1 , which included the agent of FIP-like disease , and genotype 2 , which included the causative agent of ECE . To differentiate between these genotypes in the positive samples from our testing , RT-PCR was carried out by using 2 pairs of genotype-specific primers : forward primer 5 ' -CTG GTG TTT GTG CAA CAT CTA C-3 ' and reverse primer 5 ' -TCT ATT TGC ACA AAA TCA GAC A-3 ' for genotype 1 , and forward primer 5 ' -GGC ATT TGT TTT GAT AAC GTT G-3 ' and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TCT GC-3 ' for genotype 2 ( 5 ) . Among these ferrets , 30 ( 38.0% ) were infected with genotype 1 and 17 ( 21.5% ) with genotype 2 ; 8 ( 10.1% ) ferrets were infected with both genotypes of coronaviruses ( Figure 2 ) . Samples 27 and 28 were from ferrets that lived in the same house and harbored the same ferret coronavirus but that were born on different farms , indicating that horizontal transmission had occurred . The nucleotide sequences of the amplified genes confirmed that these coronaviruses also fell into genotypes 1 and 2 ( Figure 2 ) . # Our results indicate that both genotypes of coronavirus have been spreading within the ferret population in Japan for some time , and some ferrets have been coincidentally infected with both genotypes . Of note , most ferrets that were positive for genotype 1 ferret coronavirus in this study did not show FIP-like disease ( Table 1 ) , indicating that infection with genotype 1 ferret coronavirus does not always cause FIP-like disease . Genotype 1 ferret coronavirus has also been detected from asymptomatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further investigate virus transmission routes , oral swab specimens were collected from 14 of the 79 ferrets and examined by RT-PCR using primers FRCoV RdRp-F1 and FRCoV RdRp-R1 . Five ( 35.7% ) specimens were positive ( data not shown ) , providing a route leading to infection of susceptible animals . Coronaviruses are known to cause both respiratory and intestinal diseases in various animal species ; therefore , ferret coronaviruses should be investigated in respiratory disease . # Conclusions # We established a sensitive RT-PCR method using a new primer pair to detect coronavirus sequences and demonstrated that ferret coronaviruses are widespread among ferrets in Japan . We determined the partial nucleotide sequences of the spike gene of 23 strains and found they were clearly divided into 2 genotypes , 1 and 2 ( Figure 2 ) . The reported ferret coronaviruses associated with FIP-like disease , designated as genotype 1 by Wise et al . ( 5 ) , all fell within genotype 1 phylogenetically , whereas all published ECE-causing strains fell within genotype 2 . This finding leads to a possible conclusion that FIP-like disease-causing strains ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ designated genotype 1 ferret coronaviruses . Because we found no relationship between the 2 genotypes of ferret coronavirus and the type of disease ( Table 1 ) , we can not determine whether FIP-like and ECE-like ferret coronaviruses circulate independently as distinct entities or evolve , like feline coronaviruses , from more ubiquitous and less pathogenic enzootic strains . Nonetheless , the addition of these 23 new isolates to the phylogenetic tree of ferret coronaviruses tends to support the latter conclusion . Without extensive animal passage studies , virus isolation , and coronavirus-free ferrets , this theory may be difficult to confirm . However , additional evidence tends to link virulent pathotypes of ferret coronaviruses to specific mutational events . Nucleotide sequences of the 3c-like protein genes of FRSCV , MSU-1 ( DDBJ/EMBL-Bank/GenBank accession no . GU338456 ) , MSU-S ( GU459059 ) , and WADL ( GU459058 ) , showed that 2 , MSU-1 and WADL , possessed a truncated 3c-like protein gene ( 5 ) , similar to that described for FIP viruses of cats ( 12-14 ) . FIP-causing viruses of cats also contain a second mutation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not investigated in our study . The existence of 2 major genotypes of Japanese ferret coronaviruses is also reminiscent of the serotype I and II feline coronaviruses . Without ferret coronaviruses that can be grown in cell culture , however , such serologic differentiation will be difficult . # Acknowledgments # We express our appreciation to the many veterinarians who collected and donated clinical samples . # This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Education , Culture , Sports , Science , and Technology of Japan and from the Ministry of Health , Labour and Welfare of Japan . # Mr Terada is a PhD student in the Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Yamaguchi University , Yamaguchi , Japan . His research interest is evolution of coronaviruses. # Table 1 . Detection of FRCoV from ferrets with clinical signs , Japan TABLE # *FRCoV , ferret coronavirus ; RT-PCR , reverse transcription PCR . RT-PCR was carried out by using FRCoV-specific primers . RT-PCR was carried out by using type 1 FRCoV-specific primers ( 5 ) . RT-PCR was carried out by using type 2 FRCoV-specific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of results for detection of FRCoV in ferret fecal samples by RT-PCR using coronavirus consensus and FRCoV-specific primers , Japan TABLE # Figure 1 . Phylogenetic tree constructed on the basis of the nucleotide sequences of the partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase-encoding regions of ferret coronaviruses ( FRCoVs ) isolated in Japan ( shown in boldface ; sample IDs are indicated ) compared with other coronaviruses ( CoVs ) . The tree was constructed by the neighbor-joining method in MEGA5.0 software ( 10 ) ; bootstrap values of &gt;90 are shown . DDBJ/EMBL-Bank/GenBank accession numbers for the nucleotide sequences are shown in parentheses . Human CoVs ( HCoVs ) 229E and NL63 , which belong to the Alphacoronavirus genus , were used as the outgroup . CCoV , canine coronavirus ; FCoV , feline coronavirus ; TGEV , transmissible gastroenteritis virus ; PRCoV , porcine respiratory coronavirus . Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site . # Figure 2 . Phylogenetic tree based on the nucleotide sequences of partial S genes of ferret coronaviruses ( FRCoVs ) isolated in Japan ( shown in boldface ; sample IDs are indicated ) compared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constructed by the neighbor-joining method in MEGA5.0 software ( 10 ) ; bootstrap values of &gt;90 are shown . Asterisks indicate samples from ferrets infected with FRCoVs of both genotypes1 and 2 . DDBJ/EMBLBank/ GenBank accession numbers for the nucleotide sequences are shown in parentheses . FRSCV , ferret systemic coronavirus ; FRECV , ferret enteric coronavirus . Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site . #

@@4158341 INFOTECH # Infographics are being created across content areas to share complex ideas in a quick visual format . # How can the power of infographics be put to good use by teacher librarians in the school library ? Let 's examine practical ways to infuse infographics into the school library collection , activities for twenty-first-century learners , and as part of library marketing and promotion . # INFOGRAPHICS AND THE LIBRARY COLLECTION # Although it 's possible to locate thousands of infographics using a Google Images search , consider enhancing your library 's physical and virtual collection with specific books and websites that incorporate infographics. # PHYSICAL COLLECTION # Many new series books for youth are incorporating infographics as the main approach for conveying information . # The Super Science Infographics series from Learner Publications provides many examples that students can discuss and evaluate . Books include Solar System , Weather and Climate , Energy and Waves , Forces and Motion , Life Science , and Natural Disasters . Owlkids Books has a similar series focusing on science topics , including such books as Planet Earth and The Natural World by Jon Richards . # Animal Infographics by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Capstone 's Infographics : Read Me ! series focusing on infographics for younger children . # The I See What You Mean series from Big Picture Press also weaves infographics throughout the book . Titles include Human Body and Animals . # Annick Press 's Native Americans : A Visual Exploration by S. N. Paleja provides a wonderful introduction to American Indians . This engaging book serves as a great starting point for social studies investigations . # A growing number of books are weaving infographics into their informational books . Many of the books in Scholastic 's Discover More Readers series contain infographics , along with opportunities for leveled reading . # VIRTUAL COLLECTION # Many online magazines and websites contain collections of infographics designed specifically for youth . The Kids Discover website http : //goo.gl/4kBvgG ) posts infographics on such topics as Mesopotamia , simple machines , and anatomy . # Many publishers are now incorporating infographics into their publications . For instance . Scholastic 's Scope Magazine publishes infographics like " The Perfect Meal " ( http : //goo.gl/nHK08W ) to jumpstart writing activities . This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # National Geographic is another company that is weaving infographics into their publications and websites . " Change the Course " ( http : //goo.gl/mwdnk6 ) explores the importance of freshwater sources . Again , both print and online versions are available of many National Geographic publications . # Use virtual infographic collections for inquiry-based learning activities . Ask students to select from the dozens of infographics available at Live-Science ( http : //goo.gl/bn-3Vzf ) or History Channel ( http : //goo.gl/TQx3bc ) . Encourage youth to generate their own questions and fact-check the information on the page . # INFOGRAPHICS AND THE TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY LEARNER # When infographics are used in conjunction with activities that require reading and critical thinking , students develop important , transferable skills . The AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner require that students can evaluate , analyze , interpret , and apply information sources including infographics . Develop activities that engage youth in using infographics effectively . # BRAINSTORM DISCUSSIONS # Use an infographic to jumpstart a discussion related to some aspect of digital citizenship or information inquiry . For instance , involve small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Ask them to talk about their own use of print encyclopedia and online reference resources . # FACT-CHECK INFOGRAPHICS # Provide a small group of children with biographies such as Lincoln : A Photobiography by Russell Freedman and Abraham Lincoln by George Sullivan . Ask them to compare the book with the facts in the Abraham Lincoln infographic at http : //goo.gl/c3DMw. # TRACE THE ORIGIN # Teach young people the value of infographics by encouraging students to evaluate and trace the origin of an infographic on a particular subject . For instance , a class reading books about the Holocaust , such as The War within These Walls by Aline Sax , might search for an infographic about the Holocaust . Then track the origin of the infographic and speculate on why a particular individual or group might have created it for this topic . For instance , history museums and nonprofit organizations are two groups that have published infographics on this topic . # COMPARE VISUAL PRESENTATION # Involve students in comparing multiple infographics on the same topic . For instance , search for " Mars Rover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Ask youth to compare the types of information found and the approaches to presenting the information visually . Finally , ask them to write about what they think should go in an effective infographic on the Mars Rover . Use the book The Mighty Mars Rovers : The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch for additional information . # TRACE CHANGE AND MOVEMENT # Many infographics incorporate a chronology to express how something changes or evolves over time . While time lines may be an important element of this type of infographic , other types of visuals may also be used . For instance , a map may be used to trace movement of people or migration patterns of animals . " The Threat of Asian Carp " infographic ( http : //goo.gl/ASTFdD ) shows the movement of this invasive species through Chicago 's waterway system . Ask students to brainstorm other types of changes or movements that would be made into infographics. # INNOVATE STUDENT PRODUCTS # Books such as National Geographic 's Kids United States Atlas use infographics to display information about states . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states report assignment . The Animal Book : A Collection of the Fastest , Fiercest , Toughest , Cleverest , Shyest--and Most Surprising--Animals on Earth by Steve Jenkins weaves infographics throughout . The illustrations incorporate many different types of charts and graphics , giving students lots of ideas for their own animal projects . This book is also available as an iPad app. # EXPLORE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM # Use an infographic to kick off a reading project focusing on intellectual freedom . Explore the " Top Ten Challenged Books " infographic ( http : //goo.gl/4cYnTx ) , then ask students to read one of the books , write about why they think it 's controversial , and discuss whether they agree with the categories identified in the infographic. # APPLY AN INFOGRAPHIC # Ask students to apply something they 've learned from an infographic . For instance , the " Get More out of Google " infographic ( http : //goo.gl/1X71xI ) shares many ideas for using Google more effectively . Ask students to try out some of the ideas , learn more about Google , then create their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # COMPARE IDEAS # Infographics are an effective way to make comparisons . Search for " comparison infographic " in Google Images . You 'll find comparisons of Mac and PC , how cars versus people bum fuel , and eating meat versus fish . Examine a comparison of George Orwell versus Aldous Huxley at http : //goo.gl/z9sisN . Ask youth to think about other authors and works that could be compared . # Ask students to compare two individuals . For instance , you can locate an infographic comparing Kobe Bryant with Michael Jordan . Books like Black &amp; White : The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene " Bull " Connor by Larry Dane Brimner and Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass : The Story Behind an American Friendship by Russell Freedman could get some ideas flowing . # Making then and now comparisons is another effective approach . For instance , " The March on Washington at 50 " infographic ( http : //goo.gl/mROhYI ) compares the life of black Americans in 1963 with 2013 . Do a search for " then and now infographic " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ present . # INFOGRAPHICS IN LIBRARY MARKETING AND PROMOTION # From bulletin boards and displays to handouts and posters , think about how you can use the power of infographics in your school library for marketing and promotion . # DISPLAY IDEAS # The GoodReads website is producing some great infographics related to books and reading , like " Dystopian Books Again Seize Power " ( http : //goo.gl/EEd8NZ ) . Create a display with the infographic along with the books mentioned in the visual . Check out other Goodreads infographics at http : //goo.gl/sda9fT. # Promote reading and encourage youth to explore new genres by integrating infographics into library bulletin boards . For instance , steampunk is hot Set up a display with new book titles like Etiquette a Espionage by Gail Carriger along with recent favorites like Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld . Include the " IBM Steampunk " infographic ( http : //goo.gl/7aPtIX ) that predicts the popularity of steampunk . Incorporate a survey asking youth whether they think steampunk is " hot " or " not . " # Use an infographic to provide choice in reading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For instance , begin with the " Hip Hop " infographic ( http : //goo.gl/GmafwS ) , then share a set of books related to the topic , such as When the Beat Was Born : DJ Kool Here and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill . These infographics and book sets could kick off literature circle activities . # Connect books and infographics with hands-on activities . For instance . Legos are popular with youth . Books like The Lego Ideas Book and LEGO Play Book by Daniel Lipkowitz provide children with lots of ideas . " The Learning Power of Lego " infographic ( http : //goo.gl/YcdyDr ) provides background information about Legos . Combine the book and infographic with hands-on Lego activities . # Think about topics that appeal to young adults . For instance , teen boys are often interested in facial hair . Combine The Facial Hair Handbook by Jack Passion with the infographic " All You Need to Know about Facial Hair " ( http : //goo.gl/XiYPH5 ) in a display promoting informational books and leisure reading . # Beyond the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the lunchroom , hallways , and teacher 's lounge . For instance , " Libraries Are Forever : Ebooks and Print Books Can Coexist " ( http : //goo.gl/vLhfw8 ) explores books , reading , and libraries . " Most Loved Children 's Books " ( http : //goo.gl/RRVF41 ) is another infographic that promotes an interest in books and reading . # READ-ALIKE IDEAS # Young people often seek books that are similar to ones they have enjoyed in the past . Think about infographics you could create yourself based on the books in your collection . Consider how you could expand the read-alike idea to create a flowchart . For instance , NPR 's " Fantasy vs SciFi " ( http : //goo.gl/dFQi8k ) infographic provides a guide to navigating top books . Think about how a flowchart like this could be used to help youth locate a hook of interest . You might focus on a type , such as narrative nonfiction , or a genre , such as realistic fiction . How could this approach be used as part of your readers ' advisory program @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( http : //goo.gl/w6kXbd ) helps children and their parents find good books . Involve classes at different grade levels in creating their own flowcharts based on books at their reading levels . # The EpicReads website takes a slightly different approach to the read-alike poster . The " Like , Try , Why " read-alike posters ( http : //goo.gl/UCOEOs ) would be easy to replicate for a variety of genres. # The Lawrence Public Library has a series of read-alike flowcharts ( http : //goo.gl/ZDVEhg ) that help young adults pick good books . These flowcharts could be created in a basic software program such as Microsoft Word . # STUDENT PRODUCTIONS # Get young people involved in creating infographics to share in the library . For instance , students could create an infographic for their favorite book . Use some online examples for ideas such as a Harry Potter infographic ( http : //goo.gl/raLFjl ) . # Young people love to do research on pets . Rather than a general report on a pet , ask students to focus on a specific aspect of pet care . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infographic ( http : //goo.gl/q2EiLy ) to get youth thinking about the options . Hold a pet show in the library where students can share their infographic and the books they read . Invite a speaker to talk about pet care . # CONCLUSION # Infographics have become a popular resource for quickly accessing complex information . Teacher librarians can enhance their physical and virtual collections through incorporating quality materials that incorporate infographics . In addition , our twenty-first-century learners need to be able to effectively use these infographics . Engaging activities that involve students in evaluating , using , and creating their own infographics can enhance their information and technology skills . Finally , infographics provide a wonderful opportunity to enhance library marketing activities through displays , posters , handouts , and other items that incorporate infographics. # Adapted from the professional development workshop Infographics &amp; Inquiry : Practical Ideas for School Libraries . #

@@4158441 This article examined the performance of 57 students with learning disabilities ( LD ) from four middle schools . Students were followed over the course of a school year in their inclusive science classrooms as they alternated between the use of traditional curricular materials for some units of study and materials that were supplemented with video games and alternative print-based texts to more closely align with Universal Design for Learning ( UDL ) guidelines during other units . Findings indicate that video games and supplemental text were effective at providing students with multiple means of representation and expression . The UDL-aligned units led to heightened levels of student engagement . There were no significant differences on posttest scores when students with LD were compared with peers without LD . Students ' performance did not indicate significant differences between UDL-aligned units and those taught using traditional curricular materials . Findings suggest a need for alternative assessments to measure learning outcomes during UDL-aligned units . Implications for practice and areas of future research are discussed.learning **26;39540;TOOLONG Design for Learningvideo gamesStudents with learning disabilities ( LD ) face a complex array of barriers as they enter inclusive middle school science courses . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowledge of effective pedagogical practices for teaching students with LD ( Mastropieri et al. , 2006 ) . In addition , Lee and Erdogan ( 2007 ) pointed out that students with LD develop negative attitudes about science when they encounter complex expository texts and other instructional materials that limit their ability to access and comprehend scientific information . As a result , only 5% of students with disabilities enter the science , technology , engineering , and mathematics ( STEM ) workforce even though their individual attributes often lend themselves to success in these career paths ( Leddy , 2010 ) . Marino ( 2010 ) , in a comprehensive review of literature related to students with LD and technology use in secondary science classes , noted substantive empirical evidence suggesting that secondary science curricular materials often fail to engage students with LD because complex vocabulary and phenomenological constructs were presented using inaccessible media such as expository texts . Ineffective pedagogy also contributed to students ' struggles . For example , secondary science teachers often failed to accurately assess students ' declarative knowledge and procedural skills at the outset @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ineffective instructional techniques and exhibited implicit social biases related to the types of students who could achieve at a high level in the sciences . The science teachers set low expectations for students with LD . Unfortunately , students with LD often achieve at a level commensurate with that expectation . This is evidenced in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress ( NAEP ) eighth-grade science scores , where 68% of students with disabilities scored at the below basic level compared to 31% of their peers without disabilities ( Aud et al. , 2012 ) . It is clear that alternative curricular materials and pedagogical practices are necessary to meet the needs of students with LD in this context.Since Rose , Meyer , and Hitchcock 's ( 2005 ) seminal text was released , Universal Design for Learning ( UDL ) has garnered national and international attention as a curriculum and pedagogical design framework that proactively addresses the student diversity in today 's inclusive classrooms . The Center for Applied Special Technology ( CAST ; 2011 ) articulated three core principles as necessary to align curricular materials with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call for multiple means of ( a ) representation , ( b ) action and expression , and ( c ) engagement . Each of these intuitive principles appears critical to enhancing learning for students with LD in STEM domains.Over the past several years , scholars have attempted to articulate the role of technology in UDL curricular materials . For example , King-Sears ( 2009 ) noted that UDL curricula provides teachers with the opportunity to proactively integrate intelligent pedagogy with technology so that students ' can choose the most appropriate medium to access specific content . Edyburn ( 2010 ) extended this notion stating:Why is computer technology essential for a majority of 21st-century activities outside of school but optional for helping students achieve high standards within school ? . . . To suggest that the potential of UDL can be achieved without technology is simply another way to maintain the status quo. ( p. 38 ) Taken within the context of the secondary science curriculum , this statement is especially poignant . In fact , teachers , researchers , and funding agencies devote a continually increasing amount of time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology ( U.S. Department of Education , 2010 ) . This effort aligns with an increased emphasis on the empirical investigation of the UDL framework ( Gordon , Gravel , &amp; Schifter , 2009 ; Rappolt-Schlichtmann , Daley , &amp; Rose , 2012 ) . Educational video games are widely available resources that provide teachers with the means to create UDL-science curricular materials ( Marino , Basham , &amp; Beecher , 2011 ) . These games allow repeated practice opportunities where students can interact with alternative representations of complex vocabulary and phenomena . Marino and Beecher ( 2010 ) pointed out that educational video games can contribute to a UDL-science curricula and align with current special education service delivery methods by enhancing the accessibility of the content and inextricably linking social aspects of game play to increasingly intensive instructional supports that correlate to response-to-intervention tiers.At first glance , educational video games are seductive . The National Research Council ( 2011 ) reported that an increasing body of evidence suggests that educational video games have the potential to promote critical attributes associated with scientific literacy . Marino , Israel , Beecher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study of middle school students and teachers in inclusive science classrooms , reported a widespread affinity for the adoption of educational video games as part of the science curriculum . However , it remains unclear whether this enthusiasm has empirical support.A recent review of literature by Young et al . ( 2012 ) pointed out that the high degree of variability in current video game designs contributes to inconclusive findings in efficacy studies across educational contexts . They noted that although video games can be valuable educational assets , there is often a disconnect between the efficacy of the games and their effectiveness in the classroom . Further complicating matters is the fact that many educational video games lack clearly defined learning objectives and outcomes . Therefore , it is often difficult to examine whether these games contribute to students ' learning ( Marino et al. , 2011 ) . The study reported here was designed to contribute to the limited literature in this area by examining how science curricular materials that align with the UDL framework contribute to learning outcomes for students with LD . This study is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paper and pencil quantitative assessments to assess the efficacy of UDL curricular materials . In addition , the study provides preliminary insights regarding which attributes of the UDL curriculum are beneficial and the pedagogical factors that are necessary for successful implementation of a UDL-science curricula.The research was guided by the following questions:Research Question 1 : Is there a relationship between the use of video games , alternative text , and the level of engagement of students with LD in inclusive middle school science classrooms ? Research Question 2 : Are there differences in performance on paper and pencil posttests when students with LD participate in video game and alternate text enhanced units compared with traditional instruction units ? Research Question 3 : Are there differences in performance during UDL-enhanced units on the paper and pencil tests when students with LD are compared to students in other reading ability groups ? Research Question 4 : Is there a relationship between students ' with LD use of UDL scaffolds in the game ( e.g. , on-demand tutorials ) and their performance on the paper-and-pencil tests ? Two aspects of learner variability that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students ' reading ability and disability status . These served as the independent variables in the current study . The dependent variables under investigation were students ' performance on a paper-and-pencil posttest , students ' video game play statistics , and students ' reported levels of engagement during the learning activities.The standardized measure of students ' reading ability in this study was the NAEP reading achievement level . In this study , students ' NAEP scores were reported as below basic , basic , proficient , and advanced . Each reading category is accompanied by a grade-level description of the students ' skill level and accompanying assessment cut score . While a full discussion of the NAEP reading ability levels is outside the scope of this manuscript , interested readers are encouraged to learn more at http : **39;39568;TOOLONG ... special education teacher reported students ' LD status . Students were considered LD if they were on an Individualized Education Program ( IEP ) with a primary classification of LD during the time of the study . Students on an IEP ranged across reading ability levels . Therefore , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LD and as a member of a reading ability group.MethodThis study employed a mixed-methods design ( Creswell &amp; Plano Clark , 2007 ) . Once the quantitative and qualitative data sources were analyzed individually , they were examined collectively to draw conclusions about the efficacy of the curriculum . Participants in the study followed an ABAB model , with A representing non-UDL units and B representing UDL-aligned units . Table 1 shows a demonstrative model of the curriculum students followed.Table 1 . Sample Implementation Protocol.Curricular materialsTopicsGame availabilityStudents with LD and below basic readersNAEP reading score at basic or higherOrganismsNo gameRCRCCellsCell CommandRC + PCI supplement + gameRC + gameClassificationNo gameRCRCHeredity and reproductionCrazy Plant ShopRC + PCI supplement + gameRC + gameEvolutionNo gameRCRCBacteria &amp; virusesYou Make Me Sick ! RC + PCI supplement + gameRC + gameProtists and fungiNo gameRCRCPlantsReach for the SunRC + PCI supplement + gameRC + gameAnimalsNo gameRCRCNote . Teachers implemented the topics in the order that was prescribed by their district . All followed the ABAB methodology . LD = learning disabilities ; NAEP = National Assessment of Educational Progress ; RC = Regular curriculum.As this 3-year project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . First , after working with teachers in 14 states , it was clear that there was tremendous variability in the scope and sequence at which middle school science content was taught . For example , in some school districts , students ' progress was dictated by the calendar ( e.g. , September 14 , students will start Unit 2 ) , while in other districts progress was left completely at the discretion of the teacher . There was also variation in grade level at which the content was taught ( e.g. , life science in fifth grade vs. seventh grade ) . In this study , we included a range of participants reflective of the diversity in today 's inclusive classrooms . The original intention was to provide teachers with a series of predetermined UDL-aligned content specific investigations . However , teachers repeatedly indicated that they did not want a prescribed science curriculum . Instead , they wanted the flexibility to incorporate resources for their students while keeping the materials they were familiar with . Furthermore , many told us they would not be able to use a researcher-developed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ processes . Therefore , the researchers opted to supplement teachers ' existing curricular materials during the UDL-aligned units with the educational video games from Filament Games and leveled print-based science books from PCI education for students with LD and those with below basic reading level scores.Teachers used their regular curricular materials during the non-UDL units . Each class participated in at least two UDL-aligned units and two non-UDL units . Researchers involved in the study are cognizant of the fact that this retrofit approach is not consistent with the vision of UDL . However , this approach is consistent with the way the science teachers in the study plan their units and lessons on a daily basis.ParticipantsOne fifth-grade and four seventh-grade female science teachers from four states in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest were selected to participate in the study . The teachers were selected from an initial convenience sample of 150 teachers . Teachers were selected based on the alignment of their curriculum scope and sequence with the study protocols , technology infrastructure , administrative consent , and student demographics related to the number of students with LD in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 years teaching experience in inclusive science classrooms . All were highly recommended as exemplary teachers by their principals . Of the five teachers selected , three taught in suburban schools , one in an urban school , and one in a rural school . Student to teacher ratios averaged 19 to 1 . Special education and reading teachers who worked with these science teachers provided information about the students ' disability qualification and NAEP reading ability scores . The special education teachers and reading teachers were not participants in the study.Student-level data across units were gathered from 341 students , both with and without disabilities , whose teachers consented to participate in this study . Females composed 49% of the participants in the study . Fifty-seven students with a primary IEP classification as LD participated in the study . The students ranged from 10 to 14 years of age . Students ' reading scores were standardized across states using NAEP cut-level comparison charts . Student distribution by grade , NAEP reading ability level ( i.e. , below basic , basic , proficient , advanced ) , and IEP status @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were designed to assess familiarity with technology , 94% of students with LD reported that they used computers and mobile devices on a daily basis . Eighty-seven percent of the students were White . Free or reduced lunch rates for the students ranged from 18% to 67% with a mean of 56% . Less than 2% of the students were English language learners.Table 2 . Sample **31;39609;TOOLONG of studentsGrade level516784NAEP reading level ? Below basic23 ? Basic13 ? Proficient41 ? Advanced23LD17N ... NAEP = National Assessment of Educational Progress ; LD = learning **38;39642;TOOLONG pre-/posttestThe researchers developed 10 unit pre-/posttests . Pretests and posttests were identical for each unit . Each test contained between 20 and 24 items . The tests were designed to be difficult for middle school students to prevent a ceiling effect and severe negative skew that occurred during Phase I pilot testing . Tests were developed using a Delphi process that included science teachers , a science professor , and a senior representative of the National Science Teachers Association . All participants in this process were asked to review the test items , provide feedback , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until the tests had formats and items at each level of Bloom 's Taxonomy . The format of the tests was consistent across topic areas in order keep the difficulty level as identical as possible given differences in content . Item-level analyses indicated internal consistency reliabilities of the posttests ranged from .77 to .85 . Reducing the number of items across the original tests resulted in a secondary set of 10-item tests . Item reductions were derived using the same process described previously . The 10-item tests were developed to isolate the effects of the material presented in the video games during UDL-enhanced units . Items in non-UDL units were selected based on agreement among the test developers that the items were equivalent in difficulty level to the UDL-enhanced questions.Video gamesStudents who participated in the study played at least two of the suite of four middle school life science games developed by Filament Games in collaboration with the first author . The games and topics were Cell Command ( cell anatomy and functions ) ; Crazy Plant Shop ( genes and inheritance ) ; You Make Me Sick ! ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( photosynthesis and plant life cycle ) . Although a detailed discussion of the UDL development cycle for each game is outside the scope of this article , an overview of one of the games , You Make Me Sick ! , is provided to illustrate how they are intended to provide multiple means of representation , action , expression , and engagement . Each of the games underwent a similar development cycle that aligned with CAST UDL guidelines Version 2.0 ( 2011 ) . UDL checkpoints from these guidelines are noted parenthetically in the subsequent discussion . Interested readers can gain further information at http : **39;39682;TOOLONG ... A detailed analysis of how UDL checkpoints were included in one section of the game , the Pathogen Design Studio , is included in Table 3 . Table 3 . Mapping Game Features in You Make Me Sick ! to UDL Checkpoint Version 2.0 . Pathogen design studio **36;39723;TOOLONG pictorial and verbal information about the intended host5.1Use multiple media for communicationInclude well-known pathogens and the ability to engineer new pathogens5.2Use multiple tools for construction and composition5.3Build fluencies with graduated levels of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowing students to choose their own navigation path6.1Guide appropriate goal setting6.3Facilitate mapping information and resourcesOffer and track students ' use of an advanced tutorial to scaffold VLE navigation proficiency and reduce cognitive load6.2Support planning and strategy development6.4Enhance capacity for monitoring progressYou Make Me Sick ! was designed to teach students about common bacterial and viral transmission pathways and the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices . The game challenged players to make a virtual host ( i.e. , a person to infect ) , as sick as possible ( UDL Checkpoint 8.1 ) . Students first analyzed the host 's attributes ( e.g. , overweight , smokes , is on an antibiotic ) and then decided which pathogen ( i.e. , virus or bacteria ) would be most effective . Students could choose from existing pathogens such as salmonella or rabies , or they could design their own from a detailed menu of pathogen properties ( UDL Checkpoints 7.1 and 8.2 ) . This provided students with varied levels of expertise equal access to the content . More advanced users could engineer their own pathogen , while less experienced players could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ action and expression . Players then decided how to most efficiently infect the host and placed their pathogen in a virtual room ( UDL Checkpoint 8.3 ) . Students who struggled with this aspect of the game received guidance through an advanced tutorial ( UDL Checkpoints 6.2 and 8.4 ) . When the host came in contact with the pathogen , the player was virtually transported inside the host 's body ( UDL Checkpoints 3.1 and3.2 ) . Over the next several minutes of game play , students transitioned from the macro environment outside the host 's body to the cellular level , where they attempted to evade white blood cells and complete the infection process ( see Figure 1 ) . This journey through the host 's body provided multiple means of representation , which was further reinforced with a virtual dictionary that included a read aloud option and page numbered links to the supplemental PCI science materials ( UDL Checkpoints 1.1 , 1.2 , 1.3 , 2.1 , and 2.5 ) . Figure 1 . Multiple means of engagement and representation in the game You Make Me Sick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students could access at any time during game play ( UDL Checkpoint 3.3 ) . Students could also alter the sound and in some of the games the appearance of their avatar ( UDL Checkpoint 7.1 ) . The use of each of these features was tracked using individual login IDs . At the conclusion of the game , players received a certificate of virulence , which provided a score that teachers could use as an alternative assessment ( UDL Checkpoints 6.4 and 9.3 ) . PCI science curricular materialsStudents who were on an IEP and those who were below basic readers were provided with a supplementary print-based text ( Lindsay &amp; Cordova , 2007 ) from PCI Education that was used in concert with their general education science curriculum materials . This traditional print version of the text ( i.e. , no digital version was available during this study ) presented alternative representations of science vocabulary and concepts in a format that was written and illustrated specifically for struggling readers . The average FleschKincaid readability level across units was established at fifth grade . Students were encouraged to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the PCI textbook ) they preferred . However , all students chose the PCI materials over their traditional texts . The PCI text was meant to further align the teachers ' science curriculum with the UDL framework by providing students with a choice of learning materials . It was not meant to be an add-on or create additional work for the students.Student characteristics and attendance formGeneral education science teachers , with assistance from their special education and reading teacher colleagues , completed a student characteristics profile for each of their students . The profile included each students ' ( a ) special education status ( i.e. , whether or not the student was on an IEP and if so , their disability classification ) as well as any accommodations and/or modifications they received and ( b ) NAEP reading ability level , which was based on their most recent standardized reading test score.Student postintervention focus group interviewsTeachers were asked to identify several students with and without disabilities to participate in postintervention focus group interviews . Interview protocols were developed collaboratively by the lead author and members of the development team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the phone , or via video conferencing software . Twelve students with a primary classification of LD and seven students who were not on an IEP provided assent and parental consent prior to participating in the interviews . Students were asked to share their thoughts about their perceptions of science , the alternative PCI text , the video games , and the assessments . Interviews lasted approximately 30 min . Interviews were conducted with students as soon as time permitted after the final UDL unit was finished . All interviews were conducted within 2 weeks of finishing the **27;39761;TOOLONG professional developmentPrior to implementing the study , teachers participated in professional development sessions with members of the research and implementation team . The number and length of professional development sessions varied from 1 hr to 5 hr based on the self-reported technology experience and comfort level of the teacher . Professional development included how to access and play the video games , how to implement the games in the classroom , and how to administer and submit the tests and surveys using Scantron ( i.e. , bubble ) sheets.Classroom implementationTeachers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which they assigned to each of their students . These ID numbers allowed researchers to track each student 's game play and paper and pencil test and survey data . When the students first logged into the game , they were prompted to enter this number . They then set up user names and passwords for future access the games.Students completed the preintervention survey at the beginning of the first unit , prior to any instruction . During the first UDL-enhanced unit , students completed the initial Internet login . Each student had his or her own computer . Login was followed by a computer-based introduction to the first game , which lasted approximately 10 min . This experience provided the backstory for the game and taught students essential game play mechanics , such as how to navigate in the game environment . Students spent the final day of instruction for each UDL-enhanced unit playing the video game , which was designed to reinforce key science concepts and vocabulary from the unit while stimulating inquiry skills and knowledge transfer . On the final day , students and teachers completed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the game-enhanced and nonenhance units was highly varied . This deviation occurred at both the teacher and classroom level , where teachers altered their approaches based on the individual needs of their students . The inclusion of a series of game-enhanced and non-game-enhanced units allowed us to balance the number of experiments , ancillary supports , and hands-on activities across both conditions.Fidelity of implementationFidelity of implementation was addressed in several ways . First , teachers received professional development and had access to an implementation guide . Second , the researchers obtained teacher self-reports regarding the students ' game play . Finally , the lead researcher conducted 40 hr of observations in select classrooms during each phase of the study to determine how the teachers ' instructional approach differed across conditions ( i.e. , game-enhanced vs. no game ) . In addition , the lead researcher conducted periodic Skype interviews with the teachers during the intervention processes . Students and teachers completed pre- and postintervention surveys using Scantron sheets . These data were combined with game play statistics from the Filament Games server on an excel spreadsheet , which was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.0 ( 2012 ) . Data AnalysisResearch Question 1 : Level of engagement during UDL unitsFollow-up student semistructured focus group interviews were transcribed , coded , and analyzed using a basic interpretive qualitative methodology ( Merriam , 2002 ) . Categories and themes were determined through a constant comparative method ( Glaser &amp; Strauss , 1967 ) using data from transcribed interviews , game play statistics , and survey responses . The data were grouped first by regularities and then by irregularities into tentative categories and subcategories . To increase credibility of this data analysis , careful consideration was paid to both validity and reliability . To increase reliability , transcription included pauses , facial expressions when possible , and tone of voice . Following the initial analysis , a secondary analysis took place in a select number of classrooms . During this member checking process , the lead researcher presented initial results and asked teachers and students for help in clarifying interpretation of the results . Interviewees were presented with their statements and with resulting categories . They were asked whether their comments were interpreted correctly and if their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ checks served to enhance accuracy , credibility , and validity.Research Questions 2 and 3 : Repeated measures ANOVATo examine test performance of students with LD and students across reading ability groups , a repeated measures factorial analysis of variance ( ANOVA ) was performed . Condition ( two levels , enhanced and traditional instruction ) and time ( two levels , pretest and posttest ) were cast as within-subject factors . Students ' unit tests were aggregated within each combination of within-subject factors . This design resulted in four percentage-correct scores for each student . Reading ability ( four levels : below basic , basic , proficient , and advanced ) and learning disability status ( two levels : LD and non-LD ) functioned as between-subjects factors . An alpha level of .05 was set for judging statistical significance . Effect size ( r ) calculations aided interpretation of the statistical test results . Given the novelty of the study 's investigation , we relied on Cohen 's ( 1992 ) generic guidelines for judging r as small ( .10 ) , medium ( .30 ) , or large ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full sets of items on the unit tests , reflecting the full domain of the unit topic ( e.g. , cell biology ) , and one with reduced-item sets ( 10 items per unit ) that reflected the aspects of the unit topic specifically addressed by the enhanced instruction . Conducting these parallel analyses allowed for insight into whether potential gains from the enhanced instruction were aligned only to the video games , perhaps reflecting a kind of practice effect , or were realized in a broader understanding of the topic.Research Question 4 : Multiple regressionsTo examine the relationships between student performance on unit posttests and use of UDL scaffolds in the game , a series of multiple regressions were conducted . The unit posttest score ( % of questions answered correctly ) served as the dependent variable . Independent variables were entered in blocks to control for family-wise error . The first block contained the unit pretest score and LD status . These variables were included in the analyses to control for individual differences ( e.g. , prior knowledge ) that could influence unit posttest scores . A sum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accesses , tutorial accesses , audio help toggles , and volume adjustmentswas entered as a second block . The third block entered contained the number of levels completed by the student . The fourth and final block contained two interaction termslearning disability status with use of UDL features and learning disability status with level completion . These interaction terms allowed for isolating the relationship of game play to test performance specifically for students with LD . Regression models were evaluated by the total variance captured ( R2 ) in posttest scores . Blocks of independent variables were evaluated for the change in R2 resulting from their inclusion in the model and the associated improvement in model fit , as measured by the F statistic ( ? = .01 ) . As with the repeated measures ANOVA , parallel analyses using full and reduced-item sets took place.ResultsIt should be noted that the findings reported here include aggregated statistics compiled from four of the beta versions of the video games . Meaning , the games were playable , but the final design , artwork , physical , and cognitive accessibility features had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to inform these accessibility features in the gold builds of the games and provide future methodological considerations for efficacy assessments of UDL-aligned curricular materials.Research Question 1This question pertained to level of engagement of students with LD during UDL units . The results are disaggregated by themes that were identified during the interviews.Alternative science textStudents with LD were asked to describe their thoughts on the supplemental PCI text to help determine whether the text increased the accessibility of the content and whether an increase in accessibility could lead to heightened engagement . Students indicated that they preferred the PCI text but did not enjoy reading as a way to learn about science . Rather , most students stated that they preferred to access scientific information using technology . For example , a seventh-grade female with LD stated , " I liked it a lot better than our other book . " A male classmate added , " Yeah , I liked it too . The pictures were good . Not as good as the Internet though . I do n't know why they make us use books in school . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the student responded , " We used it in class once in a while and then in study hall . I do n't read at home unless my dad makes me . Most of the time I do n't bring my book home . " Another student stated , " I have a hard time with the words in science class . Sometimes it takes me forever to read our other book . I usually just give up . " Her classmate added , Right on . I hate to read . I 'd much rather do something with my hands . . . like build something or take something apart . Sometimes I ca n't put it back together . . . but I learn better . The other book ( PCI ) was better but I still like doing something better ( than reading ) . Similarly , another student explained , " I would prefer not to have a book , " and her classmate added , " Me either . I can find almost everything I need on YouTube . Why we are still using books @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affinity toward the video games and reported collaborative engagement during game play . For example , one female student noted , " I liked the games , especially the one where you made the guy sick . That was rad . " When asked what she liked about it , she indicated , " You got to figure out what would make him sick . . . and then you had to blow it in his mouth and you could see his lungs and stuff . " Her male classmate noted , " That part was hard , trying to get it in his mouth and everyone was yelling at the game and at each other and asking each other what they did to beat the game . " Interviewer : " What was your teacher doing ? " Student : " He was yelling with us . " Interviewer : " Does he do that often ? " Student : " No. the vice principal came in and told us to keep it down . " In a separate interview , the students described their experiences in class when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them ( played the games ) by ourselves , but they would be better in teams . . . We did the games by ourselves but we kept talking to each other and that helped us figure out the way to do it.Another male student stated , I liked the action parts of the game . Like when I had to spray the cheese with my virus . That was cool . . . and then that fat guy he just sucked it down like I knew he would . Bam . He 's sick.A male student from a different class stated:We were all yelling at each other about the game . . . like when I infected that dude with Salmonella . I was like " Oh boy , you 're in for the hurt now , " and my boy was like " Watch what my rabies is doin to ya sucker ! " When asked to describe her experiences with the game Crazy Plant Shop , one student responded , " That was my favorite . . . It was cool to see how genetics actually happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the game on genetically modified crops so we got to see how people really mess with plants . " Many of the female students with LD reported that Crazy Plant Shop was their favorite . For example , a female student stated:I just liked that you had customers and they . . . asked you for stuff and then you got to figure out a way to make it for them . It is a lot like the store where my mom works . . . so I guess it seemed real.The connection between virtual world activities in the games and students ' personal lives emerged as another theme . Students spoke about how they shared the games with their families outside school . One student noted , " My mom was saying , Now you 're playing video games in school ? What 's this world coming too ? ' " Another said , " I played with my dad . He was excited about the bacteria game . " A final student said , " I was showing my older brother and he was like . . . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was in middle school . " Although the students expressed differences in how their families reacted to gaming in school , most were **25;39790;TOOLONG assessmentsA vast majority of the students expressed frustration about taking the tests . For example , one student stated , " The tests were hard . I 'm just not good at tests and I get all nervous and then I do n't know what to do . " Another student who was asked whether he thought his score on the end of the unit test would be an accurate indication of what he really knew responded:I do n't think so . I do n't know why we have to take all these tests anyway . When I need to put together something , like the other day my mom got a new vacuum . . . and she was reading the directions for like an hour and could n't put it together and I just looked at it and figured out how to do it in 10 minutes.Another student stated:The problem with those tests is that all the words sound so much alike in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , then I think its something else , then I just get confused . Usually I give up when that happens.Students were asked what they thought about using video game play statistics as an alternate means of assessment instead of a multiple choice test . One student said , " I do n't know how fair it would be . I mean how could you say that a game and a test are equal ? " A majority of students with LD stated that they would rather play a game than take a test . One male student with LD pointed out , " I tried a lot harder on the game than I do on the test . . . I liked the game . " Collaborative discourse as a preferred way of learning was another theme . A male student stated:I think talking about the games helped me more than the games . Does that make sense ? Like when Teacher explained how the game was like this and here it was in the book and stuff and then she helped us understand that they went together.The students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so that they would be more engaging . First , many students reported that they wanted to collaborate during the game . One student noted , " If you had a video chat box like Skype and could talk to other people all over the world that would be great . " Another student added , " Oh yea . That would be cool . Like if we had a problem we could phone a friend who was a scientist . " Other students reported that the use of cognitive tools in the game ( e.g. , dictionary , voice-over access tutorials ) was beneficial . One female student explained , " I liked the dictionary in the game . Not many of us used it I do n't think , but it helped me . " Research Questions 2 and 3These questions covered performance across conditions and student characteristics . In the first analysis , using the full item sets , significant main effects were found for the within-subject factors time and condition . For time , posttest scores ( Table 4 ) were significantly higher than pretest scores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) = 42.50 , p &lt; .001 , r = .34 . For condition , average percentage correct scores , across pretests and posttests , were significantly higher , F ( 1 , 335 ) = 13.16 , p &lt; .001 , r = .19 , for units without game enhancement than for units with game enhancement . Looking across students , an overall effect was found for reading ability , F ( 3 , 335 ) = 6.86 , p &lt; .001 , r = .14 . Significant differences were found between students at the advanced level and students at all other levels . In addition , students at the below basic level performed significantly worse than students at the proficient level . No significant differences in performance were observed between students at the below basic and basic levels or between students at the basic and proficient levels . Finally , there was no significant difference in percent-correct scores between those with and without LD ( p = .70 ) . Table 4 . Average Percentage Correct Scores by Factor.Full-item setsReduced-item **25;39817;TOOLONG ( % ) Posttest ( % ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % ) Overall ( % ) Condition ? **31;39844;TOOLONG ... status ? **25;39877;TOOLONG ? Non-LD39.75 ... ability ? Below **29;39904;TOOLONG ? Basic36.248.84 ... UDL = Universal Design for Learning ; LD = learning disabilities.The interaction between the condition and time variables was found to be nonsignificant ( p = .29 , r = .06 ) , indicating that there was no difference in improvements from pretest to posttest between units with traditional curricular instruction and those with UDL-aligned instruction at the aggregate . Furthermore , there was no relationship between change from pretest to posttest across condition and either LD status ( p = .08 ) or reading ability ( p = .16 ) . That is , the three-way interactions of condition , time , and LD status and condition , time , and reading ability were nonsignificant.Analysis with the reduced-item sets revealed the same pattern of statistical significance . Significant main effects were found for time , F ( 1 , 335 ) = 13.11 , p &lt; .001 , r = .19 ; condition , F ( 1 , 335 ) = 5.80 , p = .02 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 3 , 335 ) = 3.67 , p = .01 , r = .10 . The effects in the model for LD status ( p = .14 ) , and the three-way interactions of condition , time , and LD status ( p = .15 ) as well as condition , time , and reading ability ( p = .36 ) remained nonsignificant.Research Question 4This question was about game play characteristics and test performance . Table 5 displays model summaries for the multiple regression analyses . Across the units analyzed , student pretest scores based on the full item sets along with LD status accounted for a low-to-moderate amount of the variation in their posttest scores ( R2 = .17.59 ) . Neither the block of variables capturing use of UDL features nor the block capturing level completion accounted for substantially more variance in scores on top of those accounted for by the pretest scores . Improvements in R2 ranged from .01 to .04 and no model additions rendered statistically significant improvements to the model . Finally , LD status did not significantly interact with use of UDL features @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Substantially less predictive ability was found with the reduced-item sets . Full models were able to explain only between .07 and .22 of the variance.Table 5 . Model Summaries for the Prediction of Unit Posttest Scores by Game Play **25;39935;TOOLONG setsReduced-item setsTopicGamenModelR2 ? R2pR2 ? R2pCellsCell **34;39962;TOOLONG **44;39998;TOOLONG ... and reproductionCrazy Plant **37;40044;TOOLONG &lt...]; **32;40083;TOOLONG .01.99Bacteria and virusesYou Make Me Sick ! 2141.38.212.38&lt; .01.26.21&lt; .01.313.38&lt; .01.97.21&lt; .01.564.38&lt; **26;40117;TOOLONG for the **40;40145;TOOLONG ... .01.71.13.02.61Note . Predictors for Model 1 : unit pretest , LD status ; Model 2 : unit pretest , LD status , use of UDL features ; Model 3 : unit pretest , LD status , use of UDL features , levels completed ; Model 4 : unit pretest , LD status , use of UDL features , levels completed , LD status by use of UDL features ( interaction ) , LD status by Levels completed ( interaction ) . DiscussionSimilar to the findings of Young and colleagues ( 2012 ) , this study found mixed results related to the game-enhanced UDL curricular materials . A preponderance of qualitative evidence supported the notion that students with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finding was similar to previous studies ( Marino , 2009 ; Marino et al. , 2012 ) . Students described talking with their peers , yelling and cheering each other on in class , and sharing their game experience with family . They made connections between the virtual worlds in the games and their experiences in class . In addition , they reported gaining an in-depth understanding as they interacted with scientific content in novel ways.The quantitative analysis , when viewed independently from the qualitative data , appears to support the notion that the UDL units were not beneficial to students with LD . While posttest scores in game-enhanced instructional units showed a sizable improvement relative to pretest scores , even more improvement was demonstrated in units with only traditional instruction . It would be reasonable to argue that specific subgroups might benefit more from enhanced instruction , but have their gains washed out in the focus on the aggregate ; however , this was not the case . Neither reading ability group nor learning disability status demonstrated a significant interaction across time and condition . Students with LD did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statistically significant level.The finding that the reduced-item sets did not uncover any points of significance suggests the analysis was not hampered by a measurement sensitivity issue . If knowledge gains were to occur , they should at least have been captured by the reduced-item tests , which were directly related to game play . The lack of significant findings of interest in either the ANOVA or the regression analyses , as a whole , suggests that game enhancement is doing nothing to improve student topical knowledge in these areas . This finding may indicate that game enhancement is not necessary across all of the topics included in typical middle school classrooms . Additional analysis of specific topics and the benefits of game enhancement is warranted.Why would students and teachers react so positively to the UDL units if their test scores were not improving ? It is possible sample effects influenced the results . The students in traditional instruction settings scored 7% to 9% points higher on pretests than students during the UDL units . There could also be a second-level variable casting an influence . Our sample consisted of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of instructional quality and implementation issues could exist . Unfortunately , we did not have the power to conduct our analyses in a multilevel framework to address such issues.Another consideration is that teachers ' test review sessions , which occurred on the last day before the test during the traditional instruction units , had more of a positive effect on students ' posttest performance than the games . Teachers taught to the test during the review sessions . In contrast , the video game sessions focused more on interactive problem solving than appropriate ways to respond to a test question . It is likely that the teachers ' review was a more effective means to bolster performance on the paper and pencil test than the games , despite the fact that the students reported appreciating the content and gaining a more thorough understanding of the concepts during game play.Study LimitationsThis study included a mean intervention instructional time of 800 min , with approximately 100 min of time playing video games . This is reflective of approximately 14 days of classroom instruction , which is far less than the 9 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during intervention research . Unfortunately , this follows many school district pace guidelines . Some teachers reported that this might have affected the results of the study . This is especially salient given the fact that students were playing beta versions of the games.Implications for PracticeStudents ' comments about their own test performance proved extremely helpful during the interpretation of these mixed results . Recall the young man who stated , The problem with those tests is that all the words sound so much alike in my head . First I think I know the answer , then I think its something else , then I just get confused . Usually I give up when that happens.All of these middle school students with LD were highly cognizant of the fact that they were not proficient when demonstrating their knowledge on traditional assessments . This is a problem that must be addressed given that all schools in the United States will require successful completion of a high stakes science assessment to graduate from high school in the near future.UDL provides curriculum developers and teachers with guidelines for designing and implementing instruction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learners ( Rose et al. , 2005 ) . Students in this study reported a clear appreciation for curricular materials that meet students ' preferences and learning needs . These UDL-aligned technologies should be included to the greatest extent possible . The study supported the notion that UDL-aligned curricula that incorporates video games can increase knowledge transfer between virtual and classroom learning . In addition , the games promoted collaborative learning and engagement . Educators should be mindful that the games used in this study had clearly articulated educational objectives that aligned with national benchmarks . Many games lack such attributes ( Young et al. , 2012 ) . Students overwhelmingly indicated that they appreciated the availability of options not typically included in traditional science instruction and textbooks within both the PCI curriculum ( such as vocabulary supports and detailed graphics that illustrate critical concepts ) and the video games ( such as a dictionary , voice-over access , tutorials , and audio help toggles ) . Although the quantitative results did not indicate significant score differences for students who made use of these UDL-based gaming features , this may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with only one full class per unit devoted to the game . Qualitative results pointed to the efficacy of these features . Students indicated that they liked having access to content in a more flexible and accessible manner . In addition to the UDL-based features that the students valued in the gaming environment , they also indicated a desire to include more collaboration during game play . Educators should consider discussion as a central component during UDL units.Assessment is a critical component of the teaching and learning cycle . Research indicates that a focus on UDL principles in standards , instruction , and assessment can result in enhanced accessibility for expanded groups of users ( Thompson , Johnstone , Anderson , &amp; Miller , 2005 ) . In the context of the current study , traditional paper-based assessments did not yield significant differences between UDL-aligned and traditional environments . However , more meaningful assessment results may have emerged using alternative assessment methods that correlate with the qualitative data . For example , modeling methods can capture different dimensions of student responses and have the ability to dynamically adapt the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Timms et al. , 2012 ) . Other assessment options include learning progressions in science , learning trajectories in mathematics , developmental continuums in reading , or learning maps . Educators are encouraged to identify a diverse range of highly correlated assessments during the curriculum development and implementation cycle.The current study used video game click trails to identify which tools in the game were most used . While useful , this approach fails to identify the nuanced decision process players experience during a video game . More complex data collection systems , algorithms , and analytics that link specific click choices to educational objectives will yield more robust analysis in future educational video games . This will include game play prediction , remediation , and dynamic scripting , which identifies player 's choices and alters the game to meet their specific educational needs . In addition , previous studies ( e.g. , Marino , 2009 ) noted that students with LDs often require explicit instruction and prompting to use technology-based tools to their potential.These data collection systems have been proposed for use in both large-scale and classroom assessments . In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student thinking than traditional paper-based models of assessment . This detailed information is particularly important in the classroom , where it can be used as the first step in a formative assessment process , to impact instructional decisions and provide feedback to students , ultimately improving student learning ( Alonzo &amp; Steedle , 2009 ) . Authors ' NoteAny opinions , findings , and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the U.S. Department of Education.Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research , authorship , and/or publication of this article.FundingThe author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research , authorship , and/or publication of this article : The research reported here was supported in part by the Institute of Education Sciences , U.S. Department of Education , through the Small Business Innovation Research ( SBIR ) program contract ED-IES-10-C-0023 to Filament Games . This material is also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant **29;40187;TOOLONG . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a force and motion learning progression . Science Education , 93 , 389421. **44;40218;TOOLONG ... . . ZhangJ. ( 2012 ) . The condition of education 2012 ( NCES 2012-045 ) . Washington , DC : U.S. Department of Education , National Center for Education Statistics . Retrieved from http : **29;40264;TOOLONG for Applied Special Technology . ( 2011 ) . UDL guidelinesversion 2.0 . Retrieved from http : **39;40295;TOOLONG ... ( 1992 ) . A power primer . Psychological Bulletin , 112 , 155159 . CreswellJ . W.Plano ClarkV . L. ( 2007 ) . Designing and conducting mixed methods research . Thousand Oaks , CA : SAGE.EdyburnD . L. ( 2010 ) . Would you recognize universal design for learning if you saw it ? Ten propositions for new directions for the second decade of UDL . Learning Disability Quarterly , 33 , 3341 . GerstenR.EdyburnD. ( 2007 ) . Defining quality indicators for group designs in special education technology research . Journal of Special Education Technology , 22(3) , 318 . GlaserB.StraussA . L. ( 1967 ) . The discovery of grounded theory : Strategies for qualitative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . W.SchifterL . A. ( 2009 ) . A policy reader in universal design for learning . Boston , MA : Harvard Education Press.King-SearsM. ( 2009 ) . Universal design for learning : Technology and pedagogy . Learning Disability Quarterly , 32 , 199201 . LeddyM . H. ( 2010 ) . Technology to advance high school and undergraduate students in science , technology , engineering , and mathematics . Journal of Special Education Technology , 25(3) , 38 . LeeM.ErdoganI. ( 2007 ) . The effect of **26;40336;TOOLONG teaching on students ' attitudes toward science and certain aspects of creativity . International Journal of Science Education , 11 , 13151327 . LindsayK.CordovaK . S. ( 2007 ) . Life science . San Antonio , TX : PCI Education.MarinoM . T. ( 2009 ) . Understanding how adolescents with reading difficulties utilize technology-based tools . Exceptionality , 17 , 88-102 . MarinoM . T. ( 2010 ) . Defining a technology research agenda for elementary and secondary students with learning and other high incidence disabilities in inclusive science classrooms . Journal of Special Education Technology , 25(1) , 128 . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Using video games as an alternative science assessment for students with disabilities and at-risk learners . Science Scope , 34(5) , 3641 . MarinoM . T.BeecherC . C. ( 2010 ) . Conceptualizing RTI in 21st century secondary science classrooms : Video games ' potential to provide tiered support and progress monitoring for students with learning disabilities . Learning Disability Quarterly , 33(4) , 299311 . MarinoM . T.IsraelM.BeecherC . C.BashamJ . D. ( 2012 ) . Students ' and teachers ' perceptions of using video games to enhance science instruction . Journal of Science Education and Technology . Advance online publication . **41;40364;TOOLONG . A.ScruggsT . E.NorlandJ . **31;40407;TOOLONG . H.BerkeleyS. ( 2006 ) . Differentiated curriculum enhancement in inclusive middle school science : Effects on classroom and high-stakes tests . The Journal of Special Education , 40 , 130137 . MerriamS . B. ( 2002 ) . Qualitative research in practice . San Francisco , CA : Jossey-Bass.National Research Council . ( 2011 ) . Learning science through computer games and simulations . Committee on Science Learning : Computer Games , Simulations , and Education , HoneyM @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Education , Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education . Washington , DC : National Academies **34;40440;TOOLONG . G.RoseT . L. ( 2012 ) . A research reader in universal design for learning . Boston , MA : Harvard Education Press.RoseD . H.MeyerA.HitchcockC. ( 2005 ) . The universally designed classroom . Accessible curriculum and digital technologies . Boston , MA : Harvard Education Press.ThompsonS . J.JohnstoneC . J.AndersonM . E.MillerN . A. ( 2005 ) . Considerations for the development and review of universally designed assessments ( Technical Report 42 ) . Minneapolis : University of Minnesota , National Center on Educational **25;40476;TOOLONG . H.GobertJ.KetelhutD . J.LesterJ.ReeseD . D.WiebeE. ( 2012 ) . New measurement paradigms . Newton , MA : Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education.U.S . Department of Education . ( 2010 ) . Transforming American education learning powered by technology : National education technology plan 2010 . Washington , DC : Author.YoungM . F.SlotaS.CutterA . B.JaletteG.MullinG.LaiB .. . . YukhymenkoM. ( 2012 ) . Our princess is in another castle : A review of trends in serious gaming for education . Review of Educational @ @ @ @ @ @

@@4158541 Shifting priorities in academic libraries have led to experimentation in methods of keeping a reference desk open for the users who still need in-person , immediate help while at the same time freeing up faculty librarians to pursue other pressing priorities . The Valley Library at Oregon State University has relied entirely on part-time professional librarians to cover reference desk shifts since fall 2009 , relieving faculty librarians of this task . Faculty continue to provide desk backup , chat reference , and research consultation . # In 2012 , the authors invited both the part-time and faculty librarians to participate in a study , using a separate survey for each group , to elicit their experiences and impressions of the model . The goal was to determine the model 's effectiveness and to identify changes that might be needed to improve it . Participants concluded that the model works well , although faculty feel they may be underinformed on important research and instruction issues brought up by students in their departments . They believe that some improvements to the referral process should be investigated . A follow-up assessment of patron satisfaction is indicated before a full picture can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FEATURE # Dealing with Staffing Realities , Meeting User Needs # Reference service needs at academic institutions have dramatically evolved over the last few decades . The nature of student and faculty reference requirements has changed . These changes can be attributed in part to technological advances and online search mechanism improvements . There is also increased demand for academic librarians to reshape their instruction programs to maximize their impact in the context of campus realignment . Academic librarians must spend more time providing assistance with in-depth research , data management , scholarly communication , and information literacy training , among many other things.1 Driven by these pressures , academic libraries are continuously challenged to find a new model that can adequately provide for the continuing immediate reference needs of their students and faculty while still addressing all these other demands . # As activities at reference desks decrease , change , and evolve , libraries are experimenting with nontraditional ways of staffing the desk and providing reference services in an effort to find something that works best for their particular situation . Much of this activity is due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shifting increasingly from ready reference and subject specialty queries to technical and directional requests.2 Many libraries are replacing full-time faculty librarians at reference desks with paraprofessionals , student workers , on-call librarians , or a combination of these.3 While some libraries are moving from a single desk model to having two or more service desks in proximity , 4 others are merging service points to eliminate separate reference desks entirely.5 # In a 2010 article , Middleton reviewed the reference needs and services at the Valley Library , the main campus branch of the Oregon State University ( OSU ) Libraries.6 Between 2003 and 2008 , the number of traditional reference questions at the desk decreased by 50 percent . At the same time , faculty librarians were increasingly called upon to become more active in professional and university activities and to provide more academic support through information literacy education , individual research consultations , digital content management , and creation of new instructional tools . # In addition to the library 's instruction program , the Teaching and Engagement Department at the Valley Library is responsible for operations at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Learning Commons . Since tenure-track faculty librarians typically filled the primary staffing role at the Information Desk , the department determined that here would be an obvious place to gain the additional hours necessary to allow their faculty to concentrate on other priorities . To reduce faculty librarian hours on the desk , the library hired a pool of seven part-time reference librarians ( PTLs ) to assist with desk coverage . By the fall of 2009 , the library had increased this part-time pool to cover all eighty-one hours per week that had previously been covered by faculty librarians ; faculty librarian involvement in desk reference has transformed into backup for the desk staff . To determine if the new arrangement was working effectively , a faculty librarian and a part-time reference librarian developed a survey to address several questions with each group concerning the effectiveness of training , communication , and referral , as well as to ask for suggestions to improve the arrangement.7 # LITERATURE REVIEW # Library literature discusses a variety of nontraditional reference desk staffing models . Zabel discussed several of these.8 Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students serving at the desk , referring reference questions to full-time faculty librarians . Another trend has been to combine the reference and circulation desks into a single service point for patrons . Other libraries recruit staff or librarians from other areas of the library , such as technical services or information technology , to assist at the reference desk . Some libraries have tried different models but then returned to the traditional one with professional librarians staffing the desk , assisted by other library staff and student workers . One reason given for switching back to this librarian-staffed model was that librarians missed being on the desk . # Zabel sees the decline in the number of reference questions as one driving force in the reduction of professional staff at reference desks.9 Service Trends in ARL Libraries , 1991-2012 shows this trend continuing with a 69 percent decrease in reference questions since 1991 , even though the total number of questions of all kinds is still substantial.10 In her investigation of the cost-effectiveness of traditional academic library reference desk staffing , Ryan concluded that 89 percent of questions asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have a highly-trained subject specialist sitting at a desk waiting for the rare occasions when her expertise is actually needed , only to answer directional and technical ( computer and printer ) questions . In their 2008 random survey of 191 academic librarians in the United States , Banks and Pracht found that 60 percent of their respondents indicated that while the total number of reference desk staff remained the same , many libraries were using non-MLS personnel at their reference desks because " they were more cost effective and freed up MLS personnel for other responsibilities . " 12 # Zabel observes that , although the total number of reference questions has gone down , their complexity has increased ; she and her colleagues have seen this trend among their business library patrons . Chow and Croxton , among others , note that academic library patrons still have need for immediately available research-related assistance , along with a preference for receiving in-person assistance from a professional.13 # A possible solution considered by some libraries is to staff the reference desk with professional , part-time librarians . This model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many benefits . It can be a cost effective solution , saving on salaries and benefits.14 The size of the librarian pool and the number of desk hours covered can more easily be adjusted to budgetary fluctuations and the ebb-and-flow of student needs during the school year . But as Wu points out , there may be problems inherent in hiring part-time reference specialists as library staff.15 These issues include high turnover , lack of training , lack of interest in academic libraries , and the burden of other responsibilities such as other jobs , classes , and family . Although the staff members Wu describes in her article are library science graduate students and not yet degreed professionals , the problems are similar when using degreed librarians in a part-time capacity . Since most of these advantages and disadvantages were pointed out in the much earlier article by Chervinko , 16 it appears that little has changed over the decades , and library administrations will continue to deal with these issues . # From the point of view of the part-time professional , the arrangement is a combination of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of working as a part-timer in her 2008 OLA Quarterly article , " The Adventures of a Part-Time Librarian . " 17 She likes the advantage of flexible schedules that allow for more family time and outside interests . She also notes that part-time librarians with several jobs have the opportunity to test out different environments , developing skill sets from varying types of libraries and patrons . These environments can also create networking opportunities with a wider group of library colleagues . Obvious disadvantages include fewer ( or no ) benefits , uncertainty of scheduled hours , and the disconnectedness an employee can feel when not at an organization in a full-time capacity . # THE OSU VALEY LIBRARY MODEL # The Valley Library at Oregon State University previously operated on the traditional academic library model , with a subject-specialist faculty librarian staffing the reference desk for a shift of two to four hours supported by a trained student worker . However just like the libraries in the ARL statistics , the Valley Library has seen a significant drop-off in the number of reference questions asked over the years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the total number of all types of questions received ( including technical and directional ) fell 38 percent . The number of reference questions overall for 2006 to 2010 decreased by 32 percent . Technical assistance questions dropped drastically in 2008 with the addition of a computer help desk , while directional questions held fairly steady.18 # The reference statistics tracked included all formats for asking reference questions that are available at the Valley Library : in-person , chat , text , and e-mail . To parse this out , chat reference use grew steadily from its adoption in 2003 but has been falling since 2007 . E-mail reference has also dropped sharply ( see figure 2 ) . # The decline in desk statistics was not the only reason that the Valley Library determined it could no longer support traditional desk staffing . As outlined by Middleton , 19 budget decreases and shifting priorities were reducing the number of subject specialist faculty librarians available for reference work . At the same time , other faculty duties demanded an increasing amount of time and attention , including promoting information literacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began to look for a way to continue serving all their patron needs while changing how they staffed the reference desk . As Middleton describes it , the library first reduced the number of faculty librarians covering desk hours from ten librarians to seven librarians and reduced the total number of hours for each librarian to four per week.20 The remaining hours were covered by trained part-time reference specialists . These specialists , which started out as on-call librarians who " filled in " on an irregular basis when needed , were thus transformed into a group of part-time librarians ( PTLs ) with an expanded and more regular schedule and broader training . Eventually the faculty librarians were taken off regular desk shifts altogether . This allowed them to concentrate on their other duties and projects . # Deciding to move faculty librarians off the reference desk caused some concern among a number of them about losing touch with needs of students . They were previously able to discern some of these needs through the regular , in-person contact at the service desk . In an effort to retain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a backup to the desk service and perform regular chat reference shifts from their own desks . A referral process was established to forward subject-specific and more in-depth research questions to the faculty librarians , with an expectation that this also would serve to keep them in touch with student needs . # The PTLs hired to serve as reference specialists and replace the faculty librarians at the desk are considered temporary employees . University policy dictates that they can work no more than eighty-nine days per calendar year . They typically work several three- or four-hour shifts per week depending on their availability . These shifts include evening and weekend hours , allowing about sixty hours per week of desk coverage during the school year . Although they do not receive typical employee benefits , PTLs are included in employee in-service days and other in-house professional development activities arranged by the library . Staffing the desk with part-time librarians also provides for some backup of student workers on the desk as well as providing professional reference assistance to the patrons . # While the PTLs are not required @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rare exceptions ) credentialed librarians . They generally do not perform the other duties of faculty librarians , although some may teach library sessions to freshman writing classes . Their primary role is to provide reference assistance at the information desk ( the new designation for the reference desk ) . # People hired as PTLs at the Valley Library are a mix of new librarians seeking work experience along with experienced librarians wanting to have a reduced and more flexible workload . Several of the latter are retired librarians supplementing their retirement income . The PTLs and the student workers on the desk are supervised by the Learning Commons coordinator , a librarian with professional faculty status ( i.e. , nontenured ) . She is backed up at night by the evening desk manager , who is a library paraprofessional . The Learning Commons coordinator and the evening desk manager often fill in for PTLs and student workers who are out , as do the faculty librarians who also provide question referral support and desk backup as needed . # The Learning Commons coordinator primarily provides the training , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and an extensive online reference desk manual support the in-person training . New PTLs " shadow " more experienced PTLs for several weeks before being scheduled as the only librarian on the desk . They always have one student worker scheduled with them . # METHOD # There were several purposes to the study . First , the study sought to determine if the current approach to reference desk staffing is fulfilling the needs of the library to have professional high-level reference assistance readily available to the patrons . Second , the study sought to discover if the part-time librarians ( PTLs ) feel they are receiving sufficient and appropriate training and support to be effective . The third purpose was to ascertain if the faculty librarians who had been relieved of desk staffing duties found the new arrangement a satisfactory replacement for their direct involvement in face-to-face reference . The investigation consisted of an anonymous survey consisting of a mix of multiple choice and open text questions to review current practice and attitudes of PTLs on the information desk . Another similar survey was given to the faculty librarians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Also included was a review of Valley Library reference statistics . Because of the small number of people in the study , a mix of both quantitative and qualitative survey questions was judged to be the best approach to get a more complete picture . Also due to the necessarily small sample size , the conclusions of this study may not be generally applicable . # The PTL questions covered training , communication , and the sufficiency of the tools provided . For the faculty librarians , questions concerned the impact of the chat and backup duty requirement on their other work and how often they were called upon to back up the desk . Both groups were asked about their perception of the effectiveness of the referral process . This process provides for questions that can not be answered by the PTL or the student at the desk , allowing a referral to a faculty librarian through a variety of means ( an online form , chat , e-mail , or phone ) . The survey also invited recommendations for improvements the respondents would like to see . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each of the two subject groups received an e-mail invitation to participate in the study , followed a week later with a reminder and a final reminder the day before the survey was due . Study investigators used the Qualtrics survey software , allowing them to quantify the answers to the multiple choice questions while protecting the anonymity of the participants . The study investigators began analyzing the results as soon as the surveys closed . Surveying patron satisfaction was not planned as part of this study . # SURVEY RESULTS AND INDICATIONS # Both surveys were administered late July through mid-August , 2012 . At the time of the survey nine faculty librarians covered chat reference and served as backup for the part-time librarians at the desk ; the survey for this group had 100 percent return . The part-time librarian ( PTL ) survey was sent to fourteen librarians who either worked currently at OSU or had worked at OSU within the previous twelve months ; twelve ( 85.7% ) responses were returned . # PART-TIME LIBRARIAN SURVEY FINDINGS AND DISCUSION # PTLs collaborate with faculty librarians on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the faculty librarian serving as backup , and referral . Because it is not directly captured in statistics , the survey asked about how frequently PTLs make contact with the backup librarian , either to ask questions or to cover for them at the desk , along with their level of satisfaction with the process . Only PTLs who work days were asked this question , since backup librarians are not available nights and weekends . Out of the eight total responses to this question , two of the PTLs indicated they used this option " frequently , " but six of them said " rarely or never . " The follow-up question about overall satisfaction with the support revealed that nobody was actively dissatisfied , but there was not a lot of enthusiasm either . Six indicated satisfaction but the rest were neutral . # Valley Library offers patrons and PTLs several avenues for referral to a faculty librarian : chat , phone , e-mail , and online referral form . PTLs reported using all the available contact methods but say that the least used was the referral form @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least often used method of referral . Whether this is due to a misperception or whether chat referral is too often unreported in the statistics is unclear . # Low reported use of the online referral form is a matter of some concern , since the form was designed to transfer questions to the reference e-mail box where the backup librarian on duty would either answer directly or forward it to the appropriate subject librarian . The form was meant to eliminate the undesirable situation of a referral sitting unanswered in the mailbox of a librarian who was out for several days due to conference , vacation , or illness . With all the faculty librarians located on a different floor than the information desk , the faculty librarian serving as backup would have a better idea of who was available than the PTL . But this still happens when referrals are made by phone , and a message is left if no librarian answers . At least some of the PTLs might prefer to directly contact specific subject librarians : # I would like to be able to flag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current process sends a referral to a joint reference e-mail inbox . In the past , when something has been subject specific I 've sent an individual e-mail to a subject librarian , bypassing the referral form . # Often , however , PTLs may simply be forgetting that referral is an option : # Make referral to a subject librarian more intuitive or built into the workflow . Often I get so caught up in trying to answer a question , I forget about referrals as an option . # Whether referrals are low because the reasons for using the online referral form have not been sufficiently communicated , or PTLs feel they are expected to answer everything on their own , or whether there is active resistance to using the form , the comments suggest that the library should look into adjusting or redesigning the referral system . Better training of PTLs in when it is appropriate to make referrals is also something which might improve the process as well as reminding them more often of the existence of this particular line of communication . # One response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a perceived distrust of the referral system by patrons . PTLs are encouraged to call the faculty librarian on backup duty or the specific subject expert if needed to answer a difficult question . But if this help is unavailable ( evenings , weekends , and departmental meeting times for example ) the PTL is supposed to refer the patron question via an online referral form . Patrons sometimes show unhappiness with this arrangement : # When we refer them students they so often react like we are just trying to be rid of them--casting them into a black hole . They do not believe that we are actually helping them , because they do not believe that the librarian will ever get back to them . One particularly frustrated patron was stunned that she was contacted while still in the library and that her appointment happened in less than an hour . Despite our reassurances she said she had felt sure that nothing would come of the referral . I probably refer less than ( or less quickly than ) I ought to for this reason--usually the already frustrated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LIBRARIAN SURVEY FINDINGS AND DISCUSION # One of the most positive aspects of the desk staffing change is that faculty librarians have indeed gained time for pursuing other duties and priorities by being relieved of the " burden " of sitting at the reference desk . Because they monitor chat from their own desks , faculty librarians are often able to concentrate on other work during a shift . Of the nine faculty librarians surveyed , only one librarian indicated that she felt that being scheduled to answer chat and be available to back up the desk had much impact on other work . All other respondents reported some variation on " very little impact . " More than half of the faculty felt that the weight of their chat and backup duties was light enough that they could book something else , such as meetings or research consultations , in addition ( double-book ) during that time . One librarian even reported doing so " frequently . " Because chat is not very busy during particular hours of the day or certain weeks during the term , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her laptop logged in and monitoring chat but is still able to fully participate in the meeting . # A follow-up conversation with the Learning Commons Coordinator revealed one reason why the reported impact of serving as the desk backup is so small : only a few shifts per week are lengthy enough for the PTL to require a break , and they are more likely to either wait for a slow period or to call upon the supervisor or the student workers to cover for them , relieving faculty backup librarians from this duty . When there is a PTL absence from a shift , the coordinator will often fill in or find another PTL to take the shift rather than call upon the faculty librarian to do so . # In the other direction , even though they know it is an option , every faculty respondent claimed to have never asked a PTL to cover chat for them when they were out . Instead , when they know in advance that they will be unable to fill their shift , they will trade hours with another faculty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as a sudden illness ) , coverage is often arranged via e-mail exchanges or provided by the desk supervisor instead . # Responses from the faculty librarians indicate there is some degree of concern about the model 's effectiveness when it comes to the referral process ( one librarian of the nine responding indicated disagreement that the process is effective and timely ; four others neither agreed nor disagreed ) . As stated previously , one worry that many of the faculty had when the new staffing model was proposed was that they would become out-of-touch with what is going on with library assignments in classes being taught in their departments . Some faculty librarians report still feeling this way in the survey . Most have little interaction with the desk any more and are no longer seeing the assignment-related questions they formerly used as an indicator of needs in their subject departments : # I would like to be better informed as to what sorts of questions in my area are being asked ( even when the PTL is able to provide a response ) . If I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a more difficult time providing instruction and selection services . # In addition to this desire to know what questions are asked in their subjects , a few of the faculty librarians want to receive more referrals , and some would like to return to the practice of having referrals sent directly to a specific subject librarian . This is certainly understandable : the backup librarian is more likely to answer a referred question herself whenever possible than to pass it to a subject specialist . There is also uncertainty about whether the library is meeting patron information needs and a perception that the referral process is not being utilized effectively : when asked if the referral process is working well , only four out of nine responders agree . The response is only somewhat more positive when asked if the process is used appropriately by the PTLs ( five out of nine ) . # The comments revealed that several faculty librarians believe that some of the questions that they ought to be getting are not being referred to them . The previous responder continued : # I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are never any questions , I doubt this is the case . # There also is uncertainty about whether patron questions that faculty librarians receive directly are the result of a desk referral or whether the patron is finding the librarian through some other method ( i.e. , web subject guide page , instructor referral , or remembering the librarian from a class visit ) . Another librarian commented : # I am really unsure about how the referral process is working , because I do n't know how often PTL 's refer , nor do users always tell me they were referred by the desk . I 'm unsure if the referral process is working at all outside of the immediate referral of chat questions . # NEXTS TEPS # While there is overall satisfaction with the new model , faculty and PTL groups both offered thoughtful suggestions for changes and improvements . One of these suggestions is to change the status of the PTLs from hourly part-time workers to regular salaried employees . Not only would this be more attractive to potential information desk staff , but many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the library and university , and the library would be able to retain good people for longer periods . This change would , in many ways , compensate for several of the drawbacks outlined in Wamsley 's article.21 While current economic realities of the library and university make this unlikely , at least at present , it is a recommendation that continues to come up . # Review of the responses in both surveys indicated that the most immediate need is for improved referral and communication . When one in four PTLs feel they are not being adequately kept " in the loop " on library policy changes , and faculty librarians report that they feel , in the words of one librarian , " out of touch with what is happening in the building and on campus , " the library needs to address how to improve communication strategies . # One of the library faculty 's biggest concerns when developing this model for the desk was that questions needing a subject specialist 's attention be referred appropriately and speedily . Referral statistics are unavailable prior to 2010 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ records from January to December 2012 show only 664 of the 6,645 questions counted at the desk ( 10% ) are reported as being referred . Of these , most are referred to other departments within the library ( most often the circulation and computer help desks ) ; only 398 ( 6% ) of total referrals are made to subject librarians . # These statistics tend to support the feeling indicated in the library faculty survey that they are not being included on questions that they need to be involved in answering . Several possible approaches to improve this situation are under discussion , including better training of both PTLs and faculty librarians in the use of the referral form , increased emphasis during training on the reasons behind why the referral process was set up to submit questions to a general e-mail , and redesigning the form to allow copying a specific faculty librarian as an " FYI " in order to increase awareness of what kinds of questions are coming in their subject areas . # Anecdotal evidence from PTLs in their survey answers reveals that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a referral is a " dead end . " A patron survey would be useful in discovering how prevalent this feeling is so that the library could find ways to address this perception . Various barriers exist that make implementing a user satisfaction survey difficult ; survey fatigue is a real concern on campus . To prevent this , ongoing assessment strategies that transcend multiple surveys are being developed . This may enable libraries to determine if the changes they are making are effective and add to patron satisfaction with library services . # CONCLUSION # There are many different service models an academic library could adopt to deliver reference services , and each library must determine what is most successful for their own particular situation . They will need to continue to consider new ways of providing quality reference service and not be afraid to experiment . While this current model of service is working with a significant degree of success for the OSU Valley Library , it is highly unlikely that it will be the final model . Once the job prospects for librarians improve with the economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar system that depends on on-call or part-time librarian reference coverage may find it difficult to find enough skilled professionals willing to work part time . As more library services transform into self-service ( material checkout , ILL , placing and picking up holds , and so on ) and budgets continue to shrink and shift to other priorities , ways of combining service points to provide quality service with fewer staff continue to be considered and tested . The public desire for quick , seamless , and efficient service received at as few locations as possible is driving OSU and others toward a " one-stop " model where more library services combine at a single desk . This summer , student computer and multimedia help services , which have for several years been available adjacent to the information desk , were moved to combine with the circulation desk . It is important for the library to measure what effect this loss of proximity has on questions received at the information desk and on the quality of services received at all access points and make changes as appropriate . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Valley Library , will continue to change and adjust to fulfill their commitment to providing the best possible service to their users . # Figure 1 . Types of OSU Valley Library Information Desk Questions 2006-11 # Figure 2 . E-mail and Chat Reference Questions 2006-11 # References and Notes # 1 . Janice M. Jaguszewski and Karen Williams , New Roles for New Times : Transforming Liaison Roles in Research Libraries ( Washington , DC : Association of Research Libraries , 2013 ) . # 2 . Steven J. Bell , " Technology Killed the Reference Desk Librarian , " Reference Librarian 48 , no. 1 ( March 1 , 2007 ) : 105-7 , http : **38;19393;TOOLONG . Julie Banks and Carl Pracht , " Reference Desk Staffing Trends , " Reference &amp; User Services Quarterly 48 , no. 1 ( 2008 ) : 54-59.4 . Kimberley L. Bugg and Rosaline Y. Odom , " Extreme Makeover Reference Edition : Restructuring Reference Services at the Robert W. Woodruff Library , Atlanta University Center , " Reference Librarian 50 , no. 2 ( March 31 , 2009 ) : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " Reference Service Without the Desk , " Reference Services Review 38 , no. 1 ( 2010 ) : 71-80 , http : **38;19473;TOOLONG .... Cheryl Middleton , " From an Information Commons to a Learning Commons : Twelve Years of Change and Innovation at the OSU Valley Library , " OLA Quarterly 16 , no. 2 ( Summer 2010 ) : 7-12 , http : **37;19513;TOOLONG . OSU Librarians have a twelve-month faculty appointment , are required to have a masters degree in library and information science , and must go through the promotion and tenure process . Part-time librarians ( PTLs ) are currently hired as temporary part-time employees with the required qualifications of either a master 's degree in library and information science ( preferred ) or a bachelor 's degree in any subject plus a minimum 1-year experience at a library information or reference desk.8 . Diane Zabel , " Trends in Reference and Public Services Librarianship and the Role of RUSA Part One , " Reference &amp; User Services Quarterly 45 , no. 1 ( 2005 ) : 7-10.9 . Ibid.10 . Association of Research @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Libraries , 1991-2012 " ( 2013 ) , **29;19552;TOOLONG /web-t1.xls.11 . Susan M. Ryan , " Reference Transactions Analysis : The Cost-Effectiveness of Staffing a Traditional Academic Reference Desk , " Journal of Academic Librarianship 34 , no. 5 ( September 2008 ) : 389-99 , http : **39;19583;TOOLONG ... Banks and Pracht , " Reference Desk Staffing Trends . " 13 . Anthony S. Chow and Rebecca A. Croxton , " Information-Seeking Behavior and Reference Medium Preferences , " Reference &amp; User Services Quarterly 51 , no. 3 ( 2012 ) : 246-62 ; Joel Cummings , Lara Cummings , and Linda Frederiksen , " User Preferences in Reference Services : Virtual Reference and Academic Libraries , " portal : Libraries and the Academy 7 , no. 1 ( 2007 ) : 81-96 , http : **34;19624;TOOLONG ; Diane Granfield and Mark Robertson , " Preference for Reference : New Options and Choices for Academic Library Users , " Reference &amp; User Services Quarterly 48 , no. 1 ( 2008 ) : 44-53.14 . James S. Chervinko , " Temporary Employees in Academic and Research Libraries , " Journal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) : 217 ; Ryan , " Reference Transactions Analysis . " 15 . Q. ( Kerry ) Wu , " Win-Win Strategy for the Employment of Reference Graduate Assistants in Academic Libraries , " Reference Services Review 31 , no. 2 ( 2003 ) : 141-53 , http : **38;19660;TOOLONG .... Chervinko , " Temporary Employees in Academic and Research Libraries . " 17 . Lori H. Wamsley , " The Adventures of a Part-Time Librarian , " OLA Quarterly 14 , no. 3 ( Fall 2008 ) : 5-7 , http : **38;19700;TOOLONG . Figure 1 also shows that reference questions started to increase again in 2011 . With only one year to compare , this can not yet be identified as a trend . It may simply be due to increased university enrollment ( up 8.2% in 2009-10 and 5.1% in 2010-11 ) .19 . Middleton , " From an Information Commons to a Learning Commons . " 20 . Ibid.21 . Wamsley , " The Adventures of a Part-Time Librarian . " APPENDIX . SURVEY QUESTIONS # I. PTL Model : Faculty Survey # EXPLANATION OF @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Libraries , you have scheduled shifts covering the chat service and , simultaneously , serve as backup librarian for the information desk . In this role you cover PTL breaks and absences when needed and answer questions referred to you from the desk . The following questions cover your experiences in your role as the backup librarian . # How many times , during a typical quarter , are you required to cover an information desk shift ( ie , no PTL available ) ? # Never ( 0 ) Rarely ( 1 ) Sometimes ( 2-3 ) Often ( &gt;3 ) # Have you ever scheduled yourself for meetings or some other task that takes you away from your desk during your chat/backup shift ( " double-book " ) ? # Never Once or twice Sometimes Frequently # If Never is selected , then skip the next question When you have double-booked , did you ask the PTL to cover your chat duties for you ? # No Yes , sometimes Yes , usually # In what ways does serving as back-up to the part time librarians impact your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current information desk model , what would it be ? # REFERRAL PROCESS # OSU Libraries uses a tiered reference referral process . Questions that can not be answered by the PTL or the student at the desk are referred to a faculty librarian . This section deals with the question referral process . Please indicate if you agree or disagree ( and to what extent ) with the following statements . # Overall the referral process works well . # Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree # The referral process is used appropriately by PTLs. # Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree # The referral process is effective and timely enough that I believe it sufficiently meets patron needs . # Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree # If you could make changes to the referral process what would they be ? # Please share any other comments you may have about the PTL model and/or the referral process at OSU Libraries below : # II . PTL Model : PTL Survey Questions # TRAINING # Please @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # The Library provides its PTLs ( part time librarians ) with sufficient training to effectively answer the types of questions asked at the information desk . # Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree # As a part-time employee , you are kept adequately informed of changes to library policies and procedures . # Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree # How would you MOST prefer to be kept informed of changes to library policies and procedures ? ( Choose one ) by individual e-mail verbally by supervisor notebook at the desk by e-mail to RefSub mailbox other ( please tell us how ) # BACKUP LIBRARIAN # A faculty librarian is scheduled as backup support for the part-time librarian weekdays from 10 am-5 pm. # PTLs who normally only work evenings and weekends were not asked this question since they are unlikely to have contact with backup librarians # How often , during a typical quarter , do you consult a backup librarian ? ( The method does not matter--it could be in person , or by phone , e-mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 times ) Occasionally ( 3 or 4 times ) Frequently ( &gt;4 times ) # Please rate this statement : Overall I am satisfied with the support offered by the backup librarian during my desk shift . # Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree # REFERRAL PROCESS # OSU Libraries uses a tiered reference referral process . Questions that can not be answered at the desk are referred by a variety of means to a faculty librarian . # Please rank these referral methods by how often you find them useful ( 1 = used most often to 4 = used least often ) . # Chat Phone E-mail Online referral form # If you could change something about the current referral process , what would it be ? # TOOLS # I feel that I am provided with the tools I need to effectively answer questions at the information desk . # Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree #

@@4158641 Section : Research Briefs Convenience in Course Design # This article examines the way the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Barry University in Miami Shores , Florida , responded to the need to educate certified registered nurse anesthetists by incorporating educational technology into program delivery without compromising integrity and quality to meet market demand . The article discusses modalities used to deliver the master 's in anesthesiology and the doctor of nurse practice . Emphasis is placed on how a blended format allows students to stay within their regions and neighborhoods and not have to relocate or lose job opportunities . # INTRODUCTION # This article examines the way the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Barry University in Miami Shores , Florida , has responded to the need to educate and train certified registered nurse anesthetists by incorporating educational technology into program delivery without compromising integrity and quality to meet market demand . # Delivering education in the field of health care is challenging ; however , nurse educators in particular have embraced new advances in educational technology and curriculum design and integrated them into course delivery . Billings and Halstead ( 2006 ) state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requirements to flexible learning opportunities to prepare nurses who are capable of managing large amounts of data-rich knowledge in a technology-driven health care environment . Technology is prevalent throughout our culture and particularly in the field of healthcare ; therefore it is only natural that nurse educators are incorporating educational technology to advance course design and enable greater access to the field . Osit ( 2008 ) stated that # Children and adolescents represent a rapidly growing sector of technology market . Internet subscriptions have increased 300% from 18 million subscribers in the mid-1990s to 66.2 million in 2007 , with Internet access for almost 9 out of every 10 children living in a household with a computer and with 30% to 40% yearly increases in Internet subscribers . Vast amounts of valuable information can be found in seconds online , an unprecedented resource for developing minds . Teenagers can hone their social skills with casual peer interaction via e-mail , text messaging , and instant messaging . Our culture breeds an " I want the latest and best , and I want it now " attitude , and our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for granted that they will have access to a technologically sophisticated world with an excess of material goods and options . ( pp. 67 ) # The article will discuss the various modalities used to deliver the master 's in anesthesiology and the doctor of nurse practice program with a specialization in anesthesia across the State of Florida . It will begin with a description of the geographical challenges of having students in a master 's program come to class every day when they are spread across a large geographical area . Next will be a description of how the learning management system plays an integral supporting role with delivering of a reverse classroom design modality . This will lead into a description of the high fidelity simulation laboratories that prepare students for their clinical practice . Finally , the article will describe the evolution of the doctor of nurse practice program and how it was designed to deliver a high quality blended experience . # NURSE ANESTHESIA # It is not well known , but nursing was one of the first professional groups to deliver anesthesia services in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assumed her duties in Erie , Pennsylvania in 1887 ( Bankert , 1989 ) . # This group of active health care professionals has been pushing back boundaries in nurse education for some time . As teaching and learning modalities have evolved , nurse anesthetists have embraced innovative ways to further the development of nurse education , particularly in the area of distance education . # The College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Barry University offers two degree programs for nurses wishing to go into the field of anesthesiology . The original program is a successful master of science in anesthesiology . More recently , the school launched a doctor of nurse practice program with a specialization in anesthesiology . This program is flourishing today . # The original master 's program at Barry has been in existence since 1994 . Throughout its evolution it has taken on many formats and adapted to student needs and market forces . Situated in South Florida , the program and faculty have seen many changes and have had to adapt to rising costs of student accommodation and devastation from hurricanes . These @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and one of the program professors recalled that changes were made to the program delivery because student accommodations became almost impossible to find after a major hurricane hit the area . # Advances in educational technology have offered administrators more flexibility in course design and delivery . They have embraced new innovations and are constantly improving and adapting both programs to meet student needs and market demands . Both programs are on regular review cycles . This promotes quality , continual improvement , and the adoption and evolution of educational technology as it supports pedagogy and impacts curriculum design . # MODES OF DELIVERY # As the program began to grow , administrators were faced with the problem of delivering curriculum content to 70 students spread across Florida who needed to come to class . The solution resulted in the effective use of academic The Technology of Anesthesiology Online 45 technology and some creative curriculum planning . # The program administrators established five satellite centers , all equipped with " smart " classrooms , where students come to class as prescribed . These centers , situated in Hollywood , West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are places where students come to mingle , exchange ideas , and form bonds . The program design is firmly rooted in the " blended " model in which students have an opportunity to meet in person and to meet live with their professors during the didactic delivery course content . # Each semester , students begin to bond through daily meetings and develop real-time and online learning communities . It is suggested that blended learning can promote more student engagement and , consequently , deeper learning if it is well implemented and assessed ( Glazer , 2011 ) . Additionally , motivation , course design , and accessibility are key aspects to students ' success ( Shivetts , 2011 ) . # The blended format is popular with students as it builds in a convenience factor that allows them to stay within their regions and neighborhoods and not have to relocate or lose job opportunities . Blended learning incorporates the best of both worlds ; it brings together aspects of traditional face-to-face modalities with many elements of online delivery techniques . Distance education courses requiring a physical on-site presence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are considered to be a hybrid or blended course or program ( Rashid &amp; Elahi , 2012 ) . # The program faculty has embraced this format even though they have realized that the " online " portion of a blended course requires placing a greater emphasis on course preparation ( Simonson , Smaldino , Albright , &amp; Zvacek , 2012 ) . As the program has evolved , faculty have met the challenges and changes in the style of teaching ( Durrington , Berryhill , &amp; Swafford , 2006 ) . The complexity in delivery of the program has brought about many issues that have been addressed . # TECHNICAL SUPPORT # During the first week of the program an orientation is scheduled for all students in the master 's program who are brought together at the Hollywood campus where they have a chance to meet and bond as a group . During this time , the administration and faculty will look for students who would be good candidates for the position of Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists ( FASNA ) representatives . The FASNA representative is responsible for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment is working and ready for class . As a reward for taking on these extra duties , the program directors offer each FASNA representative free accommodation when the students attend the Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists conferences . This incentive is very popular and students enjoy the extra responsibility . # In addition , the university supports all the satellite sites by providing a designated technology support person who works for the university technology department out of the Hollywood technology campus office . If equipment does not work , instead of calling the faculty member , the FASNA representatives can call the designated technology support person . Most issues can now be resolved using remote access tools . # Throughout the program , students come into the satellite centers and attend a traditional face-to-face style lecture . The course faculty member will be broadcasting live from any one of the satellite sites , as all sites have broadcasting ability . Faculty use an Adobe Connect room , which is broadcast to each satellite center . Adobe Connect provides synchronous streaming to the students at each site . The software @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , from which the presenter can create a custom screen . The most commonly used and largest pod gives the participants a share screen controlled by the presenter ( Riddle , 2010 ) . # The virtual classroom allows the presenter to open a PowerPoint presentation or demonstrate multiple Internet sites . A second pod allows a Web camera and voice options so that students can see and hear the presenter . # The program has evolved using this technology and has reached a comfort point , but there have been some problems along the way . Originally the program used a Polycom system , which had its own challenges and was very expensive to administer . Faculty are now finessing delivery and the program is considering adding lavaliere microphones to assist with movement in the classroom . # UTILIZING A LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM # Barry University uses Blackboard as its central learning management system . Having access to Blackboard has allowed the faculty to deliver the didactic parts of the curriculum in an online format . It has allowed the faculty to take advantage of the " reverse classroom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advance so they are prepared to act upon that content during the face-to-face sessions . This reverse classroom content delivery design has been very successful . It has been suggested by Strayer ( 2012 ) that students in an inverted classroom become more aware of their own learning process than students in more traditional settings . Thus , students in inverted classrooms need to have more space to reflect on their learning activities so they can make necessary connections to course content . Therefore , students are given access to the learning management system on their first day along with an orientation session . # SIMULATION # In addition to attending class and accessing course content through Blackboard , students attend simulation laboratories for practical hands-on sessions and to play out real case scenarios . Billings and Halstead ( 2006 ) state that clinical simulations in nursing education can be used for many purposes ( e.g. , a teaching strategy or for assessments and evaluation ) . They go on to say that simulation can be one of the most important reasons to provide experiential learning . Anesthesia education is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advanced pathophysiology , pharmacology , and principles of anesthesia sciences . In the past , traditional anesthesia students would attend a classroom setting to gain their didactic education and subsequently immerse themselves in the clinical setting without any type of simulation previews . Today 's anesthesia student has the benefit of practice immersion through high fidelity simulation lab and technologies with the use of high fidelity mannequins lending a paradigm shift to the pedagogic process of anesthesia education . # Barry University has incorporated high fidelity mannequins and simulation scenarios for its anesthesiology program . Endsley and Jones ( 2014 ) state that current trends in anesthesia training support their model of situation awareness . Universities throughout the country are incorporating simulation training to better prepare students for the rigorous , dynamic environments of operating rooms . Simulation scenarios are essentially a method of building working memories of crisis management and standard procedures in anesthesia practice . Students become familiar with skill sets and operating room scenarios to provide better care for their patients and increase situation awareness . # A variety of simulation scenarios have been developed for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There are two simulation labs with high fidelity simulation mannequins and fiber-optic equipment located in Orlando and Hollywood . The students attend simulation labs at least twice a semester with clinical rotations as needed to improve the technical skills of anesthesia . Studies have shown that computer and simulation scenarios have improved anesthesia training ( Lampotang , 2008 ) . Barry has adopted the utility of simulation and has made it an integral part of the anesthesiology program since 2011. # DOCTOR OF NURSE PRACTICE ONLINE # The doctor of nursing practice ( DNP ) with a specialization in anesthesiology program is a practice-focused doctoral program for certified registered nurse anesthetists ( CRNAs ) holding a master 's degree or higher . This program focuses specifically on nurse anesthesia and consists of web-mediated courses that provide opportunities for synchronous and asynchronous learning . The DNP with a specialization in anesthesiology degree prepares CRNAs to acquire the clinical , organizational , financial , and leadership knowledge to design and implement programs of care delivery that significantly impact health care outcomes . The curriculum builds upon the scientific , management , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in nurse anesthesia education as well as the professional practice experience gained as a CRNA. # This program was designed according to the university 's policies and procedures regarding online and blended program development . The university has designed a course delivery template combining two rubrics to ensure quality . The Barry Online template references the Blackboard " Exemplary Course Rubric " that focuses on course design , interaction and collaboration , assessment , and learner support and ensures courses are delivered at the highest level . The template also references the " Quality Matters rubric " ( QM ) . QM is a national benchmark for online course design . The QM process is a collegial , faculty-driven , research-based peer review process based on a rubric consisting of eight general standards and 40 specific standards that are nationally recognized as reflecting a shared understanding of quality in online and hybrid course design ( https : **25;23114;TOOLONG ) . Barry University is part of the Quality Matters initiative and all courses are aligned accordingly . # Courses are built using a modular/unit approach , and student feedback has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cycle to ensure quality and consistency . Qualitative and quantitative data are collected every term to use as a basis for course improvement . # At the beginning of course development , faculty meet with an instructional designer who will work with them to develop their content and provide guidelines for blended and online course development . Curriculum mapping ensures objectives are clear and aligned with the module/unit level outcomes and that no repetition occurs throughout the program delivery . It has been noted that best practices in clear course design and curriculum mapping influences how students learn and how well the course influences time on task and the productive use of students ' time ( Pallof &amp; Pratt , 2003 ) . Billings and Halstead ( 2006 ) also suggest that faculty or subject matter experts have access to course designers , graphic artists , and web technicians during course development . # For many faculty , moving to an online environment may not be an easy transition . Additionally , professors are not experts on instructional design , nor do they have the time to learn an entirely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 2006 ) that teaming with instructional designers is a necessary ingredient to building an effective program . Instructional designers understand the theories , concepts , and tools unique to online education , and learners do not appreciate it when instructors present them with ineffective designs , experiences , and learning objects ( Vasser , 2010 ) . # It is important to acknowledge the trepidation traditional faculty members experience when first encountering a design team . Faculty often operate independently , and revealing their work may make them feel vulnerable and defensive . It is essential to listen to their reservations and gain their input throughout the transition ( Vasser , 2010 ) . # Working with an instructional designer has helped faculty adhere to online processes and procedures , ensuring students are always clear about the learning path within each course . This reduces anxiety , and faculty get very few questions about content or where to find items within the course . Finally , the instructional designer will work with the faculty with epacks/course cartridges , learning objects , and graphics . # At Barry University , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ College of Nursing and Health Sciences instructional designer and the university 's Division of Information Technology ( DoIT ) . DoIT is the central computing , network , communications , and library services organization . DoIT is charged with directing , managing , and supporting the information systems , library needs , and computing infrastructure of Barry University . It also provides additional support for faculty in all aspects of curriculum design and course development . # CONCLUSION # Health professionals have been among the first to embrace the use of technology in the way they deliver their academic and didactic programs . Nursing in particular has been at the forefront of technological innovation through online course delivery and simulations . Today 's health care educators , in addition to being a subject matter experts , require technology skills and need to be comfortable using an learning management system and working with an instructional designer . They need to be up to date and feel comfortable using a high fidelity simulation laboratory . The College of Nursing and Health Science at Barry University , which includes the anesthesiology programs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professionals thru the use of these innovative technologies . # REFERENCES 1 Bankert , M. ( 1989 ) . Watchful care : A history of America 's nurse anesthetist . New York , NY : Continuum . # 2 Billings , D. M. , &amp; Halstead , J. A. ( 2006 ) . Teaching in nursing ( 4th ed . ) St. Louis , MO : Elsevier. # 3 Durrington , V. , Berryhill , A. , &amp; Swafford , J. ( 2006 ) . Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment . College Teaching , 54(1) , 190193 . Retrieved from http : **39;23141;TOOLONG ... # 4 Endsley , M. R. , &amp; Jones , W. M. ( 2014 ) . A model of inter- and intrateam situational awareness : Implications for design , training , and measurement . In M. McNeese , E. Salas , &amp; M. Endsley ( Eds . ) , New trends in cooperative activities : Understanding system dynamics in complex environments e-book . Santa Monica , CA : Human Factors &amp; Ergonomics Society . # 5 Glazer , F. S. ( 2011 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the academy . Sterling , VA : Stylus. # 6 Lampotang , S. ( 2008 ) . Computer and web-enabled simulations for anesthesiology training and credentialing . Journal of Critical Care , 23 , 173178. # 7 Osit , M. ( 2008 ) . Generation text : Raising well adjusted kids in an age of instant everything . New York , NY : AMACOM/American Management Association . # 8 Palloff , R. , &amp; Pratt , K. ( 2003 ) . The virtual student : A profile and guide to working with online learners . San Francisco , CA : Jossey-Bass. # 9 Piskurich , G. M. ( 2006 ) . Rapid instructional design ( 2nd ed . ) San Francisco , CA : Pfeiffer. # Rashid , M. , &amp; Elahi , U. ( 2012 ) . Use of educational technology in promoting distance education . Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education , 13(1) , 7986. # Riddle , J. ( 2010 , July ) . Through the computer screen : On the other side of the webinar . Multi- Media &amp; Internet@Schools , 17(4) , 2831. # Shivetts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : The importance of the learnerA research literature review . International Journal on ELearning , 10(3) , 331337. # Simonson , M. , Smaldino , S. , Albright , M. , &amp; Zvacek , S. ( 2012 ) . Teaching and learning at a distance : Foundations of distance education ( 5th ed . ) . Boston , MA : Pearson . # Strayer , J. F. ( 2012 ) . How learning in an inverted classroom influences cooperation , innovation and task orientation . Learning Environments Research , 15(2) , 171193. # Vasser , N. ( 2010 ) . Instructional design processes and traditional colleges . Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration , 13(4) . Retrieved from http : **38;23182;TOOLONG ... #

@@4158741 Section : FEATURE ARTICLE INVESTIGATING FLASH FICTION AS A GENRE FOR HIGH SCHOOL WRITING " Less is more . " The genre flash fiction provides powerful opportunities for students to learn about craft while reading high quality mentor texts and modeling author techniques in their own writing # Each year , April ( second author ) faces student apprehension toward writing . Like clockwork , she finds that when students come to her as beginning high school students , their writing skills are limited and developed primarily for standardized testing . Based on this experience , students are mainly concerned with the length of writing assignments . When April presents a new writing assignment to her class , the first question is almost always , " How long does it have to be ? " She struggles with this question because she 's never really sure how to answer . Telling a group of ninth graders that their work should be " as long as it needs to be " is a risky venture . Some will write one paragraph , completely miss the mark , and say proudly , " It 's done ! " Others will write @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She needed to find a genre that would avoid both issues . # National Writing Project Teacher ( NWP ) Consultants , April , a ninth grade English teacher , and Kathy ( first author ) , a former eighth grade reading teacher and now teacher educator , both share a love for writing and teaching writing . Together , we wanted to find a genre that would interest students and quite possibly have them forget about writing as an assignment , but rather allow for feelings of freedom in writing that many students lack when they enter high school . One such genre came to mind : Flash fiction . # Flash , also known as the short , short story , is a genre that has gained popularity in the last few decades with anthologies , such as Flash Fiction Forward and a recent release of flash fiction for adolescents called Sudden Flash Youth . However , the writing of flash has not been studied in schools . Therefore , this article attempts to highlight how two ninth grade classes engaged in flash fiction writing through the use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fiction ? # How short can a story be and still be considered a story ? Many argue that a story can be crafted in a sentence . Ernest Hemingway allegedly wrote the following short , short story to win a bar bet : " For Sale : Baby Shoes : Never Worn . " This example , although extreme , is the essence of the short , short story , more commonly known as flash fiction . Flash fiction consists of fictional short , short stories ( between 250-750 words ) that connect to the human condition ( Masih , 2009 ) . It is also called a " story in miniature " ( Masih , 2009 , p. xi ) . Flash fiction requires the writer to consider length while also maintaining powerful narrative that relies on shocking the reader with a twist or craft technique specific to the genre . Furthermore , flash allows the reader to think about powerful issues outside of the text ( Batchelor , 2012 ) . Typically , a great piece of flash will linger with the reader for days ( sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minutes to read . Writer Richard Bausch noted that " When a story is compressed so much , the matter of it tends to require more size : that is , in order to make it work in so small a space its true subject must be proportionately larger " ( as cited in Thomas &amp; Shapard , 2006 , p. 12 ) . # Flash offers students narrative elements , such as characterization and foreshadowing techniques . It also teaches students irony , farce , allusion , and anthropomorphism , since many flash pieces center on abstract concepts . For example , " The Orange " by Benjamin Rosenbaum is an excellent example of flash that uses all four literary techniques in one story . Additionally , flash helps students think of a whole story , where they form a sense of beginning and end , while also crafting it into a tightly woven 750-word story . This helps students write clearly and concisely , as well as develop other skills that they might be able to bring to other narrative writing . # Flash fiction can provide meaningful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mentor texts . The flash pieces presented as mentor texts throughout this article , for example , are excellent resources for teaching inference , since many flash endings are ambiguous . Numerous pieces may be read , discussed , and then serve as texts that teachers can reference later as reminders for thematic issues and textual analysis revealed through classroom dialogue . Furthermore , by engaging students in flash fiction at the beginning of the school year , teachers have the opportunity to read multiple pieces written by each student to gain insight into their strengths and challenges as writers . These can then turn into craft lessons , which are brief five-to ten-minute lessons focusing on a specific technique or craft ( Fletcher , 2011 ) . # We wanted to investigate how flash might be a way to offer students the benefits of narrative writing that perpetuate sound writing practices in high school . Much research surrounds mentor texts within genres ( e.g. , Pytash , 2012 ; Sanders &amp; Moudy , 2008 ; Skinner , 2007 ; Strassman , MacDonald , &amp; Wanko , 2010 ) since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ texts used to deconstruct these genres . This is particularly highlighted within writing workshop studies ( e.g. , Gutzmer &amp; Wilder , 2012 ; Lain , 2007 ) . However , no research utilizes flash fiction mentor texts . We focused on two of April 's ninth grade English classes , and together we taught a two-week unit on flash to ninth grade writers , specifically to examine how students engaged in writing flash ( a genre unknown to April 's students ) with mentor texts and how it promoted narrative writing in the high school classroom . # How Does Flash Fit Into a Writing Curriculum ? # The Common Core State Standards ( CCSS ) ( National Governors Association Center for Best Practices &amp; Council of Chief State School Officers , 2010 ) has generated new conversations on writing instruction by implementing 10 standards for writing . These standards emphasize writing as a complex and multi-faceted endeavor . More specifically , CCSS asks students in grades 9-10 to " write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique , well-chosen details , and well-structured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nicely into CCSS 's goals of writing standards with a writing framework that includes purposeful writing , freedom to choose topics , writing for real audiences , and using writing models , also known as mentor texts ( Graham &amp; Perin , 2007 ) . Mentor texts are exemplar models of work in a genre . Mentor texts assist students to learn more about a particular genre and represent an inquiry stance on teaching writing ( Ray , 2006 ) . According to Graham and Perin 's ( 2007 ) meta-analysis of adolescents ' effective instructional writing practices , a model approach ranked highly effective because students could model their writing after exemplar texts . # Incorporating mentor texts teaches students that reading is an integral part of writing . They provide opportunities to study how writers craft their sentences , use techniques that are unique to a specific genre , and can serve as a resource to model ( Dorfman &amp; Cappelli , 2007 ; Lattimer , 2003 ; Ray , 2006 ) . Mentor texts can assist students in under-standing new text structures and the discourse within genres @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and have been used as a springboard to inspire students ' writing , generating ideas for their own work ( Skinner , 2007 ) . Newman ( 2012 ) referred to mentor texts as a " powerful tool for helping students contextualize and situate their own language and experiences within the stories of other writers " ( p. 25 ) . By conducting close readings , students begin to notice intentional decisions writers make in crafting their pieces , which , in turn , they can practice . # Context of April 's Classes # April teaches in a public high school near an urban city in the Midwest . The school consistently ranks " Excellent " on the state education system school report card and serves a wide variety of students in its population of more than 1,600 . Ethnic identities included : 82% Caucasian ; 10% African American ; 4% Hispanic ; less than 1% Asian/Pacific Islander ; and 4% multiracial . Fifty-one percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch . # We chose to work with two of April 's classes : an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a college-prep English class ( consisting of 19 students ) . At April 's high school , ninth graders are placed in a two-period " at-risk " English class based on the following criteria : ( a ) students who scored poorly on the eighth grade state reading test . If the score indicates that the student might be at risk for failing the state graduation test in 10th grade , the block is suggested as a place where he or she can receive extra intervention , ( b ) students with specific learning disabilities in reading and/or writing who would need an extra period of English , and ( c ) students whose performance in eighth grade warranted a teacher 's suggestion that they may benefit from the block . # The school labels students as " at-risk , " which as educators we do not abide . We feel that it can create a hierarchy among students as well as provide limitations to how students view themselves . Therefore , for the purpose of this article , when we refer to " at-risk , " we describe the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has less ability than the " college-prep " student . # April was hesitant at first to teach flash with her at-risk class . She admitted that the block class had its struggles in the beginning . Students typically resist having English class for two periods . They do not understand the need and feel that they are not capable students ; therefore , they are reluctant readers and writers . When choosing the two classes , she was hesitant to choose her block class because of their reluctance to write . She feared that they would worry too much about what she wanted and not write from the heart . She admitted she could not have been more wrong . # We worked with both classes each day for 45 minutes during the course of two weeks . We differentiated instruction based on students ' needs , but we followed the same principles that guided our understanding of how to teach flash . Throughout our 10-day unit , students examined flash through mentor texts , noticing specific features common to this genre , as well as crafting and practicing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took pride and ownership in their writing , and engaged in small , collaborative writing groups . # They began multiple pieces in their journals to experiment with techniques found in mentor texts , specifically focusing on a mini-lesson we taught each day . This meant that many beginning flash stories appeared in their journals as writing prompts , but they were encouraged to abandon any story that did not seem to " go anywhere , " which is part of our belief that writing is experimentation and should not be forced . While students spent the first week of the study reading and practicing the craft of flash in their notebooks , they spent the final week specifically selecting one story they wanted to expand from the prior week . Students had five days to finish writing and revising one piece and then used computer lab time ( not included in the 10 days ) to type them into any font , format , or style that best fit . # One completed flash piece was required for the class anthology . All 31 students submitted a completed final @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even asked to submit two , since they could not decide between their finished pieces . However , due to space in the anthology , we suggested that students make a choice on which story to submit . Furthermore , April commented that she typically has to prod and remind students to turn in their work in final draft format , but at the end of this unit , she did not need to nudge any of her students to submit their writing . In fact , she noted that they were eager to see their writing in print and took pride in their finished pieces . # How to Teach Flash Writing ? # Reading Like a Writer # We began our introduction to flash by comparing it to music , generating discussion of how some of the students ' favorite songs tell stories in a three-minute span . We related flash to this notion ; sharing a story , leaving the reader wanting more , all in one sitting . April explained that students typically grumble when she asks them who likes to read . Getting them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . However , she found that with flash pieces , there is no wasted time . Students did not have to spend time learning background information . April realized that a piece that can be read in three minutes can be as powerful as the novels they spend weeks reading and analyzing . One student shared , " I like flash fiction a lot because of the way that it is written and it 's short and to the point . " Another stated , " I have fun reading the flash fiction stories . They are fun , sad , angry , but I really like them . I love how short they are but how they still tell details . " # We knew that choosing the first mentor text to start the unit would be crucial in engaging students , so we chose a humorous piece , " To Reduce Your Likelihood of Murder " by Ander Monson . As April read it aloud , we asked the students to mark any sentences they noticed or liked directly on the story . We noted students ' interests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Smartboard . Students enjoyed how the author repeatedly used " Do not " at the beginning of each sentence to tell the story . As a class , we discussed what struck them about the repetition and their first impressions of flash . One student shared , " I liked the repetition of the do nots and the way it grabbed my attention in the beginning . " In their journals students then practiced an example of a lead of " Do not ? . " One student in the at-risk class shared her first attempt : " Do not go swimming . Do not go swimming with sharks . Do not eat shark . Do not go swimming after eating shark . " # Noticings Lead to Craft Lessons # We gave each student a collection of flash stories and found that both classes chose the same titles as their favorite mentor texts . We provide a list of these mentor texts in Figure 1 . Choice is essential in allowing students to explore and find connections . We invited them to read titles that interested them . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " noticings " flash writers use : the title . In flash , most titles are one word , and students in both classes observed this . Noticings are identified by inquiring , " What did we notice about how these texts are written ? " ( Ray , 2006 , p. 19 ) . These identifications are then given a name ( by students ) where they will be able to practice and recognize the technique in their writing as well as peers ' writing . # In addition to titles , students recognized other specific techniques used in flash ( see Figure 2 ) . Students ' interests and discussions with peers allowed us to start each day with a craft lesson to highlight a particular technique . For example , students discovered the use of second-person point of view with the author referring to the reader as " you . " Since these examples engaged them , we shared a craft lesson they could practice by asking students to select a paragraph from their journals and rewrite it from a second person perspective . This lesson allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , noticing how the writing perspective changes by addressing the reader as " you . " Many of the craft lessons developed into finished essays they later chose to include in the anthology . # Teacher as Model # We share NWP 's belief that teachers should model the writing process , demonstrate successes , and work through difficult moments . Teacher modeling has been shown to be highly effective in teaching writing ( Murray , 2007 ; Romano , 2007 ) . By sharing our struggles , we showed students how to overcome challenges . For example , Kathy struggled with using the flashback technique , shared her frustration in her drafts , and then asked students for help . She wrote her lead underneath the document camera , so her writing would be live . She explained that she wanted her story to be about a bicycle accident and that she had difficulty figuring out how to write the story in reverse chronological order . Students gave her a variety of suggestions , and she practiced each suggestion with them . By modeling this , students were able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # April shared her apprehension with writing fiction . She confessed that she is not a great fiction writer . Instead , she writes about personal experiences . She explained to students that writing , for her , is therapeutic ; it helps her let go of negative aspects of her life and celebrate positives . After reading the mentor texts , she found inspiration to write and modeled her writing after the pieces we loved so much . Her students used this as an opportunity to do the same . For her and many of her students , flash allowed freedom . # Writing alongside students and sharing our attempts helped students see writing as enjoyable , especially in the at-risk class . April reflected that at the beginning of the unit , she asked students not to worry about grades . She explained that if they actively participated they would get the grade . She knew that for many of them , this was a confusing proposition . However , she realized after reading a few mentor texts , students forgot about grades and were eager to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Flash impacted student literacy learning by encouraging risk-taking , which granted them ownership of their writing through mentor texts . However , differences occurred between at-risk and college-prep student experiences with the mentor texts , which altered our instruction . # Flash Provided Freedom in Students ' Writing # Students experimented with grammar rules and intentionally chose to break them . Students in both classes enjoyed using " you , " which they confided has been unacceptable by some teachers . However , students in the at-risk class particularly enjoyed breaking traditional rules . For example , one student stated , " I like when we broke the rules and used ' you . ' " Another student agreed , " I like the fact that you can break rules , especially writing with a set base like ' you . ' I enjoy writing this way . " Tonya commented , " I could write about anything and there were n't any rules to make it harder to write . " Figure 3 shares the use of this technique by Samantha , a student in the at-risk class @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pacing . I feel like it has a nice rhythm ( sic ) . I also like the message and the irony in it . " # Mentor Texts Guided Students ' Writing # Three mentor texts stood out as ones students chose as models . The first is a work called " How to Set a House on Fire " ( 2006 ) by Steve Budzko . This story reads as a set of directions , with lines like , " Before you light the gas , light a cigarette under the old red maple in the front yard , under a hunter 's moon , and take a last look " ( p. 46 ) . Here , students chose to model a " how to " scenario . The students who chose this text used it effectively , often quite humorously . Below we share two flash pieces from the at-risk class modeled after Budzko 's work ( see Figures 4 and 5 ) . # Students also modeled their essays after " Currents " by Hannah Bottomy , who uses " Before that " repeatedly to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from present tense to past tense , which intrigued students . They attempted this technique numerous times . Even though we found it the most difficult to implement in our writing , students had little problem writing chronologically backward . Samantha noted , " I am proud of being able to follow the ' before that ' model and create my own version of it . " Figure 6 shares an excerpt of Andy 's essay , a student in the at-risk class . # The third most popular mentor text is called " Snapshot , Harvey Cedars : 1948 " by Paul Lisicky , which contained a surprise ending and demonstrated how short a flash piece could be ( two paragraphs ) , yet still tell a powerful story . Many students applied the concept via the idea of holding an old photograph . We had done a craft lesson earlier where we asked students to bring in a photo from home . April also found images from the Internet for students who wanted to focus on unidentifiable characters . To brainstorm , we asked students to create a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sandra , a student in the at-risk class , noted , " I liked the line , ' my father weights down her shoulder . ' I put , ' You can see the weights she carry on her back ' into my piece because my aunt was battling with a lot at that time looking for a way out . " Figure 7 shares Gavin 's flash piece in its entirety . # Students acknowledged that modeling their writing after these pieces and others made it easier for them to understand how to write flash . They felt that borrowing specific techniques from mentor texts aided creativity and gave them confidence . The at-risk class especially noted the value of mentor texts . Joelle stated , " I was inspired by the mentor texts . Like in the mentor texts , I held back info . I purposefully did n't tell the whole story about my dad . " Bryan explained , " It helped me get a feel for how my piece should be written in this genre . " Amanda agreed , " I borrowed Accident because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I wanted the reader to get inside my character 's head like you can in this story . " According to Stacy , " Studying this genre with mentor texts has helped me be more creative and shown me that I could write . " # Flash Encouraged Taking Topical Risks # Even though we taught flash as fiction , students in both classes wondered whether the authors drew from personal experiences in order to write concisely , yet still provide a deep emotional connection . For example , did Paul Lisicky in " Snapshot " lose his father to suicide ? Students wondered , how could he write such a deep , dark emotional flash piece ? For the mentor texts that contained thematic issues of love and loss , students believed that the authors pulled from their own memories . Ten of the twelve students in the at-risk class echoed this notion , claiming that they found topic choice difficult . Many wanted to write emotional essays , yet needed inspiration . Many students experienced personal challenges , such as poverty , criminality , and family members dying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the safety of fiction . Furthermore , students used specific flash techniques from the mentor texts to keep their writing in the genre , such as writing in unconventional formats , starting stories deep in action , and including a surprise twist at the end , all within a 750-word limit . # In the at-risk course , topics were deep , contained the human condition , and often centered on losing a family member . Students used the writing assignment to work through grief . For example , Julie stated , " I wrote about my confusion about my father passing away . I did n't understand why he was never there for me . It seemed like an important topic to write about . " Andy , however , decided to write about bullying in school . He shared , " I chose this topic because it 's something that people need to stop doing . " # Unless they told us , we did not know what part of their writing was nonfiction . April also reflected that she had never seen her students more excited to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after school , and during lunch asking , " Will you read my piece ? " Grades were never mentioned . They simply wanted to share , and to be heard . One student offered this advice regarding writing flash : " I would tell a student that they could write a personal story if they want to , and I would show them the mentor packet and tell them at the end of the story , they should feel some type of emotions . " # Students in both classes commented on the relief they felt after writing their flash fiction pieces and the risks they took with their writing . Timothy wrote , " I 'm proud that I finally wrote about the one thing that has been bothering me almost my whole life . " Taylor reflected similarly stating , " I 've been holding it in for a while ; it 's been really bothering me . I wanted it off my chest . " Marisa agreed , " I am most proud that I got the courage to write about something personal that no one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believe that Marisa gained this confidence to write about her personal topic under the guise of flash fiction . # One student in the at-risk class surprised April , reminding us that it is the process , not the product that matters when inviting students to write in any genre . April described Julie as an open enrollment student who should have been identified as learning disabled . She was often absent from school , rebelled against the dress code daily , and exhibited childlike behaviors . However , Julie was most engaged when they read and discussed in class . Julie 's first draft was a story about a young girl whose Barbie jeep had been stolen . She completed the writing by including some of the toolbox techniques we studied , but her piece was lifeless . That day in class , April shared her flash piece , which was influenced by Lisicky 's " Snapshot " mentor text and its personal inspiration . April remembered a picture of her and her brother at a wedding when they were children . In this image , her brother beamed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ snapshot " of him as a child . However , she recollected , this image is no longer her brother . Mental illness has taken his smile . She wrote about this picture and shared this painful aspect of her life to try and show students that writing can help them heal . # Julie took her journal home that night and wrote a new story . She came to class early the next day to have April read it , and tears welled up in April 's eyes as she read her flash about the loss of her father . Julie wrote , " In the picture there is a man who would be called daddy one day ? Where was he ? Did he not love her ? " The voice of a child confused about why her father never came to see her , pouring out of a girl who now understood that it was not her fault , that he did love her , is gripping . Julie explained that she decided to write the new piece to express her emotions the same way that April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did " homework . " She had ownership of her work . The writing was powerful . More important , however , was the connection they made discussing their essays ; realizing the connections they had that they may have never known if they did not share their writing . # Differences Between Courses # Between April 's at-risk and college-prep classes , we noticed slight differences in students ' experiences . First , since many flash endings are ambiguous , April 's students in the at-risk class grew frustrated . Their initial reactions consisted of " I do n't get it " or " what happened ? " We found that their confusion caused early reluctance in discussing the texts with their peers and us . April believed the response stemmed from their experiences in remedial reading courses that focused on multiple-choice testing , rather than discussing the experience of reading . Furthermore , we discovered that when students in the at-risk class were given choice in reading mentor texts , they flipped through seeking out the shortest stories , which can be esoteric . This led to deeper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple close readings , but this also took away intended class time for writing . # In the college-prep class , however , students enjoyed ambiguity . One student shared , " I like how the writer gives the reader the power to use their own imagination to define the end . " Another student stated , " No matter how short it is , it leaves the reader to fill in the pieces and have what they think goes in the blanks as the story . " And another commented , " I like how it makes you think , not just , here is the answer . " # What is most informative is that the at-risk class relied more on the mentor texts and craft lessons to write their stories . For example , Sheila commented , " I used the before that technique so that it broke things up in parts . I tried to make it almost like hers . " Another student wrote , " I used the snapshot piece . I took the format of it and tried to write about a picture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " Students in this class did not attempt to steer away from the mentor text craft lessons , whereas the college-prep class played more with their writing , inventing techniques , as well as incorporating many mentor texts into their writing . For example , Robin stated , " I liked Currents and Accident . I took flashbacks and second person perspective from it . I morphed it so it included not just you 's but I's. " # Closing Thoughts # Engaging in flash fiction with freshmen revealed many implications for the English adolescent education field . First , students in the at-risk class grew in confidence as writers . By practicing multiple techniques modeled in their favorite mentor texts , they felt successful . They took pride in the flash pieces they submitted to the class anthology . Overall , students did not reveal themselves as " at-risk " or " college prep . " Rather , both classes enhanced their literacy practices by immersing themselves in the full tenets of flash . # Additionally , implementing flash throughout the school year can be accomplished by carving out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to read mentor texts , study craft , writing practice , and then sharing . Flash can also be integrated in other content areas , such as social studies or science . For example , flash nonfiction is increasing in popularity , and this could be included as a component to a multigenre research project , or as a unique way to begin a standard research paper . Flash sci-fi can include informational research on scientific concepts , such as cloning and robotics , which can then be integrated as flash writing in the science classroom . # Moreover , English teachers of adolescent writers can encourage flash writing in order for students to find their voice . April recognized the impact writing flash had on her students . She saw how they could voice the human condition and center on deep concepts , such as death . Exposing students to flash can help raise student interest in writing narrative , while the use of mentor texts may build confidence and increase student awareness of their writing ability . We found that mentor texts provided technique modeling opportunities . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ written flash as effectively . They used mentor texts to hone in on specific practices and modeled their own sentences on them . They also used mentor texts for generating ideas of experiences similar to events or themes expressed in the texts . Overall , writing flash served a purpose outside of writing for an assignment ( or grade ) . # Our aim with this project is to ignite a flame in high school students for writing , generate new interest in flash , and create new " mentor texts " and techniques that future flash writers can use . We believe that using mentor texts to engage students will spark an interest in not only reading like writers , but also writing like flash writers . April reflected that she was more proud of the writing accomplished by this class than she has been of any writing her students have accomplished during the eight years she has been teaching English . # Take Action # STEPS FOR IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION # Begin by surveying students ' favorite songs that tell a story . Allow them to explore these plotlines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last under four minutes ( this is usually the length of time it takes to read a flash fiction piece ) . Select powerful flash fiction mentor texts , and invite students to reflect on techniques , lines , and moments that linger with them . ( We call this " stalking sentences . " ) Generate a list of techniques for display in the classroom , encouraging students to add to the list after reading a text . Have students name the techniques . Provide time in class for students to model their writing using these techniques , practicing , and playing with their words . Write with your students , showing them your own struggles and strengths . Have students select their favorite flash piece and create a class anthology generating either a bound copy or secure online website . More to Explore # CONNECTED CONTENT-BASED RESOURCES # BOOKS # ? Masih , T.L. ( 2009 ) . Field guide to writing flash fiction : Tips from editors , teachers , and writers in the field . Brookline , MA : Rose Metal Press . # ? Moore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ field guide to writing flash nonfiction : Advice and essential exercises from respected writers , editors , and teachers . Brookline , MA : Rose Metal Press . # READWRITETHINK.ORG LESSON PLAN # ? When Less IS More -- Understanding Minimalist Fiction . http : **39;2212;TOOLONG ... # WEBSITES FEATURING FLASH FICTION STORIES # ? Flash Fiction.Net. http : //flashfiction.net # ? Flash Fiction Online.com. http : //www.flashfiction.com # FIGURE 2 Flash Fiction 's " Toolbox of Techniques " # References Batchelor , K.E. ( 2012 ) . In a flash : The digital age 's influence over literacy . In B. Batchelor ( Ed . ) , Cult Pop Culture : From the Fringe to the Mainstream ( pp. 77-88 ) . Westport , CT : Praeger. # Dorfman , L. R. , &amp; Cappelli , R. ( 2007 ) . Mentor texts : Teaching writing through children 's literature , K-6 . 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Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann. # Sanders , J. , &amp; Moudy , J. ( 2008 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Journal of Children 's Literature , 34 ( 2 ) , 31-42. # Skinner , E. ( 2007 ) . Writing workshop meets critical media literacy : Using magazines and movies as mentor texts . Voices from the Middle , 15 ( 2 ) , 30-39. # Strassman , B.K. , MacDonald , H. , &amp; Wanko , L. ( 2010 ) . Using captioned media as mentor expository texts . The Reading Teacher , 64 ( 3 ) , 197-201. # Literature Cited Bottomy , H. ( 2006 ) . Currents . In T. James &amp; R. Shapard ( Eds . ) Flash fiction forward : 80 very short stories ( pp. 51-52 ) . New York , NY : W. W. Norton &amp; Co. # Budzko , S. ( 2006 ) . How to set a house on fire . In T. James &amp; R. Shapard ( Eds . ) Flash fiction forward : 80 very short stories ( pp. 46-47 ) . New York , NY : W. W. Norton &amp; Co. # Lisicky , P. ( 1992 ) . Snapshot , Harvey Cedars : 1948 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hazuka ( Eds . ) Flash fiction : 72 very short stories , ( pp. 179-180 ) . New York , NY : W. W. Norton &amp; Co. # Monson , A. ( 2006 ) . To reduce your likelihood of murder . In T. James &amp; R. Shapard ( Eds . ) Flash fiction forward : 80 very short stories ( pp. 141-142 ) . New York , NY : W. W. Norton &amp; Co. # Perkins-Hazuka , C. , Hazuka , T. , &amp; Budman , M. ( 2011 ) . Sudden flash youth : 65 short , short stories . New York , NY : Persea Books . # Thomas , J. , &amp; Shapard , R. ( 2006 ) . Flash fiction forward : 80 very short stories . New York , NY : W. W. Norton &amp; Co. # DIAGRAM : FIGURE 1 Mentor Text Set on Flash Fiction # DIAGRAM : FIGURE 3 Samantha 's Introduction from Her Story " Forever Awake " # DIAGRAM : FIGURE 4 An Excerpt from Marcus 's " How to Get Rid of your Sister 's Boyfriend " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Drown " Flash Piece # DIAGRAM : FIGURE 6 An Excerpt from Andy 's " Bullied " # DIAGRAM : FIGURE 7 Gavin 's " The Perfect Picture " Flash Piece #

@@4158841 LEGAL Your monthly round-up of legal issues in the OH workplace # Richard Coulthard looks at how and why employers should help their staff manage stress . # Stress has become a major concern for UK employers . It is now the second most common cause of absence from work and these figures continue to rise . World Mental Health Day 2014 on 10 October was a good time for employers to look at their legal obligations towards staff who are suffering from stress . # In response to rising levels of stress at work , a number of initiatives have been launched . These include the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2014-2015 , announced by the European Commission , which aims to tackle stress in the workplace , and other similar schemes including Target Depression in the Workplace . # Estimates vary , but current statistics suggest that the global cost of work-related stress to the UK economy is somewhere in the region of 70-100 billion per annum , including healthcare fees . # Employers are subject to numerous statutory , contractual and common law obligations , but pressure is mounting on them to do more to control stress in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are a number of legal obligations that an employer must comply with , including : # The Equality Act 2010 -- in particular , that an individual should not be treated less favourably as a result of a protected characteristic . Mental ill health can constitute a disability under s.6 of the Act " if the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the individuals ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities " . Typically , if an individual has suffered with significant mental health issues for more than 12 months , they may be considered to be disabled within the meaning of the Act . # Common law duty of care -- an employer has a duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent an employee from suffering psychiatric illness as a result of their employment . The exact scope of this duty is a complex legal issue but , at all times , employers should act reasonably and ought to consider the Health and Safety Executives publications " Managing the causes of work-related stress " and " Tackling work-related stress " ( 2001 ) . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ duty to provide a safe working environment and also the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence . Depending on the terms of the contract , the employer may also have express obligations . # Statutory obligations -- there are numerous statutory obligations placed on an employer . However , the primary legislation relating to stress at work is the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. # Failure to comply with the above legal obligations can give rise to claims in both an employment tribunal and civil courts . # How to spot when an employee is stressed # Each employee is different and their ability to cope with stress is therefore unique , but common signs of the condition can include : # * fatigue ; # * headaches ; # * short temper ; # * increased susceptibility to illness ; and # * weight loss . # An employee may not always want to report these symptoms for fear of how such a disclosure may affect their career . # An employer should , however , note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this may be indicative of symptoms of stress . For instance , an employee who has historically been conscientious and highly motivated with little sickness absence may , without alternative explanation , be suffering with stress . Signs include an individual becoming demotivated , having uncharacteristic absences from work or starting to make unusual mistakes . # The key for employers is to look for changes in their employees as , without alternative explanation , this maybe indicative of stress-related symptoms . # How to deal with an employee suffering from stress # It is important for employers to understand the cause of the employees stress-related symptoms . An open and frank discussion with an employee at an early stage is vital . Bear in mind that direct HR involvement in the meeting might add to the employees stress . An informal discussion between the employee and a direct line manager is preferable , with the line manager reporting to HR for advice . # Line managers should attempt to ascertain what is causing the employees symptoms and they should consider what can practically be done to assist the employee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the employee would benefit from a referral to occupational health or from a stress risk assessment . It is important to discuss the employees workload and any tensions in work relationships . The line manager should make a contemporaneous note of the meeting and send this to the employee for agreement . # It is advisable to arrange follow-up meetings to monitor progress of an employee and continue to provide appropriate support to the employee , subject to the reasonable needs of the business . # Preventing stress in the workplace # Communication is key to preventing stress in the workplace . Employees and line managers should both feel able to communicate with each other . Regular one-to-one meetings and appraisals are a useful tool , but the employee has to feel able to communicate their concerns without fear of being reprimanded . Providing confidential counselling services can also be beneficial . # World Mental Health Day was a good reminder that dedicating resources and time to the prevention of stress in the workplace will save money in the long run . # Website : www.michaellewin.co.uk #

@@4158941 Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia spp. , which are associated with community-acquired pneumonia ( CAP ) , are difficult to propagate , and can cause clinically indistinguishable disease patterns . During 2011-2012 , we used molecular methods to test adult patients in Germany with confirmed CAP for infection with these 2 pathogens . Overall , 12.3% ( 96/783 ) of samples were positive for M. pneumoniae and 3.9% ( 31/794 ) were positive for Chlamydia spp. ; C. psittaci ( 2.1% ) was detected more frequently than C. pneumoniae ( 1.4% ) . M. pneumoniae P1 type 1 predominated , and levels of macrolide resistance were low ( 3.1% ) . Quarterly rates of M. pneumoniae-positive samples ranged from 1.5% to 27.3% , showing a strong epidemic peak for these infections , but of Chlamydia spp. detection was consistent throughout the year . M. pneumoniae--positive patients were younger and more frequently female , had fewer co-occurring conditions , and experienced milder disease than did patients who tested negative . Clinicians should be aware of the epidemiology of these pathogens in CAP . # RESEARCH # Community-acquired pneumonia ( CAP ) is associated with high rates of illness and hospitalization ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.5 to 1.7 per 1,000 population ( 1 ) . Studies have shown that that a broad range of pathogens can cause CAP ( 2 ) . Among these is Mycoplasma pneumoniae , a common agent of respiratory tract infections that is transmitted from person to person through aerosolization . The infection occurs in all age groups , but older children and young adults are affected at a higher frequency than other age groups . Clinical manifestations range from mild cases of tracheobronchitis to severe atypical pneumonia and can be followed by a broad spectrum of extrapulmonary complications . # The epidemiology of M. pneumoniae infection is characterized by incidence peaks every 4-7 years ; during these periods , M. pneumoniae is responsible for up to 25% of all cases of CAP ( 3 ) . Between epidemic periods , proportions of 1%-8% are more typical ( 4 ) . Reports from Europe and Asia have shown a notable increase in the frequency of infections caused by M. pneumoniae during 2011-2012 ( 5-12 ) . # For clarification of the epidemiology of M. pneumoniae infection and identification of the relevant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strains can be an efficient tool . M. pneumoniae strains can be divided into subtypes and variants according to sequence differences in the gene coding for the immunodominant main adhesin P1 . It has been hypothesized that the specific antibody level in the host population can influence further infections and lead to a change of the dominating P1 type ( 13 ) . The recently developed multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat ( VNTR ) analysis ( MLVA ) enables differentiation of strains with higher discriminatory power ( 14 ) . Further studies are necessary to determine associations between P1 and MLVA typing . However , knowledge of the strain 's genotype identity currently has no therapeutic consequences . Because mycoplasmas , which do not have cell walls , are not susceptible to ? -lactam antimicrobial drugs , macrolides are generally accepted as first-choice agents for treatment , especially in children . However , mutations in the 23S rRNA locus of M. pneumoniae have been shown to result in complete macrolide resistance ( 15 ) . Resistance rates range from &gt;90% in China ( 16 ) to &lt;10% in Europe ( 15 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resistance or resistant strains . # Chlamydia pneumoniae is another agent associated with CAP that can also be involved in pharyngitis , bronchitis , and sinusitis . Reports have attributed 6%-20% of CAP cases to this bacterium ( 17 ) , and its role in chronic respiratory illness ( 18 ) and exacerbation of asthma ( 19 ) has also been studied . C. pneumoniae infection is regarded as widely distributed , if not ubiquitous , with antibody prevalence rates &gt;50% ( 19 ) . The clinical course of infection varies from subclinical to mild and , more rarely , to severe manifestations of pneumonia . The outcome of infection is often dependent on the patient 's immune competence , but co-infection by other bacteria has been suggested to be relevant in 30% of adult cases of CAP ( 20 ) . However , a discrepancy exists between the elevated serologic prevalence and the low figures obtained through DNA-based detection methods ( 21 ) ; a recent publication from Germany reported a prevalence &lt;1% ( 22 ) . # Other Chlamydia spp. have not usually been included in epidemiologic studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ causative agent of human psittacosis ( or ornithosis ) , has not been investigated except in severe clinical pneumonia cases . As is the case for infections caused by by other chlamydiae , an asymptomatic or mild clinical course of C. psittaci is far more frequent than a fulminant outbreak of disease . Nevertheless , infections that do not result in overt illness may have long-term implications for the patient 's health , as was shown in cattle that were carriers of Chlamydia spp. but did not show signs of disease ( 23 ) . # In this study , we used molecular diagnostic approaches to investigate the occurrence of M. pneumoniae and Chlamydia spp. in adult patients in Germany who had confirmed CAP . The use of molecular typing methods for M. pneumoniae in combination with the determination of macrolide resistance was intended to obtain a nationwide overview of circulating strains in a period of high incidence of infections . Parallel testing for Chlamydia spp. was included to explore the frequency of co-infections with 2 microorganisms that are difficult to propagate and that can cause disease patterns that may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Samples , and Data Collection # The CAPNETZ study is a multicenter , prospective , epidemiologic cohort study initiated by the German Competence Network for Community-Acquired Pneumonia ( http : // www.capnetz.de 24 ) . The network comprises clinical centers throughout Germany representing hospitals and outpatient departments at all levels of health care provision that are involved in the management of CAP . The decision on timing and type of treatment for each patient is left to the discretion of the attending physician . No attempt is made to implement standardized criteria or rules for the assessment of pneumonia severity or for the decision to hospitalize. # For this study , we prospectively recorded all consecutive and nonselected patients who sought treatment for signs and symptoms of CAP during March 2011-December 2012 . Eligible participants were adult patients ( ? 18 years of age ) who had CAP confirmed by a new pulmonary infiltrate on chest radiograph and ? 1 sign or symptom of lower respiratory tract infection ( i.e. , fever , cough , purulent sputum , focal chest signs ) . Exclusion criteria were the following : hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( defined as chemotherapy and/or neutropenia &lt;1,000 106/L during the previous 28 days ) , therapy with corticosteroids &gt;20 mg for &gt;14 days , known HIV infection , immunosuppressive therapy after organ or bone marrow transplant , or active tuberculosis . All patients gave written informed consent and received a pseudonym from an independent third party to ensure data security . The study is registered at the German Clinical Trial Register ( DRKS-ID : DRKS00005274 ) . # All patients provided pharyngeal swab specimens for the determination of the presence of M. pneumoniae and Chlamydia spp . Follow-up consultations by phone call to patient or next of kin or family physician were conducted 28 days and 180 days after enrollment . All demographic , clinical , and diagnostic data for patients were recorded using standardized Web-based data sheets created by 2mt ( Ulm , Germany ) . The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Otto-von-Guericke University ( Magdeburg , Germany ) under ID 104/01 in 2001 and subsequently by all local institutional review boards . # Sample Processing and Microbiological Investigations # DNA Extraction # Swab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Jena , Germany ) for testing . DNA extraction was performed by using the High Pure PCR Template Preparation Kit ( Roche Diagnostics , Mannheim , Germany ) according to the manufacturer 's instructions . # Testing for Chlamydia spp. # To test for Chlamydia spp. , we first conducted a real-time PCR specific for the family Chlamydiaceae ( 25 ) . Positive samples were further examined by using a C. psittaci-specific real-time PCR ( 26 ) and a DNA microarray assay in ArrayStrip format that covered all Chlamydia spp. , Waddlia chondrophila , and Simkania negevensis ( 27 , 28 ) . # Testing for M. pneumoniae # Aliquots of the DNA extracts were examined by using a previously described real-time PCR assay targeting copies of the repetitive element RepMP1 ( 29 ) . Positive samples were further tested for macrolide resistance by methods previously reported ( 15 ) . P1 and MLVA type were determined by nested PCR approaches and sequencing ( 30 , 31 ) . # Statistical Analysis # Categorical data are presented as frequencies and were compared by ? or Fisher exact test , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all comparisons . # Continuous variables are presented as median and range . Differences were analyzed by using the Mann-Whitney U test ; p values &lt;0.05 were considered significant . All analyses were carried out in SPSS version 20 software ( IBM/SPSS , Chicago , IL , USA ) . # Results # Overall , 783 CAP patients were enrolled during March 2011-December 2012 and were tested for M. pneumoniae ; 96 ( 12.3% ) were positive . Patients who had M. pneumoniae infection were significantly younger and more frequently female , had fewer co-occurring conditions , and experienced significantly milder disease that did those who did not have M. pneumoniae infection ( Table 1 ) . M. pneumoniae-positive patients were more frequently pretreated with antimicrobial drugs ; however , we found no significant differences in the classes of antimicrobial drugs administered , particularly not in the use of macrolides. # Using real-time PCR targeting the RepMP1 copies in the M. pneumoniae genome , we calculated a median of 7.8 x 10 copies ( range 4.1 x 10 to 1.5 x 106 ) in the M. pneumoniae-positive samples . M. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ? 4% was found at the beginning and the end of the investigation period , but high positivity was found during October 2011-December 2011 . Quarterly incidence ranged from 1.5% ( quarter 3 , 2012 ) to 27.3% ( quarter 4 , 2011 ) ( Figure 1 ) . # The percentage of M. pneumoniae-positive patients from each age group ranged from 28.1% for the 18- to 29-year age group to 13.5% for the &gt;60-year age group ( Figure 2 ) . The prevalence of M. pneumoniae decreased by age group : 18-29 years , 38% ; 30-39 years , 31% ; 40-49 years , 17% ; 50-59 years , 13% ; ? 60 years , 3% . More than half ( 55% ) of M. pneumoniae-positive patients were female ; only the 18- to 29-year age group had more M. pneumoniae-positive men than women . # Regarding the P1 genotype , all strains in the 96 M. pneumoniae-positive samples could be typed culture independently . Subtype 1 strains dominated ( 60.4% ; Figure 1 , panel B ) , followed by variant 2a ( 19.8% ) , variant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and subtype 2 strains ( 2.1% ) . A high proportion of subtype 1 strains were found during the entire 22-month investigation period , and all P1 types detected during the period were found at nearly the same proportion during the high-incidence period of October-December 2011. # Highly discriminatory MLVA was carried out on all positive samples using nested PCR . For 87 of the 96 samples , the complete recommended panel of 5 tandem-repeat regions could be amplified and sequenced successfully . Overall , 23 MLVA types were identified . The most common MLVA types were 4/4/5/7/2 ( n = 12 , 13.8% ) and 5/4/5/7/2 ( n = 11 , 12.6% ) . During the high-incidence period ( quarter 4 of 2011 ) , the 42 M. pneumoniae strains that showed valid MLVA results belonged to 16 MLVA types . No clear correlation was found between P1 and MLVA typing . The 51 classifiable subtype 1 strains can be assigned to 16 MLVA types ( Table 2 ) . Five of these MLVA types can also be found in subtype 2 and the related variant 2 strains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resistance can be assumed in 3 of the 96 M. pneumoniae-positive specimens ( 3.1% ) . All strains showed an A.G mutation at position 2063 of the 23S rRNA . The macrolide-resistant strains belonged to the predominant subtype 1 in P1 typing but differed in MLVA type ( 2/3/6/6/2 , 2/4/5/7/2 , and 5/4/5/7/2 ) . The specimens containing resistant strains were sampled at different points of the study : December 2011 , April 2012 , and August 2012 . All affected patients were female ( ages 31 , 42 , and 42 years ) . For 2 of these patients , treatment with macrolides during the month before sampling was reported . # We further tested 794 patients for Chlamydia spp . ( Table 3 ) ; 31 ( 3.9% ) patients tested positive , 6 with dual infections ( Table 4 ) . In contrast to the M. pneumoniae findings , we found no significant differences in clinical characteristics between Chlamydia-positive and -negative patients ( Table 3 ) . Notably , no Chlamydia-positive patients received macrolides , whereas 8.3% of Chlamydia-negative patients did . # Test results identified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ species , followed by C. pneumoniae ( 1.4% ) . In addition , C. trachomatis , Simkania negevensis , and the animal pathogens C. suis , C. abortus and Waddlia chondrophila were identified in individual samples . The use of a DNA microarray assay combined with real-time PCR assays enabled us to detect multiple chlamydial infections ; all 6 dual chlamydial infections ( representing 19.3% of Chlamydia-positive patients ) involved C. psittaci , 3 in conjunction with C. pneumoniae and 1 each with C. abortus , S. negevensis , and W. chondrophila . Co-infections with M. pneumoniae and Chlamydia spp. were detected in 3 samples ( 3.1% of M. pneumonia-positive and 8.1% of Chlamydia-positive specimens ) : 1 M. pneumoniae + C. psittaci , 1 M. pneumoniae + C. pneumoniae , and 1 M. pneumoniae + C. psittaci + C. pneumoniae. # Discussion # Many studies have described the strictly time-dependent epidemiology of infections caused by M. pneumoniae ( 3 ) . Although we did not include serologic testing to provide further information for the differentiation of colonization of patient from infection , the results of our study confirm a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients with suspected CAP in Germany during 2011-2012 . The incidence of infections temporarily rose to ? 27% during the fourth quarter of 2011 , a level that is in accordance with other reports ( 5-12 ) . Despite limited comparability ( e.g. , target used ) , the number of RepMP1 copies measured with real-time PCR ( median 7.8 x 10 ) is in the range of results of other studies ( 32 , 33 ) . Because of the short duration of the epidemic peak and known deficiencies in testing routines for symptomatic M. pneumoniae patients , an increase in incidence could easily escape the notice of public health authorities . Moreover , because patients with M. pneumoniae infection were significantly younger than those without infection , it is possible that the true incidence might even be higher , given the fact that younger persons visit physicians less frequently and are admitted to hospitals less often than older patients . In addition , ? -lactams are often used as the first-line antimicrobial drugs for CAP but are known to be inefficient in treatment of Mycoplasma infections ; this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pathogen . In light of these results , revision of recent guidelines for management of CAP with antimicrobial drugs should be considered . # Typing of strains can help clarify the dynamics of epidemic peaks . There is no evidence that the incidence peak we registered was related to the genotype of circulating strains . M. pneumoniae is a genetically conserved organism , which implies limits to potential typing targets ; most frequently used is P1 , the main adhesin and most immunogenic protein , where sequence variation occurs mainly in the 2 copies of repetitive elements RepMP2/3 and RepMP4 of the P1-encoding locus mpn141 . The epidemiologic importance of P1 genotypes is based on their ability to generate a specific host immune response ( 13 ) . Therefore , P1 genotyping of circulating mycoplasma strains is helpful for understanding host pathogen interactions and the infections ensuing . The current dominance of subtype 1 strains in combination with a rare occurrence of subtype 2 was also described in Europe and Asia ( 11 , 34 ) . Subtype 2 strains have been replaced with the phylogenetically related variant 2 strains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The variant 2c of this group was described in 2011 in several isolates from China ( 34 ) ; our detection of variant 2c strains in Germany confirms the parallel circulation of most variant 2 strains described this far . # In this study , only particular regions of the P1 gene were selected for analysis , and the occurrence of additional P1 types showing further sequence variations can not be ruled out . The recently characterized variant 2d ( 35 ) shares an identical 3 ' part of the RepMP2/3 with variant 2a but differs in the 5 ' region of the repetitive element ; on the basis of those results , we retested all variant 2a strains , but we could not confirm the occurrence of variant 2d. # For epidemiologic reasons , it is important that the period with a high proportion of M. pneumoniae-positive samples ( October-December 2011 ) was not associated with a change of the dominating genotype nor with the presence of a particular P1 type . Previous reports have hypothesized that the circulation of genotype-specific antibodies in the human population can influence the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , but our data do not support this hypothesis . # In recent years , MLVA was introduced for typing of M. pneumoniae isolates ( 14 ) and extended to culture-independent typing from clinical samples ( 31 ) . The determination of the number of 5 VNTR markers ( Mpn1 , 13-16 ) enables characterization of strains with a higher discriminatory power in comparison with P1 typing . Whereas the genomic regions used for MLVA are located mainly between genes and within genes of unknown function , the P1 protein plays a critical role in host-pathogen interaction . The most common MLVA types ( 4/4/5/7/2 and 5/4/5/7/2 ) we detected were also found in high abundance in strains recently identified in France , China , and the United States ( 11 , 16 , 36 ) , thus indicating a worldwide dissemination of particular MLVA types . # Regarding the strains included in our study , the assignment of P1 types to MLVA types confirmed that no clear relationship between the typing methods exists ( Table 2 ) . In agreement with the results of other reports ( 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ P1 subtype 1 strains belong to MLVA types that are typical for subtype 2 or variant strains ( e.g. , 5/3/5/6/2 ) and vice versa . In our opinion , both typing approaches are of practical importance and complement each other ; the circulating P1 types reflect a more host-dependent pattern , whereas MLVA can differentiate strains with higher discriminatory power , enabling a better understanding of epidemiologic relationships . # Instability of VNTR marker 1 has been reported ( 36 ) , and the removal of Mpn1 from the current MLVA scheme has been suggested ( 16 ) . For our data , the removal of Mpn1 would reduce the number of MLVA genotypes to 9 , with &gt;80% of strains belonging to 2 types , 3/5/6/2 and 4/5/7/2 . This change would result in a substantial decrease of the discriminatory power of the MLVA typing method and would require efforts to include further VNTR markers showing a stable number of repeats within a given strain . # The data from our study confirm that a nationwide peak of infections caused by M. pneumoniae is polyclonal , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . In contrast , the clonal spread of M. pneumoniae can only be expected for small-scale endemic outbreaks with person-to-person transmission in close communities , such as families ( 37 ) . # Since 2000 , an increase of the worldwide occurrence of macrolide resistance in M. pneumoniae strains to 90% and higher has reported . Compared with data from Asia ( 16 ) , the proportion of 3.1% of macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae strains we detected is low . Results of studies from Germany in recent years have showed results in the same range ( 15 ) , thus indicating a nearly constant prevalence of resistance . Nevertheless , resistant strains are circulating in the population we investigated , which requires further monitoring of strains to provide an updated overview of drug resistance . Several reports have confirmed that resistant strains were selected during antimicrobial drug treatment ( 38 ) . However , in our study , increased prescription of macrolide antimicrobial drugs , which can be expected during a period of high CAP incidence , did not result in a measurable increase of resistant strains . In addition , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the results of this study are of general interest because we report on adult patients . # Although further sequence differences of the 23S rRNA locus of M. pneumoniae have been described , the A ? G mutation at position 2063 is most common ( 15 , 16 ) . Comparison of sequencing results with antimicrobial susceptibility testing confirmed that the mutation at positions 2063/2064 led to a high level of macrolide resistance ( 15 ) . Thus , with the mutation detected , resistance of these strains can be assumed . We did not find macrolide resistance to be associated with a certain MLVA type , which confirms the findings of other reports ( 16 ) , but the low number of resistant strains in our study is insufficient for us to draw a final conclusion . # The results of Chlamydia testing are remarkable for the comprehensive methodologic approach . In the past , the choice of diagnostic tests was usually limited : that is , either only C. pneumoniae was analyzed or all Chlamydia spp. identified were thought to be C. pneumoniae . Although the positivity of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previous data from Germany ( 22 ) , the proportions of positive samples of 2.1% for C. psittaci and 4.7% for all Chlamydiae spp. considered here deserve specific attention ( Table 4 ) . Chlamydial co-infection involving &gt;2 Chlamydia spp. has been shown to be frequent in trachoma patients ( 39 ) , but data from pneumonia patients remain scarce . Our finding that 19.3% of Chlamydia-positive patients harbored ? 2 Chlamydia spp. is in the same range as the 24% found in a recent trachoma study ( 40 ) . # One unexpected finding in our study was that C. psittaci positivity could not be correlated with the patients having regular contact with birds at home or at work . Moreover , no seasonal patterns were identified . Nevertheless , our findings indicate that chlamydial species other than C. pneumoniae should be included in testing of CAP patients ; in particular , C. psittaci should be included but also C. trachomatis . The relatively high prevalence of C. psittaci we found raises questions about its epidemiologic and etiologic importance , which should be addressed in future studies . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ M. pneumoniae-positive respiratory samples among adult patients with confirmed CAP in Germany during 2011-2012 . During the fourth quarter of 2011 , the incidence of infections temporarily rose to ? 27% of all patients investigated . Chlamydia spp. were found in 3.9% of samples , without epidemic peaks . Throughout the study period , the dominant M. pneumoniae P1 type was subtype 1 ; only 3.1% of M. pneumoniae strains were macrolide resistant . Both bacteria represent relevant pathogens in CAP , and awareness of their epidemiology , particularly among clinicians , is clearly warranted . # Members of the CAPNETZ Study Group : M. Dreher , C. Cornelissen ( Medical Clinic I , University Clinic RWTH Aachen , Aachen , Germany ) ; W. Knppel , I. Armari ( Clinic for Internal Medicine , Hospital Bad Arolsen , Bad Arolsen , Germany ) ; D. Stolz ( Clinic for Pneumology , Uni-Spital , Basel , Switzerland ) ; N. Suttorp , H. Schtte , P. Creutz ( Department of Infectious Disease and Respiratory Medicine , Charit-University Medicine , Berlin , Germany ) ; T. Bauer , T. Wei ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pankow , A. Lies , D. Thiemig ( Clinic for Internal Medicine , Pneumology and Infektiology , Vivantes Clinical Center , Berlin-Neuklln , Germany ) ; B. Hauptmeier , D. Wehde , M. Suermann ( University Hospital Bergmannsheil , Department of Pneumology , Allergology and Sleep Medicine , Bochum , Germany ) ; S. Ewig ( Department of Respiratory Medicine and Infectious Diseases , Augusta Hospital , Bochum ) ; M. Prediger , G. Zernia ( III Medical Clinic , Carl-Thiem-Klinikum Cottbus ) ; G. Hffken , M. Kolditz ( Medical Clinic 1 , Pneumology , University Clinic Dresden , Germany ) ; T. Welte ( Department of Respiratory Medicine , Hannover Medical School , Hannover , Germany ) ; G. Barten , M. Abrahamczik , J. Naim , W. Krner ( Main Office , Hannover ) ; T. Illig , N. Klopp ( Hannover Unified Biobank ) ; C. Kroegel ( Department of Cardiology , Angiology , Pneumology , Internal Intensive Care Medicine , University Hospital Jena , Germany ) ; M. Pletz ( Centre for Infection Medicine and Hospital Hygiene ZIMK , University Hospital , Jena ) ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Clinic III , Pulmonology , University Clinic Schleswig-Holstein , Lbeck , Germany ) ; G. Rohde ( Department of Respiratory Medicine , Maastricht University Medical Center , MUMC+ , Maastricht , the Netherlands ) ; H. Buschmann , R. Krning ( Brderkrankenhaus St. Josef , Medical Clinic , Pneumology , Paderborn , Germany ) ; T. Schaberg , I. Hering ( Center of Pneumology , Diakonie-Hospital , Rotenburg , Germany ) ; C. Schumann ( Department of Internal Medicine II , University of Ulm , Ulm , Germany ) ; T. Illmann , M. Wallner ( 2mt Software , Ulm ) ; and all study nurses . # Acknowledgments # We gratefully acknowledge the excellent technical assistance of Simone Bettermann , Sigrid Gbler , Jolle Naim , and Christine Grajetzki . We express our appreciation to all clinical physicians and physicians in private practice who saw and identified patients with community-acquired pneumonia for their work dedicated to CAPNETZ . We thank the CAPNETZ study team either temporarily or permanently involved in patient recruitment , sample , and data handling , as well as the patients included in the CAPNETZ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been written . # CAPNETZ is a multidisciplinary approach to better understand and treat patients with community-acquired pneumonia . The network is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research ( Bundesministerium fr Bildung und Forschung ) , grant no. 01KI07145 . This study was financially supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research ( BMBF ) of Germany under grant no. 01KI07145 " CAPNETZ " and 01 KI 0720 " Zoonotic chlamydiae--Models of chronic and persistent infections in humans and animals . " The funders had no role in study design , data collection and analysis , decision to publish , or preparation of the manuscript . # Dr. Dumke is a microbiologist at the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene , Technical University Dresden , Dresden , Germany . His research interests focus on detection of M. pneumoniae infections and characterization of M. pneumoniae strains . # Members of the CAPNETZ Study Group are listed at the end of this article . # Table 1 . Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with community-acquired pneumonia whose respiratory tract samples were tested for Mycoplasma pneumoniae , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indicated . BMI , body mass index . # Only significant values are shown . Comparison between M. pneumoniae-positive and -negative patients by ? or Mann-Whitney U test as appropriate . # Clinical evaluation of the following risk factors ( each scores 1 point ) : Confusion ; blood Urea &gt; 7 mmol/L ; Respiratory rate ? 30 bpm ; Blood pressure &lt; 90 ( systolic ) or ? 60 mm Hg ( diastolic ) . # Also no significant differences for any other antimicrobial drug classes . # Table 2 . Comparison of the results of P1 and MLVA typing of 87 Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains from patients with community-acquired pneumonia , Germany , 2011-2012* # * Underlining indicates MLVA types that occur in both subtype 1 and subtype 2/variant 2 strains . MLVA , multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis . # Table 3 . Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with community-acquired pneumonia whose respiratory tract samples were tested for Chlamydia spp. , Germany , 2011-2012* # * Values are percentages except as indicated . BMI , body mass index . # Only significant values are shown . Comparison between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as appropriate . # Clinical evaluation of the following risk factors ( each scores 1 point ) : Confusion ; blood Urea &gt; 7 mmol/L ; Respiratory rate ? 30 bpm ; Blood pressure &lt; 90 ( systolic ) or ? 60 mm Hg ( diastolic ) . # Also no significant differences for other antibiotic classes . # Table 4 . Results of testing for Chlamydia spp. in 780 respiratory samples from patients with community-acquired pneumonia , Germany , 2011-2012 # * A total of 31 patients tested positive ; 6 were infected with &gt; 1 Chlamydia species . # Figure 1 . # Results of molecular detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae from 783 respiratory tract specimens from adult patients with pneumonia , Germany , March 2011-December 2012 . A ) Quarterly incidence of M. pneumoniae infection . n values indicate number of samples investigated by real-time PCR . B ) M. pneumoniae P1 genotypes . C ) M. pneumoniae multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis types . Numbers of strains belonging to a given type are indicated in parentheses. # A # Figure 2 . Age and sex distribution of patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , Germany , March 2011-December 2012 . Percentage of positive samples for each age group : 18-29 y , 28.1% ; 30-39 y , 21.9% ; 40-49 y , 22.9% ; 50-59 y , 14.6% ; ? 60 y , 13.5% . ( Total &gt;100% due to rounding. ) #

@@4159041 Ehrlichia sp . DNA was amplified from 4 Ehrlichia-seroreactive horses from Mrida , Nicaragua . Sequencing of 16S rDNA , sodB , and groEL genes indicated that the bacterium is most likely a novel Ehrlichia species . The tick vector and the potential for canine and human infection remain unknown . # Worldwide , ehrlichioses are considered emerging infectious diseases of animals and humans . Transmitted by ticks , ehrlichae are obligate intracellular , gram-negative bacteria that infect animals and humans ( 1 ) . Recognized species include E. canis , E. chaffeensis , E. ewingii , E. muris , and E. ruminantium ( 1 ) . Other species identified in North America are Panola Mountain ( 2 ) and the E. muris-like agent ( 3 ) . Two recently identified new species are Ehrlichia sp . AvBat , isolated from Argas vespertilionis ticks in France ( 4 ) , and E. mineirensis , isolated from hemolymph of Rhipicephalus microplus ticks in Brazil ( 5 ) . # Although studies from Brazil and Oklahoma ( USA ) have documented reactivity to Ehrlichia spp. ( 6 , 7 ) in horse serum , no reports have documented isolation or PCR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North America , cervids are reservoir hosts for E. chaffeensis , which after tick transmission causes monocytic ehrlichiosis in humans ( 1 ) . Although equids are not known hosts for E. chaffeensis , bacterial DNA has been amplified from ticks ( Dermacentor nitens and Amblyomma cajennense ) collected from horses in Panama ( 8 ) . Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi , causes of granulocytic anaplasmosis and borreliosis ( Lyme disease ) , respectively , are transmitted by Ixodes scapularis and I. pacificus ticks in North America and infect cats , dogs , horses , and humans . # In Mrida , Nicaragua , the potential for infection of horses by tickborne pathogens is a concern because of the horses ' often poor body condition and heavy tick infestations . In 2013 , to determine exposure of equids to &gt;1 tickborne organism , visiting veterinary students collected blood samples from horses . # The Study # With approval from the Oregon State University Animal Care and Use Committee ( Animal Care and Use Proposal no. 4329 ) , blood samples were collected from 92 horses being evaluated for medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , administration of endoparasiticides and ectoparasiticides ) or before elective surgery ( e.g. , castration , wound repair ) at the clinic in Mrida from August 28 through September 4 , 2013 . After jugular venipuncture , 6 mL of blood was collected into EDTA tubes . # Each whole blood sample was tested for antibodies against Anaplasma spp . ( A. phagocytophilum and A. platys ) , B. burgdorferi sensu stricto , and Ehrlichia spp . ( E.canis , E. chaffeensis , and E. ewingii ) by using the ELISA-based assay SNAP 4DxPlus ( IDEXX Laboratories , Inc. , Westbrook , ME , USA ) according to the manufacturer 's instructions ( 9 ) . The assay does not use a host species-specific conjugate and can therefore be used in research to screen mammals other than dogs . According to assay results , 51 ( 55% ) horse serum samples were Ehrlichia spp. seroreactive . One sample was B. burgdorferi seroreactive , whereas none were Anaplasma spp. seroreactive. # The 51 Ehrlichia spp. -reactive serum samples were subsequently stored at 28C for up to 1 week during transport to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shipped ( US Department of Agriculture import permit no. 13846 ) to the Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory , Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research , North Carolina State University , College of Veterinary Medicine . DNA extraction from 200 mL of EDTA-anticoagulated whole blood was performed by using a QIAsymphony DNA Mini Kit ( QIAGEN , Valencia , CA , USA ; catalog no. 931236 ) . Previously described PCRs were used to amplify a 420-bp fragment of the 16S rRNA gene , a 620-bp fragment of the GroEL gene , and a 300-bp fragment of the Ehrlichia spp. sodB gene ( 2 , 10 , 11 ) . A larger , 600-bp , fragment of the sodB gene was amplified from 1 sample that was positive by PCR by using the following unpublished primers : sodbEhrl600-F 5 ' **32;16193;TOOLONG and sodbEhrl600-R 5 ' **29;16227;TOOLONG . Positive ( Anaplasma or Ehrlichia spp. plasmid DNA ) and negative ( RNase-free molecular-grade water and a DNA extraction control consisting of uninfected canine genomic DNA ) controls were used for each assay . Amplified DNA was sequenced directly by GENEWIZ , Inc @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and alignments were compared with those of GenBank sequences by using AlignX software ( Vector NTI Advance version 11.5 ; Invitrogen , Carlsbad , CA , USA ) . # Of the 51 samples tested by 16S rDNA PCR , the rDNA amplicon sequences were identical for 4 ( 8% ) . Sequence comparisons of the amplified products with Ehrlichia spp. , Anaplasma spp. , and Neorickettsia risticii sequences in GenBank are summarized in the Table . Identical GroEL and sodB DNA sequences were amplified from 3 of 4 horses . # Conclusions # According to serologic , PCR amplification , and DNA sequencing results , tick-infested horses in Mrida , Nicaragua , might be infected with a potentially novel Ehrlichia species . Initial serologic screening with the rapid ELISA indicated that exposure to ? 1 Ehrlichia species is common among horses in Nicaragua ( 55% ) . For dogs , SNAP 4Dx-Plus results can be positive after exposure to E. canis , E. chaffeensis , E. ewingii , and potentially E. muris and Panola Mountain ehrlichiae ( 2 , 3 , 6 ) . Before this study , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) in Nicaragua was considered more likely because equine exposure has occurred in Guatemala ; this rickettsial organism is pathogenic for cats , dogs , horses , and humans ( 12 ) . However , in North America , A. phagocytophilum is transmitted by I. scapularis and I. pacificus ticks , which have not been reported in Nicaragua . In future studies of horses in Nicaragua , ticks will be collected for identification . In Guatemala , R. microplus and A. cajennense ticks were the predominant species found on cattle , whereas D. nitens and A. cajennense ticks were most commonly found on horses ( 12 ) . Of note , in Guatemala , tick infestation levels were substantially higher and body condition scores lower for horses than for cattle . Also , cattle were exposed to an agent with serologic cross-reactivity and close genetic relatedness to E. ruminantium. # The partial 16S rDNA sequences obtained from these horses most likely represent a novel species of Ehrlichia . This conclusion is further supported by sequence analysis of 2 protein-coding genes , sodB and groEL . Partial sequences from sodB and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GenBank , but they were not 100% identical to any sequences deposited to date . When 16S rDNA for rickettsiae are compared , Fournier et al . recommend that gene homology for organisms of identical species and genus be 99.8% and 98.1% , respectively ( 13 ) . Although identical species are typically defined as being &gt;99% identical with a reference sequence , the percentage identity needed to define a separate species is debated , ranging from 97% to 99.5% ( 14 ) . Calculation of values can be based on alignment methods , reference databases , and number of basepairs in the sequence . Fournier et al . recommend that for novel species identification and rickettsiae classification , protein-coding genes should be used , specifically the 4 protein-coding genes gltA , ompA , ompB , and gene D in addition to the 16S rRNA gene . To date , 16S rDNA sequences or whole-genome sequencing have been used to classify Ehrlichia species and strains . Collectively , and as depicted in the Figure ( in which phylogenetic alignment trees for all 3 genes tested in this study were constructed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anaplasma , Ehrlichia , and Neorickettsia ) , the genetic findings in this study support infection of horses in Nicaragua with a novel Ehrlichia species . To confirm this possibility , future efforts will focus on cell culture isolation of the Ehrlichia organism from horses in Nicaragua . # Vectorborne pathogens can infect any host species bitten by infected ticks . At least 4 Ehrlichia species have been implicated as being pathogenic for canids and humans ( 1-3 ) . Thus , future studies should also determine whether dogs , other animals , and humans in Nicaragua are exposed to and infected with this potentially novel Ehrlichia species . # Acknowledgments # We thank the Department of Biomedical Sciences , Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine , for funding this study ; the veterinary students who participated in the 2013 Nicaragua trip and helped collect the blood samples used for this study ; and Dana Riggins for technical assistance in processing samples for PCR. # This research was supported in part by the State of North Carolina and donations to the North Carolina State University College of Medicine Foundation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Laboratories Inc. # Ms. O'Nion is a student in the veterinary medical curriculum at Oregon State University . Her research interests involve an international One Health approach to vectorborne infectious diseases of human and veterinary medical importance . # Table . Base pair similarities for DNA sequences of novel Ehrlichia species obtained from horses in Nicaragua in 2013* # * Sequences for partial 16S rRNA , GroEl , and SodB genes are compared with GenBank database sequences from Ehrlichia ruminantium , E. canis , E. chaffeensis , E. ewingii , Anaplasma marginale , A. phagocytophilum , and Neorickettsia risticii. # GenBank sequence accession numbers for 16S rRNA , GroEl , and SodB for Ehrlichia sp. from horses in Nicaragua are KJ434178 , KJ434179 , and KJ434180 , respectively . # Figure . Phylogenetic trees of Ehrlichia sp. from horses in Nicaragua and selected bacterial species ( GenBank accession numbers for reference sequences in parenthesis ) based on partial sequences from genes coding for 16SrRNA ( A ) , GroEL ( B ) , and SodB ( C ) . Sequences were aligned by using MUSCLE version 3.7 ( http : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ version 0.91b ( http : **28;16293;TOOLONG ) . Phylogenetic trees were constructed by using PhyML version 3.0 aLRT ( http : **26;16323;TOOLONG ) under the HKY85 model , and the resulting trees were rendered by using TreeDyn version 198.3 ( http : //www.treedyn.org/ ) . Scale bars indicate number of substitutions per site , and the numbers in the branches represent percentage support of the node . #

@@4159141 Introduction # As social beings , people need each other at every moment of their lives . In the twenty-first century , mass media and technology have turned the world into a global village . Globalization underlines and stresses global consciousness and dialogue . In this era , humanity needs to learn the importance of coexistence and the dignity entailed in being human . For this purpose , a significant attempt has been made by Christians to rebuild their relationships with different Christian groups and members of other religions . # Even though dialogue among people of different religious traditions has continued throughout history in the form of individual relationships such as friendships , neighborly relations , or business connections , formal and planned **26;10142;TOOLONG dialogue started and became a worldwide movement in the second half of the twentieth century . The role of the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches can not be denied in this movement , along with the help of technology and modernity . Christian scholars ' positive effects on the Christian call for dialogue should not be missed . Remaining freer from institutional barriers , these scholars could take significant steps for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program advisor , Dr. Leonard Swidler , holds a remarkable position . He understands dialogue not only as a theological , philosophical , or practical concept but also as an ontological concept . # By stating a " cosmic dance of the universe , " Swidler is convinced that everything in the universe is naturally in dialogue . In this respect , he stated that " the very essence of our humanity is dialogical , and a fulfilled human life is the highest expression of the cosmic dance of dialogue . " 1 His numerous works and tireless efforts to create an atmosphere of peace at the grassroots and academic levels are significant . The growing global role of the Dialogue Institute at Temple University and the Journal of Ecumenical Studies are among the fruits of his efforts . # In many of our conversations I was able to observe how Swidler is able to witness the historical survey of dialogue , especially the Muslim-Christian dialogue . He was among the scholars who attended the first institutional and organized Muslim-Christian dialogue event in Libya in 1976 . Since then , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have more accurate information regarding members of other religions . I should also note that Swidler 's special stress on the growing role of Turkish Muslims in interreligious dialogue encouraged me to explore the Turkish response to the Christian call for dialogue . # The question of dialogue within the Turkish context is an important question . Without a worldwide religious authority , every Muslim scholar and community has tried to understand and respond to the Christian call for dialogue in their own way . Turkey , as one of the most influential and modern Muslim-majority states , has joined the discussion about interreligious dialogue , especially with Christians , since the 1980 's . Being very diverse in culture , religion , and thought , Turkish scholars ' discussions and critiques of the interreligious dialogue requested by the Christian world have clearly contributed to such dialogue on a global scale in recent decades . In this respect , it will be helpful to show how the issue of interreligious dialogue is significant in the Turkish context . # Given that the Christian population of Turkey is only about 170,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might think the issue of interreligious dialogue is not significant for academic research . However , considering the following points and the ongoing discussions/studies in Turkey , the importance of the study is apparent . # The Importance of Dialogue in the Turkish Context # First of all , the cultural and intellectual heritage of Turkey provides a very broad sense of the issue of dialogue . Turkish , or Anatolian , culture is very rich and composed of many different traditions , ethnicities , and religions . The concept of hospitality is deeply ingrained in the culture and visible in the daily lives of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey , as in other cultures . In respect to dialogue , Anatolian or Turkish intellectual culture encourages people to think about the issue of interreligious dialogue and to pave the way for further discussions and suggestions . # The geographical location of Turkey , which can be compared to a bridge between the East and the West , also pushes it to invest in dialogue . In the southeast , Turkey is surrounded by Muslim-majority countries such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Shi'a-majority country , can open doors to inrrareligious dialogue ) ; in the northeast and west it is bordered by Christian-majority countries such as Georgia , Armenia , Bulgaria , and Greece . Since it is a Muslim country among these diverse religious territories , Turkish Muslims pay special attention to the question of coexistence and interreligious dialogue . # The historical background of Turkey , which seems to be one of the most significant reasons , promotes discussion about interreligious dialogue in Turkey . Whether in the Ottoman or Seljuk era , Christians were a significant group within the state and had substantial freedom in comparison to Muslim minorities in Christendom . # The Islamic term " dhimmr designated certain rights to non-Muslims in an Islamic state . Accordingly , Christians , also considered People of the Book , were free to stay in their religion , after giving the jizya and khar ? j taxes but were exempt from the zakat that Muslims paid . They were partly autonomous in having their own religious judges and were exempt from military service and participation in wars . They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taller than those of Muslims or humiliating or dressing fancier than Muslims when ringing church bells . One should also note that the dhimma rules were practiced at different levels in different times and places. 3 # Considering the situation of non-Muslims in Seljuk and Ottoman times , one may easily conceive that their situation was far better than that of Muslims in Christian states in the same periods . The dhimma rules were developed in the Ottoman Empire under the millet system , which began under Sultan Mehmed after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 . According to this system every religious community was considered a " millel " meaning a community , nationality , or religion . It refers to the distinct legal courts relating to private law under which religious communities were permitted to regulate themselves . So , each millet was headed by its leaders and could have its own religious judges , schools , and organizations. 4 The Ottoman Millet system is generally considered the last and most developed version of religious-cultural pluralism in the Islamic context. 5 # Moreover , the Ottoman government did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the head of the millet represented and was responsible for that community to the Sultan . Every millet had the right to regulate its own laws within loyalty to the state . In the Ottoman Empire , Jews , Armenian Orthodox , Greek Orthodox and Syrian Orthodox churches were the greatest millets after the Muslim millets . After the Tanzimat ( 1839-76 ) , the term " millet has been used to refer to the nation in order to define certain rights of the religious minorities in the state . Since the Ottoman Empire was a Muslim Empire , Muslims ( who constitute many different nations such as Turks , Kurds , Arabs , Balkans ) were the most privileged millet in the system . Some theological fractions of Islamic sects such as Ale-vi , Bektashi , and Shia were also considered part of the Muslim millet. 6 All these developments that occurred over centuries have made the challenges of interreli-gious dialogue in Turkey a popular subject today . # Globalization as technological development , immigration , and travel , on the one hand , and modernity as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , " on the other hand , also have a significant role in bringing the issue of dialogue to the agenda of Muslim thinkers . Tourism 's effect must be given special attention . There is a positive correlation between the increasing number of tourists in Turkey and the positive perceptions of Turkish people toward interreligious dialogue . In 2014 , nearly 35,000,000 tourists visited Turkey. 7 Comparing this number to Turkey 's population of 76,000,000 , this is amazing . This tourism ensures the positive development of the concept of the " other " in Turkey . # Turkey 's bid for membership in the European Union is another significant factor that makes the ongoing discussions more sensitive . The terms for Turkey 's entrance and integration into Europe have gained the special attention of scholars . In 2005 , negotiations with the EU started , and as of 2013 many chapters have been opened and fulfilled by the Turkish government . These reform attempts have been observed tentatively and appreciated by most of the Turkish community . Turkish membership in the EU is also debated among scholars of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian-majority union . The subject of inter-religious dialogue also has been discussed in terms of Turks ' ability to join a Christian-majority union without losing national and religious values . # Especially in the last decade , Turkey 's foreign relations policies have changed dramatically from a negative/isolated approach to a friendlier attitude . Turkey started to base its relations with neighbors on a " zero problems " principle. 8 For example , following agreements between the governments , travel between Turkey and Georgia became passport-free in 2012.9 Thus , Turkish people can travel to a Christian country -- and Christians to a Muslim country -- more easily , and have the chance to experience a different religious tradition and culture . # Needless to say , after the Arab Spring Turkey 's foreign relations with its regional neighbors turned into an unsteady situation . Turkey 's positive relations with Syria , Egypt , Libya , and Iraq relapsed . The ongoing civil war in Syria , with which Turkey has its longest border , has been negatively affecting the Turkish community . By the end of 2014 there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Syria and Iraq , especially Eastern Christian groups and Ezidies , also bring the question of Muslims ' relations with non-Muslims into question . These developments are other significant factors , which bring the issue of in-terreligious relations with non-Muslims to the attention of Turkish academia . # Hence , Turkey 's developing role as a regional power requires a proper , in-depth analysis of its neighbors ' cultures , religions , and traditions . This requires finding positive links between Turkish and regional cultures , along with ways to hold dialogue with people of different regional cultures and ideologies. # Another significant factor is missionary activities in Turkey . Nationalists frequently pay attention to missionary works by referencing the destructive role of missionaries in the fall of the Ottoman Empire . According to nationalists , there are tremendous numbers of missionaries in Turkey who spread their propaganda very effectively , especially by focusing on Turkey 's sensitive communities such as Kurds and Alevis . According to this nationalist approach , dialogue is another name for missionary work and should be treated carefully . Therefore , rejectionist writings about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important portion of Turkish publications on dialogue . Interreligious dialogue and its relationship with missions , hence , becomes a serious question . # Almost 5,000,000 Turks live outside Turkey , mainly in Europe , and remain in contact with Turkey. 10 Their problems of interreligious marriages and relationships also make the issue significant to Turkish academia . For Turks who live outside Turkey , the subject of interreligious dialogue has begun to be a serious issue . # Especially in the last decade , Turkey has also started to discuss diverse Islamic sects , such as the question of Alevis and Bektashis , in workshops organized by the government , various institutions , and think-tanks. 11 This shows a push to accept their respective diversities . Religious ethnic groups have been able to express their diverse opinions more freely by broadcasting on their own TV and radio channels and publishing their own newspapers . They also have organized many meetings to deal with their place in the Turkish public . The problem of living together and in-trareligious dialogue has appeared in these meetings . The final declarations and suggestions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Muslim community . # Turkish minority religious groups also have been active in the last decades in their relationship with Muslims . Their presence in dialogue meetings -- whether academic conferences or social meetings such as iftar dinners , Ramadan celebrations , and Christmas/Easter celebrations -- has intensified over time . In this way , the issue of interreligious dialogue is presented as the only way to create peaceful existence in Turkey . Therefore , the nature of Turkish Christian-Turkish Muslim dialogue is open for contributions and discussions . # Last , but definitely not least , some unfortunate incidents in the last decades about the murdering of priests and Christian missionaries in Turkey have brought the idea of religious tolerance as a remedy for radical religious hatred. 12 Interreligious dialogue is among the most influential ideas that supporters of dialogue usually offer in this respect , so in their writings about Muslim-Christian dialogue they aim to remove such extreme views and actions . # Because of the above-mentioned factors , the issue of interreligious dialogue has a growing place in the Turkish intellectual environment and among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dialogue in Turkey , I can now mention the historical development of organized and institutional interreligious dialogue . # A Short Historical Survey of Dialogue in Modern Turkey # The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 after World War I , when the powerful , six-century-old Ottoman Empire collapsed . The new administration certainly believed that if Turkey became laic like Europe , the state would reach the level of Europe . Therefore , Turkey adopted secularism as a state system that considered every citizen equal without distinction of race , religion , sect , or gender . Before the state , every individual has equal opportunities and freedom . Freedom of conscience and religion were confirmed in the Constitution of Turkey , which was changed in 1924 , 1937 , 1961 , and 1982 . Needless to say , Turkey also acknowledged the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1954. 13 # However , very strict laicism/secularism , as a reaction to the Ottoman religious administration system , also brought certain restrictions on religious life . For instance , teaching the Qur ' ? n in public or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Muslim call for prayer ) was banned in Arabic ( forced to be recited in Turkish ) . Many books that advocate Islam , such as Risale-i Nurs by Said Nursi , were banned until 1950 when the one-party era ended , after Adnan Menderes 's Democrat Party won the first multi-party general elections . The Democrat Party had brought partial freedom to the citizens , but the government was overthrown by a military coup in 1961 , and the prime minister was sentenced to death . # Administrative oppression of the devoted Muslim community , which continued for decades , was partly relieved after Turgut zal , another significant political figure , became prime minister in 1983 . His administration was positive and tolerant toward religious people , which made it possible for religious groups to practice their views and collaborate with other groups and communities . # zal died in 1993 , but his reforms paved the way for a more democratic Turkey . We observe this positive development after the 1990 's , when a growing number of events and writings of Turkish scholars about interreligious dialogue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be considered a turning point for interreligious dialogue , at both the official and nongovernmental organization levels . Parallel to political developments and expansion of freedom for religious people and groups , there have been positive developments among governmental ( Presidency of Religious Affairs ) and nongovernmental institutions and groups. 14 # The Turkish Muslim response to the Christian call for dialogue is varied . The Christian call for dialogue caught the attention of the Turkish people mostly after the 1980 's , when the pressure on religious groups was partly removed , and especially after the mid-1990 's , when Turkey strengthened the negotiations for joining the EU . The Presidency of Religious Affairs handled the issue of interreligious dialogue in the First Religion Shura ( Council ) held in Ankara in 1993 . Interreligious dialogue became one of the distinctive subjects and was comprehensively discussed in the Second Religious Shura held in Ankara in 1998 . I should also note that besides these developments , Giilen Movement 's contributions to dialogue have widened the influence and reputation of dialogue . We also observe that since 2003 international conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # Until the 2000 's dialogue events were held by academicians in more limited spaces and were not influential within Turkish society . However , after the 2000 's the meetings have been organized with participation of much broader and different social groups . Both religious groups and academicians responded to the dialogue call within their context and according to their perception of the position of Christians in Islamic nations . In the writings of many scholars , we can observe how they perceive the dialogue call differently and how they respond differently -- even in opposite ways . The foregoing analysis has aimed to treat the importance of dialogue in the Turkish context . While the nature of the discussions about the Christian call for dialogue in Turkey is not the specific topic of this essay , it is a significant subject requiring exploration and research. 15 # Conclusion # As Swidler has aptly underscored , during the past era of divergence , it was easy to live in isolation . However , our contemporary age is the age of convergence , and thus we are forced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world now faces two major choices . People must understand the importance of learning from others , or they will challenge others , which pushes toward another world war . The title of the book co-authored by Swidler -- Death or Dialogue ? -- vividly captures this important point. 17 The Turkish answer for this crucial question is also important in the world where communities are linked to each other more than at any time before . # As I have shown , it is clear that dialogue is strongly embedded with Turkish culture , history , tradition , politics , and everyday life . We , as the scholars of religion , should discover , develop , and promote the positive elements in our communities in order to bring people to the table of dialogue on a sound and secure basis . In this respect , I should also note that there are many Turkish scholars and academicians who pursue critical thinking and self-criticism and develop an intellectual version of Islam . I am sure that , regardless of any sociopolitical barriers , the Turkish scholars who have also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ type of Islam , will exist and always work for developing Islamic civilization . # Finally , considering the growing critical role of Turkey in the contemporary world and the current tensions in Turkey , prospective analyses about Turkish perceptions of and responses to the Christian call for dialogue would definitely provide a more objective picture regarding non-Muslims ' place in the Muslim world . Turkey is in a time of critical transformation . Hence , such scholarly reviews of Turkish scholars and official governmental and nongovernmental attitudes toward the Christian call for dialogue will be helpful to English readers to understand what is going on in Turkey regarding interreligious dialogue . # *I developed this essay from a part of my doctoral thesis completed at Temple University , Philadelphia , in 2014 , titled " Turkish Response to the Christian Call for Dialogue . " # 1 Leonard Swidler , " Understanding Dialogue , " J.E.S. 43 ( Spring , 2008 ) : 9 ; emphasis in original . # 2 According to the U.S. State Department 's International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 , in Turkey there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an estimated 30,000 undocumented immigrants from Armenia ) ; 25,000 Roman Catholics ( mostly recent immigrants from Africa and the Philippines ) ; 20,000 Syrian Orthodox ( Syriac ) Christians ; 15,000 Russian Orthodox Christians ( mostly recent immigrants from Russia who hold residence permits ) ; 5,000 Jehovah 's Witnesses ; 7,000 members of various Protestant denominations ; 3,000 Iraqi Chaldean Christians ; and up to 2,500 Greek Orthodox Christians . See more at http : **39;10170;TOOLONG ... See Ronald L. Nettler , " Dhimmi , " in John L. Esposito , ed , The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World ( New York : Oxford University Press , 2009 ) .4 See Ali Bardako ? lu , Religion and Society : New Perspectives from Turkey ( Ankara : DlB , 2006 ) , pp. 48-49.5 See Ekmeleddin Ihsano ? lu , A Culture of Peaceful Coexistence ( Istanbul : 1RC1CA , 2004 ) , p. 17.6 See Neet Toku , " Klturel ogulculu ? un Ilk rne ? i : Osmanh Millet Sistemi , " in Necmettin Gokkir and Recep Alpya ? il , eds. , Din ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , p. 344.7 Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism . General Directorate of Investment and Enterprises . Department of Research and Evaluation , Border Statistics ( Ankara , 2013 ) , p. 9 . According to these statistics , 34,910,098 foreigners visited Turkey in 2013.8 For the official declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about " zero problems with neighbors , " see http : **39;10211;TOOLONG ... See Diba Nigar Goksel , " Turkey and Georgia : Zero-Problems ? " On Wider Europe ( June , 2013 ) , p.10 See http : **39;10252;TOOLONG ... According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs , about 4,000,000 live in Western European countries , 300,000 in North America , 200,000 in the Middle East , and 150,000 in Australia.11 T. C. Devlet Bakanh ? i , Alevi ali ? taylan Nihai Rapor ( Ankara , 2010 ) .12 Tor instance , see John Eibner , " Turkey 's Christians under Siege , " Middle East Quarterly 18 ( Spring , 2011 ) : 41-52.13 Bardako ? lu , Religion and Society , pp. 50 and 78-79.14 Emre nlcayakli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nlcayakh , " ' The Official Discourse on Religion in Post-1980 Turkey : The Official Boundaries of the Religious Field , National Belonging , and Heritage " ( Montreal : McGill University , 2012 ) , p. 218.15 I should note that I attempted to explore this issue broadly in my doctoral dissertation , " Turkish Response to the Christian Call for Dialogue " ( Philadelphia : Temple University , 2014 ) .16 Leonard Swidler , " Humankind from the Age of Monologue to the Age of Global Dialogue , " J.E.S. 47 ( Summer , 2012 ) : 468-471.17 Leonard Swidler , John B. Cobb , Jr. , Paul F. Knitter , and Monika K. Hellwig , Death or Dialogue ? From the Age of Monologue to the Age of Dialogue ( Philadelphia : Trinity Press International ; London : SCM Press , 1990 ) .

@@4159241 Essentials # As part of an occasional series on communication , we look at the benefits of - and the barriers to - communicating with external agencies , and what can happen when it goes wrong . And if you missed ' Communicating with the practice team ' you can find it online at practicenurse.co.uk # The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place . Attributed to the playwright George Bernard Shaw , how those words ring true . Anyone working in primary care can relate to this sentiment but why does this happen ? And what impact does this have on patient care ? # PRACTICE NURSES ' ROLE # Communication with outside organisations and care providers is an integral part of the practice nurse 's role . Primary care is n't an organisation that stands alone , indeed it is a portal to accessing appropriate services and referral pathways to provide enhanced care for our patients . It is vital , therefore , that we have not only an understanding of the wider community from which our patients can benefit but also that we ensure that we know how to communicate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Practice Foundation General Practice Nurse competencies framework stipulates that practice nurses need to have an understanding of the interface with other practitioners and agencies and ' work effectively with other disciplines to enhance patient care ' .1 Moreover , the recently revised NMC Code reiterates that nurses need to ' act in partnership ' with our patients to access health and social care.2 # OUTSIDE AGENCIES # So who do we need to be able to communicate with , beyond the four walls of our surgeries ? ( See Box 1 ) Looking at a typical morning 's list it is evident that we need to communicate with a wide variety of disciplines and agencies in order to carry out our job effectively . There 's the young mother who is returning for her swab results which are not back yet so you will need to contact the laboratory ; the gentleman recently diagnosed with diabetes is keen to access the DESMOND self-management education programme you 've discussed with him ; there 's the elderly lady living alone with dementia and her daughter needs to know what support is available @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't know which way to turn ; the patient with a deteriorating post-operative wound really needs to be seen by the district nurses at the weekend . All these patients need us to act on their behalf , with their permission and collaboration , and ensure that we communicate with the appropriate agencies to enable a continuity of care . # HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE ? # There are many ways in which we can communicate with external agencies but it 's knowing the correct referral or pathway . Sometimes it may be a phone call , fax or email . Another time it is speaking with the GP to instigate an ultrasound referral for a patient . It may be that the district nurse has just come to the surgery so you can speak to them about the dressings to be done at the weekend although this may then need to be followed up more officially through the ' proper channels ' . Clearly there are some referral pathways that are relatively straightforward . CCG websites can be an extremely useful resource for finding information for accessing a wide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rehabilitation to Falls Assessment referrals. # Communicating through multidisciplinary team ( MDT ) meetings can be a hugely beneficial way of disseminating information amongst a number of professionals for specific patient groups . Holding monthly MDT meetings to discuss , for example , the frail and elderly patients in your practice with the GPs , district nurses , community psychiatric nurse and social care personnel allows a team approach to manage the care of these vulnerable and ' at risk ' patients and to avoid hospitalisation . Equally , meeting regularly with the palliative care team , as part of the Gold Standards Framework , to review patients on the palliative care register enhances communication between the relevant agencies involved in a patient 's end of life care . # INTEGRATED CARE FRAMEWORK AND SHARED RECORDS # Integrated care models are emerging between primary , community and secondary care for the management of chronic disease to improve the delivery of care to patients . The management of diabetes through integrated care , in particular , is an example of improvements in the communication between services to provide a high quality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ framework allows wider access to specialist expertise by the primary care team and support and advice from outreach teams delivered locally . Intrinsic to this pathway of care is the integrated IT system that allows Enhanced Data Sharing ( EDS ) of patient records between primary and secondary care . It enables rapid communication and referral and allows each discipline to view each other 's records to make the best clinical decisions for that patient . Such an improved system of communication and forging links between primary and specialist care enables more complex care to be given locally together with greater access to education for both patient and practice nurses alike . This is a real example of where technology can enhance patient care through better communication . # Gaining patient consent to data sharing in this way is paramount before this can occur and patients need to be reassured that they have complete control as to how or indeed if their information is shared . It may also be pertinent to distinguish between this type of Enhanced Data Sharing and the electronic Summary Care Records which are used by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sharing patient information can be somewhat confusing and easily misunderstood.4 # BENEFITS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION # The ultimate benefit of good communication is , naturally , to the patient - either to provide additional support , referral for further care , engage in education or simply to find out pathology results . Knowing local pathways and local information is certainly key to communication . For example , what is the local procedure for an abnormal cytology result ? Whose responsibility is it to follow up that result ? Having adequate resources and updated policies and procedures within the practice are essential to enable a smooth flow of communication externally . Who actually sends the fax to the Malaria Reference Laboratory about your query about malaria chemoprophylaxis ? Do you confirm that it has been sent and is it then documented in the notes ? Do you assume it has been received ? # Having face-to-face contact with certain specialists such as the specialist nurse at the renal unit or the local school nurse often aids communication - putting a face to a name means they are therefore more likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to visit every department and service sometimes opportunities do arise through study days and departmental open days where you can get to meet professionals from other disciplines . Yes , we live in a world of efficient technology which has improved some areas of communication beyond belief but having personal contact with your district nurses , health visitors and midwives completes the picture . Even though you might have to undertake the appropriate paperwork and submit an official referral document for , let 's say , a mental health referral , a personal chat with your Community Psychiatric Nurse as well can make a huge difference to the patient concerned . # Recognised secure email systems , supported by the NHS , are replacing traditional methods of communication and as a result are proving to be a safe , rapid and cost-effect way of communicating with other agencies . For example , referrals for investigative procedures are often expedited , information between GPs and community teams can be shared more efficiently and accurately and hospices can advise primary care teams immediately when a patient is discharged to ensure a continuity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION # A referral to the DESMOND programme for example may simply be a fax or electronic transfer to the appropriate agency . But sometimes the problem is remembering to do it at the end of a busy morning 's work . Or maybe you 're not quite sure how to do it and intend to ask someone and come back to it later . Then do n't . Or , as has happened , the fax number has been changed without anyone in the practice realising it , and the referrals do n't arrive at the intended destination . And if that is the case , where has that patient information ended up ? # Just not knowing how to do things can be a barrier to communicating with external services but it is certainly no excuse . Ignorance or inexperience wo n't stand up at a hearing . Frustratingly , trying to speak to other professionals on the telephone is not always straightforward . How many times have your tried to telephone someone such as the continence nurse or the health visitor with limited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and so leave a message on their answer machine . They return your call but you are now with a patient so you are unable to take it . You try again once your patient has left and it 's the answerphone again . You then have a day off and miss their return call . And so it goes on . # WHEN COMMUNICATION GOES WRONG # As much as good communication benefits the patient , clearly poor or absent communication is inevitably going to be detrimental to a greater or lesser extent . What happens when an HbA1c reported by the laboratory confirms a diagnosis of diabetes and that is never communicated to the patient ? What are the consequences when a referral to secondary care ' goes missing ' and the patient does n't like to bother the doctor to find out why they have n't heard from the hospital ? And then there 's the unthinkable . We do have to remind ourselves of the most devastating of consequences in failure to communicate with multi-agency professionals when safeguarding children and adults from harm . Sadly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contributory factor when abuse goes unchecked.5 6 When confronted with the thought that poor communication can at its absolute worst result in such tragic consequences it seems trite to blame lack of time , tiredness , feeling overworked or the general mayhem of primary care . # Even in less serious offences , lost DESMOND referrals could culminate in delayed intensive education for these patients and subsequently they could miss out on the benefits of the legacy effect of good early control of their diabetes to reduce long term complications . Being unaware of local knowledge can impact significantly on how we communicate . For example , referral pathways for abnormal cervical cytology can differ from area to area . It may be that a practice nurse working at one surgery has been used to the system of direct referral from the local Cervical Screening Programme , whereas at her new surgery referral needs to be made by the practice . It is an opportunity for error . # In a report last year , NHS England raised concerns about the risks to patient safety on discharge from hospital due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ From a practice nurse 's perspective , a lack of discharge information may be having no advice regarding individualised wound care , the duration for the continuation of antithrombotic agents , whether there is ongoing care from the community nursing team , or a lack of instructions for specific medical devices to name but a few - all of which can directly affect patient care . Communication between the two sectors is therefore vital to protect patients ' safety and ongoing care and such a report emphasises the consequences of poor communication . # COMMUNICATION AND DOCUMENTATION # Sometimes the way in which we communicate with external agencies and services automatically saves a record in the patient 's notes . Many practices use electronic forms for referral to the diabetic foot clinic or community services , for example . Evidence is then left in a patient 's notes that contact or referral has been made to a specific service , when that occurred and by whom . Details of other means of communication , such as phone calls , need to be added to a patient 's records contemporaneously , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes the documentation of failed attempts at making contact with a specific service , such as having to leave messages on the occupational therapist 's answer-machine or repeated unanswered calls to Child Health . Accurate record keeping is essential to nursing practice , but also on another practical level , it can provide a valuable ' aide-memoire ' when you ca n't remember the name of the staff nurse from the Renal Unit from whom you need to seek further advice that day or indeed whether a colleague has received a phone call from the school nurse in your absence . # SELF-REFERRAL # Communicating with other services may sometimes be a question of pointing the patient in the right direction . Many services , such as physiotherapy and some mental health services , do not require a referral from primary care but encourage self-referral from patients themselves . Practice nurses need to be aware of what is available locally and know how to advise patients so they can access such services . Indeed , the services themselves need to ensure that updated information about self-referral is communicated to primary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ details of their services . # TIME # Very often our communication with other agencies feels like an ' add-on ' to our daily work . During your shift you acquire additional things that need to be done for the patients you have seen , be it seeking advice from the specialist stoma nurse , a query with Child Health about a specific child 's immunisation records , a discussion with the NaTHNaC specialist travel nurses about a traveller 's complicated itinerary . So at what point in our day do we actually get the opportunity to manage this successfully ? # Does it need to be said ? Time is essential to good communication . We need time to undertake the phone call , complete the online referral , speak to the health visitor , fax the podiatry form . Not just time , but uninterrupted time . Where our focus is undisturbed . Or in reality are there half-started jobs that fail to be completed as colleagues and patients alike invade any moments of contemplation ? The intention was always there . It 's no wonder at times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # BOX 1 . EXAMPLES OF EXTERNAL SERVICES PRACTICE NURSES CONTACT IN THEIR DAILY WORK # * District Nurses * Midwives * Health Visitors * Chlamydia Screening Programme * Travel health advice * Outpatient departments * Hospital Secretaries * Mental Health Teams * Continence Teams * Pathology Departments * Social Services * Palliative Care Teams * Dementia Advisors * Physiotherapists * Specialist Nurses * Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub * Age UK * Sexual Assault Referral Centre * Child Health * Specialist Consultancy Services * School Nursing Team # Finding the time at the end of a clinic to communicate with other agencies - and to make a record of the communication - is essential # REFERENCES 1 . RCGP General Practice Foundation . General Practice Nurse Competencies . RCGP , 2012 Available at : http : **29;6631;TOOLONG **42;6662;TOOLONG **44;6706;TOOLONG ... # 2 . Nursing and Midwifery Council . The code : Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives . London , 2015 Available at : http : **27;6752;TOOLONG **41;6781;TOOLONG # 3 . Diabetes UK . Improving the delivery of adult diabetes care through integration . London , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ **35;6863;TOOLONG , %20648KB ... # 4 . NHS Choices . Your Records . 2013 Available at : http : **39;6900;TOOLONG **33;6941;TOOLONG # 5 . Coventry Safeguarding Children Board . A Serious Case Review : Daniel Pelka . Overview Report . 2013 Available at : http : **32;6976;TOOLONG **35;7010;TOOLONG **39;7047;TOOLONG ) . # 6 . South Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adults Board . Winterbourne View Hospital . A Serious Care Review . 2012 . Available at : http : **26;7088;TOOLONG wv/report.pdf # 7 . NHS England . Patient Safety Alert . Stage One : Warning . Risks arising from breakdown and failure to act on communication during handover at the time of discharge from secondary care . 29 August 2014 Available at : http : //www.england.nhs.uk/ **44;7116;TOOLONG ... #

@@4159341 Gulf Economies # In 2007 , almost thirty years after setting out on an ambitious agricultural project , Saudi Arabia announced it would be phasing out government handouts to the agricutural sector , which would end in their entirety in 2016 . Outsiders criticized the project from its beginnings , emphasizing the burden it would place on the economy and the damage it would inflict on the country 's water assets . Critics were particularly scathing of the decision to subsidize the project and its detrimental effects on the Saudi economy as a whole . # Nonetheless , Riyadh moved forward with what it saw as its quest to provide both food security for its burgeoning population as well as additonal employment opportunities . An examination of the wheat industry that flourished in the kingdom between 1980 and 2007 , its achievements and failures , as well as the influence of the agricultural sector on the local economy and on water resources may prove a cautionary tale , reconfirming the truths behind the law of unintended consequences . # Subsidizing Food Security # Before analyzing the reasoning behind the decision to try to increase the agricultural output of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ picture of what came before that decision and the actual , concrete steps taken to bring it to pass . # Despite a great deal of skepticism , Saudi Arabia managed to avoid dependence on the import of agricultural products such as wheat from the 1980s on . Indeed , Saudi increases in agricultural production were unprecedented , rising from 148,000 tons of wheat in 1981 to 4.1 million tons by 1993 . The increase in its wheat exports was even more spectacular , shooting from a mere 2.4 tons in 1978 to a million tons in 2000 , mostly to its Persian Gulf neighbors and to other Asian countries such as Bangladesh . # One way in which this was accomplished was by significantly expanding available arable areas . The kingdom had an estimated 67,000 hectare of agricultural land in 1980 , which grew to 907,000 hectare by 1993 . Similarly , in 1980 , the average production per farm was 2.2 tons of wheat per hectare ; this grew to 5.19 tons by 2005 . Some companies in the country 's northern territories even managed to significantly increase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or less on a par with production in Eastern and Central Europe.1 # Over the years , the Saudi wheat industry became concentrated in several areas including the Qasim area of the Najd plateau , the outskirts of Riyadh , the outskirts of Qatif in the eastern province , Taif and its environs in the Northern Province , around the northwestern city of Ha'il and in the southern province of Asir. # Due to better climactic conditions , the Saudi royal family invested greater effort in the northern parts of the country where agricultural companies controlled vast areas that expanded to over 268-380 hectares . In most other parts of the kingdom , the usual amount of land allotted to wheat was more in the 5-10 hectare range . # The explosion in wheat production could not have taken place , however , without government support . In the 1980s , Riyadh granted the agricultural sector incentives such as subsidies on grain , fertilizer , and irrigation water , and a 45 percent discount on purchasing agricultural machinery . Despite the huge price difference between locally produced wheat ( $1,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( $100 per ton ) , the Saudi government continued to purchase domestic agricultural produce and to sell it on the local market at artificially lowered prices . # This thriving agricultural sector brought about a significant rise in employment . In the mid-1970s , 274,000 people worked in agriculture ; those numbers rose to 681,000 by 1992 . The boom increased profits for the farming sector though mainly for large landowners . # To increase profits further and to administer their holdings better , the important Saudi trading families and the Saudi princes joined forces with international companies . In the 1980s , for example , Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz , governor of the town of Ha'il , became a partner in the Ha'il Agricultural Development Company , which soon became the biggest agricultural company in the kingdom . Since most of the large agricultural companies were established by the Saudi elites , critics have claimed that the subsidies were essentially granted for the benefit of the same elites.2 A further consequence of the policy was an increase in wheat smuggling from Yemen and Oman in order to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # By the 1980s , Saudi government stability had become dependent on those who demanded subsidy guarantees in exchange for domestic stability . The subsidies took an enormous toll on the country 's economy , though , eating up an estimated 20 percent of Saudi oil profits between 1980 and 2000 . Nor were agricultural subsidies always consistently granted . When food and oil prices dropped , the Saudi government cut down on financial support in order to avoid excess production . Subsidies were at a peak in the beginning of the 1980s when the agricultural industry was just starting out , and government income was particularly high following a decade of oil-induced prosperity . However , low oil prices from 1995-96 made it hard to grant subsidies at the same level as in the preceding years . This , in turn , resulted in a decrease in agricultural production in those years . The royal house looked to avoid too drastic a subsidy cut even when the country was undergoing an economic crisis figuring that once the agricultural sector had been granted assistance , it would find it difficult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dependence on subsidies was one of the factors behind violent clashes that broke out in the city of Buraida in January 1995 when those who earned their livelihood from agriculture protested against the possibility of cutbacks . Such guarantees provided a quid pro quo for domestic stability.4 # The Most Precious Resource # But , the ambitious wheat project also had a negative impact on the country 's fragile water supply . The Saudi summer is very hot and arid with temperatures often reaching as high as 120 Fahrenheit ( 49 Celsius ) . Average rainfall is 5 inches ( 130 mm ) a year although there has been some occasional flooding in agricultural areas during the " rainy " season . The sporadic rain , soaring temperatures , and high evaporation rates in the eastern areas of the country make it very difficult to establish a viable agricultural economy . For example , an average of 13,173 cubic meters of water is required to irrigate a hectare of wheat in Saudi Arabia as compared to the world average rate of 1,622 cubic meters.5 # The Saudi water sector only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , most of the kingdom 's water came from wells that could be found near the main towns . In 1956 , sewage water infiltrated many wells , forcing the government to accelerate the ground water pumping rate . In the 1970s , the use of non-renewable water resources was raised even further . A population explosion--from 6.2 million in 1970 to 16.2 million by 1990--led to a sharp increase in demand . Rapid urbanization also took its toll : While 2.7 million out of a population of 7.6 million Saudis lived in cities in 1974 , the country 's population had risen to 18 million by 1992 with only 3.8 million remaining in villages and peripheral areas . # By the mid-1990s , the agricultural industry was responsible for 92 percent of total water consumption with 48 percent of that going to wheat . The sharp rise in water consumption for agriculture first began to take effect in the 1980s . In 1980 , for example , the Saudis were consuming 2 billion cubic meters of water , but a mere three years later , consumption had already reached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also due to demographic changes in the kingdom , such as in Mecca , Riyadh , and Abha , and not exclusively as a result of increased agricultural needs.6 # By 1993 , the government began to realize what a heavy toll the agricultural sector had taken on its water resources . According to the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture , 140 billion cubic meters of water had been pumped from non-renewable water sources between 1980 and 1994 , by which time there was significant depletion of drinking water resources in various parts of the kingdom as in the Tebrak area , which is about 95 kilometers from Riyadh and was one of Saudi Arabia 's biggest sources of water . In other areas , such as the eastern province , water reservoirs dried up or became unavailable because of bad management , lack of sewage , and excess use of fertilizers , which contain high levels of toxic chemicals . All of these factors caused contamination of the water supply and resulted in a decrease of between 8-15 meters of ground water between 1980 and 1993.7 # There were 26,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . During this time , there was a marked increase in the use of non-renewable resources from aquifers such as those at Wajid , Saq , Tabuk , Minjur , Biyadh , Wasia , and Umm ar-Radhuma . Some measures were taken to reduce water consumption including the imposition of new water rates in 1994 in order to avoid wastage and excess consumption . Then in 2000 , the government decreed that all private home owners and public establishments must install wastewater treatment apparatus . # These measures notwithstanding , Saudi Arabia continued to rank third in world water consumption at 248.7 liters per capita per day in 1993.8 As a result , in 2005 , the government began using desalinated water rather than water from non-renewable sources . Before then , 11,679 million cubic tons of water had been taken from non-renewable sources per year while only 8,000 million cubic tons of water came from renewable sources . As a result , neighboring countries such as Qatar , Jordan , and Iraq had begun to object to Riyadh 's extensive use of shared ground water , which was depleting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the towns of Jeddah , Medina , and Khubar were established to supply 70 percent of the country 's water between the early 1990s and the beginning of the twenty-first century . Riyadh also intends to establish forty wastewater treatment plants and to streamline water transportation pipelines . But there is a significant downside to these measures . Desalination plants are energy guzzlers , and depending on them takes a financial toll on governmental revenues accrued from oil and gas exports.10 # The Roots of a Decision # As far back as 1993 , Saudi government officials reported that water resources in the kingdom were dwindling , and yet Riyadh continued to opt for more investment in agriculture . What then were the considerations that motivated the House of Saud to continue subsidizing this project , despite deep financial and environmental losses ? 11 # Some have contended that the policy was a misguided course of action derived from a sensible desire to reduce the country 's number of foreign workers.12 Unofficially , estimates are that seven million foreign individuals work in 80 percent of the private sector , making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign workers has a direct impact on the economy : It is estimated to cause losses of billions of dollars every year because much of the derived income goes into the hands of foreigners who then transfer their wages to families outside the kingdom . # However , if recruiting native Saudis to the agricultural sector was a goal of these government subventions , the plan backfired . By the 1980s , most of the field workers were foreigners , and most farms were run by people of Egyptian , Omani , and East Asian origin . In addition , due to the gap between Saudi workers ' abilities and industry requirements , more specialized work such as the operation of irrigation systems and advanced equipment were under the control of Westerners . Saudi citizens working in agriculture were mainly limited to positions in marketing and distribution.14 Similar to the Saudi oil industry ( which had been controlled by Western companies until 1980 ) , large agricultural enterprises were established and run by outsiders . For example , Saad-co , a company that was operational in the 1990s , employed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American and European , and the rest from Asian countries.15 # Others have pointed to a desire to diversify sources of revenue for the kingdom as key to the decision to invest so much in the agricultural sector . But an analysis of the contribution of the agricultural sector to the Saudi economy shows it to have consisted of 4.5 percent of the gross national product in 1975 , 1.8 percent in 1986 , almost 6 percent in 1998 , and 4.2 percent in 2002.16 # Instead , the roots of the Saudi decision must be found elsewhere . Surprisingly , it may be a result of the 1973 global oil crisis , ironically enough triggered by the Saudis ' own behavior . The sharp rise in oil prices from that period produced an increase in the cost of agricultural goods from abroad , which in turn , persuaded the government to try to lessen dependence on foreign food sources . The government also feared the creation of an external food cartel that could arise in reaction to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) oil cartel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between 1967 and 1975 raised transportation expenses and provoked fear that food supplies could be further disrupted . Moreover , a number of natural disasters that were detrimental to world wheat production occurred between 1970 and 1976--such as the deadly 1970 Bhola cyclone in east Pakistan as well as severe drought in Australia in 1972--and the Saudi government wanted to ensure that the country would not lack in food sources . With a rise in bread consumption due to the oil-induced economic boom and a 50 percent increase in Hajj pilgrims from 1980 to 1989 , the Saudis needed more wheat as well as diversification of their food sources.17 # Settling the Nomads # But perhaps the most significant factor behind the royal family 's decision to subsidize and expand the agricultural sector lay in domestic , political considerations . # Before the establishment of the modern Saudi kingdom , 70 percent of society in the Arabian Peninsula was of a Bedouin tribal , nomadic nature . In that setting , tribal leaders controlled the lives of their clansmen in ways that were essentially inimical to a centralizing government . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kingdom , these leaders maintained their status for a time through political marriages , control over pasture lands , and acquiring administrative or army posts for their people . But to truly consolidate power , the central government decided it needed to settle these Bedouin nomads in the big cities and in permanent villages , thereby breaking their traditional tribal bonds . # It must be borne in mind that the House of Saud was not the long-time ruler of the peninsula and its members were in fact something of upstarts . Generous subsidies granted to farmers by the government would be suitable compensation for foregoing a previous nomadic life and drawing the beneficiaries of the Saudi largesse closer to the ruling house . A growing agricultural industry appealed to many Bedouin nomads because it meant that they would have access to pasturelands as well as a regular income and would be released from their rigid tribal structure . Indeed , while 25 percent of Saudi citizens were nomads in the 1970s , by 1989 , fifteen years after the agricultural project began , only 3.8 percent of the population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ established a five-year plan to settle the Bedouin . The government not only granted subsidies to the agricultural sector , it also established authorities whose responsibility was to promote urban settlement . Between 1971 and 1974 , for example , the government became increasingly involved in housing matters via the Real Estate Development Fund , which granted convenient loans to young people and to the financially disadvantaged who wanted to purchase homes . In 1975 , the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs was established to assist in the settlement of rural areas . By 1976 , there was a wave of government-sponsored development in suburbs surrounding cities where the Bedouin cultivated their lands , including near Jeddah , Riyadh , Dammam , Ta'if , Abha , and Jizan , in which many nomadic families settled.19 # A fundamental reason behind the determination to grant generous subsidies was the fear that the masses of Bedouins who had left their nomadic lifestyle would not have a steady income , and thus the subsidies aimed at avoiding social unrest amid the newly settled people . The royal family feared that it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and economic solution to accompany settlement . # Planning for the Future # Riyadh has not , however , entirely abandoned the agricultural sector abroad . In January 2009 , King Abdullah announced the establishment of an " Initiative for Saudi Agricultural Investment " aimed both at cutting Saudi agricultural production and investing in countries that had agricultural potential but little financial means . The government announced an aid package worth $800 million for companies that invested in agriculture outside Saudi Arabia , pledging further support for the purchase of tractors and chemicals , the establishment of irrigation systems , and more in these countries . Thus , the government gave $95 million worth of aid to the Hail Agricultural Development Company ( HADCO ) , a Saudi firm which operates in Sudan . The Saudis have also increased wheat imports from Europe , North America , Russia , and Ukraine , and , in 2010 , began to expand the port of Jeddah where most of these imported agricultural goods arrive.20 # Not everyone in Saudi Arabia was happy with King Abdullah 's program . Some believed that discontinuing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detrimental to those on society 's margins.21 There were also those who claimed that the cessation of subsidies could expose the kingdom to extreme fluctuations in the world food market22 and create a balance of power that could cause conflict with agriculture-producing countries--mainly Germany , the United States , and France--which are dependent on OPEC oil exports . On that score , Riyadh joined the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) in 2005 and as such was obliged to stop subsidizing agriculture and import goods that are cheaper to produce elsewhere.23 But WTO guidelines allow a country experiencing a food crisis to restrict its agricultural product exports , which could negatively affect the Saudi grain supply should such a crisis arise . # Still others asserted that discontinuing support for agricultural projects could cause a loss of public faith in future government attempts to diversify the Saudi economy.24 Indeed , the king 's pronouncement soon had repercussions : Following the announcement that the subsidies would end , 42 percent of the existing 9,231 Saudi agricultural companies closed down . Many agree that King Abdullah 's decision has emphasized that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care of an agricultural sector that is likely to shrink significantly by 2016.25 # Once the fundamental problem of water depletion was fully grasped and the decision made to stop subsidizing domestic wheat production , the Saudi government took concrete measures to both ensure its growing population 's food security and develop other avenues to help farmers and land workers.26 For example , the Saudi Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization ( GSFMO ) , established in 1972 , is the government agency in charge of managing the kingdom 's wheat program . In 2010 , GSFMO expanded Saudi wheat storage capacity and is currently in the process of enlarging its wheat stocks in order to increase the country 's strategic reserve and move it closer to its annual wheat consumption by the end of 2015 . It has also announced that there would be an increase in reserves from six to twelve months of consumption by 2016.27 # Over the past few years , several new wheat silo projects have been initiated . By December 2015 , these storage facilities are slated to yield additional wheat storage capacity of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current GSFMO silos that have a combined storage capacity of 2.8 MT.28 GSFMO also signed contracts to build five additional storage projects in Mecca , Jazan , Hasa , and Qasim with a combined storage capacity of 790,000 MT , which were to be operational by the end of 2014.29 Storage silos may not be cheap to build and manage , but they are still much less expensive than growing cereal in such a harsh climate . Annual storage costs for wheat in Saudi Arabia are about $70 million , a minute figure in comparison to the cost of production subsidies , estimated at around $5 billion a year in 1984-2001.30 # Critics , however , point to the fact that most of Saudi Arabia 's current silos were originally designed to receive domestic crops and are thus located inland ; of the 2.5 MT of current silo capacity , 90 percent is located in those regions . Silo location has a direct link to cost efficiency as high transportation costs will need to be offset somehow and perhaps shifted to the consumer . 31 With the decision to stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ silos will be built closer to ports in order to receive imports.32 But even with plans to expand silos near Jeddah and Jazan , close to 80 percent of silo capacity will still remain for the time being in the interior of the kingdom . Others maintain that a 12-month reserve is more than is necessary even with the threat of supply disruptions.33 There is also the difficult task of rotating such a large number of grain stockpiles to and from different locations as an inability to do so could result in stock spoilage.34 # While looking to ensure food security for the kingdom , the government has also sought to maintain a stable social fabric that has the potential of fraying in the absence of water subsidies and a dramatic shift in domestic food production goals . It has promoted new water technologies such as drip irrigation systems and enhanced water use efficiency . Saudi agronomists are encouraging farmers to include more sustainable agriculture methods and crops . Different types of xerophytes--plants that are adapted to desert climates--have been introduced with the hope of future commercial potential from their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in arid areas to earn a living.35 # Educational and extension programs are a significant part of the Saudi equation . Stressing the importance of these initiatives will raise awareness of the importance of water conservation among growers . Providing farmers with crucial research information36 will help with the challenges the internal agricultural industry is facing such as low soil fertility and the need for environmental protection.37 Thus , King Saud University in Riyadh established an agricultural extension center in May 1990 . This is the only academic program of its kind in the entire gulf region and offers a degree in agricultural extension and rural development.38 # In terms of the social dimensions and the challenges faced there , recent estimates indicate that only about 15 percent of the Saudi population still lives in rural areas . Riyadh feels it is of great importance to keep a balanced ratio of rural to urban population . If such a balance can be reestablished , it will alleviate pressures on the big cities and ease the delivery of essential services to the entire population.39 # To many Saudis , rural areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them and their inhabitants is seen as a form of protecting a national heritage . The exodus of farmers to the cities is perceived as a loss , and agricultural education and farm extension programs may stem that loss . Rural industries such as herbal medicine , bee keeping , and sheep and goat rearing can continue with the assistance of modern technology . These initiatives may help make living in rural areas more inviting and economically feasible so that more people return to their ancestral farming communities.40 In doing so , the Sauds will have made sure not only that the food supply is ensured but that society is secure and balanced as well . These decisions , combined with the Arab upheavals that have cascaded throughout the region since late 2010 , gave Riyadh cause to consider its food security , more specifically , the challenge of securing wheat , the main source of sustenance for its people . The recent uprisings highlighted the problems for the Saudis that can arise concerning protection of this main food source if the correct measures were not taken and expedited solutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ develop its own , internal agricultural industry to ensure food security was considered by many destined to fail from the outset . Indeed , subsidizing the agricultural industry had a devastating effect on the country 's water supply as well as a negative impact on the economy as a whole . # Yet , despite the failure to guarantee food security from domestic sources , the project did have positive effects by providing employment for the hundreds of thousands of Bedouins who had abandoned their traditional , itinerant lifestyle because of the country 's rapid urbanization . In the long term , the Saudi government was forced to look for other solutions for the food security challenge , notably purchasing lands abroad and creating food stockpiles that could reduce the challenge in any future food crisis . # 1 Annual Report , Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency , Riyadh , 2010 , p. 389 ; Safer al-Kahtani , " Optimum Wheat Production in Saudi Arabia , " Journal of King Saud University , Agricultural Sciences , 1994 ( 1 ) , pp. 2-3 ; Vahid Nowshirvani , " The Yellow Brick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Middle East Report , Mar. /Apr. 1987 , pp. 1-2 ; " Saudi Arabia Grain and Feed Annual 2009 , " Gain Report , U.S. Dept. of Agriculture ( USDA ) Foreign Agricultural Service , Washington , D.C. , 2009 , p. 7. # 2 " Saudi Arabia : Grain and Feed Annual , " Gain Report , Jan. 2011 , p. 3 ; Gary Vocke , " Wheat Outlook--A Report from the Economic Research Service , " USDA , July 2010 , pp. 3-24 ; " Employments in Agriculture , " World Bank Data , Washington , D.C. , 1981-2001.3 Sala A. al-Suhaibani , " Mechanization Provisions of Modern Farms in Saudi Arabia , " Journal of King Saud University , Agricultural Sciences , 1990 ( 1 ) , pp. 161-3 ; " Agricultural Machinery , Tractors per 100 sq . km of Arable Land , " World Bank Data , 1996-2001 ; Nowshirvani , " The Yellow Brick Road , " pp. 5-7.4 Omaha World Herald , Jan. 9 , 1995 ; " Grains World Market and Trade Part One , " USDA Foreign Agricultural Service , Dec. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Statistical Analysis of Wheat Yield under Drought Conditions , " Journal of Arid Environments , May 2005 , pp. 483-7 ; M. M. Mekonnen and A. Y. Hoekstra , " A Global and High-Resolution Assessment of the Green , Blue and Grey Water Footprint of Wheat , " Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences , Apr. 22 , 2010 , pp. 1259-76 ; Ali M. Subyani , " Geostatistical Study of Annual and Seasonal Mean Rainfall Patterns in Southwest Saudi Arabia , " Hydrological Sciences--Journal-des Sciences Hydrologiques , Oct. 2004 , pp. 803-4.6 Fahad M. Alkolibi , " Possible Effects of Global Warming on Agriculture and Water Resources in Saudi Arabia : Impacts and Responses , " Climatic Change , July 2002 , pp. 225-36.7 Mohammed Abdulla al-Saleh , " Declining Groundwater Level of the Minjur Aquifer , Tebrak Area , Saudi Arabia , " The Geographical Journal , July 1992 , pp. 215-9.8 Ibid ; Adil A. Bushnak , " Water Supply and Treatment Trends in Saudi Arabia , " Bushnak Water Group , Jeddah , 2001 , pp. 12-22.9 Saleh , " Declining Groundwater Level of the Minjur Aquifer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Saudi Arabia , " pp. 12-22.10 " The Water Sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , " World Bank/Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , 2007 , p. 147 ; " A Water Sector Assessment Report on the Countries of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf , " World Bank , 2005 , pp. 2-34.11 Joseph Mann , " Saudi- Arabia 's Economic Needs and the Price of Oil , " Middle East Review of International Affairs , Dec. 6 , 2010 , pp. 5-7 ; Elie Elhadj , " Household Water and Sanitation Services in Saudi Arabia : An Analysis of Economic , Political and Ecological Issues , " SOAS Water Research Group , School of Oriental and African Studies and King 's College London , May 2004 , p. 20.12 Elie Alhadj , " Saudi Arabia 's Agricultural Project : From Dust to Dust , " Middle East Review of International Affairs , June 2008 , pp. 34-5 ; Manal Soliman Fakeeh , " Saudization as a Solution for Unemployment : The Case of Jeddah Western Region , " PhD thesis , University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors , October 5 , 2013 , " Gulf Cooperation Council and International Monetary Fund , Riyadh , Oct. 5 , 2013 , p. 4.14 M.G.H. al-Asmari , " Saudi Labor Force : Challenges and Ambitions , " King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah , 2008 , p. 24.15 Richard M. Auty , " The Economic Stimulus from Resource-based Industry in Developing Countries : Saudi Arabia and Bahrain , " Economic Geography , July 1988 , pp. 210-22.16 Masudul A. Choudhury and Mohammed A. al-Sahlawi , " Oil and Non-oil Sectors in the Saudi Arabian Economy , " OPEC Review , Sept. 2002 , pp. 235-8.17 E. I. Mousa , I. S. al-Mohizea , and M. A. al-Kanhal , " Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value of Various Breads in Saudi Arabia , " Food Science Dept. , College of Agriculture , King Saud University , 1990 , pp. 259-64 ; Adbullah I. al-Goosi , " Factors Affecting the Import of Wheat in Saudi Arabia , " MA thesis , Michigan State University , 1980 , pp. 43-50.18 Imman Ansir , " Optimizing the Performance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Environment Design Sciences Journal , 2003 , pp. 4-7.19 Monera Nahedh , " The Sedentarization of a Bedouin Community in Saudi Arabia , " PhD thesis , University of Leeds , 1989 , pp. 26-40 , 219-30.20 Carin Smaller and Howard Mann , " A Thirst for Distant Lands : Foreign Investment in Agricultural Land and Water , " International Institute for Sustainable Development , Winnipeg , Manitoba , May 2009 , p. 24 ; " Saudi Arabia : Grain and Feed Annual , " Gain Report , Jan. 2011 , pp. 3-4.21 Jane Harrigan , The Political Economy of Arab Food Sovereignty ( New York : Palgrave , 2014 ) , p. 70.22 " Global Food Insecurity and Implications for Saudi Arabia , " Chatham House , London , Apr. 29 , 2013 , p. 2.23 " Political and Economic Reform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , " Institute of Diplomatic Studies , Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Riyadh , Mar. 2007 , pp. 29-31 ; " Key Economic Sectors Telecommunications and Media , " The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. , in Saudi Arabia Country Report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oil and Gas Report , " ibid. , pp. 18-9 ; Philip S. Khoury and Joseph Kostiner , " Transforming Dualities : Tribe and State Formation in Saudi Arabia , " in Joseph Kostiner , Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East ( Berkeley : University of California Press , 1991 ) , pp. 236-43.24 Harrigan , The Political Economy of Arab Food Sovereignty , pp. 68-70.25 Ibid ; Chicago Tribune Business News , Aug. 26 , 2010.26 Thomas W. Lippman , " Saudi Arabia 's Quest for ' Food Security , ' " Middle East Policy , Spring 2010 , pp. 90-7.27 " Global Food Insecurity and Implications for Saudi Arabia , " pp. 8-9.28 Hussein Mousa , " Grain and Feed Annual : Saudi Arabia 2014 , " Gain Report , 2014 , p. 4-5.29 Ibid. , p. 6-7.30 Rob Bailey and Robin Willoughby , " Edible Oil : Food Security in the Gulf , " Chatham House , London , Nov. 2013 , pp. 10-2.31 " Global Food Insecurity and Implications for Saudi Arabia , " pp. 9-10.32 Danny Hamlick , et al , " Comparing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Research Initiative , Duke University , Durham , N.C. , Apr. 2014 , pp. 4-6.33 " Global Food Insecurity and Implications for Saudi Arabia , " pp. 9-10.34 Ibid.35 Mirza B. Baig and Khodran H. al-Zaharani , " Agricultural Extension in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia : Difficult Present and Demanding Future , " Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Society , College of Food and Agricultural Sciences , King Saud University , n.d. , p. 8.36 Ibid. , p. 9.37 Ibid. , p. 10-12.38 Ibid.39 " Global Food Insecurity and Implications for Saudi Arabia , " p. 6.40 Baig and Zaharani , " Agricultural Extension in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , " pp. 11-2.41 Raed H. Charafeddine , " The Economic and Financial Impacts of the Arab Awakening , " presentation , Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs , Harvard University , Cambridge , Oct. 3 , 2011 , pp. 5-13. # Saudi Arabia Water Supply 1980-2000 ( in million cubic meters/year ) # Saudi Arabia Water Forecasts # Saudi Arabia managed to avoid dependence on the import of agricultural products such as wheat from the 1980s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , shooting from a mere 2.4 tons in 1978 to a million tons in 2000 , sent mostly to its Persian Gulf neighbors and Asian countries such as Bangladesh . # The Saudi wheat industry has been concentrated in areas including the Qasim area of the Najd plateau ; the outskirts of Riyadh , Qatif , Taif , and Ha'il , and in the southern province of Asir. # By 1976 , there was a wave of government-sponsored development in suburbs surrounding cities where Bedouin began to cultivate their lands , including near Jeddah , Riyadh , Dammam , Ta'if , Abha , and Jizan . Bedouins who have settled in the Ta'if region now make their living as herders and farmers . # Large areas of the Saudi desert have been turned into huge wheat fields although the country receives only about four inches of rain a year , one of the lowest rates in the world . The Saudi Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization , established in 1972 , is the government agency in charge of managing the kingdom 's wheat program . In 2010 , GSFMO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process of enlarging its wheat stocks in order to increase the country 's strategic reserve . # Saudi Arabia has built additional grain silos to store a 12-month reserve to counter the threat of supply disruptions . With the decision to stop domestic grain production in 2016 , most of the new silos will be built closer to ports in order to receive imports . #

@@4159441 When I was a graduate student , my big dream was to be published in Research and Practice for Persons With Severe Disabilities ( RPSD ; formerly The Journal of The Association for the Severely Handicapped ) ; serving as its editor was inconceivable to me at that time . Anyway , the rest is history , and it is time for me to end my role as editor and following tradition make some parting comments . Serving as an editor has been one of the most enjoyable and satisfying professional experiences I have had , and I have many individuals to thank for their support and assistance . First , let me thank all the associate editors who have served with me , most of whom for the long haul ( 7 years ) : Susan Copeland , Stacy Dymond , Diane Ferguson , Phil Ferguson , Carolyn Hughes , Rachel Janney , Donna Lehr , John McDonnell , Craig Michaels , Roberta Schnorr , Karrie Shogren , Marti Snell , Fred Spooner , and David Westling . Let me also thank my colleague Suzanne Young who served as our statistical consultant and my department head , Mary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let me express my sincere appreciation to all the 60+ members of our editorial board . Without their great knowledge , insight , and commitment to TASH 's research mission , this journal would never have achieved its first tier status and professional reputation . Finally , I must express my thanks to my managing editor Eirin Grimes ( how she put up with me over all these years continues to amaze me ) . Eirin is a counselor at the University of Wyoming and deals with many serious student problems each day , but she came to every one of our weekly meetings in the best cheer . Every meeting we had was enjoyable , despite all the problems we faced : switching to an electronic review system , delayed publication dates , missing reviews and galley proofs , change of publisher , and lack of accepted manuscripts , among others . My appreciation is heartfelt . # I must also thank Barb Trader , the TASH Board of Directors , and the four presidents we had during my tenure as editor : Lyle Romer , Carol Quirk , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encouragement . No doubt I made decisions and took actions they may not have agreed with , but I never felt their lack of support . I believe that the journal serves an important and valued function , and all these individuals helped to achieve this function . # So what has happened with the journal in the last 7 years ? Most notably in terms of operations , the journal has finally entered the " Digital Age . " All manuscripts now are electronically submitted and reviewed via Manuscript Central . This has allowed for a rapid and efficient review system . We also have changed publishers and RPSD is now being published by SAGE Publications . We look forward to SAGE 's commitment to better market and publicize the journal and to help achieve a greater readership , both nationally and internationally . # Probably , the biggest and most desirable changeat least from my perspectivehas been a threefold increase in manuscript submissions ; this has resulted in an increase in associate editors from five to eight members . This increase is of course important because it provides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bane of many RPSD editors has been to have a sufficient number of accepted articles to publish . But , more importantly , this increase provides evidence that the journal has regained its credibility in the research communitya status it had all but lost prior to my appointment , and that researchers now feel that RPSD is a first tier and respected journal . Last , our citation index has correspondingly increased threefold , which provides further evidence that we are " respected " in the professional community . # The journal has thoughtfully and respectfully addressed and discussed every issue relevant to ensuring that people with severe disabilities are entitled to full recognition and the opportunity to learn and to lead meaningful and productive lives . Broadly speaking , the articles addressed 25 different topical areas or issues ( e.g. , inclusive practice , positive behavior support ) . Interestingly , the five most frequently addressed topics were access to the general curriculum , literacy , transition , customized employment , and diversity . No effort will be made to identify a pattern , but these data do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups and situations . # As would be unexpected , given the diversity of opinion in the TASH community , several articles in RPSD have engendered controversy ( e.g. , facilitated communication , the Special Olympics ) . No doubt these articles created some tension and may have polarized opinions among TASH members about these issues . That said , I do not believe that these differences in opinion about TASH policies and priorities are a cause for alarm but are a reminder about how complicated are many issues we deal with , how heartfelt are our opinions about varying issues , and how research and values may sometimes appear to be at odds , even when similar outcomes are sought by disagreeing parties ( 1 ) . Serving in this mediating role and opening up conversations about controversial issues is an important responsibility for a research journal , and it is one that the journal has endeavored to achieve . As 2 noted , historically TASH has applauded research that is scientifically valid and socially relevant , and the journal has sought to be responsive to that call . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ function ) is that it not only publishes current research but also serves as a change agent for guaranteeing equal rights and social justice . Rather than being seen as just a publication of interest to researchers , graduate students , and academicians , the journal is perceived as a source of thoughtful and reasoned information for various stakeholders ( e.g. , educators , politicians , parents ) who , hopefully , will use it to advocate for and affect change . This is of course a goal difficult to measure , but I am hopeful that the journal has helped to inform stakeholders about best practices and needed changes in the practices we use and the policies we follow . Since TASH 's conception 40 years ago , much has been accomplished across diverse areas ( e.g. , education , employment , community living ) , but there is much more to achieve : full inclusion for all students , full participation as citizens in their communities , meaningful and productive employment , a higher quality of life and overall well-being , a greater respect for and attention to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , among other goals . I am confident that in the future , RPSD will continue to serve its role in helping these goals to be realized . # Every year , we honor a reviewer with the TASH Distinguished Reviewer of the Year Award . It is almost fateful that the recipient of that award during my first year as editor was Stacy Dymond , who will be the new editor of RPSD . Stacy has a deep knowledge about research , has been an active contributor to the journal , has had a variety of editorial responsibilities , and has an unswerving commitment to serving people with severe disabilities . I am confident that she will both improve the quality of the journal and allow it to achieve greater recognition . # I have been very honored and humbled to serve as the RPSD editor and , in an indirect way , to encourage and support the research mission of TASH . I thank you all for providing me with this opportunity .

@@4159541 Section : NEWS # Mental health referrals for ex-servicemen and women have increased by 26% in the past year , according to specialist veterans ' mental health charity Combat Stress . # The charity said that referrals for poor mental health or posttraumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) had risen from 1,802 to 2,264 , with an increase in veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan seeking help cited as the main reason for the rise . # " We are very concerned at the significant rise in those coming forward with military PTSD , " acknowledged director of medical services Dr Walter Busuttil. # " It is the biggest increase we have seen in recent years and we expect it to continue , so we are building up our clinical services accordingly . The good news is that we do have treatments that work , " he said . # 2015 , Occupational Health , Reed Business Information Ltd All Rights Reserved .

@@4159641 FEATURE # FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIANS # Whether they are new to the school library scene or are veterans trying to brush up on their knowledge about minors ' Constitutional rights , school librarians can use the following online and print resources about intellectual freedom and privacy to help ensure student access to information for both instructional and recreational purposes . Using the resources in this article , school librarians will be able to build a strong foundation of knowledge about the relevant issues , implement practices to develop a vital library program , and know how to seek support in the event of a materials challenge . # Building a Foundation : Understanding the Issues # To be effective , school librarians must understand the wide range of issues related to intellectual freedom and privacy . Numerous resources provide excellent overviews about these issues . # To gain foundational knowledge , turn to the American Library Association 's Intellectual Freedom Manual , 9th edition **36;26143;TOOLONG ? ID=1135 ... ( ALA 2015 ) . Like previous editions , the manual contains core ALA documents such as the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read statement , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It also includes essays explaining relevant laws . The ninth edition is arranged topically , making it easy to find information about nine intellectual freedom issues ( e.g. , access , censorship , children and youth , copyright , privacy , etc . ) . New to this edition are practical checklists for creating library policy , " Issue at a Glance " pages summarizing key points librarians need to know , step-by-step instructions for handling challenges , and specific tips for school librarians . # Essays about the history and social context of ALA documents on intellectual freedom were removed from the manual and published as a companion volume : A History of ALA Policy on Intellectual Freedom : A Supplement to the Intellectual Freedom Manual **36;26181;TOOLONG ? ID=1136 ... Additional information about the manual is in Trina Magi 's article in the September/October 2015 issue of Knowledge Quest , " Newly Revised Intellectual Freedom Manual Makes It Easier to Find the Help You Need . " # Besides this rich resource , school librarians must continually seek out new interpretations and reports . For example , in June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Office for Information Technology Policy ( OITP ) released Fencing Out Knowledge : Impacts of the Children 's Internet Protection Act 10 Years Later written by Kristen R. Batch **44;26219;TOOLONG ... Reflecting on how the Children 's Internet Protection Act ( CIPA ) has negatively impacted access to information since it was passed in 2000 , the study underscores school librarians ' need to understand the law , what content it requires be filtered , and how librarians can meet that requirement--all with the goal of not overfiltering . Learn more about the report by reading " Filtering beyond CIPA : Consequences of and Alternatives to Overfiltering in Schools " by Kristen R. Batch in the September/October 2015 issue of Knowledge Quest . # ALA and its Intellectual Freedom Committee are continually working on new interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights . The most recent , approved by the ALA Council in June 2015 , directly relate to school libraries : # * Labeling Systems : An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights # * Rating Systems : An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Rights # ALA also offers a number of tool kits , including the Privacy Tool Kit **44;26265;TOOLONG ... Developed by ALA 's Privacy Subcommittee in 2005 , it was updated in January 2014 . The Privacy Tool Kit now includes a significant section on minors ' privacy rights and technology-related privacy threats . Check the ALA Intellectual Freedom website regularly for new resources **39;26311;TOOLONG # For one-stop online foundational knowledge , check out the Intellectual Freedom Resources LibGuide &lt;http : **35;26352;TOOLONG ... compiled by Vermont high school librarian Christine Eldred . This online resource is organized using ten tabs , each representing a category of information . These categories include the latest news feeds , basic information about the theory behind intellectual freedom , ideas to ensure that library policies and procedures are in order , annual events that raise awareness , and privacy pointers . Much of the content to which this LibGuide links is from the American Library Association , so it 's a perfect way to augment the Intellectual Freedom Manual highlighted above . Eldred does an outstanding job grouping information to help make the exploration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published books to recently released online reports and projects to helpful LibGuides , school librarians can find a multitude of resources that will strengthen their foundational knowledge of intellectual freedom and privacy issues . # Developing a Vital Library Program : Putting Theory into Practice # Once school librarians are well versed in and/or refreshed on the foundations of intellectual freedom , it 's important to put those theories into practice in their own schools and libraries . # For quick help when confronting an issue , check out an online database facilitated by the Cooperative Children 's Book Center of the University of Wisconsin--Madison . Titled What IF ? ? Questions and Answers on Intellectual Freedom &lt;http : **35;26389;TOOLONG ... this online database allows practitioners to pose questions that they face in their day-to-day professional lives . Experienced librarians well versed in intellectual freedom provide answers and ideas to consider . Designed especially for teachers , school librarians , and public librarians , the What IF forum groups questions and answers into five categories : school libraries , classrooms , public libraries , self-censorship , and other . Anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question has been submitted previously . If not , easy-to-follow instructions facilitate filling out an online form to submit a query . Site users can pose new questions and receive thoughtful personal answers with complete confidentiality . The new questions with answers are then added to the What IF ? database . # An important way for school librarians to transform foundational intellectual freedom and privacy knowledge into practice is to promote their own library services . Doing so has a twofold advantage : the first is that they can hold themselves accountable to the vision of a library being accessible and relevant to the community . The second advantage is that promoting a library program raises awareness and creates allies amongst constituents who may be called upon for support in the event of a materials challenge . Four national high-profile events observed annually provide an opportunity for school librarians to educate library users and the school community : # * AASL 's School Library Month **28;26426;TOOLONG , observed in April # * Choose Privacy Week &lt;http : **27;26456;TOOLONG , observed the first week in May # * Banned Books @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ * AASL 's Banned Websites Awareness Day **38;26518;TOOLONG , observed on Wednesday during Banned Books Week # Together , these four observances can have a powerful impact . # Two books will help school librarians translate ALA policy statements into practice : # * Protecting Intellectual Freedom and Privacy in Your School Library **44;26558;TOOLONG ... by Helen R. Adams ( Libraries Unlimited 2013 ) . Its nine chapters explore protecting privacy and confidentiality in the context of a school library ; working with homeless students , English language learners , and other special-needs students ; dealing with challenges to school library materials ; overcoming restrictive Internet filtering ; and advocating for intellectual freedom . Additionally , the book offers practical evaluation tools such as a " Challenge-Proofing Your School Library Checklist " and a " Privacy Checklist : Evaluating the Library Media Program . " # * Pat Scales 's most recent book , Books Under Fire : A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children 's Books **36;26604;TOOLONG ? ID=1113 ... ( ALA Editions 2015 ) . Scales ' book covers dozens of books that have attracted the attention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characters , reviews , and awards ; noted challenges and provided suggestions on how to defend against future challenges ; and offered discussion ideas for programs and a list of additional resources for librarians involved in a challenge . # These resources are rich with advice to help school librarians integrate intellectual freedom principles into practice . # Responding to a Materials Challenge : Where to Turn for Help # Even with a solid foundation of knowledge about intellectual freedom and a strong library program backed by allies , a librarian may still need additional advice and assistance--especially during a conflict or a challenge to materials . # National organizations can be a vital source of professional support . The American Library Association 's Office for Intellectual Freedom **31;26642;TOOLONG offers assistance by telephone or e-mail to librarians who are faced with actual or possible challenges to library materials , services , and programs . The office also maintains a confidential database of materials that have been challenged . This assistance dealing with a resource challenge is freely available to all , not only ALA and AASL members . OIF staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom : Who We Are and How We Help Librarians " in the September/ October Knowledge Quest print issue . # As teacher librarians who collaborate with classroom instructors , school librarians should note that the National Council of Teachers of English &lt;www.ncte.org&gt; offers advice and support to teachers who are facing challenges in their classrooms . A good place to start is by reading the " Five Most Helpful Resources " that prevent and combat censorship , as well as the organization 's position statements , all freely accessible at NCTE 's Intellectual Freedom Center **43;26675;TOOLONG # Additionally , personal support and encouragement from colleagues can prove to be invaluable . Many state professional associations have intellectual freedom round tables or intellectual freedom committees with seasoned and knowledgeable practitioners . School librarians who have developed relationships with colleagues and familiarized themselves with nearby resources will know where to turn at the local level as well . # Whether school librarians are building the foundation of their intellectual freedom and privacy knowledge , putting that knowledge into practice for their communities , or facing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ useful resources can help them on the journey . # All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976 . Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions . # Resources at a Glance # Online Resources # American Library Association " Intellectual Freedom " website : **39;26720;TOOLONG # American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom : **31;26761;TOOLONG # Banned Books Week : **31;26794;TOOLONG # Banned Websites Awareness Day : **38;26827;TOOLONG # Batch , Kristen R. Fencing Out Knowledge : Impacts of the Children 's Internet Protection Act 10 Years Later . **44;26867;TOOLONG ... # Choose Privacy Week : &lt;http : **27;26913;TOOLONG # Intellectual Freedom Center of the National Council of Teachers of English : **43;26942;TOOLONG # Intellectual Freedom Resources LibGuide : &lt;http : **35;26987;TOOLONG ... # National Council of Teachers of English : &lt;www.ncte.org&gt;. # Privacy Tool Kit : **44;27024;TOOLONG ... # School Library Month : **28;27070;TOOLONG # What IF ? ? Questions and Answers on Intellectual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Helen R. 2013 . Protecting Intellectual Freedom and Privacy in Your School Library . Santa Barbara , CA : Libraries Unlimited . # American Library Association , Office for Intellectual Freedom . 2015 . Intellectual Freedom Manual , 9th ed . Chicago : ALA. # Scales , Pat . 2015 . Books Under Fire : A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children 's Books . Chicago : ALA. #

@@4159741 Original Article # Infusing Transition Planning and Instruction Into Elementary Classrooms # There is a widespread misconception that transition planning and programming begin in high school . However , there are many opportunities for teachers to infuse transition-focused education into teaching and learning activities for their elementary-grade students . Teachers can engage students with disabilities and their families in transition-focused activities throughout the elementary school years . Activities include helping students build self-determination and career awareness as well as increasing parental knowledge about the longitudinal nature of transition planning . # Transition planning has been required under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA ) since 1990 , but individuals with disabilities have yet to achieve postschool outcomes that are on par with their peers without disabilities . In the most recent report of postschool outcomes from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 , youth with disabilities were found to be less likely than their peers in the general population to enroll in and complete postsecondary education , gain employment , and live independently in the years following high school completion ( Newman et al. , 2011 ) . To increase the likelihood that students with disabilities achieve successful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that students have adequate time to prepare for this transition . IDEA ( 2004 ) states that transition planning must begin by age 16 " or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP individualized education program Team " ( 20 U.S.C. 1414 d1AiVIII ) . Recognizing the importance of appropriate student-focused experiences to prepare for the transition process , several states have chosen to formally begin the process at age 14 or before . # Since the inception of the transition requirements in IDEA , professionals have recommended a longitudinal approach to transition planning , beginning in the primary grades ( see Clark , Carlson , Fisher , Cook , &amp; D'Alonzo , 1991 ; Moore , Agran , &amp; McSweyn , 1990 ) and using backward planning to build educational experiences toward transition goals ( Baer , 2008 ) . However , coordinated teaching and learning activities explicitly aimed at transition-focused education have not been systematically integrated into elementary school curricula . Yet , findings suggest that more successful postschool outcomes can result from the implementation of several important activities that can readily be integrated into elementary schools , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ awareness , and family involvement ( Test et al. , 2009 ; Wehmeyer &amp; Palmer , 2003 ) . Developing self-determination and career awareness is a lifelong process that should begin in the primary grades . # Building relationships with families and educating them about the transition planning process that will take place in the later grades are both important aspects of the elementary special education teacher 's role . There are specific strategies that elementary school teachers can use to increase opportunities for children to develop critical self-determination skills , provide career awareness experiences , and extend these learning opportunities to the home through family involvement . # Self-Determination # Self-determination is a research-based theory with over 25 years of data to support beneficial implications in special education settings by increasing postsecondary outcomes and future success in education and employment ( Wehmeyer &amp; Field , 2007 ) . According to Wehmeyer and Shogren ( 2013 ) , individuals who are self-determined have better knowledge of their own interests , strengths , and needs , and they carry out their own desires . Self-determined individuals make decisions , set goals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goals are accomplished . Because many students lack the aforementioned skills , direct teaching and acquisition of skill development has been shown to increase self-determined behavior ( e.g. , Wehmeyer , Palmer , Shogren , Williams-Diehm , &amp; Soukup , 2013 ) . # Promoting Self-Determination at the Elementary Level # Self-determination develops across all ages , and school- and family-based activities help to increase levels of self-determination ( Palmer , 2010 ) . Realizing self-determination is a lifelong process helps to promote the need at the early level ( Wehmeyer &amp; Palmer , 2000 ) . The literature base that addresses the promotion of self-determination at early levels most often includes suggestions for parents and families ( Erwin , Brotherson , Palmer , Cook , &amp; Summers , 2009 ) or possible ways to create environments to lead toward opportunities to practice self-determined behavior ( Brotherson , Cook , Erwin , &amp; Weigel , 2008 ) . Consideration of family and cultural background can be critical when infusing elements of self-determination at the elementary level . It may be more important to include families in the development of self-determination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ability to greatly promote skills , such as choice making and decision making , in home environments ( Brotherson et al. , 2008 ) . With the increased attention to Common Core State Standards ( CCSS ) , student involvement continues to be a concern at all levels ( Appleton , Christenson , Kim , &amp; Reschly , 2006 ) . Self-determination can be readily infused into existing general education curricula that are aligned with the CCSS and can help to build a foundation for future in-school and postschool success ( Rowe , Mazzotti , &amp; Sinclair , 2015 ) . # Incorporating Self-Determination Activities in the Elementary Curriculum # One factor in promoting the development of self-determination for all children , and especially for younger children , is opportunity . Self-determined behavior must be practiced in controlled situations if children are to succeed in other environments . Table 1 depicts nine strategies that incorporate self-determination concepts into elementary curricula . These strategies were developed based on the essential elements of self-determination ( Wehmeyer , 2003 ) and the five guiding principles proposed by Brotherson et al . ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learn and apply self-determined behaviors early in their school careers and for these strategies to be utilized across home and community environments . # Career Awareness and Development # Teaching and learning activities directed at promoting career awareness and development also advance self-determination by increasing children 's self-awareness . Embedding learning experiences aimed at career awareness and development during the elementary grades reflects a necessary component of a longitudinal approach to transition-focused education . Many theories of career development and career choice have been advanced and provide a strong research base for practice . These frameworks typically describe three stages : career awareness , career exploration , and career experiences , with awareness and exploration activities beginning in the elementary years and opportunities for exploration and work experiences increasing with age . # Both inclusion in the general education curriculum in classes with peers without disabilities and career awareness have been found to be evidence-based predictors of successful transition outcomes ( Test et al. , 2009 ) . Table 2 provides a description of resources for teachers of elementary school students to facilitate career awareness and exploration within the general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learn about careers , their interests , and careers or occupations that best align with their interests and strengths . # Learning From Role Models # Snowden ( 2003 ) described the importance of using role models to promote career awareness in youth with disabilities . Children need to observe and learn from individuals with disabilities who are working and have been successful in employment and careers . Several of the descriptions provided in Table 2 engage employees from businesses to provide authentic career awareness experiences . Having employed individuals with disabilities visit the classroom or having them interact with children through participation in career fairs or class excursions to community businesses and other workplaces provides an opportunity for children to witness firsthand people with disabilities working . # In the event that teachers are not able to identify employees with disabilities in local businesses , it is important to incorporate either real or fictitious examples of individuals with disabilities across the curricula to aid in the exploration of various jobs and careers . Seeing or hearing about individuals with disabilities who are characters in stories or other media--such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison : Great Inventor ( Adler , 1996 ) ; and Our Teacher 's in a Wheelchair ( Powers , 1987 ) --helps students with and without disabilities learn about the knowledge and skills of individuals with disabilities . # The real or fictitious role models should speak about various occupations ranging from entry-level and advanced positions and occupations not requiring a college degree to those requiring additional education or training beyond a high school diploma . It is important for children to learn about the diversity of jobs that people with disabilities perform . Engaging in teacher- or role model--directed discussions about challenges presented by the employee 's or character 's disability and strategies for overcoming those challenges provides for a valuable learning experience and helps to foster beliefs about the benefits and importance of work and careers as well as reinforces several key self-determination skills . For example , children with disabilities learn there are jobs and careers for all individuals . Role models also help raise expectations and aspirations as they share information about the types of jobs and careers achieved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the local chamber of commerce or human resource departments of local businesses and community agencies that provide employment services to individuals with disabilities , such as the office of vocational rehabilitation services , the developmental disability or mental health office , and supported employment providers . Business Leadership Networks ( BLN ; http : //www.usbln.org/ ) is also a valuable resource to assist in identifying workers with disabilities , although it does not have a presence in all states . # The Internet also presents opportunities to identify and share information about employees with disabilities working across different industries . The DO-IT program at the University of Washington ( visit http : **39;47491;TOOLONG ... provides examples of people with disabilities working and how computer technology addresses limitations experienced due to one 's disabilities , so individuals are able to be productive employees . # Community-Based Instruction # Several teaching and learning experiences aimed at career awareness can be enhanced through visits with employers and access to businesses in the community ( Beale , 2000 ) . Offices , farms , hospitals , restaurants , theaters , manufacturing facilities , wholesale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and authentic learning experiences for children . Visits to the variety of businesses within the community provide opportunities for children to learn about the types of jobs and careers that exist in their locality . Teachers can discuss different industry clusters , and students can compare and contrast industries by gathering data related to industry outlook , salary or wages and employment , workplace demographics , and career ladders through implementation of several strategies listed in Table 3. # Children in elementary school are not expected to make decisions about a specific career . Instead , they need to learn about a variety of career choices and how their skills and interests will affect their career choices ( i.e. , self-awareness ) . Student participation in community experiences where they apply academic , social , or general work behaviors and skills is an evidence-based predictor of postschool success ( Test et al. , 2009 ) . Table 3 includes activities related to Career Days and career interviews , which can be used to prepare students for trips to visit businesses or as follow-up activities after the students visit . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self-determination , such as self-awareness and choice making , these career awareness activities should contribute to practices at the elementary level aimed at advancing transition-focused education for youth with disabilities . The involvement of families in these and other activities is essential to ensure effective transition planning from an early age . # Family Involvement # In transition planning , families provide important information on the strengths and needs of their children and can offer perspectives on postschool outcomes that fit within the values of their family and culture ( Landmark , Zhang , &amp; Montoya , 2007 ) . Further , families provide a " bridge " from school to postschool life , as their support does not end upon high school graduation . Parental involvement , as defined by active and knowledgeable participation in all aspects of transition planning , has been found to be an evidence-based predictor of postschool employment success ( Test et al. , 2009 ) . # Yet , family involvement in transition planning does not begin just when the student turns 14 or 16 . Engaging in the transition process early provides the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planning and the importance of their role . Elementary school teachers can support the preparation of families to be effective members of the transition-planning team . In IEP meetings beginning in elementary school , special education teachers can explain the transition-planning process . Information can be provided about the start date for formal transition planning and the steps that will be taken to plan and prepare students for life after high school . For students who will require more intensive supports , teachers can connect families with the resources that are available in the local community to assist with transition and postschool life . The Parent Transition Information Needs Survey ( Wandry &amp; Pleet , 2009 ) provides a useful tool for determining parent needs for information . This survey asks parents to rate their level of need for information regarding a number of aspects of the transition process , such as graduation requirements , age-of-majority guidelines , and various supports and services that may be available to students after high school . Schools may also want to put in place a process for determining when the student and family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ required legal age . # It is also important that families be motivated to be active participants in the transition-planning process . The relationships that families build with school professionals from early on are critical in determining their willingness to take on a collaborative role in transition planning ( deFur , Todd-Allen , &amp; Getzel , 2001 ) . Special education teachers in elementary and middle schools can lay the groundwork for later family involvement through the development and maintenance of relationships in which families feel heard and take on a valued role in their children 's education . DeFur ( 2009 ) described a model for partnering with families in the transition-planning process that includes 10 strategies : ( a ) stay student and family centered , ( b ) develop a shared vision for transition outcomes , ( c ) be culturally responsive , ( d ) communicate proactively , ( e ) be caring and committed , ( f ) give choice and voice to all parties , ( g ) problem solve creatively , ( h ) offer helpful connections for students and families , ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) reflect on and celebrate accomplishments . Using these strategies to partner with families during the elementary grades could help to ensure that positive relationships have developed by the time formal transition planning begins . # Beyond family involvement , parent expectations for postsecondary education and employment have been found to be an evidence-based predictor of postschool outcomes ( see Mazzotti , Rowe , Poppen , and Sinclair , 2014 ) . In addition , the expectations that families hold as early as kindergarten have been found to be positively related to their child 's later academic achievement ( Froiland , Peterson , &amp; Davison , 2012 ) . The implication of these findings is that special education teachers in the elementary grades can work to convey to parents the importance of holding high expectations for their children 's future success . Individuals with disabilities are achieving far more than many were ever expected to : holding jobs , accessing postsecondary education , and living independently . Teachers can share stories of students who went on to have successful , independent , and fulfilling lives and should ensure that nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have for their children . Teachers may also need to recognize the beliefs and assumptions that they hold regarding parent involvement to ensure that they do not disempower parents from taking an active role ( Landmark , Roberts , &amp; Zhang , 2013 ) . Educators may also require training on the potential of students with disabilities so that they do not inadvertently limit parent expectations for their child 's postschool success ( Martinez , Conroy , &amp; Cerreto , 2012 ) . # Conclusion # The strategies presented in this article provide suggestions for teachers to begin infusing transition-focused education into elementary classrooms . Although teachers recognize the importance of beginning transition planning early ( Wandry et al. , 2008 ) , many feel a lack of knowledge and skills for engaging in this essential task ( Landmark et al. , 2013 ) . Formal transition course work and ongoing professional development can ensure that teachers feel confident in their abilities to engage in transition-planning practices across grade levels ( Morningstar &amp; Benitez , 2013 ) # Table 1 . Strategies to Incorporate Self-Determination Concepts Into Elementary Curriculum # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 . Resources for Promoting Career Awareness and Development With Students in Elementary Grades # Table 3 . Teaching and Learning Strategies for Career Development #

@@4159841 Identifying and overcoming resistance from patient and therapist alike . # Two British psychologists present an intriguing analysis of a seemingly simple and routine step in treatment that is actually very complex : weighing patients . Drs . Glenn Waller and Victoria A. Mountford of the University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK , and King 's College , London , focused on current protocols for weighing patients during cognitive behavioral therapy , or CBT ( Behaviour Research and Therapy 70 ( 2015 ) , 1-10 ) . # A starting point for their research was the marked variability in evidence-based therapies , particularly statistics showing that fewer than 40% of CBT clinicians routinely weigh their CBT patients ( Int J Eat Disord. 2014 Dec 12. doi : 10.1002/eat.22369 . Epub ahead of print . And , the authors found that a sizeable number of clinicians believed they should not share weight information with patients . Another issue was that many protocols do not directly address how , when , and why patients with eating disorders should be weighed . # Four reasons why patients should be routinely weighed # Drs . Waller and Mountford cited four main reasons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for patient safety , to understand the patient 's eating patterns , to reduce patient anxiety and avoidance , and to modify the " broken cognition " or the patient 's disconnect about the link between eating and weight gain . # What is the best way to weigh CBT patients ? One suggestion is to present the act of measuring weight simply as part of the therapeutic program , beginning with the assessment and the first therapy session . Presenting weighing as a rational and non-negotiable part of therapy will work with most patients , according to the authors , and only a few will question the rationale for it ( i.e. , ' My last therapist did not weigh me . ' ) . Exploring the reasons for weight change will help patients see such fluctuations in weight as a slow , boring process and to understand that most people gain or lose up to 2 lb even during the day . For anorexic patients , it is important to discuss the planned weekly weight gain target and to include this in future predictions and evaluations , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Waller and Mountford is that measuring weight be presented as a collaboration between patient and therapist. # The process of weighing # Some suggestions include reminding the patient--before she steps on the scales--that this is only one of four weight measurements used to establish an average weight . Another suggestion is that the patient and therapist view the scale weight at the same time . Then , whatever the weight and whatever the patient 's reaction , the goal is to treat the weight change as a long-term issue and not to get excited about it in the short term . # Transparency is important , and the weight should be shared with the patient and copies of each weighing kept by both therapist and patient . The authors suggest including two lines on the chart , the actual weight , augmented with a median line every 4 weeks , and the cumulative weight . Then , outcomes after 4 weeks , as indicated on the weight chart , can be used to challenge false beliefs , allowing the clinician to stress the difference between the patient 's beliefs about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the ' broken cognition ' is repaired with consistent , repeated focus on the eating-weight link . Then , at the end of the session , planning food intake ( exposure to ' feared foods , ' behavioral experiments ) and related behaviors ( reduction in purging behaviors ) should be linked to the patient predicting likely weight change as a result . This prediction is repeated at the beginning of the weighing process at the next session , which will help deal with the fact that the patient 's predicted eating pattern at the end of the session might not be what was actually eaten over the intervening week . # Patient resistance and therapist justifications # Sometimes it 's not only the patient who is reluctant about the process of weighing . Some clinicians are reluctant to weigh patients , even when a shows no reluctance to approach the scale . Therapists ' justifications for not weighing patients may reflect a belief that this will ruin the therapeutic relationship . Or , such justifications many reflect an attitude that the patient is usually weighed by someone else @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the session , or a belief that weight can be judged by eye , or There just is n't enough time to do it . " # The authors also found that some organizations have policies about weighing patients that are counter to effective delivery of CBT . Some everyday examples include weighing patients but not revealing the weight or asking other clinicians to weigh patients but then only asking for an update when substantial risk is identified . Some groups require that a patient be weighed only by a specific clinician and only on a particular day , making it impossible for a therapist to weigh a patient during therapy . # Adaptations for specific groups # Certain groups of patients , including inpatients , patients with high degrees of shame about their weight , morbidly obese patients , and those with medical complications , will need special adaptations for weighing . For example , at extreme levels , shame related to being weighed might interfere with the therapeutic alliance and with the individual 's ability to engage in therapy . # Finally , Drs . Waller and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , future research should study the impact of training clinicians in the appropriate use of weighing . A second area of research involves the need for specific evidence that weighing is a necessary part of CBT . According to the authors , the overall goal would be to establish protocols that are clear about whether or not to weigh patients with eating disorders , and when and how to do so . #

@@4170041 Headnote # Abstract : Social spending by central governments in Latin America has , in recent decades , become increasingly insulated from political manipulation . Focusing on the 3&times;1 Program in Mexico in 2002-2007 , we show that social spending by local government is , in contrast , highly politicized . The 3&times;1 Program funds municipal public works , with each level of government-municipal , state , and central-matching collective remittances . Our analysis shows that 3&times;1 municipal spending is shaped by political criteria . First , municipalities time disbursements according to the electoral cycle . Second , when matching collective remittances , municipalities protect salaries of personnel , instead adjusting budget items that are less visible to the public , such as debt . Third , municipalities spend more on 3&times;1 projects when their partisanship matches that of the state government . Beyond the 3&times;1 Program , our findings highlight the considerable influence that increasing political and economic decentralization can have on local government incentives and spending choices , in Mexico and beyond . # For decades , social spending by the Mexican national government , in theory aimed at providing a safety net for poor citizens , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Molinar and Weldon 1994 ; Rocha Menocal 2001 , 2005 among others ) .1 In recent times , however , the scope for such manipulations at the national level has decreased . Conditional cash transfer programs created in the 1990s , for example , target recipients on the basis of objective , needs-based criteria , leaving little scope for political manipulation ( Levy 2006 ; De la O 2013 ) .2 At the same time , the twin processes of political decentralization ( Falleti 2005 ) and increased electoral competition since the 1980s have magnified both the motivation and the possibilities for local governments to politicize social spending under their control ( Cornelius 1999 ) . Ironically , some of the same forces that have rendered central governments leaner and more accountable have also increased the budgets and the independence of municipal governments , albeit without concomitant increases in local accountability . # This article studies local ( i.e. , municipal ) government spending patterns in Mexico in the context of the 3&times;1 Program . We find clear evidence that local political and electoral pressures importantly shape such spending . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and magnitude of municipal government spending associated with the 3&times;1 Program bear the fingerprints of locallevel electoral imperatives . # We focus on the 3&times;1 Program for the following reasons . First , municipal government plays a key role in its implementation.3 Relatedly , it is the largest social spending program in Mexico that directly involves the local level of government . Furthermore , participation in the program varies over time and across municipalities , and we have information about municipal budgets both before and after 3&times;1 Program projects are undertaken , thus we are able to observe how municipalities adjust their spending decisions . The 3&times;1 Program , therefore , provides a unique window into the logic of local government spending.4 # The official goals of the 3&times;1 Program are multifaceted , and they include the reduction of poverty , the promotion of development by amplifying the impact of collective remittances , and the strengthening of linkages between Mexican migrants and their communities of origin.5 Broadly speaking , the 3&times;1 Program involves matching , three to one , monetary remittances sent by migrant hometown associations ( HTAs ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ usually from the same community or municipality in Mexico , that raise funds in the United States to support community projects in their places of origin . The collective remittances finance specific local public goods selected by the HTA , municipalities , and citizen beneficiaries in recipient communities . These are typically small-scale public goods projects including paving roads , extending the electricity grid , or expanding a water main.6 In terms of the absolute magnitudes involved , the 3&times;1 Program is much smaller than national-level social spending programs Oportunidades and Seguro Popular . From the viewpoint of many municipal governments , however , 3&times;1 projects are of great consequence , and the monies associated with these often constitute a substantial proportion of municipal spending . For example , we estimate that between 2002 and 2007 , municipal expenditures on 3&times;1 were equivalent to at least 20 percent of total public works spending in about 30 percent of participating municipalities . By the end of the period we study , close to one-third of Mexico 's municipalities had participated in the program at least once . # Our statistical analysis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patterns in different budget categories . We also investigate whether this relationship varies with the electoral cycle , and with copartisanship in the municipal and the state governments . Our data contain yearly information at the municipality level for the 3&times;1 Program from its inception in 2002 , municipal spending accounts from 1995 , and electoral data covering all Mexican municipalities from 1995 until 2007 . Our analyses rely on over-time variation within municipalities , based on panel regressions with municipality fixed effects . We also conducted original fieldwork and interviews with local government officials , 3&times;1 Program officers , and other individuals involved with the program.7 # Our results suggest that municipal spending choices are significantly shaped by political/electoral criteria . We find that , when allocating infrastructure spending to match 3&times;1 Program projects , municipal governments protect politically sensitive budget items . Specifically , personnel salaries remain unchanged but debt service goes down . Such behavior is consistent with the imperatives of electoral competition : debt is presumably less visible to the public than government employment and salaries . Often , the mismanagement of government finances becomes known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a different political party ) takes office and exposes it.8 Government employees , in contrast , are often political allies or clients.9 # Consistent with this , our results also show that municipalities carefully time their infrastructure spending associated with 3&times;1 projects to match the electoral cycle . We find that such spending is substantially concentrated toward the end of the electoral cycle . Importantly , we are able to rule out the possibility that the cyclicality might be mostly due to learning by the party in municipal office over the course of its term : the cycles are present even when the party in office does not change . # Third , we find that municipalities ruled by the same party that governs the state appear to be advantaged in their ability to match 3&times;1 collective remittances . When the partisan identity coincides , municipalities match 3&times;1 remittances with infrastructure spending approximately one to one . In contrast , when the partisan identity at the two levels of government differs , municipalities only increase their infrastructure spending by about two-thirds of a peso for each peso of 3&times;1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefit from copartisanship at the state level.10 # Our analysis contributes to the debate on the political manipulation of social spending . Specifically , it draws attention to the possibility that , even where national-level politics has become more transparent and subject to citizen control , accountability at subnational-and in particular , local-levels of government still varies greatly ( Gibson 2013 , Snyder 2001 ) , with consequences for patterns of spending . More generally , our study contributes to the literature on distributive politics . The study of distributive politics ( e.g. Dixit and Londregan 1996 ; Grossman and Helpman 1996 ) has largely viewed decisions about how to allocate resources as stemming from the political motives of politicians at the national ( or state ) levels of government , implicitly or explicitly assuming that local governments passively comply with the choices of their higher-ups . Our analysis suggests that this approach ignores the powerful political incentives that local incumbents face in the wake of decentralization reforms that shift the locus of decision making to lower tiers of government.11 # The lessons that emerge from our analysis should be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have gathered momentum since the 1980s . First , many countries have implemented reforms to decentralize fiscal , administrative , and political responsibility to lower levels of government ( Oxhorn 2004 ; Bardhan and Mookherjee 2006 ; O'Neill 2005 ) .12 This trend stems from a variety of factors , including economic crises , the rigors of fiscal adjustment , and international pressures for democratization . In Latin America alone , subnational levels of government became responsible for almost 30 percent of revenue and expenditures by 2000 ( Falleti 2005 ) . The political and fiscal devolution of power to subnational levels of government has had a decisive influence on the role of local government in the implementation of nationwide social policies : local governments are now key players in the administration and implementation of many redistributive spending programs.13 # Second , the political manipulation of social spending programs by national governments has come , in recent times , under considerable political and budgetary pressures ( Hall 2006 ; Levy 2006 ; Tucker 2010 ; De la O 2013 ) . As a result , many governments have rationalized the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , needs-based formulas . At the same time , needsbased targeting has allowed governments to trim social spending budgets under the banner of efficiency and fairness , often under pressure from international financial institutions . Conditional cash transfer programs , for example , whereby governments regularly provide cash to carefully-and transparently-targeted poor citizens so long as they participate in various health and education-related activities , have been adopted in a large number of countries.14 # The net result of these two trends of **26;1323;TOOLONG and budgetary-and of rationalization is that , just as the space for partisan manipulation of redistributive spending has diminished at higher levels of government , it has increased at the local level . As the stakes of local office have increased , so have the incentives of local-level politicians to use the resources at their disposal for electoral gain . At the same time , municipalities generally face different sets of institutional constraints than do state or national governments . The literature has yet to directly engage these issues and their implications for distributive spending , on both theoretical and empirical levels.15 # Less directly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cycles . We document the presence of such cycles at the local level of government , something that only a handful of other studies have done ( Mouriuen 1989 ; Veiga and Veiga 2007 ) . In contrast with recent work , which has questioned whether budget cycles could be driven by electoral goals ( e.g. Brender and Drazen 2008 ) , our evidence suggests that at least some kinds of cyclical spending are in fact electorally motivated . # Finally , our findings add to the growing scholarly literature on the 3&times;1 Program . Our findings are complementary to Aparicio and Meseguer ( 2012 ) and Meseguer and Aparicio ( 2012 ) , who study the determinants of participation in the 3&times;1 Program in 2002-2007 . They find that municipal strongholds of the PAN ( Partido Acci&oacute;n Nacional ) -the party that controlled the national government at the time of their study-are substantially more likely to participate in the program . Our dependent variable differs from theirs ( they focus on program participation and we focus on municipal spending patterns ) , but our results are broadly consistent : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ levels influences municipal spending on 3&times;1 projects jives well with their claim that partisan motives drive municipal participation in the program.16 # Programs with some similarities to Mexico 's 3&times;1 Program exist in many countries . Colombia , Burkina Faso , Morocco , Senegal , and Mali , for example , cofinance projects with migrant groups , provide staff and other administrative support for public buildings and projects financed by HTAs , or support community projects with construction materials in collaboration with migrant clubs at the local , state , and national levels . Moreover , host countries including France and the Netherlands are engaged in codevelopment with migrant clubs from Mali , Senegal , and Ghana ( see Gammage 2006 ; Portes , Escobar , and Radford 2007 ; Beauchemin and Schoumaker 2009 ; Galatowitsch 2009 ; Iskander 2010 ; and Panizzon 2011 ) . More generally , given the sheer volume and importance of remittances to Latin American and Caribbean countries ( US$56.9 billion ) , developing countries ( $307 billion ) , and countries worldwide ( $414 billion ) , there is surprisingly little research on social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . # BACKGROUND # The 3&times;1 Program for Migrants , generally known as the 3&times;1 Program , is a mechanism through which each level of the Mexican government-local , state , and national-matches collective remittance funds sent by HTAs in the United States to their hometowns in Mexico . Between 2002 and 2007 , the program funded a total of 7,855 projects in three main areas : social aid , public infrastructure , and productive projects . The vast majority of the projects funded small public works investments . # The 3&times;1 Program 's core objective , as defined by the national level of government , is the development of social infrastructure and productive projects in communities with high poverty and migration rates ( SEDESOL 2008a , 2 ) . Project selection begins in committees ( Comit&eacute;s de Validaci&oacute;n y Atenci&oacute;n a Migrantes , or COVAM ) composed of representatives from each of the parties contributing to the project , including the various levels of government and the migrant associations.17 Infrastructure projects are generally financed in equal parts by the national , state , and municipal governments and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objectives , including poverty alleviation and the promotion of relationships between migrants and their communities of origin . # The 3&times;1 Program has its antecedent in the state of Zacatecas , where the Program for Absent Zacatecans was launched in 1986 , under the auspices of the state governor Genaro Borrego . This program required the state government to match every peso the Federation of Zacatecan Clubs ( a union of Zacatecan hometown associations ) invested in local projects . Between 1986 and 1992 this program produced only twenty-eight projects ; however , it became the model for similar programs in other states such as Guerrero , Guanajuato , and Jalisco , and it encouraged hometown associations from these states to embark on similar projects ( Burgess 2005 ; Garc&iacute;a Zamora 2007 ) . Table 1 describes the subsequent evolution of the 3 &times; 1 Program as it expanded nationally . # Municipal Government in Mexico # Municipalities are the lowest level of government in Mexico , below the national and state levels . Municipal attributions and responsibilities are similar throughout the country and consist mainly of the provision of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , recreational parks , zoning , and garbage collection.19 The taxing authority of municipalities is limited to a property tax and the collection of fees , but revenues are supplemented by national and state transfers , which on average account for 60 percent of municipalities ' available resources.20 # In recent years local governments have benefited from a broad process of fiscal decentralization initiated by the Mexican government at the beginning of the 1980s . This process started with the devolution of legal authority to municipalities to collect property taxes in the early 1980s , and has continued with a substantial increase in the amount of resources transferred from the national government to states and municipalities after 1996.21 Enhanced fiscal authority together with higher transfers has led to a dramatic increase in the amount of resources administered by municipal governments in Mexico : between 1989 and 2004 their revenues increased at an average rate of 8.93 percent annually , and they are now responsible for around 7.5 percent of total public expenditures in the country.22 Parallel to the process of fiscal expansion , and embedded within the larger process of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ witnessed in the last twenty years an upsurge of electoral competition and political participation . The average margin of victory in municipal elections , for example , declined from 59 percent in 1988 to 10.9 percent in 2004.23 These figures highlight the increasing importance of local government and local electoral politics in the Mexican context . # THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF 3&times;1 PROGRAM SPENDING : EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS # Hypotheses # What do municipal spending patterns say about the goals of municipal governments ? Do such patterns reveal a political-electoral logic at work ? As a window into these questions , we study how municipalities adjust their spending when they participate in the 3&times;1 Program . # Social spending tends to be popular , and projects in the 3&times;1 Program are no exception . They are often highly visible because they involve the community and they finance public goods , and therefore they provide opportunities for mayors and their parties to claim credit for these projects ( Rocha Menocal 2007 ) .24 Nevertheless , as with any social program , opportunities exist to manipulate spending to further enhance political gain . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look for politicization along three dimensions . First , we ask how municipalities adjust different items in their budgets when they contribute their matching portion to 3&times;1 projects : are politically sensitive budget categories , and in particular personnel salaries , protected ? Next , we explore the timing of 3&times;1 related expenditures : do expenditures vary in predictable ways with the electoral cycle ? Many have argued that government actions in temporal proximity to elections have relatively greater weight in the minds of voters ( Zaller 1992 ; Lodge , Steenbergen , and Brau 1995 ) . Finally , we investigate whether municipal governments can boost their 3&times;1 spending through their relationship with state government in ways that reflect a partisan bias . # Data and Model # Our data set contains information about municipal expenditures , 3&times;1 Program investments , electoral results , and various demographic indicators . The data cover all municipalities in Mexico in the years 1995-2007 , and the unit of analysis is the municipality year . Mexico 's government has a federal structure , with thirty-two states and 2,458 municipalities as of 2007.25 Sociodemographic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( the Mexican analogue of the US Census Bureau ) , 3&times;1 data are from the Ministry of Social Development , and electoral results come from the Municipal Elections Database compiled by the Centro de Investigaci&oacute;n y Docencia Econ&oacute;micas ( CIDE ) as well as from the Centro de Investigaci&oacute;n Para el Desarrollo , A.C. ( CIDAC ) , a prominent Mexican think tank . We completed the electoral data series by hand.26 # We estimate the following model : # ki , t = + zi , t + Bi , t + si , t + t + i + varepsiloni , t # where the subscripts i and t respectively denote municipalities and years , ki , t denotes total expenditures on budget item k ( e.g. , public works , or debt service ) , zi , t denotes total 3&times;1 Program remittances , Bi , t is the total budget of the municipality , si , t is a set of covariates , t are time effects , i are municipality fixed effects , and varepsiloni , t is a disturbance term.27 All economic variables @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clustered at the state level in all models.28 # The parameter of interest is , capturing the correlation between 3&times;1 collective remittances and municipal spending on a particular budget item k in a given year . We control for factors other than municipal government effort that could potentially drive both 3&times;1 remittances and municipal spending patterns in two ways.29 First , we exploit the panel structure of our data by including municipal fixed effects in our estimates . Such fixed effects will control for any time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity that could jointly influence both 3&times;1 remittances and the dependent variable . # Next , we control for a set of covariates s . These include a composite index of underdevelopment ( &Iacute;ndice de Marginaci&oacute;n ; higher values indicate a lower level development ) and the size of the local population , both of which could influence spending patterns and the amount of collective remittances.30 The time effects capture system-level factors-such as national elections , macroeconomic condi25.tions , and secular changes in decentralization-that could influence local per capita expenditure levels and/or remittances . The size of the budget is likely to influence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to correlate with migratory intensity ( since larger municipalities have both larger budgets and higher average rates of migration ) , and therefore with the size of remittances . We also include a dummy variable for each of the four states that implemented precursors to the 3&times;1 Program before 2002 ( Guanajuato , Guerrero , Jalisco , and Zacatecas ) . # We additionally ensure that our results are based on municipalities with and without 3&times;1 projects that are otherwise comparable . This refinement turns out to be of little consequence , since all our results are the same in the full data set . This is not surprising because most of the data meet the assumption of common support , and because our use of municipality fixed effects implies that our estimates are based on within-municipality longitudinal variation.31 # RESULTS # Table 2 displays the OLS regression estimates for the main specifications . The dependent variable in model 1 is expenditure on public works . The coefficient on 3&times;1 remittances means that for every peso of 3&times;1 collective remittances , municipal expenditures on public works increase by about ninety-two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average are matching 3&times;1 projects almost one to one , consistent with the spirit of the program . # Where in the municipal budget does this money come from ? In model 2 , the dependent variable is debt service . The coefficient on 3&times;1 remittances suggests that , for every peso of 3&times;1 collective remittances , more than one-half of the increase in public works spending is financed by reducing debt service.32 As mentioned previously , governments are often able to keep the public in the dark concerning governmental debt and finances , and to pass on debt burdens to future administrations . The dependent variable in model 3 is salaries to government employees ( labeled " personal services " in the budget data ) . The coefficient on 3&times;1 remittances shows that spending on salaries remains virtually unchanged even when public works spending increases to match 3&times;1 collective remittances.33 Government employment and salaries are frequently utilized to shore up political support , as discussed earlier . The fact that spending on government salaries remains unaffected is consistent with the idea that local governments protect politically sensitive budget items @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , such as debt , that are not immediately observable by the public . # Of the control variables in models 1-3 , only the coeffi cient on municipal income reaches statistical signifi cance in all three models . The coeffi cient suggests that wealthier municipalities spend more on public works ( irrespective of 3&times;1 remittances ) . Population reaches statistical signifi cance only in model 2 , and the level of development does not reach statistical signifi cance in any of the three models.34 # We next investigate whether electoral motivations infl uence the timing of 3&times;1 Program disbursements by local governments . We estimate the association of 3&times;1 remittances with spending on the different budget categories , for different parts of the electoral cycle . Elections generally take place in July , but budgetary and 3&times;1 data are reported according to the calendar year . Therefore , 3&times;1 matching efforts by municipal governments in the twelve months before the election are likely to be refl ected in the data for both the preelectoral and the electoral calendar years . Hence if there is an electoral cycle in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expect to observe an increase in the preelection and/ or election years , in comparison with the rest of the years in the cycle . # We augment the model with interaction terms to allow the association between 3&times;1 collective remittances and the dependent variable to differ for the preelectoral year , the electoral year , and the intermediate years in the cycle . ( Because of municipal-level institutional variation , some electoral cycles in our data are three years long and others are four years long . ) As indicated in table 3 ( model 1 , bottom panel ) , in the preelectoral and the electoral calendar years , every peso of collective remittances is associated , respectively , with an additional 1.3 and 1.2 pesos of public works spending.35 In contrast , in the intermediate years , municipalities with 3&times;1 projects do not seem to increase their spending on public works ( the coefficient on the main effect of collective remittances is .45 and it is not statistically significant ) . In other words , municipal spending appears to be quite responsive to 3&times;1 projects in preelection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ) , but less so in intermediate years . Fieldwork by one of the authors in the municipality of Comonfort , Guanajuato , in 2009 suggests that local officials exerted special effort in the preelection and election years in order to implement 3&times;1 projects throughout the municipality , consistent with our statistical finding . We note that our finding is distinct and independent from the claim that general municipal spending cycles exist . Whether such cycles exist or not , the finding we report here is that the association of municipal public works spending and 3&times;1 collective remittances is conditional on the electoral cycle.36 Our analysis , however , also provides evidence of municipal spending cycles , independent of the 3&times;1 Program . In table 3 , model 1 , the dummy variables for the preelectoral and electoral years have positive and statistically significant coefficients , indicating that spending on public works in both preelectoral and electoral years is greater than in intermediate years-the omitted reference category . The existence of general electoral cycles in municipal spending is consistent with our finding that spending related to the 3&times;1 Program @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that 3&times;1 Program spending follows the electoral cycle be due to a " partisan learning " or " initial setup " effect ? Suppose , for instance , that it takes time for incoming municipal administrations to learn how to participate in the 3&times;1 Program , or that it takes time for their participation to be translated into actual public works . These alternative hypotheses could potentially explain our finding that 3&times;1 public works spending is concentrated in the preelection and election years . We can use our data to distinguish these hypotheses from the hypothesis of purposeful electoral timing by differentiating between instances when the incumbent party is reelected and instances where a new party takes office.37 If the learning or initial setup hypotheses were true , then cycles of the sort we find should be substantially more likely to arise , or to be more pronounced , in cases of partisan turnover . When the same party is reelected , even though the personal identity of the incumbent changes , partisan continuity should either reduce or altogether obviate the need to learn or set up from scratch.38 # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on 3&times;1 collective remittances to vary for preelection and election years separately when there is partisan turnover versus when there is no partisan turnover.39 We find that partisan turnover ( or lack thereof ) makes little substantive difference . In preelectoral years , with or without turnover , 3&times;1 collective remittances are associated with greater spending on public works . Respectively , the composite coefficients , reflecting the main effect plus the relevant interaction term , are 1.35 and 1.31 ( table 3 , model 2 , bottom panel ) .40 The fact that turnover makes little difference is consistent with the political manipulation hypothesis . Nevertheless , the estimate is slightly larger when there is turnover , raising the possibility that there could also be a small partisan learning effect . A similar result obtains for electoral years with and without turnover : the composite coefficients are respectively 1.27 and 1.06 ( table 3 , model 2 , bottom panel ) .41 Overall , the fact that partisan turnover makes only a small difference in the relationship between participation in 3&times;1 projects and public works spending is consistent with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electoral motives , with learning or setup processes playing at most a secondary role . # As an additional piece of evidence with the potential to help to adjudicate between a political manipulation mechanism and a learning mechanism , it is useful to consider the evidence on spending cycles independent of 3&times;1 remittances . As mentioned previously , model 1 in table 3 documented the existence of such cycles : that is , higher spending on public works in electoral and preelectoral years , in comparison with intermediate years . Presumably , the motives or mechanisms underlying such cycles are likely to be similar to those that drive cycles in public works spending related to the 3&times;1 Program . A learning mechanism would predict that general public works spending cycles are steeper in the presence of partisan turnover , while a political manipulation mechanism would predict that partisan turnover should make little difference to the presence and magnitude of such cycles . Our results ( table 3 , model 2 ) indicate that such cycles exist and have a similar magnitude either in the presence or in the absence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the evidence as consistent with the political manipulation hypothesis . # Finally , state-level governments in Mexico are charged with allocating the budget across municipalities . We investigate whether there is bias in such allocations , in relation to municipal spending on public works relating to the 3&times;1 Program . To this end , we allow the association between 3&times;1 collective remittances and municipal spending to vary when the partisanship of the municipal and state governments is shared ( i.e. , when the party in municipal office is the same as the party in state office ) , versus when it is not ( table 3 , model 3 ) . The result provides evidence of a partisan bias : for every peso of 3&times;1 collective remittances , municipal spending on public works is higher by 1.12 pesos under shared partisanship , but only by 0.65 pesos when partisanship is not shared.43 In sum , a municipality 's ability to fund its share of 3&times;1 projects is apparently boosted when there is shared partisanship at the state level of government . Taken together , the empirical findings suggest that municipal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # CONCLUSIONS # Motivated by the recognition that local government has become increasingly important , this article set out to investigate the implementation of redistributive spending by that level of government , focusing on the 3&times;1 Program for Migrants in Mexico . The 3&times;1 Program provides a window into the logic of municipal spending because municipalities play a central role in its implementation . We investigated how municipal governments adjust their budgets and time their disbursements when participating in 3&times;1 Program projects . Our findings strongly suggest that municipal governments prioritize their own electoral interests . # Multiple pieces of evidence support this proposition . First , when matching 3&times;1 remittances , local governments protect politically sensitive budget categories ( specifically , personnel salaries ) , instead opting to reduce debt service , a less visible budget category . Second , local governments time their 3&times;1 Program disbursements to the electoral cycle , increasing such disbursements as elections approach and decreasing them after elections . Third , local governments run by the same party as the state government appear to receive special help : they increase public works spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local governments run by parties other than the state party . The results are in line with our fieldwork and interviews , which suggest that municipal expenditures relating to the 3&times;1 Program have substantial political and electoral importance at the local level . Local governments utilize such projects as opportunities to claim credit , and they time projects strategically with attention to the electoral cycle.44 # We emphasize that our results do not constitute an indictment of the 3&times;1 Program . The fact that 3&times;1 Program spending is manipulated for electoral ends introduces certain distortions and biases that could potentially diminish the program 's ability to accomplish some of its goals ( in comparison to an ideal scenario with no distortions ) , but this fact does not necessarily render the program useless or harmful . The expanded availability of resources for public works , stemming from the contributions of migrants and from the state and national levels of government , may be quite beneficial for the recipient municipalities even in the presence of political or electoral manipulation of the program . For example , prior research on the 3&times;1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and water improves in participating municipalities , and that transnational public-private partnerships help to scale up local democratic participation under certain conditions ( Duquette-Rury 2014 ; Duquette 2011 ) . # Nevertheless , beyond the Mexican case and the 3&times;1 Program , we believe that the politicization of social spending by local governments-an instance of which we have documented in this article-does have important undesirable aspects from a normative perspective . Long-term development goals can hardly be pursued when investment projects are tightly subject to the calendar of local elections . Similarly , when spending decisions are made on the basis of partisan considerations , citizens living in localities being ruled by a different party from the one ruling higher levels of government are unfairly deprived of resources that can be of critical importance at the local level . Finally , protecting salaries and patronage at the expense of less visible budget items such as debt may produce important political dividends over the short run , but it can also have dire consequences for the sustainability of local finances over the long haul . # Our results also suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for theories of redistributive politics . Such theories tend to abstract away from the incentives of local government , emphasizing instead higher levels of government , such as the state or national level , as the locus of decisions about the targeting of resources for electoral purposes . But insofar as the incentives of local politicians diverge from those of politicians at higher levels of government , targeting strategies-for example , the decision to target core supporters , whose partisan preferences are already favorable to the party , versus swing voters , whose partisan preferences are susceptible to influence-may not be implemented as planned . We emphasize two crucial facts that are often missed in discussion of redistributive spending . First , local politicians are often responsible for the way in which national or state resources are actually spent . Furthermore , strategic considerations ( e.g. , of an electoral nature ) can shape the behavior of local politicians in ways that need not conform to the goals of higher levels of government . To the extent that this is true , we see existing accounts of redistributive spending as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this article-local governments with discretion over resource allocation and facing vigorous local-level political competition . If the contemporary trend toward fiscal and political decentralization continues , it is incumbent upon researchers and policy makers to further investigate the incentives of local politicians and the methods through which they are able to manipulate national or state-level social spending for political gain .

@@4170141 Headnote # Abstract # This study examines the agenda setting of candidates ' attributes and its relationship with polarized candidate evaluation among TV news viewers . Content analyses of candidates ' affective attributes during the 2012 presidential election indicate partisan imbalance from CNN 's Anderson Cooper and Fox 's Special Report . NBC Nightly News was relatively balanced . Watching a particular program was positively associated with attribute agenda setting by each program . Also , agenda setting by the Fox program was positively related to viewers ' polarized candidate evaluations , whereas agenda setting by the NBC program was negatively associated . Implications of the partisan TV news context for agenda-setting theory are discussed . # Keywords # election , partisan news , polarization , selective exposure # ( ProQuest : ... denotes formula omitted. ) # Attribute agenda-setting research has documented that attributes or traits of candidates emphasized in the news media influence voters ' images about those candidates ( e.g. , Coleman &amp; Wu , 2010 ; Golan &amp; Wanta , 2001 ; Kim &amp; McCombs , 2007 ; King , 1997 ; McCombs , Llamas , Lopez-Escobar , &amp; Rey , 1997 ; McCombs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2009 ) . The current news environment , characterized by partisan selective exposure , however , requires researchers to consider potentially distinct agenda setting that may vary according to news sources ' political orientations . Also , the assumed partisan filtering by individual news outlets may influence subsequent effects of agenda setting on audience attitudes toward candidates . # To explore implications of the partisan news context for agenda-setting theory , this study investigates attribute agenda-setting influence and its relationship with subsequent candidate evaluation by analyzing broadcast and cable TV news and their audiences . TV news , in particular , merits scholarly attention as it has undergone significant partisan self-selection and polarization ( Hollander , 2008 ; Iyengar &amp; Hahn , 2009 ; Pew Research Center , 2009 ; Stroud , 2010 ) . Continuing public reliance on TV news as a main source of electoral information , despite the growing prominence of the Internet ( Pew Research Center , 2012 ) , further justifies examination of its agenda-setting effects . # The first goal of this study is to investigate separate agenda setting of candidate attributes by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indicates contrasting partisan imbalance in coverage of candidates among different TV news sources , particularly cable news ( Farnsworth &amp; Lichter , 2011 ; Morris &amp; Francia , 2010 ; Project for Excellence in Journalism , 2004 , 2008 , 2012 ) that may lead to splitting of the agendasetting process . Combining content analysis and survey data from the 2012 U.S. presidential election , this study examines how TV news programs from NBC , CNN , and Fox News differently emphasized affective attributes of opposing presidential candidates and whether those attributes that are salient in particular programs influenced their viewers ' perception of candidates . # The second goal of the current study is to address the potential role of attribute agenda setting in polarizing audience evaluation of competing candidates as a part of broader attitudinal outcomes of agenda setting . When polarization refers to divergence of opinions toward partisan or ideological extremes ( Mutz , 2002 ; Stroud , 2010 ) , the concept involves directional strength of attitudes . This polarization concept connects with the literature about attitudinal consequences of agenda setting , which has illustrated that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about candidates , either positively or negatively ( Balmas &amp; Sheafer , 2010 ; Kiousis , 2005 , 2011 ; Kiousis &amp; McCombs , 2004 ; Moon , 2013 ) . As a certain news source consistently highlights positive attributes of one candidate while emphasizing negative attributes of the other , audience attitudes toward the candidates may strengthen in bipolar directions , leading to polarized attitudes . # This study tests that possibility by linking affective agenda setting of candidate attributes to polarized audience evaluation of the candidates . By doing so , we aim to demonstrate that polarizing or depolarizing effects of TV news programs rely on viewers ' susceptibility to the effects of the affective dimension present in specific programs , rather than on simple exposure to those programs . Three TV news programs were selected for analysis : NBC Nightly News , CNN 's Anderson Cooper 360 , and Fox News ' Special Report with Bret Baier . For a rigorous test , an individual-level analysis was used to determine whether agenda setting and its subsequent effects persist even after controlling for viewers ' political predispositions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Selective exposure to likeminded news and political information has been suggested as one of the main reasons for rearrangement of partisan compositions of TV news viewers among different channels . As people tend to avoid cognitive dissonance , which arises when they encounter information that disagrees ( Festinger , 1957 ; Klapper , 1960 ) , they likely seek news sources congenial to their existing political orientations . In a highly competitive TV news market , individual channels are motivated to capitalize on this tendency by strategically aligning news content with the political predispositions of targeted audiences ( Baron , 2006 ; Gentzkow &amp; Shapiro , 2006 ) . Accordingly , Republican and conservative viewers have continued to move to Fox News , whereas Democrats and liberals increasingly select CNN and MSNBC ( Hollander , 2008 ; Pew Research Center , 2009 ) . # The presumed partisan and ideological slants of some news sources have become a cause for concern among commentators who worry about partisan intervention into standard norms of objective journalism . Criticism of news bias is more commonly aimed at Fox News ( Alterman , 2004 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but CNN ( Bozell , 2004 ) and MSNBC ( Stanley , 2012 ) also receive bias accusations . More systematic content analyses lend some support to criticism of partisan inclinations in cable news . Fox News in particular was reported to select news items responsive to Republican or conservative positions and ideologies more frequently than news wires such as the Associated Press and Reuters ( Baum &amp; Groeling , 2008 ) . In reporting politically divisive issues , Fox News was more favorable to the Bush administration 's war efforts in Iraq than was NBC ( Aday , 2010 ) , CNN , or MSNBC ( Muddiman , Stroud , &amp; McCombs , 2014 ) , and more suspicious of claims of climate change than CNN and MSNBC ( Feldman , Maibach , Roser-Renouf , &amp; Leiserowitz , 2012 ) . # Similar partisan inclinations in TV news were also noted in electoral contexts , especially when such inclinations were measured in terms of evaluative tones given to competing candidates . According to a series of content analyses ( Project for Excellence in Journalism , 2004 , 2008 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Republican than Democratic candidates , with this tendency reversed on CNN and MSNBC . One noteworthy pattern is that the partisan leaning of Fox was relatively stable regardless of the distinctive atmospheres of individual election cycles . During the 2008 election , for example , TV news in general gave more negative coverage to McCain than Obama . Even Fox gave a considerable amount of unfavorable coverage to McCain , but the channel was still less critical of McCain relative to other news channels ( Farnsworth &amp; Lichter , 2011 ; Project for Excellence in Journalism , 2008 ) . # In sum , a growing body of evidence points to considerable partisan and ideological divergence in both content and audience of TV news . The shifting landscape of TV news has generated much research interest regarding its impact on viewers ' political opinions and attitudes ( e.g. , Morris &amp; Francia , 2010 ; Smith &amp; Searles , 2014 ; Stroud , 2010 ) . Given that partisan imbalance is most evident in tonal aspects of election coverage , the attribute agenda-setting process , including an affective dimension @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can provide a theoretical framework to explain the influence of partisan TV news viewing on the electorate . # Attribute Agenda Setting in Electoral Contexts # The basic hypothesis of attribute agenda setting posits that attributes emphasized in the news become prioritized in the public 's mind in much the same way that traditional agenda setting works . While traditional agenda setting deals with the salience of an object , attribute agenda setting focuses on traits and properties that comprise an object , whether a political issue , event , or figure . Attributes are further divided into substantive and affective dimensions : The substantive dimension refers to cognitive elements constituting an object , whereas the affective dimension means evaluative components involving positive , negative , or neutral tones ( McCombs , 2014 ; McCombs et al. , 1997 ; McCombs et al. , 2000 ) . # Based on the framework of attribute agenda setting , studies have demonstrated that news media shape the public 's images of political candidates . When news media differ in emphasizing various attributes or traits of candidates , people tend to respond to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attribute agenda setting has been replicated in many studies , the current partisan news situation has rarely been considered . As audience options for news sources with distinctive political orientations proliferate , the media agenda of a few elite news sources may no longer serve as a reliable proxy to measure the overall media agenda ( Chaffee &amp; Metzger , 2001 ) . # Even before the rise of partisan news , correlations between agendas of different news media have never been perfect . In their seminal agenda-setting research , McCombs and Shaw ( 1972 ) noted that a lack of consensus of media agendas might arise from the " point of view " or even " extreme bias " of each news medium ( p. 184 ) . This observation suggests that editorial policy and culture of a particular news organization can cause dissimilarity of news agendas . This perspective coincides with the hierarchy of influences model , proposing that organizational characteristics can lead to variations in news content among different news outlets ( Shoemaker &amp; Reese , 2014 ) . # A partisan TV news environment may further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intermedia similarity of agendas . Balanced reporting is more loosely practiced in cable news , with more single-viewpoint news present in cable news than in broadcast news ( Project for Excellence in Journalism , 2005 ) . Across all three cable news channels , the amount of opinion-based news has continued to rise at the expense of factual reporting ( Project for Excellence in Journalism , 2013 ) . Deviation from fact-oriented , balanced reporting allows more room for partisan or ideological interpretation in the news . # These changes in the TV news landscape establish a need for agenda-setting research that involves a more refined measurement of media and public agendas across different news outlets and their audiences . Supporting this point , the magnitude of attribute agenda setting tends to be greater when candidate attributes of a specific news source are paired with attributes of that source 's audience rather than with other sources ' audience ( McCombs et al. , 2000 ) . Experiment-based agenda-setting research clearly supports the idea that agenda-setting effects arise from the content of news messages to which individuals are exposed . Given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by different TV news outlets ( Farnsworth &amp; Lichter , 2011 ; Morris &amp; Francia , 2010 ; Project for Excellence in Journalism , 2004 , 2008 , 2012 ) , agenda-setting effects depend on the particular TV news programs on which individuals rely . Muddiman et al . ( 2014 ) confirmed the separate attribute agenda setting of the three cable news channels by demonstrating that different emphases of affective tones about the Iraq War on the three channels were related to a viewer 's overall positive-negative opinions about the war . Therefore , we postulated the following hypothesis : # H1 : Viewing a particular news program will be positively associated with the attribute agenda setting of the program . # Attribute Agenda Setting and Attitude Polarization # Partisan selective exposure has generated much research interest regarding its impact on political polarization ( Mutz , 2006 ; Prior , 2013 ; Sunstein , 2001 ) . Some data based on a panel survey ( Stroud , 2010 ) and experiment ( Jones , 2002 ; Taber &amp; Lodge , 2006 ) show that a causal direction flows from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in these studies , though , is attention to the content of news messages that may cause polarization in real-world contexts . # Research on attitudinal consequences of agenda setting complements the extant literature by taking potentially polarizing news content into account . Polarization is often defined as divergence of political opinion toward partisan or ideological extremes that is operationalized by folding continuous measures of political attitudes ( Mutz , 2002 ; Stroud , 2010 ) . This definition suggests that the concept includes strength as well as direction of opinion pertaining to a certain political object . The concept includes tonal direction as it involves opposition or conflict of opinion among the public regarding political orientations , issues , or figures . Polarization is also a manifestation of attitude strength , particularly attitude extremity , identified at the bipolar ends of positive or negative evaluation ( Abelson , 1995 ) . # These aspects of strength and direction inherent in polarization connect with agenda-setting research , which has documented the strengthening and directing of opinion as major attitudinal outcomes of agenda setting . News attention to a certain object @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strengthen opinions and attitudes about the object ( McCombs &amp; Reynolds , 2002 ; Weaver , 1984 ) . Empirical studies supported this hypothesis by confirming that media salience is positively correlated with various dimensions of attitude strength , such as opinion strength about political issues ( Weaver , 1991 ) , opinionation , and extreme attitudes about political figures ( Kiousis , 2011 ; Kiousis &amp; McCombs , 2004 ) . More relevant to the current study , the role of media salience in inducing stronger attitudes has also been observed in the attribute agenda setting of candidates ( Kiousis , 2005 ; Moon , 2013 ) . # Furthermore , studies that analyzed the influence of valence of media agenda discovered that news attention can have an impact on the direction of public opinion . Attribute agenda-setting research elaborates directional consequences of agenda setting by incorporating the affective element as an essential part of the agenda-setting process . Specifically , affective agenda setting posits that tones about particular attributes in the news can guide public opinion in either positive or negative ways . Mostly conducted in electoral contexts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the news corresponded to public evaluation of those figures ( Coleman &amp; Wu , 2010 ; Kim &amp; McCombs , 2007 ; McCombs et al. , 1997 ; McCombs et al. , 2000 ; Wu &amp; Coleman , 2009 ) . In addition , through the affective priming process , the valence of candidate attributes in the news predicted affective salience among the public , which in turn related to public judgment of candidates ' suitability for public office ( Balmas &amp; Sheafer , 2010 ) . # Within the context of partisan TV news , these prior studies imply that partisan imbalance of certain programs may cause polarized attitudes toward competing candidates . That is , when cable news channels consistently deliver slanted news , offering positive attributes of one candidate while emphasizing negative attributes of the other , audience attitudes may move toward bipolar ends . However , simple exposure to partisan news sources may not be a sufficient condition for partisan news to induce polarized attitudes . Even among viewers who watch the same partisan source , the level of attitude polarization may vary beyond political predispositions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tones presented in news than others . # Attribute agenda setting can tap into individual levels of susceptibility to the influence of watching particular news programs . In an aggregate-level analysis , media salience was found to affect individuals ' attitude strength , including polarized feelings toward competing candidates ( Kiousis , 2011 ; Kiousis &amp; McCombs , 2004 ) . Furthermore , an individual-level analysis discovered that attribute agenda setting mediated the relationship between individuals ' news use and attitude strength about candidates ( Moon , 2013 ) . In the current TV news environment characterized by partisan inclinations of cable news channels , it can be expected that agenda setting by partisan news programs will contribute to the strengthening of candidate evaluations in bipolar directions . Specifically , those who are more susceptible to agenda setting by cable news should favor one candidate more strongly and , at the same time , have greater negative feelings toward the other . However , susceptibility to attribute agenda setting by broadcast TV news should depolarize viewer attitudes because relatively balanced coverage of candidates may cancel out the effects of opposing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ following two hypotheses : # H2 : Agenda setting of candidates ' attributes by CNN 's Anderson Cooper and Fox 's Special Report will be positively related to polarized attitudes toward candidates . # H3 : Agenda setting of candidates ' attributes by NBC Nightly News will be negatively related to polarized attitudes toward candidates . # Method # Public Opinion Data # The 2012 American National Election Studies ( ANES ) data were analyzed . The crosssectional survey used a face-to-face method and the Internet to interview a total of 5,916 respondents . All variables used in this study were obtained from the preelection wave . Notably , the 2012 data cover a wide array of questions regarding respondents ' news media use . Questionnaires included the use of specific newspapers and TV and radio programs , in addition to conventional questions about general news media use . Statistical analysis in the current research relied upon weighted data to adjust the difference between the sample and national demographic characteristics . # Content Analysis # Sampling . News programs on the three TV channels aired in July and August 2012 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cooper 360 , and Fox News ' Special Report with Bret Baier . The time frame of sampling , covering 2 months prior to the beginning of the ANES survey , was based on the time lag of agenda-setting effects , observed with 4 to 8 weeks as the optimal period ( McCombs , 2014 ) . # Despite the proliferation of Internet news in recent years , TV continues to be the main news source for Americans . Pew Research Center ( 2012 ) reported that 67% of voters relied on TV as the main source of campaign news , and more people selected cable news rather than broadcast news as their primary source . Among broadcast TV news channels , NBC had more viewers than its competitors . Because cable channels do not have typical primetime news programs like broadcast TV does , Special Report was selected as the flagship news program of Fox News ( Groseclose &amp; Milyo , 2005 ) . Anderson Cooper was the only CNN news program included in ANES data . # Stories were collected using keyword searches from transcripts of LexisNexis Academic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president , Romney , former Massachusetts governor , and former governor . # Coding . Attributes of Obama and Romney and respective tones were analyzed . The coding scheme was matched with ANES questionnaires asking about the two candidates ' personal traits . While ANES inquired about six personal attributes of each candidate-particularly morality , leadership , care , knowledge , intelligence , and honesty-we combined questions about knowledge and intelligence in the same category as they were not clearly distinguished in pilot coding . Responses from the survey showed a high correlation between the two items at the .001 level ( Obama , r = . 80 ; Romney , r = .76 ) . Other interrelated attributes were morality and honesty . In today 's electoral context , however , morality represents an attribute related to fundamental and religious values . Typically , issues involving moral values in elections are gay marriage , abortion , and religion ( Hillygus &amp; Shields , 2005 ; Lovett &amp; Jordan , 2005 ) . Hence , if an article evaluated the candidates based on those issues , it was coded as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than morality , at least in the election . When mentions were made , such as " he is ethical " or " he is truthful , " those were coded as honesty . # Next , the affective tone of each mention of an attribute was coded by determining whether it was positive or negative . Neutral tone was deleted after pilot coding because it was difficult to identify an attribute directly related to the evaluation of candidates as being neutral in the electoral context . Coders were asked to judge the tones based on the impression they would receive from the perspective of TV viewers . The unit of analysis was a mention . When a sentence included multiple attributes , all of them were coded separately . Intercoder reliability between two coders was checked based on a 10% subsample . The overall agreement was 96% . Following are the values of Scott 's pi for each variable : Obama 's morality ( .74 ) , leadership ( .75 ) , care ( .90 ) , intelligence ( .87 ) , and honesty ( .86 ) ; Romney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , care ( 1 ) , intelligence ( 1 ) , and honesty ( 1 ) . # Measures # TV news viewing . Respondents were first asked whether " they heard about presidential campaign on TV news/talk/public affairs/news analysis programs . " If they gave a positive answer , they were further instructed to check the TV programs they watch regularly , at least once a month . Viewership of CNN 's Anderson Cooper ( n = 480 ) , Fox 's Special Report ( n = 288 ) , and NBC Nightly News ( n = 1,216 ) was measured separately ( 1 = watching the program , 0 = not watching ) . # Attribute agenda-setting index . To examine the individual level of the agenda-setting effects of candidates ' affective attributes , correspondence between the program 's affective tones and respondents ' evaluations of candidates ' attributes was calculated . ANES asked respondents how well each statement about a candidate 's attributes or traits ( e.g. , " he is moral " ) described the candidate on a 5-point scale ( 1 = extremely well , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the attributes of knowledge and intelligence , five attributes for each candidate were obtained . Each score of the total 10 attribute items was reversed for alignment with attribute scores of the programs . # Each TV channel 's candidate attribute scores were calculated using the Janis-Fadner Coefficient of Imbalance ( Janis &amp; Fadner , 1943 ) . The Janis-Fadner method works well for the operationalization of candidate attributes because it incorporates both strength ( frequency ) and direction ( tone ) of the message , which are two important dimensions of attribute agenda setting ( Sheafer , 2007 ) . The coefficient ranges from -1 when all candidate attributes in a particular program are negative to +1 when all attributes are positive.1 # The final step was determining the level of correspondence of the 10 attribute scores between a particular TV program and a respondent 's evaluation using rankorder correlation analysis which has been the conventional approach in agenda-setting research since the original study by McCombs and Shaw ( 1972 ) . Each respondent had three values of Spearman 's rho because there were three matching news programs . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidates ' affective attributes as presented by the program and respondents ' perception of those attributes . # Polarization . Based on prior research ( Mutz , 2002 ; Stroud , 2010 ) , polarized attitudes toward candidates were measured by calculating the difference of 100-degree thermometer feelings toward the two candidates , with higher degrees indicating more favorable feelings . A feeling thermometer has been employed to assess attitude strength in previous agenda-setting research ( Kiousis , 2005 , 2011 ; Kiousis &amp; McCombs , 2004 ) . Attitude polarization was an absolute value obtained by subtracting Obama 's rating from Romney 's , with a possible range from 0 to 100 ( M = 53.49 , SD = 30.09 ) . If a respondent felt the same degree of feeling for both candidates , the polarization score was 0 . If a respondent felt 100 degrees for Obama and 0 degree for Romney ( or vice versa ) , the score was 100. # Control variables . News attention was measured on a 5-point scale ( 1 = none , 5 = a great deal ) . To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general news use , attention to TV news ( M = 2.78 , SD = 1.54 ) , newspaper ( M = 1.72 , SD = 1.67 ) , Internet news ( M = 2.15 , SD = 1.61 ) , and radio news ( M = 1.84 , SD = 1.71 ) was controlled . # Five demographic variables were also controlled : gender ( female = 52% ) , age ( Mdn = 8 , 50-54 years old ) , education ( Mdn = 3 , some post-high school , no bachelor 's degree ) , income ( Mdn = 13 , US$40,000-US$44,999 ) , and race ( White/non-Hispanic = 59% ) . Two political variables were also controlled : partisanship and political interest . These variables were found to relate to the selection of partisan or neutral news sources and the magnitude of attribute agenda-setting effects ( Camaj , 2014 ) . Partisanship was measured on a 7-point scale , ranging from 1 ( strong Democrat ) to 7 ( strong Republican ) . Political interest was a single-item question asking , " How often do you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics ? " based on a 5-point scale ( 1 = never , 5 = always ) . # Analytic Procedure # Ordinary least squares multiple regressions were conducted to test the hypotheses . The first set of analyses estimated the predictive value of viewing particular TV programs on attribute agenda setting of those programs . The second set of analyses assessed how attribute agenda setting of each program related to viewers ' polarized attitudes toward the two candidates . We emphasize that the cross-sectional nature of the analyses does not allow us to determine causal directions among news viewing , attribute agenda setting , and polarization . The design of this study does not rule out the possibility of reverse causal directions from polarized attitudes to the selection of news programs and attribute agenda setting . It should be cautioned , therefore , that the study 's findings ought to be interpreted against this methodological limitation . # Results # A total of 1,800 mentions of candidates ' attributes in the news were analyzed . Fox 's Special Report ( n = 836 ) and CNN 's Anderson Cooper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nightly News ( n = 310 ) . Mentions about Obama ( n = 920 ) occurred slightly more often than those about Romney ( n = 880 ) . The most frequently mentioned traits were leadership and honesty , whereas morality was mentioned the least for both candidates . # As expected , there were clear differences in the balance of positive and negative attributes given to the two candidates among the three programs . In Fox 's Special Report , the balance was clearly tilted in favor of Romney ; the overall Janis-Fadner coefficient for Romney attributes was .31 whereas that of Obama attributes was -.68 . The uniform negative or positive signs of all five attributes for the two candidates also presented contrasting tones given to the candidates by the program . To a lesser extent , CNN 's Anderson Cooper also showed an imbalance in the reverse direction , offering more positive attributes to Obama ( .04 ) than to Romney ( -.21 ) . NBC Nightly News was marginally more positive to Obama ( .04 ) than to Romney ( -.04 ) , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Table 1 ) . # Additional chi-square analyses also showed different candidate portrayals by the three programs . Among six pairs ( 2 Candidates x 3 Programs ) , five comparisons yielded significant chi-square values . Fox demonstrated significant differences in affective tones at the .001 level in comparison with NBC ( Obama , 2 = 118 ; Romney , 2 = 29 ) and with CNN ( Obama , 2 = 162 ; Romney , 2 = 99 ) . NBC and CNN also showed significant differences in terms of tones given to Romney ( 2 = 7.7 , p &lt; .01 ) , but they exhibited no significant differences in coverage of Obama attributes . Overall , the content analysis supported the argument of partisan imbalance on the two cable channels . # H1 focused on the distinctive agenda-setting effects of candidates ' attributes by different TV news programs . As predicted , viewing a particular program was a positive and significant predictor of individual-level agenda-setting effects . Watching CNN 's Anderson Cooper , Fox 's Special Report , and NBC Nightly News was positively associated with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , viewing Special Report ( = .06 ) and Anderson Cooper ( = .05 ) was significant at the .001 level , whereas watching Nightly News ( = .03 ) was significant at the .05 level . Even after controlling for media and political variables , the attribute agenda-setting effects of particular news programs were confirmed . Not surprisingly , respondents ' partisanship was the strongest predictor of the match between each program 's attribute agenda and respondents ' attribute perceptions in the expected direction . The stronger the identification with the Republican Party , the higher the congruence of a respondent 's perceptions of candidate attributes with the candidate attributes emphasized in Fox 's Special Report . The stronger the identification with the Democratic Party , the closer the match between a respondent 's attribute perceptions and the attribute agenda of CNN 's Anderson Cooper ( see Table 2 ) . The results imply that candidate attributes emphasized by both Fox 's Special Report and CNN 's Anderson Cooper tend to correspond to partisan respondents ' candidate evaluations.2 # H2 and H3 focused on the attitudinal consequences of agenda-setting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a specific medium or outlet are led by the use of that medium , only the respondents who watched a specific program were included in each statistical analysis . The original 7-point scale of partisanship was collapsed to a 4-point scale to match the dependent variable measured as an absolute value of gap between feelings toward Obama and Romney . Strong Democrats and strong Republicans were recoded to 4 , for instance , and midpoint independents were recoded to 1 . # H2 predicted that agenda setting of candidates ' attributes by CNN 's Anderson Cooper and Fox 's Special Report would be positively related to polarized attitudes toward the candidates . As hypothesized , the agenda-setting index of Fox 's Special Report was significantly related to polarized attitudes ( = .30 , p &lt; .001 ) . That is , those who are more prone to attribute agenda setting by the Fox program had more polarized attitudes toward the opposing candidates . In contrast , the agenda-setting index of CNN 's Anderson Cooper ( = -.06 , p = .15 ) was not significantly related to polarization. # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be inversely associated with polarized attitudes toward candidates . As predicted , the Nightly News agenda-setting index was a negative predictor of polarization ( = -.06 , p &lt; .05 ) . People who are more susceptible to the attribute agenda-setting effects of Nightly News had less polarized attitudes . H3 was supported ( see Table 3 ) . # Discussion # To elaborate the agenda-setting process in the partisan TV news context , the present study explored distinct attribute agenda-setting effects and attitudinal outcomes by NBC , CNN , and Fox News . Overall , analyses of candidates ' attributes during the 2012 presidential election indicate that distinctive emphases of affective attributes by the different programs were related to separate patterns of agenda-setting effects and attitudinal consequences . # First , we found that a partisan imbalance existed in the portrayal of candidates ' attributes on the three programs . In particular , Fox 's Special Report provided near one-sided coverage favorable to Romney rather than to Obama in terms of affective attributes . To a much lesser degree , CNN 's Anderson Cooper also showed an imbalance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Obama . NBC 's Nightly News was relatively balanced . Accordingly , disparity in affective attributes in the different programs resulted in separate agenda-setting processes . As the basic agenda-setting hypothesis posits , watching a specific program was found to be associated with the agenda-setting influence of that program . Notably , this relationship still held even after controlling for other media and political variables . # In addition , the current research discovered that agenda setting by the different news programs was related to distinct attitudinal outcomes in regard to polarization . Specifically , the agenda setting of Fox 's Special Report was associated with polarized opinions among viewers . Conversely , the agenda setting of NBC Nightly News predicted depolarized attitudes . This discrete function of attribute agenda setting for polarization seems to reflect contrasting patterns of candidate coverage by the programs and ensuing agenda-setting influence . Special Report was clearly one-sided , showing overwhelming negativity toward Obama and considerable positivity toward Romney . This clear-cut contrast in valence should push viewer attitudes toward bipolar extremes , widening the gap of viewer attitudes about the competing candidates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nightly News should work against polarization by neutralizing the effects of the opposing tones of candidate attributes . The relative ambivalence toward the candidates in terms of affective attributes by CNN 's Anderson Cooper may explain why CNN 's agenda setting did not relate to polarized attitudes . Although the CNN program leaned more toward Obama than Romney , the imbalance was relatively minor compared with the Fox program . # The current investigation extends an emerging scholarly interest in the role of agenda setting in the partisan news context . Our study is consistent with prior research by Muddiman et al . ( 2014 ) that found distinctive affective agenda setting by different cable news channels . While their study dealt with the political issue of the Iraq War as an object , this study discovered attribute agenda setting of political candidates during a presidential campaign . Also , we employed a more rigorous test of affective agenda setting by matching the salience order of different attributes in the news with that of public perceptions , instead of comparing overall positive-negative tones in the news with general public evaluations. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regarding attitudinal consequences of agenda setting . Although past examinations documented that agenda-setting effects strengthen and direct attitudes toward objects and attributes , few studies have looked at attitudinal outcomes from the perspective of polarization , which is often regarded as the most significant political consequence caused by partisan selective exposure . Building upon the literature about subsequent influence of agenda setting , we illustrated that polarization or depolarization of voters ' candidate evaluations varies in relation to people 's susceptibility to the balance of news tones given to competing candidates by individual news programs . # This research contributes to knowledge about polarization because it is a rare investigation connecting the content of news messages and associated public opinions . In many survey-based studies , a partisan slant of cable news has often been presumed rather than examined . Accordingly , use of a partisan news source was assumed to relate to different types of political attitudes encompassing partisanship , ideology , issue opinion , and candidate evaluation without delving into the associated news content . By focusing on the specific content dimension of news , the current study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toward candidates ) does indeed relate to variations of news content and its effects ( i.e. , agenda setting of candidate attributes ) . # More broadly , this research contributes to explicating agenda-setting theory in the shifting TV news environment characterized by a multitude of news channels and partisan selection of news . Some scholars have argued that proliferation of news sources would diminish agenda-setting effects , as we can no longer assume that mass audience would receive similar news content , or more particularly a similar news agenda ( e.g. , Bennett &amp; Iyengar , 2008 ; Blumler &amp; Kavanagh , 1999 ; Chaffee &amp; Metzger , 2001 ) . This study provides some empirical evidence to examine the claim that agenda-setting power of the news media is being weakened . At the affective level , the three TV news programs clearly diverged in their emphasis of candidates ' attributes . The results seem to support the argument that intermedia similarity of news agenda in certain contexts can not be taken for granted.3 However , the current investigation also shows that the central proposition of agenda setting , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the partisan TV news context . # Our results have an important theoretical implication , given that self-selection of news sources is often thought to diminish media effects , including agenda setting . When an audience 's political predispositions guide news choice , the impact of news use might be only a reflection , or reinforcement of preexisting beliefs and opinions ( Bennett &amp; Iyengar , 2008 ) . The findings of the present study , however , call for caution before coming to a hasty conclusion that media influence is weakened in the current news setting . Although viewers ' partisanship tended to correspond to the news agenda of the individual program that reflected their political orientations , each program still had a unique agenda-setting influence at the individual level . In this respect , the outcome of our investigation is in line with prior research outside the agenda-setting tradition , noting the possibility that imbalanced news sources may exert strong influence on public opinion as one-sided information can be more persuasive than mixed or balanced messages ( e.g. , Dalton , Beck , &amp; Huckfeldt , 1998 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Limitations of the current research should be recognized , the first being in regard to the causality presumed in this study . Although media influence on the public is well established in prior agenda-setting research , one must pay careful attention to the growing trend of partisan selective exposure . When an audience selects news sources based on its own political predispositions , identifying causal influence by the news media becomes more elusive . That is , audience evaluation of candidate traits may direct audience selection of particular TV programs . Similarly , those having polarized opinions about candidates may choose certain programs congenial to their opinions . To address this concern , future studies might consider overtime analysis with multiple time lags to examine whether use of particular TV news programs leads to attribute agenda setting and its ensuing effects . # The use of rank-order correlations is another drawback of the present study . As McCombs and Shaw ( 1972 ) first used rank-order correlations in their original agendasetting study , the measurement has been widely used in subsequent agenda-setting research . However , rank-order measurement can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to rather rough rank orders , undermining the predictive power of the variables . This research also has limitations related to the use of secondary data . Because of the unavailability of proper opinion data about MSNBC viewers , its agenda setting and polarization effects were not included in the analyses . In light of observations noting MSNBC 's partisan slant , comparable with Fox News in the reverse direction ( Project for Excellence in Journalism , 2008 , 2012 ) , one might speculate that MSNBC could have a function similar to Fox : Watching MSNBC may lead to agenda setting of candidates ' attributes , which relates to polarized candidate evaluations. # It should also be noted that this study looked at the content and effects of particular programs . On one hand , this can be seen as a strength because we were able to match content of specific programs directly with opinions of their viewers , instead of making the broad assumption that emphases of candidates ' attributes would be homogeneous across different programs within the same channel . On the other hand , our method @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be interpreted as the effects of specific programs , not as the effects of TV channels in general . # In addition , our focus on specific programs did not allow us to generate a sufficient sample size to examine how watching multiple programs of opposing political slants relates to agenda setting and polarization . In our data , only about 1% of respondents reported having watched both CNN 's Anderson Cooper and Fox 's Special Report . According to previous studies , however , many people cross-watch cable news channels with opposing partisan inclinations ( Prior , 2013 ; Stroud , 2011 ) . Viewing multiple programs repeating similar attributes can augment agenda-setting effects , whereas cross-exposure to programs emphasizing opposing attributes may neutralize each program 's agenda-setting influences ( Muddiman et al. , 2014 ) . Future research could expand the number of programs to explore the impact of cross-viewing on agenda setting and polarization. # Our findings reinforce a concern that polarization , along with partisan self-exposure , may undermine common ground for public deliberation . The implications of partisan news use for democracy , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partisan sources may participate more actively in politics than others ( e.g. , Dilliplane , 2011 ; Stroud , 2011 ) . In this regard , we expect that follow-up research would address the role of attribute agenda setting and polarization for public engagement in politics . Given previous studies documenting the positive association of agenda setting with political behaviors such as voting choice ( Roberts , 1992 ; Wu &amp; Coleman , 2009 ) and campaign activities ( Moon , 2013 ) , attribute agenda setting and polarization by partisan news sources may either mediate or moderate those sources ' influence on political participation . # Finally , scholars need to consider how emerging third-level agenda setting , also termed the network agenda-setting model , can further illuminate the role of agenda setting in the partisan news environment . Focusing on networked relationships among the elements of agendas , this new model posits that news media can transfer the salience of relationships in the news to the public , and this hypothesis has been supported at both issue and attribute levels ( Guo &amp; McCombs , 2011a , 2011b @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2014 ; Vu , Guo , &amp; McCombs , 2014 ) . This new approach can extend to research on the agenda-setting effects of partisan news sources . Future studies can explore the potentially distinct process of network agenda setting by different partisan news outlets and its relationship to subsequent attitudes seen as associations of related attitudes , rather than as discrete , separate attitudes . # Declaration of Conflicting Interests # The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research , authorship , and/or publication of this article . # Funding # The author(s) received no financial support for the research , authorship , and/or publication of this article . Footnote # Notes # 1 . The coefficients were calculated using the following formula : # ... # where p = number of positive mentions of an attribute , n = number of negative mentions of an attribute , and t = total number of mentions of attributes . # 2 . Additional partial correlation analyses were conducted to validate the findings . The overall process was grounded on the method used in previous agenda-setting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the total attribute scores of each program for each candidate were calculated based on the Janis-Fadner Coefficient of Imbalance ( Janis &amp; Fadner , 1943 ) . Second , to create a variable for each respondent 's exposure to affective attributes by different programs , each program 's candidate attribute scores were weighted , multiplying them by 1 or 0 depending on a respondent 's exposure to a specific program . If a respondent , for instance , watched CNN 's Anderson Cooper , the CNNObama index was determined to be .039 . Third , a respondent 's attitudes toward each candidate were calculated by adding respondents ' responses to the five attributes describing each candidate on the American National Election Studies ( ANES ) questionnaire . Factor analyses showed that all of the five attributes for each candidate-morality , leadership , caring , intelligence , and honesty-were combined into one component ( Obama , = .95 ; Romney , = .93 ) . To test agenda-setting effects , six partial correlation analyses ( 2 Candidates x 3 Programs ) were conducted by correlating an individual 's exposure measure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ controlled in the original regression analyses were entered . Among the six analyses , five yielded significant relationships . Exposure to Obama attributes in a particular program and public attitudes toward him were all significantly associated at the .001 level ( CNN = .06 ; Fox = .12 ; NBC = .07 ) . In addition , public attitudes toward Romney were correlated with exposure to Fox ( r = .15 , p &lt; .001 ) and NBC ( r = .03 , p &lt; .05 ) , but they were not significantly related to CNN exposure . Overall , the findings supported the existence of agenda-setting effects . # 3 . 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Outfoxed : Rupert Murdoch 's war on journalism . New York , NY : Disinformation Limited . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effects of mass communication . Glencoe , IL : The Free Press . # Lovett , B. J. , &amp; Jordan , A. H. ( 2005 ) . Moral values , moralism , and the 2004 presidential election . Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy , 5 , 165-175. doi:10.1111/j.1530- 2415.2005.00062. x # McCombs , M. E. ( 2014 ) . Setting the agenda : The mass media and public opinion ( 2nd ed . ) . Cambridge , UK : Polity Press . # McCombs , M. E. , Llamas , J. P. , Lopez-Escobar , E. , &amp; Rey , F. ( 1997 ) . Candidate images in Spanish elections : Second-level agenda-setting effects . Journalism &amp; Mass Communication Quarterly , 74 , 703-717. **30;537;TOOLONG # McCombs , M. E. , Lopez-Escobar , E. , &amp; Llamas , J. P. ( 2000 ) . Setting the agenda of attributes in the 1996 Spanish general election . Journal of Communication , 50 , 77-92. **36;569;TOOLONG # McCombs , M. E. , &amp; Reynolds , A. 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Cross-cutting social networks : Testing democratic theory in practice . American Political Science Review , 96 , 111-126. **29;701;TOOLONG # Mutz , D. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us . In P. S. Nivola &amp; D. W. Brady ( Eds . ) , Red and blue nation ? Characteristics and causes of America 's polarized politics ( Vol. 1 , pp. 223-242 ) . Washington , DC : Brookings Institution Press . # Pew Research Center . ( 2009 ) . Partisanship and cable news audiences . Retrieved from http : // @long # Pew Research Center . ( 2012 ) . News sources , election night and views of press coverage . Retrieved from @longurl **28;732;TOOLONG # Prior , M. ( 2013 ) . Media and political polarization . Annual Review of Political Science , 16 , 101- 127. **41;762;TOOLONG # Project for Excellence in Journalism . ( 2004 ) . The debate effect : How the press covered the pivotal period of the 2004 presidential campaign . Retrieved from http : //www.journalism.org/ **28;805;TOOLONG # Project for Excellence in Journalism . 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Predicting voting behavior via the agenda-setting tradition . Journalism Quarterly , 69 , 878-892. **30;908;TOOLONG # Sheafer , T. ( 2007 ) . How to evaluate it : The role of story-evaluative tone in agenda setting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ **36;940;TOOLONG # Shoemaker , P. J. , &amp; Reese , S. D. ( 2014 ) . Mediating the message in the 21 century : A media sociology perspective ( 3rd ed . ) . New York , NY : Routledge. # Smith , G. , &amp; Searles , K. ( 2014 ) . Who let the ( attack ) dogs out ? New evidence for partisan media effects . Public Opinion Quarterly , 78 , 71-99. doi:10.1093/poq/nft082 # Stanley , A. ( 2012 , August 31 ) . How MSNBC became Fox 's liberal evil twin . The New York Times . Retrieved from @longurl evil-twin.html # Stroud , N. J. ( 2010 ) . Polarization and partisan selective exposure . Journal of Communication , 60 , 556-576. **36;978;TOOLONG # Stroud , N. J. ( 2011 ) . Niche news : The politics of news choice . 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@@4170241 # I have been interested for several years in how and under what circumstances two or more events are understood to happen at the same time , as well as in the textual , visual , and epistemological practices that support this understanding . Although different disciplines , from literature to cognitive science and from history to anthropology , have taken up the problem under different names , at different scales , and with different commitments , my focus for the purposes of this essay is on how what I am calling the " simultaneity effect " can work in particular kinds of literary texts.1 # Elsewhere I have focused on how the idea of simultaneity gets produced at the level of the sentence , in what I call " historicist sentences " that depend for their authority and credibility on a string of parallel clauses often anchored by a date.2 These sentences depend on an implied or explicit " while " or " meanwhile " that exerts a gravitational-and often also grammatical-pull on our necessarily linear syntax . At the same time , they try to reference and enact synchrony through what is arguably a diachronic form . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demands of simultaneity : tense , parallelism , and legibility can suffer as a result of the temporal work the sentence is asked to do . My intervention in this essay comes at the slightly larger scale of plot . If on the level of the sentence simultaneity challenges syntax , then on the level of plot both reader and writer face the epistemological and perhaps ethical challenge of keeping other plots and other characters in mind as the novel progresses to its ( usually ) euphoric end . # Benedict Anderson famously sees the act of novel reading itself as an exercise in simultaneity . In his account , readers form communities through imagining others reading the same texts at the same time that they do.3 Simultaneity also works for Anderson within the novel itself : what he calls " old-fashioned " novels depend on " the presentation of simultaneity in ' homogeneous , empty time ' " and serve as " a complex gloss upon the word ' meanwhile . ' " 4 He offers the example of characters A , B , C , and D , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wife ( B ) and a mistress ( C ) , who in turn has a lover ( D ) . " 5 " Notice , " says Anderson , " that during this sequence A and D never meet , indeed may not be aware of each other 's existence if C has played her cards right . " 6 What links A and D , despite C 's machinations , is in part that that they are " embedded in the minds of omniscient readers " who make connections through a learned practice of literacy.7 It is readers , then , who grant and enact omniscience by keeping the " meanwhile " -and the characters whose lives are signaled by it-in mind . # What happens , then , when the " meanwhile " of the sentence and that of the reading situation are not ( quite ) powerful enough to keep all the relevant characters in readers ' imaginations at the same time ? In the last column of a chart illustrating some of the possible permutations of simultaneous action for the four characters , Anderson imagines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ B , " " C has an ominous dream , " and " D gets drunk in a bar . " 8 Even in this balanced example that includes all the actors in the novel , it would be easy to imagine becoming engrossed in the dialogue between A and B and sucked into the stream of consciousness of C. Unless poor D got into a bar fight , it would be easy for the reader to imagine-or to fail to imagine-D as fixed in place while A , B , and C claim the attention of their readers through the more arresting narrative conventions of the dialogue and the dream . As with much narrative theory , Anderson 's algebra of simultaneity offers no explicit sign of power or status difference among narrative positions . What would happen if we invested Anderson 's variables with classed or raced histories so that one of these alphabetically marked creatures occupied a world less familiar to the expert readers of marriage- or post-marriage-plot novels ? While postcolonial criticism and fiction writing have produced subaltern readings dedicated to imagining the lives of minor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or places invoked but not represented in the novel , such as Antiguan plantations in Mansfield Park , there has been little if any discussion of how these ( non ) representations accede to and resist the novel 's premise/promise of simultaneity : the simultaneity effect.9 # The novel Anderson is imagining is , it seems , resolutely a post-marriage-plot novel : perhaps European rather than English , perhaps , a Victorian reader might assume , French . Within the English tradition we might expect , instead , a powerful and structuring marriage plot . If Alex Woloch sees in many Victorian novels a competition among characters for agency and representation , one might also see the English multiplot novel as an ultimately unequal competition among plots.10 While the multiplot novel , as its name perhaps deceptively suggests , is committed to the representation of lives and events that unfold under widely different conditions , the genre is nonetheless in thrall to a certain privileged set of plots-most notably the marriage plot and the linked plots of education and class advancement.11 While , as I discuss below , Victorian short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the traces of novel plots can be powerfully mapped onto these shorter pieces . This essay explores what happens when the simultaneity effect fails on the level of plot , when a text has an opportunity to explore parallel temporalities but makes that exploration difficult-perhaps too difficult for most readers , even those who , as Anderson suggests , are trained to imagine the lives of characters unfolding across " empty time . " Each of my textual examples , Elizabeth Gaskell 's social-problem novel Mary Barton ( 1848 ) and Anthony Trollope 's short story " The Journey to Panama " ( 1861 ) , is remarkable both for its investment in the simultaneity effect and for its sophistication in depicting the epistemological difficulties underlying the representation of simultaneity.12 While I will be arguing that both texts try conscientiously to imagine and represent their plots as occupying a single novelistic temporality through the simultaneity effect , I maintain that they also articulate a more radical insight about how differences in status and power produce different temporali- ties . Although subject to the diachronic movement of plot and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temporalities and thus with something that might be called " relative time . " Ultimately , however , both Gaskell 's novel and Trollope 's short story refuse in different ways to make good on their ideas of relative time(s) , absorbing temporal differences into dominant plots and hegemonic cultural forms . # Before looking in detail at how the texts I have chosen negotiate the problem of simultaneity , it might be useful to say a few words about the stakes of that problem . By my invocation of the postcolonial , and of the uneven access of characters and plots to representation , I have suggested that there might be an ethical dimension to simultaneity and to the simultaneity effect . Much of the understanding of the connection between ethics and temporality comes to us via anthropology , specifically through the conversations initiated by Johannes Fabian 's idea of " coevality. ' ' 13 In his influential 1983 study , Time and the Other , Fabian addresses anthropological method and epistemology , arguing that traditional anthropology denies coevality to its indigenous subjects of study , as it assumes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temporalities and different relations to time . The Other of traditional anthropology is , according to Fabian , imagined as being belated , out of time , and as the denial of a shared temporality produced by and complicit with Western colonialism . Fabian 's corrective to this denial , or to what he calls " allochronism , " is the granting of presentness to the anthropological Other . " Homochronism " is , for Fabian , the understanding that encounters between anthropologists and their subjects unfold within a shared temporality that for him is always in the present tense . While anthropology has to some extent moved away from the use of the term " coeval , " there have been , to my knowledge , no sustained critiques of the concept from the standpoint of the temporal.14 While granting coevality to the Other importantly allows that Other a present tense , it may underemphasize different histories , different experiences of time , different temporalities-in other words , it might sacrifice the insights of relative time . While allochronism as Fabian describes it freezes other cultures in time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standardizes time . The ethical conundrums of fieldwork are not identical to the ethical negotiations of the novel ; it is more comfortable for me to talk of " granting " coevality to a fictional character than to a human being . I hope to show later in this paper , however , that granting is neither easy nor unproblematic . Mary Barton and " Journey to Panama " both go out of their way to construct temporal Others , to explore their differences through the production of relative time(s) , and , finally , to collect the different temporalities of their texts into a dominant temporality . For me , the most interesting and productive moment with respect to both narration and ethics is the moment at which the texts imagine not a homochronism nor a coevality but an often disturbing notion of relative time(s) . That these moments ultimately get shut down or reabsorbed is both beside the point and the point of this essay . Generic imperatives-certainly of the novel but even of the short story-make it all too easy to standardize time . # I. HARD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barton , Mary 's aunt Esther , the novel 's prostitute figure , is arrested while trying to warn her brother that Mary might be following in her footsteps by encouraging a rich and unscrupulous suitor . We hear nothing further of Esther until she is released into the action of the novel four chapters later . While we do not know , in these chapters , about anything that happens to Esther in prison , we do know at the moment of her arrest that she is very anxious about what might happen to Mary in her absence . The last representation of Esther 's interiority before she enters prison stresses not her fear of the treadmill or of solitary confinement-both emerging penal technologies in the New Bailey of the 1840s-but her anxiety about what might happen outside the prison walls : " So the night wore away . The next morning she was taken up to the New Bailey . It was a clear case of disorderly vagrancy , and she was committed to prison for a month . How much might happen in that time ! " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard time at the New Bailey , we can detect in this valedictory moment a sense of competing temporalities marked by the slowness of the night , the relentless efficiency of the legal judgment of Esther 's case , and the sense , apparently shared by the narrator in the last exclamatory sentence of free indirect discourse , that " much might happen " in the outside world during the time of her imprisonment . # Esther is , as it turns out , right that " much might happen " to her friends and in the plots within which the other characters ' lives unfold . Esther 's imprisonment marks-although it does not accede in-the speeding up of the linked marriage and classadvancement plots , whose incident-packed progress leaves Esther far behind . During Esther 's thirty days in prison , enough happens in the marriage plot alone to undermine the temporal realism of the text . At first , time passes all too quickly . Soon after Esther , unbeknownst to Mary , enters the New Bailey , the latter receives a proposal from the novel 's working-class @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apparently takes Mary only a few seconds to realize she has made a mistake : after Jem leaves abruptly , because he " could not bear to wait " for a final response , she calls after him , but the narrator tells us " it was too late " ( p. 151 ) . Mary 's change of heart is sudden and complete : " It was scarcely ten minutes since he had entered the house , and found Mary in comparative peace , and now she lay half across the dresser , her head hidden in her hands , and every part of her body shaking with the violence of her sobs . She could not have told at first ... why she was in such agonized grief . It was too sudden for her to analyse , or think upon it . She only felt , that by her own doing her life would be hereafter dreary and blank " ( pp. 151-2 ) . # The " ten minutes " of clock time that separate Mary " at ... peace " from Mary in " agonized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the marriage plot , as Mary is hailed into the subject and bodily positions that this plot makes available for heroines of the genre to which this novel famously succumbs.15 As the heroine of a marriage-plot novel , Mary must experience the violence and humiliation of a first failed proposal by the man who turns out to have always been the good suitor and ready herself to give a different answer when he asks a second time . Jem 's refusal to wait initiates the more familiar waiting time of the marriage plot , in which women remain confined-in middle-class homes , in moated granges , or in this case in a Manchester tenement-until their suitors return . The transformative ten minutes produce in Mary the almost instant conviction that seamlessly the " rest of her life " will be " dreary and blank . " As readers of marriage plots and marriage-plot novels , we may settle in with Mary for a very long wait and , indeed , at two separate points in this period , Mary resists and then accepts her female friends ' gendered counsel to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # Waiting time for Mary is marked and measured by a calculus emanating from the dramatis personae of the marriage plot in the person of the would-be seducer , Harry Carson . It is Harry 's activities-his stalking of Mary through the streets of Manchester-that generate the pace and temporality of this period in Mary 's life . While the novel does not tell us exactly how long Harry follows Mary during this initial period of waiting , it feels to Mary and probably to most readers relentless and prolonged : # But far worse than this , was the being so constantly waylaid as she went home by her persevering lover ; who had been so long acquainted with all her habits , that she found it difficult to evade him . Late or early , she was never certain of being free from him . Go this way or that , he might come up some cross street when she had just congratulated herself on evading him for that day ... And all this time Jem Wilson never came ! Not to see her-that she did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what , but she had hoped he would have come on some excuse , just to see if she had n't changed her mind . He never came . Then she grew weary and impatient , and her spirits sank . # ( p. 163 ) # Harry 's behavior is repetitive : he accosts Mary " constantly " and she is " never certain " that he will not be waiting for her . The temporal markers in the first part of this passage , along with the use of the continuous present , align the reader with the temporality of endurance . The turn in the passage to Jem links the " never " of being stalked to the " never " of remaining unvisited ; we might wonder with Mary not only where Jem is but also , outside her consciousness and apparently the novel 's as well , how long he has really been away . # The answer lies , perhaps , in other linked plots of professional transformation and class transcendence . If the temporal probabilities of the marriage plot might cause us to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short a time , those of the work plot seem actively to resist realist chronology . News of Jem and his progress comes to Mary through her friend Margaret , who has recently met him in Halifax . Margaret has to explain what Jem has been up to since Mary last saw him : " Well , he 's there in Halifax , however ; he 's putting up an engine for some folks there , for his master . He 's doing well , for he 's getten four or five men under him ; we 'd two or three meetings , and he telled me all about his invention for doing away wi ' the crank , or somewhat . His master 's bought it from him , and ta'en out a patent , and Jem 's a gentleman for life wi ' the money his master gied him " ( pp. 165-6 ) . While it is impossible to know how close we are to the end of Esther 's prison sentence as Margaret speaks these words , we can perhaps agree that things have gone improbably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numeracy of Gaskell 's narrator : " four or five men , " and " two or three meetings " remind us of the earlier description of " three or four little children " rolling about on the floor of the Davenport 's insalubrious cellar ( p. 67 ) . Although numbers are insisted upon , they are not precise . And , of course , they do not add up . All these numbers , all Jem 's accomplishments , could not make him " a gentleman for life " -even if he used every day of Esther 's incarceration to move to Halifax , invent a new kind of engine , show it to his master , patent it , get money for it , and become rich . While Esther does not get a life sentence , Jem has one pronounced for him by Margaret . His life and Esther 's month in prison make for a temporal mismatch.16 # The point here is not to belabor the temporal inconsistencies of Gaskell 's first full-length novel or to treat them as the errors in narrative construction that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use the contrast between Esther 's slow carceral time and the relentless , propulsive speed of the marriage and work plots to think through the problem of the simultaneity effect and the narrative ethics of coevality that entangle themselves in that problem . Despite Gaskell 's juxtaposition of the marriage plot with Mary 's , Esther 's , and Jem 's different kinds and rhythms of waiting , the novel does not grant coevality to Esther . The chapters marking Esther 's imprisonment resolutely do not grant her a narrative present . # Readers-especially , perhaps , re-readers-of Mary Barton could , theoretically , " grant " that coevality , working against the temporal grain of the novel . This process could constitute a useful thought experiment . A reader committed to the coeval could try consciously to remind herself of Esther 's incarceration at key moments in the other plots by insisting on local moments of " while " within the structural meanwhile . This might mean mentally adding reminder sentences like this : # Gaskell . Mary lay half across the dresser , her head hidden in her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sobs , Reader . while her Aunt Esther unraveled rope and scarred her hands . # OR # Gaskell . He 's doing well , for he 's getten four or five men under him ; we 'd two or three meetings ... Jem 's a gentleman for life wi ' the money his master gied him . # Reader . Esther was not doing so well . She spent several hours a day on the treadmill at the New Bailey . It was probably disconnected from the power generator and was used merely as aform of punishment . She was not allowed to communicate with her relatives outside and may have spent time in the new solitary room at the prison.17 # Critics of this thought experiment might argue that it takes us dangerously close to imagining children for Lady Macbeth , to forgetting that we are not reading about real people but that , crucially , we are reading fiction . While I would by no means propose coeval reading as a normative practice , I find it useful to imagine what it might feel like to impersonate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allows us to think about what I prefer to call the politics of the novel , but also because it actually alerts us to the constructedness of its temporal technologies . # But perhaps this well-meaning thought experiment serves only to simplify the novel 's canny relation to time . In the moment of Esther 's release from prison , the narrator seems to admit and , indeed , to insist upon the impossibility of coevality : " The month was over ; -the honeymoon to the newly-married ; the exquisite convalescence to the ' living mother of a living child ' ; ' the first dark days of nothingness ' to the widow and the child-bereaved ; the term of penance , of hard labour , and of solitary confinement , to the shrinking , shivering , hopeless prisoner " ( p. 184 ) . This compressed passage brings together-only to hold temporally separate-a series of women not directly represented in the text , the weight of whose experience of time pushes down , as it were , on the " shrinking , shivering , hopeless prisoner " who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lines is represented as relative , radically incommensurate , and the experience of time is only ironized by the imposition of markers like months or days . As the passage unfolds time gets slower and harder , phrases longer and more difficult . Although these lines are attentive to women in different circumstances , it would be hard to read them as conferring a present tense on the women whose stories unfold within it : after the initial phrase " the month was over , " the passage , made up as it is of apposite clauses , eschews verbs-even the repeated " living " is an adjective . Gaskell 's narrator seems to be not so much refusing coevality as demonstrating its limits , proposing within the meanwhile an idea of relative time . # If this transitional passage embodies a critique of the meanwhile through its complex syntax , a single-and simpler-sentence a few pages later condenses the project of relative time and moves it into the family and out of a collective of women . The narrator reminds the reader of Esther 's initial attempt to contact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had , as we have seen , known where to meet with John Barton on that unfortunate night , which had only produced irritation in him , and a month 's imprisonment to her " ( pp. 185-6 ) . The parallel between " irritation in him " and " a month 's imprisonment to her " is embedded in contrasting temporalities : the transience of " irritation " and the slow duration of incarceration . One is a feeling and the other an experience ; both are caught up in contrasting passages of time . # At the moment of release , Esther enters another plot with a powerful temporality of its own . As a figure in the fallen-woman plot , Esther must , it seems , accede to the exigencies of belatedness and finality . When she meets Jem on the street after leaving the New Bailey , he tries to persuade her to reform and to " come home . " Esther responds " with accents of deep despair " : " God bless you , Jem , for the words you have just spoken . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I hope and trust you will save Mary . But it is too late now ; -too late " ( p. 191 ) . Esther 's understanding of Mary 's relation to temporality is , of course , belated : Mary has already been saved by her love of Jem . Esther misreads the marriage plot by failing to understand how far it has progressed in her enforced absence . Although Esther does not at this point know that Mary is already safe from her aunt 's sexual fate , she does position Mary within a potentially redemptive plot embodied in the temporal marker " yet . " Mary is saved in time and into the timeliness of the marriage plot . # Esther herself is doomed ; if her incarceration involved an exemption from the time of the novel , ironically her release plunges her into one of the fastest moving canonical plots that will end in drunkenness , disease , and death , but not before the novel revisits her in prison to flesh out the time of her waiting . The novel allows-indeed insists upon-this " outcast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the reader ( p. 185 ) . What Esther remembers , or at least recounts , about prison are the dreams she had there , in which her mother , daughter , and sister , all dead , enter her cell to reproach her : " It is so frightful to see them ... There they go round and round my bed the whole night through . My mother , carrying little Annie ( I wonder how they got together ) and Mary-and all looking at me with their sad , stony eyes " ( p. 192 ) . This is the continuous present of delirium tremens narrating repeated moments when past and present collapse . Esther 's mother carries in her arms the grandchild she has never met ; the name " Mary " suggests both the dead sister and the imperiled niece . The outcast prostitute tells her tale through the hard time of incarceration . Despite the temporal complexities of Esther 's " tale , " however , and despite her disturbance of narrative time , the prostitute 's story finally gets absorbed into the hegemonic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , always already at work . Ultimately , Mary is protected , not only from becoming Esther but also from inhabiting her hard time . # II . GLOBAL TIMES # My second and quite different text , Trollope 's " The Journey to Panama , " can be read as an experiment in and with relative time on a scale very different from that of Mary Barton . Shorter in length and larger in geographic reach , " Journey " follows the route of two steam packets : the first from Southampton to St. Thomas and the other from St. Thomas to Panama . As a short story , " Journey " offers different possibilities and challenges than does Gaskell 's Mary Barton . As a novelist of the English provinces , Trollope uses the short-story form to explore the world beyond his imaginary but familiar English landscapes . While his novels make incursions into the foreign , exemplifying for Lauren M. E. Goodlad the " actually existing cosmopolitanisms " of the Victorian period , his short stories linger as long as they can in the political and epistemological @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might be many reasons that the short stories are in one sense bigger than the novels , one such reason might ironically be the absence of competing plots and , perhaps , even the ( relative ) absence of the marriage plot . While Trollope 's novels-even , famously , his experiment in resistance , the provocatively titled Miss Ma.ckenzie-end with marriage , many of his short stories do not , concluding instead with heterosexual impasse and , in the case of his " The Banks of the Jordan , " misrecognition . Although the thematics of marriage are ever-present and suggest lingering traces of the marriage plot , that plot itself loses its narrative supremacy , as Trollope unbinds his stories from its exigencies . The famously singular focus of the short story can , oddly , open up new possibilities for the representation of simultaneity.19 # " Journey " begins with a juxtaposition of two temporalities , each with a complicated relationship to ships and to travel . Since so much in the story 's first paragraph is about rhythm and pace , the passage is worth quoting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life in which men and women of the present day frequently find themselves for a time existing , so unlike their customary conventional life , as that experienced on board the large ocean steamers . On the voyages so made , separate friendships are formed and separate enmities are endured ... But the enjoyments and activity of such a life do not display themselves till the third or fourth day of the voyage . The men and women at first regard each with distrust and ill-concealed dislike . They by no means anticipate the strong feelings which are to arise , and look forward to ten , fifteen , or twenty days of gloom or sea-sickness . Sea-sickness disappears , as a general condition , on the evening of the second day , and the gloom about noon on the fourth . Then the men begin to think that the women are not so ugly , vulgar , and insipid ; and the women drop their monosyllables . and become affable , perhaps even beyond their wont on shore . And alliances spring up among the men themselves . On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regard each other with marked aversion ... but by the fourth day , if not sooner , every man has his two or three intimate friends with whom he talks and smokes . The female friendships are slower in their growth , for the suspicion of women is perhaps stronger than that of men ; but when grown they also are stronger , and exhibit themselves sometimes in instances of feminine affection . # ( p. 349 ) # This passage is precisely about passage , both of time and of passengers . Although friendships form quickly and according to a set calendar , the paragraph itself takes a while to arrive at the moment when the men stop thinking the women are ugly and when the women " become affable . " The calendar of shipboard time is laid out with an oddly leisurely imprecision : although we are told with exactness that " sea-sickness disappears . on the evening of the second day " and the passengers ' " gloom about noon on the fourth , " other temporal markers are less precise . The " enjoyments and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ till the third or fourth day , " and passengers " look forward to ten , fifteen , or twenty days of gloom . " This more inexact accounting reminiscent of Gaskell 's enumeration of the poor extends to the calculus of friendship itself : " by the fourth day , if not sooner , every man has his two or three intimate friends . " Men and women aboard ship have different timetables of intimacy : men make friends more quickly , but women have " stronger " friendships that are not represented numerically . # The largely , but not exclusively , homosocial temporalities of the narrator 's opening timetable give way to the special rhythms of heterosexual romance : " But the most remarkable alliances are those made between gentlemen and ladies . This is a matter of course on board ship quite as much as on shore , and it is of such an alliance that the present tale purports to tell the story . Such friendships , though they may be very dear , can seldom be very lasting . Though they may be full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the discomforts of a seavoyage-such romance is generally short-lived and delusive , and occasionally is dangerous " ( p. 349 ) . Although subject to the accelerated timetables of shipboard life , heterosexual " friendships " resist the temporal requirements of the marriage plot . They exist , they can be " very dear , " but they do not last . They are not even presented as romances-as we shall see later , that word is used for other things-but rather as " friendships " or " alliances . " In using variants on " alliance " twice in this paragraph , Trollope 's narrator seems to borrow from a world outside of and larger than the marriage plot . # It is , of course , this larger world of competing nations and global histories that this steamship and others traverse . Interestingly , the word " romance " appears first in " Journey " to describe not relationships between men and women but shipping routes : # There are several of these great ocean routes , of which by the common consent , as it seems , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Great Eastern line , running from Southampton across the Bay of Biscay and up the Mediterranean . It crosses the Isthmus of Suez , and branches away to Australia , to India , to Ceylon , and to China . There is the great American line , traversing the Atlantic to New York and Boston with the regularity of clockwork . The voyage here is so much a matter of everyday routine , that romance has become scarce upon the route . There are one or two other North American lines , perhaps open to the same objection . Then there is the line of packets to the African coast , -very romantic as I am given to understand ; and there is the great West-Indian route , to which the present little history is attached , -great , not on account of our poor West Indian Islands , which can not at the present moment make anything great , but because it spreads itself out from thence to Mexico and Cuba , to Guiana and the republics of Grenada and Venezuela , to Central America , the Isthmus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's Island , Peru and Chili . # ( pp. 349-50 ) # If friendships develop in shipboard time aboard specific steamers , it is the movement of these steamers through mapped and named space that produces , or fails to produce , romance . Most " romantic " are the steamer routes to Africa , which seem to lie outside the narrator 's experience and mapping . The West Indian route that reaches to and beyond Panama , and that is the subject of " the present little history " -and also of Trollope 's own journeys as described in The West Indies and the Spanish Main-is also , apparently , romantic , but not because of the islands that give the route its name and point of origin . Romance attaches to the vast reach of the routes and to the place names carefully detailed as their landmarks . Both the story that " Journey " is in the process of telling and the West Indies from which the story and the journey launch are given a narrative present , even if " our poor West Indian Islands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " unable to " make anything great . " While journeys to the places named and listed as destinations are indicated in a continuous present ( " spreads " ) , the names of those places exist outside time , or at least outside any temporal markers. # The timelessness of geographical markers is undercut by the movement away from place to people , from routes to passengers . The people boarding the steamer carry with them compressed national histories of conflict , conquest , and subjugation : # It may be imagined how various are the tribes which leave the shores of Great Britain by this route . There are Frenchmen for the French sugar islands , as a rule not very romantic ; there are old Spaniards , Spaniards of Spain , seeking to renew their fortunes amidst the ruins of their former empire ; and new Spaniards , -Spaniards , that is , of the American republics , who speak Spanish , but are unlike the Don both in manners and physiognomy , -men and women with a touch perhaps of Indian blood , very keen after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life . There are Dutchmen too , and Danes , going out to their own islands . There are citizens of the stars and stripes , who find their way everywhere-and , alas ! perhaps , now also citizens of the new Southern flag , with the palmetto leaf . And there are Englishmen of every shade and class , and Englishwomen also . # ( p. 340 ) # However problematic Trollope 's representation of the various nationalities on board the steamer , he does not present them in any sense as being out of time.20 There are " old Spaniards " associated with a decaying " former " empire and with attempts to " renew " it in the present moment . There are also " new Spaniards " perhaps more entangled in present and future tenses and enterprises . There are Americans , also subject to recent history at the moment this story is written in 1861 . The " perhaps " suggests the instability of the Confederacy ; the " alas , " the narrator 's self-insertion into an unfolding present . Structured as a list @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set of temporal terms that cuts across national identities . Somewhat curiously , this passage binds passengers not only to their nations of origin but also to the earlier discussion of routes : in this list of descriptive phrases we are told that the French are " not very romantic . " # Thus the opening of Trollope 's short story offers a variety of competing temporalities ; the paradoxical stasis and acceleration of shipboard time is played out against the relative time of national histories . " Journey " begins by positing the temporalities of land and sea , colonizer and colonized , and the local and the global . It is not too much to say that the short story starts out as a thought experiment about the possibility of simultaneity and about the limits and possibility of the simultaneity effect . Since the genre of the short story is less insistently bound to the marriage plot , since this particular short story explicitly refuses from the beginning to accede to that plot 's gestures toward closure , and since romance is attached to vastly different temporalities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sustained exploration of relative time within the dominant temporality of what Jessie E. C. Reeder and Robert D. Aguirre would call " informal " empire , with its particular relation to speed , industrialization , and global communication.21 # Perhaps predictably , the story quickly forecloses the possibilities of relative time(s) by narrowing its sense of temporality and reinstalling the story of individual sexual romance , indicatively English . If the long passenger list quoted above makes English men something of an afterthought to the men of many nations and " English women also " an afterthought to those English men , " Journey " finally recalibrates Its ambitions to focus on one English man and one English woman . The French and the Dutch disappear from the story , while Spaniards are mentioned only twice and in passing . The narrative turns to tell the story of Ralph Forrest , bound for California after the death of his wife , and the impoverished Emily Viner , bound for Peru to marry a man she hardly knows . Their story unfolds not in the context of a cosmopolitan relative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which manages , despite seasickness and unfamiliarity , to mimic life on land and to achieve what Janet C. Myers has called a " portable domesticity . " 22 The success of this enterprise depends in part on the marking of time in ways reminiscent of English domestic life : " The custom on board these ships is for two bells to ring preparatory to dinner , at an interval of half-an-hour . At the sound of the first , ladies would go to their cabins to adjust their toilets ; but as dressing for dinner is not carried to an extreme at sea , these operations are generally over before the second bell , and the lady passengers would generally assemble in the balcony for some fifteen minutes before dinner . At first they would stand here alone , but by degrees they were joined by some of the more enterprising of the men , and so at last a kind of little drawingroom was formed " ( " Journey , " p. 354 ) .23 The English passengers carve a space out of time and an identity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the " London time " of Ericka Beckman 's essay in this volume.24 # Emily and Ralph are , as an item of gossip , simultaneously subject to the standardized time of bells and dinner hours and outside its limits . At first Ralph conforms exactly to the temporality of attraction laid down by the narrator and echoed by his friend Morris , who , with the wisdom gained from previous sea voyages , tells Ralph early on that Emily will become more attractive as the journey progresses : " She 'll brighten up wonderfully before we 're in the tropics ... And you wo n't find her so very bad then " ( p. 352 ) . A little later , Morris rearticulates his confidence in the erotic powers of shipboard time , claiming , " No ; she wo n't be lovely for the next three days to come , I dare say . By the time you reach Panama , she 'll be all that is perfect in a woman . I know how these things go " ( p. 354 ) . Soon-perhaps even before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passengers become uneasy and judgmental about the relationship they see developing . Despite Emily 's efforts to avoid Ralph , the two become friends : " And then ... on that evening , there grew up between them something like the confidence of real friendship . Things were told such as none but friends do tell to one another ... Alas , they were both foolish ; for friendship and sympathy should have deeper roots " ( pp. 355-6 ) . The narrator here seems to push against the accelerated temporality of the relationship . Like the English passengers he depicts so negatively , he seems to disapprove of the shape and pace of this " friendship . " With all eyes on the developing relationship between Ralph and Emily , the scope of the piece narrows to exclude all non-English passengers . # And , indeed , the story narrows further as the steamer reaches St. Thomas and Emily and Ralph are the only English people to take a second ship to Panama . The English passengers lose interest as their destination approaches : " Few of the passengers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admirer . Those who were going down to Panama were mostly Spaniards , and as the great separation became nearer , people had somewhat else of which to think " ( p. 357 ) . The " great separation " serves to isolate the couple further ; we hear nothing of the " Spaniards " who accompany them , and little even of the English " people " who have moved on to other things and other times . The two English friends might be alone on the second ship to Col&oacute;n : " On the following morning the branch ship was despatched to Mexico ; and then , on the afternoon of the third day that for Colon-as we Englishmen call the town on this side of the Isthmus of Panama . Into that vessel Miss Viner and Mr. Forrest moved themselves and their effects ; and now that the three-headed Cerberus was gone , she had no longer hesitated in allowing him to do for her all those little things which it is well that men should do for women when they are travelling " ( p. 358 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in " she had no longer hesitated " suggests the inevitability of Emily 's acceptance of Ralph 's attentions . Offered in the continuous present as " little things which it is well that men should do , " those attentions take a different temporal and grammatical route to inevitability . It is through these inevitabilities that we might imagine the couple moving with the tide of the marriage plot . # Instead , the story offers a new form of shipboard time , precisely calculated but indicatively out of time . Emily counts down the days before landing : " I have five more days of self and liberty left me ... That is my life 's allowance " ( p. 358 ) . When , after landing , she discovers that her fianc&eacute; is dead , Emily responds to Ralph 's proposal of marriage with a resonant " Not for the world " ( p. 363 ) . She explains : " While he lived , it seemed to me that in those last days I had a right to speak my thoughts plainly . You and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regarded us both as people apart , who for a while might drop the common usages of the world " ( p. 363 ) . Emily-insistently Miss Viner to Ralph until the end-posits a temporality , indeed a right to a temporality , that is outside standardized time , although it can be measured within its parameters . It is , perhaps shockingly , a temporality outside the marriage plot . As her repeated use of " world " reminds us , it is also a global temporality made possible by a change in latitude . For all its savvy deployment of temporalities , " Journey " finally collapses relative time into the forms of standard time . On the level of plot , this standardization derives from what is now firmly a romance-if distinctly not a marriage-plot. # This plot accelerates as the journey and the short story draw to a close and the text begins to deal in smaller units of time . " In little more than an hour " from the time the couple see land " the ship had swung round on her anchor " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " readers might feel with Emily the rush toward a conventional ending ( p. 360 ) . The speed of the prose echoes and is echoed by new terrain and new forms and procedures of transportation : Emily and Ralph leave the ship for the new railroad , which anticipates the route across the Isthmus of Panama to be cut some fifty years later by the Panama Canal . Railway time , even in this outpost , is ruthlessly efficient : " In less than an hour from their landing , their baggage had been examined by the Custom House officers of New Grenada , and they were on the railway cars , crossing the Isthmus " ( p. 360 ) . # British and American relations to the Isthmus were often focused on the idea of speed ; the depot town on the Isthmus 's northern coast is not a place to linger , at least for the British : # Colon , or Aspinwall as it should be called , is a place in itself as detestable as St. Thomas . It is not so odious to an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than is necessary . We have no great depot of traffic there , which we might with advantage move elsewhere . Taken , however , on its own merits , Aspinwall is not a detestable place . Luckily , however , travellers across the Isthmus to the Pacific are never doomed to remain there long . If they arrive early in the day , the railway thence to Panama takes them on at once . If it be not so , they remain on board ship till the next morning . Of course it will be understood that the transit line chiefly affects Americans , as it is the highroad from New York to California . # ( " Journey , " p. 360 ) # Although Trollope hints here at different temporalities for English and American travelers , the point of the town for both , and indeed the point of the Isthmus itself , is that they are places " in between . " The speed of the railway , and of global transport networks more generally , erases both town and Isthmus in the act of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the case of Col&oacute;n , renamed . What Aguirre calls the " mobilities " of agents of informal empire , and what Reeder and Beckman call , in this issue , " flows " of capital , make the narrow strip of land disappear into imperial time.25 # As it turns out , the temporalities of informal empire , embodied in the railway , do not , finally , merge with those of the marriage plot . Instead , Emily must , unmarried , reenter the slow time of shipboard life , retracing her steps , first on the railroad , then back to St. Thomas on her way to England . Although Ralph proposes to her , she resists the convergence of love , time , and plot precisely because she has treated Ralph as being outside conventional temporal markers . The arrangements for Emily 's return journey are made quickly ; for both Ralph and reader , they are faits accomplis in the final scene . Narrative time , then , is out of joint with the time of Emily 's return . That return time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Trollope and , even in Trollope , unrepresented in narrative . It is a retreat from the marriage plot along the tracks laid down for it by sea and by land . Footnote # NOTES # 1 Mapping the various disciplinary uses of the idea of simultaneity is a daunting task . I can offer only some suggestions . For historians , phenomena that happen at the same time are embodied and rendered meaningful through the synchronic axis of history . I have argued elsewhere that the synchronic and diachronic axes of history are inherently incommensurate in terms of scale , and that the narrative turn in history has cemented a privileging of the diachronic axis leaving the synchronic axis undertheorized as it contributes to our understanding of chronology and history ( Helena Michie , " Victorian(ist) ' Whiles ' and the Tenses of Historicism , " Narrative 17 , 3 October 2009 : 274-90 , 279 ) . Cognitive scientists tend to use the word " simultaneity " to investigate events unfolding on a neural level . Recent experiments with fMRIs have shown simultaneity to be an illusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this reason , many cognitive-based works in philosophy and psychology tend to think in terms of " delay " or " staggered time . " See Susie Vrobel , Otto E. R&ouml;ssler , and Terry Marks-Tarlow , eds. , Simultaneity : Temporal Structures and Observer Perspective ( Hackensack NJ : World Scientific Press , 2008 ) , esp . Uri Fildelman 's " Brain Time and Physical Time , " pp. 79-87 . This idea of delay is also discussed in philosopher Jay Lampert 's Simultaneity and Delay : A Dialectical Theory of Staggered Time ( New York : Continuum , 2012 ) , pp. 112-5 . While preserving the idea of simultaneity for structuring perception , physics has offered us the word " entanglement " for the behavior of paired electrons that carry out a mysterious relation , even when at an unimaginable distance apart . This word has caught on in anthropology to describe the ethnographic condition of inhabiting two positions at once . Thus , Faye Ginsburg and Rayna Rapp speak of " entangled ethnography " to describe their dual roles as professional ethnographers and parents of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Future for Young Adults with Learning Disabilities , " Social Science and Medicine 99 2013 : 187-93 ) . Perhaps similar to this use of the idea of simultaneous identities is the concept of " intersectionality " that has been central to feminist studies for the last twenty-five years ( see Robyn Warhol and Susan S. Lanser , eds. , Narrative Theory Unbound : Queer and Feminist Interventions Columbus : Ohio State Univ . Press , 2015 ) . An older term from anthropology is Johannes Fabian 's " coeval , " used to indicate ethical temporal relation between ethnographers and indigenous subjects ( Time and the Other : How Anthropology Makes Its Object New York : Columbia Univ . Press , 2002 , pp. 30-3 ) . Finally , literary studies has relatively recently focused on the idea of the " meanwhile , " particularly in the multiplot novel . For a foundational discussion , see Peter K. Garrett , The Victorian Multiplot Novel : Studies in Dialogical Form ( New Haven : Yale Univ . Press , 1980 ) . For a discussion of meanwhiles and standardization in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Networks : Public Transport and the Novel ( Oxford : Oxford Univ . Press , 2012 ) , pp. 165-95. # 2 Michie , " Victorian(ist) ' Whiles , ' " p. 279. # 3 Benedict Anderson , Imagined Communities : Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism ( New York : Verso , 1991 ) . # 4 Anderson , p. 25 # 5 Ibid. # 6 Ibid. # 7 Anderson , p. 26. # 8 Anderson , p. 25. # 9 For the foundational example , see Edward Said 's discussion of Mansfield Park in Culture and Imperialism ( New York : Vintage Books , 1993 ) , pp. 80-97. # 10 For a discussion of how characters operate within , and sometimes seem to resist , a system that designates some as " major " and some as " minor , " see Alex Woloch , The One vs. the Many : Minor Characters and the Space of the Protagonist in the Novel ( Princeton : Princeton Univ . Press , 2003 ) , especially pp. 21-3 and 155-66. # 11 For a discussion of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of the novel , see Joseph Allen Boone , Tradition Counter Tradition : Love and the Form of Fiction ( Chicago : Univ . of Chicago Press , 1987 ) . As he puts it , " The history of the English-language novel can not really be separated from the history of the romantic wedlock ideal " ( p. 65 ) . # 12 Elizabeth Gaskell , Mary Barton , ed . Edgar Wright ( New York : Oxford Univ . Press , 1987 ) ; and Anthony Trollope , " The Journey to Panama , " in The Complete Shorter Fiction , ed . Julian Thompson ( New York : Carroll and Graf , 1992 ) , pp. 347-63 . Subsequent references to Mary Barton and to " The Journey to Panama " are from these editions and will appear parenthetically in the text by page number . # 13 Fabian , Time , pp. 30-3 . Fabian 's most recent elaboration of the concept can be found in his essay " Ethnography and Intersubjectivity : Loose Ends , " HAU : Journal of Ethnographic Theory 4 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , most recently , Bob W. White and Kiven Strohm , " Preface : Ethnographic Knowledge and the Aporias of Intersubjectivity , " HAU : Journal of Ethnographic Theory 4 , 1 ( June 2014 ) : 189-97. # 15 Catherine Gallagher , The Industrial Reformation of English Fiction : Social Discourse and Narrative Form , 1832-1867 ( Chicago : Univ . of Chicago Press , 1985 ) , especially pp. 62-87. # 16 Somewhat unusually for the Victorian novel , Margaret experiences in the same period of time as she counsels patience for Mary a professional plot of her own , transforming herself from a blind seamstress into a respected and well-paid singer . # 17 13Of course choosing to represent Esther brings up issues of pointof-view and voice . I have purposely refrained from writing the additions in Gaskell 's version of Esther 's dialect and have chosen to go with a slightly anachronistic , slightly Americanized narrative voice . # 18 Lauren M. E. Goodlad , " Cosmopolitanism 's Actually Existing Beyond ; Toward a Victorian Geopolitical Aesthetic , " VLC 38 , 2 ( September 2010 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trollope 's cosmopolitanism is centered on his novels . While some of his novels , notably The Bertrams ( 1859 ) and John Caldigate ( 1879 ) , actually involve travel , much of his longer fiction treats non-English spaces instrumentally . Trollope 's novel about Panama , The Way We Live Now ( 1875 ) , features an economic and moral relation to the Panamanian railroad but does not , as it were , leave London . For a discussion of the absent presence of South America in The Way We Live Now , see Jessie E. C. Reeder , " The Forms of Informal Empire : Narrating British and Latin American Relations , 1810-1900 " ( Ph.D . diss. , Univ . of Wisconsin , 2014 ) , pp. 149-51 . For a wonderful discussion of travel and foreignness in a Trollope short story , see William A. Cohen 's discussion of Trollope 's " The Banks of the Jordan " in Embodied : Victorian Literature and the Senses ( Minneapolis : Univ . of Minnesota Press , 2009 ) , pp. 65-85. # 19 See , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hawthorne 's Twice Told Tales , in which he speaks of the short story as requiring " a certain unique or single effect " ( qtd. in M. H. Abrams , " Short Story , " in A Glossary of Literary Terms , 7th edn . Boston : Heinle and Heinle , 1999 , pp. 286-8 , 286 ) . Abrams insists that the short story , as opposed to the anecdote but " like the novel ... organizes the action , thought , and dialogue of its characters into the artful pattern of a plot " ( p. 286 ) . # 20 Trollope 's global politics have been much discussed . Although they are not the focus of my interest here , one can not read Trollope , especially his The West Indies and the Spanish Main , without being appalled by his treatment of racial and national Others . For a discussion of Trollope 's politics , see , for example , James Buzard , " Trollope and Travel , " in The Cambridge Companion to Anthony Trollope , ed . Carolyn Dever and Lisa Niles ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pp. 168-80 ; and Robert D. Aguirre , " ' Affairs of State ' : Mobilities , Communication , and Race in Trollope 's The West Indies and the Spanish Main , " NCC 37 , 1 ( January 2015 ) : 1-20. # 21 Aguirre , p. 11. # 22 Janet C. Myers , Antipodal England : Emigration and Portable Domesticity in the Victorian Imagination ( Albany : SUNY Press , 2009 ) , p. 27 . As Myers notes , when speaking of emigrant ships to Australia , passengers aboard ship are encouraged to imitate life on land as closely as possible . This includes structuring one 's day in familiar ways . Myers offers an example from an S. W. Silver &amp; Co. ' s Colonial and Indian Pocket Book Series and Voyager 's Companion that encourages occupation and daily tasks ( p. 28 ) . # 23 I am grateful to Tim Watson for positing another sort of relative time here-the temporal experiences of the men who rang the bells for the dinners that maintained English portable domesticity . I do not know whether these bells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ship and thus adapted by the English for domestic rituals , or whether it was the English passengers who instituted this form of timekeeping ( personal conversation , 20 April 2015 ) . # 24 Ericka Beckman , " Jorge Isaacs 's Mar&iacute;a and the Space-Time of Global Capitalism , " SEL 56 , 3 ( Summer 2016 ) : 539-59. # 25 Aguirre , p. 2 ; Beckman , p. 559 ; and Reeder , " William Henry Hudson , Hybridity , and Storytelling in the Pampas , " SEL 56 , 3 ( Summer 2016 ) : 561-81 , 563 . As Aguirre notes , Trollope was himself obsessed with speed in his work for the Royal Mail abroad . Aguirre explains how Trollope , in his journey to Suez in 1858 , " painstakingly assessed each link in the complex multi-nodal system , going so far as to calculate , timepiece in hand , ' the normal speed of a camel ' across desert sands " ( Aguirre , p. 11 ) . Although not , presumably , literally set to London time , Trollope 's " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's article ( p. 541-3 ) .

@@4170341 # Introduction # This review addresses established and emerging glycan biomarkers for detection , prognosis and novel therapeutic strategies against gastric and colorectal carcinomas . These are among the most prevalent and deadliest gastrointestinal tract malignancies in western populations 1 , mostly due to late diagnosis , rapid metastatic spread and scarce efficient therapeutics 2-4 . In fact , current treatments rely essentially on surgery associated with ( neo ) adjuvant chemotherapy , which is highly toxic and provides only modest results for advanced stage patients 2,5-7 . Over the past ten years the introduction of targeted therapeutics and immunotherapy has allowed significant , but yet insufficient , improvements in disease management 8-10 . As the oncology field moves toward precision medicine and patient-tailored therapeutic solutions , it becomes imperative to accomplish a more integrative and in-depth overview of the molecular nature of tumors 11-13 . # Alterations in protein glycosylation are among the main molecular events accompanying oncogenic transformations in the gastric and colorectal tracts 14-16 . In fact , protein glycosylation is one of the most frequent , complex and plastic posttranslational modifications of membrane-bound and secreted proteins 17 . Glycans play a key role in protein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several cell functions , such as cell adhesion , migration and signaling , as well as modulate immune recognition and host-pathogen interactions 16,18-20 . Protein glycosylation results from the highly coordinated action of nucleotide sugar transporters and sugar biosynthesis pathways , involving glycosyltransferases ( GTs ) and glycosidases in the endoplasmatic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus . As such , several factors may influence glycan biosynthesis , namely , the under or overexpression of glycosyltransferases , the impairment of glycosyltransferase chaperone function , altered glycosidase activity , changes in the tertiary conformation of a given peptide or growing glycan , and the availability of sugar nucleotide donors , cofactors and acceptor substrates 21,22 . The mislocalization of glycosyltranferases throughout the secreting organelles also contributes to significant alterations in cancer-associated protein glycosylation patterns 23-25 . Two main classes of glycans can be found at cell-surface glycoproteins : i ) O-glycans , being the most common O-glycan that is initiated in the Golgi by the attachment of a GalNAc residue to the hydroxyl groups of serine ( Ser ) or threonine ( Thr ) amino acids of a given polypeptide chain ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ O-glycosylation ) 26 ; and ii ) N-glycans , whose biosynthesis initiates in the endoplasmatic reticulum by the addition of an oligosaccharide chain to an asparagine ( Asn ) residue within consensus peptide sequences of Asn-X-Ser/Thr ( X denotes any amino acid except proline ) 27 . Less abundant forms of protein glycosylation include O-Fucosylation , O-GlucNAcylation , and O-Mannosylation 16 . Protein glycan chains are often branched or elongated and may present sialic acids , Lewis blood group related antigens or ABO(H) blood group determinants as terminal structures 28 . Other modifications may include phosphorylation , O-acetylation of sialic acids and O-sulfation of galactose and N-acetylglucosamine residues , thereby increasing the structural complexity of the glycophenotype 29 . In addition , protein glycosylation patterns do not follow a predefined template , as they are regulated by several factors at the cell and tissue levels , promptly responding to physiological and pathological changes 16 . # Given its key functional and biological role , alterations in protein glycosylation underlying oncogenic transformations decisively contribute to the development of more malignant characteristics , such as cell-cell adhesion impairment , enhanced migration and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been also implicated in the activation of intracellular oncogenic pathways and immune escape , thereby favoring cancer-tolerogenic immune responses 33,34 . Particularly , advanced stage tumors often overexpress or promote the de novo biosynthesis of immature and truncated O-glycans , such as the Tn , sialyl-Tn ( STn ) , T and sialyl-T ( ST ) antigens , due to a premature stop of the extension of O-glycosylation 35-37 . Oversialylation and fucosylation of glycan chains are also frequently observed in cancer , including terminal antigens like the sialyl-LeA ( SLeA ) and sialyl-LeX ( SLeX ) 38-40 . Contrasting with the tumor , these structures are often absent or just moderately expressed in the corresponding healthy tissues , holding potential for selective targeted therapeutics 38 . In addition , many of the proteins carrying cancer-associated glycans may also be shed into the bloodstream or other bodily fluids , facilitating non-invasive detection methods . # Despite the key role played by glycosylation , clinically approved and novel targeted therapeutic approaches for gastric and colorectal tumors have mostly resulted from intense genomic , transcriptomic and proteomic studies . Moreover , few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of gastric and colorectal tumors , mostly due to its intrinsic molecular complexity . This has significantly delayed the development and translation of glycan-based diagnostic and therapeutic solutions to clinical routine . Recently , the simplification and standardization of glycobiology-based methods have provided powerful analytical tools to improve our understanding of glycosylation alterations on specific cancer-associated proteins . This review summarizes recent insights from innovative research on the glycobiology of gastric and colorectal tumors . It emphasizes the O-glycome and glycoproteome , envisaging the identification of more specific cancer glycobiomakers and the development of innovative therapeutic strategies . Furthermore , it comprehensively discusses the implications of combining glycosylation , large scale genomics , transcriptomics and metabolomics toward true precision medicine settings . # Protein glycosylation in gastrointestinal cancer : molecular mechanisms underlying the aberrant glycan biosynthesis # Perhaps the most studied cancer-associated glycoepitopes in gastric and colorectal cancers derive from a premature stop in the elongation of protein O-GalNAc glycosylation 16,37,41 . These antigens have been classically termed as simple mucin-type O-glycans , reflecting the abundance of this type of glycosylation in mucins . Nevertheless , these types of glycans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protein expressing O-glycosylation sites . O-GalNAc glycan biosynthesis can be initiated by up to 20 polypeptide GalNAc transferases ( GalNAc-Ts ) , which are responsible for catalyzing the transfer of a N-acetylgalactosamine residue from UDP-GalNAc to the hydroxyl group of Ser or Thr , originating the Tn antigen ( Fig. 1 ) 42-44 . The different GalNAcTs present a cell and tissue-specific expression 45 , showing distinct and partially overlapping peptide substrate specificities that are crucial for O-glycosites definition 46 . There have been reports of an increased density of O-glycans in gastric and colon tumors , resulting from an increased GalNAc-Ts activity in tumor cells compared to normal cells 20,47 . In most normal gastrointestinal cells , the Tn antigen is further elongated by core 1 **25;17515;TOOLONG ( C1GalT ) . This reaction originates the core 1 or Thomsen-Friedenreich ( T ) -antigen ( Gal1-3GalNAc-Ser/Thr ) , in a process dependent on the functional chaperone COSMC ( Fig. 1 ) 48 . The initial GalNAc may be extended and originate the core 3 , catalyzed by **36;17542;TOOLONG 6 ( 3Gn-T6 ) . Core 3 may be further substituted with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , originating core 4 ( Fig. 1 ) . On the other hand , core 1 may originate core 2 , catalyzed by **37;17618;TOOLONG ( C2GnTs ) . Core structures are frequently further elongated and terminated with ABO and Lewis blood groups determinants , as depicted in Fig. 1 . The downregulation of 3Gn-T6 and C3GnT was shown to suppress metastasis in colon carcinoma , suggesting that core structures may play a key role in cancer progression 49 . C1GalT is often overexpressed in tumors , resulting in an accumulation of T antigens , which has been associated with disease progression , metastasis and decreased survival 20,38 . Early sialylation also decisively contributes to a premature stop in O-glycan extension , leading to an accumulation of immature sialylated structures such as sialyl-Tn ( STn ; **25;17657;TOOLONG ) , mostly due to the increased expression of sialyltransferases like ST6GalNAc1 37,50 . The overexpression of Tn and STn has been observed in both early and advanced stage disease , generally associated with poor outcome 51,52 . Notably , pre-malignant and early stage colorectal tumors overexpress the STn antigen 53-55 due to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colonic mucins from degradation by intestinal bacteria 58 . Nevertheless , the molecular mechanisms underlying these transformations are not yet fully understood . Other modifications occurring in sialic acids may include a substitution of Neu5Ac by non-human Neu5G from dietary sources 59 . Recently , high levels of Neu5Ac were associated with increased consumption of red meat and as a promoter of systemic inflammation and cancer 60 . Furthermore , several studies report an overexpression of the T antigen sialylated form in colorectal carcinomas 61 , whose contribution to disease warrants in depth investigation . # In addition , gastric and colorectal tumors present high levels of SLeA ( **28;17684;TOOLONG ) and SLeX ( **28;17714;TOOLONG ) as terminal epitopes of protein O-glycans 62,63 , but also of N-glycans and glycolipids 64,65 . In fact , SLeA and SLeX have been found to be highly expressed in many solid tumors , including digestive track carcinomas , and their expression levels have been correlated with metastasis and poor survival in cancer patients 66-68 . These antigens are structurally related with Lewis antigen determinants LeA and LeX , resulting from the 2,3sialylation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed by either 1,4 or 1,3-fucosylation ( structural details and biosynthesis depicted in Fig. 1B ) . SLeA/X are specific ligands for E- and P-selectins in endothelial cells , thereby acting as regulators of the metastatic cascade by promoting the adhesion of malignant cells to the endothelium ( Fig. 2 ) 69,70 . Selectin ligands are also thought to play a role in tumor growth , invasion , and angiogenesis 32,71,72 . # SLeA/X elevation in O-glycans has been mostly associated with C2GnT overexpression and consequently core 2 biosynthesis 62,63 . In N-glycans , SLeA/X overexpression may also be potentiated by the 1,6-branching of N-glycans , followed by further elongation with polylactosamine , whose role in cancer has been recently revised by several authors 16,21 . In addition , the Helicobacter pylori-induced expression of a 1,3-GlcNAc transferase , responsible for the synthesis of Type1/2 chains precursors in glycolipids , drives SLeA/X accumulation and carcinogenesis in gastric tissues 73 . The overexpression of this enzyme was also observed in colonic cancer tissues 74 . Nevertheless , in normal gastric and colonic mucosa , both type 1 ( Gal1,3GlcNAc1-R ) and type @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , malignant transformations in the colon are frequently accompanied by a downregulation of 3GalT5 77 that synthesizes type 1 chains in epithelia , and a upregulation of 4GalT-I 78 and IV 79 , leading to an increase in type 2 chains ( precursor for SLeX ) 76 . Importantly , the overexpression of SLeX/A antigens in gastric and colorectal cancers may also be influenced by " incomplete " and " neo " biosynthesis of terminal Lewis-related antigens . Regarding incomplete biosynthesis , nonmalignant epithelial cells of the digestive tract predominantly express disialyl LeA ( diSLeA ) , presenting an additional O-6 linked sialic acid in comparison to SLeA 80-82 . The diSLeA antigens act has ligands for lymphocyte inhibitory receptors Siglecs-7 and -9 expressed on monocytes and macrophages , thereby contributing to maintaining immunological homeostasis in digestive organs 83,84 . Epigenetic silencing of the 2,6-sialyltransferase encoding gene is thought to be among the main events driving the shift from di- to mono-sialylated LeA antigens in cancer 84 . These events ultimately contribute to impairment of normal recognition of cancer cells by lymphoid cells . On the other hand , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LeX , cancer cells often accumulate significant amounts of SLeX 85 . Two main mechanisms have been proposed for this alteration : i ) decreased expression of intestine-specific **26;17744;TOOLONG GlcNAc6ST 86-88 ; and ii ) downregulation of the sulfate transporter gene , which has also been implicated in enhanced cell proliferation 89 . Recently , the downregulation of B4GALNT2 and the consequent decrease in histo-blood group carbohydrate antigen Sda ( GalNAc1-4Neu5Ac2-3Gal ) levels was also found to drive SLeX overexpression in colonic tumors 90 . In addition , no significant alterations have been found in the transcript levels of different fucosyl and sialyltransferases involved in SLeX biosynthesis 91-93 . In summary , epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation and/or histone deacetylation significantly contribute to SLeX/A overexpresion , particularly during the early stages of disease 94 . In locally advanced tumors , hypoxia also plays a key role in glycome remodeling and SLeA/X neosynthesis ; namely , oxygen shortage has been shown to act as a trigger for epigenetic silencing and transcriptional induction of several glycogenes 94-97 and alterations in glucose metabolic fluxes directly implicated in glycosylation pathways 98,99 . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overexpress truncated , sialylated , and fucosylated O-glycans that favor disease progression and dissemination . In particular , glycome remodeling translates in the accumulation of simple-mucin type O-glycans and selectin ligands , which decisively contribute to disease outcome . Despite significant advances in understanding the biological events driving these alterations , a significant amount of questions remain unanswered regarding biosynthesis pathways ; namely , most studies are target-driven , based on cancer cell models and/or a small number of patients , lacking the necessary pan-omics approach , such asglycomics , ( glyco ) proteomics , **29;17772;TOOLONG , and metabolomics , to unravel the complex nature of cancer-associated glycosylation . Nevertheless , key structural and biological insights have been provided to address the context-specific nature of cancer-associated glycans and its clinical implications in large and well characterized patient samples . # Role of O-glycosylation and sialylated Lewis antigens in gastric and colorectal carcinogenesis and cancer progression # Glycans play major roles during the process of gastric carcinogenesis , being particularly relevant for the gastric pathogen H.pylori infection ; namely , H.pylori expresses cell-surface lipopolysaccharides carrying Lewis blood group determinants in mimicry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essential for escaping immune response and maintaining asymptomatic colonization 103 . Furthermore , the interaction between bacterial outer-membrane adhesins and host glycan receptors , including fucosylated type 1 , LacdiNAc-motifs ( GalNAc1-4GlcNAc1- ) and sialylated-Lewis antigens , is a critical step for H.pylori colonization of the stomach niche 104-108 . LacdiNAc is a rare terminal structure in mammals , but gastric MUC5AC has been shown to carry this terminal modification 109 and a GalNAc transferase ( **37;17803;TOOLONG III ) present in human gastric tissue was demonstrated to biosynthesize the LacdiNAc epitope 110 . In contrast , 1,4-GlcNAc-capped O-glycans , which are synthesized by **35;17842;TOOLONG ( alpha4GnT ) and expressed by the deeper gastric glands , have been shown to present a natural antimicrobial activity 111,112 . This antibiotic effect has been attributed to inhibition of the cholesterol -glucosyltransferase enzymatic activity and therefore interfering with H.pylori cell wall biosynthesis and impairing bacterial growth 113-115 . Moreover , 1,4-GlcNAc expression has been shown to prevent gastric cancer by suppressing tumor-promoting inflammation 116 . Remarkably , the different stages of the gastric carcinogenesis pathway are accompanied by striking changes of the gastric cell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mucosa expresses mainly neutral glycans , H.pylori infection and chronic inflammation promote de novo expression of negatively charged sialylated and sulfated glycans 73,117,118 , thereby increasing bacterial adhesion to gastric cells . Aberrant cell surface glycosylation is not exclusive of the initial gastric carcinogenesis stages , being also observed in pre-malignant conditions and constituting a marked feature of gastric carcinoma cells 14 . # Moreover , the aberrant expression of simple mucin-type carbohydrate antigen structures in cancer cells has been widely reported , and the extent of this expression has been correlated with the aggressive phenotype and invasive potential of various cancer types , including gastric and colorectal tumors 51,52,119-124 . Several studies directed to Tn and STn antigens indicated that these antigens are highly expressed in gastric carcinomas 31,37,52,122 as well as in poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas of the colon 61 . Furthermore , gastric cancer cells glycoengineered to overexpress the STn antigen presented a more aggressive phenotype 31 . This included decreased cell-cell aggregation , as well as increased extracellular-matrix ( ECM ) adhesion and migration , resulting in tumor cell invasion 31 . In addition , the overexpression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , promoting colon cancer progression 47 . Some reports have also focused on evaluating the role of altered protein O-glycosylation in tumor cell apoptosis ; nevertheless , the mechanisms through which these events take place are far from clear . For instance , alterations in the O-glycosylation of death receptors in colorectal cancer cells have been suggested to affect sensitivity to Apo2L/TRAIL by promoting ligand-induced receptor clustering and consequent caspase-8 activation 125 . Moreover , O-glycosylation inhibitors showed induction of apoptosis and downregulation of proliferation in colorectal cancer cells 126 . In addition , the T antigen is not expressed by the normal colonic mucosa 61,127 , mostly due to masking by sialylation 128 . However it is present in most tumors 61,127 and significantly overexpressed in metastasis 129 . This antigen interacts with galectin-3 and is thought to play a key role in mediating homotypic aggregation of cancer cells 130,131 , protecting cells from anoikis 131 . In addition , it may promote the galectin-3 mediated docking of tumor cells to endothelial cells 132 favoring metastasis . Moreover , T expression by cancer cells induces galectin-3 expression by endothelial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ T antigen expression has also been found to mediate the induction proliferative signaling , mediated by c-Met and MAPK 134-136 . # As outlined in the previous section , increased tumor cell sialylation has an important impact in cellular recognition , adhesion and signaling 14,16,137 . Particularly , SLeA and SLeX have been demonstrated to be highly expressed in many cancers , and their expression levels have been correlated with metastasis and poor survival in cancer patients 66,67 . The overexpression of SLeX in gastric carcinoma cells has been shown to induce c-Met activation and an invasive phenotype 32 . Furthermore , SLeA and SLeX have been demonstrated to be preferential ligands for selectins on activated endothelial cells , thereby playing a key role in the metastatic process 16,138-140 . # These findings highlight the plethora of biological events mediated by altered glycosylation in cancer , and the need to invest in deciphering its role in cell invasion and metastasis , which will certainly translate into novel and more effective therapeutics . # Diagnostic and prognostic implications of altered glycosylation in gastric and colorectal cancers # Specific truncated O-glycans and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neoplastic lesions , when compared with their normal counterparts 16 . Moreover , these alterations often associate with clinicopathological variables , such as lymph node metastasis , tumor stage and recurrence 141,142 . Furthermore , cancer-associated glycans are often shed into the bloodstream and can potentially be used for non-invasive detection 143,144 . In fact , glycosylated epitopes are widely used in clinical practice as non-invasive biomarkers for gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis , and for monitoring disease progression . Moreover , these epitopes can be used as prognostic markers of gastrointestinal patients ' survival after tumor surgery 22,145,146 . The screening of glycobiomarkers in patient samples presents limitations related to the organ specificity and sensitivity for cancer lesions of some glycoconjugates . Nevertheless , several clinically approved serological assays are currently used for the quantification of specific glycobiomarkers in the serum of patients with gastrointestinal cancer . These include carbohydrate epitopes ( CA19.9 and CA72.4 ) but also heavily glycosylated glycoproteins such as the carcinoembryonic antigen ( CEA ) and alpha-fetoprotein ( AFP ) , whose specific glycoforms may hold potential to improve non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis . # CA19.9 # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quantitatively altered in cancer cells . The CA19.9 test recognizes the sialylated terminal structure SLeA in O-glycoproteins , such as mucins , and in glycolipids . This serological test is broadly used to monitor recurrence and response to therapy in gastric , colorectal , pancreatic and biliary cancer patients 147 . Particularly , CA19.9 is the most studied and validated tumor marker used to monitor pancreatic cancer patients ' response to therapy every 1-3 months 148 . CA19.9 serum levels present more than 80% of sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer symptomatic patients 149 . Furthermore , in gastric cancer , CA19.9 positivity before surgery is considered a risk factor for gastric cancer recurrence 150 . In colon cancer , high levels of CA19.9 have a prognostic significance of decreased survival 151,152 . Despite these observations , there is limited application of this serological marker in gastric and colorectal cancer diagnosis due to frequent false positives in patients with benign diseases 146,153 . However , it has been proposed that the diSLeA/ SLeA ratio may be used to reduce this limitation 140 . # CA72.4 # Elevated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , can be detected by the serological assay CA72.4 in gastric and colorectal tumors 146,154,155 . The CA72.4 detection of STn in the serum of healthy individuals has been shown to be limited . However , STn detection was reported in individuals with precursor lesions of gastric cancer 156 . In gastric cancer , the detection of this marker can be used as an independent prognostic factor associated with aggressiveness , poor prognosis and tumor recurrence 143,145,157 . Nevertheless , the use of the CA72.4 serological assay has also limited application for screening and diagnostic purposes . # CEA # CEA is a glycoprotein expressed by various gastrointestinal tissues . The serological assay that detects this glycoprotein is commonly used in clinical practice to monitor therapy successes and to evaluate recurrence after surgery in colorectal cancer patients 158-160 . CEA levels are used in pre-operative conditions for tumor staging and treatment planning 158,161,162 . However , sensitivity limitations of the CEA serological assay prevent early stage disease detection 163 . Moreover , CEA increased levels in non-cancer-related patients exclude general population screening applications . Notwithstanding , CEA increased levels are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients 147 . # In order to monitor therapy response and metastasis in stage II and stage III colorectal cancer patients , it is recommended that CEA levels be measured , after surgery , every 3 months , during at least 3 years after diagnosis . Nevertheless , falsely elevated CEA levels should be taken into consideration during the first weeks of chemotherapy 147 . Recent glycomic studies have demonstrated that tumor tissues express specific CEA glycoforms that can be exploited to improve the predictive potential of this biomarker 164,165 . # AFP # AFP is an albumin-related glycoprotein , present in fetal serum , commonly used as a glycobiomarker for liver diseases , including cancer 166,167 . Despite the high levels of this marker in hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) , it was also present in benign liver conditions 168,169 . Importantly , only the fucosylated form of AFP ( AFP-L3 ) is differentially detected in hepatocellular carcinoma , compared to benign liver diseases 170 . The use of this marker has been approved by FDA for early stage HCC diagnosis . # In summary , while classical cancer-associated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ non-invasive disease follow-up , prognosis and response to treatment , they present significant limitations for early detection . Nevertheless , recent advances in high-throughput glycan analysis technologies ( see novel glycomic and glycoproteomic strategies bellow ) contributed to glycoproteome characterization and consequent discovery of several new putative glycobiomarkers for gastric and colorectal cancers 41,156,171-173 ; namely , STn-expressing plasminogen glycoforms have been advanced as specific serological markers of gastric carcinoma precursor lesions and gastric carcinoma 41,156 , which now warrant clinical validation . In addition , a comprehensive array of abnormally O-glycosylated mucin-derived glycopeptides has been used for seromic profiling of colorectal cancer patients . Autoantibodies have been identified from a set of aberrant glycopeptides derived from MUC1 and MUC4 , with a cumulative sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 92% 174 . Such approach demonstrates the potential of glycan-mediated humoral responses in the diagnostic context as well as a tool for the identification of abnormally glycosylated proteins , as demonstrated by us for esophageal tumors 175 . Altogether , these early studies have decisively demonstrated that abnormal glycosylation holds a tremendous opportunity to improve on the specificity and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . It is now time for the glycobiomarker discovery field to evolve from the proof-of-concept studies toward comprehensive clinical settings . It will also be important to take into consideration the complex and multifactorial nature of the diseases . As such , the combination of multiple biomarkers of different molecular natures will likely translate into more accurate diagnosis and predictive models . # Novel glycomics and glycoproteomic strategies for biomarker discovery in cancer # Combining molecular information from glycan and peptide moieties holds tremendous potential for designing highly specific targeted therapeutics . However , the fact that glycan structures do not follow a predefine template , but are rather the result of the highly regulated action of several glycosyltransferases rapidly responding to microenviromental and physiological stimuli , presents a significant analytical hurdle . # Nevertheless , glycomics-based chromatography and mass spectrometry ( MS ) methods have reached a standardization stage , providing highly sensitive analytical tools for precise mapping of the glycome 176,177 . Common analytical workflows begin with the selective release of the N-glycans from the protein backbone by PNGase F treatment , followed by the chemical release of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be directly identified by MS , the significant peeling of the protein backbone derived from chemical O-deglycosylation makes protein identification difficult . Then , glycans are often separated by liquid chromatography ( LC ) , using nanodimension columns capable of high-resolution separations of minute amounts of complex glycan mixtures ( nano-fentomnole ) in a single run prior to MS analysis 179,180 . Labeling glycans with fluorophores , namely , 2-aminobenzamide , anthranilic acid or 2-aminobenzoic acid , has also provided a valuable tool for quantitative approaches by LC , being also compatible with downstream MS analyses 178 . Furthermore , chromatographic methods as well as tandem MS experiments have provided means to distinguish highly complex isomeric glycans , a determinant step to establish accurate structure-function relationships 181,182 . Despite these observations , few studies have comprehensively addressed the glycome of gastric and colorectal tumors . Regarding gastric cancer , emphasis has been given to screening the patients ' serum , envisaging tumor biomarkers for non-invasive detection 41,156,183,184 . Contrastingly , most studies regarding colorectal cancer have focused on tumor and cell line analysis 185-187 . These preliminary approaches consensually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proteins . A comprehensive glycomic characterization of larger sets of well characterized patient samples is now needed for translation to clinical settings . # Glycomic studies are of key importance for the identification of abnormally glycosylated proteins and for precise glycosite assignment . Nevertheless , significant analytical difficulties arise from the high molecular heterogeneity and low concentration of these species in biological milieus . As such , most glycoprotemic workflows comprehend a pre-enrichment step , using lectin affinity chromatography or immunoprecipitation with glycan-specific monoclonal antibodies ( Fig. 3 ) 188,189 . Likewise , the enrichment of sialylated glycoproteins by TiO2 affinity has also been successfully applied for identification of serum glycoproteins associated with gastric pre-malignant and malignant lesions 156 . The proteins are then digested to peptides with trypsin or other proteolytic enzymes and analyzed using standard proteomics . Nevertheless , densely glycosylated peptide domains may resist proteolytic cleavage , hampering their identification by conventional MS approaches . Frequently , protocols include an enrichment step for glycopeptides carrying the glycans of interest , prior to nanoLC tandem MS analysis , facilitating glycosite mapping . The development of high-resolution orbitrap mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) with Electron-transfer dissociation-type ( ETD ) fragmentation have enabled the simultaneous and precise characterization of glycan structures and glycosites , significantly boosting glycoproteomic studies 190,191 ( Fig. 3 ) . # Much effort has also been put in the development of genetically engineered cancer cell models expressing simple and homogeneous O-glycans , mimicking the O-glycosylation found in solid tumor 31,51,192,193 . In particular , the recent SimpleCell technology approach , exploring zinc-finger nucleases to knockout the COSMC gene , has been applied in a number of different human cancer cell lines , including colorectal cancer cells 192,193 . This allowed a precision mapping of the human O-GalNAc glycoproteome , which revealed over 6000 glycosites in more than 600 O-glycoproteins , mostly from the cell surface , greatly expanding the view of the O-glycoproteome and its functional role 193 . More recently , our group as applied a similar glycoproteomic strategy to the characterization of the wild type gastric cell line ( KATO III ) , which naturally expresses partially truncated O-glycans , and two gastric cancer SimpleCells ( AGS , MKN45 ) 41 . Over 499 O-glycoproteins and 1236 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total 47 O-glycoproteins and 73 O-glycosites in the KATO III cell line . The same study led to the identification of 28 STn-glycosylated proteins in the serum of gastric patients that were absent from healthy individuals . Two identified candidate O-glycoprotein biomarkers ( CD44 and GalNAc-T5 ) were further validated in gastric cancer tissues using immunofluorescence and proximity ligation assay 41 . In particular , this technique allowed the simultaneous detection of the glycan and the protein moieties , holding tremendous potential in clinical sample screening 41,194,195 . These strategies provided crucial information on the whole O-glycoproteome and brought light into a particular set of O-glycoprotein candidates with biomarker potential in gastric cancer . It is expected that these analytical and technological advances can be merged toward their application in future clinical settings . # Targeting O-glycosylation in cancer toward novel therapeutics # Modulation of glycosylation biosynthesis pathways # Since glycans and glycoconjugates orchestrate various steps of tumor genesis and progression , the cellular biosyntheticmachinery involved in glycan biosynthesis constitutes an obvious target for therapeutic strategies . Therefore , glycan-based therapeutic approaches attract remarkable interest for drug development ( Fig. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ glycans is enzymatically coordinated by specific glycosyltransferases . As such , large efforts have been made to design efficient inhibitors of GT activity based on acceptor or donor analogues and transition state mimetics ( Fig. 4 ) 196 . During the past years , the amount of glycosylation modifiers produced has increased . However , only a few achieved a biologically significant inhibitory activity . Among the successful strategies are bivalent imidazolium salts , which have been shown to efficiently inhibit glycosyltransferase catalytic activity 197,198 . However , the in vivo efficacy of these compounds remains to be demonstrated . Inhibition of the sialic acid content at the cell surface has also been at the focus of glycosylation modulator research as a promising strategy to modulate cancer cell behavior . Interestingly , natural and synthetic compounds have been demonstrated to be a potent inhibitor of 2,3-sialyltranserase activity , reducing cell surface sialylation and suppressing cancer cell metastasis 199-202 . # Glycosylation-targeted anti-cancer drugs with therapeutic applications hold promise for the development of novel therapeutic tools focused on modulation of cancer cell glycan epitopes . The unraveling of the complex GTs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together with the improved synthetic capacity of structurally modifying carbohydrates , will definitely promote the production of more efficient and specific inhibitors to be used in anti-cancer chemotherapy . # Theragnostic antibodies and immunotherapy strategies # Targeting altered glycosylation as an immunotherapeutic strategy is a major field of research in the fight against cancer 33,203 . The use of anticancer vaccines that target tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens provides an appealing option ( Fig. 4 ) . However , because alterations of glycosylation in cancer have variable immunogenicity and may induce immunotolerance , several limitations have been described in initial studies 35,204 . One such limitation is the moderate induction of the T-cell-mediated immunity that is critical for efficient cancer therapy 33,205 . Nevertheless , several attempts have been devoted to overcome these limitations and improve the cancer-associated carbohydrate vaccine immunogenicity , namely , the use of covalently coupled carbohydrate antigens to certain carrier molecules in order to form clustered or multi-epitope conjugated vaccines 206-209 . Strategies as combining carbohydrate antigens with T-cell peptide epitopes or an immunostimulant epitope to form fully synthetic multicomponent glycoconjugate vaccines are among the most reported approaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specific targets expressed in tumor cells , leading to the induction of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity ( ADCC ) ( Fig. 4 ) 16,213,214 . Other studies have shown that ADCC is also a key mechanism by which some currently used therapeutic antibodies mediate their anti-tumor effects 215,216 . The development of novel glycoprotein-specific antibodies is likely to provide novel tools with high specificity and large clinical potential . # Novel guided nanodrugs are also emergent therapies against digestive tract tumors and have already shown great potential for improving disease outcome in pre-clinical and clinical drug development phases 217 . Exploring the cell-surface nature of cancer-associated glycans may provide the necessary means to selectively deliver anti-cancer nanodrugs to tumor cells . Advances in the glycomic and glycoproteomic fields associated with the development of selective ligands for clinically relevant glycoepitopes are expected to generate in the near future relevant nanotherapeutics 217 . Finally , the establishment of animal models reflecting the glycosylation patterns of human tumors , as is the case of patient-derived cancer xenografts 218 and chemically induced tumors 219 , is also of primary importance for biological studies and would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remarks and future perspectives # The alterations of glycosylation observed in human cancer reflect several genetic , epigenetic and metabolic alterations in the tumor cells . The capacity to understand and detect the molecular basis of such alterations of glycosylation can have several implications : i ) the application of novel biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis , ii ) the development of inhibitors that can interfere with glycan-mediated functions of cancer cells , and iii ) the design of novel immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer . Therefore , we are convinced that targeting specific glycans would allow complementing the conventional cancer detection and therapeutic strategies , leading to better diagnosis , prognosis and therapy . Nevertheless , the similarities and differences that are observed in the glycosylation patterns of different tumors highlight the dynamic and complex nature of the glycome and glycoproteome , as well as their dependence on the cell and tissue background and microenvironment . Furthermore , the evidence that some glycans may present different biological roles in different tumors supports the need for a comprehensive analysis of the glycoproteome in a clinical context . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characterized patient sets , in order to disclose the biological roles of glycans in cancer and to move toward the definition of a true precision medicine setting . We believe that current developments in cell glycoengineering and MS-based analytical tools will decisively contribute to these developments . Particular emphasis should also be devoted to the glycomic and glycoproteomic analysis of metastasis , which has remained an unaddressed matter . This information will be of key importance to develop therapeutic strategies against disseminated disease , which is ultimately a major cause of death . # In summary , as cancer treatment moves toward precision medicine , by which prognostic and therapeutic schemes are decided based on the patient 's clinical history and the molecular nature of the tumor , it becomes critical to consider a holistic approach that should also include comprehensive glycomics and glycoproteomics. # Conflict of interest statement # None declared . # Acknowledgments # This work was supported by European Union funds ( FEDER/COMPETE ) and by national funds ( FCT , the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology ) under the projects with the references FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER 028188 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the support by Gastric Glyco Explorer Initial Training Network ( Seventh Framework Programme grant number 316929 ) . 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@@4170441 Headnote # Abstract . Theories of legal interpretation have taken a " positive turn " in recent years . Some scholars have argued that disputes over how to interpret statutes and the Constitution should be resolved by looking to the social facts that determine what our positive law requires . Most of the commentary on the positive turn has focused on the substantive claim that what the law requires as a matter of constitutional interpretation is a version of originalism . Less attention has been paid to the more interesting and provocative methodological thesis that we ought to resolve our debates about legal interpretation by looking to " our law " and that doing so requires making claims about the nature of law-specifically , claims about the social facts that determine its content . # Because positivist theories vary with respect to which social facts matter for the purpose of determining the existence and content of law , an obvious ( and obviously important ) question for the positive turn is whether generating its alleged methodological benefits requires choosing from among rival positivist theories . Yet the chief proponents of the positive turn say very little on this question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This Article thus sets out to answer that question by testing how the positive turn would work under four different positivist accounts of law . The result of the analysis is that the positive turn fails under every approach considered . Although certain aspects of the positive turn fit well with each account of law , not one of those accounts is capable of supporting it . Instead , each approach either leads to obviously false conclusions or fails to produce the normative and methodological payoff the positive turn promises . Even in its failure , however , the positive turn is instructive because it illustrates the difficulty of endeavoring to reconcile legal theory and practice . # Introduction # " Pick up a copy of any law review that you see and the first article is likely to be , you know , the influence of Immanuel Kant on evidentiary approaches in eighteenth-century Bulgaria , or something , which I 'm sure was of great interest to the academic that wrote it , but is n't of much help to the bar . " # -Chief Justice John G. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice Roberts made the comment above , suggesting that much contemporary legal scholarship is unhelpful to the bench and bar , he provoked a fierce reaction from the legal academy.2 Two of the Chief Justice 's former clerks , however , seem to have taken their former boss 's critique of legal scholarship to heart . In a series of articles , William Baude and Stephen E. Sachs have advanced an agenda for public law scholarship , an agenda that has been dubbed the " positive turn . " 3 The core idea of the positive turn is that debates about how to properly interpret statutes and the Constitution ought to be settled neither by analyzing concepts of meaning , interpretation , or authority nor by engaging in normative debates sounding in political or moral philosophy . Instead , scholars should look to the same source lawyers and judges do to resolve legal disagreements : the law . Since both the existence and content of law are determined by certain facts about our legal system , scholars should devote their energies to figuring out what those facts tell us about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at those law-determining facts , you can see that , for instance , what the law requires as a matter of constitutional interpretation is originalism.4 # The positive turn has seized the attention of constitutional theorists , quickly generating a flurry of commentary-much of it critical.5 Most of the criticism has focused on the authors ' substantive claim that our law is best described as originalist.6 Yet the authors candidly acknowledge the limits of their substantive claim that originalism is our law.7 What they really care about , they each emphasize , is the methodological thesis that we should resolve interpretive debates by reference to what " our law " is , whether or not they happen to be right that originalism is our law.8 Lest there remain any doubt about these ambitions , Baude and Sachs subsequently coauthored another article in the Harvard Law Review in which they broaden the argument to include methods of statutory interpretation , in addition to constitutional interpretation , and again frame their argument largely in methodological terms.9 # This methodological thesis , which is the essence of the positive turn , is also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . This perplexity arises from the fact that the claim seems at once banal and inventive . How is it that an argument that scholars should look to the law to settle scholarly debates could possibly be a methodological innovation ? Have not law professors always argued about what the law requires ? Yet the authors do seem to be saying something interesting and provocative . But what , exactly ? # The answer lies in two core insights of the positive turn : The first is the observation that " our law " not only substantively regulates our social , economic , and political life but may also speak to second-order questions about how judges should determine the meaning of such substantive law.10 Second , as its label suggests , Baude and Sachs tie their claim about what the law requires to one about the nature of law , namely that its existence and content are primarily , if not exclusively , a matter of positive , empirical fact.11 # The promise and appeal of the positive turn , then , may lie in its apparent capacity to bridge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Chief Justice 's comment highlights.12 It does so in two ways : On the one hand , it suggests that turning to legal practice ( " our law " ) can help resolve , or at least reorient , our scholarly debates about how to interpret our Constitution and statutes . On the other hand , it suggests that deep questions of legal theory or philosophy may shed light on what legal practice requires . Theory and practice are brought together again in an ingenious sort of way . # This second insight , about the role of legal philosophy , however , remains largely undeveloped . Baude and Sachs insist that the law depends on " the right kind " of social facts13 or " modern social facts , " 14 but they do not say much about what those facts are or how we would know them when we see them . At times they suggest that we can know roughly which facts matter by relying on " lawyers ' assumptions rather than technical jurisprudence. " 15 At other times , they characterize it as an issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be left for another day.16 At still other times , they seem to commit themselves to one particular theory of law , namely that of H.L.A . Hart.17 For Hart , the relevant social facts are the current practices of courts , so that may be one answer to the question which social facts matter.18 But then the authors quickly clarify that they rely on Hart partly for " ease of exposition " because , in reality , " much of our framework should hold true on any mainstream theory . " 19 # The ambiguity on this point matters because legal positivists have long debated which facts are the important ones in determining the existence and content of law.20 So it is fair to ask whether the positive turn will generate its purported methodological benefits irrespective of which theory of law is employed to determine the relevant social facts . There is a world of difference between the claim A that a given theory 's success depends on how one resolves a controversial issue that will be temporarily bracketed and the claim B that the theory succeeds irrespective of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an admission of the theory 's dependence on controversial matters ( and hence a theoretical vice ) , B is an assertion of its independence ( and hence a theoretical virtue ) . # The aim of this Article , therefore , is to see how the positive turn fares under a few different well-known positivist accounts of law . The hope is that it will not only reveal something about the positive turn 's true methodological payoff , or lack thereof , but also yield some insight into the motivations and ambitions behind it . # Examining how the positive turn would work under a variety of jurisprudential approaches demonstrates why the promise of the positive turn is more apparent than real . The turn achieves an air of novelty and plausibility only because the authors are ambiguous , evasive , or downright inconsistent about some of the deepest questions about the nature of law-questions about the relationship between legal validity and judicial practice , about the nature and implications of judicial disagreement , and about the criteria for theory choice among philosophies of law . These are hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions that have , in part , set the course of jurisprudential debate at least since Hart published The Concept of Law in 1961.21 Yet the authors write as if those debates never happened-as if the questions were never raised , let alone answers to them offered and challenged . The result is that what they present as a methodological advance in fact takes us back to some of the foundational debates about the nature of law and legal argument . The positive turn is really a U-turn . # Still , even in its failure , the positive turn is instructive . All of the various ambiguities and tensions one finds in the authors ' arguments for and applications of the positive turn reduce to one fundamental tension concerning the nature and function of legal scholarship . That tension is the one mentioned at the outset between the demands of legal theory and those of legal practice . It may seem that the authors ' ambition to reconcile these twin demands is futile , and the confusions that plague the positive turn might seem to give grounds for such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the contrary , I respect the authors ' ambition ( if I understand it correctly ) to show both that legal philosophy matters for law and that law itself can be a source of intellectual guidance rather than just a set of rules and institutions to be analyzed from the perspective of some other discipline . Thus , this Article suggests-albeit only briefly-a somewhat different approach to meeting the same challenge , one that rejects the distinction , now so entrenched in legal scholarship , between " internal " and " external " accounts of law.22 # The rest of this Article supports these broad claims . Part I first summarizes the three main applications of the positive turn . It then reveals the common syllogistic structure to which all three applications conform , which I call the " Core Argument . " The Core Argument holds that for any given interpretive rule , that rule counts as law ( and thereby imposes a duty on courts to apply it ) if it is supported by the kind of social facts that determine the content of law . The positive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should evaluate the propriety of interpretive rules by seeing how well they fare under the Core Argument . # Part II , which constitutes the bulk of the Article , shows why the promise of the positive turn evaporates under scrutiny . It shows this by testing the Core Argument under four jurisprudential approaches . The first three correspond to the theoretical accounts of law advanced by H.L.A . Hart , Joseph Raz , and Scott Shapiro.23 The fourth approach is one that makes no claims at all about the nature of law , resting instead on " lawyers ' assumptions rather than technical jurisprudence. " 24 As Part II shows , certain elements of the positive turn fit well with some aspects of each of these approaches but less well with others . This result is just what one would expect because , as noted above , these accounts of law developed in part as responses to difficulties of precisely the sort raised by the authors ' arguments . # In a very brief Conclusion , I suggest an alternative path for pursuing the authors ' scholarly ambitions-or at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I. The Positive Turn at Work # The best way to understand the positive turn is to see it in action . This Part begins by showing how it has been applied to debates in constitutional and statutory interpretation.25 In separately written papers , Baude and Sachs have each argued that a positive analysis supports particular versions of constitutional originalism . More recently , they have together endorsed taking the same approach to answer questions about statutory and constitutional interpretation more generally . After briefly summarizing each of these arguments , it will be relatively easy to see the Core Argument , which underlies all of them and whose defense constitutes the central thesis of the positive turn . # A.Inclusive Originalism # William Baude argues that debates about originalism have been too focused on conceptual questions about the nature of meaning or authority and normative questions about whether or why originalism promotes democracy , constrains judges , or enhances welfare.26 Given that most people agree that judges have at least a prima facie obligation to apply the law , the relevant question ought to be : What is our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conceptually confused or normatively problematic , if that method is required by law , then it occupies a privileged position over its competitors.28 Baude then argues that " inclusive originalism " occupies that privileged position.29 # Inclusive originalism describes the view that " the original meaning of the Constitution is the ultimate criterion for constitutional law , including of the validity of other methods of interpretation or decision . " 30 Under this view , the validity of a rule , whether substantive or interpretive , is determined by whether the original meaning of the Constitution either incorporates the rule or at least permits the rule.31 For instance , the Eighth Amendment might incorporate through the phrase " cruel and unusual punishments " the Court 's doctrine prohibiting death sentences for crimes committed while the defendant was a minor.32 Crucially , then , inclusive originalism authorizes a court to look to other sources of law to resolve ambiguities in the text if and only if the original Constitution included such methods.33 Baude suggests that such is the case with the doctrine of stare decisis.34 Thus , " it is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35 Still , the key point is that for the inclusive originalist , original meaning is not simply one of many legitimate sources of law . Rather , because it is the source of the authority of other methods , such as precedent or tradition , it is , methodologically speaking , " first among equals . " 36 # Baude next argues that inclusive originalism best describes our law because it is reflected in both our " higher-order practices " ( widespread conventions about how we treat the Founding era ) and our " lower-order practices " ( the explicit reasoning of Supreme Court decisions ) .37 With respect to our higherorder practices , Baude observes that we revere the Constitution and accept the authority of the Framers ; 38 we generally treat the law as being continuous since the Founding , only recognizing a change in the law if that change has been brought about lawfully ( as opposed to by revolution ) ; 39 and we generally agree about how to decide the " easy cases " of constitutional law , such as how to select the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our lower-order practices also point to inclusive originalism . Indeed , those Supreme Court decisions that remain canonical or " fixed stars " of our constitutional law reflect many interesting facts indicative of inclusive originalism.41 First , the Court generally begins with the original meaning of a constitutional provision and only draws on other sources , such as practice , after finding ambiguity as to textual meaning.42 Second , if there is a conflict between the textual meaning of a provision and another source of law , the text always wins.43 Third , when the Court overturns precedent , it typically does so on originalist grounds , enabling the Court to say plausibly that the overruled case was " wrong the day it was decided . " 44 Finally , one sees that the Court never contradicts inclusive originalism.45 Even famous , seemingly antioriginalist cases like Brown v. Board of Education , 46 Gideon v. Wainwright , 47 Miranda v. Arizona , 48 Roe v. Wade , 49 and , more recently , Obergefell v. Hodges , 50 when properly interpreted , are " consistent with inclusive originalem. " 51 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apply the law ( as most agree they do ) and if inclusive originalism is our law , then it follows that judges have a duty to practice inclusive originalism.52 # B.Original-Law Originalism # Like Baude , Stephen Sachs argues that debates about originalism have been too consumed with conceptual and normative questions.53 He emphasizes the need for and value of " positive " defenses of constitutional originalism , which assert that " originalism , as a matter of social fact and legal practice , is actually endorsed by our positive law . " 54 He then offers " original-law originalism " as a form of originalism reflected in current practice.55 # Original-law originalism interprets originalism as a " theory of legal change " rather than a theory of constitutional interpretation.56 In particular , this view holds that " our law is still the Founders ' law , as it has been lawfully changed . " 57 According to Sachs , " lawful changes " include only those changes made by the application of a " rule of change " that was itself valid at the time of the Founding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .58 # Sachs seeks to show that our " higher-order " practices are committed to original-law originalism by pointing to various features of conventional legal reasoning that seem to assume this view.59 For one thing , we do not trace the pedigree of legal rules to a period before the Founding.60 Instead , we take the Founding as the crucial event in our legal history and understand today 's law as continuous from the law of the Founding.61 In other words , we ( that is , courts ) assume that the law at the time of the Founding is still our law today unless it was changed through some legally valid method.62 # According to Sachs , there are three primary ways in which we recognize our law to have changed validly since the Founding . First , it may be that a general term used in the Constitution incorporates something that itself changes ( such as what is required for " the public Safety " under the Suspension Clause63 ) or is stated in sufficiently broad terms that the application of the term changes over time ( such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .65 # Second , the Constitution may be changed through the application of a rule of change that is valid because it existed as law at the time of the Founding.66 The paradigmatic instance of this kind of rule is Article V 's amendment procedure , but there may be other , subtler forms of authorized legal change.67 For example , it may be that under the Founders ' law , a " regular course of practice " could " liquidate &amp; settle the meaning " of an ambiguous provision of the constitutional text.68 # The third and final way the Founders ' law can be validly changed ( according to current law ) is through what Sachs calls " domesticating doctrines . " 69 Domesticating doctrines validate ex post what were initially unauthorized changes to a legal right or rule.70 These doctrines thus enable courts to treat a legal claim " as if " it were legally valid even though courts recognize that , in some sense , it is not.71 Stare decisis is the most important example of a domesticating doctrine in the constitutional context . Once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Founders or " has been lawfully added since , " the Court 's use of it to legitimize even erroneous decisions counts as valid legal change.72 So even if the use of paper money , for instance , would have been unconstitutional at the Founding , if it has been ratified as precedent , then it counts as valid law.73 # In short , Sachs argues that our law cares about the historical pedigree of our rules-even the interpretive ones . Thus , " if we ca n't say when things have changed , that makes it harder to explain how they changed , which makes us less confident that they 've changed . " 74 And this is true even if there have been earlier periods in our history when our law did not have the same concern with tracing the pedigree of our rules to the Founders ' law.75 # C.The Law of Interpretation # In their most recent , jointly authored piece , The Law of Interpretation , Baude and Sachs turn their sights to interpretive methods more generally , particularly methods of statutory construction.76 They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of two untenable positions about the meaning of statutes . The first is what the authors call , following Mark Greenberg , " the standard picture . " 77 Under this view , the legal content of a statutory provision is fully determined by the linguistic meaning of the statute 's text.78 Other scholars , skeptical of the idea that texts have single determinate meanings , insist that judges must make recourse to normative values ( for instance , democratic or rule-of-law values ) to pick out one meaning from among several and thereby establish the statute 's legal content.79 # Baude and Sachs argue for a third way . They concede that the skeptics are right that the text alone does not determine the legal content of a statutory provision , but they deny that judges must-or generally do-rely directly on normative values.80 Instead , the law may direct them to apply interpretive rules to particular texts.81 And there are in fact such interpretive rules in the law-what they call the " law of interpretation . " 82 Much of their article is thus devoted to surveying this interpretive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , the repeal-revival rule ) 83 but much more of which is unwritten law ( for instance , the rule of lenity and other canons of construction ) .84 Still , it is law nonetheless and therefore offers a source of legal determinacy that does not depend on the implausible assumption that statutory texts alone produce determinate meaning.85 # According to Baude and Sachs , recognizing the existence of this law of interpretation " clarifies two of the hoariest and hottest debates " about legal interpretation : the debates about the proper role of canons of construction in statutory interpretation and about the proper role of constitutional " construction " in constitutional adjudication.86 # With respect to the first debate , 87 the law of interpretation provides a framework for " answering endless questions about why the canons have authority and which putative canons are valid or not . " 88 Invoking a familiar distinction in statutory interpretation , they argue that whereas " linguistic " canons derive their validity from their ability to accurately track linguistic usage , what they call " legal " canons are justified by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " 89 Specifically , the validity of legal canons " turns on the recognized legal practices of those who constitute the legal system ( perhaps including judges , officials , lawyers , or the legally educated public ) , and on inferences from these practices that the participants themselves might not have drawn . " 90 In other words , if judges usually invoke a given canon of construction in a particular kind of case , then that canon properly counts as part of our law . # The second debate Baude and Sachs purport to clarify is the one surrounding the " **27;12860;TOOLONG " distinction in constitutional theory.91 The basic idea of this distinction is that the first task of constitutional interpretation is to decipher the linguistic content of a particular constitutional provision.92 This is a factual or historical question . But if that linguistic content is vague or ambiguous , then the interpreter must engage in " construction , " requiring her to fix the provision 's legal meaning by reference to other sources of law , including moral or political values.93 # Although the authors consider the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they empathize with its critics who see it as a license for judges to engage in open-ended construction based on their own values.94 The reader can likely guess how the authors resolve the conflict : # When there 's a question about the law that the Constitution made , the right place to turn is n't to just any construction , but to the particular construction prescribed by law . Call it original methods , call it a form of construction ; our point is that linguistic content must be processed through law.95 # D.The Core Argument # Each of these three arguments takes the same basic structure , which- borrowing from Sachs 's own schema-can be formalized as the following pair of syllogisms . I call these syllogisms the Core Argument : # ? Major Premise ( MP ) : The law is whatever is supported by the right kind of social facts . # ? minor premise ( mp ) : X interpretive rule or method is supported by the right kind of social facts . # ? Conclusion 1 : Therefore , X interpretive rule or method @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) : Judges have a prima facie duty to apply the law . # ? Conclusion 2 : Therefore , judges have a prima facie duty to apply X interpretive rule or method.96 # The Core Argument is a way to determine , for any given interpretive rule X , whether X is the proper rule for judges to apply in a given context.97 The " positive turn " may then be understood as a methodological thesis asserting that applying the Core Argument is the proper way for scholars of statutory and constitutional interpretation ( and judges ) to determine whether any given interpretive rule has the status of law and should thus be used by judges . # Formalizing the Core Argument in this way reveals both the scope of Baude and Sachs 's ambitions and why most of their critics have scarcely challenged those ambitions . As stated in the Introduction , Baude and Sachs profess a stronger commitment to the methodological thesis than to any particular application of it.98 The purported benefits of their approach are twofold . First , the Core Argument offers a way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more generally , to enable fundamentally factual or " legal " arguments to generate normative conclusions.99 One only has to accept the relatively uncontroversial P3 ( that judges have at least a prima facie duty to apply the law ) .100 Second , the Core Argument offers more fertile and promising terrain for scholarly debate about interpretive questions because it focuses scholarly attention on traditional legal sources and redirects it away from heady conceptual questions or controversial normative debates.101 The Core Argument thus " clears away some theoretical underbrush " 102 with the hope that doing so will " allow both sides to move forward . " 103 # Despite these methodological ambitions , most of the positive turn 's critics have focused on only one of the many possible minor premises , namely one where X = originalism . Some have argued that the positive turn 's versions of originalism are too capacious to be of any interest.104 Others have denied that they offer plausible readings of the case law.105 Still others suggest that they put too much stock in judicial rhetoric.106 An entirely different line of attack questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguments in the way it seems to assume , thereby questioning the adequacy of P3 to solve the dead hand problem.107 # Such criticisms are valid and important . But the most serious potential problem with the Core Argument is its ( first ) major premise , MP , which states that " the law is whatever is supported by the right kind of social facts . " 108 Plainly , much hangs on defining the " right kind of social facts . " 109 For unless or until that phrase is given concrete meaning , the Core Argument is empty . The label " positive " implies that the facts are meant to be nonmoral facts or what Mark Greenberg calls " descriptive facts , " to be contrasted with moral or " value facts . " 110 And they are typically dubbed " social " facts to indicate that they are facts about how groups of certain individuals behave . So that is a start . But , as already noted , legal positivists have disagreed about which descriptive social facts determine law 's content and existence.111 Are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rules laid down by courts ? 113 About the practices of officials ? 114 About the intentions of , or the actions taken by , a legal system 's planners ? 115 Without knowing which facts are the law-determining ones , judges can not know which interpretive rules they are under a legal obligation to apply . Nor can scholars know how to begin the process of asking which interpretive rules are part of " our law . " # So how do we know which social facts require attending to ? Does it even matter ? If it does matter , what kind of inquiry does answering those questions involve ? Remarkably , Baude and Sachs provide no clear answers to these questions.116 It is remarkable because if it turns out that the content of MP makes a difference as to whether the Core Argument can produce its supposed benefits , then one 's choice of jurisprudential theory is critical to the positive turn . And if it further turns out that any decision to specify MP with a particular theory of law depends on controversial conceptual or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to clear away any " theoretical underbrush " 117 at all . We will still be knee deep in it . # II . Testing the Positive Turn # As it turns out , both things are true . It matters which theory of law underwrites the Core Argument , and defending any of them requires engaging in conceptual or normative argument . The burden of this Part is to show why that is . It meets that burden by analyzing how the Core Argument would run under four different approaches to giving meaning to the phrase " right kind of social facts " in MP.118 The first three each derive different specifications of MP from well-known theories of law : those of H.L.A . Hart , Joseph Raz , and Scott Shapiro . The final approach takes the " internal " perspective of a legal participant who denies the need to ground MP in a larger theory of law at all . # Although each of these approaches fits certain aspects of Baude and Sachs 's arguments quite well , not one of them enables the positive turn to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ false as applied to some of Baude and Sachs 's core substantive claims , 119 or it fails to generate its purported benefits-because it can not reduce the number of ( let alone settle ) disagreements over interpretive methodology , 120 because it leads to the kind of normative and conceptual debates it was meant to supplant , 121 or because it simply replicates the kind of arguments lawyers already make.122 In either case , we are back to where we started . # The lesson , though , is not simply that Baude and Sachs must find some other theory of law to ground the Core Argument . It is rather that any such effort would be self-defeating . The reason is that the positive turn manages to convey a sense of both originality and profundity only because it elides deep and hard questions about the nature of law and legal argument . Tracing out the implications of each of these different theories of law illustrates why such moments of ambiguity and evasion preclude the positive turn from delivering on its promise . # A. Hart 's Rule of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hart 's theory of law.123 Their embrace of Hart is understandable given how influential and widely accepted his theory has become.124 It turns out , though , that Hart 's model of law is poorly suited to the authors ' purposes . Hart 's theory is well known , so this Subpart gives only a brief outline of his view , glossing over complexities in his theory and exegetical disputes about his meaning . It then considers how the positive turn would look under Hart 's view . # 1 . Summary # The problem Hart set out to solve in The Concept of Law was how to reconcile two features of legal systems that seemed potentially in tension with one another . On the one hand , the existence and content of law seemed to be mainly questions of fact ; on the other hand , those who live within a legal system tend to treat its rules of law as normative , or as guides to action.125 Although previous positivists ( for example , Austin126 and Holmes127 ) had offered theories that explained the former quality of law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to solve this problem by introducing two key distinctions , both about the nature of rules ( or , more specifically , what he called " social rules " or rules of conduct129 ) . First , he distinguished between two points of view or perspectives with respect to any given rule or pattern of conduct.130 The " internal " perspective was that of someone who took such a rule as a guide for his or her own conduct.131 Such a person would describe the rule using normative language , with words like " should " and " must , " in sentences like " there is a rule that a man must bare his head in church . " 132 But one could also view the exact same behavior from an " external " perspective.133 Taking this perspective did not require the use of such normative language ; instead , one could simply describe the rule as a pattern of conduct in purely descriptive and predictive terms134-for example , " as a rule , men tend to take off their hats when entering church . " Crucially , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sufficiently large number of people take the internal point of view with respect to it.135 # Hart 's second distinction was between two types of social rules . " Primary " rules are rules of conduct that tell people how they should act.136 They could be legal rules , but they could also be rules of etiquette or baseball or whatever . " Secondary " rules , however , are rules that govern how one makes primary rules.137 So for instance , an organization 's bylaws providing that any change to the bylaws requires a two-thirds vote of the membership is a secondary rule . # In the union of these two ideas , Hart thought he had found " the key to the science of jurisprudence. " 138 The reason is that together they explained how law could exist as a matter of fact and yet also be the source of normative obligations for those who live under it.139 A primitive society with only " primary rules of obligation " can not be said to have a legal system because there is no " identifying or common mark " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morality or etiquette.140 Furthermore , such rules are difficult to define , hard to enforce , and hard to change.141 To overcome these " defects , " societies develop secondary rules , the satisfaction of which indicates that a given primary rule " is a rule of the group to be supported by the social pressure it exerts . " 142 Once a group of people-in particular , a group whom Hart calls " officials " -develops a practice of " accepting as a common public standard " ( in other words , taking the internal point of view toward ) such a secondary rule , one of two necessary and sufficient conditions of a legal system is satisfied.143 Such a rule , or set of rules , is what Hart famously called the " rule of recognition . " 144 The rule of recognition is shorthand for the set of rules that provide the criteria for making valid law.145 And because the rule of recognition is constituted by the practice of officials taking the internal point of view with respect to it , the key social facts for Hart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The Core Argument and the rule of recognition # What would the Core Argument look like under this understanding of the nature of law ? It is tempting to fill out the major premise with something like , " The law is whatever the practice of current officials makes law . " This formulation nicely captures Hart 's core idea that law depends on a current social practice-a view Baude and Sachs repeatedly endorse.147 # So stated , however , this Major Premise contains two ambiguities , one of which can be put aside but the other of which is critical to clarify . The first ambiguity is about who counts as an " official . " Every government employee ? Only high-ranking employees ? Only judges ? Lawyers , as well ? Hart was not always entirely consistent on this matter , and other theorists have suggested other answers while remaining faithful to the spirit of Hart 's model.148 To their credit , Baude and Sachs both recognize the difficulty of this question and are upfront about their own provisional answers to it.149 So although making choices about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same problems raised below , this Subpart will not pursue that possibility here . Instead , it will follow Baude and Sachs in assuming that the relevant officials , at least for the purposes of determining the legal validity of interpretive rules , are judges.150 # The second ambiguity , however , must be addressed head on . According to Hart , there are two ways a rule can achieve the status of law : either it satisfies the criteria of the rule of recognition ( for example , " it was passed by a majority of both houses of Congress and signed by the President " ) or it is simply " accepted " by current officials as law ( like the rule of recognition itself ) .151 In other words , the officials take the internal point of view with respect to it , viewing it as a source of legal obligation . Thus , a fleshed-out version of the Major Premise would state something like the following : # MP(H) : The law is either ( a ) whatever satisfies the criteria that officials treat as providing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operand A ) or ( b ) whatever officials simply accept as law ( operand B ) . # The difference between the two operands of the disjunction , A and B , matters because it determines which kinds of facts are relevant to determining whether a rule qualifies as " law . " Both ultimately depend on the current practice of judges . But whereas B begins and ends with current practice ( to determine if judges " accept " a given rule ) , A asks whether the rule has satisfied certain criteria of validity that current practice requires in order for something to qualify as law . In other words , it asks judges to examine a rule 's pedigree.152 # It is not always easy to discern which kinds of facts Baude and Sachs think matter for determining an interpretive rule 's legal status . Are they facts about whether the rule meets particular criteria of validity , which requires inquiry into the rule 's historical pedigree ? Or are they simply facts about the interpretive rule 's current acceptance by judges , which does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ separately . # a . Validated by the rule of recognition ? # Sometimes Baude and Sachs seem to argue that whether an interpretive rule ( or method or theory ) is part of " our law " depends on whether it satisfies our legal system 's criteria of legal validity ( or Hart 's rule of recognition ) .153 And they suggest that the relevant procedure is the ratification of the Constitution itself , so that the question of any given interpretive rule , whether constitutional or statutory , is whether it was part of our law at the Founding ( or has been added through a valid rule of change ) .154 The problem with this view is that judicial practice does not require interpretive rules to be validated in this way . # Let us start in the constitutional context . Baude and Sachs provide a total of three examples in support of the claim that judges today require constitutional interpretive rules to have been ratified at the Founding , but two of them actually count as evidence against the authors ' thesis . Their best example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why both authors discuss it.155 In that case , Justice Breyer-in holding that subsequent governmental practice is relevant to the interpretation of the Recess Appointments Clause-quoted James Madison 's suggestion that such governmental practice may " liquidate &amp; settle " ambiguous provisions of the Constitution.156 Justice Breyer thus implied that using practice to interpret the Constitution is an interpretive method that must itself be authorized by Founding-era sources in just the way Baude and Sachs claim . # It is not obvious that Justice Breyer meant to assert that the turn to practice required validation from the Founding , but let us grant Baude and Sachs that one.157 One case is hardly sufficient to constitute a " practice , " and the fact that the other two cases Baude briefly mentions actually contradict his claim rather than support it suggests that establishing the existence of such a practice will be difficult . Baude explains that in the Pocket Veto Case the Court stated that subsequent practice " is a consideration of great weight , " 158 and he observes that in Mistretta v. United States the Court looked to subsequent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provision and its original history.159 But neither of these facts supports Baude 's claim that the Court requires validation of an interpretive rule by its presence at the Founding . The Court in the Pocket Veto Case cited three cases in support of its use of subsequent practice as an interpretive aid , but in none of those cases did the various courts trace the method 's lineage back to the Founding.160 In fact , one of them cited provisions of Justice Story 's treatise on the Constitution in which he explicitly invokes subsequent practice as an alternative to original meaning.161 Nor is it sufficient that the Court in Mistretta looked to text or original meaning before looking to practice as a source of additional guidance . What inclusive originalism supposedly requires is that a court may only look to subsequent practice because of its inclusion in the original Constitution.162 And yet nothing in the Court 's opinion indicates that it saw itself as so constrained . # Baude acknowledges that the Court has not made its " methodological hierarchy explicit " in these cases , but he seems to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there is an obvious alternative explanation for how courts treat interpretive rules . What the Court requires is some historical support for its interpretive approach in order to prove that it is not making the approach up out of whole cloth . The fact that a rule has been around for a long time suggests that it may be considered custom . And customary law is authoritative not because its pedigree is traceable to a particular validating event but rather because its age and endurance over time suggest that it works well or has been broadly accepted.164 Under this quite conventional common law understanding , the Court 's " methodological hierarchy " is not just not " explicit . " It is nonexistent. # The same point responds to Sachs 's suggestion that courts have a deep concern for pedigree when it comes to interpretive rules . Lacking much case law support beyond Noel Canning for this view , Sachs looks to " higher-order principles " and lawyerly intuitions about how we typically think about law.165 " If we found out tomorrow that stare decisis did n't exist at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of whole cloth by Chief Justice Burger , " he asserts , " that 'd surely be concerning to many American lawyers and academics . " 166 # Maybe so , but this is surely a false dichotomy . If we found out that our practice of stare decisis in its current form was neither an " invention " of the last half-century nor a feature of the Founders ' law but was instead the result of gradual changes in legal practice throughout the nineteenth century , would that be " concerning to many American lawyers and academics " ? I doubt it , which may be why it is easy to find examples of the Court employing methods for interpreting sources of constitutional law without bothering to trace the methods ' pedigrees back to the Founding.167 # Thus , even if Baude and Sachs are right that courts today in some sense " start " with original meaning , " inclusive originalem " and " original-law originalism , " as they describe those theories , require more than that . They require that interpretive rules and methods become part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Founders ' law ( or by virtue of having been subsequently authorized by a valid rule of change ) .168 And yet Baude and Sachs provide scant evidence that courts today are ( or ever were ) in the slightest bit concerned about tracing the pedigree of second-order interpretive rules to the Founding . # The case for judicial concern with pedigree is even weaker in the context of statutory interpretation . Some interpretive rules ( such as the Dictionary Act169 ) do have a clear legal pedigree , and Baude and Sachs mention some of these.170 But the hottest and hoariest debates among courts and scholars are not about the Dictionary Act . They instead revolve around unwritten interpretive rules and methods-things like canons of construction.171 # When it comes to such rules , Baude and Sachs again say that an interpretive rule 's legal status hangs on whether it was either ratified at the Founding or became part of our law through a valid rule of legal change subsequent to the Founding.172 The most likely candidate for such a rule of change in the context of unwritten law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the term " unwritten law " typically refers to case law ) . Such a rule might provide , for instance , that an interpretive rule qualifies as law if and only if its use is compelled by a controlling decision.173 So the Chevron rule requiring court deference to an agency 's reasonable interpretation of a statute it administers may be such an interpretive rule.174 It is an interpretive rule that qualifies as law , and it does so because the Supreme Court decided a case in which it articulated and applied that rule . But Chevron is the exception that proves the rule , as even Baude and Sachs recognize . They concede that courts generally do not treat interpretive rules as binding as a matter of stare decisis.175 # Baude and Sachs may object that I have only challenged their minor premise-that the sort of methods originalism they advance is in fact the law . I have done nothing to show that the positive turn as such , which requires looking to " our law , " is not a useful methodological development . So , for instance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that an interpretive rule 's pedigree be traceable back to the Founding as their own personal view , while recognizing that " other people might propose other tests instead . " 176 # But that misses the point of the discussion above . The problem is not just that courts do not adopt original-law ( or original-methods ) originalism . The problem is that courts today rarely trace the pedigrees of the unwritten interpretive rules they standardly employ to any ultimate criterion of legality.177 Thus , when it comes to interpreting the Constitution or statutes , the first operand of the disjunction in MP(H) , A , can not help us distinguish between lawful and unlawful interpretive rules . # b . Accepted by current practice ? # Even if interpretive rules are not made part of the law by virtue of having satisfied some accepted set of criteria determining legal validity , those rules may nevertheless attain the status of law on Hart 's view so long as they are " accepted " by judges as part of what performing their official duty requires them to do . Under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the rule of recognition itself . This , of course , is the second operand , B , in the disjunction contained in MP(H).178 # Baude and Sachs at various points suggest that this is how they imagine interpretive rules-both constitutional and statutory-becoming law . Sachs , for instance , devotes considerable attention to what he calls " domesticating doctrines " -like stare decisis-which validate ex post changes that did not come about through valid rules of change.179 And Baude and Sachs suggest that we ought to understand canons of construction as part of what they call " general " ( unwritten ) law.180 Under this view , when judges invoke canons of construction , " they are n't necessarily ' inventing rules of decision out of whole cloth . ' " 181 Rather , " they might be recognizing elements of an existing generallaw tradition-a tradition that makes its appearance in judicial decisions , but is n't merely their creature . " 182 In other words , they encourage us to think of canons of construction and other unwritten interpretive rules as incorporated into our legal corpus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first point to observe about this suggestion is just how starkly it contrasts with Baude and Sachs 's concern with pedigree discussed above.183 Recall Sachs 's insistence that " if we ca n't say when things have changed , that makes it harder to explain how they changed , which makes us less confident that they 've changed . " 184 Now we learn that " a new rule might be slowly absorbed or rejected as general law , rather than imposed through the fiat of a single majority . " 185 Really ? But if the new rule is " slowly absorbed " by the general law , then we can not say precisely when the law changed . And if we can not say when the law changed . . . ? # The more important point , though , goes to what is required for a rule to become part of the law if it does not do so by virtue of having satisfied the criteria of validity provided by the rule of recognition . Hart is quite clear on this score : a " social rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the rule is met with criticism among the relevant community , 186 which in this case ( we are still assuming ) consists of other judges . So , for instance , a judge who failed to treat as binding law a congressional statute passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President would be criticized by other judges for violating our legal system 's rule of recognition . # Is the same true of judges who fail to apply a canon of construction in a given case ? Is there a " general demand for conformity " 187 with respect to the use of any particular canon of construction ? Is it the case that the " social pressure brought to bear upon those " who fail to use the rule of lenity or the rule of constitutional avoidance is " great , " as Hart would require ? 188 To be sure , one can find criticisms in any given case of a court 's failure to apply a particular canon , but the key terms here are " general demand " and " social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a social rule like the rule of recognition to exist there must be consensus or near-consensus as to its obligatory status.189 Because the rule of recognition derives its legal status from its existence as official practice ( rather than from having passed through the rule of recognition ) , under Hart 's view , there can only be a " law of interpretation " insofar as such consensus or near-consensus exists.190 # No doubt consensus is achieved around some interpretive approaches . A Supreme Court that completely fails to cite relevant precedent ( even if only to then overrule it ) might be said to violate such an accepted practice.191 Similarly , Lawrence Solum points out that pretty much everyone agrees that the Constitution 's text contributes in some way to its legal content.192 More subtly , Baude and Sachs suggest that reading accessory liability into a criminal statute is a practice largely taken for granted.193 # But recall that the promise of the positive turn was to show how " our law " ( of interpretation ) could offer us a way out of the scholarly impasse over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precisely those interpretive methods about which there is not consensus ( for instance , whether and how to use canons of construction and how to " construct " constitutional provisions when the text is vague ) , it is hard to see how the positive turn to " our law " could possibly be of value to either judges or scholars.194 This is why Richard Fallon , whom Baude and Sachs take to task for resorting immediately to normative assessment of interpretive rules , 195 did not linger long on the possibility that the " law of interpretation " could provide answers to such interpretive debates . Fallon recognizes that under Hart 's view , where there is no consensus , there is no law.196 # c . The problem of disagreement # Given these difficulties , it may be tempting to simply deny the requirement Hart imposes . Baude and Sachs might argue , for instance , that such judicial consensus about interpretive rules is too demanding a requirement . They sometimes say exactly that.197 When judges rely on such methods , after all , they offer legal arguments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessary to determine what the law requires . In that sense , such interpretive methods properly qualify as " law , " and if that is inconsistent with Hart 's framework , then so much the worse for his framework . # In fact , that is just what Ronald Dworkin argued thirty years ago.198 Pointing to exactly the kinds of interpretive rules and methods that interest Baude and Sachs , he argued that Hart 's theory of law could not account for the pervasive disagreement one sees in judicial practice over the proper methods to employ when interpreting cases , statutes , and the Constitution.199 Dworkin thought that was a problem for Hart because Dworkin , like Baude and Sachs , observed that judges treat these interpretive rules as law-determining ones even though they disagree with each other about whether and when to use them.200 Thus , these rules seem to serve a function analogous to the rule of recognition , yet they do not enjoy the judicial consensus that Hart 's theory requires . Dworkin called this the problem of " ' theoretical ' disagreement , " 201 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critiques of Hart . # There have been various responses to the problem of theoretical disagreement-and we will consider two , including Dworkin 's , below202-but the point now is just to see why Hart 's own response to it is not available to the authors.203 Hart accused Dworkin of taking judicial rhetoric too seriously.204 Although it is true that judges say they use these interpretive principles and methods to determine " the law , " in reality they are implementing a kind of discretion that exists when there is ambiguity as to how to read some statute , case , or the Constitution.205 In other words , they are making law , not finding law.206 # Baude and Sachs can not endorse Hart 's response for two main reasons . First , they repeatedly defend the value of taking judicial rhetoric seriously.207 Their whole point in suggesting that we look to our " general " ( unwritten ) law or our " legal tradition " to resolve our interpretive disputes depends on the idea that " the law " offers some determinate answers to the questions they raise in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is precisely what Hart denied.209 The second and more important reason is the one already stated above : if there is no " law " on these questions , then the second syllogism in the Core Argument fails to go through.210 Because interpretive rules that do not enjoy widespread consensus do not qualify as law ( in Hart 's sense ) , there is no obligation on the part of judges to apply them . And that was supposed to be one of the chief payoffs of the positive turn . # At times , Baude and Sachs seem to recognize the problem of disagreement , 211 but their responses indicate that they fail to grasp its significance . For instance , at one point , they frame the problem of disagreement as a " practical " problem because such disagreement " makes it harder to see what the law is. " 212 But the problem is theoretical , not practical , and it is not that the disagreement makes it harder to " see " the law . At least under Hart 's view , if there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rule of recognition , then it can not be part of the rule of recognition , which means that there is no law to see.213 That is why , as Mark Greenberg explains , no defender of any controversial theory of legal interpretation can appeal to Hartian positivism for support.214 It follows that the same is true of Baude and Sachs 's originalmethods sort of originalism. # Elsewhere , Baude and Sachs suggest that in order for there to be " no law " on a topic , a legal system would have to utterly break down , which they quite rightly deny has happened.215 But such deep and pervasive disagreement is not necessary to cause a problem for their approach . All that is needed is for there to be insufficient judicial consensus about whether a particular interpretive rule is a criterion of validity for establishing the legality of other rules . Without such consensus , a rule can not be part of the rule of recognition and ( therefore ) fails to qualify as law at all.216 # For this reason , it may be tempting for Baude @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consensus if the issue is framed at a sufficiently high level of generality . All or nearly all courts agree , for instance , that there has been constitutional " continuity " since the Founding.217 They all recognize , in other words , that there have been " no revolutions " between 1789 ( or at least 1866 ) and today.218 Disagreement among courts , on this view , only arises when it comes to applying our shared commitment to the " original law . " As Baude and Sachs put it in a subsequent essay , it is a view that is " catholic in theory but exacting in application . " 219 # But this response is either false or vacuous , depending on what Baude and Sachs mean by " continuity . " If they mean that courts treat the original meaning of the Constitution as the " ultimate criterion for constitutional law , including of the validity of other methods of interpretation , " 220 then it is descriptively false for the reason already given , namely that there is little evidence that courts scrutinize the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all , let alone trace them back to the Founding.221 Alternatively , if Baude and Sachs mean that courts see themselves as operating as part of the same constitutional tradition as the Founders , then that seems true but too weak a claim to be of any use in rechanneling debates over interpretation in more productive ways . The reason is that so framed , there is still a lot of room for the sort of theoretical ( rather than empirical ) disagreement Dworkin observed . Does being part of the same continuous legal tradition as the Founders , for instance , entail that methods of interpretation may be absorbed through an evolutionary , common law process , or does it require a more formal " rule of change " to validly include such methods ? Historical facts can not answer that question because whether the Framers ' view on this issue matters is precisely the question at issue . Yet one can imagine reasonable judges disagreeing about it . Indeed , as suggested in their articles , the authors themselves seem to be of two minds about it.222 # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is less " indeterminacy " than one might think because there are interpretive rules whose function is to resolve close cases . First , " closure rules " tell courts what to do in zones of doubt , much as a burden of proof does in the factfinding context.223 The rule of lenity , by which courts interpret ambiguous criminal statutes in favor of defendants , is one example of such a closure rule.224 Second , " when even the closure rules run out , we have authority rules to tell us how to resolve individual disputes- such as a rule that five Justices beat four . " 225 # This response is so bizarre that it practically amounts to a reductio ad absurdum of their whole argument . True , there is widespread consensus supporting rules of court procedure like voting rules , so such rules would indeed qualify as " law " under Hart 's model . And no one can stop Baude and Sachs from including within the scope of the " law of interpretation " such procedural rules for settling intracourt disagreement . But if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " reorient " 227 scholarly debates over the proper roles of , among other things , canons of construction , legislative history , stare decisis , executive practice , original meaning , linguistic analysis , purposive interpretation , and political theory in statutory and constitutional interpretation by looking to a rule that says five Justices beat four , then the positive turn is not a U-turn . It is a lobotomy. # In short , contrary to Baude and Sachs 's suggestions , if we fill out the major premise along the lines of MP(H) , the Core Argument is not up to the task they demand of it . Hart requires that we look to current judicial practice to determine what counts as law , and yet courts today generally do not trace the pedigree of interpretive rules ( in either constitutional or statutory interpretation ) back to the Founding or even to any valid rule of change . Nor do the interpretive rules Baude and Sachs discuss qualify as " law " by virtue of judicial consensus in the way that the rule of recognition does . The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very little " law of interpretation , " which means that the interpretive rules Baude and Sachs discuss impose upon judges no legal obligation . # None of this means that the positive turn is necessarily a failure . What we have been testing here is its consistency with one particular way of conceptualizing law . True , it is the most widely accepted theory of law and the one Baude and Sachs themselves purport to endorse . But the implication of the analysis above may be that we must abandon Hart 's theory of law , not the positive turn.228 So let us see how MP might be filled out with two alternatives to Hart 's approach . # B. Raz 's Sources Thesis # Joseph Raz has developed one of the main rivals to Hart 's version of legal positivism . Like Hart , Raz holds that the existence of a legal system 's criterion of legal validity ( and , therefore , the existence of its law ) is entirely a question of social fact.229 But unlike Hart , Raz further insists that it is impossible for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basis for determining what counts as law.230 That is why legal philosophers dub his view " hard " or " exclusive " legal positivism , thereby distinguishing it from Hart 's " soft " or " inclusive " legal positivism.231 To see why Raz imposes this further restriction on which kinds of facts can determine law , this Subpart examines how he develops his theory of law from his understanding of the nature of authority . Doing so demonstrates why Baude and Sachs can not rely on Raz as jurisprudential support for MP without invoking just the kinds of arguments they insist the positive turn avoids . # 1 . Summary # Raz 's account is based on the authoritative nature of law.232 According to Raz , every legal system either has legitimate authority or claims to have such authority.233 Authorities in general should base their directives on reasons that already apply to those subject to their authority.234 Someone 's authority over a subject is legitimate if the subject will " better comply with reasons which apply to him " if he follows the directives of the authority " than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him directly . " 235 In this way , an authority 's directives depend on ( and preempt ) the reasons that apply to a subject , and when the authority is legitimate , they do so to the benefit of the subject . # Not all ( or even any ) legal systems possess legitimate authority , but according to Raz , they all claim to possess it ( which is why we call legal sources " authorities " ) .236 And if law claims to have legitimate authority , then it must at least be the kind of thing that is capable of having it.237 Any person or persons claiming authority must be capable of issuing a binding directive that possesses at least two features : ( 1 ) it must be " presented as someone 's view of how its subjects ought to behave " and ( 2 ) " it must be possible to identify the directive as being issued by the alleged authority without relying on reasons or considerations on which the directive purports to adjudicate. " 238 Therefore , law-legal rules and directives-must possess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nature of Raz 's criticism of Hart . Hart allowed for the possibility that a rule of recognition might incorporate moral criteria.239 So , for instance , if the practice of officials is such that they all agree that for a rule to be legally valid it must satisfy the requirements of " due process " or be " reasonable , " and if application of those concepts itself requires moral judgments , then the law incorporates moral rules or principles.240 But Raz argues that this possibility is inconsistent with the second requirement of binding directives mentioned above because it would mean that determining the law requires making reference to precisely the reasons the law was meant to replace.241 # According to Raz , only the Sources Thesis satisfies both of the requirements above.242 The Sources Thesis holds that the existence and content of law " can be identified by reference to social facts alone , without any resort to any evaluative argument . " 243 This is true of each of the typical sources of law in most legal systems : statutes , cases , and custom.244 But it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessarily and exclusively determined by social facts . # 2 . The Core Argument and the Sources Thesis # Perhaps , then , the Sources Thesis offers Baude and Sachs a jurisprudential basis for the positive turn . Consistent with their views , it emphasizes that social facts primarily-indeed , exclusively-determine the existence and content of law . Moreover , the emphasis on authority seems to fit well with Baude and Sachs 's suggestion that our practices take seriously the Founders ' authority.246 Because we treat the Founders as authorities on matters of substantive constitutional law , we should also treat them as issuers of binding directives with respect to our rules and methods of constitutional and statutory interpretation . So maybe MP could be filled out along the lines of : # MP(R) : The law is whatever can be found in the relevant social sources , so long as they can be " identified by reference to social facts alone , without any resort to any evaluative argument . " # The first thing to observe about MP(R) is that it may not help resolve the problem of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the " relevant " social sources are , and it seems that Raz probably has something like a rule of recognition in mind as the means by which judges are able to identify the law.248 If that is the case , then the problem raised by judicial disagreement , discussed above in reference to MP(H) , 249 would beset MP(R) as well . # But even putting that issue aside , there are two related , and deeper , problems . The first is that Raz 's exclusive legal positivism cuts against the whole thrust of Baude and Sachs 's defense of originalism . In their view , quite expansive methods of constitutional interpretation are permissible if ( but only if ) they were part of our " original law . " 250 Thus , if it turned out that as a historical matter , the Founders intended future judges to determine the law by reference to moral principles , it would seem that Baude and Sachs are committed to allowing for that scenario . After all , the possibility that the Founders may have envisioned more flexible forms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criticize more traditional , restrictive forms of originalism . " Why be more ' originalist ' than the Founders , or more Catholic than the Pope ? , " they each ask.251 Baude even dubs his brand of originalism " inclusive originalism , " explicitly drawing an analogy to the exclusive/inclusive positivism distinction that divides Raz and Hart.252 # Baude and Sachs might object that I have conflated two distinct issues . There is a difference between the Founders ' authorizing ( a ) forms of constitutional interpretation that allow judges considerable discretion to change the meaning of terms as society evolves ( operand A ) and ( b ) forms of constitutional interpretation that involve judges determining what the law is by reference to moral principles ( operand B ) . Baude and Sachs might well concede that their theories of originalism allow for A but insist that , along with Raz , they deny that B is true . In other words , when judges interpret the Constitution 's broad language , they make law rather than find it.253 # But this response leads to the second problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sachs 's resistance to B ? Raz has an answer to this question . For Raz , B is conceptually impossible because it is inconsistent with the nature of law , and it is inconsistent with the nature of law because it is inconsistent with the nature of authority . In particular , as we have just seen , it would mean that identifying the law requires referring to precisely those considerations ( specifically , moral ones ) that an authority 's binding directive purports to settle.254 But because law claims authority , its directives must at least be identifiable without referring to such underlying considerations . Thus , law can not incorporate moral principles in this way . # Whether Raz 's argument is convincing is not this Article 's concern . Rather , the point is that Baude and Sachs can not avail themselves of the argument without undermining the whole rationale for the positive turn . Recall that they offer a turn to " positive " defenses of originalism and other forms of constitutional and statutory interpretation on the ground that " conceptual " arguments are irrelevant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ philosophers insist that the nature of " interpretation " requires looking to the original intentions of a document 's drafters , if that is not how lawyers in , say , France read their legal documents , then so much the worse for the philosopher 's theory . French legal practice trumps philosophical theory ( in France , at least ) .256 Presumably , then , the same would be true of the concept of authority . If it appears that judges invoke moral principles in determining what the law is , then it is not at all obvious why , under Baude and Sachs 's view , we should allow such a " conceptual " argument like Raz 's to refute an observed practice.257 # The same point responds to a different objection . Baude and Sachs might ( again ) insist that I have conflated the methodological with the substantive claim . Perhaps the turn to our ( now Razian ) understanding of law does not vindicate their version of originalism , but that would just mean that their substantive argument fails , not that the positive turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ substantive claim about what the law requires based on the Sources Thesis will have to defend that thesis , which is itself the conclusion of a conceptual argument about the nature of authority . # In short , although it is conceivable that one could develop an originalist account based on Raz 's theory of law , the spirit of Baude and Sachs 's " inclusive " versions of originalism seems deeply inconsistent with Raz 's hard positivism . And although it is possible to offer an interpretation of legal practice ( originalist or otherwise ) that is consistent with the Sources Thesis , any substantive legal claims derived from such an interpretation would depend on the kind of conceptual arguments that the positive turn promised to enable us to avoid . # C. Shapiro 's Planning Theory of Law # Scott Shapiro has recently advanced a theory of law that he calls the " Planning Theory " of law because it conceptualizes law as a type of plan formed by a group of individuals.258 The Planning Theory fits Baude and Sachs 's ambitions better than does either Hart 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positive turn on Shapiro 's account would lead to the same sorts of difficulties that plagued our earlier efforts . # 1 . Summary # To understand why Shapiro 's account may prove attractive to Baude and Sachs , it is useful to first show how Shapiro builds on Dworkin 's criticism of Hart.259 Dworkin argues that Hart can not explain the way judges disagree with one another about what he calls the " grounds of law , " which are propositions that make legal propositions true or false.260 These include exactly the kind of interpretive rules and methods under discussion.261 A better way to explain this " theoretical disagreement , " according to Dworkin , is to recognize that law is a social practice and that judges are participants in that practice.262 Because they participate in the practice of law , judges must adopt an " interpretive attitude " 263 ( or what Dworkin elsewhere called an " internal point of view " 264 ) toward the legal materials they face . Adopting this attitude requires judges to impose meaning on those materials by putting them in their " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interpretation " constructive interpretation . " 266 Such interpretations must both " fit " the practice ( plausibly describe its central features ) and justify it as a normative matter.267 So , for instance , even a judge who interprets a statute by reference to its " plain meaning " does so on the ground that it makes best sense of the practice and serves important political values ( for example , preserving democracy and rule-of-law values ) .268 Thus , legal interpretation- all legal interpretation-depends on political and moral values.269 # Shapiro agrees with much of this analysis . He agrees with Dworkin that the interpretive disagreement Dworkin describes is a real and pervasive feature of our legal system and that such disagreement can not be explained by Hart 's rule of recognition , which requires consensus among officials.270 He also agrees with Dworkin that part of that disagreement is disagreement about the point or purpose of legal practice overall.271 He even joins Dworkin in concluding that the proper theory of statutory or constitutional interpretation is largely determined by how well it achieves that purpose.272 But whereas Dworkin argues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political principles , Shapiro insists it is a question of social fact alone.273 To see why that is , one must know a bit more about Shapiro 's Planning Theory of law . # Shapiro holds that laws are best understood as plans and , specifically , plans of a particular sort-they are " shared " plans among groups of people whose purpose is to " guide , organize , and monitor the shared activity of legal officials . " 274 More importantly , they are plans whose existence and content are determined exclusively by publicly ascertainable social facts rather than by moral theory.275 This requirement follows from the fact that the fundamental aim of law , according to Shapiro , is to solve social problems that involve controversial moral and practical questions and require solutions that are often complex.276 Therefore , if determining the content of law required making moral judgments , which are invariably contested and contentious , it would undermine the whole point of having law in the first place.277 # Shapiro then develops a " Planning Theory of meta-interpretation. " 278 A meta-interpretive theory is one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plans ( statutes ) or the master plan ( a constitution ) .279 According to Shapiro , one of the central considerations for any such meta270. interpretive theory is the degree of trust it places in different officials.280 " Purposivists " in the context of statutory interpretation , for instance , generally have confidence in the competence and good character of judges to understand the purposes of legislation , whereas those who are " textualists " tend to be more skeptical that judges possess either virtue.281 The crucial point is that under the Planning Theory 's approach , picking interpretive methodologies requires discerning the planners ' judgments about judicial character and competence and then asking whether a particular interpretive approach is consistent with those judgments.282 Under this view , we should resolve our debates about constitutional interpretation by looking to whether-and if so , to what degree-the Framers of and signatories to the Constitution trusted future judges to implement the " master plan . " 283 # Thus , Shapiro argues for a different procedure for settling metainterpretive disputes than does Dworkin . Because Dworkin thinks that the proper interpretive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those methods fit and justify legal practice , choosing from among them requires the interpreter to engage in moral theorizing.284 But for Shapiro , the proper interpretive methods ( like all law ) are determined by the plan that the planners created-in particular , by the plan 's economy of trust.285 Therefore , choosing such an interpretive theory requires the interpreter to defer to the planners ' judgments about interpretive methodology . # 2 . The Core Argument and the Planning Theory # Baude and Sachs hardly mention Shapiro 's account , but in many ways , it seems to be a perfect fit for the Core Argument . We might formulate its major premise as the following : # MP(S) : The law is whatever plans were made pursuant to the master plan , including its " economy of trust , " where the " economy of trust " describes the planners ' plan for how future officials ( particularly judges ) would go about interpreting the master plan and its subsidiary plans . # MP(S) has a lot going for it . Unlike MP(H) or MP(R) , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , let alone judicial consensus , to determine the criteria of legal validity.286 Instead , it looks to the content of the master plan and , in particular , to the " economy of trust " embodied in it . And yet it remains positivist in orientation because the disagreement over the grounds of law that Dworkin points to is interpreted as empirical , not moral , disagreement.287 MP(S) thus seems capable of fulfilling the promise of the positive turn . It shows how turning to " our law " could offer a genuine methodological advance insofar as it both demands an essentially factual inquiry and applies to methodological issues about which courts and scholars disagree . # It is true that under Shapiro 's account , as under Raz 's , moral principles can not be incorporated into the criteria of legality . So , as with Raz , Baude and Sachs would need to explain why judges who seem to be applying moral principles in determining the law are better viewed as employing judicial discretion to make or develop the law . And , as we will see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficulty they did in relying on Raz , namely having to defend their choice of legal theory on " conceptual " grounds.288 But for now it is sufficient to observe that Shapiro gives Baude and Sachs more resources than does Raz for interpreting judicial conduct in the way their theory requires . In particular , Shapiro defends his emphasis on the " economy of trust " by showing the extent to which concerns with trust do , as a matter of fact , pervade American legal thought and practice.289 # For these reasons , the fit between Baude and Sachs 's methodological agenda and Shapiro 's account is sufficiently strong that they may want to explore the possibility of committing themselves to something like his view . Nevertheless , the remainder of this Subpart will flag two concerns about whether Shapiro 's account really can save the positive turn in the way I have just suggested . Each questions whether the two advantages just identified hold up under scrutiny : First , does Shapiro 's theory really allow that law can exist without consensus among some relevant group ? Second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without recourse to normative arguments ? I then explain why , even if these worries can be overcome , the positive turn still is incapable of achieving its purported aims . # a.Consensus at the Founding ? # Both Shapiro and Baude and Sachs ( at times ) argue that we should look to facts about the Founding to determine which interpretive methods we should use today . True , they are not precisely the same historical facts . Shapiro 's Planning Theory of meta-interpretation looks to the planners ' attitudes about future judges and legislators ( how much the planners trusted them to get the plans right ) , whereas Baude and Sachs ask us to look at specific interpretive rules embodied in the law at the time . But let us put that wrinkle aside and assume that Shapiro offers support for the basic idea that we should look to the Founders ' law to settle our disputes over interpretive methodology . # The question then becomes : How do we tell which interpretive rules were part of the law at the time of the Founding ? Baude @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we must rely on only those rules that had the status of law , not just custom , at the Founding.290 Once again , though , it is not at all obvious how that is to be done . Baude and Sachs acknowledge that " different theories of jurisprudence look to different facts to identify a society 's law , " but just as we saw above when discussing Hart , it is unclear what kind of facts such theories look to.291 Sometimes it is suggested that the theories pick out different criteria of validity ( or " higher-order legal rules " ) , 292 but other times it seems that we must look to the practices of certain groups of people.293 The ambiguity stems in part from the fact that it is not always apparent whether Baude and Sachs mean that interpretive rules require validation by reference to other " higher- order legal rules " or whether those interpretive rules are the higher-order rules by reference to which substantive interpretive disputes were resolved . # The ambiguity does not much matter , however , because in the end , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about lawdetermining practices at some level . If the " legal " status of certain interpretive rules depends on their satisfaction of some criteria of validity , we must ask what makes those criteria the law-validating ones . We already know that under Hart 's theory , the existence of such rules ( of recognition ) depends on there being a common practice of officials treating them as such.294 So this approach will mean that the existence of a " legal " answer to questions about interpretive methodology will depend on there being a consensus among judges . As it turns out , the same is true under Shapiro 's account . In his view , for there to be content to the master plan 's economy of trust , there must be consensus with respect to it among those who " created and adopted " it.295 # The worry , of course , is that no such consensus existed . Baude and Sachs discuss the work of historians , for instance , who argue that there was considerable disagreement about the proper way to interpret the Constitution at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ observe that those same historians characterize the meta-interpretive conflict as one between , on the one hand , elite lawyers ( who adopted Blackstone 's interpretive methodology ) and , on the other , popular critics like the Antifederalist Brutus ( who challenged the Blackstonian view " on policy grounds " ) .297 If that is right , and if it is " elite practice that matters , " then what the historians have shown according to Baude and Sachs is , ironically , that the elites actually had a " jurisprudential obligation " to ignore such popular criticisms.298 # But that characterization of the Founding-era debate is more than a little misleading . Cornell , for instance , argues that Brutus , and critics like him , represented a constitutional " middle ground " that embraced neither the elites ' view of law nor the " popular champions of the people 's constitution . " 299 And although those critics challenged a particular , Blackstonian approach to statutory and constitutional interpretation , it is not obvious why their criticisms of the Blackstonian view would not have equal claim to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , although some of the state courts were dominated by elite opinion , the highest courts of some other important states , such as New York and Pennsylvania , were dominated by men " whose approach to law reflected the ideas of the constitutional middle ground . " 300 In other words , there seem to have been genuinely " legal " arguments on both sides of the methodological issue . # Of course , it is open to Baude and Sachs to say that their own " theory of jurisprudence " picks out the relevant social facts in such a way that it includes the views of the elites they mention and excludes those of Brutus . But the question would then be : On what basis do they make that choice of theory ? How do we determine whose practice counts ? 301 As shown below , this question points to a core difficulty at the heart of the positive turn . # b.Empirical disagreement ? # Before taking up that question , however , let us look at the other advantage Shapiro 's account appears to offer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ existence and content of shared plans . Thus , when people disagree about what those shared plans require-either substantively or as a matter of interpretive methodology-those disagreements are factual in nature , even if they are facts that are not always easy to prove . But we need to look more carefully at how MP(S) ( and the meta-interpretive approach it requires ) flows from Shapiro 's account of the nature of law . # Sometimes Shapiro seems to argue that such an approach to choosing an interpretive theory is entailed by the Planning Theory of law itself . If laws are plans whose purpose is to foreclose contentious disagreements , and if making judgments about the proper " economy of trust " leads to such disagreements , then the " logic of planning " would seem to require interpreters to defer to the planners ' understandings of such an economy of trust as well.302 The same logic by which law forecloses reopening the substantive underlying normative disputes also forecloses reopening second-order disputes about how to interpret the meaning of those settlements.303 # It turns out , though , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the proper meta-interpretive procedure is an empirical inquiry because it depends on facts about current legal practice.304 In particular , choosing the right method requires asking why the current participants of the legal system accept , or at least purport to accept , the system as designed by its planners.305 Different systems provide different answers to that question.306 In " authority systems , " current officials accept " the rules of the system " because " these rules were created by those having superior moral authority or judgment , " which makes the rules ' pedigrees particularly important.307 Under these kinds of systems , the Planning Theory of meta-interpretation that grounds MP(S) above is indeed the proper one . # But not all legal systems are authority systems . Shapiro explains that there are also " opportunistic " legal systems.308 In these systems , the officials accept the system 's rules not because of the moral authority of the planners but because " they judge those rules to be morally good . " 309 For that reason , it is perfectly appropriate in opportunistic systems for officials to make their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methods based on what they think are the proper moral or political criteria rather than by deferring to the planners ' views on the economy of trust.310 In these systems , then , MP(S) would not hold . The law would not depend on the attitudes about the economy of trust held by the planners ; instead , it would depend on the attitudes of current officials . # How , then , do we know whether our own legal system is an authority system , which supports MP(S) , or an opportunistic system , which does not ? For his part , Shapiro asserts that the United States " strongly resembles an authority system . " 311 The reverence for our " Founding Fathers , " the " privileging of democracy to the exclusion of all other modes of political legitimization , " the " political impossibility of criticizing the Constitution , " and the significance assigned to the text of the Constitution all suggest that we live in a system in which the Constitution derives its authority from " its special provenance . " 312 No doubt Baude @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they make more or less the same kind of argument on behalf of their own versions of originalism.313 # But not everyone would agree . It is easy to think of arguments on behalf of an " opportunistic " interpretation of our legal system . One might consider the following facts : most people do not take the Framers as moral authorities on all matters , the relations among races and between the sexes being the two most obvious examples ; even Supreme Court decisions invalidating democratically enacted legislation are accepted when they are in line with general public opinion ; 314 and having a clear textual basis is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for a rule to qualify as a valid and enforceable rule of constitutional law.315 # Nor does Shapiro deny such reasonable disagreement . To the contrary , the pervasiveness of such disagreement is part of the phenomenon he seeks to explain . In fact , it turns out that disagreement about whether our legal system is an authority system or an opportunistic one is yet another example of the kind of " theoretical disagreement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way than does Dworkin's.316 His explanation is more satisfactory , remember , because under his view such disagreement is empirical , not moral , in nature-it is about the beliefs and attitudes of current officials.317 It is thus consistent with the logic of planning.318 # Is this really empirical disagreement , though ? Shapiro 's own description of how such disagreement plays out gives cause for doubt . The sole example he provides of such meta-interpretive debate is one about how to decide whether the Eighth Amendment 's ban on " cruel and unusual punishments " renders the death penalty unconstitutional.319 Shapiro first imagines an originalist who emphasizes the Founders ' distrust of judges in support of the view that the Founders wished to cabin judicial discretion.320 In response , an antioriginalist might suggest that the tenure and salary protection the Constitution affords judges reflects a greater confidence in their competence and character.321 Such an antioriginalist may even go on to challenge whether the United States is an authority system at all.322 What Shapiro says here is striking : # The text of the Constitution , antioriginalists might point out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Why would those who currently participate in the practice allow themselves to be governed by the " dead hand of the past " ? It is more plausible , they might say , that current participants accept the constitutional system because they regard it as independently justifiable.323 # It is true that the proposition in dispute is a factual one insofar as its truth hangs on a question about the beliefs and attitudes of a group of people , namely the officials of our legal system . But moral principles seem to be playing an important role in the explanation of official behavior.324 In particular , the alleged democratic illegitimacy posed by the dead hand problem seems to count as a reason for believing that officials possess certain attitudes about our practices rather than other attitudes . And if that is the case , then the truth of moral propositions will be relevant to the debate . Shapiro would then be correct in concluding that there is " something for everyone " in his picture because it would include even Dworkinians who argue about what the law requires in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is wrong . Suppose Shapiro is right that theoretical disagreement is primarily empirical disagreement , that we do live in an authority system , and that the proper meta-interpretive theory is one that looks to the Founders ' economy of trust . Suppose , too , that it is wrong to suggest , as I did above , 326 that there was meta-interpretive disagreement at the time of the Founding . So imagine we could establish in some relatively uncontroversial way which interpretive rules really were included in the Founders ' law and that looking to such law to settle our meta-interpretive debates fits naturally with ( even if it does not follow deductively from ) Shapiro 's Planning Theory of law . In short , imagine that MP(S) does offer Baude and Sachs a way of making the Core Argument produce plausible and nonbanal conclusions , rendering its use a genuine methodological advance . # Let us grant all of that , and still we must ask : What if Shapiro 's Planning Theory is wrong ? As we have now seen , the Core Argument does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either of two alternative accounts of law-those of Hart and Raz.327 So we have at least established that it matters which account of law one adopts . The next question is : How do we choose from among competing theories ? Or put in more technical jargon , what are the criteria for theory choice when it comes to philosophical accounts of law ? # As it happens , this question is one of the most fiercely debated in jurisprudential circles these days . The issue is whether jurisprudential accounts are more analogous to scientific theories , on the one hand , or moral or political philosophical theories , on the other . If they are analogous to theories in the natural and social sciences , then the thought is that they should respond exclusively to such epistemic criteria as empirical adequacy , consistency , simplicity , and explanatory power.328 But if they are like moral or political philosophical theories , then ( not surprisingly ) they must be judged by such moral criteria as , for example , whether they conform to our best understanding of how people should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ words , the basic question is whether philosophical accounts of law are best understood as descriptive or normative theories.330 # We need not resolve this debate because under either view , the positive turn leads us right back into the kinds of debates from which it promised escape . If the descriptivists are right , then jurisprudential theories are accounts of the " nature " of law , the discovery of which requires what philosophers call " conceptual analysis . " 331 And we have already seen in the discussion of Raz why taking this approach would undermine the positive turn.332 The whole purpose of the positive turn was to allow scholars to avoid not just normative but also " conceptual " debates about whether , for instance , the " nature " of interpretation or meaning or authority entails an originalist interpretive approach.333 Choosing Shapiro 's theory would require a conceptual defense of the claim that laws are plans ( or plan-like norms ) .334 # What about the other approach ? The normativists argue that jurisprudence is and ought to be a fundamentally normative form of inquiry.335 Under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ premise . It would state something like : # MP(S&middot;) : The law ought to be understood as whatever plans are made pursuant to the master plan , including its " economy of trust , " where the " economy of trust " describes the master planners ' plan for how future officials ( particularly judges ) would go about interpreting the master plan and subsidiary plans . # The justification for MP(S&middot;) would look to the rule-of-law values and settlement function that sticking to shared plans helps societies achieve . Scott Hershovitz has shown why Shapiro 's Planning Theory may be better understood as a sophisticated elaboration of such a normative brand of legal positivism-one that privileges the political value known as " legality , " which serves as the title of Shapiro 's book.336 # One could easily imagine an argument of this sort supporting Baude and Sachs 's substantive claims.337 They might argue that their approach to resolving meta-interpretive disputes both privileges democratic decisionmaking and preserves important rule-of-law values . Even if many groups were excluded from the Constitution 's ratification process ( for example , women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a virtually unprecedented act of popular sovereignty . Of course , the law must change over time to reflect the will of the people as the body politic changes , but because people disagree about the direction legal change should take , we need procedures for settling such disagreements and for enacting particular understandings into law.338 And because the meanings of the texts that form the primary material of our legal corpus are themselves a source of disagreement , we need second-order interpretive rules to settle those debates by determining the legal content of particular texts-whether constitutional , statutory , or case law . Thus , by demanding that we ask whether some particular second-order interpretive rule was part of the law at the Constitution 's ratification , we both vindicate the rule-of-law values that all rules provide ( stability , predictability , et cetera ) and do so in a way that preserves democratic legitimacy . # The problem with this approach is obvious . The positive turn would no longer be positivist in the methodological sense . Under this view , because " law " is an inherently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ core positivist view becomes the thesis that " what the law is and what it ought to be " ought to be treated as conceptually distinct sets of norms.339 That is , positivism itself becomes a normative position the defense of which depends on moral judgments about , say , the moral value of the principles of legality . Yet the whole point of the positive turn was to avoid having to make such arguments . # D. Ignoring Jurisprudence : Lawyers ' Assumptions # A natural response to the problems detailed above would be to deny that the positive turn needs to rely on any theory of law at all.340 Sometimes Baude and Sachs seem to assert as much . Sachs suggests that without having " solved all of jurisprudence , " we can fill out the major premise by relying on assumptions " plausible enough for ordinary lawyers to make accurate legal judgments on a routine basis . " 341 He further emphasizes the importance of adopting the perspective of the " faithful participant " in a legal system.342 Meanwhile , Baude " relies on lawyers ' assumptions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in practice by looking to case law to support his claim that our law is originalist.344 # So understood , the major premise of this version of the argument would be something like : # MP(0) : The law is whatever makes the best sense of the relevant legal materials . # The supporter of MP(0) need not be embarrassed by the tautological use of " legal " and " relevant " because the whole point of taking the perspective of a " faithful participant " is that one may leave unquestioned certain assumptions about what counts as law . Nor need this view necessarily interpret " best sense " as requiring a normative judgment in the way Dworkin 's demand that judges interpret legal practice in the " best light " does.345 Instead , that phrase could refer to whatever is the most accurate , coherent , and simple explanation of the relevant legal materials . # MP(0) is in many ways an attractive approach for the positive turn because it can ignore all the knotty difficulties thwarting this Article 's efforts to find an acceptable version of MP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in what way law depends on a consensus among officials , nor about the implications of disagreement over which facts determine the content of law , nor about the criteria for theory choice among philosophies of law . None of that matters anymore because now the Core Argument just requires making the kinds of arguments lawyers typically make , using the traditional methods and sources of law . # Under this view , Baude and Sachs 's claim is basically that what the best interpretation of our legal practices overall entails-what the law really requires-is that courts trace the pedigree of second-order interpretive rules back to the Founding ( or to a valid rule of change ) . Support for this claim can be found in the fact that in many areas of law , we care about the historical pedigree of legal rules.346 For instance , we chase back chains of title to ensure that a property is fit for sale.347 Moreover , in the context of public law , the ratification of the Constitution is the crucial historical event.348 We do not look for legal authority before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Founding in terms that preserve a sense of continuity with the Founding.349 # That seems like a reasonable sort of argument , but notice two related implications of going down this path . The first is that it would require Baude and Sachs to jettison their efforts to ground their version of methods originalism in " social facts " or " theories of jurisprudence " because those are precisely what tie them in knots . Sachs insists that " we need to know the social facts of how these participants conventionally justify their legal positions and the arguments they 're willing to accept and defend in public . " 350 And both write that " whether our system is textualist , intentionalist , purposivist , or something else is a legal question , to be answered by our sources of law-and , in the end , by the appropriate theory of jurisprudence. " 351 # If we are taking an " internal " or " lawyer 's " approach , this is all pure confusion . The reason is that lawyers do not " conventionally justify " their claims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nor does the resolution of a " legal question " in a court of law typically depend on a " theory of jurisprudence. " 352 Recall that Hart 's purpose in introducing the concept of the rule of recognition was to show how such a rule was , from one ( external ) perspective , a mere sociological fact about the attitudes of a certain social group ( namely , officials ) and yet , from another ( internal ) perspective , the premise for making the kind of normative statements that pervade the law.353 By establishing a set of criteria for what makes a rule count as " law , " the rule of recognition introduces and makes intelligible the normative concept of " legal validity . " So when a lawyer says that there is " no rule " prohibiting her client 's conduct , she is not understood to be making an empirical claim about the existence or nonexistence of a particular set of " social facts . " Instead , she is making a claim about legal validity based on traditional legal sources . In other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court in a constitutional ( or any other ) case and say , " well , Judge , my client wins because social facts of the right sort entail that she does , " you may not lose , but you will almost certainly get a look of justified bewilderment from the judge.354 # The second implication of this approach is just the flipside of the first . Adopting MP(0) for the Core Argument means that the " positive turn " no longer qualifies as a methodological innovation because it just describes the most traditional kind of argument that lawyers and legal scholars have been making for centuries . Now , Baude and Sachs may happily concede that point . Their complaint , they might insist , lies with the recent efforts of legal scholars to focus on normative and conceptual questions , at least when it comes to interpretive rules and methods . But of course those scholars would respond that they do so because they are taking up issues on which the law has run out or fails to provide determinate answers.355 # Interestingly , Baude and Sachs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where there is widespread disagreement about the law , there may still be right answers.356 Lawyers and judges are just not seeing what the law , properly understood , really requires . That view-known as the " right answer thesis ' ' -is yet another deeply controversial position that seems to depend on a controversial metaphysics of law that legal philosophers have long debated.357 Whereas Hart denied it , Dworkin once defended it.358 But under MP(0) there is no room to engage in such debates because once you begin making claims about the nature of judicial disagreement over the meaning of legal sources , you must make judgments about what kinds of facts make some rule , text , or principle count as " law . " And then you are doing jurisprudence- perhaps even " technical " jurisprudence.359 And yet under the approach now under consideration , such inquiry is foreclosed . Thus , Baude and Sachs would not be able to look to positivist jurisprudence to either show how certain social facts in general yield determinate legal outcomes or ( even if they so wished ) show how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political morality , as Dworkin argued.360 # Instead , the only resources available to fill out MP(0) are the sources lawyers rely on ( particular statutes , cases , treatises , et cetera ) and the methods they use to analyze them ( for instance , analogical and deductive reasoning ) . As noted above , Baude and Sachs do provide some of that sort of conventional legal support for their substantive claims about inclusive and original-law originalism.361 No doubt they and others will continue to make such traditional arguments on behalf of particular originalist views . That is what lawyers and law professors do . But when they do , they need not seek support ( because there is none ) from a so-called positive turn . # Conclusion : The Dilemma at the Heart of the Positive Turn # The Introduction suggested that the appeal of the positive turn lay in its apparent capacity to bridge the gulf between legal practice and legal scholarship that Chief Justice Roberts 's quip about Bulgarian evidence law highlights.362 Baude and Sachs seek to put theoretical tools to work in service of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ itself can resolve ( or at least " reorient " ) some scholarly debates that seem otherwise intractable . A proper understanding of legal philosophy ( that is , positivism ) directs us to sources from the Founding ( that is , originalism ) . And those sources not only help us decide actual legal cases but also provide a way of refocusing scholarly and theoretical debates over interpretive methodology . In this way , Baude and Sachs aim to reconcile legal theory and practice.363 # Once we followed through the logic of their proposal , however , we ran into various ambiguities that prompted further questions . Are the lawdetermining facts the positivists seek themselves " higher-order " legal rules or brute practices of officials ? Are those facts historical facts about the Founding or facts about current judicial practice ? Does discovering them require knowing something about the " nature " of law , or can it be done by relying on " lawyers ' assumptions " ? # Stepping back , we can now see that these ambiguities all arise from that original ambition to reconcile legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one underlying dilemma : Does the positive turn-and the Core Argument it endorses-involve making " legal " arguments of the sort a lawyer might make to a court ? Or does it require theoretical inquiry about law ? If the former is the case , then the positive turn is not a methodological advance because it describes what lawyers and legal scholars have traditionally done . But if the latter is the case , then taking the positive turn leads to just the kind of conceptual and normative debates from which the positive turn purported to offer escape . # Dworkin offered one approach to resolving this dilemma . He famously ( and controversially ) argued that " no firm line divides jurisprudence from adjudication or any other aspect of legal practice . " 364 In his view , philosophical accounts of law are properly developed from the " internal point of view , " which reflects the " practical " interest of those who seek arguments about the " soundness " of particular legal claims.365 The resulting accounts of law are , as we have seen , what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole.366 That is , they are interpretations that put legal practice in the " best light " in essentially the same way that judicial opinions constructively interpret particular legal materials.367 In other words , Dworkin resolved the dilemma by characterizing the philosophical study of law as the natural ( if more abstract ) development of the traditional forms of argument one sees in law and legal practice . # In some ways , Dworkin 's approach seems to be an attractive route for Baude and Sachs . Dworkin has made repeated appearances throughout this Article ( though not in any of the Baude and Sachs papers discussed here ) because there is much in his understanding of law that fits Baude and Sachs 's agenda well : not only their ambition to reconcile legal theory and practice but also ( as we have already seen ) their ( a ) insistence that law exists even in the absence of consensus about which facts determine the law ; 368 ( b ) privileging of the perspective of the " faithful participant " in legal practice ; 369 ( c ) commitment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ( d ) conviction that right answers may exist , even in hard cases.371 But Baude and Sachs would not only reject Dworkin 's claim that determining law necessarily depends on moral principles ; I suspect they would also likely chafe against the idea ( as have many others ) that the purpose of legal theory necessarily involves putting legal practice in the " best light . " 372 # My own view is that Dworkin 's approach goes both too far and not far enough . It goes too far in the sense that it characterizes the legal theorist as someone necessarily driven by an agenda-in particular , a rationalizing agenda that aims to justify current practice . But it does not go far enough in the sense that it holds fast to the core distinction between two " perspectives " on legal practice , one " internal " and one " external , " even as it aims to pull legal philosophy over to the " internal " side of that divide . So , for instance , Dworkin argues that sociological and historical accounts of law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interests or ideologies that have actually shaped them , are " external " accounts and thus fail to make a dent against " interpretive " arguments.373 # Admittedly , something like Dworkin 's internal/external distinction runs deep in today 's legal-academic culture . Lawyers and legal scholars invoke it to shield certain forms of argument from attack by other disciplines.374 Meanwhile , scholars in other disciplines invoke something like it to distinguish their genuinely epistemic or truth-seeking goals from the " rhetorical " aims of law professors writing about the law.375 The distinction runs so deep , in fact , that recently two law professors claimed that scholars and judges who ignore it risk committing a methodological " fallacy . " 376 # Nevertheless , in my view , the distinction has outlived whatever utility it may once have had and should be abandoned . I will not defend that view here because I have done so elsewhere.377 But the basic idea is that we ought to broaden our understanding both of what " legal practice " properly includes and what genuine intellectual inquiry involves.378 Legal inquiry may involve " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making controversial moral judgments.379 At the same time , historical or social-scientific accounts of why or how law changes can serve as useful and relevant critiques of legal practice and , thereby , make arguments ( pace Dworkin ) relevant to the " soundness " of legal claims . The key assumption underlying these suggestions is that the methods of reasoning in different disciplines , including law , ultimately differ less than is sometimes assumed . The result is that practitioners of different disciplines may be able to join in more productive debate with one another than the invocation of the " internal/external " distinction would seem to allow.380 # Which brings us back to the positive turn . If I am right about Baude and Sachs 's methodological ambition to reconcile legal practice and legal theory , the view just sketched may offer them one route to doing so . But I doubt it is one that would attract them . That is because it would require them to give up on the positive turn 's promise of showing how our disagreements over legal interpretive techniques can be settled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what the right facts are , of course ) . It would mean recognizing instead that the positive turn puts judges and legal scholars right back where they have always been-in a position where they are bombarded by empirical , normative , and conceptual questions of all sorts , and where there is no way to exclude , without cost , one class of those questions from view . Anyone in such a position- whether " inside " or " outside " legal practice-must decide which features of legal practice are worth investigating , which methods are the proper ones for doing so , and how to proceed once the investigation is complete . Such choices , like any choice about what to do , ultimately involve both intellectual and moral considerations.381 If the positive turn , in its failure , reminds us of that inescapable predicament , then it may have served a useful function after all . Footnote # 1 . A Conversation with Chief Justice Roberts 30:41 ( C-SPAN television broadcast June 25 , 2011 ) , @longurl # 2 . Some scholars suggested that statistical evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court cites law review articles a great deal , especially in hard cases . See , e.g. , Lee Petherbridge &amp; David L. Schwartz , An Empirical Assessment of the Supreme Court 's Use of Legal Scholarship , 106 Nw . U. L. Rev. 995 , 998-99 ( 2012 ) . Still others took it as an opportunity for satire . See , e.g. , Orin S. Kerr , The Influence of Immanuel Kant on Evidentiary Approaches in 18th-Century Bulgaria , 18 Green Bag 2d 251 , 251-53 ( 2015 ) ( concluding that Kant had no influence on evidentiary approaches in eighteenthcentury Bulgaria ) . # 3 . William Baude , Is Originalism Our Law ? , 115 Colum . L. Rev. 2349 , 2351 ( 2015 ) ( " We ought to ask : Is originalism our law ? If not , what is ? This question has been called ' one of the two most difficult questions in legal philosophy . ' But if it can be answered , it has the potential to reorient the debates and allow both sides to move forward . This move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ omitted ) ( quoting Larry Alexander , Constitutional Theories : A Taxonomy and ( Implicit ) Critique , 51 San Diego L. Rev. 623 , 642 ( 2014 ) ) ) ; William Baude &amp; Stephen E. Sachs , The Law of Interpretation , 130 Harv . L. Rev. 1079 , 1082-85 ( 2017 ) ; Stephen E. Sachs , Originalism as a Theory of Legal Change , 38 Harv . J.L. &amp; Pub . Pol'y 817 , 819 ( 2015 ) ( " This inquiry points the way toward what we could call ' positive ' defenses-claims that originalism , as a matter of social fact and legal practice , is actually endorsed by our positive law . " ) . # 4 . See infra Part I. # 5 . James E. Fleming , Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution : For Moral Readings AND Against Originalisms 16-19 ( 2015 ) ( discussing Baude 's " inclusive originalism " and concluding that it is too inclusive to provide any meaningful guidance when it comes to constitutional interpretation ) ; Jeremy K. Kessler &amp; David E. Pozen , Working Themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 83 U. Chi . L. Rev. 1819 , 1846-47 , 1847 n.82 ( 2016 ) ( including the articles of both Baude and Sachs as examples of what I characterize as a late form of constitutional originalism that broadens its appeal but threatens to sacrifice originalism 's promise of providing a source of judicial constraint ) ; Jeffrey A. Pojanowski &amp; Kevin C. Walsh , Enduring Originalism , 105 Geo . L.J . 97 , 102 , 108-16 ( 2016 ) ( characterizing the positive turn as " one of the most important and promising developments in originalist theory in recent years " but going on to criticize it for its lack of normative foundations ) ; Richard A. Posner , What Is Obviously Wrong with the Federal Judiciary , yet Eminently Curable : Part II , 19 Green Bag 2d 257 , 259 , 264 ( 2016 ) ( discussing Baude 's " inclusive originalism " and characterizing the modification it makes to traditional originalism as one that reflects what " the most intelligent originalists are beginning to realize , " namely that making constitutional decisions based on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has changed radically since the eighteenth century " ) ; Richard Primus , Is Theocracy Our Politics ? , 116 Colum . L. Rev. Sidebar 44 , 44 ( 2016 ) ( arguing that Baude 's description of originalism relies more on what judges say than on what they do ) ; Eric J. Segall , Originalism as Faith , 102 Cornell L. Rev. Online 37 , 40 ( 2016 ) ( arguing that Baude 's version of originalism is " either inaccurate or irrelevant " ) ; Steven D. Smith , Decisional Originalism : A Response to Critics , Libr . L. &amp; Liberty ( Dec. 19 , 2014 ) , @longurl -critics ( criticizing the positive turn on the ground that it fails to provide a sufficient normative justification for originalism ) . Some of the earliest commentary appeared on blogs . See , e.g. , Jack M. Balkin , New Developments in Originalist Theory , Balkinization ( Dec. 18 , 2014 , 5:35 PM ) , @longurl -originalist-theory.html ( discussing the work of Baude and Sachs and concluding that " it will be very interesting to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; Ian Bartrum , Will Baude : Is Originalism Our Law ? , PrawfsBlog ( Dec. 28 , 2015 , 3:58 PM ) , @longurl **25;12918;TOOLONG ( endorsing various criticisms of Baude 's inclusive originalism ) ; Michael Ramsey , Stephen Sachs : Originalism as a Theory of Legal Change , Originalism Blog ( Sept. 23 , 2014 , 6:54 am ) , http : **33;12945;TOOLONG @long -michael-ramsey.html ( " The bottom line is that this is going to be one of the most important articles-quite possibly the most important-in originalism theory in 2014 . ( Its spot in the ' originalism top ten for 2014 ' seems assured . ) It 's a very ambitious attempt to justify originalism by reference to legal practices , not ( as I 'm inclined to do ) by reference to normative claims . Also-and this is an odd thing to say about a draft article on legal theory that 's 74 pages and 259 footnotes-it 's fun to read . " ( quoting Michael Ramsey , USD Originalism Conference : Second Paper-Stephen Sachs on Originalism and Legal Change , Originalism Blog ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : //originalism @long @long Asher # Steinberg , Why It Does n't Matter if the Court 's Opinions Are Originalist-A Comment on Baude on Originalism , Narrowest Grounds ( Oct 19 , 2015 , 4:30 PM ) , http : //narrowest @long ( discussing and criticizing the articles of Baude and Sachs ) . Baude himself weighed in on Sachs 's piece . See Will Baude , Originalism and the Positive Turn , Wash . Post : VOLOKH Conspiracy ( Sept. 23 , 2014 ) , http : //wapo.st/1B4YIU3 ( " In any event , one of the important developments in originalism today is ' the positive turn ' -the question of the legal status of originalism . Originalists are thinking about it much more than they were two years ago " ) . # 6 . The main exception here is Pojanowski and Walsh . See Pojanowski &amp; Walsh , supra note 5 , at 98-110 . In the early pages of their article , they make a couple of jurisprudential criticisms similar to those developed in this Article before going on to offer a natural law defense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Id . ( quoting Sachs , supra note 3 , at 874-75 ) . Pojanowski and Walsh primarily take the authors to task for their descriptive methodological posture , see id . at 107-13 , an issue raised in Part II.C.2.c below . # 7 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2403 ( acknowledging that his substantive claim that " originalism . . . is our law " is " certainly not airtight " and then proceeding to defend the weaker thesis that originalism is " part of the law " ( emphasis omitted ) ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 874 ( " This account of our current law , as reflected in familiar legal practices , may or may not sound convincing to you . If it 's wrong , then it 's wrong , and our system is n't fully originalist. " ) . # 8 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 874 ( " The goal of this Article is n't to prove , once and for all , that our law is originalist . Rather , it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precisely to the extent that-we take as our own the Founders ' law , as it 's been lawfully changed . " ( emphasis omitted ) ) ; see also Baude , supra note 3 , at 2404 ( " In any event , however many modalities or components one finds , the positive inquiry can make some progress in that world . " ) . # 9 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1147 ( concluding with the acknowledgment that the authors " do n't claim to have produced all of the answers here " but instead " hope that they can lead others to ask the right questions " ) . # 10 . See , e.g , id . at 1095 ( " Our law of interpretation helps determine the legal content of our written instruments . " ) ; Pojanowski &amp; Walsh , supra note 5 , at 116 ( " This new movement in constitutional theory has much to recommend it . It takes seriously the notion that second-order practices and commitments like interpretive rules and principles can have legal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . " ) . # 11 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2351 ( " Yet there is a third way to assess originalism-and constitutional theories more broadly-by looking to our positive law , embodied in our legal practice . We ought to ask : Is originalism our law ? If not , what is ? This question has been called ' one of the two most difficult questions in legal philosophy . ' " ( quoting Alexander , supra note 3 , at 642 ) ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 819 ( " This inquiry points the way toward what we could call ' positive ' defenses-claims that originalism , as a matter of social fact and legal practice , is actually endorsed by our positive law . " ) . # 12 . Griffin has suggested a slightly different connection between the authors ' motivation and the Chief Justice . Stephen Griffin , Originalism and Living Constitutionalism : Concluding Thoughts , BALKINIZATION ( Oct. 16 , 2015 , 12:44 PM ) , @longurl ( " Is it too speculative to suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a basis for bottom line agreement reflects the influence of Chief Justice Roberts on his former clerks Will Baude and Stephen Sachs-that is , insisting that there must be a middle way between the contending camps on the Court and in the academy ) ? " ) . # 13 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 835. # 14 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2364 ( emphasis omitted ) . # 15 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2351 n.5 ; see also Sachs , supra note 3 , at 836 ( " Without having solved all of jurisprudence , we can make some plausible guesses about which social facts matter-plausible enough for ordinary lawyers to make accurate legal judgments on a routine basis . " ) . # 16 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1116 ( " Whether our system is textualist , intentionalist , purposivist , or something else is a legal question , to be answered by our sources of law-and , in the end , by the appropriate theory of jurisprudence . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( observing that " experts disagree about exactly which social conditions make something the law " and then insisting that " before we can evaluate a positive defense of originalism , we need to know if those details support originalism " ) . # 17 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1116 ( " We assume in this Article something like Hartian positivism . . . . " ) ; see also Baude , supra note 3 , at 2365 n.80 ( " Hart will sometimes make appearances in the footnotes here because his work is more frequently invoked in the relevant legal scholarship . " ) ; cf Pojanowski &amp; Walsh , supra note 5 , at 109 ( referring to the " positive turn 's embrace of Hart 's legal positivism " ) . # 18 . See infra Part II.A. # 19 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1116 ; see also Baude , supra note 3 , at 2364-65 ( " There are different jurisprudential formulations for making this inquiry and this Essay wo n't attempt to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 . Candidates offered have included : the command of a sovereign , cf John Austin , The Province of Jurisprudence Determined 132 ( David Campbell &amp; Philip Thomas eds. , Ashgate 1998 ) ( 1832 ) ; the rules laid down by courts , see John Chipman Gray , The Nature and Sources of the Law 82-83 , 90-92 ( 1909 ) ; the practices of officials , see H.L.A . Hart , The Concept OF Law 272-75 ( 3d ed. 2012 ) ; and the predictions about " what the courts will do in fact , " see Justice O.W. Holmes , Supreme Judicial Court of Mass. , The Path of the Law , Address at the Dedication of the New Hall of the Boston University School of Law ( Jan. 8 , 1897 ) , in 10 Harv . L. Rev. 457 , 461 ( 1897 ) . # 21 . Hart , supra note 20. # 22 . I defend this approach in more depth in a prior article . See Charles L. Barzun , Inside-Out : Beyond the Internal/External Distinction in Legal Scholarship , 101 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # 23 . I choose these mainly because they are three of the best-known modern positive accounts , as recognized by one of the authors . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2365 n.80 ( " Three important versions of legal positivism are those espoused by Hart , Joseph Raz , and Scott Shapiro. " ) . # 24 . Id . at 2352 n.5. # 25 . The authors do not use the phrase " positive turn " in their most recent article , but they repeatedly cite their earlier articles as support for the approach they take to analyzing the " law of interpretation . " See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1091 &amp; n.53 , 1116 &amp; n.207 , 1120 &amp; nn.236-38 , 1127 &amp; n.281 , 1135 &amp; n.331 , 1136 &amp; n.339 , 1146 &amp; n.401. # 26 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2351 , 2392. # 27 . See id . at 2392-93. # 28 . See id . at 2353 , 2393. # 29 . Id . at 2392. # 30 . Id @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # 32 . See id ; see also U.S. Const. amend . VIII ; Roper v. Simmons , 543 U.S. 551 , 575 , 578 ( 2005 ) ( holding that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the death penalty for defendants who were minors at the time of their crimes ) . # 33 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2355 ( explaining that under inclusive originalism , " judges can look to precedent , policy , or practice , but only to the extent that the original meaning incorporates or permits them " ) . # 34 . Id . at 2358. # 35 . Id . at 2361. # 36 . See id . at 2391. # 37 . See id . at 2365. # 38 . Id . at 2365-67. # 39 . See id . at 2367. # 40 . Id . at 2367-69. # 41 . See id . at 2371 ( alteration in original ) ( quoting Stephen E. Sachs , The " Constitution in Exile " as a Problem for Legal Theory , 89 Notre Dame L. Rev. 2253 , 2277 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . at 2372-74 ( discussing NLRB v. Noel Canning , 134 S. Ct . 2550 ( 2014 ) ) . # 43 . See id . at 2374-75 ( discussing District of Columbia v. Heller , 554 U.S. 570 ( 2008 ) ; and INS v. Chadha , 462 U.S. 919 ( 1983 ) ) . # 44 . See id . at 2375-76 ( quoting Jack M. Balkin , " Wrong the Day It Was Decided " : Lochner and Constitutional Historicism , 85 B.U. L. Rev. 677 , 696-98 ( 2005 ) ) ( discussing the Court 's use of original meaning in Crawford v. Washington , 541 U.S. 36 ( 2004 ) , to overrule Ohio v. Roberts , 448 U.S. 56 ( 1980 ) ) . # 45 . See id . at 2376-86. # 46. 347 U.S. 483 ( 1954 ) . # 47. 372 U.S. 335 ( 1963 ) . # 48. 384 U.S. 436 ( 1966 ) . # 49. 410 U.S. 113 ( 1973 ) . # 50. 135 S. Ct . 2584 ( 2015 ) . # 51 . See Baude @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ See id . at 2392-95. # 53 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 819 , 823-35 . In an earlier article , Sachs made arguments similar to those discussed below . See generally Sachs , supra note 41 . I have chosen to focus on the later article because it develops the arguments at greater length and in more depth . # 54 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 819. # 55 . See id . at 874-75. # 56 . See id . at 818-20. # 57 . Id . at 838. # 58 . Id . at 845. # 59 . See id . # 60 . See id . at 842 ( observing that it would " be absurd to insist on legal compliance all the way back-concluding , say , that our law today is invalid because the Constitution disobeyed the Articles of Confederation " ) . # 61 . See id . at 845. # 62 . See id . at 840 , 845. # 63 . U.S. Const. art . I , 9 , cl. 2. # 64 . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3. # 65 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 853. # 66 . See id . at 855. # 67 . See id . # 68 . See id . at 855-56 ( quoting NLRB v. Noel Canning , 134 S. Ct . 2550 , 2560 ( 2014 ) ) ; cf THE Federalist No. 37 , at 229 ( James Madison ) ( Clinton Rossiter ed. , 1961 ) . # 69 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 858-60. # 70 . See id . at 859. # 71 . See id . # 72 . Id . at 863 . Sachs insists , however , that there remains a debate about what kind of practice of precedent the Founders had ( and therefore we have ) and that the debate should be resolved , again , by using a " historical approach . " See id . at 863-64. # 73 . Baude uses this example , which he attributes to Richard Fallon . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2361 ( citing Richard H. Fallon , Jr. , Constitutional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 86 N.C. L. Rev. 1107 , 1113 ( 2008 ) ) . # 74 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 865. # 75 . Id . at 847 ( " In fact , we can adhere to the Founders ' law today even if we have n't always done so , and even if there 've been occasional interruptions along the way . " ) . # 76 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1097-99. # 77 . See id . at 1085-88 ( citing Mark Greenberg , The Standard Picture and Its Discontents , in 1 Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Law 39 , 48 ( Leslie Green &amp; Brian Leiter eds. , 2011 ) hereinafter Greenberg , The Standard Picture ) . There is a certain irony in the authors ' use of Greenberg 's critique of the standard picture of how legal content is generated from texts . Elsewhere Greenberg argues that what the standard picture fails to appreciate is that determining the content of law requires reference to moral facts- something the authors forcefully deny . See Mark Greenberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L.J . 1288 , 1290 n.2 ( 2014 ) ( " I argue that non-normative facts can not by themselves determine the content of the law because they can not explain their own relevance to the content of the law . Normative facts are the best candidates for what can provide the necessary reasons . " ) . Hence the authors ' disclaimer : " By relying on Greenberg 's account of the standard picture , we do n't mean to suggest agreement with the rest of his account of legal obligation " Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1086 n.21. # 78 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1086. # 79 . See id . at 1088-93 . Baude and Sachs 's particular targets are Richard Fallon and Cass Sunstein . See id . at 1092-93 ( citing Richard H. Fallon Jr. , The Meaning of Legal " Meaning " and Its Implications for Theories of Legal Interpretation , 82 U. Chi . L. Rev. 1235 ( 2015 ) ; and Cass R. Sunstein , There Is Nothing That Interpretation Just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 2015 ) ) . # 80 . See id . at 1093. # 81 . Id . # 82 . Id . at 1095-96. # 83 . See id . at 1099-104 . The repeal-revival rule provides that the repeal of an act that itself repealed a previous statute does not bring the original statute back into force unless " expressly so provided . " 1 U.S.C. 108 ( 2015 ) ; see also Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1102. # 84 . See , e.g , Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1104-12. # 85 . See id . at 1097-99. # 86 . Id . at 1084-85. # 87 . For some contributions to the scholarly debate about the legality , effectiveness , and value of the canons of construction cited by Baude and Sachs , id . at 1082 n.6 , 1089 n.39 , 1121 n.242 , see Fallon , supra note 79 ; Abbe R. Gluck &amp; Lisa Schultz Bressman , Statutory Interpretation from the Inside-An Empirical Study of Congressional Drafting , Delegation , and the Canons : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 ) ; Lisa Schultz Bressman &amp; Abbe R. Gluck , Statutory Interpretation from the Inside-An Empirical Study of Congressional Drafting , Delegation , and the Canons : Part II , 66 Stan . L. Rev. 725 ( 2014 ) ; Sunstein , supra note 79 ; and Andrew Koppelman , Passive Aggressive : Scalia and Garner on Interpretation , Boundary 2 , Summer 2014 , at 227 ( reviewing Antonin Scalia &amp; Bryan A. Garner , Reading Law : The Interpretation of Legal Texts ( 2012 ) ) . For further discussion , see , for example , Einer Elhauge , Statutory Default Rules : How to Interpret Unclear Legislation 1-2 ( 2008 ) ; Scalia &amp; Garner , supra , at 6-9 ; Larry Alexander &amp; Saikrishna Prakash , Mother May I ? : Imposing Mandatory Prospective Rules of Statutory Interpretation , 20 Const . Comment . 97 , 98 ( 2003 ) ; Amy Coney Barrett , Substantive Canons and Faithful Agency , 90 B.U. L. Rev. 109 , 110-12 ( 2010 ) ; and William N. Eskridge , Jr. , The New Textualism and Normative Canons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 ) ( reviewing Scalia &amp; Garner , supra ) . # 88 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1084. # 89 . See id . at 1122-23. # 90 . See id . at 1124 ( footnote omitted ) . # 91 . For some contributions to the debate about the need for , and dangers of , constitutional construction cited by Baude and Sachs , id . at 1128 nn.285-90 , 1129 nn.291-97 , see Scalia &amp; Garner , supra note 87 , at 14 ; Keith e . Whittington , Constitutional Construction : Divided Powers and Constitutional Meaning 1-17 ( 1999 ) ; Jack M. Balkin , The Construction of Original Public Meaning , 31 Const . Comment . 71 , 74 , 80-81 , 92 ( 2016 ) ; Randy E. Barnett , Interpretation and Construction , 34 Harv . J.L. &amp; Pub . Pol'y 65 , 69-70 ( 2011 ) ; Gary Lawson , Dead Document Walking , 92 B.U. L. Rev. 1225 , 1226 ( 2012 ) ; John O. McGinnis &amp; Michael . Rappaport , Original Methods Originalism : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 103 Nw . U. L. Rev. 751 , 783 ( 2009 ) ; Lawrence . Solum , The Fixation Thesis : The Role of Historical Fact in Original Meaning , 91 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1 , 5 ( 2015 ) ; Lawrence . Solum , Originalism and Constitutional Construction , 82 Fordham L. Rev. 453 , 473 ( 2013 ) ; and Keith E. Whittington , Constructing a New American Constitution , 27 Const . Comment . 119 , 120-21 ( 2010 ) . # 92 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1128. # 93 . See id . # 94 . See id . at 1128-29. # 95 . Id . at 1131 ( emphasis omitted ) . # 96 . Cf Sachs , supra note 3 , at 835 . Sachs frames his originalism as " part of our law . " Id . But later in his article , it becomes clear that his claim is stronger than that . See id . at 864 ( " The best understanding of originalism is the far stronger position . . . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Founders ' law . " ) . Baude , but not Sachs , explicitly defends P3 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2392-97 ( arguing that judges have a prima facie obligation to apply the law either by virtue of the oath they must take to uphold the Constitution or because democratic theory requires it ) . For more on judges ' promissory duty arising out of the oath , see Richard M. Re , Promising the Constitution , 110 Nw . U. L. Rev. 299 , 301-06 ( 2016 ) . Baude endorses a version of Re 's argument , suggesting that it " demonstrates the stakes of the positive inquiry " and " shows how this form of originalism can have normative force . " Baude , supra note 3 , at 2394. # 97 . For simplicity , I refer to X as an " interpretive rule or method " ( or sometimes just " interpretive rule " ) , but I should clarify that X could be a rule , standard , principle of construction , or even a theory of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Introduction . # 99 . Cf Baude , supra note 3 , at 2408 ( " This positive turn answers the dead-hand argument famously leveled against originalism : The earth belongs to the living , so why should constitutional law be controlled by the decisions of the dead ? The original meaning of the Constitution continues to control precisely because we the living continue to treat it as law and use the legal institutions it makes , and we do so in official continuity with the document 's past . " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 847 ( " So we might need to know the law of a previous era to know who owns Blackacre today . We do n't use this rule because we 're forced to do so ( in some dead-hand sense ) or out of slavish devotion to our ancestors . Instead , nemo dat is part of our current law , which we know to be law because of current social facts , and which we 've currently chosen to suspend in some cases and not others . " ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is important , as Baude well recognizes . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2395 ( clarifying that the judicial duty to apply the law " is not at all absolute " and may be overridden by " more pressing moral concerns " ) . # 101 . See id . at 2351 ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 819. # 102 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 822. # 103 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2351. # 104 . See , e.g , FLEMING , supra note 5 , at 19 ; Segall , supra note 5 , at 38. # 105 . See , e.g , Primus , supra note 5 , at 50-51 ; Segall , supra note 5 , at 45. # 106 . See , e.g , Primus , supra note 5 , at 52. # 107 . See , e.g , Pojanowski &amp; Walsh , supra note 5 , at 114-15 ; Smith , supra note 5. # 108 . Sachs seems to agree . He explains that the crux of his objection to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choice of major premise . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 829. # 109 . Id . at 835. # 110 . See Mark Greenberg , How Facts Make Law , 10 Legal Theory 157 , 157 ( 2004 ) ( emphasis omitted ) ( " A central claim of legal positivism is that the content of the law depends only on social facts , understood as a proper subset of descriptive facts . " ) . # 111 . See supra Introduction . # 112 . See Austin , supra note 20 , at 8-14. # 113 . See Gray , supra note 20 , at 86. # 114 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 110. # 115 . See Scott J. Shapiro , Legality 193-208 ( 2011 ) . # 116 . See supra Introduction . # 117 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 822. # 118 . It is worth noting that framing the question in this way may imply a view that Mark Greenberg has called " Atomism , " according to which the legal status of each norm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Standard Picture , supra note 77 , at 49-50 . Greenberg rejects Atomism and argues that assuming it to be true in a sense stacks the deck in favor of positive theories because it unduly limits the available options for antipositive theories like Dworkin 's ( or Greenberg 's ) . See id . at 49 , 62-65 . If Greenberg is right , then Baude and Sachs may have an even bigger problem than this Article suggests . But this Article puts that issue aside , giving the authors the benefit of the doubt on this question . # 119 . See infra Part II.A.2.a ( discussing one aspect of Hart 's theory ) . # 120 . See infra Part II.A.2.b-c ( discussing another aspect of Hart 's theory ) . # 121 . See infra Part II.B-C ( discussing Raz 's and Shapiro 's theories ) . # 122 . See infra Part II.D ( discussing the view that denies the need to ground an interpretive approach in a philosophical account of law ) . # 123 . See supra note 17. # 124 . For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the U.S. legal system , see Matthew D. Adler &amp; Kenneth Einar Himma , Introduction to THE Rule OF RECOGNITION AND THE U.S. Constitution , at xiii ( Matthew D. Adler &amp; Kenneth Einar Himma eds. , 2009 ) . # 125 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 6-8. # 126 . See Austin , supra note 20 , at 132-33. # 127 . See Holmes , supra note 20 , at 457-58. # 128 . Cf Hart , supra note 20 , at 84. # 129 . Id . at 9-10. # 130 . See id . at 56. # 131 . Cf id . at 9-10 , 56. # 132 . Id . at 10 ( emphasis altered ) . # 133 . Cf , id . at 10 , 56. # 134 . Cf id . What precisely Hart meant by the " external " point of view is a subject of debate , as he used the term in a couple of different ways . This Article passes over those complexities . For my own take on ( and criticism of ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , supra note 22 , at 1212-24. # 135 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 116. # 136 . See id . at 81. # 137 . See id . The precise meaning of this distinction , too , has been the subject of debate . For an analysis of some of the ambiguities in Hart 's primary/secondary rule distinction , see NEIL MacCormick , H.L.A . Hart 55-88 ( 2d ed. 2008 ) , which discusses Hart 's distinction between " duty-imposing " and " power-conferring " rules . # 138 . Hart , supra note 20 , at 81 ( borrowing a phrase from Austin ) ; see also Austin , supra note 20 , at 11. # 139 . Some dispute that Hart sought to show how law could generate genuine normative obligations . See , e.g. , Brian Leiter , Beyond the Hart/Dworkin Debate : The Methodology Problem in Jurisprudence , 48 Am . J. Juris. 17 , 38 ( 2003 ) ( " Hart has nothing to say about the normativity of law in the main text of The Concept of Law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ; Scott J. Shapiro , What Is the Internal Point of View ? , 75 Fordham L. Rev. 1157 , 1166 ( 2006 ) ( " Hart did not intend for the internal point of view to provide an explanation for the reason-giving nature of social rules and law . " ) . But see Veronica Rodriguez-Blanco , Peter Winch and H.L.A . Hart : Two Concepts of the Internal Point of View , 20 Can . J.L. &amp; Juris. 453 , 460 ( 2007 ) ( interpreting Hart as seeking to explain how " rules give reasons for actions " ) . But for reasons I have provided elsewhere , the better reading , in my view , is that Hart did set for himself that goal . Barzun , supra note 22 , at 1224 n.65 . For what it is worth , one of Hart 's biographers takes the same view . See Nicola Lacey , A Life of H.L.A . Hart : The Nightmare and the Noble Dream 228 ( 2004 ) ( " Herbert was never convinced that he had satisfactorily resolved this dilemma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obligation in law : he returned frequently to the issue , trying to capture the precise sense in which law , its existence in his view a matter of social fact , generates genuine obligations to conform to its duty-imposing rules . " ) . # 140 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 91-92. # 141 . See id . at 91-93. # 142 . Id . at 94. # 143 . See id . at 100 , 116 . The other necessary condition is that there be general compliance with the system 's primary rules of obligation . See id . at 116 . To be precise , this foundational , accepted rule is what Hart calls the " ultimate " rule of recognition . Id . at 107 . But Hart frequently omits the " ultimate " when discussing the rule of recognition , as have subsequent theorists . See , e.g. , id . at 110 ( explaining that the " rule of recognition exists only as a complex , but normally concordant , practice of the courts , officials , and private persons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ; Matthew D. Adler , Constitutional Fidelity , the Rule of Recognition , and the Communitarian Turn in Contemporary Positivism , 75 Fordham L. Rev. 1671 , 1671 ( 2006 ) ( " A legal system exists only if the system 's rule of recognition , stating its ultimate criteria of legal validity , is accepted by the persons who count as officials within that system-only if those persons adopt the internal point of view towards the rule of recognition . " ) . Hart also sometimes used the term in its singular form , e.g. , Hart , supra note 20 , at 100 , and sometimes in its plural form , e.g. , id . at 95. # 144 . Hart , supra note 20 , at 94. # 145 . See id . # 146 . See id . at 110 ( " For whereas a subordinate rule of a system may be valid and in that sense ' exist ' even if it is generally disregarded , the rule of recognition exists only as a complex , but normally concordant , practice of the courts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by reference to certain criteria . Its existence is a matter of fact . " ) . # 147 . See , e.g. , Baude , supra note 3 , at 2364 ( " To ask whether the written Constitution and the original interpretive rules are the law today is to ask a question about modern social facts . " ( emphasis omitted ) ) ; id . at 2390 ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 819 ( explaining that an inquiry into whether originalism is part of our law " points the way toward what we could call ' positive ' defenses-claims that originalism , as a matter of social fact and legal practice , is actually endorsed by our positive law " ) ; id . at 849. # 148 . Compare Hart , supra note 20 , at 110 ( referring to the rule of recognition as a " practice of the courts , officials , and private persons " ) , with id . at 116 ( specifying that a necessary and sufficient condition of a legal system is that its rules of recognition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ official behaviour by its officials " ) . For additional analysis , see Matthew D. Adler , Popular Constitutionalism and the Rule of Recognition : Whose Practices Ground U.S. Law ? , 100 Nw . U. L. Rev. 719 , 729-45 ( 2006 ) . # 149 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2370 ( " It may ultimately be important to look to official practice beyond judges . " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 883 ( acknowledging the significance of-without actually answering-the question , " Does the best positivist theory identify law through the conventions of ordinary people , or through the practices of lawyers , judges , and officials ? " ) . # 150 . See , e.g. , Baude , supra note 3 , at 2370. # 151 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 110 ; see also id . at 103 ( " If this use of an accepted rule of recognition in making internal statements is understood and carefully distinguished from an external statement of fact that the rule is accepted , many obscurities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . # 152 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2363 ( " This form of inclusive originalism simply requires all other modalities to trace their pedigree to the original meaning . " ) ; Ronald M. Dworkin , The Model of Rules , 35 U. Chi . L. Rev. 14 , 17 ( 1967 ) ( ascribing to legal positivism the view that " the law of a community is a set of special rules used by the community directly or indirectly for the purpose of determining which behavior will be punished or coerced by the public power " and that such rules " can be identified and distinguished by specific criteria , by tests having to do not with their content but with their pedigree or the manner in which they were adopted or developed " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 865 ( " Our legal practices care about history . Whether a rule has the right historical pedigree does a great deal to show that it 's part of our law . " ) . # 153 . See supra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see also Baude , supra note 3 , at 2355 ( " Under inclusive originalism , the original meaning of the Constitution is the ultimate criterion for constitutional law , including of the validity of other methods of interpretation or decision . This means that judges can look to precedent , policy , or practice , but only to the extent that the original meaning incorporates or permits them . " ( emphasis omitted ) ) ; Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1127 ( explaining that in order to determine the legal validity of a canon of construction , the authors " would ask whether the canons were rules of law at the Founding or have validly become law since , pursuant to rules of legal change that were themselves valid in this way " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 820-21 ( " What originalism requires of legal change is that it be , well , legal ; that it be lawful , that it be done according to law . This is a requirement of procedure , not substance . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , supra note 3 , at 2372-74 ( discussing NLRB v. Noel Canning , 134 S. Ct . 2550 ( 2014 ) ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 856 ( discussing the same case ) . # 156 . Noel Canning , 134 S. Ct . at 2556 , 2559-60 ( quoting Letter from James Madison to Spencer Roane ( Sept. 2 , 1819 ) , in 8 The Writings of James Madison 447 , 450 ( Gaillard Hunt ed. , 1908 ) ) . # 157 . In support of its conclusion that " in interpreting the Recess Appointments Clause , we put significant weight upon historical practice , " the Court first quoted McCulloch v. Maryland , 17 U.S. ( 4 Wheat. ) 316 , 401 ( 1819 ) , and the Pocket Veto Case , 279 U.S. 655 , 689 ( 1929 ) . Noel Canning , 134 S. Ct . at 2559 ( emphasis omitted ) . It then went on to observe that " that principle is neither new nor controversial , " id . at 2560 , and quoted a letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which Madison said that it was " foreseen at the birth of the Constitution " that governmental practice might " liquidate &amp; settle the meaning of ' certain constitutional provisions , id . ( quoting Letter from James Madison to Spencer Roane , supra note 156 , at 450 ) . # 158 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2374 ( quoting The Pocket Veto Case , 279 U.S. at 689 ) . # 159 . Id . ( citing Mistretta v. United States , 488 U.S. 361 , 399-401 ( 1989 ) ) . # 160 . See 279 U.S. at 689-90 ( citing Myers v. United States , 272 U.S. 52 , 119 , 136 ( 1926 ) ; Mo . Pac . Ry . Co. v. Kansas , 248 U.S. 276 , 284 ( 1919 ) ; and State ex rel . Town of Norwalk v. Town of South Norwalk , 58 A. 759 , 761 ( Conn. 1904 ) ) . # 161 . Myers , 272 U.S. at 149-50 ( citing 2 Joseph Story , Commentaries on the Constitution OF THE United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ &amp; James Brown 2d ed. 1851 ) ) ; see also 2 Story , supra , 1544 , at 345 ( " Whether the predictions of the original advocates of the executive power , or those of the opposers of it , are likely , in the future progress of the government , to be realized , must be left to the sober judgment of the community , and to the impartial award of time . If there has been any aberration from the true constitutional exposition of the power of removal , ( which the reader must decide for himself , ) it will be difficult , and perhaps impracticable , after forty years ' experience , to recall the practice to the correct theory . " ) . # 162 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2397 ( " Originalism obligates judges to a particular method of reasoning , both by placing the original meaning at the top of the pyramid of authority and by providing a test for which other methods may be used in the lower steps . ' ' ( emphasis added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2374. # 164 . See Oliver Wendell Holmes , Jr. , Codes , and the Arrangement of the Law , 5 Am . L. Rev. 1 , 1 ( 1870 ) ( saying of the common law that a " well settled legal doctrine embodies the work of many minds , and has been tested in form as well as substance by trained critics whose practical interest it is to resist it at every step " ) ; Gerald J Postema , Classical Common Law Jurisprudence ( Part I ) , 2 Oxford U. COMMONWEALTH L.J . 155 , 170 ( 2002 ) ( " Most common lawyers in the seventeenth century were inclined to accept some version of the idea that the long experience exemplified in the continuous tradition of common law was on the whole one of the common law 's greatest assets . " ) . Baude and Sachs seem to acknowledge and endorse this common law view in their most recent article . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1138 ( " Courts might have a judicial obligation to find common law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not merely to make them to fit one 's will . " ( emphasis omitted ) ) . # 165 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 867. # 166 . Id . at 873 . This Article puts to the side the question whether Sachs 's suggestion implies that the views of " lawyers and academics " in part constitute the rule of recognition . Sachs 's point could be made equally well by referring to the views of judges . # 167 . For example , Home Building &amp; Loan Assn v. Blaisdell explained that " the grouping of subjects in the same clause may not require the same application to each of the subjects , regardless of differences in their nature . " 290 U.S. 398 , 427 ( 1934 ) . Blaisdell cited Atlantic Cleaners &amp; Dyers , Inc. v. United States , 286 U.S. 427 , 434 ( 1932 ) , and Groves v. Slaughter , 40 U.S. ( 15 Pet. ) 449 , 505 ( 1841 ) ( opinion of McLean , J. ) , neither of which traces the lineage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in NLRB v. Jones &amp; Laughlin Steel Corp . also observed that " we have repeatedly held that as between two possible interpretations of a statute , by one of which it would be unconstitutional and by the other valid , our plain duty is to adopt that which will save the act . " 301 U.S. 1 , 30 ( 1937 ) . Jones &amp; Laughlin cited Richmond Screw Anchor Co. v. United States , 275 U.S. 331 , 346 ( 1928 ) ; Blodgett v. Holden , 275 U.S. 142 , 148 ( 1927 ) ( opinion of Holmes , J. ) ; Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Boone , 270 U.S. 466 , 472 ( 1926 ) ; Panama Railroad Co. v. Johnson , 264 U.S. 375 , 390 ( 1924 ) ; and FTC v. American Tobacco Co. , 264 U.S. 298 , 307 ( 1924 ) -none of which traces that interpretive rule back to the Founding ( or cites a case that does so ) . # 168 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2363 ( " This form of inclusive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the original meaning . " ) . # 169. 1 U.S.C 1-8 ( 2015 ) . # 170 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1099-104. # 171 . See supra note 87 ( collecting sources ) . # 172 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1127. # 173 . This Article puts aside the difficult question how one would decide when a given decision " controls . " # 174 . I take this example from Asher Steinberg , who uses Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. National Resources Defense Council , Inc. , 467 U.S. 837 ( 1984 ) , to make a similar point . See Steinberg , supra note 5. # 175 . Baude and Sachs cite Abbe Gluck , see Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1137 n.344 , who observed that " the federal courts do not recognize the canons as having the status of law-of any kind " and that " one of the strongest pieces of evidence to this effect is the absence of any kind of system of precedent for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Federal Common Law of Statutory Interpretation : Erie for the Age of Statutes , 54 Wm. &amp; Mary L. Rev. 753 , 777 ( 2013 ) . But Baude and Sachs then point out that on a view of the common law they endorse , " a new rule might be slowly absorbed or rejected as general law , rather than imposed through the fiat of a single majority . " Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1137. # 176 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1127. # 177 . One might instead say that courts engage in a very cursory kind of pedigree analysis insofar as they typically cite a previous decision in which the court has relied on the rule or method , as in the examples discussed earlier in this Subpart . But as stated in the text above , Baude and Sachs recognize that courts do not treat stare decisis as binding with respect to interpretive rules , so it is not even clear that use in a prior case would qualify as a " condition of validity " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The law is either ( a ) whatever satisfies the criteria that officials treat as providing the necessary and sufficient conditions of making valid law or ( b ) whatever officials simply accept as law . # 179 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 858-61. # 180 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1137. # 181 . See id . at 1137-38 ( quoting Caleb Nelson , The Legitimacy of ( Some ) Federal Common Law , 101 va . L. Rev. 1 , 7 ( 2015 ) ) . # 182 . Id . # 183 . See supra text accompanying notes 168-70. # 184 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 865. # 185 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1137. # 186 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 57. # 187 . Id . at 86. # 188 . Cf id . at 85-86 ( describing the characteristics of the subclass of social rules we call " obligations " ) . # 189 . This is a conceptual point about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( explaining that the requirement that judges be " critically concerned with . . . deviations from the rule of recognition as lapses from standards , which are essentially common or public , " is " not merely a matter of the efficiency or health of the legal system , but is logically a necessary condition of our ability to speak of the existence of a single legal system " ) . # 190 . Pojanowski and Walsh hint at this problem as well . See Pojanowski &amp; Walsh , supra note 5 , at 113 ( " The positive turn can not identify originalism as our law if there is substantial disagreement about the rule of recognition . " ) . But they do not further develop the point . They also seem to conflate the problem disagreement poses for the rule of recognition with a methodological objection to Hart 's descriptive form of conceptual analysis . See id . at 113-14 . Both criticisms are valid , but in my view , the former stands independent of the latter . # 191 . Though , of course , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disagreement . See , e.g. , Romer v. Evans , 517 U.S. 620 , 640 ( 1996 ) ( Scalia , J. , dissenting ) ( arguing that " the case most relevant to the issue before us today is not even mentioned in the Court 's opinion " and then going on to discuss Bowers v. Hardwick , 478 U.S. 186 ( 1986 ) , overruled by Lawrence v. Texas , 539 U.S. 558 ( 2003 ) ) . # 192 . Lawrence B. Solum , Semantic Originalism 9 ( Apr. 21 , 2009 ) ( unpublished manuscript ) , https : **30;12980;TOOLONG ( " The contribution thesis is widely accepted . Indeed , so far as I know , no constitutional theorist rejects it . " ) . # 193 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1143. # 194 . It is true that there is a difference between controversies among scholars and controversies among judges , but the two tend to go hand in hand . # 195 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1143-44. # 196 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( " Legal norms can and sometimes do distinctively govern legal interpretation . Nevertheless , an undeniable phenomenon of American legal practice involves interpretive disagreement . Absent agreed legal standards for choosing among linguistically eligible senses of or potential referents for claims of legal meaning , participants in legal interpretation and surrounding debates must therefore make normatively inflected judgments or choices-judgments or choices that are structured , but not wholly determined , by settled legal norms . " ( footnote omitted ) ) . # 197 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1146 ( " We do n't need a true consensus on individual legal disputes ; within a given legal system , there can be correct and incorrect views of the law . " ) . # 198 . Cf Ronald Dworkin , Law 's Empire , at vii-ix ( 1986 ) . # 199 . Cf id . at 37. # 200 . Cf id . at 3-11. # 201 . Id . at 5 . Scott Shapiro devotes over a quarter of his book , discussed in Part II.C below , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note 115 , at 284 ( " Whether positivists have any defense against Dworkin 's theoretical disagreement objection is a matter that will occupy us for the rest of the book . " ) . # 202 . See infra Part II.C.2.b. # 203 . See , e.g. , Brian Leiter , Explaining Theoretical Disagreement , 76 U. Chi . L. Rev. 1215 , 1227-32 ( 2009 ) ( arguing that there is less theoretical disagreement than Dworkin claims and that Dworkin 's theory can not explain the massive amount of theoretical agreement one finds ) . But see Dale Smith , Agreement and Disagreement in Law , 28 Can . J.L. &amp; Juris. 183 , 190 ( 2015 ) ( arguing that Dworkin 's theory can explain pervasive theoretical agreement on the ground that there is pervasive moral agreement ) . For Leiter 's latest intervention on the issue , see Brian Leiter , Theoretical Disagreements in Law : Another Look , in Ethical Norms , Legal Norms : New Essays in Metaethics and Jurisprudence ( David Plunkett et al . eds. , forthcoming 2017 ) ( manuscript at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hart , supra note 20 , at 273-74. # 205 . Cf id . at 274-75. # 206 . Cf id . For a sophisticated analysis explaining why what Dworkin characterizes as theoretical disagreement is more plausibly interpreted as a form of " metalinguistic negotiation " over proper word usage , see David Plunkett &amp; Timothy Sundell , Dworkin 's Interpretivism and the Pragmatics of Legal Disputes , 19 Legal Theory 242 , 248 ( 2013 ) ( emphasis omitted ) . # 207 . See , e.g , Baude , supra note 3 , at 2387 ( " I will briefly state that I do think it is a mistake to dismiss the public reasoning by which the Court purports to justify its actions . " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 837 ( " We need to know the social facts of how these participants conventionally justify their legal positions ) and the arguments they 're willing to accept and defend in public " ) . # 208 . Cf Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1146 ( " We do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a given legal system , there can be correct and incorrect views of the law . " ) . # 209 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 274 ( describing the view of those judges who have " insisted that there are cases left incompletely regulated by the law where the judge has an inescapable though ' interstitial ' law-making task , and that so far as the law is concerned many cases could be decided either way " ) . # 210 . See supra Part I.D . # 211 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2369 ; Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1140-41. # 212 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1140. # 213 . To put the point in technical language , the existence of theoretical disagreement presents a metaphysical problem ( about law 's existence ) , not an epistemic one ( about our knowledge of it ) . # 214 . Mark Greenberg , Response , What Makes a Method of Legal Interpretation Correct ? : Legal Standards vs . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 115 ( 2017 ) ( " Because of the straightforward way in which the rule of recognition is determined by the convergent practice of judges , nothing that is uncertain or controversial can be part of the rule of recognition . " ) . # 215 . See , e.g. , Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1146 ( acknowledging the possibility that " there 's irreconcilable disagreement on the grounds of our legal order " ) ; id . at 1146 n.401 ( denying that the authors believe this " is the case with the American legal system " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 884-85 ( " It 's hard to say the disagreements at the Founding were so fundamental as to eliminate the possibility of operative law . " ( emphasis omitted ) ) . # 216 . Unless , of course , it is a subordinate rule that has itself been validated by a ( widely accepted ) rule of recognition , but we have already covered that ground . See supra Part II.A.2.a. # 217 . Sachs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal system , for example , accepts all sorts of changes made before the Constitution was adopted . Alleged changes made since the Founding , by contrast , are n't accepted as brute historical facts ; they need some kind of legal justification . Even after two hundred years , we share what some scholars have called ' constitutional continuity ' with the Founding . " ( quoting Joseph Raz , Two Views of the Nature of the Theory of Law : A Partial Comparison , in Hart 's Postscript : Essays ON the Postscript to The Concept of Law 11 n.22 ( Jules Coleman ed. , 2001 ) ) ) . # 218 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2367 ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 820-21. # 219 . William Baude &amp; Stephen E. Sachs , Originalism 's Bite , 20 Green Bag 2d 103 , 104-06 ( 2016 ) ( " General theories , open to a wide variety of facts , can be highly demanding once you fill in the details . The scientific method does n't prejudge whether the moon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for that claim is terrible , and applying the method should tell you so . . . . In the same way , originalism does n't prejudge whether Justice Kennedy or Justice Scalia is correct about the Fourteenth Amendment . It identifies tools and criteria for deciding who is right . " ) . # 220 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2355. # 221 . See supra Part II.A.2.a. # 222 . Compare Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1137 ( " A new rule might be slowly absorbed or rejected as general law , rather than imposed through the fiat of a single majority . " ) , with Sachs , supra note 3 , at 865 ( " If we ca n't say when things have changed , that makes it harder to explain how they changed , which makes us less confident that they 've changed . " ) . # 223 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1110-12. # 224 . See id . at 1111 ; see also , e.g. , United States v. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( plurality opinion ) ( describing the rule of lenity ) . # 225 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1146. # 226 . Id . at 1084. # 227 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2351. # 228 . The same could be said of the argument in Sachs 's earlier article , which defends the coherence of the idea that a constitutional theory ( such as originalism ) could exist " in exile " -that is , while not currently enforced by courts . See Sachs , supra note 41 , at 2255 , 2261 . Sachs argues that it is possible for courts to be in " global error " as to what the law requires . See id . at 2261 , 2268 . The reason is that even if what courts actually do becomes radically divorced from our shared higher-order practices ( such as the hierarchical structure of legal reasoning ) , one can still talk intelligibly about the " law " that courts pervasively ignore . Cf id . at 2256 . Sachs may be right about that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . As Sachs recognizes , for Hart the validity of a rule depends on its satisfaction of the rule of recognition , which exists as a " complex , but normally concordant , practice of the courts , officials , and private persons in identifying the law by reference to certain criteria . " Id . at 2264 ( quoting Hart , supra note 20 , at 110 ) . It follows under this view that a rule no court applies can not be law . Sachs may have been misled into thinking he can enlist Hart on his behalf by Hart 's observation that compliance with a rule is a distinct conceptual question from its validity . See id . ( noting that on Hart 's view , there is " no necessary connection between the validity of any particular rule and its efficacy " ( emphasis omitted ) ( quoting Hart , supra note 20 , at 103 ) ) . But there Hart was talking about a rule 's efficacy as a matter of guiding the conduct of those people to whom the rule has been applied-assuming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supra note 20 , at 103 . He was not talking about a rule that is ineffective because no courts apply it . See id . And that makes all the difference because for Hart , as we have seen , the social practice on which law depends is the practice of courts and officials ( and perhaps some " private persons , " such as lawyers ) , not that of most people living under the law . See id . at 110. # 229 . See Joseph Raz , Authority , Law and Morality , 68 Monist 295 , 295-96 ( 1985 ) . # 230 . See id . at 303-05 ( building to this conclusion slowly , first by offering a theory of authority and then by insisting that law has to claim authority in the right kind of way ) ; see also Brian Bix , Patrolling the Boundaries : Inclusive Legal Positivism and the Nature of Jurisprudential Debate , 12 Can . J.L. &amp; Juris. 17 , 19 ( 1999 ) ( noting that on Raz 's view , " for all ( current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal norms can be ascertained without recourse to moral evaluation " ) . # 231 . The difference between hard and soft positivism is sometimes framed as the difference between the thesis A that all law necessarily does not require moral evaluation in order to be identified ( hard or exclusive positivism ) and the thesis B that whether law does require evaluation in order to be identified is itself a contingent social fact ( soft or inclusive positivism ) . See Bix , supra note 230 , at 19 ; see also Andrei Marmor , Exclusive Legal Positivism , in The Oxford Handbook of Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law 104 , 104 ( Jules Coleman &amp; Scott Shapiro eds. , 2002 ) ( " Exclusive positivism denies , whereas inclusive positivism accepts , that there can be instances where determining what the law is follows from moral considerations about that which it is there to settle . " ) . The debate between exclusive and inclusive legal positivism has occupied the attention of legal philosophers for some time . For one of the earliest and most famous articles exploring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of recognition that led to the recognition of the distinction , see Jules L. Coleman , Negative and Positive Positivism , 11 J. Legal Stud. 139 , 139-40 ( 1982 ) . See also Stephen R. Perry , The Varieties of Legal Positivism , 9 Can . J.L. &amp; Juris. 361 , 362 ( 1996 ) ( referring to Coleman 's article as a " classic " ) . For other contributions , see , for example , Scott J. Shapiro , On Hart 's Way out , 4 Legal Theory 469 , 476 ( 1998 ) , which criticizes Hart and endorses hard positivism ; and Perry , supra , at 361 . See also W. J. Waluchow , Inclusive Legal Positivism 2-3 ( 1994 ) ( articulating and defending inclusive legal positivism ) . For his part , Hart subsequently confirmed that he intended his version of legal positivism to be of the " inclusive " or " soft " sort . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 250-52 . Whether this debate merits the ink that has been spilled on it is another matter . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 Oxford J. Legal Stud. 675 , 676-77 , 676 n.3 ( 2005 ) ( observing that , with one possible exception , the debate has " no practical implications " and offering an argument that he suggests ought to put it to bed ) . # 232 . Raz , supra note 229 , at 300 . The argument summarized in the text comes from Raz 's article Authority , Law and Morality . See supra note 229 . Raz has continued to write about the nature of law and authority , but this Article focuses on this work because it is a clear and succinct statement of the Sources Thesis . # 233 . Raz , supra note 229 , at 300. # 234 . See id . at 299. # 235 . See id . # 236 . See id . at 300. # 237 . See id . at 301. # 238 . Id . at 303. # 239 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 204 ( " In some systems , as in the United States , the ultimate criteria of legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " ) ; see also supra note 231 and accompanying text . # 240 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 204. # 241 . See Raz , supra note 229 , at 303-05 . It is also inconsistent with the first requirement of binding directives , but I leave that issue aside . # 242 . See id . at 315-20. # 243 . Id . at 296. # 244 . See id . at 305-06. # 245 . Cf id . at 309-10. # 246 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2366 ( " It is empirically true , if slightly less obvious , that the Constitution is accepted in a particular way . We accept it as a legal command enacted by people in authority hundreds of years ago , made law through the process of ratification ( and later amended ) . " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 849 ( " What 's distinctive about American practice . . . is that it relies on the law of the Founding . " ( emphasis omitted ) ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For evidence suggesting that Raz endorses something like a rule of recognition , see Joseph Raz , Practical Reason and Norms 146-47 ( 1975 ) . Raz characterizes the rule of recognition as " one of the most important contributions to our understanding of institutionalized systems . " Id . at 146 . And he observes that because there may be more than one such rule , " we should . . . conclude that , although every legal system must contain at least one rule of recognition , it may contain more than one . " Id . at 147. # 249 . See supra Part II.A.1. # 250 . See supra Part I.A-B. # 251 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2363 ( quoting Sachs , supra note 3 , at 821 ) . # 252 . Id . at 2355 ; see also id . at 2355 &amp; n.17 ( " It is useful to distinguish exclusive from inclusive originalism just as some within jurisprudence find it useful to distinguish between ' inclusive ' and ' exclusive ' legal positivism . " ) . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own position from that of Dworkin , who argues that something like B is also true . See Raz , supra note 229 , at 310 ( " Dworkin and I still have a disagreement regarding what judges do when they follow his advice . We assume that they follow right morality , but do they also follow the law or do they make law ? " ) . Raz argues that they make law . See id . # 254 . See supra Part II.B.1. # 255 . See supra Part I.A-B. # 256 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 834 ( " If the French practice is to ignore the philosophers and to derive legal rules by reading their own constitution in their own specific way , how can we say that this social practice is legally ' incorrect ' ? " ) . # 257 . Baude even begins his article by encouraging scholars to move away from " conceptual debates " that " focus ' on the nature of interpretation and on the nature of constitutional authority . ' " Baude , supra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Originalism Is Bunk , 84 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1 , 37-38 ( 2009 ) ) ; see also Berman , supra , at 66-68 , 77-82 ( discussing Raz 's account of authority and how it bears on the originalism debate ) . # 258 . Technically , they are either plans or what Shapiro calls " planlike norms , " which refer to customary laws . Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 140 ; see also Frederick Schauer , The Best Laid Plans , 120 Yale L.. 586 , 590 ( 2010 ) ( reviewing Shapiro , supra note 115 ) ( calling Legality an " important contribution to analytic jurisprudence " ) ; John Gardner &amp; Timothy Macklem , Scott J. Shapiro : Legality , Notre Dame Phil . Revs . ( Dec. 8 , 2011 ) , http : **33;13041;TOOLONG ( " Scott Shapiro 's much-anticipated book , Legality , sets out to provide a new account of the nature of law . " ) . # 259 . See supra Part II.A.2.c. # 260 . See Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ famous examples purports to show judges disagreeing about whether the equitable principle that " no one should profit from his own wrong " contributes to the legal content of a statute of wills . See Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 15-20 ( discussing Riggs v. Palmer , 22 N.E. 188 ( N.Y . 1889 ) ) . # 261 . Cf Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 20 ( characterizing a disagreement between a judge who interpreted a statute so as to conform with the principle that " no one should profit from his own wrong " and a judge who interpreted the statute according to its plain meaning as a dispute about " what the law was " ) . # 262 . Cf id . at 13-14. # 263 . See id . at 47. # 264 . Id . at 13. # 265 . See id . at 47. # 266 . See id . at 52. # 267 . See id . at 65-68. # 268 . Cf id . at 114-15 ( " In America it is settled by convention that law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislatures in the manner prescribed by the Constitution . . . . Conventionalism holds that legal practice , properly understood , is a matter of respecting and enforcing these conventions , of treating their upshot , and nothing else , as law . If someone has a right . . . according to a convention of this sort-if he has a right . . . according to social conventions about who has the power to legislate and how that power is to be exercised and how doubts created by the language are to be settled- then he has a legal right to it , but not otherwise . " ) . # 269 . See id . at 87-88. # 270 . See Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 381 ( " The Planning Theory concedes that the plain fact view , or any other account that privileges interpretive conventions as the sole source of proper methodology , ought to be rejected . Because theoretical disagreements abound in the law , interpretive methodology may be fixed in ways other than specific social agreement about which methodologies are proper . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " The plain fact view . . . maintains that the grounds of law in any community are fixed by consensus among legal officials . " ) . # 271 . See id . at 381. # 272 . See id . # 273 . See id . at 382. # 274 . See id . at 177. # 275 . See id . # 276 . See id . at 170 . Shapiro refers to these circumstances as the " circumstances of legality . " Id. ; see also id . at 309 ( " The Planning Theory maintains that the fundamental aim of all legal systems is to rectify the moral deficiencies of the circumstances of legality . " ) . # 277 . See id . at 177. # 278 . Id . at 355. # 279 . Id . at 305. # 280 . Id . at 331 ( " The Planning Theory entails that the attitudes of trust and distrust presupposed by the law are central to the choice of interpretive methodology . " ) . # 281 . See id . at 354. # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There may be a problem of circularity here in Shapiro 's argument , at least as applied to methods of constitutional interpretation . According to Shapiro , the proper method of interpreting the master plan depends on the master planner 's intentions with respect to the " economy of trust . " See id . at 331 ( formatting altered ) . But then how could we ever recover those intentions if our method of interpreting them depends on those same intentions ? It seems that interpreters must instead aim to accurately discern the master planner 's actual intentions with respect to their economy of trust , which entails a particular form of interpretation , namely an original intentions form of originalism . I thank Larry Alexander for suggesting this point . Regardless of whether it is a devastating criticism of Shapiro 's argument , however , I do not think it poses a problem for Baude and Sachs because they suggest looking to the ( in theory , objective ) interpretive rules that were part of our " original law " rather than to the ( subjective ) attitudes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I put this worry about Shapiro 's theory aside for the purpose of the following analysis . # 284 . See Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 87-88 ( " Each judge 's interpretive theories are grounded in his own convictions about the ' point ' -the justifying purpose or goal or principle- of legal practice as a whole " ) . # 285 . Actually , it turns out things are not so simple , for reasons explained in Part II.C.2.b below . # 286 . The only consensus required is one about " which texts are legally authoritative , " see Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 383 , and that is one easily established . # 287 . Cf Sachs , supra note 3 , at 881 ( " Originalists can agree-or ought to-that we adhere to the Founders ' law , as lawfully changed . What they might disagree about is the historical content of that law ( including its interpretive rules ) or how we 've changed it since . " ) . # 288 . See infra Part II.C.2.c. # 289 . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 290 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1136 ( explaining that they would exclude from original methods those " interpretive customs that were n't incorporated by law " ) ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 857 ( " The Founders might have really liked active liberty , but they also might have liked raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ; we need to know what was part of their law . " ) . # 291 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1140-42 ; supra Part II.A. # 292 . Cf Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1141 ( " We want to know who had the better of the argument , based on the higher-order legal rules of the era. " ( emphasis omitted ) ) . # 293 . Id . at 1142 ( " If the practices of lawyers who participate in the legal system have a heightened claim to determining the law , at least as compared to the policy preferences of the general public , then it 's the elite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ See supra Part II.A. # 295 . See Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 383. # 296 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1140-42 ( citing Saul Cornell , The People 's Constitution vs. the Lawyer 's Constitution : Popular Constitutionalism and the Original Debate over Originalism , 23 Yale J.L. &amp; HUMAN . 295 ( 2011 ) ; and Kurt T. Lash , Originalism All the Way Down ? , 30 Const . Comment . 149 ( 2015 ) ( book review ) ) . # 297 . See id . at 1141. # 298 . See id . at 1142. # 299 . Cornell , supra note 296 , at 310. # 300 . See id . at 317-18. # 301 . Recall that we put this issue aside when asking whose practice matters for the purpose of applying Hart 's theory . See supra Part II.A.2 . The problem here is the same . # 302 . See Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 347. # 303 . Cf id . ( noting that the " God's-eye " approach is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such , frustrates the ability of the law to achieve its fundamental aim " ) . # 304 . See id . at 350. # 305 . Id . # 306 . See id . # 307 . See id . # 308 . See id . at 351. # 309 . Id . # 310 . Cf id . at 343-47 ( offering Judge Posner as an example of someone taking the " God's-eye approach " ) . # 311 . Id . at 351. # 312 . Id . # 313 . See supra Part I. # 314 . See Michael J. Klarman , From Jim Crow to Civil Rights : The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality 5 ( 2004 ) ( arguing that constitutional jurisprudence " almost inevitably reflects the broader social and political context of the times " ) . # 315 . See , e.g , Roe v. Wade , 410 U.S. 113 , 153 ( 1973 ) . Roe is the most obvious ( if controversial ) example of a decision holding that a particular right is constitutionally protected despite the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Constitution ( though there are many other examples ) . The Contracts Clause may be the best example of a constitutional provision whose textual meaning is fairly clear but that the Court no longer recognizes as providing an enforceable right . See , e.g , Home Bldg. &amp; Loan Ass'n v. Blaisdell , 290 U.S. 398 , 415-16 , 447 ( 1934 ) ( upholding a state-imposed mortgage moratorium as permissible under the Contracts Clause ) ; see also U.S. Const. art . I , 10 , cl. 1 ( " No State shall . . . pass any . . . Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts " ) . # 316 . See Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 382. # 317 . See id . # 318 . See id . # 319 . Id . at 384. # 320 . Id . # 321 . See id . at 385. # 322 . See id . # 323 . Id . ( emphasis added ) . # 324 . Note that some metaethicists consider the question whether moral principles may properly figure in explanations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realist and antirealist views about morality . See Geoff SayreMcCord , Moral Realism , Stan . ENCYCLOPEDIA Phil . ( Feb. 3 , 2015 ) , @longurl ( observing that " one might argue that to be a realist about some area ( morality or whatever ) is to hold that the properties distinctive to that area ( in this case moral properties ) figure in some fundamental way in our explanations " and that " one might rely on either explanation or mind-independence to mark an important contrast between various metaethical views " ) . # 325 . See Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 385 . Of course , none of this is to deny that it is possible to run such an argument without any moral premises . One would simply convert all moral propositions into psychological or sociological ( and hence " empirical " ) propositions by inserting " people around here believe that " before each of them . But the point is just that as Shapiro frames it , one could make such moral arguments and they would be relevant to the legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one would have to ask which is a more plausible description of what lawyers and judges are doing when they offer " explanations " of legal materials : Are they offering rationalizations of sources of law by showing how fidelity to them vindicates certain widely accepted moral principles or public policies ? Or are they offering sociological explanations of the sort that one might offer about the religious rituals of a foreign culture ? # 326 . See supra Part II.C.2.a. # 327 . See supra Part II.A-B. # 328 . See Leiter , supra note 139 , at 34-35 ( " Epistemic values specify ( what we hope are ) the truth-conducive desiderata we aspire to in theory construction and theory choice : evidentiary adequacy ( ' saving the phenomena ' ) , simplicity , minimum mutilation of well-established theoretical frameworks and methods ( methodological conservatism ) , explanatory consilience , and so forth . " ) . # 329 . See id . at 35 ( " Moral values are those values that bear on the questions of practical reasonableness , e.g. , questions about how one ought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , what kind of political institutions one ought to support and obey , and so forth . " ) . # 330 . For defenses of what I call the descriptivist view , see Jules L. Coleman , The Practice of Principle : In Defence of a Pragmatist Approach to Legal Theory 179-217 ( 2001 ) ; Hart , supra note 20 , at 239-44 ; Andrei Marmor , Legal Positivism : Still Descriptive and Morally Neutral , 26 Oxford J. Legal Stud. 683 , 693 ( 2006 ) ; and Scott J. Shapiro , The Bad Man and the Internal Point of View , in THE PATH OF THE Law and Its Influence : The Legacy of Oliver Wendell Holmes , Jr . 197 , 199-200 ( Steven J. Burton ed. , 2000 ) . For defenses of the normativist view , see Ronald Dworkin , Justice in Robes 140-86 ( 2006 ) ; Gerald j . Postema , Bentham and the Common Law Tradition 328-35 ( 1986 ) ; Stephen R. Perry , Interpretation and Methodology in Legal Theory , in Law and Interpretation : Essays in Legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ; and Danny Priel , Evaluating Descriptive Jurisprudence , 52 Am . J. Juris. 139 , 153-57 ( 2007 ) . # 331 . See Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 13 . It is worth mentioning that some endorse descriptivism but reject conceptual analysis as the proper method of conducting such a descriptive inquiry , preferring instead a more empirical approach . See , e.g. , Leiter , supra note 139 , at 43-51 ( arguing for a " naturalistic turn " in jurisprudence ( formatting altered ) ) . There is nothing ( that I could find ) in Baude 's or Sachs 's arguments that indicates a naturalistic bent to the positive turn . # 332 . See supra Part II.B.2. # 333 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2352 ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 828-35. # 334 . That is why Shapiro devotes roughly half the first chapter of his book to explaining and defending his method of conceptual analysis . See Shapiro , supra note 115 , at 8-22. # 335 . This is Pojanowski and Walsh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ &amp; Walsh , supra note 5 , at 11 ( " our primary problem with the positive turn is its attempt , like Hart 's , to separate description from evaluation in legal theory . " ) . # 336 . See Scott Hershovitz , The Model of Plans and Prospects for Positivism , 125 ETHICS 152 , 163 ( 2014 ) ( " The problem with Shapiro 's argument is that it has the wrong sort of premise for the conclusion he aims at . An argument that rests on the claim that law has a fundamental aim is more apt to establish positivism as a success condition for law than as a necessary truth about it . " ) . # 337 . Pojanowski and Walsh aim to provide precisely such an account-one based on the natural law philosophy of John Finnis . See Pojanowski &amp; Walsh , supra note 5 , at 110-26. # 338 . The authors occasionally do make such arguments . See , e.g , Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1096 ( " People persistently disagree on the real answers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that hopefully are somewhat close to the real ones , but on which society ( mostly ) agrees and which allow us ( mostly ) to get along . " ) . # 339 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 867. # 340 . One could label the sort of approach described in this Subpart as taking a " quietist " stance with respect to the metaphysics of law . A quietist denies either the coherence or the profitability of asking metaphysical questions about the nature or reality of some domain of inquiry . See Charles L. Barzun , Metaphysical Quietism and Functional Explanation in the Law , 34 Law &amp; Phil . 89 , 95 ( 2015 ) ( describing quietism as a metametaphysical position as to " whether , or in what way , it is appropriate to ask the firstorder metaphysical question about the reality or unreality of the phenomena described by the terms of a given discourse " ) . As I have suggested elsewhere , it is a tempting position for legal scholars to take . See id . at 92. # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 836. # 342 . See id . at 837. # 343 . Baude , supra note 3 , at 2352 n.5. # 344 . See id . at 2370-86 ( analyzing Supreme Court case law ) . # 345 . See Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 90. # 346 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 839-42. # 347 . See id . at 842. # 348 . See id . at 820-21. # 349 . See Baude , supra note 3 , at 2367 ; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 820-21. # 350 . Sachs , supra note 3 , at 837 ( emphasis added ) . # 351 . Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1116 ( emphasis added ) . # 352 . No doubt the authors ' former boss would agree : " If the academy wants to deal with the legal issues at a particularly abstract and philosophical level , that 's great and that 's their business . But they should n't expect that it would be of any particular help or even interest to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A Conversation with Chief Justice Roberts , supra note 1 , at 31:08. # 353 . See Hart , supra note 20 , at 110 ( " The statement that a rule exists in a mature legal system may now no longer be what it was in the simple case of customary rules-an external statement of the fact that a certain mode of behaviour was generally accepted as a standard in practice . It may now be an internal statement applying an accepted but unstated rule of recognition and meaning ( roughly ) no more than ' valid given the system 's criteria of validity . ' " ) . # 354 . Cf Sachs , supra note 3 , at 871 ( " If you go into court in a constitutional case and say , ' well , Judge , the original Constitution is against us , but we superseded it through an informal amendment in 1937 , ' you will lose ' ' ) . # 355 . See , e.g , Fallon , supra note 79 , at 1277. # 356 . See Baude &amp; Sachs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't need a true consensus on individual legal disputes ; within a given legal system , there can be correct and incorrect views of the law . " ) ; see also id . at 1138 ( " Courts might have a judicial obligation to find common law rules in other sources ( including customary sources ) , not merely to make them to fit one 's will . " ) . # 357 . For a few of the contributions to this debate , which mostly consists of criticisms of Dworkin 's initial statement of the thesis and Dworkin 's replies to them , see Ronald Dworkin , A Matter of Principle 119-45 ( 1985 ) hereinafter Dworkin , Principle ; Ronald Dworkin , Taking Rights Seriously 279-90 ( 1977 ) hereinafter Dworkin , Rights ; Hart , supra note 20 , at 272-76 ; Ronald Dworkin , No Right Answer ? , 53 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1 ( 1978 ) ; Ronald Dworkin , Seven Critics , 11 Ga . L. Rev. 1201 , 1241-46 ( 1977 ) ; Kenneth J. Kress , Legal Reasoning and Coherence Theories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Linear Order of Decisions , 72 CALIF . L. Rev. 369 ( 1984 ) ; Stephen R. Munzer , Right Answers , Preexisting Rights , and Fairness , 11 Ga . L. Rev. 1055 , 1060 &amp; n.6 ( 1977 ) ; Richard A. Posner , The Jurisprudence of Skepticism , 86 Mich . L. Rev. 827 , 875-79 ( 1988 ) ; and Michael S. Moore , Metaphysics , Epistemology , and Legal Theory , 60 S. Cal . L. Rev. 453 ( 1987 ) ( reviewing Dworkin , Principle , supra ) . # 358 . Compare Dworkin , Rights , supra note 357 , at 290 ( " The ' myth ' that there is one right answer in a hard case is both recalcitrant and successful . Its recalcitrance and success count as arguments that it is no myth . " ) , with Hart , supra note 20 , at 273-74 ( endorsing the view of those judges who have acknowledged that " there are cases left incompletely regulated by the law where the judge has an inescapable though ' interstitial ' lawmaking task , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases could be decided either way " ) . I say " once " because Dworkin subsequently reformulated ( or restated more clearly , depending on your interpretation ) the thesis as a claim " about morality , not metaphysics . " Dworkin , supra note 198 , at ix ; see also Posner , supra note 357 , at 875 n.83 ( " Dworkin later retracted the metaphysical ( ontological ) implications of the ' Right Answer ' paper . " ( citing Dworkin , supra note 198 , at viii-ix ) ) . # 359 . Cf Baude , supra note 3 , at 2352 n.5 ( " This Essay relies on lawyers ' assumptions rather than technical jurisprudence. " ) . # 360 . See Dworkin , Principle , supra note 357 , at 143 ( " The availability of this second dimension of political morality makes it even less likely that any particular case will have no right answer . " ) . # 361 . See supra Part I.A-B. # 362 . See supra note 1 and accompanying text . # 363 . See supra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at 90. # 365 . See id . at 13. # 366 . See id . at 37-38. # 367 . See id . at 90 ( " For all their abstraction , general theories of law are constructive interpretations : they try to show legal practice as a whole in its best light " ) . # 368 . See supra Part II . # 369 . See Sachs , supra note 3 , at 837 ( citing Hart , supra note 20 , at 89 ) ( " Fully understanding the law means trying on the ' internal ' perspective of a faithful participant in the system . " ) . Sachs cites Hart here , but Dworkin 's version of the internal point of view is actually a better fit . See Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 13. # 370 . See Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 37-38 ; Baude , supra note 3 , at 2388-89. # 371 . Dworkin , Rights , supra note 357 , at 290 ; Baude &amp; Sachs , supra note 3 , at 1146. # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 , at 241 ( " It is not obvious why there should be or indeed could be any significant conflict between enterprises so different as my own and Dworkin 's conception of legal theory . " ) ; Leiter , supra note 139 , at 31-32 ( charging that in calling law an " interpretive concept " that requires constructive interpretation , Dworkin has , in effect , " simply changed the topic " ) . # 373 . See Dworkin , supra note 198 , at 13 ( " This crucial argumentative aspect of legal practice can be studied in two ways or from two points of view . One is the external point of view of the sociologist or historian , who asks why certain patterns of legal argument develop in some periods or circumstances rather than others , for example . " ) ; id . at 27273 ( arguing that efforts to " describe the law genetically " may reflect " a serious misunderstanding of the kind of argument necessary to establish a skeptical position : the argument must be interpretive rather than historical " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Goldsmith &amp; Adrian Vermeule , Empirical Methodology and Legal Scholarship , 69 U. Chi . L. Rev. 153 , 153-54 ( 2002 ) ( " Legal scholars often are just playing a different game than the empiricists play , which means that no amount of insistence on the empiricists ' rules can indict legal scholarship . . . . Epstein and King miss this point because their empirical methodology blinds them to legal scholarship 's internal perspective . " ) . # 375 . See Lee Epstein &amp; Gary King , A Reply , 69 U. Chi . L. Rev. 191 , 192 ( 2002 ) ( contrasting the purposes of legal scholarship , as articulated by Goldsmith , vermeule , and others , with that of empirical research , which aims to " learn about the world " ( quoting Lee Epstein &amp; Gary King , The Rules of Inference , 69 U. Chi . L. Rev. 1 , 9 n.23 ( 2002 ) hereinafter Epstein &amp; King , Rules of Inference ) ) . # 376 . Eric A. Posner &amp; Adrian Vermeule , Inside or Outside the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 1745 ( 2013 ) . For my own defense of this alleged " fallacy , " see Charles L. Barzun , Getting Substantive : A Response to Posner and Vermeule , 80 U. Chi . L. Rev. Dialogue 267 ( 2013 ) . # 377 . See Barzun , supra note 22 , at 1285-88. # 378 . See id . at 1286. # 379 . But cf Epstein &amp; King , Rules of Inference , supra note 375 , at 10 n.23 ( " We can see the lack of contradiction only by recognizing that the Ph.D.s ' goal of learning about the empirical world differs from the J.D.s ' goal of political persuasion . " ) . # 380 . Cf Morton White , A Philosophy of Culture : The Scope of Holistic Pragmatism 169 ( 2002 ) ( characterizing White as a " methodological monist , " which describes one who believes " that we test both physical and moral beliefs by checking them against a pool of experiences-in the former case a pool consisting wholly of sensory experiences , and in the latter a pool @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # 381 . Cf Fallon , supra note 79 , at 1308 ( emphasizing that in the face of uncertainty , adopting what Fallon calls " interpretive eclecticism " in the legal domain " embodies a judgment about how best to exercise intellectual , legal , and moral responsibility " ) . This statement is true even if the only moral consideration is an implicit one about the moral permissibility of taking some action .

@@4170541 # Martha Divine is afraid to fly . It is not the cascading space entered upon reaching altitude at thirty thousand feet that causes her fear . Rather it is the take off and the landing , the interstice between two geographic spaces , the space between ground and air . This intermediary space between being grounded and in full flight piques Martha 's fear surrounding her identity . For Martha : " ... los aterrizajes y los despegues siempre le revuelcan el ansia . Y no hay ansia en este mundo que no le provocara a Martha pensar en su cuerpo . Oh sf , su cuerpo , el disfraz que era su cuerpo . Temblaba de solo pensar que alguien , en pleno take-off , la se&ntilde;alara con el dedo y gritara : -Miren eso . Eso no es una mujer " ( Santos-Febres 23 ) . Martha 's anxiety surrounding the intermediary spaces of air travel is grafted on to her pre-operational body . The fear of discovery , of not passing assimilated , manifest in a physical and psychic space between national and geographic boundaries and the borders that mark and make bodies intelligible . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claiming the self , is a perceptible trope in contemporary Hispanic Caribbean literature . It is my aim , then , to put Martha at ease ; to investigate the ways in which this intermediary , interstitial , and still very real space becomes a location where authors begin to reshape the relationship between temporal , spatial , and social borders and the bodies these borders attempt to define . # Specifically , I analyze the ways in which Mayra Santos-Febres ' novel Sirena Selena vestida de pena ( 2000 ) challenges the construction and enactment of subjectivity with relation to categories of identity . Specifically focusing upon the markers of nationality , sexuality , and race , Santos-Febres represents bodies that , while still identifiable by certain markers of identity , challenge the reduction of the body to a simplified correlative identification with categories of identity . Santos-Febres represents how transnational subjectivity undoes the concept of identity as a discrete , closed categorization. # It is through the transnational that the body is queered ; it finds itself in a space that is not regulated by the heteronormative demands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heterosexual coupling and the propagation of the nation . Rather , transnationality challenges subjecthood as a stable and identifiable position , and complicates the relationship between nationality , expression of gender and sexuality , and affective bonds . Affective bonds are key for the present study , particularly how queer articulations of these connections allows for new formulations of kinship . Queer(ed) articulations of family/kinship networks allow for reconceptualized understandings of subjects as members of a transnational rhizomatic affective network , rather than geographically isolated beings . Importantly , queer , as articulated in this essay , represents more than non-heteronormative relationships ; it is the radical questioning of structures of heteronormative and homonormative affective bonds and family relationships . Kinship is reinterpreted as a malleable social construct that can be altered and adjusted to fit the needs of people and communities . Transnationality facilitates networks of affect that allow for a queer reading of family and kinship . While analyzing the forms of queer kinship that arise in this contemporary Puerto Rican novel , I engage in a theoretical analysis of the relationship between heteronormativity , the structuring of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use space . This theoretical background is key to understanding how Mayra SantosFebres challenges traditional structures of family and kinship through narrative . Specifically I underscore the relationship between shifting paradigms of family structures and the emergence of queer transnational identifications. # The traditional mask of heteronormativity is the family , as it is articulated and defined in the United States and the wider Western world . While typically a marker of social stability , the heteronormative family represents a facile security blanket that can lovingly smother nonnormative departures from this supposed familial stability . This is not to say that all traditional families are secretly crumbling from within , but rather , one should not consider the heteronormative family the only option for cultural and social intelligibility . This is especially important when considering the history of marginalized or outcast populations of economically disenfranchised bodies , racially subjugated bodies , and . among many others , queer bodies . Of particular importance for an analysis of Santos-Febres 's novel is the marginalization of trans bodies . Increased scholarly interest in and activist engagement with trans identities have brought more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the trans body , new formulations of kinship arise . As the trans body exists outside of the heteronormative framework of the male/female and masculine/feminine binary , kinship ties are not necessarily dependent on marriage or familial bloodlines . In Undoing Gender , Judith Butler notes that # Efforts to establish bonds of kinship that are not based on a marriage tie become nearly illegible and unviable when marriage sets the terms for kinship , and kinship itself is collapsed into " family . " The enduring social ties that constitute viable kinship in communities of sexual minorities are threatened with becoming unrecognizable and unviable as long as the marriage bond is the exclusive way in which both sexuality and kinship are organized . ( 5 ) # The expansion of the family from bloodlines to social interconnectivity provides queer and trans bodies with a network of support and love at times not available within the heteronormative family . Furthermore , trans kinship engages in restructuring rigid notions of kinship , so that " the rights and obligations of kinship may take any number of other forms other than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . In the novel , each character represents a new formulation of trans and queer identities . I will analyze the new manifestations of kinship present in Sirena Selena vestida de pena to argue that rather than allegorizing the trans body as something unintelligible , Santos-Febres expands the possibilities of identification of the trans/queer body through the performative , as theorized by Judith Butler . Furthermore , Judith Halberstam 's formulations of queer time and queer space consider space and time outside of heteronormative family time and illustrates how traditional forms of kinship are reconsidered within the newly developed trans kinship . This opening of representation allows new forms of kinship to develop , which break the hegemonic mold of the heteronormative family . # However , in parting with much scholarship on the novel Sirena Selena vestida de pena , I argue that perhaps the most queer body of all is the one that outwardly presents the most heteronormative presence , that of Hugo Graubel , a sugar magnate and hotelier . While the bodies that are visually counter hegemonic ( those of the transvestite , the transsexual , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form of queer familial stability , the hegemonic body of Graubel exists discontentedly within the heteronormative framework of a wealthy , white family , and seeks companionship with the femme fatale/nubile young boy that is Sirena Selena.1 The purpose of my reading is to dissolve the rigid binaries between male/female , masculine/feminine , and **27;4865;TOOLONG . The visual presence of the body is not enough to determine whether one falls into the heteronormative family time or the newly formulated queer time . This is not to ignore , however , the new queer formulations of familial stability desired by the counter hegemonic body . Rather , I hope to reveal the queer kinship that develops among the queer and trans identified characters , such as Selena , Martha Divine , and Leocadio , as well as to demonstrate that even the most stereotypically heteronormative character in Santos-Febres 's novel exists within the framework of new queer kinship . The destabilization of gender binaries and social and economic divisions allows for a formulation of queer kinship that integrates both the typically marginalized body ( the visually different body ) and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across geographic spaces expands articulations of queer and trans subjectivity , effectively aligning queer and trans movement with the particular enactments of identity forged by each character . # Sirena Selena vestida de pena focuses on the journey of Martha Divine , a transgender entrepreneur , performer and owner of the Puerto Rican nightclub " El Danubio Azul " , and her prot&eacute;g&eacute;e , Selena , a young transvestite who , after her mother 's abandonment and her grandmother 's death , has taken to the streets as a prostitute and petty thief . Martha discovers Selena 's talent for singing boleros one evening outside of her nightclub , takes her in , and grooms her to become a star of drag performance . The main action of the novel takes place over the weeklong journey to the Dominican Republic , where Martha intends to debut Selena 's talent , since child labor laws in Puerto Rico complicate Selena 's performance . Notably , Selena is constantly referred in the text as a quincea&ntilde;era or fifteen year old . It is this transnational movement that facilitates enactments of queer identity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performances in Puerto Rico , it is the geographic and ideological space of the Dominican Republic that affords a place in which Selena 's queer identity is enacted and legitimized through public recognition . In his analysis of Dominican masculinities , E. Antonio de Moya gives an important key to understanding to the title of Santos-Febres 's novel : " In the last twenty years , transvestites have become an important part of show business , sex work and nightlife in large Dominican cities . In the household culture the word vestida ( cross-dresser ) is frequently used for men raised as women , who presumably look , think and behave as such , often deceiving ' real ' men " ( 93 ) . # It is worth noting the multiplicity of identities that form characters such as Selena and Martha Divine . Following Jos&eacute; Quiroga 's ideas ( see 194-95 ) , I argue that these bodies exist as sites of multiple identifications . They are not only queer bodies , but also Caribbean bodies , as well as bodies of color . The assemblage of these multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ localized space of an isolated identity world , but to mobilize these identities " ( Quiroga 194 ) . In his analysis of the film Brincando el charco , Quiroga notes that # the body has multiple points of contact , but these do not turn it into the site where the American " melting pot " is reproduced . There is constant tension between the different zones that the body may inhabit , but its possible hybridity is not immediately the cause for celebration , for everything conspires to normatize and tame the disruptions produced by different vectors on one self . ( Quiroga 194 ) # This quotation is particularly poignant when considering trans bodies . Selena does not represent an interstice nor is she a third gender blending of male and female . Consideration of her body requires a reconceptualization of the gender binary , as well as a decoupling of the strict ties between male and masculine and female and feminine . The text achieves this decoupling through constant flashbacks that reveal the disintegration of the heteronormative family due to the overly rigid social and economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ describes the pasts of Martha Divine , Sirena Selena , a young Dominican boy Leocadio , Hugo Graubel , Selena 's grandmother , as well as many other characters . For the purpose of this analysis , I will focus mainly on the histories of Martha , Selena , Leocadio , and Hugo , as they are the protagonists whose bodies enact my argument . # New forms of queer kinship in the novel exist within what Judith Halberstam describes as a queer space and time . According to Halberstam , there exists a family time as well as a queer time . Family time essentially revolves around the needs of children and supports a heteronormative framework . Furthermore , family time " connects the family to the historical past of the nation , and glances ahead to connect the family to the future of both familial and national stability " ( 5 ) . Family time is regimented by the practices of child rearing while queer time " produces alternative temporalities by allowing their participants to believe that their futures can be imagined according to logics that lie outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marriage , reproduction and death " ( 5 ) . As such , queer time and space " requires and produces new conceptions of space ... by articulating and elaborating a concept of queer time , I suggest new ways of understanding non-normative behaviors that have clear but not essential relations to gay and lesbian subjects " ( 6 ) . In contrast with family time 's preoccupation with past and future , with queer time " speed itself ( the drug as well as the motion ) becomes the motor of an alternative history ... " ( 5 ) . While existing within a queer time , which is inherently counter-hegemonic , all of the characters that embody queer subjectivity in Sirena Selena vestida de pena depend on the performative heteronormative standard . As Judith Butler notes , the performative " must be understood not as a singular or deliberate ' act , ' but , rather as the reiterative and citational practice by which discourse produces the effects that it names " ( Butler , Bodies 2 ) . As such , Martha Divine 's performance of femininity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Selena , represents an exaggerated manifestation of traditional femininity . However , this is not to criticize any particular manifestation of femininity . I also do not argue that by exaggerating femininity any queer agency is subsumed within the hegemonic representation , negating any possibility of self-formation . Interestingly though , each queer body yearns for a modified version of the supposed stability of the heteronormative family . This search for stability and the subsequent modification of the heteronormative family through its particularly queer formation effectively subverts the normative family model , creating a space of queer kinship . # From here , I will analyze a few instances in the text in which the visually counterhegemonic characters depend on the heteronormative performative in order to enact a personal agency and formation of queer kinship . However , I would like first to clarify my use of the phrase visually counter-hegemonic . It is clear in the text that visually , the bodies of Selena , Martha Divine , and Leocadio do not fit within the rigid binary categories of either male or female . However , one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marked as male is that of Hugo Graubel , who I will argue , despite the mask afforded by his heteronormative family , represents perhaps the clearest example of a counter-heteronormative formation of queer subjectivity in the text . # On the flight to the Dominican Republic from Puerto Rico , Martha Divine is described as # ajlta y rubia oxigenada , ya con sus arrugas , con su par portentoso de pechos de siiicona , con piel incre&iacute;blemente tersa por las hendiduras del escote ... No exhib&iacute;a ni un solo pelo que la delatara . Solo su altura y su voz. y sus ademanes tan femeninos , demasiado femeninos , estudiadamente femeninos. ( 13 ) # Martha is thorough in her performative appropriation of feminine attributes ; however , she repeatedly speaks of her fear of discovery . Martha identifies as a female and has almost completed her final gender reassignment surgery . Her hopes are to gamer enough money from Selena 's shows to complete her surgery . While on the plane , Martha overlaps the fear of discovery with the interstices of air travel . The liminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Dominican Republic becomes an allegory for her pre-operational body . She states her fears : " Oh s&iacute; , su cuerpo , el disfraz que era su cuerpo . Temblaba de tan solo pensar que alguien , en pleno take-off , le se&ntilde;alara con el dedo y gritara : Miren eso . Eso no es una mujer " ( 23 ) . Her ultimate desire is " quitarse la ropa y verse , al fin , de la cintura para abajo , igual que de la cintura para arriba , con tetitas y totita . Total . Al fin , poder descansar en un solo cuerpo " ( 24 ) .2 While projecting a very feminine performance there is a constant fear of discovery . The representation of travel also highlights the relationship between queer subjectivity and transnational movement . The space of flight , an in-between that is neither Puerto Rico nor the Dominican Republic , becomes a place in which queer subjectivity is articulated , enacted , but at the same time hidden for fear of discovery . The narrative makes the space of travel an opportune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well as the boundaries between masculine/feminine , male/female , and masculinity/femininity . While the undoing of these binaries becomes evident to the reader , it is important to highlight that it is not Martha 's objective to embody this queer space , but rather to privatize and hide it from regulatory powers that read the body through binaries. # E. Antonio de Moya underscores the political , social , and economic reality of transgender people , specifically within the Dominican Republic . He notes " most of Dominican transgenders only go as far as putting on make-up , waxing or depilating , receiving hormone treatment , and implanting silicone and similar substances into their bodies to resemble females . Only a few transgendered migrants to the United States or Europe have become transsexuals , undergoing genital surgery , probably because of high economic costs , and primarily because of the social value of being a ' phalic woman ' in a phallicist-homophobic society " ( 94 ) . The concept of political and social capital gained through status as a " phallic woman " is , while problematic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Hugo Graubel. # As represented in Santos-Febres 's novel , Martha Divine does not benefit from this capital and works throughout the narrative to achieve her gender reassignment surgery . Selena , however , does benefit from this capital , but in a manner very distinct from that which Moya describes . Moya articulates that retaining the phallus extends a fractional amount of social and political power to a subject who , otherwise , is completely devoid of masculinity owing to their physical and social resemblance to females . However , while this can be read as a particularly queer way to access political agency/visibility , it is still couched upon the political power of masculinity embodied through the phallus . Rather , as represented in the novel , it is important to consider the variety of gender expressions at play , and to understand how cultural notions of Dominican masculinity complicate or reinforce these representations . There are no maleidentified characters in the novel that fit within Moya 's category of " hegemonic masculinities. " 3 Importantly , this emphasizes the notion of gender identity as performative , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repetition . # Martha Divine 's almost post-operational body represents the interstices between space and time . As such , it is important to signal the spatial and temporal division between the action of the story ( the Caribbean , more specifically Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic ) and the sought-after metropolis , New York City . New York City is represented as a utopia of selfexpression and queer embodiment . Martha Divine highlights the notion of space , temporality , and freedom as represented in the space of New York City as opposed to the rural area where she grew up : # All&aacute; , en sus pa&iacute;ses , se reproduc&iacute;an , heredaban , enterraban padres y abuelos , coman caballos por las haciendas y se comportaban como los futuros pr&oacute;ceres de la patria . Pero ac&aacute;. en Nueva York , se aflojaban las corbatas de sus trajes grises , soltaban los maletines con permisos para exportar fanegas de flores , minerales o caf&eacute; , y entre botellas , pastillas polvos alucin&oacute;genos , volaban las boas de plumas , los rubores para labios y efebos con faldas que @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ era en verdad el gozo y la perdici&oacute;n. ( 126-27 ) # Underscoring Halberstam 's conceptualization of queer time and space , the space of Martha 's past ( and it is important here to note the temporal aspect of space as it relates to memory ) represents heteronormative conceptualizations of space and time and the link to projects of representing nationhood . # According to Martha , in rural space ( and notably , again , this space is located temporally in the past ) , heteronormative actions are tied to the politics or respectability and the development of heteronormatively driven people who develop national projects . Furthermore , the space of the rural past is described linearly , marked by those key moments of heteronormative time , such as reproduction , inheritance , and death . Halberstam " tries to use the concept of queer time to make clear how respectability , and notions of the normal on which it depends , may be upheld by a middle-class logic of reproductive temporality " ( Halberstam 4 ) . The space of Martha 's past , which represents projects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teleological impulse towards the future . The productive relationships described in Martha 's past ( which , importantly is linked to rural space ) have as their objective procreation and the propagation of a national identity . Queer time , in contrast , represents specific models of temporality that emerge within postmodemity once one leaves the temporal frames of bourgeois reproduction and family , longevity , risk/safety and inheritance ( Halberstam 6 ) . My challenge to this particular formulation lies in the word leave . For one , leaving temporal frames of bourgeois time implies that everyone is born into this temporal frame , which , as Halberstam notes , is not the case . As I will demonstrate , Selena is not bom into a heteronormative temporal/spatial frame . Secondly , the act of leaving implies a choice , which is not often the case . In the novel , for example , Leocadio is forced out of heteronormative time/space for reasons beyond his control . Furthermore , social discrimination of queer bodies can also force them out of heteronormative time/space . Lastly , the idea of leaving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is never truly possible . One is always on the edge of intelligibility , and can never truly leave or exist outside of productive powers . Butler states # for there is an " outside " to what is constructed by discourse , but this is not an absolute " outside , " an ontological thereness that exceeds or counters the boundaries of discourse ; as a constitutive " outside , " it is that which can only be though-when it can-in relation to that discourse , at and as its most tenuous borders . ( Butler , Bodies 8 ) # Transnational Caribbean space further problematizes the notion of leaving a particular space , specifically because , even if the physical space of the island is not present , it is discursively present in conceptualizations of the transnational community as an imagined community , as described by Benedict Anderson in Imagined Communities : Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism ( 6 ) . Furthermore , the space of the island is always present in the construction of transnational subjectivity , whether one defines oneself with or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly between the Hispanic Caribbean and the United States , have an extensive history of back and forth movement between nations . Queer Caribbean space and time , as well as transnational articulations of queer Caribbean space and time must be theorized in a slightly different manner than proposed by Halberstam , specifically because of the paradoxical distance/proximity of the geographical and psychological space of the island within transnational communities . # Returning to Martha 's description of the past and future , the space of New York City , in contrast to the rural space of the island , is described as a non-linear m&eacute;lange of alternative sights , sounds , and experiences . New York City exists within the novel as a utopie vision on the part of the characters , but more importantly , in its depiction within the novel , the city defies heteronormative conceptualizations of spatiality and temporality . Notably , in her description of the rural space of her past and the metropolitan space of her past and future , Martha 's terminology again undoes binary divisions of here versus there and past versus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indicates a far-away indeterminate space , the English equivalent of " over or back there " and ac&aacute; , which indicates the exact space from which one is speaking or the English equivalent of " right here " complicates Martha 's narration of time and space . This is because Martha is speaking of the past when describing both her rural upbringing and her three years spent in New York City . Yet when describing the temporal events of the past , she uses terminology to spatially mark herself in a hyper-present moment represented by the use of ac&aacute; . As such , this passage describes the queer space of New York City , while actualizing a queer space through enunciation and by complicating the idea that time and space are wholly separate or divided categories . # It is specifically this projected desire towards the North American metropolis of New York City that allows one to theorize queer Caribbean space and time in new ways . The utopie projection of the expanded Caribbean enables characters to reconceptualize space and time beyond rigid divisions between here and there or past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fluidity of the space and time of the island . While New York City becomes a space of unbridled queemess , in which each character can enact personal and professional desires it also presents a space of Caribbeanness that extends beyond the geographic and national boundaries of the islands of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic . # Returning to the protagonists of the novel , Selena travels more comfortably amongst borders dividing male and female than her mentor , Martha Divine . For this reason , the text switches freely between masculine and feminine pronouns and markers while describing Selena . Upon arrival at the Hotel Conquistador , Martha scolds Selena for jumping on the bed : # Nena , no brinques as&iacute; en las camas , que no quiero problemas con la **34;4894;TOOLONG Martha , severa , pero aguantando la risa por dentro al ver a su hijita tan feliz , tan risue&ntilde;a , tan despreocupada de la vida . Pocas veces la hab&iacute;a visto as&iacute; ... dej&aacute;ndose ser el ni&ntilde;o que era. ( 29 , my emphasis ) # However visually variable ( and aurally , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's gender may be , her most contestatory asset , or that which destabilizes gender binaries the most , is in fact that which defines gender heteronormatively , her penis . While Martha helps her apply her make up and prepare her body for the show , the reader voyeuristically observes the description of Selena 's genitals : # Martha disipaba la gula y la sorpresa ante el tama&ntilde;o genital de su ahijadita . Asombrada , no se pod&iacute;a explicar c&oacute;mo , de un cuerpito tan fr&aacute;gil y delgado , colgaba semejante guindalejo . La verga de Sirena era inmensa , un poquito grotesca por la falta de proporci&oacute;n que guardaba con el resto del cuerpo. ( 55 ) # In describing these characteristics , Moya signals # paradoxically , feminine behavior in boys with androgynous characteristics may be tolerated and even reinforced in this Dominican culture . This can occur under special borderline circumstances , such as being the only boy in a family of five or more sisters , or being the last boy in a long family ( more than five to seven children ) and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , having a " sacred phallus . ' ' ( 92 , my emphasis ) # Selena defies heteronormative articulations of femininity and masculinity . For Butler , the necessity of appropriating heteronormative femininity depends " becoming undone " ( Undoing Gender 3 ) . According to Butler , " the T that I am finds itself at once constituted by norms and dependent on them but also endeavors to live in ways that maintain a critical distance and transformative relation to them " ( Butler , Undoing Gender 3 ) . The question of intelligibility depends on the performed and consistently reinforced gender norms of prescribed femininity . In pushing the limits of intelligibility , one risks becoming unreal : # Those who live outside the conjugal frame or maintain modes of social organization for sexuality that are neither monogamous nor quasi-marital are more and more considered unreal , and their loves and losses less than " true " loves and " true " losses . The derealization of this domain of human intimacy and sociality works by denying reality and truth to the relations at issue . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the narrative frame of the novel , I argue that owing to the overarching presence of queer subjectivities , the pain and loss of these unreal subjects becomes painfully real . One only need look at the rape of Selena and also the death of her friend Valentina . While these are subjects who typically exist on the periphery of society for reasons of bodily intelligibility and economic standing , within the narrative framework , they are the center . They are the focus of the work and thereby become hyper-real in their narrative presence . # Another significant character in the novel , Leocadio , serves as a parallel to Selena . He is a young Dominican boy who , like Selena , has been abandoned by his mother . Leocadio also represents another visually non-hegemonic body . While not a transvestite , nor transgender , Leocadio 's male identified body is marked by an excess of femininity that is noticed by his mother , by himself , and by various men around him . This excessive femininity creates a need to protect and shelter Leocadio , specifically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Upon encountering a libidinous man on the beach , Leocadio thinks to himself " hab&iacute;a que regresar a donde estaba Mam&aacute; . Ella era el salvo conducto , la piedra de toque . Si lo ve&iacute;an con ella , lo dejar&iacute;an tranquilo " ( 62 ) . The need to protect Leocadio extends to his new queer family established with do&ntilde;a Adelina . She inherits a house from her aunts and with her life savings dedicates herself to informally adopting boys from the streets and taking care of them . The boys in the family help support do&ntilde;a Adelina financially through petty robbery , legitimate jobs in hotels , and prostitution . This example of new kinship demonstrates what Elena GrauLleveria describes as : # Comunidades alternativas que estos grupos marginados crean y c&oacute;mo a trav&eacute;s de ellas se instaura un sistema educativo y se genera un apoyo emocional que prepara a sus miembros para desarrollar proyectos econ&oacute;micos cuya &uacute;ltima finalidad es conseguir una mayor autoestima de s&iacute; mismo y una posici&oacute;n de m&aacute;s poder frente a una sociedad que los niega tanto por tendencia social como por estrato @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to talk about increased self-esteem through prostitution , it must be noted that both Leocadio and his best friend and mentor Migueles also have ' legitimate ' jobs.4 However , the legitimacy and/or illegitimacy of their jobs , in terms of legality , respectability , or intelligibility , does not regulate nor impede upon queer practices . It is obliquely stated that Migueles , while working as a waiter at the Hotel Col&oacute;n , has more intimate interactions with the male guests . When Migueles insists that he does not want two of the same watch as a gift from a client , he reveals his encounters with North American and European men , while at the same time renouncing homosexuality . Speaking of the differences amongst clients he notes # los europeos son mejores que los gringos . Saben respetar a los hombres y no se ponen con eso de querer besar a uno , ni cogerle la mano en p&uacute;blico . Hacen lo suyo , si acaso , y ya . Pero al fin y a la postre , todos ellos se parecen . Les encantan los dominicanos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ las mismas bober&iacute;as. ( 218 ) # This discourse on sexual tourism mixes Migueles 's sexual relations with men with a need to maintain or affirm his masculinity . The dialogue becomes queer in itself . He speaks of how well men respect him , while emphasizing that they do not try to kiss him in public . The privacy of affection , for Migueles , becomes a form of respect , because he does not want his masculinity questioned publicly . However , it is important to consider the culturally variant notion of homosexuality in certain Latin American contexts . In Mexican Masculinities , Robert McKee Irwin notes that in Mexico , and I would argue in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico " acts of affection between men , which might be read as homoerotic today , passed unnoticed as long as those men involved appeared to be masculine " ( xxii ) . As such , the interactions between Migueles and the tourists would not be read necessarily as homosexual if Migueles maintained the binary division between male versus female and masculinity versus femininity . However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relationship that develops between Migueles and Leocadio . The desire for intimacy ( although not necessarily sexual ) and interpersonal contact trumps the need to maintain a macho fa&ccedil;ade : # Pero &eacute;l Migueles era un hombre ya , y un hombre guarda sus secretos . No anda por ah&iacute; &iquest;iri&eacute;ndole a todo el mundo lo que piensa ni lo que hace . Los hombres son reservados y no les gusta el chisme . Y Migueles insist&iacute;a en que &eacute;l era un hombre hecho y derecho . Pero le gustaba conversar con Leocadio. ( 214 ) # Importantly , the narrative also highlights the implications of North American and European sexual tourism in the Caribbean , a form of tourism that directly affects Migueles , Leocadio , and even Selena. # Chapter 15 , written entirely in English , demonstrates the perspective of a Canadian sex tourist towards the Caribbean other . When speaking about gay rights in the Caribbean he states , " It is understandable that they are not as evolved as us in these matters . I mean , we had Stonewall , we had Act-up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " ( 207 ) . While noting the dangers of being openly gay in the Caribbean ( as if there were no difference between Puerto Ricans , Dominicans , or Cubans who are out of the closet ) he clearly states " no , honey , I did not come here to play the spy nor to give free psychiatric counseling to my Caribbean sisters in distress . Done that , been there , without having to pay airfare . That is no way to spend a vacation " ( 208 ) . Rather , his intentions are " to be half naked , running around the beach , filled to the brim with pretty boys . And where else can you get that at a fair price ? The Caribbean ! " ( 208 ) . These statements clearly demarcate the rigidly established division between developed and developing world economies , as well as between races . The speaker objectifies the boys ' " pretty chocolate skin " ( 209 ) and finds it " cute " when , after having sex , " they the boys revert back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " ( 209 ) . # Migueles must work against these stereotypes and imposed identities . Migueles and Leocadio , like Selena and Martha , inhabit sites of multiple identifications . According to Jos&eacute; Esteban Mu&ntilde;oz " identity is enacted by minority subjects who must work with/resist the conditions of ( im ) possibility that dominant cultures generate " ( 6 ) . I argue here that Migueles , like Selena , enacts a form of disidentification , which according to Mu&ntilde;oz # is a strategy that works on and against dominant ideology . Instead of buckling under the pressures of dominant ideology ( identification , assimilation ) or attempting to break free of its inescapable sphere ( counteridentification , utopianism ) , this " working on and against " is a strategy that tries to transform a cultural logic from within ... ( II ) # Migueles disidentifies with the perceived role of a young boy who works in a tourist hotel . He utilizes and works against this prescribed role for the purpose of economic survival . Furthermore , he enacts an agency : while he depends on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gain , he will eventually subvert it , being that his ultimate goal is to escape the Hotel Col&oacute;n in order to open a business in Puerto Rico . One can assume that Migueles interacts with men like the Canadian sex tourist at his work , considering the Canadian tourist is staying at the Hotel Col&oacute;n. # However , the power of Migueles 's new found economic standing garnered through his encounters with clients must be analyzed . He gains respect from the other boys in his extended family , as well as inspiring and eventually helping Leocadio to get a job at the hotel as a dishwasher . Leocadio is also seduced by the power of this economy , and always hopes to steal a glance of the forbidden bar . The bar at the Hotel Col&oacute;n is where the men and the boys rendezvous and it is also where Leocadio and Migueles reveal the deeper relationship that exists between them . Migueles shows Leocadio how the men dance together and explains to him that it is not always the larger man that leads , but rather " el @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ El otro es la mujer " ( 273 ) . Migueles establishes heteronormative gender roles are established , even between non-heteronormative couples . However , this statement also skillfully decouples masculinity/femininity from maleness/femaleness . The roles of masculinity and femininity are adopted and performed by either sex , depending on how each partner negotiates these roles . # Importantly , masculinity is discursively constructed and patrolled through performative repetition . While homosocial relations between men regulate the policing of gender roles , Moya signals the importance of women in policing gender expression in the Dominican Republic , stating # Women have been seen as playing a pivotal role in the cultural transmission of gender anxiety and homophobia to the younger generations . Parents strongly fear that their children could eventually " become " homosexual and , because of this , the mother tends to behave as the guardian of child sexuality ... . ( 72 ) # Moya highlights the relationship between class and gender expression : # Mostly in the upper-middle and middle classes in the Dominican Republic , who are mainly concerned with social power , there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) etiquette for gendering both the verbal and non-verbal behavior of young boys away from " femininity. " ( 72 ) # This is visible in the way Hugo GraubeTs father handles his son 's masculinity at a young age , but is also demonstrably inverted in Martha Divine 's cultivation of Selena . Significantly , Martha acts as a guardian of Selena 's sexuality as mentioned above . # Moya demonstrates the intersections between race and class in perceptions and articulations of masculinity . He states , " instead of thinking about a single masculinity , ' hegemonic ' and ' subordinate ' forms should be recognized and studied , thus positing masculinity as a hierarchical construct " ( 74 ) . This perspective elucidates the paradoxically rigid while simultaneously fluid articulations of masculinity that occur in the Dominican Republic . Masculinity is not categorically definable as a binary position in opposition to femininity . Rather , the categorizations delimited by Moya ( hegemonic , subordinate , marginal , and residual masculinities ) demonstrate the relative fluidity of gender identity in the Dominican Republic . Significantly , however , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but rather of categorical imposition from naming powers . Despite the oppositional rigidity versus fluidity , there seems to be a wider variation of possibilities , especially when compared to conceptualizations of gender , race , and class identity in the United States . # For gender identity in the Dominican Republic , specifically for masculinity/masculine identification , Moya argues that " homosociai relations among men are experienced as competitive gendered relations in terms of domination-subordination , at least in the ' definitely state ' of new dyadic relationships , where they establish , probably on an unconscious basis , who is the ' male ' ( leader , initiator ) and who is ' the female ' ( follower ) among them " ( 78 ) . Moya 's analysis of Dominican masculinity asserts that what exemplifies masculinity is its oppositional relationship to femininity , and that being a man is exemplified by its status as not female . This dynamic sets up a relationship in which masculinity is not necessarily defined by sexual desire , while it is , however , affirmed or denied because of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ male to masculinity is a diametrically opposed identification to femaleness . This relationship is couched upon the division between active ( masculine ) and passive ( feminine ) roles . According to Moya , homosexual desire is not necessarily emasculating , at least for the active participant , and " the stigma against male homosexuality partially results in the perception of this role as feminine , weak and lacking power " ( 90 ) . Masculinity is couched upon power relations rather than sexual desire . # The newly formulated queer kinship bonds between Martha , Selena , Leocadio , and Migueles demonstrate the relatively heteronormative framework of their relational bonds . Each has an ultimate desire that fits within family time as formulated by Flalberstam . Martha hopes to be comfortable in her post-operative body , Selena hopes to be economically self-sufficient , Leocadio wants a home for his family , and Migueles , like Selena , hopes to make money and establish himself . While these new queer kinships break heteronormativity in their outward presence , being that they do not fit the circumscribed definition of kinship through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the trans or queer identifications demolish the heteronormative classification of family heads as one male and one female , their ultimate life goals fit within Halberstam 's heteronormative family time . Or to quote Irune del R&iacute;o Gabiola , " both Sirena and Martha are depicted as complex individuals driven by heteronormative desires enacted through non-normative social practices " ( 86 ) . There is one character who , perhaps owing to his seemingly heteronormative and patriarchic position , has been somewhat overlooked in the analysis of new forms of kinship in Sirena Selena vestida de pena : Hugo Graubel. # Hugo Graubel represents the colonial legacy of the Dominican Republic , as well as its neoliberal future . He is the son of a wealthy sugar magnate , and has become a hotel and resort investor . He lives in a mansion in the wealthy beach resort town of Juan Dolio , outside of the capital Santo Domingo . Despite his privileged position and his seemingly perfect bourgeois family ( a young wife , two lovely children , a mansion on the beach ) Hugo too can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leocadio 's , was spent under the constant protection of a parental figure . However , while Leocadio 's mother protects her son 's emerging sexuality , Hugo 's father exposes and regulates it . Upon determining that his son may not be sufficiently masculine , Hugo 's father pays a woman named Eulalia to have sex with Hugo , which is described as a traumatic experience . After reaching orgasm : # Cerr&oacute; los ojos , se vio enterito por dentro , tan lejano de todos , de s&iacute; , y el terror fue tan grande que , de espanto , se ahog&oacute; en un mar . Entonces , solt&oacute; un bramido desesperado . El padre , que lo esperaba afuera , crey&oacute; que aquel bramido era serial de que el pupilo hab&iacute;a aprendido el oficio de macho . Pero el pupilo bramaba de miedo , el sentimiento m&aacute;s fuerte que hab&iacute;a sentido en toda su vida ... ( 144 ) # Hugo 's initiation into manhood becomes an irreconcilable moment around which his life spins . He describes his desire : " quer&iacute;a volver a sentir aquella sensaci&oacute;n @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return , " ni borracho , ni acost&aacute;ndose con siete mil mulatas , ni dej&aacute;ndose clavar por wachimanes , ni en los ba&ntilde;os turcos , puentes y callejones del extranjero " ( 145 ) . Not even his marriage to the young Solange pacifies his trauma . A year after their union , Solange complains that the marriage has yet to be consummated . The moment of penetration dissolves his temporarily found peace , which " lo distrajo de las tardes de la playa , de los bugarrones por contrato , del deseo por los hijos preadolescentes de sus compa&ntilde;eros de la industria " ( 155 ) . The moment of consummation completely destroys this temporary satisfaction and the search for his body at peace continues . # From an outward perspective , Hugo Graubel is the epitome of the heteronormative family man . However , while characters such as Martha , Selena , Leocadio , and Migueles search for a seemingly normative future . Hugo Graubel 's desire seems counter-normative , in that , instead of conforming to the family time norms of familial sharing , he desires self-satisfaction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ultimate desire rests in Selena , being that she can potentially embody all that he desires : masculine , feminine , youth , experience , and such . Selena becomes emblematic of Hugo 's desire for queer time because a relationship with her will not carry the markers of heteronormative family time . With Selena , Graubel can exist within a quasi-liminal space that is not regulated by birth , child rearing , and death . Rather , a relationship with Selena begets a return to a pre-violated state , the state that Hugo so desperately searches for in his wife 's body and in his encounters with various young men . The queering , as it is represented through Graubel , becomes unmarked by family time . This allows for a relationship that deviates from one standard marker of heteronormative development : initiation into manhood . The text reveals the trauma of this event . However , in his relationship with Selena , Hugo finds a type of catharsis , which helps to heal the trauma of his forced sexual encounter . The love making between Selena and Graubel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nota cuando le cae un poco de saliva tibia entre las nalgas , y luego , sonr&iacute;e al sentirse arropado por la presi&oacute;n de un cuerpo menudito que se le trepa encima y le coloca la punta de su misterio en la boca de atr&aacute;s . Hugo se retuerce , el calor del roce lo adormila y ya no sabe nada m&aacute;s que aguantarse a las s&aacute;banas de aquella cama , mientras su sirenito lo cabalga despacio ; despu&eacute;s , m&aacute;s r&aacute;pido y m&aacute;s . Hugo se deja transportar por un susurro de carne , por una corriente de fri&oacute; , como si estuviera al fondo de algo muy azul y muy profundo. ( 278 ) # This moment demonstrates a cathartic release on the part of Hugo Graubel , while narrating the revelation of Selena 's masculinity . This moment of calling Selena ' sirenito , ' the masculine form of ' sirena , ' allows Selena to exist outside of the highly constructed and performed act of femininity . While Selena enjoys performing , her desire to be recognized as ' sirenito ' is evidenced in the text @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sirenito " ( 277 ) . At the same time , this moment further reveals Hugo 's queer subjectivity , because , rather than upholding the masculine/feminine binary in an encounter between he and Selena , recognizing Selena 's masculine sex allows him to truly recognize his desire . Furthermore , this moment decouples maleness from masculinity as well as femaleness from femininity . The fluidity of identifications opens a space of self-identification and self-actualization that does not depend on rigid social and sexual binaries. # Hugo 's desire rests in the other ( Selena ) , and this particular other is one that embodies many possible identifications of queer subjectivity . Despite his outward heteronormativity , Hugo is in fact also identifiable within a queer subjectivity . I argue that his desired outcome is the only one that fits within Halberstam 's description of queer time . His desire is to remove himself from the family time of his current situation and to inhabit a queer time that is not demarcated by the traditional events of marriage , birth , and death . However , Selena 's drive toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Selena recognizes the lack of agency that comes from depending upon another person . She has already , although not maliciously , left Martha Divine in order to pursue her private contract with Hugo Graubel . Furthermore , she recognizes in Solange , Hugo 's wife , the entrapment that comes with being financially supported by another . Grau-Lleveria notes that Solange # crea escenarios perfectos para que otros crean lo que ella quiere ser . Sin embargo , las escenificaciones de Solange no le dan un espacio a ella ; ella se diluye como una pieza m&aacute;s del montaje general que ha dise&ntilde;ado . Su nueva identidad no depende de lazos personales sino de la imagen que recibe como la se&ntilde;ora de Graubel. ( 244 ) # Solange , like Selena and Martha Divine , depends on the performative impulse of femininity for her economic and social survival . Societal conventions of femininity force Solange into a role that confines her to her mansion and obliges her to play the role of the good wife . Her husband is trolling for young men on the street , so she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lo necesita ahora es para ser una se&ntilde;ora , saber de tenedores , tener su puesto asegurado por toda la eternidad " ( 179 ) . Just like the female identified characters that depend on the construct of femininity for survival , so too does Solange . Furthermore , Solange , like Selena and Martha Divine , aspires to a higher social position garnered through various forms of prostitution and performance . While Solange does not work the streets , her father essentially prostitutes her to a wealthy associate ( Graubel ) to ensure the family 's dwindling fortune . Interestingly , Solange then also works as a foil to Graubel , who was also forced into a sexual relationship to ensure his masculinity and his father 's image . # As such , Graubel 's ultimate desire is problematized because it depends on the other . The new formulations of queer kinship represented in Sirena Selena vestida de pena depend on interconnectivity but ultimately rely on a type of personal venture capitalism , in which each member of the neo-family must depend on themselves , rather than on others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reintegration of new family members into the lines of queer kinship . Just as Selena was Martha 's prot&eacute;g&eacute;e in the beginning of the novel , there exists the possibility of finding a new prot&eacute;g&eacute;e . Upon seeing Leocadio and Migueles dancing in the bar , Martha notes , " tiene algo ese nenito , tiene algo , igualito a lo que ten&iacute;a la Sirena . Qui&eacute;n sabe . La vida da muchas vueltas . A&uacute;n le quedan br&iacute;os en los implantes . Quiz&aacute;s pueda volver a empezar " ( 282 ) . Sirena Selena vestida de pena effectively demonstrates new formulations of queer kinship , while highlighting how visually hegemonic bodies can dismantle the heteronormative drive that forcefully identifies masculinity with male and femininity with female . The characters create new bonds of kinship that depend on experience rather than blood ties and marriage . As such , these new forms of kinship would seemingly fit within Halberstam 's formulation of queer time , rather than family time . However ironically , the character that best inhabits of queer time is the wealthy sugar magnate Hugo Graubel . His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seemingly compulsory identification between male and masculine , since for Graubel , Selena consistently performs the role of the femme fatale . However , at the moment of Graubel 's consummation of sexual desire , Selena is envisioned as a young boy . In this moment it is Selena who penetrates Graubel , yet this is not to argue that one plays the masculine role and the other the feminine . Furthermore , the scene of penetration is described almost as a non-penetrative act . Rather , this moment at the end of the text demonstrates the malleability of identity that works upon and against dominant identification practices , affording each character a space of self-identification that begets personal agency . # Sirena Selena vestida de pena explores how visually counter-hegemonic bodies challenge existence within a queer space or time , while demonstrating the ways in which bodies move on and against heteronormative understandings of intelligibility . Through her writing , Mayra Santos-Febres represents bodies in movement , whose subjectivities are understood beyond binary frameworks of identity . However , even those visually hegemonic bodies within SantosFebres 's work demonstrate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the queer counter-discourses enacted , in varying degrees , by all of the characters in the text . Throughout Sirena Selena vestida de pena , Mayra Santos-Febres 's characters challenge identity as a discrete categorization . Whether through the kinship bonds forged between Leocadio and Migueles , or the cathartic sexual encounter between Hugo Graubel and Selena , each moment in the novel opens a space for queer representation , a space in which , perhaps , the matriarch Martha Divine will finally find comfort and belonging . Footnote # 1 Visually counter hegemonic within the space of the novel refers to bodies that , through their physical description , are clearly divergent from **25;4930;TOOLONG notions of masculine or feminine . Their purely visual presence sets up a particular expectation of difference . Footnote # 2 It is important to keep in mind that all gender representations are performances ; I do not wish to insinuate that any character 's gender as performative is in any way disingenuous . # 3 Perhaps with the exception of Graubel 's father , who forces a sexual encounter upon his young son in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ son and of himself , as his son functions as an extension of his own masculinity . Footnote # 4Prostitution , while a line of work that is historically read through heteronormative interpretations of exploitation , disenfranchisement , indecency , and/or illegitimacy , can , in certain cases , be read as a form of agency , enfranchisement , and power . It is important to consider the ways in which prostitution , as represented in this text , becomes a queer form of capitalist entrepreneurship , in which subjects can gamer access to power . References # Works Cited # Anderson . Benedict . Imagined Communities : Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism . London : Verso , 1991. # Butler . Judith . Bodies That Matter : On the Discursive Limits of " Sex . " New York : Routledge , 1993. # . Undoing Gender . New York : Routledge , 2004. # Grau-Lleveria , Elena . " Sirena Selena vestida de pena de Mayra Santos-Febres : econom&iacute;a , identidad y poder . " Hispanic Research Journal : Iberian and Latin American Studies 4.3 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Queer Time and Place : Transgender Bodies , Subcultural Lives . New York : New York UP , 2005. # Irwin , Robert McKee . Mexican Masculinities . Minneapolis : U of Minnesota P , 2003. # Moya , E. Antonio de . " Power Games and Totalitarian Masculinity . " Interrogating Caribbean Masculinities : Theoretical and Empirical Analyses . Ed . Rhoda E. Reddock . Kingston : U of the West Indies P , 2004. 68-102. # Mu&ntilde;oz , Jos&eacute; Esteban . Disidentifications : Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics . Minneapolis : U of Minnesota P , 1999. # Quiroga , Jos&eacute; . Tropics of Desire : Interventions from Queer Latino America . New York : New York UP , 2000. # R&iacute;o Gabiola , Irune del . " A Queer Way of Family Life : Narratives of Time and Space in Mayra Santos-Febres 's Sirena Selena vestida de pena . " Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 11 ( 2007 ) : 77-95. # Santos-Febres , Mayra . Sirena Selena vestida de pena . Doral , Fla. : Punto de Lectura , 2000.

@@4170641 Headnote # ABSTRACT Mapping-by-sequencing has become a standard method to map and identify phenotype-causing mutations in model species . Here , we show that a fragmented draft assembly is sufficient to perform mapping-by-sequencing in nonmodel species . We generated a draft assembly and annotation of the genome of the free-living nematode Oscheius tipulae , a distant relative of the model Caenorhabditis elegans . We used this draft to identify the likely causative mutations at the O. tipulae cov-3 locus , which affect vulval development . The cov-3 locus encodes the O. tipulae ortholog of C. elegans mig-13 , and we further show that Cel-mig-13 mutants also have an unsuspected vulval-development phenotype . In a virtuous circle , we were able to use the linkage information collected during mutant mapping to improve the genome assembly . These results showcase the promise of genome-enabled forward genetics in nonmodel species . # KEYWORDS Oscheius tipulae ; genome assembly ; mapping-by-sequencing ; vulva development ; mig-13 # A few model organisms have greatly contributed to biological research in the last decades , among them the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans . However , to tell conserved from specific features and understand the evolutionary process that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at key phylogenetic positions are necessary . Genome sequences have been instrumental in model organism research , and the ongoing revolution in new genome sequencing and assembly technologies eases the once-daunting task of building such resources for any species . Draft assemblies can now be achieved within a few months at a reasonable cost , even by individual teams . Once a reference genome and gene annotation are available , other high-throughput sequencing techniques , such as RNA sequencing , can be used to explore genotype-phenotype interactions ( Liu et al 2015 ; Roux et al . 2015 ) . Classical forward genetic approaches , i.e. , phenotypebased mutagenesis screens , are easy to perform and universal , provided the species can be cultured and crossed . Forward genetics has the huge advantage of identifying genes without prior knowledge or bias , which is particularly important in evolutionary comparisons . Such forward screens have been applied to many nonmodel species , but a remaining challenge is the identification of causative mutations and thus the function of target genes at the molecular level . # Massively parallel sequencing permits rapid identification @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become a standard forward genetic approach in most model organisms , including Arabidopsis thaliana ( James et al . 2013 ) , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Danio rerio , Drosophila melanogaster , and C. elegans ( Schneeberger 2014 ) . Mapping-by-sequencing strategies are generally based on the sequencing of bulksegregant populations ( Michelmore et al . 1991 ) . Starting with a cross between the mutant strain of interest to a phenotypically wild-type but genetically different outcrossing strain , F2 grand-progeny individuals showing the recessive mutant phenotype are selected , and their DNA is pooled and sequenced . The recessive causative allele is necessarily homozygous for all individuals in this bulk mutant sample . For any polymorphic position between the two backgrounds , allele frequencies can be measured from mapped sequencing reads . If unlinked to the selected mutation , polymorphisms that distinguish the two parental strains will be found in the mutant pool at equal frequencies . However , if these markers are genetically linked to the causative mutation , the proportion of the allele from the wild-type background will decrease close to the mutated locus and approach zero in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ genome will thus define a region of low wild-type allele frequency , surrounding the location of the causative mutation . The physical size of this interval will decrease with the number of meiotic recombination events in the F2 population ( and , if limiting , with the number of available polymorphic positions ) . # In theory , if a mutant strain only differs from a nonmutant strain by a single mutation , comparing whole-genome sequencing data should reveal this polymorphism with no need for mapping ( Nordstr&ouml;m et al . 2013 ) . In practice , genetic mapping information is required because a mutagenized strain and its nonmutagenized reference will have many spurious fixed differences : nonphenotype-causing mutations due to mutagenesis , or de novo spontaneous mutations fixed by drift in each strain . Technical noise , such as sequencing or mapping errors , can also contribute to observed variation . After one or several crosses , most of these variations can be excluded because they fall outside the mapping interval . Hence , sequencing bulk-segregant F2 populations and mapping allele frequencies on a reference genome is key to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ applied to crop plants like rice ( Abe et al . 2012 ; Fekih et al . 2013 ; Takagi et al . 2013 ) , maize ( Liu et al . 2012 ; Li et al . 2013 ) , or barley ( Mascher et al . 2014 ; Pankin et al . 2014 ) , in which the genome is incomplete but high-resolution physical and genetic maps exist for each chromosome . Whether mapping-by-sequencing can be efficient in organisms with a fragmented or incomplete reference genome and no genetic map has not been tested . # The phylum Nematoda , which includes the model organism C. elegans , is an ideal target for the development of new species as model organisms amenable to forward genetics , because many species combine easy genomics and easy genetics . First , the relatively small size of nematode genomes , ranging from 20 to 400 Mb , ensures reasonable costs and good quality for most genome projects ( Kumar et al . 2012 ) . Second , the powerful genetics of C. elegans comes from its short life cycle and its androdioecious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with X0 males in a facultative and controllable manner . Other nematode species sharing these features have therefore been chosen to perform forward genetics : C. briggsae ( Gupta et al . 2007 ) , Oscheius tipulae ( F&eacute;lix 2006 ) , and Pristionchus pacificus ( Sommer 2006 ) . With C. elegans , these three free-living bacteriovorous nematodes belong to the Rhabditinae ( De Ley and Blaxter 2002 ) also referred as clade V ( Blaxter et al . 1998 ) or 9 ( Holterman et al . 2006 ; van Megen et al . 2009 ) ; see Figure 1 . Besides its mode of reproduction and easy culture , O. tipulae has been chosen for several reasons : the two-step , anchor-cell induction of vulval-precursor-cell fates and its simple vulval cell lineage ( F&eacute;lix and Sternberg 1997 ) , its easy isolation from various regions of the world ( Baille et al . 2008 ) , and its phylogenetic position compared to C. elegans as an outgroup to Caenorhabditis species but an ingroup to P. pacificus ( Blaxter et al . 1998 ) . High-quality genome assemblies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . 2003 ) and P. pacificus ( Dieterich et al . 2008 ) . Classical techniques have been employed to map and identify genes involved in different traits with particular emphasis on the convergent evolution of self-fertile hermaphroditism , reviewed in Ellis and Lin ( 2014 ) , and vulva development ( Seetharaman et al . 2010 ; Sharanya et al . 2012 , 2015 ; Sommer 2012 ; Kienle and Sommer 2013 ) . In P. pacificus , genetic analyses of the evolution of sex muscles ( Photos et al . 2006 ) , gonad development ( Rudel et al . 2008 ) , dauer formation ( Ogawa et al . 2009 , 2011 ) , and buccal tooth dimorphism ( Bento et al . 2010 ) have been published . Inspired by the versatile and robust pipelines of mapping-by-sequencing routinely used for C. elegans ( Minevich et al . 2012 ) , we generated a genome assembly for O. tipulae and here test mapping-by-sequencing in this species . # The available O. tipulae mutants have been obtained in forward genetic screens for mutations affecting vulva development and egg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ al . 2003 ; Dichtel-Danjoy and F&eacute;lix 2004 ) . The nematode vulva connects the uterus to the outside and is required for egg laying and copulation . Vulva precursor cell specification is one of the best known developmental systems in C. elegans ( Sternberg 2005 ) , and the development of the vulva has become an important system for comparative studies in nematodes ( Sommer and Bumbarger 2012 ) . The C. elegans vulva develops from a group of six precursor cells aligned along the ventral midline of the animal , called P3.p to P8.p ( Figure 1 ) . While the vulva is under strong selective pressure for egg laying and mating ( especially in obligate outcrossing species ) , a complex mosaic of change and stasis of different vulval developmental traits is observed among Rhabditinae ( Kiontke et al . 2007 ) . To date , most studies have focused on the conservation of the anteroposterior pattern of fates expressed by the three central precursor cells P5.p , P6.p , and P7.p across wide phylogenetic distances ( Figure 1 ) . Progeny of these three cells have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mature vulva , with ( usually ) P6.p taking a central , primary ( 1&deg; ) fate , and P5.p and P7.p taking a secondary ( 2&deg; ) fate . Nematode vulval development is one of the best examples of how pervasive but cryptic evolution modifies the mechanisms of development despite an invariable output ; a phenomenon known as " developmental system drift " ( True and Haag 2001 ; Burgess 2011 ; Robinson 2011 ) . Interestingly , the phenotypic spectrum of O. tipulae vulva mutants suggests substantial underlying evolutionary differences in specification and interaction compared to other species . In O. tipulae , all but 1 of the 34 vulval mutations so far isolated in forward genetic screens await molecular identification . Uncovering the molecular nature of the 33 mutants that are still uncharacterized in O. tipulae will help to unveil the mode and tempo of the vulva development system drift and possible innovations among Rhabditinae. # Here , we integrate a range of genomic tools to rapidly and cost effectively build a draft genome assembly and annotate genes in the nematode O. tipulae . Despite its fragmentation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platform for mapping-by-sequencing . As a proof of concept , we identify the vulva mutant gene cov-3 ( Louvet-Vall&eacute;e etal. 2003 ) as the O. tipulae homolog of C. elegans mig-13 . Finally , we show that linkage information collected during mapping of mutant alleles can be further used to detect mis-scaffolding and to group scaffolds into chromosome-scale linkage groups , improving the initial assembly , and providing useful information for further genetic mapping and mutant gene identification . # Materials and Methods # Nematode strains and culture # The O. tipulae reference strain CEW1 , originally from Brazil , was used for forward mutant screens ( F&eacute;lix et al . 2001 ) . The second wild strain that we used as a source of molecular polymorphisms is JU170 , a strain sampled from soil in Sevilla , Spain , in 2000 . This latter strain was chosen as it has a high genetic distance compared to CEW1 , based on prior amplified fragment length polymorphisms ( AFLP ) analysis of a set of 63 wild O. tipulae isolates ( Baille et al 2008 ) . O. tipulae mutant strains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2000 ; Dichtel et al . 2001 ) . See Supplemental Material , Table S3 , for the list of mutant alleles used in this study . These alleles were described in Dichtel et al . ( 2001 ) , Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al . ( 2003 ) , and Dichtel-Danjoy and F&eacute;lix ( 2004 ) , except for mf33 , whose phenotype is only weakly penetrant and will be described elsewhere . O. tipulae strains were thawed from frozen stocks and cultured at 23&deg; on NGM-plates seeded with Escherichia coli OP50 , as previously described ( F&eacute;lix et al . 2000 ) . The C. elegans strains used were Bristol strain N2 and the CF726 strain carrying the mig-13(mu225) X mutation , and they were cultured according to standard protocols ( Brenner 1974 ) at 20&deg;. # Library preparation and next-generation sequencing # For genome assembly , genomic DNA was extracted from a mixed-stage growing population using reagents from the Puregene Core Kit A ( QIAGEN , Valencia , CA ) . Data were generated from a 400-bp library and a 3-kb mate-pair or jumping library , following manufacturer 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Genome Research , Liverpool . The 400-bp library was sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform ( 6.5 million 100-base read pairs and 20.7 million 300-bp read pairs ) . The paired-end library was sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq2500 ( 145.5 million 100-bp paired reads ) ( Table S1 ) . Raw data have been submitted to the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Consortium ( INSDC ) under project accession no . PRJEB15512. # RNAwas extracted from a mixed-stage growing population of O. tipulae CEW1 , cultured in standard laboratory conditions . Poly(A)-enriched complementary DNA was prepared from the RNA by GATC ( Konstanz , Germany ) and normalized using reassociation kinetics . RNA sequencing was performed by GATC on the Roche GS FLX Titanium platform . A total of 592,650 reads ( average length 369 bp ) remained after filtering for quality . Raw transcriptome data are available in INSDC under project no . PRJEB15512 ) . # For mapping-by-sequencing , genomic libraries and sequencing data from O. tipulae JU170 ( INSDC project accession no . PRJEB19969 ) and mutant F2 pools ( see project accessions in Table S3 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ &lt;800 bp ) were paired-end sequenced on Illumina Hiseq2000 , Hiseq2500 , or Hiseq4000 with 100-bp reads to obtain 2.2 GB ( 40X coverage ) of clean data per sample after manufacturer 's data filtering ( removing adaptor sequences , contamination , and low-quality reads ) . # Genome assembly # All software tools used ( including versioning and command line main options ) are summarized in Table S4 . Raw reads were trimmed for adaptors using Cutadapt ( Martin 2011 ) and low-quality bases , then corrected for sequencing errors based on k-mer content using Quake ( Kelley et al . 2010 ) and JELLYFISH ( Mar&ccedil;ais and Kingsford 2011 ) . Raw data were checked with FastQC ( Andrews 2010 ) and a preliminary assembly generated with CLC Assembly Cell ( CLC bio 2017 ) ( Table S5 ) . The CLC assembly was screened for contaminants using taxon-annotated , GC-coverage ( TAGC ) plots ( Kumar et al . 2013 ) . Only data deriving from E. coli , the food source , was identified as contaminant and the corresponding reads were removed . The optimal k-mer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using KmerGenie ( Chikhi and Medvedev 2014 ) . Nine different assemblers ( Table 1 ) were used to generate preliminary assemblies and these were assessed using basic metrics , correctness of read alignment using ALE ( Clark et al . 2013 ) and REAPR ( Hunt et al . 2013 ) , and biological completeness using Core Eukaryotic Genes Mapping Appoach ( CEGMA ) ( Parra et al . 2007 ) and direct identification of ribosomal RNA genes and mitochondrial genome sequences . SPAdes ( Bankevich et al . 2012 ) outperformed the other assembly tools in almost all aspects and was chosen as draft assembly nOt.1.0 . An improved assembly limited to the nuclear genome ( nOt.2.0 ) was generated by removing mitochondrial contigs and contigs of abnormally low coverage and by breaking all scaffolds where mis-assembly had been indicated from analysis of mapping plots and REAPR fragment coverage distribution ( FCD ) scores . # Gene prediction and orthogroup inference # Genes were predicted using a two-pass pipeline ( Koutsovoulos et al . 2014 ) ( see Figure S3 ) based on MAKER2 ( Holt and Yandell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , and using the transcriptome data as evidence . Repeats were identified in the assembly using RepeatModeler ( Smit etal. 2013-2015 ) . MAKER2 was run in an SGE cluster using the SNAP ( Korf 2004 ) ab initio gene finder trained by CEGMA ( Parra et al . 2007 ) output models , the GeneMark-ES ab initio finder , SwissProt proteins , and O. tipulae transcripts . The transcriptome data were filtered so that only reads &gt;300 bases that had significant **32;6475;TOOLONG ( BLAST ) similarity to C. elegans protein databases were kept . The MAKER2 predictions were used to train Augustus to generate a custom gene-finding profile for O. tipulae . Finally , Augustus was used with the gene-finder profile and O. tipulae transcripts to predict the final gene set . Not enough transcript evidence was available to train a model of untranslated regions ( UTRs ) , and therefore no UTRs were annotated . Protein sets for C. elegans ( C. elegans Sequencing Consortium 1998 ) , Dictyocaulus viviparus ( Koutsovoulos et al . 2014 ) , Meloidogyne hapla ( Opperman et al . 2008 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , downloaded from WormBase ( http : //www.wormbase.org/ ) , were clustered with Orthofinder ( Emms and Kelly 2015 ) using an inflation value of three . # Synteny # O. tipulae scaffolds containing &gt;100 predicted proteincoding genes were selected to perform synteny analyses between O. tipulae and C. elegans . Predicted proteins from these 36 scaffolds were compared to the C. elegans protein data set with BLAST to identify orthologous pairs . For each pair , the chromosome location of the C. elegans ortholog was identified . Hierarchical clustering was performed to group the scaffolds into groups based on the proportions of C. elegans chromosomal attributions ( Figure S9 ) . # Mapping crosses # JU170 males were crossed with young mutant hermaphrodites of the desired recessive mutant genotype ( in the CEW1 background ) and several F1 cross-progeny were singled . In the F2 progeny , mutant animals were isolated based on the observation of the mutant phenotype ( checked under Nomarski microscopy if necessary ) and singled onto individual plates . These lines were amplified by selfing and allowed to grow until the E. coli food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , independent mutant F2-derived populations ( 21 for mf35 and 51 for sy463 ) were washed several times in M9 buffer ( Stiernagle 2006 ) and stored at -80&deg; as pellets . A similar mass of nematodes from each F2 line was then pooled for DNA extraction . For the F2 sequencing of other mutations , each F2-derived population was checked for the presence of the mutation in the homozygous state and allowed to grow until the E. coli food was just exhausted . Nematodes were directly pooled from different plates and washed in M9 buffer . DNA was then extracted using the Puregene Core Kit A ( QIAGEN ) . # Variant analysis , gene mapping , and identification # JU170 whole-genome sequencing data were analyzed to identify SNPs compared to the CEW1 reference genome . These variants were then used for genetic mapping of the mutants ( listed in Table S3 ) . Reads were mapped with bwa ( Li and Durbin 2009 ) to the CEW1 assembly , mappings processed with the GATK tool suite ( McKenna et al . 2010 ) version 3.3-0 and variants called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authors ' recommendations of best practice ( DePristo et al . 2011 ; Van der Auwera et al . 2013 ) , realigning reads around indels and performing BQSR by bootstrapping a first call made with HaplotypeCaller . We analyzed the 300-bp CEW1 MiSeq data used for genome assembly with the same pipeline , after E. coli decontamination , as a control for variant calling . We then hard filtered a list of high-confidence SNPs of JU170 with conservative criteria , retaining homozygous positions covered by at least three reads in each strain , with a sequencing and mapping quality higher than 100 and 55 , respectively , and a position noted as reference in CEW1 and variant in JU170 . Sequencing data from pooled F2 mutants were analyzed with the same pipeline , except that variant calling was restricted to a list of JU170 SNPs previously established for faster computing ( using the HaplotypeCaller option genotypingmode GENOTYPEGIVENALLELES ) . Output VCF files were used to compute allele frequencies for each SNP on the JU170 list as the ratio of the number of reads with the JU170 allele over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each scaffold using custom R scripts . Scaffolds displaying a mean JU170 allele frequency &lt;10% were selected as possibly linked to the candidate locus and retained for a second , unrestricted variant call . JU170 variants were filtered out from the output at this stage . We also systematically added for analysis the 47 scaffolds that do not carry SNPs between JU170 and CEW1 ( 0.1% of the genome ) . The functional impact of identified variants was assessed using snpEff ( Cingolani et al . 2012 ) and used to prioritize candidate genes . Where two alleles of the same gene were analyzed , candidate gene lists were compared to exclude identical variations ( likely initial background variations ) and were inspected for independent hits to the same gene with a different noncomplementing mutation . When necessary , visual inspections of variations in aligned reads was performed with Tablet ( Milne et al 2013 ) . Scripts used to automate this pipeline are available at : @longurl # Sanger sequencing and gene validation # Four primers were designed to cover the Oti-mig-13 coding region . Oti-mig-13 fragments were amplified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , mf79 , mf80 , and sy463 ( Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al . 2003 ) . PCR products were verified on agarose gels , cleaned on columns , and sent for Sanger sequencing to Eurofins. # X chromosome linkage of scaffolds and pyrosequencing # Linkage of scaffolds to the X chromosome was determined using directed pyrosequencing of Fi males from crosses ( in both directions ) between the CEW1 and JU170 strains . For each scaffold , we selected one polymorphic nucleotide position in the middle of the scaffold in an otherwise conserved context ( no other variations in the 300 bp surrounding the variant ) to ensure unbiased PCR . For each position , two PCR primers and one sequencing primer were designed ( Table S6 ) using the pyrosequencer 's companion design software ( PyroMark Q96 ID instrument from Biotage , Uppsala , Sweden ) . The primers were tested on parental strains . PCR using universal biotinylated primers and single-stranded PCR amplicon purification was performed as previously described ( Duveau and F&eacute;lix 2010 ) . For each genotyping assay , in a successful mating plate , three individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transferred individually into 10 ml worm lysis buffer containing proteinase K ( 200 mg/ml ) and frozen at -20&deg; . Nematodes were then thawed and lysed at 60&deg; followed by 15 min at 95&deg; to inactivate the proteinase . A total of 4 ml of worm lysate was used as PCR template . Pyrosequencing reactions were performed in the sequencing mode . High-quality DNA extracts from the parental strains were used as positive controls ( separately and mixed to mimic a heterozygote ) for each assay . Linkage to autosomes or the X chromosome was made if at least two male genotypes were concordant . # Scaffold linkage analysis # For each mutant strain ( see Table S3 ) and each scaffold , the mean frequency of alleles in the F2 mapping population wholegenome sequencing was extracted from the previous pipeline . All data sets included frequencies for the 144 scaffolds ( over a total of 191 in nOt.2.0 ) that contained polymorphic positions between the strains CEW1 and JU170 . Scaffolds and F2 mapping populations were clustered using the " heatmap.2 " function of the " gplots " package @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the early to mid-L4 larval stage using Nomarski microscopy. # Data availability # All raw sequencing data supporting the conclusions of this article have been submitted to the INSDC . Sequencing data of genomic DNA and RNA from reference strain CEW1 ( used for assembly ) are available under project accession no . PRJEB15512 . Wholegenome resequencing data of the mapping strain JU170 is under project accession no . PRJEB19969 . Project accession numbers corresponding to the sequencing data of F2 mapping populations of the different strains used in this study are listed in Table S3 . Annotations have also been submitted to the database European Molecular Biology Laboratory-European Bioinformatics Institute under the accession no . PRJEB15512. # All scripts used for mapping-by-sequencing and gene identification are available in https : **27;6509;TOOLONG AndalusianMapping. # The genome assembly and annotation is available for browsing , exploration , and download at http : //ensembl. **29;6538;TOOLONG ; and will be uploaded soon to WormBase ( http : //www.wormbase.org/ ) . # Results # Assembly and annotation of the O. tipulae genome # We sequenced the genome of O. tipulae strain CEW1 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ molecular and genetic studies ( Blaxter et al . 1998 ; F&eacute;lix et al . 2001 ; Ahn and Winter 2006 ; F&eacute;lix 2006 ) . Following the strategy suggested by the 959 Nematode Genomes project ( Kumar et al . 2012 ) , we generated data from two libraries ( see Materials and Methods and Table S1 ) . Paired-end 300-base Illumina MiSeq reads ( 50-fold genome coverage ) were generated from a short insert library , and mate-pair 100-base Illumina HiSeq2500 reads ( 150-fold coverage ) from a 3-kb virtual insert library . Before assembly , we cleaned the raw data by removing adaptor and low-quality bases , and performed error correction ( see Materials and Methods and Figure S1 ) . E. coli contaminating data were identified using TAGC plots and removed ( Kumar et al . 2013 ) ( Figure S2 ) . We compared the performance of nine different assemblers ( Table 1 ) . All but one of the assemblers agreed on a genome size of 60 Mb , confirming evaluations based on k-mer counting . The assembly generated by SPAdes ( Bankevich et @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with only 203 scaffolds &gt;500 bp , N50 of &gt;1.5 Mb , and only 17,000 undetermined bases . The SPAdes assembly also had the highest accuracy as assessed by ALE ( Clark et al . 2013 ) and the third best by REAPR ( Hunt et al . 2013 ) , which are two reference-independent programs designed to track assembly errors ( Table 1 ) . From this first version , named nOt.1.0 , we derived the nuclear genome assembly nOt.2.0 by removing three mitochondrial scaffolds and discarding 32 contigs which had very low coverage . We also broke 16 scaffolds that showed evidence for overscaffolding ( see below ) . The final draft assembly spans 59,468,623 bases and includes 191 contigs &gt;500 bp . Gene finding was performed as previously described ( Koutsovoulos et al . 2014 ) , using both ab initio predictions and evidence from RNA-sequencing data ( Figure S3 and see Materials and Methods ) , and resulted in 14,938 gene predictions ( Table 2 ) . We assessed the completeness of the nOt.2.0 assembly using the CEGMA pipeline , and identified 97.6% complete and 99.2% @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely essential genes ( Parra et al . 2007 ) . The O. tipulae genome is surprisingly small , with a span only 59% of that of the model species C. elegans . This reduction likely results from different factors ( Table S2 ) . Genes are less numerous ( 74% that of C. elegans ) and have a denser packing ( 251 genes per Mb compared to 202 genes per Mb in C. elegans ) . They are also shorter overall ( mean gene length is 81% of C. elegans ) with shorter introns ( 160 bp vs. 339 bp ) , despite more introns per gene ( 8.5 vs. 6 ) . The reduction in genome size is mirrored in the reduction in the span of intergenic DNA , and the repeat content of this intergenic DNAis much reduced . Overall repeat content in O. tipulae is 8.4% of the genome compared to 18.7% in C. elegans , mosdy due to a much lower span of DNA elements ( 1.0% in O. tipulae compared to 9.9% in C. elegans ) . Comparing gene orthologies revealed no particular patterns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ genes , suggesting lower frequency of gene expansion and diversification in O. tipulae ( Figure S4 ) . # Mapping-by-sequencing identifies the cov-3 locus # Our motivation to assemble the O. tipulae genome was to identify the molecular lesions affecting vulva development in a set of previously characterized mutant strains ( Dichtel et al . 2001 ; Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al 2003 ; Dichtel-Danjoy and F&eacute;lix 2004 ) . To establish this proof of concept , we chose the cov-3 ( cov standing for competence and centering of vulva ) mutant . cov3-mutant O. tipulae display a partial loss of vulval competence with a highly penetrant anterior shift of the vulval fate pattern ( Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al . 2003 ) . This phenotype has only recently been described in C. elegans , occurring at low penetrance in some Wnt pathway mutants ( Milloz et al 2008 ; Grimbert et al 2016 ) ; suggesting that the coupling of competence and centering differs between the two species . Four alleles of cov-3 were available , permitting independent confirmation of candidate genes . # For genetic mapping , we chose the strain JU170 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEW1 ( the genetic background of all mutants ) based on AFLP ( Baille et al . 2008 ) . We resequenced JU170 to 40-fold coverage and identified SNPs and indels that distinguish CEWI and JU170 . We found one SNP every 95 bp on average , and a total of 632,027 SNPs ( see Figure S5 ) . For comparison , the genetically distant strain used routinely in C. elegans mappingby-sequencing ( CB4856 ) has an average SNP density of 1 SNP every 1000 bp ( Hillier et al . 2008 ; Minevich et al . 2012 ) , which is 10-fold less . # We crossed cov-3 hermaphrodites ( alleles mf35 and sy465 ) with JU170 males and selected F2 grand-progeny displaying the recessive cov-3 phenotype . After amplification by selfing , F2-derived populations were pooled and genomic DNA extracted and sequenced ( see Materials and Methods and Figure 2 ) . To identify the cov-3 mutations , a first variant call was performed only on known JU170 SNPs , and their frequencies were plotted genome wide . Scaffolds containing the lowest JU170 allele frequency were retained . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( excluding JU170 and other background variations ) . This analysis retrieved only eight candidate mutations which were prioritized according to their functional impact . In the sy463 pool , a putative 38-bp insertion was predicted to cause a frameshift in the nOt.2.0.1.t01002 gene , homologous to Cel-mig-13 . However , inspection of read pairing revealed a much larger deletion ( 1888 bp ) in this gene . No SNP variants were called at this locus for the mf35 pool , but inspection revealed a 283-bp deletion affecting the same gene ( Figure S6 ) . Such large deletions are expected to be less frequent than SNPs following EMS mutagenesis ( Flibotte et al . 2010 ) and the variant toolkit we used is not optimal for identification of large indels. # Both mutations are predicted to result in truncation of the expressed protein , and thus are likely to be loss-of-function alleles . In the F2 bulk-segregant data , JU170 allele frequency displayed a clear drop in the 1 Mb at the end of scaffold nOt.2.0.scaf00001 , an interval that contains 200 gene predictions including Oti-mig-13 ( Figure 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the best candidate gene for the cov-3 locus . To confirm this , the Oti-mig-13 locus was amplified and directly sequenced from all four available , independently isolated cov-3 alleles : sy463 , mf35 , mf79 , and mf80 . The deletions predicted from whole-genome resequencing were confirmed in sy463 and mf35 . In the **28;6569;TOOLONG ( TMP-UV ) -induced alleles mf79 and mf80 , two new frameshift-causing deletions were found , and these are thus also likely to be loss-of-function alleles ( Figure 2 ) . We have thus been able to use a draft genome assembly to identify a locus by mapping-by-sequencing . The O. tipulae cov-3 locus is orthologous to C. elegans mig-13 . Following standard nematode genetics nomenclature procedures , we redesignate Oti-cov-3 as Oti-mig-13. # The role of mig-13 in vulva development has changed between C. elegans and O. tipulae # The MIG-13 protein is predicted to be a single-pass , transmembrane protein that contains two protein-protein interaction domains ( a CUB domain and an LDL-receptor repeat ) , both extracellular . C. elegans and O. tipulae MIG-13 proteins are quite similar ( 48% aa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CUB and LDL functional domains ( Figure S7 ) . Similar organization is observed in MIG-13 homologs in other nematodes . In C. elegans , mig-13 is necessary for the anterior migration of the neuroblasts of the QR lineage ( Sym etal. 1999 ) , but Cel-mig-13 was not known to play any role in vulva development . While O. tipulae cov-3 mutants display a partially penetrant egg laying-defective phenotype , the C. elegans mig-13 mutants are not defective in egg laying . We further investigated the Cel-mig-13 ( mu225 ) null mutant using Nomarski microscopy on a large number of animals . We observed an anterior shift of the 1&deg; fate on P5.p , associated with decreased P4.p competence , a phenotype identical to the O. tipulae mig-13 phenotype , with very low ( 2% ) penetrance . Penetrance of this phenotype is 80% in O. tipulae ( Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al . 2003 ) ( Figure 3 , A and B ) . We also observed a more penetrant reduction in competence of vulval equivalence group cells in Cel-mig13(mu255) , where P(3,4,8).p adopt the noncompetent fused 4&deg; fate more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . Thus , mig-13 does play a role in vulva development in C. elegans , but the impact of its loss of function is reduced compared to O. tipulae , especially as far as the centering defect is concerned . The difference in the mutational phenotypic spectrum between the two species is thus likely to be due to a quantitative rather than a qualitative evolution of the contributions of mig-13 to the vulva genetic network . This example demonstrates the power of streamlined forward genetics in O. tipulae , as it both uncovers the evolution of developmental mechanisms hidden by a highly conserved cell-fate pattern , and also reveals new aspects of C. elegans development , even in a well-studied system such as vulva formation . # Improvements of the O. tipulae genome assembly using genetic linkage data # The JU170 allele frequency plots provide genome-wide information about genetic linkage that can be used to improve the genome assembly , both in identifying errors in assembly and in superscaffolding into linkage groups . Since many F2 lines are pooled in each data set , recombination events are averaged out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should vary continuously , especially along scaffolds unlinked to the selected mutations . Following precedents ( Leshchiner et al . 2012 ) , we used abrupt breaks in JU170 allele frequency in the mf35 and sy463 data sets as indications of mis-assembly . We confirmed overscaffolding by direct inspection of the aligned reads in 11 cases ( Figure 4A ) . From the REAPR FCD score for each broken scaffold , we estimated heuristically an FCD cutoff value , and broke five additional scaffolds that were not highlighted in the allele frequency plots ( Figure 4B ) . Detection of mis-assemblies using allele-frequency plots is highly dependent on the position of the mapped mutant locus and the number of pooled F2 animals . However , allele frequency plots provide evidencebased criteria to inform cutoff parameters to assess the correctness of the whole assembly . The modifications outlined above were integrated in assembly version nOt.2.0. # A second kind of information present in JU170 allele frequencies is genetic linkage between scaffolds . In an F2 mapping population , a scaffold with a JU170 allele frequency significantly &lt;0.5 indicates linkage to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allele frequency in the sy463 data set were also consistently low in the mf35 data set ( see Figure 2B , Figure 5A , and Figure S8 ) . We reasoned that we could infer linkage over the whole genome by analyzing similar data for several independent loci distributed over the genome . Following the same strategy as for cov-3 , we generated and sequenced F2 mapping populations from a cross between JU170 and 16 additional strains from our O. tipulae mutant collection , corresponding to 14 different genetic loci ( see Table S3 ) . Using the same pipeline as for cov-3 , the genes mutated in these strains were almost all identified and they will be described in a future article focusing on the evolutionary changes in vulva development between O. tipuale and C. elegans . Here , we only extracted the mean JU170 allele frequency of all scaffolds from each independent mapping data set , which does not require the causal mutations to be found . Using this approach , we sorted the genome into large chromosome-scale clusters , but which remain unordered ( Figure S8 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chromosomal linkage in the absence of close synteny has been observed in several comparisons ( Stein et al . 2003 ; Ghedin et al . 2007 ; Dieterich et al . 2008 ) . We produced a C. elegans chromosome homology profile for each of the 36 largest scaffolds ( &gt;100 kb , 79% of the assembly span ) ( Figure S9 ) . For each scaffold , we observed that a majority of the genes had orthologs located on a single C. elegans chromosome . This pattern was strongest for genes mapping to C. elegans chromosomes I , II , III , IV ; and weaker for chromosomes V and X. Clustering of these orthology-based profiles generated six groups ( labeled A-F in Figure S8 and Figure S9 ) that are likely to represent the six O. tipulae chromosomes observed by microscopy ( Ahn and Winter 2006 ) . We reasoned that if these orthology-driven clusters represent real chromosomes , they should also cluster by linkage . Indeed , orthology-driven clusters A , B , C , and D were fully preserved in the linkage clusters . We thus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tipulae chromosomes I , II , III , and IV , respectively , because the majority of genes in these linkage groups have their C. elegans ortholog in the corresponding chromosome ( Figure S9 ) . # In contrast , two scaffolds assigned in silico to group E and one assigned to group F were not genetically linked to other scaffolds of the respective group . Consideration of their content of orthologs suggested they should instead be swapped between these two chromosomes ( Figure 5A and Figure S8 ) . It was not possible to assign a clear C. elegans chromosome homology for these two remaining genetic clusters since they each have many orthologs in both C. elegans chromosomes V and X ( Figure S9 ) . To determine which O. tipulae chromosome is the sex chromosome , we directly genotyped F1 males from a cross between the reference strain CEW1 and the polymorphic strain JU170 . Markers were designed from the larger scaffolds of groups E and F and animals were genotyped by pyrosequencing . X0-males will be hemizygous for any X-linked markers , but diploid and thus heterozygous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 , B-D ) ( Srinivasan et al . 2002 ) . This strategy identified group E as representing the X chromosome , confirming previous observations of X-linkage for cov-3 ( Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al . 2003 ) and mf33 ( M.-A . F&eacute;lix , unpublished data ) . Cel-mig-13 is on the C. elegans X chromosome . This assignment suggests that there have been substantial rearrangements involving what are now the C. elegans and O. tipulae V and X chromosomes . The genotyping also identified an additional mis-assembled scaffold ( scaffold 8 , Figure S10 ) . We further annotated our preliminary chromosome assembly with the scaffold position of telomeres ( File S1 ) . # The scaffolds assigned to a chromosome corresponded to 99.5% of the genome . The remaining scaffolds were all small ( Figure 5E ) . A group of 47 scaffolds that bear no genomic variants between JU170 and CEW1 can not be mapped in this cross . Four scaffolds had a consistently high JU170 allele frequency across all genetic mapping data sets and are likely to be regions that happened to be genetically unlinked to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scaffolds had a consistently rather low mean JU170 allele frequency ( 20-25% ) and clustered together . Their low frequency of JU170 alleles could be an artifact due to problems of read mapping in divergent , repeated , or mis-assembled regions , or may be due to transmission distortion in the cross between two wild isolates as seen in C. elegans ( Seidel et al . 2008 ) or C. briggsae ( Ross et al . 2011 ) . For our mapping-by-sequencing approach , we flagged putative causative mutations associated with these scaffolds , but will return to them to attempt linkage attribution in the future . # Discussion # A draft assembly with a high quality provides a useful and versatile resource for a new nematode species # We assembled a rapid draft assembly for the reference CEWI strain of O. tipulae from relatively inexpensive Illumina shortread data . The assembly has good contiguity and gene content metrics , and appears to represent the O. tipulae genome well . It ranks among the better nematode genome assemblies alongside the complete C. elegans and Onchocerca volvulus assemblies and the almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assemblies , on which considerable finishing effort has been expended ( C. elegans Sequencing Consortium 1998 ; Stein et al . 2003 ; Hillier et al . 2007 ; Koboldt et al . 2010 ; Ross et al . 2011 ; Cotton et al . 2016 ; Hunt et al . 2016 ) . The high quality of the O. tipulae assembly is likely to be a result of the high homozygosity in the inbred strain sequenced ( Barriere et al . 2009 ) and the small genome size ( and concomitant reduced contribution of repeats , Table S2 ) . The total genome length in our assembly is 40% shorter than a previous estimate from reassociation kinetics ( Ahn and Winter 2006 ) . We found no evidence for missing genetic content , or a large span of overcollapsed repeats . It is perhaps more likely that the reassociation kineticsbased estimate is in error , as was observed for A. thaliana actual genome span of 135 Mb ( The Arabidopsis Genome Initiative 2000 ) , flow cytometry estimate of 150 Mb ( Bennett et al . 2003 ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . 1984 ) . # Regardless of the specific advantages of O. tipulae , achieving high-quality draft assemblies at reasonable cost is now feasible for a wide range of species . Advances in sequencing technologies and assembly algorithms can be combined to enable high contiguity assemblies , even from highly heterozygous organisms . For example , Fierst et al . ( 2015 ) recently produced a 131-Mb assembly of the highly polymorphic outcrossing C. remanei in only 1600 scaffolds , using a mix of short insert and mate-pair libraries , as we did here . We also found marked differences between assemblers , even those based on the same underlying algorithm . Comparisons of assembly toolkits have been made in several " Assemblathon " competitions , and from these it is clear that , while some assemblers do perform better consistently , customization of approach is key to optimal assembly ( Earl et al . 2011 ; Bradnam et al . 2013 ) . As the assumptions made in the coding of different assemblers may interact differently with the particular patterns of genome structure and diversity present in a target @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different assemblers in parallel for each new genome. # The O. tipulae assembly could still be improved . Longread sequence data from Pacific Biosciences , Oxford Nanopore , or 10X Genomics platforms could be used to further contiguate the genome . Long-range physical mapping using the BioNano or OpGen optical-mapping platforms could be used to superscaffold the existing assembly . Both of these approaches could yield chromosomal-sized scaffolds . Traditional genetic map production from a large mapping cross could also be used to bin and order scaffolds in a linkage map , and validate the sequence- or physical-based assembly . Genotyping-by-sequencing approaches such as restriction site-associated DNA sequencing ( Baird et al . 2008 ; Baxter etal. 2011 ; Fierst etal. 2015 ) or other reduced-representation sequencing methods would provide the density of markers required at minimal cost . Low-coverage , whole-genome skimming ; for example , of recombinant inbred lines as applied in C. elegans ( Li et al . 2006 ; Doroszuk et al . 2009 ; Rockman and Kruglyak 2009 ) , C. briggsae ( Hillier et al . 2007 ; Ross et al . 2011 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ; would serve the same goal . We were able to leverage the data generated from bulk-segregant identification of selected markers in a " virtuous circle " to also improve the assembly , binning scaffolds representing 99.5% of the assembly into putative chromosomal groups and will continue to do so with further mutations. # A complete assembly of the O. tipulae genome will require significant additional effort , but until that goal is achieved , we have shown that the existing assembly is a sufficient substrate for mapping of mutants and identification of genes . It is also highly informative concerning genome evolutionary dynamics in the Rhabditinae . The genome is available for browsing and download at http : **42;6307;TOOLONG **34;6599;TOOLONG # Toward universal forward genetics ? # For the first time , we successfully identified without a candidategene approach a phenotype-causing gene in O. tipulae , namely the Oti-mig-13 gene corresponding to the previously described cov-3 vulva mutants ( Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al . 2003 ) . Our pipeline is similar to those developed for model species ( Schneeberger et al . 2009 ; Minevich et al . 2012 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the genome into 200 contigs did not impair our ability to identify causative lesions . Three of the four mutations we identified in Oti-mig-13 were large deletions , including two derived from EMS mutagenesis screens . While TMP-UV mutagenesis is chosen because of its propensity to induce deletions , mutations induced by EMS are thought to mainly comprise G/C to A/T transitions ( Anderson 1995 ) ; but they can also include a significant proportion of deletions , especially after screens for strong loss-of-function mutations ( Flibotte et al . 2010 ; C. elegans Deletion Mutant Consortium 2012 ) . # Our results suggest that most good-quality draft genome assemblies will be sufficient to allow the identification of loci identified by forward genetics . Methods have been developed that directly identify fixed differences in raw whole-genome sequencing data without mapping to an assembly ( Nordstr&ouml;m et al . 2013 ) . This linkage- and reference-free strategy is particularly useful in organisms , such as plants , with large and repetitive genomes , because assembling such genomes is still challenging ( Schneeberger 2014 ) . However , this approach tends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidates by linkage . This is critical , as downstream validation of candidates is time consuming and occasionally not technically possible in nonmodel species . For Nematoda , where genomes are generally small , a pipeline with a de novo reference assembly and mapping by bulk-segregant analysis is very efficient . # Many nematode species are attractive subjects for laboratory research , thanks to their small size , fast life cycle , large broods , and simplicity of culture . The fact that many species can be cryopreserved simplifies genetic approaches . Many genetically diverse isolates are available from wild sampling collections for each species for generation of mapping populations . Facultative selfing has evolved multiple independent times in the phylum , and this , as in C. elegans , significantly simplifies genetic analyses . The homozygosing effect of selfing also ensures easier genome assembly , but high-quality genomic resources can still be built for obligate outcrossers , such as C. remanei ( Fierst et al . 2015 ) . Thus , many new nematode species , selfing or outcrossing , could now be turned into genetic model systems . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tools to validate the identified candidate genes . However , the revolution brought by the CRISPR-Cas9 system for genome editing may solve this issue , as shown by the recent successful implementations of this versatile technique in various nematode species other than C. elegans , including P. pacificus ( Witte etal. 2015 , p. 201 ) and C. briggsae ( Culp et al 2015 ) . # Evolution of development of the vulva In nematodes # We exemplify the relevance of the comparative genetic approach with our analyses of the evolution of the role of mig-13 in nematode vulva development . First , this gene would not have been investigated in a targeted reverse genetic study : phenotype-based screens ensure unexpected findings about genetic innovation . Second , although C. elegans vulva development has been studied in exquisite detail , the findings in O. tipulae allowed us to uncover a role for mig-13 in C. elegans vulval development . The precise involvement of mig-13 in vulva development remains an open question . MIG-13 in C. elegans was known to be required for the anterior migration of the QR neuroblast ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lrp12 , a mouse trans-membrane protein containing CUB and LDL repeats , is expressed in populations of migrating and polarized neurons during corticogenesis ( Schneider et al . 2011 ) and can partially rescue a C. elegans mig-13 mutant ( Wang etal. 2013 ) . Although the mechanism of action of mig-13 in neuroblast migration remains elusive , it likely acts cell autonomously to polarize the actin skeleton at the leading edge of the migrating cell ( Wang et al . 2013 ) . As reported previously ( Sym et al . 1999 ) , we were unable to detect mig-13 expression in the Pn.p vulva precursor cells in C. elegans , but this could be due to a weak expression as in QR neurons ( Wang et al . 2013 ) . A cellautonomous role of MIG-13 in migration of Pn.p cells could explain the centering phenotype observed in O. tipulae , although the mechanism of its effect on competence is less clear . In C. elegans , although vulval precursor cells move ( Grimbert et al . 2016 ) , this movement could be of reduced importance for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This reduced role would explain why cov phenotypes are not penetrant . It is tempting to speculate that MIG-13 acts as a receptor , but no ligand or protein partner has been identified . Finally , since a mixture of competence and centering phenotypes have been reported in Wnt mutants of C. elegans ( Eisenmannetal. 1998 ; Millozetal. 2008 ; Grimbert et al . 2016 ) , it will be important to test whether the Wnt and the mig-13 pathways interact during vulva development , and whether the Wnt pathway is disrupted in other O. tipulae cov mutants . Interestingly , mig-13 appears to be absent from the P. pacificus genome . Comparing vulva development in the three species will provide a useful framework to polarize evolutionary changes and understand the genetic basis of phenotypic change and stasis despite pervasive developmental system drift . # In conclusion , we have shown how a draft de novo genome assembly can be used to identify phenotype-causing mutations in a nonmodel species . Our method does not require physical or genetic maps of the genome . In addition to further understanding of key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a useful resource for phylumwide nematode genome analyses . We validated our approach by successfully identifying Oti-mig-13 as the gene responsible for the vulva mutant phenotypes described in cov-3 mutants ( Louvet-Vall&eacute;e et al . 2003 ) . Our results pave the way for the identification of further O. tipulae mutations . Mapping-bysequencing provides further linkage information , creating a virtuous circle between genome assembly and mutant mapping . More broadly , this work shows that the combination of better assembly techniques and mapping-by-sequencing now makes forward genetics realistic in nonmodel species . # Acknowledgments # We thank Sujai Kumar for a preliminary analysis of the Oscheius tipulae genome . We thank the staff of Edinburgh Genomics and the Centre for Genome Research for support . We thank Amhed Vargas Velazquez for computer help and for pointing out a duplication in the assembly . We thank Lewis Stevens for adding O. tipulae nOt.2.0 to http : // **26;6635;TOOLONG . We thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions . We acknowledge WormBase . We gratefully acknowledge support from the P&ocirc;le Scientifique de Mod&eacute;lisation Num&eacute;rique computing center of &Eacute;cole Normale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Biological Sciences Research Council Ph.D . studentship . This work was funded by grants from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche ( ANR12BSV2-0004-01 and ANR10-LABX-54 MEMOLIFE ) . We also acknowledge the support of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation ( Coup Elan 2011 ) and the support of European Molecular Biology Organization for a short-term fellowship awarded to F.B. ( ASTF 491-2014 ) . Some strains were provided by the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center , which is funded by the National Institutes of Health Office of Research Infrastructure Programs ( P40 OD-010440 ) . The authors declare that they have no competing interests . # Author contributions : M.-A.F. designed the project . F.B. , M.-A.F. , and S.D. performed the experiments . M.B. designed the sequencing scheme and supervised the downstream analysis . G.K. carried out the assembly and genomic analysis . F.B. implemented the mapping-by-sequencing workflow , conducted assembly improvements , and the genetic linkage analysis . F.B. , M.-A.F. , and S.D. mapped , identified , and confirmed the mutants . F.B. , M.A.F. , M.B. , and G.K. wrote the article . All authors read and approved @ @ @ @

@@4174041 <h> The Researchers Who Sank a Bogus Canvassing Study Have Replicated Some of Its Findings <p> By Steve Kolowich April 07 , 2016 <p> Stanford U. <p> David Broockman , a political scientist at Stanford , is a co-author of a new study that found that brief conversations can change minds . The finding is similar to one he helped debunk last year , but this time , he and his co-author say , the data are real . <p> David Broockman and Joshua Kalla last year became political-science stars , but not in the way they wanted . <p> In 2014 , when Mr. Broockman and Mr. Kalla were graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley , they were inspired by a paper by Michael J. LaCour , a graduate student at the University of California at Los Angeles , and Donald P. Green , a professor of political science at Columbia University . <p> The paper said that short conversations with canvassers could change people 's minds on gay marriage . Science published it in December of that year , and it quickly became the hottest piece of political-science research in recent memory . <p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work . Instead , they ended up debunking it . <p> The duo identified a string of irregularities in the published data . When Mr. LaCour , who was responsible for that data , could not prove that it was authentic , Mr. Green asked for the study to be retracted . The feat won Mr. Broockman and Mr. Kalla instant fame in the research world , but at a cost . The study had been important , not just for its methods but also for its findings . Many took the work of Mr. LaCour and Mr. Green as a sign that under the right circumstances empathy could defeat bias , even among strangers . <p> Mr. Broockman and Mr. Kalla now have partly redeemed that loss . On Thursday they announced the findings of a new study , inspired by the one they debunked , that reached similar conclusions about how brief conversations can change minds . <p> For the new study , well-trained canvassers walked around Miami neighborhoods , knocking on doors and having 10-minute conversations with voters about legal discrimination against transgender people . The activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the debate , encouraged them to talk about their personal experiences of prejudice , and asked where they stood on the issue . The researchers surveyed the same residents three days later , three weeks later , six weeks later , and three months later to see how their convictions had changed . <p> About 10 percent of respondents expressed more-positive feelings toward transgender people after talking to canvassers . Those changes in attitude were substantial , and they held up through the follow-up surveys . Both transgender and nontransgender canvassers were able to change minds -- a difference from Mr. LaCour and Mr. Green 's retracted study , which claimed that voters had found gay canvassers more persuasive on gay rights . <h> Transparency in Research <p> The new study , which will also be published in Science , marks the end of a strange opening chapter in the careers of Mr. Broockman and Mr. Kalla . <p> Mr. Broockman , who is now an assistant professor of political economy at Stanford University 's Graduate School of Business , was hesitant this week to revisit last year 's episode @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ran in the same circles as Mr. LaCour , and the two men discussed the earlier study before its publication . Debunking it had been necessary , but awkward . The Stanford political scientist says he has not talked with Mr. LaCour since then . " At this point , " he said , " looking back is not productive . " <p> Mr. Broockman acknowledges the influence of that paper on his own work . For the new study , he and Mr. Kalla combined an array of experimental techniques rather than choosing a single method . Mr. LaCour 's paper planted that idea , said Mr. Broockman . The method they used in the new study , detailed in a companion paper , also requires a smaller sample size than previous experiments , which the authors say could temper some of the ethical criticisms that have dogged experimental political science . <p> But when it comes to the legacy of the debunked paper , Mr. Broockman prefers to focus on the broader issue of transparency in scientific research . The problem at the heart of last year 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with his colleagues . As a result , they could not properly check his work . Mr. LaCour later claimed to have erased the data , leading many to suspect that it never existed in the first place . <p> " This study shows how norms encouraging research transparency and replication facilitate science 's self-correction , " Mr. Broockman and Mr. Kalla write in a draft of their new paper . " Science 's data-availability policy and the scientific community 's interest in the generalizability of LaCour and Green 's findings allowed us to discover that study 's irregularities , and , now , to correct the scientific record . " <p> Mr. Broockman said the data from the new study would be posted online . <p> Clarification ( 4/7/2016 , 3:30 p.m . ) : This article has been updated to reflect the fact that Mr. Broockman and Mr. Kalla 's quote about transparency came from a draft of their paper , not the published version .

@@4174141 <h> U. of Akron Chief 's Resignation Ends a Rocky Presidency <p> By Paul Basken June 01 , 2016 <p> Karen Farkas , Cleveland.com <p> Scott Scarborough 's business-oriented presidency of the U. of Akron came to an end on Tuesday , when he abruptly resigned . His own leadership style , not business-focused leadership in general , was the problem , say his critics . <p> Advocates of infusing university presidencies with hard-nosed , business-oriented leadership suffered a setback on Tuesday with the abrupt resignation of Scott L. Scarborough at the University of Akron . <p> Mr. Scarborough and Akron 's trustees mutually agreed on his departure , effective immediately , less than two years after he took office and two weeks after he met with faculty members who had voted repeatedly and overwhelmingly to express no confidence in him . <p> Given the widespread sentiment against Mr. Scarborough , the outcome had seemed inevitable for a while , said John F. Zipp , a professor of sociology and president of the University of Akron chapter of the American Association of University Professors . <p> " There 's a sense of relief that we can now turn the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a campus , " Mr. Zipp said . <p> Mr. Scarborough had always faced an uphill battle . His professional background is largely in higher education , though with a clear affinity for solutions from the corporate world . He upset professors at his previous institution , the University of Toledo , by proposing the use of private " academic coaches " to supplement faculty teaching , and then encountered similar opposition to the idea in Akron . <p> He gave a May 2015 speech to the Cleveland City Club promising to emphasize his plans for a career-focused program at Akron . His suggestion of branding Akron as " Ohio 's Polytechnic University " solidified faculty suspicion of Mr. Scarborough as a leader more interested in job training than a broad education . His failure to stem declining enrollment and donations , accompanied by staff layoffs at Akron , further hardened the opposition . <p> Neither Mr. Scarborough nor Akron 's trustees responded on Tuesday in detail to the complaints , instead issuing brief statements that simply acknowledged the need for new leadership . The agreement gives Mr. Scarborough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college or accepting a buyout worth a year 's salary , of about $450,000 . <p> On the Akron campus , the emerging lesson of the Scarborough era appears to be a clear rejection of the idea -- growing slowly across academe -- that outside corporate experience might help higher education at a time of growing financial pressures . <p> Business leaders hired as college presidents in recent years include Clayton S. Rose at Bowdoin College , John I. Williams at Muhlenberg College , and J. Bruce Harreld at the University of Iowa . They have sometimes drawn fierce opposition from faculty members , as Mr. Harreld experienced even before he took office at Iowa , and as Simon P. Newman felt during his short-lived presidency at Mount St. Mary 's University , in Maryland . <p> Mr. Zipp said he hoped Akron would not join the ranks of colleges that have looked to the business world for help as it works to find Mr. Scarborough 's replacement . Faculty members want " an internal candidate from the academic side , who has risen up through the academic ranks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set to work with people in the community , " Mr. Zipp said . <p> Guy V. Bordo , a professor of music who wrote an opinion article in the Akron Beacon Journal just a few days ago calling on Mr. Scarborough to leave , firmly agreed . " The trend of hiring people with business experience to run a university was a significant failure in this case , " Mr. Bordo said on Tuesday . " A university is not a business . " <p> But outside Akron , Mr. Scarborough 's troubles were more often regarded as a failure of his particular leadership style , rather than an indictment of business-focused leadership in general . <p> A good leader , regardless of the specific type of business , needs to understand the nature of the enterprise and have the ability to handle the associated personalities , said Trace Urdan , a higher-education research analyst at Credit Suisse . " It just seemed like he was particularly bad at it , " Mr. Urdan said of Mr. Scarborough . <p> One critic of Mr. Scarborough from his days at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreed . A professor of education , Mr. Chiarelott chafed when Mr. Scarborough , a former provost and chief financial officer at Toledo , tried to bring in private outside instructional help . <p> But at least Mr. Scarborough was n't president of Toledo , Mr. Chiarelott said , meaning others could still override him when necessary . " The problem is that when you 're a provost , you still have filters that are around you " that can keep you from making mistakes , Mr. Chiarelott said . <p> Muhlenberg 's Mr. Williams said the whole issue of business backgrounds seems overrated . Whether leading a university or some other enterprise , a president or chief executive these days can not " just throw his or her weight around and do whatever they want , " said Mr. Williams , a former executive at American Express and chief executive of Biztravel.com . <p> " That is an issue that does n't respect whether you have this kind of background or that kind of background , " he said . " It matters how you behave as a leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its possibilities are and what its constraints are . " In his case , Mr. Williams said , his corporate experience was accompanied by 32 years of board service at his alma mater , Amherst College , giving him an appreciation for the mission and internal workings of a liberal-arts college . <p> And rather than universities ' consider adopting business models , Mr. Zipp said , perhaps businesses should consider adopting the more inclusive governing structures of universities . Higher education , after all , is one of the few remaining areas where the United States remains the world 's unquestioned leader , he said . " Historically we 've done something very right here . " <p> Correction ( 6/1/2016 , 8:45 a.m . ) : This article originally cited Neil D. Theobald of Temple University as an example of a business leader turned university president . In fact , his background is in academe . The reference has been removed .

@@4174241 <p> The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics has been an event packed with suspense , intrigue and drama . Anticipation about the games had been intense even before the competition began . One thing can be said for certain , the athletic competition did not disappoint as there was hardly a dull moment . The U.S. Women 's gymnastic and swim teams made ... <p> JUNEAU , Alaska ? The number of students using disability services at the University of Alaska Southeast is more than five times what it was in 2008 . There were 23 students at the Juneau campus using those services eight years ago , when the Americans with Disabilities Act broadened its definition of disability . Since then , that number has ... <p> A federal judge has rejected a race discrimination and retaliation suit by an African-American assistant professor of economics who failed to win tenure and promotion at John Jay College of Criminal Justice . <h> UAB to Improve Access after Disabilities Act Complaint <p> by Associated Press <p> BIRMINGHAM , Ala . ? The University of Alabama at Birmingham has reached a settlement to ensure equal access for people with disabilities to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a news release Wednesday that the agreement was reached after a UAB student filed a complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act , saying ... <h> Militants Attack American University in Afghanistan <p> by Lynne O'Donnell , Associated Press <p> KABUL , Afghanistan ? Militants attacked the American University of Afghanistan on Wednesday , according to an Associated Press photographer who was in class at the time . Massoud Hossaini said he was in a classroom with 15 students when he heard an explosion on the southern flank of the campus . " I went to the window to see ... <h> Yousufzai Introduces Students to Beauty of Science <p> by Christina Sturdivant <p> Dr. Sardar Yousfzai , an assistant professor in the Division of Natural Sciences at Paine College , has dedicated each summer for the past 10 years to hosting a free summer chemistry camp to middle and high school youth . <h> Montana College Expels Students 4 Years after Saudis Cheated <p> by Associated Press <p> BUTTE , Mont . ? Fifteen summer school students have been expelled for cheating at Montana Tech , the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of others after discovering a former employee altered their transcripts four years ago . Doug Abbott , vice chancellor for academic affairs , declined to release any other information about the ... <h> Board Hires Kansas Attorney to Investigate North Dakota State President <p> by Dave Kolpack , Associated Press <p> FARGO , N.D. ? A Kansas investigator has been hired to look into whether embattled North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani violated state Board of Higher Education policy , university system officials said Thursday . The probe centers on now-rescinded media guidelines for covering Bison athletics that were roundly criticized by journalists and on social media before ... <h> Calif . High School Ethnic Studies in Governor 's Hands Now <p> by Jamal Eric Watson <p> A California Bill that would mandate the teaching of ethnic studies in public schools across the state has cleared a legislative hurdled in the senate and assembly and is now headed to Governor Jerry Brown 's desk . <h> Diverse Conversations : Professoriate Still Lacking in Diversity <h> University of Wisconsin-Madison to Test Diversity Program <p> by Associated Press <p> MADISON , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diversity program for its incoming freshmen students after a series of race-related incidents have occurred on campus . The campus will test the program , called Our Wisconsin , on up to 1,000 freshmen to allow students to learn about themselves and others , the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported . ... <h> At the Bottom of the Resource Gap Lies the Diversity Desert <h> Calif . High School Ethnic Studies in Governor 's Hands Now <p> by Jamal Eric Watson <p> A California Bill that would mandate the teaching of ethnic studies in public schools across the state has cleared a legislative hurdled in the senate and assembly and is now headed to Governor Jerry Brown 's desk . <h> Calif . High School Ethnic Studies in Governor 's Hands Now <p> by Jamal Eric Watson <p> A California Bill that would mandate the teaching of ethnic studies in public schools across the state has cleared a legislative hurdled in the senate and assembly and is now headed to Governor Jerry Brown 's desk . <h> National Science Foundation Awards $2.9 Million to National Diversity-Serving Organizations <p> by Diverse Staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to several national engineering diversity organizations in a collaborative effort to increase the number of underrepresented engineering faculty across all institutional types . The organizations Great Minds in STEM ( GMiS ) , American Indian Science and Engineering Society ( AISES ) , MAES : Latinos in Science and Engineering , National Society of ... <h> LGBTQ Inclusion Summit Series Kicks off at Virginia State University <h> University of Hawaii Opens All-gender Restrooms <p> by Associated Press <p> HONOLULU ? The University of Hawaii has opened nine more all-gender restrooms on its Manoa campus . Each all-gender bathroom is a lockable , single-stall room similar to the " family restrooms " found in malls and airports . Camaron Miyamoto who leads an LGBTQ center at UH says all-gender restrooms can be essential for students who do n't feel comfortable ... <h> California Lawmaker Drops Lawsuits in Religious School Bill <p> by Associated Press <p> SACRAMENTO , Calif. -- A California lawmaker announced Wednesday he is removing a contentious provision of his bill that would have allowed LGBT students to more easily sue religious schools for discrimination , conceding defeat to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The measure would have eliminated a longstanding exemption from state anti-discrimination laws ... <h> Disgrace , End of Army Career Haunted Gunman <p> DALLAS -- He was disarmed in the middle of a war zone and placed under 24-hour escort . The most humiliating part was that everyone in Micah Johnson 's unit in Afghanistan knew why : He was accused of stealing a female soldier 's panties . Johnson 's aspirations to a military career were over . Now he faced removal from the ... <h> Morgan , Other Colleges Luring Dropouts to Return <p> by Carrie Wells , The Baltimore Sun <p> Every weekday for a few years , Malik Mosley switched from a full-time worker to a full-time student at 8 a.m. , when he finished his overnight shift at an Aberdeen warehouse and drove to class at Morgan State University . He managed that workload until a family member suffered an illness in 2013 . <p> Dr. Julianne Malveaux is passionate about advancing African-Americans . As president of Bennett College , she spent five years progressing America 's oldest historically Black college for women . As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Malveaux has created a legacy of sounding off about injustices against Blacks from the higher education realm to the political arena . <p> While she graduated from two predominantly White institutions , Malveaux believes in the value of the Black community supporting its own people , especially through higher education . " At predominantly White institutions , Black people are ignorant until they prove that they 're smart , " she says . " At an HBCU , Black people are smart until they prove that they 're ignorant . " <p> During her undergraduate years , Malveaux relentlessly advocated for herself and her peers . " Everything that I got at Boston College I fought for , " she says , recalling an era when Black studies departments were in their infancy and women were just being admitted into business schools . <p> At Boston , Malveaux also spent time connecting the dots between African-Americans and money . In her first economics class , she was introduced to the process of distribution in America . " The question I always wanted to ask was , ' How come Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Although she entered college with the idea of studying law , she soon found herself enthralled with labor economy . <p> In 1974 , Malveaux received a bachelor 's in economics from Boston College , and she obtained a master 's in economics from the university the following year . <p> Growing up in a family where education was " hardwired " into her psyche , Malveaux continued to further her education . <p> In 1980 , she received a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . <p> In her first years after receiving a doctorate , Malveaux worked as an educator at the New School for Social Research ; San Francisco State University ; the University of California , Davis ; and the College of Notre Dame , among other institutions . <p> But with a love for writing and media , she also spent time contributing to periodicals such as Black Issues In Higher Education ( the predecessor to Diverse ) , Essence as well as writing academic articles for a number of publications . Malveaux has also lent her voice to radio and television @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front of a classroom or a TV camera , Malveaux 's mission is the same , she says . " You have to meet people where they live , talk to them about what they 're interested in , move them to what you care about , and transform them . " <p> After decades of teaching , the opportunity arose for Malveaux to take the lead at Bennett in 2007 . At the time , she 'd never applied for a college presidency , and she would n't take just any offer . " I was interested in serving Black people and , more importantly , serving Black women , " she says . <p> Working at Bennett " was probably one of the high points of my life , " she says . Among her accomplishments at the university , she ushered in new infrastructure , increased enrollment and enhanced curriculum . <p> But after some time , her " extraordinarily intense " work ethic became a challenge . " I did n't know how to rest ; I did n't know how to chill . I did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out . " In 2012 , Malveaux resigned as president , but " I miss it to this day , " she says . <p> But Malveaux continues to be captivated by the work of youth , for instance , those involved in the Black Lives Matter movement . <p> " I am totally in love with those young people , " she says . And as the presidential election looms , Malveaux encourages college freshmen , and all Americans , to head to the polls because it 's " the least you can do , " she says . <p> Students must also be critical of what happens after votes are cast , which is what she does in her latest book , Are We Better Off ? Obama , Race , and Public Policy . <p> In it , Malveaux pulls from years of published articles , opinions and research dissecting the terms of America 's first Black president , with which she finds two challenges . <p> " One is that the president was not inclined to go out of his way for African-American people in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latino people , " she says . <p> In return , African-American leaders did not push the president hard enough . " You 're not going to get fed in your mama 's house if you do n't bring your plate to the table , " Malveaux says . <p> In terms of her own legacy , Malveaux hopes that she " not only talks the talk , but walks the walk , " adding that she wants " there to be folks walking with me in this really arduous talk of bringing social economic justice into our country . "

@@5025641 # Byline : Iffat . Hassan , Yasmeen. bhat , Sabhiya . Majid , Peerzada . Sajad , Farhan . Rasool , Rawoof . Malik , Inam . Ul Haq # Background : Vitamin D has stimulatory and protective effects on melanocytes and acts through its nuclear vitamin D receptor ( VDR ) on target cells . Various single-nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs ) in VDR genes have been described . Aims : The aim was to study and compare the association of SNP of **25;0;TOOLONG in VDR gene as well as the plasma vitamin D levels in vitiligo patients and healthy controls . Methods : This was a case-control study , in which 100 patients of vitiligo and an equal number of healthy individuals were studied . The VDR polymorphisms of Bsm I , Apa-I , TaqI , fok I , and cdx2 were investigated , after extraction of genomic DNA by rapid capillary polymerase chain reaction with melting curve analysis , and 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels were measured in cases and controls . Results : The frequency of genotypes ( SNP FokI and cdx2 ) was higher in the patient group versus controls ( P = 0.002 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was higher in the patients than the controls for the Tt genotype , but not significantly higher ( 48% vs. 39% , P= 0.1431 ) . The difference between the groups in frequency of the genotype Aa ( TaqI and Apa-I ) was statistically significant ( P = 0.0001 and P= 0.033 ) . Statistically significant difference was also observed in Apa-I-evaluated alleles in cases when compared to controls ( P = 0.0001 ) . There was no significant difference in serum vitamin D levels between various genotypes among cases and controls . Out of 100 cases , 10 were found to have vitamin D levels of &gt;30 ng/ml , 15 had levels between 20 and 30 ng/ml , 52 had &amp;#8804 ; 20 ng/ml , and 23 &amp;#8804 ; 10 ng/ml , respectively . Limitations : Since the skin biopsies were not taken from the lesions of vitiligo , the correlation of serum levels with tissue levels of VDR gene was not possible and the role of vitamin D supplementation was not evaluated . Conclusion : The single nucleotide gene polymorphisms of various VDR genes as found in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ VDR dysfunction , which in turn could increase the susceptibility to develop vitiligo. # Introduction # Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder characterized by areas of depigmented skin resulting from progressive autoimmune loss of functioning melanocytes from the skin and often overlying hair , and mucous membranes . It affects 1-2% of the general population . The etiology of vitiligo is not clear . Although various hypotheses have been proposed , it has been suggested that autoimmunity plays an important role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. 1 , 2 , 3 Although vitiligo is not a life-threatening disease , the psychosocial impact of vitiligo is significant . This signifies the need for preventing and treating the disease . # Vitamin D has both stimulatory and protective effects on melanocytes and it acts through its vitamin D receptor ( VDR ) on target cells . Many autoimmune diseases have been found to be associated with reduced vitamin D levels . Various single-nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs ) in VDR gene have been described . It has been proposed that genetic variations within the VDR gene could lead to significant receptor dysfunction , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ active vitamin D.4 , 5 , 6 # Several studies have addressed the association between these SNPs and autoimmune diseases , such as systemic lupus erythematosus , rheumatoid arthritis , autoimmune diabetes , inflammatory bowel disease , and psoriasis. 7 , 8 There is evidence that VDR gene polymorphism and the subsequent vitamin D levels influence the development of vitiligo. 9 Vitamin D has been found to be immunoprotective . It inhibits the maturation of dendritic cells and regulates cytokine-mediated shift of Th1 response to Th2 response . It inhibits Th17 cells , increases Tsubreg cells to suppress autoattacks , and maintains self-tolerance . Accordingly , reduced vitamin D levels have been associated with many autoimmune diseases. 6 , 10 Vitamin D deficiency is believed to act as an environmental trigger for the induction of autoimmunity and subsequently could lead to the development of vitiligo , since autoimmunity is the most widely accepted theory for the development of vitiligo . Thus , high-dose vitamin D supplementation could be preventive for it and may improve the prognosis. 11 # Darker skinned patients and patients with comorbid autoimmune diseases have been observed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , again pointing to the fact that low vitamin D levels may be associated with vitiligo. 12 According to the international recommended standards , 25(OH)D levels are divided into normal or sufficient ( &gt;30 ng/ml ) , insufficient ( 20-30 ng/ml ) , and deficient ( 20-10 ng/ml ) . Levels &lt;10 ng/ml are considered as severe deficiency. 13 # Vitamin D analogues are generally considered to be effective topical therapy for cutaneous autoimmune conditions including psoriasis and vitiligo. 14 However , some studies on the role of vitamin D analogues in vitiligo have yielded conflicting results . These results indicated that the variability may result from genetic polymorphism in the VDR , which would allow some patients , but not others to respond to vitamin D analogues. 15 , 16 The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether VDR gene polymorphisms could be the susceptibility markers for vitiligo . In addition , the association of serum levels of 25(OH)D and VDR gene polymorphic variants in patients with vitiligo and age- and sex-matched healthy controls were evaluated . # Methods # The present study was a case-control study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equal number of healthy age- and sex-matched individuals were taken as controls . Vitiligo patients with no major cardiovascular , hepatic , renal , or gastrointestinal disease were taken as cases . The control subjects were either relatives of subjects ( second and third degree but free from the disease ) , paramedical staff , or patients suffering from unrelated skin diseases such as allergic contact dermatitis . The exclusion criteria included the use of any drug that could alter the outcome of the study such as topical or systemic vitamin D or calcium , systemic steroids , weight loss drugs , cholesterol-lowering drugs , thiazide diuretics , and sunscreen use in the last 1 month . Pregnant and lactating females , smokers , subjects with malabsorption disorders , and other autoimmune diseases were also excluded from the study . The patients ( cases and controls ) who had received phototherapy were additionally excluded from the study . However , the sun-behavior pattern among cases and controls was not taken into consideration . The patient information , including age , sex , type of vitiligo ( generalized , localized , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ( according to rule of nine ) , and disease activity determined by the VETI ( vitiligo extent tensity index ) score , was entered in a predesigned proforma . Ethical clearance was taken from the institutional ethical committee . # The VETI score proposes to measure the extent of vitiligo by a numerical score , combines analysis of extensity and severity of vitiligo , and produces a constant and reproducible number . The percentage of involvement was evaluated using the rule of nine . The body is divided into five sites , namely , head ( h ) , upper limbs ( u ) , trunk ( t ) , lower limbs ( l ) , and genitalia ( g ) , which are separately scored by using five stages of disease tensity ( T ) . 17 # To study and compare the plasma 25(OH)D levels in patients with vitiligo and normal healthy controls , blood samples were taken from both cases as well as controls , and samples were immediately processed by centrifugation at 4000 rpm at room temperature . Plasma 25(OH)D levels were analyzed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' protocol , using Seimens ADVIA Centaur analyzer . Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25(OH)D concentration &lt;30 ng/ml. # To study the genotype differences of VDR among vitiligo patients and controls , the peripheral blood samples of individuals were collected in ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid containing tubes , and genomic DNA was extracted using Genomic DNA Purification Kit ( Biotools USA ) . The FokI 4(T/Crs2228570) , BsmI 1 ( G/A rs1544410 ) , Apa-I 2 ( G/T rs7975232 ) , and TaqI 3 ( T/C rs731236 ) polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction ( PCR ) and restriction fragment length polymorphism ( RFLP ) . Genomic DNA was amplified for five polymorphic sites on the VDR gene with the forward and reverse primers . All the PCRs were carried out in a total volume of 25 microl . The reaction mixture consisted of 1 microl of 0.5 microg genomic DNA , 1 microl of forward and reverse primers ( 10 mM ) , 12.5 microl of PCR master mix ( Thermo Scientific , USA ) , and 9.5 microl DD Hsub2O . The PCR cycle conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , annealing for 35 cycles at 94degreesC for 1 min , use of primer specific temperatures for 1 min and a temperature of 72degreesC for 3 min , and a final one-step extension at 72degreesC for 5 min . The restriction endonucleases FokI 4 , BsmI 1 , Apa-I 2 , and TaqI 3 were used to digest the polymorphic sites of the VDR gene . The enzyme-specific restriction reactions were performed at 37degreesC for 5 min for the BsmI 1 , FokI 4 , and ApaI 2 enzymes , and at 65degreesC for 5 min for the TaqI 3 enzyme . The size of the digested fragments was identified by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis , and the results were then visualized under UV light and photographed . The size of the digested PCR products is shown in Figure 1a . Figure 1 # To study the Fok-I 4 and Cdx2 5SNP ( RFLP ) in vitiligo cases and controls , the PCR cycle conditions were initial denaturation at 94degreesC for 5 min , followed by 35 cycles at 94degreesC for 1 min , 61degreesC for 1 min , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The reaction mixture consisted of 1 microl of 0.5 microg genomic DNA , 1 microl of forward and reverse primers ( 10 mM ) ( Eurofins Genomics ) , 12.5 microl of PCR master mix ( Thermo Scientific , USA ) , and 9.5 microl DD Hsub2O . The PCR products were verified using 2% agarose gel containing ethidium bromide Figure 1b. # The restriction endonucleases Cdx2 5 and Fok-I 4 were used to digest the polymorphic sites of the VDR gene . PCR products were digested with Cdx2 and Fok-I ( Thermo Scientific , USA ) restriction enzyme at 65degreesC for 16 h incubation . The size of the digested fragments was identified by 6% agarose gel electrophoresis , and the results were visualized under UV light and photographed . The size of the digested PCR products is shown in Figure 1c. # To study the SNP of Taq-I 3 and Apa-I 2 in vitiligo cases and controls , the PCR cycle conditions were initial denaturation at 94degreesC for 10 min , followed by 35 cycles at 94degreesC for 1 min , 60degreesC for 1 min , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The reaction mixture consisted of 1 microl of 0.5 microg genomic DNA , 1 microl of forward and reverse primers ( 10 mM ) , 12.5 microl of PCR master mix ( Thermo Scientific , USA ) , and 9.5 microl DD Hsub2O . The PCR products were verified using 2% agarose gel containing ethidium bromide Figure 1d. # The restriction endonucleases Taq-I 3 and Apa-I 2 were used to digest the polymorphic sites of the VDR gene . PCR products were digested with Taq-I 3 and Apa-I 2 ( Eurofins Genomics ) restriction enzyme at 65degreesC for 16 h incubation . The size of the digested fragments was identified by 6% agarose gel electrophoresis , and the results were visualized under UV light and photographed . The size of the digested PCR products is shown in Figure 1e. # The restriction endonuclease Bsm-I 1 was used to digest the polymorphic sites of the VDR gene . PCR products were digested with Bsm-I 1 ( Eurofins Genomics ) restriction enzyme at 65degreesC for 16 h incubation . The sizes of the digested fragments were identified by 6% agarose gel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and photographed . The size of the digested PCR products is shown in Figure 1f. # Results # The age and gender ratio were not substantially different for each variable among patients with vitiligo ( 61 females , and 39 males ) and healthy controls ( 60 females , and 40 males ) . The age group of patients ranged from 4 to 58 years with a mean age of 28.66 + or - SD 11.98 years . The duration of the disease ranged from 6 months to 11 years with a mean of 3.81 years + or - SD 2.51 years . The vitamin D levels ranged from 3.20 to 38.20 ng/ml with a mean value of 16.17 + or - SD 8.62 ng/ml . The VETI score ranged from 0.420 to 26.51 with a mean value of 6.226 + or - SD 4.88. # The vitamin D levels in males ranged from 4.0 to 38.2 ng/ml with a mean value of 21.95 + or - SD 8.87 ng/ml . The VETI score in males ranged from 0.46 to 26.51 with a mean value of 6.60 + or - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 3.2 to 32.3 ng/ml with a mean value of 13.35 + or - SD 6.61 ng/ml . The VETI score in them ranged from 0.42 to 24 with a mean value of 5.985 + or - SD 4.48 . Thus , both vitamin D levels as well as the VETI score were more in males as compared to females . # Fifty-nine patients belonged to the rural areas and 41 were from urban areas . The mean vitamin D level was 17.431 + or - SD 8.81 ng/ml in rural patients , and the mean VETI score was 6.72 + or - SD 5.09 . In the urban population , the mean vitamin D level was 15.67 + or - SD 8.35 ng/ml , and the mean VETI score was 5.51 + or - SD 4.54 Table 1 . Thus , both vitamin D level as well as the VETI score was slightly more in rural patients as compared to urban patients , although not significantly higher . Vitamin D level and VETI score ( as is shown in Table 1 ) were also noted to have an insignificant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were found to be lower in vitiligo patients than in control group , being 16.170 + or - 8.629 ng/ml and 25.49 + or - 1.02 ng/ml , respectively ( P = 0.0001 ) . Out of 100 cases , 10 had levels &gt;30 ng/ml , 15 were found to have vitamin D levels of &amp;#8804 ; 30 ng/ml , whereas 52 cases had levels &amp;#8804 ; 20 ng/ml and 23 cases had &amp;#8804 ; 10 ng/ml Table 2 . Table 2 # Although the levels of vitamin D were low among patients , there was no correlation with the age , sex , disease , family history of vitiligo , or the type of vitiligo . There was also no statistically significant relation between vitamin D levels and the VETI score , as is shown in Table 3 . Since vitamin D plays a stimulatory role on melanocytes and melanogenesis , the serum and tissue levels of vitamin D are postulated to play a role in pigmentation through VDR gene expression . Thus , VETI score is expected to show an inverse relation with vitamin D levels , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was not statistically significant ( P value : 0.882 ) Table 3 . Previous studies have also not found any statistical relation between the two variables . Table 3 # The genotype frequencies were slightly higher but not statistically significant in patients than controls for the Ff genotype ( 38% vs. 27% , P = 0.112 ) . However , the frequencies of genotypes were higher in the patient group versus controls for the Cc genotype ( 54.0% vs. 34.0% , P = 0.0023 ) and cc genotype ( P = 0.002 ) Table 4 . The differences between the groups regarding the frequency of the genotype Aa were statistically significant ( P = 0.0001 and P = 0.033 ) . Statistically significant difference was also observed regarding Apa-I -evaluated alleles in case group when compared to controls ( P = 0.0001 ) Table 5 . The genotype frequencies were higher but not statistically significant in patients than controls for the Tt genotype ( 48% vs. 39% , P = 0.1431 ) Table 6 . Table 4Table 5Table 6 # The relation between vitamin D levels and various genotype frequencies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 , Graph 3 , Graph 4 , Graph 5 . Thus , there is no significant difference in serum vitamin D levels between various genotypes among cases and controls . Table **41;27;TOOLONG # Discussion # Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder characterized by areas of depigmented skin , resulting from progressive autoimmune loss of functioning melanocytes from the skin and often overlying hair , and mucous membranes . It affects between 1% and 2% of the general population . The exact pathogenesis of vitiligo is unknown , but various studies have suggested that an interplay of multiple factors such as genetic , neural , oxidant-antioxidant imbalance , biochemical , and autoimmunity might induce vitiligo . Vitamin D is synthesized in the epidermal keratinocytes under the influence of UVB light and is known to influence melanogenesis , as has been documented with the efficacy of topical vitamin D analogues , either used as monotherapy or in combination with phototherapy for the treatment of vitiligo. 18 # The number of studies evaluating the role of vitamin D in vitiligo is limited . The levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin Dsub3 ( 25 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widely accepted indicator of overall vitamin D status , were measured in this study . Serum 25(OH)D levels were divided into normal or sufficient ( &amp;#8805 ; 30 ng/ml ) , insufficient ( &lt;30-&gt;20 ng/ml ) , and deficient ( &amp;#8804 ; 20 ng/ml ) levels. 19 # Our results showed that the mean serum level of 25(OH)Dsub3 was markedly lower among cases than controls . Out of 100 cases , 10 were found to have levels &gt;30 ng/ml , 15 were found to have 25(OH)D levels of &amp;#8804 ; 30 ng/ml , whereas 52 cases had 25(OH)D levels &amp;#8804 ; 20 ng/ml and 23 cases had 25(OH)D levels &amp;#8804 ; 10 ng/ml . The VETI score was slightly higher in patients with 25(OH)D level below 30 ng/ml , which means that the level of vitamin D could influence the extent of disease . In consistent with our results , Silverberg et al . 20 found that more than 68.9% of patients had serum levels of 25(OH)D below 30 ng/ml , and Saleh et al . 21 found that 97.5% of their patients had deficient levels of 25(OH)D . On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study over 171 Chinese patients and could detect no significant difference in the 25(OH)D levels between patients and controls . # The low serum levels of vitamin D in vitiligo patients in our study as well as other previous studies could thus be a consequence of the disease , as well as a contributing factor , to the development of the disease , through its immunomodulatory role , as well as its impact on melanogenesis . The mechanism by which vitamin D deficiency could contribute to the pathogenesis of vitiligo is that vitamin D has been found to reduce the expression of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules and inhibit the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukins ( IL-1 , IL-2 , IL-6 ) , interferon gamma , tumor necrosis factor alpha , IL-12 , and also inhibit IL-6 and IL-17 secretion , thus impeding Th17 function . An impairment of Th1 and Th17 pathways by low levels of vitamin D could contribute to the process of development of vitiligo. 23 , 24 # In our study , the serum levels of vitamin D were low in patients as compared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different among the different ApaI , Bsm-I , TaqI , Cdx2 , and FokI genotypes as is depicted in Table 7. # Sobeih et al . 25 tried evaluating the potential association between VDR gene polymorphisms ( ApaI , TaqI , and FokI ) and vitiligo susceptibility and detect a correlation between serum 25(OH)D levels and vitiligo , and finally between VDR gene polymorphisms and 25(OH)D levels in vitiligo in an Egyptian study population . It was observed that the serum level of vitamin D was significantly lower in patients than controls . The frequency of the ApaI variant ' a ' allele , the variant genotype ( aa ) , and the variant genotype ( tt ) were significantly higher among the vitiligo cases than among controls . Their study also showed that the serum 25(OH)D levels were not significantly different among the different ApaI , TaqI , and FokI genotypes. 25 # Doss et al . 26 in their case-control study on 30 patients and equal number of controls evaluated the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of vitiligo through the evaluation of vitamin D serum level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vitiliginous skin . They observed that the mean VDR expression in the tissue biopsies of controls was more than 8 times higher than the lesional tissue biopsies of patients ( P &lt; 0.001 ) and 3 times higher than the nonlesional biopsies from patients ( P &lt; 0.001 ) . The mean VDR expression in the nonlesional biopsies was also more than double the mean VDR expression in the lesional biopsies ( P &lt; 0.001 ) . Again , they found no relation between patient age , sex , disease duration , family history , stress at onset , vitiligo type , VIDA score , and affected BSA with the VDR expression ( both in lesional and nonlesional tissue biopsies ) , and P value of &gt;0.05 was noted in all . No significant difference existed in VDR expression ( in lesional or nonlesional tissue biopsies ) between patient group with 25(OH)D levels above 30 ng/ml and the patient group below 30 ng/ml ( P &gt; 0.05 ) . 26 # Li et al . 27 conducted a study to evaluate the association of VDR gene polymorphisms and serum 25(OH)D @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital-based study of 749 patients with vitiligo and 763 matched controls . They investigated four VDR polymorphisms ( FokI , BsmI , ApaI , and TaqI ) to determine whether they are associated with vitiligo susceptibility in the Chinese population . In addition , the levels of 25(OH)Dsub3 were measured to evaluate possible associations between the VDR polymorphic variants and clinical and laboratory findings of vitiligo . A significantly decreased risk of developing vitiligo was found to be associated with the BsmI-B , ApaI-A , and TaqI-t alleles . According to the genotype distribution , 25(OH)Dsub3 concentrations were significantly higher in patients carrying the Fok I ff or ApaI AA genotypes compared with those carrying the FF or aa genotypes . The findings of their study suggest that these VDR polymorphisms are associated with 25(OH)D levels and that there exists a genetic predisposition for vitiligo in the Chinese population. 27 # Moreover , VDR polymorphism has been implicated in the pathogenesis of other skin diseases , for example , psoriasis . Multiple studies have found an association of polymorphism in the VDR gene with the severity of psoriasis. 28 It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ melanocytes and plays a role in melanogenesis , as we found SNP of various nucleotides of VDR genes , which could lead to VDR dysfunction , and hence resulting in vitamin D deficiency . Vitamin D deficiency is believed to act as an environmental trigger for the induction of autoimmunity and thus could lead to the development of vitiligo , since autoimmunity is the most widely accepted theory for the development of vitiligo. # Various studies have documented vitamin D deficiency in majority of the Kashmiri population ; hence , both our cases as well as controls were deficient in vitamin D.29 # Thus , we observed that VDR gene polymorphism may have a role in the development of vitiligo . In our study , there was a variation in the serum levels of vitamin D and various VDR genotypes but the correlation was not statistically significant . # The limitation of our study was that skin biopsy samples were not used . But previous studies have found no correlation of serum levels of vitamin D and tissue levels of VDR. # Conclusion # The single nucleotide gene polymorphisms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vitamin D deficiency , due to alteration of VDR . In turn , this could lead to an increase in the susceptibility of developing vitiligo , due to the stimulatory role of vitamin D in melanogenesis . Since autoimmunity is the most widely accepted theory for the development of vitiligo and low levels of vitamin D are associated with the development of vitiligo , so vitamin D deficiency can be proposed to act as an environmental trigger for the induction of autoimmunity and thus could lead to the development of vitiligo - a hypothesis . # Acknowledgments # The authors acknowledge IADVL and Department of Biochemistry , Government Medical College , Srinagar . # Financial support and sponsorship # The study was financially supported by IADVL L'Oreal Research Grant 2015. # Conflicts of interest # There are no conflicts of interest . # References # 1 . Lerner AB . Vitiligo . J Invest Dermatol 1959 ; 32:285-310. # 2 . Njoo MD , Westerhof W. Vitiligo . Pathogenesis and treatment . Am J Clin Dermatol 2001 ; 2:167-81. # 3 . Nath SK , Majumder PP , Nordlund @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cross-validated . Am J Hum Genet 1994 ; 55:981-90. # 4 . Abdel-Malek ZA , Ross R , Trinkle L , Swope V , Pike JW , Nordlund JJ . Hormonal effects of vitamin D3 on epidermal melanocytes . J Cell Physiol 1988 ; 136:273-80. # 5 . Kira M , Kobayashi T , Yoshikawa K. Vitamin D and the skin . J Dermatol 2003 ; 30:429-37. # 6 . Hewison M. An update on vitamin D and human immunity . Clin Endocrinol 2012 ; 76:315-25. # 7 . Backe F , Takiishi T , Korf H , Gyesmans C , Mathieu C. Vitamin D : Modulator of the immune system . Curr Opin Pharmacol 2010 ; 10:482-96. # 8 . Van Belle TL , Gyesmans C , Mathieu C. Vitamin D in autoimmune , I nfectious and allergic diseases : A vital player ? Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011 ; 25:617-32. # 9 . Alghamdi K , Kumar A , Moussa N. The role of vitamin D in melanogenesis with an emphasis on vitiligo . Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2013 ; 79:750-8. # 10 . Ortonne @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bolognia JL , Jorizzo JL , Rapini RP , editors . Dermatology. 2nd ed . Elsevier ; 2008 : p. 947. # 11 . Arnson Y , Amital H , Shoenfeld Y. Vitamin D and autoimmunity : New aetiological and therapeutic considerations . Ann Rheum Dis 2007 ; 66:1137-42. # 12 . Erpolat S , Sarifakioglu E , Ayyildiz A. 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in patients with alopecia areata . Postepy Dermatol Alergol 2017 ; 34:248-52. # 13 . Holick MF , Binkley NC , Bischoff-Ferrari HA , Gordon CM , Hanley DA , Heaney RP , et al . Evaluation , treatment , and prevention of vitamin D deficiency : An endocrine society clinical practice guideline . J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011 ; 96:1911-30. # 14 . Karagun E , Ergin C , Baysak S , Erden G , Akta ? H. The role of serum Vitamin D levels in vitiligo . Postepy Dermatol Alergol 2016 ; 33:300-2. # 15 . Wacker M , Holick MF . Vitamin D-Effects on skeletal and extraskeltal health and the need for supplementation . Nutrients 2013 ; 5:111-48. # 16 . Birlea SA , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved in the action of vitamin D analogs targeting vitiligo depigmentation . Curr Drug Targets 2008 ; 9:345-59. # 17 . Bhor U , Pande S. Scoring systems in dermatology . Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2006 ; 72:315-21. # 18 . Kawakami T , Hashimoto T. Disease severity indexes and treatment evaluation criteria in vitiligo . Dermatol Res Pract 2011 ; 7:50-342. # 19 . Holick MF . Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases , cancers , and cardiovascular disease . Am J Clin Nutr 2004 ; 80:1678-88. # 20 . Silverberg JI , Silverberg AI , Malka E , Silverberg NB . A pilot study assessing the role of 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels in patients with vitiligo vulgaris . J Am Acad Dermatol 2010 ; 62:937-41. # 21 . Saleh HM , Abdel Fattah NS , Hamza HT . Evaluation of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in vitiligo patients with and without autoimmune diseases . Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 2013 ; 1:34-40. # 22 . Xu X , Fu WW , Wu WY . Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in Chinese patients with vitiligo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # 23 . Zhang BX , Lin M , Qi XY , Zhang RX , Wei ZD , Zhu J , et al . Characterization of circulating CD8+T cells expressing skin homing and cytotoxic molecules in active non-segmental vitiligo . Eur J Dermatol 2013 ; 23:331-8. # 24 . Van den Wijngaard RM , Aten J , Scheepmaker A , Le Poole IC , Tigges AJ , Westerhof W , et al . Expression and modulation of apoptosis regulatory molecules in human melanocytes : Significance in vitiligo . Br J Dermatol 2000 ; 143:573-81. # 25 . Sobeih S , Mashaly HM , Gawdat H , Amr K , Hamid MF , Shaalan E. Evaluation of the correlation between serum levels of vitamin D and Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in an Egyptian population . Int J Dermatol 2016 ; 55:1329-35. # 26 . Doss RW , El-Rafaie AA , Gohary YM , Rashed LA . Vitamin D receptor expression in vitiligo . Indian J Dermatol 2015 ; 60:544-8. # 27 . Li K , Shi Q , Yang L , Li X , Liu L , Wang L , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polymorphisms and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with generalized vitiligo . 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@@5025741 # Author(s) : Akira Nagano 1 , Masahide Wakita 2 # Author Affiliations : # ( Aff1 ) 0000 0001 2191 0132 , grid.410588.0 , Research Institute for Global Change , Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology ( JAMSTEC ) , , 2-15 Natsushima-cho , 237-0061 , Yokosuka Kanagawa , Japan # ( Aff2 ) 0000 0001 2191 0132 , grid.410588.0 , Mutsu Institute for Oceanography , Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology ( JAMSTEC ) , , 690 Kitasekine Sekine , 035-0022 , Mutsu Aomori , Japan # Introduction # In the subpolar North Pacific , a basin-scale cyclonic circulation , called the subpolar gyre , is driven by the sea surface wind stress over the entire subpolar ocean ( Dodimead et al . 1963 ; Ohtani 1973 ; Favorite et al . 1976 ; Nagata et al . 1992 ) . The western boundary current of the subpolar gyre flows southwestward along the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula as the East Kamchatka Current and east of the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido as the Oyashio Current . It returns to the central subpolar region as an interior weak flow . The southern border of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported to have migrated northward from the 1990s to the 2000s , an event suggested to have been caused by a change in the wind stress curl field ( Kuroda et al . 2015 ) . Wind-driven meridional shifts in the Oyashio Current have also been suggested by Sekine ( 1999 ) and others . # The subpolar gyre is known to have regional cyclonic circulations in its interior ( Dodimead et al . 1963 ; Ohtani 1973 ; Favorite et al . 1976 ; Nagata et al . 1992 ) . A regional cyclonic circulation , called the western subarctic gyre ( WSAG ) , is embedded in the western part of the subpolar gyre , as schematically illustrated in Fig. 1 . The southwestward current of the western border of the WSAG merges into the East Kamchatka Current . Due to the moderate baroclinic structures of the current and density in the WSAG , the main pycnocline ( halocline ) becomes shallower toward the center of the gyre ( Miura et al . 2002 ) , where the sea surface height ( SSH ) is observed to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 # Schematic diagram of the sea surface flows ( arrows ) in the western subarctic North Pacific . Locations of stations K1 , K2 , and KNOT are indicated by stars see PDF for image # In the western subarctic region , a temperature minimum layer , called the dichothermal layer , exists at a depth between 100 m and 200 m above the main pycnocline or halocline ( Dodimead et al . 1963 ; Favorite et al . 1976 ) . The dichothermal layer is occupied by the remnant of the winter mixed layer water formed during the previous winter ( Miura et al . 2002 ; Wakita et al . 2010 , 2013 ) . In the late 1990s , hydrographic and chemical time series observations in the western subarctic region were initiated at stations K2 ( 47 ring operator N , 160 ring operator E ) and KNOT ( 44 ring operator N , 155 ring operator E ) ( Fig. 1 ) . Using observation longer than 15 years , a decadal deepening of the halocline was revealed at these sites ; in this layer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ atmosphere in the winter were observed ( Wakita et al . 2010 , 2013 , 2017 ) . # Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) found that the WSAG shrank northward from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s on the basis of altimetric SSH during the period of 1992-2010 . The increase in SSH in the western subarctic region due to the gyre change until 2000 was also monitored by Qiu ( 2002 ) . Combining **30;0;TOOLONG ( CTD ) and SSH data using the altimetry-based gravest empirical mode ( AGEM ) method , ( Nagano et al . 2016 ) estimated the change in the halocline or upper main pycnocline depth . As a result , the halocline at K2 was found to be displaced downward in association with the northward shrinkage of the WSAG ; further , it is related to the decadal decrease in water density in the dichothermal layer , i.e. , the base of the winter mixed layer at K2 . In other words , water density in the dichothermal layer is substantially controlled by the WSAG via the change in the upper main @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affecting density in the subsurface layer , are included in the subarctic decadal SSH change . However , the AGEM method of Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) does not distinguish the barotropic variations from baroclinic ones , which are possibly related to the observed decadal density change . Another method that treats separately barotropic and baroclinic variations is required to examine the mechanism of the upper main pycnocline change . # Over the subpolar North Pacific , there are vigorous variations of the Aleutian Low and the westerly wind ( e.g. , Wallace and Gutzler 1981 ) , which mainly drives the subpolar gyre . Isoguchi and Kawamura ( 2006 ) reported that seasonal to interannual variations in coastal sea level and SSH in the Oyashio and East Kamchatka Current regions are generated by the wind stress changes . The decadal gyre variations in the western subarctic region might be driven by changes in wind stress induced by those of the westerly wind and the Aleutian Low . The northward shrinkage of the WSAG , indicated by the time coefficient of the first empirical orthogonal function mode of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found to be simultaneously linked to the changes in wind stress curl in the eastern subpolar region and the region southeast of the Kamchatka Peninsula , as implied by fairly high correlation in Fig. 2 . Meanwhile , note that there is no significant trend in the annual mean potential density of the sea surface water at K2 ( Wakita et al . 2017 ) . Therefore , the decadal elevation in SSH and deepening of the halocline depth at the station are not mainly attributable to changes in water density due to thermal expansion and freshwater supply in the sea surface layer . Fig. 2 # Map of correlation coefficient between wind stress curl and the time coefficient of the first empirical orthogonal function mode of SSH calculated by Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) . For the calculation , we used wind stress data provided by the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research ( NCEP/NCAR ) . Locations of stations K1 , K2 , and KNOT are indicated by stars see PDF for image # Using a beta -plane two-layer model forced by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change in the WSAG is expected to be driven by the change in wind stress , although this has not been fully examined by past investigators . Under the assumption of the Sverdrup balance in the interior region of the subpolar gyre , variations in the gyre volume transport and SSH excited by interannual to decadal changes in wind stress such as due to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation ( PDO ) ( Mantua et al . 1997 ; Mantua and Hare 2002 ) were examined by Isoguchi et al . ( 1997 ) , Ishi and Hanawa ( 2005 ) , and Isoguchi and Kawamura ( 2006 ) . These simple models , in which neither the bottom topography ( e.g. , Ripa 1978 ) nor the beta-dispersion ( e.g. , Schopf et al . 1981 ) were not taken into account , reproduced reasonable decadal gyre changes . In other words , decadal fluctuations in the subpolar region are well explained by long Rossby wave responses to wind stress changes . However , these low-vertical-resolution models are insufficient to examine the observed potential density change associated with the northward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 2010 , 2013 , 2017 ) and Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) . A continuously stratified model is required to discuss the wind-driven density change in the western subarctic region . # In general , Rossby wave adjustments of the oceans to changes in wind stress are involved in the wind-driven changes of the circulations ( e.g. , LeBlond and Mysak 1978 ; Gill 1982 ; Pedlosky 1987 ) . SSH changes accompanied by Rossby wave adjustments propagate westward with various speeds according to their spatial and temporal scales and are subject to eddy dissipation . Kawabe ( 2000 , 2001 ) solved the vorticity gradient equation ( e.g. , LeBlond and Mysak 1978 ) with wind stress forcing to take into account the propagations of disturbances by Rossby waves and calculated interannual sea level variations at tide gauge stations in the North Pacific subtropical region . Adopting this method to the SSH changes in the North Pacific subpolar region , we can compute the changes in SSH and water potential density due to the individual barotropic and baroclinic mode changes excited by the wind stress changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the WSAG shrinkage and main pycnocline deepening are caused by changes in wind stress . # In this study , we calculated variations in SSH , volume transport , and water potential density using a dynamical model of barotropic and baroclinic Rossby waves excited by changes in wind stress including vertical and horizontal eddy dissipation . We examined whether the wind-driven SSH calculation produces the decadal SSH change associated with the northward WSAG shrinkage . Using the calculated SSH and potential density variations , we identified disturbances that yield the northward gyre shrinkage and discuss the mechanism of the decadal deepening of the main pycnocline at K2 . The data and calculation method are described in " Materials/method " section . In " Results and discussion " section , we determine the parameters required for the SSH calculation comparing between the observed and calculated SSH changes at K2 , using the obtained parameters , we calculate the SSH changes and describe their characteristics , and discuss the potential density change at K2 . A summary and conclusion are provided in " Conclusions " section . # Materials/method # SSH data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ring operator from January 1993 to December 2014 in the region of 40-60 ring operator N , 140 ring operator E-130 ring operator W were collected from the Archiving , Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic ( AVISO ) delayed-time updated mapped data ( DT-MSLA-H , # http : **31;32;TOOLONG ) ( AVISO 2016 ) . We calculated the monthly mean SSH anomalies , added them to the mean dynamic topography ( MDTCNES-CLS13 ) compiled by Rio et al . ( 2011 ) , and obtained the monthly absolute SSH . To analyze interannual to decadal variations in SSH , we smoothed them using a 15-month running mean filter . The SSH data at K1 ( 51 ring operator N , 165 ring operator E ) , K2 , and KNOT were obtained from the smoothed SSH data at the nearest grids. # Wind stress data # To compute wind-derived SSH variations , we used the monthly mean momentum flux vector , tau = ( tau x , tau y ) , where tau x and tau y are the zonal and meridional wind stresses , respectively , with horizontal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 40-54 ring operator N , 160 ring operator E-135 ring operator W ( the region enclosed by a black square in Fig. 3 ) from January 1979 to December 2014 . The data were provided by the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research ( NCEP/NCAR ) ( Kalnay et al . 1996 ) . From the tau data , we computed the Ekman pumping velocity ( w E =nablax tau /f =partial differential x ( tau y /f ) -partial differential y ( tau x /f ) , where f is the Coriolis parameter ) . Upward Ekman vertical velocity was taken to be positive w E . Namely , positive w E indicates Ekman suction . To analyze interannual to decadal variations , we smoothed the w E data using a 15-month running mean filter . Using the smoothed w E data , we calculated the SSH variations , as will be described in " Results and discussion " section . Fig. 3 # Map of the North Pacific including the bottom topography . Bottom topography is based on ETOPO1 data . The wind stress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the calculations of SSH at stations K1 , K2 , and KNOT . NCEP/NCAR sea-level pressure ( hPa ) averaged during the study period is denoted by white contours with intervals of 2 hPa see PDF for image # Hydrographic data # Full-depth CTD data collected at the World Ocean Circulation Experiment ( WOCE ) P01 ( 47 ring operator N ) line from May 21 to June 13 , 1999 , by Watanabe et al . ( 2001 ) and Fukasawa et al . ( 2004 ) and others on board the R/V Kaiyo-maru ( Japan Fisheries Agency ) were used to estimate the vertical structures of the baroclinic Rossby wave modes . The CTD sensors were calibrated before and after the cruise . Water sampling at the CTD stations was performed using Niskin bottles mounted on the CTD frame . By using the sampling data , the CTD data were calibrated . The accuracies of the temperature and salinity data used in this study are better than 0.00008 ring operator C and 0.003 ( psu ) , respectively . The zonally averaged profile of the potential density @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ western subarctic region between 160 ring operator E and 170 ring operator E were vertically averaged over 10 dbar to eliminate small-scale vertical variations and gridded from 10 dbar to 4000 dbar at intervals of 10 dbar . In addition , we used a climatological potential density profile around K2 based on the World Ocean Database 2013 ( WOD2013 ) ( Boyer et al . 2013 ) to examined the validity of the use of WOCE P01 data collected in such a short time for the calculation of the vertical structures of the baroclinic modes . # Model description and calculation procedure # We adopted the beta -plane linearized form of the hydrostatically balanced equations of motion and continuity to estimate the interannual to decadal variations in SSH ( eta ) due to Rossby waves forced by changes in wind stress , as applied by Kawabe ( 2000 , 2001 ) in the subtropical region of the North Pacific . Over a flat bottom ocean , perturbations of horizontal current velocity vector u = ( u , v ) , pressure p , and water density rho are solved via @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ omitted # where t is time and x , y , and z are the eastward , northward , and upward coordinates , respectively . The phi n function is the n th eigenfunction , satisfying Formula omitted # where Formula omitted , g is the gravitational acceleration ( 9.80 ms -2 ) , h n is the equivalent depth , Formula omitted is the squared Brunt-Visl frequency , and Formula omitted is the mean vertical profile of potential density . The eigenfunctions are normalized as Formula omitted # where D b is a constant bottom depth . Therefore , the vertical structure of the n th baroclinic Rossby wave mode , i.e. , phi n ( n =1 , 2 , midline horizontal ellipsis , infinity ) , is obtained as the n th eigenfunction of Eq . ( 3 ) with the boundary condition of no vertical velocity , i.e. , dphi n /dz =0 , at the sea surface and bottom , i.e. , z =0 and -D b . The barotropic Rossby wave mode is represented by the zeroth mode ( n =0 ) of Formula @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equation of the meridional velocity perturbation due to the n th baroclinic mode of the Rossby waves , i.e. , v n , which is called the vorticity gradient equation ( e.g. , LeBlond and Mysak 1978 ) , forced by interannual to decadal variations in wind stress is obtained in Cartesian coordinates as Formula omitted # where Formula omitted , A H ( A V ) and K H ( K V ) are the horizontal ( vertical ) eddy viscosity and diffusion coefficients , respectively , and beta is the latitudinal variation of f ( i.e. , f =f 0 +beta y ) . The first , second , and third terms of the right hand side of Eq . ( 5 ) represent external forcing , eddy viscosity , and eddy dissipation , respectively . We assume A V =K V ( identical to D V ) and A H =K H ( identical to D H ) hereafter . Further , we define B identical toD V N 2 and take to be constant , following to the presumption of K V proportional toN -2 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2002 ) . # A single fluctuation of the Ekman pumping velocity , w E , is represented by a sustained forcing of superposed sinusoidal meridional modes as Formula omitted # where W m is amplitude of the m th meridional mode of w E , H is the Heaviside step function ( defined as a function providing zero until time t =t 0 and unity afterward ) , delta is the Dirac delta function ( defined as a function providing zero for any x except for longitude x =x 0 ) , and L is the meridional length of the study region . t 0 and x 0 are time and the zonal position of the induction of w E , respectively , so that values of W m are determined for every t 0 and every x 0 . partial differential 2 w E /partial differential t partial differential y in Eq . ( 5 ) is neglected because this term is not significantly effective due to its attribution to a zonal and temporal delta function . # Substituting Eq . ( 6 ) and the geostrophic relationship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ p n , into Eq . ( 5 ) , neglecting partial differential t partial differential y w E , and integrating with respect to x , we obtain Formula omitted # where rho 0 is the constant overall water density . # The solution of Eq . ( 7 ) is found as Formula omitted # where Formula omitted # c mn is the propagation speed of the m th meridional mode and n th vertical mode Rossby wave , and r mn is the damping rate due to eddy dissipation . Depending on the vertical and meridional modes , zonal scales of Rossby waves are variable in this model . kappa is the zonal wavenumber of the Rossby wave with decadal periods ( here , we adopted 10 years to examine the decadal change in SSH studied by Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) ) ; in other words , we set kappa =2pi / ( 10 year x c mn ) , although the calculated SSH is little dependent of kappa . Therefore , variations in pressure caused by impacts of the change in wind stress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the distinctive speed of c mn as a Rossby wave , being subject to damping at the rate of r mn . Since , in this model , the geostrophic equilibrium is assumed to be instantaneously accomplished ( in reality , adjusted through the propagations of inertial gravity waves ) , an induction of wind stress forcing can excite fluctuations in pressure and velocity both to the east and west of the forcing region . # Note that Eq . ( 8 ) is the solution for a sustained forcing with the temporal step function ; therefore , we differentiate Eq . ( 8 ) with respect to t 0 to obtain the solution for an impulsive forcing , i.e. , a Green 's function of long Rossby wave . Next , replacing t 0 and x 0 with Formula omitted and Formula omitted , and integrating with respect to them across the intervals of ( -infinity , t and x , x e , respectively , the total pressure at any time t and any location ( x , y ) due to the n th Rossby wave mode @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where x e is the position of the eastern boundary . Using P n , the variation in SSH due to the change in wind stress ( eta ) is estimated to be Formula omitted # where rho 0 is set to 1025 kg m-3 . Using the hydrostatic relation , the change in the vertical density distribution due to the n th baroclinic mode , i.e. , rho n , is expressed as rho n =-p n /g h n . # The volume transport due to the n th vertical mode through a zonal line between the longitude of the Kuril Islands ( x w ) and the longitude of K2 ( x K2 ) from the sea surface ( z =0 ) to a depth of -D is calculated as Formula omitted # where V n is the total geostrophic velocity due to the n th mode and the geostrophic relationship , partial differential x P n =rho 0 f V n , was used to obtain the right hand side . To estimate the volume transport variation caused by the wind stress change in the interior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ edge of the western boundary current , i.e. , P n ( x w ) =0 . Therefore , the volume transport due to the n th vertical mode is approximated as Formula omitted # The total volume transport ( Q ) is calculated by summing Q n from n =1 to infinity ( Formula omitted ) . Integrating phi from the sea surface to the bottom ( z =-D b ) , the volume transport due to the baroclinic Rossby wave modes vanishes , i.e. , Q =Q 0 . Note that the volume transport should not be identical to the East Kamchatka Current transport because we neglect the pressure variation at the western boundary . If we neglect the time-varying , eddy viscosity , and eddy dissipation terms of Eq . ( 5 ) , the familiar formula of the Sverdrup balance is obtained . Due to the rapid barotropic ( n =0 ) response to the change in wind stress , the variation in the volume transport calculated by this model , i.e. , Q , should be nearly identical to those based on the Sverdrup balance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , Ishi and Hanawa ( 2005 ) , and Isoguchi and Kawamura ( 2006 ) . # To examine the characteristic curves of the barotropic Rossby wave in the study region , we calculated geostrophic contours , i.e. , f /H , where H is water depth ( not shown ) . Except near the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain , the Aleutian Arc , and the western and eastern boundaries of the ocean , the geostrophic contours around the latitudes of K2 and KNOT are largely parallel to the latitudinal lines . It should be noted that the zonal scale of the meridional deviation of the geostrophic contours is much smaller than those of barotropic disturbances ( &gt;70000 km ) . Accordingly , the barotropic disturbances around the latitudes of K2 and KNOT excited by the wind stress changes in the interior region are considered to propagate zonally , being not significantly affected by the seamount chain . # Results and discussion # Calculation of the wind-driven SSH variation # Using the WOCE P01 CTD data collected in 1999 in the region between 160 ring operator E and 170 ring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sigma theta =rho -1000 ( kg m-3 ) , down to a depth of 4000 dbar , D b =4000 dbar ( Fig. 4a ) . The potential density steeply increases with depth particularly in the top 200 dbar , where the halocline exists and compensates for the temperature inversion in the dichothermal layer ( Nagano et al . 2016 ) . These near sea surface characteristics are typical of the early summer density profile in the western subarctic North Pacific . The main pycnocline is present from just below the halocline to a depth of approximately 1500 dbar . In this paper , we discretized Eq . ( 3 ) in terms of z at intervals of 10 dbar and obtained C n and phi n by solving the eigenvalue problem . Fig. 4 # a Vertical profile of the potential density , sigma theta , in kg m-3 averaged along the WOCE P01 line ( 47 ring operator N ) from 160 ring operator E to 170 ring operator E. b Vertical eigenfunctions of the barotropic mode ( black line ) , and the first ( red line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ green line ) , and fourth ( gray line ) baroclinic vertical modes of the potential density profile . The vertical thin solid line indicates zero see PDF for image # The eigenfunctions of the lowest four baroclinic Rossby wave modes , i.e. , phi n ( n =1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ) , are shown in Fig. 4b , concurrent with the vertical structure of the barotropic mode ( n =0 ) . The obtained phi n is found to cross zero n times , i.e. , it has n nodes . Although the potential density above the depth of the winter mixed layer ( 110 m ) varies seasonally , the structure of the n th mode with n nodes under the depth of the winter mixed layer is likely to be almost independent of the CTD observation season . # The calculated phase speeds of the barotropic and baroclinic Rossby waves , c mn , are listed in Table 1 ; for the calculation of SSH at K2 , we set f 0 =1.066x10-4 s-1 and beta = 1.562x10-11 m-1 s-1 at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the barotropic ( n =0 ) Rossby waves change depending on the meridional modes from 357.85 cm s -1 ( m =1 ) to 23.85 cm s-1 ( m =4 ) , and the waves can propagate across the northern North Pacific basin in shorter than approximately 8 months . Discrepancies of phase speeds at KNOT and K1 due to the beta -plane approximation fixed at K2 are estimated to be less than 6 % , so that the error of travel time of disturbances across the ocean is shorter than the temporal intervals of the tau data , i.e. , 1 month . Baroclinic disturbances are transmitted primarily by the first ( n =1 ) baroclinic Rossby waves with a phase speed of 0.4-0.5 cm s-1 but only slightly by the higher baroclinic mode waves because of their slow phase speeds ( n =2 , 3 , and 4 ) and damping due to eddy dissipation . Despite that discrepancies of phase speeds at KNOT and K1 due to the beta -plane approximation are approximately 17 % , spatiotemporal characteristics of calculated SSH variations are not significantly distorted because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( cm s-1 ) of the Rossby waves , i.e. , c mn , with respect to the barotropic/baroclinic vertical ( n ) and meridional ( m ) modes # Meridional modes # Vertical modes # n =0 # n =1 # n =2 # n =3 # n =4 # m =1 # 357.85 # 0.45 # 0.12 # 0.06 # 0.03 # m =2 # 94.16 # 0.45 # 0.12 # 0.06 # 0.03 # m =3 # 42.26 # 0.44 # 0.12 # 0.06 # 0.03 # m =4 # 23.85 # 0.44 # 0.12 # 0.06 # 0.03 # Note that , using the WOD2013 potential density profile around K2 , we obtained the vertical structures of the baroclinic modes and the propagation speeds of Rossby waves . These are basically equivalent to those derived from the WOCE P01 CTD data . However , possibly because the WOD2013 climatology in the western subarctic region was constructed from a small number of data collected in layers deeper than 2000 dbar , the WOD2013 data provide artificial discontinuities in phi around a depth of approximately 2000 dbar . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we adopted the vertical structures and propagation speeds of the baroclinic modes calculated from the WOCE P01 CTD data . # Next , the Ekman vertical velocity , w E , was calculated from the NCEP/NCAR monthly mean momentum flux data . Because w E has a peak around the latitude of K2 , we decomposed w E into the first to fourth meridional modes , as in Eq . ( 6 ) ( m =1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ) , setting L =14 ring operator latitude ( equivalent to 1556 km ) . The mean zonal distributions of the amplitude of the meridional modes , i.e. , W m , are shown in Fig. 5a . The amplitude of the first meridional mode of w E ( m =1 , solid black line ) is significantly larger than those of the other modes west of approximately 160 ring operator W owing to the strong westerly wind from the Eurasian continent and gradually decreases eastward . The second meridional mode ( m =2 , red line ) has substantial amplitudes west of approximately 165 ring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ green line ) and fourth ( m =4 , blue line ) modes have nearly equivalent amplitudes to the residual error ( dashed line ) defined as the root-mean-squared difference between the raw and four mode-based synthetic values of w E . Fig. 5 # Longitudinal distributions of a the mean value and b the standard deviation of W m ( 10-6 m s-1 ) in Eq . ( 6 ) . Values of the first ( m =1 ) , second ( m =2 ) , third ( m =3 ) , and fourth ( m =4 ) modes are shown by black , red , green , and blue lines , respectively . In panel a , the mean residual error ( 10-6 m s-1 ) of the Ekman pumping velocity , w E , for the four meridional modes is indicated by a dashed line see PDF for image # As shown by the standard deviation of W in Fig. 5b , the variations in the amplitudes of the meridional modes are mostly greater with the larger meridional scales expressed by the lower modes . In particular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first meridional mode ( m =1 , black line ) variation exceeding 0.4x10-6 m s-1 is present between approximately 150 ring operator W and 160 ring operator W , where the westerly wind on the southern limb of the Aleutian Low prevails and wind stress curl is correlated to the SSH variation associated with the WSAG change ( Fig. 2 ) . The second meridional mode ( m =2 , red line ) has a peak variation near a longitude of approximately 167 ring operator E , the magnitude of which is greater than that of the first meridional mode ( black line ) . This peak variation of the second mode coincides with the variation in wind stress curl in the region southeast of the Kamchatka Peninsula correlated to the WSAG change ( Fig. 2 ) . The variations in the third ( m =3 , green line ) and fourth ( m =4 , blue line ) meridional modes are significantly smaller than those in the lower modes . Because the meridional scales of higher modes are similar to or smaller than the resolution of the NCEP/NCAR wind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lowest four meridional modes to calculate the variations in SSH and potential density . # Equation ( 9 ) shows that the variation in total pressure can be calculated by the accumulation of linear Rossby wave responses to the changes in wind stress curl from past to time t and from the eastern end to location x . It should be noted that because we represented a single fluctuation of w E by the Heaviside step function of time in Eq . ( 6 ) , the amplitudes of the variations in pressure and SSH are proportional to the derivative of W with respect to time , i.e. , Formula omitted in Eq . ( 9 ) ( because the derivative of the step function is the delta function ) . Therefore , to calculate the amplitude of the Rossby waves excited by the wind stress curl changes , we computed the differences in W between successive months for every longitudinal grid . # To determine the parameters related to damping due to vertical and horizontal eddy diffusion , we calculated variations in SSH , by using Eq . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eddy diffusion coefficient ) to 0 m2 s-1 , 1 m2 s-1 , 10 m2 s-1 , 50 m2 s-1 , and 100 m2 s-1 ; and B ( the vertical eddy diffusion coefficient ) to 0 m2 s-3 , 1x10-8 m2 s-3 , 5x10-8 m2 s-3 , 1x10-7 m2 s-3 , and 2x10-7 m2 s-3 . Note that , at K2 , the SSH variation is considered to be driven purely by the wind stress change to the east without being affected by topographic blocking and other gyre variations , in comparison with those at other sites such as K1 and KNOT . Accordingly , we determined the parameters based on the SSH variation at K2 . Correlation coefficients between the observed and calculated SSH are listed in Table 2 ; to focus on decadal variations , we smoothed calculated SSH time series by using a 35-month running mean filter . The highest correlation is found to be 0.79 for the case of D H =10 m2 s-1 and B =1x10-7 m2 s-3 , which is higher than the 90% confidence interval ( 0.73 ) for 4 equivalent degrees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimated SSH variations are not sensitive to the diffusion parameters within ranges of 0&lt;D H &lt;100 m2 s-1 and 5x10-8 &lt;B &lt;2x10-7 m2 s-3 ( Table 2 ) . As described below , reasonable decadal increases in SSH were computed at other sites in the western subarctic region . Therefore , we analyzed the SSH variations based on the values of D H ( =10 m2 s-1 ) and B ( =1x10-7 m2 s-3 ) that provide the highest correlation . The value of D H for the subpolar region is two orders of magnitude smaller than that for the subtropical region evaluated by Kawabe ( 2000 ) . This is consistent with the fact that spatial eddy mixing scales in the subpolar region are smaller than those in the subtropical region ( Stammer 1998 ) . Meanwhile , the values of B for both regions are similar . # Dependence of the correlation coefficients between the observed and simulated SSH at station K2 on the eddy dissipation coefficients B ( m2 s-3 ) and D H ( m2 s-1 ) # D H # B # 0 # 1x10-8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # 0.358 # 0.758 # 0.785 # 0.781 # 1 # 0.423 # 0.366 # 0.759 # 0.786 # 0.781 # 10 # 0.333 # 0.421 # 0.763 # 0.788 # 0.784 # 50 # 0.267 # 0.498 # 0.744 # 0.767 # 0.763 # 100 # 0.337 # 0.507 # 0.712 # 0.735 # 0.731 # Time series smoothed by a 35-month running mean filter were used for the calculations # The calculated wind-derived SSH variation at K2 smoothed by a 35-month running mean filter is shown by the red thick line in Fig. 7a ; for comparison , we display the altimetric SSH variation ( blue thick line ) . The standard deviation of the calculated SSH variation during the period of the altimetric SSH observation is 4.0 cm , which is comparable to but larger than the standard deviation of the observed SSH variation ( 3.8 cm ) . It should be noted that the year of the background potential density observation at the WOCE P01 line , i.e. , 1999 , nearly corresponds to the midpoint of the decadal increase in SSH at K2 . This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1999 is reasonable for the SSH calculation during the study period . # The effects of eddy dissipation on the damping rates are strongly dependent on the baroclinic modes but are mostly independent of the meridional modes ( Kawabe 2000 ) . Because the amplitude of the SSH disturbances due to the barotropic Rossby waves ( n =0 ) is not significantly affected by the dissipation , the damping rates , defined as exp ( -r x 1 year ) in this paper , are nearly unity ( Table 3 ) . Due to the eddy dissipation , the amplitude of the first baroclinic Rossby waves ( n =1 ) attenuates to approximately 40% after 1 year of propagation following excitation . For the higher baroclinic Rossby modes , i.e. , the second ( n =2 ) , third ( n =3 ) , and fourth ( n =4 ) modes , variations in SSH nearly vanish within 1 year . Because the propagation speeds of these higher baroclinic Rossby wave modes are slow as described above ( Table 1 ) , their contributions are localized around the forcing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , i.e. , exp ( -r mn x1 year ) , with respect to the vertical and meridional modes for the case of B =1x10-7 m2 s-3 and D H =10 m2 s-1 # Meridional modes # Vertical modes # n =0 # n =1 # n =2 # n =3 # n =4 # m =1 # 0.999 # 0.377 # 0.028 # 0.000 # 0.000 # m =2 # 0.995 # 0.376 # 0.028 # 0.000 # 0.000 # m =3 # 0.988 # 0.373 # 0.028 # 0.000 # 0.000 # m =4 # 0.980 # 0.370 # 0.028 # 0.000 # 0.000 # We performed comparisons between the calculated and altimetric SSH variations at other sites . The variation in SSH at K1 ( marked by the northernmost star in Fig. 3 ) was calculated using the w E along the zonal line from 135 ring operator W to K1 and its correlation coefficient ( 0.43 ) is much lower than the 90% confidence interval . As described below , the SSH variation at K1 appears to be excited west of the southern end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Accordingly , we calculated the SSH variation at K1 forced by the w E in the region west of 180 ring operator alone . As a result , the correlation coefficient rose to 0.58 . Therefore , the SSH variation at K1 is thought not to be affected by changes in the wind stress originated east of the Aleutian Arc but to be forced primarily by the local change in wind stress to the west . However , note that the standard deviation of the calculated SSH ( 3.0 cm ) is much smaller than that of the observed SSH ( 5.2 cm ) . It is likely that the interannual to decadal SSH variation at K1 is significantly affected by changes in forcings other than wind stress . # Because station KNOT is located to the west of 160 ring operator E ( Fig. 3 ) , i.e. , outside the calculation region , we can not compute the SSH variation at this site . Instead , we obtained the SSH variation at a site east of KNOT , i.e. , 44 ring operator N 160 ring operator E @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this location . Even though the correlation coefficient between the calculated and observed variations in SSH is 0.51 , which is lower than the 90% confidence interval , due to the influences of the subtropical water from the south ( Tsurushima et al . 2002 ) , the calculated SSH increases , consistent with the increase in observed SSH that we focus on in this paper . The decadal increase in SSH east of KNOT may be due to the change in wind stress in the subpolar region , as will be discussed below . # SSH disturbances can also propagate from the far east , outside the calculation region . Disturbances generated in the equatorial region due to El Nio propagate along the equator and the North American coast as equatorial and coastal Kelvin waves , and proceed westward as baroclinic Rossby waves ( e.g. , Endfield and Allen 1980 and Jacobs et al . 1994 ) . Perhaps , other types of disturbances on interannual to decadal timescales are also excited by various kinds of forcing . Disturbances excited in the narrow region near the North American coast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scale of the internal Rossby radius of deformation . Therefore , such disturbances decay just west of the coast due to the significant damping ( Qiu et al . 1997 ) and do not affect the SSH variation in the western subarctic region . # As described below , this simple wind-driven Rossby wave model should be noted to exhibit some discrepancies between the simulated and observed SSH variations . The discrepancies are supposed to be attributable principally to two reasons . First , topographic effects such as the joint effect of baroclinicity and bottom relief ( JEBAR ) , through which the ocean slowly respond to rapid forcing changes , were not taken into account in the model . As speculated by Frankignoul et al . ( 1997 ) , the ocean can slowly respond in the barotropic manner to shorter timescale wind stress changes and produce variations on longer timescales . In the present model , the atmospheric variations caused by El Nio excite substantial depressions in SSH , but they were not observed prominently by the satellite altimetry . Accordingly , the El Nio-related SSH depressions are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assumed to be uniform in the whole subpolar region . Characteristics of propagations of SSH fluctuations appear to be different with respect to longitudes . In Fig. 6 , we show the spatial distribution of correlation coefficient between altimetric and simulated decadal SSH variations in the subpolar region . Significantly high-correlation ( &gt;0.73 ) areas are present in the northwestern and eastern parts of the calculation region . It should be , however , noted that a low-correlation ( reaching minimum values of approximately - 0.2 ) area extends southwestward from 50 ring operator N , 160 ring operator W to 40 ring operator N , 165 ring operator E bounded by the western and eastern high-correlation areas . This distribution of the low correlation is different from those of major bottom topographies such as the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain ( Fig. 3 ) but is likely to be a propagating baroclinic Rossby wave pattern . As in the present model , we set the damping parameters to obtain reasonable SSH variation in the WSAG region , disturbances propagating as baroclinic Rossby waves from the eastern to central subpolar North Pacific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fig. 6 # Map of correlation coefficient between altimetric and simulated SSH variations in the region of 40-50 ring operator N , 160 ring operator E-135 ring operator W. Contour interval is 0.2 . The 90% confidence interval ( 0.73 ) is illustrated by green contours . Variations in SSH smoothed by a 35-month running mean filter were used to calculate correlation coefficients . Locations of stations K1 , K2 , and KNOT are indicated by stars see PDF for image # Fig. 7 # Wind-driven variations in a SSH ( cm ) at station K2 ( red line ) and b absolute geostrophic volume transport ( Sv ) down to a depth of 4000 dbar to the east of K2 ( black line ) . Time series smoothed by 15- and 35-month running mean filters are indicated by thin and thick lines , respectively . Positive values in panel b indicate northward transport . For comparison , the observed SSH at K2 and the North Pacific Index ( NPI ) are shown by blue and green lines , respectively , in panel a . The NPI was smoothed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deviation see PDF for image # Nevertheless , fluctuations in SSH excited in the eastern high-correlation area rapidly propagate westward as barotropic Rossby waves through the low-correlation area in Fig. 6 and contribute to the simulated SSH variations in the high-correlation western subarctic region , so that the wind-driven SSH variation component in the target region , i.e. , the western subpolar North Pacific , is considered to be appropriately computed . # Wind-driven SSH and volume transport changes # Along with the decadal increase in altimetric SSH at K2 ( blue thick line in Fig. 7a ) , the wind-driven SSH at that site ( red thick line ) increased during the altimetry observation period . The increase in SSH is found to have begun in the late 1990s , being consistent with the result of Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) . To obtain the linear trend excluding sharp interannual variations , we examined the statistical significance by the Mann-Kendall trend test ( e.g. , Wilks 2019 ) . Based on the Mann-Kendall trend test , Kendall 's tau coefficient of the calculated wind-driven SSH change during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This value is higher than the 99% confidence level ( 0.11 ) ; in other words , this increasing trend is statistically significant . Accordingly , the SSH change can be approximated by a linear trend . Using Sen 's method ( Sen 1968 ) , the linear trend was computed to be 0.54 cm year-1 , which is the same order of magnitude as the 0.66 cm year-1 of the altimetry SSH trend during the same period . # At K1 and the site east of KNOT , the wind-driven increases in SSH were calculated to be 0.13 and 0.49 cm year-1 , respectively ( red lines in Fig. 8a and c ) . According to the above Kendall 's criterion , these trends are also statistically significant . In particular , the wind-driven SSH elevation at the site east of KNOT is larger than the observed trend ( 0.38 cm year-1 ) ( Fig. 8c ) . The magnitudes of the wind-driven SSH increases at K2 and the site east of KNOT are sufficiently large to explain the observed northward shrinkage of the WSAG . Therefore , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the change in wind stress . Meanwhile , at K1 , the calculated trend is much smaller than the observed value ( 0.67 cm year -1 ) ( Fig. 8a ) , the northern part of the circulation being strongly affected by other factors than wind stress . On the basis of the decadal wind-driven SSH changes , the onset of the SSH increase occurred in order from the south , as in 1992 , 1997 , and 2004 at KNOT , K2 , and K1 , respectively ( arrows in Fig. 8 ) . Fig. 8 # Wind-driven ( red lines ) and altimetry-based ( blue lines ) variations in SSH at stations a K1 , b K2 , and c east of KNOT . Smoothed time series by 15- and 35-month running mean filters are denoted by thin and thick lines , respectively . Arrows show estimated times at the latitudes when SSH began to increase due to the WSAG shrinkage see PDF for image # The intensification of the Aleutian Low via the atmospheric teleconnection by El Nio is illustrated by the depressions in the area-weighted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operator N , 160 ring operator E-140 ring operator W , called the North Pacific Index ( NPI ) ( Trenberth and Hurrel 1994 ) . In association with the intensification of the Aleutian Low in winter , interannual ( 3-year ) timescale depressions were produced in calculated SSH at K2 ( red thin lines in Figs. 7a and 8b ) and the site east of KNOT ( red thin line in Fig. 8c ) . However , no clear corresponding depressions were observed in altimetric SSH at K2 and KNOT . In Fig. 9 , we display Hovmller diagrams of the altimetric SSH variations at the latitudes of K1 , K2 , and KNOT . In altimetric SSH , negative SSH disturbances were generated in 1995 , 1998 , 2003 , and 2010 at K2 and KNOT ( arrows in Fig. 9b and c ) when the Aleutian Low was intensified by El Nio and induced positive fluctuations in wind stress , w E , in regions to the east of approximately 180 ring operator ( arrows in Fig. 10b and c ) . Similar negative SSH disturbances are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrows in Fig. 9a ) except in 1995 and the corresponding w E fluctuations occurred to the east of approximately 160 ring operator W ( arrows in Fig. 10a ) . By the satellite altimetry , the El Nio-related negative SSH disturbances at the latitudes of KNOT and K2 reached the sites in 2003 and 2010 , respectively , but other negative SSH disturbances appear to be canceled out around or to the east of the sites by regional positive disturbances to the west of 170 ring operator W ( K1 and K2 ) or 180 ring operator ( KNOT ) . Fig. 9 # Hovmller ( longitude-time ) diagrams of the altimetric SSH anomalies ( cm ) at the latitudes of stations a K1 ( 51 ring operator N ) , b K2 ( 47 ring operator N ) , and c KNOT ( 44 ring operator N ) . Smoothing was performed using a 15-month running mean filter . The vertical dotted lines in panels ( a ) , ( b ) , and ( c ) indicate the longitudes of K1 , K2 , and KNOT , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for image # Fig. 10 # a -c Same as Fig. 9 but for inverted Ekman vertical velocity , -w E , in 10-6 m s-1 based on the NCEP/NCAR wind stress data from 1979 to 2014 . Negative value indicates upward velocity , i.e. , Ekman suction . Arrows show El Nio-related enhancements in Ekman suction . Vertical dashed lines and connecting arrows denote westernmost longitudes of significantly negative w E and their westward migrations in the 1990s , respectively see PDF for image # Meanwhile , the disturbances in SSH excited by the El Nio-related enhancement of the Ekman suction , i.e. , the increases in w E , at the latitudes of K2 ( Fig. 11b ) and KNOT ( Fig. 11c ) are calculated to reach the western end of the calculation region ( arrows ) and they are shown by the significant SSH depressions in Fig. 8b and c . At the latitude of K1 ( Fig. 11a ) , the El Nio-related SSH dips were generated to the east of 180 ring operator and sometimes to the west . Also , in the opposite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , La Nia , elevations in SSH are excited at the latitudes of K2 and KNOT by the relaxations of the Ekman suction . The spatiotemporal patterns of the total wind-driven SSH variations at the latitudes ( Fig. 11 ) are fairly similar to and dominated by those of the barotropic SSH variations ( Fig. 12 ) . Remarkably , the ENSO-timescale variations are nearly simultaneously exited by the barotropic ( n =0 ) Rossby wave response to the changes in wind stress to the east of approximately 180 ring operator longitude , which is a region of significant wind variation due to the change in the Aleutian Low ( black line in Fig. 5b ) . The amplitudes of the wind-driven SSH variations diminish toward the farther east . Fig. 11 # a -c Same as Fig. 9 but for the SSH variations calculated from the NCEP/NCAR wind stress data from 1979 to 2014 . In panel a , the wind stress data in the region east of 180 ring operator were not used for the calculation of the SSH anomaly in the western region . Arrows show El @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # a -c Same as Fig. 9 but for the SSH variations due to the barotropic Rossby wave mode ( n =0 ) forced by the wind stress . In panel a , the wind stress data in the region east of 180 ring operator were not used for the calculation of the SSH anomaly in the western region . Arrows show El Nio-related SSH depressions see PDF for image # Probably because topographic effects such as the JEBAR were neglected , the modeled ocean produced significant SSH depressions , which were not comparably observed by the altimetry , in response to short-term El Nio-related intensification of the Aleutian Low . Meanwhile , in the case of La Nia , discrepancies between the simulated and observed SSH changes are not remarkable . The wind variations in the subpolar region through the atmospheric teleconnections from the tropical region consist of fluctuations on timescales shorter than approximately 10 days ( e.g. , Feldstein 2000 ) . In addition , El Nio decays more rapidly than La Nia ( e.g. , Ohba and Ueda 2009 and Hu et al . 2017 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in wind stress forcing is not caused by individual pulses of the atmospheric anomalies but their accumulative modulation ; more ( less ) frequent tropical convective activity triggers extratropical wind anomalies in the central to eastern North Pacific more ( less ) often during El Nio ( La Nia ) years . These differences might be the reason why the ocean response to El Nio is different from that to La Nia. # From the mid-1990s to the late 1990s , substantially negative w E exceeding 0.5x10-6 m s-1 was mostly induced to the east of approximately 140 ring operator W and 180 ring operator at the latitudes of K2 and KNOT , respectively ; note that , in Fig. 10 , the signs of w E were reversed to match the coloring of SSH as in Figs. 9 and 11 . In the late 1990s , the negative w E abruptly migrated to 180 ring operator longitude at the latitude of K2 ( Fig. 10b ) and to 170 ring operator E at the latitude of KNOT ( Fig. 10c ) , as illustrated by vertical dashed lines and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , greatly negative w E frequently occurred from these longitudes to approximately 140 ring operator W. The frequent relaxation of the Ekman suction is attributed to the attenuation of the Aleutian Low due to the increase in occurrences of substantial La Nia from the late 1990s to mid-2000. # Associated with this westward jump of the forcing relaxation in the late 1990s , positive SSH anomalies seem to have propagated westward from approximately 150 ring operator W at the latitudes of K2 and KNOT . Additionally , at the latitude of K1 , a westward jump of the wind forcing relaxation was observed in the mid-1990s ( Fig. 10a ) . Although the amplitude of the forcing change at the latitude of K1 is smaller than those at the latitudes of K2 and KNOT , the corresponding SSH elevation at K1 was as great as those at the other latitudes . The propagation speed from 150 ring operator W to 180 ring operator is estimated to be approximately 1.3 cm s-1 , which is much slower and faster than the estimated propagation speeds of the barotropic and baroclinic Rossby waves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1996 ) ( Table 1 ) . The background flow in this region is up to eastward 15 cm s-1 ( e.g. , Roden 2000 ) , which is opposite to the propagation of Rossby waves . The northward shoaling of the main pycnocline is quite little ( e.g. , Roden 2000 ) . Despite taking into account of the background state , the propagation of this disturbance observed by the altimetry can not be interpreted as the free baroclinic Rossby waves alone . Presumably , this propagating signal is a result of superposition of SSH fluctuations due to barotropic and baroclinic Rossby waves forced by the westward jump of the Ekman suction relaxation , although , in the model , the disturbance is rapidly damped just east of 160 ring operator W due to the strong dissipation and is rather depressed by the 1997/1998 El Nio. # The frequent relaxation of the Ekman suction after the late 1990s caused the long-term elevation in SSH at the latitudes of K2 ( Figs. 11b and 12b ) and KNOT ( Figs. 11c and 12c ) . In particular , the attenuations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ La Nia greatly contribute to the decadal SSH elevation , i.e. , substantial northward shrinkage of the WSAG , in the mid to late 2000s . In addition , there is a long-term decrease in w E at the latitudes of K2 and KNOT to the west of 180 ring operator longitude due to the weakening of the westerly wind ( Fig. 9b , c ) , which contributes to the increase in SSH at K2 and KNOT . # Using Eq . ( 12 ) , we estimated the geostrophic volume transport relative to a depth of 1000 dbar in the western boundary region of the WSAG between the Kuril Islands and K2 , as Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) calculated . The standard deviation of the volume transport is approximately 0.1 Sv ( where 1 Sv =10 6 m3 s-1 ) . On the basis of AGEM-based hydrographic data , Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) calculated the geostrophic volume transport in the top 1000 dbar layer at a westward line from the point of the maximal amplitude of the SSH variation ( 53 ring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ E ) . Associated with the northward shrinkage of the WSAG , the AGEM-based volume transport of the gyre changed from approximately southward 1.0 Sv in 1996 to northward 0.5 Sv in 2003 ( see thick dashed line Fig. 9 in Nagano et al . 2016 ) . The variabilities in the AGEM-based and wind-driven volume transports are comparable to each other but are one or two orders of magnitude smaller than the Sverdrup transport of 5 Sv ( July ) to 40 Sv ( February ) by Favorite et al . ( 1976 ) and the climatological wintertime Sverdrup transport of 40 Sv by Ishi and Hanawa ( 2005 ) . The wind-driven volume transport in the layer from the sea surface to 4000 dbar , i.e. , full-depth wind-driven volume transport , varied with a large standard deviation of 15.4 Sv . The small variability in the AGEM-based transport is attributed to the small vertical displacement of the main pycnocline . Therefore , the baroclinic variability might be really the minor component in the decadal wind-driven SSH and volume transport variations in the western subarctic region , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volume transport of the extended WSAG ( Fig. 7b ) was approximately southward 20 Sv in 1994 , when Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) examined the streamfunction from the sea surface to a depth of 1000 dbar , and it was larger in the period prior to the early 1990s . The volume transport in the extended gyre state is consistent with the estimated values of the Sverdrup transport ( 5-40 Sv ) in past studies . After the early 2000s , the East Kamchatka Current returned northeastward to the north of K2 due to the northward shrinkage of the WSAG ; therefore , the volume transport vanished in the early 2000s and was occasionally positive , i.e. , northward . This is consistent with the distribution of the streamfunction of the diminished WSAG in 2004 prepared by Nagano et al . ( 2016 ) . # At the latitude of K1 , near the west coast of North America ( 140 ring operator W ) , a substantial Ekman pumping ( downward velocity ) is present through the study period but is quite limited , yielding a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barotropic disturbances are generated by the wind stress changes in the central region between approximately 140 ring operator W and 180 ring operator ( Fig. 12a ) , they are likely to be shielded by the Aleutian Arc , as described above . The disturbances locally generated in the area between K1 and longitude 180 ring operator affect SSH at K1. # Figure 13 shows pentad mean wind-driven SSH maps during 1995-1999 , 2000-2004 , and 2005-2009 . During 1995-1999 , just after the onset of the gyre shrinkage ( Fig. 13a ) , the cyclonic WSAG is produced in the western subarctic region , as illustrated by a low SSH to the west of approximately 175 ring operator W. The WSAG is considerably reduced in its extension and is present only around the east of station K2 during 2000-2004 ( Fig. 13b ) , and eventually disappears around K2 during 2005-2009 ( Fig. 13c ) . The gyre shrinkage is associated with a substantial anticyclonic circulation centered around 43-44 ring operator N , 170-175 ring operator E , southeast of the WSAG ( Fig. 13b , c ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 44 ring operator N , 175 ring operator E during 1995-1999 ( Fig. 13a ) . Owing to the meridional scales of the WSAG and the anticyclonic circulation ( 500 km ) , the SSH change in the western subarctic region is fairly affected by the second meridional mode ( m =2 ) . Despite prominent variations with smaller spatial scales ( 100-200 km ) in altimetric SSH , the simulated wind-driven change of the WSAG is basically consistent with the gyre shrinkage observed by the satellite altimetry ( Fig. 14 ) . Fig. 13 # Maps of wind-driven SSH averaged during a 1995-1999 , b 2000-2004 , and c 2005-2009 . Contour interval is 2 cm . Stars indicate locations of stations K1 , K2 , and KNOT see PDF for image # Fig. 14 # a -c Same as Fig. 13 , but for altimetric SSH anomaly from the mean state see PDF for image # However , unlike calculated wind-driven SSH , altimetric SSH did not change significantly or decreased from 1990-1995 ( Fig. 14a ) to 2000-2004 ( Fig. 14b ) in the central area where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 ) . Intriguingly , the anticyclonic circulation is accompanied by a northeastward current at the western edge of the circulation ( Fig. 13 ) . The corresponding northeastward current anomalies are found in the altimetric SSH anomaly maps ( Fig. 14 ) and are coincident with a northeastward jet from around 43 ring operator N , 160 ring operator E to 45 ring operator N , 170 ring operator E ( J2 ) reported by Isoguchi et al . ( 2006 ) . # Qiu ( 2002 ) reported that the SSH variation in the initial phase of the WSAG shrinkage is caused by the baroclinic Rossby wave adjustment to the change in wind stress . Meanwhile , the present calculation of the wind-driven SSH variation demonstrates that the barotropic Rossby wave adjustment is primarily responsible for the northward shrinkage of the gyre . We think that the difference is attributable to that of the dissipation rates used in the models . The dissipation rate used in Qiu ( 2002 ) is much smaller ( 6-year damping ) than that in the present model ( approximately 1-year damping for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Note that the SSH variation which Qiu ( 2002 ) used to determine the dissipation rate is dominated by the variation on the annual timescale ( Fig. 19b in Qiu 2002 ) . On the other hand , as described above , we determined the eddy dissipation coefficients by fitting the SSH variations on interannual to decadal timescales . This is likely to be the reason why the dissipation rate used in Qiu ( 2002 ) is much smaller . If we set B to a lower value , 1x10-8 m2 s-3 , without changing other parameters , we obtain a smaller rate of the increase in SSH at K2 ( 0.35 cm year-1 ) . Thus , the wind-driven decadal increase in SSH in the western subarctic region is considered to be more exactly estimated in the present model with the higher dissipation , which substantially attenuates the baroclinic disturbances in the western region . # Remember that the eigenfunction of the barotropic mode is vertically constant ( the black line in Fig. 4 b ) , so that the vertical gradient , i.e. , d phi 0 /dz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the change in wind stress is not associated with the density change . Conversely , disturbances due to the baroclinic Rossby waves are expected to be associated with the density changes because dphi n /dz not equal to0 ( n =1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ) . In particular , the vertical gradients of the modes higher than the first are remarkable just beneath a depth of approximately 110 dbar , where the winter mixed layer does not reach ( Wakita et al . 2017 ) and the variations in the sea surface heat and freshwater fluxes are considered to be ineffective . The baroclinic Rossby wave responses and the associated potential density changes will be discussed in the next subsection. # Wind-driven potential density change # The amplitudes of the SSH variations due to the baroclinic Rossby wave responses to the changes in wind stress at the latitudes of K1 , K2 , and KNOT ( Fig. 15 ) are smaller than those of the SSH variations due to the barotropic response ( Fig. 12 ) but are larger than the error of the satellite altimetric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The wind-driven baroclinic SSH variations are primarily generated not by remote wind stress changes via westward propagations of Rossby waves but by local changes in the wind stress . As demonstrated at the latitude of K2 , the baroclinic Rossby wave response to the wind stress change due to the weakening of the westerly wind to the west of 180 ring operator longitude ( Fig. 10b ) contributes to the decadal increase in SSH in the western subarctic region during the calculation period ( Fig. 15b ) . This is consistent with the high correlation near K2 between wind stress curl and the SSH change in association with the WSAG shrinkage ( Fig. 2 ) . Fig. 15 # a -c Same as Fig. 9 but for the SSH variations due to the baroclinic Rossby wave modes ( n =1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ) forced by the wind stress . Arrows show El Nio-related SSH depressions . In panel a , the wind stress data in the region east of 180 ring operator were not used for the calculation of the SSH anomaly in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we show the first ( n =1 ) to fourth ( n =4 ) baroclinic Rossby wave mode variations in SSH at K2 . Spatiotemporal patterns of the variations due to the second ( n =2 ) to fourth ( n =4 ) modes ( Fig. 16b , c , and d ) , which amplitudes are proportional to phi ( 0 ) 2 because of no significant propagations , are similar to each other but rather different from that of the propagating first ( n =1 ) mode variation ( Fig. 16a ) . Notably , the SSH elevations due to the second and third baroclinic Rossby wave modes are more prominent than those due to other baroclinic modes and well coincide with anomalously negative forcing in space and time ( meshes in Fig. 16b and c ) . Meanwhile , the SSH elevations by the first baroclinic Rossby wave mode are rapidly dissipated apart from negative forcing times and regions ( meshes in Fig. 16a ) , resulting in smaller amplitudes of disturbances than those by other higher baroclinic modes . There are reports on SSH variabilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . For instance , an analysis of the SSH variability in the South Pacific by Maharaj et al . ( 2007 ) indicates that the higher baroclinic mode waves contribute to the variations even to the south of 40 ring operator S. Remarkably , in Maharaj et al . ( 2007 ) , we recognize areas where the amplitudes of the second baroclinic mode variations are greater than those of the first baroclinic mode variations . Their report supports our indication that , also in the western subarctic region , the disturbances due to the higher baroclinic mode waves can have greater SSH amplitudes than those due to the first baroclinic mode waves . Fig. 16 # Hovmller diagrams of SSH ( cm ) at the latitude of station K2 ( 47 ring operator N ) due to the a first ( n =1 ) , b second ( n =2 ) , c third ( n =3 ) , and d fourth ( n =4 ) baroclinic Rossby wave modes forced by the wind stress . Arrows indicate El Nio-related SSH depressions shown in Fig. 14 b . Meshing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each longitude smaller than - 0.2x10-6 m s-1 . The vertical dashed lines indicate the longitude of station K2 ( 160 ring operator E ) see PDF for image # With respect to the amplification of the higher baroclinic mode variations , it is worthwhile to point out the coincidence between the w E variation and the SSH variations due to the second , third , and fourth baroclinic modes . Such persistent wind stress forcing is considered to amplify disturbances until the balance between the forcing and damping is reached . The large amplitudes of the slowly propagating ( or quasi-stationary ) disturbances of the baroclinic higher modes can be interpreted by a quasi-resonant amplification ( QRA ) . This amplification mechanism has been proposed to explain the reinforcement of quasi-stationary atmospheric Rossby wave disturbances with relatively high horizontal wavenumbers of 6-8 that possibly bring about frequent extreme meteorological events in recent years ( e.g. , Petoukhov et al . 2013 ; Coumou et al . 2014 ; Kornhuber et al . 2017 ) . In case of mid- and high-latitude oceans , fluctuations having large vertical scales rapidly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wind stress changes and are subject to the substantial damping . In contrast to the fast traveling fluctuations , the QRA mechanism can be exerted on quasi-stationary fluctuations of the higher baroclinic modes because they continue to be excited as long as forced and are reinforced despite the presence of the damping . # Corresponding to the intensification of the Aleutian Low associated with El Nio ( indicated by depressions in the NPI in Fig. 7a ) , negative SSH anomalies are found in the region between 170 ring operator E and 170 ring operator W at the latitudes of K2 and KNOT in 1981 , 1983 , 1987 , 1993 , 1997 , 2003 , and 2010 ( arrows in Fig. 15b and c ) . The SSH disturbances due to the first baroclinic mode ( n =1 ) propagate westward ( Fig. 16a ) at the estimated propagation speed ( 0.45 cm s-1 , Table 2 ) , even though the amplitude of the variation is significantly smaller ( &lt;1 cm ) than those of the other modes . Most of these ENSO-timescale baroclinic disturbances decayed significantly and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latitude of K1 , the baroclinic SSH depressions due to El Nio are weak ( Fig. 15a ) because this site is located to the north of the area of significant variation in Ekman vertical velocity driven by the change in the Aleutian Low . # The baroclinic Rossby wave mode variations , particularly higher baroclinic mode variations than the first , are responsible for the water density change in the subsurface layer around K2 . The vertical distribution in potential density at K2 is shown by the contours in Fig. 17 ; to suppress noisy fluctuations on timescales shorter than approximately 3 years , the time series at each pressure level was temporally smoothed using a 49-month running mean filter . Associated with the decadal elevation in SSH at K2 during the study period ( Fig. 15b ) , the upper main pycnocline , which exists within depths of 100 to 300 dbar , tended to be deepened ( Fig. 17 ) . An anomalously large elevation and depression of the upper main pycnocline were observed in the periods around 1985 and 2006 , corresponding to the inductions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the west of 170 ring operator E ( Fig. 10b ) , respectively . They greatly contributed to the decadal deepening of the upper main pycnocline . The locality of the main pycnocline depth responded to the wind forcing support that the QRA mechanism plays a crucial role also in the deepening of the main pycnocline depth by the higher baroclinic modes . Fig. 17 # Time-pressure diagram of the calculated variation in the potential density ( sigma theta , contours ) due to the baroclinic Rossby wave modes ( n =1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ) in the top 400 dbar forced by the wind stress and the calculated anomaly from the mean potential density profile ( kg m-3 , color shades ) . The contour interval is 0.1 kg m-3 . Smoothing was performed using a 49-month running mean filter see PDF for image # We decomposed the variation in potential density into those of the baroclinic Rossby wave modes to examine the contribution of each baroclinic Rossby wave mode to the deepening of the upper main pycnocline ( Fig. 18 ) . In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ =1 ) , the higher baroclinic modes ( n =2 , 3 , and 4 ) , which have sharp vertical gradients in the modal structures of the potential density in the top 250 dbar ( Fig. 4b ) , are revealed to contribute greatly to the potential density change . Fig. 18 # Potential density ( sigma theta , contours ) and variations ( kg m-3 , color shades ) in the top 400 dbar layer due to the a first ( n =1 ) , b second ( n =2 ) , c third ( n =3 ) , and d fourth ( n =4 ) baroclinic modes of the Rossby waves forced by the wind stress . The contour interval is 0.1 kg m-3 . Smoothing was performed using a 49-month running mean filter see PDF for image # Fig. 19 # Annual mean variations in the upper main pycnocline depth forced by variations in the wind stress ( solid line ) and the in situ halocline depth ( dashed line ) at station K2 . The main pycnocline depth is indicated by the pressure level of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depth is the pressure level of the isohaline ( 33.8 ) estimated from the ship-board CTD and Argo data by Wakita et al . ( 2017 ) see PDF for image # To perform a comparison with the annual mean time series of the halocline depth indicated by the in situ salinity value of 33.8 processed using ship-board CTD and Argo data by the method of Wakita et al . ( 2017 ) ( the dashed line in Fig. 19 ) , we computed the annual mean time series of the wind-driven deepening of the upper main pycnocline , defined by the isopycnal surface of 26.8sigma theta , ( the solid line ) . The wind-driven deepening of the upper main pycnocline is consistent with that of the halocline . The linear trend of the 26.8 sigma theta isopycnal surface during the period of 1999-2014 is estimated to be 1.36 m year-1 , which is equivalent to approximately 70% of the linear trend of the halocline ( 1.79 m year-1 ) estimated from in situ data by Wakita et al . ( 2017 ) . Therefore , it is concluded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the local change in wind stress and reinforced through the QRA mechanism mainly deepened the upper main pycnocline ( halocline ) depth at K2 . # As described in " Introduction " section , sea surface water density change , which can cause steric sea level change , is not significantly detected in the western subarctic region ( Wakita et al . 2017 ) . On the other hand , the precipitation rate ( rainfall ) gradually increased in the western subarctic region during the study period ( not shown ) . We estimated the impact of the freshwater flux change on the upper-ocean circulation . Using the NCEP/NCAR evaporation rate ( E ) and precipitation rate ( P ) data , we calculated freshwater flux , E -P , as processed in Nagano et al . ( 2017 ) . The vertical velocity due to freshwater flux estimated as w F = ( E -P ) /rho 0 ( e.g. , Gill 1982 ) is downward owing to the excessive precipitation in the western subarctic region and its magnitude is approximately two orders smaller than that due to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to elevate SSH through the study period , the impact of the freshwater flux forcing on the SSH change is much less than that of the wind stress change . # Conclusions # Focusing on the wind stress changes in the subpolar North Pacific , we examined the interannual to decadal variations in SSH related to the northward shrinkage of the WSAG using a dynamical model of the Rossby waves forced by changes in the wind stress and damped by horizontal and vertical eddy dissipation . The Ekman vertical velocity derived from the NCEP/NCAR wind stress data during the period of 1979-2014 was decomposed into the four meridional modes of the sine functions . Assuming a flat bottom ocean , the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the four baroclinic Rossby wave modes were obtained by solving the vertical structure equation based on the potential density profile averaged between 160 ring operator E and 170 ring operator E at 47 ring operator N ( WOCE P01 line ) . The SSH variations excited by changes in wind stress propagate with different phase speeds and damping rates depending on the meridional and baroclinic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and B =1x10-7 m2 s-3 for the horizontal and vertical eddy dissipation coefficients , respectively , we solved the vorticity gradient equation forced by the Ekman vertical velocity and obtained realistic SSH changes in the western subarctic region . SSH depressions related to the intensification of the Aleutian Low in winter of El Nio years , which were not comparably observed by the satellite altimetry , were produced probably because topographic effects such as the JEBAR were not taken into account in the model . With respect to the variations on decadal timescales , the correlation coefficient between the calculated and observed SSH variations is fairly high in the northwestern and eastern parts of the subpolar region ; in particular , the value at K2 ( 0.79 ) exceeds the 90% confidence interval . However , probably because the damping parameters were set to be uniform in the whole subpolar region , the simulated SSH variation missed reproducing propagations of baroclinic SSH variations observed in the central subpolar North Pacific by the altimetry . The decadal SSH changes at K2 ( 47 ring operator N , 160 ring operator E @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ring operator E ) associated with the northward gyre shrinkage was found to be primarily caused by the barotropic Rossby wave response to the relaxation of the Ekman suction due to the attenuation of the Aleutian Low by the frequent occurrences of La Nia after the late 1990s and the long-term weakening of the westerly wind . The northward WSAG shrinkage is found to be accompanied by the intensification of an anticyclonic circulation centered around 43-44 ring operator N , 170-175 ring operator E on the southeast of the WSAG . At the latitude of K1 ( 51 ring operator N ) , the SSH variation from the east of the southern end of the Aleutian Arc is shielded and that locally excited to the west affects the variation in SSH at K1. # The local baroclinic Rossby wave response to the weakening of the westerly wind was revealed to produce a decadal deepening of the upper main pycnocline in the western subarctic region . The disturbances of the first baroclinic Rossby wave mode propagated from the forcing regions and decayed substantially after excited . Meanwhile , the disturbances of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third , and fourth modes , simultaneously occur with the forcing and are significantly reinforced through the quasi-resonant amplification ( QRA ) mechanism owing to their slow propagations , i.e. , persistent characters , until the balance between the forcing and damping is achieved . # Because the higher baroclinic modes have steep vertical gradients in the modal structures of the potential density in the top 250 dbar layer , the variations of these modes primarily contribute to the deepening of the upper main pycnocline . The impact of the first baroclinic mode variation on the upper main pycnocline is negligibly small . The linear trend of the wind-driven deepening of the upper main pycnocline at K2 during the period of 1999-2014 ( 1.36 m year-1 ) reached approximately 70% of the linear trend of the in situ halocline depth ( 1.79 m year-1 ) estimated by the method of Wakita et al . ( 2017 ) . The deepening of the upper main pycnocline was primarily accounted for by the baroclinic Rossby wave response to the decadal change in wind stress . # Funding # &lt;sec&gt; # This work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( JSPS ) , Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research ( 15H02835 , 17K05660 ) . # Acknowledgements # The authors thank Dr. M. Nonaka ( JAMSTEC ) and Dr. A. Kuwano-Yoshida ( Kyoto University ) for the helpful comments on the ENSO-timescale wind-driven SSH variation . The authors are also grateful to the editor , Prof. Akira Oka ( Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute , The University of Tokyo ) , and anonymous reviewers for constructive review comments . # References # Andreev , A , Kusakabe , M , Honda , M , Murata , A , Saito , C : Vertical fluxes of nutrients and carbon through the halocline in the western subarctic gyre calculated by mass balance . vol. 49 , pp. 5577-5593 . Deep-Sea Res II ( 2002 ) . doi : **29;65;TOOLONG # AVISO ( 2016 ) SSALTO/DUACS user handbook : ( M ) SLA and ( M ) ADT near-real time and delayed time products . CLS-DOS-NT-06-034 - Issue 5.0 - Date : 2016/08/20 - Nomenclature : SALP-MU-P-EA-21065-CLS. # Boyer , TP , Antonov JI , Baranova OK , Coleman C , Garcia HE , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AV , O'Brien TD , Paver CR , Reagan JR , Seidov D , Smolyar IV , Zweng MM ( 2013 ) World Ocean Database 2013. 10.7289/V5NZ85MT. # Chelton , D. B. , Schlax , M. G. : Global Observations of Oceanic Rossby Waves . vol. 272 , issue 5259 , pp. 234-238 . Science ( 1996 ) . doi : **28;96;TOOLONG # Coumou , D. , Petoukhov , V. , Rahmstorf , S. , Petri , S. , Schellnhuber , H. J. : Quasi-resonant circulation regimes and hemispheric synchronization of extreme weather in boreal summer . vol. 111 , issue 34 , pp. 12331-12336 . 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CO ; 2 # Qiu , B : Large-scale variability in the midlatitude subtropical and subpolar North Pacific Ocean : observations and causes . vol. 32 , pp. 353-375 . J Phys Oceanogr ( 2002 ) . doi : **29;420;TOOLONG . CO ; 2 # Rio , MH , Guinehut S , Larnicol G ( 2011 ) New CNES-CLS09 global mean dynamic topography computed from the combination of GRACE data , altimetry , and in situ measurements . J Geophys Res 116(C07018). 10.1029/2010JC006505. # Ripa , P : Normal Rossby modes of a closed basin with topography . vol. 83 , issue C4 , pp. 1947-1957 . J Geophys Res ( 1978 ) . doi : 10.1029/JC083iC04p01947 # Roden , GI : Flow and water property structures between the Bering Sea and Fiji in the summer of 1993. vol. 105 , issue C12 , pp. 28595-28612 . J Geophys Res ( 2000 ) . doi : 10.1029/1999JC000030 # Schopf , PS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of low-frequency Rossby waves . vol. 5 , pp. 187-214 . Dynam Atmos Ocean ( 1981 ) . doi : **28;451;TOOLONG # Sekine , Yoshihiko : Anomalous southward intrusions of the Oyashio east of Japan : 2 . Two-layer numerical model . vol. 104 , issue C2 , pp. 3049-3058 . Journal of Geophysical Research : Oceans ( 1999 ) . doi : 10.1029/1998JC900044 # Sen , PK : Estimates of the regression coefficient based on Kendall 's tau . vol. 63 , issue 324 , pp. 1379-1389 . J Am Stat Assoc ( 1968 ) . doi : **30;481;TOOLONG # Stammer , D : On eddy characteristics , eddy transports , and mean flow properties . vol. 28 , pp. 727-739 . J Phys Oceanogr ( 1998 ) . doi : **29;513;TOOLONG . CO ; 2 # Trenberth , KE , Hurrel , JW : Decadal atmosphere-ocean variations in the Pacific . vol. 9 , pp. 303-319 . Clim Dynam ( 1994 ) . doi : 10.1007/BF00204745 # Tsurushima , N , Nojiri , Y , Imai , K , Watanabe , S : Seasonal variations of carbon dioxide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ KNOT ( 44 ring operator N , 155 ring operator E ) in the subarctic western North Pacific . vol. 49 , pp. 5377-5394 . Deep-Sea Res II ( 2002 ) . doi : **29;544;TOOLONG # Wakita , M. , Watanabe , S. , Murata , A. , Tsurushima , N. , Honda , M. : Decadal change of dissolved inorganic carbon in the subarctic western North Pacific Ocean . vol. 62 , issue 5 , pp. 608-620 . Tellus B : Chemical and Physical Meteorology ( 2010 ) . doi : **32;575;TOOLONG # Wakita , M. , Watanabe , S. , Honda , M. , Nagano , A. , Kimoto , K. , Matsumoto , K. , Kitamura , M. , Sasaki , K. , Kawakami , H. , Fujiki , T. , Sasaoka , K. , Nakano , Y. , Murata , A. : Ocean acidification from 1997 to 2011 in the subarctic western North Pacific Ocean . vol. 10 , issue 12 , pp. 7817-7827 . Biogeosciences ( 2013 ) . doi : 10.5194/bg-10-7817-2013 # Wakita , Masahide , Nagano , Akira , Fujiki , Tetsuichi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ layer in the subarctic western North Pacific . vol. 122 , issue 8 , pp. 6923-6935 . Journal of Geophysical Research : Oceans ( 2017 ) # Wallace , JM , Gutzler , DS : Teleconnections in the geopotential height field during the Northern Hemisphere Winter . vol. 109 , pp. 784-812 . Mon Wea Rev ( 1981 ) . doi : **29;609;TOOLONG . CO ; 2 # Watanabe , Y. W. , Ono , T. , Shimamoto , A. , Sugimoto , T. , Wakita , M. , Watanabe , S. : Probability of a reduction in the formation rate of the subsurface water in the North Pacific during the 1980s and 1990s. vol. 28 , issue 17 , pp. 3289-3292 . Geophysical Research Letters ( 2001 ) . doi : 10.1029/2001GL013212 # Wilks , DS ( 2019 ) Statistical methods in the atmospheric sciences , 4th edn . Elsevier , Amsterdam . 10.1016/C2017-0-03921-6. # AGEM = Altimetry-based gravest empirical mode # AVISO = Archiving , Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic # CTD = **30;640;TOOLONG # ENSO = El Nio-Southern Oscillation # JAMSTEC = Japan Agency for Marine-Earth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research # NPI = North Pacific Index # PDO = Pacific Decadal Oscillation # QRA = Quasi-resonant amplification # SSH = Sea surface height # WOCE = World Ocean Circulation Experiment # WOD2013 = World Ocean Database 2013 # WSAG = Western subarctic gyre # Article notes : # Publisher 's Note # Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

@@5025841 # Introduction # Last term , the Supreme Court decided Masterpiece Cakeshop , one of several recent cases in which religious believers have sought to avoid the application of public accommodations laws that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.1 Like most such disputes , the case involved a small business that declined , because of the owner 's religious convictions , to provide a service for a same-sex wedding-in this case , Colorado cake designer Jack Phillips 's convictions against designing and baking a cake for a gay couple , Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins.2 In most of these cases , courts have been unwilling to exempt businesses from the anti-discrimination laws on religious grounds and have ruled in favor of the customers . one might have thought Jack Phillips would lose in Masterpiece Cakeshop as well . Indeed , many observers were surprised that the Court had granted cert in his case at all.3 # Somewhat surprisingly , though , the Supreme Court ruled in his favor , on the basis of an argument few observers had credited before the Court heard the case.4 In a 7-2 opinion by Justice Kennedy , the Court held that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cake for a same-sex wedding violated the state 's anti-discrimination laws , the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had violated Phillips 's free exercise rights.5 The Commission , the Court wrote , had failed to treat Phillips 's religious convictions in a neutral and respectful way.6 At least two of the commissioners had publicly disparaged Phillips 's religious convictions and none of the other commissioners present had objected.7 Moreover , the Commission had acted inconsistently in at least three prior cases involving other bakers who had refused , on grounds of conscience , to create cakes with anti-gay marriage sentiments . The Commission had ruled that those bakers had acted lawfully in refusing service . This inconsistency suggested that the state had not been neutral with respect to the substance of Phillips 's convictions . Punishing Phillips for refusing , on grounds of conscience , to create a pro-gay marriage cake , while failing to punish other bakers who declined , on grounds of conscience , to create anti-gay marriage cakes , suggested that the state simply disfavored the content of Phillips 's convictions.8 # Because the Commission had failed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way , the Court held , its action against him violated the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.9 The Court stressed that future cases , in which state authorities had not demonstrated overt hostility to a claimant 's religious convictions , might well reach a different result-a fact that Justice Kagan stressed in a concurring opinion.10 Masterpiece Cakeshop thus does relatively little to resolve the conflict between anti-discrimination laws and the right of business owners to decline , out of sincere religious conviction , to provide services in connection with same-sex weddings.11 # Masterpiece Cakeshop is nonetheless important for what it reveals about deeper cultural and political trends , all related , that will affect the future course of the law . Two cultural trends are important : religious polarization and an expanding concept of equality . Over the past two decades , American religion has become polarized between two groups , the Nones , who reject organized religion as authoritarian and hypocritical , especially with respect to sexuality , and the Traditionally Religious , who continue to adhere to organized religion and to traditional religious teachings , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ values as threatening and incomprehensible . Neither is going away , and neither seems in a mind to compromise-including in commercial life.13 This religious polarization has figured very prominently in the public 's response to Masterpiece Cakeshop and similar controversies . # Masterpiece Cakeshop also reflects a second cultural trend , one that Alexis de Tocqueville-whose work runs like a red thread through our story-saw long ago : an expanding notion of equality.14 Increasing numbers of Americans endorse a capacious concept of equality- " equality as sameness " -that treats social distinctions , especially religious distinctions , as arbitrary and unimportant.15 Asserting the importance of religious boundaries , as Jack Phillips did , seems unreasonable to growing numbers of our fellow citizens . Asserting such boundaries strikes them-as it did Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins , and at least some of the Colorado commissioners-as deeply insulting , an affront to human dignity . That so many of the actors in Masterpiece Cakeshop could not credit Jack Phillips 's assertions of good faith explains much of what happened in the case , and much of what is likely to happen in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important political trend : the steady growth of an activist state committed to the idea of equality as sameness . At both the federal and state level , administrative agencies work to promote equality in all areas of life . Their actions increasingly impinge on the Traditionally Religious , who face an expanding set of rules and policies , backed by serious sanctions , which promote new understandings of equality , particularly with respect to sex and gender . The actions of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission offer a very good example . Although state officials will not likely demonstrate the same overt hostility to traditional religious beliefs in future cases , they will likely remain committed to the same expansive view of equality . As a result , conflicts between our anti-discrimination laws , on the one hand , and the religious beliefs of millions of American citizens , on the other , will continue . # As Tocqueville famously observed , American political questions inevitably become judicial ones.16 Conflicts like the one in Masterpiece Cakeshop will continue to find their way into our courts . How will the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accommodations is currently something of a " patchwork . " 17 Different jurisdictions employ different tests in different circumstances . Nonetheless , the leading test remains the so-called " compelling interest " test , which holds that the government may impose a substantial burden on a person 's religious exercise only if the government has a compelling interest in doing so and has chosen the least restrictive means.18 Notwithstanding Masterpiece Cakeshop 's somewhat unusual resolution , the compelling interest test will probably determine the outcome in most future cases . # But the compelling interest test presents significant difficulties.19 The test turns controversies about religious accommodation into judgment calls , the outcomes of which depend , practically speaking , on the intuitions of the people doing the judging.20 In a polarized society like ours , with deeply divergent understandings about the nature and value of religion and the scope of equality , intuitions about " substantial burden " and " compelling interest " vary widely from person to person-and from judge to judge.21 The test makes it very hard to predict what result will obtain in any particular case and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commitments signally important.22 In short , the cultural and political trends I have identified-growing religious polarization , an expanded concept of equality , and an activist state-suggest that conflicts between anti-discrimination norms and the religious beliefs of millions of Americans will , if anything , grow more frequent and bitter and that courts will continue to have to resolve them . And the vague nature of the compelling interest test suggests that the ultimate legal resolution will remain unclear for a long time to come . # This Article proceeds as follows . Part I describes the Court 's decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop . Part II explores the cultural and political trends I have identified and shows how the Masterpiece Cakeshop litigation reflects them . Part III concludes and ventures three predictions : conflicts like Masterpiece Cakeshop will grow more frequent and harder for our society to negotiate ; the law in this area will remain unsettled and deeply contested ; and the judicial confirmation wars will grow even more bitter and partisan than they already are . # One clarification at the start : this Article is analytical rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cakeshop struck me as a difficult case . But my goal here is not to argue the merits . Rather , I seek to illuminate the issues and make some predictions about the future course of the law . Those predictions may turn out to be wrong . But their correctness does not depend on one 's views about which side should prevail in the clash of important values that Masterpiece Cakeshop represents : our society 's commitments both to non-discrimination and to religious freedom . # I. The Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision # Masterpiece Cakeshop presents what has become a familiar pattern in American commercial life . A gay couple asks a vendor to provide services in connection with the couple 's wedding-photography , flowers , invitations-which the vendor refuses on the basis of his religious convictions.23 Providing services for a gay wedding , he explains , would make him complicit in conduct he considers sinful.24 The couple objects that the vendor is denying service in violation of state public-accommodations laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . The vendor responds that he is willing to provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are gay or straight . But he declines to participate in gay weddings , because gay weddings violate his religious beliefs . # In Masterpiece Cakeshop , a gay couple , Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins , asked a Colorado cake designer , Jack Phillips-the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop-to create a cake for their wedding celebration.25 The couple did n't specify exactly what they wished the cake to say , or , in fact , whether they wanted an inscription on the cake at all.26 But they did want a custom cake that Phillips would design especially for their wedding . They were not interested in the off-the-shelf baked goods that Phillips offered to sell them.27 # Phillips , a conservative Christian with traditional views about marriage , declined to fill their order , explaining that creating a cake for a gay wedding would violate his religious convictions . Creating such a cake , he said , would amount to his " participating in " and " personally endorsing " a relationship he considered unbiblical.28 Indeed , the subsequent investigation by the state civil rights authorities revealed that Phillips @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had declined to do so several times in the past.29 He had also refused , out of religious conviction , " to bake cakes containing alcohol , cakes with racist or homophobic messages , cakes criticizing God , and cakes celebrating Halloween . " 30 # Shortly after Phillips rejected their order , Craig and Mullins began an administrative action against him ( and Masterpiece Cakeshop ) by filing a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division , the state agency responsible for enforcing Colorado 's Anti-Discrimination Act , or CADA.31 Like many similar laws across the country , CADA prohibits places of public accommodation from refusing customers equal service on the basis of sexual orientation , among other things.32 The Division investigated Phillips , found probable cause that he had violated CADA , and referred the case to another state agency , the Colorado Civil Rights Commission , which in turn referred the case to an administrative law judge , who held a hearing and determined that Phillips had violated CADA by discriminating against Craig and Mullins on the basis of sexual orientation.33 # Phillips appealed the ALJ 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meetings in his case . At both meetings , but especially at the second , individual commissioners made remarks dismissing and disparaging Phillips 's religious convictions.34 One commissioner suggested that , if Phillips 's religious beliefs prevented him from complying with Colorado 's anti-discrimination law , Phillips might find another place to do business.35 Another likened Phillips 's stance to historical episodes in which religion had been used to justify violent acts of oppression , including slavery and the Holocaust.36 This commissioner described Phillips 's religious objection to same-sex marriage as simply a way to injure gay people and " one of the most despicable pieces of rhetoric people can use . " 37 The Supreme Court made much of these remarks in its eventual decision . # The Commission affirmed the ALJ 's decision and ruled against Phillips.38 It ordered him to stop refusing orders for wedding cakes from gay couples and to provide " comprehensive staff training " at his shop on CADA and on the requirements of the Commission 's ruling against him.39 In addition , it required him to file compliance reports with the Commission on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide the Commission with details about how many people Phillips had refused to serve and the reasons for his refusals , among other things.40 # When the Colorado Court of Appeals rejected his appeal of the Commission 's order , Phillips sought review in the United States Supreme Court , arguing that requiring him to create wedding cakes for gay couples violated both his free speech and free exercise rights under the First Amendment.41 When the Supreme Court granted review , most observers thought the Court would focus on Phillips 's free speech claim . His free exercise claim seemed precluded by the Court 's landmark decision in Employment Division v. Smith , which held that the Free Exercise Clause is not violated by a neutral , generally applicable law that incidentally burdens a citizen 's religious exercise.42 CADA certainly seemed to be such a law : it amounted to a blanket prohibition on discrimination in places of public accommodation , whether the motivation for the discrimination was religious or not.43 Further , the Court 's Civil Rights Era jurisprudence suggested that , at least with respect to racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anti-discrimination laws.44 To most observers , Phillips 's chance of succeeding on a free exercise claim seemed remote.45 # Somewhat surprisingly , however , the Court ruled , 7-2 , that the Commission had violated Phillips 's free exercise rights , not so much in its ultimate decision against him , but in its decision-making process . Writing for the Court , Justice Kennedy explained that the Free Exercise Clause gave Phillips the right to a neutral decision maker.46 But the Commission had not been neutral at all . In fact , it had shown a clear bias against him - that is , against his sincere religious beliefs . As evidence , Justice Kennedy adduced the commissioners ' official comments in the case , especially the remark about the " despicable " nature of Phillips 's religious convictions against same-sex weddings.47 In addition , he noted that the Commission had in prior cases allowed bakers to decline , on the basis of conscience , customers ' orders for cakes with messages opposing gay marriage . This disparate treatment suggested that the Commission had ruled against Phillips simply because the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ views.48 # Because the Commission had not shown neutrality with respect to Phillips 's sincere religious beliefs , Justice Kennedy concluded , its decision against him violated the Free Exercise Clause.49 This conclusion , too , was a bit of a surprise , since it seemed to leave out a step . Most commentators had understood the Court 's 1993 decision in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah50 to require strict scrutiny in circumstances where the state had not been neutral with respect to religion : a state could burden religion in a non-neutral way only for a compelling reason and through the least restrictive means of doing so.51 Indeed , Justice Gorsuch assumed as much in his concurring opinion , which applied the compelling interest test to invalidate the Commission 's decision.52 But Justice Kennedy skipped the compelling interest analysis altogether . # Justice Kennedy also left unresolved the question of what would happen if a state agency did not demonstrate overt bias against a claimant 's religion . Presumably , in many cases in which state agencies apply anti-discrimination laws to vendors , officials do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convictions , and do not have a record of ruling inconsistently in prior disputes.53 The Court would decide any such future cases , Justice Kennedy said , on the basis of the particular circumstances.54 About the only guidance the Court was willing to give was this : courts would have to strike a balance between the right of religious persons to have their beliefs respected and the right of gay persons to obtain goods and services in the marketplace without suffering affronts.55 # Masterpiece Cakeshop ultimately settled fairly little , and the fight over future cases already has begun.56 Indeed , the separate opinions in Masterpiece Cakeshop suggest where the battle lines may be drawn for the many complicated issues future cases will raise.57 Still , although it did not resolve matters , the decision reveals important cultural and political trends that will likely drive future cases . I turn to those trends now . # II . Cultural and Political Trends in Masterpiece Cakeshop # A. Religious Polarization : The Nones vs. the Traditionally Religious # Masterpiece Cakeshop reflects two important cultural trends . The first is a growing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nones and the Traditionally Religious . The second is an expanding notion of equality , one that goes beyond the anti-discrimination norms of the Civil Rights Movement , which opposed the state 's differential treatment of persons on the basis of race and other characteristics , to a more general rejection of social distinctions , especially including those grounded in religion . This Article addresses each of these trends in turn . # The rise of the Nones is perhaps the most talked-about development in American sociology in the last decade.58 " Nones " are those people who describe their religion in surveys as " none " or " nothing in particular " -people who say they have no religious affiliation at all.59 According to the most recent Pew Research Center study in 2014 , about 23% of Americans adults now fall within this category , an increase of about seven percent from the previous survey in 2007.60 In historical terms , this percentage is extremely large . In the 1950s , only three percent of Americans said they had no religious identity.61 According to the Pew survey , Nones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the country , after Protestants and ahead of Catholics-though , when aggregated , Christian faiths still claim the large majority of Americans , about 70%.62 # Among Millennials , the percentage of Nones is significantly higher than in the general population . Pew divides Millennials into two cohorts , " Older Millennials , " born between the years 1981 and 1989 , and " Younger Millennials , " born between the years 1990 and 1996.63 Among Older Millenials , the percentage of Nones is 34% , up nine points from 2007 ; among Younger Millennials , the percentage is even higher-36%.64 These numbers are significant because of what sociologists refer to as the " generational replacement " effect.65 As older Americans with relatively strong religious commitments die off , younger , less affiliated Americans gradually will take their place . As a result , over time , Nones will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population . It is true that people often become more religious as they age , and today 's Millennials may do so as well . At the moment , though , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as church attendance and prayer , older Millennials " are , if anything , less religiously observant today than they were " just seven years ago.66 # To be sure , some sociologists question whether the percentages are really as high as these surveys indicate.67 Baylor University sociologist Rodney Stark , for example , believes that surveys overstate the numbers of Nones in America today ; some respondents apparently list their religion as " None " to indicate that " they do not belong to a specific church " -that is , when they are non-denominational Christians.68 ( Some anecdotal evidence : When I presented an earlier version of this Article at a conference at the Notre Dame Center on Ethics and Culture , one audience member approached me afterwards to say that he would describe himself as a " None , " even though he was a Christian , precisely because he had never formally joined any church congregation ) . Whatever the precise numbers may be , most sociologists take the rise of the Nones to be a " ' highly reliable ' statistical finding " with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not reject religious belief as such . The majority of them in the 2014 Pew survey , 61% , say they believe in God or a universal spirit-though that percentage represents a decline from the 2007 survey , which showed that 70% of Nones believed in God.70 About a third of Nones say that religion is somewhat or very important in their lives-though , again , that percentage is down a great deal since 2007 , which suggests that Nones are becoming more secular over time.71 What most characterizes Nones is a rejection of institutional religion . The Nones are spiritual " Independents " who refuse to join formal , authoritative religious communities , which they see as coercive and stifling.72 Instead , Nones believe they can fashion their own , personal religions from a variety of different traditions-indeed , from traditions which present themselves as opposed to one another . As Ross Douthat writes , the memoirist Elizabeth Gilbert , whose bestseller , Eat Pray Love helped popularize the concept of " spiritual but not religious " in the first decade of this century , created her own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian monotheism , and Buddhist non-theism.73 # Nones believe they can do this sort of thing for two reasons . First , they reject the idea that any one religious tradition can be uniquely true to the exclusion of all others . Exclusive claims of religious authority strike them as an affront to reason and good sense , as well as human freedom.74 Second , they believe that the individual has the right to pick and choose among various traditions and forge a spiritual path that works for him , because the individual has God within him.75 Spiritual enlightenment and peace come , not from submitting to external religious authority , which inevitably squelches spiritual authenticity , but from discerning and accepting the divine guidance that exists within oneself.76 The individual , not the religious community , has the right to judge what is true-or , at least , what is true for him . # Religious Independents have always been part of American life.77 In the eighteenth century , Thomas Paine wrote , " My own mind is my own church , " 78 a sentiment many twenty-first century @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today 's ears , a great deal like Nones.79 In the past , though , this sort of religious idiosyncrasy was essentially a fringe phenomenon.80 Today , by contrast , Nones make up the second largest religious group in America , and roughly a third of Millennials . For large numbers of our fellow citizens , the conventional understanding of religion " as a distinctive body of beliefs , a moral and ritual set of practices , and the organizational structures surrounding ideas and ideals of the sacred , " no longer represents the norm.81 In fact , for these citizens , traditional religion represents a malign force that stifles authentic spirituality , creating inner turmoil and preventing individuals from attaining their true potential . # Why should the rise of the Nones occur now , at the start of the twenty-first century ? Many factors exist , but three merit special attention . First , there are demographic explanations . Changes in family structure , and , in particular , high rates of religious intermarriage and divorce have an important role . About half of Americans who marry today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarter of Millennials say they were raised in a religiously mixed family.83 As one would expect , children from such families more often become Nones when they grow up than children whose parents shared the same religion.84 Moreover , Nones are themselves having and raising children . Roughly one-quarter of Millennials in the Pew survey report having been raised by at least one parent who was a None ; about six percent say both their parents were Nones.85 A large percentage of these children also become Nones when they reach adulthood-62% percent where both parents were Nones.86 Parental divorce also appears to have a role . Children of divorce are significantly less likely to identify with a religion than children from intact families , perhaps because they have less trust in institutions and authority figures generally.87 # Second , the rise of the Nones seems to be associated with the Sexual Revolution , especially with changing views on homosexuality . According to a 2017 Pew report , a solid majority of Americans , about 62% percent , now say that same-sex marriage should be legal.88 Among Nones , however , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key . Young adults are driving the changing social consensus on homosexuality , including among Nones . Millennials generally have more positive views of homosexuality than older Americans , and nearly 90% of Millennial Nones say that society should accept homosexuality.90 The Pew report also offers support for what sociologists have been saying for years : young Nones dislike organized religion because they associate it with traditional , negative views about homosexuality , and because they believe organized religion 's rejection of homosexuality masks hypocrisy about sexual sins generally.91 # Finally , the rise of the Nones in the twenty-first century may reflect the gradual , but inevitable , working-out of the inner logic of liberalism , America 's dominant political ideology . In the nineteenth century , Tocqueville wrote that escaping the hold of habit , family , and tradition were among the principal features of the American mindset.92 More recently , Patrick Deneen has observed that liberalism has always opposed received authority , which it views as arbitrary and accidental , in favor of individual autonomy and choice . Liberalism teaches that loosening the bonds of family , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the full potential of human beings.93 Liberalism encourages the person to think of himself as " primarily a free chooser " with respect to " all relationships , institutions , and beliefs . " 94 Over time , the ethos of choice extends to more and more subjects . It is no surprise , then , in a society where liberalism dominates , that many people eventually come to see choice as extending to religious institutions and beliefs . # Nonetheless , the rise of the Nones does not mean that religion is simply disappearing from American life . The increase in the number of the religiously unaffiliated is occurring simultaneously with an increase in religiosity among Americans who do maintain a religious identity-a group one might call the Traditionally Religious . According to the 2014 Pew survey , religiously affiliated Americans " appear to have grown more religiously observant in recent years , " if one considers things like Bible study and prayer groups.95 Another recent survey shows that the percentage of " intensely religious " Americans , with intensity being measured in terms of indicators such as church @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decades.96 The percentage of Americans with a " strong " religious affiliation has remained steady , at a little less than 40% , since 1989.97 # In other words , America is experiencing a deepening religious polarization rather than a systematic falloff from religion . The growing percentage of Nones does not result from a general decrease in religious observance , but " a dramatic decline " in the numbers of the " moderately religious " -people who formally identify with a religion but who show only modest levels of commitment.98 As in so many areas of American life , the middle is dropping out in favor of the extremes on either end . The moderately religious are rapidly ending their affiliations and becoming Nones , while the Traditionally Religious are maintaining their affiliations or even increasing their intensity . We appear to be reaching a point of rough parity . More than a fifth of Americans , and more than a third of younger Americans , are now Nones , while something like two-fifths of Americans are among the Traditionally Religious . # This deepening polarization will exacerbate conflicts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for our society to negotiate them . Compromise requires an ability to sympathize with the other side , to understand , even if one does not share , the commitments that motivate one 's interlocutor . It requires some common base of experience . Americans have not always shown such sympathy for minority religious communities , of course . At various times , Catholics , Jews , and Mormons all have experienced hostility , among other religious groups . But a general sympathy for religion and religious claims has always marked American culture . In the past , someone like Jack Phillips might have counted on a widespread , if thin , sympathy with the idea of traditional religious commitments . The vast majority of Americans would have understood why he thought it so important to follow the tenets of his religion , for the simple reason that the vast majority of Americans would have had some connection with institutional religion . Even if they were only nominally religious , and even if they disagreed with his particular convictions , most Americans would have understood why Phillips insisted on acting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for traditional religion is fading . Large numbers of Americans no longer have experience with traditional , organized religion-and , to the extent they do have such experience , they reject it . Nones are unlikely to respond sympathetically when the Traditionally Religious seek exemptions from legal requirements.99 Indeed , Nones are likely to see such exemptions as an unfair advantage for organized religion . For their part , the Traditionally Religious are also unlikely to sympathize with the worldview of the Nones . Disagreements between the two groups will likely be amplified by the fact that Nones overwhelmingly reject traditional teachings on sexuality , which they see as psychologically damaging and essentially unjust , while the Traditionally Religious continue to endorse them as necessary for human dignity.100 In short , we now have two fairly sizable , competing groups with sharply divergent understandings of the beneficence of traditional religious commitments , especially with respect to sexuality-and neither group seems especially interested in compromise.101 # The public response to controversies like Masterpiece Cakeshop reflects this religious polarization . In the summer of 2016 , while the Court was considering Jack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans ' opinions on whether a business should be obligated to provide services for a gay wedding notwithstanding the owner 's religious objections.102 The responses closely tracked America 's religious divide . About two-thirds of the religiously unaffiliated-the Nones- said that a business should be required by law to provide services for a gay wedding even if the owner had religious objections.103 About two-thirds of Americans who attend religious services frequently-the Traditionally Religious-said that a business owner should not be required to do so.104 Only a relatively small number of Americans , 18% , found it possible to sympathize with both sides ' points of view.105 This sharp religious divide suggests that achieving social consensus on cases like Masterpiece Cakeshop will be extremely difficult . # B. Equality as Sameness # Masterpiece Cakeshop also reflects a second cultural trend : society 's expanding conception of equality . Equality has been central to the American worldview ever since Jefferson enshrined the concept in the Declaration of Independence . But equality can mean different things . According to one understanding , it refers to legal equality-to the fair and uniform application of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America gradually extended legal equality to racial and other minorities against whom it had discriminated , in law , for centuries . This has been one of the great achievements of our time . # However , equality can also refer to a broader unwillingness to accept any distinctions among groups and individuals , whether " material , social , or personal . " 107 According to this view , equality means a rejection of the idea of " difference per se. " 108 All boundaries that distinguish one group of people from another-for example , beliefs and practices that mark out a religious community and exclude non-members-are presumptively suspect because of the implicit judgments they suggest . Some groups apparently think their beliefs and ways of life are superior to others . Such judgments seem impolite , ungenerous , and inconsistent with the spirit of true equality , which requires that each community acknowledge the basic correctness and good will of all others . Suggesting that one finds others ' beliefs and practices morally inferior is , on this view , a grave affront to human dignity . Notwithstanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concept of equality- " equality as sameness " 109-that pervades our culture today , especially with respect to religion . # Once again , Tocqueville saw this coming . Equality , he observed , was Americans ' most fundamental moral commitment , the criterion by which we judged everything else.110 Equality required that social distinctions be ignored- between aristocrats and common men , the educated and the unschooled , man and woman , parent and child . In law , it called for uniformity ; 111 in philosophy and religion , for generality rather than a focus on the particular.112 In fact , with respect to religion , the preference for generality ultimately worked to minimize distinctions between particular faith traditions and promote pantheism , which not only denied the relevance of difference in the created order , but also the distinction between creation and the Creator Himself.113 # The emphasis on religious equality did not result in widespread pantheism in Tocqueville 's time . Christianity had too powerful a hold on nineteenth-century Americans for that to happen.114 Today , however , his predictions seem to be coming true . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . A 2010 study by sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell reveals that almost 90% of Americans believe that members of other religions , not only their own , can go to Heaven.115 Nuances exist , and much depends on how people understand the question . The percentage goes down , for example , when surveyors ask Christians whether non-Christians ( as opposed to different kinds of Christians ) can go to Heaven.116 And much depends on how respondents understand the question . Some Christians would say , for example , that Christianity is the unique path to salvation , but members of other faiths may be on the path without knowing it . Other Christians would say that it 's possible for non-Christians to go to Heaven , but rare . Still , it is noteworthy that the large majority of American Christians , even those who belong to churches that teach that Christianity is the exclusive path to salvation , believe that non-Christians can , in principle , receive eternal life . # Putnam and Campbell ascribe this remarkable ecumenism to a number of factors , including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to mute religious distinctions ( how could my saintly " Aunt Susan " not go to Heaven just because she 's not a Christian ? ) , and the inevitable social interactions between people from different religions in daily life ( " My Friend Al " is an evangelical Christian , but he 's not a bad guy ) .117 These explanations seem to have things backwards : it is the norm of tolerance that lets Aunt Susan marry into the family in the first place , and allows one to have a friend from a different faith tradition . Whatever the reasons , when it comes to perhaps the most important religious question of all , Americans show a remarkably latitudinarian attitude . With respect to attaining salvation , and with the qualifications I suggest above , most Americans seem to believe that all ways are equally good . # One the one hand , the concept of equality as sameness may make conflicts like the one in Masterpiece Cakeshop less likely . If people perceive all ways as equally good , they will not have problems participating in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On the other hand , when such conflicts do occur , an expansive concept of equality will make them more bitter and harder to resolve . To refuse to participate in someone else 's wedding on religious grounds is to erect a boundary that seems socially incomprehensible . It is to express a judgment that the life events of other citizens are so opprobrious that one can not take part in them . Such a judgment violates the principle of " equality as sameness " and , as a result , is likely to be taken as a deep insult to the dignity of other citizens . # If I may offer a personal anecdote , I recently posed a hypothetical case in my Law and Religion class.118 Suppose , I asked the students , an observant Jew has a florist shop . One day , a customer , who is also Jewish , comes to the shop to say she 's getting married and would like the florist to do the wedding . " That 's wonderful , " the florist says . " Where will you get married @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a local nondenominational church , because her fianc&eacute; is Christian , and she , the customer , is n't very observant . The florist thinks about it and says , " I 'm so sorry , but I ca n't do your wedding . It 's nothing personal ; I 'm sure your fianc&eacute; is a fine person , as are you . It 's just that as an observant Jew , I do n't approve of interfaith weddings . For our community to survive , we must avoid intermarriage and assimilation . Please understand . There are many other florists who can do your wedding . I 'll even suggest some . But I ca n't , in good conscience , participate . " What result ? # In posing this hypothetical , I was trying to show the students that these are complicated questions and that they need to consider both sides . Much to my surprise , the students were uniformly unsympathetic to the florist . There should be no legal right to decline services in this situation , they told me : the florist was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them . Did n't they see that genuine religious diversity requires respect for difference , that difference implies boundaries , and that boundaries necessarily exclude ? Could n't a member of a minority religion believe , in good faith , that her community faced assimilation and decline to run her business in a way that promoted it ? Was n't that a concern worthy of respect ? No , they told me . The florist in my hypothetical case should have no right to turn away the interfaith couple . # I have thought about the students ' reaction , and it seems to me that it results from the students ' sense that it is wrong to draw religious distinctions that exclude others and injure their dignity , no matter what the justification . That is what the florist did in my hypothetical case-and that , I think , was what bothered the students . The florist was violating the " equality as sameness " principle , and my students simply did not think her concerns justified her in doing so . # Something similar , I believe , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Phillips 's objection to creating their wedding cake as an insult , no matter how much he protested about the good will he bore them , and no matter how willing he was to sell them goods off the shelf.119 They experienced an affront so deep that , rather than obtain a cake somewhere else , as they easily could have done , they sought vindication by the state and pursued a lengthy litigation.120 And the members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission agreed with them about the depth of the insult , especially the one commissioner who compared Phillips 's objections to historical episodes like slavery and the Holocaust.121 Like the florist in my classroom hypothetical , Phillips had violated the " equality as sameness " principle . His claim that he could not in good conscience participate in a gay wedding , because that would make him complicit in activity his religion regarded as sinful , erected a boundary that increasing numbers of Americans find rebarbative.122 # C. The Activist State # The third trend that Masterpiece Cakeshop reflects is a political one : the rise of activist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The growth of government over the course of the twentieth century , starting with the Progressives in the early 1900s , picking up steam in the New Deal of the 1930s , and continuing in the Great Society of the 1960s , has been much discussed.123 Notwithstanding occasional resistance by Presidents and governors , the welfare state , " characterized by a high level of government action in all phases of economic and social life , " is an inescapable fact of contemporary American politics.124 Government rules affect virtually every aspect of our society , including commerce , communications , consumer transactions , education ( at all levels ) , employment , food , health and safety , land use , and professional qualifications . # The expanding scope of the federal government illustrates the trend . Since the so-called " New Deal Settlement " of the 1930s , the federal government has had more or less plenary legislative power under the Constitution 's Commerce Clause.125 The Court has occasionally suggested , most recently in the first Obamacare case , some limits to the Commerce Clause power , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowed Congress effectively unlimited discretion in delegating authority to executive branch agencies , and has allowed those agencies considerable discretion in interpreting congressional mandates.127 As a result , " there is now virtually no significant aspect of life that is not in some way regulated by the federal government . " 128 Federal " agencies wield immense influence in shaping the conduct of individuals and organizations . " 129 # Numbers tell part of the story . Consider federal government expenditures , which serve as a rough proxy for the state 's growing role in the American economy . If we focus on entitlement spending-programs like Medicare and Social Security-the increase since the New Deal is remarkable . Adjusting for inflation and population growth , the federal government spends about fifteen times more today on entitlements than it did in 1940.130 Federal spending on entitlements far outstrips spending on other government functions , such as national defense.131 Or consider another number , the page count of the Federal Register , " the daily repository of all proposed and final federal rules and regulations . " 132 The Federal Register for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the highest level in its history , " about 20% higher than the previous year 's edition.133 Page counts are an imperfect measure of government activity , of course.134 But , as a rough guide , they do indicate the increasing activity of federal agencies . And , again , these numbers relate only to the federal government , not to state governments , which retain plenary legislative jurisdiction in our constitutional system . # To be sure , the current administration has announced a deregulation campaign at the federal level- " a fundamental shift " in policy which , among other things , directs " federal agencies to eliminate two regulations for each new one implemented and to reduce new regulatory costs to zero . " 135 As Adam White writes , however , this " very , very good start " faces substantial obstacles , including inevitable legal challenges.136 Moreover , " the next Democratic administration could undo much of the Trump administration 's deregulatory effort every bit as quickly as the Trump administration undid the Obama administration 's regulatory actions . " 137 It will take more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of government-and the current efforts at the federal level will have no impact at all at the state level . Claims that " the era of big government is over " have misled people in the past.138 # The growth of activist administrative agencies figures prominently in controversies like Masterpiece Cakeshop . In part , it is simply a matter of volume . The more regulations , and the more subjects covered , the greater the potential for businesses to violate the law.139 As Marc DeGirolami writes , where " government assumes an increasingly large role in the life of the citizenry , more injuries are transformed into legally ( and perhaps even constitutionally ) cognizable rights . " 140 But the volume of regulation alone does not explain things . The content matters , too . For reasons I will explain , administrative agencies inherently tend to favor the expansive concept of equality I have described . As a consequence , conflicts between the administrative state and the Traditionally Religious are apt to occur much more frequently . # Once again , Tocqueville offers useful insights as to why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , tend to encourage a powerful state-because they promote an individualism that is unsustainable without it.141 In a democracy , the individual learns to rely on his own judgment , not received wisdom , in making his life choices.142 He learns to see himself as equal to everyone else ; he sees no reason to defer to other people 's judgments or to the wisdom of traditional authority.143 But this individualism , paradoxically , promotes a powerful state . The individual will from time to time feel his weakness and need the help of others . Subjecting oneself to one 's equals , or to traditional authority , would be unthinkable ; but subjecting oneself to a state that stands alone above everyone would not only be thinkable but necessary.144 Of the citizen in an egalitarian democracy , Tocqueville wrote : # His independence fills him with confidence and pride among his equals , and his debility makes him feel , from time to time , the need of the outside help that he can not expect from any of them , since they are all impotent and cold . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the immense being that rises in the midst of universal debasement . His needs and above all his desires constantly lead him back toward it , and in the end he views it as the unique and necessary support for individual weakness.145 # Only a powerful state has the ability to protect and provide for the individual who has abandoned traditional sources of belonging and authority . # Tocqueville thought that American democracy overcame this tendency to statism through its commitment to private associations , including religious associations , which provided competing sources of loyalty that kept the state in check.146 But , over time , a democratic state will find such associations a threat and try to weaken them , all in the interests of human flourishing.147 As Patrick Deneen writes , the logic of liberal democracy requires an activist state that breaks the hold of traditional authorities in order to promote a salutary personal autonomy . Individualism and the activist state thus reinforce one another- " a virtuous circle , " from the perspective of liberalism.148 In Tocqueville 's words , the state willingly works for each individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " knead him as it likes " and have the final say on what happiness shall mean.149 # In short , over time , a democratic state will tend to promote the " equality as sameness " principle through its administrative apparatus . The state will encourage people to think of themselves only as citizens and abandon traditional sources of identity that distinguish them.150 It will work to break down the social boundaries that groups , including the Traditionally Religious , erect to maintain their distinctiveness and preserve their values . Indeed , as Philip Hamburger writes , in contemporary America , it is the small-o " orthodox " who need most to worry about government action-those " minorities that seek to preserve their distinctive beliefs in the face of majoritarian pressures to conform to more universal liberal views . " 151 In a society like ours , which prizes equality and which deeply suspects tradition and communal authority , " orthodoxy " is itself " unorthodox , " 152 even when people voluntarily choose it , and therefore occasions serious conflicts that our courts ultimately must resolve . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions by government agencies that impinge on traditional religious associations and identities . Government has always impinged on the activities of religious associations in America to some degree , of course , going back to the early Republic.153 But the potential for conflict has become much larger today . The Traditionally Religious face an expanding set of rules and policies that promote new understandings of equality , particularly with respect to sexuality and gender , along with an ever-expanding bureaucracy dedicated to enforcing them.154 As Richard Epstein writes , civil rights offices exist today " in virtually every government agency , most notably in the agencies that regulate housing , education , and employment . " 155 The Traditionally Religious face increasing pressure to accept the new understandings and comply with the new rules , or face a " looming threat of a wide range of legal sanctions . " 156 # Masterpiece Cakeshop offers a good example . The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled against Jack Phillips in order to promote equality for same-sex marriage , a concept that relatively few would have endorsed even a decade ago , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on him , including training and quarterly reporting requirements that would have demanded significant time and money.158 One commissioner even hinted that , with views like his , maybe Phillips should think about doing business in a different state.159 Phillips decided to resist . But not many businesses will do so . Not many will be willing to bear such burdens or to relocate . The more likely result will be that Traditionally Religious businesspeople like Phillips abandon , or at least soften , their convictions in order to make a living . Of course , the commissioners were trying to promote human flourishing and protect gay couples from indignities in the marketplace ; that is not the point . The point is that in imposing these burdens , the Commission acted in a way calculated to advance the principle of equality as sameness and weaken the hold of traditional religious commitments . As Rod Dreher writes , we can anticipate many more such conflicts in the future.160 # III . Conclusion : After Masterpiece Cakeshop # In short , Masterpiece Cakeshop reflects important cultural and political trends . Those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on the one hand , and religious freedom , on the other-disputes , to paraphrase Justice Kennedy , which set the right of gays and lesbians to obtain goods and services in the marketplace without experiencing affronts against the right of religious persons to have their sincere beliefs respected by our government.161 In the space remaining , I would like to offer three predictions for what may lie ahead . # First , conflicts like the one in Masterpiece Cakeshop will become more frequent and harder for our society to negotiate . The " equality as sameness " principle has expanded to cover sexual identity and behavior in a way few foresaw even a decade ago.162 The principle continues to expand , driven by its own inner logic . As Adrian Vermeule observes , the " triumph of same-sex marriage " has been " followed . . . rapidly by the opening of a new regulatory and juridical frontier , the recognition of transgender identity . " 163 Indeed , shortly after Jack Phillips won his case at the Supreme Court , the Colorado Civil Rights Division found probable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by refusing to create a cake for a customer who wished to celebrate the anniversary of her coming out as transgender.164 Phillips then filed an action for an injunction against the Colorado authorities , again alleging a violation of his constitutional rights.165 The state ultimately decided not to pursue the case against Phillips as part of a settlement agreement.166 But it seems likely that the courts will soon need to decide whether vendors have a free exercise right to decline to provide services for transgender coming out ceremonies . # The new understanding of sexual identity and behavior has become a flash point in our culture wars . Nones , especially younger Nones , embrace the new understanding , 167 as do regulatory agencies , which seek to promote it in American life.168 But the Traditionally Religious , who remain comparatively numerous , continue to oppose it . Some of them , at least , will continue to resist government efforts to enforce it . That each side in the conflict cares deeply about the outcome , and finds the other 's position increasingly unfamiliar and offensive , will make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Traditionally Religious may themselves come to accept the new understanding over time . According to the Pew survey I quoted earlier , acceptance of homosexuality does appear to be " growing rapidly even among religious groups " that traditionally have " strongly opposed " same-sex relations.170 If the Traditionally Religious were to accept the new understanding of sexuality , conflicts like Masterpiece Cakeshop would fade from view , much as conflicts over serving African-Americans in public places thankfully have disappeared from American life . But it seems more likely that those Traditionally Religious who accept the new understanding will gradually drift away from religion entirely and join the Nones . The mainline Protestant denominations that have embraced new norms about homosexuality-for example , the Episcopalians and Presbyterians171-have continued to experience sharp declines in membership , even as membership in conservative churches has remained relatively stable.172 Endorsing the new sexual norms has not kept believers in the pews . Religious polarization , in other words , seems likely to continue . # Second , the law in this area likely will remain unsettled and deeply contested for some time to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier , the law of religious exemptions is already something of a " patchwork . " 173 Different jurisdictions apply different tests in different circumstances . For example , for purposes of the Free Exercise Clause , the Court 's 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith indicates that no constitutional right to a religious exemption exists where a law is neutral and generally applicable.174 In circumstances where the state has not shown neutrality towards religion , however , or where a law is not generally applicable , a different rule applies under a later case , Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah.175 Before Masterpiece Cakeshop , most commentators understood that Lukumi called for the compelling interest test in those circumstances : the government could substantially burden religious exercise if it had a compelling reason for doing so and had chosen the least restrictive means.176 Justice Kennedy 's opinion in Masterpiece Cakeshop suggests , though , even without going through the compelling interest analysis , that the government 's failure to act neutrally amounts to a per se violation.177 It remains to be seen what the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Federal constitutional doctrine is thus unsettled . With respect to federal statutory law , the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ( RFRA ) requires the compelling interest test , 178 although , as I will explain in a moment , saying that does not clarify things too much . With respect to state constitutional and statutory law , substantial variation exists.179 Some states apply the Smith test as a matter of state constitutional law , while others apply some version of the compelling interest test.180 Some states have adopted a version of RFRA and apply the compelling interest test as a matter of state statutory law ; some do not.181 In short , generalizations are difficult . # Nonetheless , notwithstanding the doctrinal uncertainty , the compelling interest test remains the leading test in this area- under Lukumi , under RFRA and its state analogues , or under state constitutional provisions-and will provide the rule of decision in most cases in which a vendor seeks a religious exemption from anti-discrimination laws . 182 But-and this is the second reason for my prediction that the law will remain unsettled-the compelling interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concepts that provide little guidance in specific cases.183 The test depends almost entirely on the intuitions of individual judges , which of course differ greatly.184 In the recent Hobby Lobby case , for example , in which plaintiffs sought a religious exemption under RFRA from the so-called " contraceptive mandate , " the Justices differed strongly among themselves on the meaning and application both of " substantial burden " and " least restrictive means . " 185 # Indeed , in a society as polarized as ours , how could judges ' views on these concepts not differ ? Is requiring a Christian vendor to provide services on an equal basis for gay and straight weddings a substantial burden on the vendor 's religion ? Does the state have a compelling interest in ending discrimination that would justify that burden , even if other nearby vendors would readily provide those services ? Does the state have reasonable alternative measures available to it that would burden the vendor 's religious exercise to a lesser degree ? The answers depend on one 's perception of the nature and value of religion , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government action , and many other factors . The questions do not submit to easy , objective criteria on which everyone agrees , certainly not in our society , today . In a society in which we can not agree on what is good , how can we agree on what is a compelling interest ? # It is possible , of course , that these indeterminacy problems will hasten the end of the compelling interest test . The test has drawn strong criticism from judges and scholars for decades , as far back as the Court 's 1990 Smith decision , which sought to do away with the test , or at least to sharply confine it.186 Justices Gorsuch and Alito hinted at their disapproval of Smith in Masterpiece Cakeshop itself.187 But the test has shown remarkable durability . As I have explained , the Court reaffirmed the test , at least in some circumstances , only a few terms after Smith , in Lukumi.188 Moreover , in 1993 , Congress reinstated the test in RFRA , by a unanimous vote in the House and a vote of 97-3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pass today-but it is not clear that a vote to repeal it would succeed , either.190 Two years ago , in the run-up to the Court 's decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop , Democratic members of Congress introduced the " Do No Harm Act , " which sought to amend RFRA to make clear that it would not apply to federal anti-discrimination laws.191 The Do No Harm Act would not have repealed RFRA , only limited its application.192 And yet the new act did not attract a single Republican cosponsor , in either the House or the Senate.193 Repealing , or even amending , RFRA would require a bipartisan coalition , and it is difficult to see how a coalition could form in our current political environment . # American politics is becoming more and more polarized on the basis of religion-something that has not been true , historically.194 Religion is now a strong element of partisan identity.195 Today 's Democratic and Republican Parties have dramatically different religious profiles . According to a Pew survey conducted in 2018 , about 70% of Republicans and people who lean Republican believe in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contrast , only 45% of Democrats and Democratic-leaners say they believe in the God of the Bible.197 Another Pew survey revealed that Nones now make up the largest " religious " grouping in the Democratic Party-about 30 percent.198 To be sure , some progressives are religious believers , a group some have called the " Religious Left . " 199 But this group has relatively little impact within the contemporary Democratic Party , and it 's not clear how much impact the group will have in the future.200 # In this political environment , a move by one party to tinker with RFRA would immediately raise suspicions on the part of the other . Achieving agreement on any changes seems unlikely . As a result , the compelling interest test seems here to stay . And that observation leads to my third and final prediction . Masterpiece Caksehop suggests that judicial appointments , certainly on the federal level , will become even more heated and partisan than they already are . Because the compelling interest test is so indeterminate , so dependent on the prior commitments of the people doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important . Each side in our polarized society understands how crucial it is to have judges with the " right " intuitions about religion and equality on the bench . Each , therefore , will fight long and hard to ensure that such judges are appointed-and , conversely , that judges with the " wrong " intuitions are not . Having judges with the " wrong " intuitions about religion and equality could lead to negative outcomes in cases about which both sides care deeply . The stakes are too high to be ignored . # The late Justice Scalia recognized this dynamic long ago , in a different context , in his dissent in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.201 Because the Court 's constitutional jurisprudence had come to turn on the personal values of the Justices , he observed , the electorate had every right to focus on nominees ' values during the selection process . " Confirmation hearings for new Justices should deteriorate into question-and-answer sessions in which Senators go through a list of their constituents ' most favored and most disfavored alleged constitutional rights , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them , " he wrote.202 " Value judgments , after all , should be voted on , not dictated ; and if our Constitution has somehow accidently sic committed them to the Supreme Court , at least we can have a sort of plebiscite each time a new nominee to that body is put forward . " 203 For Justice Scalia , interrogating nominees about their personal value judgments was a matter for regret . But , good or bad , the compelling interest test , which makes judges ' value judgments about religion and equality crucial to the outcome of a case , creates strong incentives to do so . # In short , the new religious partisanship will only amplify the already intense acrimony over judicial selection . Given their religious profiles , the two parties will likely nominate judges with very different views on the conflict between anti-discrimination laws and religious liberty ; each party will be very wary of the other 's nominees . On the whole , given the party 's religious makeup , one would expect Democrats to nominate judges with skeptical views of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Traditionally Religious from anti-discrimination laws . One would expect the opposite , on the whole , from judges Republican administrations nominate . Again , because everyone knows how high the stakes are , the judicial confirmation wars will likely be quite passionate and divisive for the foreseeable future . # Masterpiece Cakeshop is a narrow decision . The case turns on rather unique facts and does little to resolve conflicts between our anti-discrimination laws , on the one hand , and our commitment to religious freedom , on the other . But the narrowness of the case 's holding is deceptive . In fact , Masterpiece Cakeshop reflects very broad cultural and political trends that drive those conflicts and shape their resolution : a deepening religious polarization between Nones and the Traditionally Religious , an expansive understanding of equality as sameness , and an activist state dedicated to enforcing that understanding in large areas of our common life . # As everyone knows , law and culture have a mutually reinforcing relationship.204 Court rulings influence the way our culture perceives social conflicts : which arguments seem legitimate and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn , influences law . I have explored here the cultural and political trends that form the backdrop to our law 's attempt to resolve our competing commitments to equality and to religious freedom . Those trends , which Masterpiece Cakeshop so clearly reflects , will continue to shape our law for decades to come . Footnote # 1 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n 138 S. Ct . 1719 ( 2018 ) . For other recent cases , see , e.g. , Telescope Media Grp. v. Lindsey , 271 F. Supp. 3d 1090 ( D. Minn. 2017 ) ; Elane Photography , LLC v. Willock , 309 P.3d 53 ( N.M . 2013 ) , cert . denied , 572 U.S. 1046 ( 2014 ) ; State v. Arlene 's Flowers , Inc. , 389 P.3d 543 ( Wash . 2017 ) , vacated , 138 S. Ct . 2671 ( 2018 ) ; Brush &amp; Nib Studio , LC v. City of Phoenix , 418 P.3d 426 ( Ariz . Ct . App. 2018 ) . # 2 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Argument preview : Wedding cakes v. religious beliefs ? , SCOTUSblog ( Nov. 28 , 2017 , 3:14 PM ) , http : **29;0;TOOLONG **51;31;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/H643-JXRH # 4 . See Robert W. Tuttle &amp; Ira C. Lupu , Masterpiece Cakeshop -A Troublesome Application Of Free Exercise Principles By A Court Determined To Avoid Hard Questions , Take Care ( June 7 , 2018 ) , https : **144;84;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/3Z67-WWY4 ( " Most observers believed that the Free Exercise Clause issues would not be crucial to the disposition of the case . " ) . # 5 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1724. # 6 . Id . at 1729. # 7 . Id . at 1729-30. # 8 . Id . at 1730-31 . I discuss the Court 's reasoning on this point further below . See infra pp. 720-21. # 9 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1731-32. # 10 . Id . at 1732 ; id . at 1732-34 ( Kagan , J. , concurring ) . # 11 . See Leslie Kendrick &amp; Micah Schwartzman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rev. 133 , 133 ( 2018 ) ( noting that the Masterpiece Cakeshop Court " ducked central questions " in the case ) . # 12 . On the Nones generally , see Mark L. Movsesian , Defining Religion in American Law : Psychic Sophie and the Rise of the Nones ( Robert Schuman Ctr. for Advanced Studies , Research Paper No. 2014/19 , 2014 ) , https : //papers.ssrn.com/ sol3/papers.cfm ? abstractid=2399470 https : //perma.cc/8AMF-H3AW. # 13 . See Paul Horwitz , The Hobby Lobby Moment , 128 HARV . L. Rev. 154 , 183 ( 2014 ) ( observing that , with respect to LOBT issues , " the marketplace itself has become a site of social contestation rather than a refuge from the culture wars " ) . # 14 . On Tocqueville and equality , see infra at 731-32. # 15 . See Samuel Gregg , Equality in Democracy : Tocqueville 's Prediction of a Falling America , CNS NEWS ( Feb. 6 , 2017 , 10:38 AM ) , https : //www.cnsnews.com/ **82;230;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/S8LN-TKCR. # 16 . Alexis de Tocqueville , Democracy in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Delba Winthrop eds. &amp; trans. , Univ . of Chi . Press 2O0O ) ( 1840 ) hereinafter DEMOCRACY IN America ( " There is almost no political question in the United States that is not resolved sooner or later into a judicial question " ) . # 17 . Michael W. McConnell et al. , Religion and the Constitution 149 ( 2016 ) . # 18 . See , e.g. , Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 , Pub . L. No. 103-141 , 3 , 107 Stat. 1488 , 1488-89 ( codified at 42 U.S.C. 2000bb-1 ( 2012 ) ) . On the current status of the compelling interest test , see McConnell ET AL. , supra note 17 , at 198 . See also W. Cole Durham , Jr . &amp; Brett G. Scharffs , Law and Religion : National , International , and Comparative Perspectives 231 ( 2010 ) . I discuss the compelling interest test further below . See infra pp. 745-47. # 19 . See , e.g. , Emp't Div. v. Smith , 494 U.S. 872 ( 1990 ) ( rejecting the compelling interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see also William P. Marshall , Bad Statutes Make Bad Law , 2014 SUP . Ct . Rev. 71 ( reviewing problems with the compelling interest test ) . # 20 . See Mark L. Movsesian , The Powerful Headwinds Confronting Religious Freedom , L. &amp; LIBERTY ( May 2 , 2018 ) , https : **77;314;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/FC7F-LUTF. # 21 . In a related context , David Bernstein has written that the compelling interest test may only serve as " an empty vessel for the justices ' moral intuitions . " David E. Bernstein , Sex Discrimination Laws Versus Civil Liberties , 1999 U. Chi . Legal F. 133 , 167 ( discussing freedom of association ) . # 22 . See Stephen M. Bainbridge , Student Religious Organizations and University Policies Against Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation : Implications of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act , 21 J.C . &amp; U.L. 369 , 393-94 ( 1994 ) ( observing that the balancing contemplated by the compelling interest test " invites judges to put their personal values onto the scale " ) . # 23 . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 133-34 ( discussing cases ) . # 24 . On complicity claims generally , compare Douglas Nejaime &amp; Reva B. Siegel , Conscience Wars : Complicity-Based Conscience Claims in Religion and Politics , 124 Yale L.J . 2516 ( 2015 ) , with Joshua J. Craddock , The Case for Complicity-Based Religious Accommodations , 12 TENN . J.L. &amp; Pol'Y 233 ( 2018 ) . # 25 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n 138 S. Ct . 1719 , 1724 ( 2018 ) . # 26 . Id . # 27 . Id . # 28 . Id . # 29 . Id . at 1726. # 30 . Id . at 1745 ( Thomas , J. , concurring in part and concurring in the judgment ) . # 31 . Id . at 1725 ( majority opinion ) . # 32 . Colo . Rev. Stat. 24-34-601(2) ( a ) ( 2018 ) . # 33 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1726. # 34 . Id . at 1729. # 35 . The " commissioner suggested that Phillips can believe ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ act on his religious beliefs ' if he decides to do business in the state . ' A few moments later , the commissioner restated the same position : ' If a businessman wants to do business in the state and he 's got an issue with the-the law 's impacting his personal belief system , he needs to look at being able to compromise . ' " Id . ( citations omitted ) . # 36 . Id . # 37 . Id . # 38 . Id . at 1726. # 39 . Id . # 40 . Id . # 41 . Brief for Petitioners at 14-15 , Masterpiece Cakeshop , Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n , 138 S. Ct . 1719 ( 2017 ) ( No. 16-111 ) . # 42. 494 U.S. 872 , 879 ( 1990 ) . # 43 . In relevant part , CADA provides : # It is a discriminatory practice and unlawful for a person , directly or indirectly , to refuse , withhold from , or deny to an individual or a group , because of disability , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , marital status , national origin , or ancestry , the full and equal enjoyment of the goods , services , facilities , privileges , advantages , or accommodations of a place of public accommodation . # Colo . Rev. Stat. 24-34-601(2) ( a ) ( 2017 ) . # 44 . See , e.g. , Bob Jones Univ . v. United States , 461 U.S. 574 ( 1983 ) ; Newman v. Piggie Park Enters. , 390 U.S. 400 , 402 n.5 ( 1968 ) ( per curiam ) . # 45 . See supra note 3 and accompanying text . # 46 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1732. # 47 . Id . at 1729 . For an argument that the Court misinterpreted these comments , see Kendrick &amp; Schwartzman , supra note 11 , at 135. # 48 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1730-31. # 49 . Id . at 1731-32. # 50. 508 U.S. 520 ( 1993 ) . # 51 . Id . at 546 ; see also , e.g. , Christopher C. Lund , Exploring Free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tenn . L. Rev. 351 , 375 ( 2010 ) . # 52 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1734 ( Gorsuch , J. , concurring ) . # 53 . Cf. Kendrick and Schwartzman , supra note 11 , at 150 ( " Going forward , state civil rights enforcement agencies have the chance to try again , while avoiding the mistakes of the Colorado Commission . " ) . # 54 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1732. # 55 . Id . # 56 . Only two weeks after the Court ruled in Masterpiece Cakeshop , the Colorado Civil Rights Commission sanctioned Jack Phillips for refusing to create a cake for a transgender celebration . See Amy B. Wang , Baker claims religious persecution again-this time after denying cake for transgender woman , WASH . Post ( Aug. 15 , 2018 ) , https : **150;393;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/A4MN-NZGK . The Commission ultimately determined not to move forward with the case , as part of a settlement with Phillips . Chris Mills Rodrigo , State of Colorado , baker in same-sex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mar. 5 , 2019 ) , https : **107;545;TOOLONG # 57 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1732 ( Kagan , J. , concurring ) ; id . at 1734 ( Gorsuch , J. , concurring ) ; id . at 1740 ( Thomas , J. , concurring in part and concurring in the judgment ) ; id . at 1748 ( Ginsburg , J. , dissenting ) . # 58 . Much of this discussion of the Nones derives from my earlier work . Movsesian , supra note 12. # 59 . Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 1 . # 60 . Pew Research Ctr. , America 's Changing Religious Landscape 20 ( 2015 ) hereinafter America 's Changing Religious Landscape , http : **68;654;TOOLONG ( select " Complete Report PDF " ) https : //perma.cc/2CBC-YA4P. # 61 . Mark Chaves , American Religion 15 ( 2d. ed. 2017 ) . # 62 . America 's Changing Religious Landscape , supra note 60 , at 3-4. # 63 . Id . at 11. # 64 . Id . # 65 . Id . # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Religious 24 ( 2015 ) hereinafter U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious , http : **65;724;TOOLONG ( select " Complete Report PDF " ) https : //perma.cc/3ZC7-ML8G. # 67 . Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 1 . # 68 . Conversations : Rodney Stark , Law AND RELIGION FORUM BLOG ( Aug. 5 , 2013 ) , https : **75;791;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/C5Y7-PEG6. # 69 . Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 1 ( quoting Frank Newport , God is Alive and Well 13 ( 2012 ) ) . # 70 . America 's Changing Religious Landscape , supra note 60 , at 47. # 71 . Id . at 15. # 72 . See Chaeyoon Lim et al. , Secular and Liminal : Discovering Heterogeneity Among Religious Nones , 49 J. SCI . STUDY OF Religion 596 , 597 , 614 ( 2010 ) . # 73 . Ross Douthat , Bad Religion : How We Became A Nation of Heretics 218 ( 2012 ) . # 74 . See Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 2. # 75 . See Douthat , supra note 73 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , supra note 12 , at 2. # 77 . Id . at 8. # 78 . Kerry S. Walters , The American Deists 213 ( 1992 ) . # 79 . See Douthat , supra note 73 , at 217-19 ( comparing Ralph Waldo Emerson with contemporary spiritual guides like Deepak Chopra , Paulo Coelho , and Oprah Winfrey ) . # 80 . See Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 8. # 81 . James Davison Hunter , Law , Religion , and the Common Good , 39 Pepp . L. Rev. 1065 , 1065 ( 2013 ) . # 82 . Robert D. Putnam &amp; David E. Campbell , American Grace 148 ( 2010 ) . # 83 . Pew Research Ctr. , One-in-Five U.S. Adults Were Raised in Interfaith Homes 4 ( 2016 ) hereinafter One-in-Five U.S. Adults Were Raised in Interfaith Homes , http : **85;868;TOOLONG ( select " Complete Report PDF " ) https : //perma.cc/ LDA6-TWZN. # 84 . See Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 9. # 85 . One-in-Five U.S. Adults Were Raised in Interfaith Homes , supra note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at 5. # 87 . Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 9. # 88 . Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage , PEW Res . Ctr . ( June 26 , 2017 ) , http : **65;955;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/6WNN-A6SZ. # 89 . Id . # 90 . U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious , supra note 66 , at 35. # 91 . See PUTNAM &amp; Campbell , supra note 82 , at 130. # 92 . Democracy in America , supra note 16 , II.i.1 , at 403. # 93 . See Patrick Deneen , Why Liberalism Failed 30 ( 2018 ) . # 94 . Id . at 78. # 95 . U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious , supra note 66 , at 6. # 96 . Landon Schnabel &amp; Sean Bock , The Persistent and Exceptional Intensity of American Religion : A Response to Recent Research , 4 SOC . SCI. 686 , 687-88 ( 2017 ) . # 97 . Id . # 98 . Id . at 689. # 99 . See JOHN INAZU , CONFIDENT PLURALISM 22-23 ( 2015 ) . # 100 . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NOTRE Dame L. Rev. 1517 , 1529 ( 2016 ) . # 101 . On the unwillingness of both the LGBT community and the Traditionally Religious to compromise in the marketplace , see , e.g. , Mark L. Movsesian , Markets and Morals : The Limits of Doux Commerce , 9 Wm. &amp; MARY . BUS . L. Rev. 449 , 472 ( 2018 ) . # 102 . Pew Research Ctr. , Where the Public Stands on Religious Liberty vs . Nondiscrimination ( 2016 ) , http : **96;1022;TOOLONG ( select " Complete Report PDF " ) https : //perma.cc/BY4U-83ZC. # 103 . Id . at 16. # 104 . Id . # 105 . Id . at 5. # 106 . Cf. Jurgen Habermas , Paradigms of Law , 17 CARDOZO L. Rev. 771 , 778-79 ( 1996 ) ( distinguishing between " legal equality " and " actual equality " ) . # 107 . Patrick Deneen , Alexis de Tocqueville , FIRST PRINCIPLES ( March 14 , 2011 ) , http : **43;1120;TOOLONG ? **35;1165;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/WRH7-AUYM. # 108 . See Gregg , supra note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DEMOCRACY IN America , supra note 16 , I:Introduction , at 3 ( " As I studied American society , more and more I saw in equality of conditions the generative fact from which each particular fact seemed to issue . " ) ; see also PIERRE Manent , Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy ( John Waggoner trans. , Rowman &amp; Littlefield 1996 ) ( 1982 ) . # 111 . See DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA , supra note 16 , II.iv.2 , at 641 ; id . II.iv.3 , at 645. # 112 . Id . II.iv.2 , at 640. # 113 . Id . II.i.7 , at 425-26. # 114 . An " innumerable multitude of sects " existed in America , he noted , but all were " within the great Christian unity . " Id . at I.ii.9 , at 278 ; see also id . II.i.1. , at 406 ( " In the United States , Christian sects vary infinitely and are constantly modified , but Christianity itself is an established and irresistible fact that no one undertakes either to attack or defend . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note 82 , at 534. # 116 . See id . at 536. # 117 . Id . at 526 , 531. # 118 . I related this anecdote in a blog post . Mark Movsesian , Passion for Equality , FIRST THINGS ( July 10 , 2017 ) , https : **65;1202;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/2SRF-ETCE. # 119 . See Masterpiece Cakeshop , Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n 138 S. Ct . 1719 , 1724 ( 2018 ) . # 120 . See Transcript of Oral Argument at 62 , Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n , 138 S. Ct . 1719 ( 2018 ) ( No. 16-111 ) ( Kennedy , J. ) ( noting availability of other bakeries to fill the couple 's order ) . # 121 . See Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1729. # 122 . See id . at 1724 ( " To Phillips , creating a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding would be equivalent to participating in a celebration that is contrary to his own most deeply held beliefs . " ) . For sources on complicity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ See , e.g. , JOSEPH POSTELL , BUREAUCRACY IN AMERICA ( 2017 ) . # 124 . Richard A. Epstein , Religious Liberty in the Welfare State , 31 Wm. &amp; MARY L. Rev. 375 , 375 ( 1990 ) . # 125 . On the " New Deal Settlement , " see Lawrence B. Solum , How NFIB v. Sebelius Affects the Constitutional Gestalt , 91 WASH . U. L. Rev. 1 ( 2013 ) . # 126 . Nat'l Fed'n Indep . Bus . v. Sebelius , 567 U.S. 519 ( 2012 ) . For a good overview of the doctrine , see Solum , supra note 125. # 127 . On delegation , see Gary Lawson , The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State , 107 HARV . L. Rev. 1231 ( 1994 ) . On agency deference , see id . at 1247 ; Jeffrey A. Pojanowski , Reason and Reasonableness in Review of Agency Decisions , 104 NW . U. L. Rev. 799 , 802-04 ( 2010 ) . # 128 . Lawson , supra note 127 , at 1236. # 129 . Randy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 59 UCLA L. Rev. 112 , 114 ( 2011 ) . # 130 . William Voegeli , Never Enough : America 's Limitless Welfare State 25 ( 2010 ) . Voegeli 's figures exclude veterans ' programs and benefits , id . at 22 , and measure the years 1940-2007. # 131 . See id . at 31-33. # 132 . Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. , Competitive Enterprise Institute , Ten Thousand Commandments : An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State 16 ( 2017 ) , https : **30;1269;TOOLONG **40;1301;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/3DKC-BULV ; see also McConnell et AL. , supra note 17 , at 77 ( using page count of Federal Register to illustrate growth of government ) . # 133 . Crews , supra note 132 , at 3 , 16. # 134 . Id . at 16. # 135 . Neomi Rao , Office of Info . &amp; Regulatory Affairs , Introduction to the Fall 2017 Regulatory Plan ( 2017 ) , https : //www.reginfo.gov/ **55;1343;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/73C2-BCQU. # 136 . Adam J. White , Trumping the Administrative State , Weekly Standard ( Jan. 19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ https : //perma.cc/HJ62-FG8U. # 137 . Id . # 138 . See , e.g. , Gary Lawson , One ( ? ) Nation Overextended , 94 B.U. L. Rev. 1109 , 1120 ( 2014 ) . # 139 . See Epstein , supra note 124 , at 375 ; see also McConnell ET AL. , supra note 17 , at 77 ( " In a society that is pervasively regulated as ours now is , there are many more occasions for conflict between the government and religious believers . " ) . # 140 . Marc O. DeGirolami , Free Exercise By Moonlight , 53 San Diego L. Rev. 105 , 131 ( 2016 ) ; see also Thomas C. Berg , Religious Accommodation and the Welfare State , 38 Harv . J.L. &amp; Gender 103 ( 2015 ) . # 141 . For a discussion of individualism , by which Tocqueville meant a kind of withdrawal from and indifference to the affairs of other citizens , see Democracy IN America , supra note 16 , II.ii.2 , at 482-84. # 142 . " The inhabitant of the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggle against the evils and obstacles of life ; he has only a defiant and restive regard for social authority and appeals to its power only when he can not do without it . " Id . I.ii.4 , at 180. # 143 . See id . at II.iv.1 ; id . at II.iv.3. # 144 . See id . at II.iv.3. # 145 . Id . at II.iv.3 , at 644 ( footnote omitted ) . # 146 . Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 14. # 147 . See DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA , supra note 16 , II.ii.4 , at 485 ( " Despotism , which in its nature is fearful , sees the most certain guarantee of its own duration in the isolation of men , and it ordinarily puts all its care into isolating them . " ) ; see also Movsesian , supra note 12 , at 14. # 148 . DENEEN , supra note 93 , at 59. # 149 . Democracy in America , supra note 16 , II.iv.6 , at 663. # 150 . Cf. Town of Greece v. Galloway , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , J. , dissenting ) ( " A Christian , a Jew , a Muslim ( and so forth ) - each stands in the same relationship with her country , with her state and local communities , and with every level and body of government . So that when each person performs the duties or seeks the benefits of citizenship , she does so not as an adherent to one or another religion , but simply as an American . " ) . # 151 . Philip Hamburger , Exclusion and Equality : How Exclusion from the Political Process Renders Religious Liberty Unequal , 90 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1919 , 1929 ( 2015 ) . # 152 . Id . # 153 . See , e.g. , Sarah Barringer Gordon , The First Disestablishment : Limits on Church Property and Power before the Civil War , 162 U. Pa . L. Rev. 307 , 311 ( 2014 ) . # 154 . On the centrality of sexuality in contemporary conflicts over religious liberty , see Horwitz , supra note 13 , at 160. # 155 . Richard Epstein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reconciliation , L. &amp; LIBERTY ( Jan. 2 , 2016 ) , http : **25;1473;TOOLONG **92;1500;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/N6RS-XNDT. # 156 . Id . # 157 . President Obama notably did not endorse marriage equality in his first campaign in 2008 , though he did endorse it in time for his second . Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash , Missing Links in the President 's Evolution on Same-Sex Marriage , 81 Fordham L. Rev. 553 , 554 ( 2012 ) . # 158 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n 138 S. Ct . 1719 , 1726 ( 2018 ) . # 159 . Id . at 1729. # 160 . On the challenges conservative Christians , in particular , may expect to face in the marketplace , see Rod Dreher , The BENEDICT OPTION : A STRATEGY FOR Christians in a Post-Christian Nation 179-94 ( 2017 ) . # 161 . Masterpiece Cakeshop , 138 S. Ct . at 1732. # 162 . See , e.g. , Horwitz , supra note 13 , at 173-74 ( discussing the rapid change in public acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Liberalism , FIRST THINGS ( Jan. 2017 ) , https : **59;1594;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/WT2N-B2A9. # 164 . See Scardina v. Masterpiece Cakeshop Inc. , Charge No . CP2018011310 ( Colo . Civil Rights Div . June 28 , 2018 ) ( probable cause determination ) , http : **70;1655;TOOLONG pdf https : //perma.cc/GX3C-X5XG. # 165 . See Complaint , Masterpiece Cakeshop Inc. v. Elenis , No. 1:18-cv-02074 ( D. Colo . Aug. 14 , 2018 ) , http : **57;1727;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/WL5Q-EV3S. # 166 . See supra note 56. # 167 . On Nones ' acceptance of homosexuality , see supra Part II.A. # 168 . See supra Part II.C. # 169 . See INAZU , supra note 99 , at 2-3 ( discussing growing polarization over values in American life ) . For an interesting discussion of how mutually incompatible values make the resolution of social conflict between secular and traditionally religious groups difficult , see JONATHAN HAIDT , The RIGHTEOUS MIND 105-10 ( 2012 ) . # 170 . See America 's CHANGING RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE , supra note 60 , at 34. # 171 . The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ten-year period from 2007 to 2017 . Episcopal Domestic Fast Facts : 2017 , Gen. Convention of the Episcopal Church , https : **33;1786;TOOLONG **26;1821;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/VQ9B-3LY4 ( last visited Mar. 9 , 2019 ) . The Presbyterian Church ( USA ) lost almost 5% of its membership in 2017 alone . See 2017 Comparative Summaries , OFFICE OF THE Gen. Assembly , PRESBYTERIAN Church ( USA ) , http : **40;1849;TOOLONG **47;1891;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/5TD9-SRGW ( last visited Mar. 9 , 2019 ) ( listing a decline of 68,000 members out of 1.48 million in 2016 ) . Since 2005 , it has lost two out of every five active members . Compare id . ( listing 1.42 million active members in 2017 ) , with 2008 Comparative Summaries , Office of the Gen. Assembly , Presbyterian Church ( USA ) , https : **65;1940;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/ENW4-8B63 ( last visited Mar. 9 , 2019 ) ( listing 2.31 million active members in 2005 ) . # 172 . Mark Chaves , American Religion 87 ( 2011 ) . For an interesting discussion of how doctrinal leniency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see Thomas C. Berg , Partly Acculturated Religious Activity : A Case for Accommodating Religious Nonprofits , 91 NOTRE Dame L. Rev. 1341 , 1355-58 ( 2016 ) . # 173 . See supra note 17 and accompanying text . # 174. 494 U.S. 872 , 879 ( 1990 ) . # 175. 508 U.S. 520 , 546 ( 1993 ) . # 176 . See , e.g. , Lund , supra note 51 , at 375 ( " The Smith/Lukumi rule evaluates facially discriminatory laws under a compelling interest test . " ) . # 177 . See supra pp. 720-21. # 178 . Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 , Pub . L. No. 103-141 , 3(b) , 107 Stat. 1488 , 1488-89 ( codified at 42 U.S.C. 2000bb-1(b) ( 2012 ) ) . # 179 . See McConnell ET AL. , supra note 17 , at 189-90. # 180 . See id . at 198 ; see also Durham &amp; SCHARFFS , supra note 18 , at 231 ( identifying the state high courts that have adopted some form of the Smith analysis for state constitutional purposes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note 17 , at 189-90. # 182 . See id . at 198 ( noting that " more than half of the states currently apply the compelling interest test to free exercise claims " ) ; Durham &amp; SCHARFFS , supra note 18 , at 231 ( observing that " it seems likely that a majority of jurisdictions will ultimately maintain strict scrutiny protections " ) . # 183 . See Priests for Life v. U.S. Dep't of Health &amp; Human Servs. , 808 F.3d 1 , 21-22 ( D.C. Cir. 2015 ) ( Kavanaugh , J. , dissenting from the denial of rehearing en banc ) ( discussing indeterminacy of the compelling interest standard ) . # 184 . See supra pp. 715-16. # 185 . Compare Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores , Inc. , 573 U.S. 682 , 726-31 ( 2014 ) ( arguing that the expense of the contraceptive mandate constituted a substantial burden and that it would be less restrictive for the Government to assume the cost of coverage itself or shift the costs of covering contraceptives to insurers than to mandate employers directly fund contraceptive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , J. dissenting ) ( arguing that the contraceptive mandate was too tenuously connected to religious beliefs to constitute a substantial burden and that no alternative would effectuate the compelling interests at hand ) . # 186 . See Emp't Div. v. Smith , 494 U.S. 872 , 884-86 ( 1990 ) . # 187 . See Kendrick &amp; Schwartzman , supra note 11 , at 162. # 188 . Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah , 508 U.S. 520 , 546 ( 1993 ) . # 189 . L.A. Powe , Jr. , The Court 's Constitution , 12 U. Pa . J. Const . L. 529 , 541 ( 2010 ) . # 190 . See Richard W. Garnett , Religious Accommodations and-and Among-Civil Rights : Separation , Toleration , and Accommodation , 88 S. CAL . L. Rev. 493 , 501 ( 2015 ) ( " It is , as many have observed , extremely unlikely that the RFRA would be enacted today , let alone enacted with near-unanimous and bipartisan support . . . . " ) . # 191 . Do No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 ) . The Senate version of the bill , which bore the same name , was S. 2918 , 115th Cong . ( 2018 ) . # 192 . See H.R. 3222 3. # 193 . See id . at 1 ( listing House co-sponsors ) ; S. 2918 at 1 ( listing Senate co-sponsors ) . # 194 . See Andrew Koppelman , Gay Rights , Religious Accommodations , and the Purposes of Anti-Discrimination Law , 88 S. CAL . L. Rev. 619 , 656-58 ( 2015 ) . # 195 . See Mark Movsesian , The New Divide in American Politics , FIRST THINGS ( May 23 , 2018 ) , https : **80;2007;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/Q8PP-HFE6. # 196 . Pew Research Ctr. , When Americans Say They Believe in God , What Do They Mean ? 22 ( 2018 ) , http : **30;2089;TOOLONG **65;2121;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/8V4F-AUNB. # 197 . Id . # 198 . See America 's Changing Religious Landscape , supra note 60 , at 9. # 199 . See , e.g. , Steven H. Shiffrin , The Religious Left and Church-State Relations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the religious left will have difficulty influencing progressive politics , see , e.g. , Daniel Cox , Do n't Bet on the Emergence of a " Religious Left , " FiveThirtyEight ( Apr. 20 , 2017 ) , https : **77;2188;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/YSM6-PQE5 ; Massimo Faggioli , Francis &amp; the " Religious Left " : It Wo n't Be an Easy Match , COMMONWEAL ( July 30 , 2018 ) , https : **51;2267;TOOLONG https : //perma.cc/2D7R-53TH. # 201. 505 U.S. 833 , 1000-01 ( 1992 ) ( Scalia , J. , dissenting ) . # 202 . Id . at 1001. # 203 . Id . # 204 . See , e.g. , Naomi Mezey , Law as Culture , 13 Yale J.L. &amp; HUMAN . 35 , 37 ( 2001 ) ( describing the " mutually constitutive nature of the relationship " ) . For a good introductory essay on the subject of law and culture , see Menachem Mautner , Three Approaches to Law and Culture , 96 CORNELL L. Rev. 839 ( 2011 )

@@5025941 # Abstract : This article deals with the Islamist movement and its ideology throughout the process of modernization and analyzes the political discourse of the Islamists about a world of consumption and the Islamic lifestyle . The article depicts the course of the Islamist political discourse from the beginning . The political discourse of the Islamists showed variations depending on the changing domestic and foreign conjunctions . Developed through a defensive understanding in the final period of the Ottoman State , the discourse of the Islamist movement underwent further changes in the following periods , which was influenced by the internal conditions of the country and developments outside . As the Islamist movement has always adapted to modern political life , political and intellectual changes in the modern period caused the Islamist discourse to change politically and acquire an appropriate language for the new situation . # Keywords : The Islamist Movement , Nation-state , political discourse , new liberalism , postmodernism , Islamist discourse # Introduction # The Islamist movement refers to the sum of the intellectual and practical attitudes adopted by Muslims living in the modern world . Thus , it is the history of searching for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at developing an eclectic system with it . The Islamist movement has gone through three succeeding and complementary phases . The first phase covered the second half of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth , when the Islamists were in a defensive position vis-a-vis the West . Holding a defensive discourse in this phase brought about the argument that Islam may go well with certain Western values ( Harputlu , 2002 : 24 ) . That is , scholars in the first period thought that Western science and technology were not in conflict with Islam ; on the contrary , they may very well be in accord with Islam . However , Islamists in the first phase also emphasized that there was an enormous gap between the West and the Muslim world in terms of culture , morality , beliefs , and so forth . The striking feature of this phase was that the Ottoman state was in decline ( Elia&ccedil;k , 2002 : 42 ) . # The second phase was about creating a state rather than saving it . In that phase , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of politics and be imprisoned in conscience of each individual . In reaction to this , Muslims put forward that Islam was both a political and a worldly religion with a lot to say about state administration and thus it could not be limited to metaphysical matters in the conscience . It was further claimed that Muslim communities should take action against the large-scale invasion and looting by setting up such organizations as political parties , associations , and communities ( Jamaat ) . It was regarded as a duty to bring down cruel governments by riots and rebellious movements when necessary to establish the Islamic government . # The third phase focused on what is the state rather than saving the state or creating a state . Especially after the 1990s , the question what should the state be like became prominent . Just as the problems created by modernity were produced by a modern perception , so were the solutions to such problems ( Elia&ccedil;k , 2002 : 40 ) . Therefore , radicalism transformed itself into realism and discussions about methods became insignificant . Thus , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the analysis of the Islamist movement with a historical perspective based on the resources used in Islamist political discourse . # The Islamist Discourse in the Ottoman Era # The Islamist movement in the Ottoman Era can be analyzed under two titles : the Early Period and the Constitutional Period . The existing conception of religion was problematic in the Early Period . Islamist understanding manifested itself in the fact that Islam was forced out of the social life , the public sphere , the law , and the administration . The scholars of the time started to look for ways to halt the decline . They named their efforts ihya ( restoration ) , tecdid ( renewal ) , and islah ( reformation ) ( B&uuml;y&uuml;kkara , 2015 : 22 ) . In this way , they aimed to revisit the religion and adjust it to the age . As a matter of fact , the first issue to discuss was returning to the original sources to redefine Islam because it was not Islam that people claim to live and people went far away from the original Islam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessary to turn to the period of the Messenger Muhammad ( Asr- Saadet ) . Among the general arguments of the Islamist movement in this period were the return to the Quran and Sunnah , that the traditional beliefs of the public full of superstitions and bid'ah served as a barrier to the development and there were no Islamic arguments against progress , all of which paved the way for capitalism to make its way into Muslim countries ( Tantik , 2014 : 55 ) . # The second understanding of the Islamist movement in the Ottoman Period was Islamism in the Constitutional Period , when the Islamists came up with new demands , searching for a compromise with Western civilization . They frequently focused on the worldly aspects of Western civilization and supported adopting the West 's techniques and Islamized the capitalist forms of relationships so that they could be accepted by Muslims . In a sense , the Islamist movement in the Constitutional Period can be seen as an effort to realize the first steps of integration with the West by promoting the idea of adopting the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the anti-Westernist attitude was symbolic rather than being fundamentally based on Islamic foundations . Here emerges the reference point of Islamic thought in the Constitutional Period . Certain clich&eacute;s and frequently repeated voices were used to preserve the holiness of Islam as a religion . Among these were " it was Muslims , not Islam that should be accused , " " religion and religious understanding should be clearly distinguished , " " the requirements of the period need to be considered , " " Muslims should be united in solidarity , " and " imitation and interpretation " ( Yldrm , 2013 : 23 ) . Briefly , the Islamists in the Constitutional Period were busy with weighing up both the good and bad aspects of how they fell behind Western civilization . In this period , the conception of the West was transformed from Christianity , an abrogated religion by Islam , to techniques and technology , and the West was regarded as the representative of the shared heresy of humanity . Consequently , such ideas and arguments as " synthesizing capitalism with religion , " " modernizing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being a devotee , " and " adopting the techniques of the West but not its culture " were extensively accepted in this period ( Lewis , 2010 : 63 ) . # The Islamist Discourse in the Republican Era # The Islamist Movement until 1960 # This era can be categorized into a one-party period and a multiparty period . A clearcut distinction between Westernism and Islamism came out in the one-party period . Superstition and bid'ah as additions to the Islamic thought from outside of Islam were thought to play a major role in the underdevelopment of Muslims in the Ottoman period . With the establishment of the Republic , these issues were considered as the grounds for eliminating the effects of Islam in all spheres of life . In this way , Kemalism eradicated the far-reaching effects of Islam on life as a whole , including politics , law , economy , literacy , and education . Thus , due to the laicist practices of the Republic , the Islamic movement lost its position as the most influential political movement originating in the final period of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half of the 1940s , during which time the Islamist intellectuals dealt mostly with the beliefs , prayers , and morality in Islam to contribute to the protection and development of religious identity within the existing system in reaction to the oppressive attitude of the state . Because of the strict laicist policies , Islamist intellectuals were unable to search for an alternative Islamist political ideology and project , for with the Republic , the discourse of exploiting religion for politics was used to parry the Muslims ' demands . In this way , Muslims in Turkey were intimidated and were made to feel anxious , concerned , and uneasy . In a sense , the intellectual discussions about the Islamic thought and the perception of Islam became ordinary in the Kemalist period as a result of the effect of the crude language . Muslims were brought into disrepute through such images as black-bearded , chadored , skull capped , clog wearing , and deviant hodja ( Yldrm , 2013 : 35 ) . As all these suggest , religion as an issue arose in the country . At the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or civilization versus religion , contrasting Islam with science ( Rabasa and Larrabee , 2008 ) . Hence , science was made to function like a religion as it was thought to have the power to create values , methods , and criteria , and the discussions about Islam frequently contained scientific disputes . Consequently , Islam was accused of being outdated in the political atmosphere of the time and reduced into a religion of metaphysics . As a matter of fact , the Kemalist state understood Islam as a combination of beliefs and prayer . In this respect , Islam was regarded as a personal belief not as a religion for society ( Durgun , 2009 : 130 ) . Not surprisingly , the Islamist movement in this period focused on criticizing the Kemalist system , responsible for the disadvantaged position of Muslims , and dissolving or destroying the structure formed by the Kemalists. # The discourse of reaction in the 1940s , the strict laicist practices , changing the language of Azan and prayers from Arabic to Turkish brought about the rise of a strong opposition among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for increasing the influence of Islam in public administration and legal issues were emphasized . What was demanded was to regain the original forms of the prayers and minimum opportunities for education , which means the redistribution of the lost rights back to the public . This continued until World War II . # After World War II , the Islamist movement took a new direction . The shift in the control of the world system , and the struggles during the Cold War period caused Islamism to get in a different lane . In the struggle against communism during the Cold War years , religion became prominent and the idea of a common front by all religions came out , which caused the Islamists to go hand-in-hand with the USA ( &Ouml;rnek , 2015 : 309 ) . They claimed that the Anglo-Saxon tradition attached more importance to religion than those countries such as France , which adopted radical laicist policies , and thus they had a more tolerant attitude toward religion ; hence , the Islamists attempted to bring more religious freedom through the USA . As a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the importance attached to religion in American society , the interest in the churches , and the religious policies of the government . In this respect , in the post-war period , the American model of piety was promoted in the context of Islam in Turkey ( &Ouml;rnek , 2015 : 328 ) . That attitude paved the way for the quick adoption of democracy on the parts of the Islamists in Turkey . However , in the one-party period the Islamists avoided participating in the modern processes for a long time because of the rejection of religion in the public sphere . This position continued until the 1950 elections . After 1950 , the Islamists adopted the American way of modernization and searched for a new way within the system ( Arslan , 2015 : 161 ) . Afterwards they started to actively participate in the modern processes . The Islamists of the time interpreted democracy with a liberal emphasis and they discussed their demands for religious freedom against political authority . They thought that democracy meant the end of one-party practices and that Azan should be performed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ processes was not as strong as their wish for Azan to be performed in Arabic . In fact , Azan and other prayers performed in Arabic , free religious education , and Quran instruction were at the top of the list in the Islamists ' agenda . The opposition movement performed through secret Quran courses started to change when the Islamists participated in modern processes , which would lead to their secularization after the 1940s ( Arslan , 2015 : 187 ) . Democratic practices were the most important course for the Islamists to become stronger , and enjoy religious freedom and for religious groups to run in their natural course . In this respect , the Islamists ' demand for democracy opened up an important area for freedom ( Keyman and Gumuscu , 2014 ) . # Concurrently , as the political conjuncture required , after World War II the anticolonial struggles in the Muslim countries achieved a great deal of success and the struggle for independence in the colonies accelerated , which gave rise to the optimism that the Muslim world would have a bright future . All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the oncepopular subject , Islamic Unification in the Islamist publications was brought up again ( &Ouml;rnek , 2015 : 349 ) . However , the conception of Islam developed by the Islamists at the time , who were searching for the intellectual roots of Islam in other Muslim countries , was far from being inclusive . Instead , it was rather exclusive , causing variation in the understandings of Islam in Turkey . Exclusivity paved the way for the loss of the possibility of unification . # The Period between 1960 and 1980 # Following the democratic advances , which started in the 1960s , religious values began to be more represented in social and political spheres . As in socialism and liberalism , it was thought , the Islamist movement addressed the world with its own arguments . After the military coup of May 27 , 1960 , as in other ideological movements , a new Islamic generation started to appear in the Islamist movement . This generation ignored its historical roots and had lost its connection to the resources in the Ottoman period . Despite the tremendous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brought up the Islamic arguments , which were inconsistent with Turkey 's social and political realities . The Islamists at the time wanted to see Islam as the system of government in Turkey and thus expended much effort to see Islam influential in all spheres of social life . Language reform and prohibitions on obligatory religious practices hindered the traditional religious culture ; in addition , the translated works reigned over the intellectual market and the connection to the Ottoman Islamic thought was lost , all of which brought about far more serious issues in the subsequent years ( Yldrm , 2016 : 579 ) . During the years when religious education was forbidden , the Islamist discourse was profoundly under the effect of the return of the students of Turkish and Balkan origin receiving high school and university education in Baghdad , Damascus , and Cairo , and the start of a translation movement from Arabic to Turkish by these students . Most of the translated works were written by the intellectuals and activists who were members of the Ihvan movement and the founder of Jamaat-i Islami Ebu'l-Ala Mevdudi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of Imam Hatip schools , faculty of theologies , and high Islamic institutes , which marked the Islamic transformation in Turkey ( Durgun and Bayraktar , 2011 : 80 ) . Through Imam Hatip schools , the religious people avoiding contact with the state during the one-party period were included in the process of education . The graduates of Imam Hatip schools were more keenly interested in the publications in Arabic than the works in Ottoman Turkish . The new discourse emerging with the translated works brought about a different understanding of religion . Such topics as nabawi movement , rabbani way , and fiqh for contemporary call were not familiar to the religious people in Turkey . Using the newly coined concepts , the difference between the existing situation and the traditional understanding of religion was emphasized , implying that the following step would be to establish a society and politics based on religion . With this in mind , Islamic call became prominent in the discussions on the Islamic movement and methodology , which became more popular at the time and were around the prospective Islamic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be established was discussed using such concepts as taghut , mustakbir , mustadafin and such statements as " you either adopt the right path ( Haq ) , Islam , or you will be in the hands of wrong orders ( batil ) , " " the divine order is one : Islam " ( Yldrm , 2016 : 90 ) . As a result , such discussions continued intensely from the 1960s to the 1980s . As the atmosphere of the period required , strict and strong opinions made Islamism acquire a heroic language with doctrinal symbols . In this way , Islam went beyond being a religion and was conceived of an ideology and thus the Quran was necessarily considered to be the constitution of the Muslims . Concisely , the effect of the thinkers on whose thoughts Islamic fundamentalism was based in Turkey gripped almost all the Islamists between 1960 and 1980 . Because the ideals of the Islamic movement were regarded as a dream between a nostalgia about a past civilization and a utopia about a bright and prospective civilization , which could not be changed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the period exhibited a transitory character . In other words , while in the Ottoman times the Islamist movement was rather of an intellectual character than a political one , it acquired an ideological identity on its own and was represented in the political arena after May 27 . However , participating in the election as a way to come to power in democratic politics manifested itself as an untried solution thus far . On one hand , the religious people participating in the modern processes were internally being secularized while trying to express their demands by using the secular concepts of the modern political discourse ( Arslan , 2015 : 162 ) . On the other hand , this led the Islamist movement in Turkey to marginalize by parting from the rightists and nationalists , which brought about the Islamification of politics . However , the Islamist ideology in Turkey was strikingly in harmony with the West and capitalism , compared to the ideologies of the Islamist intellectuals in the Middle East . As was observed in certain publications with ideological content between 1977 and September 12 , 1980 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ character and thus became radicalized . As the publications of the time showed , this extremely political emphasis ( in which the leading cause of motivation was the struggle for freedom to women wearing the headscarf in the public sphere-freedom for headscarves ) , laid the foundations for radicalization . Despite all these changes , the Islamic thought regarded the Islamist movement of the time as a movement searching for an alternative civilization . However , such a pursuit made the Islamist movement unite with the Western civilization by continuously rejecting it . In conclusion , the Islamist movement in this period after 1950 had gained tremendous experience . In this respect , the longest years of the Islamist movement were between 1950 and 1980 , when tariqa , jamaats , and radical groups and parties became influential , each fraction disseminating their thoughts through their media . It was such an atmosphere in which establishing political parties and associations , tariqas , the leading cadre , legality , and illegality were scrutinized . # The Year 1980 and After # This period can be divided into three subperiods : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Present . # 1980 to 1994 # The Islamic movement in Turkey in the 1980s was in an atmosphere in which the effect of the military coup of September 12 was still felt , politics being directed by the ideology of Milli G&ouml;r&uuml; ( led by N. Erbakan ) , rising radicalism , a strict understanding of civil society and the discussions about the Islamic state . In this period , the intellectual agenda of the Islamists were largely determined by the conflicts , clashes , battles , and cruelties in the Muslim countries . Under the influence of the idea of Islamic Unification , the Islamists directed their sensitivity to outside : the war between Iran and Iraq , the Afghan jihad , the cruelty in Palestine by Israel . The Islamists ' self-confidence and the severity of radicalism in some fractions were increased by such events as Iran exporting the revolution , the defeat of the USSR by the Afghan forces , the assassination of the President Enver Sedat of Egypt , the start of a mass uprising in the city of Hama by the Ihvan in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lebanon as a result of Hezbollah 's resistance and the start of the Intifada movement as a result . Consequently , the 1980s were the years when the external effects with radical tendencies were deeply felt in Turkey . Within the context of such developments , the books by the intellectuals in favor of Salafi jihadism made their way into the shelves of the bookstores in Turkey , which was known as the third wave of the ideological translations , in which the thoughts of Sayyid Qutp and Mevdudi were reinterpreted with a takfiri , exclusionary , and pro-violence emphasis ( B&uuml;y&uuml;kkara , 2015 : 274 ) . However , the books on the Islamic movement and its methodology were far from Turkey 's reality , for the discussions about the Islamic state were held with no reference to and even with no mention of the Seljuk and the Ottoman governmental experience and traditions were nothing but mere repetitions of what was happened in the post-colonial countries . The discussion about the Islamic state , starting with such topics as Dar ( the state of being under Islamic or non-Islamic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , increased in variety . In addition to whether it was acceptable to perform the Salah ( prayer ) led by the official imams or whether it was religiously proper to work as a civil servant , the arguments in favor of violence attracted a huge number of supporters . In this period , serious questioning directed at hadith ( the sayings of the Prophet-peace be upon him ( PBUH ) ) and the rejection of Sufism appeared and thus radical groups left the traditional jamaats and dervish lodges , becoming independent groups ( Durgun and Bayraktar , 2011 : 100 ) . In other words , the Islamists , who relied intellectually on the translations from the Muslim writers in other countries and the Orientalist and convert Muslim writers in the West , were concerned about finding and performing the Islamic alternatives of everything in all fields , looking at their own history and sociology through the lens of others . In this respect , the discourse on returning to Islam ( Ihtidah ) was influential in the politics of the 1980s . The Islamists , who wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the intellectuals , artists , and leaders ' return to Islam and tried to guarantee that Muslims are reliable ( Yldrm , 2016 : 111 ) . Within this framework , the Islamist movement almost completely separated itself intellectually from its Ottoman and Republican roots , not addressing the fundamental problems and not creating the discourse and language proper to address its own society , for they used the translated works as the basis for their epistemology . Hence , sensitivity to count on the Seljuk-Ottoman roots of the Islamic thought was lost . Furthermore , based on the mentality and the understanding of the Islamist movement of the period , Turkish thought in the classical period was considered to be of rightist-conservative , desensitizing the public , killing off the revolutionary spirit , and thus preventing it from coming to power . As a result , the Islamic movement , on one hand , struggled against the status quo , namely Kemalism ; on the other hand , it fought against Turkish thought and the traditional understanding of Islam ( Durgun and Bayraktar , 2011 : 24 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those in the history of Islam , avoided using the concepts developed in the world system and participating fully in that system . Thus , they searched for a different understanding of daily life from that of the West , including its political and economic aspects . In this respect , the 1980s were the years when the Islamic thought experienced a deep intellectual transformation , besides political changes . As a matter of fact , the movement in favor of relying on the meaning of the Quran in translation ( Mealcilik ) appeared as a rational understanding of the world . The exuberant preachings in the mosques , which popularized religious radicalism in the 1970s and the early 1980s were replaced by recorded dramas , recorded marches , and panels of hot debates ( B&uuml;y&uuml;kkara , 2015 : 276 ) . Though the Mealcilik movement lost its influence in the course of time , popular academicians such as H&uuml;seyin Atay , Yaar Nuri &Ouml;zt&uuml;rk , and S&uuml;leyman Ate delegitimized the traditional approaches and opened a way for the modernist interpretations by speculating on the soundness of Sunnah and hadith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts in this period were in a sense laying the foundations for the new discourse of the 1990s through the Islamization of knowledge after which eclectic , synthetic , reductionist , and integrationist culturalism were accentuated in many disciplines such as Islamic anthropology and sociology . As a result , this period witnessed not only the transformation of Islamic thought but also the elimination of Islamic arguments regarding building an alternative state and carrying out an Islamic reform . During President &Ouml;zal 's rule , new financial institutions sensitive to Islamic concerns were established and the profit made by such organizations , the economic functions they served or the efforts to attract Arab capital to Turkey , persuaded the Islamists to get into contact with monetary organizations from which they had long refrained . Therefore , with the neo-liberal practices , the Islamists learned all the economic rules of finance capital . Through private financial organizations , they developed Islamic banking , in this way getting integrated into the system . The Islamists adopted certain policies to internalize material wealth as a result of the idea that we have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could keep pace with the developments in technology , communication , and transportation . Making their way into the market through companies , the Islamists were , through private financial organizations , the voluntary practitioners of the new liberal practices , which had the aim that no Muslim is left behind in receiving interests ( Yldrm , 2016 : 53 ) . Until recently , the economic behavior was explained through the concept of Rizq ( provision ) the understanding of waste ( israf ) was a determining factor in consumer behavior . However , after 1980 , such concepts as green capital , Islamic capital , or Anatolian Tigers were frequently heard and with their participation in the economic realm , the Islamists discovered the three important concepts of capitalism and consumer society : profit , fashion , and brand name , which were not limited to the economic realm spreading to the political realm . As a matter of fact , the modern ways of life from the metropolitan areas to the seaside became more widespread through participation in the economic process , new fashion of wearing hijab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ word Takbir losing its meaning and acquiring a commercial meaning as if it were a commodity . Significantly , the introduction of the swimsuit haema ( the original swimsuit for Muslims ) , participation in economic activities was legitimized and the Islamists met the modern concept of profit ( Arslan , 2015 : 163 ) . In this way , the anti-Islamic and immoral nature of the market was tolerated and representation of the Islamic symbols and the Islamists in the public sphere was regarded to be more important than the immorality of the market . # This liberalization in the economic realm spread to the political realm , which caused the search for a synthesis between Islam and democracy and even Islam and laicism . In this way , the integration of the Islamists into the system by regarding the Islamic principles as secondary was explained by the phrase , no other choice ; hence , it was thought that the main target of the tariqas was not metaphysical matters but to be close to the political power so as to survive . The religious groups and tariqas turned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the members become stakeholders . Thus , the size of the company , their prevalence , and profit margin were considered to be the indications of their power . Without doubt , the primary advantage of being close to political power was to be protected from any attacks by the state and to take advantage of the governmental facilities ( Yldrm , 2016 : 54 ) . # The developments in communication technologies in the 1980s also had an effect on the transformation of the Islamists . During those years , Islamic radio stations were established to convey Islamic messages and knowledge and at the same time Muslims started to become a consumer mass . All these developments in the media came to mean Muslims ' participation in the modern way of communication and thus their integration into the system . The broadcasts , starting originally with the recitation of the Quran and religious marches , became in a very short time very popular among a huge audience and focused on satisfying modern consumption demands in Islamic disguise , leaving some Islamic principles behind ( like no voice of woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Silverstein , 2011 ) . # Developments in education also had an effect on such changes . Significantly , the Imam Hatip schools became a disputed subject in domestic politics in the 1980s , private high schools became popular among the Islamists as a way of taking part in educational processes . The newly established private high schools offered completely modern education , with a modern content ( Arslan , 2015 : 189 ) , which eliminated , from the 1990s onward , the Islamic sensitivity and resistance to what was modern . In addition , with the translations of works of Western thinkers and an increasing interest in the postmodern literature , a new generation of Islamists youth emerged , curious about new ideas and perspectives ( Yldrm , 2016 : 128 ) . Shaped by such developments , the Islamist movement was radically different from the ones in the previous period in terms of method , ideology , and objectives . The newly emerged middle class continued its formation of tariqas and jamaats , claiming to carry out an Islamic mission using such concepts as jihad , Islamic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Islamist businessmen regarded their businesses as missions , ignoring such controversial topics as interest , loan , and insurance , which were seen as normal . As a result , none of the Islamist groups in the neo-liberal period after 1980 had an Islamic objective , as they were after transforming the Muslims rather than an Islamic transformation ( Yldrm , 2016 : 55 ) . Moreover , the idea that Muslims deserve the best , the most beautiful and the most expensive had a great impact on the strengthening of neo-liberalism in Turkey and its adoption by the Islamists . Therefore , the proponents of the Islamist movement in the neo-liberal period , preferred to work in commerce , construction , service sector , communications , and transportations rather than in industries . This trajectory showed that the Islamists were rather pragmatic , which drove the Milli G&ouml;r&uuml; movement ( led by Erbakan ) , aiming at boosting heavy industry , out of the political agenda ( Yldrm , 2016 : 45 ) . # Compared to those in the previous periods , the Islamists in the 1990s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indispensable in the previous periods was not regarded as such then , for the Islamists in the previous periods spent a very conscientious effort to keep themselves away from and be superior to others while searching for ways to establish a daily life according to one 's beliefs . In the 1980s , this effort manifested itself through ghetto housing projects such as Akevler in zmir and Elif Sitesi in Ankara , representing a form of isolated religiousness . The Islamists from the mid-1980s changed their monolithic Islamic demand to finding a way to live together . With such a profound change , the Islamists , searching for ways to live together with the non-Muslims and coexist with the Others , were in fact trying to make their way into the market ( Yldrm , 2013 : 135-136 ) . In other words , though the system pushed the Islamists out of the public sphere , they resorted to pluralism and multiculturalism to guarantee their space in the public sphere and started to voice the discourse that they would not Otherize anyone and could live together with non-Muslims . As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a cultural level and a search for legitimacy , through plurality , started . # The changes in the 1990s represent a concise explanation of the drastic change the Islamist movement had gone through thus far . The Islamists abandoned the idea of the uniqueness of Muslims . When the Welfare Party came to power and had to embrace Turkey , the integrative discourse as well as the equalizing attitude required by the need for coexistence , the demand by the Muslims for Islamic daily life in the political sphere naturally disappeared . As a result , the desire for the integration into the system became more prominent with the Islamist argument in the manifesto of the Welfare Party with an emphasis on servant state and coexistence . However , the Islamists had not spent a day without rejecting the accusations of being reactionaries since the March 31 Incident-the first rebellion by the Islamists wanting sharia against the restoration of the constitutional system in the last period of the Ottoman state . Though such accusations diminished in the 1990s , when the Islamists approached the center , they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the so-called postmodern military coup without military intervention ) was brought about by such accusations . In this respect , the Islamic movement in the new liberal period after the 1990s summarizes the end of the Islamists having a worldview of their own . The Islamists in this period were in favor of downsizing the state and the new liberal effect along with the liberals , so that they could get rid of the official ideology and the nation-state idea . The discussions about the second republic had a profound influence on the Islamists and they started to question the system as a result . In the 1990s , the idea that the system came to a halt was put forward to restrict the cumbersome bureaucratic structure and nation-state practices and to eradicate the official ideology . Such a discourse combined with a form of activism inflicted serious damage on the national structure emerging as a result of a long history in Turkey and broke the historical ties of the Islamist movement . Furthermore , the discussions about ethnic problems were influential in restricting the central power . Criticizing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bonds of belonging . For example , the idea of Kurdish nationalism was strengthened with the Kurdistan Workers ' Party ( PKK ) and Kurdish Islamism started to see all the national developments as nationalist and promote this discourse through Pan-Islamism . Briefly , the Islamists gaining relative power in the 1980s , the thoughts of returning to religion , avoiding direct conflict with the system brought about various quests for legitimacy and belonging with these developments and the Islamists , maybe for the first time , came in close contact with the opposite neighborhood . Consequently , the pessimism that there was no way out of capitalism and that there was no alternative system to introduce , paved the way for what was to come after the 1990s for the Islamists. # 1994 to 2002 # In the second half of the 1990s , the Islamists adopted a postmodern discourse . Hindered by such prohibitions as the ban on the headscarf , the Islamists were trying to find their way into the system using pluralism , multiculturalism , and tolerance . In other words , the state constrained the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return , the Islamists found a way out through the postmodern discourse rearranging the system in line with the Westernist tendencies ( Crooke , 2014 : 76 ) . Up to that time , the ethnic and religious groups oppressed by Kemalism were devoid of the opportunities to express themselves . In this respect , it was postmodernism that addressed such agents as non-Muslims , Alewi , Kurdish , and other radical Muslims , who were in the periphery . As a result , rather than developing a new understanding of the truth , the liberal-leftist-Islamist opposition against Kemalism was formed upon the principle of the plurality of truth systematized by the post-structuralists and postmodernists ( Yldrm , 2016 : 396 ) , for the Kemalist system presented modernism as the only truth for the world system , whereas postmodernism attacked this idea , claiming that there is no one reality and truth . As a matter of fact , the idea that every person has their own truth paved the way for the destruction of absolutism . The Islamists , using deconstruction against the Republican elite with the effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the governors , worked for the improvement of the official ideology and the restoration of the system in the 1990s , taking an anti-status quo and anti-guardianship regime position ( Taslaman , 2016 : 30 ) . The improvement and restoration did not refer to an Islamic transformation but referred to the weakening of Kemalism and the Republican elite , sharing the power and the Islamists ' representation at a higher level in the center . In this respect , such concepts as democracy , pluralism , multiculturalism , coexistence , and civil society were used as appropriate tools for the Islamists to be included in the political realm . Hence , the nature of the truth was plural , not absolute as in the classical Islamic understanding . Such a perspective led the Islamists to adopt an individual singular morality . This individualistic understanding , which a Muslim should not adopt and which has rarely been witnessed in the West , prevented the Islamists to a great extent from acting in groups in later periods . # The Islamic movement in the postmodern era did not face and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this era that the Islamists got modernized with the fastest pace ever because the Muslims would become influential if they were to integrate with the world system and market economy by gaining power . Thus , the Islamists left such concepts as returning to the classical resources of Islamism , tajdid ( renewal ) , ihya ( revival ) , islah ( reform ) and unification of Islam , which connoted Islamic transformation behind and adopted politics as the preferred method . Consequently , they used such concepts as living together in peace , pluralism , multiculturalism , and tolerance to guarantee their existence in the public sphere ( Yldrm , 2016 : 10 ) . In short , the Islamists tried to centralize the Islamic movement by using the postmodern discourse , while they learned how to safeguard their personal interests . The possibility of the Welfare Party to come to power helped to promote the idea that the Islamists could take control of the system by vote and money , without using any radical and violent methods ( Yldrm , 2016 : 149 ) . In this respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1990s . The claim that the two weapons of the believer were vote and money encouraged the mujahedeen to start businesses . Similarly , starting from the 1990s , the tendency for change was reinforced by such behaviors as going for a holiday , hosting expensive ( breaking-the-fast ) banquets , wearing fashionable clothes and buying modern cars , houses , etc . ( Tantik , 2014 : 144 ) . As a result , the West and modernity were not rejected in the 1990s ' perception , but the Islamists searched for finding out the Islamic lifestyle in the reality of modernity . In other words , the Islamists had already forgotten the previously well-appreciated concepts of mustadafin , mustakbirin , Islamic call , Islamic state , and consciousness for Tawhid and started to use a discourse in which hermeneutic interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah , the place of Turkey in finance capital and multiculturalism were emphasized ( Crooke , 2014 : 175 ) , with a concern to take advantage of market opportunities . Unlike the translated books , published soon after May 27 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the books by Western intellectuals placed a veil on history , shaping the perception of the new young Muslim academicians . In other words , foreign thinkers influenced Islamic thought of the 1990s . For example , Foucault 's understanding of power , Gadamer 's hermeneutics ( Taslaman , 2016 : 32 ) , and Habermas ' idea of the public sphere fed the intellectual discourse of these young academicians . Furthermore , the translated works by Muslim writers included some ideas against the Islamic state ( Yldrm , 2016 : 141 ) . Since the mid-1990s , the Islamist intellectuals were quite busy with such themes as returning to the Quran , original resources , historicism , public-private spheres , family and modern life , traditional-modern dichotomy , Europe and Islam , reformation in the religion , Turkish Islam , Muslims ' idea of joining the EU , globalization , protestantization of Islam , and urban issues . In this respect , the post-structuralists and postmodernist philosophies substantially influenced the Islamists of the period who became extremely interested in hermeneutics. # In this way , the position of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Islamist movement , for this concept referred to active participation in the process and Islamism meant refraining from such a struggle . In this new understanding , it was claimed that Islam had no perspective for the state , that there was no relationship between Islam and politics , that politicizing Islam meant using Islam for politics , that political Islam causes bloodshed and tears all over the world and that political Islam prevented the Muslim society from benefitting from the facilities created by Western civilization . In such an atmosphere , most of the Islamic publications in the 1990s were on questioning the possibility of the Islamic state , which can be summarized as Allah meant Islam to be a religion , but people have changed it into politics . Hence , the Islamists in the 1990s had no other Islamic demand for the public sphere than freedom for women wearing the headscarf ( Kaya Osmanbaolu , 2015 : 403 ) . The Islamists demanded a place in the public sphere rather than organizing the public sphere , which showed that they did not have a broad perspective for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not follow a political movement based on the application of Islamic law . Indeed , what they demanded from the system was nothing beyond just treatment in political representation . As a matter of fact , the Islamist discourse of the 1990s highlighted democracy and disregarded the idea of the Islamic state . Furthermore , as a result of the developments in this period , the arguments put forward by the liberalleftist intellectuals were passionately embraced . The close contact between the Islamists and the liberal leftists yielded fruitful results in the 1990s and February 28 ( the so-called postmodern military coup without military intervention ) paved the way for a close collaboration between the two groups . The coalition between the Welfare Party and the True Path Party was exterminated by February 28 and the Muslims were subjected to a postmodern military coup , which caused the Islamists to resort to postmodern arguments and democratic values ( Levin , 2011 ) , leading them to the Grand Alliance as required by the idea of the lesser evil . Worse than that , it is remarkable that the breaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marked by the fact that the Welfare Party applied to the European Court of Human Rights , which destroyed the Islamic image of Milli G&ouml;r&uuml;. # 2002 to Present # Significantly such concepts as tolerance , living together in peace , Others , freedom , human rights , and democratization were defined in Islamic terms ; hence , the Islamic thought in 2000 and after highlighted the mottos of there are no ideas , but different analyses ; there is no cause , but different interpretations ; there is no movement , but activism ; there is no belonging , but obedience ( Yldrm , 2016 : 250 ) . With this development , the Islamist movement was unprecedentedly integrated into the system . Therefore , in 2000 and the following years , the Islamic movement as a political movement diverted the farthest from its original roots . # In this new perspective , religiousness depended on material wealth , handsome appearance , fancy clothes , and the use of technology . In this new understanding of religiousness , pleasure was enhanced as the religious rituals were performed publicly ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public sphere . In other words , such religiousness manifested itself as a strong feeling of pleasure of religiousness ( Tantik , 2014 : 196 ) . Consequently , the new understanding of religiousness required such a material wealth that could not be afforded by people of low income and material indicators of such religiousness became widespread . For example , the number of religious people going on holidays during religious festivals not to meet the visitors is on the increase . The new religious people who go on holiday during the holy month of Ramadan and who spend the day ( fasting-time ) sleeping maintain a culture between the dinner table and the swimming pool in the evening . Therefore , the new religiousness is defined as religiousness during victory due to the gains against the one-party status quo and is also defined as the religiousness of opportunity due to its visibility in the public sphere . Wearing trendy clothes , going on frequent holidays , using goods of modern consumption , celebrations of breakingthe-fast dinners or special days all come to mean that I exist through religiousness against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the political movement based on religiousness , for showing off , visibility , and noticeability are identified with the pleasure of victory ( &Ouml;zt&uuml;rk , 2015 ) . In other words , material wealth became one of the determinants of the new religiousness . A new youth disconnected from the previous periods , thus , was created through entrepreneurial , educated , and consuming individuals , agreeable with the new economics character , and able to make compromises with the economic conditions and Islamic principles . In this respect , the Islamic understanding of the period was a kind of Islamism , which adopted the agent who found what they had been looking for . As a matter of fact , the new religious people had no political demands for profound change . What was new about the Islamist movement of the period was its opposition to all the traditional deep-seated understanding of religiousness in which taqwa ( consciousness of Allah , piety ) , zuhd ( asceticism ) , night prayer , modesty , an understanding of just enough to keep body and soul together , hijab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less were replaced by the religiousness based on appearance , showing off , and an understanding of minimum prayer maximum publication and revealing . The new understanding of religiousness rendered such concepts as prayer , taqwa , and zuhd useless , and traditional Islam lost its significance in view of the developed economic level . Taqwa came at the end of the list of the new religiousness , while it occupied a central place in the original Islam . Classical Islamic publications frequently mentioned Ibn Arabi , the hadiths , Sunnah , the Quranic verses and how we should practice them in our daily lives and how an Islamic lifestyle could be maintained . Such a pursuit was ignored in the new understanding of religiousness , to which activism , protest , spirituality , and being political were added as the criteria for morality to the classical criteria such as beliefs , prayer , and ahlaq . Consequently , the criteria showed considerable variation and seemed to be disconnected among the religious people ( Taslaman , 2016 : 255 ) . # With these developments after 2000 , no Islamic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from the market . The rules of the market made people think of the religious realm with such concepts as secular , worldly , metaphysical , otherworldly and caused massive expansion in the borders of worldliness. # Such efforts to be noticeable individually in the public sphere had political and economic consequences and the year 2011 witnessed the start of major changes for the Islamists . Up to that time , more tolerant and withdrawn to gain strength against the essential elements of the system , the Islamists adopted a more active attitude . Similarly , the AK Party ( the Justice and Development Party ) governments based development on the services sector and consumer culture , as part of the neo-liberal politics introduced in the 1980s . In other words , leaving the idea of heavy industry and development , the Islamists in that period focused on strengthening the free movement of commodities and finances brought about by globalization . For example , by the 2010s , this understanding became so internalized that it was not possible to criticize it . However , after 2011 both the understanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of commodities and finances and the understanding of development based on industrial production for defense and technological development were supported equally . In that period , the focus was on establishing Muslim existence in modernity , getting the Muslims to participate in the global civilization , creating an understanding of Islam , using contemporary concepts , and having the Muslims comply with this understanding ( Taslaman , 2016 : 83 ) . The new Islamist-careerist elite , collaborating with the Fetullah Gulen 's movement , started to criticize Turkey 's identity of nation-state and ancient state philosophy ; they gained considerable power in the public sphere and thus their support of the AK Party started to diminish . Considering social engineering as trivializing old national and indigenous values , the new generations of academicians started to be involved in interesting actions to compensate for the AK Party 's weaknesses without Erdogan in policy development , while they were preparing for an AK Party after Erdogan . Applying the discourse they acquired from the West for social engineering in Turkey , the academicians had a powerful effect on Islamist thought because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be manipulated , undervaluing the AK Party supporters , accounting for 49 percent of the general electorate . After 2015 , the new Islamist academicians , just as the Republican People 's Party ( CHP ) did , regarded the public as ignorant and despised Erdogan 's background of belonging , which was particularly noticeable in the disagreement between the academicians and Erdogan during and after the elections in 2015. # Not contributing to political power and the political sphere without repeating the terms status quo and guardianship , this new generation of academicians started to criticize Erdogan 's discourse , his intellectual background and his Islamic emphasis by referring to Necip Fazl Ksak&uuml;rek , Arif Nihat Asya , Sezai Karako&ccedil; and Mehmet Akif as his bonds of belonging . Composed to a great extent of old radicals with ethnicist origins , these people make a lot of effort to support one another by establishing their own networks rather than producing ideas . While Erdogan continued to maintain his contact with the Sufi circles , considering the figures and values of the Ottoman and Republican Islamist movement , the new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seems clear that the former Islamist intellectual leaders changed into journalists and academicians in the new period . Hence , the Islamist movement was perceived as an ordinary subject for whom a number of definitions were proposed . In this respect , rather than the intellectuals and ustazs ( masters ) , the populist analysts became the legislators , the new group of pioneers of the Islamist movement ( Yldrm , 2016 : 249 ) . However , after 2015 , a renewed effort to revise the Turkish tradition of government and people under the leadership of Erdogan started . As a result of Erdogan 's persistent attitude , the efforts of the Islamist people to get back to the Ottoman Islamist movement have increased . # Conclusion # From the standpoint of Islam , the Islamist movement developed as a pursuit of understanding and analyzing the West and adapting what is Western to the needs of the people in the Muslim lands . Just as the conditions in different periods of history were different , so were the understandings of the Islamist movement in each period . Thus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation of the state , while the Islamist movement in the Republican period largely dealt with the situation of the Muslims . Historically , the Islamist movement has always had certain common features . For example , the Islamist movement did not perceive modernity as a counter-civilizational project , which continued in the following periods . As a matter of fact , the desire to criticize and put aside the historical repertoire of Islam with the claim of returning to the resources has been one of the most important characteristics of the Islamist movement since its origin , which has brought about new interpretations and understandings . The process starting in the final period of the Ottoman state continued with the Republic . In other words , the Republic was after the true religion as well . # The Islamist movement in Turkey has positioned itself mainly in the public sphere , which has prevented it from having an intellectual character . The Islamist movement followed a political course and thus it became a movement to exploit the power of the government and its resources . In other words , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Islamists . As a matter of fact , the discourse of inferiority , otherness , and marginality expressed by we are the citizens of this country , too , manifested itself with the complex that Muslims were treated as if they were Blacks . Before the 1980s , there was the discourse that the state is ours , but not the administrator ; after 1980 , it changed with new liberal practices , in other words , the Islamist movement ignored the heritage of the Islamist movement in the Tanzimat Period and the Islamists started to look for new ways to live together with non-Muslims , the West , and capitalism , adopting an integrative attitude through the discourse of the servant state and the Constitution of Medina.1 # The understanding of becoming powerful in all spheres of social life and Muslims existing everywhere enabled the Muslims to be influential , but it did not stop capitalism from gaining more power ; such an understanding weakened religion and consolidated capitalism . Wealth , vote , search for new careers , new companies , new media , and petty bourgeoisie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Islamists . The conservative mass encountering wealth and career opportunities often arrived at eclectic conclusions . Ranging from Islamic holidays to the modernization of wear , a new kind of religiousness , a new type of culture , new issues and even a new Islamists profile have emerged . The idea that Muslims could have fun , go shopping , follow the fashion , and the idea that Muslims deserve the best have been used as the valid grounds to appear on the podiums and beaches . The ladies trying hard to be invisible before the 1980s have started an effort to be noticeable in every setting . As a result , the Islamic movement has ignored its historical repertoire , considering many details of i'tiqad as bid'ah , which results in the exclusion of all the characteristics necessary to live as a nation on a shared land . In other words , the Islamist movement has eliminated those who want to resume the historical mission by recreating the bonds with the history of Turkey , so it has paved the way for the people enthusiastic about working in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Islamists have no conception of a political system . The previously emphasized arguments such as democracy being a qufr regime as it is based on the sovereignty of people not of Allah is not on the Islamists ' agenda any more . In other words , initially Muslims were in search of getting stronger against their opposition by referring to the Quran and Sunnah to find solutions for the modern situation in which they lived , trying to adopt such new things as technology and science to their world , but today , they are trying to make the existing modern world Islamic by the help of the Quran and Sunnah . It is pretty clear that the Islamists with enough economic prosperity have no problem with the system and the type of government . However , they have always had the potential to take a counter attitude against the worldly systems and this potential is what is required by their religion and what they have been practicing throughout history . Nevertheless , as the Islamist movement today has adopted the idea of progress , it is in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the discourse of the Islamists is not an Islamic discourse , not a Muslim one . At this point , the best answer to the question of what happened to the Islamist movement is that it has lost its ties with its tradition , ignored the metaphysical aspect , and become politicized beyond the acceptable limits . Footnote # Note # 1 . The Constitution of Medina was drawn up on behalf of the Islamic prophet Muhammad shortly after his arrival at Medina . References # References # Arslan , A. ( 2015 ) . Modern D&uuml;nyada M&uuml;sl&uuml;manlar. stanbul : letiim Yaynlar. # B&uuml;y&uuml;kkara , M. A. ( 2015 ) . &Ccedil;ada siami Akmlar. stanbul : Klasik Yaynlar. # Crooke , A. ( 2014 ) . Direni-slamc Devrimin &Ouml;z&uuml; ( G. Ongun , Trans. ) . stanbul : yid&uuml;&uuml;n Yaynlar. # Durgun , . ( 2009 ) . M&uuml;sl&uuml;man Siyasetler . Almla , 5(16) , 78-87. # Durgun , . and Bayraktar , G. ( 2011 ) . Islam and Politics . Ankara : A Kitap. # Elia&ccedil;k , R. . ( 2002 ) . Yirminci Y&uuml;zyl slam Siyaset @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 38-51. # Elig&uuml;r , B. ( 2010 ) . The Mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey . New York : Cambridge University Press . # Harputlu , A. ( 2002 ) . slamclarn Bat Tahayy&uuml;l&uuml; . BD-Bilgi ve D&uuml;&uuml;nce , 1(1) , 23-27. # Kaya Osmanbaolu , G. ( 2015 ) . The Politics of What You Wear on Your Head . Middle East Critique , 24(4) , 389-406. # Keyman , E. F. and Gumuscu , S. ( 2014 ) . Introduction . In Democracy , Identity and Foreign Policy in Turkey . Islam and Nationalism Series . London : Palgrave Macmillan . # Levin , P. ( 2011 ) . Turkey and the European Union : Christian and Secular Images of Islam . New York : Springer . # Lewis , B. ( 2010 ) . nan&ccedil; ve ktidar-Orta Dou'da Din ve Siyaset ( A. M. engel , Trans ) . Ankara : Akl&ccedil;elen Kitaplar. # &Ouml;rnek , C. ( 2015 ) . T&uuml;rkiye'nin Souk Sava D&uuml;&uuml;nce Hayat. stanbul : Can Yaynlar. # &Ouml;zt&uuml;rk , &Ouml;. ( 2015 ) . The Islamist Big Bourgeoisie in Turkey . In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Turkey , ed . N. Balkan , E. Balkan and A. &Ouml;nc&uuml; . New York : Berghahn Books . # Rabasa , A. and Larrabee , F. S. ( 2008 ) . The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey . Vol. 726 . Pittsburgh , PA : Rand Corporation . # Silverstein , B. ( 2011 ) . Islam and Modernity in Turkey . New York : Palgrave Macmillan . # Tantik , A. ( 2014 ) . slamcln Aray. stanbul : Pnar Yaynlar. # Taslaman , C. ( 2016 ) . T&uuml;rkiye'de slam ve K&uuml;reselleme. stanbul : Destek Yaynlar. # Yldrm , E. ( 2013 ) . T&uuml;rk D&uuml;&uuml;ncesinde slam . stanbul : Hece Yaynlar. # Yldrm , E. ( 2016 ) . Neo Liberal slamclk : 1980-2015 slamclarn D&uuml;nya Sistemine Entegrasyonu. stanbul : Pnar Yaynlar

@@5026041 # Throughout China 's long history , the presence of foreign menace has always loomed large . Indeed , the record of China 's conflicts with her pastoral nomadic and seminomadic neighbours in Central and Northeastern Asia is a long and convoluted one . Limited by the peculiar environment of the steppe and grassland , peoples and tribes to the north raided Chinese territory to obtain grain , textile , and crafted goods . Later on , they also developed a taste for Chinese tea , porcelain , and other commodities . When these items could not be acquired peacefully through trade , they attacked Chinese settlements to obtain them by force . # In response to such raids , a few Chinese dynasties - such as the Han phrase omitted ( 206 BC-220 AD ) and Tang phrase omitted ( 618-907 ) - sought to and sometimes did vanquish the adjacent nomadic peoples . These campaigns became a part of the standard " pacification " narrative for China 's relations with its " barbarian " neighbours . Yet , during periods of internal disunity , when non-Chinese regimes took partial control of Chinese territory and no Chinese court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a different historical reality emerges . The prolonged era of north-south division that lasted from the end of the Han dynasty to reunification of Sui phrase omitted ( 589-618 ) saw the first example of this reality with a succession of non-Chinese regimes that devastated north China . The most notable case of diplomatic parity , at least in political and military terms , was the one between the nomadic Northern Wei phrase omitted ( 386-534 ) of the Xianbei phrase omitted people and its Chinese counterparts in the south ( Di Cosmo 2002 ; Lewis 2009 ) . Despite frequent wars that disrupted and impacted the conduct of foreign affairs , these states always attempted to carefully nurture and maintain mutual relations on an equal footing . ( 2 ) This development marked a milestone in China 's history of interacting with non-Chinese states in a manner of recognising each other as equals ; furthermore , it established to some extent a set of diplomatic practices that was continued by the later empires , in particular the Song phrase omitted ( 960-1279 ) and the Liao phrase omitted ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the collapse of the once-mighty Tang empire , its Chinese territory were spilt into the Ten Kingdoms phrase omitted , whose rulers were generally Chinese , and the Five Dynasties phrase omitted , whose potentates were mostly of foreign or half-foreign origin . ( 4 ) When the Song dynasty ended the Five Dynasties in 960 , it had to accept a geopolitical landscape in which the Chinese were surrounded by militant neighbours : in the southwest the Nanzhao phrase omitted and Annan phrase omitted had established themselves as regional powers before the founding of the Song ; along the western border were the Tibetans and the Tangut kingdom of Xi Xia phrase omitted ( 1038-1227 ) ; and further north , a new and powerful nomadic group from southern Mongolia known as the Khitan ( Qidan phrase omitted had consolidated the Mongolian steppe and Manchuria , absorbed a large tract of land inside China stretching from present Beijing to modern Datong ( Shanxi province ) , and founded a Chinese-style dynasty named the Liao . The Song was one of the most important political and military players during this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Song court , then , found that they could not impose a Chinese-centric scheme of conducting foreign relations on their Khitan neighbours ( Kuhn 2009 , p. 20 ) . # Both John King Fairbank ( 1941 , 1968 ) and Mark Mancall ( 1963 , 1968 ) made ground-breaking contributions to the scholarship on imperial China 's view of world order and foreign relations . Their studies laid the foundation for our current understanding of how the Chinese perceived their neighbouring peoples and the outside world . Yet , there have been few attempts to place these inquiries in the particular setting of Song-Liao parity . How did the Song Chinese perceive and view their relations to the Khitan ? Were such perceptions and views unified within the Song ? If not , what were the differences ? In what way did the different views of Khitan influence Song policy towards their pastoral neighbours in the north and vice versa ? What can these views inform us about China 's historical conception of world order and foreign relations ? # In an effort to answer these questions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diverse views toward the Khitan . Its first part will outline the origin and characteristics of the traditional Chinese world order and its conceptualisation of foreign relations , focusing in particular on the stereotypes of non-Chinese peoples on Chinese borders , known as " barbarians " to the Chinese . Then , drawing on earlier observations by Morris Rossabi ( 1983 ) , Jing-shen Tao Jingsheng Tao ( 1988 ) and David Curtis Wright ( 2005 ) , it analyses two opposing views on the Khitan within the Song through an investigation of contemporary Song writings , both official and private . This examination reveals that Song officials understood the impracticality of challenging the status quo and thus advocated relatively realistic and flexible policies towards the Liao . At the same time , however , they also chose to emphasise Song 's cultural superiority over the Khitan - even though the Song could not claim to be the political or military centre of the world , they were confident that they were the centre of culture and civilisation . # Civilised and Barbarian : Traditional Chinese World Order # As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enclaves of non-Han tribes on the northern and western frontiers of China . Indeed , their incursions into Chinese territory eventually wiped out the Western Zhou phrase omitted dynasty ( 1122 BC-771 BC ) and forced the Chinese court to move eastward . It was probably during this time that China 's traditional , specifically Confucian , attitudes toward alien peoples began to take shape . A famous passage from the Book of Poetry ( Shijing phrase omitted ) quoted in the Works of Mencius reads : " Under the whole heaven , every spot is the sovereign 's ground ; To the borders of the ( 5 ) and , every individual is the sovereign 's minister " ( Legge 1861 , p. 352 ) . ( 5 ) # These words shine lights on imperial China 's somewhat amorphous idea of the proper world order . Encompassing the known and unknown territories , the world in Chinese eyes became " all under heaven " ( tianxia phrase omitted ) , of which China perceived itself to be the very centre ( Fairbank 1968 , p. 2 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of tianxia , the Chinese emperor claimed to be the Son of Heaven ( tianzi phrase omitted ) , the one who had supreme power to reign and rule over all human affairs . China 's very name , Zhongguo phrase omitted , denoted a sense of the " Middle Kingdom " or " Central State " . Traditional Chinese perception of its place in the world was thus characterised by an overwhelming sense of " sino-centrism " that centred on Chinese attitudes toward itself and others for over two millennia , from the 3rd century BC to the early 20th century ( Wang 1999 , p. 287 ) . # The concept of Zhongguo , however , was not a fixed territory limited by geographical boundaries . Instead of conceptualising it by definition of territory or sovereignty , the real Chinese understanding of the world is probably best understood through a cultural approach . The ancient Chinese asserted that they possessed a sophisticated culture , a written language , as well as magnificent cities and palaces , all of which their neighbours sorely lacked . Thus the Chinese divided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese ( zhuxia phrase omitted ) and outside were the barbarians ( yidi phrase omitted ) " ( Chunqiu Gongyang zhuan , 371 ) . ( 6 ) In other words , the civilised Chinese centre was surrounded by an uncivilised world of barbarians . They could be allowed to reside in the Chinese world and be recognised as equals of Chinese , provided that they adopted Chinese customs and were assimilated to Chinese cultural norms . # Against this conceptual background , one may detect a general tone of arrogance and even cultural chauvinism from the ancient Chinese orthodox classics . In the Chinese view , what constituted China was not , at least not solely , fixed border lines which defined its territory and political sovereignty , but rather a self-consciousness which was primarily based on the moral commitment created from civil achievement as well as the culturally hierarchical and self-centred attitude towards the peripheral peoples ( Smith 1996 , p. 7 ) . In other words , China 's version of culturalism did not concern itself with geographical separation , but placed a premium on the distinction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in traditional Chinese conception , was not designated by race , religion , language , or national origin . Instead , civilisation and barbarity were conceptually related in that " they defined each other " ( Mancall 1968 , p. 63 ) . " Barbarians " were those who " did not accept Chinese civilisation and who knew not the refinement of ceremony , music , and culture " ( Hsu 1960 , pp. 6-7 ) . Peoples living outside the Chinese realm and refusing to submit themselves to civilisation ( that is , Chinese civilisation ) were not foreign peoples , but uncultivated , outlandish peoples culturally inferior to the Chinese . # This cultural ethnocentrism is clearly seen in the terms used to denigrate all non-Chinese people outside the Chinese civilisation . As described in the Confucian classic the Book of Rites ( Liji phrase omitted ) , " the wild tribes are the yi phrase omitted in the east , the di phrase omitted in the north , the rong phrase omitted in the west , and the man phrase omitted in the south . However great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Legge 1885 , p. 111 ) . ( 7 ) In fact , nothing expresses the contemptuous sentiments so well as the ideographic characters themselves . The term for southern barbarians , man , is written with an " insect " ( chong phrase omitted ) radical , and that for the northern barbarians , di , is written with a " dog " ( quan phrase omitted ) radical . In Chinese eyes , barbarians were considered no different from the lower animals since they were ignorant of the beauty of the Chinese way of life and lacked the sophistication to appreciate reason and ethics as the Chinese did . By the same token , " the Chinese became barbarians if they debased themselves through uncivil practices " ( Hsu 1960 , pp. 6-8 ) . This perception of cultural superiority over their neighbours is echoed in Mencius 's argument that " I have heard of men using the doctrines of our great land to change barbarians , but I have never yet heard of any being changed by barbarians " ( Legge 1861 , pp. 253-254 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way to deal with these " uncivilised barbarians " ? Constant raids by the foreign tribes made Confucius ( 551 BC-479 BC ) deeply concerned about the preservation of Chinese culture that it should not be corrupted by barbarian customs , as he stated in the Chronicles of Zuo ( Zuozhuan phrase omitted ) : " those distant people have nothing to do with our great land ; those wild tribes must not be permitted to create disorder among our flowery states " ( Legge 1872 , p. 777 ) . In the same book , Confucius further commented : " It is virtue ( de phrase omitted ) by which the people of the Middle State are cherished ; It is by severity which the wild tribes around are awed " ( Legge 1872 , p. 196 ) . Confucius 's idea , more positively interpreted , was to introduce the high culture of Chinese civilisation and moral values to the " barbarian " peoples and thereby assimilate them into Chinese society . The corollary of this theory was that the way to assimilate barbarians , as prescribed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the grandeur of Chinese civilisation through correct conduct according to certain virtuous norms ( Wang 1999 , p. 288 ) . In other words , the Chinese did not need to actively convert others to their way of life , ideas , values , and political system . The barbarians , on the other hand , were expected to voluntarily seek out Chinese civilisation and be transformed in order to enjoy its benefits . # But what if the barbarians , especially those militarily and politically strong enough to rival their Chinese counterparts , were not sufficiently bedazzled by China 's civilisation and were not willing to submit themselves to the Chinese cultural realm ? In such cases , the Chinese would have to let go of - or at least conceal - their sense of cultural superiority and find different means of handling these potentially powerful and dangerous adversaries , as shown in the way the Northern Song Chinese viewed and dealt with the Khitan , their rival paramount in the north . # From Diplomatic Initiation to the Treaty of Chanyuan : An Official Attitude of Parity # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Khitan , distant descendants of the Xianbei , seized this historical opportunity to rise from the Xar Moron phrase omitted Valley and established a dynasty in north China . ( 8 ) The Khitan soon controlled a broad swath of steppe and grasslands in north Asia , with Yelu Abaoji phrase omitted ( b. 872 , reigned as Emperor Taizu 916-926 ) assuming the title of emperor in a formal ceremony in Chinese fashion in 916 . In 938 , during the reign of Abaoji 's son Yelu Denguang phrase omitted ( b. 902 , reigned as Emperor Taizong 927-942 ) , the Khitan acquired the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun ( Yan-Yun shiliu zhou phrase omitted a vast region stretching from present-day Beijing to modern Datong ( Shanxi province ) . This marked the beginning of a hybrid multi-ethnic empire ( Twitchett-Tietze 1994 , p. 70 ) . ( 9 ) In 947 , the Khitan ended Later Jin phrase omitted ( 936-947 ) and finally gave their budding empire the name of Liao phrase omitted , the Chinese name of the most important watercourse ( the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counterparts were competing for survival and dominance , the Khitan successfully established themselves as the dominant power in the early 10th century . # In 960 , the Song dynasty vanquished the last of the Five Dynasties , the Later Zhou phrase omitted ( 951-960 ) . At the time , it looked as though it would be just another one of the short-lived dynasties of north China . The first two Song emperors , Taizu ( r. 960-976 ) and Taizong ( r. 976-997 ) , spared no effort in wiping out regional regimes , in particular those in the south and the west , to consolidate their empire . After the Song annexed the Northern Han phrase omitted ( 951-979 ) , a subordinate state of the Khitan , it finally had to directly confront its eminent rival in the north . Encouraged by his previous victory , Song Taizong embarked on his first campaign against the Liao in the same year , only to suffer a major defeat . ( 10 ) # It should be noted , however , that the first contacts between the Song @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confrontation . When the Song and the Liao courts made indirect contacts in 974 in the hopes of establishing peaceful relations , both sides were relatively careful . In his letter to the Song , Yelu Cong phrase omitted phrase omitted ( 927-980 ) , the Khitan prefect of Zhuozhou phrase omitted wrote : " There has never been the slightest fissure between our two courts . If envoys were exchanged and the intentions of our rulers were bared , this would rest our weary people and restore our good relations . ... Why should we not have generations of friendly alliance and a regular exchange of gifts ? " ( Song huiyao jigao hereafter as SHYJG , 8 : 7673 ) # To this conciliatory note , his Song counterparts in Xiongzhou phrase omitted Sun Quanxing phrase omitted ( d. 981 ) , was authorised to compose a favourable reply , proposing that the two states should become " eternal allies " ( yuguo phrase omitted ) ( Songshi , 3 : 43 ) . This correspondence served as a diplomatic overture to normalise the relations between the two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ envoys : in 975 , the Liao dispatched several missions ; when Song Taizu died in 976 , a special Liao envoy brought condolences , followed by another on the occasion of Taizong 's succession ; envoys from the Liao arrived again in 977 and 978 , and they were all feted and presented with rich gifts . Each time the Song also sent missions to Liao to express gratitude ( SHYJG , 8 : 7673 ; Songshi , 3 : 43-46 ; Liaoshi , 9 : 94-101 ) . During this period , the Song-Liao bilateral relationship was aimed at preserving the status quo and based primarily on the exchange of embassies and gifts . # Song Taizong 's 979 campaign brought an end to the hitherto peaceful relations . The following two decades were marked by continued hostilities along the Song-Liao border , peaking with Taizong 's second failed expedition against the Liao in 986 until the Khitan launched a full-scale war against the Song in 1004. ( 11 ) Given the military strength of the Liao , the war ended predictably with several Song defeats . At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treaty of alliance " was signed in 1005 , known as the Treaty of Chanyuan phrase omitted ( Songshi , 7 : 125-127 ; Liaoshi , 14 : 160 ) . The main content of the treaty consisted of the following : # 1 . Establishment of a friendly relationship between the Song and the Liao ; # 2 . Annual payments of 100,000 teals ( ca. 3730 kg ) of silver and 200,000 bolts ( ca. 2400 km ) of silk to the Liao by the Song as " military compensation " ; # 3 . Demarcation of borders between the two states ; # 4 . An agreement that neither side should construct new fortifications and canals along the border ; # 5 . An agreement that neither side should detain robbers and fugitives ; # 6 . A pledge of solemn oath with a religious sanction in case of contravention. ( 12 ) # What emerges from the treaty is a strong sense of diplomatic parity , which in Wang Gungwu 's ( 1983 , p. 55 ) words was " the nearest thing to equality in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is further revealed in practices not stipulated in the clause texts , since a fictitious kinship , which extended to members of the imperial households , was established between the two courts . The Song emperor Zhenzong ( b. 968 , r. 997-1022 ) became the " elder brother " of the Liao emperor Shengzong ( b. 972 , r. 983-1031 ) , and this pattern was applied to the subsequent generations of emperors . ( 13 ) In the same manner , the two states were established as " brotherly states " ( xiongdi zhi guo phrase omitted ) ( Twitchett-Tietze 1994 , pp. 104-110 ; Wright 2005 , pp. 145-152 ) . Missions were regularly sent to celebrate New Year 's Day and the birthdays of the emperors ( and that of the Liao empress dowagers ) . ( 14 ) Upon receiving the news of the death of an emperor , the other would immediately dispatch envoys to offer his condolences and for seven days no audiences to officials would be given . A detailed system of protocol was observed for receiving the envoys , including rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well as manner of kneeling and prostration ( Schwarz-Schilling 1959 , pp. 56-57 ; Kuhn 2009 , p. 45 ) . # Aside from these exchanges , a new diplomatic language was also developed . After the Treaty of Chanyuan was signed , the Song court immediately issued an edict to change all place names hitherto containing characters such as " caitiff ( lu phrase omitted ) and " western barbarian " ( rong phrase omitted ) in order to avoid potentially insulting the Khitan . The prefectures Weilu phrase omitted ( literally " deterring the caitiff , in today 's Shangrao county in Jiangxi ) was changed to Guangxin phrase omitted ( literally " extending faith " ) , and Jingrong phrase omitted phrase omitted ( literally " pacifying the western barbarian " , in today 's Xushui county in Hebei ) to Ansu phrase omitted ( literally " peaceful and solemn " ) . In addition , taboos concerning the Liao imperial family were observed . For instance , when Han Yi phrase omitted ( 972-1044 ) was sent in 1026 to celebrate the birthday of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changed " to the homophone Yi phrase omitted in reference to Liao Taizu 's Chinese name Yi phrase omitted ( Xu Zizhi tongjian changbian hereafter as XZZTJCB , 104 : 927 ) . ( 15 ) Four years later , another Song envoy Zhang Yi phrase omitted ( fl. 1030s ) also had his name changed to another homophone Yi phrase omitted by imperial order when he accepted the mission ( Liaoshi , 17 : 205 ) . To handle the exchange of state letters with the Khitan , the Song established a special office , the State Letters Bureau ( Guoxin phrase omitted ) , to guard against committing literary faux-pas in their diplomatic correspondences ( XZZTJCB , 64 : 12b ) . ( 16 ) # In the letter to the Liao during the negotiation of the Treaty of Chanyuan , the Song indicated that the two states ( erguo phrase omitted ) should be friendly neighbours ( Song da zhaoling ji , 288 : 882 ) . After the treaty had been concluded , the writers of diplomatic letters often addressed each other as the " northern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dynasty " ( nanchao phrase omitted ) ( Hansen 2000 , p. 307 ) . Numerous reports and memorials from local governments on the Song-Liao border termed the Khitan as " northerners " ( beiren phrase omitted ) instead of pejoratives such as " caitiff ( lu ) or " barbarian " phrase omitted ( hu ) , and their land as the " northern side " ( beijie phrase omitted ) ( Tao-Wang 1974 , pp. 723-740 ) . Throughout official texts of the Song , terms as " the Great Song " ( Da Song phrase omitted ) , " the Great Liao " ( Da Liao phrase omitted ) or " the Great Khitan " ( Da Qidan phrase omitted phrase omitted ) appeared in state letters to the Liao , imperial edicts conveyed to Liao envoys , as well as replies acknowledging the receipt of gifts and expressing appreciation to the Liao court ( Tao 1985 , pp. 99-100 ) . ( 17 ) # The neutral tone of the Song 's diplomatic language concerning the Liao is vividly illustrated in Huarong Lu-Wei xinlu phrase omitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wei ) , complied by Su Song phrase omitted ( 1020-1101 ) who participated in diplomatic missions to the Liao in 1068 and 1077. ( 18 ) Commissioned by the Song emperor Shenzong ( r. 1067-1085 ) in 1081 , the work included descriptions of Liao government and customs , Song correspondences with the Liao , and outlines of routes of the envoys. ( 19 ) Although the main body of this work has been lost , its extant preface informs us that the chapters on Liao envoys , state letters , and documents appear under the headings of " northern envoys " ( beishi phrase omitted ) , " northern letters " ( beixin phrase omitted ) , and " northern correspondence " ( beishu phrase omitted ) . It is also stated in the preface that its chapters contain sections on " Liao imperial genealogy " ( shixi phrase omitted ) and " Khitan national customs " ( guosu phrase omitted ) , and the most common terms referring to the Khitan are the " northerners " ( beiren phrase omitted ) ( Su Weigong wenji , 66 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presented to the throne in 1083 , Shenzong was pleased and praised it " as proper as the text of the section ' Sequences of the Hexagrams ' of the Book of Changes " and personally assigned the name of the work ( Songshi , 340 : 10865 ) . But interestingly , the emperor used the term rong ( barbarian ) in the book 's title , which somehow shows that the emperor may not be as neutral as the writer . # The Song official rendering of terms concerning the Khitan is also seen in Sima Guang 's phrase omitted ( 1019-1086 ) Zizhi tongjian phrase omitted ( Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government ) , one of the most important contemporary histories . This seminal work referred to the Song 's northern neighbours simply as " Khitan " ( Qidan ) , never inferior " barbarians " ( Tao 1988 , p. 77 ) . In his four memorials to the emperor between 1065 and 1086 , Sima Guang talked about the " caitiff " only once in his 1067 memorial , while in all other cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ di phrase omitted ) ( Tao-Wang 1974 , pp. 587-588 , 600-601 , 782-783 , 784 ) . This attitude resurfaced in Li Tao 's phrase omitted ( 1115-1184 ) Xu Zizhi tongjian changbian phrase omitted ( Collected Data for " A Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government " ) , which contained a wealth of terminological information regarding Song official documents and the veritable records ( shilu phrase omitted ) . In almost all instances describing their northern neighbours , terms of " Khitan " " ( Qidan ) and " northerners " ( beiren ) were used . Moreover , terms of " China " ( Zhongguo phrase omitted ) and " Liao " or the " northern dynasty " ( beichao ) appeared frequently in tandem in referring to the Song and the Liao ( Tao 1985 , pp. 235-236 ) . The usage of these neutral terms , instead of derogatory ones , reflects a clear sense of equality rather than disparagement. # Realistic Assessment and Flexible Policy # The fraternal treaty of 1005 brought a century of peace between the Song and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when the Liao-Xi Xia alliance of 1042 forced the signing of another treaty that increased Song 's annual payment obligation to a total of 500,000 units of silver and silk ( Qidan guozhi , 20 : 5a ; Tao 1988 , pp 57-66 ) , the brotherly relations sworn by the two emperors had been kept and no significant military confrontation occurred . ( 20 ) The two treaties succeeded in reaching " a non-aggressive foreign policy with minimal concessions " ( Kuhn 2009 , p. 45 ) , since the payments , even after increase , constituted less than two percent of Song annual military expenditure during wartime ( XZZTJCB , 150 : 16a ; Hansen 2000 , p. 307 ) . For the Song , the cost of peace far outweighed the cost of war : it was far more economical to bring hostilities to an end at an affordable price than to wage war or to cede territory . Buying-off their nomadic neighbours , as they had done with the Treaty of Chanyuan , was reaffirmed as a successful model for the Song not only in 1042 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Xi Xia in 1044 and with the Jurchen Jin phrase omitted ( 1115-1234 ) in 1141 , 1164 , and 1208 # However , behind such economic considerations , there was probably also an increasingly clear understanding of the might of the Khitan 's cavalry forces . In fact , a number of Song officials were realistic enough to accurately assess the Khitan 's military power well before the treaty of 1005 . After Song Taizong 's failed expedition against the Liao in 979 , his advisors Li Fang phrase omitted ( 925-996 ) and Hu Meng phrase omitted ( 915-986 ) realised that the Song 's military was no match for the Liao and entreated the emperor to focus on strengthening the troops and securing financial resources instead of planning new military actions ( SHYJG , 8 : 7676 ; XZZTJCB , 21 : 11a-12a ) . ( 21 ) Following the second Song defeat in 986 , Zhao Pu phrase omitted ( 922-992 ) , Song Taizu 's most trusted minister , remonstrated that no further military actions should be carried out , arguing that military ventures were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1983 , pp. 111-113 ) . # Three years later , Taizong asked his officials to express their views on national defence and foreign policy . Almost all of them favoured peaceful approaches , the most common argument being that there was no guarantee that a war would be successful and war was the worst policy if it was an ill-prepared one ( XZZTJCB , 150 : 16a ) . The memorial of Zhang Ji phrase omitted ( 933-997 ) was representative of his colleagues ' opinion . ( 22 ) After weighing the pros and cons of various methods to deal with their enemies on the border , Zhang argued that the best choice was to adopt an active defensive policy to resist the enemies when they invaded . However , given the Song 's limited military capacity vis-a-vis that of the Liao , Zhang concluded that even this policy was not in fact feasible . He then proposed that the only practical alternative left was : " ... to put away the armour and bows , use humble words , give generous gifts , send a princess to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firm bonds . Although this would diminish the emperor 's dignity , it could , for a while , end warfare along the three borders " ( SHYJG , 8 : 7682-7683 ) . ( 23 ) # To bolster his argument , Zhang cited the example of how Tang Taizong ( r. 626-649 ) indulged the greed of the Turks for years until he was ready to send forces strong enough to destroy them . Zhang believed that the Khitan were of the same ilk and therefore advised the Song emperor to bow low in order to save Song from danger and to wait for the right moment . Most of Zhang 's suggestions were incorporated into the Treaty of Chanyuan . The Song did not need to send a princess , but everything else was exactly what Zhang had proposed . # These realistic views must have an enormous impact on the emperor . Emperor Taizong was aware that he had not , and would probably not , defeat the Khitan to achieve a true unification of China , thus he refused to approve his officials ' suggestion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failure to recover the sixteen prefectures as the reason ( Song da zhaoling ji , 3 : 11 ) . During negotiations of the treaty in 1005 , when the Song emperor Zhenzong received Liao 's proposal for peace , he told his ministers that the periods of great prosperity in the past had been those when the sovereign of virtue profited from making peace with the " barbarian " enemies . He doubted the sincerity of the Liao message because he thought his virtue was not great enough to attract the Khitan , nor his majesty strong enough to awe them . Nevertheless , in his reply , Zhenzong expressed his willingness to negotiate peace , since it was his duty to bring peace and security to his people ( SHYJG , 8 : 7688 ) . # With the conclusion of the treaty in 1005 , formalised channels that shuttled Song and Liao envoys between the two capitals were established , and this enabled Song diplomats to make direct , personal observations of the Khitan . In order to acquire first-hand information about their northern neighbour , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their journeys and experiences ( Hargett 1985 , p. 78 ) . ( 24 ) In addition to keeping record on travelling routes , natural geography , Liao government system , and diplomatic protocols , some envoys also learned the Khitan language and were therefore able to communicate directly with their Liao counterparts . Yu Jing phrase omitted ( 1000-1064 ) and Diao Yue phrase omitted ( fl. 1050s ) , for instance , even composed poems in Khitan , which were " favoured by the Khitan " ( Qidan guozhi , 24 : 8b-9a ) . ( 25 ) Although only very few of these records are extant , there should be little doubt that they were invaluable to the Song and had considerably influenced the Song 's image of the Khitan. # With the increase in knowledge about the Khitan , the Song recognised that the Khitan were stronger and more advanced than all other non-Chinese peoples China had ever encountered . Han Qi phrase omitted ( 1008-1075 ) , chief chancellor in the 1050s and 1060s , noted that the Khitan had embraced Chinese culture and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over a century since the Five Dynasties . Confident in their power , the Khitan considered themselves superior to all non-Chinese peoples of the past and had even come to believe that they were superior to the Song ( XZZTJCB , 150 : 16b-17a ; Tao-Wang 1974 , pp. 438-439 ) . # Similar points were expressed in another memorial by Han 's colleague Fu Bi phrase omitted ( 1004-1083 ) who negotiated with the Liao for the second Song-Liao treaty in 1042 . The Khitan , as Fu explained , had not only adopted Chinese institutions including government organisations , legal regulations , language and literature , but also possessed a formidable military machine that the Song lacked . Based on these facts , the Khitan should not be treated in the same way as the " barbarians " of ancient times . In urging for the Song to adopt a proper attitude toward the Khitan , Fu implied that the Liao should be regarded as a proper state and the Song , though the most civilised one , should realise that it was only one state among several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Both Han Qi and Fu Bi played important roles in Song-Liao negotiations during the early 1040s . When tensions began to flare again due to the formation of a Liao-Xi Xia alliance , the Song sensed a potential double-sided threat from its northern and western borders ( Ebrey 2014 , pp. 375-376 ) . Seeking ways to counter this threat , Emperor Shenzong called for open discussions of foreign affairs . Han and Fu , entrusted ministers of the emperor , were the chief proponents of the final decision to maintain peace with the Khitan , even at the expense of increasing annual payments ( Tao 1985 , pp. 63-70 ) . Their realistic assessment of Liao power was fundamental to their recommendation for a rational course of action toward the Liao , which contributed to the successful solution to the new threat . At the same time , it was obvious that their assessment and attitude were influenced by the actual situation the Song was facing at that time . # The desire for peace did not mean that the Song court was unconcerned about its boundaries and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the Liao held protracted negotiations to solve disputes over small swathes of borderlands . Before leaving for Liao as a special ambassador for the negotiation in the summer of 1075 , Shen Kuo phrase omitted ( 1031-1095 ) , the premier statesman and scientist of his time , conducted thorough research at the State Letters Bureau to gather documents and maps to support the Song 's claim . During six rounds of talks with Liao representatives , Shen firmly insisted that Song 's maps of the areas in dispute were correct and refuted Liao 's claims point by point ( Zhang 1975 ; Tao 1985 , p. 101 ) . As a result , the Song was able to keep the Liao demands to a minimum and the border was re-established in Song 's favour . # In fact , even before the 1040s , the scholar and Confucian historian Ouyang Xiu phrase omitted ( 1007-1072 ) had already warned the throne that the Khitan were unpredictable in nature and the peace treaty could not be considered permanent . ( 26 ) Particularly worrying was the fact that as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they did not follow geographical demarcations that were easily defensible ( XZZTJCB , 119 : 6b ) . The construction of canals , fortification posts , and even plantation of willow trees would help to slow down the advances of Khitan cavalrymen , even though the Treaty of Chanyuan had proscribed such actions ( XZZTJCB , 141 : 9a-11a ) . Ouyang 's view was supported by a number of officials who called for further strengthening national defence and preparing for an inevitable military confrontation ( Tao 1985 , pp. 125-126 ) . # Constructing a New Rhetoric of Cultural Superiority # While Ouyang Xiu was clearly realistic in his assessment of the long-term prospects of Song-Liao relations , his personal attitude was not marked by cultural pessimism . The title of the section on the Khitan and other non-Chinese peoples in the New History of the Five Dynasties ( Xin Wudai shi phrase omitted , written by Ouyang Xiu during his exile from 1036 to 1039 and published in 1073 was a self-revealing one . Consisting of three chapters ( juan phrase omitted ) a section was named " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . Although he acknowledged that the Khitan was the strongest amongst the " four barbarians " , it was still one of them and an enemy of the " Middle Kingdom " ( Zhongguo ) ( Xin Wudaishi , 72 : 885 ; Liu 2004 , p. 192 ) . In doing so , Ouyang reaffirmed the demarcation between Chinese and non-Chinese within the Chinese world order . # In a few contemporary works , the use of derogatory terms for the Khitan was more frequent and direct . In some cases , the ancient names for barbarians , such as Xunyun phrase omitted and Xiongnu phrase omitted , were used to refer to the Khitan . In a comment made by Song Taizong in 991 , he noted that " the Xunyun today i.e. the Khitan are different from ancient barbarians in their numerical strength , their constant change in policy , and their deceitful tricks " ( XZZTJCB , 32 : 4b-5a ) . More often , " caitiff " ( lu ) was used to denote the Khitan . For example , in the Old History @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , published in 974 , the rulers of the Khitan were referred to as " chief of the caitiffs " ( luzhu phrase omitted ) , and the people as both " Khitan " ( Qidan ) and " caitiff " ( Tao 1985 , p. 105 ) . Wang Qinruo phrase omitted ( 960-1025 ) , who was personally involved with the Song 's decision to seek peace in 1005 , complied the Prime Tortoise of the Record Bureau ( Cefu yuangui phrase omitted ) both during and after the treaty negotiations . Wang used a series of terms ranging from neutral expressions such as the " Liao " and the " Khitan " to derogatory ones such as " caitiff , " northern caitiff ( beilu phrase omitted ) , and " barbarian caitiff ( ronglu phrase omitted ) ( Cefu yuangui , 956 : 11237-11241 , 978 : 11488-11497 ) . ( 27 ) Such mixed and contradictory use of terms is also seen in Ye Mengde 's phrase omitted ( 1077-1148 ) Talks of Swallows in the Stone Forest ( Shilin yanyu phrase omitted ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with us. ... when Yelu Longxu ( Emperor Shengzong ) was on the throne , he was the elder uncle to Song Emperor Renzong ( r. 1022-1164 ) . During the regency of Empress Dowager Mingsu phrase omitted ( 968-1033 , mother of Renzong ) , the caitiffs sent embassies with letters to congratulate her on the New Year 's Day and her birthday . Our dynasty also sent embassies to reply to the empress dowager of the Liao . As exchange of letters between the wife of the son 's elder brother and the mother of the nephew , there is no enmity . " ( Shilin yanyu , 2 : 3b ) ( 28 ) # Although he clearly acknowledged the fraternal relationship between the Song and Liao emperors , Ye did not feel that his wording would offend the imperial family by calling its Khitan relatives " caitiffs " . These texts carrying terms insulting to the Khitan were circulating within the Song alongside those employing more neutral terms , which meant that they could eventually come to the Khitan 's attention . It was probably due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though not necessarily successful ones , on taking Song books into Liao territory , in particular volumes containing official documents or pertaining to current state affairs . ( 29 ) # While the usage of terms like " barbarian " and " caitiff was meant to emphasise the demarcation between the " civilised " and the " barbarian " by resurrecting ancient terminologies , some Song scholars and officials were trying to develop a new set of rhetoric to culturally legitimise Song policy toward the Khitan . Ouyang Xiu was aware that the Song could not hope to best the Khitan in terms of military strength , let alone subdue them through assimilation or acculturation . To compensate for this political weakness in reality , Ouyang proposed a cultural approach to guide the Song 's policy toward the Khitan . Reviewing historical events , he lamented that many past Chinese rulers had failed to formulate an effective way to deal with the northern and northwestern " barbarians " , and whether or not the " barbarians " would invade China was an issue over which the Chinese could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Chunqiu phrase omitted ) mentioned cases in which Chinese sovereign had to make concessions to the " barbarians " in order to maintain peace ( Xin Tangshu , 217a : 6151 ) . As regards the reason for whether or not the " barbarians " would invade and whether concessions were necessary , the Confucian notion of the " Way " ( dao phrase omitted ) was the deciding factor . Ouyang pointed out that even when China possessed the Way , the barbarians would not necessarily submit ; yet , when China lost the Way , the barbarians would not necessarily invade . Thus , he urged the rulers to exercise great caution in foreign policy , since mishandling the " barbarians " would bring disaster ( Xin Wudaishi , 72 : 885 ) . Ouyang Xiu 's mention of the Spring and Autumn Annals is meaningful here . Traditionally attributed to Confucius ( 551 BC-479 BC ) , this work is regarded as one of the Five Classics ( Wujing phrase omitted ) of Confucianism. ( 30 ) By citing this classic , Ouyang was attempting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , this was an issue that even the ancient sages were not able to solve effectively . # After diplomatic relations between the Song and the Liao was normalised in 974 , Wang Yucheng phrase omitted ( 954-1001 ) presented the " Hymn on the Northern Enemy 's Submission " ( Beidi laichao song phrase omitted ) to the throne to laud Song Taizu 's accomplishment of attracting the " barbarians " , i.e. the Khitans , to submit to China . Wang offered a brief description of the Khitan 's savage customs and the traditional Chinese policies toward them , then he argued that the Song had employed the best policy , even superior to that of the Han and Tang dynasties ' . This was because the Song relied on benevolence ( ren phrase omitted in dealing with the non-Chinese peoples who lacked an advanced culture . The emperor , intending to " win the allegiance of the barbarians through kindness " ( huairou phrase omitted ) , treated them with propriety ( li phrase omitted and taught them with virtue ( de phrase omitted ) . By @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people of the Song to support his rule , but also attracted the barbarians envious of China 's culture . In Wang 's eyes , the establishment of diplomatic relations meant that the Khitan , termed as the " northern barbarian " and referred to as the Xiongnu , came to submit to the Song in the same fashion as the earlier barbarian did to the ancient sage kings ( Xiaochu waiji , 10 : 475 ) . # The rhetoric of elevating virtue and morality to compensate for martial weakness , shrouded in orthodox Confucian references , became increasingly common as the bilateral relationship progressed . Zhao Pu pointed out in his memorial to Song Taizong that wise rulers in the ancient times had not interfered in barbarian affairs and had placed them outside the Chinese civilisation . Their policy combined military prowess ( wei phrase omitted ) with virtue ( de ) ( Tao 1985 , p. 111 ) . In his argument for pursuing diplomacy , Zhang Ji cited the successful examples of Han and Tang dynasties and noted that peace was necessary to turn danger into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of a lack of strength : " Who would wish to exhaust resources of the Middle Kingdom to serve the worthless barbarian and harm our benevolence ( ren phrase omitted and righteousness ( yi phrase omitted ) to quarrel with serpents and swine ? Barbarian attacks in ancient times were merely compared with the sting of gadflies and mosquitos . ... Now is the moment for binding friendship and resting the people . If Heaven above indeed regrets calamity and cause the rogues to appreciate our benevolence , it thus would accept our wish for friendly alliance and extinguishing the frontier beacons . This would be a great fortune to our ancestral altars . " ( SHYJG , 8 : 7682 ) ( 31 ) # When the Treaty of Chanyuan was signed , it was clear that it was the Song who bought off the Khitan with an annual indemnity of silver and silks . Yet many Song scholars asserted that it was the Khitan who wanted to end the war because they admired the virtues and moralities of China . Zhang Fangping phrase omitted ( 1007-1091 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Song song phrase omitted , described the treaty as nothing but a glorious victory of the Song since it were the " barbarians " who submitted themselves to the great culture of the Song ( Lequan xiansheng wenji , 5 : 4b-5a ) . ( 32 ) The renowned Neo-Confucians Cheng Hao phrase omitted ( 1032-1085 ) and Cheng Yi phrase omitted ( 1033-1107 ) considered that the most important feature of the civilised Chinese is the practice of benevolence and righteousness . If they were even partially lost , the Chinese would descend into barbarianism ; and if they were wholly lost , then people would sink to the level of animals . Therefore , all the ancient sage kings focused on benevolence and righteousness ( Er-Cheng quanshu , 2a : 22b ) . For the Cheng brothers , during the period of disunity between 220 and 589 , both propriety and institutions were lost , therefore the barbarians had prevailed . Although the Han and Tang were considered powerful , their rulers ruled by force rather than benevolence , thus they were " not worthy of being followed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The emphasis on benevolence and righteousness reiterates itself in another poem by Shao Yong , a pioneer of Neo-Confucianism alongside the Cheng brothers : The Armies of the Central Plain , Based themselves on benevolence and righteousness . When benevolence and righteousness are lost , The four barbarians come to insult . ( 33 ) # Even Emperor Zhenzong was satisfied with the result of the treaty . Although a considerable amount of annual payments was to be conceded to the Liao , Zhenzong , like many of his ministers , perceived the treaty as an ideal example of a successful policy that combined power and virtue . After the conclusion of the treaty , he said to the court : " The northern borders have presented a threat to us since ancient times . We used to think about how to pacify them and all discussed about vanquishing the barbarians . Yet this would mean wars every day and high costs each year . Now we succeeded in making them fearing our military prowess and thus submitted to our righteousness . This has greatly comforted me . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of such assertions was the belief that the Chinese culture was much more advanced than that of the barbarians and these culturally inferior people could be transformed by Chinese virtues . If the ruler successfully cultivated his virtue , which the barbarians cherished whole-heartedly , they would no longer desire to launch incursions and then voluntarily come to submit ( Wang 1968 , p. 43 ) . Since the barbarian menace was not as serious as internal problems , the Chinese rulers ' primary concern should be the pacification of their subjects and the cultivation of their virtue . Han Qi , for instance , held that all external threats started with internal problems . The barbarians were always alert so whenever there were internal problems occurring in China , they would invade immediately ( Song mingchen zouyi , 131 : 5a ) . Although Sima Guang and Wang Anshi phrase omitted ( 1021-1086 ) were bitter political rivals on the issue of domestic reform , during the Song-Liao border dispute negotiations of 1074-1076 , they both advised the throne that the emperor should first strengthen the Middle Kingdom and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . ( 34 ) # Concluding Remarks # Despite initial military confrontations , the one event that set the tone for Song-Liao relations for over a century was the conclusion of the Treaty of Chanyuan in 1005 , which was a de facto covenant agreed by both sides to replace hostile confrontations with a relationship of friendly tolerance . While it is true that the Song still employed a number of traditional policies to deal with the Khitan , this new model nevertheless marked the emergence of new dimensions in China 's foreign relations . The Song never succeeded in achieving suzerainty over the Liao ; on the contrary , it was obliged to pay annual tributes to its nomadic neighbour in order to forestall war . Yet , at the same time , despite extreme distinctions between the ruling houses of the two states , the Song had managed to establish a fictional " brotherly " kinship ties to the Khitan. # Of course , this newfound relationship did not mean that the Chinese emperors intended to debase themselves as equals or even vessels of " barbarians " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and officials were relatively confident of their military prowess ; they readily made threats about military action and carried them out when necessary . It was only after 979 that the Song court realised , slowly and reluctantly , that its military strength was no match for the Khitan . This painful recognition was accompanied by growing readiness to tone down its grandiose rhetoric through adoption of neutral terms in place of the more chauvinistic ones . After 1005 , the Song had fully accepted bilateral diplomatic parity and conducted their policies to the Liao based on realistic assessments and diplomatic flexibility . At the same time , these policies were conducted with an air of unwilling forbearance ; the Song rulers had to swallow their pride of supremacy in order to accommodate the existence of the powerful Liao in the Chinese realm ( Liu 2004 , p. 192 ) . # To compensate for their military inferiority and confer political legitimacy on the status quo , the Song endeavoured to construct a narrative of cultural superiority over their nomadic neighbours . Although neutral terms were used to refer to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms such as " barbarians " and " caitiffs " still often appeared in memorials and private writings , in particular if those were not supposed to be acquired or read by the Khitan ( Tao 1985 , p. 105 ; De Weerdt 2006 , pp. 477-478 ) . With the increased contacts with the Khitan , the Song scholars and officials , even emperors , began to see that there could be a way to deal with the reality and the rhetoric separately . Instead of acknowledging their inability to conquer the " barbarians " in the north , they returned to traditional ideology and terminology to justify their concession to the Khitan by exalting Confucianism 's core concepts such as virtue ( de ) , benevolence ( ren ) , righteousness ( yi ) , and propriety ( li ) . # It is therefore interesting to observe that the rise of the non-Chinese power of the Khitan in the north coincided with the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the Song . Almost all of the important figures of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song , as was shown above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the proper course of foreign policy . One may presume that " the ponderance over non-Chinese powers in the north " caused the Chinese to search for their cultural roots in Confucianism ( Wang 1999 , p. 301 ) . Of course , one may also argue conversely that it was Neo-Confucianism that reinforced the Song claim to be the cultural centre of " all under heaven " . Whatever the case , the Song developed a new set of rhetoric to compensate for the dynasty 's military weakness with confidence in is culture , thus continuing its practice of culturalism. # The dichotomy between the Song attitudes based on political reality and cultural superiority is not a clear-cut one , and it is best understood as a discrepancy between Chinese culturalism and ethnocentrism . Because of the renewed menace of " barbarian " prowess , the Chinese were forced to move away from their time-honoured ethnocentric perspective on the proper world order . However , they still clung to their avowed cultural superiority , hoping that the cultivation of virtue would make the " barbarians " voluntarily submit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all under heaven " in a dualist fashion , one in which culture was separated from politics . # Nevertheless , the Song rulers and officials never completely relinquished their ambition of re-establishing an ideal world order that would affirm both China 's political prowess and her cultural superiority . When the Khitan came under fierce attacks from the Jurchen in the 1120s , Emperor Huizong ( r. 1100-1126 ) was determined to retake the " sixteen prefectures " . To this end , he was willing to break the treaty with the Liao and seek aid from another " barbarian " people , the Jurchen . 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( 1999 ) : History , Space , and Ethnicity : The Chinese Worldview . Journal of World History Vol. 10 , No. 2 , pp. 285-305. # Wittfogel , K. A.-Feng , C.-S. ( 1949 ) : History of Chinese Society : Liao ( 907-1125 ) . Philadelphia , American Philosophical Society . # Wright , D.C. ( 2005 ) : From War to Diplomatic Parity in Eleventh-Century China : Sung 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Zhang Liangcai phrase omitted ( 1958 ) : Bu Liaoshi jiaopinbiao phrase omitted A supplement to the table of diplomatic missions in Liaoshi . Beijing , Zhonghua shuju. # Zhang Yaqin phrase omitted ( 1975 ) : Shen Kuo yu Song-Liao huajie jiaoshe phrase omitted Shen Kuo and the border negotiations between the Song and the Liao . Shiyi phrase omitted No. 12 , pp. 10-25. # Zhao Yongchun phrase omitted ( 2017 ) : Fengshi Liao-Jin xingcheng lu phrase omitted Records of journeys on mission to the Liao and the Jin . Beijing , Shangwu yinshuguan. # HANG LIN # Department of History , Hangzhou Normal University 2318 Yuhangtang Rd . Hangzhou 311121 , China # e-mail : hang.lin@hznu.edu.cn # ( * ) Acknowledgement : The research of this paper is funded by the Hangzhou Young Talents in Social Sciences Program ( 2018RCZX11 ) and the Qinshen Research Project of Hangzhou Normal University . # DOI : 10.1556/062.2018.71.4.2 # ( 1 ) Translated from the poem " Moaning on Calamities " ( Sihuan yin phrase omitted ) collected in Shao 's anthology Yichuan jirang ji phrase omitted ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . For a biography of Shao , see Franke ( 1976 , pp. 849-857 ) # ( 2 ) Various historical records on diplomatic exchanges between these states show that both sides of the Chinese and the Toba carefully selected eloquent and knowledgeable envoys from the gentry class to ensure their diplomatic equality . On the relations between the Northern Wei and its southern neighbours , see Eberhard ( 1949 pp. 162-167 ) . # ( 3 ) Divided by the fall of the Song capital into the hands of the Jurchen in 1127 and the subsequent reduction of territory to the south of the Huai river , the Song period is commonly divided into the Northern Song phrase omitted ( 960-1127 ) and the Southern Song phrase omitted ( 1127-1276 ) . # ( 4 ) Although somehow dated , the standard source on this period is Wang ( 1963 ) . For a recent account , see Lorge ( 2011 ) . # ( 5 ) Legge 's term " minister " for chen phrase omitted , as far as I am concerned , is an over-translation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a more accurate one . # ( 6 ) Xia phrase omitted is traditionally considered as the region of the Xia dynasty ( c. 2070-c. 1600 BC ) , the first dynasty in traditional Chinese history . It also denotes the people of the Xia , who constituted the first group of the Chinese nation . On the origin and meaning of xia , see Feng ( 2016 , pp. 32-35 ) . # ( 7 ) Whereas Legge translated zi phrase omitted as " counts " , given the context of the sentence , " minors " should be more appropriate . # ( 8 ) The chronology of the Khitan before 930 is somehow contradictory . On their early history , see Wittfogel-Feng ( 1949 ) . See also Twitchett-Tietze ( 1994 , pp. 43-57 ) and Marsone ( 2011 ) for the predynastic and early dynastic history of the Liao. # ( 9 ) The founding ruler of the Later Jin , Shi Jingtang ( r. 936-942 ) , offered the sixteen prefectures to the Khitan in exchange for their military support For the Khitan cession @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pp. 63-65 ) # ( 10 ) The Song troops were defeated by the Khitan force at Liao 's southern capital Yanjing , today 's Beijing , and Song Taizong barely escaped with his life . On the campaign , see Liaosh , 12 : 109 # ( 11 ) On the 986 defeat , see Twitchett-Tietze ( 1994 , pp. 85-87 ) ; Tao ( 1988 , pp. 10-14 ) . # ( 12 ) The text of the treaty is recorded in Xu Zizhi tongjian changbian , 58 : 22b-23a . On details of the treaty , see Schwarz-Schilling ( 1959 , pp. 40-50 , 108-137 ) and Wright ( 2005 ) . # ( 13 ) For the imaged relations between Song and Liao emperors , see Tao ( 1985 , pp. 26-27 ) . # ( 14 ) See Song da zhaoling ji , Chapters 288-232 for varieties of examples . # ( 15 ) The Liao source renders his name as Han Yi phrase omitted , see Liaoshi , 17 : 200 . For a biography of Han , see Franke ( 1976 , pp. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ naming taboo of members of the Liao imperial household , see Wang Cengyu ( 2005 ) . # ( 16 ) In 1054 , the bureau was renamed as Office of State Letters ( guoxin suo phrase omitted ) . # ( 17 ) Examples of these texts can be found in Su Weigong wenji , Chapters 25-26 ; Nanyang ji , Chapter 15 ; Huayang ji , Chapters 18 , 21 , 23-25 , 30-32 ; Fan taishi ji , Chapters 28-32. # ( 18 ) For a biography of Su , see Franke ( 1976 , pp. 969-971 ) . # ( 19 ) It took Su Song two years to finish the compilation . He was appointed " accompanying officer " ( banshi phrase omitted to receive and escort the Liao envoy during the compilation in 1082 On the work , see Jiang ( 2009 ) . # ( 20 ) For details of the backgrounds and negotiation of the treaty , see Tao ( 1985 , p. 232 ) ; Kuhn ( 2009 , p. 46 ) . # ( 21 ) See Franke ( 1976 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # ( 22 ) See Franke ( 1976 , pp. 5-7 ) for a biography of Zhang. # ( 23 ) The translation is adopted from Wang ( 1983 , p. 53 ) . # ( 24 ) For a study of the Song ambassador system , see Franke ( 1983 ) . On the chronology of diplomatic envoys between the Song and the Liao , see Nie ( 1935 ; 1940 ) ; Fu ( 1949 ) ; Zhang ( 1958 ) . Selected reports of Song envoys to the Liao , collated and punctuated , are collected in Zhao ( 2017 ) . For a French translation of five reports of envoys to the Liao , together with those of envoys to the Jin , see Chavannes ( 1897/1898 ) . # ( 25 ) Yu Jing was thrice-commissioned as an envoy to the Liao in 1043 , 1044 , and 1045 . Diao Yue was sent to the Liao in 1056 . For a detailed examination of their poems , see Zhao ( 2017 , pp. 36-37 , 58 ) . # ( 26 ) For a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 808-816 ) . # ( 27 ) See Franke ( 1976 , pp. 1105-1109 ) for a biography of Wang . # ( 28 ) As formulated in the Treaty of Chanyuan , Song Shenzong , Renzong 's father , was considered as the elder brother of Liao Shengzong . Thus when Renzong ascended the throne in 1022 , the Empress Dowager of the Liao , Shengzong 's mother , was considered the mother of Renzong 's father 's younger brother . # ( 29 ) On the Song prohibition on trading and smuggling books to the Liao , see Chan ( 1983 , pp. 13-14 ) ; Liu ( 2002 ) ; De Weerdt ( 2006 ) . # ( 30 ) On the Spring and Autumn Annals , see Cheng ( 1994 ) . An accessible translation of the work is Legge ( 1872 ) . # ( 31 ) For an unabbreviated translation of the text , see Wang ( 1983 , p. 54 ) . # ( 32 ) For a biography of Zhang Fangping , see Franke ( 1976 , pp. 16-19 ) # ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Central Plain " ( Zhongyuan yin phrase omitted ) collected in Shao 's anthology Yichuan jirang ji , 18 : 137. # ( 34 ) For a detailed discussion of Wang Anshi 's suggestions for policies toward the Liao , together with a discussion of those of Sima Guang , see Tao ( 1979 ) . # Please note : Some non-Latin characters were omitted from this article

@@5026141 # Although teachers are accustomed to scaffolding students for success , teachers can and should also scaffold for failure by helping students develop a growth mindset in the context of engineering and beyond ( Dweck 2008 ) . When students enact this growth mindset , they learn from their setbacks and come to see that failures are opportunities to learn where and how we can grow and improve . # In this article , we share strategies on how teachers can support students as they develop productive responses to failure within engineering design experiences . Design failure is neither rare nor something to be avoided as students engage in science-integrated engineering design challenges as a part of the Next Generation Science Standards ( NGSS Lead States 2013 ) . In high-quality engineering education , students use an engineering design process ( EDP ) when they engage in design challenges ( NAE and NRC 2009 ) . There are many EDPs used in elementary classrooms ; some crafted for younger or older elementary students , and others developed for particular engineering curricula ( e.g. , Engineering is Elementary 2018 ) . What these EDPs have in common is that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solve problems ; and # * have a built-in assumption that early designs are likely to fail , so it is necessary to try not just once but multiple times to solve the problem . # We see evidence of this second point in steps like " Improve " or " Try Again " in EDPs ( e.g. , see two different EDPs in Table 1 ) . # For the last five years , we have investigated the responses of upper-elementary students and teachers regarding their experiences with engineering design failure and have asked them about how they use and think about failure terms ( e.g. , fail , failed , failure ) . We are often asked , " What advice do you have for teachers based on your research ? " Although our study continues , we have some answers to this question . We have summarized these into 10 suggestions organized into two sections : # 1 . suggestions about fail words and their meanings ; and # 2. suggestions about preparing students for design failure and helping them respond to it during the EDP. # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " Staying Alive ! " ( see NSTA Connection ) to put these tips into context . Although the teacher in the vignette , Mrs. Klein , is fictional , she is an amalgamation of the excellent teachers we observed and from which we learned over the years . # FAIL WORDS AND THEIR MEANINGS # 1 . Have explicit discussions with students about fail words and their meanings in different contexts . # Our interviews with students suggest that by the time students are in their upper elementary years , it is quite likely that they have heard or used fail words both in and outside of school . Teachers , coaches , parents , and others have used fail words in their presence , and many have used fail words themselves . In examples provided by students , fail words were used to indicate that something did not work or go as planned ( e.g. , a goalie was unable to stop a ball from going into the goal ) , or less often , that someone was a failure . # Before using fail words in engineering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fail words and their meanings . Teachers might start by asking students in a whole-class discussion what fail words they have heard and what " fail " means in those contexts , and then present the specific way in which fail words are used by engineers and will be used in the context of engineering design challenges in the classroom ( see #2 ) . # 2 . Present a definition of design failure as : when a design does not perform against one or more criteria . # For engineers , design failure is about how a design performs against criteria , the standards used to determine the success or failure of the design . Those criteria are typically established prior to the development or testing of that design . For example , before designing a system to clean up an oil spill on a model river , students understand that the criteria include : # 1 ) that less oil on the water 's surface , as measured by a particular tool , is better ; # 2 ) that less oil on the shoreline , as measured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 ) that less expensive clean-up processes are preferable ( EiE 2018 ) . # A design failure may occur , for example , if too much oil reaches the shoreline . Design failures are determined objectively and are closely connected to criteria . In this way , they provide valuable information about how a design may be improved . # 3 . Always associate failure and fail words with designs and criteria , not with students or teams . # Early in our research , we asked elementary teachers if they used fail words in their classrooms . An overwhelming majority of teachers did not , or only used the words rarely and with respect to ideas about studying so as not to fail a test . In interviews , teachers shared that they avoided using fail words because they worried that students would internalize them , taking on failure identities ( e.g. , thinking that " I failed " or " I am a failure " ) . Even though teachers who taught engineering design challenges for two years became more comfortable using fail words and helping students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may adopt failure identities . For this reason , we urge teachers to explicitly refer to design failure , not team or student failure . For example , a question to ask after the design testing process would be : " Did any of the designs fail to meet criteria ? " rather than " Did any teams fail ? " # 4 . Avoid cliches about failure to avoid confusing students . # We have seen multiple classroom posters about failure and heard many failure cliches in our work in schools . Although the intent of using them is meant to be positive , cliches can be problematic . Three examples are as follows : # Failure Is Not an Option : Failure is indeed an option -- and a normal and informative one -- in the context of engineering design failure . One need only look to the multiple failures of the SpaceX program , headed by Elon Musk , to see that failure happens , informs future work , and gets the company closer to the possibility of reusable rockets to deliver goods to the space station @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a " Failure is not an option " poster eventually took it down after realizing its message was not consistent with the idea that failure is normal and informs next steps in engineering ( and in life ) . # You Only Fail if You Quit : Another teacher repeatedly told students that they only fail if they give up to encourage them to persevere . Although this was intended to be motivational , student interviews revealed that this presented a confusing message . One team , for example , could not come to consensus about whether their design failed because : ( 1 ) their design did fail to meet criteria , but ( 2 ) they tried again to improve their design ( i.e. , did n't give up , and thus according to their teacher , did not fail ) . # FAIL = First Attempt in Learning : The problem with this acronym is that quite often , engineering designs fail subsequent times , too , as some teams in our studies discovered . Having a design fail more than once is quite normal . For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first 408 designs failed ( Formula 409 2017 ) ! # 5 . Differentiate design failures from mistakes . # It may be tempting to associate design failures with mistakes . In the process of learning , students regularly make mistakes in their work , learn from those mistakes , and then improve their work . However , engineering design failures are not the same as mistakes . Mistakes are typically regarded as errors in getting to the right answer ; once fixed , the right answer is achieved . The design process expects that design failures will not only occur but will provide valuable information to improve subsequent designs . In addition , there is no one correct answer in engineering design ; there are multiple ways to solve a problem . # PREPARING FOR AND RESPONDING TO DESIGN FAILURE WITHIN THE EDP # 6 . Remind students about constraints , criteria , and testing procedures before the design process . Model proper testing procedures and discuss why they 're important . # The constraints of an engineering design challenge are the limitations or restrictions placed on the design @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used . Criteria inform students about how to create a successful design . Designs are often tested to inform criteria ( e.g. , a model bridge is tested by piling weights on top of the bridge until it fails ) . To ensure that students understand the constraints , criteria , and testing process , engage in discussions about these design elements before students begin to brainstorm or plan their designs and before they test their designs . Teachers can also model design-testing procedures for students . If students and teams do not follow the constraints , criteria , and testing processes , it will be difficult for them to accurately assess whether their design failed or succeeded to meet the criteria . # 7 . Prepare students for the likelihood that designs may fail , and that this is a normal part of engineering . # Prior to design testing , remind students that in engineering , it is normal for first and early design attempts to fail to meet criteria . Likewise , teachers should reference the EDP to show students that it allows for design failure because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ innovating , which means that engineers often do not have a quick path to a successful answer . # 8 . Be prepared for a wide range of student responses to failure , both positive and negative . # Students ' negative responses to design failure included blaming other team members or making changes to the design without careful thought or planning . However , students also had many positive responses to design failures , including engaging in failure analysis and focusing on how to improve . See Table 2 for a summary of both categories of responses . Be prepared for this range of responses so that you can anticipate how you might or might not intervene . # 9 . Do not intervene . Give students time to work through their own productive responses to design failure . # Students must try to " work it out " for themselves when confronted with a design failure . Teachers from our study talked about the need to let students work together as a team as they consider and analyze the failure , and then figure out how to improve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pausing , and listening -- but did not always intervene to allow students to make progress in the design process . Even initially negative responses to failure , such as frustration , could be worked out without teacher interventions to allow students to move toward more productive responses . # 10 . Intervene when student teams become stuck on a design failure , # During teachers ' monitoring of teams during and after the testing process , it became evident that some students and teams had become " stuck " in a negative response . In these instances , teachers ' primary strategy was to intervene with the following questions to move teams in more productive directions . Students were : # * prompted to engage in failure analysis and consider how to improve ( e.g. , What were your testing results ? How can you improve in your next design ? ) ; # * encouraged to be considerate to their peers , and to use peers within and outside of their team as resources ( e.g. , What do each of you think ? How did other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ; and # * provided help to make connections to critical background information ( e.g. , What did we learn about the needs of plants earlier in the unit that might inform your design of your plant package ? ) . # Additionally , teachers reminded students that it is okay that their design failed to meet criteria and that the EDP enables them to improve . Finally , in rare situations when questioning strategies did not work , teachers described that they provided more direct advice to student teams when they were stuck or frustrated . This direct guidance ( e.g. , focus on improving your bridge supports ) was a last resort to help student teams move forward in the design process . # DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET BEYOND ENGINEERING # The above suggestions come from our work in science-integrated engineering education . However , the big growth mindset idea here -- that failure is normal and gives us feedback about how to improve -- can be applied to other subject areas and to life , in general . We observed this in our study , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This big idea about failure and improvement began to be interwoven throughout the school day : in science , mathematics , literacy , and other areas of instruction . # REFERENCES # Dweck , C.S. 2008 . Mindset : The new psychology of success . Ballantine Books : New York . # Engineering is Elementary . 2018 . The engineering design process . https : **45;0;TOOLONG # Formula 409. 2017 . About the Formula 409 Brand : Why is it called that anyway ? **39;47;TOOLONG # Lottero-Perdue , P.S. et al . 2016 An engineering design process for early childhood : Trying ( again ) to engineer an egg package . Science and Children 54 ( 3 ) : 70-76. # Lottero-Perdue , P.S. , and E.A. Parry , 2017 . Elementary teachers ' reflections on design failures and use of fail words after teaching engineering for two years . Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education 7 ( 1 ) : 1-24. # National Academy of Engineering ( NAE ) &amp; National Research Council ( NRC ) . 2009 . Engineering in K-12 education : Understanding the status and improving the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doi:10.17226/12635. # NGSS Lead States . 2013 . Next Generation Science Standards : For states , by states . Washington , DC : National Academies Press . # NSTA Connection # Download the classroom vignette at www.nsta.org/SC1903. # By Pamela Lottero-Perdue and Elizabeth Perry # Pamela Lottero-Perdue ( plottero@towson.edu ) is a professor of science and engineering education at Towson University in Towson , Maryland . Elizabeth Parry ( **36;88;TOOLONG ) is a STEM Education Consultant and owner of Elizabeth Parry Consulting , Inc. in Raleigh , North Carolina

@@5026241 # ABSTRACT . The colonial era witnessed a fevered quest for exotic medicinal plants by European physicians and scientists . This essay explores the geographical principles that oriented the search towards the lands and peoples of the humid tropics . Believing that God had planted botanical cures for diseases in their places of origin , medicinal plant collectors concentrated their efforts in the pestilential equatorial latitudes . Although many subscribed to the ancient Doctrine of Signatures , colonial bioprospectors discovered early that indigenous and diasporic peoples represented storehouses of plant knowledge . Assuming that native knowhow constituted more instinct than intelligence , Europeans employed coercion , bribes , torture , and promises of freedom to extract their ethnomedical secrets . In the case of especially lucrative healing plants , imperial and colonial entities conspired to pilfer and naturalize endemic species in their distant colonies . In response to this legacy of inappropriate exploitation of native peoples and tropical plants during the colonial era , most present day bioprospectors follow established codes of ethnobotanical ethics . Keywords : Medicine , botany , tropical rainforest . # In the late-twentieth century , the public 's attention was drawn to the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biodiversity hotspots , but as sources of miracle-cure drug plants . Popular magazines and books touted the pharmaceutical potential of rainforest vegetation , citing for example the case of quinine derived from South American cinchona trees , the historical remedy for malaria , and especially the 1970s discovery of vincristine from the Madagascar periwinkle ( Catharanthus roseus ) , the highly-successful therapy for childhood leukemia . About the same time , the doyen of modern ethnobotany , Richard Evans Schultes , published a sumptuous volume on his years exploring the Amazon for medicinal and psychoactive plants : The Healing Forest ( with R. Raffauf 1990 ) . And popular books by Schultes 's student Wade Davis The Serpent and the Rainbow ( 1985 ) , and Mark Plotkin 's Tales of a Shaman 's Apprentice ( 1993 ) , as well as the 1992 Hollywood production The Medicine Man , popularized the idea that tropical rainforests represented possible pharmaceutical factories of drug plants . Disseminated by the press and legitimized by Western science , the notion that the humid tropics represented a font of future pharmaceuticals shaped a generation 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and of the urgency to preserve them ( Voeks 2004 ; Robinson 2010 , 11 ) . # This compelling environmental narrative was disputed by those who claimed that ethnobotanical inquiry by Big Pharma and its scientist errand boys represented merely the latest chapter in a lengthy history of colonial and neocolonial exploitation of indigenous people . In this critique , bioprospecting for novel drug plants represented " merely a sophisticated form of biopiracy " ( Shiva 2007 , 308 ) . Highly profitable tropical drug plants , according to this counternarrative , were being shamelessly exploited by distant multinational corporations , with little or no benefits directed at the country of origin of either the species ' or the local people who originally learned their uses ( Neimark 2017 ) . # The biopiracy counternarrative was also constructed on the received wisdom that outsiders had inappropriately exploited the intellectual and genetic property of indigenous tropical peoples since the earliest days of exploration and colonization . Most of these ethnobotanical efforts ended in failure , but some were wildly successful and highly profitable . For example , a scant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officinale ) was being imported in large quantities from the Caribbean to Europe to treat the French disease ( syphilis ) . The new remedy , learned " from one of the native physicians of that country " ( Monardes 1580 , folio 11 ) , exploded in popularity following the publication of German Ulrich von Hutten 's influential Of the Wood called Guaiacum in 1519 . Between 1568 and 1608 , twenty-one tons had reached Seville alone ( Ganger 2015 ) . This and other tropical American exports of medicinal plants in the sixteenth century were only slightly less valuable than dyewoods and sugar ( Estes 2000 ) . But modern concepts of prior informed consent and respect for intellectual property rights were still centuries away , and these and many other medicinal plants as well as native knowledge were treated as open-access resources , attainable by whoever was sufficiently charming , clever , or if need be , cruel ( Voeks in press ) . # For twentieth-century bioprospectors , the humid tropics represented the motherlode of botanical opportunities . Biodiversity reaches its global zenith near the equator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Moreover , whereas so much knowledge of nature among indigenous people in the temperate zone has succumbed over the centuries to cultural erosion , in the tropics many millions of people continue to heal what ails them and their loved ones with nature 's medicinal affordance . But biodiversity and biochemistry were unknown concepts during the early modern period , and the effectiveness of plants in the healing process was measured by their humoral virtues-hot or cold , moist or dry-not their chemical properties . And the protean plant diversity that defines the tropical latitudes was ill appreciated in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries . Sir Hans Sloane , for example , who was both well-traveled and possessed botanical collections from Asia , Africa , and Latin America , believed the flora of the tropics to be rather homogenous . " I find a great many plants common to Spain , Portugal and Jamaica and the East Indies , " he reported , " and most of all Jamaica and Guinea West Africa " ( Sloane 1707 , Preface ) . Even Carl Linnaeus , whose formidable familiarity with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought the tropical flora of the world to be " rather uniform " ( Stearn 1988 , 781 ) . If not biodiversity and biochemistry , then what drove colonial scientists and physicians to plumb the depths of the tropical forest primeval for its medicinal secrets ? # This essay explores the geographical principles that encouraged colonial physicians and men of science to set their botanical gaze on distant tropical latitudes . Some of this enterprise represented a practical extension of the medieval trade in medicinal spices , most of which were imagined to inhabit exotic equatorial locales ( Brockway 1979 ; Schiebinger 2004 ; Freedman 2008 ) . It was a sensible assumption that other hugely profitable plants awaited discovery in the Torrid Zone . And the mysterious provenance of healing plants , inhabiting exotic and barely known lands , added to their intrinsic allure . But we will argue that the notion that equatorial landscapes in particular represented sources of botanical cures found inspiration from ancient Christian-inspired axioms regarding the relationship between people and nature . We suggest that the principle elements in this evolving narrative included the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remedy for each disease in the same geographical location from which the disease originated ; that botanical cures were endowed by the Creator with identifiable signatures ; that technologically primitive peoples possessed special instincts regarding the identity and properties of healing plants ; and that indigenous people lacked the intelligence and managerial skills to sustainably manage globally significant medicinal species . Appreciating the assumptions under which Europeans pursued the great colonial quest for nature 's healing plants informs both our current perception of bioprospecting opportunities in the tropical realm , as well as the suspicion held by some regarding the legitimacy of these efforts . # The Geography of Healing Leaves # The late fifteenth-century Iberian landfall in the Americas spawned an unprecedented exchange between the Old and New Worlds of plants , animals , and microbes . The latter in particular breached intercontinental germ barriers that had existed for millions of years . A flotilla of crowd viruses rushed into the Americas and Oceania , causing nothing short of a demographic collapse among indigenous populations ( Lovell 1992 ) . Figures continue to be debated , but what is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to almost zero immunity on the part of New World inhabitants to Old World microbes . For the century and a half after the Columbian encounter , the impact of foreign germs and worms represented " the greatest human catastrophe in history " ( Cook 1998 , 13 ) , reason enough for European men of science to scour tropical forests and fields for their healing secrets . # But the tragic impact of disease among the native populations was not the primary catalyst for colonial bioprospecting efforts . For outside of their role as laborers , the physical well-being of native peoples , and later enslaved Africans , was seldom of much concern . Rather , it was the expansion of Europeans into the enervating tropics and its devastating influence on their own health that encouraged this medicinal quest . Whether in Africa , Asia , or the Americas , the constitution of arriving Europeans simply did not seem up to the climatic challenge . For visitors and colonists steeped in Hippocratic humoral traditions , the causes of ill health in tropical climes were obvious-the blistering hot winds , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of vegetation , even the peculiar alignments of the stars . Poor health and premature death for " unseasoned " outsiders was seen as a consequence of environmental excess , a feature equatorial landscapes possessed in abundance ( Adams 1849 , 190-222 ; Glacken 1967 , 7-12 ) . # For Europeans who risked the journey , the mortality rates were often astronomical . In Portuguese Goa , a sixteenth-century proverb noted that " Of the hundred who go to India from Portugal , not even one returns " ( Boxer 1963 , 7 ) . In West Africa , there was little missionizing in the early centuries of exploration compared to the Americas because of the heavy death toll among whites . Some 25 percent to 50 percent of Portuguese traders working in Africa in the fifteenth century died before they could return to their homeland . And the situation did not improve much over the coming centuries . According to Willem Bosman , who spent many years on Africa 's Gold Coast , the worst disease was the pox , which killed thousands ( Bosman 1721 , 95 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Death " and " The White Man 's Graveyard " reinforced the vision of sub-Saharan Africa as hostile , brutish , and disease ridden ( Jarosz 1992 ) . In the West Indies , where most of the indigenous population had already perished , the situation for Europeans was similarly dire . " Newly arrived people , " according to Nicolas Bourgeois , " are less adapted to live here . " The malignancy of the air in these " hot countries , " he reported , " pu ts the victim in his tomb as soon as the first bout of fever attacks " ( Bourgeois 1788 , 136 and 415 ) . # Europeans were no strangers to ill health and premature death . But the tropics possessed a distressing array of unfamiliar ailments , quite unknown to the ancients , and for which even Dioscorides 's The Materia Medica , the thousand-year-plus , gold-standard pharmacopoeia , offered little relief ( Stannard 1999 ) . Iconic among these new diseases was an innocuous genital chancre carried away from the West Indies by one of Columbus 's crew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was likely introduced to Europe in 1493 when the Admiral returned from his first voyage . Ulrich von Hutten , himself suffering and ultimately succumbing to the infection , noted in his influential text that " the French Poxe arrived in 1493 , or thereabouts . " He said that the doctors agreed that it was caused by environmental conditions , " Unholsome blasts of the aire , " and " venemus vapours to come downe from the ayre " ( Hutten 1536 , folio 1 and 3 ; Estes 2000 ) . The epicenter of the first outbreak was Italy , but when the French and their multinational mercenaries marched on Naples in 1495 , their reward for rape and pillage was the unseen spirochete bacterium . Carried to their respective homes by the victors , syphilis burned quickly across central and northern Europe . Asia would shortly come to know the disease as well , as Vasco da Gama likely transported syphilis to South Asia in his 1498 voyage to India . In short order , sailors and soldiers had spread the dreaded disease around the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and high born , including kings and popes , covering their bodies in great seeping tumors before driving them to dementia and eventual death ( Desowitz 1997 ) . # Fortunately , as physician Garcia d'Orta informed his sixteenth-century readership from his post in Goa , " each day brings new diseases ... but God is so merciful that in each land He gives us medicines to cure us . He who causes the illness provides the medicine for it " ( Orta 1913 1563 , 105 ) . Indeed , it was widely believed that God , in his great beneficence , had placed the cures for humankind 's myriad maladies in the lands from whence illnesses originated . And because so many of these new diseases were believed to have originated in the equatorial latitudes , the pursuit of drug plants was focused sensibly on the humid tropics . These ideas were discussed early by Spanish physician Nicolas Monardes . Referring to the general knowledge that syphilis " came from these parts of the West Indies , " he reported that the discovery of the botanical remedy was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pox , which he had taken by the company of an Indian woman , but his servant .. .. gave unto him the water of guaiacan , wherein not only his grievous pains were taken away that he did suffer , but he was healed very well . " Consequently , " Our Lord God would from whence the evil of the pox came , from thence should come the remedy for them " ( Monardes 1580 , Folio 11 ; also Earle 2012 , 112 ) . German botanist Georg Rumphius repeated this idea from Indonesia , " the Creator ... provided each ... country with its own medicaments. .. all countries have their own and singular illnesses which are to be cured by its native remedies " ( Rumphius 1741-1750 , in Beekman 1981 , 12 ) . Likewise Dutch physician Jacobus Bontius , in his 1631 treatise on tropical medicine , reported that " where the diseases above spoken of are endemical , there , the bountiful hand of nature has planted herbs whose virtues are adapted to counteract them " ( Bontius 1769 , 24 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jamaica , noted similarly that " the overflowing bounty of the great healer of us all , who hath given a balm for every Sore , and that not to be far sought and dear bought , but neer at hand " ( Trapham 1679 , 93-94 ) . And English intellectual Samuel Hartlib connected this geographical association to specific healing plants , stating that " where any Endemical or National disease reigneth , there God hath also planted a specifique for it . " It followed that , " in the West Indies , ( from whence the great Pox first came ... ) there grow the specifiques for this disease , as Gujacum , Salsaperilla , Sassafras , and the Savages , do easily cure these distempers " ( Hartlib 1655 , 81 ) . The tropical latitudes were clearly endowed with God 's healing flora , but how were newcomers to discover their identities ? # Most scientists believed that God had blessed each botanical remedy with a mark of its presence ( Prest 1981 , 82 ) . This principle , known as the Doctrine of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that medicinal plants retain an identifying sign , or similitude . The healing properties of plants could thus in principle be gleaned from their various sensorial attributes-shape , size , aroma , and color . The red exudate from bloodroot ( Sanguinaria canadensis ) , for instance , indicates that it should be applied towards ailments of the blood . The fleshy leaves of stonecrop ( Sedum acre ) suggest its use to cure kidney problems ( Bennett 2007 ) . Botanist William Coles was a great proponent of the concept , noting that " Wallnuts have the perfect signature of the Head .. . The Kernel hath the very figure of the Brain , and therefore it is very profitable for the Brain " ( Coles 1657 , 3 ) . This concept dates at least two millennia to ancient India and China . But by the time the idea of botanical signatures had reached Christian Europe , it had been attributed to the hand of God and to man 's expulsion from the Garden of Eden . Eden was once teeming with healing herbs , it was understood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Eve free of illness . But following their expulsion , the first couple confronted diseases of the flesh that could only be cured with leaves and roots appointed by the Almighty ( Prest 1981 ) . Botanical signatures were intended to assist mortals in their search for God 's healing gifts . # The Doctrine of the Signatures was not accepted by all , particularly as Enlightenment skepticism and empiricism challenged religious dogma . Even in the time of the ancients it was not universally accepted ; Dioscorides was a fan of the signature concept , but Galen was not ( Court 1985 ) . Indeed , many colonial-era naturalists and doctors found it impossible to identify which part of the plant was the actual signature-was it the heart-shaped leaves , or the latexrich stem ? Naturalist John Ray saw little value in the antiquated theory or " the foolishness of the chymists who chatter and boast so loudly of the signatures of plants " ( Ray 1660 , 148 cited in Raven 1950 , 98 ) . English feverologist Robert Talbor was of a similar mind . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eyes , because its flowers they say resembles a Birds eye . " " What rational man , " he argued , " would be satisfied with such reasons ? " ( Talbor 1672 , 8-10 ) Indeed , in the far-flung colonies , where physicians struggled daily with disease and premature death , the theory of botanical signatures yielded to the more practical approach of plumbing the healing secrets maintained by indigenous and diasporic forest dwellers . # A Forest of Secrets # The healing virtues of tropical medicinal plants , as European visitors quickly discerned , were held in the collective or specialized knowledge of native populations . To uncover the medicinal potential of these mysterious floras , they needed the help of locals . As French missionary Raymond Breton reported in 1647 from Guadeloupe , " One must have a great leisure to learn from the savages the names and virtues of the plants , the trees , and other things of these lands " ( Breton 1978 , 50 ) . British physician John Woodward prepared a toolkit for collecting and transporting plants from the tropics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ customs , and that travelers should take note of " their Physick , Surgery , and the Simples they use ; and their Poysons " ( Woodward 1696 , 10 ) . It was acknowledged that India , China , and other Asian civilizations were richly endowed with competent physicians and healing species . But the backwater societies of the Torrid Zone , it was argued , also held secrets that could revolutionize medical practice . According to Robert Boyle , " Nor should we onely expect some improvements to the Therapeutical part of Physick , from the writings of so ingenious a People as the Chineses ' but rather should also ' take notice of the Observations and Experiments ' even of the ' Indians and other barbarous Nations ' " ( 1663 , cited in Gascoigne 2009 , 554 ) . In colonial Brazil , according to Friar Vicente do Salvador , the indigenous shamans were " privy to herbs and other medicines " that were sorely needed in the colony ( Vicente do Salvador 1931 1627 , 62 ) . Similarly in West Africa , Bosman reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use amongst the Negroes , are of such wonderful Efficacy , that ' t is much to be deplored that no European Physician has yet applied himself to the Discovery of their Nature and Virtue " ( Bosman 1721 , 216-217 ) . " The woods are their apothecaries , " reported Englishmen Robert Knox from Ceylon ( Knox 1681 , 19 ) . But would they share their secrets ? # Indigenous people were in some cases quite willing to impart their botanical knowledge to visitors . Alexander von Humboldt , who was plagued by " aradores " ( chiggers ) on his Orinoco expedition , notes that he was cured with the leaf of " uzao , " shown to him by " an Indian " ( Humboldt and Bonpland 1827 , 245 ) . From Java , Thomas Horsfield described the properties of the mysterious Antshar , a powerful tree poison that was revealed freely by " an old Javanese " ( Horsfield 1823 , 83 ) . And from Malabar , Van Reede reported that " the natives " were happy to disclose the names and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vaczy 1980 , 44 ) . # But these examples may have been the exception , similar to currently investigating the collective plant knowledge of a rural community . Local shamans , whose knowledge was specialized and idiosyncratic , were a different story . Then as now , specialized healers zealously guarded their botanical remedies as personal intellectual property . Reporting from Barbados , for instance , William Hillary reviewed the local treatments for yaws , noting that the " Negro doctors " discovered a treatment using the caustic juices of certain plants which " they keep as a secret from the white people , but preserve among themselves by tradition " ( Hillary 1759 , 341 ) . Jacques Bouton similarly related from Martinique his amazement at the stellar health of the indigenous people and on the " beautiful " botanical secrets they possessed , " but it is impossible to get them out of them " ( Bouton 1640 , 45 ) . Charles Rochefort noted that the Caribbean people " are extremely jealous of their secrets in medicine , especially their women ... they have yet to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1681 , 562 ) . ( Fig. 1 ) Some employed gentle persuasion and bribes for this information . Nicolas Bourgeois offered money for medicinal plant remedies in Guadeloupe , but " the cleverest " among them carefully guarded the secret " of medicinal herbs that we do not know nearly as well as they do " ( Bourgeois 1730 , 482 ) . In Hispaniola , it was necessary to " gain their confidence , as I was able to do with some of them , " in order to " pull from them the secret " ( Cited in Weaver 2002 , 440 ) . Among the Indians in Dutch Suriname , Swedish botanist Daniel Rolander reported that they were " too jealous of their medicinal plant secrets to reveal them to anyone unless he has inspired their trust , and can provide them valuable information in return " ( Rolander 2008 1755 , 1487 ) . Michel Descourtilz , working in Haiti in the midst of the revolution , bartered for several medicinal recipes from an anonymous mulatta healer . She was reluctant to disclose any of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " her temperament over time by giving her some of his paintings of plants , " which she coveted " ( 1799 , cited in Schiebinger 2004 , 81 ) . # There are documented cases of financial compensation and even manumission granted in exchange for specialized medicinal plant formulas ( Fett 2002 , 64 ) . The most instructive of these involved an enslaved man in Dutch Suriname , Graman Quassi . Born in West Africa in 1690 and later transported to Suriname , Quassi was freed from enslavement for his service hunting down African maroons for the military and planters , and for his skills as an herbalist ( Price 1979 ) . Quassi was a famed healer who employed medicinal plants and magical amulets to cure what ailed the black and white population . For his many contributions to the colony , he was sent to The Hague to meet with Willem V , the Prince of Orange , who presented him with a fine gold-laced jacket , a golden medallion , a gold-tipped cane , and a gold breastplate inscribed with the words " Quassie , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dutch soldier John Stedman considered him " one of the most Extraordinary Black men in Surinam , or Perhaps in the World " ( Stedman 1790 , 581 ) . Quassi 's principal contribution , however , came from his discovery of the fever-fighting properties of a native treelet , later named by Linneaus Quassia amara in his honor ( Carney and Rosomoff 2009 , 90 ) . The bitter wood of this species compared favorably with Jesuit 's bark ( Cinchona sp. ) for its ability to lower body temperature , and over time according to Stedman made Quassi a rich man . He may have sold the recipe for a " considerable sum " to the Swedish botanist Donald Rolander , a student of Linneaus , who forwarded it to Europe ( Lewis 1791 , 529 ; Schiebinger 2004 , 213 ) , although there is suspiciously no mention of this in Rolander 's diary . Quassi lived into his 80s , addressed in personal correspondence as Master Phillipus of Quassi , Professor of Herbology. # In addition to infectious disease , plant-derived poisons were a source of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antidotes could not be wrested peacefully from the local population , violence was employed . Sir Hans Sloane related the story of the discovery of contra yerva ( likely Dorstenia contrajerva ) in Guatemala , used to counteract the effects of arrow poisons . A Spanish doctor , having been wounded by a poisoned arrow , " took one of their Indian Prisoners , and tying him to a Post threatned to wound him with one of their own venomous Arrows , if immediately he did not declare their Cure for that Disease , upon which the Indian immediately chaw 'd some of this Contra Yerva , and put it into the wound , and it healed " ( Sloane 1707 , lv ) . Similarly in Indonesia , the Dutch were in tremendous fear of the infamous Makassar poison tree . As they consolidated their seventeenth-century foothold on the islands , the poison-tipped projectiles of indigenous warriors proved a formidable defense . They knew the natives possessed an antidote , but according to German soldier Johann Saar , the only cure they knew for a wounded man was for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fresh as it goes from him " ( Cited in Carey 2003 , 528 ) . German physician Engelbert Kaempfer spent many years investigating the question , and although he never recorded the plant 's name , he indicated that the identity of the botanical cure had finally been extracted " by torture " ( Kaempfer 1996 1712 , 99 ) . # Ethnobotanical Instinct # The actions wrought on indigenous and diasporic people in pursuit of their botanical knowledge were consistent with the pervasive European view of the tropical American races as " slow-witted phlegmatics " ( **25;0;TOOLONG 2006 , 68 ) . Spanish physician Francisco Hernandez , who spent seven years in early sixteenth-century Mexico compiling a detailed census of the healing flora , argued that the native people were docile and idle due to the weak star arrangement and the humid air ( Chabran 2000 , 21 ) . Others believed their melancholic behavior and womanlike features , especially lack of beards in men , was the result of the crude American cuisine , especially the lack of meat , wheat bread , and wine ( Earle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of tropical nature , these negative cultural perceptions enabled observers to embrace ancient environmental determinist ideas regarding resource abundance and Amerindian indolence ( Safier 2014 ) . Thus , Alexander von Humboldt concluded that the harsher climate of the northern latitudes encouraged human labor and industriousness . Not so the humid tropical climates , however , where " in the midst of abundance , beneath the shade of the plantain and breadfruit tree , the intellectual faculties unfold themselves less rapidly than under a rigorous sky .. . where our race is engaged in a perpetual struggle with the elements " ( Humboldt and Bonpland 1818 , 15 ) . # European perceptions of the temperament of sub-Saharan Africans and their diaspora were often worse . Combined with the enervating climate , Africans were saddled with ancient biblical interpretations of their sinful origin , as well as archaic notions of evil and monstrosity associated with their skin color ( Friedman 1981 , 9-21 ; Cosgrove 2001 , 65 ; Voeks in press ) . According to Jean Barbot , a commercial agent in West Africa in the late 1600s , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , gluttons , abusive .. . foul eaters , drunkards " ( Hair and others 1992 , 84 ) . From his 1720 visit to Senegal , John Atkins reported that African men were idle , planted scarcely enough to feed themselves , and spent most of their waking hours " smoaking all day in long Reed-Pipes together , unplagued with To-morrow , or the Politicks of Europe " ( Atkins 1737 , 50 ) . # This demeaning perception underpinned a crucial aspect of nature-culture relations in the tropical realm ; in spite of their masterful understanding of nature 's healing properties , native people were no more owners of this knowledge than self-medicating beasts . This followed from the view , widely held in the eighteenth century , that within the Christian Chain of Being- God , Angels , Man , Animals , Plants , and Minerals-each link had an equal claim to existence , but each was also " unequal in dignity " ( Lovejoy 1964 , 186 ) . Understanding of the virtues of nature , in turn , was seen to diminish in quality and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ browse on the vegetation , to the primitive folk who toil in close association with the forest and its bestiary , and finally to " civilized " people . According to Robert Talbor , this decline in knowledge of nature , from beasts to men , was a consequence of the Great Fall from Eden . " Adam had a perfect knowledge of the virtues of all plants .. . But since the Fall , Soul and Body have deviated from their first Perfection . " Having lost their " primitive purity , " people were now consigned to following the observations of " the irrational creatures , as Birds , Beasts , and Fishes " ( Talbor 1672 , 1-4 ) . Thus , in his epic The Divine Weeks , penned in the late-sixteenth century , French poet Du Bartas ( Snyder 2012 , 374 ) suggests that just as each disease co-occurred with its botanical remedy , likewise each of the creatures in Eden was paired with its own natural medicine : # " Yet each of them can naturally find # What simples cure the sicknesse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin , # But they as soone have readie medicine . # The ram for phisike takes strong-senting rue ; # The tortoise , slow , cold hemloke doth renew . " # Similar to the ecclesiastical foundation of the Doctrine of Signatures , the medicinal nature of healing plants was seen to be provided by God through the observable actions of birds and mammals . Talbor offered an example of how the " readie medicine " celandine ( likely Chelidonium majus ) became an ophthalmic treatment for people . The plant 's virtue " was learnt from the swallow , who hath been often observed to squeeze the juice of the herb with her bill upon the blind eyes of her young , by which means they gain their sight " ( Talbor 1672 , 1-4 ) . God blessed the swallow with the healing power of celandine , and people learned by observing the swallow . The German botanists Johann von Spix and Carl von Martius made similar notations in their early nineteenth-century journey through Brazil . Of " the Indians and Negroes " who harvest ipecacuanha ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ipecac , " We are assured that the savages had learnt the use of the ipecacuanha from the irara , a kind of martin , which is accustomed , they say , when it has drunk too much of the impure or brackish water of several streams and pools , to chew the leaves and the root , and thereby excite vomiting " ( Spix and Martius 1928 1824 , 221 ) . Similarly , Engelbert Kaempfer reported from Malaysia that locals believed that the mongoose , if bitten by a poisonous snake , would bolt into the forest , seek out mungo root ( unknown species ) , and chew it as an antidote . The native people , Kaempfer recorded , discovered the value of the plant by observing the mongoose , and Kaempfer in turn learned it from the local people ( Kaempfer 1996 1712 , 96-97 ) . # This perceived linkage between people and plants carried considerable philosophical baggage . Europeans were convinced of their own cultural and racial superiority , and this connection between plants and " savages " was taken as a clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scheibinger 2004 , 82 ) . They were , in the words of Thomas Trapham , " animal people , " with no more entitlement to intellectual property rights than beasts in the forest ( Trapham 1694 , 117 ) . French merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier commented widely on the native peoples he encountered in his travels . The most " hideous " of these , he reported , were the Cafres ( Khoi ) of the Cape Province , South Africa , who " live almost like beasts . " But " brutal as they are " he continued , " these Cafres ... have nevertheless a special knowledge of simples , and know how to apply them . " Ships captains and others frequented the Cafre doctors , and in each case " were totally healed " ( Tavernier 1889 1676 , 395 ) . Likewise Edward Long , in his History of Jamaica , succinctly summed up the assumed link between ethnobotanical knowledge and native peoples , stating that " brutes are botanists by instinct " ( Long 1774 , 381 ) . Clearly , few doubted that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medicinal properties , and many believed that this knowledge had the potential to be medically useful and perhaps enormously profitable . But central to this narrative was the notion that indigenous rural people discover drug plants by blunder , instinct , and intimate association with the other beasts in the forest , rather than by wits and intelligence . Such an argument served to systematically de-humanize native people and , at the same time , to negate any need for compensating those who were willing to share their medicinal knowledge-voluntarily or through force . " Botanist brutes " had no claim to intellectual property rights because their medicinal discovery process was instinctive rather than the product of intellectual inquiry . Furthermore , because of the immense global significance of some of these newfound drug plants , native peoples could not be trusted to sustainably harvest and manage them , a point brought home powerfully by the theft of Jesuit 's bark ( Cinchona spp. ) , the source of life-saving quinine . # The Fever Tree # The genus Cinchona includes over two-dozen trees and shrubs endemic to the highlands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes from the presence of the bitter-tasting alkaloid quinine in the bark of several species . Widely known as Jesuit 's bark , quinine acts to dramatically inhibit the presence of the protozoan parasite , Plasmodium falciparum , the cause of malaria ( Brockway 1979 , 103-139 ) . Unlike so many other exciting new ethnobotanical discoveries of the time that ultimately proved ineffective , Jesuit 's bark truly was a miracle drug . # French surgeon Nicolas de Blegny was the first to reveal that the drug was derived from " the Bark of an Indian Tree , of the bigness of a Cherry-Tree . " But knowledge of global biogeography was still muddled , and he was uncertain whether " Indian " referred to India or Peru ( Talbor 1672 ; Blegny 1682 , 2 ) . Scientists eventually understood that the source of the cure grew in the South American Andes , and they were eager to learn the details of its ecology and inherent medicinal properties . William Arrot , a Scottish physician working in Peru , provided the earliest accurate description of the plant from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were four types of cinchona , each with different qualities , and that the bark should be used when it was fresh , as it became " insipid and useless " with age . Arrot 's most important notations , however , involved the harvest of the precious bark . He reported that " large quantities of it are cut yearly " by the indigenous laborers , with " a great many of the fine large bark trees having been entirely cut down . " Unsustainable harvest practice appeared to threaten the fever tree . Arrot also commented , however , that the bark grew back nicely in ten to twenty years , meaning that if properly managed , the cinchona supply could be assured ( Gray 1809 , 81-83 ) . # Although the original discovery of the fever tree is lost to history , the story most often repeated was popularized by French geographer Charles Marie de la Condamine . Having returned from Ecuador via the Amazon River , he recorded an ancient tradition " of which he could not vouch for the truth " that the virtues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American mountain lions , which chewed the bark of the tree to relieve what ailed them . The lion 's unusual actions were observed by local Indians , who then tried it successfully on their own fevers . Later , the Spanish Jesuits learned the treatment from the natives ( Condamine 1738 1737 , 233 ) . Although giving priority to indigenous people for the discovery , Condamine 's notations also fit neatly into Christian notions of cultural hierarchy within the Chain of Being as well as the instinctive rather than intellectual nature of indigenous knowledge . # The issue of who originally uncovered the healing properties of cinchona over time became crucial to British designs on the precious botanical resource . Did priority go to the Andean natives , or did the Spanish themselves learn the secret ? For good reason , the British opted to believe the latter . For by disallowing indigenous discovery , the native people could not be considered the rightful custodians of the plant 's intellectual property . But not everyone agreed . William Arrot stated that " its qualities and use were known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " Likewise , according to Spanish botanist Jose Celestino Mutis , who spent decades studying the flora of the Andes , the peoples of the region had long prepared a healthful fermented beverage out of cinchona bark ( Gray 1809 , 81-83 ; Mutis cited in Zimmerer 2006 , 350 ) . Others disputed these claims . Humboldt was of the opinion that the native peoples were not the discoverers of the drug plant , and that they " would rather die than have recourse to cinchona bark . " He also considered it extremely improbable that " the discovery of the medicinal power of the cinchona belongs to the primitive nations of America " ( Humboldt 1821 , 22-23 ) . English botanist Richard Spruce , who would be pivotal in the cinchona story , also wrote that the Indians did not use it for fevers because they considered it a heating drug ( in the humoral system ) , which one would never employ to treat a fever ( Brockway 1979 , 111 ) . And Sir Clements Markham argued that the local Indians " attached little importance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But whatever the true explanation , it is clear that Britain had every reason to discredit indigenous knowledge and use of cinchona , which they ultimately did ( Brockway 1979 , 103-139 ) . # But pretext for foreign appropriation of cinchona required more than simply priority of discovery and vague reference to the Great Chain of Being . And this the British marshaled through an environmental narrative . The Andean Indians , they argued , could not be trusted to protect a botanical resource of such critical importance to all of humanity . Arrot 's early report of destructive harvest of cinchona bark was backed up by other eyewitnesses , who noted that South American cascarilleros ( bark collectors ) took no conservation precautions during harvest , simply felling the trees and stripping away their bark . Humboldt similarly commented that the harvest practices he witnessed were unsustainable . " The tree is felled in its first flowering season , " he observed , and as a result " The older and thicker stems are becoming more and more scarce " ( Humboldt 1850 , 591 ) . ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and his observations can not be discounted out of hand . But it is difficult to gauge today whether Spanish colonial harvest practices in fact threatened the species at the landscape level . Indeed , there was evidence that harvest techniques were less harmful in the long run than Humboldt and others envisioned . For instance , the seemingly destructive exploitation of cinchona trees that had taken place in earlier generations was apparently being corrected by the Jesuit clergy , who ordered that five new individual seedlings should be planted in the form of a cross for each tree felled to strip its bark ( Gramiccia 1988 , 10-11 ) . More important , however , was the dissertation on cinchona written in 1839 by William Dawson Hooker . His conclusions contrasted with everything that had been written by outsiders . He argued that bark removal was more destructive than felling the trees because insects actively attacked the debarked individuals . When the tree was cut down , as was done by indigenous harvesters , it actively coppiced , and after six short years " the Cinchonas were again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The problem of overharvest , it would seem , was solved . Unfortunately , young Hooker died of yellow fever only a year later at the age of twenty-six , and his controversial findings were likely never noticed by those who should have seen them . Ironically , this also included his father , Sir William Jackson Hooker , who was poised to orchestrate an international plot to secret the cinchona seeds out of the Americas and transplant them in Asia . # Whether the harvest of cinchona was or was not sustainable , in the minds of Europeans , the inhabitants of the equatorial world were culturally backward , governed by instinct rather than intelligence , and intellectually incapable of managing their own botanical resources . And so , in order to protect this globally significant resource , the elder Hooker hatched a bold plan to pirate the precious cinchona seeds out of South America to Britain 's colonies in Ceylon and India . " Given the profoundly destructive method of exploitation by the natives , " he confided to a colleague , " the smuggling of precious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Cited in Jackson 2008 , 38 ) . Humanitarian , perhaps ; but the real impetus for naturalizing cinchona in India was Britain 's ongoing imperial ambitions . They had serious designs on West Africa , yet every expedition-save those with adequate supplies of quinine- had succumbed to the effects of tropical fevers ( Brockway 1979 , 127-133 ) . Moreover , British India was witnessing massive malarial mortality , perhaps one million lives lost per year . If they could cultivate their own cheap source of quinine , British army officers and their families could operate without threat of bouts of malaria . In so many ways , the future of Britain 's colonial enterprise depended on a cheap and readily available supply of life-giving Jesuit 's bark ( Honigsbaum 2002 , 87-90 ) . # The cinchona project , as coordinated by Kew Gardens in London , provided funds and logistics to facilitate the theft of cinchona seeds . The project was carried out by Clements Markham and Richard Spruce . Their letters made it clear that " jealousy " on the part of the local governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be necessary , as the Bolivian government had granted a monopoly on their cinchona resource , and had banned any export of the seeds . Spruce used USD $400 to secure land in the Andes , moved into a secluded hut , and began collecting ripe seed pods and seedlings of Cinchona pubescens , one of the quinine-bearing species . It was hugely difficult work , but he managed to smuggle almost 100,000 dried seeds and 637 seedlings over the Andes to the port of Guayaquil , where he put them on a ship bound for England . Spruce 's huge cache was later shipped to India 's Nilgiri Hills , where it became the nucleus for British cinchona production . The Jesuit bark monopoly was broken . As for Markham , he directed his efforts at Bolivia and Peru , where he collected seeds of Cinchona calisaya . He met considerable resistance from Peruvians , who were incensed that he was absconding with their national treasure . He slipped out of the country with a load of seeds , but by the time they finally reached India , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to whip up nationalist resentment and hostility among locals towards European biopirates , a sentiment that continues to this day . # The names Hooker , Markham , and Spruce are forever linked to either a great humanitarian feat or a monumental act of genetic theft and imperial conquest , depending on your perspective . As quinine became readily accessible , literally millions of lives were saved , and continue to be so . The real losers were Bolivia and Peru , which were deprived of their once endemic resource , the indigenous people of the Andes , whose knowledge of the healing properties of a local rainforest tree is now the world 's knowledge , and the countries of West Africa and India , for which malaria could no longer act as " an ally " to autonomy ( Brockway 1979 , 132 ) . # Conclusions # The European colonial era was marked by a quest to identify and exploit the healing properties of tropical nature . This search intensified as colonists battled hitherto unknown diseases in their distant possessions . Because most of the medicaments and therapies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of novel germs and worms , they sought out local remedies for what ailed them . They came armed with Christian-inspired concepts regarding people-plant relations that helped guide their bioprospecting efforts . Among these was the geographically inspired notion that God had created a botanical cure for each and every disease in the same location from whence the disease originated . Identification of the correct herbal treatment , in turn , was facilitated by the Doctrine of Signatures . It was quickly appreciated , however , that indigenous and diasporic forest-dwellers represented better sources of plant knowledge than simply guessing what did or did not constitute a botanical signature . And so the medicinal plant identification efforts of outsiders were directed at shamans and community healers . If Europeans harbored any ethical issues regarding the acquisition of this knowledge , it was superseded by deeply held beliefs regarding indigenous people and their ethnobotanical knowhow . Native peoples were seen as the custodians of this precious information , but they had not acquired it by means that would bring into question European ideas of real property . # In the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destruction narrative to justify the theft of the most beneficial medicinal plant that has ever been discovered . Whether this plot and its outcome were morally justified at the time remains to be seen . The long term result failed to generate fabulous wealth for it protagonists , although it did democratize a drug that has saved countless lives . What is most clear , however , is that the British pirated away cinchona seeds because it served their long-term geopolitical objectives , regardless of the consequences for the indigenous people who discovered it , or the Andean countries from which it was appropriated. # The tropics are still seen as a potential cornucopia of valuable drug plants . But this vision is now grounded in ecological and biochemical insights rather than ancient theological musings . Nearly all current research is carried out following the codes of ethics developed by relevant professional societies , each inspired by language forthcoming from the 1992 Rio Convention on Biological Diversity and the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing . And in spite of the claims of some issue entrepreneurs that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the colonial era , there is no evidence that inappropriately exploited medicinal plants have enriched the coffers of a foreign corporation or a more developed country in the past century . Footnote # *The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance provided by the staff at the Huntington Library , the Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil , and the Museum National d'Historie Naturelle . Partial funding was provided by grants from the NIH ( National Library of Medicine ) , the Huntington Library ( San Andreas Fellowship ) , as well as seed grants from California State University-Fullerton . References # References # Adams , F. 1849 . On airs , waters and places . The Genuine Works of Hippocrates Translated from the Greek . Volume 1 . 190-222 . London : Sydenham Society . # Atkins , J. 1737 . A Voyage to Guinea Brazil and the West Indies in His Majesty 's Ships .... London : C. Ward and R. Chandler . # Beekman , E. M. 1981 . The Poison Tree : Selected Writings of Rumphius on the Natural History of the Indies . Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : An Explanation of Medicinal Plant Discovery or Dissemination of Knowledge ? Economic Botany 61 : 246-255. # Blegny , N. 1682 . The English Remedy , or Talbor 's Wonderful Secret for Cureing of Agues and Feavers . London : F. Wallis . # Bontius , J. 1769 . 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@@5026341 # From the moment phonography was invented by Thomas A. Edison in 1877 , and certainly after the numerous technical perfections of the ensuing years , the phonograph became a much valued instrument , as well as a toy , that quickly found its way around the world . ' A box that could record and reproduce sound had been unimaginable . The new machine could be used in manifold ways , for amusement as well as for serious matters . The commercial function that Edison envisioned most was that of a dictaphone. ( 2 ) That the wax cylinders could at first not record more than two minutes of sound was a handicap , but technical improvements soon doubled that amount of time . Another initial drawback was the fact that the cylinders could not be copied , but this , too , was solved . # A year later , in 1878 , Edison published a number of possible purposes for his invention . Among the ten points that Edison enumerated , two were particularly relevant for scholarly and educational uses : " the preservation of languages by exact reproduction of the manner of pronouncing " ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elocutionary teacher , or as a primary teacher for children , it will certainly be invaluable . By it difficult passages may be correctly rendered for the pupil but once , after which he has only to apply to his phonograph for instructions . The child may thus learn to spell , to commit to memory , a lesson set for it , etc. , etc. " ( 4 ) Linguists and anthropologists used phonographs until late in the 1930s . One and the same machine able to make a recording and then reproduce it had a great advantage in the field over the technically more complicated sound recording on discs to be played by gramophone , an invention that appeared more or less simultaneously with the phonograph . The manufacture of sound discs was much more complex and demanded a higher technical level than recording on wax cylinders . Once the Edison Home Phonograph , a self-contained instrument to be sold at an affordable price , was developed for the market in 1896 , the recording of sound came within the reach of a large public . # An @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Ahmad Rasim , an employee of the Turkish Imperial Telegraph Company , who in 1885 published a booklet with the title " The Phonograph , One of the Most Remarkable Inventions of Mankind , " apparently translated into Turkish from a European language . ( 5 ) It included a portrait of Edison and three images of an early phonograph , but does not attest to its use in a Muslim country . There is no discussion as to the permissibility of phonography. # For Islamic law scholars slightly over a hundred years ago , use of the phonograph was an entirely new subject . They approached this novelty by traditional methods -- finding precedents and applying analogy . Their purpose was to categorize the act of using this marvelous invention , this piece of wood that reproduced the human voice , as one of five qualifications ( ahkam ) of Islamic law ifiqh ) : obligatory ifard ) , recommendable ( sunna ) , permitted imubah ) , reprehensible ( makruh ) , and forbidden ( haram ) . Only when the jurisprudents have classified an act in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such a novelty . Quranic recitation is considered " divine music " ( 6 ) and more generally an act of worship . The conditions for recitation according to fiqh are ritual purity -- cleanliness of body and mind . Elaborate rules are to be observed by the reciter as well as the listener , for both reciting and listening promise a heavenly reward . ( 7 ) The Quran is for Muslims , as its name ( lit. recitation ) implies , the pronunciation of God 's word ; secondarily it is a holy book in written or printed form . This aspect of orality makes early discussions by Muslim jurisprudents on Quranic phonography even more relevant . ( 8 ) Some attention has been paid recently to the consequences of new technologies in the duplication of the Quranic text , but the legal aspects of this remain largely unresearched. ( 9 ) # When the Dutch Islamicist Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje ( 1857-1936 ) published an article in 1900 on Muslim legal opinion on the recording of sound in general and of the recitation of the Quran in particular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ modern . ( 10 ) At the time Snouck Hurgronje was based in Batavia ( Jakarta ) , where he held the influential post of official adviser to the Dutch colonial government on Arabian and Islamic affairs . It was his job , among other duties , to monitor new trends in the thinking of Indonesian Muslims , to report about these to the Dutch authorities , and to write official dispatches containing advice . These dispatches , most of which have been published , are still a prime source for the history of Islam in Indonesia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries . ' ' At the time they were conceived , however , they had a practical purpose and a very limited circulation . Occasionally Snouck Hurgronje found the time to expand his research and work out its results in learned articles -- his article on the phonograph is a typical spinoff of his official remarks . ( 12 ) # Phonography in Islamic circles was never a subject that required Snouck Hurgronje 's official advice , but writings and fatwas on aspects of phonography were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Of the early authors on phonography , two were in fact acquaintances of his -- Sajjid Oethman ( Sayyid'Uthman ) and Abdallah al-Zawawi . The former probably offered the booklet that he published in 1899-1900 on phonography to Snouck Hurgronje ; the latter sent him a handwritten copy of his fatwa on the same subject in the course of 1908 . That document , which is not widely known , is herewith published and translated . # A favorable circumstance was that Snouck Hurgronje had a genuine interest in all sorts of technical novelties . He brought photographic equipment with him for his stay in Jedda and Mecca in 1884-1885 , and after the Egyptian officer Muhammad Sadiq Bey ( Sadie Bey ) he was the second photographer -- together with the Meccan physician Abd al-Ghaffar b . Abd al-Rahman al-Baghdadl ( 13 ) -- to record images of Islam 's holy city and its inhabitants , and the first Westerner to do so . Much later in life he chose to travel to the 17th International Congress of Orientalists in Oxford ( August 28-September 1 , 1928 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a certain eagerness for new technologies . But at the beginning of the twentieth century phonography had taken his fancy , not just to write about Muslim reactions to this new phenomenon , but also to embrace , play , and work with it for its own sake at his home in Weltevreden , Batavia. ( 14 ) # EARLY ISLAMIC WRITINGS ON SOUND RECORDING # The earliest known document on the use of phonography in an Islamic context dates from 1899 . It is a fatwa , a legal opinion , issued by Sayyid'Uthman ( 1822-1914 ) in Batavia. ( 15 ) Sayyid TJthman was of HadramI origin , like so many Arabs in southeast Asia . He was a leading intellectual in Islamic circles , had many contacts with the colonial authorities , and exerted considerable influence by way of the stream of publications that came from his lithographic press . Some of these are still being reprinted . Inevitably , he was involved in many controversies concerning both Islamic law and the modus vivendi between Indonesian Muslims and the colonial authorities . In his fatwa he divided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he answers ( after a lengthy introduction with considerations of a more general nature ) : # 1 . Is phonography an honest profession ? Is reciting the Quran and a singing woman from the same box permitted ? Answer : If decency is guaranteed , it is permitted . # 2 . Are the sounds reproduced indeed the Quran ? Is there a reward for the listener ? Answer : No reward is gained , because the sound does not come from the mouth of a human being , and the Quranic sound that one hears from the phonograph is not produced by the human organ of speech . # 3 . If phonographic sound is not considered to be the human voice , may one listen to a phonographic copy of a strange woman 's ( ajnabiyya ) voice ? Answer : If the listening arouses lust it is forbidden ; if this is not the case , it is permitted . There is an analogy with looking at the shadow of a strange woman , or at her image in a mirror . # Sayyid'Uthman 's fatwa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more elaborate one to silence his opponents . ( 16 ) Although he does not provide their identity , Sayyid ' Uthman 's lengthier fatwa is a vigorous rejection of the opinion and conclusions on the same subject of a Singaporean mufti , who was apparently more permissive and liberal than Sayyid ' Uthman . The Singaporean mufti held the following views : to listen to phonographically produced sounds is always permitted ; to listen to phonographically produced Quranic recitation brings reward ; prostration while listening to the sajda verses produced phonographically is recommended ; the engravings in the cylinder have the same legal status as script in a written or printed Quran. # A few years later , an Egyptian jurisprudent by the name of Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i ( 1856-1935 ) wrote a pamphlet on the subjects of phonography and insurance , two subjects that are only related by the fact of their modernity. ( 17 ) The author was a former member of the Egyptian High Court and would go on to have a distinguished career as Egypt 's Grand Mufti . He had already written two treatises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but these had , so he tells us , aroused criticism from several sides , and in the present work he sets out to position himself better on the two subjects and to give a fuller explanation . This he does first in the form of twelve questions that are put in the mouth of a ( fictitious ? ) person and are then followed by the author 's answers . These answers gain in weight by their fatwalike appearance . The questions can be reduced to the following ten : # 1 . Can a wax cylinder of the Quran be considered the same as the Quran in book form ? # 2 . Does the person who plays the cylinder receive the same reward as the copyist of the Quran ? # 3 . Can the person who plays the cylinder be considered a reciter of the Quran ? # 4 . Are imperfections in playing the Quran a sin on the account of the reciter who was recorded , and are these repeated by repetition of playing , and is he rewarded if the performance is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of the phonograph real or just the likeness of a recitation ? This question suggests ignorance regarding the inner workings of the phonograph , which are then explained . Edison 's name is mentioned. # 6 . What about the entertainment character of the mechanical recitation of the Quran ? The author answers with an explanation of the serious applications of the phonograph. # 7 . What is the difference between the repetition of the Revelation by a machine and that by the angel Gabriel ? The answer explains the difference between lafz , ( the form , or sound of the machine ) and ma'na ( the meaning , or content of the Revelation ) . # 8 . Is a verse of the Quran incumbent on the believer when recited by a machine , as it is when recited by a live person ? The answer is that the only difference is in the speaker ( al-natiq ) , viz. , an intelligent one and an unintelligent one . Referencing Q 20:12 ( and also 79:16 ) , al-Muti'i finds a parallel when the prophet Musa hears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ piece of wood . ( 18 ) The author ably works out this parallel with reference to early Islamic discussions on the divine attributes , of which the divine word is one. # 9 . What about the fact that God 's word must be recited with emotion ( bi-hazn ) l The answer is that a phonograph has no feeling , but whoever listens to God 's word should feel the emotion , even when it is reproduced phonographically. ( 19 ) # 10 . What if the phonograph also reproduces the sound of the Gospel ? The answer is that it can only reproduce one recording at a time . Nobody can say that when God 's word is phonographically reproduced , this is not the Quran . When the Gospel is phonographically reproduced , then that is the Gospel to its people. # These questions and answers follow a refutation by al-Muti'i of an unnamed , harsh critic of both his treatises on the phonograph and on insurance , one of whose reproaches was that al-Muti'i had not given an adequate description of the phonograph machine . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a short description of the working of the phonograph is once more given . The other criticism concerns al-Muf'i 's opinions on insurance , mostly in connection with international commerce . The ensuing discussion , which quickly derails and shifts into a full-fledged theological discussion with a wealth of technicalities and intricacies , falls outside the scope of the present article . # A third early writing on the phonograph was a fatwa by the Meccan scholar of Maghribi descent Abdallah Muhammad Salih al-Zawawi. ( 20 ) Al-Zawawi first met Snouck Hurgronje in Jedda in 1884 , when the latter was on his way to Mecca where he would stay between February and July 1885 . Like his father , al-Zawawi was a professor in the Great Mosque of Mecca . ( 21 ) Upon being exiled from Mecca he traveled widely in Southeast Asia , in particular to the Arab Sultanate of Pontianak on the west coast of Kalimantan ( Borneo ) , and in the Middle East . During this time he looked after his business interests , inquired after resorts to treat his fragile health , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . In this he eventually succeeded . He was killed during Ibn Sa'ud 's conquest of al-Ta'if in 1924 . In his lifetime he was an invaluable informant for Snouck Hurgronje and their long correspondence touches upon numerous interesting subjects . # AL-ZAWAWl 'S FATWA ON PHONOGRAPHY # In his letter to Snouck Hurgronje of 12 Sha'ban 1326 , al-Zawawi writes : You mentioned the arrival of my letter , although it contained nothing about the phonograph , you thanked me for that , but this , I mean your gratitude , is for something where gratitude is not due , and this is just the result of your virtue and your perfection . From it I understood that you have a special interest in what was written concerning the phonograph , so I asked my son to look for the draft version , and to do that urgently . He found a copy of the draft in his own poor handwriting , but for someone like you it is legible , and therefore I enclose it in this letter . I hope it reaches you , and if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The text ( 22 ) of al-Zawawf 's fatwa follows : phrase omitted # phrase omitted # phrase omitted # phrase omitted # phrase omitted # phrase omitted # Translation # In the name of God , the Merciful , the Compassionate # There has appeared an apparatus that speaks with sounds , with singing , and all sorts of poetry , and it sings and it wails . On some of its tablets , ( 23 ) which are called cylinders , there appears recitation of the Quran and of the call to prayer , adhan . It has become commonplace in the suq , in gatherings of people , and in every cafe , and it is sold everywhere , most of its buyers being Christians , Mazdeans , and others . I hereby request an elucidation on its legal status when it speaks Quran and on the legal status of the cylinders from which the sound of the Quran is heard with the aforementioned apparatus , this from the viewpoint of veneration for the Quran , from the viewpoint of carrying and touching it with ritually impure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the recitation upon hearing from it a sajda verse , and likewise in connection with the adhan , or when this is not required , since opinions differ as to its ruling -- some are strict and some are more lenient in this respect . God , the Highest , has said : " Ask the followers of the reminder if you do not know . " ( 24 ) # The answer : # Praise be to God alone , and blessing and peace be upon him , after whom there is no prophet , and upon his family , his companions , his party , his regiment , and his army . It is known that the permitted is what God , He be praised , has permitted , the forbidden is what God , He be praised and exalted , has forbidden , and He is silent about other things , without being forgetful , but only because these were not asked about . It is known that this apparatus is something new , for which there is not yet an authoritative text as to its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ God , that is , finality about something being forbidden or being permitted without an authoritative text is sinful . The preponderant adopted position among those who concern themselves with the principles of the law is that the basis of things is lawfulness , being permitted , and analogy ( the definition of analogy is the establishment of the likeness of a known ruling to another so as to compare the ratio legis ( 25 ) ) . A condition for its correctness is that there is a likeness between the compared object and that with which it is compared in what concerns the ratio legis and a number of contemporary scholars have given their opinions on this question . One allowed it without qualification , and made the matter easy , not considering the tablets on which the sound of the Quran is recorded as something that should be venerated . On the contrary , he said that it is permitted to use them even for ritual cleansing purposes . Another put it in every way in the category of the Quran , and yet another declared it unlawful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I mean recording the sound of the Quran on the aforementioned cylinders , one of the gravest sins . To the writer of these lines it appears that the question can be divided into five questions , as you will see : # 1 . the discourse on the reciter , the apparatus that is called gramophone ; # 2. the discourse on the tablets , the cylinders on which there is the sound of the Quran ; # 3. the discourse on prostrating during the recitation , upon hearing a sajda verse from the loudspeaker ; # 4. the discourse on whether or not the listener is rewarded ; # 5. the discourse on whether or not the person who records his recitation on the tablets of the loudspeaker is rewarded , commits a sin , or neither . # The answer to the first question is that , as far as veneration is concerned , a ruling regarding use of the apparatus applies . When it is used in order to perform the Quran , the obvious opinion is that this depends on the aim of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admonish by making it heard , or if there is another correct intention other than admonishing and preaching , as when he is using it for vowelization of the letters or for reciting or for any other lawfully permitted purpose , there is no reason to prohibit this , and he should be rewarded according to the aim and intention that he had . If his aim is to play and to indulge in amusement , as is often the case when listening to the aforementioned instrument , then it is forbidden and doing that should be considered a sin . I am afraid that whoever does this becomes one of those who have taken their religion in contempt and as amusement , and he should heed the words of God , exalted is He : " And leave those who have taken their religion for a play and an idle sport , and whom this world 's life has deceived , and remind them thereby lest a soul should be given up ... , " till the end of the verse . ( 26 ) Hence , as most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play , it is best to prohibit the performance of the Quran with it , and thus it will only be used for what it was originally designed , that is for singing and the like . # The answer to the second question is that the cylinders on which the Quran is recorded should be considered , as far as the law is concerned , in the same way as tablets and the paper on which Quranic text is written , or as the leather with which a Quran is bound , because our veneration for the paper and the tablets , correction : ( 27 ) for the leather , the cover , and the boxes in which copies of the Quran are kept , is there all the time because of their relationship with the Quran , not because of the substance of the ink or the style of writing , that is , the writing of the letters in particular . What we nowadays write our copies of the Quran with -- there is no doubt that it is different from how it was done in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is the question of miniature copies of the Quran that can only be read with a magnifying glass . These are without doubt venerated by every well-informed person . Because of all of what I have mentioned it seems that it is obligatory to pay respect to the tablets of the loudspeaker , that is , to the cylinders . This is incumbent on whoever knows about the existence of the sound of the Quran on the cylinders , because of the veneration with which one should treat the Quran . This includes the engravings that are in the aforementioned cylinders and there is nothing that prevents this respect being extended to generally accepted lines of writing , except that the latter are perceived with the sense of seeing , known only by the writer , whereas the former are perceived with the sense of hearing , and every listener can hear them , and these are more suitable . As to miniature Quran copies , the writing in them can only be seen with a magnifying instrument . ( 28 ) As for the tablets and the cylinders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called the " gramophone . " And that is why we are of the opinion that the application of analogy in this case is correct , because of the resemblance between the two compared items . Therefore it is incumbent on the person who knows that the Quran is recorded on the cylinders to treat them with veneration , just like the tablets and paper with Quranic text should be treated with veneration . As for touching the cylinders in a state of ritual impurity and to carry them in such a state , from the perspective of the law they should be treated in the same way as tablets and paper on which there is Quranic text . And if the tablets and papers on which is the entire Quran or a part of it are venerated , and it is forbidden to touch or carry them in states of minor or major ritual impurity , why then would the tablets and cylinders of the gramophone not be treated with veneration and would their being carried in a state of ritual impurity not be forbidden , despite the engravings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more worthy of being called writing than lines of writing because they are a natural writing that happens through the undulating of the air by the reciting of the words by way of the wellknown needle , which faultlessly repeats the speech as the reciter has produced it . As for the well-known writing by hand , it is commonly accepted writing which does not render speech naturally but by description and convention , and sometimes the writer makes mistakes and does not reproduce what is dictated to him . And sometimes the reciter does not properly reproduce what is written . Even if he is able to write it , as the receiver of the recitation he does not vowelize properly . That is why some legal theorists have said that the uninterrupted transmission of the Quran from one generation to another is characteristic of it , not through being reproduced . Thus , we can not say with certainty that our reproducing of this continuous Quran is identical to the way the Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace , recited the Quran . Had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prophet 's reciting had been preserved , then we would have certain knowledge about this and it would be considered as continuous . Veneration for the Quran is a duty for certain and to treat it with contempt is a grave sin , and leads to unbelief if it is done on purpose . # The answer to the third question : It is evident that there is no obligation under the law to prostrate when one hears a sajda verse from the loudspeaker of the voice of the reciter , because there is no intention here . The jurists have clearly said that it is not prescribed to prostrate upon hearing the Quran recited by someone who has no intention to recite , such as someone who is sleeping , and this apparatus is an inanimate being , and the quality of being inanimate prevails here . # The answer to the fourth question , namely , whether the listener is rewarded , is that if the listener listens with consideration , attention , understanding , and obedience , then he will be rewarded . Here there is no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , an angel or a jinn , because the listener has the reward of his listening , and on the basis of that it is said that for listening to the Quran from the gramophone , I mean from the apparatus that speaks the voice of the reciter , the listener is rewarded if he listens well , and he is punished if he listens badly or if he takes the verses of God as play and an idle sport , as there is no difference between hearing from the mouth of a reciter or from the tube of the loudspeaker . # The answer to the fifth question , namely , whether there is a reward for the recorder of the recitation on the tablets of the loudspeaker or whether he is committing a sin by doing that , is that from all that has been mentioned before , it is evident that writing copies of the Quran and tablets and recording sound on the tablets share the same legal ruling . I mean that for the person who intends benefit and reward , there is a remuneration . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play , there is no remuneration ; on the contrary , he is punished , as the deeds are according to the intentions . My own opinion is that it is more suitable for the reciter that he not record his recitation on the aforementioned cylinders as sound of the Quran , in order to prevent it falling into the hands of people who are not serious and who act contrary to the religion , whereby lack of veneration for the Quran can occur and the recorder of the Quran is the cause thereof . God , praised and exalted is He , knows best . signed by Al-Sayyid " Abdallah Muhammad Salih al-ZawawI # SCHOLARLY USE OF SNOUCK HURGRONJE 'S RECORDINGS AND OTHERS # In 1906 Snouck Hurgronje repatriated to the Netherlands on his way to an influential academic career , but he sent his Edison phonograph to Jedda and Mecca , where numerous recordings were made . Most of these contain vocal and instrumental music but there is a modest amount of Quran recordings as well . # Instructions on recording were sent by Snouck Hurgronje from Leiden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Batavia . This Arab of Hadrami origin was a shipping agent in the pilgrim transportation trade . His brother Jamal ( " the old Tadjoedin , " as he was called in the Dutch colony in Jedda at the time ) lived in Mecca and Jedda , and operated the phonograph according to the instructions that he received . Outside of the pilgrimage season there was plenty of time to indulge in scholarly projects , and Jamal was often sent on errands in the Hijaz . Copies of some of the instructions between the Tadjoedin brothers have been preserved : ( 29 ) Keep the apparatus clean and handle it with care . Keep it in its box . Keep the cylinders in their covers , also after the recording . Mention the name of the performer , or the name of the piece performed . Make twenty cylinders ( qawalib ) with Yamani singing . Make twenty cylinders with pieces by local artists localities between Mecca and Medina are mentioned . Make fourteen cylinders with recitations from the Quran , from the short suras , so that one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one cylinder . # Snouck Hurgronje 's recordings contain in all some sixteen hours of sound , which may constitute the oldest preserved sound of Arabia and Indonesia . One recording session was photographically documented . ( 30 ) In the mid-1990s the Phonogram Archiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna , under the supervision of its then director , Dietrich Schuller , digitized the wax cylinders . Both a rough and an edited version were made , the latter eliminating most of the numerous acoustic irregularities . In 1997 the edited digital audiotape was mastered on sixteen CDs ; there also exists now a compressed version in MP3 format on two CDs of the entire collection . Ownership of the cylinders and the digitized sound was formally transferred on November 6 , 1996 by the Leiden-based foundation Oosters Instituut to Leiden University , with Leiden University Library as the place of deposit for the sound archive . In this way the collection has become available for research . Snouck Hurgronje 's notes on some of the music scores and songs from Arabia are preserved in his archive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Although Sayyid'Uthman 's fatwa on phonography is proof that mechanical reproduction of Quranic recitings was known before 1900 , the Leiden recordings -- datable to 1909 -- seem to be the oldest preserved ones . They comprise slightly less than twenty-three minutes of Quranic recitation ( see the Appendix for a detailed listing ) . # A somewhat younger collection of Quranic recordings on wax cylinders was made in Germany during the First World War . These were made by imams among Muslim prisoners of war who were detained in German prison camps -- Senegalese soldiers who fought in the trenches of northern France for the French army , and soldiers from British India who were recruited by the British . German anthropologists used these Muslim prisoners as informants on Islam and for their research they made sound recordings , including of Quranic recitation , which were preserved . ( 32 ) # A third set of sound recordings dates from slightly later . When the Semiticist Gotthelf Bergstrasser ( 1886-1933 ) visited Cairo between November 1929 and January 1930 to study the recitation of the Quran , ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Snouck Hurgronje 's private sound collection , then still kept by their owner in his house in Leiden . Bergstrasser had recordings made , and copies of some of his wax cylinders eventually came into the possession of Snouck Hurgronje . Only recently ( 2005 ) was it publicized that part of Bergstrasser 's sound recordings and image archive had indeed survived the Second World War . ( 34 ) # CONCLUDING REMARKS # The Muslim jurisprudents with their heated discussions about all aspects of the recording of sound -- of music in general and the phonography of the Quran in particular -- have now fallen silent . The written sediment of all their thinking lies unnoticed in archives and libraries . Most wax cylinders are lost or at best preserved in damaged condition ; the reciters died a long time ago . It would be rare for a modern-day Muslim to ask whether reproducing recitation of the Quran is permitted since it is ubiquitous -- in the taxi , in the barbershop , in teahouses and restaurants , Quranic recital has become a familiar sound . One can buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in airports and department stores at reasonable prices . Small audiovisual devices that show the written version in real time with the recitation are also on sale everywhere . If there still exist restrictions on the singing voice of the unrelated woman , the ajnabiyya , it is the continuation of a situation that already was in place long before Edison 's ingenious invention . # APPENDIX # Below is a survey of the fourteen requested Quranic recordings , plus one recording of the adhan , made for Snouck Hurgronje in the Hijaz between 1906 and 1909 and held now in the Leiden University Library : recording CD/track cylinder length in minutes Q l 5a/6 H22 2:26 Q i 4b/47 H16 2:29 ( partly ) Q l 2b/43 D18 1:40 Q 2:285-end 2a/2 C 3 2:24 Q 28:21-27 3a/l D21 2:31 Q 41:30-34 ? 3a/22 E16 2:47 Q 93 2a/7 C12 1:47 Q 94 3a/12 E8 2:11 Q 95 3a/12 E8 Q 110 3a/ll E7 2:03 Q 111 3a/ll E7 - Q 112 3a/ll E7 - Q 113 5a/6 H22 - Q 114 5a/6 H22 - adhan , 2a/23 C25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 22:01 minutes # JAN JUST WITKAM LEIDEN UNIVERSITY # Authore 's note : An earlier version of this article was presented at the workshop " Corpus Coranicum : Exploratory Workshop into the Beginnings of the Text , " held November 3-7 , 2005 in Berlin , and later published in Dutch as " Fatwa 's over de fonografie van de koran , " ZemZem 3 ( 2007 ) : 82-95 , 139-40. # ( 1 . ) On the introduction of the phonograph in the European and Indo-European milieus of the Dutch East Indies , see S. Suryadi , " The Recording Industry and ' Regional ' Culture in Indonesia : The Case of Minangkabau " ( PhD diss. , Leiden Univ. , 2014 ) , https : **44;0;TOOLONG . See also C. E. S. Gavin , " The Earliest Voices from the East : Photo-Archaeological Explorations and Tomorrow 's Museums , " Museum ( Unesco , Paris ) 158 ( 1988 ) : 67-80. # ( 2 . ) A promotional film of less than ten minutes entitled " The Stenographer 's Friend or What Was Accomplished by an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Edison Manufacturing Co. in 1910 , shows an overworked typist no longer able to cope with the mountain of stenographical notes she has to type out . The Edison phonograph brings happiness back to the office . The film is downloadable from the American Memory site of the Library of Congress . # ( 3 . ) Thus given in " The History of the Edison Cylinder Phonograph , " available online at http : **58;46;TOOLONG , accessed May 5 , 2013 , but in fact not found as such in Edison 's article in North American Review ( see following note ) . # ( 4 . ) T. A. Edison , " The Phonograph and Its Future , " North American Review 126 ( 1878 ) : 527-36 , quotation on p. 533 ; available online at http : **79;106;TOOLONG , accessed May 5 , 2013. # ( 5 . ) Beda'i ' -i keshfiyydt ve ikhtira'at-i besheri-den : Fonoghrdf tr . A. Rasim ( Istanbul : Baghdadliyan , 1302 11885 ) , 15 pp ; available online at **69;187;TOOLONG . The copy of this rare text in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ texts on aspects of modernity : Ibnurriza Tahir Ken'an Ibn al-Rida Tahir Kan'an , Hadithat-i tabfiyye ( Natural Phenomena ) , signed at the end by Bashir Fu'ad ( Istanbul : Mehran , 1305 1888 ) , 111 pp. ; and Mehmed sevq ! Muhammad Shawqi , Yildirim ve ona qarsi tedabir ( a work on protection against thunderbolts ) ( Dar-i Sa'adat : Qarabat ve Qaspar , 1304 1887 ) , 27 pp. # ( 6 . ) Thus called by C. Snouck Hurgronje , Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century : Daily Life , Customs and Learning . The Moslims of the East-Indian Archipelago ( Leiden : Brill , 2007 ; repr. 1931 ed. ) , 268. # ( 7 . ) The rules are summed up in several medieval works , of which the best known is al-Tibyan fi addb hamalat al-Qur'an by Yahya b . Sharaf al-Nawawi ( d. 676/1278 ) , of which numerous editions exist and which is regularly being reprinted . It has been translated into English as Etiquette with the Qur'an , tr . M. Furber ( Burr Ridge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 8 . ) On the orality of the Quran , see L. Sa'Id , al-Jam ' al-sawti al-awwal li-l-Qur'an al-karim , aw al-mushaf almurattal , which was published in Cairo in several editions . There exists a partial English translation by B. Weiss , M. A. Rauf. and M. Berger . The Recited Koran : A History of the First Recorded Version ( Princeton : Darwin , 1975 ) . # ( 9 . ) See Ch . Hirschkind , " Media and the Qur'an , " in The Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an , ed . J. D. McAuliffe ( Leiden : Brill , 2001-2006 ) , 3 : 341-49 ( pp. 343-44 are devoted to the phonograph , with Snouck Hurgronje 's article of 1915 as its source ) . Hirschkind places the introduction of the sound recording of the Quranic text within a more general framework of the mechanical reproduction of the Quran , including printing , which is itself extensively treated by M. W. Albin , " Printing of the Qur'an , " in ibid. , 4 : 264-76. # ( 10 . ) C. Snouck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Genootschap 42 ( 1900 ) : 393-427 ; repr. in idem , Verspreide geschriften ( Bonn : K. Schroeder , 1923-1927 ) , 2 : 418-47 ; partially publ. in English as " Islam and the Phonograph , " The Moslem World 5 ( 1915 ) : 159-65. # ( 11 . ) Ambtelijke adviezen van C. Snouck Hurgronje , 1889-1936 , 3 vols. , ed . E. Gobee and C. Adriaanse ( Den Haag : Martinus Nijhoff , 1957-1965 ) . # ( 12 . ) For Snouck Hurgronje 's life , see J. J. Witkam , " Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje , " in Orientalist Writers ( = Dictionary of Literary Biography , vol. 366 ) , ed . C. Fitzpatrick and D. A. Tunstall ( Detroit : Gale . 2012 ) . 148-54. # ( 13 . ) On the division of labor in Meccan photography between Snouck Hurgronje and the physician Abd al-Ghaffar , see my introduction in Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje , Mekka in de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw : Schetsen uit het dagelijks leven ( Amsterdam and Antwerpen : Atlas , 2007 ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recording sessions , which took place in 1905 or 1906 with the Acehnese exile in Batavia , Bentara Muda , and his wife , have been documented in H. T. Damste , " Memoires van een Atjehschen balling , " in Letterkunde van de Indische archipel , ed . J. Gonda ( Amsterdam : Elsevier , 1947 ) , 245-70 , especially from p. 263 on . # ( 15 . ) Sayyid ' Uthman , Fatwa , dated 1 Rabl ' I 1317 9 July 1899 , found on pp. 2-8 of idem , Tulu ' badr al-'ilm al-murtafa ' wa-zuhur najm al-sidq al-muntafa ' ' aid sihat jawdb hukm al-sawt al-mukhtara ' ( dated Batavia , 14 Jumada 11317 20 September 1899 ) . The title means something along the lines of " the rise of the full moon of elevated science and the appearance of the star of useful truth over the correctness of the answer concerning the artificial sound . " Its somewhat pompous wording already implies a controversy . For Sayyid'Uthman in general , see N. J. G. Kaptein , Islam , Colonialism and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Sayyid ' Uthman ( 1822-1914 ) ( Leiden : Brill , 2014 ) . # ( 16 . ) This latter fatwa is the one translated and analyzed by Snouck Hurgronje in his article on Islam and the phonograph ( 1900 ; Eng . 1915 ) . # ( 17 . ) Muhammad Bakhit Husayn al-Muti'I al-Hanafi , lzahat al-wahm wa-izdlat al-ishtihah ' an risalatay al-funughraf wa-l-sukurtdh ( Cairo 1324 1906-1907 ) , 74 pp , accessible at **27;258;TOOLONG ( under Reference ) . For al-Mutl'I , especially his term as Grand Mufti ( 1914-1920 ) , see J. Skovgaard-Petersen , Defining Islam for the Egyptian State : Muftis and Fatwas of the Dar al-Ifta ( Leiden : Brill , 1997 ) , 133-41 ; idem , art . Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i in EB ( 2018 ) . # ( 18 . ) The wood is , in fact , not mentioned in the Quran , but the major commentaries ( Tafsir al-Jalalayn. al-Kashshaf of al-Zamakhshari ) explain the fire as burning on a piece of wood . The Quranic reference describes the same incident that is mentioned in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between the Quranic and biblical versions of the story . # ( 19 . ) See the somewhat comic treatment by ' All b . Muhammad al-Dabba ' of the concept of emotion in Kitab Fath al-karim al-mannan fi adab hamalat al-Qur'an ( Cairo : Matba'at al-Mustafa al-Babl al-Halabi , 1353 1934 ) , which is almost literally copied , either through al-Nawawi 's Tibyan or directly , from al-Ghazali 's Ihyd ' ' ulum al-din ( 1 : chap . 8 , Kitab Adab tilawat al-Qur'an ; Eng . tr . M. Abul Quasem , The Recitation and Interpretation of the Qur'an : Al-Ghazali 's Theory London : Kegan Paul International , 1982 , with the reasoning about emotion on pp. 43-44 ) . # ( 20 . ) A draft of the unpublished fatwa was added as an enclosure to al-Zawawi 's letter from Malacca , dated 12 Sha'ban 1326 8 September 1908 , addressed to C. Snouck Hurgronje , who by then had become a professor in Leiden . It is kept in the Snouck Hurgronje Archive in Leiden University Library , Or . 8952 A : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . # ( 21 . ) For a survey of his ancestry , early career in Mecca , and the controversies that surrounded him there , see Snouck Hurgronje , Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century , 200 , 204 , 223 , 287 , 301 , 308. # ( 22 . ) I have kept the orthographic peculiarities of the manuscript intact and I have made no attempt at normalization , omitting vowels and such signs as the madda , even when present in the manuscript . I did correct a few obvious mistakes that would otherwise have made the Arabic incomprehensible , which I reference in my notes , and divided the text into paragraphs to facilitate reading . Notes to the Arabic text : 11. 4 , 11 : The word sawt is apparently written with ta ' marbuta instead of ta ' 1 . 6 : The canonical orthography of Q 16:43 and 21:7 leaves out the alif in fas'alu ; 1 . 7 : the text after al-jawab was apparently added later ; 1 . 9 : the ms has al-usulin instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the double vertical strokes is given in the ms as an endnote ; 11. 26 , 27 : the ms twice has an extra alif between lam-alif and the lam in al-alwah ; 1 . 39 : the ms has an extra alif between rd ' and the hamza of li-l-qari ' . # ( 23 . ) Al-Zawawi uses both " gramophone " ( 11. 13 , 25 , 28 , 36 ) and " phonograph " ( 1 . 32 ) . It is possible that he uses them interchangeably , as is often done in the early sources , including those in English . The meaning of ustuwana for wax cylinder , which strictly speaking can only refer to the phonograph , has shifted in modern Arabic usage to " gramophone record disc . " Al-Zawawi 's use of lawh is not unequivocal . He uses it to denote both " gramophone record " and the traditional writing slab . I have translated it as " tablet , " but its double meaning can not be maintained in the translation . Al-Zawawi also needs lawh for analogical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ association with the heavenly tablet , al-lawh al-mahfuz , which contains the archetype of the Quranic text . Since the introduction of " tablet " for digital devices , the word has acquired a whole new semantic dimension . # ( 24 . ) Q 16:43 and 21:7 . Above , " being Christians , Mazdeans imajus ) . and others " may allude to Q 22:17 , which mentions all who will be judged on the day of resurrection . # ( 25 . ) This definition of analogy , taken from al-Qarafi 's Tanqih al-fusul fi ikhtisar al-Mahsul fi l-usul ( ed . Tunis 1910 , p. 331. chap . 17 ) , was added by al-ZawawI as an endnote in the Arabic text . # ( 26 . ) Q 6:70. # ( 27 . ) The Arabic word bal , here translated as " correction , " indicates that alwah is a writing error . A less literal translation would simply ignore it and read : " ... because our respect for the paper and the leather ... " # ( 28 . ) Al-Zawawi gives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an argument in favor of the phonograph by way of analogy , viz. , if a visual aid is already accepted , then by extension the use of an instrument to hear the Quranic text should be as well . The visual aid , the magnifying glass , is here the core of the reasoning . This passage in al-Zawawi 's fatwa , by implication , dates the existence of small Quran copies , to be used with a reading aid , at least to the end of the nineteenth century . Micrography in Islam is much older than that , but the use of magnifying glasses is not attested . For a study of miniature Qurans , see H. Coffey , " Between Amulet and Devotion : Islamic Miniature Books in the Lilly Library , " in The Islamic Manuscript Tradition : Ten Centuries of Book Arts in Indiana University Collections , ed . C. Gruber ( Bloomington : Indiana Univ . Press , 2010 ) , 78-115. # ( 29 . ) The letters from the Tadjoedin family to Snouck Hurgronje are in MS Leiden Or . 8952 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ photograph is of a music recording session inside the Dutch consulate in Jedda , taken by the consul N. Scheltema and dated February 1909 . Leiden University Library Or . 26.365 : OI D.47 , reproduced and described in D. Oostdam and J. J. Witkam , West-Arabian Encounters : Fifty Years of Dutch-Arabian Relations in Images ( 1885-1935 ) ( Leiden : Legatum Warnerianum Leiden University Library , 2004 ) , 108-10 . The phonograph depicted is Snouck Hurgronje 's Edison Home Phonograph no. 47461 , which is now kept in the Leiden University Library , registered as Or . 27.130 , the original cylinders as Or . 27.131 . The sound can be ordered from the Library . Among recent work done on the sound recorded at Jedda may be mentioned A. van Oostrum , " Arabic Music in Western Ears : An Account of the Music of the Hejaz at the Turn of the Twentieth Century , " in Quaderni di Studi Arabi n.s. 7 ( 2012 ) : 127-44 . Work done on the content of the Yemeni songs in MS Leiden Or . 6980 , apparently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jean Lambert and Anne Regourd in the second part of their " Le manuscrit Leyde Or . 6980 " ( " Poesies chante'es dans le Higaz au debut du XXe siecle : La transcription par un lettre de documents sonores . Edition du texte " ) , Chroniques du manuscrit au Yemen I Hawliyyat makhtutat al-yaman 24 ( July 2017 ) , 112-216 ( with complete facsimile of the manuscript ) , http : **28;287;TOOLONG # ( 31 . ) MS Leiden Or . 18.097 S 65 . See A. Vrolijk and H. van de Velde , Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje ( 18571936 ) , Orientalist : Catalogue of an Exhibition on the Sesquicentenary of His Birth , 8 February 2007 ( Leiden : Leiden Univ . Library , 2007 ) , 98-99 . Already in December 1906 , Snouck Hurgronje had contacted Willy Foy , director of the **26;317;TOOLONG of Ethnography in Cologne , Germany , to orientate himself on the scholarly use of the sound recordings he was going to commission ( correspondence in MS , Leiden Or . 8952 A. 317 ) . # ( 32 . ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 . Weltkrieg . Ansichten und Absichten , 2nd ed . ( Berlin : Museum Europaischer Kulturen , 2000 ) . # ( 33 . ) G. Bergstrasser , " Koranlesung in Kairo : Mit einera Beitrag von K. Huber , " Der Islam 20 ( 1932 ) : 1-42 ; 21 ( 1933 ) : 110-40. # ( 34 . ) It was announced at the Corpus Coranicum conference , Berlin ( see author 's note above ) . For the story behind Bergstrasser 's presumedly lost Quran archive , which mostly consists of images , see A. Higgins , " The Lost Archive , " The Wall Street Journal , January 12 , 2008 , 14-15. # Please note : Some non-Latin characters were omitted from this

@@5026441 # Author(s) : Jess Carabao 1 , Jan Westerholm 1 , Tapani Sarjakoski 2 # Author Affiliations : # ( Aff1 ) 0000 0001 2235 8415 , grid.13797.3b , Faculty of Science and Engineering , bo Akademi University , , Vattenborgsvgen 5 , 20500 , bo , Finland # ( Aff2 ) Geoinformatics and Cartography , Finnish Geospatial Research Institute FGI , National Land Survey of Finland , , Helsinki , Finland # Introduction # The rapid increases in the spatio-temporal resolutions of geographic datasets have outpaced our capacity to analyze , visualize , and make sense of the data . At the same time , computer architectures have evolved from being sequential and uniform to being parallel and heterogeneous . Nowadays , most computers have a multi-core central processing unit ( CPU ) with single instruction multiple data ( SIMD ) vector instructions and a programmable graphics processing unit ( GPU ) . These parallel devices have the potential to cope with the increasing volumes of geographic data . However , due to their programming complexity , they are widely underutilized . Modelers prefer scripting languages to parallel languages because the former provide simple abstractions that facilitate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as load balance , synchronization , communication and parallel I/O . # The first geospatial scripting language to include a comprehensive collection of raster operators was implemented by Tomlin in the 1980s , and it was based on the mathematical structure proposed by Tomlin and Berry 1 . This event marked the beginning of map algebra 2 , 3 , an algebraic formalism for the analysis of raster data . Many others followed , extending map algebra to encompass dynamic modeling 4 , 5 , evaluating new user interfaces 6 , formalizing the time dimension 7 , 8 , or contributing in other ways 9-11 . It was the simple and concise structure of scripts , where operations are applied to whole maps without explicitly iterating over the cells , that made map algebra a popular language . Although simple , map algebra becomes extremely flexible when combined with general-purpose programming structures , such as branching , looping , and callable functions . As a result , it can be used to model , for instance , hydrological simulations 12 , cost distance analysis 13 , or even environmental systems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they prefer scripting for productivity , then their scripts need to be enhanced with transparent parallelism . Abundant research has targeted the parallelization of individual spatial algorithms 15 , but only a few studies have explored the parallelization of general-purpose solutions . The first attempt to parallelize map algebra was reported in 16 , using the message-passing interface ( MPI ) and based on the parallel neighborhood modeling library 17 . The pRPL library 18 was written in C++ , built upon MPI , and tested with a cellular automaton ( CA ) model for urban development . Its continuation , pRPL 2 19 , added data management , pseudo-parallel I/O , and dynamic load balancing features . Cheng et al . 20 proposed three general optimization methods for parallel CAs : parallel I/O , optimal data partitioning , and communication-compute overlapping . Wu et al . 21 tested map algebra on GPUs even before general-purpose GPU languages like CUDA and OpenCL 22 were available . The work in 23 accelerated the batch processing of raster spatial analysis by leveraging an in-memory cache and GPUs . With PaRGO 24 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in distributed memory , shared memory , and GPU architectures . The most recent attempt to parallelize map algebra was done by Shook et al . 25 , who used Python because of its widespread adoption . These works represent important advances in the parallelization of general-purpose solutions for the analysis of large raster data . Unfortunately , parallelism is not enough . Performance is also influenced by how far data has to travel , that is to say , by data locality 26 , 27. # Traditional map algebra frameworks neglect data locality because they are implemented as interpreters . They execute operations in order , repeatedly moving intermediate results up and down the memory hierarchy . Such a design was acceptable back when the execution of instructions was the limiting factor of performance . For example , floating-point instructions used to consume tens to hundreds of clock cycles . Computer architectures have evolved , though , and today accessing memory accounts for the major bottleneck . As a result , locality has become a critical concern , and this is visible in the recent literature . With pRPL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the memory bottlenecks suffered by pRPL 1 18 , but still considerably more time is spent on I/O than on computing . In the study by Cheng et al . 20 , the bottleneck caused by loading and communicating data motivates the study of memory-related optimizations . Wu et al . 21 discuss how the execution of individual raster operations is limited by memory bandwidth for both CPUs and GPUs . The authors of 23 observe that transferring data from disk to CPU and to GPU ruins the performance , so they implemented a two-level cache to relieve the problem . The experiments of Shook et al . 25 point to memory bandwidth saturation as the reason behind the speed-up degradation when more parallel cores are utilized . # While the existing literature indicates that memory constitutes a major bottleneck for raster spatial analysis , no map algebra implementation exists that identifies data locality as a key performance driver . We propose a compiler approach that reorganizes the execution of map algebra scripts to exploit locality . In this work , we describe a framework that follows such an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ targets multi-core CPUs and single GPUs , while it excludes multi-GPUs and distributed memory . It covers most local , focal and zonal map algebra operations , as well as one global operation ( viewshed ) . The framework also applies spatial decomposition to deal with datasets larger than GPU and main memory . Its internal details are , moreover , transparent to the user , who simply writes sequential map algebra scripts in Python. # The rest of the paper is structured as follows . Section 2 presents the compiler approach and the components of the framework . Section 3 details a scheduler and a fusion technique , both used to reorder the execution for locality . Section 4 explores the connection between locality and parallelism , and presents the experimental results . Section 5 concludes the paper and discusses possible improvements . # A compiler approach to map algebra # Traditional map algebra implementations are interpreters . They process scripts in order , execute statements one by one , and ignore which raster operation comes next . Interpreters can not optimize beyond the scope of the operation being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consistent for any subsequent operation . In the context of map algebra , this means that output rasters are moved to a lower level in the memory hierarchy , where they can reside permanently . That level can be the main memory if the rasters fit there , otherwise they are written to disk . # To enable the processing of datasets larger than the main memory , rasters are commonly decomposed into smaller blocks . Figure 1a illustrates the interpreter approach in such a case . The interpretation of map algebra scripts consists of a triple loop structure where operations , blocks , and cells are iterated in order . Despite its simplicity , this program structure has deep implications with respect to data and its movement . For every operation , input rasters are moved from disk to main memory , on a block-by-block basis . For every block , cells are moved from main memory to the processor registers and are operated on in consecutive fashion . Simultaneously , the resulting output cells are moved into new blocks residing in memory . Likewise , these blocks are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resides . Once the operation has finished , the interpreter moves on to the next operation and repeats the scheme . Given that most raster operations are simple and have low arithmetic intensity , most of the execution time in a typical memory hierarchy ( Fig. 2 ) is spent waiting for data to travel from disk , to CPU/GPU memories , to registers , and back to disk . # Fig. 1 : Interpreter approach ( a /b /c ) , compiler approach ( d /e /f ) , parallel optimizations ( b /c ) , data locality optimizations ( d /e ) , coarse-grained ( b /e ) , fine-grained ( c /d ) see PDF for image # Fig. 2 : Approximated memory hierarchy of a commodity desktop computer ( the bandwidth decreases in orders of magnitude as the distance between memory and processors increases ) see PDF for image # Figure 1b shows the addition of coarse-grain parallelism through the use of multi-threading . Scripts are still interpreted , but blocks are processed in parallel . This brings immediate performance benefits since the blocks are now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple CPU threads saturates the disk 's bandwidth and performance stagnates soon . On the other hand , parallelism can also be applied in a fine-grained fashion , for example by using GPUs for the cells loop ( Fig. 1c ) . Unless other bottlenecks like the PCIe bandwidth strike first , performance will increase due to added parallelism . However , the GPU memory bandwidth saturates again and the GPU threads mostly wait idle . Although parallel , both solutions are still interpreters . They neglect the locality between consecutive raster operations , in which data produced by one operation is often consumed by the next . As a result , they saturate the bandwidth and can not take full advantage of the available parallel cores. # Unlike interpreters , our compiler approach first gathers a global view of the whole script in order to know the operations and their interrelationships . With that information we reorder the execution at the cell and block levels . Fusion , illustrated in Fig. 1d , moves the operations loop to the innermost part of the execution . This has the effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hierarchy , all the operations are applied at once . Consequently , the intermediate memory movements are avoided and the bandwidth is not saturated . Unfortunately , fusion is not applicable in the presence of spatial data dependencies . The scheduler , on the other hand , can handle some spatial dependencies in exchange for lower bandwidth savings . It moves the operations loop just one level down ( Fig. 1e ) to reorder the execution at the block level . It saves block movements between disk and memory , but it can not prevent the movement of cells between memory and registers ( Fig. 2 ) . # Figure 1d and e show ideal situations where all operations can be reordered by one single loop transformation . However , this is not always the case for real-life scripts that mix diverse types of map algebra operations . Figure 1f shows the complexities of the reordering problem for a more realistic script . For example , focal operations present small barriers ( in the figure , shorter blue lines ) to the reordering that can disable fusion , while zonal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to their spatial extent , which also inhibit the scheduler . The reordering problem is discussed in more detail in section 3 . The next subsections provide an overview of the components of our framework . # Map algebra as a python script # Map algebra 2 , 3 is a scripting language for geospatial analysis and modeling using raster data . Operations in map algebra belong to one of four classes : local , focal , zonal and global . All operations in a given class conform to strict spatial patterns ( Fig. 3 ) . Local operations access single raster cells , focal operations access bounded neighborhoods , zonal operations access all cells in their zone with associative order , and global operations access potentially any cell in the raster in any order . Global operations are further divided into radial and spread operations 3 . Radial operations access straight lines of cells , while spread operations access sequences of cells given by some topological criteria ( e.g. , the water flow direction ) . Our prototype implements the subset of local , focal , zonal and radial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this study ( e.g. , flow accumulation 29 , cost surface 30 ) . # Fig. 3 : Map algebra classes and their algorithmic patterns see PDF for image # Our framework is written in C++ and interfaced through Python . Common Python operators are used to express local operations ( e.g. , + , - , * , / , == , ! = , &lt; , &gt; ) while predefined functions cover the remaining focal ( e.g. , slope , aspect , flow direction ) , zonal ( e.g. , min , average ) and radial functionalities ( e.g. , viewshed ) . The framework supports simple loops with a known number of iterations at compile time and user-defined functions composed of existing operators . The use of functions enables the practice of good software engineering principles , like code reuse and modularization . Moreover , these abstractions come with no performance cost because the compiler optimizations will optimize them away . # Next , we present two sample scripts . Conway 's Game of Life 13 script in Listing 1 exemplifies the use of finite loops with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become dead or alive according to the population of their neighborhood in the previous iteration . Listing 2 computes the hillshade of a digital elevation model ( DEM ) following Horn 's formulation 31 . Based on the given azimuth and altitude of the sun , it draws a self-shadowing effect on top of the DEM that creates a sense of topographic relief . This script defines slope , aspect , and hillshade from basic raster operations for illustrative purposes . Listing 2 shows two alternative ways to access the neighborhood , with a convolution filter of 3 by 3 cells ( lines 5 to 8 ) or with individual accesses per neighbor ( lines 12 to 14 ) . Note how both Python scripts are devoid of parallel semantics , facilitating their easy sequential development . # Listing 1 : Life script 13 in Python see PDF for image # Listing 2 : Hillshade script 31 in Python see PDF for image # Dependency graph # Figure 4 illustrates the components of the framework via a hypothetical example . When the Python script in Fig. 4a is run , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a graph is created with nodes and edges representing the operations and their interrelationships . Nodes are tagged according to their inputs , outputs , type of operation and map algebra classes . Together , they consolidate the dependency graph ( Fig. 4b ) , a symbolic representation of the script . Operations with side effects in the real world , like writing to a file , trigger the execution of the graph . If the graph accumulates many nodes before this happens , then many reordering opportunities will emerge from the interrelationships between the operations . # Fig. 4 : Components and stages of the framework see PDF for image # The dependency graph is structured as a directed acyclic graph ( DAG ) in static single assignment ( SSA ) form . DAGs are common in parallel libraries 32-34 , where the nodes represent tasks and the edges indicate data dependencies . They are used to model the type of asynchronous and dynamic parallelism that fit best with the heterogeneous design of modern computers 32 . The SSA form makes the dependency chains explicit by decoupling operations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ optimizations that will follow . The SSA DAG is the intermediate representation of our compiler approach , and its presence is required to move beyond interpretation . Next , the framework analyzes the dependency graph and generates bespoke parallel code with improved locality and superior performance . # Simplification and fusion # At this point , simplification routines are applied to the dependency graph . This results in an optimized version of the graph with fewer nodes but equivalent functionality . For this purpose , the framework applies global value numbering 36 and typical compiler techniques : arithmetic simplification , constant folding and propagation , copy propagation , common subexpression elimination and dead code elimination . Most of these techniques are applicable in Listing 2 . For example , in line 13 , arithmetic simplification discards the multiplications by zero . Constant folding and propagation occur in lines 33 to 36 . Common subexpression elimination applies to lines 18/24 , 19/25 , and 37/38 , where the function calls to hori , vert and slope are repeated for the same inputs . The framework sees through the abstractions and only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different function scopes . These simplifications are straightforward , but important , as most scripts offer opportunities for these types of optimizations. # Fusion is performed after simplification . As we explain in more detail in subsection 3.1 , fusion merges consecutive raster operations into groups . Consequently , the fused operations are applied to the cells at once , as if the operations loop had been moved to the innermost part of the execution ( Fig. 1d ) . Fusion augments the intermediate representation with a new structure , the grouped graph ( Fig. 4c ) . Groups are tagged via the aggregation of inputs , outputs , and map algebra classes of their nodes . Although different classes can be grouped together , often one dominates the others . Groups also inherit the directed and acyclic dependencies . Next , the grouped graph is used to generate parallel code . # Code translation with skeletons # The groups are translated into parallel kernel codes that run on OpenCL devices . The translation stage is based on code skeletons 37-39 . Skeletons are code templates describing algorithmic patterns that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parallel pattern for each map algebra class and for every pattern we design a skeleton . In this way , feeding the skeletons with the groups results in the translated kernel codes ( Fig. 4d ) . The design and evaluation of the skeletons is beyond the scope of this study , although they can be explored in the source code repository 28. # Map algebra operations display a variety of parallel patterns . Local , focal and zonal operations follow the map , stencil , and reduction patterns , respectively 37 . Radial operations display a two-dimensional scan pattern ( e.g. , prefix sum ) , in which every cell depends on the output value of the previous cells in the radial direction . These parallel patterns are common across domains and applicable to other problems aside from map algebra 40 . Global operations not covered in our prototype present their own parallel patterns , and their inclusion requires the design of new skeletons . # Kernel compilation and task composition # The kernel code is handed to the OpenCL compiler to generate executable device code ( Fig. 4e @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of parallel devices , although we focus on multi-core CPUs and GPUs . The OpenCL compiler performs important routines , such as register allocation , instruction selection , and instruction scheduling 41 . The length of the groups and the design of the skeletons affect these routines , and therefore , the quality of the device code too . The compilation takes little time , typically less than a second . However , this can be problematic for very small datasets if the compilation dominates the execution time . To mitigate this issue , the framework caches the device code so that the kernels are compiled just once , but reused as needed . # A task containing the executable device code is created for each group of nodes . Tasks can contain specialized versions of the kernel and device codes for each type of OpenCL device . For instance , the GPU skeletons are specialized to exploit the on-chip scratchpad memory . The execution of tasks produces new raster data that is consumed by subsequent tasks or written to disk as the final results . When a task is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ execution . The aggregation of the tasks expands the intermediate representation with the task graph ( Fig. 4f ) . # Spatial decomposition and scheduling # As the resolution of geographical datasets continues to increase , it is becoming more and more common that the computer 's main memory is unable to accommodate all that data at once . To circumvent this problem , the framework applies spatial decomposition and subdivides the rasters into blocks of adjacent cells . Simultaneously , tasks are also subdivided to form jobs . A job is a pair ( task , block ) , and it constitutes the executable and scheduling unit ( Fig. 4g ) . Jobs depend on the same input rasters as their parent task , but only for their particular block . For certain map algebra classes , such as focal , jobs also require their neighboring blocks . This occurs because focal operations access their neighboring cells , known as halos , and the outermost halos belong to the neighboring blocks ( Fig. 5a ) . # Fig. 5 : a ) Focal jobs require their neighboring blocks for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viewshed operation ( radial class ) follows an outward expansion from the observer see PDF for image # Jobs are standalone , executable units that can run in parallel , but they are not free of restrictions . To ensure correctness , the order of jobs is constrained based on the their data dependencies . An example can be seen in viewshed analysis 42 , where the visibility of any target cell depends on the obstacles between the target and the observer . This constrains the execution of radial jobs to an outward expansion order from the observer towards the borders ( Fig. 5b ) . In spite of these restrictions , typically numerous orderings exist that preserve correctness . The scheduler , supported by an in-memory cache , exploits this opportunity and reorders the jobs for better locality . Fig. 4h shows the execution order set by the scheduler , as if the operations loop had been moved below the blocks loop ( Fig. 1e ) . The scheduler is described in more detail in subsection 3.2. # Workers and execution # The framework spawns several worker threads to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the scheduler , query the in-memory cache for data blocks , perform parallel I/O , issue the kernels to the OpenCL devices , and notify tasks about the completion of jobs . The scheduler maintains a work queue for active jobs ready to be executed . The cache brings the needed blocks to memory and keeps them there for future requests . The execution of jobs produces new blocks , which become inputs for the next jobs . The notified tasks release those jobs whose input dependencies have now been met . These jobs become active and they join the work queue . The scheduler reorders the work queue for locality , and the cycle is repeated . # The workers act concurrently for better performance , which on the one hand enables the overlapping of computation and I/O , but on the other creates complex race conditions . Workers interacting with shared resources , like querying the work queue or searching the cache , require mutual exclusion . Maintaining thread-safe , yet efficient , data structures and routines is critical for the performance . If too much synchronization overhead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , therefore , a tradeoff between sophisticated logic and computational cost . For instance , meticulous caching strategies may not be advantageous if they bring large overhead . # Reordering for locality # Current trends in hardware architectures are leading to increasing numbers of parallel processors . Nowadays , trillions of floating point operations per second ( teraflops ) are feasible using a single GPU processor . However , despite the increase in parallelism , processors still need data , and their ability to move data is improving at a much slower rate 27 . In fact , the cost of moving data is relatively increasing with respect to its processing , and as a result , data locality is becoming paramount . Unfortunately , locality can not be exploited by making superficial changes to existing codes ; instead , it requires a rethinking of algorithms . Keeping up with the increasing parallelism requires profound changes to the organization of algorithms , from compute-centric to data-centric 26. # The parallel transition and the escalation of spatial data are shifting the performance bottleneck of map algebra from computation to memory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a map algebra implementation needs to target locality first . However , traditional solutions can not exploit locality because they lack a global view of the scripts . Conversely , our framework constructs an intermediate graph representation that enables the use of the scheduler and fusion . These techniques shorten the reuse distance between data producer and data consumer raster operations . As a result , data is more often found at a higher memory level and the cost of accessing data is reduced . Fusion and the scheduler present different action scopes . While the former targets on-chip memories ( i.e. , registers , caches , scratchpads ) , the latter addresses the rest of the memory hierarchy ( Fig. 2 ) . # Fusion # Fusion is an important code optimizations technique , which compiler theory describes as collapsing consecutive and dependent loops . It is called loop fusion if applied to CPUs 43 , kernel fusion if applied to GPUs 44 , and stream fusion in functional programming languages 45 . A detailed study on the complexity of fusion is given by Darte 46 . Recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the search for locality . Examples of such fields are linear algebra 44 , database query languages 47 , functional GPU languages 48 , machine learning 49 , and array programming languages 50 . We bring fusion to map algebra in order to exploit the data locality arising from the relations between consecutive raster operations . # Recall how the nodes of the dependency graph represent the application of map algebra operations to rasters ( Fig. 4b ) , and how this is essentially achieved with loops over the cells ( Fig. 1a ) . Therefore , if fusion consists of collapsing loops , then our fusion is equal to the grouping of nodes ( Fig. 4c ) . Suppose we have two chained nodes , A and B ( Fig. 6a ) . Fusion merges them into a larger unit , namely AB , thereby avoiding the temporal raster resulting from A and consumed by B. This simple optimization is impossible for an interpreter because it can not see beyond the scope of the operation currently being executed . Additionally , fusion enables better machine code generation since larger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 46 . On the other hand , loop-carried dependencies ( i.e. , spatial dependencies in our context ) prevent the application of fusion 43. # Fig. 6 : a ) Pipe fusion of a producer and a consumer operation ; b ) flat fusion of consumers sharing a common input ; c ) invalid fusion that breaks the acyclic property of the DAG see PDF for image # Fusibility of map algebra operations # We categorize fusion into two types . Pipe fusion merges operations with a producer-consumer relationship ( Fig. 6a ) , while flat fusion merges operations sharing a common input ( Fig. 6b ) . Pipe fusion and flat fusion can overlap ( e.g. , B and C in Fig. 6c ) , in which case pipe fusion is given preference . Pipe fusion saves both read and write memory operations , while flat fusion only saves reads , hence this priority . On the other hand , flat fusion is only limited by the skeletal compatibility of the operations while pipe fusion is also restricted by their spatial reach . Transformations that break the acyclic property @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Fig. 6c ) . # Table 1 lists the validity of pipe fusion and flat fusion for each pair of map algebra classes , that is , it lists their fusibility . These rules originate from the application of parallel programming to the map algebra patterns and may be inferred by inspection . In brief , operations with a narrow spatial reach ( local , focal ) or static order ( radial ) are more fusible than operations with an extensive spatial reach ( zonal ) or dynamic order ( spread ) ( see Fig. 3 ) . We designate fusion as available when it is valid and provides clear performance improvements , as unavailable when it breaks data dependencies or is detrimental to the performance , and as compromising when it is valid but presents performance tradeoffs . Note that this classification derives from the judgment of the authors and somewhat different rules might be possible . # Table 1 : Fusibility of map algebra operations ( with pipe fusion the producers are in the left while the consumers are in the top ; flat fusion has no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ # Local # Focal # Zonal # Radial # Spread # FLAT # Local # Focal # Zonal # Radial # Spread # Local # # # # # # Local # # # # # # Focal # # # # # # Focal # # # # # # Zonal # # # # # # Zonal # # # # # # Radial # # # # # # Radial # # # # # # Spread # # # # # # Spread # # # # # # Available : fusion is valid and beneficial # Unavailable : fusion is invalid or prejudicial # Compromising : fusion is valid but not always favorable , depending on the devices and the operations # The architecture of the parallel devices affects the fusibility as well . For instance , global operations present complex dependencies that require synchronization barriers between the parallel threads . The GPU architecture does not allow the use of global barriers within kernels , and can only synchronize at a local scope , limiting the fusibility . In contrast , CPUs can handle synchronization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of fused operations and the resources shared by the threads can also impose limits . For instance , large GPU kernels require many registers and much scratchpad memory per parallel thread . Exhausting these shared resources limits the occupancy of GPUs 44 , thus excessive fusion could decrease performance . # A frequent case of compromising pipe fusion is the merging of consecutive focal operations . Figure 7 shows an example with three focal operations , each with a neighborhood of 3 x 3 cells . Computing the central block in the 3rd operation requires having access to the previous central block and its halos , which in turn must access previous halos that are farther away . This backward propagation has the effect that subsequent pipe fusions of focal operations always generate extensive overlappings in the outer halos . This overlap affects all blocks , causes redundant computation , and escalates quickly with the levels of fusion . Consequently , a break-even point exists , after which redundant computation outweighs the gains in data locality . For this reason , pipe fusing focal operations presents complex tradeoffs between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pipe fusing focal operations presents tradeoffs between locality , parallelism and recomputation 51 see PDF for image # In this study , we are not exploring the search space of fusions and their tradeoffs . Instead our prototype implements a greedy strategy that starts from the output nodes of the script ( i.e. , write ) and fuses nodes two by two , in bottom-up order and according to the rules in Table 1 . While ascending the graph , the fusion routine tries to merge as many nodes as possible into the current group without evaluating the effects of such a decision . We do not merge operations when fusion creates cycles , is invalid , or is compromising . Neither do we set limits to the extension of groups ; therefore , the fusion routine is not concerned with exhausting resources . This is a greedy approach that may overlook the optimal fusion strategy , although it behaves adequately for the scripts tested in section 4. # Scheduler # The scheduling technique employed in this study relates to the field of external-memory algorithms 52 . These algorithms use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I/O data movements rather than in computer operations . To reduce the complexity , they follow more efficient orders of execution that minimize the I/O . External-memory techniques have been successfully applied to spatial algorithms aimed at large raster datasets , for instance in drainage network analysis 53 and viewshed analysis 54 . Similarly to these studies , our scheduler rearranges the execution of jobs into orders that minimize memory movements along the memory hierarchy . It reduces transfers from disk , to host memory , to device memory , and vice versa ( Fig. 2 ) . To do so , the scheduler utilizes an in-memory cache and space-filling curves . # In-memory cache # The framework caches recently read blocks in order to avoid reloading them if requested a short time later . Likewise , recently computed blocks are not immediately evicted from memory in case of future reads . Cached temporal blocks that have already been used by all their dependent jobs are permanently discarded . Generally , all blocks are cached ; when memory becomes full , the least recently used ( LRU ) blocks are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out concurrently with the execution of jobs and without interrupting them . Some thread-safe data structures are necessary , like a hashed directory of cache entries to keep track of the cached blocks , and a linked list of the LRU entries . Figure 8 presents a high-level view of the cache . If a device is not involved in the computation , its cache remains inoperative ( e.g. , CPU Cores in Fig. 8 ) . # Fig. 8 : In-memory cache system ( the multi-core CPU is inoperative in this example ) see PDF for image # In the context of map algebra , caching is particularly critical for the performance of GPU devices 23 . Discrete GPUs are connected through a PCI-Express bus , which has considerably lower bandwidth than does GPU memory ( Fig. 2 ) . If blocks are not cached , then discrete GPUs wait idle while data is being transferred over the PCIe , and this ruins their performance advantage over CPUs 21 . Even integrated GPUs , which share the physical memory with the host and are not connected through PCIe , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Most importantly , caching blocks at host level prevents costly transfers from disk , and both GPUs and CPUs benefit from this caching. # At device level , the cache entries are allocated in a pool of OpenCL memory objects and are actively managed by the framework . At host level , the data is held in main memory by the Linux Page Cache 55 . This is mostly done automatically , albeit it is less performant than writing a custom host cache in C++ . The cache is not inclusive , that is to say , blocks at a high level may not exist at a lower level . This design targets short-lived temporal blocks in GPU memory that are created and quickly consumed , since moving them down the PCIe would waste bandwidth . The cache is not exclusive either because blocks may concurrently reside at multiple levels . The design follows an intermediate policy that targets simplicity and efficiency . More sophisticated cache policies are possible so long as the extra logic does not incur too much overhead . # Space-filling curves # All active jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ curve ( SFC ) . Following SFCs when accessing multidimensional data leads to a more efficient utilization of hierarchical memories 56 , which enhances the performance of the in-memory cache . In particular , we employ the Z-order curve 57 . Recall how in Fig. 5b , the radial jobs followed an outward expansion order to meet their data dependencies . In Fig. 9a , the jobs are reordered using a Z-curve on a sector basis ( e.g. , the northeast sector from the starting point ) and , while the Z-curve preserves correctness , it also improves the spatial locality . The Z-curve is used to reorder jobs in their spatial ( i.e. , block-level ) and operational ( i.e. , task-level ) dimensions ( Fig. 4h ) . This reordering is constrained by the spatial reach of the map algebra classes , and the final execution order looks as if the operations loop had been split by multiple barriers ( Fig. 1f ) . # Fig. 9 : a ) Reordering of radial jobs ( e.g. , viewshed ) with a Z-curve per sector ; b ) reordering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their spatial and operational dimensions see PDF for image # A scenario where SFCs are remarkably beneficial occurs when chaining a series of focal operations , as seen in Fig. 9b . This is a common workload in cellular automata 58 , 59 and environmental simulations 4 . This type of forward-in-time simulations creates short-lived temporal blocks at every time step that are immediately consumed by the next iteration . With SFCs , most temporal blocks in GPU memory are quickly discarded , only some are evicted to host memory , and few or none are written to disk . If , on the other hand , all jobs in one time iteration were scheduled together , as is done by interpreted map algebras , then the temporal blocks would suffer from long reuse distance , causing memory movements that bottleneck the execution . # Shortcomings of locality # Optimizing for locality is not always feasible . Reordering is most beneficial when scripts are composed of numerous and simple raster operations . If the loop in Fig. 1 only includes one operation , then no reordering is possible . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into meters , which just requires one multiplication . Even scripts with abundant operations might benefit little from reordering , for instance , if all their operations have a large spatial reach , like zonals , or if they present complex dependencies , like globals . Moreover , fusion is already present in some raster library functions . For example , when library developers write a typical hillshade function , they merge by hand the slope and aspect equations into the same loop , manually achieving the benefits of fusion . # Nonetheless , these shortcomings do not devalue our compiler approach , as most non-trivial scripts present many reordering opportunities . Furthermore , manual fusion is not a perfect solution either because it is not composable . Therefore , even a slight change to a manually fused hillshade function would require a full rewrite of the code . However , library developers can not fuse by hand all the infinite variants of a function somebody might need . Consequently , modelers must resort to the elemental local and focal operations to compose their hillshade version . However , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from memory bottlenecks . In contrast , our approach is composable and efficient . In Listing 2 our hillshade function is composed of the elemental operations available to the modeler , and this is dynamically compiled to always generate efficient fused code . # On the other hand , finding the optimal reordering that maximizes locality is a known NP-hard problem in both fusion 43 and scheduling 60 . The optimal strategy depends on the map algebra operations , their interrelationships and the available computer resources , resulting in a large search space . In this study , we did not attempt to find optimal reorderings and only use simple greedy approaches , namely Table 1 and Z-order . Even so , the greedy heuristics have attained satisfactory reorderings at little cost . The authors of 50 studied fusion in the context of array programming languages and found that their greedy algorithm could reach nearly optimal fusion strategies for a large set of scripts . This is encouraging , as it suggests that quick and low overhead heuristics might suffice for map algebra as well . # Framework evaluation # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used five scripts that represent common use cases in raster spatial analysis . Table 2 describes them and lists their types of operations and the number of inputs and outputs . They are composed of a distinct variety of map algebra operations , and thus optimizations influence them differently . With these scripts , we analyzed the effects of locality , revisited the case for GPUs , tested the benefits of caching , examined different machines , investigated the scalability of the framework , and compared our results to previous studies . # Table 2 : Tested map algebra scripts # Script # Description # Operations Type # In # Out # W. Sum . # Weighs and adds four rasters on a cell by cell basis # 7 Local # 4 # 1 # Statistics # Computes statistical values : mean , max , min , std.dev .. # 4 Zonal , 9 Local # 1 # 0 # Hillshade # Generates a self-shadowing light effect on a DEM ( Listing 2 ) # 2 Focal , 36 Local # 1 # 1 # Life ( x16 ) # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Listing 1 ) # 16 Focal , 64 Local # 0 # 1 # Viewshed # Computes the area of a DEM visible to an observer ( i.e. Xdraw ) # 1 R , 2 Z , 1 F , 5 L # 1 # 1 # L = Local , F = Focal , Z = Zonal , R = Radial , In/Out = Number of input/output raster data # The Weighted Summation script is an example of a strongly memory-bound workload . While GPUs or powerful CPUs will not help , the locality optimizations should improve its performance . The Statistics script requires five time less I/O movements and performs more operations than the previous script , but it is still memory-bound . GPUs might accelerate this script after the locality optimizations . The Hillshade script presents numerous transcendental and floating-point operations and becomes compute-bound after fusion ; therefore , it should benefit from the use of GPUs . The Life script starts with a randomly generated raster and does not load any input , which increases its arithmetic intensity . The succession of focal operations limits fusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Z-curve . Our framework implements the radial class similarly to the Xdraw algorithm 42 , 61 , which visits cells once and presents regular memory accesses . As a result , the Viewshed script is not computationally very intensive , but rather memory-bound. # Our principal machine was an AMD Kaveri A10-7850 k APU , which we used in all of the experiments . It includes a quad-core CPU and an integrated Spectre GPU . This desktop machine has two SSD and two HDD disks in Raid0 modes and 16 GB of main memory , 3GB of which are reserved for Spectre . We utilized a second machine consisting of an Intel Ivy Bridge i7-3770 k quad-core CPU and an AMD Hawaii R9 290x discrete GPU . Our third machine included an Intel Haswell i7-4770 k quad-core CPU and an Nvidia K20c discrete GPU . The latter two machines featured similar Raid0 SSD configurations and exhibited greater computing power for both CPU and GPU . Although we only present results obtained from these particular machines , we tested others and obtained consistent results . # Parallel and locality optimizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when using multi-threading , GPUs , fusion , and scheduling . These speed-ups are measured with respect to the sequential interpreter approach , which uses one single thread and executes operations one at a time ( Fig. 1a ) . The first two optimizations represent coarse-grained parallelism at the block level with multi-threading , and fine-grained parallelism at the cell level with GPUs . The latter two optimizations exploit fine-grained locality at the cell level with fusion , and coarse-grained locality at the block level with the scheduler . The employed datasets each comprise one billion floating-point cells , occupy 4 GB , and are stored on SSD disk . The testing machine was Kaveri-Spectre . The goal of our analysis was to demonstrate that locality is as important as parallelism for the efficient execution of map algebra scripts. # Table 3 : Individual and synergistic speed-ups attained via the optimizations # Optimization/Script # Interp # Par # Par/GPU # Par/Fus # Par/Sch # Par/Fus/Sch # Par/GPU/Fus # Par/GPU/Sch # All Opt . # W. Sum . # 1 # 1.84 # 2.09 # 7.42 # 5.24 # 7.42 # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.00 # 2.67 # 8.00 # 4.27 # 8.00 # 16.00 # 14.22 # 18.29 # Hillshade # 1 # 1.92 # 2.26 # 18.19 # 8.21 # 26.17 # 45.57 # 29.70 # 69.56 # Life ( x16 ) # 1 # 2.24 # 3.01 # 6.24 # 8.45 # 15.27 # 11.57 # 38.27 # 81.58 # Viewshed # 1 # 1.87 # 2.16 # 8.22 # 6.49 # 14.61 # 13.49 # 13.84 # 22.87 # Avg . Speed Up # - # 1.97 # 2.42 # 8.88 # 6.32 # 12.82 # 15.45 # 17.54 # 28.37 # Interp reted , Par allel multi-threaded , GPU -accelerated , Fus ion , Sch eduler , All Opt . = Par , GPU , Fus , Sch # CPU = Kaveri AMD A10-7850 K w/ 13 GB memory , GPU = Spectre ( integrated ) 3 GB , Disk = 256 GB SSD Raid0 # The Par column achieved an average speed-up of 1.97 when using multi-threading . Using multiple worker threads permits the concurrent reading , processing , and writing of blocks . These three stages are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leads to a higher utilization of computer resources . This accelerates the scripts immediately , but now all threads interact with the slow disk . Soon , the disk 's bandwidth saturates and the speed-up stagnates . The Par/GPU column combines both forms of parallelism . Despite the reputation of GPUs , their use does not help much here because they just add more computational power to already memory-bound problems . In this case , the integrated Spectre GPU brings a small speed-up because it is exempt from PCIe transfers . However , when testing this experiment with the other machines , the change from Par to Par/GPU was negligible . # The Par/Fus column shows the high impact of fusion . All scripts profited from this locality optimization , which resulted in approximately a 4x speed-up with respect to Par alone . Hillshade was the script that benefited the most due to its numerous local and focal operations , which fuse seamlessly into a single group . The Par/Sch column presents the scheduler . Note how the results are considerably better when exploiting locality than when using GPUs . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but this depends on the operations and their interrelationships . Moreover , the two locality optimizations overlap to some degree ; hence , if fusion merges many operations , then the scheduler has fewer jobs to reorder . This is visible in the Weighted Summation and Statistics scripts , for which the Par/Fus/Sch column was not faster than Par/Fus . # Finally , the last three columns combine the locality optimizations with GPU acceleration . In contrast to the Par/GPU column , these last columns indicate that the use of GPUs is indeed beneficial , but only after the locality optimizations . For the Par/GPU/Fus column , all but the Weighted Summation script show sizeable speed-ups with respect to the Par/Fus column . This script is strongly memory-bound even after fusion ; therefore , using GPUs offers no advantage . The Par/GPU/Sch column reveals how the scheduler was especially beneficial for the Life script , where the focal operations inhibited fusion . The last column features all of the optimizations and achieved solid speed-ups across the five map algebra scripts , making a strong case for our compiler approach with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to be made regarding the speed-up numbers . First , Table 3 leaves out seven possible columns where the multi-threaded parallelism was deactivated . These seven combinations were limited by disk bandwidth and were deemed not interesting enough for the analysis . Second , though our interpreter version is single-threaded , it employs compiler-generated vector SIMD instructions . Since modern CPUs can perform up to 8 floating-point operations per vector instruction , a more conservative interpreter not utilizing SIMD instructions would perform slower , making our speed-ups relatively higher . Third , the storage solution used in these tests was a Raid0 of SSD disks with approximately 3x the bandwidth of our HDD disks . Many studies still report results with slow HDDs , and had we done that , our speed-ups would have increased by a factor of 3 . In conclusion , the relevant results are not the numbers as such , but the evidence of data locality being critical for the performance . # Cache size effects on performance # Figure 10 presents the performance of the scheduler for different GPU cache sizes and an increasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benchmark was derived from the Life script and consisted of running Listing 1 with different iteration counts in line 10 . The speed-up was measured as the relation between deactivating and activating the scheduler . All optimizations other than the scheduler were activated . The raster occupied 4 GB and was stored on an SSD disk . Five cache sizes were tested , ranging from 256 MB to 3 GB , the maximum allowed by Spectre . Note that newer GPUs can have more memory , generally up to 16 GB , but not as much as the host . # Fig. 10 : Speed-ups for different GPU cache sizes and number of focal operations reordered with the Z-curve , as shown in Fig. 9b ( all other optimizations than the scheduler are activated ) see PDF for image # Apart from the positive speed-up numbers , the most important observation was the tradeoff in the number of reordered operations . Like with fusion , there is a limit to the reordering at block level , and going too far decreases performance . As a result , for 3 GB @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more efficient to reorder in groups of 16 operations , rather than reordering the 32 operations at once . Moreover , the tradeoff varies for different cache sizes , which makes the search for the optimal harder . In this study we followed greedy strategies and did not explore tradeoffs . Therefore , the scheduler simply reorders as many jobs as it finds in the work queue . In Table 3 , the Life script was run with 3GB of cache and 16 iterations ; therefore , those particular numbers correspond to the optimal scheduling . # Machine configuration effects on performance # Figure 11 benchmarks the Haswell-K20 and Ivy-Hawaii machines using their discrete GPUs . The Ivy machine was also tested without Hawaii ( named Ivy-Ivy ) to test the performance of the multi-core CPU alone . These three configurations were compared to the Kaveri-Spectre machine to find out whether faster CPUs/GPUs accelerate the execution . The data volume was 4 GB and was stored on an SSD disk . All of the machines had similar SSDs in Raid0 . All of the optimizations were activated . The speed-up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kaveri-Spectre and on the other machines . # Fig. 11 : Speed-ups of the alternative machine configurations with respect to the Kaveri-Spectre machine ( all parallel and locality optimizations are activated ) see PDF for image # Starting with the Weighted Summation script , a faster CPU or GPU had virtually no effect . This script is strongly memory-bound and only the memory system influences it . The Statistics , Hillshade , and Life scripts present increasing arithmetic intensity in that order . This is reflected in the difference between the CPU and GPU columns , where the speed-up of the discrete GPUs increased , while it decreased for the Ivy CPU . The Viewshed script is memory-bound because it follows the Xdraw algorithm , and thus showed little to no improvement . Life is the most compute-bound workload . With this script , the Ivy-Hawaii and Haswell-K20 machines were approximately 2x times faster than the Kaveri-Spectre machine , which was in turn 4x times faster than the Ivy-Ivy machine . This makes the discrete GPUs about 8x times faster than the multi-threaded and vectorized CPU solution . However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the use of faster devices will show no advantage when memory is the main bottleneck . # Scalability to large data volumes # Table 4 shows the scalability of the framework for increasing volumes of data ( from 1 MB to 1 TB ) and different storage options ( RAM , SSD and HDD ) . In this test , all of the optimizations were activated . The life script was reduced to 4 iterations to save time when running the 1 TB workload . The execution time was measured in seconds , and at the bottom we included the average time increase factor when moving to larger data sizes . The average increase in the execution times when changing from SSD to HDD storage for a fixed data size of 10 GB was a factor of 3.24x , which approaches the difference in bandwidth between these two storage options in our Kaveri-Spectre machine . This implies that when all optimizations are active , the five scripts are mostly bottlenecked by disk bandwidth . # Table 4 : Execution times with increasing volumes of data ( all optimizations are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Drive # Hard Disk Drive # 1 MB # 10 MB # 100 MB # 100 MB # 1 GB # 10 GB # 10 GB # 100 GB # 1 TB # W. Sum . # 0.45 s # 0.35 s # 0.6 s # 1.2 s # 5.5 s # 56.4 s # 3 m 46 s # 38 m 20s # 8 h 48 m # Statistics # 0.5 s # 0.42 s # 0.5 s # 0.6 s # 2 s # 20.1 s # 1 m 28 s # 13 m 23 s # 2 h 33 m # Hillshade # 0.5 s # 0.45 s # 0.5 s # 0.8 s # 2.7 s # 27.2 s 1 m # 23 s 13 m # 38 s 2 h # 32 m # Life ( x4 ) # 0.5 s # 0.55 s # 1.4 s # 1.4 s # 4 s # 39.5 s # 1 m 28 s # 15 m 56 s # 3 h 56 m # Viewshed # 1.4 s # 1.3 s # 1.45 s # 2.2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m 52 s # 29 m 20s # 6 h 40 m # Avg . Increase # - # 0.91 # 1.54 # 1.46 # 3.59 # 9.73 # 3.24 # 10.01 # 12.99 # CPU = Kaveri A10-7850 K w/ 13 GB memory , GPU = Spectre ( integrated ) 3 GB , Disk = RAM , 2x SSD , 2x HDD # Ideally , the average increase in execution times should display a steady value of 10x within the three groups . However , at least two types of overheads affected the results . To the left of Table 4 , the lack of variation in the execution times was due to the OpenCL compilation overhead , which became the main bottleneck for small data sizes . To the right of Table 4 , the large increase of 12.99x in the 1 TB column was due to the runtime overhead . Larger datasets generated more jobs and blocks for the framework to handle , which eventually impacted the performance of the host CPU . These results were achieved for a fixed block size of 1 megabyte . We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exceeded reasonable bounds . Specifically , blocks smaller than a few kilobytes resulted in excessive runtime overhead , while blocks larger than a few megabytes reduce the availability of parallel jobs and thus decreased the reordering opportunities . It remains to be studied how to push the limits of these overheads further . # Comparison to previous works # The authors of pRPL 18 studied the parallelization of an urban CA in a cluster of 1024 CPU nodes 19 and in another cluster of 64 GPU nodes 59 . They obtained execution times of 77 s and 32 s respectively , but without including the writing of the output raster . In a previous study 62 we tested the same CA and dataset with our prototype and obtained execution times of 70 s when using a desktop computer and a single discrete GPU . Moreover , their code is written at low-level in C++ , while our script requires only 30 lines of Python code . # With PaRGO 24 , the slope operator took 0.15 s for a raster of approximately 100 millions cells , on a discrete GPU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ script took 0.7 s to process the same number of cells in a RAM Disk . However , our script performed more operations than just slope and we measured wall times including the I/O , memory allocation and compilation . Limiting our analysis to data transfers and kernel executions , like PaRGO , reduced the time of our Hillshade script to 0.2 s. # The last experiment in the study by Shook et al . 25 tests a hillshade algorithm with an 80 GB raster . For this experiment they used Numba , a Python library that can compile array operations to efficient machine code . Numba can basically fuse local operations within Python functions . Shook et al . included the I/O times , and since their experiment read and wrote a total of 160 GB in approximately 430 s , their disk required at least 370 MB/s of bandwidth . Running our Hillshade script with a similarly sized dataset took 217.6 s and 664 s for the SSD and HDD options , respectively . Thus , we run faster and slower because of the higher and lower bandwidth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bottleneck . # Conclusions # We have presented a compiler approach to map algebra . Instead of executing operations one at a time , like interpreters , our framework first gathers a global view of the script . This makes it possible to apply locality optimizations and generate bespoke parallel code for multi-core CPUs and GPUs . The approach provided a high level of performance and scalability for large datasets without renouncing the productive scripting interface in Python . Based on our results , we conclude that data locality is critical for the performance of a map algebra implementation on modern computer architectures . For instance , GPUs are only beneficial after optimizing for locality , otherwise they mostly wait idle . # Unfortunately , optimizing for locality is not always possible . Both trivial scripts with few operations and complex scripts with sophisticated data dependencies present fewer optimization opportunities . Nonetheless , most common scripts fall in the range between these two extremes and benefit substantially from the compiler approach . Our empirical evaluation showed speed-ups from one to two orders of magnitude with respect to the traditional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five scripts of diverse characteristics running on a desktop CPU-GPU machine . # Future improvements could enhance the fusion technique with better heuristics , explore the space of scheduling strategies or support new map algebra operations . This work targets shared memory architectures and can at most handle tens of cores , a single GPU , and up to several terabytes of data . Raising the terabyte limit requires extending the framework to multi-GPU and distributed memory architectures . OpenCL could also be replaced with the LLVM 63 compiling tool-chain . 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@@5026541 # Every day approximately 43 families in the United States receive the news that their child has cancer ( National Cancer Institute NCI , 2017 ) . This translates to more than 40,000 children receiving treatment for cancer each year . Unfortunately , an estimated 20% of children diagnosed with cancer will eventually die of the disease ( Wasilewski-Masker et al. , 2014 ) . Cancer remains the number one cause of death by disease in children ( NCI , 2017 ) . Although the incidence of pediatric cancer has been rising each year by an estimated 1% to 2% ( Terracini , 2011 ) , the outlook for childhood cancer has improved from 50% survival in 1975 to 80% in 2010 ( NCI , 2017 ) . Therefore , there are more children living with this disease than ever before . # When a child is diagnosed with cancer , it causes a crisis for all aspects of family life and trauma for all members of the family ( Al-Gamal &amp; Long , 2010 ; Ozono et al. , 2010 ; Peek &amp; Melnyk , 2010 ) . An initial diagnosis of cancer can cause families intense feelings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , &amp; von Essen , 2013 ; Rosenberg et al. , 2013 ) . Hung , Wu , and Yeh ( 2004 ) reported that these severe feelings of stress were often higher in parents of children with cancer than in parents of children with cancer-related or non-cancer-related disabilities . Bennett , English , Rennoldson , and Starza Smith ( 2013 ) reported that all the parents of children with cancer in their study showed significant distress , and more than half showed levels of stress for which professional consultation is recommended . The range of issues faced by parents of children with cancer is vast , and if these issues are not properly addressed , they could create a lifetime of dysfunction for parents and their families ( Kostak &amp; Avci , 2013 ) . In addition , it is well documented in children 's cancer research ( Melnyk et al , 2004 ; Streisand , Braniecki , Tercyak , &amp; Kazak , 2001 ) that parental stress has a negative impact on the parents ' level of compliance with treatment and on the diagnosed child 's emotional well-being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to assist parent populations in decreasing their psychological stress would be beneficial not only to the parents but to their child as well . # According to Cernvall et al . ( 2013 ) , there is little research dedicated to counseling parents who have children being treated for cancer . Most research examining the emotional and psychological effects of children 's diagnoses on parents originates from the fields of oncology ( Fayed , Klassen , Dix , Klaassen , &amp; Sung , 2011 ; Kostak &amp; Avci , 2013 ; Tsimicalis et al. , 2012 ; Vrijmoet-Wiersma et al. , 2008 ) and nursing ( Bayat , Erdem , &amp; Kuzucu , 2008 ; Peek &amp; Melnyk , 2010 ) , without synthesis and translation to counselors . As part of the child 's inpatient treatment , parents are typically assigned several staff members ( e.g. , counselors , neuropsychologists , pastoral staff , life management coaches , social workers ) who offer counseling services to both parents and children in the form of parent support groups , family counseling , and individual counseling . Therefore , information on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is needed and lacking . # This article describes mental health issues common to parents of children who have been diagnosed with cancer . By understanding pertinent issues parents face , counselors will be better able to address this population 's unique needs . Discussed below are therapeutic considerations for parents of children with cancer : ( a ) the initial diagnostic period ; ( b ) the child 's prognosis ; ( c ) the parents ' therapeutic needs in relation to the age of their child ; ( d ) short-term consequences of treatment , including the increased care needs of the child ; ( e ) long-term consequences of treatment ; and ( f ) additional psychological stressors , including insurance complications . # THERAPEUTIC CONSIDERATIONS # Initial Diagnosis # For the parents of a child newly diagnosed with cancer , the initial diagnostic phase is the inauguration of a long period of distress and coping for the family . In addition to the shock and emotional stress associated with the enormity of the diagnosis , parents often confront an overwhelming amount of information that they must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Avci , 2013 ) . Given the nature of the disease , it is imperative that families make decisions about their child 's treatment and treatment facility almost immediately upon learning about their child 's diagnosis . # As there are a limited number of treatment facilities qualified to treat pediatric cancer , families are often faced with the revelation that they will need to relocate for months or years to pursue treatment for their child . Furthermore , parents frequently report difficulty not only with emotional coping and life planning , but with acquiring and understanding all the information needed and made available to them at the time of their child 's diagnosis ( Grootenhuis &amp; Last , 1997 ) . Therefore , while attempting to manage the shock and fear of the initial diagnosis , parents are also required to make overwhelmingly important decisions about their child 's care during a traumatic time in their lives . # During this time , counselors can not only empathetically address the grief , shock , and trauma parents are experiencing from the initial diagnosis , but also address the gravity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents with support and resources to aid them in their decisions . Evidenceased strategies that focus on stress reduction and trauma management ( e.g. , acceptance and commitment therapy ACT , mindfulness-based cognitive therapy MBCT , and mindfulness-based stress reduction MBSR ) , in addition to empathetic listening ( Rogers , 1979 ) , might be most helpful at this phase in a parent 's counseling . These strategies ( i.e. , ACT , MBCT , MBSR ) can help parents allow uncomfortable thoughts and feelings about their child 's illness to arise without assigning a value judgment to these thoughts or emotions ( Hayes , 2004 ) . Counselors can give parents the tools to accept their thoughts and feelings , rather than denying or fighting them . This will assist parents in connecting with the present moment , freeing them to make important decisions for their child ( Ruiz , 2012 ) . # Child 's Prognosis # A survival statistic is an individualized calculation that consists of a percentage and time period that estimates the likelihood cancer treatment will be successful ( e.g. , a 50% chance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; Liu et al. , 2017 ) . In determining a child 's survival statistic , medical professionals must take into account the pediatric cancer type ( e.g. , leukemia , brain cancer , lymphoma , kidney tumors , neuroblastoma ) , subtype ( e.g. , one of more than 100 different types of brain tumors ) , location or locations ( e.g. , spine , heart , lungs , liver ) , and stage ( I through IV ; NCI , 2017 ) . The combination of these four factors , along with other considerations , can lead to a wide array of prognoses ( e.g. , from a 99.9% survival rate over 10 years to a 0% survival rate with a few weeks to live ) . Each prognosis comes with its own distinct , empirically based recommendations for treatment . # When providing therapeutic services to the parents of a child with cancer , it is also important for counselors to consider each parent 's perception of their child 's cancer prognosis . This understanding can provide counselors with key information that could assist them in determining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Fayed et al . ( 2011 ) , parents ' prediction of their child 's chance of survival is the most important factor in determining how they feel about their child 's treatment . Furthermore , having an accurate depiction of parents ' current level of psychological distress can aid counselors in choosing appropriate intervention strategies to meet each parent 's individual psychological needs . However , parents ' prediction of the child 's prognosis does not always align with the projection from the child 's oncologist ( Fayed et al. , 2011 ) . Therefore , it is important for counselors to accurately assess both the oncologist 's appraisal of the child 's prognosis ( the survival statistic ) and parents ' interpretation of the child 's likelihood for survival , given that there could be contradiction between the two . # A counselor 's ability to assess a discrepancy between oncologists ' predictions of a child 's chances of survival and the parents ' assessments could lead to a better understanding of each parent within the couple . For example , a contradiction between the parents ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ i.e. , if one marital partner is optimistic about their child 's chances and the other is pessimistic ) , and vacillations in mood from hope to despair , or despair to hope , as the parent moves from their own optimism or pessimism back to the figure given to them by the oncologist. # Counselors could use these in-depth insights into the complex psychological functioning of this population to assist parents . Specifically , parents often experience ambivalence , outside of their own awareness , about their child 's chances of survival . For example , a parent with a child who was given a 40% chance of living might sometimes think , " My child is going to suffer through treatment only to die a horrible death , " thereby feeling helpless , hopeless , and depressed . At other times , this same parent might think , " My child will have to suffer through treatment , but their suffering will come to an end and they will get to live , " thereby likely feeling hopeful . Counselors could first attempt to raise parents ' awareness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child 's chances of survival influence their emotions ( Hayes , 2004 ) . Then counselors could assist parents in understanding the connection between their ambivalent thoughts and feelings . Finally , counselors could teach parents to detach from unwelcome thoughts and feelings , thereby assisting parents in coping with feelings of depression or anxiety associated with their child 's illness . # Age of the Child # The developmental age and capability of the child diagnosed with cancer present their own unique set of characteristics . Although there does not seem to be a correlation between child 's age at diagnosis and parental distress ( Santos , Crespo , Canavarro , Alderfer , &amp; Kazak , 2016 ) , it is important for an empathetic counselor to understand the developmental issues that are unique to parents with children from varying age groups . This section discusses some of the differing challenges associated with various age groups of children with cancer . # Infants and other noncommunicative children . Parents of infants , or of other children who are incapable of caring for themselves or communicating , report a long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficulty with ( a ) managing emesis and mouth and gastrointestinal tract sores ( mucositis ) during and after chemotherapy to ensure the child does not choke ; ( b ) changing diapers without being exposed to the toxic chemicals inherent in the child 's waste after chemotherapy ; ( c ) maintaining their infant or child 's central line or gastrointestinal tube ; ( d ) dealing with feeding issues , as infants often refuse sustenance after harsh chemotherapy treatments and therefore are at risk of starvation and dehydration ; ( e ) preventing their infant from becoming exposed to airborne germs , given that protective face masks are not designed for infants ; ( f ) administering medications ; ( g ) helping the child meet developmental milestones while in treatment ; and ( h ) understanding whether and where something is hurting the child , given the communication barrier ( Edelstein , Schippke , Sheffe , &amp; Kingsnorth , 2017 ) . # Toddlers . Parents of toddlers face similar issues . However , with this population , the child has increased ability to communicate and understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added challenge for parents . The ability to speak and understand can be a relief to parents , because the child may be able to communicate what hurts and where , making some aspects of treatment easier ( e.g. , managing nausea/vomiting and pain ) . However , additional issues parents report with this age group include stress related to difficulty ( a ) obtaining blood draws ; ( b ) administering chemotherapy ; ( c ) preventing children from harming themselves from pulling or chewing on intravenous cords ; ( d ) getting the child to wear a mask to minimize exposure to airborne germs ; ( e ) preventing oral and tactile germ exposure , given this age group 's limited understanding and their need for tactile and oral exploration of their environment ; and ( f ) dealing with the child 's overall increased fear of and lack of cooperation with treatment ( Katz &amp; And , 1980 ) . # Older children . As children age and communication improves , some of the issues presented above can improve . However , some children experience such acute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply checking the child 's temperature or administering medication can be a daily struggle , causing further stress not only to the child but also to the parents ( Katz &amp; And , 1980 ) . In addition , as children become more aware of their condition , they begin to fear not only pain but death as well . The children 's cancer research literature ( Bayat et al. , 2008 ; Fayed et al. , 2011 ; Tsimicalis et al. , 2012 ) reports parents often feel guilt , despair , and depression when their children begin to fear death . In addition , parents can have difficulty managing their child 's emotions , inquiries , and assumptions related to death ( Kostak &amp; Avci , 2013 ) . # Adolescents . A parent with a child who has a cancer diagnosis during adolescence will often endure some of the same difficulties obtaining cooperation with treatment , along with the existential anxieties mentioned above . However , academic , social , and self-esteem issues can also arise . Although some of these issues can arise at almost any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with comforting and supporting their adolescent child with issues related to ( a ) not being able to see friends or significant others , ( b ) losing their hair , ( c ) postponing or keeping up with their academics , and ( d ) missing or delaying key life events ( e.g. , attending prom , obtaining a driver 's license , or attending graduation or college ; Cho &amp; Park , 2015 ) . In studies exploring adolescents ' perceptions of their diagnoses , members of this age group often discussed feeling frustration , resentment , and lack of control ( Lombardo , Popim , &amp; Suman , 2011 ; Wu , Chin , Haase , &amp; Chen , 2009 ) . These studies also discovered a correlation between adolescents ' feeling of frustration about their diagnosis and noncompliance with treatment . Pelcovitz et al . ( 1998 ) reported that , although adolescents who were diagnosed with cancer were particularly vulnerable to the traumatic effects the life-threatening illness presented , they were also at a cognitive and emotional advantage when compared with younger children . Thus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cancer diagnosis , it is important to consider their child 's age , as it shapes the key concerns central to parents . # Given that parents of infants and toddlers are more likely to be concerned about coping with issues related to their child 's care , to parent-child attachment , or to helping their child meet developmental milestones , counselors may want to incorporate strategies from developmental counseling ( Piaget , 1937 ) or attachment theory ( Bowlby , 1969 ) into their counseling with this population . However , when working with parents of older children , trained counselors might want to explore the existential themes of death , freedom , isolation , and meaninglessness ( Yalom , 1980 ) with their clients . Through exploring their values and ideals surrounding these themes , parents would ideally become more comfortable and self-aware . Thus , parents would be better equipped to cope with and discuss the concerns that are common with older children ( i.e. , meaning , fear of death , lost relationships ) . # Adherence to treatment is an area of concern for parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , is vastly different between age groups . The therapeutic strategies counselors use to help parents increase their child 's adherence to treatment should match the child 's developmental age . Whereas nonverbal strategies such as filial therapy ( Bratton , Landreth , Kellam , &amp; Blackard , 2006 ) or behavioral strategies ( Zemp , Milek , Cummings , Cina , &amp; Bodenmann , 2016 ) may work better for assisting parents with toddlers or small children , talk therapy strategies such as Adlerian therapy ( McVitte &amp; Best , 2009 ) or motivational interviewing ( Miller &amp; Rollnick , 2002 ) might be more appropriate empirically based tactics for parents of older children and adolescents . # Short-Term Consequences of Treatment # Although the short-term consequences for each parent population vary according to the child 's treatment regimen , this section addresses some of the diverse short-term issues parents may encounter across a range of treatments . # One challenge to parents of children undergoing cancer treatment is the risk of infection . Whether their child 's treatment protocol involves radiation , chemotherapy , or surgery , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposure to bacteria and viruses that could , depending on the phase of treatment and illness contracted , potentially ( a ) postpone treatment , ( b ) cause a life-threatening infection , or ( c ) lead to serious illness or in some severe cases death ( Styczynski et al. , 2016 ) . Thus , the potential repercussions of exposure to even minor illnesses ( like the common cold ) in some cases and phases of the child 's treatment could be dire . # Parents are often instructed to take the strictest precautions during a period of time called nadir ( the time period when their child has no immune system with which to fight infection ; Hyo Sook et al. , 2007 ) . This time period often occurs after the child has received certain chemotherapy drugs . Parents are asked to isolate their child from others and limit their own exposure to germs , given the risk of spreading these germs to their child . During these time periods , some parents choose to wear masks to protect themselves ( thereby protecting their children ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the community ( i.e. , to the grocery store , pharmacy , doctor 's office , or counseling center ) . These periods of isolation can also lead to loneliness and amplify parents ' anxiety and depression ( Adams et al. , 2016 ) . Thus , this population 's added need to protect their children from infection can further add to their emotional unrest . If a counselor or staff member is or has been sick , these ill individuals should immediately take precautions ( i.e. , the ill person should refrain from touching the clients and should wear a mask as a form of reverse protection ) , and counselors should make their client(s) aware of their own or their staff 's illness before they come for counseling . # In addition to the risk of germ exposure , parents of children receiving radiation or certain chemotherapy drugs need to be vigilant about a whole host of symptoms ( e.g. , seizures , tremors , fevers , rashes that indicate low platelet counts , changes in mood ; Gharzai et al. , 2016 ; Kung , Zhang , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ et al. , 2013 ) . This means parents might be particularly anxious during certain periods in their child 's treatment . Thus , counselors can recognize and even predict these times of additional strain by staying abreast of the child 's medical treatment plan and assist parents in identifying , expressing , and normalizing emotions during these taxing intervals . # It is important for counselors to understand that parents , in addition to being isolated for periods of time from friends , distant family , and the general public , are often isolated from their immediate family ( i.e. , their other children and spouse or partner ; Edwards &amp; Clarke , 2004 ) . Parents and primary caregivers frequently report that they stay overnight in the hospital with their child whenever possible ( McCann , 2008 ) . However , in most hospitals , " well children " are not allowed to stay in the hospital room after visiting hours , and with some forms of cancer treatment ( e.g. , stem cell rescue chemotherapy ) , children are not allowed to visit at all . Thus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least one parent has to work and care for the other children in the home , leading to a temporary separation that can span weeks or months at a time and cause strain on marital and parent -- child relationships ( Edwards &amp; Clarke , 2004 ) . # Adding to the magnitude of the isolation and of managing the emotional consequences of their child 's diagnosis , parents also report stress and encumbrance related to overseeing the increasingly complex medical needs of their child ( Edelstein et al. , 2017 ) . For example , children often require a host of medications to manage the side effects of chemotherapy , and these medications can be difficult and time-consuming to administer . Parents are required to quickly learn each of the medications required , along with the methods for administering each medicine . Parents may also have to provide daily care for a central venous catheter , gastronomy feeding tube , nasogastric tube , or implanted port . In addition , parents often have to meet their child 's changing nutritional needs . This can mean learning how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strictly monitoring their child 's daily caloric intake . Furthermore , as previously mentioned , managing germ exposure is a common issue with which parents must contend . Thus , in addition to isolation , parents must make sure they frequently wash their child 's hands , body , clothing , and bedding . With the increased care needs of the child , parents report enduring a great deal of added psychological distress that often falls in the clinical range ( Grootenhuis &amp; Last , 1997 ; Young , Dixon-Woods , &amp; Heney , 2002 ) . # While managing feelings of isolation , parents also often feel they have to maintain a degree of emotional composure when caring for their child . Parents commonly report the need to " stay strong " for their child . Thus , simply having a nonjudgmental , empathetic , safe place for parents to process their fears , stresses , and challenges could be therapeutically beneficial to parents . This safe place ( i.e. , the counselor 's office ) could not only provide parents with relief from isolation but also give them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for coping with caregiving , and attend to their own needs , so that they can find the strength to care for their child . # Although family or couples therapy might not be possible given the reasons cited above , counselors might spend time normalizing and exploring any feelings of abandonment , isolation , and loss the caregiver feels for their children and spouse . Specific therapeutic recommendations for creating dailycouples or parent-sibling time via video conferencing or phone calls may also be provided to decrease feelings of isolation ( on the part of both caregiver and family member ) and encourage relational bonding . # Long-Term Consequences of Treatment # A variety of factors impact the potential and assured long-term consequences of cancer treatment , and parents often must weigh the risks and benefits of each type of treatment to make expeditious decisions about their child 's care . For example , parents are frequently asked to decide whether or not ( a ) to give their child 's neurosurgeon permission to cut away live or necessary brain tissue that has been invaded by a tumor ; ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child is not of the age recommended for radiation ; ( c ) to proceed with chemotherapy ; ( d ) to decrease the recommended dose of chemotherapy drugs in order to inhibit secondary long-term side effects ; or ( e ) to terminate or forego treatment altogether ( Imbach , Kiihne , &amp; Arceci , 2006 ) . These decisions , along with the weight of their consequences , can have an enormous effect on parents ' mental health ( Edwards &amp; Clarke , 2004 ) . Thus , it is important for counselors to understand that these decisions might be weighing on parents before attempting to provide them with counseling . # Other long-term consequences of treatment that might weigh on parents ' minds include the effects of the chemotherapy drugs their child has to take . There are several different chemotherapy drugs , each with their own method of administration ( e.g. , intravenous , topical , oral , injection ) , implications for use with specific types/subtypes/grades of cancer , and side effects ( Imbach et al. , 2006 ) . Some treatment regimens call for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a few , and some do not necessitate chemotherapy at all ( Sloper , 2000 ) . Some chemotherapy drugs can cause irreversible hearing loss and kidney damage , and others can cause irreversible sterility ( Wasilewski-ker et al , 2014 ) . Some additional long-term effects of chemotherapy and other common treatments for cancer ( e.g. , radiation , stem cell transplant , and surgery ) on children include emotional and behavioral problems , decreased IQ , organ failure or complications ( e.g. , heart , lung , liver ) , paralysis , loss of limb(s) , permanent loss of consciousness , scars , and secondary cancers . Thus , parents may be struggling with accepting the long-term consequences that the treatment itself will have on their child , and counselors can help parents confront and normalize their fears . # Parents ' concerns can be debilitating , and being faced with a choice that may influence whether their child lives or dies can be traumatic . After spending time processing parents ' feelings about the long-term consequences of their child 's treatment , counselors may want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and accepting the painful thoughts and feelings associated with the real and potential consequences of their decisions about their child 's treatment . ACT ( Ruiz , 2012 ) can be beneficial in teaching parents to detach from their worries and memories , allowing them to make informed choices about their child 's treatment without feeling crippling emotional pain . A process in ACT , cognitive defusion ( Hayes , 2004 ) , helps individuals understand that thoughts are just thoughts , without minimizing the very real circumstances behind them . # For example , a parent might struggle with whether to decrease the dose of chemotherapy because their child is suffering long-term , permanent hearing loss . The parent might think , " If I decrease the chemotherapy dose and my child dies of cancer , I will regret the decision and feel responsible for their death . On the other hand , if I keep the dose the same and my child can not hear for the rest of their life , I will feel responsible for their hearing loss . " A clinician , trained in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how thoughts such as these are impacting their feelings ( e.g. , guilt , discomfort , pain ) and then assist them in defusing/detaching from the maladaptive feelings . Thus , strategies associated with ACT may be helpful in assisting parents with coping with the long-term consequences of cancer treatment on their child 's health and emotional well-being . # Additional Psychological Consequences and Stressors # Counselors also need to be alert to additional common emotional consequences for the parents of children with cancer . Several psychological consequences and stressors are well documented in the research literature ( Bayat et al. , 2008 ; Baykan , Bayan , &amp; Nacar , 2010 ; Elcigil &amp; Conk , 2010 ; Hung et al. , 2004 ; Kostak &amp; Avci , 2013 ; Lansky , Cairns , Hassanein , Wehr , &amp; Lowman , 1978 ; Sloper , 2000 ; Tsimicalis et al. , 2012 ) . These consequences include depression ( Bayat et al. , 2008 ; Kostak &amp; Avci , 2013 ) , posttraumatic stress ( Kazak , 2005 ) , sadness ( Sloper , 2000 ) , anxiety ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 ) , marital discord ( Lansky et al. , 1978 ) , financial costs ( Santos et al. , 2016 ; Tsimicalis et al. , 2012 ) , sibling issues ( Johnson , 1997 ) , diminished social relationships ( Elcigil &amp; Conk , 2010 ) , mental disorders ( Kostak &amp; Avci , 2013 ) , stress levels ( Hung et al. , 2004 ) , and decreased life satisfaction ( Baykan et al. , 2010 ) . # Although not well documented in the research literature , insurance complications can add to parents ' list of severe psychological stressors ( Edelstein et al. , 2017 ) . It is common for insurance to deny children access to very highpriced treatments , even when they are common practice and an accepted , empirically based part of their treatment regimen . Although medical staff can appeal these decisions , and insurance companies typically end up approving the treatments in the end , this process can take days , weeks , or months , allowing time for the child 's cancer to regroup , grow , and spread . Unlike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ childhood cancer can proliferate at alarming speeds , in some cases doubling in size every 8 to 12 hours ( Ossola , 2017 ) . Thus , as parents understand the enormous costs these postponements or rejections may have on their child 's chances of survival , they may feel hopeless , helpless , and angry when insurance companies delay or deny their child access to much-needed treatment . # Counselors should be aware of the psychological problems experienced by parents , thoroughly assess parents within each of the domains of functioning listed above , and provide this population with strategies to cope with these common issues . Some of the ways counselors can help parents cope include normalizing and preparing them for the potential setbacks in each of the domains above . Specifically , counselors can prepare parents by structuring in vivo experiences ( Hayes , 2004 ) , thereby making them aware of these potential difficulties before they arise . Counselors could assist parents in identifying and differentiating between thoughts , feelings , and behaviors associated within each of the domains above . This awareness , along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may ease parents ' shock and disturbance . # DISCUSSION # For the parent of a child with cancer , life abruptly becomes chaotic and distressing . Caring for a child who has cancer predisposes parents to a multitude of psychological stressors . Parents ' psychological distress is often compounded by ( a ) the need to make difficult expedited decisions about their child 's care ; ( b ) their perceptions of their child 's prognosis ; ( c ) the unique developmental demands of their child ; ( d ) their concern over the short- and long-term consequences of their child 's treatment ; ( e ) the need to meet the increased care needs of their child ; ( f ) their own feelings of sadness , anxiety , stress , and depression ; ( g ) the financial costs ; ( h ) the difficulty maintaining harmony within their relationships ; and ( i ) the insurance-aggravated delays in treatment . # Parents can greatly benefit from counseling . Using the knowledge gained from understanding parents ' unique situations , the well-trained counselor can provide support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents by a counselor can facilitate emotional coping and can help ease a family through these long periods of crisis . Counselors who are equipped with the knowledge of what parents might be experiencing as their child is in treatment can tailor their therapeutic strategies to meet their client 's needs . Specifically , whereas parents who have children in the early diagnostic stages of treatment may need strategies that are designed to assist clients in more effectively managing their emotions ( e.g. , MBSR , ACT ) , parents who are in the midst of treatment and are feeling isolated , afraid , and alone may benefit from having a safe place to process their thoughts and feelings in a nonjudgmental environment . However , counselors must be thoroughly trained in the use of therapeutic practices and techniques before employing them with clients . In addition , the therapeutic strategies mentioned in this article are not exhaustive and are meant to serve as suggestions , rather than directives . There are several methods of counseling that would be equally effective with this client population . 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Developmental strategies for counseling the child whose parent or sibling has cancer . Journal of Counseling and Development , 75 , 417-427. **38;330;TOOLONG # Katz , E. , &amp; And , O. ( 1980 ) . Behavioral distress in children with cancer undergoing medical procedures : Developmental considerations . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 48 , 356-365. **30;370;TOOLONG # Kazak , A. ( 2005 ) . Evidence-based interventions for survivors of childhood cancer and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Retrieved from **32;402;TOOLONG # Kostak , M. , &amp; Avci , G. ( 2013 ) . Hopelessness and depression levels of parents of children with cancer . Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention , 14 , 6833-6838 . Retrieved from ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pubmed/24377613 # Kung , A. , Zhang , S. , Zheng . L. , Wong . C. , &amp; Chu , C. ( 2015 ) . Oral health status of Chinese paediatric and adolescent oncology patients with chemotherapy in Hong Kong : A pilot study . Open Dentistry Journal , 9 , 21-30. **31;436;TOOLONG # Lansky , S. , Cairns . N. , Hassanein , R. , Wehr , J. , &amp; Lowman , J. ( 1978 ) . Childhood cancer : Parental discord and divorce . Pediatrics . 62 , 184 . Retrieved from **67;469;TOOLONG # Liu . C. , Xi , Y. , Li . M. , Jiao , Q. , Zhang . H. , Yang , Q. , &amp; Yao , W. ( 2017 ) . Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma : Radiological features , prognostic factors and survival statistics in 23 patients . PLOS ONE , 12(3). @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ &amp; Suman , A. ( 2011 ) . From omnipotence to exhaustion : The perspectives of adolescents in drug therapy . Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria , 19 , 531-539. **36;538;TOOLONG # McCann , D. ( 2008 ) . Sleep deprivation is an additional stress for parents staving in hospital . Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing . 13 , 111-122. **36;576;TOOLONG # McVittie , J. , &amp; Best , A. ( 2009 ) . The impact of Adlerian-based parenting classes on self-reported parental behavior . Journal of Individual Psychology , 65 , 264-285. **28;614;TOOLONG # Melnyk , B. , Alpert-Gillis , L. , Feinstein , N. , Crean , H. , Johnson , J. , Fairbanks , E. , ... Reichert , B. ( 2004 ) . Creating opportunities for parent empowerment : Program effects on the mental health/ coping outcomes of critically ill young children and their mothers . Pediatrics , 113 , 597-697. **27;644;TOOLONG # Miller , W. , &amp; Rollnick , S. ( 2002 ) . Motivational interviewing : Preparing people for change ( 2nd ed . ) . New York , NY : Guilford Press . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) . Childhood cancers . Retrieved from https : **40;673;TOOLONG # Ossola , A. ( 2017 , August ) . Learning from the children : We are astonishingly good at curing childhood cancer . Why ? Popular Science . Retrieved from http : **73;715;TOOLONG # Ozono , S. , Saeki , T. , Mantani , T. , Ogata , A. , Okamura , H. , Nakagawa , S. , ... Yamawaki , S. ( 2010 ) . Psychological distress related to patterns of family functioning among Japanese childhood cancer survivors and their parents . Psycho-Oncology , 19 , 545-552. doi:10.1002/pon.1606 # Peek , G. , &amp; Melnyk , B. ( 2010 ) . Coping interventions for parents of children newly diagnosed with cancer : An evidence review with implications for clinical practice and future research . Pediatric Nursing , 36 , 306-413 . Retrieved from https : **38;790;TOOLONG # Pelcovitz , D. , Libov , B. G. , Mandel , F. , Kaplan , S. , Weinblatt , M. , &amp; Septimus , A. ( 1998 ) . Posttraumatic stress disorder and family functioning in adolescent cancer . Journal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ J. ( 1937 ) . The construction of reality in the child . New York , NY Basic Books . # Rogers , C. R. ( 1979 ) . The foundations of the person-centered approach . Education , 100(2) , 98 . Retrieved from https : //eric.ed.gov/ ? id=EJ214882 # Rosenberg , A. , Dussel . V. , Rang , T. , Geyer , J. , Gerhardt , C. , Feudtner , C. , &amp; Wolfe , J. ( 2013 ) . Psychological distress in parents of children with advanced cancer . JAMA Pediatrics , 167 , 537-543. **35;859;TOOLONG # Ruiz , F. J. ( 2012 ) . Acceptance and commitment therapy versus traditional cognitive behavioral therapy : A systematic review and meta-analysis of current empirical evidence . International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy , 12. 333-357. **33;896;TOOLONG # Santos , S. , Crespo , C. , Canavarro , M. C. , Alderfer , M. A. , &amp; Kazak , A. E. ( 2016 ) . Family rituals , financial burden , and mothers ' adjustment in pediatric cancer . Journal of Family Psychology , 30 , 1008-1013. doi:10.1037/fam0000246 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distress in parents of children with cancer : A prospective study . Journal of Pediatric Psychology , 25 , 79-91. doi:10.1037/fam0000246 # Streisand , R. , Braniecki , S. , Tercyak , K. , &amp; Kazak , A. ( 2001 ) . Childhood illness-related parenting stress : The pediatric inventory for parents . Journal of Pediatric Psychology , 26 , 314-321. **27;931;TOOLONG # Styczynski , J. , Czyzewski , K. , Wysocki , M. , Gryniewicz-Kwiatkowska , O. , Kolodziejczyk-Gietka , A. , Salamonowicz , M. , ... Gil , L. ( 2016 ) . Increased risk of infections and infection-related mortality in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation compared to conventional anticancer therapy : A multicenter nationwide study . Clinical Microbiology and Infection , 22 , 179. el-179.el0. doi : **25;960;TOOLONG # Terracini , B. ( 2011 ) . Epidemiology of childhood cancer . Environmental Health : A Global Access Science Source , 10(1). **30;987;TOOLONG # Tsimicalis , A. , Stevens , B. , Ungar , W. , McKeever , P. , Greenberg , M. , Agha , M. , ... Moineddin , R. ( 2012 ) . A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children newly diagnosed with cancer in Ontario . Psycho-Oncology , 21. 1113-1123. doi:10.1002/pon.2009 # Vrijmoet-Wiersma , C. , Van Klink , J. , Kolk , A. , Koopman , H. , Ball , L. , &amp; Maarten Egeler , R. ( 2008 ) . Assessment of parental psychological stress in pediatric cancer : A review . Journal of Pediatric Psychology , 33. 694-706. **25;1019;TOOLONG # Wasilewski-Masker , K. , Seidel , K. , Leisenring , W. , Mertens , A. , Shnorhavorian , M. , Ritenour , C , &amp; Meachaim , L. ( 2014 ) . Male infertility in long-term survivors of pediatric cancer : A report from the childhood cancer survivor study . Journal of Cancer Survivorship. 8 , 437-447. **29;1046;TOOLONG # Wu , L. , Chin , C. , Haase , J. , &amp; Chen . C. ( 2009 ) . Coping experiences of adolescents with cancer : A qualitative study . Journal of Advanced Nursing , 65 , 2358-2366. **35;1077;TOOLONG # Yalom , 1 . ( 1980 ) . Existential psychotherapy . New York , NY : Basic Books . # Ye , Y. , Carlsson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Roos , A. , Henriques-Normark , B. , ... Putsep , K. ( 2013 ) . Oral bacterial community dynamics in paediatric patients with malignancies in relation to chemotherapy-related oral mucositis : A prospective study . Clinical Microbiology and Infection . 19 . E559-E567. **27;1114;TOOLONG # Young , B. , Dixon-Woods , M. , &amp; Heney , D. ( 2002 ) . Identity and role in parenting a child with cancer . Pediatric Rehabilitation , 5 , 209-214. **31;1143;TOOLONG # Zemp , M. , Milek , A. , Cummings , E. M. , Cina , A. , &amp; Bodenmann , G. ( 2016 ) . How- couple- and parenting-focused programs affect child behavioral problems : A randomized controlled trial . Journal of Child and Family Studies . 25 , 798-810. **29;1176;TOOLONG # Tabitha L Young # Tabitha L Young , Department of Counseling , Rehabilitation and Interpreter Training , Troy University . # Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tabitha L Young , Department of Counseling , Rehabilitation and Interpreter Training . College of Education , Troy University , Troy . AL 36082 . E-mail :

@@5108141 <h> Saturday , 17 November 2012 <p> Emerging from the fog , as it were . I always forget just how all-consuming the first throes of rehearsal for an opera can be . Especially if , as in this case , the lead role is not yet cast ( it 's a hellishly difficult sing , and the intended singer pulled out just before musical rehearsals began . He is a consummate professional , so he must have had very solid reasons , but that still leaves other colleagues ( luckily not me : the role I am covering is not so big ) a bit adrift in a piece which requires long dialogues with the lead ... Let 's just say that does n't lead to happy relaxation , on the whole . <p> And I also have to admit to having been nervous before the initial music call . I had n't sung for this music director before ; and no matter what anyone says , it FEELS like an audition when you sing for someone in a position of power for the first time . It would of course have helped to have had masses of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a more voice-friendly opera to start with , but hey , beggars ca n't be choosers , and at least ( despite having missed my very first solo entrance due to still ... STILL ! ! ! ... having to mentally translate numbers from German to English , rats rats RATS ! ! ) we 've got that bit over with and from now on it 's simply business . <p> The interesting bit is just HOW exhausted one feels during this process . The brain seems to focus itself very narrowly , and everything which does n't directly concern the learning of this particular music is ignored . ( I remember coming across a colleague , who shall remain unnamed , stealing a roll of loo paper from the theatre , in the throes of rehearsals ; the ( understandable ) rationale was that there really had n't been enough time to hit the supermarket ... ) . <p> However I must admit that despite all the stress and uncertainty , I really do love these first few rehearsals . A question of how your role fits in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amusing - the court ladies get to sing some really rather beautiful chords before my character leaps in and spoils it all ! ) thing is rather marvellous . <h> No comments : <h> Post a Comment <h> About Me <p> I am an English opera singer trying occasionally to make sense of my life in Germany . Random influences from my past include : studying languages ( French and Russian ) at Cambridge ; drinking far too much vodka with Russians during said " study " ; nearly a year 's busking ; discovering my true voice later than most ; supporting the continuing discovery of my voice with various colourful

@@5108241 <h> Thanksgiving drives to benefit the needy <p> The holidays can be a difficult time for some people , but many organizations are collecting food to ease the pain for some , with a few upcoming events likely to be the focus of some local poster printing . <p> The 4th annual Basket of Miracles Thanksgiving food drive , sponsored by Miracles for Kids , will deliver food baskets to 100 needy families whose critically ill children are being treated at CHOC Children 's Hospital . <p> Volunteers are needed to help deliver the food baskets from 9:00 am -- 1:00 pm on Tuesday , November 20 . Monetary donations are always accepted . <p> Also next week , celebrity TyRon Jackson will host a free Thanksgiving dinner from 12:00 noon -- 5:00 pm on Thursday , November 22 in Peppertree Park , 230 W. First Street , Tustin . The free meal will include turkey and all the trimmings for those in need . There will also be guest speakers and live entertainment . For more information , visit TyRon 's Facebook or Twitter page . <p> Moving into December , the hospital 's Holiday Drive will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of bread , meat , eggs , fruit , vegetables , dairy , toys , games , and books will be accepted . Volunteers are required to help assemble the baskets and gift bags . December 13 will be used to set up the event , assembly of the bags will take place over December 14 -- 15 , and delivery will commence on Monday , December 17 , with proceedings running from 9:00 am -- 2:00 pm on each day . <p> One-hundred and sixty Southern California families will be the recipients of the food and toys . To volunteer , or donate items

@@5108341 <p> European researchers have published a study which analyses the health economics of increased dairy foods and related reduction in risk of osteoporotic fractures in the population aged over 50 . <p> The study was based on a new analytical model that links nutrition and fracture risk , and health economics . It was based on data from the Netherlands , France and Sweden , countries which have varying levels of dairy products intake in the population . <p> Study co-author Professor Ren Rizzoli , Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Bone Disease at the University Hospitals of Geneva , said , " Despite the fact that the effects of foods on health are recognized , there are no accepted and proven methodologies to assess the health-economic impacts of foods on the general population . Although this model may be further refined , it does provide a straightforward and easy-to-use method to assess the health-economic impact of food products on health , well-being and costs . " The publication ' Dairy foods and Osteoporosis : An example of Assessing the Health -- Economic Impact of Food Products ' has been published online in the scientific journal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different types of foods ( including in certain fish and greens ) , however around 60 to 70% of daily calcium intake in Western Countries is derived from dairy products . In addition to calcium , dairy products also provide a large variety of essential nutrients such as minerals , vitamins and proteins that , along with vitamin D , are also beneficial to bone health . <p> Low dietary intake of calcium has been associated with decreased bone density and increased risk of osteoporosis , a disease where bone becomes less dense and prone to fracture . Fractures are a costly public health burden , resulting in increased mortality , disability , pain and loss of health-related quality of life . In terms of health-economic burden , hip fractures in particular result in huge expenditures for hospitalization , rehabilitation , and long-term nursing care . <p> The researchers calculated the number of disability-adjusted life years ( DALYS ) lost due to hip fractures associated with low nutritional calcium intake and the number of hip fractures that could potentially be prevented each year with intake of additional dairy products . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fractures , followed by Sweden ( 455 ) and the Netherlands ( 132 ) . This represents a substantial health cost savings of approximately 129 million , 34 million and 6 million Euros in these countries , respectively . <p> " Our study likely underestimates the potential cost savings of increased dietary calcium in that it relies on existing figures for the senior population and does not take into account the long-term benefits to the younger generation , " said Rizzoli . <p> He added , " Adequate nutritional intake and regular exercise during childhood and adolescence , both necessary for the development of peak bone mass , may contribute to bone strength

@@5108441 <p> The current business model for business books is broken , Osterwalder said . There are too many books and too few readers . Every year , another 11,000 new business books pile on top the 250,000-space of competing titles . The average book sells only 250 copies per year . Worse , book sales are declining : a 12% drop from 2007 to 2009 . If Osterwalder wanted to create a book on business models that people would love to buy , he would need to innovate the business model for business book production and sales . <p> From the start , Osterwalder asked people what they hated about current business books . People said existing books were too fat with turgid prose but at the same time too light on substance . Second , people found the books impractical because they lacked useful " Monday morning " actions items . Finally , the books were too text-heavy , missing the richer , reinforcing learning experience of a text-and-graphics combination . <p> To address these problems , Osterwalder envisioned something more like a coffee-table book akin to architecture books , being simultaneously informative and beautiful . <p> Osterwalder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to break the rules of traditional business books to publish his book . At the time , Osterwalder was an unknown author from Switzerland wanting to create a book with high production values , expensive color printing , and a very un-business-book approach . The only solution was self-publishing . <p> But , self-publishing would n't be easy because Osterwalder had neither the cash , book production resources ( editors , designers , etc. ) , marketing department , nor distribution assets of a publishing house . <p> To solve the problem , Osterwalder recruited peers to co-create the book . Ultimately , 470 people contributed to the book in a wide variety of ways . People joined Osterwalder for early access to the ideas , to be part of something bigger , and for the stimulating collaborative process of working on the topic . Not only did this community of contributors help make the book , but they were also its best sales force . <p> To raise money , Osterwalder offered advanced sales under a " pay me now to reserve a copy " philosophy . Demand for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the price from $24 to $36 to $54 to $81 . And , just before publication , he offered a last-minute premium deal : for $250 , the buyer would be listed in the book as a contributor who helped make it happen . For distribution , Osterwalder ultimately chose Fulfillment by Amazon . <p> The book quickly became a bestseller in business and in the top 100 of all books selling on Amazon . Osterwalder 's success in self-publishing attracted the attention of Wiley and other traditional publishers , who would never have taken a risk on Osterwalder 's book . " Once you 're successful , everyone wants in , " Osterwalder said . After tough negotiations , he signed with Wiley . To date , over 200,000 copies have sold and the book has been translated into 22 languages . <p> Thank you , Katherine ! I thought Alex 's story was so inspiring , and he 's continuing to innovate and create a whole community around business model design by making the tools available for free under a Creative Commons license . It 's a wonderful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : **40;4018;TOOLONG <p> I had not read this post yet and just got to do so today ( been heads down in execution for WBF . ) <p> I was not able to attend BIF7 and even though I was trying to catch the action via Twitter ... I missed this particular session . I happen to own Business Model Generation and love it ( bought it full retail price at Amazon.com -- one of only a handful of physical hardcover books I 've bought recently ... the rest are all Kindle eBooks . ) <p> Great to get all the

@@5108541 <h> Papa John 's Health-Care Remarks a Missed Marketing Opportunity <h> Discussion of Costs Could Have Been an Honest Hero Moment <p> Papa John 's greatest innovation might be the dipping sauce , the best use of which is to do a high-calorie Lazarus number on its -- forgive me -- desultory crust . It 's an American story . When you get lemons , you make lemonade . And when you 're left with a shard of hard baked dough after gobbling though the cheese , sauce and toppings , you turn that crust into a fatty flavor wand of delight . <p> On Election Day , Papa John 's CEO John Schnatter got the equivalent of a stale crust . His man , Mitt Romney , lost and with him the hope of repealing Obamacare , bete noire of much of the food industry , from Applebees to Darden . But instead of dipping sauce , he applied a rank remoulade of threats , scaremongering and cultural tone-deafness . Warning of price hikes and scaling back workers ' hours , he said , " That 's what you do , is you pass on costs . Unfortunately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 're going to pay for this . " <p> Well , then tell us , Mr. Schnatter . Oh wait , you already did . Back in the summer , you told us Obamacare will add $5 million to $8 million in expenses ( that 's less than 1% current operating expenses ) . And you said those costs would be passed on to consumers in form of a 10-to-14-cent price hike on pizzas . Check this Forbes.com article for a thorough look at the math . <p> So here 's the proposition as I understand it : We pay an extra dime and a few pennies per pizza so that your employees can see a doctor when they get sick . My response is : Deal ! <p> Maybe Mr. Schnatter , who 's been both praised and pilloried for his position , was on to something here . Suddenly Obamacare , a massive piece of legislation whose costs are so unclear and so large they 're difficult to grasp , was no longer an abstraction . It became a transaction -- a micro-transaction actually . Thought of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marketing the bill than President Obama ever did . <p> There might even be a big idea here . At this point , the need to be transparent in pricing is a given . Try to pull a fast one , and the internet will find you out . But what about giving real visibility into components of a price , pulling back the curtains so we can see what we 're actually paying for when we fork over our money ? This is n't just corporate social responsibility hooey . It 's a short leap from what 's become a real trend : talking about supply-chain issues in brand communications . Think about Chipotle 's " Back to the Start , " one of the most lauded and popular campaigns in recent memory -- and it 's all about where the burrito chain 's ingredients come from . Why not talk about what percentage of a customer dollar is going to the product vs. the workforce and so on ? <p> How might something like that go ? Just dress Mr. Schnatter up in that red Papa John 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the camera , and instead of having him ham it up with Peyton Manning or Jeff Gordon with some of the worst acting this side of " The Wicker Man , " hand him a script that says something meaningful . The message , which does n't have to include anything about liking Obamacare , can talk in frank terms about those expected costs . But rather than gripe about them , he 'll explain why those are being passed along and what they mean . <p> Done right , the CEO becomes a sort of hero , who 's doing right by his workforce . <p> Does n't this sound better

@@5108641 <p> How would you like to use self hypnosis for personal development , weight loss , or to overcome the state of fear itself ? Many people around the world have changed their lives through the power of self hypnosis . From weight loss , to curing phobias , to increasing their self confidence , and more . how are they doing it ? <p> By learning the power of self hypnosis . That 's how . <p> But before you go out and buy the latest hypnosis course and spend quite possibly big bucks , it 's important to know what you are buying and what self hypnosis is . <p> What is Self Hypnosis ? <p> Self hypnosis is simply using hypnosis techniques for self improvement and/or self development . Although you can go out , buy hypnosis books , read , and jump from chapter to chapter picking out bits and pieces from each chapter to execute you will not achieve the results you would have if you followed a self hypnosis course . This is why a guided self hypnosis course is important in getting the results you really want . <p> Before you go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pick up a FREE 3 CD course on hypnosis . Simply visit this link . <p> Knowing What You Want <p> One of the primary focuses or topics in self hypnosis is simply knowing what you want . Knowing what you want and setting goals is as important as the food you eat . I wo n't go into detail here about goals , instead I 'll let you listen and learn from the self hypnosis course , but it is vital that you set goals and take action . In addition , I highly recommend you claim the free self hypnosis course before you go out and buy a course . What you get out of the free course might be exactly what you 're looking for . <p> The Human Brain <p> It is important to know that humans only use up to 10% of their brain power , although some people might be using a little more , it 's sill a big waste of brain power . Is it not ? So how do we access and and utilize the remaining 90% ? Well that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and allow you to fully access your true potential . <p> About the Author <p> Mike is a researcher of the power of self hypnosis . Through a free self hypnosis course he

@@5108741 <h> You Will Be a Lot More Successful With Women If You Do This <p> Who would n't want to figure out what they could do to have a little bit more success with women ? What would help you to become that guy who has dating success ? Well , in my opinion , deciding to put your best foot forward is definitely something that you can do that will give you a much better experience when it comes to dating . Usually , I do n't like to get into the traditional self help realm of advice , but this is one subject that I do feel passionately about . <p> There are times when I have been asked to help a guy figure out his personal life and one of the clues that I look for as far as what is really going on , is to see if there is a lack of effort on his part . That usually will tell a lot about what kind of results that he is going to get . Any guy can sit at home and complain about how hard it is to meet women if they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> It takes a much different kind of a guy to realize that things are not going to change unless they do and they change their actions that they take as well . If you just decide that you are going to put your best foot forward and not slack around when it comes to taking care of your personal life , I am sure that you will start to see some exponential changes that are welcomed . <p> You can literally go from not meeting any women at all to meeting five in one night if you get out of the house , drive to a club and take the time to mingle with the crowd . Most guys wo n't do that , though . They 'd rather complain about it being so hard to meet someone and rationalize why it is okay that they do n't really take any action to get better results . <p> I know that it might sound a bit cliche , but if you want to be successful with women and have better dating experiences , you are going to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really not just a matter of changing your attitude or your mindset . The actions matter just as much . <p> How would you like to get more tips on how to become a success with women and change the way that your personal life is going ? One thing is certain , it 's not going to happen if you are living in the past and not ready to move on to a much better future for yourself . Your attitude does matter , but that actions that you take are really what is

@@5108841 <p> I 'm an unabashed fan of Devin Faraci , and I do n't care who knows it . I think he has a really great prose style , and even when I do n't agree with him I always know how he came to his conclusions . That said , if you do n't know him socially he can come off as caustic and abrasive . Passionate people often are . <p> Last night , Devin challenged Joe Swanberg , the " King of Mumblecore " , to a very dry , reasoned debate on the quality of the genre . Oh , who am I kidding - the Fantastic Debates are never about the intelligentsia calmly discussing in a rational manner about their intellectual prowess . There 's insults , impassioned discusion , more insults , and then they beat the shit out of each other . Devin holds the strongly held opinion that mumblecore as a style of filmmaking is essentially worthless , and Swanberg , of course takes the opposite view . I admire Devin 's wit here , but I also think Swanberg raised some good points and spoke from the heart . <p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the fighting was pretty decisive . Swanberg , to put it mildly , cleaned Devin 's fucking clock . <p> Personally , I can take or leave mumblecore , depending on how well each particular movie works . But judging from this fight , the decision has been taken out of our hands - mumblecore will be here to stay . <p> Hell , even the trailer for Vamps was kind of cool . I have no fucking idea what this article is about , nor do I care . Maybe the people bitching about the state of this site are actually onto something .. <p> Laws are just something old people and fat unfit douchebags made up so they would n't get killed by all the strong and powerful young people . <p> I 'm so sick of our society where no one can lay a hand on another without potentially going to jail for it . People deserve to get their ass kicked all the time , and if they did the world would be a lot better for it . <p> I really wish I lived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stealing some of your shit , or banging your wife , you were heralded as a champion and an honorable man rather than getting shit on and thrown in jail . <p> Laws are just something old people and fat unfit douchebags made up so they would n't get killed by all the strong and powerful young people . I 'm so sick of our society where no one can lay a hand on another without potentially going to jail for it . People deserve to get their ass kicked all the time , and if they did the world would be a lot better for it . I really wish I lived in another era , where if you killed someone for stealing some of your shit , or banging your wife , you were heralded as a champion and an honorable man rather than getting shit on and thrown in jail . <p> I 've honestly never heard of Swanberg , but seeing him beat the shit out of Devin has certainly made my day . <p> I do n't care how good of a writer Devin is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , he 's pretty much a professional troll at this point , not a film critic . And it 's about time someone put him in his place . <p> I 've honestly never heard of Swanberg , but seeing him beat the shit out of Devin has certainly made my day . I do n't care how good of a writer Devin is ( and honestly , he 's not really THAT good ) , he 's pretty much a professional troll at this point , not a film critic . And it 's about time someone put him in his place . <p> It 's just more cinema done , outside Holywood 's compartimentized system . Who knows where the next Kubrick might show up ? Perhaps there already is one doing his first steps in mumblecore . So why should anybody oppose it ? And what 's the deal with Faraci 's enemity of movies with more free form type of narratives ? Does he think that the only type of narrative that matters is where things happen by going A to B to C ? @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chose to see it that way . I mean , look at Bethoeven , he did n't give a fuck about the nobility who up to then used musicians and composers as their private employees , Bethoeven composed for himself , and look at what he did ! He was being self-indulgence , you could say , but he create masterpieces of world music . <p> I just do n't get this Faraci dude . What does he really want from movies ? <p> It 's just more cinema done , outside Holywood 's compartimentized system . Who knows where the next Kubrick might show up ? Perhaps there already is one doing his first steps in mumblecore . So why should anybody oppose it ? And what 's the deal with Faraci 's enemity of movies with more free form type of narratives ? Does he think that the only type of narrative that matters is where things happen by going A to B to C ? And self-indulgence ? Most art IS self-indulgent , if you chose to see it that way . I mean , look at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nobility who up to then used musicians and composers as their private employees , Bethoeven composed for himself , and look at what he did ! He was being self-indulgence , you could say , but he create masterpieces of world music . I just do n't get this Faraci dude . What does he really want from movies ? <p> while a lot of current indie movies have great stories , there some times annoying to watch at moments because they will be set in modern times yet you will see 70 's clothing style , 70 's technology , and 70 's interior design . 90 's indie movies did n't have that . <p> while a lot of current indie movies have great stories , there some times annoying to watch at moments because they will be set in modern times yet you will see 70 's clothing style , 70 's technology , and 70 's interior design . 90 's indie movies did n't have that . <p> I 've been a fan of Devins a long time , so sue me . I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , yeah , he 's kind of a prick at times , but one I can tolerate , and I would say I do find myself agreeing with him more than I do disagreeing with him . <p> Mumblecore is a shit genre that is exactly as he describes it . I often refer to it as being indie excess crap . Basically , you take all that 's bad and those sort of true stereotypes about indie , wrap it up into a ball , and yeah , any asshole can take a camera and shoot things with it , but it takes a master craftsman to make something outstanding . <p> Yeah , anything with core at the end , should be something awesome , as Devin puts it . Mumblecore is not . It 's boring and pointless and no real story or structure to it . Narcissistic self indulgent crap , which may not nec always be a bad thing , but mumblecore is not a good example of such . It is pretty bland . <p> Now , you could say , and I tend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ core , Linklatter , Jarmusch , and Smith . Thing is , while their camerawork or direction might not be the greatest , and that 's not a putdown , their writing and storytelling is very good , and that 's good enough for me . I 'm not blaiming them for it , it was something inadvertant that happened , but it had an influence . Blaiming them for it is like blaiming Faith No More , an awesome band , for shit like rap-rock and nu-metal , two totally un-connected things . <p> Round 1 , Devin . <p> Swanberg just sounds like your typical indie nerd , trying to make his " important personal work " , out to be than it is . Really ? Age of technology that gives us a voice , but you use it to squash those . Oh man , I do n't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes at that one . Swanberg , and those who think like him , time to put on the big boy pants , grow a little thicker skin , and not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basing your whole view/point/movement , and whether it suceeds or fails , on some critic ? Wow . That 's a load of week b.s if I ever heard it . <p> Here 's the thing too , and I hate judging movies and entertainment based on this cause it 's so superficial , however , it 's reality . If mumblecore were this groundbreaking revolution that those who identify as such types of filmmakers , was this big thing , it would be making more money and be all the buzz . But it 's not cause people tend to know crap when they see it . <p> But for the fight its self , now , I do like Devin and I 'm on his side on this , but uh , it makes him look like the stereotypical know it all nerd who can talk a big talk , but ca n't really say anything with his fists . But I think that can account for alot of people . <p> Also Swanberg , Uwe Boll , who some say is the worst director ever , did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , took what his critics said WAY too personal , and fought them . Now , Boll surprisingly cleaned there clocks , and that 's not a congratulation . No , no , you just did something as low as Uwe Boll . How does it feel ? <p> I 've been a fan of Devins a long time , so sue me . I think he 's a very keen , observant and smart writer , yeah , he 's kind of a prick at times , but one I can tolerate , and I would say I do find myself agreeing with him more than I do disagreeing with him . Mumblecore is a shit genre that is exactly as he describes it . I often refer to it as being indie excess crap . Basically , you take all that 's bad and those sort of true stereotypes about indie , wrap it up into a ball , and yeah , any asshole can take a camera and shoot things with it , but it takes a master craftsman to make something outstanding . Yeah , anything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as Devin puts it . Mumblecore is not . It 's boring and pointless and no real story or structure to it . Narcissistic self indulgent crap , which may not nec always be a bad thing , but mumblecore is not a good example of such . It is pretty bland . Now , you could say , and I tend to agree , that there was this wave of pre-mumble core , Linklatter , Jarmusch , and Smith . Thing is , while their camerawork or direction might not be the greatest , and that 's not a putdown , their writing and storytelling is very good , and that 's good enough for me . I 'm not blaiming them for it , it was something inadvertant that happened , but it had an influence . Blaiming them for it is like blaiming Faith No More , an awesome band , for shit like rap-rock and nu-metal , two totally un-connected things . Round 1 , Devin . Swanberg just sounds like your typical indie nerd , trying to make his " important personal work " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Age of technology that gives us a voice , but you use it to squash those . Oh man , I do n't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes at that one . Swanberg , and those who think like him , time to put on the big boy pants , grow a little thicker skin , and not worry so much what the critics say . You 're basing your whole view/point/movement , and whether it suceeds or fails , on some critic ? Wow . That 's a load of week b.s if I ever heard it . Here 's the thing too , and I hate judging movies and entertainment based on this cause it 's so superficial , however , it 's reality . If mumblecore were this groundbreaking revolution that those who identify as such types of filmmakers , was this big thing , it would be making more money and be all the buzz . But it 's not cause people tend to know crap when they see it . But for the fight its self , now , I do like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but uh , it makes him look like the stereotypical know it all nerd who can talk a big talk , but ca n't really say anything with his fists . But I think that can account for alot of people . Also Swanberg , Uwe Boll , who some say is the worst director ever , did the same thing as you did a few years ago , took what his critics said WAY too personal , and fought them . Now , Boll surprisingly cleaned there clocks , and that 's not a congratulation . No , no , you just did something as low as Uwe Boll . How does it feel ? <p> Idk if i 'd nec say I thought it was better , but I did enjoy Terminator Salvation more than Avatar . Look , Avatar is Dances With Wolves set in space , just accept it . Even people who liked the movie have been able to accept that . <p> Idk if i 'd nec say I thought it was better , but I did enjoy Terminator Salvation more than Avatar . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , just accept it . Even people who liked the movie have been able to accept that . <p> " It 's just more cinema done , outside Holywood 's compartimentized system . Who knows where the next Kubrick might show up ? Perhaps there already is one doing his first steps in mumblecore . So why should anybody oppose it ? And what 's the deal with Faraci 's enemity of movies with more free form type of narratives ? Does he think that the only type of narrative that matters is where things happen by going A to B to C ? And self-indulgence ? Most art IS self-indulgent , if you chose to see it that way . I mean , look at Bethoeven , he did n't give a fuck about the nobility who up to then used musicians and composers as their private employees , Bethoeven composed for himself , and look at what he did ! He was being self-indulgence , you could say , but he create masterpieces of world music . <p> I just do n't get this Faraci dude . What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , right there , you just summed up everything that 's wrong and shitty with mumblecore , and proved Devin and I right . Just cause it 's made outside of Hollywood , does n't mean shit . Even if it 's an Indie flick , you got ta have that special something . Indie/mumblecore flicks can be just as bad or shitty , for their own reasons , as much as Hollywood movies are . Devin does like alot of movies made outside of hollywood , if you actually read his articles , you 'd realize that . <p> Are you fucking serious ? You really think the next Kubrick will come from mumblecore ? Wow . Not only does that win for dumbest fucking thing I 've heard in a while , but I hope you never mention that outside of here , cause you will be severely laughed at and humiliated . You do n't write like seriously or professionally when it comes to this do you ? <p> Once again , if you actually read Devins writings , or anyones when it comes to this thing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , I think more people are in favor it . However , if you ca n't make it work , then just that . You ca n't make it work . <p> And while yes , some/most art may be self indulgent , different people have different likes , and one can sometimes only take so much , and what you like , someone else may see as shit . <p> " It 's just more cinema done , outside Holywood 's compartimentized system . Who knows where the next Kubrick might show up ? Perhaps there already is one doing his first steps in mumblecore . So why should anybody oppose it ? And what 's the deal with Faraci 's enemity of movies with more free form type of narratives ? Does he think that the only type of narrative that matters is where things happen by going A to B to C ? And self-indulgence ? Most art IS self-indulgent , if you chose to see it that way . I mean , look at Bethoeven , he did n't give a fuck about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their private employees , Bethoeven composed for himself , and look at what he did ! He was being self-indulgence , you could say , but he create masterpieces of world music . I just do n't get this Faraci dude . What does he really want from movies ? " See , right there , you just summed up everything that 's wrong and shitty with mumblecore , and proved Devin and I right . Just cause it 's made outside of Hollywood , does n't mean shit . Even if it 's an Indie flick , you got ta have that special something . Indie/mumblecore flicks can be just as bad or shitty , for their own reasons , as much as Hollywood movies are . Devin does like alot of movies made outside of hollywood , if you actually read his articles , you 'd realize that . Are you fucking serious ? You really think the next Kubrick will come from mumblecore ? Wow . Not only does that win for dumbest fucking thing I 've heard in a while , but I hope you never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ severely laughed at and humiliated . You do n't write like seriously or professionally when it comes to this do you ? Once again , if you actually read Devins writings , or anyones when it comes to this thing , no one is opposed to free form narratives . In fact , I think more people are in favor it . However , if you ca n't make it work , then just that . You ca n't make it work . And while yes , some/most art may be self indulgent , different people have different likes , and one can sometimes only take so much , and what you like , someone else may see as shit . You 're really comparing the mumblecore centric filmmakers and audiences to Behtoven ? Speaks for it 's self folks . <p> Anyone give me a rundown of what this genre is ? I 've seen it posed to the Duplass brother 's movies , but I thought those were fairly funny , low-key little dramedies ( Except for the horror one , Baghead . That movie SUCKED . ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Who Lives at Home and Cyrus ) count as mumblecore or is it only low-budget , indie movies with the shaky-cam aesthetic ? <p> Anyone give me a rundown of what this genre is ? I 've seen it posed to the Duplass brother 's movies , but I thought those were fairly funny , low-key little dramedies ( Except for the horror one , Baghead . That movie SUCKED . ) Do the last Duplass movies that hit theaters ( Jeff , Who Lives at Home and Cyrus ) count as mumblecore or is it only low-budget , indie movies with the shaky-cam aesthetic ? <p> I like a lot of Devin 's writing and Badass Digest is head and shoulder above the slop that gets reported here , but he can definently be a prick sometimes , and even as somewhat of an admirer of the dude , I found some pleasure in seeing him get busted up a bit . <p> I like a lot of Devin 's writing and Badass Digest is head and shoulder above the slop that gets reported here , but he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ somewhat of an admirer of the dude , I found some pleasure in seeing him get busted up a bit . <p> I do n't know who that fat guy was but I hope he writes better than he fights . Maybe Demis Roussous should stick to singing , rather than boxing ! And I echo ginger muppet - I have NO idea who any of these douchebags are , what mumblycore is ( is that even a thing ? ! ? ) or what they are talking about . <p> Basically , I really dislike Faraci and I 've yet to figure out how a rude windbag from New York who lives in L.A. fits the vibe of the Alamo and/or Austin . I do n't believe Devin is half as smart as he obviously thinks he is , but I 'm not really part of the hipster bloggerati where foul language and puffed up opinion are considered good , original writing . <p> Neither do I really understand the whole idea of editor free rants of thousands of words slung on any topic ( ala Film Crit Hulk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got me banned from BAD . I also do n't completely understand how a blogger can steal the trademarked name and voice of a licensed Marvel Comics character to apply their shtick when it 's the very easily recognized name and voice that 's generating an instant readership to begin with . <p> None of that really matters , because generally speaking , it 's obvious that Film Crit Hulk is a smart guy who loves film and is n't a bad writer . I just had an opinion about a certain piece that I did n't like , and I was a bit of a wise ass about it . Devin , who is a wise ass about almost EVERYTHING , and throws blustery insults at everyone who disagrees with him , ca n't take the same being thrown in his direction in his " kingdom . " So he bans at will . <p> So I really enjoyed seeing him getting his ass kicked . If the mood strikes me , and this asshole comes to BNAT this year , You may get to see this scenerio all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I 've yet to figure out how a rude windbag from New York who lives in L.A. fits the vibe of the Alamo and/or Austin . I do n't believe Devin is half as smart as he obviously thinks he is , but I 'm not really part of the hipster bloggerati where foul language and puffed up opinion are considered good , original writing . Neither do I really understand the whole idea of editor free rants of thousands of words slung on any topic ( ala Film Crit Hulk ) , which was the basis of the comment that got me banned from BAD . I also do n't completely understand how a blogger can steal the trademarked name and voice of a licensed Marvel Comics character to apply their shtick when it 's the very easily recognized name and voice that 's generating an instant readership to begin with . None of that really matters , because generally speaking , it 's obvious that Film Crit Hulk is a smart guy who loves film and is n't a bad writer . I just had an opinion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I was a bit of a wise ass about it . Devin , who is a wise ass about almost EVERYTHING , and throws blustery insults at everyone who disagrees with him , ca n't take the same being thrown in his direction in his " kingdom . " So he bans at will . So I really enjoyed seeing him getting his ass kicked . If the mood strikes me , and this asshole comes to BNAT this year , You may get to see this scenerio all over again . <p> The term does n't make sense . But I 've only seen three movies on the list . I liked all of them . Cold Weather and Cyrus both kicked ass . Jeff Who Lives at Home was alright . Entertaining but contrived . So I have no idea what Devin is whining about . <p> I still want to see someone debate him on his Batman Begins review , then kick his ass . None of his criticisms of that movie were valid . They were all either vague and undeveloped , or outright false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were explained by the movie to anyone who was paying attention . <p> The term does n't make sense . But I 've only seen three movies on the list . I liked all of them . Cold Weather and Cyrus both kicked ass . Jeff Who Lives at Home was alright . Entertaining but contrived . So I have no idea what Devin is whining about . I still want to see someone debate him on his Batman Begins review , then kick his ass . None of his criticisms of that movie were valid . They were all either vague and undeveloped , or outright false . He invented plot holes that were n't there and were explained by the movie to anyone who was paying attention . <p> This Faraci guy , who I assume is one of those web critics who manged to gain a small following , needs to accept that he simply does n't like the so-called genre . Obsession with these type of things tends to stem from jealousy . He took a stab at Kevin Smith . Say what you will , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Take their life savings , make a movie on their own terms , and have people embrace it . It 's impossible for me to not have complete respect for that . <p> All art is valid . And it can/has/will continue to co-exist . This Faraci guy , who I assume is one of those web critics who manged to gain a small following , needs to accept that he simply does n't like the so-called genre . Obsession with these type of things tends to stem from jealousy . He took a stab at Kevin Smith . Say what you will , Smith did what everyone on the Internet wants to do . Take their life savings , make a movie on their own terms , and have people embrace it . It 's impossible for me to not have complete respect for that . As far as I can tell , Faraci has done nothing like that . <p> almost any no talent gen y ass hole with a camera a credit card and some attractive friends can call him/herself a film maker these days and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - the real trick is , as in everything else that involves selling one 's self , who you know and who knows those you know - mumblecore indeed - the very name smacks of bull shit <p> almost any no talent gen y ass hole with a camera a credit card and some attractive friends can call him/herself a film maker these days and get a deal - the proof of this is everywhere - the real trick is , as in everything else that involves selling one 's self , who you know and who knows those you know - mumblecore indeed - the very name smacks of bull shit <p> I can not stand Faraci . He is the biggest contrarian in film criticism since Armond White . I truly believe that he trashes films to get traffic to his site . If his taste is truly legitimate then he is one of the most ungrateful movie-goers of all time . <p> For all of his faults as a writer , at least Harry has enthusiasm . I love his unbridled sense of joy about film . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the walking , talking embodiment of what is wrong with online film culture . He spews out negativity and then tries to battle ( in his forums ) anyone who has a differing opinion ( or bans them ) . It is juvenile , but I 'm glad someone punched him in his face . <p> I can not stand Faraci . He is the biggest contrarian in film criticism since Armond White . I truly believe that he trashes films to get traffic to his site . If his taste is truly legitimate then he is one of the most ungrateful movie-goers of all time . For all of his faults as a writer , at least Harry has enthusiasm . I love his unbridled sense of joy about film . For Faraci the cup is always half empty . He is the walking , talking embodiment of what is wrong with online film culture . He spews out negativity and then tries to battle ( in his forums ) anyone who has a differing opinion ( or bans them ) . It is juvenile , but I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore . That 's the point . The point being , the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash a whole movement just because you feel antipathy for some of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . <p> And if you read what o wrote , i was was not comparing mulblecore to Bethoven , i was making a clear coment in that great art ( which sometimes also gets very popular to the masses ) always come from people who have high artistic ambitions and who act quite self-indulgently . It 's the nature of the thing . The thing about art is that you do not need to like the artist to like his creations . Read the bio of most artists and it reads like the shopping list of the worst assholes that ever lived . But they create sublime works which we all profit from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anywhere . He might come from mumblecore . If you hate that prospect , that 's your problem to deal . Me , i 'll just keep watch and wait . <p> I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore . That 's the point . The point being , the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash a whole movement just because you feel antipathy for some of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . And if you read what o wrote , i was was not comparing mulblecore to Bethoven , i was making a clear coment in that great art ( which sometimes also gets very popular to the masses ) always come from people who have high artistic ambitions and who act quite self-indulgently . It 's the nature of the thing . The thing about art is that you do not need to like the artist to like his creations . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shopping list of the worst assholes that ever lived . But they create sublime works which we all profit from . So , the next Kubrick might come from anywhere . He might come from mumblecore . If you hate that prospect , that 's your problem to deal . Me , i 'll just keep watch and wait . <p> I did n't know what the hell it was until I watched this video which is somebody using clips of the films and listing characteristics . http : //www.youtu.be.com/watch ? v=9hiNC7uK ... <p> I have a few serious issues with this even being a genre . <p> Natural lighting : is never natural , looks like a soap opera or a porno . The fact is , yellow light bulbs work with our eyes , not on film . This is just lazy . <p> Seemingly no color correction . Again , lazy . If you force me to watch it , at least but a little color correction so the digital looks a little better and I do n't want to puke from all the yellow . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Black and White , which sidesteps the issue of color correction entirely ... until you realize it is the laziest incamera black and white you have ever seen . What 's wrong with a little sharpness , mates ? See Harmony Korine for effective use of " the video look " . <p> Shaky cam : All well and good . This is usually something that happens by accident anyways ; for me , and my pvc pipe shoulder mount , it happens often . This does not change the fact that if I had more money I would get a shoulder mount that works . It is difficult to maintain a stable shot . Shots that shake can add to the realism , or heighten action like in Crank . When they are willy nilly all over the place in a dialogue scene that is not intense , I say get a fucking tripod . The clips I saw on that video looked like the cameraman drank a lot of coffee , did not preplan his shot ( hence the zooming and unzooming ) and then the editor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Von Trier for how to use a shaky camera while seeming like you know what you are doing . <p> Which brings me to : Spontaneous cutting , also known as lazy editing , also known as we were too stupid to film cutaways , or naturally end a scene or even worse we are attempting jump cuts and just failing and covering our tracks by making up this godforsakenly STUPID genre . See Godard . Look up " jump cut " . <p> The main reason why I hate it ? Because I make films , I know what is easy , what the easy ways out are . I know what my first films looked like and how I had to learn and learn to not make the mistakes that these films try to pass off as art . I know what lazy looks like because I 've done it a thousand times . Mumblecore is now retitled in my mind " Learnin ' Movies " . <p> I did n't know what the hell it was until I watched this video which is somebody using clips of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ v=9hiNC7uK ... I have a few serious issues with this even being a genre . Natural lighting : is never natural , looks like a soap opera or a porno . The fact is , yellow light bulbs work with our eyes , not on film . This is just lazy . Seemingly no color correction . Again , lazy . If you force me to watch it , at least but a little color correction so the digital looks a little better and I do n't want to puke from all the yellow . The " artists " in question made many of these in Black and White , which sidesteps the issue of color correction entirely ... until you realize it is the laziest incamera black and white you have ever seen . What 's wrong with a little sharpness , mates ? See Harmony Korine for effective use of " the video look " . Shaky cam : All well and good . This is usually something that happens by accident anyways ; for me , and my pvc pipe shoulder mount , it happens often . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more money I would get a shoulder mount that works . It is difficult to maintain a stable shot . Shots that shake can add to the realism , or heighten action like in Crank . When they are willy nilly all over the place in a dialogue scene that is not intense , I say get a fucking tripod . The clips I saw on that video looked like the cameraman drank a lot of coffee , did not preplan his shot ( hence the zooming and unzooming ) and then the editor was to lazy to make the cuts . See Lars Von Trier for how to use a shaky camera while seeming like you know what you are doing . Which brings me to : Spontaneous cutting , also known as lazy editing , also known as we were too stupid to film cutaways , or naturally end a scene or even worse we are attempting jump cuts and just failing and covering our tracks by making up this godforsakenly STUPID genre . See Godard . Look up " jump cut " . The main reason why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know what is easy , what the easy ways out are . I know what my first films looked like and how I had to learn and learn to not make the mistakes that these films try to pass off as art . I know what lazy looks like because I 've done it a thousand times . Mumblecore is now retitled in my mind " Learnin ' Movies " . <p> No lighting , no set design , use of a shitty handheld consumer-grade camera , etc . Heck , most of the time , there 's no script . My beef with Mumblecore is n't just that its a fucking waste of time to watch these shitty movies ( and the " to prove it can be done " and " what his art ? " arguments , well Warhol did that a million years ago ) but fucking lazy . 90s indies like Linklater and Smith and whoever else you want to name , well as amateur as their first works were , they were n't TRYING to be . They did n't say , " eh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look , sound and BE as professional as possible . Mumblecore is like being spat in the face for 88 minutes . <p> No lighting , no set design , use of a shitty handheld consumer-grade camera , etc . Heck , most of the time , there 's no script . My beef with Mumblecore is n't just that its a fucking waste of time to watch these shitty movies ( and the " to prove it can be done " and " what his art ? " arguments , well Warhol did that a million years ago ) but fucking lazy . 90s indies like Linklater and Smith and whoever else you want to name , well as amateur as their first works were , they were n't TRYING to be . They did n't say , " eh fuck sound mixing . " They wanted their films to look , sound and BE as professional as possible . Mumblecore is like being spat in the face for 88 minutes . <p> Farici , nope , not a fan , dislike him a lot ... He 's a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; he 's just a dumbass on nearly everything ... a real hatchet mouth ... Is he the guy in the beard ? How old is he ? He looks 55 ! <p> someone said faraci is a hipster douchebag ? douchebag , yes . but i do n't see anything hip about him . he 's just a fat dude who 's so overly confident he actually envisioned a triumph for himself at the end of this event . now he will probably try to rationalize how he made a giant fool of himself . but chances are he will repeat the mistake and make an ass of himself many more times in the future . which should be a good for more laughs . <p> someone said faraci is a hipster douchebag ? douchebag , yes . but i do n't see anything hip about him . he 's just a fat dude who 's so overly confident he actually envisioned a triumph for himself at the end of this event . now he will probably try to rationalize how he made a giant fool of himself . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an ass of himself many more times in the future . which should be a good for more laughs . <p> Fat , bearded , smug , entitled know-it-all with celebrity " friends " and a douchebag demeanor is what I mean by hipster . He 's just a guy who thinks he 's important in the geek movie community because he gets invited to set visits and sees movies for free before the rest of the fan world gets to . In a perfect world , these benefits would make a film fan a nicer human being , blessed with being able to make a living watching and writing about film . But in too many cases , this one in particular , these entitlements just make the writer an arrogant prick liked only by other writers in the same community , who are the only ones who will tell you he 's a " great guy . " His day will eventually come when he 'll be forced to get a real job , only it 'll be more painful for him than most of us because he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and feels entitled to his lifestyle . <p> Fat , bearded , smug , entitled know-it-all with celebrity " friends " and a douchebag demeanor is what I mean by hipster . He 's just a guy who thinks he 's important in the geek movie community because he gets invited to set visits and sees movies for free before the rest of the fan world gets to . In a perfect world , these benefits would make a film fan a nicer human being , blessed with being able to make a living watching and writing about film . But in too many cases , this one in particular , these entitlements just make the writer an arrogant prick liked only by other writers in the same community , who are the only ones who will tell you he 's a " great guy . " His day will eventually come when he 'll be forced to get a real job , only it 'll be more painful for him than most of us because he 's spent the last 10 years on the gravy train and feels entitled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad about modern fandom . He is a indeed a fat smug , arrogant douchbag . <p> I will never forget his 4 star review of Terminator salvation for Empire magazine ... and then after it became clear the film was a critical and financial bomb quickly putting a story entitled " why T4 is a bad movie " on Chud ..... what a fucking hypocrite ... <p> is the embodiment of everything bad about modern fandom . He is a indeed a fat smug , arrogant douchbag . I will never forget his 4 star review of Terminator salvation for Empire magazine ... and then after it became clear the film was a critical and financial bomb quickly putting a story entitled " why T4 is a bad movie " on Chud ..... what a fucking hypocrite ... <p> the fans of certain movies or film series " retarded " ..... this coming from a whiny man child that love the planet of the apes films ...... and lets not even get started about a grown ass man cumming in his pants about Harry Potter .... and im not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his 30s gushes over HP like a Japanese school girl ... he has a pair of balls calling anyone else retarded for what they like <p> the fans of certain movies or film series " retarded " ..... this coming from a whiny man child that love the planet of the apes films ...... and lets not even get started about a grown ass man cumming in his pants about Harry Potter .... and im not bagging on HP .... but when a grown ass man in his 30s gushes over HP like a Japanese school girl ... he has a pair of balls calling anyone else retarded for what they like <p> Cameron only makes him a bigger fucking loser ....... who gives a fuck if he likes Cameron 's films .... but he has gone so out of his way to attack any and all Cameron 's films to the point that he tries his best to trash Aliens , T2 ... just anything .... and he does so so repeatedly that he comes across as such a fucking loser ...... but of course he is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Cameron ..... again , what a fucking hypocrite ... <p> Cameron only makes him a bigger fucking loser ....... who gives a fuck if he likes Cameron 's films .... but he has gone so out of his way to attack any and all Cameron 's films to the point that he tries his best to trash Aliens , T2 ... just anything .... and he does so so repeatedly that he comes across as such a fucking loser ...... but of course he is not above hit whoring for his site by always posting stories about Cameron ..... again , what a fucking hypocrite ... <p> I have no idea who the fuck Swanberg is ... but the man is my new personal hero for shutting that pompous windbag up ...... jesus christ ..... what a cunt .... lecturing a film maker ..... at least he is actually out there trying to make films .... what do you do you useless piece of shit ? .... just write about it and try your best to tear down others ..... <p> I have no idea who the fuck Swanberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for shutting that pompous windbag up ...... jesus christ ..... what a cunt .... lecturing a film maker ..... at least he is actually out there trying to make films .... what do you do you useless piece of shit ? .... just write about it and try your best to tear down others ..... <p> I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore . That 's the point . The point being , the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash a whole movement just because you feel antipathy for some of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . <p> I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore . That 's the point . The point being , the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . <p> I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore . That 's the point . The point being , the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash a whole movement just because you feel antipathy for some of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . <p> I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore . That 's the point . The point being , the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash a whole movement just because you feel antipathy for some of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . <p> I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash a whole movement just because you feel antipathy for some of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . <p> I do n't know where the next Kubrick will came from . But he might come from mumblecore . That 's the point . The point being , the next genious filmmkaer of the stature of Kubrick will come from where you will least expect , as this things usually happen . So to bash a whole movement just because you feel antipathy for some of it 's filmmakers or some of their movies is not cool . <p> The Enemy of my Enemy is my friend applies here ; despite differences , tastes , age , cultural , socio-economic strata ... people the world over can unite in their pure , unbridled , heartfelt loathing of that unwashed swine of an internet movie critic . <p> When I see Devin the first thing that comes to mind is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to be the warden of a Turkish Prison . <p> The Enemy of my Enemy is my friend applies here ; despite differences , tastes , age , cultural , socio-economic strata ... people the world over can unite in their pure , unbridled , heartfelt loathing of that unwashed swine of an internet movie critic . When I see Devin the first thing that comes to mind is that here is a guy whose greatest aspiration in life is to be the warden of a Turkish Prison . <p> All one needs to do is point out that mumblecore as a genre has existed for years and produced nothing that has impacted the genre except its own invention , in perfect keeping with the hipster element of celebrating the hipster element for its own sake and contributing nothing else . Has there been ONE great mumblecore performance ? ONE great mumblecore piece of dialogue ? ONE great mumblecore film ? No . No . No . That should have been Faraci 's argument - that mumblecore proves its own irrelevance by producing absolute nothing . <p> As for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ squash a filmmaker 's dreams is the announcement that , hey , surprise , tired hipster lack-of-effort films are no good , then there are no dreams being crushed . That 's called flushing the toilet , not crushing dreams . <p> All one needs to do is point out that mumblecore as a genre has existed for years and produced nothing that has impacted the genre except its own invention , in perfect keeping with the hipster element of celebrating the hipster element for its own sake and contributing nothing else . Has there been ONE great mumblecore performance ? ONE great mumblecore piece of dialogue ? ONE great mumblecore film ? No . No . No . That should have been Faraci 's argument - that mumblecore proves its own irrelevance by producing absolute nothing . As for young filmmakers being squashed - if all it takes to squash a filmmaker 's dreams is the announcement that , hey , surprise , tired hipster lack-of-effort films are no good , then there are no dreams being crushed . That 's called flushing the toilet , not crushing dreams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do n't know him that well , " is a nice way to say even his friends think he 's massive cock which there is no doubt applies to Farici ... He looks like a Wookiee with Mange ... ugh . <p> has the phrase , " ... you just do n't know him that well , " is a nice way to say even his friends think he 's massive cock which there is no doubt applies to Farici ... He looks like a Wookiee with Mange ... ugh . <p> Take your time , fiend , i 'll wait . I know exactly what you are dealing with , it has happened to me before too . You write this long text you are so proud of beause you put to much though to it , you know you made your argument well , and all goes down the toilet because yu started your post with a quotation . It 's enough to make a man turn to drink . <p> I bet i 'll agree with many of the arguments you will make . You sound like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our disagrement is more to do with how badly i 'm making my ideas come across . Bad writer me ! If your arguent is based in that mublecore feels too slacker in the technical department , as if this filmmakers are not even bothering to atempt to make technically savvy movies , and not bothering with the minimal atempt at aestetics , i would agree with that argument . As Ridley Scott says , movies ca n't be too beautiful . <p> Take your time , fiend , i 'll wait . I know exactly what you are dealing with , it has happened to me before too . You write this long text you are so proud of beause you put to much though to it , you know you made your argument well , and all goes down the toilet because yu started your post with a quotation . It 's enough to make a man turn to drink . I bet i 'll agree with many of the arguments you will make . You sound like a smart and intelligent fella . Maybe the major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ badly i 'm making my ideas come across . Bad writer me ! If your arguent is based in that mublecore feels too slacker in the technical department , as if this filmmakers are not even bothering to atempt to make technically savvy movies , and not bothering with the minimal atempt at aestetics , i would agree with that argument . As Ridley Scott says , movies ca n't be too beautiful . <p> The tall geek threw some weak arm punches at the hairy geek , who ran into them but was n't particularly inconvenienced . The hairy geek responded by throwing punches overhand in a style that suggested he should have been stuttering ' and you take that ! and that ! ' while he lobbed them , while the tall geek actually turned his hand to the side like he was shooting a glock in a John Woo movie , meaning if he had hit the hairy geek with a solid punch he probably would have broken his hand , thereby proving that the tall geek does n't know how to use his fists or semi-automatics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> The hairy geek then turned his back on the tall geek and seems to have gotten his eye ouchied from behind , inspiring him to fall on his knees and look for the helicopter taking Charlie Sheen out of Vietnam and to the set of Two and a Half Men . <p> The hairy geek then gets up , charges the tall geek , and after a punch sort of scrapes along the side of his face guard he flops back to the canvas screaming ' no ma-ma , no ma-ma ' . <p> Say what you will about Boll , but in his fight with a critic he actually threw a couple punches with serious intent . <p> So Uwe Boll is too good a fighter and director for Mumblecore . <p> At least the tall geek looked clean . The hairy geek sort of smelled even through the video . <p> ... no one 's ass was handed to anyone in that video . The tall geek threw some weak arm punches at the hairy geek , who ran into them but was n't particularly inconvenienced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a style that suggested he should have been stuttering ' and you take that ! and that ! ' while he lobbed them , while the tall geek actually turned his hand to the side like he was shooting a glock in a John Woo movie , meaning if he had hit the hairy geek with a solid punch he probably would have broken his hand , thereby proving that the tall geek does n't know how to use his fists or semi-automatics any better than he knows how to use a camera . The hairy geek then turned his back on the tall geek and seems to have gotten his eye ouchied from behind , inspiring him to fall on his knees and look for the helicopter taking Charlie Sheen out of Vietnam and to the set of Two and a Half Men . The hairy geek then gets up , charges the tall geek , and after a punch sort of scrapes along the side of his face guard he flops back to the canvas screaming ' no ma-ma , no ma-ma ' . Say what you will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he actually threw a couple punches with serious intent . So Uwe Boll is too good a fighter and director for Mumblecore . At least the tall geek looked clean . The hairy geek sort of smelled even through the video . <p> Filmmakers make movies that give a job to the critics . But without critics , all filmmakers would veer into self-indulgence . I do n't believe all those filmmakers who claim they do n't read reviews . Some i can believe they do n't , given how obtuse their style keeps on persisting despite they being in the mainstream blockbuster business ( Hello , Mr Bay ! ) . But the majority do read , and many do take lessons . <p> Many think it 's absurd that somebody who does n't make movies can tell why a movie is badly made . But that 's the same to say one ca n't know if a car is bad if one ca n't make one . By the same token nobody could say if a movie is good because they ca n't make one . Flip side @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between critics and filmmakers , even if most of the time it plays as a relationship based on antagonism like they are characters from a buddy cop movie from the 80s . <p> Filmmakers make movies that give a job to the critics . But without critics , all filmmakers would veer into self-indulgence . I do n't believe all those filmmakers who claim they do n't read reviews . Some i can believe they do n't , given how obtuse their style keeps on persisting despite they being in the mainstream blockbuster business ( Hello , Mr Bay ! ) . But the majority do read , and many do take lessons . Many think it 's absurd that somebody who does n't make movies can tell why a movie is badly made . But that 's the same to say one ca n't know if a car is bad if one ca n't make one . By the same token nobody could say if a movie is good because they ca n't make one . Flip side of the same coin . There is a simbiosis between critics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plays as a relationship based on antagonism like they are characters from a buddy cop movie from the 80s . <p> And yeah , the hairy geek seems to pride himself on striking a hip , contrarian pose that he can not coherently defend and which he pursues to a degree that renders him incapable of maintaining any sort of critical consistency . <p> ... ouch . I thought I was being mean . And yeah , the hairy geek seems to pride himself on striking a hip , contrarian pose that he can not coherently defend and which he pursues to a degree that renders him incapable of maintaining any sort of critical consistency . <p> I do n't know much of Mr Faraci 's career , but i bet he is contrarian to the safe bet movies , the ones are safe to be contrarian about . As for his Terminator Salvation high praises , i bet he did it as a miscalculation to suck up to the big studios which turned out to bite him in the ass . <p> And that 's sad . I do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ i bet he is contrarian to the safe bet movies , the ones are safe to be contrarian about . As for his Terminator Salvation high praises , i bet he did it as a miscalculation to suck up to the big studios which turned out to bite him in the ass . <p> from boxofficemojo.com : In sixth place , comic book adaptation/remake Dredd bombed with just $6.3 million from 2,506 locations . That 's less than one-third of Kick-Ass 's $19.8 million , and only a little over half of the original Judge Dredd 's $12.3 million ( and that movie was considered a flop 17 years ago ! ) . It 's at least up on Shoot ' Em Up ( $5.7 million ) and about on par with April 's Lockout ( $6.2 million ) , though those comparisons suggest Dredd is on track for less than $20 million through its entire run . The audience was predominantly male ( 75 percent ) and older ( 69 percent were 25 years of age or older ) and they gave the movie a " B " CinemaScore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's awful performance is the latest example of how the Comic-Con/online fanboy crowd just does n't make up a large portion of the moviegoers in this country . The movie came out of its Comic-Con screening in July with tons of online buzz and very strong reviews , and it maintained a 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes through at least its first 25 reviews ( though it ultimately wound up at a more-reasonable 77 percent ) . As a result , the fanboy audience was very aware of this movie ahead of release , and anticipation seemed to be pretty high among this group as well . Ultimately , though , it 's just not a big-enough group to drive strong business . For a good dissection of the hazards of targeting fanboys , check out this piece from earlier this year in The Hollywood Reporter . <p> Captain America Comic-Con Costume - 2012 Getty Images An insider asks if the geek crowd is still the best audience on which to blow marketing budgets . <p> This story first appeared in the July 20 issue of The Hollywood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Expanding Marvel Relationship With New Game Debut in San Diego Comic-Con 2012 : Behind the Scenes With the New TV Gods Comic-Con 2012 : Behind the Scenes of THR 's Roundtable ( Video ) Comic-Con 2012 : 6 All-Stars Talk Knife-Wielding Fans , Mortifying Auditions and How Their Shows Should End at THR 's Roundtable <p> Here we go again , another July , another parade of movie stars and executives heading south to peddle their wares at Comic-Con . But before we all spend crazy money jetting in talent , booking lavish parties and crafting just the right teaser-trailer package , think for a moment : Is the Comic-Con crowd still the best audience on which to be blowing our marketing budget ? A decade after Hall H became Hollywood 's must-stop venue on the path to the multiplex , what if Comic-Con is sort of over ? <p> After all , many would argue that the people who attend every year would see a genre movie or superhero tentpole no matter what . And the rest of the moviegoing public increasingly does n't care much whether the fanboys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aliens . Last year 's toast of the Con flatlined at the box office . <p> Tron : Legacy ? Disney teased the movie three years in a row to rapturous applause , and it still underperformed . Scott Pilgrim vs. the World . Green Lantern . Jonah Hex . Comic-Con hits , real-world flops . <p> VIDEO : Comic-Con 2012 : Behind the Scenes of THR 's Roundtable <p> The Dark Knight ? Biggest domestic gross of all time for a superhero movie , and it bypassed Comic-Con altogether . Preaching to a choir and spending what can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege might not be the best way to go . Especially since a big , splashy presentation has become far less special . It 's now the norm -- hardly even a news event . After you fly in your A-list movie stars , put them up in a Hard Rock Hotel suite and pay their $2,000-a-day makeup person and stylist , is their 45-minute appearance going to translate into global ticket sales six or 12 months later ? Probably not . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed by buzz and big box office ( Avatar in 2009 , Avengers last year ) . <p> But you could probably still generate that same media attention from a strong trailer or viral campaign via a team of hardworking marketers and publicists . And less competition fighting for ink . Now , if studios want to support Comic-Con as a gift to the fans , good for them . But if they 're trying to sell movie tickets -- and is n't that the point ? -- save your money for a broader campaign . And may the force be with you . <p> from whogottherole.com : Things did n't go well for Lionsgate Dredd . Showing in 2,506 locations , the film was only able to make a depressing $6.3 million . That 's just half of what the original Judge Dredd , starring Sylvester Stallone made . Despite fair reviews from critics and a B CinemaScore , Dredd is on track to make less than $20 million for its entire run . <p> from joblo.com : After its premiere at Comic Con this year , fans and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the popular British comic book created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra and starring Karl Urban , Olivia Thirlby , and Lena Headey . Directed by Pete Travis , the ultraviolent , slick , and brutal pic was primed to be a solid hit in the hard-R action genre . Sitting at 77% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and with most fan reaction being positive , DREDD 3D looked to have it in the bag . <p> Then , the numbers came in . A paltry $6 million over a slow weekend in September , competing with the likes of a Clint Eastwood baseball movie , a cheesy horror flick , and a cop drama , DREDD 3D was buried , making only half of what its competition pulled in , which , aside for END OF WATCH , had negative reviews . Audiences were loud and clear that they did n't much care for what DREDD 3D had to offer or they simply did n't know enough about it to give a shit . Even with an aggressive campaign by Lionsgate , the trailers and TV spots did little to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hell happened ? I left the theater feeling fully satiated by what I 'd seen . DREDD 3D felt like an issue of the comic brought to life , with all the character , blood , gore , brutality , and deadpan comedy one could ask for . In my mind , it was one of the best comic adaptations I 'd seen to date . When I saw the numbers on Sunday I was floored . HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET and TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE beat DREDD 3D ? They 're sitting at 11% and 52% on Rotten Tomatoes ! <p> DREDD 3D 's failure brings up a number of questions : Are audiences tired of comic book flicks ? They 've certainly been inundated with them recently ( and will continue to be ) . Are audiences playing it safe with go-to genres and established names ? Jennifer Lawrence is hot off THE HUNGER GAMES and Eastwood is hot off his RNC " chair " speech , so why not ? Are audiences " tamed " to PG-13 movies ? Have they simply learned to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ? In recent years , we 've seen the R-rated action genre take a hit , while the comedy genre got a boost . Too many questions with no solid answers . <p> THE EXPENDABLES 2 originally was shooting for a PG-13 before an R , adding some CGI blood ( with almost no profanity ) to give the fans " what they want . " Did it make that big of a difference to audiences in terms of ticket sales ? Well , it still has n't made back it 's $100 million budget , so there 's that . A PG-13 almost always adds a bigger tally , since it opens up to a wider audience . That said , it 's always possible that HOUSE and CURVE are counting money that actually belongs to DREDD 3D , as kids will typically buy a ticket for a PG-13 movie and sneak into an R-rated one ( I know I did ) . I 'll give END OF WATCH its due credit as it earned the top spot with an R-rating and great reviews . <p> I do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ R-rating . Without the hardcore violence it would 've lost all edge as the badass film that it is and robbed it completely of its source material integrity . A PG-13 would 've been a sell out . However , that sell out may have been a prettier picture for Lionsgate 's returns . So , who really wins ? Which brings me to my next train of thought ; Are some movies destined to be cult films ? When you consider the box office of movies like THE EVIL DEAD , FIGHT CLUB , THE BIG LEBOWSKI , OFFICE SPACE , etc. , one of the most common traits is their box office failure , with each of them carrying an R-rating . <p> To me , DREDD 3D seemed to have a wider appeal than cult status , but I 'm biased as hell . I 'm a comic nerd/film geek , so my thoughts on the matter can be jaded . The average moviegoer seeing a **40;5314;TOOLONG ... may view the concept as far too odd . DREDD 3D , after all , is n't a well-known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as THE AVENGERS or Batman . As a character , he 's low on the totem pole in terms of popularity ; so to sell him on the heels of his comic roots was always going to be tough . <p> Then , there 's the issue of the female audience . Let 's face it ; most women are n't into blood-soaked action flicks . Call me sexist , but it 's true . I 'm sure a poll in Cosmopolitan would reveal the truth . Chicks want romance , love , and comedy for the most part ( which is n't to say they ca n't appreciate some badass action ) of which DREDD 3D has none . There is n't the slightest hint at romance , with Dredd playing it straight from start to finish . Regardless , Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson is awesome , exuding strength , vulnerability , and perseverance in a role that easily could 've been a cheesy annoyance . In the ads , however , she 's played off as nothing more than a presence in the film , rather than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a good film is a hard thing to figure out and the consequences of that failure can be far-reaching . I 'm not upset about the loss of sequel potential as much as I am about an R-rated action flick done right being punished for doing so . It 's a slap to the studio for taking the risk and a signal that audiences do n't want R-rated action movies , but PG-13 warmed over dogshit . It 's harsh , but true . The truth is in the numbers and unfortunately , when it all comes down to it , the numbers will determine what we 'll see next . I 'm hopeful that more filmmakers and studios will continue to take the risk in the future , but sadly , I think we 'll be seeing more trite PG-13 schlock than kick ass R-rated paragons , like DREDD 3D . <p> I say : Enough geek-pain , I think , as the geek audience is resoundingly told " NO ! WE HATE THAT Y0U EXIST ! " yet again with this weekend 's box-office . <p> from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bombed with just $6.3 million from 2,506 locations . That 's less than one-third of Kick-Ass 's $19.8 million , and only a little over half of the original Judge Dredd 's $12.3 million ( and that movie was considered a flop 17 years ago ! ) . It 's at least up on Shoot ' Em Up ( $5.7 million ) and about on par with April 's Lockout ( $6.2 million ) , though those comparisons suggest Dredd is on track for less than $20 million through its entire run . The audience was predominantly male ( 75 percent ) and older ( 69 percent were 25 years of age or older ) and they gave the movie a " B " CinemaScore . A 3D share is not currently available . Dredd 's awful performance is the latest example of how the Comic-Con/online fanboy crowd just does n't make up a large portion of the moviegoers in this country . The movie came out of its Comic-Con screening in July with tons of online buzz and very strong reviews , and it maintained a 100 percent fresh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reviews ( though it ultimately wound up at a more-reasonable 77 percent ) . As a result , the fanboy audience was very aware of this movie ahead of release , and anticipation seemed to be pretty high among this group as well . Ultimately , though , it 's just not a big-enough group to drive strong business . For a good dissection of the hazards of targeting fanboys , check out this piece from earlier this year in The Hollywood Reporter . From THE HOLYWOOD REPORTER : Comic-Con Anonymous : Are Fanboys Still Worth the Time and Money ? 5:00 AM PDT 7/12/2012 by Anonymous share Comments ( 6 ) 106 Captain America Comic-Con Costume - 2012 Getty Images An insider asks if the geek crowd is still the best audience on which to blow marketing budgets . This story first appeared in the July 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine . our editor recommends Comic-Con 2012 : Activision Expanding Marvel Relationship With New Game Debut in San Diego Comic-Con 2012 : Behind the Scenes With the New TV Gods Comic-Con 2012 : Behind the Scenes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ All-Stars Talk Knife-Wielding Fans , Mortifying Auditions and How Their Shows Should End at THR 's Roundtable Here we go again , another July , another parade of movie stars and executives heading south to peddle their wares at Comic-Con . But before we all spend crazy money jetting in talent , booking lavish parties and crafting just the right teaser-trailer package , think for a moment : Is the Comic-Con crowd still the best audience on which to be blowing our marketing budget ? A decade after Hall H became Hollywood 's must-stop venue on the path to the multiplex , what if Comic-Con is sort of over ? PHOTOS : Comic-Con 2012 : 6 All-Stars Talk Knife-Wielding Fans , Mortifying Auditions and How Their Shows Should End at THR 's Roundtable After all , many would argue that the people who attend every year would see a genre movie or superhero tentpole no matter what . And the rest of the moviegoing public increasingly does n't care much whether the fanboys love or hate something . Three words : Cowboys &; Aliens . Last year 's toast of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Legacy ? Disney teased the movie three years in a row to rapturous applause , and it still underperformed . Scott Pilgrim vs. the World . Green Lantern . Jonah Hex . Comic-Con hits , real-world flops . VIDEO : Comic-Con 2012 : Behind the Scenes of THR 's Roundtable The Dark Knight ? Biggest domestic gross of all time for a superhero movie , and it bypassed Comic-Con altogether . Preaching to a choir and spending what can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege might not be the best way to go . Especially since a big , splashy presentation has become far less special . It 's now the norm -- hardly even a news event . After you fly in your A-list movie stars , put them up in a Hard Rock Hotel suite and pay their $2,000-a-day makeup person and stylist , is their 45-minute appearance going to translate into global ticket sales six or 12 months later ? Probably not . Sure , there are examples of Comic-Con presentations that were followed by buzz and big box office ( Avatar in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2012 : First Look at Posters for ' The Vampire Diaries , ' ' Supernatural , ' ' Following ' and More But you could probably still generate that same media attention from a strong trailer or viral campaign via a team of hardworking marketers and publicists . And less competition fighting for ink . Now , if studios want to support Comic-Con as a gift to the fans , good for them . But if they 're trying to sell movie tickets -- and is n't that the point ? -- save your money for a broader campaign . And may the force be with you . from whogottherole.com : Things did n't go well for Lionsgate Dredd . Showing in 2,506 locations , the film was only able to make a depressing $6.3 million . That 's just half of what the original Judge Dredd , starring Sylvester Stallone made . Despite fair reviews from critics and a B CinemaScore , Dredd is on track to make less than $20 million for its entire run . from joblo.com : After its premiere at Comic Con this year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reboot of the popular British comic book created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra and starring Karl Urban , Olivia Thirlby , and Lena Headey . Directed by Pete Travis , the ultraviolent , slick , and brutal pic was primed to be a solid hit in the hard-R action genre . Sitting at 77% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and with most fan reaction being positive , DREDD 3D looked to have it in the bag . Then , the numbers came in . A paltry $6 million over a slow weekend in September , competing with the likes of a Clint Eastwood baseball movie , a cheesy horror flick , and a cop drama , DREDD 3D was buried , making only half of what its competition pulled in , which , aside for END OF WATCH , had negative reviews . Audiences were loud and clear that they did n't much care for what DREDD 3D had to offer or they simply did n't know enough about it to give a shit . Even with an aggressive campaign by Lionsgate , the trailers and TV spots did little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hell happened ? I left the theater feeling fully satiated by what I 'd seen . DREDD 3D felt like an issue of the comic brought to life , with all the character , blood , gore , brutality , and deadpan comedy one could ask for . In my mind , it was one of the best comic adaptations I 'd seen to date . When I saw the numbers on Sunday I was floored . HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET and TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE beat DREDD 3D ? They 're sitting at 11% and 52% on Rotten Tomatoes ! DREDD 3D 's failure brings up a number of questions : Are audiences tired of comic book flicks ? They 've certainly been inundated with them recently ( and will continue to be ) . Are audiences playing it safe with go-to genres and established names ? Jennifer Lawrence is hot off THE HUNGER GAMES and Eastwood is hot off his RNC " chair " speech , so why not ? Are audiences " tamed " to PG-13 movies ? Have they simply learned to settle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In recent years , we 've seen the R-rated action genre take a hit , while the comedy genre got a boost . Too many questions with no solid answers . THE EXPENDABLES 2 originally was shooting for a PG-13 before an R , adding some CGI blood ( with almost no profanity ) to give the fans " what they want . " Did it make that big of a difference to audiences in terms of ticket sales ? Well , it still has n't made back it 's $100 million budget , so there 's that . A PG-13 almost always adds a bigger tally , since it opens up to a wider audience . That said , it 's always possible that HOUSE and CURVE are counting money that actually belongs to DREDD 3D , as kids will typically buy a ticket for a PG-13 movie and sneak into an R-rated one ( I know I did ) . I 'll give END OF WATCH its due credit as it earned the top spot with an R-rating and great reviews . I do n't think DREDD 3D @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hardcore violence it would 've lost all edge as the badass film that it is and robbed it completely of its source material integrity . A PG-13 would 've been a sell out . However , that sell out may have been a prettier picture for Lionsgate 's returns . So , who really wins ? Which brings me to my next train of thought ; Are some movies destined to be cult films ? When you consider the box office of movies like THE EVIL DEAD , FIGHT CLUB , THE BIG LEBOWSKI , OFFICE SPACE , etc. , one of the most common traits is their box office failure , with each of them carrying an R-rating . To me , DREDD 3D seemed to have a wider appeal than cult status , but I 'm biased as hell . I 'm a comic nerd/film geek , so my thoughts on the matter can be jaded . The average moviegoer seeing a **40;5356;TOOLONG ... may view the concept as far too odd . DREDD 3D , after all , is n't a well-known comic in the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Batman . As a character , he 's low on the totem pole in terms of popularity ; so to sell him on the heels of his comic roots was always going to be tough . Then , there 's the issue of the female audience . Let 's face it ; most women are n't into blood-soaked action flicks . Call me sexist , but it 's true . I 'm sure a poll in Cosmopolitan would reveal the truth . Chicks want romance , love , and comedy for the most part ( which is n't to say they ca n't appreciate some badass action ) of which DREDD 3D has none . There is n't the slightest hint at romance , with Dredd playing it straight from start to finish . Regardless , Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson is awesome , exuding strength , vulnerability , and perseverance in a role that easily could 've been a cheesy annoyance . In the ads , however , she 's played off as nothing more than a presence in the film , rather than a major player with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard thing to figure out and the consequences of that failure can be far-reaching . I 'm not upset about the loss of sequel potential as much as I am about an R-rated action flick done right being punished for doing so . It 's a slap to the studio for taking the risk and a signal that audiences do n't want R-rated action movies , but PG-13 warmed over dogshit . It 's harsh , but true . The truth is in the numbers and unfortunately , when it all comes down to it , the numbers will determine what we 'll see next . I 'm hopeful that more filmmakers and studios will continue to take the risk in the future , but sadly , I think we 'll be seeing more trite PG-13 schlock than kick ass R-rated paragons , like DREDD 3D . I say : Enough geek-pain , I think , as the geek audience is resoundingly told " NO ! WE HATE THAT Y0U EXIST ! " yet again with this weekend 's box-office . What to expect in the future : *the shuttering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) *no more DREDD movies ( HAHAHAHAHAHA ! ) *few obscure comic properties ( HAHAHAHA ! ) *No more " From the Mind of visionary ' x ' " *no more R-rated actioners ( HAHAHAHA ! ) *PG-13 horror/action trash ( HAHAHAHAHA ! ) *ROBOCOP remake PG-13 ( HAHAHAHAHA ! ) *ALL future sci-fi/fantasy PG-13 ( HAHAHAHA ! ) ca n't stop laughing at you all . Got ta take a break . Enjoy your life knowing how truly , epically hated you all are by just about everyone . <p> Yes , and stupid , self-loathing people also are . And Faraci is a very stupid , very self-loathing person indeed . <p> He 's also a terrible writer . However , it 's no surprise that his online film ' critic ' ( I use the term loosely ) peers fete him as a ' witty ' or intelligent wordsmith , since the standards of writing and rational film criticism in such circles are so inept . <p> Yes , and stupid , self-loathing people also are . And Faraci is a very stupid , very self-loathing person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it 's no surprise that his online film ' critic ' ( I use the term loosely ) peers fete him as a ' witty ' or intelligent wordsmith , since the standards of writing and rational film criticism in such circles are so inept . <p> Nordling and Mr. Beaks are both close friends and disciples of this guy ( not just fans as Nordling would have you believe ) . They are all cut from the same cloth - pretentious ( yet , in reality , thick as pigshit ) douchebags who have a superiority complex and look down on their readers and fellow geeks . And that is why I , too , ignore any and all reviews from this laughable trio of pseudo-intellectualism . <p> As regards Faraci and Jim Cameron , it goes well beyond simple badmouthing ; let 's just say it 's hilarious how Devin almost got taken to court for slander for his personal vendetta and ' campaign ' to actively try and discredit Cameron and Lighstorm Entertainment by making allegations of plagiarism and the like . He 's lucky his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - only to be awarded the privilege of being called a ' deadbeat ' later on . So much for loyalty . Faraci was unaware how close he came to having legal action taken against him . Jim Dorey of Market Saw and some of his spies revealed all this information some years ago . I remember posting this story a long time ago and getting banned for my trouble - guess Faraci has friends around these parts who do n't want the truth to come out . <p> Nordling and Mr. Beaks are both close friends and disciples of this guy ( not just fans as Nordling would have you believe ) . They are all cut from the same cloth - pretentious ( yet , in reality , thick as pigshit ) douchebags who have a superiority complex and look down on their readers and fellow geeks . And that is why I , too , ignore any and all reviews from this laughable trio of pseudo-intellectualism . As regards Faraci and Jim Cameron , it goes well beyond simple badmouthing ; let 's just say it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for his personal vendetta and ' campaign ' to actively try and discredit Cameron and Lighstorm Entertainment by making allegations of plagiarism and the like . He 's lucky his former employer Nick Nunziata covered his ass to prevent this - only to be awarded the privilege of being called a ' deadbeat ' later on . So much for loyalty . Faraci was unaware how close he came to having legal action taken against him . Jim Dorey of Market Saw and some of his spies revealed all this information some years ago . I remember posting this story a long time ago and getting banned for my trouble - guess Faraci has friends around these parts who do n't want the truth to come out . Faraci is a truly disgusting , hateful human being , and quite a dangerous one , too . <p> STAR WARS played into people 's nostalgia for serials and had big explosions and so-called cool tech and laser swords . <p> There is almost NOTHING innately sci-fi about Star Wars thematically . It 's fantasy with the veneer of religious allegory &; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to appeal to the public . <p> Likewise , Lord of the Rings ' success and popularity had to do with big monsters , big battles , pretty actors and Coca-Cola marketing pushing the hell out of it . <p> Actual human , fair-smelling American audiences ( ie not geeks ) have screamed over and over the word NOOOOOOO ! every time the studio has tried to sell them movies EXPLICITLY ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY or involving so-called geek properties ( sic ) . <p> When the property is about a beloved comic book or pet project , the flops are even more ARMAGEDDON-LEVEL CATASTROPHIC like DREDD , which has collapsed so profoundly it 's gutting future projects right and left as studios watch . Did you know that anonymous ComiCon folks have recently contributed to articles in various top-shelf industry publications saying they 're worried studios are going to abandon ComiCon ENTIRELY next year the way the big players ( Sony &; Disney ) did this last year ? Because you ComiCon attendees do n't matter , nor do you reflect the slightest indicator on the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> There has to be a limit to this nonsense , and studios have reached it - they 're not going to cater to you geeks any longer . They 've reached the LIMIT OF TOLERANCE with DREDD , and they 're backing away slowly and taking their producer money with them . <p> Sure , Marvel movies made money - because they appealed to the NON-GEEK AUDIENCE . Appealing to the geek audience is a recipe for TOTAL APOCALYPTIC FAILURE , as Dredd 's cosmically-positive reviews illustrate . <p> The reason ? Simple - the geek mind is TOTALLY different from the average person 's . It 's psychotically obsessed with irrelevant detail . You know what I like to do when someone spouts comic book trivia ? I tell them --Hey , douchebag - did you know Google has put you out of a job ? I can Google ALL the trivia in your head , plus tons more . Do you have a use on this planet ? -- <p> Encyclopediac knowledge of STAR TREK is a MENTAL DISORDER , not a matter of pride . <p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had big explosions and so-called cool tech and laser swords . There is almost NOTHING innately sci-fi about Star Wars thematically . It 's fantasy with the veneer of religious allegory &; big-bada-boom all over it . And it 's suitably brainless to appeal to the public . Likewise , Lord of the Rings ' success and popularity had to do with big monsters , big battles , pretty actors and Coca-Cola marketing pushing the hell out of it . Notice what Coca-Cola does n't touch ? Flops like JUDGE DREDD . Scott Pilgrim vs. the Box-Office , er , World Jonah Hex Snakes on a Plane Dredd Hot Fuzz Prometheus Paranorman The Last Airbender Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Speed Racer Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within Hellboy Hellboy 2 Watchmen John Carter Battleship Tim &; Eric 's Billion Dollar Movie Actual human , fair-smelling American audiences ( ie not geeks ) have screamed over and over the word NOOOOOOO ! every time the studio has tried to sell them movies EXPLICITLY ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY or involving so-called geek properties ( sic ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or pet project , the flops are even more ARMAGEDDON-LEVEL CATASTROPHIC like DREDD , which has collapsed so profoundly it 's gutting future projects right and left as studios watch . Did you know that anonymous ComiCon folks have recently contributed to articles in various top-shelf industry publications saying they 're worried studios are going to abandon ComiCon ENTIRELY next year the way the big players ( Sony &; Disney ) did this last year ? Because you ComiCon attendees do n't matter , nor do you reflect the slightest indicator on the rest of the natural effing world . http : **35;5435;TOOLONG ... There has to be a limit to this nonsense , and studios have reached it - they 're not going to cater to you geeks any longer . They 've reached the LIMIT OF TOLERANCE with DREDD , and they 're backing away slowly and taking their producer money with them . Sure , Marvel movies made money - because they appealed to the NON-GEEK AUDIENCE . Appealing to the geek audience is a recipe for TOTAL APOCALYPTIC FAILURE , as Dredd 's cosmically-positive reviews illustrate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TOTALLY different from the average person 's . It 's psychotically obsessed with irrelevant detail . You know what I like to do when someone spouts comic book trivia ? I tell them --Hey , douchebag - did you know Google has put you out of a job ? I can Google ALL the trivia in your head , plus tons more . Do you have a use on this planet ? -- Encyclopediac knowledge of STAR TREK is a MENTAL DISORDER , not a matter of pride . <p> NOBODY but geeks cared . NOBODY but geeks knew the character . NOBODY but geeks attended . NOBODY but geeks wanted the movie . NOBODY but geeks asked for the movie . NOBODY but geeks followed development . NOBODY but geeks praised it . NOBODY but geeks bought tie-ins . NOBODY but geeks has ever read the novels . NOBODY but geeks bothered about it . <p> And you know what ? That meant a NOBODY audience . If you look at the returns for virtually all the movies on my list , they 're about the same - $15-20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ costs , that means there are 2.5 million geeks , approximately , in the world . ON THE ENTIRE PLANET ! <p> 2.5 million out of 8 billion is ... .0003125 percent of the ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE PLANET ! <p> NOBODY but geeks cared . NOBODY but geeks knew the character . NOBODY but geeks attended . NOBODY but geeks wanted the movie . NOBODY but geeks asked for the movie . NOBODY but geeks followed development . NOBODY but geeks praised it . NOBODY but geeks bought tie-ins . NOBODY but geeks has ever read the novels . NOBODY but geeks bothered about it . And you know what ? That meant a NOBODY audience . If you look at the returns for virtually all the movies on my list , they 're about the same - $15-20 million dollars . If you go by average movie costs , that means there are 2.5 million geeks , approximately , in the world . ON THE ENTIRE PLANET ! 2.5 million out of 8 billion is ... .0003125 percent of the ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE PLANET ! Feel small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clamoring for a Spider-man movie ? Geeks who read the comics growing up . Normal people did n't read comics , ever . Anyone who ever bought and read a single Spider-man comic at any time in their lives is a geek . Those were the people excited for the first Raimi film . <p> But the thing is that EVERY SINGLE GEEK IN THE COUNTRY was excited for the first Raimi film . And spread across the generations of geeks who loved the character , that 's a lot of fucking people . <p> Being seen reading the Lord of the Rings books would get you beat up as a nerd when I was a kid . It would be hard for me to think of something nerdier in 1984 , except maybe going to a Star Trek convention . But those books had been loved by VAST NUMBERS of nerds for decades , and all those people were waiting when Fellowship came out . <p> The problem with things like Dredd and John Carter is that even geeks did n't give a shit about those characters . Those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ geek culture . I have read comics for all the classic Marvel characters , and I have seen the movies for the classic Marvel characters . I have never read a Dredd comic . I saw the Stallone movie on cable and thought it was merely OK . Why would I go see this new one ? There was no compelling *geek* reason to go see this movie . <p> And John Carter may as well be fucking Gilgamesh . It 's an antique of another era that 's interesting mainly as a curiosity and for philological reasons . I know of it because I know the history of fantasy and science fiction . I read Princess of Mars , and it 's honestly not that good . I see how it influenced future works , but it 's incredibly dated stylistically . <p> Those movies prove that you need broad and deep support from *all geeks* for fantasy and science fiction works before you can make a big budget production work . You need something around for decades and with total penetration . Something four guys have liked since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was influential a long time ago but that most people have forgotten is n't going to cut it . <p> That 's my whole point . To me , an example of a geek property is Spider-man . Who was clamoring for a Spider-man movie ? Geeks who read the comics growing up . Normal people did n't read comics , ever . Anyone who ever bought and read a single Spider-man comic at any time in their lives is a geek . Those were the people excited for the first Raimi film . But the thing is that EVERY SINGLE GEEK IN THE COUNTRY was excited for the first Raimi film . And spread across the generations of geeks who loved the character , that 's a lot of fucking people . Being seen reading the Lord of the Rings books would get you beat up as a nerd when I was a kid . It would be hard for me to think of something nerdier in 1984 , except maybe going to a Star Trek convention . But those books had been loved by VAST NUMBERS of nerds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fellowship came out . The problem with things like Dredd and John Carter is that even geeks did n't give a shit about those characters . Those characters had a handful of fans on the fringes of geek culture . I have read comics for all the classic Marvel characters , and I have seen the movies for the classic Marvel characters . I have never read a Dredd comic . I saw the Stallone movie on cable and thought it was merely OK . Why would I go see this new one ? There was no compelling *geek* reason to go see this movie . And John Carter may as well be fucking Gilgamesh . It 's an antique of another era that 's interesting mainly as a curiosity and for philological reasons . I know of it because I know the history of fantasy and science fiction . I read Princess of Mars , and it 's honestly not that good . I see how it influenced future works , but it 's incredibly dated stylistically . Those movies prove that you need broad and deep support from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can make a big budget production work . You need something around for decades and with total penetration . Something four guys have liked since 1995 is not going to cut it . Something that was influential a long time ago but that most people have forgotten is n't going to cut it . <p> But here 's the thing : if you know about a comic book character , like a comic book character , and go see a movie based on a comic book character , that makes you ... a geek . If you go see CAPTAIN AMERICA or IRON MAN because you read the comics growing up , you are a geek . Those audiences were geeks , ex-geeks , and those suborned into going by geek relatives , spouses , and boyfriends/girlfriends . <p> The difference between Iron Man and Dredd is n't that one is somehow not *really* a comic book character . They 're both obviously fundamentally comic book characters . The difference is that one of them is well known and the other is obscure , *even among geeks* . <p> I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . I read comics as a kid . I love Star Trek . I go to comic book movies . I 've been posting at AICN , a geek site , since 1999 under one handle or another . There is no way anyone could possibly avoid saying I 'm part of the geek audience . And you know what ? I did n't see Scott Pilgrim , because before the movie came out I had NEVER FUCKING HEARD OF IT . So how can you possibly say that movie 's failure is a result of appealing to a geek audience ? You ca n't . Because it did n't appeal to me , and I am that audience . <p> The real problem for Hollywood is that just about all of the worthwhile properties have already been harvested , and now they 're scrounging around in the bottom of the barrel for stuff nobody 's ever heard of . I predict the Marvel Guardians movie will fail , and everyone will scratch their heads and say Huh ? I thought Marvel movies were supposed to succeed ? But Marvel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are n't going to succeed either . <p> You say that they appeal to wider audiences . On what basis ? Those movies are plain old straightforward comic book character adaptations . They 're just adaptations of WELL KNOWN AND LIKED comic book characters . Not comic book characters nobody cares about . But here 's the thing : if you know about a comic book character , like a comic book character , and go see a movie based on a comic book character , that makes you ... a geek . If you go see CAPTAIN AMERICA or IRON MAN because you read the comics growing up , you are a geek . Those audiences were geeks , ex-geeks , and those suborned into going by geek relatives , spouses , and boyfriends/girlfriends . The difference between Iron Man and Dredd is n't that one is somehow not *really* a comic book character . They 're both obviously fundamentally comic book characters . The difference is that one of them is well known and the other is obscure , *even among geeks* . I have a gigantic science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a kid . I love Star Trek . I go to comic book movies . I 've been posting at AICN , a geek site , since 1999 under one handle or another . There is no way anyone could possibly avoid saying I 'm part of the geek audience . And you know what ? I did n't see Scott Pilgrim , because before the movie came out I had NEVER FUCKING HEARD OF IT . So how can you possibly say that movie 's failure is a result of appealing to a geek audience ? You ca n't . Because it did n't appeal to me , and I am that audience . The real problem for Hollywood is that just about all of the worthwhile properties have already been harvested , and now they 're scrounging around in the bottom of the barrel for stuff nobody 's ever heard of . I predict the Marvel Guardians movie will fail , and everyone will scratch their heads and say Huh ? I thought Marvel movies were supposed to succeed ? But Marvel movies based on characters nobody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either . <p> I knew Ferrici was a hatched-mouth cretin , but I had no idea how low he had sunk ... wow ... the lengths some people go ... it 's not all surprising that the self-proclaimed internet " intelligenticia " defends and props this loose stool up ... but seriously ... why ? At the risk of their own reputations ? thanks for the info , I 'll stay away from the whole lot attaching themselves to DF . <p> I knew Ferrici was a hatched-mouth cretin , but I had no idea how low he had sunk ... wow ... the lengths some people go ... it 's not all surprising that the self-proclaimed internet " intelligenticia " defends and props this loose stool up ... but seriously ... why ? At the risk of their own reputations ? thanks for the info , I 'll stay away from the whole lot attaching themselves to DF . <p> You do n't have to be an asshole to be passionate , just respectful and know your shit . I know lots of people who are passionate about things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't need to insult or demean anyone for taking an opposing stance , they just speak their peace and leave it at that ... <p> You are an asshole when you are trying to make some one look bad to defend your lame positionsons . Or just take the opposing stance to cause a stir or grab attention as Fecal matter Ferrici often does . <p> Also , when someone uses the tired excuse in the defense of a asshole friend by saying , " Oh that 's just the way they are ... " <p> I always reply back , " Oh you mean an asshole . I hate people like that . Remind me to kick their ass when I see them again . " <p> You do n't have to be an asshole to be passionate , just respectful and know your shit . I know lots of people who are passionate about things and they are great , smart people . They do n't need to insult or demean anyone for taking an opposing stance , they just speak their peace and leave it at that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make some one look bad to defend your lame positionsons . Or just take the opposing stance to cause a stir or grab attention as Fecal matter Ferrici often does . Also , when someone uses the tired excuse in the defense of a asshole friend by saying , " Oh that 's just the way they are ... " I always reply back , " Oh you mean an asshole . I hate people like that . Remind me to kick their ass when I see them again . " <p> I could n't make out what the skinny guy said that was so funny and exciting to the crowd ... because he was fucking mumbling ! And these mumblecore films look like unwatchable egotistic turds . It

@@5108941 <h> Greg Schiano Was In the Wrong Sunday , Which Is Disappointing <p> Joe Tufaro is the Senior Editor and lead writer for GMEN HQ , and he joined The Pewter Plank to discuss and give an opposing view point on the actions surrounding the end of Sunday 's game . With time expiring , and the Giants in victory formation , the Buccaneers bum rushed Eli Manning in an apparent attempt to cause a fumble . Not everyone feels it was a part of the game and everyone around the NFL is divided on whether it should have happened or not . Joe Tufaro weighs in with his opinion on the matter in thie Pewter Plank Special Report . <p> There are certain things in this world that really bug me , and pretending you are something you are not is one of them . After yesterday 's game , a game in which the Buccaneers showed some fight , determination , and some promising things for the future , Greg Schiano all of a sudden became the " Babe in the Woods " at his press conference . His statement of " I guess they do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't know " was disingenuous at best . He was an assistant in the NFL for three seasons before he returned to college football . Serving three years under Dave Wannstedt as a defensive assistant in Chicago . He knows full well how things work up here . <p> Coach Schiano also stated that he worries about his team , and his team only . I agree with that statement , and that 's where I think he made a big mistake . In my opinion he has now put a target on the back of every one of his players . In this league memories are long , and somewhere down the road when the Bucs are taking a knee , or are seemed to be comfortably in front , or behind , it will come back to bite one of his players . That 's not taking the best interests of your team to heart . <p> The two opinions on the subject I agree with the most were Coach Mariucci , and Coach Billick . Mariucci took Schiano at his words that he did n't know and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the league that thinks he 's smarter than everyone else , and he is going to make the difference . I would suggest this is not the way to go about it . Coach Billick saw the hypocrisy between the statements about the health and safety of the players made every day by the players union , and the NFL , and this action . How do players in the same union look to injure other guys ? Did the Bounty situation teach us nothing ? That listening to your coaches with blinders on might not be the thing to do ? Why put your players in that situation ? <p> I understand and appreciate it 's not in the rule book , and I do not expect nor would I ask for any action by the league . I think Coach Schiano can teach toughness and relentlessness in a better way , and winning and losing with class is a trait he should try to acquire to pass on to his young , talented team . <h> Truth &; Rumors From SI.com <h> About Josh Hill <p> Josh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as Senior Editor at Pippen Ai n't Easy giving insight and commentary to the legions of Buccaneers and Bulls fans throughout the world . He has been with Fansided since Novemember 2010 when he joined The Pewter Plank before taking over as Editor at Pippen Ai n't Easy the following month . He has appeared on ESPN Radio and had work featured on SI.com , ESPN.com and CBSSports.com . In 2012 he became an <p> This site is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes , and is Bay Buccaneers or the National Football League . It also claims

@@5109041 <p> Though much of the news is about Romney getting booed at the NAACP Convention today , not available , except on the convention webcast site ( hope someone makes it into a youtube ) is the man who spoke after Mittens . <p> But no where in the press have I read even one reference to the powerful preaching of the Rev Dr. William Barber , President of the North Carolina NAACP . <p> It is n't even easy to link to . <p> You have to go to the livecast archive , and once you get there , to the Plenary Session : Civic Engagement ( Mittens spoke first ) click on the link to " Introduction of Panel " Reverend Dr. William Barber , II . which is in a smaller box on the right below the main screen . <p> UPDATE <p> Thanks to dewtx we have video ! <p> Rev. Barber gives a history lesson , brings the crowd to their feet , and tears Mittens a new one . <p> * I have found no transcript -- but even if I did there is no way that words on a page can capture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his activist preaching . <p> one main message , " if we ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now " . <p> Do yourself a favor and listen to this brother . <p> I 'm pissed cause as usual , Romney gets a photo op , and the activist message of black folks is ignored . <p> If you have never heard him preach -- here 's a short sample : <p> He was one of the strongest voices in NC against Amendment One . <p> November 12 , 2011 - Reverend Dr. William J. Barber responds to a proposed North Carolina constitutional amendment that would restrict the liberties of minority couples in the state . This video is an excerpt from Dr. Barber 's keynote address at the 2011 Equality North Carolina Conference which took place on the campus of UNC Greensboro . <p> So if you get a chance -- go listen . <p> I 'm headed back to listen to it again , and praying someone will find a way to get his message out to folks who did n't hear him today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I could n't figure out , and I am getting sleepy now . But this speech was so inspiring I just listened to it over and over and made this transcript in the hope that we can get some attention for this diary and this speech tomorrow <p> Put it in the body of the diary if you want . <p> The Rev. Dr. William Barber , II Charge to the 103rd Annual Convention of the NAACP July 11 , 2011 <p> Good morning , NAACP we certainly thank God for his grace and to our Chair who has called us to be the face of hope our President and CEO who has charged us to remind ourselves that there are more with us than there are against us to all the members of the National Political Action Committee and to all the members of the staff and to our vice chair and this convention chairman <p> Why are we here this morning in this plenary and not in a workshop on voting rights ? <p> In the testimony circle of my faith tradition the saints often declare if we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I want to in the tradition of the hip hop from that faith tradition and say if we ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now <p> for us the right to vote is not just a constitutional matter but a right borne out of struggle out of sacrifice and a gift from the God of justice who 2600 years ago had his prophet say to every nation you must do justice , love mercy , and walk humbly before your God and 2000 years ago had his Son say that the least of these must be at the center of public policy <p> think for a moment where we are in the time in which we are and you will understand why if we never ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now here we are today , Sister Dukes 393 years since the first ship landed in Virginia to bring slaves here we are Sister Coleman where 242 years ago Crispus Attucks was the first African American to die fighting for this country 236 years since the signing of the Declaration of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since we were fractionized in that Constitution and called three-fifths of a person 183 years since Mexico outlawed slavery and 176 years since Texas revolted because they wanted to keep their slaves 163 years since Harriet Tubman escaped slavery 160 years since Frederick Douglass since somebody just quoted him actually delivered in his ... actually delivered in his 4th of July speech that America 's July 4th celebrations were fraud bombast hypocrisy until America did right by the sons and daughters of slaves 149 years since the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation 147 years since the end of the Civil war 142 years since the ratification of the 15th Amendment 118 years since the riots of Wilmington North Carolina to stop black political power 108 years since the riots in Springfield Illinois 68 years since Smith v. Allwright opened up primaries for black people 68 years since Primus King was denied the right to vote in Georgia in a primary 58 years since Brown v. Board of Education 57 since the brutal murder of Emmitt Till 52 since the sit ins in Greensboro organized by A &T; and Bennett students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sit in the Texas Senate 48 years since Fannie Lou Hamer said there comes a time when you get sick and tired of being sick and tired 51 years since Dr. King said to the AFL CIO that the only voting bloc that could transform america would be for blacks and labor and poor whites and latinos to learn how to work together <p> 49 years since the murder of Medgar Evers 49 years since the March on Washington 49 years since the bombing of four girls in a Birmingham church 48 years since the signing of the Civil Rights Act 47 years since Bloody Sunday 47 years since the Voting Rights act 47 years since Malcolm X was killed 44 years since students at South Carolina State were massacred 44 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King 44 years since the signing of the Fair Housing Act 43 years since conservatives dismantled the Office of Economic Opportunity 43 years since my parents fought to integrate public schools <p> 3 years since Barack whose name means Praise the Lord was sworn in to be President of these United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 years since John Menier ? was wrongfully incarcerated One year since Troy Davis was murdered by the state 4 months and 11 days since the shooting of Trayvon Martin 4 months since the secret documents revealed by the National Organization on Marriage that they started the same sex marriage fight not for moral reasons but to split the black and LGBT community in order to defeat President Obama We have been through too much and seen too much and fought for too much If we ever needed to vote ... ! that 's why you 're here <p> but there 's one more piece not only have we been through too much there 's still too much to fight 27.4% of African Americans in poverty 12 million children red yellow black and white in poverty 27 million Americans unemployed 14% of African Americans unemployed 49 million Americans uninsured 1 out of every 5 African Americans uninsured one million African Americans incarcerated <p> Politicians can say " elect me and I 'll take your healthcare " " elect me and I 'll take your voting rights " " elect me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me and I 'll resegregate your public schools " " elect me and I 'll ignore your poverty " and still get votes ! <p> Here we are 22 million African Americans eligible to vote and yet 8 million did n't vote 1% of the population controls 42% of the wealth 10% of the population controls 93% of the wealth 117 days until election day <p> and across this nation there are tough times we 've seen an implosion of our economy despite the evidence there are those who want to give pity to billionaires and inflict more pain on the poor we see politicians that pander to bigots and race baiting those who have been forced to get on welfare never in history has so much money been spent to resist equality the gross sums of money being spent to take us backwards is lewd , is pornographic is blatant and is arrogant <p> these are troubling times corporation are treated like people people are treated like things banks get bailouts from loans with our money with no interest and the banks turn around and lend us our money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now I do n't know if Republicans are going to show up I do n't know if Democrats are going to show up but the sons and daughters of slaves we better the hell show up ! That 's why we 're here <p> Our parents did more with less than we have today with less they beat slavery with less they beat Jim Crow with less they beat lynching with less they beat the KKK with less Harriet Tubman got 500 slaves out of slavery she did n't have email she did n't have text facebook she did n't have ? ? ? she did n't have texting she even know what Twitter was she did n't have a car but she had faith in God a 38 pistol on her side moss on the north side of a tree and a north star in the middle of the night she did more with less we must do more with more <p> so from now until November email everybody you know tell em to show up cause if we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote now text everybody tell em to show up myspace everybody tell em to show up take some of them friends you do n't need to have off Facebook and get some real friends up there tell them to show up call everybody you know knock on everybody 's door I do n't know how to tweet but my children or daughter can tweet I told them to tweet tweet tweet , tweet tweet tweet every body you know ! because God is not going to do for us what we can do for ourselves if we ever needed to vote , we sure need to vote now <p> and when we do Leon what we are supposed to do God will show up God will bless our efforts he always has he always will when we work our faith miracles and movements faith is what you believe about God works is what you do because of what you believe about God faith without works is destitute and devoid but faith with works is dynamic and can change a destiny whenever we work our faith , God shows up when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came down the Red Sea opened up Pharoah was brought down when they marched around Jericho God showed up walls fell down when David threw the rock God showed up Goliath came down when Daniel went in the lions ' den God showed up the lions calmed down when Esther went to see the King God showed up evil plans were turned around when a woman touched the hem of his garment God showed up blood disease slowed down when a boy gave the lord fish five loaves God showed up and a buffet came down when Jesus went to the cross God showed up Satan 's kingdom was torn down early Sunday morning resurrection happened and the angels had a holy ghost throwdown <p> when Thurgood Marshall went to the supreme court and America 's segregation was brought down when Rosa Parks sat down God showed up Jim Crow had to step down if we vote the tea party will be voted down every time we put our faith and our works together evil is shut down God shows up ! I got a question for the NAACP Do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ? Wo n't God show up ? Wo n't God show up ? What 's in your hands ? What 's in your hands ? Use what you got -- God will give you what you need ! Wo n't he show up ? Wo n't he show up ? If I was in North Carolina I 'd say say yeah say yeah say yeah yeah yeah yeah now tell your neighbor , " neighbor if we ever needed to vote we sure enough sure enough sure enough need to vote ! right now ! " and God ! will ! show ! up ! <p> @#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@ <p> While you are standing , get out your cell phones and text somebody right now and text them , if ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote right now in fact stand up when you text them , so the whole world can see <p> or tweet tweet tweet , tweet it , tweet it ! if you ever needed to vote if we ever need to vote we sure do need to vote right now cause God will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what we have to do for ourselves but if we do our part , God will show up wo n't he show up ? <p> now , as you are seated in the tradition of faith that I am in , we have a charge but after the charge there is never a walking away the charge gives us clarity about " why " but there is always a strategy session on " how " cause we have to hook tag from " education " . A tag like " reform " alone is probably not meaningful . <p> There are a couple of words and names I could n't figure out , and I am getting sleepy now . But this speech was so inspiring I just listened to it over and over and made this transcript in the hope that we can get some attention for this diary and this speech tomorrow <p> Put it in the body of the diary if you want . <p> The Rev. Dr. William Barber , II Charge to the 103rd Annual Convention of the NAACP July 11 , 2011 <p> Good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to our Chair who has called us to be the face of hope our President and CEO who has charged us to remind ourselves that there are more with us than there are against us to all the members of the National Political Action Committee and to all the members of the staff and to our vice chair and this convention chairman <p> Why are we here this morning in this plenary and not in a workshop on voting rights ? <p> In the testimony circle of my faith tradition the saints often declare if we ever needed the Lord we sure do need him now I want to in the tradition of the hip hop from that faith tradition and say if we ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now <p> for us the right to vote is not just a constitutional matter but a right borne out of struggle out of sacrifice and a gift from the God of justice who 2600 years ago had his prophet say to every nation you must do justice , love mercy , and walk humbly before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the least of these must be at the center of public policy <p> think for a moment where we are in the time in which we are and you will understand why if we never ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now here we are today , Sister Dukes 393 years since the first ship landed in Virginia to bring slaves here we are Sister Coleman where 242 years ago Crispus Attucks was the first African American to die fighting for this country 236 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence 225 years since the Constitution was adopted 225 years since we were fractionized in that Constitution and called three-fifths of a person 183 years since Mexico outlawed slavery and 176 years since Texas revolted because they wanted to keep their slaves 163 years since Harriet Tubman escaped slavery 160 years since Frederick Douglass since somebody just quoted him actually delivered in his ... actually delivered in his 4th of July speech that America 's July 4th celebrations were fraud bombast hypocrisy until America did right by the sons and daughters of slaves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years since the end of the Civil war 142 years since the ratification of the 15th Amendment 118 years since the riots of Wilmington North Carolina to stop black political power 108 years since the riots in Springfield Illinois 68 years since Smith v. Allwright opened up primaries for black people 68 years since Primus King was denied the right to vote in Georgia in a primary 58 years since Brown v. Board of Education 57 since the brutal murder of Emmitt Till 52 since the sit ins in Greensboro organized by A &T; and Bennett students 46 years after Barbara Jordan was the first African American to sit in the Texas Senate 48 years since Fannie Lou Hamer said there comes a time when you get sick and tired of being sick and tired 51 years since Dr. King said to the AFL CIO that the only voting bloc that could transform america would be for blacks and labor and poor whites and latinos to learn how to work together <p> 49 years since the murder of Medgar Evers 49 years since the March on Washington 49 years since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years since the signing of the Civil Rights Act 47 years since Bloody Sunday 47 years since the Voting Rights act 47 years since Malcolm X was killed 44 years since students at South Carolina State were massacred 44 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King 44 years since the signing of the Fair Housing Act 43 years since conservatives dismantled the Office of Economic Opportunity 43 years since my parents fought to integrate public schools <p> 3 years since Barack whose name means Praise the Lord was sworn in to be President of these United States <p> 8 years since James Johnson was wrongfully incarcerated 6 years since John Menier ? was wrongfully incarcerated One year since Troy Davis was murdered by the state 4 months and 11 days since the shooting of Trayvon Martin 4 months since the secret documents revealed by the National Organization on Marriage that they started the same sex marriage fight not for moral reasons but to split the black and LGBT community in order to defeat President Obama We have been through too much and seen too much and fought for too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's why you 're here <p> but there 's one more piece not only have we been through too much there 's still too much to fight 27.4% of African Americans in poverty 12 million children red yellow black and white in poverty 27 million Americans unemployed 14% of African Americans unemployed 49 million Americans uninsured 1 out of every 5 African Americans uninsured one million African Americans incarcerated <p> Politicians can say " elect me and I 'll take your healthcare " " elect me and I 'll take your voting rights " " elect me and I 'll take your social security " " elect me and I 'll resegregate your public schools " " elect me and I 'll ignore your poverty " and still get votes ! <p> Here we are 22 million African Americans eligible to vote and yet 8 million did n't vote 1% of the population controls 42% of the wealth 10% of the population controls 93% of the wealth 117 days until election day <p> and across this nation there are tough times we 've seen an implosion of our economy despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to billionaires and inflict more pain on the poor we see politicians that pander to bigots and race baiting those who have been forced to get on welfare never in history has so much money been spent to resist equality the gross sums of money being spent to take us backwards is lewd , is pornographic is blatant and is arrogant <p> these are troubling times corporation are treated like people people are treated like things banks get bailouts from loans with our money with no interest and the banks turn around and lend us our money back to interest these are critical times and if we ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now I do n't know if Republicans are going to show up I do n't know if Democrats are going to show up but the sons and daughters of slaves we better the hell show up ! That 's why we 're here <p> Our parents did more with less than we have today with less they beat slavery with less they beat Jim Crow with less they beat lynching with less they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of slavery she did n't have email she did n't have text facebook she did n't have ? ? ? she did n't have texting she even know what Twitter was she did n't have a car but she had faith in God a 38 pistol on her side moss on the north side of a tree and a north star in the middle of the night she did more with less we must do more with more <p> so from now until November email everybody you know tell em to show up cause if we ever needed to vote , we sure do need to vote now text everybody tell em to show up myspace everybody tell em to show up take some of them friends you do n't need to have off Facebook and get some real friends up there tell them to show up call everybody you know knock on everybody 's door I do n't know how to tweet but my children or daughter can tweet I told them to tweet tweet tweet , tweet tweet tweet every body you know ! because God is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for ourselves if we ever needed to vote , we sure need to vote now <p> and when we do Leon what we are supposed to do God will show up God will bless our efforts he always has he always will when we work our faith miracles and movements faith is what you believe about God works is what you do because of what you believe about God faith without works is destitute and devoid but faith with works is dynamic and can change a destiny whenever we work our faith , God shows up when Moses stretched out his rod God showed up the wind came down the Red Sea opened up Pharoah was brought down when they marched around Jericho God showed up walls fell down when David threw the rock God showed up Goliath came down when Daniel went in the lions ' den God showed up the lions calmed down when Esther went to see the King God showed up evil plans were turned around when a woman touched the hem of his garment God showed up blood disease slowed down when a boy gave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buffet came down when Jesus went to the cross God showed up Satan 's kingdom was torn down early Sunday morning resurrection happened and the angels had a holy ghost throwdown <p> when Thurgood Marshall went to the supreme court and America 's segregation was brought down when Rosa Parks sat down God showed up Jim Crow had to step down if we vote the tea party will be voted down every time we put our faith and our works together evil is shut down God shows up ! I got a question for the NAACP Do I have a witness ? Wo n't God show up ? Wo n't God show up ? Wo n't God show up ? What 's in your hands ? What 's in your hands ? Use what you got -- God will give you what you need ! Wo n't he show up ? Wo n't he show up ? If I was in North Carolina I 'd say say yeah say yeah say yeah yeah yeah yeah now tell your neighbor , " neighbor if we ever needed to vote we sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now ! " and God ! will ! show ! up ! <p> @#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@ <p> While you are standing , get out your cell phones and text somebody right now and text them , if ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote right now in fact stand up when you text them , so the whole world can see <p> or tweet tweet tweet , tweet it , tweet it ! if you ever needed to vote if we ever need to vote we sure do need to vote right now cause God will not do for us he just wo n't do it what we have to do for ourselves but if we do our part , God will show up wo n't he show up ? <p> now , as you are seated in the tradition of faith that I am in , we have a charge but after the charge there is never a walking away the charge gives us clarity about " why " but there is always a strategy session on " how " cause we have to hook excitement to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it in R. To go forward put it in D. " DEMAND CREATES JOBS <p> Here is a YouTube link to William Barber 's NAACP address on July 11 . Note that the length was trimmed at the end to meet YouTube 's 15-minute time limit , but not too much is lost . The video is also embedded below ( although the video was made in 16:9 widescreen format , it embeds here in 4:3 standard format for some reason I do n't know how to fix--to see the widescreen version , use the YouTube link above . ) <p> Liberals think the glass is half-full . Conservatives think the glass is theirs . <p> And I mean that sincerely . I had never heard Rev. Barber speak before , but I felt shivers listening to him roar through this magnificent call to action . If anyone deserves an opportunity to speak at the Democratic Convention in Charlotte , he certainly has earned it many times over . Are you listening Democratic leadership and President Obama ? <p> Liberals think the glass is half-full . Conservatives think the glass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not some overprivileged , overentitled , paternalistic , carpetbagging little sociopath not fit to lick his own daddy 's boots thinking he can come in and tell Black people how he 's gon na save them and then whine when they let him know politely that they do n't need his brand of " saving . " <p> to see that this was from last night . Of course , I was here for a few minutes this morning , and then out until now . But I just T'd/R'd/FB 'd your two Biden keynote diaries , so I think I 'm caught up . . . . : - ) <p> Which is good - when the opportunity presents itself , he talks to customers at the gallery about things like this . <p> Sigh the other thing that 's on his radar right now , and not in a good way , is Syria . I seldom see him as thoroughly , coldly furious as he was a few minutes ago , watching a news report showing a young man grieving over the body of his dead father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all this reverend 's sermons and find him almost saying something against racial injustice which APG can then edit and twist to look as if he hates white folks and maybe , just maybe this guy will have a national audience . <p> I was n't alive during the civil rights era and I 've seen MLK from this angle of benevolent martyr that no one would ever speak against . I 've always felt the regret and the shame of this country to destroy such a good person who never did anything bad except try to get people to have the rights that we all enjoy today and even take for granted . Even white kids can smile and say that they 're glad that they can eat lunch at school with their black friends . Good on him , that MLK guy . We can say that in retrospect . It 's not even retrospect for us . It 's always been this way . <p> Of course , there 's a whole other dynamic to this when you consider that his death is what made him that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ die for the normality that most of us enjoy . But I digress .... <p> I can imagine the poutrage and the hate that would have been directed at a MLK back then when I see what abuse is heaped on us every time a black person is first at something huge . This is almost like another civil rights era with racism I 've only read about in history books . This mutherfucker Romney got in our faces and provoked us so he could go back and brag about how he told those lazy nwords off . Here we go again , like when Reagan decided to show his assholishness in the 80s . " Welfare queens " . Fuck you , Reagan . " Tear down this wall ! " . Fuck you , it 's already coming down , you fake ass D-list cowboy actor . That 's what I would have said if I was Gorbie . <p> /rant <p> I do n't even know where I was going with this . I just got off work and read everything on DKos about Romney and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pissed . lol <p> " It 's not enough to acknowledge privilege . You have to resist . " -soothsayer <p> Thank you for beating this drum as I had not even given a thought to the rev . So incensed I was about the racist liar using black people as props . Again , just sorry the Sandman had not kicked off his sorry ass . Thanks again , sis . <p> I checked C-Span , but all they had on their site was the speech by Romney . <p> As Chief Justice John Marshall observed almost two centuries ago , " we must never forget it is a Constitution we are expounding ... intended to endure for ages to come , and consequently to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs . <p> I believe we help each other in times of need . I want all our children to get an excellent education . Every American deserves health care . I love my country . I am a patriot . I am a voter . I am a Democrat . <p> online for us to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . They can extract just that sermon and post it on their channel . <p> They 've already posted Eric Holder 's speech , and Mitt Romney 's speech . So , they have the ability to post this too . It 's just a matter of asking them and getting them to do it . <p> I just watched it , and it 's awe inspiring . If they could post it on Youtube and get people sharing it via email , twiiter , facebook , I think it will inspire a lot of people . <p> Once it 's on YouTube , somebody should send it to the people at Upworthy.com and ask them to promote it too . <p> For me , Mitt reminds me of Jeff Bridges in Starman . He 's like an alien that has n't read the entire manual . You know , he 's going , " Nice to be in a place where the trees are the right size . " -- Robin Williams on Letterman 26 Apr 2012 <p> Thanks so much for this diary , Dee . I 'd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One battle , and was glad to hear him speaking out so strongly and eloquently . But I would have missed this . " These are troubling times . Corporation are treated like people . People are treated like things . ... And if we ever needed to vote , we sure do need to vote now . " -- Rev. Dr. William J. Barber <p> I recall as a white dude going to grad school in Southern Louisiana . Going to church there not cause I was religious but cause I wondered what was going on . And to hear this and think to myself , " . " <p> When opportunity calls pick up the phone and give it directions to your house . <p> which is really sad . My parents are not remotely liberals but they could offer up a speech far superior to what Romney did . Maybe at the start of it they 'd say my family owned slaves and we us . <p> When opportunity calls pick up the phone and give it directions to your house . <p> " The fundamental curse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with other people 's business , and impose its notions , and its will , on people who do not freely accept them . " -- The New York Freeman 's Journal , 1861 <p> But I recall the first time the church I went to had an African American couple come to it . We wanted others to come to our church . I recall them leaving and a long line of folks thanking them for coming as they left . <p> I do n't go to that church anymore , but they now openly welcome gag and transgender folks . I guess Methodist are kind ) . <p> When opportunity calls pick up the phone and give it directions to your house . <p> MLK stuff . ; -D A few ignorant clergy does not " the black Christian community " make . And then , some preachers are completely apolitical and totally esoteric . They 're all different . This is the kind of guy that can pull ME into church just for the sermons about politics . <p> Nobody says anything quite like a black preacher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watched Rev. Wright all those years . Some of Obama 's best speeches have the speech patterns like black church sermons . He took us to church with the DNC convention speech and sealed his destiny . ; - ) <p> " It 's not enough to acknowledge privilege . You have to resist . " -soothsayer <p> if white churches were more like black churches , I might have to find a seat . Mom Catholic , Dad Presbyterian , attended Baptist Sunday school as a kid . Only in church for weddings and funerals . And an Espiscopalian church after 9/11 when W said we should all attend a service . It was the closest one to work . <p> This is the kind of guy that can pull ME into church just for the sermons about politics . <p> Nobody says anything quite like a black preacher . <p> There is just something different about it . And it 's better . Seems like more 1 is still infinitely higher than zero , which is the suitability of dry land to fishes . <p> but there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher than zero , which is the suitability of dry land to fishes . <p> churches that are n't Baptist-type black churches but it seems as if in the black Baptist church , you 're there to get your emotions in high gear . <p> Might have something to do with the Africanization of the Christian church . Slaves brought with them traditions of worship that the western world had n't seen yet . Like the difference between attending a symphony to sit and listen and then attending a rock concert and losing yourself in the excitement . For some , it 's a lot more satisfying to participate and rock out a little bit . That 's what the black church gave the world ; Rock n Roll . ; - ) <p> " It 's not enough to acknowledge privilege . You have to resist . " -soothsayer <p> Like the difference between attending a symphony to sit and listen and then attending a rock concert and losing yourself in the excitement . For some , it 's a lot more satisfying to participate and rock out a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is stand up , sit down , shut up . The Presbyterian services are the same . And oh , give money ! ! Tried both when I was about 24 . Got a call from one of them , they were most interested in what I did for a living . Did n't seem to give a flyin ' F about why I showed up . I was having a crisis and was looking for guidance . That did it for me . Never went back . <p> OTOH , But what from little I have seen , the message from the black church is much clearer and more pronounced . And it 1 is still infinitely higher than zero , which is the suitability of dry land to fishes . <p> my response can be emotionally overwhelming but it can be almost entirely internal or very physically expressed and I can not say that either one is automatically more uplifting or powerful than the other .... <p> It maybe that for some people they can not have one or the other and get emotional fulfillment and energy in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of body experience or meditation high is better or inferior to a more physical experience ... dancing ... or runners high or gaining the summit of a peak after a challenging climb . <p> As for advertising to others ... who can tell if a quiet person has just had the most amazing spiritual ( of either religious or non-religious nature ) or if an exuberant demonstrative person is having a less or more incredible moment in their life ? I do know that some are good at faking orgasms ... and a more reserved person is neither automatically more deep and wise or more shallow or neurotic ... So for me there is no difference between an amazingly performed symphony where everyone is just sitting listening swept away by the experience or a totally awesome live rock concert with the band surpassing themselves before a really fired up appreciative audience . <p> but back to religious services . For me it is hard to have a large roomful of people all have an uplifting experience in a restrained manner ... except for the music part but that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nature . And conversely having a rousing hosanna and hallelujah crowd losing themselves will have a lot of people swept up in true feelings along with some who just like the energy and participate in a group sharing in a less actually religious way . <p> Some just like being demonstrative in a cathartic way that is more about that than anything deeper and nothing wrong with that unless it is labeled as automatically a sign of real belief and emotion . And there is some reason to distrust some and I repeat only some religious leaders who can play the part of a revival tent meeting minister and make a good living at it and not have any actual faith at all . So mostly we can say that emotion is honest and we can trust it but ... so too , there is a minority of sociopaths who can abuse emotion and strong feeling and appear to be genuine when they are not ... the right wing has plenty of pastors on TV and radio as evidence of that . I sometimes distrust excess emotion and overwrought release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not as genuine as the person wants not only other to believe but themselves as well . When it is routine it is more like a drug or a social event rather than a deeper experience . <p> And of course on the other side of things , for every Dalai Lama who can be amazing while just being understated and joyful in a relaxed way ... there are other " serious " people who are just an act with their gravitas , presence and force of personality is a manipulation . So the reality of an experience and depth of emotion and understanding is not tied to how it is expressed externally . <p> When I was in high school I went on a couple of field trips to Glide Memorial Methodist Church in SF when Rev. Cecil Williams was preaching -- being in the midst of that crowd , with the choir all colors of the rainbow , made the sterile atmosphere of the conservative Lutheran church of my childhood even more apparent . I left that church shortly after I graduated , and even though I ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote we sure do need to vote now " -- Rev. William Barber , NAACP " These are troubling times . Corporation are treated like people . People are treated like things . ... And if we ever needed to vote , we sure do need to vote now . " -- Rev. Dr. William J. Barber <p> MT @NAACP : Loved Rev. Dr. Barber 's address on Wednesday . So inspiring ! Put that in a @YouTube video , and it will go viral ! #NAACPHOU12 <p> That contains two mentions and a relevant hashtag . Should get their attention . Right now , all of Twitter has just half-a-dozen references to this speech , some of which are mis-tagged ( #Obama2012 , for instance ) . <p> --- <p> " The fundamental curse of the Republican party is its irrepressible disposition to meddle with other people 's business , and impose its notions , and its will , on people who do not freely accept them . " -- The New York Freeman 's Journal , 1861 <p> That what we really need to focus on in terms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us absolutely nothing . You 'd have thought that we 'd be talking about the inspiration and the charge ; instead we have all sorts of armchair psychology about what Mitt Romney ( totally unimportant except as the person we need to get out the vote to keep out of the White House ) might or might not have been meaning to do getting hisself booed at the plenary . Entertaining , to be sure - but in the end absolutely useless in terms of eyes on the prize . <p> Ahh well , at least folks can listen to what really matters now . Thanks for the link , Sis . <p> instructions were very easy to follow and I 've just finished watching this amazing speaker . Wow . After some sleep , I 'll be interested to go back tomorrow to also watch the strategy sessions . Thanks , again . <p> Dance lightly upon the Earth , Sing her songs with wild abandon , Smile upon all forms of Life ... and be well . <p> begin my own day . It is so GOOD to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it stays available for at least a while , so whenever I 'm feeling too frustrated , the good Dr. can help fire me up again . : ) <p> Dance lightly upon the Earth , Sing her songs with wild abandon , Smile upon all forms of Life ... and be well . <p> All day I 've felt really sad , angry , embarrassed , since Romney gave his condescending speech . I 'm swallowed up with sadness and anger that our country has been stricken by all the ignorance , selfishness and greed that is embraced still in all its ugliness . We better pray voter suppression does not win the day for Romney . So yeah , if we ever needed to vote , we sure need to vote now . <p> Thank you for sharing this information and video , the link to the Rev. Barber 's speech , and allowing me to peek into a conversation going on at the NAACP Convention . <p> It 's uplifting listening to how dedicated the NAACP members , activists are to the mobilization to get people out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ searching for truth than live a single day within the comfort of a lie . John Victor Ramses <p> While I was reading your diary and listening to the speech , I was wondering who it could possibly be , when Romney said a number of AA leaders at the NAACP Convention told him they would not vote for President Obama . Is this one of the people he was referring to ? ( I give a hat-tip to doc2 for this info in his diary . ) <p> And then today , there 's this from the Miami New Times : <p> " Carroll , Florida 's highest ranking African American official , spent the morning addressing the NAACP conference and explaining why President Obama was bad for the African American community . " <p> " I spoke with a number African American leaders after the event and they said a lot of folks do n't want to say they are not going to vote for Barack Obama but they are disappointed in his lack of policies to improve our schools , disappointed in urban policy , disappointed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disagree on some issues like Obamacare , a lot of issues we see eye to eye . " <p> could go to that convention and split to the side of Romney . But you are right , there will always be opportunists and yet I wonder , how much opportunity will they have once Romney &Co.; is done with them ? Like making a deal with a snake . <p> I would rather spend my life searching for truth than live a single day within the comfort of a lie . John Victor Ramses <p> but if I did , I 'd remind them of Jeb Bush and Florida 2000 and why the hell would they want to even give that side a moment 's credence ? Their answer would tell me whether I 'd want them back on our side or tell them to go take a flying ..... <p> This is now easy to find with the link provided . I was knocked over by this amazing speech . <p> I am disturbed by the fact that a restaurant near me is flying the tea party flag . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place . I asked them to please not to do that again and why . I 'm learning how to stand up to these asses . What the Reverand says is true . The Republicans say vote for me , and I 'll take away everything I can from you . Not if I can help it . <p> Politicians can say " elect me and I 'll take your healthcare " " elect me and I 'll take your voting rights " " elect me and I 'll take your social security " " elect me and I 'll resegregate your public schools " " elect me and I 'll ignore your poverty " and still get votes ! <p> , , , back to every relative who emails me right wing talking points for the entire season . <p> Thanks for this diary . I 'm sending it to my young adult son who has many a political --ahem--discussion on non-political message boards with his peers , many of whom want to vote against their own interests this year . <p> Mitt Romney comes from a very evil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there are n't many included , but many excluded . Mitt Romney did make one good point , but that was how people might actually support his father , but he is n't his father . <p> Today , The GOP would not vote for George Romney . He would have been beat out by a tea party radical . Today the GOP would have treated George Romney as a traitor . <p> So , Mitt Romney , even your false framing of your intentions , through your intentional deceitful interjection of your own father , does not hold water today . In other words , you LIED . <p> Mitt Romney did not go to the NAACP to get their support . Mitt Romney was filming a commercial . Mitt Romney was using them as extras for his very red state commercials . <p> One day , someone is going to throw an egg at this creep . <p> Not a shoe , but an egg . Hopefully a free range organic egg . Let me tell you why . I had chickens . When you get an egg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is really hard , and gives the egg itself a baseball like toughness . If you have a good arm , you can really get some distance . With commercially produced eggs , the shell is very thin , and will break as you release . There ya go , another reason to go free range , organic . <p> transcript ... you Front Porchers must be rubbing off on me ( or maybe it 's Led Zeppling doing When the Levee Breaks on my iPod , but I think not ) . <p> That is some powerful preaching . This was my favorite part : <p> Our parents did more with less than we have today with less they beat slavery with less they beat Jim Crow with less they beat lynching with less they beat the KKK with less Harriet Tubman got 500 slaves out of slavery she did n't have email she did n't have text facebook she did n't have ? ? ? she did n't have texting she even know what Twitter was she did n't have a car but she had faith in God @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side of a tree and a north star in the middle of the night she did more with less we must do more with more <p> Its a rough row to hoe living in some of the deepest red parts of Texas , but I still get out there , I still knock on doors . <p> I wish we had someone like Rev. Barber here . I 've tried to attend some of the churches in the area but they 've either been preaching Prosperity which is the antithesis of Rev. Barber or I 've been asked not to come back . <p> Great oratory , great message . Thank you for alerting us to Rev. Dr. Barber 's speech . What a fabulous rebuttal of Rmoney 's speech and everything he stands for . Ca n't help but stand up and want to holler myself . I think I have a new sig file ; ) <p> his passion and his moving words . Even though I 'm an atheist , I 'm always impressed by the words of a truly passionate and caring religion figure such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the right wing theocrats and milquetoast main line ministers . <p> I 've gone to the video archive page , I 've clicked on the appropriate video link , and then it just seems to lock up and forever be trying to load . Too bad - as I got chills just reading the transcript and would so much like to see the video . <p> Now off to scan the comments to see if anyone has a link that might work better for me . <p> and now I have just returned from viewing Rev. Dr. Barber 's address from the NAACP site and wow . His delivery hit me right in the heart , and in the gut and everywhere else . Thank you Sis Dee for bringing his incredible and profound message to us here . <p> I am moved to my core by this . Thank you , deeply . <p> And thanks very much to True Blue Majority for her beautifully done transcription . She captured his message so well on virtual paper . <p> I hope there will be some coverage of Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ networks , but I do n't hold out high expectations on that score . I do hope it gets posted to YouTube , this is one for the ages and one that should be distributed widely . <p> Now that 's preaching ! Thanks so much for this . I 've been on vacation and just saw your diary this morning . I am so glad it was still up . What a rebuttal to Romney . Dr. Barber is so right in everything he says in this speech . I am showing it to everyone I know . Thank you Dee ! <p> Feminism is the radical notion that

@@5109141 <h> Just another WordPress.com weblog <h> What is the basis of justice ? <p> Justice is about how to balance the weighing scales so that all aspects of society see that there is a certain fairness is the application of laws and thereby in the use and distribution of resources for the common good . It judges conflicting interests to find a common optimal path that satisfies most that have an interest in a matter under consideration . It is about the direction of society 's policy through government actions . This means that justice is not about trying to attain equality per se or human rights per se but about providing equal opportunities for different people of different abilities to flourish to the best of their abilities . It is therefore about what people can expect in relation to their abilities . The best may have to contribute more to ensure the common good , that is the public good , in economic jargon ; the weak will find a safety net to fall on and basic rights to minimal standard of living in all aspects of life . When justice is served well , there are no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they got in relation to their efforts and inputs into society . <p> Justice is about giving every person what they are entitled to for the effort and contribution to society . This requires understanding the functional basis of society in terms of the economic and exchange structures that are set up and dealing with what are regarded as subvertive activities that destabilise the boat of society . Justice is therefore the philosophy of government itself . <p> Is there any nation society that one can consider to have the best justice tor all its citizens in terms of giving equal treatment of individuals and equal human rights ? What does it even mean to give equal treatment and equal human rights say for the following classes of humans : youngsters versus working adults ; low intelligent versus high intelligent people ; young versus old people ; girls versus boys ; men versus women ; privileged versus the unprivileged ; handicapped versus the normal bodied ; etc ? It is meangless to talk of justice in terms of trying to attain equality . <p> What about giving the people human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreement on what are fundamental human rights . Do we use the European Court of Human Rights as the basis of discussingfundamental human rights or some other concept of rights ? Can any government yield human rights to citizens without first assessing the economic impact of those rights ? Justice is what a newly elected government does in its various spheres of managing the State . All areas are inextricably linked : for example all measures on equality and human rights impact on the coherence and simultaneous improvement of society on all fronts , including on the ecomonic base upon which society stands . No government can ignore the repercussions of Bill of Rights or Human Rights Act or the Minimum Wage on the productive base of a country . If a man does a job better than a woman or vice versa the free market dictates that the better worker get the better wage . So equality between men and women is not justice on this matter . It is on others such as the right to vote , the right to maternity leave , etc . All impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between the UK government and the European Court of Human Rights and many conservatives would like the UK to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the court . I support withdrawal on grounds that the Conventions are not arrived at democratically , and has the potential to do damage to the prosperity of the country . Some issues of human rights ( not all ) should be subject to the economic situation and the policy of the day rather than be determined from a Charter on Human Rights that brings the country down in global terms and causes poverty that harms the very human rights that the Charter prescribe . So this is not the basis for justice either <p> Anytus of Talk Rational commented that " Justice is human innate desire for revenge dressed up as reasonable . Most societies use it because not using it is worse " . To me that is micro-justice : justice is about the philosophical basis for government . <p> FITNESSISM VERSUS ALTRUISM The entire organisation of society is based on an idea of justice but in ecological terms there are two competing theories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be based . The first theory is Darwinian survival of the fittest and forcing people into the market place where they have to fight for what they can get ; the second is the altruism basis for justice in which the fitness aspect of evolutionary biology is overruled through the idea that men should all be treated equally deserving of all forms of human rights . <p> If you look at animal societies there are extremely altruistic ones such as bees and ants that can be described as perfect social animals and there on the other had the cat family which has next to no altruism in which the male cat can kill the cubs of the female in order to assert its superiority . Other species have evolved compromises between the Fitness and Altruism . These operate in human societies as fitness and altruism play themselves out through the voice of the people who elect or adopt leaders in society that then enact laws to govern the people by telling them what is right or wrong ( morals ) in relation to their personal views on the fitness verses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this manner , and none today are purely fitness based or purely altruistic although Buddhism aims for that utopian outlook . The altruism basis of justice is extreme symbiosis in which we live and let live among our fellow human beings . Conservatives tend to be more fitness based , socialists altruistically-based while the the liberal democratic vision of society is a fine-tuned compromise between the two . <p> Every activity is subject to the evaluatory and implementary processes of justice , even sex and eating . Sex displays the need of the body to attain its ejaculatory/orgasmic desire and reproductive satisfaction makes it an aspect of human behaviour that is regulated by society through the operation of justice of when and how it is appropriate that this activity should take place . Similary , eating addresses the need of the body to survive for another day so that what one feeds on and when are aspects of human behaviour that are totally regulated by society in relation to what is available and can be provided to the individual . <p> Cooperation to harvest natural resources is not strictly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convenience and commonsense in seeing that pooling resources can lead to greater common good . It therefore derives from a fitness basis for survival . Altruism by definition is behaviour that sees a human being sacrifice his or her needs in the interest of others to the point of going without and therefore even starving and dying in the process so that others can live . When one sees that one 's future survival depends on others living healthily that derives from Fitness rather than altruism . Cooperation is infact liberalism . <p> In the early 1900 , the liberal party was strong in Britain and one could find that laws that incorporated the perfect compromise justice in which all sections of the society could be satisfied with its progress on the whole . But generally , it has been a case of ding-dong swings between one extreme and the other : of conservatism verses socialism ( republicanism versus democratic in the USA ) . This is the reason that you find too many conflicts in society 's laws which get repealed when one or the other party comes into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aspect of law , from the economic direction of the government that defines its macroeconomic objectives , to welfare , and crime and punishment , ethics , find their origins in either the Fitness or the altruism forms of justice , or some compromise of these forms in the spectrum of justice from **30;4924;TOOLONG . Liberalism is what I describe as the optimal common good and is defined by the liberal-democratic basis of government . <p> We are discussing governments when we talk about justice , not the individual . Governments have philosophies as the basis of justice for their citizens : for one extreme I have coined the term fitnessism to describe this basis for evaluating and implementing justice in which one adopts a laissez faire approach and leaves the resolution of disputes to the doctrine of the survival of the fittest in the marketplace of human relationships in all its aspects ; or at the other extreme there is the altruism basis for evaluating and implementing justice in which individual fittestism is sacrificed to the altar of commonality of purpose and endeavour . And then we have liberalism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ avoided the term Social Darwinism deliberately as the political theory and opted for the terms fitnessism to describe the ' survival of the fittest biological phenomenon ' and fittestism as characterising the implicit individual 's selfishness ; versus altruism as the opposing political theory and sacrificialism as characterising the implicit individual 's motive of care for others . And the term liberalism as a political theory combines elements of both these evolutionary phenonema . I think that is the stable form of government that is most just and hence most moral . <h> About Me <p> My name is Dr Shantanu Panigrahi . I was a poultry scientist and an agricultural specialist until I could not get any work in the field . I am currently working as a cashier in a petrol station in the United Kingdom but use my spare time to study truth and run a small postage stamp dealership ( http : **31;4956;TOOLONG ) . My website is at Satyam Best Buy Postage Stamps http : **35;4989;TOOLONG ... . I describe myself as an evolutionary biologist , a satya-adviatist and a secular pacifist and tweet about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a blogger and a poster ( http : **35;5057;TOOLONG ... ) . I have devoted my time of life to learning about Nature and human affairs including the religions and am very interested in the issue of human rights and humanity . I tweet on the issue of religion and philosophy at my Twitter site here : https : **27;5094;TOOLONG . I had also spent three and half years posting in the atheistic website ' Freethought and Rationalism Discussion Board ' with over 10,700 posts and innumerable threads until I was banned from the website on the grounds that I had consistently broken its rules for posting . I regretted the loss of posting privileges there but it was time to move on . I was also banned by ' Atheism Plus ' website within 12 hours of opening my membership account . I posted in the forums ' Secular Cafe ' , ' Religious Forums ' and ' Talk Rational ' since August 2012 to learn of what other opinions state on the subjects that interest me in order to synthesise my considered views for blogging . I also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Secular Pacifist 's Discussion Forum ' on 30 October 2012 ( : http : **35;5123;TOOLONG ... ) . Since truth seeking and exposing activities that are disenlightening and oppressive are at the heart of what I do , I write about my experiences of the Internet as a medium for knowledge sharing in the following blogsite : http : **35;5160;TOOLONG ... . <p> I discuss truth with any person regardless of race , religion , sexual orientation , caste or class and this focus on truth describes my entire philosophy and outlook on life , which is summed up by the phrase ' Living in Harmony with Nature and the Universe as the Reality ' by the middle way that is ascertained through the process of satya-advaita . I blog on this subject here : http : **29;5197;TOOLONG <p> The reality to be preserved is that which develops naturally and appreciated through knowledge-acquisition rather than which results from ego , greed , privilege and exploitation . In this blogsite I pass comments on general matters , world affairs and human behaviour and relationships that I feel particularly strongly needs exposure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not interfere in the internal affairs of other states so that cultures are allowed to develop and prosper in accordance with their own natural resource endowments , histories and political developments . At the same time points of views need to be given the open court of world public opinion for discussion and dissemination so that people in all countries have access to the knowledge learnt in any part of the world . States that prevent their citizens from accesssing that knowledge by curbing the internet need to be ostracised . I invite

@@5109241 <p> The North End 's State Representative , Aaron Michlewitz , continues to rise in the ranks at the State House . This week , he gets credit for more than his legislative skills in " Beacon Hill 's Most Beautiful : 25 power players who keep the Golden Dome in style , " published in The Phoenix . <p> The 34 year-old lifelong North Ender filled the House of Representatives seat vacated by former Speaker Sal DiMasi in July 2009 after winning a special election in the 3rd Suffolk District . The popular State Rep. ran unopposed in the most recent election . <p> The Phoenix says it tried to select , " Twenty-five individuals who brighten the State House halls with style , attitude , and even -- if such a thing exists on Beacon Hill -- inner beauty . " Talking about its selection of Rep. Aaron Michlewitz : <p> Advocate for the people of the district , whether on the smaller constituent services level , or larger statewide issues . One of the greatest things about this job is that every

@@5109341 <p> Commentary and analysis focussing on Africa to persuade others to become socialist and act for themselves , organizing democratically and without leaders , to bring about a world of common ownership and free access . We are solely concerned with building a movement of socialists for socialism . We are not reformists with a programme of policies to patch up capitalism . <h> Wednesday , September 19 , 2012 <h> The poorest countries in the world <p> The World Bank notes that more than half of Haiti 's population lives on less than $1 a day , while about 80 percent of the country lives on less than $2 a day . The country 's estimated unemployment rate as of 2010 was 40.6 percent . The impoverished nation is in a state of rebuilding since a devastating earthquake hit the country in 2010 . According to a USAID report , the death toll from the earthquake was between 46,000 and 85,000 , while the official figure by the Haitian government estimated the death toll at 316,000 . The World Bank estimates that damages from earthquake totaled $8 billion , or about 120 percent of gross domestic product . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate in the world has a GDP per capita of $27,478 , well above the average worldwide figure of $10,034 . However , while extraction of oil and gas has led to economic growth , most of Equatorial Guinea 's population still relies on subsistence farming . The government has been criticized for the mismanagement of its revenue from energy resources . The health and well-being of its citizens would support the critique . Despite its oil wealth , the nation is among the worst countries in the world for life expectancy , at just 50.8 years , and for primary education enrollment , at just 56.3 percent of the relevant population . 3 . Zimbabwe <p> Zimbabwe has effectively had one leader , Robert Mugabe , since it became a sovereign nation in 1980 . Mugabe 's tenure has been marked by a violent land redistribution program that has harmed agriculture -- a sector that has served as a source of exports and jobs for the nation . Until 2009 , Zimbabwe also experienced a problem with hyperinflation . One dollar was worth 9,686.9 Zimbabwean dollars in 2007 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the nation 's poverty rate was just under 35 percent of the population . Since then , the poverty rate has more than doubled to 72 percent . <p> The Congo has suffered from corruption and conflict in the past 15 years that have " dramatically reduced national output and government revenue , increased external debt , and resulted in the deaths of more than 5 million people from violence , famine and disease , " according to the CIA World Factbook . The agency notes that while mining growth has helped boost the country 's economy , much of its economic activity still takes place in the informal sector , which is not counted in GDP statistics . Health and education are very poor in the country . Out of 1,000 children born , 111.7 will die before their first birthday , which is the highest rate in the world except for Sierra Leone . Primary school enrollment of just slightly over 33 percent is the second worst in the world . <p> A number of factors combine to limit Swaziland 's economic growth , including an over-reliance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country 's workforce is largely concentrated in subsistence agriculture , even though the country faces serious concerns about overgrazing and soil depletion . While these factors harm the nation 's economy , health concerns are likely one of the major factors preventing Swaziland 's population from escaping poverty . Few nations have a lower life expectancy at birth than Swaziland , where the average person is expected to live just 48.3 years . One of the reasons for the low life expectancy is the high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among those 15 to 49 -- at 25.9 percent it is the highest in the world . <p> While hopes for economic growth rest on several international mining projects , 80% of Eritrea 's labor force is employed in the agricultural sector . However , agriculture only represents 11% of the nation 's GDP , with industry comprising 34% and services making up 55% . The country 's only political party , the People 's Front for Democracy and Justice , has implemented policies that rigidly control the use of foreign currency and favors party-owned businesses in the economy . Making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic sanctions on the country in 2009 , accusing the government of supporting anti-Ethiopian insurgents in Somalia . Eritrea 's primary school enrollment is only about 33.5% , which is the third-lowest rate in the entire world . <p> Located in the Indian Ocean east of continental Africa , Madagascar is an island nation of more than a 350,000 square miles in size . Until the mid-1990s , Madagascar was a socialist nation . Though it has since embraced World Bank- and IMF-endorsed economic programs for privatization and participated in the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act , the nation has had difficulties meeting the standards expected by these organizations and programs . Despite these programs , the nation 's economy remains largely dependent on agriculture for employment , with 80% of all employed persons working in the sector . In 2011 , the country 's GDP per capita was just $467 , making Madagascar one of 11 nations with a figure below $500 . <p> In 1993 , political differences between Burundi 's two largest ethnic groups , the Hutu and Tutsi , triggered widespread ethnic violence that lasted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ended , ethnic conflicts in the region continue . The prolonged conflict , however , is not the only factor keeping Burundians in poverty . Although the country also has limited natural resources and agriculture accounts for just 31% of GDP , more than 90% of the working population is employed in the sector . According to the World Bank , Burundi remains one of the world 's poorer countries on a per capita basis -- only one country , the Democratic Republic of Congo , had a GDP per capita figure lower than Burundi 's $271 . Burundi 's infant mortality rate of 87.8 deaths per 1,000 live births is more than double the rate worldwide . <p> Sierra Leone has significant mineral , agricultural and fishery resources that could lead the country to economic growth . Political stability is slowly helping to improve the fortunes of the country as it recovers from the civil war , which lasted from 1991 to 2002 . But while the military has been in charge of the country ever since the war , issues such as corruption still exist . The country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the International Monetary Fund in order to remain financially solvent , and inflation of 18% in Sierra Leone is a serious problem . Sierra Leone has the highest rate of infant mortality in the world , with 113.7 deaths for every 1,000 live births . Sierra Leone 's life expectancy of just 47.4 years old is the second lowest in the world . <p> Sao Tome and Principe , a country of fewer than 200,000 people off the western coast of Africa , has relied heavily on cocoa production since it became an independent state in 1975 . However , production has declined substantially due to drought and mismanagement . While the country stands to benefit from the recent discovery of oil from the Gulf of Guinea , the World Factbook notes that production is likely several years away . Unlike most of the countries on this list , Sao Tome and Principe has a primary school enrollment of 98.3% ,

@@5109441 <p> The days of being " The Other L.A. Team " are over as the Pacific Division-leading 6-2 Clippers are better than up-and-coming ; now in the range of arrived and ready to contend for a championship . <p> Led by arguably the best point guard in the NBA and the power forward just about everyone would re-draft first across the league , their complimentary pieces ' weakness are well-hidden because extraordinary things are not demanded of them . Instead , the strengths of those pieces are magnified . <p> Looking throughout the Clippers rotation , there is n't a " do n't worry about him " guy without a " worry about him " guy catching an alley-oop over someone 's head or draining a three nearby : <p> Blake Griffin , maybe the most athletic post player in the NBA and a crafty rebounder , is having a slow'ish start and still producing at a high level ( 18.9 PER , 16.3 PPG , 9.0 RPG , .495 FG% , .268 DRB% ) . <p> Jamal Crawford , their leading per game scorer this season is coming off the bench , is getting little more volume than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been ( 24.1 PER , 20.5 PPG , .605 eFG% ) . <p> DeAndre Jordan in the middle is one of the most aggressive seven-foot athletic freaks in the league . Always a lob threat in and out of the pick n ' roll , good rebounder when he has to be , and excellent shot blocker ( 19.6 PER , .714eFG% , 6.1 BLK% ) . <p> Lamar Odom is still a shell of himself , but Griffin 's stamina with Butler , Barnes , and Crawford all being capable forwards does n't produce a need for Odom . <p> Ronny Turiaf is pretty much not making too many mistakes as the 12.6 MPG backup center for Jordon ( 20.0% DRB% ) <p> The Clippers are the second-best shooting team in the league ( .541 eFG% ) and 6th-best defensive efficiency ( 100.5 DRtg ) , despite allowing opponents to shoot an about average .486 eFG% , because they 're the most turnover producers ( 17.0% TOV% ) . <p> It 's a great reflection of how this team is generally managed . There is n't a 25 PPG @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can score for a team that scores from everywhere . There is n't a tandem of shut down wing players or bigs on defense , but they force turnovers and block shots with aggressiveness and athleticism . <p> There is n't really a formula to beating the Clippers . Isolation deters them from being rewarded for attacking passing lanes , screens set them in motion to take energy away from their offense , closing out on shooters can force shooters to freeze , and help can force the dribble-too-much guys into bad shot selection . The Bulls are n't a very good isolation team , but they do well at everything else . <p> What 's frustrating is that all of this can go right for the 5-3 Bulls and they can still walk out of the Staples Center at 5-4 because it 's more of a game that the Clippers need to mess up than for the Bulls to outplay their opponents . Those mistakes can be forced on both ends , but it 'll take the 48-minute effort on which Coach Tom Thibodeau fixates , usually not needed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things need to happen for the Clippers for the Bulls to beat this stacked roster , despite Chauncey Billups and Grant HIll being out with injury . With Crawford creating his own shot all night and the Clippers executing under Vinny Del Negro , it

@@5109541 <h> Fit Fitness Into Your Life <h> It Is Not Easy But It Is Worth It <p> October 27th , 2012 Anita <p> I often hear people say they want to start eating healthier and lose weight but have no idea where to start . My response is always pretty much the same . First , before you start get mentally prepared . Second , weight loss starts in the kitchen . And third , including a regular and daily workout in your weight-loss plan is a must . So before you make any step in the weight loss direction you need to see where you 're right know ( you need to start keeping a record of what you eat each day ) and how motivated you are ( motivation is essential ) . " Eating is something that we do every day without really paying any attention . Once you start writing it down , you may learn things you never knew about your habits . You could be drinking five pops a day and have no idea . Taking stock of where you are now gives you a sense of what needs to change . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sustained weight loss you have to permanently change your lifestyle by incorporating healthy eating habits and regular exercise , as well as learn to deal with the psychological side of weight loss and habit change . <h> Categories <h> Quote Of The Week <p> " I know it 's tough to focus on making the right choices and not to fool myself that I 'm just going to eat that crap only one last time . I need to let the desire for it go away in order to reach my goal . The only way for me to do that is to have the will , patience and perseverance . Eating the crap will never make me happy in the long run . Feeling like a million dollars is what

@@5109641 <h> November 17 , 2012 <p> Tonight marks the last game for Kentucky 's seniors . It 's also the end of the Joker Phillips era . I hoped it would n't come to this and I honestly wanted Joker to succeed , however ( obviously ) he could n't get the job done . The Cats will take on Samford in thirty minutes at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington . There have n't been many times this season that I could say this , but I honestly think the Wildcats will come out on top tonight . <p> Who will take the field at Commonwealth for the last time in a Kentucky jersey tonight : <p> Head Coach Joker Phillips- A guy who will always be remembered for his service and dedication to Kentucky . Phillips was a wide-receiver for the Wildcats from 1981-1984 under Fran Curci and Jerry Claiborne . After his time at UK Phillips went on to play two seasons with the Washington Redskins in the NFL . After his NFL career Joker began coaching college ball . In 2002 , he came back to his alma mater to serve as the recruiting coordinator and wide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coach . Joker succeeded Rich Brooks as head coach in 2008 . Unfortunately , Phillips was n't what Kentucky needed in a head coach and his career was only three years . He will be missed , but the BBN is ready for the next chapter of Kentucky football . <p> WR La'Rod King- La'Rod has been a constant and reliable receiver . I would n't be surprised if we see La'Rod in a professional jersey in the future . <p> C Matt Smith- Is Rimington Award candidate , his career as a Wildcat maybe coming to a close but I 'm sure this is n't the last we hear of Matt . He 's a reliable player , who has proudly worn blue and white . <p> DE Taylor Wyndham- No one will ever forget his knock-out hit to Tim Tebow during the Florida game his freshman year . It still brings joy to my heart . <p> WR EJ Fields- Has n't really made a huge splash during his career at UK due to injury , but his junior year he notched 7 catches for 57 yards and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newton- His freshman year Morgan stepped up when Kentucky did n't have a quarterback to turn around a loosing season and get the Cats to a bowl game . <p> RB Coshik Williams- Enjury kept him from shining during his time at UK , but we 've seen a lot a potential out of him . He 's the one who secured our victory of Tennessee . <p> WR Aaron Boyd- A Lexington player from Henry Clay High School Aaron has become a leader during his senior year . <p> CB Cartier Rice- We 'll never forget when he tipped the interception that secured a Kentucky victory over Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks in 2010 . <p> OL Larry Warford- Is always a dominate guard . We will see him in a professional jersey in the future hopefully . He still has a ton of potential . <p> K Craig McIntosh- A former student try-out who became the starting kicker on scholarship . <p> DL Collins Ukwu -- A great surprise when he signed with Kentucky . He 's a leader on and off the field and was critical during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caught a crucial 48-yard pass that lead to a touchdown in the Liberty Bowl his freshman year . <p> CB/S Martavious Neloms- has always been a clutch player at Kentucky . One of his most memorable plays would be a sack , fumble , recovery and touchdown as a junior vs . Jacksonville State . <p> S Mikie Benton -- a walk-on player that is now a starting scholarship player . He always plays safe and smart . <p> TE Gabe Corell- a special teams contributor and a top tackler on kick coverage . <p> Looking at Samford : <p> The Samford Bulldogs are coached by former Auburn quarterback Pat Sulivan , who was the recipient of the Heisman Trophy . A FCS squad , Samford has beaten two ranked teams in their division , including No. 6 Wofford . The Bulldogs were just two spots shy of the Top 25 this week . They 're 7-2 this season . They 're most lethal player is Fabian Truss . Truss ranks third nationally in all-purpose yards with 1,026 rushing , 284 receiving and 515 return yards with a total of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nationally at the 13th spot with 13 interceptions . Safety , Jaquisiki Tartt has 87 tackles , 14 passes defended and four picks . <p> Tonight will be emotional as

@@5109741 <h> Tangents and Vectors <h> An Idea Borrowed <p> Years ago on a radio program someone shared that they read a chapter in Proverbs every day . Since there are 31 chapters and the longest month has 31 days it allows you to read through Proverbs on a regular basis . I use it as the launch pad for my personal worship time and branch out from there . On this blog I will try to share some of the insights I have in the Word . I will try to organize them in the archive by reference . <h> Thursday , November 8 , 2012 <h> Take It to the Bank <p> ( Proverbs 8:22 KJV ) The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way , before his works of old . <p> Wisdom is timeless . We believe that there are certain principles that were established by God before the creation . They reflect His nature . God " possessed " ( 7069 ) wisdom . <p> This goes against the teaching of our culture . We live in a time when absolute truth , and wisdom , are rejected . Everything is relative . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things are relative . You drive slower in a midnight ice storm than you do on a sunny day . Other things you can take to the bank . Adultery is wrong . Your college professors might disagree but what do they know ? <p> This should give us a secure place to stand . Not in arrogance . We are not the ones that are always right , God is . And God has made His teachings clear enough for the simple and complex enough for the scholar . <p> So ? Live what you know . Ignore the nonsense as much as you can . Remind yourself , " This , too , shall pass . " <h> Followers <h> Bible Text <p> I prefer the NASB for my study but I will be using the KJV as the text I post . I do this because I do not understand the copyright restrictions . If I ever get a better grasp of the law I may change the text I list . We may be under grace rather than law , but others are not so free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the differences are . <h> Greek and Hebrew <p> In the comments there will be reference to words and the original languages . Number in parenthesis , ( 1235 ) , refer to the number from Strong 's Numbering system . <h> An Invitation <p> The theme of this blog is devotional , worshipful , Biblical . I have a lot of ideas that wo n't fit in that frame so I have started another blog . It is called Medley of Worship . <p> You are invited to visit me there . It includes Bible and theology but also politics , education and anything else that comes to my mind . <h> About Me <p> I have been a serious follower of Jesus Christ since my senior year in high school . I am a Vietnam Veteran who came home more patriotic than I left . I am a graduate of Nazarene Theological Seminary and an ordained elder although I an not currently serving in a pastoral position . I have what I consider an orthodox faith set in the context of Wesley and Arminius . I share this @ @ @ @

@@5109841 <h> " What Are We Going To Do About Sex Trafficking ? " <p> That is THE question we 've gotten a lot here at NewSpring Church the past couple of weeks ... so let me give an answer that WILL encourage many and frustrate others ... and I will do so by starting from the beginning . <p> I was on a plane last April flying to Catalyst West Coast and decided to watch a movie . After scrolling through the options I chose " Taken , " and after watching it I was angry , sad and disturbed . I had heard that stuff like that happened ... but had never really seen anything quite like that movie . <p> Two days later I listened to a panel of speakers that " just happened " to be at the Catalyst West Coast event to talk about human trafficking ... and God WRECKED me and I knew that I could NOT make this problem go away by sticking my head in the sand ... something HAD to be done . <p> WHICH is where my frustration came in ! <p> Here in America we are used to problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to wait for ANYTHING . ( We literally will stand beside our microwave ovens and scream " hurry up ! " ) AND so I naturally thought , " I will make some calls , raise some money and our church will rescue some girls from the sex slave trade . " AND ... I quickly discovered that it does n't work like that ... it 's actually quite complex . <p> Here at NewSpring Church we are primarily working with two organizations that are deeply involved in this global issue ... one organization is the A21 Campaign and the other is International Justice Mission . After a lot of prayer we really feel that these are the two organizations the Lord is leading us to . <p> We 've met and had long conversations with both organizations ... and when I asked point blank to the people we were meeting with what we can do as a church BOTH of them said , " right now we just want you talking about it , raising awareness , because for some reason the church thinks that if it ignores the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's it ... neither organization asked for one single dime . Neither organization asked us to send mission teams to a specific region of the world . We 've been told by both A21 and IJM that getting involved in this is going to be time consuming process that will have to be worked out over the next six months to a year . We 've simply been asked by both groups to do two things ... raise awareness that sex trafficking is a global issue AND to begin praying . <p> SO ... that 's what we are committed to do . We will be talking about this issue ... and we will be praying for both organizations as they do what God has called them to do ... <p> AND ... we WILL continue to explore HOW God wants NewSpring Church specifically involved in this area of ministry . <p> I KNOW this is frustrating because so many of you are bothered by this and want to do something now ... my answer to you is that we ARE doing something . We have made our church aware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants our church to do ... and when He answers we will dive into His direction with a laser like intensity and show the world what HE can do with a group of people who are radically devoted to HIM and radically devoted to loving others . <p> Following Jesus is something we do one step at a time ... and He will show us OUR next step in HIS time . <p> Please keep praying for us as a church as we are involved in talks with both groups ... we love both of them equally and will be doing all that we can do to make sure that this problem is not only addressed ... but DEMOLISHED ! <p> God 's called us to play a part ... and when He puts the music in front of us we will play it to the best of our abilities . He 's called us to take action ... and we are asking each one of you to pray with us as

@@5109941 shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . " This is the first part of the First Amendment , the part that deals with religious liberty . People often misunderstand its intent , and thus misuse it in public discourse . <p> The purpose of the amendment is to limit the power of Congress . Congress can make no law that establishes any religious tradition as a federal church , nor can it prohibit people from the free exercise of their faith . That is all . <p> The amendment does not limit the freedom of churches , nor the freedom of individuals . This has become a relevant issue since three days ago , Peter Manseau , writing in the New York Times editorial section made this claim : " Viewed strictly in terms of sequence , the First Amendement 's ' first freedom ' might be seen as freedom from rather than freedom of religion . " He then proceeds to offer the historical litany regarding people like Patrick Henry , who wished for state support of churches , of all churches that is , and shows that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . And as a Baptist I am glad they did reject Henry 's proposal . Others have argued for other freedoms as " First Freedom , " with FDR believing it to be freedom of speech and the NRA believing it to be the Second Amendment , since only the right to bear arms protects the other amendments in the Bill of Rights being taken away from us . <p> We all have our opinions , but my main problem with Manseau 's article is not really with the debate over First Freedom , but with his comment quoted above . The First Amendment has nothing to do with freedom from religion , any more than it has to do with limitations on churches or citizens , but with the limitation placed on Congress with regard to religion . Congress can neither enforce a federal church upon Americans , nor can it rob people of their right to express their religion in any way they choose , or in no way at all . The problem with people like Manseau has to do with their failure to interpret history on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ century secular mindset on people who did not share their

@@5110041 <h> The Battle with Traffic Cameras Intensifies with New Technology <p> As the number of speed cameras and red light cameras on Maryland roads grows , frustrated drivers can turn to any number of technologies to avoid automated tickets . <p> Drivers have used sprays , reflective license plate covers and even car waxes to circumvent traffic cameras , even though authorities in Maryland and other states have banned them . <p> But the latest technology is noPhoto -- a license plate cover that uses the same mechanics built into traffic cameras to fool them , and , unlike older products , could be more difficult for the authorities to detect . <p> In Maryland , red light cameras were introduced in 1997 and speed cameras in 2007 . Both have been unpopular with drivers , often criticized as revenue generators for cities that do little to deter accidents . <p> " People are looking at such creative ways to fight these cameras because they 're not happy , " said John Bowman , a spokesperson for the National Motorists Association . The NMA strongly opposes the use of traffic cameras . <p> The noPhoto device looks like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flashes on each side . When it detects a camera flash , it creates enough light around the plate to distort the picture taken by the camera . <p> " The concept itself ... is nothing revolutionary , " said Jonathan Dandrow , the Ohio-based inventor of noPhoto . The optical slave trigger , which powers noPhoto , is commonly used by photographers for indoor photography . Dandrow said he tweaked it so that it could be used outdoors and from a distance of up to 100 feet . <p> Before he begins to sell his product , Dandrow plans to get a safety certification , which he estimates will cost up to $80,000 . If Dandrow is able to raise the money from his fundraising campaign on Indiegogo , a crowdfunding website , he will start distribution by early spring . Each unit costs nearly $350 and will be available for purchase on their website . <p> NoPhoto 's price is steep compared to the existing products on the market , which range between $20 to $40 . However , Dandrow said his tech is a good investment because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or are n't effective . <p> Most shields are too bulky and can be easily detected , he said . Aerosol sprays , which are more popular , are hard to detect but do n't always work . This is because license plates now use a combination of matte and glossy surfaces to optimize their visibility . <p> " When these sprays first came out ... they did work . But not anymore , because the way license plates are manufactured even out their effect , " Dandrow said . <p> Like many other states with traffic cameras , Maryland banned the sale and use of anti-camera technology . The ban took effect in 2001 . <p> " Our law prohibits the use of any registration plate covers , and this includes any device that attempts to distort the recorded image of a vehicle 's registration plate , " said Sgt. Mark Black , a spokesperson for the Maryland State Police . <p> By adding the ' recorded image ' clause , Maryland has an iron-clad law that leaves little wiggle room for motorists using anti-traffic-camera products . Other states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legally use noPhoto . But in Maryland , it 's most likely illegal . <p> " The language in most vehicular codes says that we ca n't obscure the readability of the license plates . So our product is okay ( in many states ) because the human eye can see it , just the camera ca n't , " Dandrow said . <p> Black said that motorists who use sprays and illegal covers are n't hard to identify . Often , the glare created by these products is clearly visible to anyone who is n't standing directly behind the vehicle . <p> But noPhoto is designed to minimize the viewing angle , so that the flash can only be detected by an elevated traffic camera . Dandrow also said that the flash is too fast for the human eye to process , making it much harder for the police to detect drivers using the technology and fine them . <p> Most camera manufacturers are equipped to deal with brightened photos : the images are simply reversed -- or converted to a negative -- to decipher the characters on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true for shields and sprays , the noPhoto is impervious to reversed images . <p> " If the light is bright enough , like that produced by noPhoto , no amount of Photoshopping can get you the characters on the plate , " he said . " Maybe , one or two , but that 's not enough to convict you . " <p> However , all these products are useless against cameras that do n't use a flash , such as the ones in Howard County , according to county officials . <p> Flashless cameras do n't encounter the glare -- or the flash of the noPhoto -- that obscure registration plates , allowing them to take clear photos . The same principle applies to toll booth cameras . <p> If caught with a registration plate cover that obscures the license plate , drivers in Maryland can be fined up to $70 . A ticket for running a red light , meanwhile , is $75 . <p> " The fact that people are willing to go to such lengths to protect themselves from what we look at as abusive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is flawed , " Bowman said . <p> I still find it hard to believe that there is that much of a speeding problem in Chestertown to justify the numerous and growing number of speed bumps and speed cameras . Just my opinion but I think the cameras are nothing more than a revenue enhancing tool for the town . Has anyone documented that their presence has actually been helpful in cutting down local auto accidents in town ? ? ? Most " near miss " situations I 've witnessed are usually caused by pedestrians not bothering to look both way before wandering across a street . <p> Sounds like a wasted effort ... certainly would be useless in Chestertown where they park a vehicle on the side of the road with the camera inside it ... it does n't even use a flash . And I believe the permanent cameras mounted over intersections only use flash at night . <p> Maybe somebody can come up with an app that would set up some kind of network and send messages informing participants as to the location of these vehicles ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ location , and the system would send a message to all participants . <p> Are we or are we not a nation of laws ? Why does it matter if these cameras are " revenue producers " ? If you 've broken the law you should be held accountable . Traffic laws are made to protect us , not create revenue . Running a red light is a serious offense , people have been killed and seriously injured by red light runners . If you can ' t drive cautiously enough approaching an intersection , that you risk running a red light , then maybe you need to reevaluate your driving skills ......... <p> The same applies to speeding . Why have speed limits if everyone decides to ignore them ? Being caught by a camera , when you 've actually driven OVER the limit by 7-12 mph seems to me to be a no-brainier . You should be held accountable . <p> Maybe a better way to deal with the cameras is to have them issue warnings initially and then after repeated offenses , start levying the fines . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precious gift of life , and quit endangering all of our lives with all this rushing and dashing about . For what purpose ? So we can get where we 're going a few seconds or minutes earlier ? Does it really matter that much ? <p> Hey What do you know and how about that ! Democrats and goverment can make new jobs ! A whole new indusrty has been born and with out a hand out from Uncle Obama .

@@5110141 <h> Clean and Repair Your Fur Blankets , Fur Carpets and Fur Bedspreads <p> Fur Blankets and Fur Carpets need love too ! Treat them with professional fur cleaning , fur repair and fur storage . With the newest cleaning process available today , Marc Kaufman furrier can take care of your furs and make them look brand new again . <p> Img6853333x500 We can repair torn fur blankets and clean them to make them as beautiful as they can be <p> It is important to take care of your furs , wether it is a fur coat , a fur jacket , fur scarf , fur shoes or fur blankets . Furs need proffesional care and you can expect the best quality of work at Marc Kaufman Furs NYC . We have been in the fur business for a century . Our customers deserve only the best fur care . <h> About Marc Kaufman Furs NYC <p> Since 1910 the Marc Kaufman Fur Family has been manufacturing fur coats and fur jackets in NYC , designing luxury furs , repairing luxury furs and altering along with providing cold fur storage and fur cleaning for fur stores and individuals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kaufman Furs " A Name You Could Trust for All your Fur Needs " . " Experience Does Matter " World renowned for our luxurious furs and craftsmanship , our fur coats are worn by socialites , celebrities , hip hop artists and just ordinary people that want to be warm and look beautiful . When you purchase a fur at Marc Kaufman Furs NY you know that you are getting a quality fur coat , backed by reliability , great customer care and service . Marc Kaufman Furs in NYC has the most complete selection of the finest fashion fur coats : full length mink coats , mink strollers , mink jackets , fox coats , fox jackets , sable coats , and sable strollers . And for the softest in furs we have the finest Mink coats , Mink jackets , Chinchilla coats , Chinchilla jackets , Lynx coats , Lynx jackets , Sable coats , Sable Jackets and many other types of fur jackets and fur coats . A full range of fur colors including mahogany mink , black mink , and whiskey mink . All furs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ color to your individual taste . Buying a Marc Kaufman Fur is the Perfect Luxury Gift to give your loved one . During Christmas , Your Anniversary , a Birthday , Mothers Day or just saying I Love You , surprise them with The Best Gift Idea , a Marc Kaufman Fur . Our Designer Furs come from different parts of the world . We have some of the most beautiful Italian designed fur coats , some French designed fur garments and some beautifully designed fur coats from our NY fur designers . I must say we have a beautiful fur collection . Special Orders is our Specialty . We can take a collar from one fur coat , a sleeve treatment from another fur coat , a color from another fur coat , It 's all your Choice . Our New Russian Designer Fur Coat Collection is coming August 2012 . We have developed , with the help of a Russian Fur designer , the most exciting fur collection too be previewed this year . With over 50 furs styles to choose from , our designs will be unique @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be available for purchase . Marc Kaufman Furs has a modern cold fur storage vault and a special fur cleaning facility all in NYC . This fur cleaning facility was designed to clean furs , clean leathers and clean shearlings . Special fur cleaning methods were passed down from 3 generations of Kaufman 's . Expert Fur Remodeling , we offer many designer styles that will modernize your older fur . Let us take your old and tired fur coat and make it look new again . Fur is no longer just for warmth on the coldest of days , furs has moved into the hot " must have " fashion category and is worn from day to night and across all seasons . Purchasing a Marc Kaufman Fur is a perfect Luxury Gift for your Lady or for your Man . Every time they wear this Marc Kaufman Fur , they will feel the warmth and memory of their gift

@@5110241 <h> Member Of Obama 's Jobs Council Endorsed Mitt Romney <p> To that end , the Romney campaign trotted out a roster of well-known business leaders Thursday who are backing the Republican presidential nominee . Supporters include Charles Schwab , Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers and Bernie Marcus , the co-founder of Home Depot . The newest name on the list belongs to Intel CEO Paul Otellini , a member of President Barack Obama 's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness . <p> Mr. Otellini 's relationship with the president has been hot-and-cold since Mr. Obama took office . In 2010 , he criticized the administration for failing to generate more robust job growth . He was particularly critical of the stimulus . But the Intel CEO joined the president 's so-called jobs council to much fanfare the following year as Mr. Obama embarked on a very public -- if short-lived -- courtship of big business . ( Read More ) <p> President Obama wants to create a new cabinet position for a Business Secretary . Just what we need , another czar to help implement Obama 's agenda . He 'd probably choose someone from academia with no business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business czar , he already knows how businesses grow and create jobs , unlike the current occupant of the White House . All he knows how to do is enrich

@@5110341 <p> I 'm not the most organized person in the world , but the one habit I 've forced on myself in the past few years that has made the biggest difference in my daily life has got to be meal-planning . <p> There may be utter chaos going on in my house , but the one question I can always answer is , " What 's for dinner ? " <p> So I was really excited recently to get to correspond with Mary Ann Kelley , a Stafford resident and mother who runs a subscription-based meal-planning website called Menus4Moms . <p> Kelley ( whose other website , TheHomeSchoolMom , we wrote about here ) feels about the same way I do about the prospect of going to the grocery store without having planned meals for the week and made a list . <p> " I would have this insane idea that ' This time it will be different -- I 'll go to the store and plan menus on the fly and I wo n't waste any money , ' " she wrote in an e-mail exchange . " Afterward , I feel remorseful when I realize that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of fancy that resulted in wasted time and money . " <p> Menus4Moms offers " Busy Mom " and " Frugal Mom " menus delivered via e-mail for $5 to $7.95 a month , along with a $30 , one-time menu and resource package for those following a gluten- and casein-free diet . <p> The menu plans , published weekly , include shopping lists and tips on things like prepping and freezing ingredients ahead of time and planning leftovers into later meals to save time and money . <p> Kelley started the site in 2005 by posting her personal meal plans . <p> " I realized that moms were reinventing the wheel , each in their own homes , as they planned meals each week ( IF they planned meals ) , " Kelley wrote . " So I started offering my personal meal plans online . " <p> She now works with two other moms who write the meal plans , while she edits the site . Over the years , her meal plans have been used by tens of thousands of subscribers across the United States , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to plan their own menus , the site also offers a lot of free content , including recipes and tips on bulk cooking and household budgeting . <p> " Menu planning is an investment , not an expense , " she said . " It 's time that pays back in multiples of what is invested . " <p> Before I started doing my own planning , my vegetable bins ended up as a resting place for produce without a purpose , my pantry shelves slowly filled with canned goods that looked like a good idea at the store , but never made it into a dish . Now , I can look at my grocery receipt and see a clear destination for everything I 've brought home . <p> But with everything that wants a piece of our time these days , it 's never easy to find a quiet moment to sit down and plan out meals . <p> So I asked Kelley what advice she 'd give to someone who 's trying to force this habit into their routine . Here are some of her suggestions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down and plan a whole month of meals . Plan a week 's worth , or three days ' worth . When you 've successfully completed that much , do it again . It becomes habit and you can extend the planning to however far in advance you think you can stick with . <p> Have your calendar in front of you when you plan . Crockpot meals are good for nights when you are out later . Plan meals with more extensive preparation on nights when you are home for a couple of hours at dinner time . <p> Think of meals as related to each other and integrate prep for one meal into prep for other meals . Bulk cook ingredients ahead of time for the freezer . Plan to use your leftovers in later meals . For example , if you are having roast chicken , plan a chicken soup or a chicken cheese quesadilla for later in the week . <p> Write down five easy to prepare meals that your family likes that do n't have perishable ingredients . Always stock these ingredients in your pantry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ordering pizza even on nights when you do n't have a plan . <p> Personally , I 've found that writing your meal plans down somewhere , like a notebook or a Word file , and saving them will gradually make your planning easier . Whenever I draw a blank , I flip back a few weeks to help me remember meals we 've liked . When I 'm stuck in a rut , I 'll flip way back to see what we were eating a year or so ago that we have n't had in a while . <p> Of course , planning the meal is sometimes only half the battle . With schedules these days filled with late nights at work , sports practices and other activities , getting that magical family dinner hour to happen is often easier said than done . <p> Kelley urges busy families to make family dinners a priority while staying flexible . Since one of her children has gymnastics practice until 8 p.m. on most weeknights , her family eats dinner at 8:15 p.m. so they can make sure to sit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4 -- 5 p.m. , but it is important to me that the family come together for dinner several times a week , " she said . " The time of the meal is n't as important as the togetherness . " <p> She points to a recent report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University that said " parental engagement fostered around the dinner table is one of the most potent tools to help parents raise healthy , drug-free children . " <p> " When family dinners are viewed as a priority , " Kelley says , " The benefits resulting from those meals together are far-reaching . " <h> About <p> The Front Burner will serve up news on local food finds , tales from home cooks and inspiration to help you have fun in your own kitchen . This blog is for anyone who appreciates a good bite to eat . Emily Freehling has written for The Free Lance-Star since 2005 about everything from Fredericksburg City Hall to a presidential inauguration to why cleanse diets are a bad idea that Oprah needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free time in the kitchen , watching people cook on television and reading cookbooks , and she 's always on the lookout for good things to put on the table for her family . Please participate in this blog by offering your feedback in

@@5110441 <h> Ag Com farm tour- guess how much of the economic pie farming occupies ? <p> On Tuesday , July 31 , I embarked on a bus tour of six farms in Maine , as the guest of the Agricultural Council of Maine . I was in the company of many legislative candidates and representatives from Maine 's farming interests . We visited Belanger 's Farm near Lewiston/Auburn , went to Nezinscott Farm for lunch- ate amazing pizza and toured the biodynamic gardens , and went to Moark LLC , which is the former DeCosta Egg Factory , Conant Acres , Crane 's Farm ... Heard about organic and not organic farming , erosion control , aquaculture , the dairy industry in Maine , Ricker Hill Orchards for the best dinner made of local Maine ingredients ever , with the best view in Maine , simply a superb day . <p> So go ahead and guess the answer to the question . I will tell you that Maine has 306 dairy farms , that 's just dairy farms , which provide over 1300 direct jobs and over 4000 total jobs , and this industry generates 570 million dollars a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dairy component . <p> The answer ? One Billion Dollars . Maine produces more food for human consumption than any other New England state except for Vermont . Agriculture is second to forestry in terms of land use in the state , and Maine farmers own nearly 1.34 million acres of land , or 7% of the total land base

@@5110541 <h> Haven United Methodist Church in Jerome , Arizona <h> It is Never Too Late to be What You Might Have Been <p> 17th , 2012 admin <p> " It is never too late to be what you might have been . " - George Eliot <p> How true this is . I have found that as we age we tend to give up on new beginnings . We are content to say " Oh how I wish " or " If I were only younger " . And for some of us , we are still wondering what we want to be when we grow up . It does n't seem to matter if we are 30 , 40 or 60 or 70 , most of us still have things we wish we had done or wish we had accomplished . I admit that I do n't have the energy anymore for that hike across Europe that I once thought I would like to take , but seeing Europe by car or bus is still a possibility . I no longer am enamored of the idea of attending a loud noisy concert , but an evening at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also like to see a Broadway musical , but I would be just as happy to see it in Phoenix as to travel to New York . <p> I do n't think that this " downsizing " of my dreams makes them any less of a dream or hopefully a possibility . Things like finances and physical ability can still tend to get in the way , but as long as we keep planning the dreams will never die . When I was younger things had a sense of urgency to them that they no longer have . The idea of wanting results " right now " was something that plagued me . Like a small child pounding his fists on the floor I did n't want to put anything off . I wanted it " now ! " But if I had accomplished everything I wanted to do in my life when I was in my 30 's ... what would I be doing now ? Dreams age with us . We modify them and make them fit our limitations , but they are still dreams worth holding on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . He does n't necessarily wa n't us to accomplish them all at once or in a span of a few years . God can still work with us as we get older . If we ca n't learn things from a trip abroad , we can still learn things from people close by . We can also pass on our accrued wisdom to the young . " Do n't worry if it is not all possible now ... God will see that the things he wants to get done will

@@5110641 <h> How to Find Cruelty Free Hair Salons <p> When you 're looking for a cruelty free hair salon , you may find that it 's not such an easy task . Here are a few tips to help you find an animal-friendly hair salon in your area . <p> Start by asking your friends and family and doing a little local research on Yelp.com . For my friends in the UK , check out hair salons in London . Once you find a salon you 're interested in , give them a call and ask a few key questions . <p> First , what are the main hair care products the salon uses on clients ? Do n't expect the salon employees to know if the brands are cruelty free or not . Ask for the brand names and then search online to learn more . Some salons may sell a variety of hair care products , and some may not be cruelty free . This may or may not be a concern for you . It 's great to patronize salons that only carry cruelty free brands , but if you do n't live in a major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At the minimum , try to find a salon that only uses cruelty free products during your services . <p> If you 're getting your hair colored , find out what kind of color the salon is using . I am personally not familiar with all of the professional color brands , but one I have tried and can recommend is Organic Color Systems ( they are vegan and PETA-certified ) . <p> Many salons use salon appointment software to book appointments , but for your first visit , it 's better to give them a call so you can ask questions . If they are rude or refuse to answer your questions , look elsewhere . As a consumer , you have a

@@5110741 <h> Food Friday : How to Talk to Kids About Weight <p> Have you ever been taken off guard by a child 's question about weight ? Like , " Mom , am I fat ? " or " Can I go on a diet ? " Many parents hear heartbreaking stories from their children about being teased on the bus or know that their child is worried about changing clothes in front of others for physical education class . And parents struggle with what to say and how to say it . In fact , a WebMD/Sanford Health survey found that parents of teens find it more difficult to talk about weight with their child than talking about sex , drugs , alcohol or smoking ! <p> Experts at the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent ( STOP ) Obesity Alliance and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation ( Alliance ) say the issue is compounded by the fact that there are limited resources to help parents respond to children 's questions about weight . To help , STOP and the Alliance have developed a free conversation guide that offers parents " real-world " situations and plain language responses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differences , body image , bullying , weight bias and family obesity . <p> Kate Uslan is the Writer for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation , founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation . Since 2005 , the Alliance has worked to combat childhood obesity by positively affecting the places that can make a difference to a child 's health : homes , schools , doctor 's offices and communities . Kate lives in Charlotte , North Carolina and is the proud mother

@@5110841 <p> Today , I flew back from Bergen , on the West coast of Norway , after 24 incredible hours visiting Statoil 's ( CL ) impressive Troll platform . <p> Now it has taken me a few years to get this trip organised , but I must say , it 's all been worth it . <p> Taking a helicopter with Statoil 's CFO , Torgrim Reitan , and seven other very keen journalists , including the Economist , WSJ Europe and Petroleum Economist , we flew 25 minutes to reach Troll 's Platform A. <p> Troll A Platform <p> On board , the platform manager gave us a tour of the sites . The highlight of which , can only be the shaky 8 minute elevator ride down 303 metres below sea level to walk on the North Sea bed . Down there , separated by the Sea by only 1.5 metres of concrete , you could hear the force of the waves hitting against this incredible platform 's pillars . You could also hear ( or more likely feel ) the gas being pumped upwards as you touch the platform 's main pipelines . <p> Torgrim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the platform 's pipelines <p> The Troll platform delivers gas to 10 million households in Europe and accounts for 40% of gas used yearly in the UK . As such it plays an important role in the UK energy market . To commemorate the experience we all signed our names on the inner walls -- next to Norway 's ex-prime minister and Norway 's King and Queen . <p> signing my name at the bottom of the North Sea <p> Coming back above sea level ( all feeling a little relieved ) , we were shown the health and safety equipment -- including emergency life boats which drop into the sea within 3 seconds of release -- and the gas compressor room . <p> I am hoping by now you have a pretty clear picture of my experience yesterday , what you may not imagine though is how clean and comfortable the platform is designed to be . With recycling bins on every level , lounges that could rival those of a cruise ship and bedrooms bigger than some in London -- it is certainly state of the art @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the privilege of such an experience and grateful to all those who attended and made it

@@5110941 <p> And here 's the Storify recap of Gov . Cuomo 's news conference at his NYC offices just now . The governor is asking for a $30 billion supplemental appropriate from the federal government to cover the costs of dealing with Sandy , arguing that the storm 's impacts go far beyond just rebuilding . Cuomo announced the launch of a new 24/7 hotline , staffed by actual humans , to field questions about insurance issues : 800-339-1759 . He also renewed his vow to investigate and possibly totally overhaul the way public utilities work in the wake of their failures , he said , to both perform and communicate effectively during and after the disaster . <p> As the state seeks more federal aid , the focus is now shifting from getting the power back on to dealing with shelter for those driven out of their homes by the damage . Cuomo also reiterated his belief that whatever the cause , climate change is real and any rebuilding done now must account

@@5111041 <p> To say the least , it was unexpected . I get nice emails from fun and interesting people regularly , but this really stood out as something special . <p> I started following Andy ( and his human companion ) on Twitter a few weeks ago after seeing them wandering around Portland . When I got the card I laughed out loud . Then , I immediately went to Andy 's website to see what he was up to . <p> As far as I can tell , Andy is n't trying to sell anything , he 's just a very cool stuffed animal . Andy likes to send people postcards because he 's a nice ... whatever he is . <p> The day after I got the card from Andy , I went to my local post office to send some mail . I needed to ship a few water bottles to Hawaii , so I asked the clerk to help me find the cheapest option . She scratched her head and made some funny faces before telling me I 'd have to buy a padded envelope and send them for $10 . <p> Halfway through filling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hey , would n't it be half as much if I just put these in a priority envelope ? " <p> She perked right up and declared , " Why yes , it would ! Do you want to send your package that way ? " <p> Of course I did , so we switched and started processing the transaction . Before we finished , she reminded me that I 'd already written on the envelope she gave me , so I 'd have to pay $3 for that . <p> Really ? You give me bad information and make me pay for it , too ? <p> I did n't say that , but I was certainly thinking it . <p> By this time , the line was getting long behind me , and I 'm not the type to argue over $3 . Usually , I 'll pay whatever it takes to get out of the post office as fast as possible ! <p> As I left , though , I could n't help but think about Andy and the card he sent me yesterday . <p> The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ animal sends me a nice note with no expectation of return . The next , I 'm being extorted by my own mail lady . <p> Walking out of the post office , the only thing I could think was , " The world needs more Andys . " <p> These are both minor events ? things I could easily overlook in the course of day . But I 'm glad I did n't . Andy and the mail lady reminded me of an important lesson about life : <p> If you want someone to remember you , do something out of the ordinary . If you want people to remember you fondly ? do something remarkable . <p> This is at the heart and soul of Advanced Riskology . To lead a better life , step out of your comfort zone and do something worth remembering . <p> Now , this lesson is at the front of my mind each time I get an email . It 's what I think about as we get closer and closer to launching our coffee subscription service . It 's what I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I get one chance to make a first impression , so I ask myself : Do I want to be more like Andy , or more like the mail lady ? <p> Will you join the cause ? Will

@@5111141 <h> Teamsters : On the Ground , Cleaning Up After Sandy <p> Unions are about standing together and taking care of each other -- and since Hurricane Sandy took aim at the Eastern Seaboard two weeks ago , that 's exactly what the Teamsters have been doing , 24/7 . You can read about their hard work on their blog . Here are some of the highlights : <p> Monday , October 29 th : " Department of Sanitation Teamsters battened down New York City before the storm hit , driving convoys of trucks to staging areas around the city and emptying and turning over garbage bins . They continued to collect trash and recycling during the storm today , and they 'll be on 12-hour shifts tomorrow to clean up debris . " <p> Tuesday , October 30 th : " New York City Sanitation Department Teamsters from Local 831 are working long hours today removing trees from roadways , breaking apart limbs and cleaning streets as Hurricane Sandy moves on . The monster storm crippled the city , flooding the subways and the Wall Street District and downing power lines . Hundreds of thousands of people have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thanks " on the Local 's Facebook page : " God bless all the people who are working to make our lives better after such a horrible storm . " <p> Fires were still burning ; entire neighborhoods were buried under sand and seawater ; millions were without power ; and then 29 inches of snow fell . " None of that stopped our brothers and sisters from getting ' er done at departments of public works and sanitation , the railroads and UPS . " <p> " You can make a donation to the Red Cross by texting ' redcross ' to 90999 and you will make a $10 donation . Tom Petillo , president of Teamsters Local 125 in Trenton , NJ , is working with the IBT , Joint Council 73 and other New Jersey unions to coordinate rescue and relief efforts . He asks members to donate food , water and clothing . " <p> From a Teamsters member in Rockaway , Queens : " Bring shovels , gloves and give us a hand . Do n't matter which block , just walk up and help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Teamsters sanitation and DPW members are working long , exhausting hours to get the New York region back on its feet . Many lost their homes , some lost children and a few are in the hospital with injuries . And yet they 're clearing away debris , handing out food and removing downed trees . " <p> " Department of Sanitation New York supervisor texted that sanitation workers are sleeping in the garages : ' Everyone seems better than one would expect . Some have lost everything . Hot food has been scarce , and the workers are being fed military MREs . Brother Michael Lewery 's home on Staten Island was damaged , but he went to work anyway . He ended up in the hospital after he was electrocuted . ' " <p> Thursday , November 8 th : " We delivered a truck of water and clothing donated by our members to storm-damaged Long Beach . We went to the Martin Luther King center that , in normal times , serves as a community center and day care facility . The director of the center told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see them or help them yet . This center is now serving as an emergency shelter for the community and they were in dire need of assistance . With a nor'easter coming in , they have no heat and the building had drafts and leaks that needed attention . We saw the genuine gratitude from these folks , who truly needed help . It was a proud day to be a Teamster . " <p> Friday , November 9 th : " The call just went out : The Red Cross desperately needs 400 drivers tonight , tomorrow and Sunday to bring relief supplies to hurricane victims in the New York region . " <p> Saturday , November 10 th : " Teamsters are answering the Red Cross 's call to help distribute clean-up kits and supplies to victims of Hurricane Sandy . We 're getting photos of Teamsters packing and loading supplies in New Jersey warehouses . They 're also driving trucks and forklifts and shuttling volunteers all over the New York region . This is a 24/7 operation . UPS Teamsters were out in force , doing what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roy Gillespie tells us the Teamsters are renting buses from Teamster employer Jofaz Busing , and Teamsters from Local 854 are driving them to help with the bulk distribution . At noon today , a convoy of 12 trucks driven by Teamsters drove from the warehouse to hard-hit Rockaway . Another convoy of five trucks driven by Teamsters carried supplies to Staten Island . " <p> Sunday , November 11 th : " Red Cross warehouses , staging areas and distribution hubs are alive with more than 300 Teamsters and their families today . They 're all pitching in to get desperately needed supplies to victims of Superstorm Sandy in the New York region . " <p> " The news media is ignoring the extent of the damage , but it 's bad . At least 40,000 people in New York alone are homeless . In Jersey City Teamsters are helping bag , load and deliver clean-up kits : Large mesh bags that each contain a blanket , work gloves , garden-size trash bags , flashlight and batteries , baby wipes , hand sanitizer and hand and toe warmers . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warehouse . Some brought their spouses and children . The Teamsters rented buses to help move volunteers to staging areas and Teamsters are driving them . We 've been hearing our experience in logistics ( not to mention hard work ) has been invaluable . Props to members from the New York City locals , and 210 , 804 , 707 , 177 , 282 , 812 , 817 , 854 , 730 and 177 who are helping out in the warehouse . " <p> Monday , November 12 th : " Dozens of Teamsters and their families were already at the Red Cross 's Jersey City warehouse at 7:30 this morning and more were on the way to pack , load and drive supplies to Superstorm Sandy victims . About 100,000 families suffered losses from the hurricane and the needs are staggering . Brother Roy tells us this is a long-term effort . Hundreds of volunteers will be needed 24/7 for the next two weeks to deliver supplies in the ruined communities . Chris Jordan , who handles Red Cross logistics , is asking for families to come help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put together a great Flickr gallery here that gives you an idea of the scope of the operation . <p> You can help the Teamsters help the storm 's victims . Read more about their Disaster Relief Fund here . <h> About Liz Iacobucci <p> Liz Iacobucci is the former Public Information Officer for the State Employees ' Association of New Hampshire , SEIU Local 1984 . Over the past three decades , she has served in government at the federal , state and municipal levels ;

@@5111241 <h> Equity in Charitable Giving Could Be a Matter of Life or Death <p> Every month , I give money to Planned Parenthood to support the ( increasingly endangered ) reproductive health care it provides to women and men , including crucial breast cancer screenings . Several friends of mine raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation each year , as part of Race for the Cure . Any personal effort to reduce the number of women -- an estimated 1 in 8 -- and men who will face breast cancer is important ... no ... crucial . But while Susan G. Komen reported $400 million in earnings over the 2009-2010 fiscal year , far fewer dollars reach organizations with less visibility who work specifically to address the unique health needs of African-Americans . <p> Why does it matter ? The need for awareness , preventive care , screening and effective , life-saving treatment is color blind , yes ? Not entirely . A study published earlier this year in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment revealed that black women with breast cancer reach the disease 's late stages more often than white women , and their tumors are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a gap that could be ameliorated by breast cancer screening . Some studies have revealed that not getting proper follow-up care after an abnormal mammogram may be a factor in the lower survival rates among African-American women . We are also disproportionately plagued by other chronic illnesses ( diabetes , hypertension ) that affect overall health . And , in addition , a 2004 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that black women are more likely to be uninsured than white women and 30 percent of black women have " unstable " health insurance . <p> Clearly , African Americans face unique challenges when it relates to our health , including the prevention , diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer . Organizations that address those challenges specifically , like The Denise Roberts Breast Cancer Foundation , an organization that targets minority men and women , are invaluable . These charitable organizations need the time and money of supporters even more than their bigger , more well-funded counterparts , and they are less likely to get it . <p> This is not a call for readers to abandon patronage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positive and important work . This is a reminder for those who can give to spread the wealth and to research and identify African American-specific organizations to benefit from their largess . This sort of equity in giving is not just a good thing , but for the

@@5111341 <p> MARYVILLE , Tenn. -- There is no doubt which team will be the underdog in the New Taipei City Qualifying Tournament for the World Baseball Classic ( WBC ) . New Zealand , or the ' Diamondblacks ' , as fans have dubbed the team , will face a steep road to the main WBC Tournament in 2013 . <p> Though a baseball association was founded in 1989 , interest in the sport has only begun to grow in the last decade in this rugby- and softball-obsessed nation . While teams have participated in everything from the 1996 Olympic Qualifying Tournament to the yearly Australian Provincial Championships , New Zealand does not regularly field an international team . New Zealand is unlisted among 76 nations ranked by the International Baseball Federation ( IBAF ) , though six other teams from the Baseball Confederation of Oceania made the list . That will all change on Nov. 15 , when the Diamondblacks suit up against Chinese Taipei . Participation in the WBC , even without a single win , will boost New Zealand to No. 38 in the IBAF rankings . <p> This recent surge is thanks to the rapid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sport 's official national website , there are more than six thousand players in the country . A third of that number plays baseball in school , a fact that bodes well for New Zealand 's future hardball prospects . According to a recent article by The New Zealand Herald , the sport grew by 300 percent in 2010 and 2011 despite an operating budget of NZ$ 200,000 . <p> In the past two years , a pair of native New Zealanders has signed contracts with MLB teams . The first was Te Wera " Beau " Bishop , who inked a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox after the club convinced him to give up his spot on the New Zealand national softball side . The most recent professional Kiwi is Daniel Devonshire , who moved to the United States to continue his baseball career and was drafted out of Colby Community College by the Toronto Blue Jays . Ryan Flynn , chief executive of Baseball New Zealand , told the Herald : " We 've barely scratched the surface . The whole country can swing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There are diamonds here , there are umpires here . There 's coaches already here . " <p> Flynn continues , " It 's a sporting country . It 's like the stars are aligning for baseball to explode here more than any other nation in the world . Major League Baseball believes that we are coming . They believe there is a ready-made population who are already baseball people . " The inclusion of New Zealand in the MLB-funded WBC would seem to back the executive 's statements . <p> Major League Baseball has spent several decades investing in baseball in Australia , and that country ranks 11 th on the IBAF list . MLB has instituted a training academy in Australia to encourage the game to grow locally , and has also supported the Australian Baseball League ( ABL ) . Tom Nicholson , director of MLB 's operations in Australia and Oceania is aware of the similarities between Australia in the 1980s and New Zealand today and remarked to the Herald : " Down the track we 'd love to entertain having New Zealand working on that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Flynn 's assessment , observing , " I would say it 's exciting times for New Zealand , they 've got some great momentum . " <p> It will be the task of the first-time WBC entry to continue the process with a strong showing . The leadership for the All-Blacks -- a name synonymous with sporting success in the country , though usually on the rugby pitch -- has spent the past few months scouring the world for eligible players . The resulting team is comprised of a mixture of home-grown players , those with Australian roots , and a few Americans . It will be led by Andy Skeels , a native of New Zealand and manager of the San Jose Giants high Class-A affiliate . In 1987 , Skeels was the first-ever Kiwi drafted by a major league team . <p> The roster lacks a star player , but it does have 13 players with professional experience out of 25 , with three more roster spots up-for-grabs before the first game . The offence will likely be led by first baseman Crew " Boss " Moanaroa and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . " Most of the team has n't had a lot of experience , but we have a lot of good players on this team , " Moanaroa advised MLB.com . " I think the whole world is going to be shocked at what kind of talent we have in New Zealand . " <p> Moanaroa is from New Zealand , but was signed out of MLB 's academy in Australia in 2008 and has advanced to full-season Class-A ball . In 2012 , he played 110 games and hit .262/.391/.365 , finishing fourth in the league in walks . He offers little in terms of power ( career .375 slugging percentage ) , but his patient approach will be important on a team that has an average player age of 23 . He also has experience playing competitively against Asian and Oceanic players in the ABL , where his career batting line is a more robust .275 , with a .474 slugging percentage and 32 walks in 62 games . His brother Moko also brings minor league experience , compiling a .257/.335/.349 line in the lower levels of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> Campbell was a top prospect for the Blue Jays before a degenerative hip condition ended his promising career . The chance to play for New Zealand has caused him to fight through the pain to put on the black-and-white uniform and he told the Herald that " Having this opportunity to get out there and perform for my country is kind of special . It may be my last chance . Who knows what the hip is going to do over the next couple of years . It 's going to be a good ride . " Campbell , who only just turned 28 , collected 386 hits over four minor league seasons , notching a strong batting line of .287/.389/.389 and advancing to Triple-A . He was a strong fielder at the keystone sack . <p> The final native professionals are the youngest in Bishop and Devonshire . Bishop ( 19 ) began his professional career in 2012 with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox , where he hit .189 , though he ended the season with seven hits in the final eight games . In 2011 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hit .288/.371/.333 and threw out 4-of-16 baserunners . Devonshire ( 20 ) collected four hits in 27 at bats in the same league after hitting .308/.345/.500 in in 52 at bats for Colby Community College in Kansas . <p> The team has one European star in Daniel Lamb-Hunt , who was signed by the Atlanta Braves in 2005 , but never saw minor league action . His last three years have been in Germany , most recently with the Bonn Capitals , where he was a teammate of Great Britain 's Bradley Roper-Hubbert . In three Bundesliga seasons , he has hit .376 in 306 at bats and slugged .624 , collecting Best Batter awards in 2010 and 2011 . The utility player has only a .140 average in the ABL in 43 at bats . <p> Campbell , Moanaroa , Devonshire , and Bishop are likely to hit 3-4-5-6 for the Diamondblacks , but the rest of the offence will come from a motley collection of players . In a recent exhibition game in Australia , the leadoff hitter was Alan Schoenberger , a former minor leaguer with eight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only 19 and a college freshman , albeit one who hit .339 with seven stolen bases for Bellevue College , an NAIA programme in Washington . After the aforementioned heart of the order , the manager 's 40-year old younger brother David Skeels batted seventh , with the North Central Alberta Baseball League 's All-Star Game MVP following him , and the order finished with 19-year old Daniel Bradley . <p> The pitching staff is similarly cobbled together , with three former professional players and several youngsters , including 17-year old Joe Boyce . The group of hurlers will be led by brothers Lincoln and John Holdzkom , two of six pairs of siblings donning the black-and-white after growing up in California . <p> Lincoln is the elder and has eight years of minor league play under his belt . John has the faster stuff , hitting 101 mph/163 kmh on occasion , but Lincoln has had better success with a tamer mid-90s cut fastball , a two-seam fastball , and a slurvy breaking ball . The older sibling accumulated a 2.96 ERA in 337.2 innings from 2001-2009 , striking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his sixth campaign that any batter hit a home run off him , and he surrendered only seven in his career . <p> Like John , he has struggled with his command , walking 5.3 per nine innings in his career . The younger Holdzkom has struck out 153 and allowed a mere five four-baggers in 134.2 innings , but has also given up 107 free passes in totalling a 5.55 ERA . Despite being released from Cincinnati 's advanced-A team in June after only six games , John had what would turn out to be an audition against Skeels ' San Jose club , whiffing the only batter he faced . Less than seven months later , his now-manager will rely on him heavily alongside his brother . <p> The rest of the pitching staff is made up mostly of young Canadians and Kiwis with limited college or ABL experience . For some , the exhibition games that the Diamondblacks are playing in preparation for the qualifier are among the most high-profile contests in their career . Skeels , joined by former MLB all-stars Jay Bell as bench coach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ competing against a handful of Australian teams in preparations for the qualifier , giving the full roster playing time . The results have been understandably mixed , with two drubbings at the hands of the Sydney Blue Sox , and a shellacking of a local adult league team , but scouts from Chinese Taipei have been spotted in the stands . <p> Flynn spoke about their progress to the team 's website , noting , " Collectively we feel good about team chemistry and players stepping up to do their jobs . It 's important to remember that the coaching staff has never seen a single player from this team play in a true baseball game . " <p> Skeels may have to hope for beginner 's luck to escape from a group that includes baseball powerhouse Chinese Taipei , ranked No. 8 by IBAF , as well as No. 27 Thailand and No. 34 Philippines , both of whom have received major league reinforcements . The players are clearly not intimidated , as Devonshire stated to the Herald . " You do n't make it to professional baseball thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walk on that field knowing that no one is better than you . " <p> Skeels agrees , though perhaps with tempered expectations . " We are realistic about where we are as a country and the depth of our talent , but you have to be hopeful and you have to be optimistic . I 've seen enough players here where , if that seed keeps growing , it could turn into something really good . " <p> The All-Blacks begin play in New Taipei City against the hosts on 15 November at 10:30 a.m . GMT . Their second game will be on the 16 th at 3:30 a.m , GMT . Only the winner of the tournament advances to the main WBC draw in 2013 . All