On Line + Video-Conferencing = Electronic Collaboration!
Since 1992, a multidisciplinary collaborative task force with members at various universities has been dedicated to creating and testing a model for the integration of technology with collaborative teaching and learning (Treadwell, Leach, Kellar, Lewis & Mittan, 1998). The task force believes that traditional classroom settings, restructured to incorporate technology, should offer more than information exchange and acquisition of knowledge. They provide places where students have the opportunity to be learners actively working together on a specific learning objective. Therefore, this model has used the Internet as a collaborative tool connecting university-level students in varied disciplines and at distant sites.
Although course content differs, psychology students at West Chester University and Clarion University of Pennsylvania collaborate on applied research projects, producing final documents synthesizing their work on topics addressed at their respective sites. Peer project guides located at Casper College/University of Wyoming aid students in working through their projects through electronic communication.
Team member's enrolled in the collaborative course used web browsers' to access web-based communication systems. For example, WWWboard and WebBoards were used as discussion boards; a Java-based synchronous talker site; WebCT Whiteboard, Bulletin Boards and SMARTBoards were utilized to exchange files, and Video-Conferencing equipment were used for synchronous visual-audio communication and were accessible at the Clarion and West Chester Universities sites. The Casper College/University of Wyoming site did not have the Video-Conferencing equipment.
This model, designed to integrate technology with collaborative teaching and learning, continually evolves through redesigning the project and course structure and integrating new technologies as they develop. Each semester is, in effect, a new beginning. But regardless of these changes, this model achieves effective teaching and learning focusing on successful collaboration. The collaborative teaching and learning project was supported in part by SMARTBoard TM technology through a grant from the SMARTer Kids Foundation, and a video-conferencing grant from Community for Agile Partners in Education (CAPE).
Before spring semester 2000 the research team met face-to-face at a collaborative conference to hash out the details of on-line communication and video-conferencing. After four intensive days the collaborative team redesigned the collaborative course to reflect goals we considered attainable with advanced college students. In brief, the students had to develop a research proposal on gender differences, effects of gender, or perceptions of gender. To get students familiar with the collaborative process, which we defined "collaboration as `working with' or `working together.' But communication, in all its many shapes, is also integral to collaboration . . . because communication is almost never not collaborative" (Brown, S., Mittan, R., and Roen, D. 1997). Thus, we applied the Tangram Exercise, an ancient Chinese puzzle, in which group members rearrange the seven forms to reproduce as many images as they could. These images are either geometric in nature or patterned after a familiar object. It is not as easy as it first appears. We found this to be an excellent exercise in developing skills for working together as a group. Group members have to note the whole from its randomly scattered parts developing the primary components of working together coupled with developing a sense of group cohesion necessary for this collaborative project. In addition, teams were required to create ' team logos' and 'team names' to amplify their sense of a collaborative group identity.
Collaboration is continuously observed and measured using the following scales: Sociometric Inventory, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire for Teams, Group Cohesion Scale, and the Collaborative Communication Scale. Instruments were administered during the 14th week of the semester. We were looked at transformational and transactional leadership styles within the collaborative environment. We predicted that the transformational style is best suited for the collaborative courses.
Transformational relationships develop between leaders and subordinates to work toward goals that transcend individual needs and toward organizational visions. Subordinates are encouraged to meet self-actualization needs using self-reinforcement as the basis of control. Transactional leaders on the other hand, may have had experience working toward the organization's shorter term performance goals or may have had more exposure to transactional, rather than transformational role models (Wofford & Goodwin,1994).
Results suggest that cohesion for two of the groups were significant indicating that the distant groups integrated and were able to work as one group. One group had difficulty in this area and showed a trend toward cohesion. The same is true for collaborative efforts, two teams did extremely well and one evidenced a collaborative trend. Overall, one sees two highly cohesive and collaborative groups. In addition, these two groups were highly transformational supporting the collaborative idea.
One group (Psyclones) evidenced transactional behavior, suggesting that the task be completed at any cost, displayed lower scores on cohesion as a group, and unsatisfied with their collaborative results. However, this transactional group was significantly high on extra effort into making the project successful and low on satisfaction and effectiveness as a team. Transactional and transformational leadership are two ways in which leadership roles can be approached.
A second group (Jigsaws) although cohesive and collaborative as a team, performed as a transformational team, but were unsatisfied with their final product, felt minimally effective, yet evidenced extra effort into getting the project completed.
The third group (Diamonds) were very cohesive and collaborative as a transformational team, were very satisfied with the their final product, evidenced significant extra effort, and felt very effective in achieving their collaborative objectives. In brief, this group was the most transformational.
Sociometrically we used seven questions to measure collaboration, site leaders, transformational leadership, and clarification of the collaborative process and are reporting four for each team.
Team 1 (transactional) shows one major leader - number 6. Others view this person as the peacemaker, showing minimal interaction with other team members, and very little integration of team members from both sites.
The next configuration measures site leaders. One sees mutual communication between site members number 6 and 2. There is minimal interaction and sub-grouping suggesting the transformational style.
The next configuration gives us a clear idea of the team communication pattern. The transactional leaders do discuss matters with others, yet they stay completely on task -- get the job done! There is minimal sub grouping suggesting that members rely on their transactional leader to get the job done.
This configuration is very interesting. There is a switch at one site regarding ability to clarify collaborative process. Person 6 stays in the clarifying position and person 1is most helpful in clarifying at the distant site the collaborative process. In addition, person 10 is the project guide and has significant influence upon clarification of purpose.
This graph shows that team 1 put extreme effort into getting the project done, yet were not satisfied with the final product and felt they were not effective as a collaborative team. Nonetheless, the job got done which is typical transactional behavior.
Team 2 (transformational) one sees a different configuration -- there are more interactions between the sites. There are three major persons that keep this team moving in a collaborative manner, persons 1, 2, 7 & 8, showing evidence of their division of labor. If difficulty emerges, there are 4 persons the team members turn.
The following configuration confirms the idea that there are shared responsibilities at each site and not one site leader. Persons' 2, 7, 8, and 1 appear to be the decision-makers for the team.
This shows how transformational leadership in its embryonic stage. Decision-making is mainly between persons 1 & 7. There is sub grouping with person 7 and 8 and 3,4, &5.
As this graph shows there are transformational leaders coupled with various sub-groups that are pulling the team away from its goal. Persons keeping the team organized are 1, 7 and 8. One might note that number 9 isolated self from the team.
This graph shows how unsatisfied they were with their final project. They put extra effort into collaborating yet were unable to reach their expected level of achievement. This is a good example of 'attempting to collaborate'. They never gave up and if it wasn't for video-conferencing our hunch is that this team would have scattered to work independently.
Team 3 (transformational) and the configuration changes with this group showing site problem solvers, persons 2 and 6 (and # 10 are 'self selection'). This is somewhat common in a highly transformational group -- they tend to select themselves to secure that the job gets done. In addition, one sees many interactions between the two sites.
Identifying the site leaders. In this group they depend on each other for decisions and there are 4 persons that team members rely heavily on, persons 2, 8, 6, & 7. Back up persons are 5, 3, and 4.
The following graph shows transformational leadership style. There is not one outstanding leader - much is collaborative leadership between persons 8, 6, 3, 2 & 7. In brief, mostly all members are selected at some level.
This graph shows how transformational the team was. They were very effective, satisfied, and put much effort into the collaborative project.
Video-conferencing had a positive effect upon the collaborative participation of team members. Overall collaborative effort, satisfaction, and effectiveness are high for all three teams as shown in the figures below.
Specific Items measuring video-conferencing collaboration are shown below. Item one was extremely interesting indicating that face-to-face collaboration was effective. Item 1 measured video-conferencing collaboration using a negative question: "The lack of face-to-face communication has been difficult for me" suggested students were having difficulty communicating in an unfamiliar format. This was expected and predicts it will decrease in future collaborative projects. Items 2-10 measured the satisfaction with using the new technology (including Java based chat room, WebCT, SMARTBoards) that teams members discussed with teammates via videoconference. Items 11 and 12 measured the how well the Project Guides worked with teams.
In summary, the initial videoconference project was quite successful as the data suggest. Students' had a difficult time adjusting to the technological communication pattern and preferred face-to-face contact. Video-conferencing certainly helped to decrease this need to a great extent. We ran into many technical problems in connecting the two sites and there was one videoconference that had to be canceled due to this problem. It must be stated that the students' were upset, yet when we rescheduled the video-conference three days later they were all there. That does say quite a bit about the student interest in this project. In addition, it must be stated that all videoconferences were above and beyond what our students expected from the collaborative course. They had to give up their time for each videoconference. We also feel that the technical support was not at its best at one site and treated video-conferencing as a 'secondary' assignment.
There are areas that need attention, such as the Project Guides communicated minimally synchronously and majority of their time was asynchronous (on WebBoards). Videoconference equipment was not available and it is recommended that the project guides join in on the team's videoconference. This is one area the team members felt needed immediate attention. Secondly, the state system of higher education in Pennsylvania has had an ATM backbone installed to all 14 universities. However, to wire from the major hub will cost the project. If this could be done then we have dedicated rooms at both Clarion and West Chester Universities to carry out a more intensive experimental collaborative video-interactive project. In addition, we have two collaborative team members that are not members of CAPE and have put us at somewhat of a disadvantage financially. Our technological support person is located in Georgia and our Project Guide Coordinator is located in Wyoming. We need to bring both of them into the interactive video-conferencing.
Treadwell, T.W., Mittan, R., Leach, E.A., Kellar, H., & Lewis, R.. (1998). Collaborative Teaching and Research Over the Internet. Journal of Management Education, 22, 4 498-508.
Brown, S., Mittan, R., & Roen, D. (1997). The Writers Toolbox. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Wofford, J.C., & Goodwin, V.L. (1998). A field study of a cognitive approach to understanding transformational and transactional leadership. Leadership Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 1, pp 55-85.


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Too Little Density, Too Much Road Surface
Millions of square feet of underutilized pavement cost millions of dollars per year to maintain.
It goes without saying that New Jersey is dissimilar from Virginia in many ways, so it's hazardous extrapolating conclusions from one state to the other. But a new study about New Jersey roads co-authored by Smart Growth America and New Jersey Future implies that the Old Dominion could have saved hundreds of millions of dollars yearly in road maintenance expenses had higher-density development been allowed to occur instead of the scattered, low-density sprawl that characterized so much of the state's growth after World War II.
Using a novel technique for estimating the surface area of road pavement per capita, researchers found that the most densely developed areas of New Jersey maintain about one-third the pavement surface per capita — about 130 square feet of road surface compared to 423 square feet — as the least densely developed parts of the state.
The conclusion is counter-intuitive. Cities seem to be chock-a-block with streets in a way that rural and suburban areas are not. The key is to look at the space devoted to roads on a per capita basis.
States the study, "The Fiscal Implications of Development Patterns: Roads in New Jersey":
If for the same population and employment levels, New Jersey had directed development into a smaller land area with at minimum 10 people or jobs per acre (still not very dense — single-family homes on quarter-acres lots would meet the criteria), we estimate that the total area of road New Jersey and its municipalities need to maintain would have been reduced by 36 percent, or approximately 1.9 billion square feet. And assuming an average cost of $0.25 per square foot to maintain the roads, the result would have been a $470 million savings statewide every year.
The analysis draws two broad conclusions: (1) local road maintenance costs per capita decrease as activity density increases, and (2) low-density communities have the most to gain by permitting more density.
Bacon's bottom line: To get a rough (very rough) idea of what a similar analysis would yield for Virginia, consider that the Old Dominion has about twice as many total lane miles as New Jersey (162,000 compared to 86,000) and that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is budgeted to spend $2 billion a year in 2015 (including city and county street payments) on maintenance.
Of course, it's impossible to go back and tear up the development of low-density areas of Virginia, so the study is academic to some degree. On the other hand, this kind of analysis should guide future investment. Just as Virginians today are paying for poor policy decisions made over the past five decades, future Virginians will pay for our decisions.
I do quibble with the way the authors state their case: It says these savings could have been achieved had New Jersey "directed" development into denser development patterns. I don't like the idea of government directing how and where people should live. But that doesn't change the larger point that denser communities cost less per capita on road maintenance than low-density communities. The way to frame the issue in Virginia is this: Had local zoning policies not directed growth into low density areas, average population densities would be higher, less road would have been required, and maintenance costs would be lower.
This entry was posted in Infrastructure, Land use & development, Transportation and tagged James A. Bacon, smart growth. Bookmark the permalink.
37 responses to "Too Little Density, Too Much Road Surface"
Basil | November 12, 2015 at 12:32 pm | Log in to Reply
This is an important issue in an era of declining gas tax revenue and the technology that is coming down the pipe. Not sure we can afford to subsidize low density development. Interesting and related article below.
"How Many American Cities Are Preparing For The Arrival of Self-Driving Cars? Not Many."
http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/09/cities-self-driving-cars/#.d7tru0e:d1uB
LarrytheG | November 12, 2015 at 12:35 pm | Log in to Reply
well it's not zoning – it' subsidies for subdivisions.
the govt is actually doing the opposite of "directing" – they ARE – incentivizing single-family home subdivisions by not requiring them to be HOA or county-maintained as is the case in most other states.
that's what you should be looking at in terms of comparative lane miles.
People in Va who live in apartments -their gas taxes go for public roads . People who live in single-family subdivisions – their gas taxes – essentially go to maintain their subdivision road.
When VDOT tries to make subdivisions have two entrances – both for safety and also to disperse in and out traffic – all hell breaks lose because what people want is cul-de-sacs – owned and operated by the state – not them via HOAs.
When VDOT talks about devolution – there is little taste for it because the counties would then have to actually deal with adding lane miles for subdivisions…
I'd assert that if VDOT turned subdivision roads over to the counties the "sprawl" and "zoning" issue would evaporate.
TooManyTaxes | November 12, 2015 at 1:02 pm | Log in to Reply
For a point of reference, in 2012 dollars, the Fairfax County BoS approved a funding plan that included $865,000,000 for a grid of streets within Tysons and $1,226,000,000 for Tysons-wide road improvements. Also, adding sidewalks, trails and bicycle facilities that improve access to the four Metro stations in Tysons came to $77,000,000, and improving non-rail-related transit for Tysons came to $953,000,000. The figures do not include the necessary road improvements needed outside Tysons to support an urban Tysons. The total sum (again in 2012 dollars) is $3.1 billion through 2051. Total residential and worker population for Tysons will ultimately be 300,000 (100,000 residents and 200,000 workers). That's roughly $10,300 in costs, excluding maintenance, per person for the 40 year period.
I'm offering no comments on these figures. They are just a point of reference.
James A. Bacon | November 12, 2015 at 1:10 pm | Log in to Reply
TMT, you raise a good point, even if you refrain from commenting upon it.
Comparing road costs alone is not fair. Smart Growthers want to build "complete streets" that are friendly to bikers and pedestrians. Pedestrians require sidewalks and other streetscaping, which, though not as expensive as roads, to carry an up-front and a maintenance cost. $77 million for sidewalks, trailers and bicycle facilities in Tysons is not chump change. Rural/suburban roads often do not incur those costs. Fair is fair , we should compare apples to apples.
LarrytheG | November 12, 2015 at 1:25 pm | Log in to Reply
re: " That's roughly $10,300 in costs, excluding maintenance, per person for the 40 year period."
that's also the cost of one park and ride carpool slot.
it's important to not only know how much something costs – but where the funding actually is coming from.
many denser developments these days – build their own parking and sidewalks …. and those costs go to those who buy/rent.
in states where the DOT does not pay for local roads – those costs ened up being calculated and considered between the development folks and the county folks using property taxes for all property owners.
Virginia has a tradition of attempting/succeeding in passing costs onto VDOT – who, in turn, never has enough money for true public roads that benefit all travelers.
Larry, I am under the impression that a number of states with local control of non-primary roads get significant state aid from gas and other taxes. But local property and other taxes often are required.
@TMT – I think some state money is kicked in but it's more along the lines of how devolution would work in Va… expansion of local roads – and local subdivision roads would fall largely on the counties…
TooManyTaxes | November 13, 2015 at 8:17 am |
Fairfax County DOT has said that, when the County considered taking over local roads, it was informed by VDOT that the County would receive state funds for both capital and maintenance expenses. What killed the deal was the belief County residents would demand better maintenance than VDOT would deliver to the tune of about $ 40-45 million – two cents additional on the real estate tax. Fairfax County already issues bonds and uses proffers and special taxes to build roads and other transportation facilities.
" The Unique Situation in Virginia
Three factors differentiate the coordination of transportation and land use planning in Virginia from that in most other states.
First, only four other states in addition to Virginia (Alaska, Delaware, North Carolina,and West Virginia) leave maintenance and construction of county (generally secondary) roads
with the state; other states generally leave some degree of responsibility for these roads to the county."
OPTIONS FOR IMPROVING THE COORDINATION OF TRANSPORTATION
AND LAND USE PLANNING IN VIRGINIA
http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/04-r14.pdf
DonR | November 12, 2015 at 1:36 pm | Log in to Reply
Sounds like yet another wealth transfer from NoVa and Tidewater to elsewhere in Virginia.
Insofar as most of NoVa is more densely populated than RoVa, you could make that argument. You could also make the argument that densely urbanized areas across the state (regardless of region) are subsidizing the less densely urbanized areas.
what might be interesting would be to see how many subdivision lane miles there are – per county , per capita…
same complaints – everywhere!
" City Council members want the legislature to reduce or eliminate tolls at the Midtown and Downtown tunnels, but local lawmakers told them to temper their expectations.
State legislators "are going to be looking for us to find our own long-term sustainable source of funding to take care of ourselves," state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, said Tuesday when the council presented its legislative wish list to state lawmakers.
"I think we are pretty much stuck with" the toll contract, added state Sen. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake.
Mayor Kenny Wright said the tunnel tolls were becoming a lesson on "what not to do" nationwide.
"It's great that we are all using this as the baseline as the worst in the world," Wright said."
you can bet your sweet bippy that the folks down Hampton way are paying close attention to what happens on I-66 in Nova!!
John B | November 12, 2015 at 2:53 pm | Log in to Reply
Driving around the my Tidewater area you'll note quite a bit of fill-in residential and commercial construction even in what I'd call the nucleus areas of Suffolk, Chesapeake and The Beach. This possibly would tend to significantly lower the per capita initial pavement costs.
However, since the resulting increase in traffic from fill-in new population will of necessity eventually require higher maintenance and later lane addition construction there may be really no free lunch. Ergo, More folks = More cost any way you slice it.
Jim, is there a difference between fill-in vs. sprawl?
LifeOnTheFallLine | November 12, 2015 at 7:11 pm | Log in to Reply
In appropriately dense environments there are effective ways of moving more people than just adding lanes. Especially in an area like Hampton Roads where – and this is a reality that escaped most of the people I knew when I lived down there – you are going to be constrained by the sheer amount of water that needs to be designed around.
John B, There is more to sprawl than just low density. The land use pattern we think of as sprawl usually takes the form of pod-like development strung along roads radiating out from the urban core. Those pods are single use (residential, retail or office), and they disconnected from one another, forcing people onto connector and arterial roads, they typically have no amenities for pedestrians or bikers, and they are often built in a leap-frog manner with large spaces in between.
In-fill does develop the empty spaces between scattered pods. But it typically does nothing to improve connectivity or improve walkability. People still use their cars to get anywhere, and they still have to go from an empty-most-of-the-time cul de sac road to an overloaded connector or arterial. Mass transit is never an economically viable option.
We are seeing new forms of in-fill — with more density, mixed-uses, grid streets, and walkable sidewalks. They are an improvement over traditional sprawl, but they cannot fundamentally change the character of a place. They are disconnected islands of sanity in a sea of sprawl. Among other critical attributes, they cannot support mass transit (unless massively subsidized).
Cville Resident | November 12, 2015 at 3:03 pm | Log in to Reply
I think it is a fair question to ask how much of this low density development in exurbs and rural areas is due to people trying to "escape"integration? There's no disputing that initial integration in Richmond did cause massive flight to Henrico and Chesterfield. I imagine a lot of lower density development is due to white flight during initial integration as well as when areas became more diverse in the late 80s-00s…people again ran away from "poor schools."
When you add it to the effects of redlining almost all of it.
virginiagal2 | November 13, 2015 at 3:09 pm | Log in to Reply
In recent years? IMHO, not much at all. I agree with the history, but not today.
For the inner counties, most of it is running to good public schools more than from bad ones. Richmond city has great citizens and a city government that IMHO fails its schools. Badly. The inner counties have decent schools and are better governed.
For the outer counties, most of what I see is a desire for a rural lifestyle while staying within commuting distance of a decent job. A high percentage of people I know in the exurbs are either originally from there, are from rural or exurban areas elsewhere in the state, and/or enjoy rural pursuits such as raising some of their own food, raising horses, or similar interests.
BTW, per Wikipedia, Henrico is 61.3% white, and Chesterfield 65.4%. They're fairly diverse.
well it's not white flight in Fredericksburg/Stafford/Spotsylvania..
it's "affordable housing" of the single family detached -subdivision
people who work in NoVA and want a traditional subdivision home with a front/back yard on a side street/cul-de-sac .. both black and white workers.
Fredericksburg does have a "black" section of town – it's historic – literally across the railroad tracks and next to a manufacturing plant (now closed).
and of course – churches in all areas are largely effectively segregated – by tradition.
but new black folks with jobs in NoVa typically buy in the same subdivisions that white NoVa workers buy in.
this is different than what you'll find in Henrico and Chesterfield – and for that matter NoVa…where there are older subdivisions that are somewhat reflective of older demographics…
Whites in NoVa schools by the way – are a minority…!!!
These kinds of studies are why watching the "no cul-de-sac" rule that was passed a few years ago in the GA get chipped away and walked back was so frustrating. It costs real money to push snow and it costs even more when you have to take a simple travelling salesman problem and complicate it by making the plows shovel out a bunch of dead ends. To say nothing of the increased costs of delivering mail and running school buses through a Byzantine series of disconnected subdivisions.
LarrytheG | November 13, 2015 at 5:15 am | Log in to Reply
the cul-de-sacs are what people want though – and they totally are opposed to "their" subdivision being used as a 'cut-through".
it's a powerful political issue that the Board of Supervisors will roll over on without hesitation.
so these subdivisions are actually "anti" grid streets… they oppose the concept and purpose of grid streets. They want what boils down to private enclaves – paid for by the state.
Each one of these subdivision "entrances" become an issue when people want to get out and need to turn left.
they all want median cross-overs which VDOT is actually trying to close/reduce and not open new ones. Then that means they have to turn right – then turn left at the next crossover or traffic light and do a u-turn.
between the higher use and costs associated with these – combined with the fact that many of the folks who live there – are also longer distance commuters – using I-95 to get to their jobs – these citizens are much more voracious consumers of transportation resources than say someone who lives in an apartment a few miles from where they work.
I'm not advocating for or against the choice of lifestyle – only that we should recognize the costs and fairly allocate them.
Reed Fawell 3rd | November 13, 2015 at 5:42 am | Log in to Reply
I'm a big believer in Smart Growth, but this study tells me next to nothing, except for the threat Smart Growth in the wrong hands poses to humans.
Instead I am reminded of how the Mormon Wizards at Marriott used to sit around a table each year figuring how many ways they could save Bill Marriott money the next year.
And every time the wizards would calculate yet again how, if they thickened their short glasses of Scotch on the Rocks another eighth of an inch so each glass then would take one less quarter ounce of scotch to fill – Why By Golly – it'd save Bill Marriott world wide another "so many millions of dollars" next year.
Being non-drinkers, and also being very guilty about the truth that they'd tossed out their own religion to make more bucks at their business by serving booze, it never occurred to them, and/or they repressed the notion, that scotch drinkers would stop using their hotels altogether by reason of their being cheated on every Scotch on the rocks at a Marriott bar. That 8th cost 200 bucks a night.
This is a holistic world we live in. That's why accountants, if left alone for long without supervision will kill all life on Earth quick as we know it.
Smart Growth is about human synergy at work – imagination, interaction and inspiration, bold initiatives and cumulative impacts, not about penny wise / pound foolish nonsense.
Smart Growth is a threat to humans if it's ruled by logic and self righteousness taken to their logical extremes, and you can be sure that a certain percentage of any group of people will always impose these extremes on other people if they get their chance and do it without fail – these are society's ideologues.
Smart Growth is a dumb phrase co-opted by all sorts of folks to mean a barrage of ideas and concepts – some unrelated to each other, others actually in direct contradiction – and it's use actually abused as a kind of political language for some.
density per se is also a tortured concept when folks essentially believe that density is more about physically arranging living and work spaces rather than logistics and infrastructure – necessary to support density.
for instance – you cannot plop down a Tysons corner without consider water and sewer – not plumbing but what size pipes are needed to bring water to Tysons and transport waste away. You just can't quadruple density and use pipes that were designed decades ago for a much less dense footprint of development.
you do not have unlimited drinking water capacity nor unlimited sewage treatment capacity – either.
there is no way in heck you could substantially build out most of Fairfax to a uniformly more dense settlement pattern without huge changes and costs to water/sewer infrastructure.
and that's essentially "infill" to the existing water/sewer network unless you are at the current limits and adding greenfield water/sewer – even then those pipes connect back to larger and larger pipes that eventually go back to the treatment plants.
It's not that you can't add – it's that you have to know WHERE and HOW MUCH you plan to build something that will need water/sewer infrastructure.
what you CAN'T do – is draw more "dense" things on a map – then go build it… and do so in a time-frame that is totally not in recognition of the changes needed to water/sewer – the timeframe and costs to bring them up to the specs needed to serve the contemplated development.
And people think you can just use the existing plants – just build bigger pipes. That's not true either. You may be at the limits for a water source – it's called "yield" – and you may be at the effluent limits for a sewage treatment plant – and the "tipping" point necessitates a much higher level of treatment for all sewage is the effluent limits are to be not exceeded – or you may need to build a new plant and re-jigger the existing network.
the point here is that you can't just draw density lines on a map.
we've already talked about transportation – that's more obvious – but water/sewer is just as much an issue.. that's not so obvious.
Density requires infrastructure and services – it's not "free" and it's not necessarily "smart growth" by the sole criteria of density. It has to be "smart" fiscally and physically.
NewVirginia | November 13, 2015 at 8:17 am | Log in to Reply
Bumping my own pavement per capita drawings for VA: http://www.mappingvirginia.com/2014/03/more-pavement.html
Alternative thought (sorry if somebody's already brought this up): While it's difficult to go back and redo the development pattern of much of Virginia, we can focus instead on redoing the roads.
Suburban roads (and minimum standards for them) are incredibly overbuilt, causing safety concerns, polluted water runoff, and extra expense. Rather than say "you can't live in a single-family house far away from people," how about we say: "we're not going to pay to build a super wide street out there." Smaller rights-of-way, fewer curbs, and more gravel in rural areas can go a long way.
Texas has dealt with $$ shortfalls by converting more rural roads back to gravel and reducing the paved area of the state. It'd be tough in VA – Virginia has a strong tradition of centralized VDOT control and state funding of local roads mostly because of the power of rural voters in the 20th century. But in an increasingly urban Virginia, it doesn't seem unreasonable to think that localities could be pushed to pay more of the costs of road maintenance, and think twice about how much road they build.
How right you are. Now we're talking Smart Growth. Back in reality.
TooManyTaxes | November 13, 2015 at 9:35 am | Log in to Reply
The Tysons landowners could not agree on a tax plan that would cover their portion of certain road, bike and ped improvement costs. Thus, they did not propose a tax district. Instead, the County imposed a service district where both commercial and residential property owners are taxed. Many property owners are angry. But they need to pay their fair share of the benefits they receive from an urubanized Tysons.
Fairfax County is looking at adding much more density at other rail stops and activity centers. Landowners, both commercial and residential, should be taxed to fund the additional transportation facilities that give them density. Fairfax County is largely built-out so adding density is the only way the County will grow. Just as exurban developers should pay for new infrastructure, so should urban developers. We might see less of both if this is done.
Reed Fawell 3rd | November 13, 2015 at 11:49 am | Log in to Reply
I agree with you here. Residents derive great benefit from smart growth and should do their share, including preexisting residence under some formula that does not drive original residents out of their homes. And bike riders should not get free rides either. Like all else, the practical utility of and essential need for such bike infrastructure – cost v. need v. benefit – should be weighted with a gimlet eye like all else.
Cville Resident | November 13, 2015 at 11:04 am | Log in to Reply
Very interesting idea. However, you touch on something that I have long posted about: How long can Virginia keep subsidizing rural Virginia?
Every Governor in this state (and even the failed candidates) seem to have an irrational affection for rural Southside/Southwest Virginia. They all seem to hold this belief that "my policies will turn these places around to the Glory Days." It doesn't matter the party, every Governor seems to be guided by this belief.
Your proposal is fiscally sound. However….I can't imagine the reaction from rural Virginia if it was ever enacted. West of Richmond and South of 64 is already well behind….such a proposal would put that area further behind. That's fine if you are truly making a decision on what's best for Virginia from a fiscal standpoint. You're right that increased local contributions to transportation maintenance is probably the best policy choice. If you're going to build houses in the middle of nowhere, you should have to pay for the infrastructure rather than taxpayers in Fairfax or Richmond. However, I imagine such a policy choice will go nowhere until the political class is ready to let go of its romantic notions of "turning around" Southside/SW Virginia.
How many subdivisions are there, really, in rural counties? An awful lot of rural homes are directly off of the secondary roads, in denser areas they're likely to get to that road via flagpole lots, and the (often long) driveways are gravel.
For actual private subdivisions, in counties that haven't zoned it out of existence, many of those are already on gravel subdivision roads.
The move to require hardtop roads in private subdivisions, in more remote counties, appears to be driven by a zoning standard of accessibility to emergency vehicles, rather than something the citizens asked for.
Secondary roads in rural areas are often narrow, without much if any shoulder – just a hardtop road, small strip of gravel, and a ditch.
If you're building a house in the middle of nowhere off of an existing road, that really isn't doing much to increase road maintenance expense.
Is there data on actual breakdowns of costs, by type of road? Obviously if 64 or 250 goes through your county, maintaining it seems to be a state expense – is the data broken down by county by type of road, by number of miles of road, by who maintains it?
Does anyone have a history as to why zoning is pushing for hardtop roads in rural private subdivisions, rather than allowing gravel roads?
Reed Fawell 3rd | November 15, 2015 at 12:38 pm | Log in to Reply
" … in rural counties? An awful lot of rural homes are directly off of the secondary roads, in denser areas they're likely to get to that road via flagpole lots, and the (often long) driveways are gravel."
We all know those kinds of places. They work great, but are easily spoiled. For example:
Sometimes a "long gravel driveway" can end in an asphalt cul-de-sac. These can serve one or more single homes. Assume an asphalt driveway serves one home, how can one such driveway go wrong?
Here's a few among many ways:
Far too often that cul-de-sac has got way too much asphalt. And what it has got is far too often in the wrong shape. And it is in the wrong place. So now it is largely not necessary, and its ugly and it is high maintenance. It is now a costly, value and place destroying, eye sore.
For example, an ill conceived and ill built single home cul-de-sac can destroy numerous view sheds within and without that single home. It can damage the view of the house from the visitor's approach. It can damage the river, wood, and/or field views surrounding the home, whether from inside the house or from the outside.
It can also turn a driveway into a parking lot. This can also spoil a dozen different views from inside and or outside the house, including those of neighbors, even those from across the river.
Plus asphalt wrinkles and it buckles up. Asphalt also collects oils and it collects engine fluids. Oil stains the asphalt. Engine fuels streak asphalt. Rains come and then the asphalt collects and directs the rain, and flushes that water off into torrents made from pools of oily water. This is poison then. It kills grass, it cuts ditches, and it erodes yards and farm fields, and this broken and abused earth then carries the poison off into rivers and bays, estuaries and inlets.
It is remarkable how blue stone gravel thoughtfully deployed cures most all of this. And doe from start to finish – from its installation, to its use, and its maintenance – so it almost never wears out.
Here, one is reminded of how we long ago abandoned mud brick adobe buildings. How instead we came to make those buildings from concrete and steel and glass. How, in so doing, we saw only the benefits of those revolutionary materials and how that blinded us to their otherwise obvious draw backs and how it also blinded us to the great and many benefits that we had so long enjoyed from adobe mud bricks, lumber and sod, and now so thoughtlessly tossed away.
The very same thing of course can be said about how we design and build our big roads and cities. Let's touch briefly on that next.
Lia | November 13, 2015 at 9:44 am | Log in to Reply
New Jersey's transportation system's yearly costs include $2 Billion for transit operations and $1.2 Billion for transit capital improvements.
"Smart Growth America researchers found that the most densely developed areas of New Jersey maintain about one-third the pavement surface per capita — about 130 square feet of road surface compared to 423 square feet — as the least densely developed parts of the state."
The transportation needs of these most densely developed areas could not be met by roads only, thus the existence of the transit system. Only apples to apples transportation cost comparisons are meaningful. This SGA comparison lacks that.
With that said: the inefficiencies of the suburban sprawl have long been established. We as a society, however, created economic and political frameworks that keep on supporting sprawl. Seems to be another problem we'll pass onto our children.
TooManyTaxes | November 13, 2015 at 11:27 am | Log in to Reply
How do you explain the extremely high transportation-related costs for Tysons to support significant levels of urban development that will occur in top-quality mixed use buildings? If the government had not forced Dulles Toll Road drivers to pay fees sufficient to pay the plurality of the capital costs for the Silver Line, Phase I, it would not have been built and the massive Tysons density would not have been granted. In other words, had Tysons development been forced to pay the costs for the transportation infrastructure necessary to support an urban Tysons, neither the infrastructure nor the urban density would ever be built.
Moreover, all traffic studies show the availability of the Silver Line will not reduce traffic congestion on the DTR, but rather, the added density will require very costly expansion of the DTR even when rail goes out to mid-Loudoun County.
Development of any kind requires costly infrastructure — most of which is subsidized by other taxpayers, rather than by the beneficiaries – whether they live in urban, suburban or exurban areas. Of course, some costs will be higher in some areas than in others. But Smart Growth should be regarded as a choice and not as a solution. I support giving people more choices in housing. But urban areas are also very expensive.
Of course, as I am sure you know, much of the problem with transport costs in Tysons is that those costs have been driven sky high by the failure to do things right (including location as well as design and uses) the first go round. That failure set bad results into stone starting in the 1960s. And costs now to fix problems are compounded by earlier cost overruns in inexcusable, indeed scandalous, amounts.
In short, all involved up to and including the 1990s got away with murder. They built in island city surrounded by walls of other mismatched uses and capacities and hijacked an Interstate Highway and built little else for its our Main Street. This thief injected massive traffic into ill-built and designed city crippled itself plus an entire region.
Hence everyone following in the train of this debacle ( whether local, regional or interstate) has been saddled with a huge mess that ever since, has done incalculable damage that far outweighs the benefit in my view.
The damage and its ongoing cost can't be fully fixed, absent starting over. That's my opinion. And now of course there are highly inflated costs to fix strictly local problems. Whether it be to alter design and uses and /or shoehorn massive infrastructures into tight, awkward, constrained and difficult spaces without sufficient room in foreseeable future to breath to anyone satisfaction internally or externally.
An analysis of Ballston to Courthouse city down the road leads one to a very different result – an dense urban area that successfully eats its own traffic. And helps to solve traffic problems for everyone else near and far at the same time. I'll see if I can insert some references to earlier articles on this website that get into the issues and comparison between cities.
Despite my harsh criticism of long past mistakes, I have nothing but admiration for those working so hard to fix Tysons Corner. From what I have read here on this website, I suspect that they recently are making very substantial progress on what has been an otherwise nearly intractable problem due in many cases to causes beyond their control.
Infrastructure costs in further out areas are driven in no small part by zoning. I know when we were looking for a larger piece of land, zoned for horses, the zoning appeared to have actively made that more difficult – particularly requirements to upzone the divided pieces, rather than keeping them agricultural, and requirements for VDOT grade subdivision roads rather than gravel.
I do not see how I am taking a bigger risk being a quarter of a mile down a gravel subdivision road than I am living a quarter of a mile down a private gravel driveway. If I choose to take that risk, that it might slow down an emergency vehicle, that should be my choice.
re: " What killed the deal was the belief County residents would demand better maintenance than VDOT would deliver to the tune of about $ 40-45 million – two cents additional on the real estate tax. Fairfax County already issues bonds and uses proffers and special taxes to build roads and other transportation facilities.'
demand better maintenance than what they'd get if VDOT did the maintenance itself?
TMT – here's another thing to show how many miles of roads the states maintain:
Rank State Mileage Rank State Mileage
1 TX 80,134
2 NC 80,036
3 VA 57,766
4 PA 43,621
5 SC 41,628
6 WV 34,304
7 MO 33,685
8 KY 27,849
9 OH 22,508
10 CA 18,336
11 GA 18,040
http://reason.org/files/highway/state_controlled_highway_miles_2007.pdf
as you can see Va maintains way more miles of roads than most other states other than Tx and NC – regardless of area or population.
also – devolution can be maintenance alone or capital alone – also.
It's up to the county.
The counties could easily reduce costs by requiring subdivisions to be HOAs… so what they counties are really doing is letting the State, in essence, subsidize subdivision roads with gas tax dollars paid by folks who don't live in subdivisions – rather than the county have to confront that basic inequity.
and as a direct result -the state has less transportation dollars for other roads… that serve everyone – not just subdivisions.

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text:
Meet the first child in Britain to benefit from a pioneering kidney transplant that didn't require a matching donor
By Sophie Goodchild for The Mail on Sunday
The family of nine-year-old Nabeel Nanuck had all but given up hope of him having a lifesaving kidney transplant. Born with chronically damaged kidneys, the schoolboy spent two years waiting for a suitable donor. It meant that daily trips to hospital for dialysis were keeping him alive.
Today, though, Nabeel is enjoying a normal life thanks to a revolutionary new treatment. He was the first child in Britain to benefit from a pioneering procedure that essentially 'washes' the blood, meaning he could receive an organ from an incompatible donor – his mother Bibi, 35.
The process, previously only available to adults, could bring hope to youngsters like him dying of kidney failure. There are 6,494 patients waiting for a kidney, 95 of them under 18. Every day, about ten die. And though last year there were 1,502 kidney transplants in Britain, this was five per cent fewer than in the previous year.
Success: Nabeel with his mother Bibi, who was able to give him a kidney despite being an incompatible donor
But now a medical team at the Evelina Children's Hospital in London has become the first in Europe to complete successfully the breakthrough operation on a child after being developed and trialled on older patients five years ago.
Judy Mason, a kidney disease specialist, helped carry out treatment on Nabeel as well as on one other child at Great Ormond Street. She says: 'Children are automatically put higher up on transplant waiting lists than adults, and are also more likely to have a living parent who could provide a compatible match. Now, if they're on a waiting list for a long time, we can offer them the option of an incompatible transplant.'
During the procedure, the patient is given an injection of a drug called Rituximab a month before the transplant to suppress the immune system, stopping it producing antibodies. Next, any remaining incompatible antibodies are washed from the blood by taking the blood out of the body via a tube in the arm. The blood passes through two filters that trap antibodies. It is then sent back into the transplant recipient's body through another tube in a process lasting three hours.
This blood is now free from the destructive antibodies that would attack an incompatible organ.
After his mother's kidney was successfully transplanted, Nabeel was given Rituximab again as well as anti-rejection drugs. He will continue to take the latter throughout his life as no organ can ever be a perfect match.
The procedure is carried out ten days before the transplant and then two days afterwards to ensure any new antibodies that may have formed are also removed.
Compatibility usually relies on three factors: blood type, tissue type and crossmatching, which looks for presence of antibodies produced by the body to attack harmful invaders.This test involves mixing the liquid portion of the recipient's blood (the part of the blood that contains antibodies) with cells from the donor. If these cells are killed, it indicates the presence of antibodies.
If the donor and recipient are compatible, it is likely the body will tolerate the organ.
Using the new technique, Nabeel's transplant has been a success, even though his blood type is O and his mother's is A – not normally a compatible match.
Most important gift: Nabeel has said he is now full of life and grateful to his mum for giving him another chance
Ms Mason explains that despite advances in anti-rejection drugs, the human body continues to make antibodies that gradually break down transplanted organs.
The only perfect transplant match comes from an identical twin.
Children who undergo the new procedure will need at least one further transplant during their lifetime, usually after 15 years.
So far, though, outcomes have been very promising. Ms Mason says: 'There is no greater risk of rejection than with a normal transplant. This will bring new hope to children in need of a new kidney.'
Before the operation, it was difficult for Nabeel to enjoy a completely normal childhood. Now he is back at school full-time and living life to the full, playing table tennis and swimming. 'He's been such a brave boy after all that he's gone through,' says Bibi.
'We were really excited but because it's a new procedure there were uncertainties. I would have done anything to help him. I'm glad when they said I was the perfect ''mismatch'' for Nabeel.
'I'd never say to him I'd saved his life, but the nurse said to him I'd given him a second life.'
And Nabeel says: 'I feel well and have lots of energy. The kidney donated by my mum is the most important gift I could ever receive.'
Nabeel Nanuck kidney transplant: 1st child in Britain that didn't require a matching donor
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Stavanger Guide
The Norwegian town of Stavanger is located on the Stavanger Peninsular, in the south west of the country. Dating back to the 12th century the city's centre is largely of 18th and 19th century construction with timber houses, which are protected as a result of their historical significance. The city's cathedral also dates back to the 12th century and is a popular tourist attraction. The city, which has managed quite well to retain its small town atmosphere has a number of museums that contain items that are of both local and national importance. The Norwegian Petroleum Museum in the city was opened in 1998 and is the city's most visited museum and the only petroleum museum in Europe. Established in 1864 is the Missjonmuseet which is the city's oldest museum and is located on the ground floor of the faculty building at MHS and contains around 5,000 exhibits. The city is also popular with visitors who use it as a base to visit the Norwegian fjords. As the gateway to the fjords the most popular attraction is Pulpit Rock which attracts around 200,000 each year.
Located outside Stavanger, the town's port services ferries to Hirtshals in Denmark. Local ferries go to Tau and Kvitsøy, while fast passenger boats go to many villages and islands between the main routes from Stavanger to Haugesund and Sauda.
Bergen Guide
The city and port of Bergen is located on Norway's west coast, on the peninsular of Bergenhalvoyen, and is sometimes called the city of The Seven Mountains. As the gateway to the fjords, Bergen is an international city that is full of charm and history just waiting to be explored. The Norwegian Fjords are perhaps one of the world's most spectacular natural tourist attraction and have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are a number of cultural institutions located in the city and are also popular with tourists. These include the Den Nationale Scene theatre, Grieg Hall concert venue and orchestras like as the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. The city also hosts a number of festivals each year and includes the Bergen International Festival and the Bergen International Film Festival.
Bergen's port is the largest in Norway and is the southern terminus of Hurtigruten, the Coastal Express which operates daily services along the coast to Kirkenes. Ferry services from the port depart to Hirtshals in Denmark and to Haugesund, Stavanger, Sognefjord and Nordfjord.
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Middle Tennessee State Univ Blue Raiders Mens Basketball
Thursday, Feb 2, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
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Murphy Center
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A few weeks ago, three weeks ago as a matter of act, I was sitting in a restaurant at the airport having a little brunch of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and fried potatoes before jetting off to Savannah for a long weekend.
Cricket-chirp, cricket-chirp, cricket-chirp... I got a call on my iPhone from a number I didn't recognize. I swiped to answer and listened to an automated message about my flight to Atlanta being delayed for 30 minutes.
I did a quick time calculation in my head and determined I would still have time to make my connecting flight to Savannah. I continued eating my brunch and the waitress refilled my glass of iced tea. I watched the television monitors, reading the closed caption news.
Cricket-chirp, cricket-chirp, cricket-chirp... I got another call on my iPhone. I swiped to answer and listened to an automated message about my flight being delayed for another 30 minutes.
I did another quick time calculation and decided I would have to move quickly to make my connecting flight to Savannah but as long as the gates of arrival and departure were pretty close, I'd be okay. I paid for brunch and headed to my departure gate, where I found one of the last seats in the waiting area. I sat down to wait.
Cricket-chirp, cricket-chirp, cricket-chirp... I got a call on my iPhone. I swiped to answer and listened to the inevitable automated message about my flight being delayed another 30 minutes. I did another quick time calculation and realized my flight would now arrive in Atlanta about three minutes after my flight to Savannah took off.
I checked in with the gate agent to determine my options. Yes, she confirmed I'd likely miss my connecting flight, but I would be on stand-by for the next flight and confirmed on the flight after that, in case there was no room for me on the next flight.
Fast forward to Atlanta. The plane I was on touched down and was taxiing to the terminal just as my connecting flight pulled away from the gate. I got off the plane and proceeded to ride the train to the next concourse to check on my stand-by flight. I was eighth on the list for a stand-by seat.
"Should I just go on to the next concourse for my confirmed flight", I asked the gate agent.
"No, just stay right here."
I dutifully stayed right there and watched as the passengers boarded the flight. I checked the monitor overhead and saw I had moved from eighth to fifth on the stand-by list. Ahead of me were four passengers who wanted to fly together, who were willing to wait for the next flight. My chances seemed pretty good.
Finally, the gate agent said she could get us all on the flight. I grabbed my bag and rushed up to the gate to get my new seat ticket. I was delighted to be in seat 5A.
Once on the plane, I found myself seated next to a woman who smiled and did not seem all that bothered that she had to get up to let me get to my seat. We began to engage in the usual polite chatter of two strangers sitting beside each other on a plane going to the same city. She was going to her vacation home. I was going to meet up with friends to see gardens.
Gardens. The universal ice-breaker. The gateway to a multitude of topics. Doesn't everyone know something about gardens or gardening even if they don't garden?
She had a friend who wrote a book about the legendary English gardener, Rosemary Verey. Did I know about it? She showed me the book on Amazon on her iPad. I did not know about it. I made a mental note to look up the book as soon as I got home.
Fortunately, I remembered this mental note. The day I returned home, I looked up the book - Rosemary Verey: The Life and Lessons of a Legendary Gardener by Barbara Paul Robinson (David R. Godine, 2012) - and bought it. After all, if fate puts you on another flight next to someone who has a friend who wrote a gardening book, isn't it because you should read that book?
I'm nearly finished reading it. It's fascinating. British, biography, and bits of gardening, all rolled into one book.
Halfway thru reading it, I checked my own library of gardening books. Surely I should have a least one book by Rosemary Verey, who wrote 18 books. Yes, I have The Art of Planting. I'll read that next. Then I'll look for good used copies of a couple of other books by Verey.
I suspect this is going to be the summer of reading books by Rosemary Verey, unless another rabbit hole opens up. Queue up some music by Elton John.
Carol, this was a delightful journey with you, even through the frustrations of delayed flights, etc. Thanks for keeping all of us gardeners engaged and entertained!
I think, the delays were meant to be.
Rosemary's book, The Garden in Winter, was transformative for me. I've visited her garden at Barnsley House and many others she influenced. Though she is terribly out of fashion and somewhat treated with disdain by the home folk for her popularity among Americans, she will always hold a special place in my heart.
We're so glad you did eventually arrive in Savannah! I'm going to look for that book.
What a travel story! I hope you had a good book to read while you were waiting. I have never read a Rosemary Verey but this is just the nudge I needed. I just read a beautiful little book,Chasing the Rose: An adventure in the Venetian Countryside by Andrea di Robilant. Roses, history, touring gardens - heaven.
So glad you found out about Rosemary Very's book, loved the story behind it. I have read about half her books and she has some great ideas which still hold good today. We visited her garden a long time ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Love your story and the Verey books were meant to be. I've been to Barnsley House as well - what a treat that was (although the amount of work to maintain it, eek). Victoria lives near there now, btw.


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Mike Merchant Elected to Board of Directors
MAHMOOD (MIKE) MERCHANT ELECTED TO BEST WESTERN® HOTELS & RESORTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Merchant to provide representation and support for hoteliers in California, Nevada and Hawaii
Phoenix, Arizona (December 15, 2021) – Best Western Hotels & Resorts announced today that it has appointed Mahmood (Mike) Merchant to its Board of Directors. Merchant brings more than 30 years of industry experience and has previously served as a governor with Best Western Hotels & Resorts – a key leadership role within the brand. Merchant will represent the interests of hotel owners in District VI, including California, Nevada and Hawaii.
"I'm pleased to welcome Mr. Merchant to our Board of Directors and look forward to his contributions as we continue to grow our brands globally," said Larry Cuculic, President and Chief Executive Officer, Best Western Hotels & Resorts. "Mr. Merchant brings significant hospitality experience to this role and we know he'll be a tremendous leader. As a seasoned commercial real estate veteran and owner of multiple properties, he has the knowledge and perspective to serve the interests of our hoteliers with both effectiveness and the caring spirit for which our hotel family is known."
Merchant is President and CEO of Merchant Valley Corporation and owns and operates four Best Western branded hotels, including the Best Western Big Country Inn in Coalinga, California; the Best Western Apricot Inn in Firebaugh, California; the Best Western Colonial Inn in Selma, California; and the Best Western Plus Coalinga Inn & Suites in Coalinga, California, which has been a recipient of the prestigious Best Western M.K. Guertin Award, designated for the highest performing Best Western branded properties. Merchant is also actively involved in the development and management of commercial shopping centers in Illinois, South Carolina, North Dakota and Louisiana.
"I've been with Best Western for more than 20 years, and it's a privilege to now begin serving on the Board of Directors," said Merchant. "Collectively, we've done a remarkable job navigating a very challenging time for our industry, and we're excited to see what's to come for our brand next year. With a strong leadership team and the unwavering commitment and support of our hoteliers, Best Western Hotels & Resorts will be even stronger in 2022."
In addition to his new role with Best Western Hotels & Resorts, Merchant remains an active member of his local community, dedicating time to mentor young entrepreneurs and organize community outreach efforts to help underserved countries. His breadth of industry experience will help Best Western Hotels & Resorts as the company continues its growth in 2022.
About Best Western® Hotels & Resorts:
Best Western Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a privately held hotel brand within the BWH Hotel GroupSM global network. With 18 brands and approximately 4,700 hotels in over 100 countries and territories worldwide*, BWH Hotel Group suits the needs of developers and guests in every market. Brands include Best Western®, Best Western Plus®, Best Western Premier®, Executive Residency by Best Western®, Vīb®, GLō®, Aiden®, Sadie®, BW Premier Collection® and BW Signature Collection®. Through acquisition, WorldHotelsTM Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive and WorldHotels Crafted collections are also offered. Completing the portfolio is SureStay®, SureStay Plus®, SureStay Collection® and SureStay StudioSM franchises**. For more information visit www.bestwestern.com, www.bestwesterndevelopers.com, www.worldhotels.com and www.surestay.com.


New Ford S Max 2019 has ultimately created it has the go back for the large period as being a prototype. The state model will probably debut at some point for 2020 and will take several tips out of the earlier automobiles, albeit refreshed and also which has a pretty much fantastic level of speed. Like a carryover, many of us assume this seems connected with the New Ford S Max 2019 to continue to be unchanged, as they quite simply possess because its debut. Most people assume that to keep with its comparatively regular tries this particular segment that come with a handy liftback regarding launching cargo.
In, this particular classic appearance carries on without real indication it is really an leading-edge motor vehicle, rather than it is gauges and great gasoline economy. The New Ford S Max 2019 will often be automatically famous, seeing that it is going to feature a similar low-slung seem with all the sharp nasal area as well as understand that bumpers that went out involving manufacturing pursuing one more style year. The true secret dissimilarities in aspect are only concerned with your movement in the body. Though the first automobile's collections were trickier lower, the New Ford S Max 2019 lines tend to be more completed as well as modern.
To be a carryover, we be expecting this seems to be involving the New Ford S Max 2019 to continue being unrevised, as they currently have since it's debut. We all count on it to continue with its fairly conventional tries this particular segment offering a good liftback intended for loading cargo. Interior, that regular search remains without the need of actual warning it becomes an advanced automobile, other than it has the gauges and it is terrific gas economy. Though early still only within prototype phase, Enterprise offered you some sort of glimpse of what to expect in the car. It can boast sitting with regard to three aggressively bolstered front seating, along with Corporation's notoriously substantial touchscreen technology system. There's even a pass-through behind your display, which will keep speed together with other car or truck's whimsical design. Devoid of changes arriving, we be expecting the New Ford S Max 2019 standard attributes to stay your same. That set of options consists of dynamic grille blinds, a built-in backside spoiler, electrical power decorative mirrors, projector front lights, dual-zone automated local climate handle, strength home windows plus door head of hair, your 7-inch touch screen, Android Automatic plus The apple company CarPlay, 15-inch added wheels, in addition to more.
Whilst the New Ford S Max 2019 looks simply amazing to use magic size duds, your powertrain is actually made by this world. Although the engine's official result just isn't open public expertise nevertheless, Business does show the automobile's torque is going to spend time at all around pair pound-feet, which will is utterly ridiculous and maybe creatively overstated. Protection is always unidentified for the time being, but it surely should have all the most recent gadgets and gizmos through the Company. We count on the New Ford S Max 2019 powertrain to live the particular same. This could provide the 1.6-liter powerplant having 104 hp as well as 109 pound-feet with twisting combined to a stainless steel motor that includes 43 hp in addition to 125 lb-ft for a complete method electricity regarding 139 hp. The following power will probably brain by way of a six-speed automatic indication plus produce about 57 miles per gallon area, 59 highway, plus 58 combined.
Given the New Ford S Max 2019 release is usually more than 2 years absent, there's really no predicted release date merely yet. Continue to be tuned with regard to updates.Which could be the initial class put out and will be limited by 1,000 pre-orders, is going to operate $250,000. Which is regarding twice the earlier price.


Archives|MELLON ACCEPTS PINCHOT DRY AID; He Asks Governor to Supply Evidence Against Breweries Violating the Law. STATE POLICE INSPECTIONS New Federal Rules on Permits Embody Suggestions Made by Pennsylvania Executive.
MELLON ACCEPTS PINCHOT DRY AID; He Asks Governor to Supply Evidence Against Breweries Violating the Law. STATE POLICE INSPECTIONS New Federal Rules on Permits Embody Suggestions Made by Pennsylvania Executive.


We hear many different questions, thoughts, and personal beliefs from people concerning their wisdom teeth and thought it would a great opportunity to address this topic on our blog. Whether you still have your wisdom teeth or had them removed years ago this information can be very useful in understanding the truth about these unique teeth amongst the many different popularly held beliefs.
While it is true for some people that they need to have their wisdom teeth removed as soon as possible it is also true that some people never need to have their wisdom teeth removed. If the wisdom teeth are properly positioned within the jaw and are kept free of decay and gum disease there is no reason at all to have them removed.
A review completed in 2012 showed the occurrence of crowding of the front teeth occurs in equal numbers for those who have had their wisdom teeth removed vs. people who did not have them removed. The wisdom teeth are not bulldozer teeth that have the ability to push all of the teeth in front of them and cause crowding. Our teeth have a natural tendency to drift towards the middle as a result of the physics of our bite being applied to our teeth. This drift is often first seen around the time that the wisdom teeth first erupt and naturally are associated as the cause of the crowding. However, after many years of research it can be seen that this is just a coincidence.
For many people, the removal of wisdom teeth are no different than any other tooth in the mouth and do not require any different procedures. For those with complicated extractions, such as teeth impacted underneath the gum tissue and bone that will require additional techniques it is beneficial to be under general anesthesia. However, for most wisdom teeth they can easily be removed without the additional risks and costs associated with being sedated. Of course in any tooth removal the use of local anesthesia to numb the area completely should be used.
This statement can be true for many people; however it is not always the best way to approach a potentially serious health risk. At least once a month we receive an emergency call from an individual in need of immediate care due to pain from their wisdom teeth. In almost every instance the patient had been told previously by a dentist at some point in their life that they needed to have their wisdom teeth removed, but elected not to have it done because it never hurt them. Your wisdom teeth are not going to warn you before they begin hurting and can occur at the most inconvenient times like the night before a wedding or while on vacation which can seriously interfere with your plans. Also, waiting till it hurts can make it difficult to numb the area as well as complicate the healing process due to already increased inflammation and possible infection.
The only way to know is to have an evaluation with your dentist that includes a panographic x-ray. The wisdom teeth need to be evaluated for the presence of any decay or gum disease as well as be evaluated for the risk factors that could lead to disease in those areas. Once this evaluation is completed it also should be determined if these problems can be corrected without removing the teeth or is removal the best long term choice.
Panographic x-ray displaying impacted wisdom teeth.


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Microbial ecology and treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections: Review
Adamsson, I
Edlund, Charlotta
Södertörns högskola, Avdelning Naturvetenskap. Karolinska Institute.
Nord, C E
2000 (engelsk)Inngår i: Journal of chemotherapy, ISSN 1120-009X, E-ISSN 1973-9478, Vol. 12, nr 1, s. 5-16Artikkel, forskningsoversikt (Fagfellevurdert) Published
The aims of the present study were to investigate the ecological disturbances caused by four different anti-H. pylori regimens, to compare different methods for diagnosing H. pylori, and to study the genetic variability of H. pylori. The patients included in the study were all treated at the Center of Gastroenterology, Huddinge University Hospital, Karolinska Institute. All patients were H. pylori-positive before entering the study, confirmed by rapid urease test, histology, culture and urea breath test or PCR. Treatment regimens included in the study were omeprazole alone (OP), in combination with amoxicillin (OA), in combination with amoxicillin and metronidazole (OAM) and in combination with clarithromycin and metronidazole (OCM). Samples from the mouth (saliva and dental plaque), stomach (biopsies from the gastric mucosa in the corpus and in the antrum) and the intestine (feces) were collected before, during and after treatment. The oral microflora was challenged by the three treatment regimens including antimicrobial agents, with the emergence of resistant streptococci and staphylococci in the OCM group. Bacterial strains in the gastric mucosa increased in numbers during treatment in all treatment groups, probably due to the pH rise, which provides a better environment for the commensal microflora. This overgrowth was especially pronounced during treatment with omeprazole alone (OP), possibly due to the fact that a concomitant suppression exerted by the antimicrobial agents occurred in the other treatment groups. H. pylori was, on the other hand, suppressed during treatment in all treatment groups, possibly due to a direct effect of omeprazole and to the colonization resistance expressed by the normal microflora, An emergence of resistant commensal strains in the gastric mucosa was seen in the OCM and the OAM groups. The intestinal microflora was most altered in the OAM and the OCM groups, with persistent disturbances in the OCM group 4 weeks after treatment. The frequency of resistant Enterococcus spp, (OCM), Enterobacteriaceae spp, (OA and OAM) and Bacteroides spp, (OCM) was increased during and after treatment. Different detection methods for H. pylori were compared and PCR was shown to have higher sensitivity than other routine diagnostic tests. The patients in the present study seemed to be colonized with a single strain of H. pylori. Treatment failures in patients treated with OAM were caused by recrudescence. These four patients with relapsing H. pylori infection, were shown to be reinfected with the original H. pylori strain, indicating that H. pylori escapes treatment by a thus far unknown mechanism.
2000. Vol. 12, nr 1, s. 5-16
Emneord [en]
Helicobacter pylori, gastritis, ulcer, gastric cancer
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-22305ISI: 000085696200001PubMedID: 10768510Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-0034052119OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-22305DiVA, id: diva2:697595
PubMedScopus
I samme tidsskrift
Journal of chemotherapy


Our Blushing Bouquet is sure to turn heads with its explosion of vibrant purple and hot pink tones. There's no comparison to the stunning array of gerberas, mini carnations, spray roses, button poms, and stock, complemented by touches of salal, placed in a vibrant purple glass vase. Give this beautiful arrangement to someone in your life that commands a room! GOOD bouquet is approx. 16"H x 16"W. BETTER bouquet is approx. 17"H x 18"W. BEST bouquet is approx. 17"H x 19"W.


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HomeGames5 Reasons Fantasy Sports is a game changer
5 Reasons Fantasy Sports is a game changer
5 Reasons Fantasy Sports is a game-changer
A rising trend
Sports fan is more engaged than ever
Expansion of sports
Data analytics way
Fantasy sports has been around but has garnered significant attention in the recent years. From Fantasy Premier League to IPL Fantasy League, the landscape of fantasy sports has certainly changed for everyone to see.
The industry has evolved in Asia and other markets where it was non-existent a few years ago. For some, it is no longer an interest but has become an everyday routine. Fantasy Sports industry has witnessed growth of exponential proportion but more than that it now seen as a game changer.
The numbers are unbelievable! As per reports, the global fantasy sports market size is expected to go past $1.5 billion by 2024, an increase rate at a CAGR of more than11% during 2018–2024. India is still in nascent stage when it comes to catching up with the global trends of fantasy sports. It is one of the fastest growing fantasy sports markets when the leading player Dream 11 reported a revenue of 800 crore in 2019, an increase from 230 crore in 2018. According to the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) and AC Nielsen's report, the user base in base in India will cross 100 million by 2020.
The numbers are continuing to increase each year. The users have embraced dream 11 fantasy cricket along with games like kabaddi, hockey, volleyball, handball which were not most fantasy sports platforms earlier. The promises more and considering the headstart, the possibilities and opportunities are endless. Where does the road go from here? It's already so big, but fantasy sports is only in its early stages of development and has a potential that is sky-high.
Sports fan bases were always there. The associations are getting stronger and larger with each day, some of it fueled by fantasy sports. The rising popularity of the competitions like Premier League and IPL, there is a certain co-relation. The intensity of sports experience is bound to increase with fans being involved with their personal interests.
Not just there is growth within the industry but also new avenues have opened. Several countries are embracing new sports, grounds and infrastructure is being developed around the world for an entirely new sports form. Moreover, there is significant rise of advertisements, fan clubs, and merchandising to fuel up the sports fever. This is a win-win for both sports and fantasy sports.
Digital playing ground means the role of data analytics being paramount. An extensive amount of data is collected, interpreted and put to the users' advantage in form match prediction. The sports fans are more involved in data than ever, trying to uncover patterns and improve techniques. The use of Live tracking tools and data-driven approach is well received by the users.
Ultimately, all major sports are a numbers game. In the interests of a user, there is a lot of data to assist users make better or informed decisions. Keeping track of your performance, staying abreast with stats that may define the game is definitely the way forward.
Just like any new business or industry, sports has been creating opportunity for players, digital agencies and others related to the industry. Fantasy sports is one a rise and billions of users taking part in it, there lies opportunity for all.
We started with video games and now there are many ways to take digital gaming experience further, including fantasy sports. Now that it has become its own industry, billions around the world have embraced fantasy games while many millions are drawn each year. The world is taking notice that fantasy sports is a game-changer.
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We have been serving the residents of Iowa for 16 years. Our goal is to help you become as healthy as possible… naturally. We offer the best in alternative medicine health care.
We do our best to get patients who are suffering from extreme pain in the same day.
If you are suffering with severe pain, we will do our very best to get you in the same day.
Our office is conveniently located in central Iowa just north west of Des Moines.
National board certified acupuncturists and Chinese herbologiests.
The focus of Chinese herbal medicine is to restore the body to optimal levels of function to promote health overall. With Chinese herbs, we can differentiate symptoms and signs to find the underlying causes.


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Scott Linehan Dismissal Offers Hope to Cowboys Fans
Steve Kaplowitz
Steve Kaplowitz Published: January 18, 2019
The Dallas Cowboys offseason just became much more interesting. The team parted ways with longtime offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, despite head coach Jason Garrett telling 105.3 The Fan on Monday that he expected all of his coaches to return next season. Garrett issued this statement regarding Linehan.
"This was not an easy decision because of how highly we regard Scott Linehan as a football coach and as a person. He and I had some really positive, substantive and open discussions which took place in the latter part of this week, and we ultimately agreed that it would be in the best interest of all of the parties involved if we were to make a change at this position," Garrett said. "This was very much a mutual decision, and there was a great deal of common ground and shared understanding between both of us during our meetings. Scott has had an incredibly positive impact on our football team. He has been instrumental in the development and success of a significant number of our veteran and younger players. He is an outstanding football coach, a great friend and we wish him and his family nothing but the absolute best moving forward."
Despite finishing the season with 10 wins and the NFC East title, the Cowboys offense ranked 22nd in total offense and in scoring offense. The team averaged 21.2 points per game. Despite Garrett's public support for Linehan, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones released his own statement Tuesday that put the offensive coordinator's future with the club up in the air.
"Why would I put some kind of statement out that says this is what we're going to do when we might have an opportunity here next week? This is the time when these things are thought about," Jones said. "This is the time when they are chewed on. This is when you may see an opportunity that you didn't know existed this week in the area of personnel or in the area of coaching."
The big question now will be who Jones will hire to replace Linehan? ESPN.com's Todd Archer speculated that Garrett could call the plays, a role he had from 2007-2012. Dallas quarterbacks coach Kellen Moore and tight ends coach Doug Nussmeier are other in house possibilities. Jones could also look for someone outside the organization to fill his offensive coordinator role for 2019. Regardless, the Scott Linehan era in Dallas is officially over, much to the delight of the team's fanbase who have been begging Jones to make a change for quite sometime.
Filed Under: dallas cowboys, Jason Garrett, Jerry Jones, nfl
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Mitesh Patel, CEO of WeText & Privi, recognized as one of the Top 50 Indian Entrepreneurs in the US
Digital version of the article can be found here: http://www.thetechnologyheadlines.com/digitalv/indian-entrepreneurs.html#features/58
Mitesh Patel: A Journey beyond the Confines of the Corporate World
Rarely does success present itself on your doorsteps. It is often achieved through meticulous effort, the likes of which often test and challenges every bit of your being. The path to success similarly is not predefined but rather charted out through the experience and knowledge and skills amassed through various endeavors. This has been the case in Mitesh Patel's entrepreneurial journey. Proficient in his studies as a child, Mitesh found the going quite easy during his high school days, but got himself into quite a bit of trouble beating up bullies. In an effort to keep himself occupied and out of conflict, Mitesh sought out alternative and productive outlets to focus his energy upon. As destiny would have it a technology school had opened in his city owing to the hype around computers in India during the early 90s. Still a 16 year old high school student, Mitesh decided to join the technology school and thus began his venture into the world of computers and technology and a passion which he developed towards the pursuit of the science revolving around them. That passion drove him towards the mastery of numerous computer related technologies such as programming, database, systems administration, networking, security, enterprise systems architecture, datacenter management and finally contingency planning and scaling. "It was normal for me to spend my vacations learning a new programming technology," says Mitesh.
With a myriad of skills under his belt making him one of the few full stack technology developers, Mitesh felt that he could develop a technology company of his own which eventually manifested into a passion for entrepreneurship. The end result of course was the inception of WeText and Privi, two powerful brands that use texts and mms backbone. "I would say the passion for entrepreneurship came from the natural evolution of my technology skills," says Mitesh. Of course staring the company was just a first step in the many he would have to take to make his goals to come to fruition. Not to mention the many hurdles that lay ahead of him as with any venture of this nature. Backed by a proficient and motivated team Mitesh has been able to establish WeText and Privi as reliable brands with valuable offerings for multiple industries.
Being part of a vertical that is full to the brim with a myriad of organizations each with their own unique offerings and an ever evolving customer base is never easy. Constant innovation here is more of a mandate than a need and those that fail to adhere to this concept often find themselves on the decline. Mitesh and his team were able to concoct a unique recipe for their business model which involves focusing on a vision of the future and working backwards to today. This idea of innovation is aimed to be quite big without any limitation and to this end all the knowledge and experience of the company's experience is leveraged. In this process any hurdles or challenges are turned into opportunities for more development and self reflection as an organization and as individuals. "We are always learning and growing. Even our failures teach us the most valuable lessons. All of that adds up to innovation," explains Mitesh.
The use of texting as a major means of mass communication has gained quite a bit of popularity amongst the people especially since the last election and businesses are now seeking out for companies that can solve business problems without requiring apps. Considering the fact that texting is something which is available in every phone, the scope here is quite large and the appeal therefore is amply justified. WeText is a platform that is designed to solve business problems using texting. True to the popularity of texting, WeText has earned many clients including celebrities, corporations and media establishments. Given the myriad of benefits this service offers such as helping clients to sell tickets, merchandise, gift cards & subscriptions, perform surveys, voting, polling & RSVPs, offer pay-per-view or live streaming of events, provide customer service via two-way Text chat and conduct fundraisers, its popularity comes as no surprise.
Mitesh's entrepreneurial journey has enabled him to realize many of his dreams and has taken him places. One of Mitesh's most prized moments being part of Privi was being able to meet Edward James Olmos who played General William Adama in the TV series Battlestar Galactica, which is one his favorite shows. He was overjoyed to present the Privi platform to the actor and more so when Olmos gave Mitesh his personal cell phone number. "I would have never become the person I am today if I had not embarked on this journey of leadership. Sure it had tons of ups and downs and painful moments. All of that inspired growth to make me who I am today," Mitesh sums up his entrepreneurial journey. While still a relatively new company, Mitesh has big dreams for this venture while at the same time allowing the whole experience to be fun for everyone involved.