Sean C. Noah joined the McGill-Toolen family in 2010 when he became Director of Bands. Mr. Noah attended the University of Alabama where he earned a Bachelors of Science in Instrumental Music Education and later received his Masters degree in Music Education from Boston University.
During his time at the University of Alabama, Mr. Noah marched in the famous Million Dollar Band. Apart from a promising college career, he played in the Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps before serving as Assistant Percussion Instructor for the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB). Mr. Noah as also served as Percussion Caption Head for the Scenic City Drum and Bugle Corps. Most recently Mr. Noah served as Percussion Caption Head and Assistant Corps Director of Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps. When he's not arranging music or designing drill sets, Mr. Noah instructs clinics alongside other noteworthy figures such as Thom Hardiman, Arturo Sandoval, Jamey Aebersold, Gerald Welker, Frederick Fennell, and more.
Mr. Noah has been the Director of Bands at Hazel Green High School, Bibb County High School, and Director of Bands and Orchestra at Western School of Environmental Science in Baltimore, Maryland. While under his direction, marching and concert programs at these institutions and our own earned high accolades and superior ratings at the district and state levels. Presently, Mr. Noah has led the McGill-Toolen Band to a series of top ratings in our competitions and has contributed to an overall expansion in terms of membership size. A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Mr. Noah calls Alabama home and resides there with his wife, Laura Noah, who is the Principal Timpanist for the Mobile Symphony as well as a freelance percussionist.
Mr. Krause, a graduate of Louisiana South University, hails from McGill-Toolen, where he spent his high school days in the band as well. When he's not embroiled in a task as our Campus Minister, he helps Mr. Noah as assistant director.
Cassidy Holder has led our Color Guard in many new and exciting directions. A member of the McGill-Toolen family for the past two years, she strives to ensure that the Color Guard maximizes its potential.
Mr. Charles "Buddy" Porter is currently Director of Instrumental Music in the elementary schools for the Arch-Diocese of Mobile. In this position he co-ordinates the band program in nine elementary schools. He has been in music education for the past 42 years. He received his music education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. He taught in the state of Mississippi for many years before returning to his home town of Mobile in 1975. Mr. Porter is well-recognized as a trombonist for the Mobile Symphony.
Ms. Hannah Findlay, one of the newest addition to the McT Band directors, is one of the Prep Band Directors and Assistant Band Director for the high school. After graduating from McGill-Toolen, Ms. Findlay went on to The University of Alabama where she received her degree in Music Education. While at The University of Alabama, she played clarinet and bass clarinet in the university's ensembles, including the Million Dollar Band. Before returning to McGill, she was the director of elementary music at St. Dominic.
Mrs. Marian Hall is a profound addition to our Prep Band program. She helps our reach extend to the Mobile Bay area at schools like Christ the King, St. Patricks, and more. Mrs. Hall is well known for her skill with the flute. She attended the University of South Alabama and earned a degree in Music Education.
Laura Noah is a freelance musician residing in Mobile, Alabama performing with several Orchestras along the Gulf Coast. Mrs. Noah is the principal timpanist for the Mobile Symphony since 2007 and the Meridian Symphony since 2012. She has spent a decade as principal percussionist for the Gulf Coast Symphony and section percussionist with the Pensacola Symphony. She offers lessons to aspiring percussionists.
Adrian Eves is a software engineer from Auburn, Alabama. In addition to web and software development, he has helped instruct the McT Band front ensemble for at least five years. A graduate of McGill-Toolen in 2012, Adrian played mallet percussion in high school and has helped teach at band camps in the past.


Pretty sure we've all heard the saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch!" I've never found a career where this saying holds true more, than in real estate...well perhaps stocks too! And in both businesses, this holds true for the career side and the action side (such as buyer or seller). No use in counting on getting the price for your home or counting on those stocks to rise, until it happens. And on the reverse, no wise person should ever count on that closing and the income associated with it nor a stock broker account for gains before all is finalized. Any one who has been in real estate for 50 years or 50 days can tell you that anything and everything can go wrong in between that contract getting signed and the closing. One of my very intelligent instructors suggested and reminded us over and over to allow at least 35 days for closing--did I listen? Hell no! I forgot! And just by coincidence of how the dates fell on the weekends, I did put closing 32 days out, but that still wasn't enough! 35 would've been the magic number! Of Course! Even after calling the bank's mortgage loan officer and the title company several times to assure that they had everything they needed, I was still contacted just 10 days prior to closing for an addition to the survey, then the Buyer contacted another 4 days prior for more paperwork, and again 3 days prior. Obviously, closing did not happen on schedule! Thankfully all were in agreement for an extension on the closing date. Now whether you're selling a $30,000 piece of land, or a $3,000,000 luxury home, your income is an important reward for all of your efforts and hard work. Sometimes we are in need of paying off debt, monthly bills, or Christmas presents, and other times, when we've had a very successful year, we may plan on luxury items like Louis Vuittons or investments like stocks or property (for the wiser). We mustn't get ahead of our abilities and budgets by letting excitement of possible success take over. We must sit quietly, work diligently, think clearly, and be consistent to care for and warm our baby eggs! If I sound like I am reminding myself of such, that is EXACTLY what I am doing!! My closing that has not yet come with the money that I have not yet made has been in my account (in my head) for weeks! Did I know better? Yes! Did I think positively in hopes that my good energy would only steer things in my direction (up)? Yep! That too! And did I overspend? Suuuuuuurrrreeee did! Against my better judgement, I did what I said I wouldn't.


text:
Q: How can I realize a swipe action via a button click in Android? I am using a viewpager and two fragments. You can swipe between those fragments. Now, how can I implement a button that simulates this swipe gesture on click.
Basically, I want to switch to the other fragment on a button click.
How can I do that?

A: Just change the current fragment inside the onClickListner of the button you have created:
viewPager.setCurrentItem(n);

Where n is the fragment number in the FragmentPagerAdapter.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Just in time for the most romantic date in the calendar year, renowned jewelry make Swarovski has unveiled its Spring/Summer 2019 campaign for the Korean market.
With dainty rose gold, cool millennial pink stones, the iconic Swarovski swan motif and crystal star cutouts the 'Dazzling Swan' line is showcased with a limited collection of timeless necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The promotional video embodies glamour, with a model on a sunset-bathed beach adorned with the delicately sparkling trinkets.
The film features our music supervision work, pairing dreamy, sepia-toned images with an equally evocative sound identity. That sound was discovered within the beat-making prowess of Australian producer Ford Miskin, and his song "Folding Hills." The 21-year-old self taught multi-instrumentalist came first to electronic music production via his first musical loves – Metallica and Chopin. He has since carved out his own niche with a combination of hip hop drums and unreservedly emotional synth riffs.
Watch Swarovski's 'Dazzling Swan' campaign film, below.


The Park Inn's RBG Bar & Grill serves a variety of international and local favorites in a comfortable setting. This Astana restaurant's guests can opt for a cocktail or a glass of wine to pair with their delicious meal.
Select from the extensive drink list at the lobby bar, and enjoy a visit with friends or colleagues. Cosy atmosphere attracts guests to relax and erase the stress of a busy day.
For fresh coffee, delectable pastries or a hot tea, the Segafredo Zanetti Coffee Shop is just the right place. A variety of products from the world's main coffee suppliers, including spices and cocoas are also available. Please note that billing to the hotel is not available from the café.


text:
"use strict";

// === START MENU SCREEN
function MenuScreen(ctx) {
    Screen.call(this, ctx);
    this.options = [];
    this.sliders = [];
    if(ctx !== undefined) {
        this.addHandler(ctx.canvas, "mousedown", this.handleClick.bind(this));
        this.addHandler(ctx.canvas, "mouseup", this.handleLift.bind(this));
    }
}

MenuScreen.prototype = new Screen();

MenuScreen.prototype.open = function() {
    Screen.prototype.open.call(this);
    if("parent_screen" in this) {
        this.parent_screen.pause();
    }
}

MenuScreen.prototype.close = function() {
    Screen.prototype.close.call(this);
    if("parent_screen" in this) {
        this.parent_screen.unpause();
    }
}

MenuScreen.prototype.handleClick = function(e) {
    var mouseLocation = getMousePosition(e, this.ctx.canvas);
    for(var i = 0; i < this.options.length; i++)
        this.options[i].check(mouseLocation);
    for(var i = 0; i < this.sliders.length; i++)
        this.sliders[i].down(mouseLocation);
}

MenuScreen.prototype.handleMove = function(e) {
    var mouseLocation = getMousePosition(e, this.ctx.canvas);
    for(var i = 0; i < this.sliders.length; i++)
        this.sliders[i].move(mouseLocation);
}

MenuScreen.prototype.handleLift = function(e) {
    var mouseLocation = getMousePosition(e, this.ctx.canvas);
    for(var i = 0; i < this.sliders.length; i++)
        this.sliders[i].lift(mouseLocation);
}

MenuScreen.prototype.addOption = function(loc, renderFunction, bbox, event) {
    if(loc instanceof Button) {
        this.options.push(loc);
        return loc;
    } else {
        var button = new Button(loc, renderFunction, bbox, event)
        this.options.push(button);
        return button;
    }
}

MenuScreen.prototype.addSlider = function(loc, get_function, set_function, width, height, slider_width) {
    var slider = new Slider(loc, width, height, slider_width);
    slider.getValue = get_function;
    slider.setValue = set_function;
    this.sliders.push(slider);
}

MenuScreen.prototype.draw = function(currentTime) {
    Screen.prototype.draw.call(this, currentTime);
    this.ctx.save();
    this.render(this.ctx);
    this.ctx.restore();

    for(var i = 0; i < this.options.length; i++) {
        this.ctx.save();
        this.options[i].draw(this.ctx, this.lastTime, this.dt);
        this.ctx.restore();
    }
    for(var i = 0; i < this.sliders.length; i++) {
        this.ctx.save();
        this.sliders[i].draw(this.ctx, this.lastTime, this.dt);
        this.ctx.restore();
    }
}

MenuScreen.prototype.render = function(ctx, currentTime, dt) {
    // placeholder
    ctx.font = "20px Arial";
    ctx.fillStyle = "#FF0000";
    ctx.fillText("MENU PLACEHOLDER", 40, 40);
}

function Button(loc, bbox, event) {
    this.loc = loc;
    this.bbox = bbox;
    this.event = event;
}

Button.prototype = new Object();

Button.prototype.draw = function(ctx, currentTime, dt) {
    ctx.save();
    ctx.translate(this.loc.x(), this.loc.y());
    this.render(ctx, currentTime, dt);
    ctx.restore();
}

Button.prototype.check = function(loc) {
    if(this.bbox.check(loc.subtract(this.loc)))
        this.event();
}

Button.prototype.render = function(ctx, currentTime, dt) {
    // placeholder
    ctx.fillStyle = "#00FF00";
    ctx.textAlign = "left";
    ctx.textBaseline = "top";
    ctx.font = this.bbox.height + "px Arial";
    ctx.fillText("PLAY", 0, 0);
}

function TextButton(loc, text, font, style, event) {
    // Calculate the bounding box
    Button.call(this, loc, new BoundingBox(0, 0), event);
    this.v_offset = 0;
    this.font = font;
    this.style = style;
    this.text = text;
}

TextButton.prototype = new Button();

TextButton.prototype.measure = function(ctx) {
    // measure the text
    var metrics = ctx.measureText(this.text);
    var width = metrics.width;
    var height;
    // Only works with fonts with size specified in pixels
    height = ctx.font.split("px")[0];
    this.bbox = new BoundingBox(width, height);
}

TextButton.prototype.render = function(ctx, currentTime, dt) {
    ctx.font = this.font;
    ctx.textAlign = "left";
    ctx.textBaseline = "top";
    ctx.fillStyle = this.style;
    this.measure(ctx);
    ctx.fillText(this.text, 0, 0);
}

function Slider(loc, width, height, slider_width) {
    this.loc = loc;
    this.width = width;
    this.height = height;
    this.slider_width = slider_width;
    this.slider_pos = 0;
    this.sliding = false;
}

Slider.prototype = new Object();

Slider.prototype.draw = function(ctx, time, dt) {
    ctx.save();
    ctx.translate(this.loc.x(), this.loc.y());
    this.render(ctx, time, dt);
    ctx.restore();
}

Slider.prototype.render = function(ctx, time, dt) {
    ctx.strokeStyle = "#CCCCCC";
    ctx.lineWidth = 3;
    ctx.strokeRect(0, 0, this.width, this.height);
    ctx.fillStyle = "#EEEEEE";
    ctx.fillRect(this.getValue() * (this.width - this.slider_width), 0, this.slider_width, this.height);
}

Slider.prototype.getValue = function() {
    return this.slider_value;
}

Slider.prototype.setValue = function(value) {
    this.slider_value = value;
}

Slider.prototype.down = function(pos) {
    //
    var relpos = pos.subtract(this.loc);
    if(relpos.x() > 0 &&
        relpos.x() <= this.width &&
        relpos.y() > 0 &&
        relpos.y() <= this.height) {
        this.sliding = true;
        this.setSliderPosition(relpos.x());
    }
}

Slider.prototype.lift = function(pos) {
    if(this.sliding)
        this.setSliderPosition(pos.subtract(this.loc).x());
    this.sliding = false;
}

Slider.prototype.move = function(pos) {
    if(this.sliding)
        this.setSliderPosition(pos.subtract(this.loc).x());
}

Slider.prototype.setSliderPosition = function(xpos) {
    var floatpos = (xpos - this.slider_width / 2) / (this.width -
        this.slider_width);
    // clamp between 0 and 1
    this.setValue(Math.min(1.0, Math.max(0.0, floatpos)));
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

<title>Searcher</title>
<meta name="date" content="2015-09-11">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../../../../stylesheet.css" title="Style">

JavaScript is disabled on your browser.

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it.uniroma1.lcl.dietrolequinte.search

Class Searcher

java.lang.Object

it.uniroma1.lcl.dietrolequinte.search.Searcher

public class Searcher
extends java.lang.Object

Questa classe legge la struttura dati creata dalla classe Loader e risponde ad una determinata sequenza di query

Author:

Steve

Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Concrete Methods

Modifier and Type
Method and Description

static Searcher
getIstanza(java.lang.String s)

java.util.Collection<Utente>
getUsers()

java.util.Collection<Utente>
getUsers(java.lang.String s)

java.util.Collection<SearchResult>
search(Utente u,
      java.lang.String info)

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri

java.util.Collection<SearchResult>
search(Utente u,
      java.lang.String info,
      java.time.LocalDateTime begin,
      java.time.LocalDateTime end)

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri entro un intervallo di date

java.util.Collection<SearchResult>
search(Utente u,
      java.lang.String info,
      java.lang.String file)

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri

java.util.Collection<SearchResult>
search(Utente u,
      java.lang.String info,
      java.lang.String file,
      java.time.LocalDateTime begin,
      java.time.LocalDateTime end)

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri entro un intervallo di date

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

equals, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Method Detail

getIstanza

public static Searcher getIstanza(java.lang.String s)
                           throws EndProgramException

Parameters:

s - percorso del File

Returns:

ritorna l'unica istanza ammessa dalla classe

Throws:

EndProgramException

getUsers

public java.util.Collection<Utente> getUsers()

Returns:

ritorna una collezione iterabile di tutti Utenti

getUsers

public java.util.Collection<Utente> getUsers(java.lang.String s)

Parameters:

s - File da cui cercare

Returns:

ritorna una collezione iterabile di tutti Utenti all'interno del file fornito in input

search

public java.util.Collection<SearchResult> search(Utente u,
                                                 java.lang.String info)
                                          throws java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri

Parameters:

u - Utente da cercare

informazione - da cercare

Returns:

ritorna una collezione iterabile di SearchResult

Throws:

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

search

public java.util.Collection<SearchResult> search(Utente u,
                                                 java.lang.String info,
                                                 java.lang.String file)
                                          throws java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri

Parameters:

u - Utente da cercare

info - informazione da cercare

file - file in cui cercare

Returns:

ritorna una collezione iterabile di SearchResult

Throws:

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

search

public java.util.Collection<SearchResult> search(Utente u,
                                                 java.lang.String info,
                                                 java.time.LocalDateTime begin,
                                                 java.time.LocalDateTime end)
                                          throws java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri entro un intervallo di date

Parameters:

u - Utente da cercare

info - informazione da cercare

begin - data iniziale

end - data finale

Returns:

ritorna una collezione iterabile di SearchResult

Throws:

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

search

public java.util.Collection<SearchResult> search(Utente u,
                                                 java.lang.String info,
                                                 java.lang.String file,
                                                 java.time.LocalDateTime begin,
                                                 java.time.LocalDateTime end)
                                          throws java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

Cerca i risultati secondo alcuni parametri entro un intervallo di date

Parameters:

u - Utente da cercare

info - informazione da cercare

file - file in cui cercare

begin - data iniziale

end - data finale

Returns:

ritorna una collezione iterabile di SearchResult

Throws:

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

Skip navigation links

Overview

Package

Class

Use

Tree

Deprecated

Index

Help

Prev Class

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Summary:

Nested |

Field |

Constr |

Method

Detail:

Field |

Constr |

Method


This 4 bedroom duplex apartment, with access to its own roof terrace, is part of a new development in the Luz de Tavira region. Construction is well underway and is being managed by a highly experienced developer, one who has completed and sold multiple units through Ideal Homes previously.
There will be a total of 3 apartments in this building and will have a communal pool which is available to residents of this building - others will have their own also. Additionally, there will be landscaped gardens, private parking as well as electric parking for more eco-friendly vehicles. Comprised of 3 bedrooms, all en-suites, along with an open plan lounge and kitchen which provides access to the terrace. Currently being designed with luxury furnishings and high quality products, this developer has taken feedback from previous developments and is implementing them into this one, making this their best one yet - ticking all the boxes when it comes to convenience, quality and build. The kitchen will be fitted with all the necessities although more appliances/items can be installed at a later date at an extra cost. This particular apartment will have its very own spacious roof terrace with a size of 100m2.


It was recently reported that the OnePlus 6T will be announced on October 30. While we mostly know what the device will look like and what will be the key differences in terms of design, there's still a lot that we don't know about the device. However, the leaks keep pouring in and we have a solid image for what we can expect. Now, following its announcement on October 30, we now have a release date for the OnePlus 6T. OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 6T will go on sale from November 6. Let's dive in to see some more details on the matter.
OnePlus launches two versions of its device every year – one in the first half while the other in the latter half. It's the second half release which comes with the 'T' suffix attached. This is not the first time that it is happening but the trend has continued for the past three years.
Moving on, we have previously heard from OnePlus that the OnePlus 6T will be announced on October 30. Later on, the company confirmed again that the device will go on sale from November 6, this is when you can get your hands on the device following the announcement a week earlier.
The event is scheduled to take place in New York at 11 AM local time. As for what we do know, the OnePlus 6T will feature major design changes. For instance, there will be a smaller waterdrop notch at the top and an in-display fingerprint scanner, The back of the device will be kept the same, except it will not feature a fingerprint sensor. In addition to this, the OnePlus 6T will also not feature a 3.5mm headphone jack. While it's not a deal breaker for some, many would still be disappointed.
There will be more to the story, so be sure to stay tuned in for more details on the matter. What are your thoughts on the November 6 date for OnePlus 6T's availability? Let us know in the comments.


How to decide what's interesting enough to be photographed while traveling?
I'm a total amateur. I went to Verona, Italy a couple of weeks ago. I was just taking photos of random stuff that I thought might be interesting and especially to improve my composition. So I wasn't necessarily shooting memories.. But when I took the photos off of my camera it turned out that I don't like any of the photos I took. Not to think about my lousy composition but I realised that subjects I decided to shoot were just plain dull.
And it turns out I take a mix of pictures. Some landscapes, some architecture and some portraits... Chaos I know. I've read many guides about composition and I've improved even though I often get it completely wrong.
My wife is also some small magazine editor and I can say in general that she doesn't like my photos at all. And hence I became more and more demanding of myself. But still. I don't really know what am I doing wrong.
How should I decide what's worth taking a picture? And how much time is worth spending on capturing a shot that will be worth keeping?
These are two photos that I at least like. First one because of the composition and the kind of doors I'd like to have at home, and the second one because the colourful wall is interesting. Of course both are post processed.
And this one is completely unaltered. Somehow interesting but the subject doesn't really stand out.
I edited the Venetian mask as suggested. I overexposed mask by 1/2 and underexposed background by 1/2. Added some light on left+up pointing surfaces and added some shadow on the opposite site. Also blurred background a bit more. This was fast done, but you can get judgemental.
I like Bendihossan's list, but especially during travel I might add "Is this exactly like all the other shots of seen of < insert event or place here > ?". Photography is art and uniqueness counts. If you're taking the picture the same way its been done a million times before and/or the same way you can walk up and see it - then it's probably not going to stand out.
Shooting a famous landmark? Catch a reflection in a window or pool of water. Shoot it from a rooftop. Shoot it at night against the moon. Show us something we haven't seen.
I think this one suffers from exactly what I was talking about before. Its the perspective everybody has. There's nothing particularly that makes the viewer think its anything special.
This one looks like its a story begging to be told - but there's no context. What is the writing, whose doing it, where's the wall? It needs something in the foreground to provide some context to the photo. Maybe a kid writing and looking caught..or a sign saying "warning graffiti will bring death"...or a couple making out under all the love notes...SOMETHING.
Your background, while somewhat out of focus, is too busy. It either needs a shallower DOF or a less busy background.
Well it sounds like you know what happened on the last one. You got distracted by the coach and thought a picture needed to be taken - but you're really not sure why and you really didn't have time to put together a "photograph". Its "just a snapshot" and the viewer suffers the same thing. There's no story and no apparent reason for the somewhat random picture of a horse and carriage. It's memory to you, but to anybody else its just another horse and carriage.
Look at as many other people's work as you can. Really look and then ask what you are drawn to, what fascinates you. You will be at the beginning of understanding the style and subjects that inspire you.
Now set about unashamedly copying them. This will develop your skill in mastering the style and subject. From there it is a short step to developing your own original approach. Your search through other people's work will lead you to the subjects that inspire you and you will learn so much from them.
Another approach. Imagine you have a friend living in, say, rural Africa (or anywhere else for that matter). Now imagine how the region you live in would be fascinating and unusual to your friend. Look at it through his eyes. If he came to visit you, what would you show him and what would you tell him? Then set about creating a photo essay that would convey to your friend what is so fascinating, unique or unusual about the area where you live. Then make a photo book. Having a tangible goal like this will concentrate your mind and help motivate you.
I have found this is a powerful technique for seeing photo opportunities.
Could I shoot the same thing (or something similar) closer to home?
If so, is it worth me doing this when I could be shooting something different?
Is shooting this subject going to require a lot of my time restricting me from shooting other subjects?
Have I shot something like this before and was it successful. If so then it might be best to try something different.
Is this a one-off event or something which happens rarely?
I think the main thing to consider is "If I miss this opportunity how hard would it be to come back and try again?". Of course you can't be expected to shoot everything perfectly all of the time - nobody can. But what I think you should try to do instead is make the most of this opportunity right now.
Here's a different opinion: don't think about traveling. Think of it as a new opportunity to capture interesting moments and tell stories.
Documenting things I see so I don't forget. For these shots, I pull out my smartphone. It's more convenient than my camera, the file sizes are smaller, and I don't post-process them in Lightroom.
Photographing something that's worthy of being on the wall (or in a magazine in your case). These shots need to be "worked". That means I need to move around and try different angles to discover new composition. It can also mean that I need to wait for the right light, right moment, or even to revisit the site at a different time of day. I optimize for quality instead of quantity.
My thoughts here on how to take your favorite photos could be helpful for you to think through what to optimize for.
It's not enough to have an interesting subject or photograph. For a photograph to be worth keeping (seeing more than once), it needs to be meaningful to the viewers who could be family members, Instagram followers, your future self, etc. Apparently, you disagree with your past and future selves about what's interesting and meaningful.
Do not confuse novelty with intrinsic interest or meaning. Many photos are interesting simply because we haven't seen them before. As long as we never see them again, we remember them as being better than they are. When you look at a photograph you took, that is the second time you're seeing it. The newness is gone.
Telling a story is insufficient. Stories are narratives with beginnings, middles, and ends. Pictures are presented as a whole. Any narrative not printed on a white card on the wall is fabricated within viewers' minds. If the "stories" are not meaningful to the viewers, the photo won't be meaningful either.
What if a wedding photographer delivered someone else's wedding album to a client. It's exactly the same album except all the wrong people are in it. In principle, it tells the "same" story (of someone's wedding). Does the client care?
Art, Composition, Whatever are also insufficient if a photo isn't meaningful. Consider how much people treasured really badly taken and composed photos of loved ones in the days when having just a single photo was rare. Now we're drowning in meaningless photos.
Easy ways to make photos meaningful: Put the intended audience, or people known to them, in the photos. Or reference stories and themes that are recognizable and meaningful to the intended audience.
Railing leading up to a door at the top of steps. Railing and door are midline. Forget composition or whatever. It's a set of doors. We see doors every day, so you don't even have novelty on your side. Why would anyone want to see these particular doors again?
What would give it meaning: Put people you know in the picture. At least you, them, and perhaps their friends would be interested in seeing the picture. Nearly every wedding album has a picture of the bride and groom by some doors, and no one (except wedding photographers) gets tired of it.
Brick wall with names and initials written all over. What are you doing? Testing lenses? Nothing here that would make anyone want to see this particular brick wall again.
Story? – Suppose someone had visited this walls years ago and written their names somewhere. A sequence of images of the wall, them in front of the wall, a close up of their names on the wall, etc could tell a story. But who cares?
What would give it meaning: If those people were you and your wife. Or your children getting married, or some such.
Masks. It's nice, colorful. Would make a good auxiliary, detail-shot to another photo.
What would give it meaning: Your wife or someone you know shopping for masks, posing with masks, at a mask festival, etc.
A horse-drawn carriage. What's so special about this carriage? Why would anyone want to see it again?
What would give it meaning: If this was the carriage you and your wife rode in, and something unusual happened while you were riding it. And here's a selfie of you, your wife, and the carriage driver standing by the carriage. It's not that well taken because it's difficult to use a DSLR one-handed.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged digital travel street-photography or ask your own question.
What percentage of your photos are actually good ones?
How would I get my travel photos published?
How do I decide what lenses I will need for a trip to New Zealand?
How to improve wide-angle composition in travel photography to make it more dynamic?
Why are my highlights purple?


Download Bie.telangana.gov.in bie TS Inter Practical Hall tickets 2019 Jumbling Centers Exam Centers: This is a very good time to check out the informatin regarding the Telangana Intermediate Board exams which is going to be held from February month 2019. Almost we entered into the new academic year like 2019-2020. The TS Inter board has announced the notification regarding the TS BIE telangana board exam Online apply dates in August month and taken a step to move the academic with the good manner. The TS Intermediate board is one of the best organization in South India. After bifurcation of both telugu States, the Inter boards also divided into 2 divisions.
The both AP and TS Intermediate board every year conducts the final board exams through the Offline mode from last week of march. This academic year also it is going to be held in march month only. The AP and TS Inter boards will be carried out the Practical exam Hall tickets and Jumbling Centers from last week of Jan month 2019. All Students who need to download this admit cards please visit the site like bie.telangana.gov.in or www.bieap.gov.in.
Telangana TS BIE board 1st and 2nd year regular exam hall tickets issued dates with Exam dates are now available into the Official site like www.bie.telangana.gov.in. All Students who wanna check out you admit card and who wanna download your exam dates with time table just visit the site of TS Bie telangana gov site and download every thing what ever you require. For more details like TS Inter 1st and 2nd year exam results dates, Betterment & Improvement exam dates will be issued Soon. Keep visit this web page and get all info.
AP intermediate is one of the top leading board in Andhra pradesh State. AP Inter board every year take responsibility to conducts the regular IPE and practical Exams. The AP Inter board is going to be organized the AP Inter practical exams in feb month, 1st and 2nd year exams from March month 2019.
Before one week the board will announce all details like hall tickets issued dates and other info. Here we shared the information like Hall tickets issued dates, Important notes, Syllabus and Subject wise dates. Please go here and Check all details.
Manabadi Schools9 AP and TS Inter 1st and 2nd year exams will be conducted by IPE board of AP from march month 2019. According to the given report, the board has prepared all dates and ready to move all schedule forward with out any hassle.So all Students be ready for final exams which will be held in march month 2019. Here we will keep the pdf files also regarding the Syllabus and important Questions which will come into the final exams. This material will help you to download all details. For more information keep touch with us and get all instant updates. Thank you.


text:
By David Krajicek
The catalogue of James B. Jacobs's organized crime books is infused with a subtle sense of aggravated wonder about the criminal achievements of the Mafia. But his aggravation springs not so much from laws broken as from the fact that the Mob managed to maintain its illicit economic grip in so many cities for so long.
"This book is no exposé," Jacobs, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Professor of Constitutional Law and the Courts, pointedly writes in Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime (1999). It is no secret that the Mob's corrupting hand has been deep in the pockets of big cities coast to coast since the 1920s, he says. Yet complicit or indifferent functionaries and politicians allowed the Mob to become intractable for generations before a series of relatively recent prosecutions in New York. "The same organized crime families have engaged in the same type of exploitation for much of the 20th century," Jacobs notes in Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement (2006).
Jacobs sees some of the same indifference toward organized crime from his fellow scholars. Filling that void, he has crafted an unequaled scholarly corpus and essential historical record of modern Mob prosecutions. His five organized crime books—some coauthored with NYU Law students—feature lucid analysis of litigation and brisk histories of how the Mob flourished in such traditional strongholds as labor, trucking, construction, the garment industry, and waste hauling. In Gotham Unbound, he gently prods his peers: "We hope that this book will make it more difficult for urban scholars, whatever their discipline, to ignore the importance of organized crime in the 20th-century lives of American cities."
Most popular Mafia books use the familiar narrative template of a colorful mobster taken down by a shrewd cop or a tenacious prosecutor. Jacobs does not write that sort of personalized history. Instead, he stacks one sturdy fact atop another, building a foundational record with extensive footnotes and references that will serve future scholars. He begins his treatment of each crime racket with a terse account of how and why organized crime had managed to thrive in a particular industry. In Gotham Unbound, for example, he describes how the Mafia's corrupting grip on the Fulton Fish Market on the lower Manhattan waterfront was leveraged on two Mafia pillars: unions and transportation:
Workers, Smoked Fish and Cannery Union…. The Genovese crime family created loading and unloading cartels, maintained interests in some wholesaling companies, operated 'security services,' and organized and charged for parking…. As with the other mobbed-up industries examined in this book, Cosa Nostra functioned as a kind of legislature, court, and police force for the market. The rules covered competition, prices, labor relations, payoffs, and respect."
Following an organizational template he uses in many of his books, Jacobs returns to the fish market later in Gotham Unbound to examine how organized crime was crowbarred out—in this case, with a combination of a federal racketeering prosecution and a new local law that added government oversight to the market's operation. (Rudolph Giuliani '68 was US attorney during the prosecution, and the law passed after he was elected mayor.) Jacobs is "a diligent and thorough researcher who tackles very complicated subjects and writes clear and engaging analyses," says a former research assistant, Lauryn Gouldin '00, assistant professor at Syracuse University College of Law.
Legal scholars agree that Jacobs has created an essential archive of key Mob prosecutions. "For two decades, he has produced detailed and careful case studies which are individually quite valuable and cumulatively provide a history of instrumental law enforcement of great importance," Franklin Zimring of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law says of Jacobs. "You can't study this history without bumping into this cumulative bibliography around every new corner you turn."
Jacobs began studying crime at the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a research assistant to Norval Morris, influential co-author of The Honest Politician's Guide to Crime Control. Shortly after joining NYU Law in 1982, Jacobs was put in charge of analytics in an investigation of the mobbed-up New York construction industry by the NYS Organized Crime Task Force. That experience "redefined my career," he says. "It put me on a set of issues about organized crime that I have stayed with."
"No one had ever really had the academic entrepreneurial idea to record the accurate details of these organized crime investigations," says a former student, C. Alexander Hortis '99, a litigator with Venable in Baltimore. Jacobs contributed an introduction to Hortis's 2014 book, The Mob and the City: The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York.
Prolific and eclectic in his interests, Jacobs has written books on prisons, drunk driving, corruption, hate crime, and gun control. In 2012, Jacobs received a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship to work on a forthcoming book, The Eternal Criminal Record.
Jacobs says he feels compelled to return soon to his familiar themes, with possible projects on ethnic organized crime and more recent Mob prosecutions. The pool of material seems bottomless and, to Jacobs, the importance of his work is clear: "These [Mafia prosecutions] will be lost to history unless someone puts them on the record."
The Gang of Five
Breaking the Devil's Pact: The Battle to Free the Teamsters from the Mob (2011; with Kerry T. Cooperman)
Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement (2006)
Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime (1999; with Coleen Friel '97 and Robert Radick '97)
Busting the Mob: United States v. Cosa Nostra (1994; with Christopher Panarella '94 and Jay Worthington '01)
Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry (1991; with Ronald Goldstock, Martin Marcus, Thomas D. Thacher II)
All of 2014 Arguments and Opinions

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


New albums and model collections for the 2019 wedding season.
Come and visit us at the Studio, you will see for yourself all our news.
Many modern proposals for your wedding book. The album turns into a decorative piece for your house. Several sizes and formats: square or rectangular you can choose amongst over 150 colours and fabrics. New models in leather, silk, fabric and much more.
The new IRO collection, with its matching wooden box, is customisable with names and accessorises.


SSense, Canada's largest, luxury e-commerce site, has introduced an entirely new way to shop. Fans no longer have to relegate themselves to simply lusting over the designer duds of their favorite musicians, now they can actually buy them for themselves! SSense styled and produced the new music video for FKi's "I Think She Ready," featuring Diplo and rapper it-girl Iggy Azalea. As viewers watch the music video, button's saying "Shop This Look" appear which if clicked on pause the video and open a box laying out the artist's entire outfit with links to purchase the goods on ssense.com. SSense CEO Rami Atallah said, "The integration we are introducing between technology, entertainment and retail with this video not only creates a unique experience for the audience, but also has utility. People often wonder what performers are wearing, where they can purchase that item – we have bridged that gap." The video features clothes from the Spring/Summer 2012 collection of designers like Maison Martin Margiela, Givenchy, 3.1 Philip Lim, Rick Owens, Preen, and McQueen; no one ever said dressing like a rap star was cheap.


East international phosphate fertilizer market, still divided is bounded in the western hemisphere.Old world still have the purchasing requisition, Pakistan and India this year to purchase 2.5 million tons of ammonium phosphate.Pakistan Fauji in the tender offer and received in the India market of silence has not narrowed, the east, the price of the western hemisphere differentiation spot price and the market continues to pick up.
A lot of news that Chinese Fauji company in Pakistan in the tender offer fob only the equivalent of $330 or less, it a week ago and bulk purchases of diammonium Pakistan $340 cif has certain gap.Australia also participated in the Pakistan Fauji bidding.Pakistan for the second half of September shipment, but the overall supply relatively nervous time manufacturers.
India market calm, on August 18, the only activity is RCF bidding two batches of 20000 metric tons of low content of diammonium and ammonium, received 11 bids, and almost all goods from China.India's statistics show that the country's port inventories continue to increase, has been increased to 500000 tons.
The spot market supply is limited, the port of New Orleans ammonium phosphate prices continue to rebound, F.O.B. barge clinch a deal have to ~ $318 and $326 per ton, this is also a fourth straight upward.Said legg mason company has clinch a deal the eight group of diammonium and 2 group of granular ammonium orders, this formed the foundation of the higher price, barge diammonium offshore quotation has been raised to $330, a price quote fob ammonium $340.
Morocco OCP orders shipped to the United States on the fourth ship of 60000 tons of contract, is expected to supply the support effect of tension on the price can be reduced.
Latin America phosphate fertilizer prices also stabilize somewhat, Brazil 11-52 new ammonium single clinch a deal the cif price of about $350.Some importers say 11-52 content ammonium a supply source of tension.Cif European chemical companies to $350 in exports to Brazil for two ship diammonium and ammonium.Campaign freighter will also be in the middle of September shipment of 29000 tons of ammonium PhosAgro diammonium and one to Brazil, is prior to performance has signed the order.


text:
Africa, Environment-Climate, Evangelicals, Godbeat, International News, LGBTQ, Mainline, Marriage & Family, Methodists, Mormons, Nones, Politics, Race, Richard Ostling, Same-sex Marriage, Vatican, World Religions
Yet more forecasting on what to expect in religion news and trends during 2019
Those who read GetReligion on Dec. 20 (thereby postponing their holiday chores) may recall The Religion Guy's list of the big three religion news themes for the new year:
(1) Ongoing debate over using the CRISPR technique to create human "designer babies" and manipulate genes that will be passed along to future generations. (The Guy – uniquely -- also proclaimed this the #1 religion story of 2018.)
(2) How Catholic leaders cope with multiplying cases of priests molesting minors, both at Pope Francis' February summit and afterward. And don't neglect those Protestant sexual abuse scandals.
(3) Reverberations from the United Methodist Church's special February General Conference that decides whether and how to either hold together or to split over same-sex issues.
On the same theme, Religion News Service posted a longish item New Year's Eve headlined "What's coming for religion in 2019? Here's what the experts predict." This was a collection of brief articles commissioned from a multi-faith lineup. It turned out to be one of those ideas that seemed better in the story conference than in the resulting copy.
Understandably, no panelist expected an end to the persistent Catholic scandals.
Otherwise, the pieces predicted things like this:
Tagged: CRISPR, United Methodists, RNS, Religion News Service, climate change, LDS, ReligionLink, Kelsey Dallas, religion:all, Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, The Economist, missionaries
Journalism, Immigration, International News, Godbeat, Latin America, Europe, Demographics, Ira Rifkin, Islam-Muslims, Refugees
Failure of foresight? New York Times looks at globalization and the immigration backlash
Funny thing about us humans. We persist in believing that we can have our cake and eat it, too -- notwithstanding the proof positive of an empty plate.
In its own complicated way, this also holds true for immigration, of course. (Have I mentioned previously that everything is connected to everything else and that this reality often involves religion? Repeatedly, actually.)
We delight in globalization's immediate benefits -- cheaper foreign-made garments, instant international communications, exotic vacations that a generation ago middle-class travelers could only dream about, the transfer of capital across international borders to a degree previously impossible and more.
Yet we persist in ignoring that globalization is also a lure for those in the world's poorest and most violent nations to seek a better life in the world's wealthier and safer nations. They also want the good life that our globalized news and entertainment media have dangled before them.
We forget, or simply ignore, all this because as a specie we tend to prefer short-term material gains; quite frankly, the glitter blinds us. That is, until the day comes when we belatedly wake up and notice -- and then default into push-back mode -- that these globalized immigrants have different religious, social and political outlooks; that they speak foreign languages and have different skin colors, all of which are the stuff of massive demographic change.
This brings me to a recent New York Times business section piece that combined extensive graphics with solid reporting, a fast-growing online journalism trend.
The piece sought to explain the spreading trans-Atlantic backlash against the massive global movement of people over the last decades.
Here's how The Times' lede put the problem. This is long, but essential:
Immigration is reshaping societies around the globe. Barriers erected by wealthier nations have been unable to keep out those from the global South -- typically poor, and often desperate -- who come searching for work and a better life.
Tagged: Germany, materialism, climate change, Europe, New York Times, United States, Donald Trump, Alt-right, Globalization
Environment-Climate, Julia Duin, Marriage & Family, Catholicism, Evangelicals, Health, Islam-Muslims, Jews and Judaism, Mainline
Is climate change an excuse to not have kids? The New York Times focuses on half of this debate
Some of you are old enough to remember the 1960s, when books like "The Population Bomb" warned of coming mass starvation if people didn't stop having kids. And some folks took that warning seriously and decided to forgo childbearing.
Places like China with its brutal, obscene "One Child" policy forced people onto birth control after one child (and aborting any further pregnancies) while none of the predicted famines occurred.
Fast forward 50 years and while Africa is still booming, demographic drops in places like Japan and Korea are at near-crisis levels; China's population is aging faster than anywhere else and half the world's nations have fertility rates below the replacement level of two children per woman.
Now there's another reason not to have kids: Climate change. The New York Times tells us why:
It is not an easy time for people to feel hopeful, with the effects of global warming no longer theoretical, projections becoming more dire and governmental action lagging. And while few, if any, studies have examined how large a role climate change plays in people's childbearing decisions, it loomed large in interviews with more than a dozen people ages 18 to 43.
A 32-year-old who always thought she would have children can no longer justify it to herself. A Mormon has bucked the expectations of her religion by resolving to adopt rather than give birth. An Ohio woman had her first child after an unplanned pregnancy — and then had a second because she did not want her daughter to face an environmental collapse alone.
Among them, there is a sense of being saddled with painful ethical questions that previous generations did not have to confront. Some worry about the quality of life children born today will have as shorelines flood, wildfires rage and extreme weather becomes more common. Others are acutely aware that having a child is one of the costliest actions they can take environmentally.
I'm glad they involved someone from a religious background and a Mormon at that, because of Latter-day Saints' doctrine encouraging large families. Another few paragraphs later:
Parents like Amanda Perry Miller, a Christian youth leader and mother of two in Independence, Ohio, share her fears.
Tagged: climate change, overpopulation, The New York Times, conceivablefuture.org, demographics, birthrates
Environment-Climate, Evangelicals, Julia Duin, Politics, Academia, Fundamentalism, Godbeat, Science, Scriptures
Vice.com's take on climate change blames same old fundamentalist hobgoblins
I know journalists are seeking good click-bait headlines, but Vice.com's "The Fundamentalists Holding us Back from a Climate Change Solution" sounded overwrought right from the get-go.
But I wanted to linger, as I'm interested in what all these news/feature/opinion forums, aka millennial niche sites (Quartz, Vice, Vox, Vocativ, Mic, BuzzFeed, OZY, Fusion, The Ringer, etc.) offer in terms of religion reporting. Most don't seem to have a specialist on staff.
So they get a freelancer or staff writer, who may or may not know anything about religion, to hold forth. Which is why I was interested in Vice.com's take on climate change problems. The use of "fundamentalists" in the headline is a red flag, in that this term is hardly used these days (and the Associated Press Stylebook says it should be used carefully). The folks described in the opening paragraphs are actually evangelicals.
It's unclear whether the writer knows the difference between the two, but our own Richard Ostling explains things for the uninitiated. Vice says:
Rachel Lamb grew up thinking that climate change was a liberal hoax. That's what everyone thought at the rural Michigan church where her dad was the pastor. The world was slowly getting hotter, but that fact was rarely mentioned in the Baptist social circles she spun through, and when it was, it was in the context of something Democrats blew way out of proportion. Her attitude about the subject was more wary than antagonistic. If someone were to come up to her clique and suggest that the climate was changing, their response would most likely be a sarcastic, Where'd you hear that from?
Although the 27-year-old used to go hiking in national parks with her family as a kid, she was taught to think of her love of Jesus and her appreciation of nature as being separate—two puzzle pieces that made up the larger picture of her personality but didn't fit together. Then she took a climate change politics course at Wheaton College, a Christian university in Illinois, where her worldview coalesced and she found her purpose.
We next learn that she is a member of Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, but that progressive groups like hers are foiled by that:
Tagged: Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, Vice.com, climate change, James Watt, Carl Beisner, fundamentalist, Associated Press Stylebook
Bobby Ross Jr., Journalism, Politics, Social Issues, Environment-Climate
Media warming: How to — and how not to — report on evangelical skepticism on climate change
Many journalists were less than thrilled with President Donald Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. In fact, a commentary writer for the right-leaning Washington Examiner suggested that the news media "dropped all pretense of objectivity" in bemoaning the decision.
A short USA Today story — published before Trump's announcement — illustrates the "It's settled science" approach to climate change coverage that's so common.
The report concerns a Michigan congressman who said he believes God can take care of any global warming.
The headline:
GOP congressman on climate change: God will 'take care of it' if it's real
And the lede:
WASHINGTON — Michigan GOP Rep. Tim Walberg isn't concerned about the effects of climate change — if it exists — because God will "take care of it."
Am I the only one who finds that headline and lede a little snarky?
Keep reading, and — to its credit — the national newspaper includes Walberg's full quote. That is helpful because it allows readers to assess for themselves what he said:
"I believe there's climate change," Walberg said, according to a video of the exchange obtained first published by the Huffington Post. "I believe there's been climate change since the beginning of time. I think there are cycles. Do I think man has some impact? Yeah, of course. Can man change the entire universe? No."
"Why do I believe that?" he continued. "Well, as a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I'm confident that, if there's a real problem, he can take care of it."
But USA Today's short piece of clickbait offers next to no background or context on Walberg, the climate change debate or — this is a biggie — why a statement from one of 535 members of Congress is national news.
For readers interested in more serious reporting, Religion News Service had a nice roundup of various religious leaders' reactions to Trump's decision.
Moreover, The Washington Post's all-star religion writer Sarah Pulliam Bailey — a former GetReligionista — produced a quintessential take on "Why so many white evangelicals in Trump's base are deeply skeptical of climate change."
Tagged: climate change, global warming, President Donald Trump, USA Today, The Washington Post, Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Religion News Service
Bobby Ross Jr., Catholicism, International News, Islam-Muslims
Anti-clickbait: This post won't mention YOU KNOW WHO. Warning! International news
On my iPad the other day, I was checking the top headlines on a major news organization's app.
A certain influential national elected official/former reality TV star was everywhere. I must have counted his name in 15 headlines before I got to one that didn't include him. Then immediately after that came a half-dozen more that did.
Social media is even worse: Twitter and Facebook have become a vast wasteland of folks on the right and left who don't seem to realize the election was over three months ago. Apparently, these people eat, drink and sleep U.S. politics and intend to wage online war until Jesus returns. (Soon, please?)
Of course, I'm the last one who ought to be preaching on this overkill. I've lost count of how many stories, columns and blog posts I've written, just in the last few weeks, about HE WHO (JUST THIS ONCE) SHALL NOT BE NAMED.
Alas, news is news. I know that. And there's no doubt that the guy with the world's most interesting (that's not necessarily a compliment) haircut is big news. The biggest. Yuuuuuuuggge!!!
Tagged: Religion News Service, Kenya, drought, climate change, Food, starvation
Academia, Christianity, Evangelicals, Evolution, Godbeat, Richard Ostling, Science, Social Issues, Environment-Climate, Scriptures
After 75 years, evangelicals in science still debate Darwin, Bible and evolution
This past July the annual conference of the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA), an organization of Christians in the sciences, offered a high-powered speaker lineup on the human brain and mind: Justin Barrett, director of the psychological science program at Fuller Theological Seminary; Audrey Bowden, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University; Edward Davis, historian of science at Messiah College; Douglas Lauffenburger, biological engineering professor at M.I.T.; William Newsome, director of Stanford's Neurosciences Institute; and Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Roger Wiens.
The equally intriguing 2017 conference, July 28-31 at Colorado School of Mines, will focus on environmental science and -- yes –- "climate change." And on Oct. 11 the organization will be marking the 75th anniversary of its founding with a banquet at Wheaton College in Illinois. The current issue of the ASA quarterly, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (check here), is devoted to the group's history, and Colorado State University molecular biologist Terry Gray has posted a series of historical articles.
Full membership in ASA is restricted to persons with bachelor's degrees or beyond in the sciences who affirm the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds and belief in "the divine inspiration, trustworthiness and authority of the Bible in matters of faith and conduct." Most are evangelical-type Protestants.
Though members' interests range from chaos theory to entomology to the morality of fracking, the most heated debates usually swirl around Darwin, evolution, creation, the Book of Genesis, origin of the universe and of earthly species and, therefore, what it means to be human.
Tagged: ASA, American Scientific Affiliation, Adam and Eve, creation, Charles Darwin, climate change, Creation Research Society, Intelligent Design, Theistic Evolution
Evolution, Jim Davis, Journalism, Science, Social Media, Environment-Climate
Science v. creationism 2.0 -- but this time, RNS stays at arm's length
Gold star for follow-up in the Religion News Service's story on scientist Bill Nye's visit to the Ark Encounter theme park. But a half-star for trying to do it by remote.
When last we saw Bill with Ken Ham, the developer of the replica of Noah's watercraft, they were debating creationism versus evolution. As I wrote on Friday, RNS' onsite story outperformed national media like The New York Times.
What a great opportunity to lengthen its lede, eh? Unfortunately, it didn't happen. The follow-up just pulls public statements, creating a follow-up with a detached, superficial feel to it.
Here is how the article tells it:
And it was "like the debate all over again but more intense at times," according to a blog post by Ken Ham, president and CEO of Answers in Genesis. Ham also posted on social media about Nye's visit, which occurred on Friday (July 8).
"Bill challenged me about the content of many of our exhibits, and I challenged him about what he claimed and what he believed," Ham said on Facebook. "It was a clash of world views."
Just a Facebook post? (Actually, Ham also posted the story on Answers in Genesis.) Well, hmm. What content did they discuss? On what topics did they most challenge each other?
Good questions for a phone interview, no? But if RNS tried one, it doesn't say. Further down, the article has Ham quoting Nye saying "not crazy to believe we descended from Martians." Ham answers, of course, that it's no more crazy to believe that "we descended from Adam and Eve."
And what did the "Science Guy" say about the visit? We get another non-answer:
Tagged: Religion News Service, New York Times, evolution, creationism, Biologos, Ken Ham, Bill Nye, Science, climate change, Facebook
Evangelicals, Julia Duin, Missionaries, Environment-Climate
Texas Monthly finds an evangelical who gets climate change, then drops the ball (updated)
Personally, I was agnostic about climate change until I spent last year in Alaska. Living in Fairbanks and hearing ordinary people talk about the winters getting warmer, how the cold isn't what it used to be and hearing how "break-up" (the melting of Alaska's vast rivers) is happening earlier and earlier each spring, made a believer out of me.
The winter I was there (2015), the Iditarod was held in Fairbanks for the second time in its history because Anchorage had no snow. When I visited the Alyeska ski resort to try some downhill just east of Anchorage, we had to schuss in a bowl near the top, as all of the runs at the base were bare.
All the evangelical Christians I met up there accepted climate change as a fact, so it's intrigued me as to why so many in the Lower 48 are fighting it. Which is why I was attracted to this article in Texas Monthly that explains why one evangelical scholar is for it. It begins:
One clear day last spring, Katharine Hayhoe walked into the limestone chambers of the Austin City Council to brief the members during a special meeting on how prepared the city was to deal with disasters and extreme weather. A respected atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University, the 43-year-old had been invited to discuss climate change, and she breezed through her PowerPoint slides, delivering stark news in an upbeat manner: unless carbon emissions were swiftly curbed, in the coming decades Texas would see stronger heat waves, harsher summers, and torrential rainfall separated by longer periods of drought.
"Why do we care about all of this stuff?" Hayhoe asked. "Because it has huge financial impacts." The number of billion-dollar weather disasters in the United States had ballooned from one or two per year in the eighties to eight to twelve today, Hayhoe explained as she pulled up a slide with a map of the country. "Texas is in the crosshairs of those events, because we get it all, don't we? We get the floods and the droughts, the hailstorms and the ice storms, and even the snow and the extreme heat. And we get the tornadoes, the hurricanes, and the sea-level rise. There isn't much that we don't get."
Tagged: Katharine Hayhoe, climate change, Texas, Texas Monthly, Plymouth Brethren, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Andrew Farley, Church Without Religion, InterVarsity


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Three Richmond Hill High School athletes made official their intent to play sports collegiately during National Signing Day Feb. 6.
Two of the athletes, Kollins Pettaway and Bryant Jackson, signed Wednesday afternoon at a ceremony at the school. The third, Ronald Fuselier, signed his letter of intent earlier in the day.
Pettaway, a 5-foot-7 inch, 170-pound, slotback for the Wildcats will be suiting up for the University of Cumberlands next fall.
After signing Pettaway said he was ready to get started with the next phase of his career.
"I am very excited actually, it is a big step in my life and I am ready to take on the challenge. I just can't wait to get up to Kentucky," he said.
Pettawy said he chose the Williamsburg, Ky. NAIA school largely due to the people he met there.
And while he is looking ahead to being in Kentucky he will remember his south Georgia roots Pettaway said.
"I am mainly going to remember the people. The people actually make everywhere great. Richmond Hill has shown much love to me and everyone," he said.
Jackson, a member of the Wildcats soccer team, will continue his career as a Mercer Bear.
"This is probably the most exciting thing I have done in my life to be honest. I am ready to get going," he said after the ceremony at Richmond Hill High School.
"It is one of the best schools in Georgia academic wise and it is one of the best schools in Georgia for soccer. I wanted to stay home. When I went up there for a visit I felt like I was at home and I really bonded with the coach. So, no place better," he said.
While Jackson, who spent his junior year playing with the Atlanta United Development Academy team, is ready to 'get going' with his career at Mercer he knows he'll always feel close to where he grew up.
"It is going to be tough (to leave). It was tough when I went up to Atlanta. … The way people are brought up here is just different. It is like home, it is more than home. I don't know how to describe it. This is the best place I could have grown up as a kid," he said.
Bryant plans to major in business but may change his mind he said.
Mercer competes in NCAA Division I sports.
Fuselier, was not at the afternoon ceremony as he is a member of the RHHS basketball team and was with the team for a Region 2 6A tournament game at Brunswick High School.
Fuselier, a 6-foot-172-pound defensive back. signed earlier in the day with Savannah State University.


This week's Astro Biz is Skagit Sun blueberries. Skagit Sun is based in LaConner, Washington, up in the Skagit Valley. The farm grows strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries in addition to blueberries. Their berries are available at some locations of Metropolitan Market and Whole Foods, and they're regulars at the Queen Anne Farmers Market.
This entry was posted in Astro Biz on January 17, 2017 by Greg Scheiderer.


Rubio: "We are Losing the American Dream"
"The reason I ran for office is because as a country, we're headed in the wrong direction."
Senator Rubio: First, let me also start by thanking the men and women of the Capitol Police Department and the District of Columbia and the Secret Service. It reminds us that they're the thin blue line that stands between us and danger. I think it's a moment to extend our thanks to all law enforcement and first responders around the country who on a daily basis are that thin blue line as well. So we are also grateful for what do you for us and how you keep us safe.
I wanted to talk, of course, about this week. It's been an interesting week, to say the least, beyond the events of yesterday. You turn on the cable news, and it features these countdown clocks leading up to the government slowdown. And now in the aftermath of it, as well, you see these countdowns about how many days we've been into this thing. Look there's no doubt this impasse that we're at is a problem for the country. This is not the best way to run the most important government in the most important country in the world. The people around here — who all they do is focus on politics, who for them every day is Election Day — what they're focused on is who's winning, who's going to get the blame, who's this going to help in the next election. I suppose that has a place in politics and in the governing process. Let me answer to you who's going to get the blame. We all are. Every single one of us in the House, the Senate. The entire federal government is going to get the blame. Let me tell you why. Because there are people who woke up this morning, they didn't get enough sleep last night. Maybe they were up late helping their kids with their homework. They guzzled a bunch of coffee and forced themselves to work. They didn't want to go to work. They were tired. But they had to. And they're going to go to work today. They're going to get home and go through all that again. And they're just wondering, why can't you guys do that? Why can't do you your job? And I think that's a very valid frustration that people have with this process and with us here today.
I'm not happy about some of the things we've seen this week or over the last couple weeks. I think it's very unfortunate some of the rhetoric that's been used around here, both in this chamber and in the public domain. But with each day that goes by, what I'm more and more worried about may not be what everybody else is so worried about, or at least what too many people around here aren't worried about. Look, I think it's wrong that those of us who stand on principle — who believe, for example that ObamaCare is going to badly damage our economy — I think it's wrong that we have a Congressman from my home state that compares us to the Taliban. We have a spokesperson for the White House that says we're like people with bombs strapped to our chests. I think that's wrong. I think it's wrong too, by the way, that the President has used the megaphone to the presidency, not to bring Americans together, but he's used the megaphone to deepen these divisions. You know, Mr. President, you're not the chairman of the Democratic Party. You are the President of the United States. Act like the President of the United States. Rise above that stuff. Your job is to bring this nation together. I know people are going to say things about you, you don't like. It comes with the territory. You've got to rise above that and I hope that he will.
But those are not the things that concern me the most. What I'm most worried about is that this country faces a very serious crisis and we are running out of time to fix it. Now, there's no doubt this government slowdown is not a good thing, but it's not the crisis I'm referring to. This issue about the debt limit, hitting the debt limit, that's a problem. But that's not the most serious crisis we face either. The single, most important crisis we face in this country is that for millions of Americans, the promise of the American Dream is literally slipping away through their fingers. And with all the focus around here on whatever the crisis of the day may be, I fear that we are simply not spending enough time focused on that reality.
It reminds me of this story that I know. A few years ago, a friend of mine in Florida was on a twin-engine airplane. They were flying from one part of the state to another. At some point during that flight, a fire broke out in the cockpit. Now, that fire is a problem. But the bigger problem was that both of the pilots started to put out the fire and no one was flying the plane. And within a few seconds the plane began to plunge and it lost hundreds of feet in altitude. Now, luckily they figured it out quickly and were able to correct themselves. But they were so focused on the fire in the cockpit that they weren't flying the plane. And luckily they realized in time that if they didn't start flying that plane, that fire was going to be pretty insignificant a few seconds from then. So this government slowdown, it is a problem, yes. We have this upcoming debt limit thing, and that's a problem, yes. But the fire in our cockpit and the one we need to address is the erosion of the American Dream. Now, you think that the slowdown in government is problematic. Well, that's a vote away from being solved. All you have to do is take a vote in either chamber and we can solve that problem.
Let me tell when you the slowdown in government is going to be a big problem: When it slows down because this government no longer has enough money to pay its bills. And if we keep doing what we're doing now, that's going to happen. You think this debt ceiling situation is a problem? Well that's one vote away from being solved. Let me tell you when it is going to be a real problem: When no one wants to buy our debt anymore because they don't think we can pay them back. You think all this division and dysfunction in Washington is bad for our economy? Yeah, but you know what's worse? A tax code that kills jobs. Regulations that on a daily basis are killing jobs. A national debt that's killing jobs. By the way, one of the greatest destroyers of jobs in America today is ObamaCare. That's why we're so passionate about it. The American Dream that people throw around so loosely as a term — the American Dream is basically the notion that no matter where you start out in life, no matter how many obstacles you have to overcome, you have the God-given right to through hard work and perseverance achieve a better life for yourself and leave your children better off than yourself. But it's being eroded on a daily basis. And not nearly enough attention is being paid to that. I don't see any countdown clocks on cable television about the American Dream. The most dangerous thing happening in Washington today is that everyone is so busy fighting about the problems before us today that there doesn't seem to be enough focus on the crisis we're headed to here pretty soon: That we are on the verge of losing the American Dream. I say that because to one extent or another we are all guilty of misplacing that focus.
So my speech here today is as much as anything a reminder to me of why I wanted to serve here to begin with. The reason I wanted to serve here is because I know — I don't think — I know that America is special. And I know this partially because I was raised by and around people that know what life is like in places other than America. In places other than America, you can only go as far as your parents went. You are trapped. Whatever your family did, that's the only thing you are allowed to do by those societies. But we've been different, and I've seen it with my own eyes. Both in my neighborhood and in my family, I have seen people who came here with little education and no connections, through hard work and perseverance achieve a better life, achieve a meaningful life and leave their kids off better than themselves. And I also see how every single day there are millions of people out there now that are trying to achieve the same thing and they're finding it harder and harder to do that. And we're on the verge of losing that. And if we lose that, every day that that's eroded, so, too, is the exceptionalism of this country.
People love to use that term, "an exceptional nation." I believe it's exceptional. But it is exceptional primarily because of the American Dream. Many countries in the world have powerful militaries. Every country in the world has rich people and big companies. What makes us different is that here if you are willing to work hard, if you have a really good idea, you can be rewarded for it with a better life. And that's eroding. And if we lose that, we lose what makes us special and different, and no one seems to be fighting enough about that. All these other issues, the only reason why they matter is because they relate to the American Dream. The reason why the debt really matters is because it undermines the American Dream. The reason why our tax code that's broken matters is because it undermines the American Dream. The reason why I'm so passionate about ObamaCare is because it is undermining, for millions of people, the ability to achieve the American Dream.
The reason I ran for office is because as a country, we're headed in the wrong direction because we are losing the American Dream. We still have time to fix this. But we don't have all century. We don't even have all decade. We have got to begin to take these issues seriously or we will be known as the first generation of Americans who lost the American Dream and left their children worse off than ourselves. We still have time to refocus ourselves on this. With all this noise about politics and who gets the blame and who is responsible for what, I hope that we can use these challenges before us as a catalyst to begin to focus on these issues for why they matter: They matter because they're hurting people. And it's hurting people who are trying to achieve a better life.
If we do that, if we focus on that and if we solve the problems before us with an eye towards that, then I think we have the real opportunity to do what every generation of Americans before us has done: To leave our children better off than ourselves, and to leave them what our parents left for us — the single-greatest nation in the history of the world.


So I went down to Salon De Choix last week to do something about my hair. The color have faded quite badly and ends are super dry!! This time round Ricky proposed something different and being the adventurous me, I went ahead with it.
We decided to chopped half more than half of my current hair length and give it a darker coat of color to make it look more fresh and healthy.
It is always recommended to do a hair treatment whenever you do any chemical treatments to your hair. This time round, I did the color boosting treatment that will not only keep the color radiant but also moisturized my hair for that healthy shiny look.
After the treatment, it's time to cut and shape the hair into the desired style. I would say the haircut is the most difficult as the stylist have to ensure that both sides are balanced.
Here's my hair after cutting and blowing!! I definitely looked like I cut some years off my age too! It had been years since I had such a short do and it's definitely very refreshing! I like it!
Check out the back, I love it!
Kudos to Ricky for giving me a brand new look!! Now I know I can still pull off that short do! Do look for him if you're heading down to Salon De Choix for any Hair Services!
Before I forget, here's my pink highlights!! I can hide it better with my current hair do but if I want to show it, I just have to style my hair a little differently. What I like about my short hair is that I can play with the styling!
Interested in getting a new hairdo to prepare for the upcoming new year? Head down to Salon De Chiox located at Winsland House(5 min away from Somerset Mrt) to get your hair makeover done! Quote my name 'Joyce' for 15% off all regular hair services! Remember to make an appointment first! Call them at 6836 2959!
Dark roots, faded ends that are dry. It's a sign that I should pay a visit to Salon De Choix and so there I went!
Previously, my ends were bleached to get that dipped dyed effect for many times and it's getting unmanageable. Hence, after discussing with my stylist, we decided to snipped of some inches.
Here's a photo of my new hair length, not that short but a refreshing length that makes the head feels so much lighter.
Then we proceeded to get a section each from both sides of my hair bleached, this time round we are bleaching the whole length instead of just half.
Standard procedure, we get the funky colors on before putting on the base color. My stylist applied two kind of funky colors on each side this time. I let him decide the colors and he picked orange and pink which I have never tried before and hence very excited!
Look at the colors!! Super bright!
No visit to the salon can do without a hair treatment. Adding on Moroccan Oil to the hair mask, it will make the hair more smooth and have a little healthy shine!
Here's the blow drying process!! I'm loving the look of my new hair! It's so much lighter in weight and color which gave me a fresher look!
After blow drying and touching up on the hair shape! I'm super happy with the results! And I get smooth mad shiny hair once more with a fresh coat of colors!
Let's take a closer look at this style of coloring. The colored parts are hidden within the layers, hence the peekaboo effect. It's a more subtle look compared to my previous color job. But when lifted up when we band up the hair or tie it up, the colors will be shown as lovely swirls. And it will be obvious when I curl my hair too.
And kudos to Ricky, I get to have nice funky hair! Do look for him if you do visit Salon De Choix and quote my name 'Joyce' for 15% off regular services!
Definitely loving the new bright hair! Salon De Choix never fails! Get your hair makeover at Salon De Chiox located at Winsland House(5 min away from Somerset Mrt)! Quote my name 'Joyce' for 15% off all regular hair services! Remember to make an appointment first! Call them at 6836 2959!
My previous visit was before I head to GC and after two months, my previous red hair have faded away and my bleached blonde ends surfaced again. But I must say its pretty nice too. Also I've out grown my bangs. Bangs are cute but high maintenance, and I'm pretty lazy I've to admit.
I've got a new stylist Ricky to take care of my tresses. After a short discussion and some suggestions from him, he immediately get down to getting the colors on. I just mentioned that I wanted to keep the red tones and Ricky suggested red as highlights and a dark mauve base that will have purple tones to it under sunlight. As for my bleached ends, we decided on a bright violet that will compliment the highlight and base.
This is actually my first time getting highlights so I'm pretty amused during the process. My stylist and his assistant Ivy have to pick out the right amount of hair from each layer then add on the color. Quite a lot of work I must say! I said I was amused cause of the foils. Haha.
Look at the amount of foil in my hair! Haha. They colored my ends first, then highlights and lastly the base color.
It's a must have to follow up with a treatment after a color job. If not no matter how mice the colors are, it won't look good. This time round, I've Moroccan hair oil added to my hair treatment mask.
This is my hair after treatment and washing! You can try to spy the colors! Most exciting part during a new dye job is the drying process!
And check out my new hair color!! So pretty right?! I also got a cut to re shape my hair with some layers and switched my fringe from bangs to side.
Here's the colors under sunlight! I posted this on Instagram and got pretty good comments! Hee.
Highlight of the hair is the violet ends!! Too pretty I can't believe it's my hair! Haha!
Many thanks to Ricky for the awesome color! Do look for him if you want a similar style to mine!
I could not resist but to change into a different outfit when I'm home and take photos of the new hair!
Need a new hair color? Get it done at Salon De Chiox located at Winsland House(5 min away from Somerset Mrt)! Quote my name 'Joyce' for 15% off all regular hair services!
Just before I head to the GC, I went to Salon De Choix to get a new coat of color for my hair.
After much consideration, I've decided to go red with a tinge of violet hue! Check out the red dye that is going to go on my hair!
Before starting the hair dyeing process, my stylist uses this Scalp Protection Mask on my scalp as it tends to get sensitive.
Massaging it into the scalp before applying the hair dye. This can be added on for just $10!
Check out the redness of the dye after application! It is really intense!
Standard SOP after coloring, Hair treatment time!! My monthly dosage of hair mask infused with Mythic Oil to make the hair silky smooth!
Can you see the hues of red with violet tones? Indeed this is a darker color for the hair but it's so pretty!! Makes me look fairer too!
Here's how it looks after being blown dry. It's a lovely shade of red brown with violet hues. Also if you noticed the ends are of different tones as it was bleached there. So I kind of got a two tone red.
More brown on the top but more red at the ends.
I am loving how it shows different hues at different angles. The red is really gorgeous, and I think I will be sticking to this color for awhile.
Due to the previous bleached end, I get to have a two tone red. The red at the ends have now faded to a lighter red after a couple of washes but still as pretty!
I definitely will want to go under the sun more with this hair color. Simply because the color looks amazing under sunlight! Check this out!!
This is also a hair color that I wanted last time but never really managed to achieve.
Do check out Salon De Choix's FB page for more information and promotions and like them too!
Call 6836 2959 to make your appointments!
Quoting my name 'Joyce' entitles you to a 15% discount on all regular hair service!


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How organisations are preventing healthcare burnout with sustainable digital transformation
Digital solutions like knowledge-sharing hubs and virtual assistants can be powerful tools for healthcare professionals—but only if they're designed, deployed, and supported in the right way. Recently, we've heard from healthcare organisations that have delivered successful, sustainable digital transformation by involving their healthcare professionals at every step.
Dr Simon Wallace
For many healthcare providers, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation, forcing them to rapidly find new ways to deliver their vital services. The result for healthcare practitioners—already working in a time of widespread healthcare burnout—was often another new challenge, and even greater stress.
Now, more and more providers are heeding the WHO's timely call to support their workforces' needs with improved conditions, and increased access to education and training.
Recently, we've spoken to healthcare organisations that are already leading the way on education and digital transformation, using technology to create communities of support and knowledge among their workforces. Read on to find some of the key takeaways from our conversations.
Digital learning across a diverse range of communities
Few healthcare providers have as wide a reach as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the humanitarian organisation dedicated to providing medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare.
With tens of thousands of healthcare professionals working in diverse locations and environments, sharing knowledge and support across MSF has always been a challenge. But now, the organisation has developed a new app, "Tembo", that provides a digital space for learning and development on topics ranging from clinical skills to emergency responses.
At HIMSS Europe we were on a panel with Sarah Martin, Senior Program Manager for Tembo, who offered an insight how the organisation successfully deployed the app—and how it's benefitting MSF professionals: "We were trying to offer all our staff access to digital learning, to create equality and inclusion for everyone in MSF. But when we delivered our first minimum viable product, we realised it was way too high-tech and it didn't actually meet the needs of our people."
Sarah and her team quickly adapted, re-focusing the app around its users. "We learned the connection between the professional using the app and its ease-of-use was really important—that helped us figure out what functionalities TEMBO needed."
The secrets behind the success of Tembo
The reworked version of Tembo included easy access from multiple devices, offline functionality, a space for knowledge exchange, more than 300 digital courses, and access to additional learning resources. But it's not just Tembo's user-focused capabilities that make it a success—it's the strategic way MSF's team harnesses those capabilities and onboards new users to the app.
"We operate in complex and isolated locations, often with low connectivity, limited access to smartphones, and teams with low digital literacy. So, when we take Tembo on missions, we focus on the practical use of the technology—looking at what value we can add to the operations and populations we serve. We make sure to open a dialogue with teams on missions to allow for digital learning throughout the day," explained Sarah.
Tembo might already be proving its worth, but Sarah and her team aren't resting on their laurels— they're constantly evolving their approach, to ensure the app is having the greatest possible impact on MSF's operations: "We adapt our deployment strategy by country and context, and we're always reinforcing digital skills by making the learning in Tembo as accessible as possible."
A hospital focused on co-creation
Like MSF, our second guest healthcare provider has put practitioners at the heart of technological innovation. Luciades Saude Hospital in Portugal completed an ambitious digital transformation between 2019 and 2020, aiming to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.
The Hospital's Chief Transformation Officer, Dr. Sofia Couto Da Rocha, joined us to discuss the strategy's success. "Our main challenge was looking at how we could join technology and people to best serve healthcare professionals and patients," explained Sofia. "We were focused on the relationships between technology and its users, and building digital literacy across our organisation."
Throughout the hospital's digital transformation, Sofia and her team engaged with healthcare professionals across the organisation to guide the project. "We adapted our strategy every day, always reaching out to our healthcare professionals to ask how we could help," explained Sofia. "Their suggestions helped shape everything from small software changes to larger technology strategies. We focused on co-creation at every step."
An innovative app designed for healthcare professionals and patients
One key step in Luciades Saude Hospital's digital transformation has been creation of a new app for healthcare professionals and patients, "Todos Por Um", or "All for One". As well as automating tasks for healthcare professionals, the app hosts an AI-powered chatbot that can capture patients' symptoms and offer an accurate diagnosis—an ability that has proved invaluable in the age of COVID-19.
Todos Por Um is currently used by more than 4,000 doctors and registered nurses, and has already handled nearly 400,000 requests from patients. And it's only becoming more useful. Since its launch, the app has been expanded to automate even more tasks, and to be available on even more platforms.
Sofia sees the success of the app as a direct result of the close collaboration involved in its creation. "Innovation comes much easier when health professionals are focused on the same objective as the technology team," said Sofia. "What's more, we screened healthcare burnout across our organisation and gathered focus groups to guide our project. It helped us collect key insights on what capabilities the app needed."
The key components for a successful technology deployment
If there's one point that stood out from Sarah and Sofia during our conversations, it's that technology adoption should be focused on people, and healthcare providers should only implement it for the right reasons. It can't add any additional time pressures or stress.
What's more, technology needs to be simple, intuitive, and faster than your existing processes. It's important that your solution helps you automate steps within your workflow safely, to give your healthcare professionals more time to interact with patients and help them spend less time on unnecessary admin.
How Upper GI West creates efficient clinician workflows and speeds up transcription
Upper GI West in Western Australia offers a perfect example of technology being used effectively in a healthcare environment.
While Australian healthcare professionals dealt with the brunt of tighter resources during the pandemic, Upper GI West used Dragon Medical One to reduce costs and admin tasks, and create more efficient service delivery.
Before using Dragon Medical One, Krishna Epari, co-founder and Upper GI, Bariatric, Robotic and Endoscopicsurgeon, used a handheld dictaphone to capture all patient conversations that required him to upload audio files for medical transcription. "The letters would need to be reviewed, checked, corrected and signed off before they were sent out to patients," explained Krishna. "It was a very inefficient workflow, that was both time and resource-intensive—delays of several weeks were not uncommon."
But using Dragon Medical One, Krishna transformed his entire workflow. He no longer needs to rely on external transcription services, and he can capture patient stories instantly, wherever he's working. "I find Dragon Medical One to be more accurate than using medical typists. It doesn't require staff training, or familiarity with medical terminology," says Krishna.
After using Nuance's speech recognition technology for five years, Krishna upgraded the entire practice to Dragon Medical One a year ago, proving useful during the pandemic. Now, all doctors at Upper GI West have personalised Dragon profiles they can access from anywhere—speeding up patient letter delivery and reducing admin across the practice. The full conversation with Krishna from Upper GI West is available here.
Tags: Burnout, Digital Transformation, Dragon Medical One
Discover easier documentation
See the benefits of speech-enabling clinician documentation in our recent white paper, and see how it's making a difference for healthcare professionals across Australia.
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About Dr Simon Wallace
Dr Simon Wallace is the Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO) of Nuance's Healthcare division in the UK and Ireland. Simon has worked as a GP, hospital and public health doctor in Brighton and London. His interest in health informatics began in the 90s when he spent a year at the King's Fund investigating the impact of the internet on shared decision making between patients and their healthcare professional. For the past 15 years, he has worked for a range of organisations including Bupa, Dr Foster, Cerner Corporation and GSK across a range of technologies which include electronic patient records, telemedicine, mobile health and lifestyle devices. Simon has a keen interest in the voluntary sector, recently completing a 7 year term as a Trustee for Fitzrovia Youth in Action, a children and young people's charity based in London.
View all posts by Dr Simon Wallace →
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