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Love Will Conquer All
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"And Yaakov approached Yitzchak his father, and Yitzchak felt him, and said, `The voice is the voice of Yaakov, and the hands are the hands of Aysav.'" — Bereishis 27:22
To "trick" Yitzchak into giving him the bracha, Yaakov donned Aysav's clothing, put the skin of an animal on his arms and neck to simulate the hairiness of Aysav, and went in to his father to receive the blessing. As they were twins, the subterfuge was almost perfect, and it seemed as if Yaakov had succeeded. For all intents and purposes, he appeared as Aysav, spoke as Aysav, and presented himself as his twin. Yet something made Yitzchak suspicious, and he said the famous words: "The voice is the voice of Yaakov, and the hands are the hands of Aysav."
Rashi explains what tipped Yitzchak off. Yaakov used the equivalent of the word "please," as in "Please, my father, get up. Please, my father, take this." These were words that Aysav would never utter. Therefore, Yitzchak suspected that it wasn't Aysav, but rather Yaakov, and he asked to "feel" the person in front of him to determine which of the brothers it was.
This Rashi is very difficult to understand when we take into account Aysav's relationship with his father.
No one fulfilled Kibud Av as Aysav did
Aysav had genuine respect and reverence for his father—in fact, he loved him. The Medrash Rabbah that, "In the course of human history, no man ever treated his father with the respect that Aysav treated his father. So how is it possible that he was gruff and rude to a man who he loved and adored?
The answer to this question lies in understanding human nature.
The force of habit
We are engaged in thousands of interactions, choices, and decisions each day. Unlike an animal, which is preprogrammed to perform in a particular manner, the human has free will — free will to choose how he will respond, react, and deal with every situation. If every one of his decisions was a conscious choice that had to be thought out, he would spend his entire day just making them.
A man is approaching. Do I smile and nod or do I look the other way? He's looking at me, do I turn my head to respond or do I look out at the trees? When he asks me how my day is, does he expect a detailed inventory of actions or does he mean it in a casual manner?"
To allow us to function productively, HASHEM gave us the power of habit. Habit allows us to respond almost unconsciously to the thousands of choices that we are constantly engaged in. As a result, we can talk and eat dinner at the same time. We can drive a car, watch the traffic, change lanes, and hold a conversation. Most of the actions we engage in are done on auto-pilot. We don't have to think about them. We have done them before, created our patterns of action and reaction, so now we can just go about our business without having to use up our conscious minds on rote activities. Habit governs and controls most of the actions and choices of our day.
This force is a double-edged sword. It can allow us to accomplish worlds more because of it, but it costs us in the sense that bad habits and poor reactions can lock us into behaviors and responses that don't accurately represent our will. We're just stuck with them because of the ruts that we have created.
This seems to be the answer to Rashi. There is no question that Aysav deeply respected his father. But Aysav was gruff. His operating mode was curt and rude. Those were the habits that he developed, the manner in which he acted, the patterns that he etched into his soul. Even when he was in a situation of serving a man that he greatly respected, his years of mechanized routine surfaced, and he spoke the way that he usually spoke. When Yaakov impersonated Aysav and used polite terms, it was out of character. Yitzchak noticed something out of synch. This wasn't the Aysav that he had known for so many years.
This concept is very applicable in our lives on a number of fronts.
I love him, but can't live with him
It may well be that we respect our parents, love our siblings, and are deeply attached to our spouses, but unless a person consciously works on his word choices, reactions, and responses, he may well be putting on a façade — presenting an image to others that doesn't accurately reflect how he feels. The message he may be giving is very different from his inner condition.
One of the saddest expressions uttered in a troubled marriage is: "I love him, but can't live with him." Often times, it isn't that the man is a selfish lout or a creep. It is simply that he has remained with the bad habits of being unpolished. "Please," thank you," and "excuse me" are lacking from his vocabulary. This can make all the difference in the world between a person who is pleasant to be around — or not. The most amazing part is that these expressions don't always represent who the person is and how he feels, but the little niceties of life are the grease that smoothes the wheels of social interactions.
While middos are the essence of a person, social graces often speak louder than feelings to those who actually live with him. By training our tongues in these social conventions, we give off a persona that matches our inner condition, and those we interact with get to experience the considerate, caring person that we are.
This is an excerpt from the Shmuz on the Parsha book.


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What's the Difference Between Sustainable, Organic and Biodynamic Wine?
23 April 2019 – Consumers have become increasingly more eco-savvy in the way they shop. Read more…
Setting realistic targets for biofuel production in sub-Saharan Africa
29 January 2019 – According to a new report from WWF, while there is a small but not insignificant potential for the production of sustainable biofuels in sub-Saharan Africa, this should be prioritised for the aviation industry. Read more…
Organic wine market growing fast but to remain niche
26 November 2018 – The market for organic wine will grow rapidly in the next five years as environmentally-conscious consumers increasingly favour pesticide-free wines, but their market share will remain relatively small globally, a study showed. Read more…
Press Release issued by African Centre for Biodiversity, Third World Network and GeneWatch UK
12 February 2018 – Genetically modified (GM) "male-sterile" mosquitoes are due to be released in Burkina Faso this year by the Target Malaria research consortium. However, Target Malaria acknowledges that there are no benefits to the proposed GM mosquito release.
The project is set to apply for a permit to make an open release of 10,000 GM Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes: most likely in the village of Bana, west of Bobo Dioulasso.i The GM mosquitoes were exported from Imperial College in London to Burkina Faso in November 2016 and are currently in "contained use" facilities.
The open release is intended to test the infrastructure and systems for future release for, as yet, experimental technologies, notably "gene drive" mosquitoes. Target Malaria's ultimate aim is to make open releases of gene drive mosquitoes, with the aim of reducing the population of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, which can transmit the parasite that causes malaria. The hope is that reducing the mosquito population will reduce the risk of malaria transmission and hence disease incidence.
Malaria is a serious public health issue, affecting millions of people annually. Africa continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden, although since 2000, the malaria death rates in Africa have decreased by 66% among all age groups, and by 71% among children.ii The declines in malaria incidence and deaths are attributable to extensive and effective use of insecticide treated bed-nets. The search for solutions, particularly for vector control, nevertheless continues, due to resistance to the insecticide used in bed-nets.
However, the proposed release of GM male-sterile mosquitoes in 2018, meant to only be for experimental purposes, is not expected to deliver any benefits for malaria control in Burkina Faso. This is because repeated large releases would be needed to seek to suppress the wild population of mosquitoes, which, even if successful, would be prohibitively expensive.
"Conducting experiments with no potential benefit may be regarded as a waste of time and money," said Lim Li Ching, Senior Researcher from the Third World Network. "Furthermore, medical research that poses risks but brings no benefits is unethical"iii.
Some of the likely risks of releasing GM male-sterile mosquitoes into the open include the inadvertent release of biting female mosquitoes, as a result of imperfect sex sorting of mosquitoes; or the possible failure of the sterility mechanism.
Although Target Malaria claims to be engaging local populations and obtaining their consent, consent must be fully informed to meet ethical requirements. This cannot be the case until a comprehensive risk assessment has been published and been subject to open and transparent public consultation. Any decision on open releases of GM mosquitoes requires public consultation, as mandated by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, to which Burkina Faso is a Party.
"Releasing risky GM mosquitoes into the environment, for absolutely no benefit whatsoever, is completely unacceptable", said Mariam Mayet, Executive Director of the African Centre for Biodiversity. "We call for the application to be immediately withdrawn, or rejected by the authorities in Burkina Faso".
The main challenges to malaria control are a lack of sustainable and predictable funding, conflict in malaria-endemic areas, and changes in climate patterns.iv What is needed is a more holistic approach to significantly and sustainably decrease the burden of malaria – one that integrates interventions and research on health, climate, agriculture (and eventually economics and housing) – in tackling the main factors contributing to the disease and its transmission.v
"The proposed release of GM mosquitoes in Burkina Faso is an expensive PR stunt which will do nothing to help to reduce malaria", said Dr Helen Wallace, Director of GeneWatch UK, "This is a distraction, a false solution, and a major opportunity cost".
Mariam Mayet, Tel: + 27 83 269 4309, mariam@acbio.org.za
Lim Li Ching, Tel: +44 7801 411601, twnkl@twnetwork.org
Dr Helen Wallace, Tel: +44 330 0010507/+44 7903 311584, helen.wallace@genewatch.org
Target Malaria is a consortium of research institutes that receives core funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Philanthropy Project Fund, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Individual laboratories also receive additional funding from a variety of sources to support each laboratory's work, including the United Kingdom government (the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Medical Research Council), the Wellcome Trust (a UK-based charity), the European Commission, the Ugandan Ministry of Health, and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST). (See http://targetmalaria.org/who-we-are/)
"Gene drive" is a way of trying to spread genetically engineered traits through a whole population of plants or animals. In the Target Malaria project, the aim of the gene drive is to spread a genetic trait that biases the sex ratio of the mosquito population towards male mosquitoes, thus suppressing the mosquito population. However, the technology to do so does not yet exist and may not be successful. There have been many warnings, including from scientists working in the area of gene drive, that gene drive may be uncontrollable and could have unintended consequences, and civil society organisations have called for a moratorium on this technique. (See http://www.etcgroup.org/content/160-global-groups-call-moratorium-new-genetic-extinction-technology-un-convention
GM Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso is a briefing paper published by the African Centre for Biodiversity, Third World Network and GeneWatch UK. It is available (in English and French) at
https://acbio.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/GM_mosquitoes_in_Burkina_Faso_ENGLISH.pdf
https://acbio.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Moustiques_génétiquement_modifiés_au_Burkina_Faso_FRENCH.pdf
i In a remote West African village, a revolutionary genetic experiment is on its way – if residents agree to it. STAT News. 14th March 2017. https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/14/malaria-mosquitoes-burkina-faso/
ii African Leaders' Malaria (ALMA) Malaria in Africa factsheet. http://alma2030.org/sites/default/files/reference-document/malaria_fact_sheet_0.pdf
iii WMA Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/
iv World Malaria Report 2017, World Health Organization, Geneva. http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/world_malaria_report/en/
v A more holistic response to malaria is overdue, April 22, 2016
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2016/04/22/estrella-lasry-a-more-holistic-response-to-malaria-is-overdue/
Genome of dry zone food stable pearl millet sequenced for first time
26 September 2017 – Scientists said Monday they had unravelled the genetic code of pearl millet, the staple food of an estimated 100 million people living in some of the world's driest areas. Read more…
11 August 2017 – A New Gene Editing Breakthrough Could Allow Us to Transplant Pig Organs Into Humans. Read more…
Global status of commercialised biotech/GM crops
11 July 2017 – A year after the second decade of commercialisation of biotech/GM crops in 2016, 26 countries grew 185.1m hectares of biotech crops – an increase of 5.4m hectares or 3% from 179.7m hectares in 2015. Read more…
The sustainability of organic wine production
26 June 2017 – Several wine estates in South Africa are following the trend of converting to organic wine producing and processing, in the footsteps of its major export markets: the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and Canada. However, is organic wine production as financially sustainable as it is environmentally? Read more…
The Future of Food: To GMO or Not To GMO?
An organic diet has never been more in style than it is right now, with millions of consumers willing to shell out extra dollars for organic foods. Most of us have a vague idea that organic is better because it's more natural and free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and pesticides. Read more…
German cabinet approves draft law banning GMO crops
The German cabinet has approved a draft law banning cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), government sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Germany had announced in September 2015 that it will ban cultivation of crops with GMOs under new European Union rules allowing member states to opt out of their cultivation.
An EU law approved in 2015 cleared the way for new GMO crops to be approved after years of deadlock. But the law also gave individual countries the right to ban GMO crops even after they have been approved as safe by the European Commission.
Under the draft German law, applicants seeking EU approval to cultivate GMO crops will be asked by the German government to remove Germany from the area in the EU where the crops are approved for growing.
If this is refused, a ban on growing the GMO crop in Germany can be imposed even if the EU approves the plant strain as safe to cultivate.
Widely-grown in the Americas and Asia, GMO crops in Europe face divided opinion. Britain is partly in favor of them, while France and Germany are among countries that oppose them.
There is general agreement in Germany that the country should ban GMOs but disagreement whether the bans should be imposed by federal or state authorities caused a long delay in agreeing the draft law on the ban.
(Reporting by Hans-Edzard Busemann, writing by Michael Hogan, editing by Louise Heavens)
28 November 2016 – http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-gmo-idUSKBN12X13S

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The interfaces that are described in the following topics provide programmatic access to the functionality that is available within the Task Scheduler that is used in the Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
The following interfaces are introduced by Task Scheduler 1.0.
IEnumWorkItems Provides the methods for enumerating the tasks in the Scheduled Tasks folder.
IProvideTaskPage Provides the methods to access the property sheet settings of a task.
IScheduledWorkItem Provides the methods for managing specific work items.
ITask Provides the methods for running tasks, getting or setting task information, and terminating tasks. It is derived from the IScheduledWorkItem interface and inherits all the methods of that interface.
ITaskScheduler Provides the methods for scheduling tasks.
ITaskTrigger Provides the methods for accessing and setting triggers for a task. Triggers specify task start times, repetition criteria, and other parameters that control when a task is run.


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The Greenville Family Theater production of Disney's Beauty And The Beast
Greenville Family Theater presents Disney's Beauty And The Beast
Sat, July 20, 2019
Doors: 12:45 pm / Show: 1:30 pm (event ends at 4:00 pm)
https://www.showtimeatthegma.com/event/1861073/
This July, Greenville Family Theater casts their theatrical spell on this "tale as old as time". Meet Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved in return, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.
Step into the enchanted world of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, an international sensation that played a remarkable 13-year run on Broadway and has been produced in 37 countries worldwide. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice. The original Broadway production was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Greenville, TX, 75401
http://www.showtimeatthegma.com


It's no secret that the world's coral reefs are now under a great number of life-endangering threats. Due to global warming, water temperatures around the world are soaring and becoming increasingly inhospitable for marine wildlife. Endangered coral reefs are under close inspection from experts who are determined to prevent the remaining reefs from becoming dead zones.
However, the process of monitoring coral reefs is challenging. The delicate ecosystems are easily damaged by man-made objects – observational devices with motorised propellers can easily tear holes in the reefs. The common mini-submarine used in marine observation causes prolonged damage if it collides with any part of the reef. The problem requires a creative solution: enter robotic jellyfish.
The jellyfish were invented by researchers from the US Office of Naval Research and Florida Atlantic University. Tasked with designing an alternative to the popular drone submarine, researchers turned to marine life for inspiration. They settled on the jellyfish design due to its soft body and gentle movements; with no hard surface or disruptive propeller, the jellyfish can glide through small holes in the reefs and perform its duties without leaving a trace.
Each jellyfish is approximately 20cm wide and is designed to resemble a moon jellyfish during its early larval stage. It has eight silicon rubber tentacles which collect water and subsequently expel it in order to create a life-like jellyfish swimming motion. The robotic creatures will be used to monitor key indicators of a reef's health including changes in oxygen levels and early signs of erosion.
The design is not without its faults. Researchers are currently worried that the robotic jellyfish may look a little too appetising. Turtles, who enjoy snacking on jellyfish, may be tempted to snap up the robotic jellies as they conduct their surveying duties. Researchers are working on unpleasant tastes and sounds to accompany the robo-jellyfish in order to deter unwanted attention.
Real jellyfish themselves are a key indicator of global warming. Where coral reefs expire under warmer waters, jellyfish thrive. As endurance swimmer and FXTM's Brand Ambassador Lewis Pugh might tell you, swimming through even the UK's waters without meeting an expansive bloom of jellyfish is now a difficult task.
When the new surveillance devices finally make their way into the oceans, they will be responsible for watching over reefs which are up against the advancing effects of global warming. The robotic jellyfish may offer some well-needed, gentle care.
Read more about Coffee Drinker lifespan here.


Canada's leading Crypto Exchange QuadrigaCX has been announced bankrupt, local media news outlet CBC reported on April 8.
The decision made by the Nova Source Supreme Court Judge Michael Wood says that the QuadrigaCX, which has been running as per the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) since the end of January will file for the Bankruptcy in the upcoming week.
To look back, the exchange initially filed for the creditor protection under the CCAA on Jan 31, stating that during this time that it doesn't access nearly $136 million in cryptocurrencies and required help regaining another $53 million in fiat held by the third party payment processors.
Before a week, the court has appointed an independent monitor, Ernst & Young. Ernst & Young said that "the possibility that Quadriga will restructure and emerge from CCAA protection appears remote." Ernst & Young further recommended that the exchange should be declared bankrupt. Following its order, Michael Wood declared the firm Bankrupt.
EY's legal team also wrangled that the active restructuring process for QuadrigaCX under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to transfer to the alternative process under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA).
The latest decision approves EY very high investigative powers as a trustee under the BIA. This simply means that the firm might need the production of documents and testimony for witnesses. Apart from this, it will enable the firm to start selling its assets like trading platform, which would gain some revenue in order to make its customers.
Today Michael Wood also accepted a proper asset preservation order from EY, that expands to all the assets held by Jennifer Robertson, who is the wife of Quadriga's late co-founder Gerald Cotten and the cotton estate. The order doesn't allow Robertson selling, removing and transferring any assets.
Even though the decision has been made to place QuadrigaCX in bankruptcy, the stay of proceedings protecting the exchange and its directors from lawsuits will be under process for some time. Further hearing to discuss increasing the stay was scheduled on April 18.
According to reports, Quadriga filed for the creditor protection after Cotton's death and it lost access to cold wallets and its keys, that apparently held the assets owned by various clients. Presently, the exchange holds around $195 million.
In the previous month, law firms Miller Thomson and Cox & Planner build an official committee of affected users of exchange. The committee main purpose is to assist those users to fight against QuadrigaCX in the court.
Is Binance The Fastest Start-Up To Reach The 'Unicorn' Status?


Hunter King was born on October 20, 1993, in Ventura County, California, USA as Haley Ashley King. She is an actress, known for A Girl Like Her (2015), Life in Pieces (2015) and The Young and the Restless (1973).
Hunter Haley King is an American actress. She is known for portraying Adriana Masters on Hollywood Heights, Summer Newman on The Young and the Restless and Clementine Hughes on Life in Pieces.
King started her professional acting career by guest-starring in series such as Roswell, Hannah Montana, and Workaholics. On October 15, 2012, she made her debut on the CBS Daytime soap opera as Summer Newman, replacing Lindsay Bushman. King's performance in the role earned her a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Daytime TV Series – Young Actress, losing out to her Y&R predecessor Samantha Bailey.
She won a Young Artist Award and a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on The Young and the Restless. She has also had smaller roles in Workaholics, ER, and The Price Is Right.
According to the source, Hunter King net worth is not disclosed yet.


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Singac – jednostka osadnicza w Stanach Zjednoczonych, w stanie New Jersey, w hrabstwie Passaic.

CDP w stanie New Jersey

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Get amazing results with this white Hotpoint washer dryer. With its 9kg drum, it's ideal for medium-sized households. This model has a handy Anti-Stain programme that leaves clothes spotless. It works by instantly releasing detergent to remove up to 20 everyday stains without pre-soaking. For your favourite jumpers, the certified Woolmark Green programme uses lower spin speeds to carefully wash your woollens, while being water and energy efficient. To avoid over-drying, the Set & Forget feature uses sensors to monitor the moisture in clothes, ending the programme when they're dry. It then tumbles laundry with cool air to prevent creases.
I've had this machine 3 weeks. Has stunk of burning when drying since I had it and yesterday it died with an F01 electrical fault. So if you want a reliable machine, my experience would suggest to not buy this one.
We needed to replace our washer dryer and looked around for something suitable. This machine came highly rated and so decided to buy it. Washing times are probably the only drawback but there is a delay function, so if you want to hang a load before heading to work just set this to start early in the morning. No fuss. Nice and quite in the spin cycle. Great washer. Highly recommend.
Needed a quick delivery of a reasonable priced machine and this ticked the box. Wanted a slightly shallower size to fit the space and so pleased this has 9kg capacity and quite a big drum. Easy to work and a solid range of programmes and variable temperstures. Only had it a week and so still working out which programme works best - for example the quick wash and dry isn't suitable for heavy jeans. But over all it seems fine.
Very quiet and easy to use!
Very quiet machine compared to our last one (Zanussi) that packed up after 5 years. Digital screen is great for understanding how long is left, only critisicm is cottons is quite a long cycle (3+ hours) however using the whites option at 40c does the trick. Dont have to wait for a long time for the door to unlock either!!
I have recently brought this washer dryer due to my old one breaking! I took the time to read through the reviews and found Ao the best price for this product. The washer dryer is very quiet and has a quick washer function which is great if you are only doing a small wash. I love my new washer dryer and am pleased I chose this one.??


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Q: How to Find Element by Link Text using Selenium Python I've few web links please let me know how I can visit their contact pages i've tried using but not working
contact_link = driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text('Contact')
and
driver.find_element_by_xpath('//a[contains(text(),"contact")]')

Every web page have different classes and different attributes so it is possible to do..
thanks

A: Try this one on each page (each site homepage)
driver.find_element_by_xpath('//a[contains(@href,"contact")]').click()

A: you can use:
driver.find_element_by_link_text("Contact").click()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Salvation – To share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone involved in an Upward ministry.
Character – To help every child grow as Jesus did – spiritually, physically, mentally, and socially.
Self-Esteem – To help every child grow in their understanding and enjoyment of sports.
Upward SportsTM is a first-class sports experience for children that emphasizes healthy competition, sportsmanship, skills building and fun versus the "win-at-all-costs" mentality associated with many sports leagues.
The 2019 season has concluded. Check back here for more information on upcoming dates!
We will post important information for upcoming seasons here – check back regularly!
Our 2019 season has concluded. Thank you for all who served to make this a successful event. We are grateful! Check back regularly for updates and information on upcoming events.


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Q: Обновление значения переменной Дана переменная с числовым значением. Как можно реагировать на ее изменение при помощи JQuery/AJAX? Например, если значение переменной изменилось, то выполняется определенный кусок кода?
A: Вариант 1
Когда страница загрузилась, активируется Ваш код и начинает выполнять операции, и внутри него Вы ловите изменения переменных подобным образом:
 if(переменная==1){
  //Кусок кода
 }

Вариант 2
Когда страница загрузилась и юзер начал двигать мышью или нажал на что-нибудь, активируется код, который сверяет данные. Т.е. реакция на события.
 $( document ).ready(function() {
  //Это устанавливается, когда страница загрузилась.
  var s = 0;
  $( "button" ).click(function() {
     if(s==0){
     //Один участок кода при s==0, наступает только когда юзер нажал на кнопку
     s++; // Увеличиваем нашу переменную на 1
     } else {
     //Другой при s==1 при повторном нажатии на кнопку.
     s--; //Уменьшаем нашу переменную 1
     }
  });
 });


this, the viruses that attack your operative system can also damage your cell phone's functionality.
It started in 2004, when cell phones that were attacked by a new virus called Skulls were found. This virus decreased dramatically the operability of the device, making it almost impossible to receive a phone call; after this, new modifications of malwares appeared, until a worm for cell phones appeared, a worm called Cabir, which uses the cell phone's memory resources by filling it.
Most of the cell phones that were infected had an operative system called Symbian, which, until now, is one of the most popular systems among brands such as Nokia, Samsung and Siemens.
Most of the attacks use as an infection method the Bluetooth, this technology works through wireless nets and they operate in a radio of approximately 30 meters, this is why it is so easy to be infected.
Another infection method that viruses use are e – mails, due to the fact that some programmers introduced malicious codes inside e – mails from many people and at the same time, they were also attaching the viruses, this e – mails could be automatically sent to the user's contacts, helping in its propagation been quicker every time. What must not be left aside is that the files that are on an MP3 format or on a video format and are downloaded from the Internet, if are downloaded without taking any precaution, these files can also have Trojans attached.
Anti CommWarrior: this anti – virus software analyzes any type of recent threat, due to the fact that its updates happen in real time, and when it detects a virus, it automatically eliminates it from the memory stick and from any of its variations; its interface is really easy to use and also very intuitive, it has a manual for installation and can be downloaded from the following link: http://anticommwarrior.en.softonic.com/symbian.
Kaspersky Antivirus Mobile: created by the famous and prizewinner company Kaspersky, it eliminates any type of malware in a very simple and effective way, it allows you to look in the memory stick for any sort of conflictive file and it is able of using some sort of firewall that would block any entrance which might be harmful.


Blackbook is slang for a sketchbook. Most Aerosol Academy workshops start with a visual presentation of the history, culture, tools and techniques behind graffiti and street art. Next, practice starts on paper or in blackbooks with ink markers. More advanced classes may move to paint markers on canvas panels, custom stickers, or wooden panels for a mural.


← I Will Destroy the Lies of the Liars!
Stay Focused! says the LORD!
The Spirit of Yahweh says, "Look beyond what the enemy is doing against you. Focus on My promises. Do not concentrate on what the devil is pulling on you.
I never stop watching over you day or night. I AM your keeper and as long as your eyes are on Me, the enemy suffocates for lack of attention.
Remember, he wants to steal the attention you give me in praise through making you praise the problem by dwelling on it, instead of praying about it.
Keep in mind,on the other side of the problem there is a great promise that will manifest.
What you think is old and outdated may may be new and very up-to-date for someone else.
Your old house, which you want to move out from, could be the new house somebody else is praying to have!
Your current car of which you are so tired, could be what someone is believing with all hope to have.
Your current outdated wardrobe could be one that someone else never imagines to have.
There is someone in hospital wishing they could move the body you are abusing, with all sorts of cosmetic adjustments.
The spouse you despise could be one giving another person sleepless nights.
The help God has sent you through a woman or man whom you look down upon, is what somebody else is fasting about for 40 days.
Learn to bless God for all you have, and don't take anything for granted.
Count all your blessings and you will realise how blessed you are.
A testimony just came through from a lady who has received a massive restoration.
I prayed with this lady when things were bad and horrible and continued to encourage her when things were looking so dark. We prayed more and more over the phone, but today the kind of testimony she has sent me has made me praise God so much!
She has been waiting upon the LORD for some 3 years now.
She was going through tough marital issues; neglected by her hubby who was now walking over her head and reduced to borrowing.
The big house which she lost will all furniture.
This God.. ohhh will do the same for you in Jesus name.
"Eat less, sleep less and pray more in the night," says the LORD.
This week, the Father has revealed to me in different dreams that we must put on our warfare gear and take up the sword, ready to engage in spiritual warfare.
Last night while in prayer, I had a vision of a very huge armed giant who was ready to combat, but as he advanced towards me, I raised my voice in warfare prayers and within no time, the giant just disappeared.
Immediately the Spirit quickened me to know that the giant was a Goliath spirit that has risen up against God's people in this hour.
It is a spirit that boasts and brags daily of its strength and it intimidates us with its show of power. It could be anything that is coming against you so heavily in mockery and intimidation.
It may be a problem you are facing that makes you feel like you should run and hide. However, if we put on boldness like David and pray in the Spirit against this spirit, we conquer it.
"Tell My people to fast and pray in the night season.
Tell them to engage in the midnight battle.
Some people are sleeping unawares of the diabolical assignments carried out against them in their sleep. The enemy is busy in this hour planting seeds of failure, shame, losses, division, rejection, stagnation, disease and death as we sleep (Matthew 13:25).
But if you keep alert and vigilant, none of these shall grow. Every one of the enemy's seeds shall fail.
The Spirit of the LORD actually said this to me very clearly, that there are some attacks we are facing in this hour that can only be stopped through prayer and fasting.
Don't get too sleepy, too tired, too stuffed up with heavy meals in the evening and don't allow all your time to go on TV and other forms of media.
Use the time to wage war.
Keep in mind that we are fighting from the winning side.
Sleep less, eat less, talk less, watch less and pray more in the night. The victory is taking God's instructions.
Great word, dear sister Esther Hadassah. I take these words very serious. It is shocking how much devil and his legions of helpers (it`s written in the Bible) run around and do hard plots and evil plans, especially in the nights. When I wake up in the night, I take my lamplight and read in the Bible that is open day and night.
Here are still hidden bugs in our rooms, so praying is no longer private. More and more I dare to pray loud again. Many may never know that George Orwell`s "1984" is already reality and in evil practice.
It is a privilege to have more than 1 Bible. One day soon we will have to give away Bibles for all the hungry people (it is written) who need this Holy Book, though I already gave away some own Bibles for the needy who were astonished about the clear Scriptures in it.
Fasting is now on my "to do" list. I must confess, this I need to do more. Thank you for sharing your night experiences and visions. Demons really are on the run. BUT WE ARE STRONGER. WE HAVE A HOLY CALL.
He want us to win this battle especially over the nation of Kenya and the church of Christ at large.This is through the night prayer.However, it has not been easy to pray. The environment is heavy and may the Lord send help from all corners of the earth.
Esther, am right here in Kenya, and God has opened my eyes to see the evils the devil is doing to prepare grounds for him to thrive' but he will not succeed in Jesus name'. Witchcraft,sorcery,voodoo name it, are all been practiced, to control the minds of the citizens into all manner of sins- Sodom and Gomorrah style'. And as a result many people are blind and confused, they do not know what is right or wrong.
It's real warfare, and spiritually speaking it's feeling like real war-grounds somewhere in a war torn country.
God is good and through your ministry many of us are getting encouraged.Do not get tired or feel like you not getting anywhere. You are doing more than you could think off.God bless you.


Singer-songwriter Dent May is thrilled to announce his new album Across the Multiverse will be released on August 18 on Carpark Records. May premiered the record's title track, which features Frankie Cosmos, today via Stereogum.
Dent May – self-described hotel bar lounge singer and aspiring daytime TV talk show host – has been charming his way into the hearts of music fans since the release of his debut album The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label in 2009. The Mississippi-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter, performer, and Dolly Parton enthusiast has since released two more acclaimed records, Do Things (2012) and Warm Blanket (2013), dropped the holiday smash "I'll Be Stoned For Christmas," and played hundreds of shows from Shanghai to Chicago. His latest album, Across the Multiverse, is an interstellar voyage of mythic proportions.
Across The Multiverse, which includes the previously released single "Face Down In The Gutter Of Your Love," is available for pre-order via Carpark and iTunes.


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Archive for the 'Education Bureaucracy' Category
School District Consolidation: Where are the Actual Savings and Potential Losses?
Posted in Education Bureaucracy, Educational Change, Restructuring Education, School Closures, School District Consolidation, Small School Research, tagged Economies of scale, Education Costs, Financial Efficiency, Levelling Up HR Costs, Long School Bus Rides, school closures, School Consolidation, School District Management on February 13, 2018| 2 Comments »
School district consolidation is a striking phenomenon not only in Atlantic Canada, but right across Canada and the United States. Two levels of consolidation, encompassing the merging of smaller schools and the collapsing of school districts, leads to the centralization of management. It also rests primarily on two presumed benefits: (1) fiscal efficiency and (2) higher educational quality.
With the recent release of Dr. Avis Glaze's education restructuring report, Raise the Bar, a fierce public debate is underway in Nova Scotia focusing on her plan to dissolve the seven remaining English school boards, reassign administrators to the schools, and reinvest any savings in the classroom. Following that report, a CBC News Nova Scotia investigation revealed that the 38 school board administrators potentially affected earned $4.7 million a year. Whether her plan retaining the seven districts will yield much in the way of cost savings is very much in question. The research, so far, is decidedly mixed when all factors are taken into consideration.
The sheer scale of district consolidation is staggering. Driven largely by the pursuit of financial economy and efficiency, district consolidation swept across the United States, reduced the number of K-12 districts from 117,108 in 1939-1940 to 13,862 by 2006-2007, a decline of 88 per cent. The rate of consolidation has slowed over the past decade, but at least a few districts consolidate every year in many states (Duncombe and Yinger 2010). While comparative Canadian data is not readily available, it is relatively safe to observe the existence of a similar pattern (Bennett 2011, Corbett 2014).
School district consolidation in Canada is driven by provincial education authorities looking for cost reductions, but in some cases, the trigger factor is eliminating local education authorities obstructing education initiatives. Provincial announcements authorizing educational restructuring, such as the 1996 Ontario School Reduction Task Force, justify the school district consolidation as a cost reduction measure and commit to redirecting any savings into the classroom (Ontario 1996). Declining student enrolments, demographic trends, out-migration, and duplicated functions are among the common factors cited in making the case for consolidation (Galway, Sheppard, Wiens and Brown 2013).
In some cases, such as Prince Edward Island, the prime justification is clarity of direction rather than any economic benefits. In October 2011, for example, the P.E.I. Education Governance Commission recognized that the evidence of "operational efficiencies and net savings" is mixed, based upon previous ventures in Prince Edward Island and elsewhere. "There is a risk," the Commission report recognized, "that any savings that may result from elimination of duplication in some areas could be offset. Initially by transition costs, and in the longer term by rising expenditures in other areas such as increased specialization and more hierarchy." (PEI Governance 2011).
Most American state governments are more explicit about the incentives uses to nudge along the process of school district consolidation. The most common form of U.S. state policy is transition funding designed to encourage district reorganization, typically in the form of consolidation, by providing additional money for operations or capital projects during the transition to the new form of organization. The aid bonus from consolidation can be quite large. In the State of New York, consolidating districts may receive an increase in their basic operating aid of up to 40 percent for five years, with declining increases for an additional nine years.
On top of this aid, consolidating districts also may receive a 30 percent increase in building aid for projects initiated within 10 years of consolidation. Possibly as many as one-third of all American states, including some with consolidation bonuses, still maintain countervailing policies that provide support to school districts for "sparsity" (or low population density) or for small scale operations, factors that work against consolidation (Duncombe and Yinger 2010).
Forecasted Savings
The prime justification for school district consolidation has long been that it is a way to cut costs. These cost savings arise, the argument goes, because the provision of education is characterized by economies of size, which exist whenever the cost of education per pupil declines as the number of pupils goes up. In this context, the cost of education is not the same as education spending but is instead the amount a school district would have to spend to obtain a given level of performance, as measured by test scores, graduation rates and perhaps other output measures. To put it another way, economies of size exist if spending on education per pupil declines as the number of pupils goes up, controlling for school district performance. Because consolidation creates larger school districts, it results in lower costs per pupil whenever economies of size exist (Duncombe and Yinger 2010).
Economies of size could arise for many reasons:
Indivisibilities: First, the school services provided to each student by certain education professionals may not diminish in quality as the number of students increases, at least over some range. All districts require a superintendent and the same central administration may be able to serve a significant range of enrollment with little change in total costs.
Increased Dimension: Second, education requires certain physical capital, such as a heating system and science laboratories, which require a certain scale to operate efficiently and therefore have a high cost per pupil in small districts.
Specialization: Third, larger districts may be able to employ more specialized teachers, putting them in a better position to provide the wide range of courses required by public accountability systems and expected today by students and parents.
Innovation and Learning: Finally, teachers in larger districts have more colleagues on which to draw for advice and discussion, interactions that presumably lead to improved effectiveness (Duncombe and Yinger 2007, 2010).
Potential Mitigating Factors
Popular assumptions about economies of size have been challenged by researchers focusing on the relationship between school and school district size and student performance and well-being. Rural education studies have demonstrated that the sizes of the school district and the high school are highly correlated and, in many cases, cost savings are rarely realized and larger schools can have detrimental impact upon student performance and engagement (Howley, Johnson and Petrie 2011). Effective schools research also tends to show that small to moderate-sized schools are more successful than mega-schools at retaining students through to high school graduation (Howley 2002). Leading American experts on school district consolidation William Duncombe and John Yinger have found that extremely large districts (those enrolling 15,000 or more students—are likely to be fiscally inefficient because consolidation has proceeded beyond the point of a favourable cost-benefit ratio (Duncombe and Yinger 2005, 2010).
Four sources of potential diseconomies of size are:
Higher Transportation Costs: First, consolidated school districts usually make use of larger schools, which implies that average transportation distance must increase. As a result, consolidation might increase a district's transportation spending per pupil.
Levelling Up of HR Costs: Second, consolidating districts may level up salaries and benefits to those of the most generous participating district, thereby raising personnel costs.
Lowering of Staff Morale: Third, administrators and teachers tend to have a more positive attitude toward work in smaller schools, which tend to have more flexible rules and procedures.
Less Student and Parent Participation: Finally, students can be more motivated and parents more comfortable to interact with teachers in smaller districts, which tend to have a greater community feel. These reactions and closer student-faculty relationships may result in higher student performance at any given spending level. Longer school bus rides have a detrimental impact upon student engagement and achievement.
Overall, the net impact of consolidation on education costs per pupil is not always clear. Consolidation of tiny school districts of 1,500 students or less is likely to tap into economies of size and thereby lower these costs, but, beyond those numbers, consolidation might actually cause costs per pupil to rise (Duncombe and Yinger 2010). The most recent research literature review, published in 2011 by the U.S. National Education Policy Center, concluded that "claims for educational benefits from systematic state-wide school and district consolidation are vastly overestimated and, beyond school districts of 1,500, have actually been maximized years ago" (Howley, Johnson and Petrie 2011).
What happens to the projected savings forecasted in school district consolidation plans? How does the education finance process work to obscure and conceal the data required to conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis? What mitigating factors arise to compromise or nullify the forecasted savings? Is it possible to assess the full extent of losses, financial and social, at the school level? What are the real lessons for those tempted to tackle education restructuring?
Research conducted for this post is part of a larger project on Restructuring Education (Halifax: Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, 2018).
Restructuring Education: Will True Reform Ever Happen without School-Based Management?
Posted in Education Bureaucracy, Educational Change, Restructuring Education, School Boards, School Councils, School-Based Management, tagged Corporate Managerialism, Edmonton Public Schools, Education Bureaucracy, Michael Strembitsky, Restructuring Education, School Governing Councils, School-Based Management, William Ouchi on June 24, 2017| 2 Comments »
"Restructuring education" was a popular reform nostrum that dominated North American K-12 school reform in the early to mid 1990s. Emerging as a stepchild of the "Reinventing Government" movement, it was driven by a reform impulse to introduce school-based management as a means of busting the bureaucracy that dominated public education systems. Centralization, consolidation, and bureaucracy eventually triumphed, aided and abetted by corporate managerialism, testing, and accountability. Twenty years on, it's time to take a closer look at why decentralization capsized and what lessons can be learned from the whole venture.
Today centralization is far advanced in all ten Canadian provincial education systems. A study for the Canadian School Boards Association, conducted from December 2010 to November 2011, raised red flags about the impact of centralization on the state of local democratic control in Canada's provincially regulated school boards. Surveying national trends over the past two decades, the authors conclude that "the significance of the school district apparatus in Canada has diminished as provincial governments have enacted an aggressive centralization agenda" (Sheppard et al. 2013, 42).
School board trustees, once the bulwark of local school accountability, have been rendered almost powerless through a succession of "corporate model" governance reforms. Two research studies in 2013 and 2016 produced by Gerald Galway and Bruce Sheppard demonstrated conclusively that democratic school board governance is in serious jeopardy because trustees and superintendents now operate in a politicized policy environment that is "antagonistic to local governance" (Galway et al. 2013, 27–28). Elected school boards subscribing to a corporate policy-making model have also tended to stifle trustee autonomy and to narrow the scope of local, community decision-making (Bennett 2012).
Community-school-based management was first implemented in Canada some 40 years ago in the Edmonton public schools by newly appointed superintendent Mike Strembitsky. In the words of former teachers' union president Karen Beaton, Strembitsky's innovation "turned the entire concept of the district upside down" (Neal 1991, 4; see also Ouchi 2008, 24). Adopting a completely new approach, he embarked on an initiative to give self-governance to principals and schools through the decentralization of decisions from the district office to the school. The central idea was deceptively simple: "Every decision which contributes to the instructional effectiveness of the school and which can be made at school level, should be made at school level" (Coleman 1984, 25). Most of the transfers have involved school-based budgeting and resource-allocation decisions, but the basic principle is also applied to all educational decisions.
Decentralized education governance was also implemented in Australia and New Zealand as well as in American cities, including Seattle, Washington and Houston, Texas. From the 1990s until 2001 the decentralized model was fully established in both US cities and piloted in a few Canadian provinces, including Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Since the publication of William G. Ouchi's Making Schools Work (2008), school reformers have been more attuned to the centralizing tendencies of education systems and the advantages of school-based management. Those lessons have been absorbed and implemented in innovative systems around the globe; in particular, they have been adopted by the World Bank in its international educational decentralization development projects. One 2005 World Bank study perhaps put it best: "a service education is too complex to be efficiently produced and distributed in a centralized fashion."
Introducing education restructuring in Nova Scotia in the mid-1990s proved to be impossible, given the intransigence and passive resistance of school administrators, including anxious school principals.
Three decentralized Governance Models were proposed in a 1994 NSDE Discussion paper and all embraced "school-based management" with school councils at each school site, ranging along the continuum from purely advisory councils to school council-school board shared leadership to totally decentralized school-based local governance. Much more educational authority and responsibility was to be transferred from school districts to the school-level and vested in school councils. Those local councils were to have authority to make decisions in ten specified areas, including setting school priorities, developing a school budget and improvement plans, making recommendations on the hiring and dismissing of principals, appointing principals and staff, and producing community accountability reports.
A 1995 Nova Scotia Education Horizons report spelled out actual plans for school council governance and the reduction of school district structures from 22 regional boards to either five or seven, complete with illustrative maps and district-to-district student enrolment data. The Dr. John Savage government followed through on school district reduction, but gave ground on entrusting so much authority to school-level councils. School Advisory Councils (SACs), established in 1995, provided periodic advice and improved school-community communications, but did little to shift the locus of education decision-making.
School boards consolidated and retrenched, and superintendents expanded their authority over not only elected boards, but the whole K-12 school system. Closing schools has led to bigger elementary and secondary school plants and administrators now routinely refer to their schools as "buildings." Since 1995, School Advisory Councils (SACs) have struggled and floundered, most functioning under the thumb of principals and some competing with holdover home and school groups for legitimacy and recognition. Today, scanning school websites, you will look in vain for the names and contact information for anyone on the school advisory councils. If you inquire about the SAC, you are immediately referred to the school principal.
Provincial and regional school boards, as presently constituted, have completely lost their democratic legitimacy. and it's time to replace them with a far more responsible, grounded and accountable system of school community-based governance. Like most informed parents, engaged citizens, and awakened communities, small school advocates find themselves on the outside looking in and puzzled by why our provincial school systems are so top down, bureaucratic, distant and seemingly impervious to change.
Abolishing school boards altogether or conducting provincial reviews of school closure regulations do not really change the situation – our P-12 school system operates more to serve those in charge than those it purportedly serves – children, parents, and local communities. The time for restructuring education is now.
Why does education restructuring to decentralize school decision-making authority remain a vision beyond reach? Whatever happened to the School-Based Management model successfully implemented in Edmonton Public Schools? What's the connection between school-based management and effective local school governance? How can we clear away the obstructions and obstacles and win the support of the educators who inhabit our schools?
School System Accountability: Would "Self-Governing Schools" Turn the System Right-Side Up?
Posted in Education Bureaucracy, Educational Change, Parent Power, Public Accountability, School Advisory Councils, School-Based Management on December 1, 2015| 13 Comments »
Twenty five years ago New Zealand faced a crisis of school system accountability. Then Prime Minister David Lange responded by introducing a "self-managed schools" system that turned the whole education world upside down. With that sweeping education reform, New Zealand became the test case for employing school-based governing boards to re-engineer the public school system.
The Tomorrow's Schools reform plan of 1989 implemented nation-wide "self-governing schools," eliminated school district bureaucracy, and delegated much of the responsibility to elected school council governing boards. Most decisions affecting students and teachers would be made at the school-level and closer to the point of implementation. It was particularly aimed at providing more flexibility to accommodate Maori schools and improve the educational opportunities for Aboriginal children.
Lange's government went even farther than the Edmonton Public Schools in utilizing the model to reduce education bureaucracy and to create greater cost efficiencies. Seeking to improve system responsiveness, organizational flexibility, and public accountability, New Zealand's model also held out the promise of more immediate delivery of services and resources, more parental and community involvement, and greater teacher responsibility for managing local schools.
Today New Zealand has a well-established "self-governing schools" system. Successive educational reviews, mostly conducted by Cathy Wylie of the NZ Council for Educational Research, have sustained the experiment and addressed a few early phase shortcomings, including the high turn over of the initial cohort of school-appointed principals. Current Education Minister Hekia Parata is again reviewing the education system, assessing its effectiveness, and looking at making a few reforms.
Many Canadian provinces are saddled with a school board governing system that is floundering with expanding centralized administration far removed from students and parents. Back in 2013, a Canadian School Boards Association study, conducted by Memorial University's Gerald Galway and a respected research team, issued a stiff warning that elected boards were in serious jeopardy. Elected school boards were no longer perceived to be the "voice of the people," feeding the growing public concern that boards had lost their "raison d'être."
The only real policy options presented in a subsequent Journal of Canadian Education Administration and Policy article (September 2013) were crystal clear: "quiet acquiescence to centralization" or "take action to save the sinking ship." Rather sadly, the warning and the call to action went largely ignored, particularly in the Maritime provinces.
The CSBA research report identified the crux of the problem facing elected school trustees. For elected school board members to be credible, they must be perceived to be "accountable and committed to their mandate and their electorate; ensure a level of openness and transparency…; demonstrate a responsiveness (ensuring) that decisions are made within reasonable timeframes…; make the best use of their resources; (and) work to mediate different interests for the best outcome." By adopting the corporate designation "board member" and adhering strictly to a "policy making role," they had become distant from parents and communities and, in far too many boards, were suffering from a loss of democratic legitimacy.
School councils, proposed in Nova Scotia Premier Dr. John Savage's 1995-96 Education Horizons reform plan, may well have filled the void in strengthening school-community relations. In their initial form, they were "school governing councils" designed as the centrepiece of a New Zealand-like "school-based management model."
The original conception of school governing councils was rejected by the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and many of its NSTU-member principals, one of the principal victims of the 1995-96 NSTU campaign against Savage's Education Restructuring plan. While school councils were sanctioned in the Education Act reform, they were reduced to "advisory bodies" with no power to appoint principals, manage the school budget, or pass binding resolutions contrary to school or board policy.
Today the SACs still limp along in Nova Scotia with mostly a handful of 'hand-picked' members functioning as little more than a sounding board for local principals. Elected board members are not only barred from membership in their local SAC, but actively discouraged from attending unless invited by the principal. A survey of the October 2011 School Advisory Council Handbook reveals that SACs "exist in most schools" but not all. With only six members, the principal and staff representatives hold half the SAC seats, and motions require 2/3 majorities, so none ever pass without teacher support. Any such school reform activity is strictly limited because the Handbook recommends "all decisions be made by consensus or be deferred until the next meeting."
New Zealand's system of self-managing schools may not have lived-up to its initial aims, but we know why and can address the identified shortcomings. School councils populated by elected trustees have succeeded in "bringing together school and community" and, at their best, allow local interests, including those of Indigenous peoples, to be reflected in education-policy making. The ideal size for a SGC of elected trustees is 10 to 12, double the N.S. SAC number, and a clear majority must be parents or community members, including representatives of local business employers.
Even with school-based governance, there is still a critical need for district education administration, albeit a much scaled-down version. There is also a continuing need for Regional Boards of School Trustees, possibly the elected SGC Chairs, to ensure proper linkage among and between local schools. All Regional School Trustees should be elected from, and remain ex-officio members, of the SGCs in their district.
District school administration would have to be re-purposed for their "support circle" role. All school councils, we know now, still need professional support in the appointment and appraisal of principals, the development of provincially-aligned school plans, the provision of school-by-school student performance data, and in resolving periodic school-level disputes.
School Governing Councils, like those in New Zealand, Edmonton and Quebec, have never been given a fair chance in most Canadian provincial school systems. It's high time to seriously consider turning the whole system right-side up by focusing on building school-based education governance, redefining the role of elected school trustees, and providing improved democratic representation in all provincial public schools.
Would a school governance system based upon elected school-level trustees improve educational accountability and help to expand the number of "good schools"? What can be learned– 25 years on– from the New Zealand Tomorrow's Schools educational reform? If educational research suggests elected board members have little impact upon student learning, how and why did it become their narrowly-defined mandate? Would community-school based governance help to spark innovation and strengthen community partnerships?
Community Hub Schools: Where Will We Find the "Cage-Busting" Leadership?
Posted in Building Community Schools, Community Hub Schools, Education Bureaucracy, Educational Change, Educational Leadership, School Closures, tagged Cage-Busting Leadership, Community Hubs, Community Redevelopment, Iron Cage of Education, NovaScotia Small Schools Initiative, Repurposing Schools, Rural Education, school closures on August 19, 2015| 6 Comments »
A year after Nova Scotia's official adoption of the Hub School model and the imposition of a set of school-level regulations, the Province of Ontario is now preparing to embark on a Community Hub initiative of its own. While the Maritime province was first out of the gate in June 2014 with Education Act amendments, the recent "rejection" of three grassroots Hub School projects in the rural communities of Maitland, River John, and Wentworth, has stalled the venture in its tracks.
On August 10, 2015, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne publicly endorsed a special report by provincial consultant Karen Pitre calling for closed public schools to be given a second life as "community hubs." Premier Wynne and Education Minister Liz Sandals are certainly much more active than their N.S. counterparts in promoting the changes and clearly see 'hubification' as a provincial priority.
The Nova Scotia experience, so far, has produced a few bitter lessons for provincial policy-makers and Hub School advocates alike. First and foremost, without committed and determined "cage-busting" political leadership, policy pronouncements go nowhere.
Ontario may be playing 'catch up' on hub schools, but that province, with visible political leadership, is taking a far more comprehensive, short- and long-term, approach to transforming schools into hubs.
In Ontario, the hub school initiative is being driven as much by urban neighbourhood imperatives as by rural village concerns. It was all precipitated by the Toronto District School Board governance review conducted by Margaret Wilson and related provincial school facilities studies revealing that the province was littered with "half-empty" and abandoned schools.
Ms. Pitre's report recommends an immediate measure to lengthen the time allotted for school site disposal, giving public bodies and community groups 180 days to come up with hub proposals. Her plan would also allow prospective buyers to pay less than market value and open the door to shared funding by the province.
Instead of proclaiming legislation and then imposing restrictive regulations, Ontario is looking at clearing away the red tape to preserve schools as public buildings and making space-sharing easier (not harder) for community activities, health clinics, daycares, seniors' centres, and cafes.
Jumping ahead with enabling legislation without integrating community planning and investing in making it work may turn out to defeat the whole Nova Scotia project. Leaving Hub School advocates to produce proposals without any visible provincial or school board support likely doomed the pilot projects. Two months after the axe fell, River John hub school promoters are getting the 'runaround' in their determined attempts to get someone, somewhere to take responsibility for community renewal.
Will Ontario's Community Hub initiative suffer the same fate? The prospects look brighter in Ontario for a number of reasons. From the beginning, Nova Scotia's provincial strategy was essentially reactive, driven by a desire to quell a 2013-14 rural earthquake of widespread and fiercely determined local school closure protests. Community hubs were an idea proposed by "outsiders" and almost reluctantly adopted by Nova Scotia education authorities.
Community hubs are already more accepted and common in Ontario than in Nova Scotia even without the enabling legislation. Some 53 examples of hubs are cited in Pitre's report, most located in urban and suburban communities rather than rural localities. The big push at Queen's Park is also coming from Toronto and major population centres with far more political clout.
Nova Scotia hub school proponents faced a wall of administrative obstacles and totally unrealistic cost recovery targets, and Ontario is looking instead at clearing away the red tape. In addition, Pitre's report proposes recognizing the Social Return on Investment (SROI) in hubs. There is a clear recognition that investing in hubs produces social dividends, including lower delinquency rates, better health outcomes, healthier lives for seniors, and higher levels of community trust.
Cage-busting leadership will be required to transform schools and other public buildings into viable community hubs. It starts with tackling the fundamental structural constraints: the need for integrated community planning, the adoption of an integrated cross-departmental service delivery model, and the provision, where needed, of sustainable public funding.
Gaining access to school space is a bigger challenge than finding the keys to Fort Knox. Only a multi-lateral, whole of government approach will break into the educational silo. At the school level, principals will have to accept broader management responsibilities, including commitments in July and August where today there is no visible "property management."
Creating viable community hubs is a true test of political and educational leadership. Little or nothing that is sustainable will happen without busting open the "iron cage" of education. Only then will we see community hub schools that fill the glaring local social and community service gaps left by the regionalization of public services.
What's standing in the way of establishing community hubs in emptying and abandoned public schools? What went wrong in Nova Scotia, the Canadian province first out of the gate with enabling legislation? Will Ontario fare any better with a more comprehensive "whole of government" policy framework? And where will we find the "cage-busting " leadership at the provincial, board, and school levels?
Education's "Iron Cage": Why is the School System So Resistant to Community Development Initiatives?
Posted in Community Hub Schools, Education Bureaucracy, Education Reform, Educational Priorities, Rural Education, School Closures, Small Schools Initiatives on June 19, 2015| 8 Comments »
The famous German sociologist Max Weber's conception of the "iron cage" of rationality and bureaucracy has proven not only durable, but applicable to the changing nature of modern bureaucratic education systems. In its original form, it was applied broadly by Weber to explain the tyranny of rationalization in the modern transformation of social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage," in his view, trapped individuals in systems purely driven by teleological efficiency, rational calculation, and control. Weber's most brilliant insight was seeing, into the future, the potential "bureaucratization" of the social order into "the polar night of icy darkness."
The original German term was stahlhartes Gehäuse and it morphed into"iron cage," in 1930 with the appearance of Talcott Parson's translation of Weber's classic, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. More recently, sociologists have interpreted the term a little differently as meaning "shell as hard as steel." Whatever the precise meaning, its utility in assessing school systems will be readily apparent to anyone attempting to affect change or to promote community-driven initiatives in the modern and post-modern bureaucratic education state.
Weber's "iron cage" concept is so broad that it almost invites education reformers to pour whatever they want into the theoretical framework. Prominent Canadian education thinkers, most notably George Martell, have appropriated Weber's concept and applied it in their analysis of schooling in our global capitalist world. Moving beyond such ideologically-laden conceptions, Martell and his colleague David Clandfield have provided a very thoughtful critique of the school system's stubborn and persistent resistance since the 1980s to true "community schools."
In their Summer 2010 Special issue of Our Schools/Our Selves, they see the demand for Community Schools as a manifestation of popular, progressive impulses provided that they "stay true" to their essential democratic principles. True community schools, operating as genuine two-way community hubs, they argue, can advance "really useful" learning and community development.
That vision has taken root in Nova Scotia over the past three years, incited by Dr. David Clandfield's advocacy and nurtured by a determined provincial parent advocacy group, the Nova Scotia Small Schools Initiative. Every step of the way, the Nova Scotia community school advocates have confronted and tangled with the provincial and school board mutations of the "iron cage."
Three Nova Scotia school communities spent the past two years developing Hub School proposals and recently suffered a calamitous fate. All three innovative community school development projects were crushed like a bug on June 10 at the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board meeting in Truro, effectively abandoning three more small villages, Maitland, River John and Wentworth. Confronted with a senior staff report recommending "rejection," the sixteen elected school board members made their fateful choice – management priorities driven by strict bureaucratic rules trumped community interests, once again.
Properly serving children, families and communities does not figure in such calculations. While the new School Review process, adopted in June 2014, is designed to be broader and more community-based, the provincial Hub regulations, written entirely by educrats, conspire against such local innovations. It is, regrettably, just the latest example of the workings and inner dynamics of what is known as the "iron cage" of education.
Of all the public bureaucratic systems, education is perhaps the most puzzling. Provincial authorities and school boards all purport to put "children first," but do not really operate that way. Advocating actively for your children, fighting for your child's school or questioning board student services policies is considered being 'disruptive' or, even worse, 'overly emotional.' Big stakes negotiations with teachers over salaries, class composition, and instructional days are, we are told, also none of our business.
The logic of the iron cage even leads elected board members to accept the bureaucratic mentality. "We only responsible for running schools," as one Chignecto-Central RSB member stated, "we are not in the business of saving communities."
Eighteen months ago, Robert Fowler's February 2014 Nova Scotia School Review report exposed the"iron cage" and attempted to change the whole dynamic by recommending a community-based school planning and development process. If Fowler's strategic approach had been followed in Truro, one or two of the Hub School proposals would have secured a green light and gone some distance towards winning back damaged public trust in those communities.
Myopic educational thinking is next-to-impossible to stamp out. Closing schools, the Chignecto-Central administration now claims, saves money and preserves teaching jobs. School librarians, we are assured, will survive because schools and villages are abandoned in Maitland, River John and Wentworth. That's a complete fabrication designed only to counter the political fallout. North American research shows that consolidations rarely save any taxpayer's money in the long run. The three Hub School groups, in their submissions, not only pointed out the limited immediate savings achieved through those closures, but provided sound and viable plans with some modest revenue generating potential.
Studying how educational bureaucracies function provides a window on what happens and why in the world of state education. Disrupting the status quo would mean confronting these deeply concealed educational realities and busting down the bureaucratic silos – for the sake of children, families and communities.
Does Max Weber's conception of the "iron cage" still have utility in explaining the impulses and dynamics of educational bureaucracies? Why do true community school initiatives encounter such resistance at all levels of many school systems? What can be learned from the fate of local Community Hub School projects championed by the Nova Scotia Small Schools Initiative? What might work in breaking down the silos and opening the door to more local projects of genuine social enterprise and educational innovation?
Re-engineering Elected School Boards: What's Worth Fighting For?
Posted in Education Bureaucracy, Educational Change, School Boards, School Trustees, School-Based Management on December 11, 2014| 6 Comments »
Elected school board members deserve far more public respect, but can be their own worst enemies. Fighting to promote public engagement and strengthen public accountability at the school-community level is what really matters, not the shape or form of public education governance. What's really at stake is the fundamental Canadian principle of "responsible government" in our school system.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) we are told is in "chaos" and populated by "dysfunctional trustees," but so was Rob Ford's City Council and no one called for its disbanding. Just when it seemed that Ontario's elected school boards might be on the chopping block, Toronto Star Education reporter Louise Brown did what official school trustee associations have consistently failed to do –made a compelling case for why elected representatives form a potentially "vital bridge between the public and the bureaucracy."
There's one significant problem with Brown's very compelling story entitled "Secret life of a trustee." TDSB school trustees like Pamela Gough, Jerry Chadwick, Shelley Laskin, Gerri Gershon and Sheila Cary-Meagher are seasoned and effective "school trustees" with a clear sense of purpose and identity. So is YRDSB Trustee for East Gwillimbury Loralea Carruthers and Vancouver Trustee Patti Bacchus. Surveying the school governance models elsewhere, they are exceptions because they have public profiles, push at the boundaries, and wield far more influence than is normally permitted under the prevailing strict "governance rules."
The Tri-County Regional School Board (TCRSB) exemplifies all that is wrong with the current governance model. Nova Scotia Auditor General Michael Pickup's damning December 2014 report identified the core of the bigger problem. The Tri-County board is simply not fulfilling its core mandate of "educating students," school management is lax in overseeing "school improvement," and the elected board is not exercising "proper oversight."
The Tri-County board in Yarmouth, regrettably, is not alone in exhibiting these critical shortcomings. All eight of Nova Scotia's boards display, to varying degrees, the same chronic weaknesses in performance management and public accountability. Such governance lapses have already sealed the fate of elected boards in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland/Labrador. Where elected bodies exist, they are little more than examples of democratic tokenism in public education.
Consolidating school board administrative structures might be desirable and cost-effective, but abolishing elected school representatives without an alternative actually makes matters even worse. Without an elected representative, you are left on your own trying to get answers, lodge concerns or navigate your way through the many layers of educational bureaucracy.
While auditing a single school board, the Nova Scotia AG stumbled upon a more fundamental governance problem. Most elected school trustees, now socialized to act like "board members," are easily co-opted into the corporate administrative culture. Over time, elected boards come to think, act, and react like corporate entities inclined toward protecting their interests, defending their "little empires," and muzzling critical voices. Even more independently minded members succumb to fussing over "head lice" regulations and meddling in mundane operational matters.
Provincial government responses, so far, have been purely reactive: Dispatching former superintendent-turned-in-house consultant Jim Gunn back to Yarmouth to put the pieces back together is a stop-gap measure. Disbanding the fourth elected school board in Nova Scotia in the short space of eight years will not do any good either.
Each time an elected Nova Scotia board has been dismissed, in Halifax (2006), the Strait Region (2008), and the South Shore (2011), elected board members have been rendered more timid than before, further eroding public accountability at the school-community level.
Since those school board firings, they are now explicitly discouraged from, or obstructed in, working with School Advisory Councils or in responding directly to parent or media concerns. Nova Scotia Bill 131, the School Board Members Duties Clarification Act, enacted in November 2012, only compounded the problem by directing elected members to "respect" the superintendent and represent "the school board," (not constituents) in their communities.
All of this may explain why Tri-County members, elected multiple times, still have no idea that their role is to hold the administration accountable for student and teacher performance. "Acclamation disease" is now in an advanced stage. In the October 2012 Nova Scotia-wide municipal elections, two-thirds of the seats were uncontested and only 155 candidates surfaced to contest 94 school board positions.
What might work best in fixing education governance and strengthening public accountability? Of the emerging policy options in Nova Scotia , three possible alternatives deserve serious consideration:
1. Re-empower elected boards: Reform the Education Act, clearly define the role and powers of "school trustees," increase their public profile and compensation, and restore proper public accountability;
2. SAC the boards: Rebuild the existing School Advisory Council (SAC) system, and replace elected school boards with school governing councils entrusted with expanded powers and membership, including a better balance of parent, community and employer representatives;
3. Establish a community-school governance model: Replace school boards with district community-school councils and introduce true community school-based management at each school.
Establishing community school-based governance is a long-term project, but might ultimately be the best option. It was first implemented in the Edmonton public schools by superintendent Mike Strembitsky some 40 years ago. In the words of former teachers' union president Karen Beaton, it "turned the entire concept of the district upside down." The central idea was deceptively simple: "Every decision which contributes to the instructional effectiveness of the school, and which can be made at school level, should be made at school level." Under this system, school principals were given more autonomy, school-community councils established, and parents ultimately secured more choice in terms of school and program options.
Centralized, top-down administrative decision-making, especially in priority areas like literacy, numeracy and school improvement, has been a real bust in the Tri-County area because initiatives were rarely monitored and simply did not "trickle down" to schools.
Introducing a community school governance model with elected district community education councils, supported by re-engineered school-level governing councils, might just be the shake-up the system needs. It is far more likely to foster what Harvard University's Richard Chait terms "shared decision-making" and "generative policy-making." It would also help to build public engagement, produce better decisions, and to attract elected members with something significant to contribute to public service.
Whatever happens, the Nova Scotia auditor general's report has punched a giant hole in the current model of governance on display in far toom many school boards. Letting superintendents run the show in an accountability-free board earns you a clear failing grade. Forget the tinkering — only major governance reform and structural change can address the withered state of local public accountability in education.
Let's start by asking the right questions: Why do we still need responsible government (elected representatives) at all levels of the provincial education system? What, if anything, can be done to salvage local education accountability and how can we reconstruct the current system of education governance? Is it time to start all over again?
Transforming Schools into Community Hubs: Where's the Spark of Social Innovation?
Posted in Community Hub Schools, Education Bureaucracy, Educational Change, Parent Power, Rural Education, School Closures, School-Based Management, Small Schools Initiatives on October 4, 2014| 3 Comments »
Sitting in the dimly lit, bunker-like Conference Room on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Canada's last surviving Wandlyn Inn was a little depressing. Listening to a veteran Nova Scotia School Superintendent explain — with clinical precision– the new Hub School Model regulations released in July 2014 was almost too much to bear. The session title gave it all away: "The Operation, Opportunities and Challenges of the Community Hub Model." A funny thing has happened to an exciting idea on its way to implementation.
Small school activist Kate Oland, a veteran of several Cape Breton school closure battles, was rendered virtually numb. After fighting to save her Middle River School, co-founding the Nova Scotia Small School Initiative, celebrating the April 3, 2013 school closure moratorium, and welcoming the Hub School guidelines, it had all come down to this: the Superintendent in charge of advancing the project still didn't seem to "get it": open the school doors to the community and let social innovation in.
Community hub projects come alive with proactive leadership and the scent of social innovation.The founder of Toronto's Centre of Social Innovation, Tonya Surman, speaking in Sydney, Cape Breton in April 2014, was right on the mark. "You've got to be able to dream about what's possible, " and she added "social change takes time."
A "New Dawn' arrived for Holy Angels Academy in Sydney, Cape Breton, but three years after its closure as a public school. Today it's a thriving Centre for Social Innovation hosting a lively mix of 20 commercial and non-profit enterprises.
That transformation, spearheaded by Rankin MacSween's New Dawn Enterprises Limited, should be on the curriculum for the training of School Superintendents. It's time to embrace economic renewal and social enterprise, particularly in a struggling economic province like Nova Scotia. Founded in 1976 initially as a community development fund to combat plant and mine closures, New Dawn is now a beacon of light for faltering communities on the verge of losing their schools.
With the adoption of the School Hub regulations, the Nova Scotia Education Department is coaxing school boards into being more proactive in transforming emptying schools into shared use facilities and potentially revenue generating operations.
The Hub School guidelines, in the hands of reluctant administrators, may threaten to extinguish community spirit and enterprise. Developed by a faceless team of school administrators, it treats Hub School proposals as "business case briefs" and guides proponents through a virtual "obstacle course" of new approval rules. Serving existing students should come first, but why is the "protection of property" so prominent in the regulations?
Three Nova Scotia community-school groups in River John, Maitland, and Wentworth are fighting to save their schools and fully committed to supporting the "Hubification" process. Economic and social innovation thrives when it is welcomed, as in the case of the New Dawn success in Sydney. It perishes on sterile ground marked off like the hurdles on a high school track field.
Economic renewal and social innovation are possible under the right conditions. What's the secret to unlocking Social Innovation and revitalizing our schools? What has happened to the Nova Scotia Community Hub School Model on its way to implementation? Is it still possible for small school advocates to clear the latest hurdles and transform schools into true community hubs?


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