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You are here: Home / TOS / Greek Myths Study from Memoria Press (Review)
Greek Myths Study from Memoria Press (Review)
My children have very active imaginations, and they are often impressed with mythology from other cultures. When we received our review copy of the classical education curriculum covering D'Aulaires' Greek Myths from Memoria Press, the kids weren't sure what to expect, but they were excited!
We received the full D'Aulaires' Greek Myths Set, which included the beautifully illustrated 192 page soft cover copy of D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. The set also came with the D'Aulaires' Greek Myths Teacher Guide and Student Guide, as well as a packet of Flashcards.
This curriculum is intended for students in grades 3-6, so upper elementary. It is definitely produced using the Classical Education model, so it focuses a lot on vocabulary, comprehension, memorization of facts, mapwork, and predictable layout of each lesson, review, and test. This really tests students' higher order of thinking skills and abilities and is pretty advanced, in my opinion.
I think that you could easily use this curriculum with older students, at least through middle school. For the older students, I would likely use this as more independent work for them and assign them compositions to go alongside the work presented in the Student Guide.
If you are working on this with more than one student, you will want to pick up and extra Student Guide for any additional students. This would give a good place for each person to be able to answer the questions, although the reading and flashcard work could be done together.
The Teacher Guide is slightly longer than the Student Guide. Both are easy to use softcover books with an easy-to-follow format. Both of them include a few pages explaining why Greek Mythology should be studied and how to use the guide. The Teacher Guide contains the exact same information (with answers, of course) as the Student Guide for the first 108 pages. This includes a total of 30 lessons (25 regular lessons and 5 review lessons), 110 Drill Questions (listed as 100 in the Table of Contents, 110 in the actual title in the back, and contains 107 different questions), Greek Myth Lists, Maps, and a Pronunciation Guide (we found this SO helpful!).
There must have been some changes in this edition that didn't get changed in the table of contents and throughout some of the lessons, because the page numbers didn't exactly correspond correctly. For example, the Greek Myths Lists was referred to as on page 97 throughout the book, but it was actually on page 103. However, it was easy enough to find what we needed easily.
After the first 108 pages, there are Tests, which are immediately followed by the Test Key. You could make a copy of the test for your student to give to them and then grade it using the key.
The format of both of the books makes it easy to understand what you should be doing. For example, on Lesson 5, it tells you at the top of the page (of either Guide) which pages it corresponds to in the D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, which happens to be 30-37 for this lesson. It also mentions the people or topic that will be studied. For this lesson, we focused on Aphrodite, Ares, and Athena.
Our family would read the assigned pages together, taking time to really look at the illustrations and try to understand the story before we even started to work on anything in the Student Guide. I worked on this primarily with my 3rd grade son, and we did one lesson a week during this review period.
Once we had a feel for the story, I would have my 3rd grade son look over the Facts to Know section. For this lesson, it included a lot of information, including characters such as Eros, Area, Metis, and Nike, as well as the place Athens, among other important terms and people. Next to each one, it listed information. For example, for Eros, it said, "Aphrodiet's son, also known as Cupid." This is all we would do on the first day.
On the second day, we would reread the passage again. Then, we would go over the Vocabulary section of the Student Guide. For this exercise, we would locate the word in the reading for that lesson first. I would ask him to try and come up with a definition based on the context clues in the passage. Once we had talked about that, he would either write it down if he was right, or we would look it up in the dictionary. I wouldn't just let him copy from the dictionary, though. I would discuss synonyms of it and other words similar to the vocabulary word to really help him paint a mental picture of the terms being discovered.
On the third day, we read the passage again and then started answering the Comprehension Questions in the Student Guide. I did allow my son to do some of this orally, as I'd rather he give me the correct answer and show me his comprehension than simply spend hours writing. He has good handwriting, but his desire to be concise really drags the whole process out much longer than you would expect.
Anyway, I would have him answer these questions for me. Sometimes, he would need to reread portions of the book to be able to come up with the answer. I encouraged that, because I'm certainly of the school of thought that it's very important to know how to find your answer when it isn't totally memorized quite yet.
Finally, on the fourth day, we did the Activities section of the Student Guide. As usual, we did read the passage again first to keep it fresh on his mind before beginning. This section has several different activities. For Lesson 5, it had my son doing some map work and identifying places. It also had him adding information to some lists in the back of the Student Guide.
I like the Greek Myths Lists page because it gives students a place to tie together all of the Greek myths in one place. There are lists of: heroes hidden in youth, sisters, fifty sisters, mortals punished for hubris, and unusual punishments in Hades. This allows them to see themes emerge throughout multiple myths, which is really cool!
After every 5 lessons, there is a review lesson. This lesson reviews the previous 5 lessons, including vocabulary, characters, places and mapwork, and more. It is pretty intense, so I took it slow and worked on it with my son. I allowed it to be an open book review once he had an opportunity to try and remember it himself.
The set also came with flashcards. The information on these flashcards correspond with the 110 Drill Questions for Greek Mythology, which can be found on pages 100-102 in both the Teacher Guide and Student Guide. We didn't utilize these much because my son had trouble with them, mainly because the wording on them is a tad different than the wording used when each person, place, or concept was introduced in the lesson pages. We would have liked the flashcards to contain the same wording to make it more uniform throughout, but I think this would be a great tool for older students to drill their Greek Myths facts.
Each flashcard is numbered so you know exactly which lesson it corresponds to, as well. I loved that, because it made it easy to look back and find out what we had already studied about this information, as well as where we could read about it in the Greek myths book itself.
Overall, I really do like this curriculum. It is very thorough and was kind of tough for my 3rd grader. In hindsight, I should have done it with my 5th grader instead, and just let my 3rd grader join in with the reading and possibly the flashcards with her so he could "test" his knowledge, too, without doing the Student Guide.
I love the amount of vocabulary introduced in this curriculum. It certainly makes you stop and appreciate the detailed descriptions and wealth of information that were shared by simply looking at and looking up the words chosen to convey the stories. We learned a lot as a family just through reading, but my son has really benefited from the Student Guide work over the past few weeks. He's been truly working on his critical thinking and comprehension through this, which has actually translated over into other subjects as well.
The Crew reviewed this and a few other offerings from Memoria Press. Check out reviews from other families by clicking on the banner below:
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With the blessings of Shrimad Rajchandraji and the guidance of Pujya Gurudevshri, the Mission has witnessed a remarkable growth since the inception of the Ashram. There has been commendable progress in all areas, from spiritual activities to seva initiatives, from the internal development of seekers to the external growth of the Ashram, from the increase in the number of aspirants to the presence of Saints gracing the Ashram. It has been a truly inspiring and elevating journey. Let us travel back in time and experience the grace of the Divine through glimpses of the journey so far.
© Copyright . Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur. All rights reserved.


Nowadays, there are so many options available to the amateur cyclist that help enhance the training experience. The Athlete Lab in Sydney is one such option I would recommend without hesitation after I was fortunate enough to experience four different training sessions in September and October before relocating to Europe.
The Athlete Lab opened its doors in Sydney and Singapore in 2012 by a group of triathletes who wanted a time-efficient training facility which was more technical and relevant than the spin studios that already existed. It was important for the studio to be conveniently located, and Circular Quay provides the perfect location as a transport hub for trains, buses and ferries. The bikes used are Adjustabikes, which feel like real bikes, accurately reflecting the feel of the road, a feeling that just is not possible from normal spin bikes. These bikes were originally developed for Olympic athletes and incorporate real gears and groupsets. The riding position is identical to a road bike and the same muscles (hip flexors and quadriceps) are used, unlike a spin bike, where the flywheel makes your hamstrings work harder to slow the pedals as they come around.
The training sessions follow the Shane Sutton Method, a world class training protocol used by professionals and utilising power based training. The sessions are designed to work at different training zones - based on a percentage of Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and the bikes are automatically controlled by a master computer, ensuring participants work at the required intensity. Ultimately, this allows all levels of rider to be able to benefit from quality training, specific to their fitness level.
During a session, riders can watch accurate real-time data; power metrics, heart rate, cadence, Training Stress Score (TSS) and other key metrics on the screens in front of them and at the end of the ride all this data can be automatically updated to Strava or Trainingpeaks.
The Athlete Lab has recently employed new Head Coach, James Lamb 'Chops'. Bringing a wealth of knowledge of power training, he has already stamped his mark on the 'Lab' by incorporating his power sessions into an already impressive and varied timetable. There are five key sessions on the schedule, each lasting from 45min-1hour in duration and varying in structure. Ironmania (Zone 2-3), Super Strength Endurance (Zone 4), Threshold Booster (Zone 4), Powerhouse (Zone 5) and HIIT Hurt Box (Zone 6-7).
My first session was the Super Strength Endurance class, a class designed for riders training for events of over 2 hours duration. This was a perfect introduction for me as a long distance mountain biker and I felt comfortable working in Zone 4 (91-100% FTP). I came away with a very positive impression of the bikes, particularly of how realistic they are. I enjoyed the fact that there was so much useful data and the fact this data is on the screen for all to see which provided plenty of motivation for me to keep working hard throughout the session. The lab also has a stretch room, good shower and locker facilities, bike shoe hire and free towel hire.
In my final class, I revisited a Super Strength Endurance session with a James Lamb designed programme entitled Saw Tooth Mountain. This was an interesting twist to the basic programme and the 55 minutes seemed to fly by, but not without plenty of exertion and perspiration. There was plenty of camaraderie in this class and it was great to suffer with cyclists of all abilities.
I would strongly recommend trying out the Athlete Lab in Sydney. It is an excellent facility, with great equipment, scientifically proven training programmes, friendly staff and a varied timetable of activities. As for me, I am now keen to try out the Athlete Lab London, which made its debut at 110 Cannon Street in Spring 2014.


Alar base surgery refers to the shape and symmetry of your alar base and nostrils of your nose. This area of your nose plays a significant role in the appearance of your nose. For many Asians, this type of surgery is used to reduce a broad alar base. At times, this type of surgery needs to be combined with supplementary surgical techniques to achieve an aesthetically balanced appearance.


Mikes Collision & Tire provides you with full range of auto body and Mechanical services. You'll get professional, courteous service while your vehicle is being repaired with our state-of-the-art repair equipment, and certified staff. Our Staff can handle everything from major auto body damage caused by an accident, to minor paint chips, scratches dents, and door dings. We pride ourselves on our modern service departments. Rest assured, your auto body and mechanical repairs will be done Right the "First Time" at our one stop shop.


This is an enlightening and important piece by constitutional attorney John Rutherford who sheds light on facts such as local police across America, since 911, have received $34 billion in Federal grants to purchase military equipment. That Police are becoming more and more "aggressive" in dealing with suspects, many of whom are completely innocent and decent citizens. SWAT raids on wrong homes, resulting in accidental deaths are skyrocketing and going largely unreported.
In conjunction with the upcoming release of his new book, A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, John W. Whitehead sits down to discuss several "pressure points" that are threatening the Bill of Rights and undermining our essential freedoms. In part one of this special series, Whitehead examines the increased presence of militarized police.


That entropy increases over time is not weird. The number of ways things can be unorderly are many more than the ways they can be orderly so this is an effect of probability.
It does not explain why the universe started with very low entropy, it rather contradicts it. Are there any theories to why it is so?
Closed as off-topic here (see http://theoreticalphysics.stackexchange.com/faq) and in physics.SE there seems to be a duplicate.


The famous poems listed on this page detail the full titles of the famous poems and their poets. Clicking on one of the famous poems of choice will enable access to the lyrics / words of the poems. The list is clearly not exhaustive but it is believed that a good cross section of famous poems and famous poets have been included. The most popular poems and their categories have been selected and these poems can be found by clicking a main navigation links or on the links to the following categories : Love Poems, Inspirational Poems, Friendship Poems, Sad Poems, Funny Poems, Short Poems, Religious Poems, Nature Poems, Nature Poems, Romantic Poems and War Poems.


The Asbury Park Press reports that the state of New Jersey is taking steps to control rising auto insurance rates by limiting medical expense claims for people injured in automobile accidents.
Marshall McKnight, spokesman for the Department of Banking and Insurance, says that 97 percent of requested insurance rate increases are a result of personal injury protection (PIP). A number of proposed revisions to the state's PIP system would reduce costs by changing fees paid to same-day surgery centers, cutting costs on alternative providers like chiropractors and imposing limits on attorney's fees in arbitration cases.
"The goal is to control PIP costs so we do what we can to reverse this upward pressure on rates that PIP is having right now on auto insurance," said McKnight. "We've seen costs rise alarmingly over the past several years."
The new rules would prevent individuals from using "diagnostic tests or practices that are not from evidence-based, clinical guidelines published in peer-reviewed journals," according to the source.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports that as of 2008, 77 percent of insured drivers purchase comprehensive packages and liability insurance, and 72 percent also bought collision coverage.


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The linen department has a look of ease and elegance created by products that are classic and contemporary in style.
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Customers are provided with high quality styled products that are displayed as complete stories and sold by knowledgeable staff.
Our ranges vary from basic cottons to exclusive Percale and Egyptian cottons. You will leave the store with a long lasting solution to your linen requirements.
Indulge your guests (or treat yourself) to a new set of our super-soft cotton towels and luxury bath sheets, which will give your bathroom a five-star hotel look and feel.
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Sandringham Gardens has been caring for the Jewish aged in Johannesburg for over 100 years. Our residential facility is haven and home to 400 senior citizens, many of whom are, sadly, in need of long-term hospitalization.
For those in the residential section who are well enough to enjoy the wide range of amenities on offer, regular entertainment, outings, in-house functions, religious lectures and a beautifully maintained "heimish" shul, with services 3 times daily, are on hand. Also available are a hairdressing salon, library and Nosh Bar which supplies delicious snacks at excellent prices. Tasty and nourishing food is prepared by the professional catering team who pay faithful attention to special dietary requirements.
Naturally, healthcare is an essential component in a facility of this nature and the Community Medical Centre provides professional and excellent coordinated medical care to those in need of it. Physiotherapy, radiography, dentistry, speech and hearing as well as a fully equipped pharmacy, are all part of the Centre. There are 5 full time General Practitioners and a large nursing staff. Access to visiting specialists is arranged.
Our remarkable residential facility is a warm and caring place and sits amidst beautifully cultivated and maintained gardens which, weather permitting, the residents enjoy enormously.
Unfortunately, more than half of our residents are partially or fully subsidized by the Chevrah Kadisha Group as they are unable to afford the modest accommodation fees. It is for this reason that continuous fundraising is essential for the Home.
"It was at the Annual General Meeting of the Chevrah Kadisha held on 27 August 1911 that the General Body empowered the Committee to carry out a scheme of establishing a Home for the Jewish Aged. A Special General Meeting of the Chevrah Kadisha was held on Sunday 18 February 1912 at the Hebrew High School – the business of which was to confirm the purchase of a suitable piece of land for the establishment of a Jewish Aged Home. The Home was called "Witwatersrand Jewish Aged Home – Beit Moshav Zekeinim" and was officially opened on 30 June 1912. There were 12 residents – 8 men and 4 women".
Over time and for many years, Sandringham Gardens has operated independently – though always with strong ties – of the Chevrah Kadisha, but on the eve of Rosh Hashana 5761 / 2000 these two century-old welfare institutions merged, thus completing a time-cycle that began in 1911.
Small hands made a big impact when 200 bat mitzvah girls joined regular Chevra Kadisha volunteers at Sandringham Gardens in Johannesburg to pack more than 250 food parcels for recipients of welfare.
The girls, who attend schools around the city of Johannesburg such as Eden, Fairways, Crawford, Hirsh Lyons, Torah Academy and the King David's are part of the Roots Bat Mitzvah Programme which aims to teach them the concept of chesed and acts of loving kindness. Educational Director, Ronit Janet, runs the program with a dynamic team of Madrichot and endorsement from Chief Rabbi Goldstein.
The Chev's food parcel program has been running every week for many years, with additional supplies on offer for festivals. "No-one is ever turned away" says Shirley Resnick, Chev Financial Assistance Manager, "Anyone who comes to us to ask for help with food will get it".
CHEVRA KADISHA PILLARS GRATITUDE GALA BANQUET 2013 Written by the Chev The invitation themed the function "OUR CHANCE TO SAY THANK YOU", promising there would be no fundraising targeting existing Pillars. And that's exactly what the Gratitude Gala Banquet on October 27th delivered. It was a gracious, elegant affair held at the Sandton Convention Centre and attended by over 1,100 Chev supporters of every age. Their objective was to ensure that every donor felt appreciated.
Homing in on this concept were several grateful recipients of Chev support, two of whom ascended the podium to share their touching stories. Monique Price spoke eloquently of motherhood - the hardships and sacrifices faced by her own mother when her father passed away at a young age, leaving her to raise her children alone on a teacher's salary. Today, Monique is a doctor, only because the Chev helped her fulfil her dream to become one.
Chad Wright, 26, articulate and well-groomed, talked with quiet confidence about the two lives he has thus far led: the first of drugs, prostitution and desolation; the second of peace, comfort and support, which began, finally, with his move into Arcadia Children's Home at age 13.
Wayne Kopping's touching video depicted more real stories of ways the Chev has helped people grappling with intellectual disability, fighting their way through depression, and recovering from simple bad fortune.
Chairman, Colin Datnow and Vice Chairman, Gary Herbert were privileged to share the stage with the legendary Jacko Maree. He represented the Pillars partner, Standard Bank Private Clients, who not only sponsored the function, but also offered a million rand cash prize to the donors lucky enough to win the draw. It turned out to be Eric and Mireille Levenstein who stunned and delighted the guests by promptly donating the award money back to the Chev!
The décor and menu exemplified tasteful simplicity and dazzling entertainment was provided by violinists, drummers and tap dancers. As well as each Pillar donor received a personally inscribed commemorative book. The message throughout the evening was clear: while the Chev does the work, it is their donors who provide the means and rightfully deserve the credit.
A LIFE TOUCHED BY…. SANDRINGHAM GARDENS Anthony Fisher is 42 and used to run his own business in wooden doors and windows. In October 1999, while skiing on the Vaal with some friends, Anthony had a life-changing accident. He lost control of his jet-ski and it hit him on the head. He was rushed to the Milpark hospital and remained there in a coma for weeks. His mom, Arlene, says the hospital wanted her to pull the plug but she refused to do that. After a month she moved Anthony to a hospital in Durban where, a further two months later, he finally came out of his coma on 24 December 1999.
"He was like a small child", says Arlene. "He couldn't talk or walk and a long road of rehabilitation began". She would take him from their home in Balito to Durban every day for physiotherapy, speech therapy and OT.
11 years after the accident, in October 2010, Arlene had to leave her beautiful beach house and move to Sandringham Gardens with Anthony for financial reasons. When Anthony arrived at Sandringham Gardens he was barely walking and was dependent on Arlene for almost everything. He needed, and was given, lots of therapy.
Now, after only 16 months at Sandringham Gardens, to the delight of both mother and son, Anthony can walk really well. He uses a walker sometimes, but on good days, he can walk with a stick and barely leans on it. He dresses himself, takes himself for haircuts, socialises, showers on his own and goes to gym at Wanderers twice a week where his friends are. He goes to shul every morning and afternoon and helps to make up the Minyan.
"Since Anthony came to Sandringham Gardens I can't even begin to describe how much he has improved in such a small space of time" Arlene says. "Everybody knows him and he is very popular. There are always people around him and it has brought him out of his shell. He loves it here".
Anthony confirms this and says he is very happy at Sandringham Gardens. He has made so many friends and is never lonely. The older ladies love dancing with him at every opportunity and he spends time visiting the sick in the hospital. He has a strong support system and feels like he has a huge family within Sandringham Gardens.
Sisters in Isolation This amazing story is entirely true although names have been changed to protect their identities. For over 40 years, two sisters occupied a one-bedroom apartment in Hillbrow. With the passage of time they retreated further and deeper into their own world and away from society and contact with the outside. Afraid of lifts and distrustful of people, they remained inside their home for 25 years and allowed visitors no entry. Their meals were delivered to them and all business was conducted telephonically – including their dealings with the Chevrah, which provided them with moderate financial support.
The one situation they lived in fear of – knowing they could not deal with it in their self-imposed exile - was illness. Ultimately, that was what changed everything for them.
Shirley Resnick, Manager of the Chevrah's Financial Assistance Services, says that she has been working on the case of the isolated sisters for 10 years, doing everything she could to persuade them to leave their apartment and move into Sandringham Gardens.
Five years ago, when the younger sister, "Melanie", discovered a breast lump, it almost happened. After much persuasion she agreed to see a doctor at the Chevrah's Community Medical Centre, who referred her to a surgeon. For each appointment, Shirley collected and accompanied her. The sisters' worst fears were realized. A mastectomy was urgently required which would include a few days at the Rosebank Hospital and post-operative respite care at the Sandringham Gardens hospital. It was hoped that her sister, "Florence", would join her at Sandringham Gardens and that they would stay. But after 3 weeks Melanie returned home.
Then two years ago, Melanie called Shirley in panic. Her sister was ill and needed urgent hospitalization. Shirley called Hatzolah and accompanied the ambulance to collect and calm the sisters. The emergency team at Linksfield Clinic staunched the bleeding and discharged the patient into the care of Sandringham Gardens.
They came to Sandringham Gardens together with only the clothes on their backs and have remained as residents for the past 2 years. "This place is heaven on earth" said Florence. "And we have barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer!" These two lovely ladies now feel enormous relief that they have escaped their "self-incarceration" and see this move as a very positive sign for the future. Shirley says they are well-liked and that they feel a lot safer and happier.
"I am very happy at Sandringham Gardens," said a resident who recently moved in.
"I am never lonely and have made new friends. I know everybody and am kept busy.
The medical staff and cleaners are wonderful. The food is excellent and healthy.
If I need any extra help I can ring a bell. My room is comfortable, fully carpeted and north facing and it's always kept clean".


A project in Brno, Czech Republic called "Rapid Re-Housing" providing municipally-owned apartment units for lease to families at risk of homelessness is celebrating significant success after its first year. According to research by Ostrava University, a total of 96 % of the families in the project have managed to maintain their housing, and what is more, the state of health of the children involved and their parents has improved.
"Brno is a pioneer in innovative social projects. I am glad that bravery has paid off, and as is being demonstrated with the Rapid Re-Housing project, this is the correct way forward. The findings of the study confirm that security of tenure significantly influences the lives of the families involved. We want to continue this trend. Our aim is to end homelessness for families with minor children in this city," said Mayor Petr Vokřál.
As part of the Rapid Re-Housing project, 50 people at risk of homelessness were leased municipally-owned apartments. Researchers from Ostrava University then followed the families after they moved in and compared their trajectories to those of a control group of families who remained housing insecure.
Using the methods of a randomly controlled experiment, the researchers measured the impact of participation in the project on the health and other lifestyle characteristics of the families. "Our experiment is unique within the Czech Republic exactly because it uses methods that are customarily rather used in medical science and in the context of global science to test the effect of access to housing primarily on these families. The first findings were presented at international expert conferences and we are planning to publish them in academic journals," explained the head of the research team, Štěpán Ripka of Ostrava University.
The most important outcome for the leadership of the City of Brno is the fact that a total of 48 families of the 50 participating managed to maintain their housing, demonstrating the functionality of the method. "The project outcomes are especially important today when we are following how residential hotels are gradually closing in different cities, and city governments must address the fact that families with minor children are ending up, through no fault of their own, from one day to the next on the street. Brno now can be, for the rest of the republic, an inspiration in how to sensitively address the issue of social housing and thereby prevent the creation of ghettos," said Matěj Hollan, the Deputy Mayor in charge of culture and social affairs.
The first findings of the data analyzed, moreover, reveal that during the first six months of the project the level of psycho-social stress significantly declined among the mothers participating, that both adults' and childrens' sleep improved, that their subjective perception of their personal safety increased, and their mistrust of society was reduced, which according to researchers is essential for family integration. The physical health of the families also improved - the numbers of calls to ambulances and hospitalizations declined, as did the amounts of antibiotics used, while the overall state of health improved for both children and their parents.
"Already after the families had been in their housing for six months we could state that the project had saved 25 ambulance calls, 19 hospitalizations, and 63 antibiotic prescriptions for the 50 families being followed in comparison to the control group. The accident rate of the children after six months declined from 12 % to 2.4 %. We anticipate the project will have a positive impact on public expenditure in the area of health care," Ripka said.
The overall findings after the project's first year will be presented this autumn by the researchers. "Rapid Re-Housing, without a doubt, has demonstrated that people in need of housing can deal with regular residency without any problems. The first findings of the study, moreover, document clear effects on the health and psychological state of people access stable housing. We can choose whether thousands of children in these families will grow up in poverty without any future, or we can give them a chance. We have shown that our approach works. Now it is just a matter of whether those who have the power to change the current state of affairs will be brave enough to do so," commented Martin Freund, the city assembly manager-at-large for social inclusion.
The Rapid Re-Housing project was financed from an EU subsidy and the city contributed approximately 1.6 % of the overall cost. The overall costs were CZK 9.7 million [EUR 372 000].
Project funding financed the work of three partners - the City of Brno, which guaranteed its implementation and partially provided social work, Ostrava University, and the IQ Roma Servis NGO. Ostrava University provided all of the evaluation of the project and undertook the research, while IQ ROma Servis provided social work with the families.


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Home / Inductees / Karlheinz Brandenburg
Dr. Brandenburg was a driving force behind some of today's most innovative digital audio technology, notably the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly known as mp3; and the MPEG audio standards. A pioneer in digital audio coding, he has been awarded about 100 patents. In 1989 he earned his PhD from the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, in Electrical Engineering for work on digital audio coding and perceptual measurement techniques. His dissertation research forms the basis not only of mp3, but also of MPEG-2 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) and most other modern audio compression schemes.
While at AT&T Bell Laboratories in the US from 1989 to 1990 he worked on ASPEC, the basis for mp3. In 1990 he returned to Germany to continue his research in the field of audio coding, and in 1993 he became head of audio and multimedia technology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen. Brandenburg is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Audio Engineering Society.
Brandenburg has received numerous awards, including, in December 2006, the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He also won the German Internet Award NEO (2001) and the IEEE Engineering Excellence Award (2000). The International Electrotechnical Commission named him one of the 120 most important inventors and masterminds in the field of electrical engineering and admitted him to the Hall of Fame of Thinkers Through the Ages. In 2007, he was elected in the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. Recently, German Business Journal Manager Magazine inducted him into the German Research Hall of Fame.
Since 2000, Brandenburg has been a full professor at the Institute of Media Technology at Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany. He also is director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau. For his research in the field of audio coding, he received an honorary PhD from the universities Koblenz-Landau and Luneburg in Germany.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


These are samples of some of my drawings and the work I've done in the past seven and a half years.
I have been working in the steel business since 1974 for various steel fabricators and construction companies. Most recently I worked for Myers & Company Architectural Metals for 18 years. I was laid off in 2009 and have been self employed since then. I have been doing small structural jobs, ornamental metalsmithing, blacksmithing, and steel detailing. My specialty is curved stair and rails. I work with a small number of structural and ornamental steel fabricators and also work as a steel broker. I get the best prices from other steel companies because I provide the drawings and work out the designs.
If you are a contractor that needs a price for structural or architectural steel, send me the drawings and I'll give you a price right away. For example, if an architect has a railing or stair sketch that needs the details worked out I can help. I have years of experience designing all kinds of stairways and railings. I also do lighting, driveway gates, doors, fire place doors.
If you are a steel fabricator that needs the lowest price for shop drawings, send the drawings to me. I'll have you an estimate within 24 hours.
I can save you money and get you a top notch product. I never miss a deadline!
Stainless Steel Sconce Stainless Steel Tabernacle Tabernacle Drawing for Approval Communication is the key. I will make sure that everyone involved, stays involved, and everyone concerned is happy with the finished product. You won't regret giving me a chance to help you.
Copyright 2011 Rocky Mountain Design & Fabrication. All rights reserved.


Some of the names and voices have been changed to protect identity.
Animation Software – Powered by GoAnimate.
Written by: Nancy Slawski on November 2, 2012.
Corporate Competencies from Classroom to the Workplace – Are They Ready?


The Alliance for a Fairer Retirement System exists to represent millions of senior Australians, shareholders, self-funded retirees planning a sustainable retirement.
Read more about the Alliance's objectives and governance, structure and operations on the Our Voice page.
We urge you to take action against the current threat of Labor's proposed franking credit tax change and have drafted a letter for you to send to your local Member of Parliament or Senator. You can find this letter and the instructions on our Our Voice page. If you are passionate about this issue and wish to send a message to your local Member of Parliament or Senator, support us by taking action now.


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TRANSEC : ENHANCED TRANSMISSION SECURITY
Privacy Provisioned Infrastructure Over Optical Transmission Fiber
Technology Demonstration
Transmission Privacy
"not a replacement for encryption"
"a complimentary tool"
In-bound and out-bound transmission data can be intercepted in 'less-secure' areas, by placement of undetectable physical taps, that enable passing data to be discretely eavesdropped, intercepted, read, stored or deciphered in a lab.
You should be able to expect transmission data should only be read or viewed by both the sender and recipients. No one should see the data outside of the intended recipients and until Apriori Network Systems, there was no practical solution an ISP or Service Provider could offer their customer base.
Why put any data, encrypted or not, in the hands of adversaries?
When we learned that optical fiber could be physically tapped, it inspired us to bring a solution to market that was easy to implement, 100% network compatible; transparent to encryption and agnostic to speed, modulation, protocol and wavelength.
While encryption helps people sleep a bit better at night, think of the hundreds and thousands of breaches with or without encryption, where emails, personal and banking information are harvested - - yet , even in encrypted systems, the IP Headers are not encrypted and could be harvested and made useful in the hands of the wrong people, which is why our emphasis is on preventing transmission data from being intercepted.
The IP Header information at the beginning of an IP packet which contains information about IP version, source IP address, destination IP address, time-to-live, etc. Two different versions of IP are used in practice today: IPv4 and IPv6.
Metadata or non- content data—"outside the envelope" information, such as sender and receiver identification, IP address, basic subscriber information, date, time, and location data—can be surprisingly revealing.
This information is often as valuable or more so for law enforcement than content data. With enough of this non-content data, law enforcement can gather and infer enormously useful information, such as whom a subject was communicating with, about what, where, and when—much of the most important information for conducting criminal investigations. Since this non- content information is not typically encrypted, law enforcement (and hackers, too!!4) has access to an enormous new trove of non-content data in the form of e-mail logs, GPS location data, and more.
Excerpt from Andrew Keane Woods, Encryption Substitutes, Hoover Working Group on National Security, Technology, and Law, Aegis Series Paper No. 1705 (July 17, 2017), available at https://lawfareblog.com /encryption-substitutes.
We are a very experienced company with deep, global system, sub system, component, sub-component, fiber and electronics control sub system development, design and manufacturing. This is evolutionary engineering that solves a big problem with elementary integration of standard products.
The A-PRIORI2 physically secure PRIVATIZING fiber link span can be used stand-alone OR as an add-in/splice-in to your current network spans.
The A-PRIORI cable is 100% network compatible, with the fiber designed, manufactured by your preffered vendors we partner with, to the very same as standard Single Mode Fiber used throughout the worldwide enterprise networks.
Our ideal use-case combines the patented Apriori Network Systems Physically Secure Fiber link, with existing in-the-field encryption, active analytics and protective distribution systems, (PDS) alarmed carriers. T This is why Apriori Network Systems and a growing group of telecommunications and cyber-security experts, companies and thought-leaders are driving this fail-safe element, to the overall optical fiber asset security tool-kit, "physically un-tappable optical fiber3".
PRIVATIZE Transmission Data: zero added latency!
Keeping secure information away from prying eyes is our chief concern. This physically secure optical fiber platform technology enhances your existing physical cable security by using deception, hardening, and end-to-end monitoring. Learn more about each here:
Denial and Deception Technology
Denial: A hacker who has secretly placed a tap at any point(s) in the protected fiber span, would not see their intended target, the transmission data-in-motion, which is passing safely through the Apriori fiber's inner cores or channels.
Deception: Instead, the only data the hacker's equipment will see is Apriori Network System's patented decoy or "chaff1" data, which is also in-motion in that very same optical fiber and by design, is more accessible to the hacker's data exfiltration equipment and intended to be intercepted.
The hacker, satisfied that their storage device(s) are loading up massive amounts of data, only to be a bit surprised at how useless that data becomes or worse, learning later that they have loaded their system with a toxic blend of useless data or worse, honey-pot tokens, malware specifically designed to be delivered to data thieves.
The network's transmission data passing through that very same fiber, (encrypted or unencrypted) safely, unimpeded passes transparently through Apriori fiber.
We demonstrate how effective the Apriori Network Systems technology is in a brief video, showing data moving from point "A" (Alice) of the link to point "B" (Bob), while the hacker or eavesdropper (Eve) only sees (and intercepts) the chaff.
The goal of Apriori Network System engineers is that a hacker only sees what the patented, automated intelligence generates for the hacker to see and collect, which later is taken to their lab to analyze and decipher.
Hardening - Protective Distribution Systems from Fiber Sensys Inc, Network Integrity Systems, Future Fiber Technologies and others, can be made interoperable with Apriori Network System's Secure Fiber Link. These systems reliably detect tampering and alert security guards with their government and military qualified electro-optical interrogation systems. Adding Apriori Physically Secure Optical Fiber spans, would add Data Theft Prevention to the alarmed detection system's capability and make use of Aprori Network fiber span's in-fiber sensing channel.
Automated Intelligence "Ai" applied
Similar to "Ai" in telecommunications fiber optic subsystems that make decisions inside Optical Channel Monitors, Variable Gain Amplifiers to balance optical power loads in between spans automatically.
Apriori Network Systems end-point boxes measures all in-bound transmission photo currents and makes decisions based on programmed information to distribute protective chorus of data that gets received by the tap.
The basis for the protective, surrounding decoy or chaff data streams are derived from photo currents metrics of the in-bound transmission data which registers in our system as Power Spectral Density (PSD) which tells us how much power, per channel, to let into the system for protective operations.
This a-priori2 knowledge, that transmission data entering the system span with a power signature, is the genesis of the company name.
Whether Added-On or Integrated into U.S. Government Qualified PDS Vendor Systems -OR- Field Upgrades of legacy CNSSI 7003 PDS, there is no equivalent optical fiber security solution on the market! The addition of a smart data theft prevention option enables security forces to sleep better!
Does not rely on any encryption algorithm.
Does not take up extra processing power or latency.
Does NOT require any key management system, which by its very software nature will always be vulnerable to hacking.
All passive and agnostic to the optical transmission signal you want to protect.
Take in any optical signal format, from a low-rate pluggable client signal all the way to a WDM multiplex of several ten Tbit/s, and output a physically un-tappable signal propagating on a specialty optical fiber. Underlying Technology
Space Division Multiplexing in Short Reach Optical Interconnects (JLT 02/15/17)
High Capacity Transmission Systems Using Homogeneous Multi-Core Fibers (JLT 03/15/17)
High Capacity Ultra-Longhaul Power Efficient Transmission Using 12-Core Fiber (JLT 02/15/17)
Ultra-High Capacity WDM-SDM Optical Access Network with Self-Homodyne Detection Downstream and 32QAM-FBMC Upstream (Optics Express 03/30/17)
Ultra-Dense 16x56Gb/s NRZ GeSi EAM-PD Arrays Coupled to Multicore Fiber for Short-Reach 896Gb/s Optical Links (OFC 2017)
Reconfigurable Radio-over-Multicore Optical Fronthaul for Seamless 2G, UMTS and LTE-A MIMO Wireless Provision (OFC 2017)
1 Chaff, (used in context of countermeasures) originally called Window[1] by the British and Düppel by the Second World War era German Luftwaffe (from the Berlin suburb where it was first developed), is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin pieces of aluminium, metallized glass fibre or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of primary targets on radar screens or swamps the screen with multiple returns.
Modern armed forces use chaff (in naval applications, for instance, using short-range SRBOC rockets) to distract radar-guided missiles from their targets. Most military aircraft and warships have chaff dispensing systems for self-defense. An intercontinental ballistic missile may release in its midcourse phase several independent warheads as well as penetration aids such as decoy balloons and chaff.
2 A-priori: (in law and legal definition use) Latin term meaning "from the cause to the effect."
3 "Physically Un-Tappable Optical Fiber", to Apriori Network Systems stakeholders refers to the protection of critically important, transmission data. The aforementioned chaff or decoy data is imminently tappable, by patented design from Apriori Network Systems and our optical fiber partner(s).
4 Apriori Network Systems LLC added that hackers also benefit from unfettered access to unencrypted meta data!
Apriori Network Systems
Copyright © 2013 Web Site Design by Web.com Group, Inc.


text:
Introducing New A-TACS LE Camo
Columbus, Georgia-based Digital Concealment systems announces the introduction of the newest camouflage pattern in their line-up. As the name indicates, new A-TACS LE Camo was developed for Law Enforcement professionals. The pattern combines various shades of grey, blue and black and utilizes the trademark "organic pixel" look developed by DCS for its original A-TACS AU Camo pattern. A-TACS LE also incorporates variable angles and urban forms derived from photography and effectively utilizes an even blend of light and shadow to create unique pattern with a slight horizontal flow. Additionally, A-TACS LE Camo was developed to work with variable combinations of black or blue nylon gear and other equipment allowing municipalities and departments the option to easily upgrade their kit on an "as needed" basis, gradually phasing in new items while still maintaining a cohesive and uniform appearance.
A-TACS LE Camo
A-TACS LE Camo joins DCS's current pattern line-up that includes the original A-TACS AU Camo pattern designed for arid and urban environments and introduced in 2009, and A-TACS FG Camo, designed for foliated green environments, which was introduced in 2011.
A-TACS LE Camo Pattern
A-TACS LE Camo will be available on a wide variety of fabrics and substrates including hydrographic film in the coming months. For additional information on A-TACS LE Camo, contact Digital Concealment Systems by e-mail at: info@a-tacs.com or, visit them online at: A-TACS.com
Digital Concealment Systems A-TACS LE Camo
A-TACS FG Revealed
Propper A-TACS FG Uniform Pre-Order Now Available
at Tuesday, January 15, 2013
PredatorBDU.com: New Products
Vertx Pants
Propper A-TACS Camo Military Clothing
PredatorARMAMENT.com: New Products
NiB BCG MK1 MOD0
Ares Armor NiB BCG
EFFIN A Compensator MKII
EFFIN A Comp MKII
MultiCam Tropic and Arid
TRU Uniform Now Shipping!
Propper V2 Fleece Hoodie
Vertx EDC Bags
MI Drop-In KeyMod Hanguards
MI Mid-Length KeyMod Hanguards
PredatorBDU.com: Popular Products
SORD Smock
Propper A-TACS ACU
A-TACS AU ACU
A-TACS Combat Shirt
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It's important for Army veteran Maggie Freas to work for the Veterans Administration or the Portsmouth Naval Hospital one day, and as one of the first graduates of Tidewater Community College's Pharmacy Technology program, she is on her way.
Freas earned her Career Studies Certificate Pharmacy Technician in May and already has a job at a Portsmouth Walgreens pharmacy, the same site where she completed her five-week internship for the program.
Shortly after graduating from Portsmouth's Wilson High, Freas spent seven years in the Army, achieving the rank of E-5 sergeant. She transitioned by spending another seven years as a Portsmouth police officer before she decided to pursue her education at TCC.
" I used my GI Bill to pay for school, and that really helped out a lot," she said.
Freas earned her Associate of Applied Science in Administrative Support Technology and her Associate of Applied Science in Administrative Support Technology (Medical Administrative Assistant) first. She has worked for Ann Ambrose, dean of business, public services and technology on the Portsmouth Campus, part time while attending school.
A previous position at CVS sparked her interest in pharmacy technology. TCC began the 24-credit program in 2013.
Freas aced her Virginia Pharmacy Technician Exam; the program has a 100 percent pass rate.
A second semester internship allowed her to work closely with the pharmacists and other techs, now her coworkers, at Walgreens.
Freas hasn't ruled out returning to school to become a pharmacist, but for now, she's happy as a tech. Her advice to anyone thinking about the field is to do your research first.


Infections can be a big problem on wards, as many ill people pass through them each day. Having a strong infection control regime is important for healthcare organisations with respect to the safety of their patients and staff. Having a good stock of effective infection control products can help keep your healthcare organisation free of germs and limit infection risks.


This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain.
During the Civil War, both sides believed that whoever controlled the Mississippi River would ultimately be victorious. Cotton exports generated much-needed revenue for the Confederacy, and the Mississippi was also the main conduit for the delivery of materials and food. Similarly, the Union sought to maintain safe passage from St. Louis, Missouri, to Cairo, Illinois, but also worked to bisect the South by seizing the river as part of the Anaconda Plan.
Drawing heavily on the diaries and letters of officers and common sailors, Barbara Brooks Tomblin explores the years during which the Union navy fought to win control of the Mississippi. Her approach provides fresh insight into major battles such as Memphis and Vicksburg, but also offers fascinating perspectives on lesser-known aspects of the conflict from ordinary sailors engaged in brown-water warfare. These men speak of going ashore in foraging parties, assisting the surgeon in the amputation of a fellow crewman's arm, and liberating supplies of whiskey from captured enemy vessels. The Civil War on the Mississippi not only provides listeners with a comprehensive and vivid account of the action on the western rivers; it also offers an incredible synthesis of first-person accounts from the front lines.


text:
The Final Track: Saying Goodbye to Recording Engineer Bob Sullivan
Wood, Wire & Words: Norman Blake's New Album Touches the Roots of American Music
Top 10 Off-the-Beaten-Path Billy Joe Shaver & Willie Nelson Songs (In Honor of Today's "Late Show" Appearance)
Complicated Songs: James McMurtry's "Complicated Games" Showcases a Master Storyteller.
Never Past the Point of Rescue: Hal Ketchum Overcomes Challenges of MS to Release New Album
Golden Keys: Saying Goodbye to Bobby Keys, Legendary Saxman for Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly
The Good Stuff: "Willie's Stash" Unveils Unique Archival Recordings
12 Christmas Songs for Those Who Won't Be Watching the CMA's Christmas Special
Billy Joe Shaver – Long in the Tooth
Country Music Hall of Fame member Jimmy Dean dies at 81
News — By Meghan D. Shapiro on June 14, 2010 7:35 am
Country Music Hall of Fame member Jimmy Dean died Sunday night (June 13) at his home in Varina, Va., at age 81.
His wife, Donna Meade Dean, told The Associated Press her husband had health problems but was still functioning well and was looking forward to his formal induction into the Hall of Fame later this year in Nashville. She said he was watching television when she left the room for a short time. When she returned, he was unresponsive.
In February, Dean, record producer Billy Sherrill and singers Ferlin Husky andDon Williams were announced as this year's Hall of Fame inductees. Husky and Sherrill were formally inducted last month during a private ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. Dean was scheduled to be inducted alongside Williams during a similar ceremony on Oct. 24.
In addition to his status as a recording artist, Dean was a television pioneer who brought country music to a national audience. In later years, he attained an additional identity nationally as the founder and spokesperson for the Jimmy Dean sausage brand.
Born Aug. 10, 1928, in Olton, Texas, he was playing piano, harmonica and accordion by the time he was a teenager. Dropping out of high school at age 16, he served in the Merchant Marines and U.S. Air Force. Stationed in Washington, D.C., he began performing at area clubs. Signed to Four Star Records, Dean's debut single, "Bummin' Around," reached No. 5 on Billboard's country chart in 1953.
The success led broadcaster Connie B. Gay to offer him the opportunity to host Town and Country Time, a three-hour television show that aired Saturday nights in Washington, D.C. In 1957, he moved to New York, signed with Columbia Records and hostedThe Morning Show, an early morning television variety show for CBS. In 1961, Dean wrote and recorded his signature song, "Big Bad John," in Nashville. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's pop and country charts and earned him a Grammy for best country & western recording.
He topped the chart again in 1965 with "The First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And the Last Thing Ev'ry Night)" and scored five more Top 10 hits during his tenures on Columbia, RCA Victor and Casino Records. With his success during the early '60s, Dean became the first guest host of The Tonight Show. From 1963-1966 on ABC, The Jimmy Dean Show introduced mainstream America to artists such as George Jones, Roger Miller, Buck Owens and Charlie Rich.
Dean headlined concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and the London Palladium and was the first country performer to play the Las Vegas strip.
During the late '60s, Dean expanded his business interests after buying a Texas hog farm and transforming it into the Jimmy Dean Meat Company. He sold the company to Sara Lee Corporation in 1984 and continued to be the company's spokesperson and chairman of the board for nearly 20 years.
Courtesy of CMT.com.
Tags: ceremony, Country, country music hall, donna meade, hall of fame inductees, jimmy dean sausage, member, olton texas, Television, williams


The MBA package. It's crantastic!
Functions to interpolate irregularly and regularly spaced data using Multilevel B-spline Approximation (MBA). Functions call portions of the SINTEF Multilevel B-spline Library written by yvind Hjelle which implements methods developed by Lee, Wolberg and Shin (1997; ).
MBA_0.0-8. Released almost 5 years ago.
MBA_0.0-7. Released over 9 years ago.
MBA_0.0-6. Released about 10 years ago.
MBA_0.0-5. Released about 10 years ago.
MBA_0.0-4. Released about 11 years ago.
MBA_0.0-3. Released over 12 years ago.
No one has written a review of MBA yet. Want to be the first? Write one now.
Search for MBA on google, google scholar, r-help, r-devel.
Visit MBA on R Graphical Manual.


Plus10Kapow: Cheeky Summer Collection- Yes, more stamping plates.
Cheeky Summer Collection- Yes, more stamping plates.
You may have noticed by now, that I'm rather a fan of stamping. So keeping in line with my last post of the Bundle Monster 2012 collection, I wanted to show you a new addition to my stamping plate family, the Cheeky Summer Collection. This is another picture heavy post.
I received an Amazon voucher for Christmas from my Brother in Law and of course, I went straight to the nail section. And that is where I found these beauties, here. At £12.99, for 26 stamping plates, this was a proper bargain. I'm slightly ashamed to say, that the main reason I bought this whole collection, was because of 2 plates, CH45 and CH47, but I fell in love with the whole collection as soon as it arrived.
They come in this cute little pink and white checked box. Which is excellent for storing plates rather than having them all over the place.
On the side of the box, it has a QR code to scan with your mobile phone which will take you here, to the Cheeky website for more products.
The back has product features, instructions on how to use and cleaning instructions, with a little customer comment down the bottom.
This is what you're greeted with when you open the box, very pretty and very cute.
On the inside flap, it has a 'Once upon a time....' section, which is a nice little 'About the company....' bit done the Cheeky way.
You also get this little card, which matches the box design and on one side it says 'May be used as a scraper in case of emergency'. This is good, because I hate the proper metal scrapers, they're just way too scratchy for my liking, so I use an old membership card which is on it's way out. Very handy.
On the other side, it says it's a 'Nail art license'. This has probably never happened, but I did have a moment of wondering if anyone has ever thought that this meant they were actually a real Nail Artist. Probably not though, ha ha.
The first thing I noticed about these plates, is that they are quite a bit bigger than other plates, so I did some comparison shots.
Above, the plate on the left is an older Cheeky plate and the plate on the right is a Bundle Monster plate.
Old Cheeky plate on top of newer Cheeky plate.
Not only is the plate size bigger, but so is the design size. I haven't measured them or anything but I have done some design side by sides to give you an idea.
So with the designs being slightly larger, it will make it easier to get complete coverage and better placement on the nails.
They have also changed the backing design, this design now matches the box and having a backing makes it so much safer when handling the plate.
Now onto the plates themselves.
How cute are they? I really like that the plates have a theme on each of them, and sometimes, 2 plates to each theme. For instance, CH47 and CH48 both have the Comic Book type theme.
Sadly, I haven't done a mani for myself using these, but I have done a friends mani with them, and I did notice that the designs are etched a fair amount deeper than other plates so you will need quite a heavy polish to make sure the design picks up completely, and make sure to scrape properly otherwise you might get some smudging.
Do you have this plate collection? I would love to see any mani's you have done using these, especially the comic book ones.
Hope you're all having a good week so far.


Parliamentary procedure is pervasive in most decision making groups of a dozen or more persons, but it is has been understudied as an important influence on the group communication process. It is not well understood by members of groups that claim to have adopted it, and procedures are seldom invoked in ways that verify a sophisticated model. However, parliamentary procedure need not be considered as simply a rigid set of laws. A multi-phase research project provides insight into how parliamentary procedure is selectively used in community groups and functions as a set of rules that influences the vigilance of the communication process.
Parliamentary procedure skills are taught in a class exclusively for this purpose in approximately one of six (17 percent) communication departments in "four-year" colleges and universities in the USA [Al Weitzel, "The Frequency of Parliamentary Procedure Classes in Higher Education," PARLIAMENTARY JOURNAL 35 (January, 1994), 16-20]. The classes generally focus much more on the correct use of parliamentary rules than on the communication process. However parliamentary procedure is a unique factor in many group contexts, and thus the manner in which group members communicate utilizing these rules deserves attention. In order to do so, this research analyzes some of the ways in which parliamentary rules are practiced outside the environment of a college classroom. Virtually no empirical research appears to have been devoted to this matter. This research investigates the practice of parliamentary procedure in the local community, as this is the context where it is most pervasive in our daily lives.
Recent communication research has generally ignored parliamentary procedure, but it remains an important factor in the group decision making that permeates our daily lives. Whenever a group of a dozen or so persons gathers to make decisions, some formal rules are usually adopted to democratize and/or facilitate the process, and very often these rules include some form of parliamentary procedure. Such gatherings include more than 23,000 national voluntary associations, 11,000 international associations, and 53,000 regional, state and local associations. In addition, parliamentary procedure permeates virtually all political decision making bodies and many decision making groups in day-to-day business contexts--boards, committees, and membership meetings. A 1992 book by the American Institute of Parliamentarians emphasized the pervasiveness of such meetings: There are more than 1.375 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. There are thousands upon thousands of governmental bodies at the local, county, state and regional levels. A research study, "How to Make Meetings Work," funded by the Carnegie Corporation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and conducted by Ventura Associates in New York City, reveals that more than 11 million meetings are held in the United States EVERY DAY, that middle management spends approximately 35 percent of its working day in meetings, that in top management the figure could be 50 percent or more.
This means that more than half one's organizational life could be spent attending or conducting meetings! The typical adult American at any time belongs to an average of six organized groups, to say nothing about informal organizations. As such, research investigating the communication process of utilizing parliamentary procedure in group contexts is clearly warranted.
Previous research in a parliamentary procedure context has lent little insight into the communication process, and the most recent systematic review of literature about parliamentary procedure in communication journals was published more than 15 years ago [Al Weitzel, "Parliamentary Procedure in Higher Education," PARLIAMENTARY JOURNAL, 21 (April 1980),16-24]. Literature prior to that time had generally focused on several themes. One theme, the "liberal arts orientation," argued that students could benefit from "the power that goes with knowledge" and "that their leadership potential could be enhanced." A second theme suggested methods for teaching parliamentary procedure, and a third theme centered on specific parliamentary matters, such as the role of the chair, the function of committees, or the nature of voluntary organizations. A fourth theme focused on a "philosophy" of parliamentary procedure and emphasized that parliamentary procedure should not be a raw use of power. Rather, it involves the use of good judgment in lieu of mechanical rules, and it should be used for carrying out the will of the group.
"parliamentary procedure determines the decision rules of argument and, indirectly, the strategies employed." Another article reconciled parliamentary procedure practice with methods of resolving conflicts in groups, utilizing a framework that focused on avoidance, conquest, reconciliation, compromise, and award. Both articles are conceptual analyses, not data-based empirical studies, and the authors have developed their arguments by drawing from national parliamentary bodies such as the British or Canadian Parliament or the United States Senate.
Much of the discussion of parliamentary procedure in textbooks and manuals often portrays it as "rational," systematic, and sophisticated, so one might, in turn, expect communication within any applied decision making context to conform to this model. Participants would be excellent arguers who are very knowledgeable about how parliamentary rules can be employed in a calculated way to facilitate their wishes and/or for effective conflict resolution, compromise, and "rational" decision making. However, communication researchers have devoted little effort to designing data-based, empirical studies to verify the practice of parliamentary procedure in real groups. In short, such research has not investigated how parliamentary procedure functions to facilitate or constrain communication in group decision making outside of the classroom.
As such, the "rational" model of decision making in parliamentary contexts may be a myth or may deviate substantially from a "formally" rational model. For example, it is generally conceded that legislators are not always fully candid and truthful in publicly articulating their positions on some issues in decision making contexts. Often, instead, they engage in public posturing while concealing their motives and beliefs. One might reason that parliamentary maneuvering and tactics might be similarly employed for the purpose of posturing. Thus, parliamentary procedure may, but need not necessarily enhance "rational" decision making and may even serve to constrain effective decision making.
The practice of parliamentary procedure in real groups appears to have a significant impact on communication, both in terms of how parliamentary processes arise from discourse and how patterns of discourse arise from invoking parliamentary rules (regardless of the accuracy of the invocation). And, in fact, as the literature reveals, there exists a wide variety of assumptions about how the rules function in group interaction; invocation of the rules may enhance leadership, promote good judgment, carry out the will of the group, determine decision rules, instigate strategies, or resolve and incite conflict. Clearly, further research is needed to investigate the impact of parliamentary procedure on group communication.
followed. However, a communication perspective places greater emphasis on how members communicate, regardless of their adherence to the rules. More importantly, by utilizing both a parliamentary perspective and a communication perspective we begin to see how the rules (following them and not following them) facilitate or constrain effective decision making in groups.
about the problems, options, and consequences facing the group affects the way they think about those problems, options, and consequences, which in turn, ultimately determines the quality of final choices they make as a group. Since it is clear that parliamentary procedure is designed to direct talk within a group, it makes sense that, in turn, it affects the way members think about problems, options, and consequences; thus it positively or negatively affects vigilance or critical thinking.
toward a better understanding of the relationship between a significant group process and performance in ongoing groups.
The research reported here represents an investigation of parliamentary procedure as it is practiced in the community -- in business decisions, citizen groups, and government-related groups. A three-phase project has been an attempt to answer two research questions: How is parliamentary procedure practiced in community groups? And how does a member's use of parliamentary procedure affect (facilitate or constrain) vigilance?
A team of researchers addressed the two research questions through a three-phase research project. The first two phases were reported in a journal article [Al Weitzel, "An Investigation of the Practice of Parliamentary Procedure in the Community," PARLIAMENTARY JOURNAL 34 (July 1993), 116-120] and on this website. Basically, in the first phase we contacted, by telephone, nine, local, non-profit groups and six profit-making organizations to determine how parliamentary procedure was used to conduct business meetings. We found that one-half of the public representatives of community groups in one of the largest cities in the U.S.A. do not even know what is meant by the term "parliamentary procedure," and those who were familiar with parliamentary procedure practice unanimously expressed strong regret that it was ineffectually used. Thus, parliamentary procedure generally appears to be a little-understood process in the public realm.
In the second phase researchers observed 15 meetings of civic groups that were mandated to use parliamentary procedure and six other non-profit groups that employed parliamentary procedure. Researchers also interviewed (in-person or by telephone) a random sample of more than 70 members of the groups, using a standardized interview schedule. We found that almost all members felt "comfortable" with parliamentary procedure and "liked the way parliamentary procedure" was used in the group. A smaller number felt "competent" in the use of parliamentary procedure. A prevailing qualification by many of those who felt comfortable was revealing. They explained that parliamentary procedure is used minimally in the groups. Most importantly, observations of the groups clearly verified that there is generally very loose application of the practice of parliamentary procedure even though the groups are mandated to use it. There was little evidence of a formally "rational" model of excellent arguers who were very knowledgeable about how parliamentary rules can be employed to facilitate their wishes and/or for effective conflict resolution, compromise, and decision making. Instead, parliamentary procedure was seldom employed and no evidence of calculated expertise was observed. It was generally employed, albeit without expertise, as a very useful communication tool for group decision making.
finest among the government-related groups that were observed in Phase Two of the research. While all of the community planning groups are required to conduct their meetings in an open forum using Robert's Rules of Order, the chair of this group was one of the most competent parliamentary users observed. Also, this planning group was the only one that functioned with a designated parliamentarian. In addition to focused analysis on two meetings, both authors are familiar with the group, either through observations or from insight gained from knowing a board member.
Using first-hand observations and analysis of tape recordings of two previous meetings of the group, a case study of a single meeting of the group was selected for several reasons. First, the case study best highlighted the function of parliamentary procedure in the group's communication process. For this particular phase of the research, we thought it important to capture the "groupness" of the organization by focusing on a continuous segment of a single meeting rather than segments from many meetings. In addition, the meetings of these civic groups do not require the use of parliamentary motions and tactics throughout. Portions of the meetings of the grass root councils are more information sharing and opinion giving than decision making, and, as indicated in Phase Two of this project, members of these groups seem to prefer, generally, minimal use of parliamentary procedure. However, the segment discussed here in very abbreviated form seemed to demand attention to parliamentary procedure more than others, in the opinion of the chair. The published version of this report contains a full transcript of the lengthy sequence of discussion.
As a part of "action items," the group began by deliberating at some length whether to consider a previous business item regarding re-zoning recommendations to the City Council for several pieces of property. There was a good deal of appropriate concern about whether it was legally appropriate for such items to be considered because they were not explicitly identified as a part of the "published" agenda. The chair explained that an agenda was "published" because it was sent prior to the meeting to members of the group and to parties interested in some specific properties. The tone that he set in this discussion is revealing of a very heavy emphasis on the quality of vigilance of the group. He said, "From this point on, I think your chairman is in trouble. I'm not exactly sure at this point." He explained why the published agenda was "generic" rather than including specific mention of the properties to be considered, and he noted that all interested parties were not present at this meeting. The item of business had been postponed at the last meeting as a "continuation" item. He explained, "My problem is that I'm not sure we can take a position tonight on any of these items because of the notification, unless anyone can explain to me. . . ."
The chair remained neutral and in firm command of the meeting, invoking a parliamentary rule to facilitate the communication of the group, saying at one point: "Wait a minute. We've got a motion. Read the book. It says we've got to have a second. Let's get a second, and then we can discuss it. Or it will die for a lack of a second. Do we have a second? [Pause] We don't have a second. The motion dies for a lack of a second."
The chair was again fostering decision rationality. Further discussion followed the failed motion, but, again, there was no evidence of parliamentary maneuvering, and the group's communication served to facilitate vigilance by prompting a look at different sides of the issue. In short, in no case was there evidence of sophisticated parliamentary maneuvering by members trying to achieve some ulterior motive or trying to constrain discussion.
The matter of what is acceptable as an agenda item for discussion warrants a great deal of concern from a legal perspective, of course, and thus is a matter of parliamentary concern. Further, from a parliamentary perspective, this business item is a legitimate concern because there is a question of how it should be "brought to the floor." However, there is little evidence here of a sophisticated model of parliamentary expertise. If the items had been "postponed definitely to the next meeting," they should be automatically considered as a part of "general orders," and the chair should have said so. However, if they were "tabled" at the previous meeting, a motion would first be necessary to "take them from the table," of course. Discussion at the meeting did not reveal which was the case.
No such motion was introduced for this first or the subsequent agenda items.
On the other hand, from a communication perspective, these legal-parliamentary matters are generally not of paramount importance. Since the first option (the business having been postponed) would not require any discussion (or "debate") and the second option (the business having been tabled) does not permit debate, according to ROBERT'S RULES, oral discourse would not be affected because there would be none. Further, the technical violation is not important from a communication perspective because it was apparent that the members wanted to consider the items. Thus, the parliamentary rules were not invoked. Instead, these episodes seem to represent people being vigilant simply by providing their opinion and verbally fostering "groupness."
This issue of whether and how to consider the action items was not the only technical violation of parliamentary rules at the meeting, and others can be mentioned to demonstrate some of the types of concerns that arise from a parliamentary perspective but not necessarily from a communication perspective. In short, the parliamentary perspective is a "legal" focus on the rules, whereas a communication perspective is a "functional" one that considers effective decision making.
violation that occurred later in the meeting, a member wished to withdraw a motion after it had been stated by the chair. The chair permitted him to do so without first seeking "unanimous consent" of the voting members.
Fundamentally, under the rules of parliamentary law, a deliberative body is a free agent -- free to do what it wants to do with the greatest measure of protection to itself and of consideration for the rights of its members (Robert, 1990, p. xliiv).
Our research clearly indicates that community groups invoke the principles articulated by Robert and use of parliamentary procedure only as it is seems essential to do so, and communication does not appear to generally be affected by this selective use of the rules.
The examples cited here are only a small sample of violations of parliamentary procedure protocol observed by researchers. For instance, this particular planning group was the only one of the eight community planning groups mandated to use parliamentary procedure that had appointed a designated parliamentarian; thus, the other groups were dependent on someone, usually the chair, to assure adherence to correct legal procedures.
However, there are some matters of parliamentary procedure that carry important ramifications from a communication perspective. For example, some of the planning groups fail to adopt the minutes of the previous meeting. Thus, if members later discuss a policy that was purportedly adopted, there can be significant disagreements about the issues because the minutes are not an accurate record of the membership's understanding of the action taken. For instance, at the meeting discussed here, a number of members made comments such as "I thought we had passed [some version of a motion]. . . ." In stark contrast was one member who read verbatim from the minutes of the previous meeting in order to argue his position, and there was no disagreement from other members. Without an accurate record of the previous proceedings, this argument would not be possible. Thus the careful adoption of minutes facilitated communication. Failure to precisely record a motion can inhibit effective communication by prohibiting "rational" argument and thus effective decision making that requires a good understanding of alternative courses of action.
Perhaps the most flagrant violation of parliamentary procedure was observed by one of the authors while attending a meeting of one of the community planning committees. An elected recording secretary introduced several motions that were very crudely phrased. At one point, he observed that one of these would "look better in the minutes." The chair then failed to state the motion, as required by ROBERT'S RULES. Thus, members of the assembly were confronted, apparently without due concern on their part, with addressing an ambiguously phrased motion that may or may not have been consistent with their understanding of the proposed action. Further, there is no accurate record of action taken that could be employed in future deliberations.
In sum, this phase of the research found virtually no evidence of the use of parliamentary procedure by members or the chair of the community group to further their ulterior motives. Instead, we observed people simply articulating their opinion and verbally fostering "groupness." There was evidence of frequent violations of parliamentary procedure technical matters, however. On the other hand, correct parliamentary procedure was invoked by the group to facilitate its communication.
It is surprising to discover that parliamentary procedure is so little understood by members of business organizations and other community groups even though many claim to have adopted it as a mode of decision making. Even in groups that are mandated to use it, procedures are seldom invoked in a way that verifies a technically "rational" and sophisticated model. Observations clearly indicate, as might be expected, that there is extremely wide variation in the correct use of parliamentary procedure in community groups. However, a person who has completed a single college-level class in parliamentary procedure generally has little difficulty in identifying errors in the use of parliamentary procedure as generally practiced. These errors range from basics, such as correctly introducing and seconding a motion, to the chair's handling of motions and voting violations. Members of the community groups seldom are sophisticated enough to correctly use technically oriented procedures such as privileged, subsidiary, or incidental motions.
in more explicit terms of assessment of the task, assessment of evaluative criteria, assessment of positive qualities, and assessment of negative qualities. The group seemed to clearly understand their task at the meeting and the difficulties in accomplishing it. In brief, they knew full well that an important criteria for their action was the legality of the matter, and they weighed, as positive and negative qualities, local precedent and state law, their previous actions, and Robert's Rules as guiding forces.
virtually no reports of members using their knowledge of parliamentary procedure as a power-enabling tool to accomplish ulterior motives to the exclusion of the rights of other members.
their concerns are warranted. It appears that few groups have a designated parliamentarian who is an "expert," minutes are sometimes recorded and approved/corrected in a "slipshod" fashion, and motions are processed in a "sloppy" way. Deliberately or unwittingly, chairs and other would-be leaders seem to command immense, potential power -- apparently seldom utilized -- in the assemblies as a result of what appears to be minimal knowledge by most members of parliamentary procedure. Parliamentary-competent persons generally seem very empathetic with those who lack sophisticated knowledge, and the "competent" persons often seem anxious to facilitate the agenda of the "incompetent" persons.
In short, observations indicate that parliamentary procedure, as practiced, fulfills its goal of providing an orderly, systematic means of decision making with seeming protection of the interests of members. Knowledge is power, and those who understand parliamentary procedure could probably run "roughshod" over others. However there are virtually no reports of persons choosing to do so. Parliamentary procedure is generally invoked only when it seems necessary as a means of achieving the group's goals and wishes, facilitating more time-efficient discussion, and in the process some procedures are correctly followed. Thus, the "philosophy" articulated in previous communication literature seems judiciously employed. Parliamentary procedure involves the use of good judgment in lieu of mechanical rules, and it should be used for carrying out the will of the group. It would appear that this should be the prevailing view when teaching parliamentary procedure within communication departments.
possible to identify the most important and most frequently occurring features of parliamentary procedure that influence decision making. For example, does the size of the group influence the extent and ways in which parliamentary procedure is used? The authors were members of a department of 11 faculty that used parliamentary procedure often and very adequately, albeit not expertly, to seemingly very productive ends. However, our department merged with others into a larger group of almost 30 faculty, and the prevailing norm seems to be more of a disdain for the use of parliamentary procedure. We can only conjecture about the basis for this view, and only further empirical research will lead to generalizable understanding of parliamentary procedure's function.