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10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_6_17
Prevalence of Depression in Breast Cancer Patients and its Association with their Quality of Life: A Cross-sectional Observational Study
Debasweta Purkayastha, Chitra Venkateswaran, Kesavankutty Nayar, UG Unnikrishnan
Department of Psychiatry, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Ernakulam, Kerala, India
Address for correspondence: Dr. Chitra Venkateswaran, Department of Palliative Care, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Ponekkara P.O., Edapally, Ernakulam - 682 041, Kerala, India. E-mail: chitven@gmail.com
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
This article was originally published by Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd and was migrated to Scientific Scholar after the change of Publisher; therefore Scientific Scholar has no control over the quality or content of this article.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. In India, the incidence rate of breast cancer is found to be 25.8/10,000 females. The statistics for Kerala, India, is 30.5 in urban areas and 19.8 in rural areas. Cancer and treatment-related symptoms are major stressors in patients with breast cancer undergoing treatment for the disease. Depression is a prevalent psychological symptom perceived by breast cancer patients, and it also impacts the quality of life (QOL) in these patients. We aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and its association with QOL of patients with breast cancer undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
This cross-sectional study enrolled 270 patients diagnosed with breast cancer (>18 years) and undergoing active treatment in a tertiary care center in Kerala, India. Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition Research guidelines. We measured the QOL and its domains using the WHOQOL-BREF.
The average age of women in research was 53.56 years. Of the 270 patients, 21.5% had depression. Among patients with depression, 22% had moderately severe to severe depression. Patients with depression experienced overall a poor QOL. Twenty-two patients reported their overall QOL was "poor" and 34 patients reported to be dissatisfied with their health. There was an association between depression and domains of QOL. Patients with depression had lower scores in all domains when compared to those without depression.
Depression and poor QOL is common among breast cancer patients.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer death in women, with roughly 1.4 million new breast cancer cases and 458,000 deaths in 2008.[1] It is considered as a terrifying disease due to a high mortality rate, its impact on self-image and sexual relationship.[2] The different modalities for treatment of primary breast cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy, all four of which can be used alone or as combination.[3] Surgery is the primary treatment for breast cancer, whereas chemotherapy and radiotherapy are adjuvant therapies commonly used after primary treatment to inhibit metastasis and enhance long-term survival rates.[4]
The number of women who survive breast cancer has significantly increased in recent years due to the advances in detection and treatment. However, the aggressiveness of the treatment exposes the patients to various treatment side-effects. In fact, cancer and treatment-related symptoms can be major stressors in a patient with breast cancer who is undergoing treatment for the disease.[5] Therefore, addressing the impact of breast cancer and its treatment on long-term outcomes is an important issue.[6]
Studies have shown that nearly a third to a half of female breast cancer patients are likely to experience psychological distress.[7] Among women with breast cancer, the prevalence of depression ranges from 1.5% to 50%, depending on the sample, and particularly the definition of depression and method of assessment.[89]
Quality of life (QOL) has been used as a primary outcome measure in recent years. It is a complex multidimensional assessment of the physical, psychological, and social well-being of individuals.[10]
The adverse effects of breast cancer or treatment-related symptoms and types of treatment have been associated with different domains of QOL.[11] High levels of depression in breast cancer can also influence coping with cancer and QOL adversely.[12]
Even after an effective treatment of the physical disease, such psychological distress may persist and accompany the patient for a long period, which has a negative impact on the patient's QOL.[1314] In most oncology settings, the treatment focuses only on the physical symptoms whereas the psychological distress is often overlooked.
Understanding these common psychiatric disorders and associated psychosocial factors found in breast cancer patients can help to plan for effective treatment of these patients and may result in more treatment success. In this study, we aimed to study the prevalence of depression in patients with breast cancer who are undergoing treatment and its association with their QOL.
To study the prevalence of depression among breast cancer patients undergoing treatment and to correlate its association with their QOL.
Study design and sample
This cross-sectional, observational study was done in a tertiary care hospital in Kerala, with a comprehensive cancer care unit including pain and palliative care and psycho-oncology units. This study was conducted from August 2014 to August 2016. The study population included patients aged above 18 years who were diagnosed with breast cancer and are undergoing surgery or chemotherapy or radiotherapy or a combination of therapies. Patients with a family history of mood disorder or other psychiatric disorder were included in this study.
Patients with current psychiatric disorders or cognitive deficits and with hearing or visual impairments were excluded from the study. The sample size was calculated with a prevalence of 22% reported by Hassan et al. in a study conducted among Malaysian breast cancer patients.[15] The sample size was estimated to be 270 with 95% confidence and 20% allowable error. The patients were recruited through convenience sampling.
To determine the presence of depression among adult breast cancer patients
To determine whether the presence of depression is associated with their overall QOL, overall satisfaction with health and different domains of QOL.
A total of 300 patients were selected, out of which 11 did not give consent and 19 were excluded due to missing data.
Data collection and measurements
After obtaining informed consent, a semi-structured pro forma was used for recording the sociodemographic and clinical details.
Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) which is a self-administered 9-item depression scale derived from the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders. The PHQ-9 [Annexure 1] is used to screen for depression over a period of 2 weeks and is also a reliable and valid measure of depression severity. The average sensitivity/specificity for PHQ-9 was found to be 88%/78% in a systematic review of specificity and sensitivity of instruments used to diagnose and grade the severity of depression. The minimum acceptable sensitivity/specificity using the structured interview as the reference was 80%/80% for structured interviews and 80%/70% for case-finding instruments.[16] A validated and published Malayalam version of the PHQ-9 was used in this study which can be downloaded for free from the website for PHQ screeners.
Patients with a score above 5 on PHQ-9 were interviewed by a postgraduate resident and a consultant psychiatrist using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition Research guidelines to diagnose depression.
The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to assess the QOL among all the patients. It contains a total of 26 items. A time frame of 2 weeks is indicated in the assessment. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire [Annexure 2] was used to assess the QOL among all the patients. It is possible to derive four domain scores. The four domain scores denote an individual's perception of QOL in each particular domain. The four domains are physical, psychological, social relationship, and environmental. Domain scores are scaled in a positive direction (i.e., higher scores denote higher QOL). The mean score of items within each domain is used to calculate the domain score. Mean scores are then multiplied by 4 to make domain scores comparable with the scores used in the WHOQOL-100. There are also two items that are examined separately: Question 1 asks about an individual's overall perception of QOL and question 2 asks about an individual's overall perception of their health. A validated and published Malayalam version of the WHOQOL-BREF was used in this study[17] after obtaining permission.
The data obtained was tabulated on Microsoft Excel sheet, and the analysis was done on Social Package for the Social Sciences software version 20 (SPSS Statistics is a software package used for logical batched and non-batched statistical analysis). Frequency tables for sociodemographic details including age, gender, marital status, type of family, education status, employment status, family income per annum, history of depression, family history of mood disorder, medical comorbidity, and depression were generated. The numerical variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD), and categorical variables were expressed as frequency. To obtain the association between QOL and depression, Chi-square test was applied. To obtain the mean comparison of different domain scores with depression, independent two-sample t-test was applied. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Written informed consent printed in Malayalam or English was obtained from the patients before the interview. The study was approved by Dissertation Review Committee of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and the Ethics Committee.
A total of 270 breast cancer patients were studied, of which 267 were female, and three were male. The average age was 53.56 (±10.4) years. A large number of patients were married (86.3%) and lived in nuclear families (58.5%). More than half of the patients had a graduate or postgraduate degree (55.5%), were unemployed or retired (61.1%). One hundred and thirty (48.1%) had an annual family income of Rs. 100,000 or above, 104 had an income between Rs. 100,000 and Rs. 50,000 (38.5%), and 36 had an income <Rs. 50,000 (13.3%). Majority of them did not have a history of depression (96.7%) or family history of mood disorder (93.3%). Half of them had medical comorbidity. Table 1 shows the sociodemographic characteristics of the study population.
Table 1: Sociodemographic characteristics
Out of 270 patients, 58 (21.5%) had depression and 212 (78.5%) did not. Among those with depression, 17 had mild depression (6%), 19 had moderate depression (7%), 12 had moderately severe depression (4%), and ten had severe depression (4%) as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Distribution of depression.
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Depression was higher in the age group 18–40 years and lowest among those above 60 years but the association was not statistically significant.
Depression was higher among the low socioeconomic group than those the high or middle socioeconomic group, but the comparison was not statistically significant.
The average scores (mean ± SD) of physical, psychological, social relationships, and environmental domains in WHOQOL-BREF were 12.30 ± 1.68, 12.81 ± 1.72, 14.17 ± 2.75, and 14.37 ± 2.12, respectively [Table 2].
Table 2: Comparison of depression with overall quality of life and individual domains
In response to the question "how would you rate your QOL?," 22 (8.1%) patients reported that their QOL was "poor," 58 (21.5%) reported "neither poor nor good." The proportion of patients who reported their QOL as "poor" was higher in depressed patients than those without depression.
To the question "how satisfied are you with your health?," 34 (12.6%) reported "dissatisfied" to "very dissatisfied" and 78 (28.9%) reported "neither satisfied not dissatisfied." Patients reporting their overall satisfaction with their health as "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" were more among the depressed group than the group without depression.
Overall, QOL was significantly worse in patients with depression and comparison of all four domains of QOL with depression was also statistically significant [Table 2].
The present study was conducted in tertiary care hospital in Kerala among breast cancer patients undergoing active treatment. The prevalence of depression among this population was found to be 21.5%. Similar prevalence of depression was reported in a Malaysian study among breast cancer patients by Hassan et al. where 22% had depression.[15] In this study, 7% had moderate depression and 8% had moderately severe to severe depression, and 6% had mild depression. In a population-based cohort study of 1400 women diagnosed with stage 0–IV breast cancer in China, 13% fulfilled the criteria for clinical depression at 18 months postdiagnosis as assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale.[18] The presence of depression could be related to many reasons. Most women after being diagnosed with breast cancer find it difficult to come to terms with the diagnosis followed by dealing with the uncertainty of the illness and imagining the worst. The results of the present study showed that depression was common among the study population; however, it is often overlooked or goes undiagnosed. Symptoms of breast cancer treatment such as tiredness and pain are also causes for feeling depressed[19] since these symptoms become a hurdle in their day-to-day activities. Making family, work, and financial adjustments in anticipation of treatment and/or periods of being unwell could be also contribute to the distress in these women. Another major concern is their appearance. Breast cancer and its treatment can change the way a woman thinks and feels about her whole body, her femininity, her self-esteem, and the way she behaves. Mastectomy or loss of hair due to chemotherapy and early menopause could be a serious threat to a woman's image of herself. Fertility and libido may also be affected by treatment of breast cancer with chemotherapy or hormonal therapy.[20] One of the major concerns for these women is the response and support from their partners, children, and family member which has a positive influence on their psychological health. The present study revealed that patients with depression experienced poor overall QOL than those without depression. The previous studies based on cross-sectional data have shown that depression is inversely related to QOL among breast cancer patients and survivors.[212223] Chen et al. reported that QOL was significantly and independently associated with depression in their study among Chinese breast cancer patients.[18] Another study among Chinese breast cancer patients also showed that patients with depression experienced overall a poorer level of QOL.[24] In our study, depression was significantly associated with all four domains of QOL.
The group with depression had lower scores in all domains compared to the group without depression implying that the impairment in the physical health, psychological, social, and environmental QOL of breast cancer patients with depression is associated with higher psychological burden. In a study by Yen et al.,[25] QOL of breast cancer patients with malignant tumor was compared to those with benign tumors using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and found that in the malignant group, participants with depression had a significantly poorer QOL on physical, psychological, social, and environmental dimensions. Kluthcovsky and Urbanetz assessed the QOL of breast cancer patients using the WHOQOL-BREF and reported that breast cancer patients had poorer QOL in physical, psychological, and social relationships than the comparison group. However, in their study, no difference was found in the environmental domain.[26] So et al., in a similar cross-sectional study using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Breast Cancer, reported that depression had a significant effect on all domains of QOL except social/family well-being.[24] A recent review showed that psychological distress not only predicted QOL but also the overall survival rate in breast cancer patients and that counseling, supportive care, and exercise benefit these patients by improving QOL.[27]
Early diagnosis and intervention may be beneficial to these patients. According to a study by Ell et al., 30% of 472 women receiving cancer care had depression, but only 12% of these women were receiving medication, and only 5% reported seeing a counselor.[28]
In Eastern societies, higher stigma attached to mental illness would delay or preclude psychiatric treatment.[29] This will cause cancer patients with depression to be less likely to accept treatment. The goals of planning a psychosocial intervention in the Indian breast cancer context would be to support the patient's ability to cope with the stress of treatment, helping them to tolerate short-term loss for long-term gain, and to assist in symptom management.[3031] Identification of the subset of women at risk is one such way forward, followed by targeted intervention that could be in the form of patient education and counseling.
The inherent bias in convenience sampling means that the sample is unlikely to be representative of the population being studied. The selected study sample was undergoing either surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of treatments. Since it was not a homogenous sample undergoing the same mode of treatment, the influence of a particular treatment modality on depression was not assessed. Tumor staging was not done for the study sample; hence, the effect of cancer stage on depression was not assessed. Those patients with depression would benefit from pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy which was beyond the scope of this study.
Findings of this study show that depression which is quite treatable is a common psychiatric morbidity faced by breast cancer patients. As depression is proven to be associated with QOL, it is important to improve the sensitivity of screening for depression and to make psychiatric services available for patients with breast cancer. Hence, prompt intervention including psychosocial programs and a referral to psychiatrist if necessary are warranted.
Jemal A, Center MM, DeSantis C, Ward EM, . Global patterns of cancer incidence and mortality rates and trends. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010;19:1893-907.
Lueboonthavatchai P, . Prevalence and psychosocial factors of anxiety and depression in breast cancer patients. J Med Assoc Thai. 2007;90:2164-74.
Dow KH, . Contemporary Issue in Breast Cancer: A Nursing Perspective (2nd ed). Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett; 2004.
2002. National Cancer Institute. Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer: Questions and Answers. Available from: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/adjuvant-breast
Jim HS, Andrykowski MA, Munster PN, Jacobsen PB, . Physical symptoms/side effects during breast cancer treatment predict posttreatment distress. Ann Behav Med. 2007;34:200-8.
Ganz PA, . Why and how to study the fate of cancer survivors: Observations from the clinic and the research laboratory. Eur J Cancer. 2003;39:2136-41.
Knobf MT, . Psychosocial responses in breast cancer survivors. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2007;23:71-83.
Massie MJ, . Prevalence of depression in patients with cancer. J Natl Cancer Instgr. 2004;32:57-71.
Zainal NZ, Nik-Jaafar NR, Baharudin A, Sabki ZA, Ng CG, . Prevalence of depression in breast cancer survivors: A systematic review of observational studies. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2013;14:2649-56.
Akin S, Can G, Durna Z, Aydiner A, . The quality of life and self-efficacy of Turkish breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2008;12:449-56.
Gavric Z, Vukovic-Kostic Z, . Assessment of quality of life of women with breast cancer. Glob J Health Sci. 2016;8:52792.
Karakoyun-Celik O, Gorken I, Sahin S, Orcin E, Alanyali H, Kinay M, . Depression and anxiety levels in woman under follow-up for breast cancer: Relationship to coping with cancer and quality of life. Med Oncol. 2010;27:108-13.
Helgeson VS, Snyder P, Seltman H, . Psychological and physical adjustment to breast cancer over 4 years: Identifying distinct trajectories of change. Health Psychol. 2004;23:3-15.
Bleiker EM, Pouwer F, van der Ploeg HM, Leer JW, Adèr HJ, . Psychological distress two years after diagnosis of breast cancer: Frequency and prediction. Patient Educ Couns. 2000;40:209-17.
Hassan MR, Shah SA, Ghazi HF, Mohd Mujar NM, Samsuri MF, Baharom N, . Anxiety and depression among breast cancer patients in an urban setting in Malaysia. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16:4031-5.
Pettersson A, Boström KB, Gustavsson P, Ekselius L, . Which instruments to support diagnosis of depression have sufficient accuracy? A systematic review. Nord J Psychiatry. 2015;69:497-508.
Sreedevi A, Cherkil S, Kuttikattu DS, Kamalamma L, Oldenburg B, . Validation of WHOQOL-BREF in Malayalam and determinants of quality of life among people with type 2 diabetes in Kerala, India. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2016;28(1 Suppl):62S-9S.
Chen X, Zheng Y, Zheng W, Gu K, Chen Z, Lu W, . Prevalence of depression and its related factors among Chinese women with breast cancer. Acta Oncol. 2009;48:1128-36.
Broeckel JA, Jacobsen PB, Horton J, Balducci L, Lyman GH, . Characteristics and correlates of fatigue after adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 1998;16:1689-96.
Couzi RJ, Helzlsouer KJ, Fetting JH, . Prevalence of menopausal symptoms among women with a history of breast cancer and attitudes toward estrogen replacement therapy. J Clin Oncol. 1995;13:2737-44.
Kim SH, Son BH, Hwang SY, Han W, Yang JH, Lee S, . Fatigue and depression in disease-free breast cancer survivors: Prevalence, correlates, and association with quality of life. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2008;35:644-55.
Kissane DW, Clarke DM, Ikin J, Bloch S, Smith GC, Vitetta L, . Psychological morbidity and quality of life in Australian women with early-stage breast cancer: A cross-sectional survey. Med J Aust. 1998;169:192-6.
Weitzner MA, Meyers CA, Stuebing KK, Saleeba AK, . Relationship between quality of life and mood in long-term survivors of breast cancer treated with mastectomy. Support Care Cancer. 1997;5:241-8.
So WK, Marsh G, Ling WM, Leung FY, Lo JC, Yeung M, . Anxiety, depression and quality of life among Chinese breast cancer patients during adjuvant therapy. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2010;14:17-22.
Yen JY, Ko CH, Yen CF, Yang MJ, Wu CY, Juan CH, . Quality of life, depression, and stress in breast cancer women outpatients receiving active therapy in Taiwan. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2006;60:147-53.
Kluthcovsky AC, Urbanetz AA, . Fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors: A comparative study. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2015;37:119-26.
Montazeri A, . Is quality of life data predictive of the survival in cancer patients? A rapid and systematic review of the literature. Iran J Cancer Prev. 2009;2:1-14.
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Ishak WW, Ha K, Kapitanski N, Bagot K, Fathy H, Swanson B, . The impact of psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and their combination on quality of life in depression. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2011;19:277-89.
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To assess the Prevalence and Predictors of… November 19, 2020
Quality of Sleep in Patients with Cancer: A… March 31, 2020


1 of 4 Place vinegar in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in sugar, salt, turmeric, garlic, pickling spice and mustard seeds, if using.
2 of 4 Add cucumber and onion. Cover; bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3 of 4 Allow pickles to cool slightly. Remove pickling spice and discard. Place pickles into clean glass containers. Spoon liquid over the top. Allow to cool completely.
4 of 4 When cool, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight before serving. May be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Makes 4 cups.


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Vatican publishes statistics: 6 in every 10 people in the Americas are Catholic
Vatican • 1m 57s
The Vatican shows the changes in the global Catholic population from 2013 to 2018.
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"We are not talking about distant populations, but about people who live nearby," recalls Fabio Baggio, the Undersecretary for the Migrants and Refugees Section.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Berytech Celebrates 20 years of Impact in Lebanon and the Region
Josette Noujaim
On December 8th, 2022, Berytech celebrated its 20th anniversary in an event that gathered the Berytech team and community of entrepreneurs, friends, and partners around a celebratory toast and reflective inspirational talks.
Berytech was launched in 2002 by the University of Saint Joseph to support the creation of startups and jumpstart Lebanon's knowledge economy. This catapulted Berytech into becoming a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, not only in Lebanon but also in the region.
For the past 20 years, Berytech has provided entrepreneurs with a rich and dynamic environment to grow their startups, allowing innovative youth to create their own opportunities while launching a series of funds to catalyze investments, and stimulating the creation of a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem while contributing to job creation and economic opportunities.
Maroun Chammas, CEO, and Chairman of Berytech, welcomed the audience, expressing his pride and gratitude for the role each of the attendees has played in bringing Berytech to where it is today and in paving the way for bigger future successes: "We are fortunate to be able to witness all the great things that our Lebanese entrepreneurs can do. The last couple of years has proven that innovation is more critical than ever. Crisis presents choice and with our lives and businesses upended in every possible way, choosing to innovate creates significant new opportunities. Businesses of all sizes redefined their strategies and revisited their business models, structures, and solutions, adapting quickly to ensure their survival in the face of adversity. Fortunately facing adversity is a strength for entrepreneurs."
The past few years have been pivotal in Bertyech's journey where it had to expedite its growth and re-strategize to accommodate new programs, multiply its social, and environmental, and, most importantly, economic impact, to touch as many businesses and entrepreneurs as possible in different sectors and areas in Lebanon. In 2021 alone, Berytech received $5M in funds to develop and implement 13 new projects and programs in addition to ongoing ones, with an increasing focus on supporting SMEs.
To manage this exponential growth, Berytech expanded the team by 132%, adding 57 new members to its different departments.
In his speech Chammas reinforced that: "None of this would have been possible without the trust that we had built with the international community throughout the years. Berytech has been and continues to be successful because of proper governance."
In addition to Ramy Boujawdeh, COO of Berytech; Nicolas Rouhana, Chairman and CEO of IM Fndng, and Paul Chucrallah, Managing Director of Berytech Fund II who each took the stage to share their personal insights on leading Berytech throughout the years, the event hosted guest speaker Alain Bejjani, CEO of the Majid el Futaim Holding.
From his perspective in the Dubai-based lifestyle conglomerate operating in 17 countries and 13 diverse industries, Bejjani addressed the audience in a talk that reinforced Berytech's indispensable role in the last two decades: "We come together this evening to not only mark two decades of success but also reflect on Berytech's role in creating an unshakable foundation for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lebanon to thrive. In doing so, you have discovered the optimal balance to catalyze innovation, support businesses to effectively nurture their sense of entrepreneurship, and drive progressive and positive change. The impact of which reaches far beyond the borders of Lebanon.
The impact of your work becomes even more impressive when considering how we individually and collectively have been challenged over the past few years.
Disruptions, evolution, revolution and change have assailed every aspect of our human experience – demanding we demonstrate grit, resilience, perseverance and fortitude to improvise, adapt and overcome. As I stand here today, I see leaders that consistently and continuously demonstrate a phenomenal capacity to rise to the challenge, tapping into a truly impressive degree of creativity and imagination."
Berytech continues to drive growth and innovation through a multitude of programs and partnerships as it has in the past 20 years with while supporting more than 5000 entrepreneurs, 700 startups, 1000 SMEs and helped create more than 6200 jobs.
Josette is a multi-passionate creative who has been supporting Berytech's communication team since 2015. She uses her experience in digital communication to help shape the online presence of companies across different industries.


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Feds Reunite More Than 1,800 Migrant Kids Before Deadline
By Matthew Casey, Mark Brodie
Published: Friday, July 27, 2018 - 8:48am
Updated: Friday, July 27, 2018 - 12:24pm
children-show-20180727.mp3
Thursday was the court ordered deadline for the federal government to finish returning separated children to their migrant parents.
With hours to go before the deadline, federal officials said they were on-track to reunite kids with all eligible parents being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"We've been running 24/7 at many of our detention facilities to help facilitate the reunifications," said Matt Albence, executive associate director of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations.
The government said it has reunited more than 1,800 hundred children, but there are still hundreds of parents and guardians who the government said are not eligible to be reunified with their kids. They include parents already deported and ones with criminal histories.
"There are [also] approximately 40 children for whom the government does not even know the identity of the parent," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project. "There are other parents in the U.S. who the government hasn't been able to contact."
The ACLU got a court order that gave the government 30 days to reunite migrant families. Lawyers for the advocacy group and the U.S. government are due back in court Friday afternoon.


The museum was his "lifelong dream" since, as a boy, he collected paper for recycling by biking around the villages nearby.
Luciano Nicolis, authentic Verona born, made this dream come true in 2000, when he inaugurated "his Museum" which was immediately opened to the public. In the "Museum of Cars, Technology and Mechanics" he has gathered together unfindable and precious items that his fascination for mechanics led him to seek out all around the world: cars, motorbikes, bicycles and also musical instruments, cameras, typewriters and other items of human genius.
He even managed to transmit the same passion to his family, who have always backed him up and helped him. The museum was his habit and his enjoyment, he wanted it to be spectacular and creative with the collections constantly improved.
He loved acting as guide for the visitors, introducing himself as "I'm the nutcase who did all this", and he amazed everyone telling the story of each single piece, where it came from, its history and curios. He was enthusiastically walking around "his museum", bursting with ideas and projects.
A wealth of culture for future generations.


From Kangana Ranuat to Anushka Sharma to Katrina Kaif to Sonakshi Sinha, all the names were under speculations as to who would bag NAMASTEY ENGLAND opposite Akshay Kumar. And now after a long speculation and wait the makers have revealed the name of that lucky actress. Yes, reports are doing the rounds that filmmaker Vipul Shah has zeroed in on Sonakshi Sinha.
NAMASTEY ENGLAND would be their fifth film together. The hit jodi of Bollywood has been seen in films like ROWDY RATHORE, HOLIDAY, ONCE UPON A TIME in MUMBAAI DOBAARA, JOKER. And now they are yet again coming together to cast their spell!
While Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar's pairing was loved by all in NAMASTEY LONDON, it is to be seen what magic Sona-Akki's jodi does with NAMASTEY ENGLAND.
While we are pretty sure Sonakshi would pull off the role with élan and wow us, you tell us who would have looked better with Akshay in NAMASTEY ENGLAND (Katrina or Sonakshi)?


It's very common to see the use of mobile health apps nowadays. These apps track health metrics to promote healthdul living and so record a variety of sensitive health data. But consumers may have no idea how their data is used and who has access to the information.
Any data recorded by an app is typically shared with several third parties and the developers usually monetize the data. However, consumers know little or nothing about the practice.
BMJ published a study on the data sharing practices of medicines-associated apps. According to the study, 19 of the 24 apps studied or 79% disclosed consumer data to third parties.
The types of apps the study evaluated include apps related to dispensing, management, prescription or use of medications. Every app was put through simulated real world test using four dummy scripts.
The researchers discovered that user data was disclosed to 55 different entities, composed of app developers, third-party service providers and parent companies, which could have acquired or processed the information. 67% of the third party service providers collect or analyze data and include analytics and advertising. 33% of the service providers offer infrastructure associated services.
71% of apps sent user data, such as the name of the device, the operating system, browsing behavior and email address to an outside entity. A number of the applications sent sensitive data like the user's location and drug list.
Although some of the information that was disclosed were not really sensitive, for instance the Android ID or name of device, it's possible to use the information together with other information in order to identify the user. A number of companies within the network could combine and re-identify user information.
The study detected 104 transmissions, 94% were encrypted while 6% used cleartext. 13% of the studied apps exposed some user information in cleartext.
The researchers also conducted a network analysis and found out that first and third parties got a median of three unique user data transmissions and third parties were found to market their capability to share user information with 216 fourth parties.
Although the applications were legit and data sharing is lawful, the researchers observed that transparency regarding this practice is not enough. Companies often use consumer data for marketing purposes, which somewhat takes advantage of consumers.
The researchers additionally gave a warning regarding medicine related applications. The use of such apps could lead to the potential loss of personal privacy. Privacy regulators should weigh the loss of privacy against the benefit of using digital health services.


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Canada nursing career expo set this month
By: PR January 18,2017 - 02:13 PM
NURSES can now look forward to working in Canada as Enhance Visa holds its first-ever Canada Nursing Career Expo this month in three key locations in the Visayas.
The event, which is open to nurses with at least six months hospital experience, will be held on January 28 at Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City; January 30 at the Bacolod Business Inn in Bacolod City; and January 31 at Sarabia Manor Hotel in Iloilo City.
National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEx) passers are welcome to attend.
Attendees will get to hear from Canadian speaker Tony Burke about the licensing program for nurses in Canada which is an assured pathway for permanent residency there.
Burke is the vice president of OMNI College, one of the top institutions specializing in healthcare programs for foreign-trained nurses in Vancouver, Canada.
This event seeks to bridge the knowledge gap for well-trained Filipino nurses but lack the proper information on how to qualify for employment in Canada.
Participants will be introduced to the comprehensive bridging programs offered by OMNI which has helped thousands of nurses in Canada secure stable jobs and become eligible for permanent residency.
Along with Enhance Visa, OMNI's goal is to deliver exceptional programs that prepare aspirant nurses for a successful cultural and educational transition into the Canadian workforce.
"Since 1999, OMNI has trained nurses for the Canadian Registered or Practical Nurse Licensing Exam and has maintained a 95 percent success rate. We are committed to our clients because their success is also our success," says Ron Burke, CEO and founder of OMNI College.
Enhance Visa specializes in immigration consultation to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
For more information on the event, contact Enhance Visa through 0917-799-7700 or visit the Enhance Visa website at www.enhanceimmigration.com.
Bamboo Bay's tower 3 tops off
TAGS: Canada, nursing career expo, Vancouver


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Students have a great week ahead!
First, all students will have completed their Location, Movement, and Old Stone Age quiz by Tuesday. These quizzes will be graded and returned to students very soon.
We'll then begin our next activity list. This activity list will focus on two more Themes of Geography: Place and Human-Environment Interaction. We'll complete activities that will help us learn about these Themes, apply them to our current world, and see how they relate to Prehistory. Speaking of Prehistory, we'll also learn about the New Stone Age, and how it differs from the Old Stone Age.


Mummenschanz - currently at the Joyce Theater - would not be Mummenschanz without the idea of transformation. The ingenious mime trio from Switzerland - Andres Bossard, Floriana Frassetto and Bernie Schurch - used to spend a great deal of time onstage in the 1970's changing before our very eyes. Or rather, since the three performers were always masked, it was their masks that changed. These, of course, were anything but conventional. Putty faces were pulled or pushed into or out of shape during hostile, silent encounters. A dialogue between two sets of note pads would result in grins or frowns being drawn on the paper in seconds. Moods changed with the pull of a toilet-paper roll - that is, when the face of each character was made up of toilet-paper rolls. A giant clam might just open its mouth and yawn.
The idea of transformable masks was Mummenschanz's highly original core device. It eliminated constant costume changes but the act of transformation was what Mummenschanz was really about. Through all the geometric or abstract forms that served as the performers' masks, psychology peered through. Human relations deepened or deteriorated depending upon how the masks would change. If a character's face consisted of a board of scrabble-like cubes, he was obviously the loser when his interlocutor acted like a chess player and left him cube-less. The use of squares, ovals and disks or household objects as masks was also original.
These abstract forms made up fantasy creatures -animal or human. But no matter how biomorphic the shape, ''it'' was us.
Metamorphosis was the name of the game. In retrospect, it is striking to realize that metamorphosis is a theme that recurs increasingly in dance-related groups that defy strict classification. Looking back, it is now clear that Mummenschanz, Pilobolus Dance Theater and the current Butoh groups from Japan - all of which emerged in the 1970's - were equally concerned, in different ways, with changing forms as theatrical spectacle.
In each case, the metamorphosis signaled a change within a human state - by extension, in the human condition. The groups worked - and still do - in highly disparate styles. Pilobolus takes us onto the college-humor level even at its most serious; Butoh combines ritualistic theater with Expressionist techniques; Mummenschanz appears deceptively childlike while manipulating symbolism and abstraction to convey an essence of behavior.
All wanted us to see the human body take on nonhuman shape or vice versa. At its most abstract, Pilobolus re-created foliage, fauna and crystals that personified basic emotional urges. Butoh could give us the creation of the world after a cataclysm - Eiko and Koma or Sankai Juku (now at City Center) made a body resemble matter that changed organically into more human form. Mummenschanz - its blobs, Klee-like cats or dough-headed lovers - suggested anything animal, mineral or vegetable. There are two common denominators to these groups. One is a concentration on extreme physical control. Natsu Nakajima, the Butoh dancer whose Muteki-Sha group appeared at the Asia Society last fall, did not wear a mask. Yet her face aged visibly from a child's into an old woman's in seconds. The transformation was complete -just as a Sankai Juku performer could seemingly foreshorten his limbs in the same amount of time. Pilobolus evolved a system of gymnastic leverage to create the necessary support for the body-linkage that gave the group its signature style. As for Mummenschanz, it needed complete exactness in timing, in gesture or body movement for its punchlines to work. If you were encased in a giant slinky toy, body control was paramount.
The second common denominator - perhaps subconsciously shared - was the theme of evolution. Each of these groups seemed preoccupied with this subject at the outset. Pilobolus is named after a fungus and most of its initial body configurations were concerned with moving from a lower to higher state. Butoh likes to start out in the primeval ooze and, within its highly cyclical aura, suggest we will wind up there again. The creation of the world, through metamorphosis and transcendence, is the key Butoh theme. And if you recall the first half of Mummenschanz's first show, it was the story of evolution - from blob to missing link to us. The second part showed civilization and its discontents.
Now Mummenschanz is back until May 25, with the second show its creators have put together. Strangely, Mummenschanz itself appears transformed. Its style remains its own. But one would hardly still call it a mime group. It is closer to what those unclassifiable dance-theater groups are doing. Pilobolus has called itself dance (despite the fact that its original members had no training in conventional dance techniques) but some critics call its performers mimes. Butoh is seen as theater but most of its performers are dance trained and dance oriented.
Mummenschanz does not want to be known as dance - its members were trained as mimes. Yet theater critics refused to review the group when it first came to New York. It was their first manager, Arthur Shafman (whose name is strangely omitted from a new book that recounts their success story - ''Mummenschanz'' by Michael Buhrer; Panorama/Rizzoli) who realized that nonverbal action appealed to dance critics. I gave Mummenschanz its first New York review in 1973, re-reviewing them in 1974 and 1976 - each time at Alice Tully Hall. Only in 1977, did the theater critics come around - because Mummenschanz was then playing in the Bijou Theater.
It was no surprise that the critics' preview evening this time around was chock-full of dance critics. And ''Mummenschanz, the New Show'' is much closer to dance than before. More specifically, it is closer to Alwin Nikolais and to Debra McCall's recent reconstructions of Oscar Schlemmer's Bauhaus dances. We see less of the human figure than of sacks and body encasements. What the body does inside the plastic or vinyl sack determines the action. At the same time we see forms manipulated by invisible black figures - a throwback to the Black Theater groups from Prague of the 1960's, a special category of mime.
Does this mean Mummenschanz has no ideas of its own? Not at all. There is still a deep general theme: A complete person needs to be, well, complete. Most figures on view are headless and suffer accordingly. As usual, the profound is stated in terms any child - and adult possibly - can understand.
Two giant hands, worn above waist level, draw back the curtains. A finger counts the house. A creature made up of foam-rubber cylinders undergoes various transformations, from dog to seal. A profile emerges from a ribbon waved in the dark. Fish-mouth forms grow into human figures. Won-ton rolls and pizzas appear and disappear. A spring-wire cylinder folds up or stretches, clearly having no beginning or end - its movement rejects a head with which it is momentarily topped. An amazing tumbling act results in a flailing octopus - the performer whipping around long tapered sleeves and trouser-legs. Two giant pillows fight. A head in the shape of a light hassock bounces off a similar headless form.
The second half of the show brings us closer to the rivalries and courtships of the previous show - a woman's vanity undergoes a crushing blow when her nemesis grabs all the colored magnets off her metal mask. A tube ties itself into knots. Half balloons reverse profiles according to how the wind blows. Varicolored coils serve as a phone wire or a frog's face. Figures deprived of heads sink into despair. But at the end, a huge head billows up to take over the entire stage. Too much of a good thing? Never with Mummenschanz, whatever you call it.


I used to be somewhat averse to new technology. I remember when I was young and CDs first came on the scene, I refused to trade in my cassettes for those shiny CDs. They cost almost twice as much?! And for what purpose, just because I could skip songs without having to rewind the whole thing?! It was totally not worth it in my young mind. Of course, however, after a few years and having to search harder and harder to find new artists on cassette, I took the plunge, and never looked back. CDs were amazing and so much better in so many ways. At least I can say I learned from that mistake, as I didn't hesitate when MP3s came on the scene - another worthwhile leap in technology.
I would say my cell phone usage started out the same way. I had the classic Verizon "jelly bean" phone as it was fondly known well beyond its anticipated life span. I was in a world of flip phones and was not even sure I would know how to use one. Eventually "jelly bean" broke and I had to move on, but I stuck with the simplest (ie cheapest) substitute I could find which at the time was a camera free Samsung flip phone which I always felt was shaped a bit like a spaceship. At the time, I remember thinking why would anyone ever need a camera on their phone?? Its not like the cameras at that time were very good, so the picture quality certainly wasn't a draw. And the storage capacity was limited so its not like you could have lots of photos of your friends on there. My statement to those who mocked my technological disadvantage was always, uh yeah I have a digital camera, I think I'll be fine, at least it's a flip phone.
However, after a few accidental subzero nights in my car (oops) the spaceship didn't really hold a charge the way it used to and it was time, again, to move on. This time I couldn't even find a cell phone without a camera, so really had no choice but to upgrade. I stuck with a Samsung and got a nice shiny slim line model that I loved. I became addicted to the camera instantly. I took photos of everyone I knew so that their picture would pop up when they called, it was amazing. But I still resisted the smartphone with the same logic as before – why oh why do I need the internet and my email at my fingertips?! That is what laptops are for! I can wait until I get home to learn that piece of info that I can't seem to remember right now. And the rates for those data plans!
Then, again, it became time to move forward. This was not due to the sad passing of my shiny Samsung, but because, from a business perspective, it was time to move up in the world, time to get a smartphone. I got myself an iPhone. Every business contact, every email, every website, every game, EVERYTHING literally at my fingertips 24/7. At this point, I can't believe I ever lived without it. After that upgrade, I vowed never to resist technology again. I can't wait to see what comes next.


St. John Vianney loved the penitents who came to his confessional so much that he couldn't bear to give them the heavy penances required by the French Church – and most of Western Europe – at that time.
According to Fr. Patrice Chocholski, current rector of the Shrine of St. John Vianney in Ars, France where the saint lived and died, priests in 17th Century Western Europe were given a manual which outlined the penance they were to give for each sin! The priest was told to add these penances up and, at the end of each confession, present the penitent with a kind of bill!
Is it any wonder that the saint slept only three hours a night and eventually died, Fr. Patrice believes, from the strain of all those penances.
In addition to heavy penances, penitents at that time were not given absolution until they returned to the priest and proved they had completed the proscribed penance. Of course, many never did!
Every eight years, the Shrine of St. John Vianney in Ars, France hosts a World Retreat open to every priest in the world! The theme of this year's retreat, to be held Sept. 24-29, 2018 is "The Fire of the Gospel." Many priests arrive broken, but Shrine Rector Fr. Patrice Chocholski (above) says they nearly always leave renewed. Find out more at http://www.arswr2018.org/en/welcome/.
However, according to Fr. Patrice, St. John Vianney would say, 'The Lord shows us His love and trust when He gives us absolution on the same day. He trusts us and knows that in this trust we can change.'" So the beloved pastor gave absolution on the same day.
This was a new way of thinking, one taught in Rome by St. Alphonsus Liguori, who would became a doctor of the Church. At that time, the Jansenist heresy, which placed everyone under the heavy yoke of moral rigorism, was rampant throughout Western Europe. St. Alphonsus taught about God's love and mercy, and a new way to confess.
Father Patrice says that the Pope at that time was so concerned about the "slippery slope" of Jansenism that he invited all the bishops in France to come to Rome for a year of formation. St. John Vianney's own bishop was one of them. He returned to Ars as a proponent of this new way and Fr. Patrice says that St. John Vianney was among the first to embrace the changes.
The dome of the Shrine of St. John Vianney in Ars, France.
But changes in the confessional weren't the only reason St. John Vianney was so beloved.
Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with the saint's crusades. St. John Vianney insisted, for example, that poor people, who worked seven days a week for little money, deserved "a day of rest." The day was to be for family and, if possible, Mass. But the owners of the large farms in the area, who depended on this cheap seven-day-a-week labor, petitioned the bishop numerous times asking him to get rid of the humble priest.
Statue of St. John Vianney at the Shrine of St. John Vianney in Ars, France.
Near the end of his life, the Emperor of France presented the popular priest with a medal of honor. He sold it the same day and gave the proceeds to the poor. When the bishop imposed on him to accept the mozzetta, a cape-like garment that comes to the elbows, which is given to designate a higher ranking prelate, he sold that too. When the bishop asked what he did with the mozzetta, the saint asked for another. Father Patrice said after seeing how much it fetched the first time, he intended to sell it again to help the poor!
Aerial view of the Shrine of St. John Vianney in Ars, France.
The story of St. John Vianney's vocation is so powerful that it has influenced countless vocations – including the vocation of Father Patrice!
"I never thought of becoming a priest," he said. "I don't know why, but I had the privilege of reading 'The Cure D'Ars: St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney' by Abbe Francois Trouchu. I said, 'That's just beautiful.' I think that my vocation is due, in part, to reading this book of St. John Vianney's life." (Find it here: http://bit.ly/2Kcj2j4.
Father Patrice says the rector of another famous shrine told him that same book influenced his own vocation and that St. John Paul II kept it by his bedside. Is it any wonder that this saint is known as the patron of parish priests – or that his body lies incorrupt?
The incorrupt body of St. John Vianney at the Shrine of St. John Vianney in Ars, France.
St. John Vianney, help us, like you, to examine our consciences before the wounded Christ and to confess our sins as you advised your own parishioners to do – and please pray that we may follow in your charitable footsteps and become saints. Amen.


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Texas District & County Attorneys Association
BradyDWIVictim Services
Remembering Erwin "Ernie" Ernst
Carol Vance
Former District Attorney in Harris County
If you were to poll the prosecutors in the Harris County District Attorney's office from the late '50s through the '70s, no doubt they would vote Erwin Ernst the most unforgettable character.
Erwin "Ernie" Goree Ernst was of "the greatest generation." He began his adulthood enlisting in the Army Air Force shortly after Pearl Harbor. He was 17 at the time. He claimed his only promotion was to PFC. He was part of the crew flying freight over the Pacific. Following the war the G.I. Bill put him through undergrad and law school.
He begin his career as an assistant DA in West Texas and later was recruited to try felonies in the Harris County office where he moved up the ranks, including Chief Prosecutor, and was named the first Chief of the Trial Division with perhaps 100 lawyers under him.
During his years in Harris County, Ernst prosecuted some notorious crimes including the murder case that was the subject of Tommy Thompson's best-seller, Blood and Money. This book was the story of the death of Joan Hill followed up with the assassination of her husband, Dr. John Hill. Author Thompson nailed Ernst when he wrote:
"Ernst was a romantic, stocky, loquacious, philosophical lawyer with a voice from the cracker barrel. He was on intimate terms with Roman poets and Greek philosophers. He had prosecuted hundreds of murderers sending some to the chair. He was a practical joker and favorite of the courthouse on whom anecdotes hung around his neck like ornaments from a Christmas tree."
I think Tommy could have added that Ernst was a cross between Jonathan Winters and Will Rogers.
Ernst was known also for hanging nicknames around the neck of nearly every assistant DA and most of our criminal court judges. Names come to mind like Pig Eyes, Dealing Dan the Docket Man, the Fat Fluff, Deadbeat Twilley, Utah Carl, Big Fat and Lazy, Fun and Games, Little Dickie, Sambo Robertson, Machine Gun Hinton, The Meadowlark, Steelhead, Terrible Tommy, Fuddy Duddy, the Senator, Lacy Pants, the Shadow, Cutty Sark, Spot, the Biggest Bigot, Oil Wells, and Sammy Davis Sr., to name a few. When Ernst named you, that was what you were called. (Out of respect for the living, I will not disclose the identities of those mentioned.)
Perhaps Ernst's best contribution was being an on-site master teacher to eager assistants looking to be amused. Ernst would admit assistants into his office over the lunch hour each day until the room ran over. There they would laugh themselves sick as Ernst picked out a few to take on in lively banter. Ernst would then pull out a brown sack and take out his barbecue, an onion, and a jalapeno, which he would cut with an old rusty switchblade knife straight from one of his old murder cases.
Ernst gathered a crowd every time word got out he was to make a final argument. In one, he told the jury, "If you acquit this man of murder, the dead of World War II will rise up from their graves." After the defendant appealed his death sentence, the Court of Criminal Appeals declared the argument highly improper but harmless error as no juror would possibly listen to such an outlandish appeal. Of course the court was not in that jury box on that day. I was. It was a powerful argument.
Ernst was arguably the most popular speaker on the TDCAA circuit. The audience particularly loved the Q-and-A time as Ernst would throw back questions in the face of the one who dared open his mouth.
After a couple of decades at Harris County, Ernie began another long and distinguished career in criminal justice. He became the first general counsel for the Texas Department of Corrections. George Beto and Jim Estelle gave him solid marks. From there Ernie ran for and was elected DA for Walker County and served until he was elected district judge for the same area. There he spent 20 years on the bench, including his many years as a visiting judge. Lawyers have told me how much fun he was to try a case before. In fact he sat on the bench until he was 85.
When he died last month a few days before his 89th birthday, some 50 or more ex-prosecutors traveled up to Huntsville to see him off. All of us were grateful for our friendship with Ernie the "World's Greatest Living Trial Lawyer," a title he reserved for himself. And we appreciated his mentorship. I recall the day I was promoted to district court in late 1959, when Ernie was acting chief in that court. That first day Ernie handed me an old, dog-eared murder file and said, "Go try this case." With only a year's experience I was scared. But Ernst got me through that case and many more. Every office should have an Ernie Ernst.
Ernst could have worked for just about any law firm in town, made a fortune, and moved way up from his 10-acre Armadillo Ranch that housed a couple of neighbor's cows; but from fighting in World War II through his prosecutor years until he heard his last case on the bench, he gave it all to public service. Along the way he challenged us all. His favorite question was, "What are you going to do when you grow up?" And to the beat-down defendant waiting to plead, "When the court asks you what you are going to do with the rest of your life, what are you going to say?"
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Do You Have a Right to Visit Sick or Frail Family Members?
What is the Frail Individual Visitation Act?
The Frail Individual Visitation Act is a new law first introduced in 2019. Illinois enacted this new law protecting a family member's visitation rights regarding sick or frail individuals. This bill covers the visitation rights of a family member hoping to see their frail relatives who are in the care of a professional caregiver but have been denied visitation by the caregiver. Previously, these rights were limited, as visitation rights were not always guaranteed. This new law does not necessarily guarantee visitation, but it does create a legal pathway to directly petition for visitation.
Can I be Denied Visitation for a Sick Family Member?
Under the new law, titled the Frail Individual Family Visitation Protection Act, family members may petition for visitation rights of their elderly or frail family members if they are denied visitation by their caregiver. This can happen if the caregiver, as determined by the courts, is preventing the visitation unreasonably. A petitioning family member would have to prove that visitation is in the best interest of the frail individual. If the court rules in favor of the family requesting visitation, the caregiver will be required to allow reasonable visitation for the petitioning family member.
A defending caregiver could attempt to argue that the denial of visitation in the best interest of the frail individual. The court also may deny visitation if it determines that the frail individual is of sound mind and personally denies the visitation of the petitioner. The process does not apply if the caregiver is a legal guardian or acting with power of attorney or by the order of someone with power of attorney.
For more information on the legal process for challenging guardianship, read our article How to Challenge a Guardianship in Illinois.
Is a Caregiver Required to Inform Someone if their Family Member is Hospitalized?
In 2019, the law regarding notifications of residency changed. The Frail Individual Family Visitation Protection Act not only covers visitation, but it also contains new law regarding notification for family members if their loved one changes residency. This includes hospitalization of the family member, moving of the family member to a new home, entering the family member into a health institution, or the death of the family member.
In order to force this requirement, petitioning family members must go through a petition process similar to the above process where the courts will determine if the caregiver must notify the family of changes in residency. If a family member petitions for visitation as explained in the above section, they or the court may continue the case in order to also add notification requirements. If it is ruled in favor of the family, a caregiver must give reasonable effort to notify the family of residency changes or death. This must be done in a reasonable means of notification as well as within a reasonable timeframe.
This law is designed to protect frail individuals as well as their family members from unnecessary conflict in an already stressful situation. This new law is still early in execution, so the specifics of the law may be developed further in the future. You may benefit from talking with an attorney before taking legal action to assure that you have a full understanding of your rights and protections.


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Greg Rolan
Research Fellow, Community Org & Social Informatics
EmailGreg.Rolan@monash.edu
Upon graduating in Applied Science (Applied Physics and Computer Science), Greg enjoyed a thirty-year career in IT spanning corporate work, consulting, freelance work, and several start-ups including his own. During this time, Greg co-authored several patents. He then returned to study gaining Postgraduate Diploma, Masters (hons.), and Doctoral degrees in quick succession. In 2017, Greg received a Vice Chancellors Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence for his thesis From Archives to Participatory Recordkeeping: Transforming recordkeeping for interoperability. Greg is currently a post-docoral Research Fellow with the Rights in Records by Design project.
Greg is currently a post-doctoral Rresearch Fellow with the Rights in Records by Design project at the Centre for Organisational and Social Informatics. His research comprises the design-science study of systems interoperability; conceptual modelling in recordkeeping informatics; and participatory recordkeeping systems design and implementation. More recently, he has begun investigating the application of data-science techniques to recordkeeping informatics.
Recordkeeping informatics
Recordkeeping Metadata
Archival systems
Records continuum
Social informatics
More human than human? artificial intelligence in the archive
Rolan, G., Humphries, G., Jeffrey, L., Samaras, E., Antsoupova, T. & Stuart, K., 2019, In : Archives & Manuscripts. 47, 2, p. 179-203 25 p.
Participatory information governance: transforming recordkeeping for childhood out-of-home care
Evans, J., McKemmish, S. & Rolan, G., Mar 2019, In : Records Management Journal. 29, 1-2, p. 178-193 16 p.
Weapons of affect: the imperative for transdisciplinary information systems design
Rolan, G., Evans, J. E., Bone, J., Lewis, A., Golding, F., Wilson, J., McKemmish, S. M., Mendes, P. & Reeves, K., 2018, Proceedings of the 81st Annual Meeting - Building & Sustaining An Ethical Future With Emerging Technology: 10-14 November 2018. S. Middleton, L. (ed.). Silver Spring Maryland USA: Association for Information Science and Technology, p. 420-423 4 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
Agency in the archive: a model for participatory recordkeeping
Rolan, G., 1 Sep 2017, In : Archival Science. 17, 3, p. 195-225 31 p.
Critical approaches to archiving and recordkeeping in the continuum
Evans, J. E., McKemmish, S. M. & Rolan, G., 2017, In : Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies. 1, 2, p. 1-38 38 p.
Award for Best Research Paper
Greg Rolan (Recipient), Dec 2017
Emerald Literati Award
Greg Rolan (Recipient), Jul 2018
Mander Jones Award
Greg Rolan (Recipient), 25 Sep 2018
The Archives & Manuscripts Emerging Writers Award
Greg Rolan (Recipient), Oct 2016
Vice-Chancellor's Commendation for Thesis Excellence
Greg Rolan (Recipient), Apr 2018
1 Submissions to industry or govt committees, commissions and inquiries
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse: Australian government response to the redress related recommendations of the royal commission
Greg Rolan (Fellow), Joanne Elizabeth Evans (Fellow)
Activity: External Academic Engagement › Submissions to industry or govt committees, commissions and inquiries


Fortune reports that a jury in Missouri has awarded $65 million in punitive damages and $2.5 in compensatory damages against Johnson & Johnson, in favor of a woman who claims J&J's baby powder caused her to develop ovarian cancer.
This is the third time a Missouri jury has returned a huge verdict against Johnson & Johnson based on claims that its talc-based powders caused ovarian cancer. The company has appealed the other two verdicts and plans to appeal this one too. It seems unlikely that the 26-to-1 ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages in this case could survive post-trial motions and appeal.


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Beware The TikTok, My Friends
With all the high-fiving about the TikTok kids punking the Trump campaign, I had to wonder if this meant that TikTok was an unabashedly great thing for politics. It's not.
By digby
With all the high-fiving about the TikTok kids punking the Trump campaign, I had to wonder if this meant that TikTok was an unabashedly great thing for politics. It's mostly a teen-age platform and while I'm sure the kids are all terrific I'm not sure they are equipped to know what's real from what's not when it comes to political propaganda.
Yep. I've been thinking about this all morning. It never goes only one way... https://t.co/hwDFoY9chA
— digby (@digby56) June 21, 2020
It literally couldn't be worse. This is the most disgusting, outrageous conspiracy theory out there. And it's taken off like wildfire on the platform. Will Somer who covers the right wing at the Daily Beast reports:
Get ready for Pizzagate, Round 2.
While YouTube has tried to root out the conspiracy theory about a Democratic child sex dungeon in a Washington pizzeria by attaching a warning to those searching for the topic on its site, there's a surprising place where Pizzagate is booming. Nearly four years after it began, the conspiracy theory is popping up all over the place on the short-form video app and Gen Z hangout spot TikTok.
Pizzagate has become massive on TikTok, reaching plenty of young people right as the reality around them—thanks to the pandemic, police violence and related unrest, and a new Netflix documentary highlighting Jeffrey Epstein's crimes—seems more and more unhinged. The #Pizzagate hashtag has earned more than 69 million views on the platform, while related hashtags have earned several millions more.
the tiktok teens have found pizzagate and lost all critical thinking.
— black identity extremist 🇿🇼 (@kzouis) June 19, 2020
Take a TikTok video posted at the beginning of June. It looks like so many others: a teenager sitting in her room, while a pop song plays behind her. Rather than being about problems in school, relationships, or mainstream politics, though, this teenager is convinced that Hillary Clinton and former Clinton campaign chief John Podesta are eating children in the basement of a D.C. pizzeria.
"Search up the #pizzagate and read it all," her texts on the screen flash. "If I die from this just know it was not an accident or suicide"
The resurgence comes even as original Pizzagate promoters like Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec flee from their associations with the conspiracy theory after it inspired an arson attack and a shooting at the restaurant. And it appears to be far more widespread than when it first began spreading in 2016. Indeed, it's hard to overstate how huge Pizzagate is on TikTok, particularly amongst teenagers who don't otherwise fit a right-wing conspiracy theorist mold. I watched hours of posts on the hashtag, and many of the young people promoting it are otherwise just interested in viral dances and Black Lives Matters.
Many of the biggest Pizzagate videos come from @_Kirie, a British teenager who regularly reaches nearly 1 million views each with each video claiming that Comet Ping Pong is the center of a pedophile ring. He didn't respond to a request for comment. Typically, his videos are a screenshot of a ludicrous Twitter post promoting Pizzagate, with an encouragement for his followers to spread the conspiracy theory.
Another account with more than 150,000 followers, which normally posts dance moves about historic events, declared that "2020 is the year of the pedobusters." In another video, the person behind the account posed as Edgar Maddison Welch, the unhinged Pizzagate conspiracist who, in 2016, opened fire inside the restaurant (fortunately, no one was hurt).
"There's way too much that adds up in that case," the caption reads.
Much of the latest interest among TikTok users appears to have been fueled by bogus viral tweets claiming that Hillary Clinton is currently on trial for being a pedophile. In reality, she's fighting a mundane court case over her private email server with Trump ally Tom Fitton and his group, Judicial Watch. Nevertheless, videos that each receive nearly 100,000 views claim that Clinton is secretly on trial for running a child sex dungeon.
"I don't know why no one's talking about this," said one TikToker in a video this week.
Other videos claim that Justin Bieber's song "Yummy", released in January, is secretly about Pizzagate. Monash University professor Mark Andrejevic, who has studied conspiracy theories on TikTok, says the app's format is ripe for promoting them.
This just makes me depressed. And a little bit nervous. These kids don't know the history or the dynamics of our ugly politics of the last few decades. They're just seeing something and believing it because someone passed it on to them. They know the technology but they don't know the context or the subtext. In some ways, they are like the elderly who get a chain letter or a Facebook post from someone they trust and believe what it says.
It's worrying.
Update: Here's a young influencer named Brandon Wardell. He believes in free healthcare.
And Pizzagate:
"I have very leftist politics, but I want to say I believe in Pizzagate as much as I believe people should have free healthcare. They shouldn't be mutually exclusive."
Actually, they should be. One is political position the other is delusional nonsense. But I'm afraid the left-wing is full of people who are as ripe for this bullshit as the right.
Published with permission of Hullabaloo
Pizzagate, TikTok
Most Adults Have Never Heard Of TikTok. That's By Design
Musical.ly has evolved into TikTok, and it's all the rage with the pre-teen set. Parents should familiarize themselves.
By The Conversation
'WTF Has Donald Trump Done For You?'
The Real Reason Trump Wants To Ban TikTok
Sarah Cooper's hilarious lip-syncing videos have demolished Trump.
How KPop And TikTok Teens Killed Trump's Tulsa Rally
"A million requests for tickets!" boasted Trump's campaign manager. Only 6100 bothered to show up.
TikTok Pokes Gallows Humor At America's FAIL On Covid
https://www.tiktok.com/@blakepavey/video/6853363361543982341?lang=en
Ocean Spray Gives TikTok Star A New Truck
As a gesture for promoting their product, they presented Nathan Apodaca with a new pickup, filled with Ocean Spray.


Whenever Electronic Arts rears its head, much of the internet's gaming population does a sort of collective shudder. The company has risen to infamy by tossing gobs of cash into acquiring successful developers and grinding their beloved franchises into the dust, all in a myopic bid to reach the wallets of that nebulous critter, the casual gamer. Our best defense is to shrug and give our cash to someone else, but sometimes it gets a little personal. Sometimes EA buys PopCap, creator of the beloved Plants versus Zombies, and we learn that the long-awaited sequel will be free-to-play with more in-app purchasing opportunities than you can shake a reasonably large stick at.
Well, it's here, and it's Plants versus Zombies in all its glory. Just... better. The action, charm, and replayability that made the first one such a smashing success are captured and improved. But it's also leaves me a little sad. Because while the game retains all the charm and grace of its predecessor--and then some--it also bears the hallmarks of the most odious forms of the free-to-play genre. You'll have a great time and likely won't even spend a cent. But that pervasive need to nickel-and-dime, however optional, leaves a slimy sort of film on the goodwill PopCap has earned through excellent game development.
A primer: zombies are attacking, and your platoon of sunshine-powered plants are tasked with defending our brains. This time there's a taco and space travel involved--it's weird, just download it (Free, iOS only). The animation oozes charm, and you can't help but smirk as sunflowers smile and laugh, or puffy-cheeked pea shooters rain death on the undead. The music is catchy, and the environments, challenges, and mini-games are as inventive as ever.
Most importantly, you can play through the entire game and earn most of the paywall-restricted goodies without ever dropping a dime, and be treated to a challenging--but fair--experience that honestly eclipses its predecessor.
The trouble starts with Plant Food, a powerup that can supercharge your floral forces, and is dropped by random glowing zombies. You can only carry three at a time, but they flow fairly regularly--until they don't. The random number god is a fickle beast; in some levels, I had more plant food than I knew what to do with, and would flick it at my minions just to see what it would do. Other levels required a bit more careful management, or simply doing without.
And then there are the keys that will unlock doors scattered across the map. They too drop randomly, and while the doors don't necessarily impede your progress, they do block access to new plants you've yet to acquire. And finally there are stars--that basic metric of level completion for today's mobile games. Complete challenges to unlock stars, and you'll unlock a gate that'll take you to the next map.
Want more plant food? Just spend 1000 coins, which are occasionally acquired by defeating enemies (at random, of course)--you'll also get up to 50 coins if you complete a level without any major mishaps. Want more keys? Just keep playing and replaying levels until more drop, and spend them wisely. Naturally, you can just open up your wallet and buy all the coins and keys you'll need. But I refuse--it's a shortcut all too akin paying to win, and I'll be damned if I'll have that on my conscience.
And just like that, everything becomes too awesome to use. I play conservatively, stockpiling plant food and only spending it when I've reached the cap and a glowing zombie makes an appearance, securing my supply line. Any keys are simply hoarded--that plant looks pretty nice, but I've only got seven of these things and who knows what'll be available on the next map.
But my heart didn't well and truly sink until I was introduced to the touch-centric powerups. Pinch zombies to pluck their heads off. Swipe them up into the air, and then flick them off the screen. Or press and hold to zap one, then drag your finger across the screen to fry his buddies. Incredibly fun, well-balanced abilities (only active for a few seconds) that serve as a sort of Hail Mary pass when the game is at its most hectic. But they'll cost you a considerable number of coins--more coins than you'll earn in fair number of levels. Unlike plant food there's no way of accruing them "naturally," so I play knowing that those powerup icons sitting on the bottom of my screen may as well not be there, as I'd feel foolish ever wasting that much currency on them.
I paid $20 for the original Plants versus Zombies. And then I purchased it again, for my iPad. And then it was released on the iPhone, which is a lot easier to hold when you're standing on a bus, so there goes a bit more cash--I'm not averse to rendering unto PopCap what's theirs. But I'm pretty sure I'll never shell out any cash for Plants versus Zombies 2, and this irks me.
What was once a fun, fluid tower defense-esque experience can at times feel more like a sort of a resource management sim--not because of scarce resources, but because those resources cost real money. Still fun, but forever plagued by that nagging sensation that you're only worried about playing so efficiently because you know you could be wielding awesome power for just a few bucks. And have a full arsenal of plants to choose from--many of them old favorites--for just a few bucks. Look, I love the Snow Pea ($3.99). But is a single plant really worth as much rymdkapsel?
You can also pay to avoid a hefty amount of repetition: the new time periods are locked behind "star gates," so you'll need to hoard stars by playing new challenges on old stages before you can proceed. Or forking over five bucks. To be fair, the nature of Plants versus Zombies' gameplay means that "stages" are mere backdrops, and no level ever feels the same. But the first game kept things moving at a refreshing pace: a few levels in the backyard begets a night zone with new plants begets a new play dynamic with aquatic-zombies, before heading to the roof for an entirely different experience. Quaint as the Plant versus Zombies 2 experience is, you'll get sick of hanging around Egypt before too long.
This could have been much worse: consider SimCity or Real Racing, series that could once do no wrong rendered nigh unplayable or cynically expensive by decisions aimed at converting every moment of our entertainment into cold hard cash.
In Plants versus Zombies 2 we're never nagged to spend money, or forced to pay to make progress or post quips to Facebook in exchange for extra sunshine or whatever. It's far more insidious than that, as the very essence of the game involves separating the wheat from the proverbial chaff.
"Core" gamers will have their challenge, with a decidedly brisker pace than the original game and challenges to play over and over and occasionally, over again until they've perfected their build order. The casual gamer, otherwise known as the family member or friend we introduced the original game to, might instead feel a bit overwhelmed. Perhaps they'll shell out some cash on powerups to beat a level or two. Or maybe they'll chuckle at the comical narrative and set the game aside--it was free, after all--wondering what the heck all the fuss was about.
Don't think twice about grabbing this game (unless you don't own an iOS device, natch). It's incredibly fun, and free, and well worth your time. But its in-app purchases are worryingly over-priced, and while seasoned gardeners won't have much trouble, I worry about the precedence it sets.


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This kid might be coming for all of Michael Phelps' records after this. Clark Kent Apuada - his friends call him "Superman" - recently broke a record at the Far West International Championship that Phelps set in 1995.
Kent broke the record in the 100 M butterfly with a time of 1:10.38. He also won every other event he participated in. Kent's main goal is to participate in the Olympics.
"Always have fun and never give up on your dreams," Abuada told KION.
Kent has only been swimming competitively for four years. Other activities he partakes in are martial arts and coding. He said swimming is his favorite because of all the support from family and coaches.


text:
Q: Converting View Points to MKMapView Coordinates My objective is to convert the top left and bottom right points of my view to lat/lon coordinates. These lat/lon coordinates will be used to query annotation locations that only exist within the view (not all 5000+).
I found this Objective-C tip on Stackoverflow. But the issue I have is that it is converting 0,0 from the mapView (a lat/lon of -180,-180. Aka, the Southpole).
So instead of:
topLeft = mapView.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, 0), toCoordinateFromView: self.mapView)

I figured I could simply do:
topLeft = view.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, 0), toCoordinateFromView: self.mapView)

But I get the error:

Cannot invoke 'convertPoint' with an argument list of type '(CGPoint,
  toCoordinateFromView: MKMapView!)'

I have spent a day trying to figure it out, but to no avail, and I have come to you seeking guidance. Any help would be much appreciated.
Here is the complete function:
func findCornerLocations(){

    var topLeft = CLLocationCoordinate2D()
    let mapView = MKMapView()
    topLeft = view.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, 0), toCoordinateFromView: self.mapView)

    print(topLeft.latitude, topLeft.longitude)
}

A: You were very, very close!
let topLeft = map.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, 0), toCoordinateFromView: self.view)
let bottomleft = map.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, self.view.frame.size.height), toCoordinateFromView: self.view)

When implemented, it'll look like this:
        let map = MKMapView()
        map.frame = CGRectMake(100, 100, 100, 100)
        let coord = CLLocationCoordinate2DMake(37, -122)
        let span = MKCoordinateSpanMake(1, 1)
        map.region = MKCoordinateRegionMake(coord, span)
        self.view.addSubview(map)

        let topleft = map.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, 0), toCoordinateFromView: self.view)
        let bottomleft = map.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, self.view.frame.size.height), toCoordinateFromView: self.view)

        print("top left = \(topleft)")
        print("bottom left = \(bottomleft)")

A: A normal view doesn't have the convertPoint(_:toCoordinateFromView:) function, only an MKMapView, which explains the compiler error you're seeing. What made you stop using this version?
topLeft = mapView.convertPoint(CGPointMake(0, 0), toCoordinateFromView: self.mapView)

Additionally, if all the annotations are already added to the map view, you'll have much better success using the annotationsInMapRect method:
let visibleAnnotations = mapView.annotationsInMapRect(mapView.visibleMapRect)
for element in visibleAnnotations {
    guard let annotation = element as? MKAnnotation
        else { continue }

    print(annotation)
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Abby the Librarian: Cybils nominations are open!
And the new form is snazzy and awesome!
Last year my strategy was to swoop in there right away and be the first to nominate the popular awesome books we all love. This year my strategy is to wait and then nominate some of the books that have fallen through the cracks. So I can make sure all my favorites get on the list.
Eeep! I just nominated Odd and the Frost Giants (by Gaiman) and then realized that it came out a few years ago in England! TRAGEDY! But it just now came to the states, so I wasn't thinking. Ah well - everyone should still read that one.


Hey all. I am wondering if anyone can give me a hand figuring out why I keep getting this error when I attempt to personalize some of my characters' bag settings?
System.Xml.XmlException: An error occurred while parsing EntityName. Line 398, position 192.
How far do you get in personalizing before the error message appears?
I get it only in some of the options: Bag, Bank, Chat, Target.
The error in the window is: An error occurred while parsing EntityName. Line 399. Position 192.
Going to delete the UIsettings for the problem characters and try again.
Does the error message appear when you first load the bag/bank/chat setup page? Or after you interact with some of the controls?
When I first load it.
On the Settings page of the utility, under Display, is a checkbox for "Enable Bag, Bank, Chat and Hotbar profile viewers." Uncheck it, then close and reopen the utility. Can you navigate to the bag/bank/chat pages now?
InvalidArguement=Value of -1 is not valid for "index".
There is something unexpected in one of your characters' uisettings files (anything with eq2_uisettings.xml in the name). Try moving all except one of them from your main EQII folder into another folder temporarily, then load the remaining character's bag settings in the utility. If this succeeds move the uisettings files back one at a time until you find the one(s) that throw an error when you reload bag settings.
Tried it out, and so far so good!
Hi, I've been getting this error for the past 2 updates, 3117 & 3116. 3115 was ok. Anyone know what it means?
If you are able to close the error message and continue using the utility, go to the Quick Setup page and see if the list of characters is accurate. Are there any that say "detection error?"
Thanks for responding. I only see 3 of the 8 characters I have and one that I don't recognize.
In your main EverQuest II game folder there will be one or two folders named logincache or something similar. Temporarily move those out onto the desktop then log in to the character select screen on your account(s). This will rebuild your logincache folder. You don't need to log in to each character, only character select once per account. Now reopen the utility to Quick Setup. Do you get the error message, and are your characters showing correctly?
Looks like that did the trick! Thank you so much for all your help!
Just as an FYI, the logincache folder can be deleted at any time (while the game is not playing..) without any issues. No need to back it up if you think it might be causing an error - just kill it.


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(found 155 products)
Anne of Geierstein; Or, the Maiden of the Mist (V. 2)
https://magrudy.com/book/anne-of-geierstein-or-the-maiden-of-the-mist-v-2-9781459034921/
by Sir Walter Scott
Chronicles of the Canongate
https://magrudy.com/book/chronicles-of-the-canongate-9781458819949/
The Miscellaneous Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart Volume 13
https://magrudy.com/book/the-miscellaneous-prose-works-of-sir-walter-scott-bart-volume-13-9781235852404/
The Novels, Tales and Romances of the Author of Waverley (Volume 5)
https://magrudy.com/book/the-novels-tales-and-romances-of-the-author-of-waverley-volume-5-9781235785009/
The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of the French (Volume 5); With a Preliminary View of the French Revolution
https://magrudy.com/book/the-life-of-napoleon-buonaparte-emperor-of-the-french-volume-5-with-a-preliminary-view-of-the-french-revolution-9781152549739/
Guy Mannering; Or, the Astrologer
https://magrudy.com/book/guy-mannering-or-the-astrologer-9780217316019/
Waverly Novels (Volume 38); Talisman
https://magrudy.com/book/waverly-novels-volume-38-talisman-9780217143493/
The Miscellaneous Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart (Volume 12)
https://magrudy.com/book/the-miscellaneous-works-of-sir-walter-scott-bart-volume-12-9781235774492/
Waverley; Or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since (1816)
https://magrudy.com/book/waverley-or-tis-sixty-years-since-1816-9780217418416/
The Novels, Tales and Romances of the Author of Waverley (Volume 17)
https://magrudy.com/book/the-novels-tales-and-romances-of-the-author-of-waverley-volume-17-9781235784613/
The Journal of Sir Walter Scott, from the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford
https://magrudy.com/book/the-journal-of-sir-walter-scott-from-the-original-manuscript-at-abbotsford-9781152663046/
The Poetical Works of Walter Scott, Esq (Volume 6)
https://magrudy.com/book/the-poetical-works-of-walter-scott-esq-volume-6-9781151790309/
The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart., Containing Lay of the Last Ministrel, Marmion, Lady of the Lake, Don Roderick, Rokeby, Ballads,
https://magrudy.com/book/the-poetical-works-of-sir-walter-scott-bart-containing-lay-of-the-last-ministrel-marmion-lady-of-the-lake-don-roderick-rokeby-ballads-9781151790422/
Scott's Novels (Volume 23)
https://magrudy.com/book/scotts-novels-volume-23-9781234908713/
The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, Baronet (Volume 6)
https://magrudy.com/book/the-poetical-works-of-sir-walter-scott-baronet-volume-6-9781235682575/
The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, Including Introduction and Notes
https://magrudy.com/book/the-poetical-works-of-sir-walter-scott-including-introduction-and-notes-9781152792883/
The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart (Volume 6)
https://magrudy.com/book/the-poetical-works-of-sir-walter-scott-bart-volume-6-9781235085857/
The Miscellaneous Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bart (Volume 21); Periodical Criticism
https://magrudy.com/book/the-miscellaneous-prose-works-of-sir-walter-scott-bart-volume-21-periodical-criticism-9781154300468/
Oeuvres de Walter Scott (9)
https://magrudy.com/book/oeuvres-de-walter-scott-9-9781235482823/
Miscellaneous Prose Works Volume 6
https://magrudy.com/book/miscellaneous-prose-works-volume-6-9781235830341/
The Journal of Sir Walter Scott (Volume 2); From the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford
https://magrudy.com/book/the-journal-of-sir-walter-scott-volume-2-from-the-original-manuscript-at-abbotsford-9781152663121/
The Waverley Novels (Volume 42)
https://magrudy.com/book/the-waverley-novels-volume-42-9781150507397/
Tales of a Grandfather Being Stories Taken from Scottish History. Second Series. Humbly Inscribed to Hugh Littlejohn, Esq. in Two Vols (Volume 2)
https://magrudy.com/book/tales-of-a-grandfather-being-stories-taken-from-scottish-history-second-series-humbly-inscribed-to-hugh-littlejohn-esq-in-two-vols-volume-2-9781153173339/
The Bride of Lammermoor and a Legend of Montrose
https://magrudy.com/book/the-bride-of-lammermoor-and-a-legend-of-montrose-9781235357657/
Oeuvres de Walter Scott
https://magrudy.com/book/oeuvres-de-walter-scott-9781235005497/
by Albert Montemont, Albert Etienne De Montemont, Sir Walter Scott
Oeuvres de Walter Scott (25)
https://magrudy.com/book/oeuvres-de-walter-scott-25-9781235005756/


I hear over and over from Wyomingites about how much we love our open spaces, and the importance of protecting them. It's a value that hunters, anglers, environmentalists, and those of us that just like looking out the window, can all agree on.
But make no mistake: our open spaces are under attack by John Barrasso and special interests who want to cut us off from our own land. They plan to do this by shifting control of Federal lands to our state, which is an easier target for them to lobby and manipulate (to try and take our land for themselves). While the BLM is far from perfect, and we need to make changes with how Federal land is managed, the solution is not to hand over the land to the state.
While John Barrasso may be for sale, our land is not. For me, this issue is not negotiable.
Most importantly, I want to protect our state's wide open spaces for our great-grandchildren. But there are other reasons why Senator Barrasso's plan is a bad thing for Wyoming.
First, our state faces a fiscal crisis, and is in no position to take over the financial risk of managing millions of acres of land. Not only would we be one major forest fire away from state bankruptcy, but building out the infrastructure (including thousands of new state employees and agencies) would stress a state government that should be focused on creating private sector jobs, fixing our healthcare mess, and creating a healthy state economy (all outlined in this Plan to Put Wyoming First).
Second, the effort would take years of litigation and involve Constitutional issues that would end up at the Supreme Court, costing our state tens of millions in legal fees and distracting our leaders from other more critical initiatives.
Third, it would split our state in two. I would hate to see our state divided for years over an issue that makes no financial sense, endangers our open spaces, and pits one neighbor against another. At a time when we need to come together on community issues we all agree on, we'd instead become a deeply divided state.
We are already a divided nation, we don't need to be a divided state.
Quite simply I don't trust our state government on this issue -- because when we get in a fiscal crisis, state government will likely have to sell off our land to pay the bills. Remember, we're not talking about what might happen in the next several years. Once transferred to the state, the risk extends for generations. We'd be trusting our land to an uncertain future that could risk not just where we hunt, but where our grandchildren hunt. Under financial pressures, there can be no guarantee a future state governor or legislature won't make concessions to special interests in return for short term economic gain. The temptation is too great, the role of money in politics too enormous.
Finally, we need to address the places in our state where we've been cut off from access to our public lands, by private landowners. I will hunt for ways to regain access to open space that has been cut off from access due to the sale or lease of parcels of land. I favor a requirement of reasonable easements over private land to maintain Wyomingites' access to public lands for hunting, fishing, camping, or just walking around.
Of course, any access would need to protect the commercial needs of our agricultural and extraction industry, as well as the privacy of landowners. But this is Wyoming, not New York. We know how to be good neighbors, treat each other with respect, and work together to solve these issues.
I commit to insure our open spaces are protected for our great-grandchildren.
I will use Wyoming's U.S. Senate seat to block any effort to sell or transfer ownership or management of public land to outside developers via the state government. I will carefully scrutinize any lease or transfer of our land which leads to restrictions on public access. Finally, I commit to finding neighborly solutions to creating easements to public land currently cut off from access.