Cleared Duke Players Could Sue
Staff — April 12, 2007
RALEIGH, N.C. Apr 12, 2007 (AP)— The disgraced district attorney in the Duke lacrosse rape case apologized to the three athletes in a carefully worded statement Thursday as their lawyers weighed whether to sue him and some legal experts say they have a case.
While prosecutors generally have immunity for what they do inside the courtroom, experts said that protection probably doesn't cover some of Mike Nifong's more questionable actions in his handling of the case such as calling the lacrosse players "a bunch of hooligans" in one of several interviews deemed unethical by the state bar.
"I think their chances of success suing Mr. Nifong are reasonably good, despite what we call prosecutorial immunity," said John Banzhaf, a professor at the George Washington University School of Law.
Details here from the AP via ABCnews.com.
Read more articles by Staff
Lawyer's Rare-Postcard Hobby Gets Him DisciplinedBingham McCutchen


Park pledges deregulation to support broadcasting industry
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye on Thursday pledged to help the broadcasting industry create "quality and wholesome" content through deregulation, stressing such a move has generated massive economic gains and enhanced national prestige.
In her video message to a ceremony marking the 53rd Broadcasting Day, Park touted the broadcasting industry as "a center for producing top-notch content and an outpost for hallyu," or Korean pop culture.
"The government will stamp out unreasonable regulations by listening to the voices of those in the field and will do its utmost to establish an ecosystem for the production of good quality content," she said.
The president also pointed out that dramas, documentaries and other show programs that have been produced by local broadcasters have not only entertained people but also created tremendous economic value.
sshluck@yna.co.kr


now reading: Are Swing States Disappearing?
Are Swing States Disappearing?
By David Byler
RCP Staff
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In January, computer scientist Randy Olson published a piece called "The Shrinking Battleground." In it, Olson argues that the number of presidential swing states has declined in recent decades, that this decline has adverse consequences (fewer states in play leads to lower turnout in those states and presidential candidates only spending time and money on a few swing states), and concludes that the president should be elected by national popular vote rather than by the Electoral College.
Olson is not the only one who believes the Electoral College should be abolished – a lot of smart people agree with him. Doing so, however, would be exceedingly legally and politically difficult – so for the foreseeable future we're stuck with this political relic.
But if we take a slightly different perspective on this data, we can assuage some of the national popular vote advocates' worries. Specifically, the presidential battleground may shift, so more states may become swing states in the future. Moreover, the success of state level candidates from the minority party in partisan "strongholds" shows that Republicans in blue states and Democrats in red states do not always end up wasting their votes on pre-decided elections.
The Shifting Battleground
Olson identified nine "swing states" and 41 partisan "strongholds" using the following map:
I have a few minor disagreements with how states are categorized (New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona may have more swing potential than this map communicates, and Indiana and New Mexico probably fit better in the partisan stronghold category), and the measure used (consecutive wins) does not take into account how close those wins are. But the map mostly gets the current situation right. The red and pink states tend to vote for Republicans, the gray states swing and the blue states favor Democrats.
But that's just the current situation.
These graphs show how the partisan index (inspired by the Cook PVI) of the partisan strongholds (colors of points correspond roughly to colors on Olson's map) has evolved since the end of World War II. We calculated the index by subtracting the Republican candidate's share of the two-party national popular vote from the Republican's share of the two-party state level popular vote for each state and election. A positive value indicates that the state voted more heavily for the Republican candidate than the nation as a whole, and a negative value indicates a relative advantage for the Democrat. Zero means that the state's two-party vote was identical to the national two-party vote. This measure controls for wave elections, so it shows a smoother version of how partisan loyalties in these states have changed over time.
It's easy to spot the trends in these graphs. The long-standing western Republican strongholds have become steadily more Republican since the end of WWII (the red graph). The more recently Republican South (along with Montana, Arizona and Missouri – shown in pink) was Democratic, hovered around the national average but then steadily moved toward Republicans. The Democratic states are a mix – some of them have been Democratic for a number of decades and others leaned Republican into the 1990s. But most of them are now much more Democratic than the national average.
The obvious takeaway from these graphs is that stronghold states have generally pulled away from the national average and that Olson is right – the battleground has shrunk in recent years. But there is another critical detail – states can also move into the battleground.
For most of the last 50 years (with the exception of 1976 and 1980, when southerner Jimmy Carter was on the ballot), Virginia leaned pretty hard to the right. But in the last few cycles, it has become a swing state.
New Hampshire also went from being a Republican stronghold in the 1970s and 1980s to a swing state in the 1990s and 2000s. The state leaned Democratic in the last few presidential elections, but important down-ticket races suggest that the state could be in play in 2016. Republican Kelly Ayotte won the state's 2010 Senate election by 23.5 points and Republican Scott Brown held popular incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen to a 3.25-point victory in 2014. Since 2010, candidates from both parties have won and lost both of the state's House seats.
Minnesota leans further to the left than Virginia or New Hampshire. In 2012, Obama won there by a larger margin (7.69 points) than he did in New Hampshire (5.58 points) or Virginia (3.88 points), so it might be difficult for Republicans to push Minnesota into the battleground in 2016. That being said, the state's partisan index has moved toward the center in recent years – showing that states can move toward the battleground as well as away from it.
There is reason to believe the map might expand in coming election cycles. Republicans lost the Electoral College by more than 100 votes in 2012 and by almost 200 in 2008. They have not done well against the Obama coalition, so they can be expected to try to expand the map. The Republican nominee may attempt to appeal to Hispanics and thus make more of the Southwest competitive. Alternatively, he or she could try to win more of the Rust Belt and Midwest. Either way, the Republican Party has an electoral incentive to craft its messages and political positions in a way that could pull blue states into the swing state column.
Democrats may try to expand the map as well. Without Barack Obama on the ballot, the Democratic nominee theoretically could make a credible attempt to regain rural white voters in the South (both Hillary Clinton and Jim Webb would certainly try) or simply reverse some of the recent movement of whites toward the GOP. It's also possible that by appealing to these groups, Democrats drive other portions of their coalition toward the Republicans.
Finally, it's important to note that even if party coalitions do not move in the coming cycles, wave elections can temporarily push partisan strongholds into swing territory. In 1980, Ronald Reagan's (nearly 10 point) popular vote landslide victory over then-President Jimmy Carter pushed many reliably Democratic states – including Massachusetts, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Kentucky – into single-digit margins. So even if the two parties fail to create more swing states by changing their coalitions, national conditions (e.g., the state of the economy causes a wave election) could create close races in reliably partisan states. In other words, we are in no way stuck with the current number or set of swing states.
Down-ticket Races
Olson focuses on presidential politics in his analysis. He writes "voting Democratic in Alaska is about as pointless as voting Republican in California, which is why so many voters don't bother showing up to the polls in these staunchly polarized states." He describes how presidential candidates focus their time and money almost exclusively on a few swing states. Olson seems to be right about lower turnout and presidential candidates only focusing on a few states. But his premise that Democrats in Alaska and Republicans in California are wasting their vote only holds if one assumes that presidential elections are the only ones that matter.
Alaska Democrats mattered in 2014, however, when Independent Bill Walker (whose running mate, Byron Mallot, is a Democrat) unseated Republican Gov. Sean Parnell. California Republicans mattered when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won re-election in 2006. On the state level, minority party candidates (defined here as candidates from whichever party typically does not win the electoral votes of a given stronghold state) for the governorship win with some frequency.
This map uses Olson's stronghold and swing state designations to show where a minority party gubernatorial candidate won anytime from the 2006 election to today. Most states hold gubernatorial elections every four years during the midterms, so (for most states) this map represents three elections – 2006, 2010 and 2014. Similarly, Olson puts any state that voted for the same presidential candidate in three (or more) elections in the "stronghold" category.
A majority of stronghold states recently elected a governor from the state's minority party. And some of these states do not simply lean or tilt toward a party – Massachusetts voted for President Obama by more than 20 points, but Republican Charlie Baker won the governorship in 2014. Similarly, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won Arkansas by more than 20 points, but Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe won re-election by a nearly 2-1 margin in 2010.
Minority party Senate candidates also have had some success in Senate elections. In the last three regular Senate elections (2010, 2012 and 2014), minority party Senate candidates won in ten stronghold states – New Hampshire, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Montana, North Dakota, Maine, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Most of these states also elected a minority party governor in a recent cycle.
It's important to note that these down-ticket races have significant consequences. Both parties have recently felt the importance of Senate election results. Senate Republicans, despite being in the minority for almost all of the Obama administration, were able to derail some of Obama's top legislative priorities by filibustering (or simply threatening to do so). Similarly, when Republicans assumed control over the House in 2011, Senate Democrats made sure that many bills that the House passed never made it to the president's desk. Gubernatorial elections matter too. State governments pass an enormous amount of legislation on nearly every hot-button domestic issue, and those laws often become the blueprint for federal laws.
So while minority party votes in stronghold states might be wasted in presidential elections, they often are not in senatorial and gubernatorial contests. These state level successes do not address two of the big problems Olson brought up – lower turnout and presidential candidates focusing almost exclusively on swing states – but it does show that these minority party voters are not always wasting their vote.
David Byler is an elections analyst for RealClearPolitics. He can be reached at dbyler@realclearpolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidbylerRCP.
Related Topics: Election 2016, Election 2014, Election 2012, Voting Trends, Voter Turnout, Partisanship, Electoral College
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Norwegian SciTech News
Research News from NTNU and SINTEF
Fish and aquaculture
Trial of the test configuration used to evaluate dust masks in the Norwegian smelting industry. Occupational hygienist Solveig Føreland (on the right) is responsible for the measurements, while SINTEF research scientist Ida Teresia Kero is Project Manager for the interdisciplinary project in which the measurements are used. The test subject on the treadmill is SINTEF employee Ida Eir Lauritzen. Photo: Thor Nielsen / SINTEF
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Not easy finding dust masks suitable for women
By Ida Eir Lauritzen and Svein Tønseth
Published	06.04.18
The smelting industry needs to promote the availability of dust masks of more than one size, according to the research scientists behind a recent working environment study at Norwegian smelting plants.
In a recent major multidisciplinary research project, dust masks used in the Norwegian smelting industry have been subjected to comprehensive testing. Solveig Føreland, a toxicologist and occupational hygienist at St. Olav's Hospital in Trondheim, was responsible for the trials. She points out that masks are usually made only in one size, and are designed to fit users with relatively large faces.
DeMaskUs project
Knowledge-Building Project for Industry (KPN) with funding from The Research Council of Norway via the Nano2021 program.
Duration: From June 2015 to June 2019
Industy Partners: The Norwegian Ferroalloy Producers Research Assoiation (FFF), Washington Mills and Saint-Gobain.
Research partners: SINTEF (project manager), University Hospital of North Norway (UNN), St. Olavs Hospital, The National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI) and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
"As a result, women in particular often have difficulties finding a dust mask that fits well. We recommend that the industry put pressure on manufacturers to make masks of different sizes because if a dust mask doesn't fit tightly to the face, even the best filter will not be enough to protect the user", says Føreland.
Hazardous ultra-fine dust
The testing is part of DeMaskUs, an interdisciplinary research project for which the smelting industry in Norway has taken the initiative. The purpose of the project is to ensure the best possible working environment in Norwegian silicon, ferroalloy and silicon carbide plants – the industries that provide us with materials for the manufacture of everything from solar cells and axe heads, to advanced electronic equipment.
When liquid metal is tapped from smelting furnaces, the temperature reaches more than a thousand degrees Celsius. To an onlooker, the glowing metal, smoke and sparks from metal production may be reminiscent of a volcanic eruption.
Fortunately, it's not as dramatic as it might appear. The activities in a smelting plant are strictly controlled and carefully planned, and employees are padded from head to toe for protection. However, at the interface between metal and air there is an unwanted and almost invisible by-product: ultra-fine dust.
"When the temperature is as high as it is in a smelting furnace, a number of chemical reactions come into play. Amongst other things, the molten metal reacts with oxygen from the air in the smelting hall. The product of the reaction is a fine oxide dust. The smallest of these particles are almost invisible, and the industry doesn't want its employees to be inhaling this dust", says Ida Teresia Kero, a SINTEF research scientist.
Inhalation causes illness
Kero holds a key role in the DeMaskUs project, in which several industrial companies are collaborating to research the dust issue. She is the leader of an interdisciplinary team of research scientists from the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN), St. Olav's Hospital, the National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and SINTEF.
Testing and trials of dust masks are included because a number of studies have shown a connection between inhalation of industrial dust and disorders of the airways and lungs. Occupational hygienist Føreland explains:
"Experience shows that the incidence of COPD, to some extent, can be linked to the working environment, and that employees working at smelting plants and other industries where they are exposed to dust have an increased risk of developing lung disorders. In the DeMaskUs project, we also want to study how dust generated during activities such as the tapping of smelting furnaces may contribute to adverse health effects".
Partial protection is better than none
The University Hospital of North Norway and St. Olav's Hospital have tested how effectively the existing dust masks protect against dust. Over a hundred test subjects, both male and female, who work every day near large, scorching furnaces, were invited to test a total of a dozen different dust masks.
First, the subjects carried out various exercises while wearing a mask and walking on a treadmill in an office environment.
"These tests demonstrated that, provided they fitted the user's face, the dust masks captured even the smallest particles", says Føreland.
However, testing in an office environment is one thing. The scientists wanted to put the masks through their paces by testing them in the dustiest areas close to furnaces.
"The masks provide good protection if you are in "friendly" surroundings with a brand-new mask, and if you are also a clean-shaven man. However, a pilot trial carried out in an industrial furnace hall showed that the masks didn't necessarily provide as effective protection there. However, this must not lead us to believe that we can do without a mask when working near a furnace. Partial protection is of course far better than none", says Føreland.
In the pilot trial the scientists encountered problems with the measuring equipment, which did not react well to the heat and dust in the furnace hall. They therefore set out to acquire more advanced measuring equipment and are currently developing a method for determining whether the degree of protection of the masks is impaired in the conditions prevailing near a furnace.
Why some people leave the mask behind
Although most smelting plant employees know that they should use protection, there are a number of psychological aspects that get in the way. Øystein Robertsen, a psychology research fellow at UNN has studied this in detail. The operators themselves state that condense on the protective goggles, itching and heat are among the most common reasons why the dust masks aren't always worn.
"There are many indications that users are often more influenced by the unpleasantness of wearing a dust mask than by the risk of developing COPD or other lung disorders. Health problems are a result of exposure over a prolonged period, just like the risks involved in smoking, and we have a tendency to play down potential risks that lead to problems later. We often lose focus if the consequences are not acute", says Robertsen.
Research Scientist Ida Teresia Kero, SINTEF Industry
Diseases and disorders Health Materials Technology the Human body DeMaskUs Dust mask Lung disorders NTNU SINTEF St. Olavs Hospital STAMI The National Institute of Occupational Health University Hospital of North Norway UNN
Parents of premature babies want more information
Parents with children in the neonatal intensive care unit want more information, supervision and advice to meet their children's needs, according to results from a new PhD dissertation.
Mission control: Norwegian SciTech News has landed!
We've changed our name to Norwegian SciTech News — so readers know immediately what they will find here.
C-sections by trained health officers a safe alternative
Sierra Leone has few doctors and even fewer surgeons to serve its seven million people. Since 2011, a non-profit group called CapaCare has been training community health officers to perform basic lifesaving surgeries. A new study shows the programme is working well when it comes to the most common surgery in the country — Caesarean sections.
MORE NORWEGIAN SCITECH NEWS
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Wanderway teaches how to use digital media creatively and ethically
Dance company Wonderbound filmed a behind-the-scenes video about how the sets were made for one of their shows. Theater community organization HowlRound created an online space for Latina/o theater practitioners. The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts invites a variety of creators onto their blog and social media to include many voices and promote dialogue.
These organizations are among those using digital and social media in creative and mission-driven ways. They've shared their experience and their advice for others in Wanderway, a new, free online course on digital engagement for arts and cultural institutions.
Getting Plastered: The Masks of Marie from Wonderbound on Vimeo.
Wanderway guides organizations to use digital and social media to share their work and build relationships. Museums, libraries, performing arts companies, and more from around the country are interviewed within the course, offering tips and examples of proven practices as well as resources they've found helpful. But beyond those specific recommendations, Wanderway is also designed to help people overcome their trepidation about putting content on the Internet, and to encourage them to reflect and be intentional as they do so.
The course was commissioned by the Wyncote Foundation and created by Beck Tench, an educator, designer, storyteller, and technologist based in Seattle; Sarah Lutman, a writer who leads a consulting and project management firm in the Twin Cities; and Jessica Fiala, a research associate with Lutman's firm and a dancer with Ragamala Dance.
Wanderway grew out of a previous project Lutman and Fiala had worked on for the Wyncote Foundation, called Like, Link, Share: How cultural institutions are embracing digital technology. Released in December 2014, that report profiled 40 legacy institutions from around the U.S. on how they were engaging with audiences online. Lutman then presented on Like, Link, Share at several conferences, and heard overwhelmed reactions from many cultural institutions.
"Most of them said, 'Oh. My. God. I am so far from being able to do the kinds of things that these leading institutions are doing. I don't know where to start,'" she says. "Or, from smaller organizations, 'Well, if you have millions of dollars, of course you can do projects like [the ones in Like, Link, Share], but what about us?'"
Inspired by those interactions, the online course that became Wanderway was planned deliberately to help organizations work within limited resources. With tight budgets and small staffs in mind, the Wanderway team was careful to use only what their audience would have access to: They found open-source tools and worked remotely via Skype instead of traveling to meet in person.
Wanderway's creators also wanted to focus on ways to use digital media beyond marketing. Many organizations assume that social media is for self-promotion, but it's more important to build relationships and create valuable and interesting content — people tend to tune out when organizations focus only on sales.
Museum Hue is one of the examples highlighted in Wanderway of using online media for a mission. The organization was founded to advance people of color in museums and cultural institutions, and to promote their visibility. Museum Hue's social media supports that by seeking out and sharing images and stories of artists and museum professionals of color.
"They're not trying to sell anything," Lutman says of Museum Hue. "They just thought, 'How can we use these [social] tools as a gathering mechanism to find and build community among people who are having like experiences?'"
Another goal for Wanderway's creators was to build reflection into the course, reminding people to stop and write down thoughts at regular intervals. For example, in the section on voice, participants are encouraged to respond to the question, "How can you use your voice to serve your community's needs and aspirations?"
The result is a course structure and tone that focus on mindset and intention, rather than advertising mastery of specific channels or tactics. Wanderway invites visitors to "befriend uncertainty"; it encourages "a spirit of possibility, experimentation, and thoughtfulness." And though the course can be completed at the pace and in the order of participants' choice, it officially opens with Section 1: Fear.
"We wanted to start right there, face it directly, and say this can be very scary," Lutman says.
Fears about wading into online spaces are genuine: People worry about understanding the rules of online behavior, and worry that they won't be able to keep up with rapid technological change. They worry about interacting with strangers they'll never meet in person, and about being trolled or scammed. And they worry that digital and social media will consume hours of time on top of their already packed schedules. But beyond social media's specific pitfalls, trying new things is also inherently daunting.
As an educator, Beck Tench is something of an expert in helping people face such fears head-on. A class she taught at the University of Washington in 2015, Digital Experiments in Museums and Libraries, had the stated purpose of "to try things that might not work." Week one's lesson: "You Have Been Assigned to Fail."
Tench brought that approach and pieces of failure-related curriculum to Wanderway. The section on fear, for example, asks participants to understand that learning about digital engagement is an ongoing process, and that they will need to let go of perfectionism.
"It's a practice, like if you practice a musical instrument, or a physical or meditative practice of some kind," Lutman says. "The mentality is working on it and learning as you go."
It was important, Tench says, to incorporate an ethical lens in the curriculum as well. For example, social media contains a lot of noise; there is value in being measured and intentional about how you contribute to the public conversation. Wanderway invites people to consider drawing boundaries and taking time away from online media, as well as thinking about the role their organizations play in contributing to a media culture of distraction.
The course also addresses other issues cultural institutions must grapple with. One such question is how to share art with digital audiences even if the organization believes that it's best encountered in person. It's a big concern, Lutman says: "What is the authentic cultural experience, and does it only happen live? If you're not in the theater or the concert hall, are you really hearing the concert?"
For Lutman, it's clear that social media users have made their decision: They're eager to experience art online. "More people are engaging with cultural activities by media than they are in person, by a huge multiple," she says. "Do you want to leave that only to commercial enterprises? Figuring it out is really worth it."
Wanderway can be completed by individuals or in groups — at staff meetings, for example, or in public workshops. Lutman & Associates will teach a series of workshops this year with funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board, but the goal is to create a workshop guide that, like the course, is free, and that anyone can use to lead their own Wanderway sessions.
Wanderway's creators will update the course to keep it relevant for up to two years. No matter how quickly social networks change in that time, though, Wanderway's contemplative approach offers a humane guide to digital engagement for anyone seeking to learn more.
Dance Digital/Multimedia Participatory Art Theater Visual Arts
Wanderway – Creative Exchange
[…] We've had a lot of fun packing the course with tools that are free and accessible to anyone, and getting to know the dozens of artists and organizations whose work we feel privileged to highlight. Read more about Wanderway on Creative Exchange. […]
Public Transformation hits the road
Wanderway


How to Use TikTok for your Business
Different social media platforms attract different audiences. With over 60% of TikTok users being comprised of Generation Z, the fast growing social media platform has one of the youngest users across all platforms. To put it in numbers, Facebook and Instagram has around 30% of it's users in the 25-34 age group. With TikTok, 37% of all of it's US based users are in the age group of 10-19 years old. These numbers give companies an insight into the type of content it should create to attract these younger audiences to it's brand.
How should I use TikTok for my Business? + Tips
Creating content tailored towards a certain audience over a consistent period of time can get you great results on TikTok. Many companies have found success by creating content tailored towards their audience. An example of this is Crocs, as they started tailoring their content towards youth and attracted a younger following that they might not have found on other social platforms.
Using TikTok for your business can be a great asset when reaching out to an younger audience that is currently on that platform. With larger companies like Walmart investing into the future of TikTok, "Walmart could become a leader in online video commerce". This display's the huge opportunity for many other businesses to start creating content on TikTok.
The use of multiple hashtags (for example the #fyp hashtag) has helped many content creators go viral.
Sounds that are currently trending on TikTok can also help your content reach a wider and larger audience.
TikTok Duets with the platform's influencers can also help you reach a large audience, especially if the influencer your company duet's with responds to it.
Here's an easy TikTok Duet tutorial by Howfinity
Paid Traffic
With TikTok exploding in the North American market, paid advertising has become a very lucrative opportunity for many businesses. As of now, their ad platform in Canada is not as simple as Facebook's or Instagram. To sign up for TikTok ads, you'll have to fill out a form on TikTok for Business and leave your contact information for them to contact you. However, once TikTok releases their self-service ad manager in Canada, it should be as simple as other platforms. The cost of ads on TikTok is slightly higher than other platforms, with an average of $10 USD per 1000 impressions. When comparing that number to other platforms, the average of 1000 impressions on Facebook is around $7.19 USD. You'll have to keep in mind that there's a huge gap in age when using both platforms though. So if you have a product that appeals more to youth, paying a bit extra will make sense when advertising on TikTok.
Due to TikTok's algorithms and great content, many individuals found fame through the platform. Charli D'amelio (94.5 million followers) & Addison Rae (65 million followers) both have generated over 4 billion likes on their content which displays the power of TikTok's reach and influence. This influence can be used in marketing when advertising products or services to certain audiences. American Eagle hired Addison Rae for their 2020 fall campaign by getting her to promote their brand. Using influencer marketing on a platform like TikTok can lead to higher brand awareness, especially with certain audiences like the younger generation.
Canadian TikToker's are also playing a large role in the influencer marketing game. An example of this are Samantha & Madeline Caleon with their Levis Ad campaign.
As of November of 2020, TikTok paid ads haven't reached Canada yet but once it does, it'll be nice for you to have a paid campaign visualized with a strategy ready to launch!
Influencer marketing can play a large role for your brand. To find the right influencers, determine your budget & target audience before approaching them. + ALWAYS send a contract before payment. Here's a template you can use.
So what's stopping you?
What's stopping you from using TikTok for your business? It's extremely simple to use. Create a simple strategy to start posting content for the younger audience so it resonates with them. TikTok is another social media platform giant that have a lot of opportunity to market your brand and your company.
Market Pie has helped many small and medium sized businesses create the right strategy online. If you're looking to build a strategy to use on TikTok or any other social media platform, contact us today!
Abe2020-11-17T12:02:53-05:00
Producing great social media content is a process. Not luck.


Home » Independent review of the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment
Independent review of the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment
Independent review of the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment [13.7 MB]
Independent review of the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment [255.8 kB]
Date: 26 August 2022
The Social Services and other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and other Measures) Act 2020 required an independent review of the changes under the Act. The Department of Social Services engaged KPMG as the independent reviewer. The independent review was conducted in the first half of 2022 and tabled on 26 September 2022.
Last updated: 26 September 2022 - 3:32pm


Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/justgeorgia/)
JustGeorgia
Do We Really Want a New Juvenile Code in Georgia?
By Robert Rosenbloom | July 25, 2012
As an attorney and recently retired Deputy Commissioner of Operations for The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, it was disappointing that the new comprehensive Georgia juvenile code legislation failed to pass. Watching many well-intended professionals take years to finalize proposed legislation, only to see it fail due to questions regarding compromised provisions and lack of resources, was disappointing to say the least. To see a forward-thinking adult criminal justice package pass through the Georgia General Assembly within one year, should make all of us wonder about the real reasons for our joint disappointment this past session. It has been recently announced by Gov. Nathan Deal that juvenile justice will be the new focus of the Special Council on Criminal Justice, which was instrumental in bringing about those need reforms in the adult system. JUSTGeorgia, the coalition of advocates working for reform in the juvenile system, praised the governor's move.
Stakeholders, Foster Kids Speak Out On Georgia Juvenile Code Rewrite
By Chandra Thomas-Whitfield | August 26, 2011
The stakeholder organizations involved in Georgia's Juvenile Code Rewrite legislation are still providing input for the sweeping revision of the state's 40-year-old juvenile law.
Representatives from a diverse array of child welfare organizations shared their respective views on HB 641 at a standing-room only hearing before House Judiciary Committee members Thursday.
Overwhelming support for the effort – now roughly seven years in the making – was repeatedly voiced during the two-hour gathering at the state capitol, along with critical suggestions for improvement. The rewrite has received commitments from Gov. Nathan Deal and Georgia House and Senate leadership to ready the measure for a vote in the 2012 legislative session.
"I think we're finding out that a lot of people have concerns and they're coming together to make this a good piece of legislation," says committee chairman Rep. Wendell Willard (R- Sandy Springs), of the presentations made by organizations such as the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Court Appointed State Advocate (CASA) and Interfaith Children's Movement. "It was very encouraging to me. Hopefully by January we will have a bill that is ready to move forward."
Governor Deal, Lawmakers Commit To Juvenile Code Rewrite Vote In 2012
By Chandra Thomas-Whitfield | March 31, 2011
Georgia's Juvenile Code Rewrite — a sweeping revision of the state's 40-year-old juvenile law — will likely be ready for a vote in the next legislative session thanks to support from Gov. Nathan Deal and some in the Georgia House and Senate leadership, according to two non-profits involved in the drafting of the legislation. "The time has come for us to rethink how our state is responding to children who have found themselves in trouble with the law," said Gov. Deal in a news release. "I applaud the careful thinking and inclusive engagement that has gone into developing the Child Protection and Public Safety Act."
Representatives from the Barton Child Law and Policy Center of the Emory School of Law and Voices for Georgia's Children, said, this week that the Act, Senate Bill 127, received commitments from Gov. Deal and Georgia House and Senate leadership "to ready the measure for a vote in 2012." Voices lists the legislation's current status as "in the Senate Judiciary Committee" with "general support from the Governor's office as well as the office of the Speaker." "From the beginning, this process has been a great example of how to build good, thoughtful and effective legislation," said sponsor Senator Bill Hamrick (R- Carrollton), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC). "We have had buy-in from all the players: from the courts to the prosecutors, defense attorneys, service providers, youth and families; pretty much every interested party."
JUSTGeorgia, a coalition that includes Voices and Barton along with non-profit Georgia Appleseed, has led the rewrite effort as a vehicle to improve Georgia's juvenile laws and the underlying social service systems. Barton's Policy Director Kirsten Widner and Voices Advocacy Director Polly McKinney contend that the rewrite is the culmination of more than four years of research and consensus building to solve dilemmas faced by children, families, courts, detention facilities and taxpayers. SB 127, they said, is based on data-driven "best practices," with an eye to timeliness and fiscal responsibility.
CASA, JUSTGeorgia Lobby Lawmakers For Children
By Chandra Thomas-Whitfield | February 9, 2011
The state juvenile code rewrite and a bill proposing an end to the practice of overmedicating foster children topped the agenda Tuesday as advocates from JUSTGeorgia and the Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program gathered at the capitol for their annual lobby day. More than 300 supporters from across the state turned out to meet with legislators about what they say are two top critical policy issues affecting children this session. "We're all here trying to do right for the children of Georgia," says Georgia CASA Executive Director Duaine Hathaway. "We are here to inspire Georgia legislators and get them to act on behalf of Georgia's children."
JUSTGeorgia Project Manager Julia Neighbors says the event is as an opportunity for the network of volunteers and supporters to reconnect with seasoned lawmakers, while raising awareness among the 45 new legislators who have taken office this year. "This is also just a good opportunity for JUSTGeorgia to work with CASA," she says.
Survey for Georgia Teens and Parents: Your Views On School Discipline
By Karen Edwards | November 5, 2010
A new survey to gauge what parents and students think about public school discipline is being fielded right now by the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. The non profit group is analyzing student discipline issues across the state. They're looking at student discipline data and interviewing a wide range of people connected with schools and courts, including principles, teachers, school probation officers, attorneys and juvenile court judges. Twelve school districts representing a range of geography and economics are currently participating and have been promised anonymity. JUSTGeorgia and the Barton Center are helping get the word out to families. "We want a broad based and diverse group of parents and students to respond. We've asked a number of stakeholder groups around the state to forward surveys to their mailing list so we can get as many views as possible," said Rob Rhodes, Director of Legal Affairs at Georgia Appleseed.
Kids – Not Parents – Get to Call the Shots in Court Under New Code
By Gayle White | September 30, 2010
Parents are not always the best advocates for children charged with crimes. In fact, parents may be uninvolved, absent, or even hostile, experts told state senators as they discussed proposed changes to Georgia's juvenile code. Some of those experts were young people who've been through the juvenile justice system. They are identified by first names only:
Giovan, 20, was only 11 months old when he entered foster care. By 12, he was also in the juvenile justice system, declared unruly for cursing at foster parents he says repeatedly told him he was worth nothing.
Delinquent Kids: Focus of New Senate Hearing
By Karen Edwards | September 7, 2010
How judges handle delinquent kids could change under proposals for a new juvenile code in Georgia. SB292, Article 7 focuses on kids who've committed acts that would be considered crimes if they were adults. Read SB292 here
Read Article 7 of the Proposed Model Code
Julia Neighbors of JUSTGeorgia tells me, "This article will primarily effect defense attorneys, district attorneys and superior court judges." Article 7 will allow attorneys to access more of a child's information as well as give superior court judges other options aside from detention. Article 7 fundamentally works to separate "unruly" kids from "delinquent" kids. Delinquent kids now have alternatives of their own, such as the option to request bail. The Senate Judiciary Committee takes up these changes on September 30th at 2pm in the Capitol, room 450.
SB 292: Rethinking 17 vs. 18
By Gayle White | June 28, 2010
What is Georgia's definition of a "child" when it comes to crime? The issue came up Monday at a hearing of the state senate's Juvenile Code Re-write Subcommittee, which is dealing with a proposed new juvenile code expected to be introduced during the next legislative session. Georgia law says a child who is the victim of abuse or neglect becomes an adult at 18. Deprivation cases are handled in Juvenile Court. The same person, if accused of an act of delinquency, is considered an adult at 17. The case goes to adult court. Now a suggestion is on the table to split the issue by raising the age to 18 in misdemeanor cases but leaving it at 17 for felonies.
Long road to new Juvenile Code
The next session of the Georgia General Assembly is months away but advocates are busy polishing a major bill that could affect children and their families across the state. In fact, they've been working on this legislation—a complete revamp of the state's juvenile code—since 2004. A new code, the first in four decades, was introduced in 2009 as The Child Protection and Public Safety Act but failed to make it to the floor for a vote by the end of the two-year legislative term. To be considered in the term that begins next January, it must be reintroduced. Its supporters want to make sure it's in good shape. "Our goal is to work through the 2009 bill as a draft," said Kirsten Widner, director of policy and advocacy at the Barton Child Law & Policy Center at Emory University, "and to have an edited version for the next legislative session."
"We're going to take the opportunity to make some technical changes and changes all the stakeholders can agree to," said Mindy Binderman, director of government affairs and advocacy of Voices for Georgia's Children, a policy advocacy group. A hearing on the proposed code is set for June 28 at the Capitol. More meetings and hearings are expected over the summer.
Georgia Teens Argue for New Juvenile Code
By Ellen Miller | March 23, 2010
Atlanta's online teen news forum, Vox, has joined JustGeorgia in a campaign to change the state's juvenile laws. Here's part of the latest Vox post from 19 year Giovan Bazan:
The lives of countless youth are dictated by a juvenile justice system that is flawed and a code that is severely outdated. Up until recently, teens have been idly watching as their lives change for the worse either because they didn't know how to speak out and demand change or they were unable to. Currently, the Georgia General Assembly is convening at the State Capitol, revising the laws that affect all of us teens. The Georgia Code's Juvenile Court Provision (Juvenile Code) is a series of laws that governs how our state responds to minors and their families in cases of abuse, neglect, violations of criminal law by children and other circumstances requiring court intervention. The laws were enacted in 1971, long before any of us teens were ever born.
By Avery Miles | 16 hours ago


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By Quentin Bates
Part of A Sergeant Gunnhildur Novel
Category: Crime Mysteries | Noir Mysteries
Jan 15, 2013 | 416 Pages
About Cold Comfort
Officer Gunnhildur, recently promoted from her post in rural Iceland to Reykjavík's Serious Crime Unit, is tasked with hunting down escaped convict Long Ommi, who has embarked on a spree of violent score-settling in and around the city. Meanwhile, she's also investigating the murder of a fitness guru in her own city-center apartment. As Gunna delves into the cases, she unearths some unwelcome secrets and influential friends shared by both guru and convict. Set in an Iceland plagued by an ongoing financial crisis, Gunna has to take stock of the whirlwind changes that have swept through the country—and the fact that at the highest levels of power, the system's endemic corruption still leads, inevitably, to murder.
Also in A Sergeant Gunnhildur Novel
About Quentin Bates
Quentin Bates lived in Iceland for ten years before moving back to the UK in 1990, where he became a full-time journalist at a commercial fishing magazine. He and his wife frequently return to Iceland, where they have many friends,… More about Quentin Bates
Published by Soho Crime
Jan 15, 2013 | 416 Pages | 5 x 7-1/2 | ISBN 9781616952037
People Who Read Cold Comfort Also Read
"Required reading for anyone who wants a sense of how calamitious Iceland's meltdown was—and what just might be in store for American police procedurals next."—Kirkus Reviews
"Cold Comfort introduces some very interesting characters and develops the setting and stories of Gunna's environment in positive ways, leading me to look forward to the next Gunnhildur book with anticipation." —International Noir Fiction
Praise for Frozen Assets:
"Excellent debut…. Bates does a fine job with both Gunna and her town, her acerbic boss and an online blogger who keeps us abreast of events in Icelandic media and politics."—Toronto Globe and Mail
"[A] crackling fiction debut … palpable authenticity."—Publishers Weekly
"In Gunna Gísladóttir, Quentin Bates has created a character who appeals both on professional and personal levels."—Examiner.com
"The author has used the financial disarray of Iceland quite successfully in the plotting of this book. Money is power and power is so often the root of crime, and so it is in Cold Comfort…. Gunna is a tough as nails, take no hostages type cop. She throws herself into each investigation pushing the subject in the interview room until she gets what she wants." —Bestsellersworld.com, Mysteries Galore


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Multiflora Rose
(Rosa multiflora)
DESCRIPTION: A member of the rose family, multiflora rose is a dense spreading shrub with wide, arching canes and stiff curved thorns. Older plants may have a root crown diameter of 8 inches or more and can reach a height of 15 feet. Its pinnately compound leaves grow alternately and usually consist of seven to nine small (1/2 to 1 inch) oval leaflets with toothed margins. The leaflets are nearly smooth on the upper surface and paler with short hairs on the underside. Blossoming in late spring, its numerous white flowers form a panicle from 1/2 to 11/2 inches across. Native roses usually have pink flowers. The flowers develop into small, hard, nearly round red fruits (called hips) that are 1/4 inch in size. They remain on the plant throughout the winter. The seeds are angular achenes.
By law, multiflora rose is considered a nuisance weed, and cannot be sold or propagated.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: Introduced from Japan in 1886 as rootstock for cultivated roses, planting of multiflora rose was encouraged by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service beginning in the 1930's to curb soil erosion. The nursery industry also touted the shrub as a "living fence," to control livestock and create snow barriers along highways. It was promoted by wildlife managers as late as the 1960's as an excellent source of food and cover for wildlife. Due to its dense growing habits, it has become a serious problem in the eastern United States and occurs throughout the U.S.
Multiflora rose has naturalized in most of the northeastern and midwester United States. Although abundant throughout Illinois, multiflora rose is currently only become a problem in southernmost tier of counties in Wisconsin. Presumably, its northern range is limited by an inability to tolerate winter temperatures below -28oF. The plant is found in old fields, pastures, roadsides and forests. It can live in a wide range of soil and environmental conditions, but thrives in sunny areas with well-drained soils. It is not found in standing water or extremely dry habitats.
Click ImageLIFE HISTORY AND EFFECTS OF INVASION: Multiflora rose blooms in May or June. Individual plants may produce up to 500,000 seeds per year. The majority of seedlings emerge near the parent plant from which the seeds fell. In addition, many species of birds and mammals feed on the hips, dispersing the seeds widely. The canes are also capable of rooting when in contact with soil.
Multiflora rose readily invades prairies, savannas, open woodlands, and forest edges. Where it grows in dense thickets, it replaces the surrounding vegetation.
CONTROLLING MULTIFLORA ROSE
Mechanical Control: In areas where multiflora rose is just beginning to invade, fire can limit its establishment. Scattered populations in high-quality areas can be effectively controlled by complete removal of the plants. All roots must be removed because new plants can grow from severed roots. Mowing with heavy equipment has proven effective, although non-selective. However, the strong thorns have been known to puncture rubber tires--filling tires with foam may help. Mowing or cutting should be repeated 3-6 times during the growing season for at least 2-4 years. Follow-up monitoring is necessary because new plants may arise from root fragments or previously dormant seeds.
Chemical Control: Manual application of herbicides on freshly cut stems has proven an effective means of control as it can destroy the root system and prevent re-sprouting. After the stem is cut, herbicide should be applied. Glyphosate can be used effectively as a 10-20 % active ingredient (a.i.) solution if applied to the cut stems or canes in the growing season (between July and September) or during dormancy. Application during dormancy is preferable because it reduces the likelihood of damaging other species. A foliar spray of 1% a.i. glyphosate solution applied to flowering or budding plants is also effective, especially when the flowers are in full bloom. However, it is non-selective and should not be used in high-quality natural areas.
Triclopyr formulated for water dilution can be applied to cut stems or canes with a hand-held sprayer. Triclopyr must be applied within a few hours of cutting. Dormant season is the best time for application to ensure non-target species are not damaged by run-off.
A foliar spray of 2% a.i. fosamine solution in water can be effectively used from July to September if the foliage is well covered. So not spray so heavily that herbicide drips off the target species. Die-back will not be apparent until the following summer. Fosamine is the preferred folier spray treatment because it is non-volatile and will only affect woody species.
A 1% a.i. solution of dicamba can be applied as a foliar spray. Dicambe is selective against broadleaf and should never be used if desirable broadleaf vegetation is present. Application is most effective when administrating during May or June when plants have achieved full leaf-out and are actively flowering. When treating dense foliage, one-half ounce of surfactant should be added per gallon of water for maximum effectiveness.
A handful of water softener salt place at the base of the plant has apparently proven effective, but will remain in the soil for many years.
Biological Control: Biological methods exist to kill or damage multiflora rose. Rose rosette disease, a native virus vectored by a eriophyid mite (Phyllocoptes frutiphilus), can be fatal. However, it may infect native roses and plums as well as commercially important members of the rose family like apples, some berries, and ornamental roses. The disease spreads from infected canes to the roots and then to other canes. Plants usually die within 1-2 years. Pruning may be practical in areas where the disease is present because it encourages succulent growth, increasing plant susceptibility to mite infestation.
Two insects also feed on multiflora rose; the larva of the rose stem girdler beetle girdles and kills individual canes and the other, the rose seed chalid wasp (Megastigmus aculeastus var. nigroflavus) reduces seed viability. The U.S Department of Agriculture should be contacted for more information on biological control methods.
List of Invasive Species
Autumn Olive
Bella Honeysuckle
Canada Thistle
Carolina Fanwort
Chinese Mystery Snail
Common Reed Grass
Common Tansy
Crazy Worm
Crown Vetch
Curly-leaf Pondweed
Dames Rocket
Eurasian Water milfoil
European Alder
European Frogbit
Feral Pig
Flowering Rush
Giant Snakehead
Hairy Willow-herb
Hill Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Hedge Parsley
Japanese hops
Japanese Plume Grass
Japanese Stilt Grass
Leafy Spurge
Lesser Celandine
Lyme Grass
Mile-a-minute Weed
Mute Swan
Narrow-leaved Cattail
New Zealand Mudsnail
Norway Maple
Orange Hawkweed
Oriental Bittersweet
Porcelain Berry
Purple Loosestrife
Quagga Mussel
Red Swamp Crayfish
Reed Canary Grass
Round Goby
Ruffe
Rusty Crayfish
Siberian Elm
Spotted Knapweed
Spreading Hedge Parsley
Sweet Clover
Tall Manna Grass
Waterflea
Wild Parsnip
Zebra Mussel


Home > visual arts > Carl Andre / Rosa Barba, Turner Contemporary
Carl Andre / Rosa Barba, Turner Contemporary | reviews, news & interviews
Carl Andre / Rosa Barba, Turner Contemporary
Two seductive exhibitions show that minimalism can be sensuous and analogue timeless
by Fisun GunerMonday, 04 February 2013
Beautifully expressive and sensual: Carl Andre, 'Phalanx', 1981© Carl Andre. DACS, London/VAGA, New York
What a different country the past is. When one thinks of all the famous art works that caused an outrage when they were first unveiled and yet we now admire as ground-breaking and consider "seminal". It's probably everything that ever caused a critic of the old guard to sneer and that much maligned member of the unsuspecting public to have a fainting fit.
What a different country the past is. When one thinks of all the famous art works that caused an outrage when they were first unveiled and yet we now admire as ground-breaking and consider "seminal". It's probably everything that ever caused a critic of the old guard to sneer and that much maligned member of the unsuspecting public to have a fainting fit. One may go back at least as far as the last 150 years – it's the 150th anniversary of Manet's Olympia, after all – and to the wellsprings of modernism.
These thoughts naturally bring one to the American minimalist Carl Andre. You can't mention Andre without the bricks. When Tate first displayed them as part of its collection in 1976 it's really no exaggeration to say that the ensuing scandal was even bigger than the one for his trial, almost a decade later, for the murder of his wife, the artist Ana Mendieta, of which Andre was acquitted.
It's a dense display and feels anything but arid and lifeless
Go to Level 4, Room 8 of Tate Modern and you'll find Andre's bricks. What can one say about Equivalent VIII, 1966, other than to note its material dimensions and the fact that, to employ a cliché, "it is what it is"? Yet for many it's still a troubling work: was this art's endgame (though it wouldn't have been the first nor the last)? A work about which its creator adamantly eschews meaning might, after all, be seen as a gesture of nihilism, however unintended. Art world types may find the rehearsal of such questions wearisome, but they don't go away. They especially don't go away when Andre's around.
To see the bricks today is to visit a work that, to me, communicates stubbornly little, whether one wishes to approach it in the spirit of generosity or not. Even if one has a fetish about the variegated surfaces of industrial materials, there's surely little to inspire wonder in the smoothly bland surfaces of these uniformly pale yellow firebricks: 120 are stacked on the floor, in a two deep grid, and cordoned off to keep visitors from getting too close. Surrounded by Lewis Baltz's small, grainy photographs of industrial spaces, and with only one other sculpture in the long gallery, invisible from this vantage point – one of Andre's steel and zinc checkerboard arrangements – the room feels like a dead zone. Mute, uncommunicative, dead.
The experience couldn't be more different at Turner Contemporary. Here are eight of Andre's sculptures dating from 1967 to 1983, filling just one gallery. It's a dense display and feels anything but arid and lifeless. As you step across the gallery's entrance you'll find a "runner" of metal plates in shades of polished black and grey laid across the floor. The work, 4 x 25 Altstadt Rectangle, 1967, stretches from almost one length of the gallery to the other. You're invited to walk across its worn surface, and you'll occasionally hear the satisfying rattle of dislodged metal as you do so.
There are two rough-hewn timber works, one of which is Phalanx, 1981 (main picture), consisting of 14 wooden posts arranged to form an arrowhead which points towards the door. The other, Timber Piece (Well), was originally made in 1964 but remade in 1970, and is of a darker hue. It's a dense, rusticated mass of 28 red cedar posts horizontally stacked and taller than the average person. To the far left, there's a metal checkerboard in silvery hues, copper browns and mottled blues (pictured above: Weathered, 1970 © Stichting Kröller-Müller Museum), and in one corner two small gleaming zinc grids, their oxidised surfaces creating chance, intricate patterns.
Around the walls we find Andre's concrete poems, created with a manual typewriter: words and sentences are presented in varying grid formats or tightly overlap, their meanings squeezed out by degrees. There's nothing about this display that feels austere. It's beautifully expressive and sensual. Painted on the walls in earthy browns, we also find Andre's "mission statements". "As Turner severed colour from depiction," we read, "so I attempt to sever matter from depiction". Surveying these works, seeing how this exhibition unfolds like a delightful surprise, this doesn't feel such a grandiose statement at all.
Overleaf: Rosa Barba
Like fellow Berlin resident Tacita Dean, Rosa Barba's work pays homage to defunct celluloid, even though there's only one film in her exhibition. The huge projector which hums in the background provides the gentle soundtrack to a silent film surveying the Kent and Margate coasts (pictured above: Subconscious Society, 2013 © Rosa Barba). Shabby, disused buildings and broken piers come into view, and a long aerial shot of the ribbed and undulating sand reminds us of the primordial nature of this stretch of land, before the invention of tourism.
But one can see that it's the film projector, gleaming white in the shadows, that visitors are far more fascinated by than the moving image. Bisected to reveal its workings, the projector has become a lugubrious kinetic sculpture, a burnished object of admiration and wonder. In a second room, arranged like steadfast sentinels, stand a line of anatomised projectors. In jerkily hypnotic procession, loops of transparent film weave through delicate metal hinges. Whatever is on there, the projectors aren't giving away their secrets.
Nearby, a manual typewriter punches a code on celluloid, and the film grows like knitted yarn, falling to the floor and bunching up in a tangle. Soon you imagine strips of celluloid completely filling the gallery.
But meaning is dodged and obfuscated. We don't know if the words spilling from the typewriter relate to the words that have been neatly punched out onto two translucent curtains hanging to the left, which resemble pages torn from an outsized book but whose printed words have become negatives (pictured above right: The Personal Experience Behind Its Description, 2009 © Rosa Barba). Words and letters drift over you, provoking a stream of associations but proving elusive. It's wonderful to see how much Andre and Barba, with two very strong and resonant exhibitions, so beautifully complement each other.
Carl Andre: Mass & Matter / Rosa Barba: Subject to Constant Change at Turner Contemporary until 6 May
Fisun Guner on Twitter
It's wonderful to see how much Andre and Barba so beautifully complement each other
Tacita Dean: Craneway Event, Frith Street Gallery
Tacita Dean, FILM, Tate Modern
Modern British Sculpture, Royal Academy
Manet: Portraying Life, Royal Academy
more Visual arts
Best of 2020: Visual Arts Our critics reflect on their favourite exhibitions of 2020
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Tate Britain review - enigmatic figures full of life When is a painting not a portrait?
Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch, Royal Academy review - juxtapositions that confuse rather than clarify Similar themes, different sensibilities
Zanele Muholi, Tate Modern review - photography as protest Pictures so confrontational they knock you sideways
Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer, Barbican Art Gallery review - mould-breaker, ground-shaker A crash course in the life and times of an iconoclast and muse
Sin, National Gallery review - great subject, modest show A small gathering can't do justice to this fabulous topic
Bruce Nauman, Tate Modern review - the human condition writ large in neon How to make great art out of almost nothing
Artemisia, National Gallery review - worth the wait A glorious celebration of one of the great baroque painters
Hold Still, National Portrait Gallery review - snapshots from lockdown An online exhibition offers a glimpse of life in Britain now
My Rembrandt review - hard cash and hubris Characters historical and contemporary mingle in an entertaining portrait of the art world
George IV: Art & Spectacle, The Queen's Gallery review - all is aglitter A sumptuous display from the Royal Collection heralds a top class reopening
Khadija Saye: In This Space We Breathe, 236 Westbourne Grove review - a celebrated series finds new resonance The artist's most celebrated works launch a new public art project in west London


Home > About Us > School Safety
In Westwood Secondary School, we believe in providing our students and staff with a safe and secure environment for holistic development and work. To achieve this purpose, we seek strong collaboration with parents and the community.
Safety Policies and Guidelines
Safety policies and Guidelines are communicated to all staff and pupils at the beginning of each work year.
The School Safety Committee, headed by a Vice-Principal and assisted by various HODs, oversees the development and review of all school safety matters.
General Safety Precautions
Safety briefings are conducted to all students on the following areas:
Safety in school e.g. in Special Rooms, during Recess, during Physical Activities and Road safety in the school compound.
Safety outside school e.g. while commuting to and from school using public, private transport or by cycling, during Learning Journeys, Outdoor Camps and Overseas Trips.
Exemptions due to medical reasons - Medical clearance obtained for severely overweight and underweight pupils from the School Health Service before engaging them in any health programme.
Inclement weather (Lightning, Haze).
Heat related (Heat stroke/Heat exhaustion) and other injuries.
Waterborne activities.
Use of sports equipment.
National School Games.
Standard Operating Procedures for emergencies in both indoor and outdoor settings are updated and reviewed on a regular basis.
Minimum of 2 adult supervisors observed for activities that need close supervisions (e.g Learning Journey, adventure training).
All outdoor adventure facilities and conduct of activities are endorsed by PSOEB and are conducted in accordance to the relevant Standard Operating Procedures and/or guidelines for the specified activities.
Risk Assessment Management System (RAMS) is conducted prior to any activities, by a team of staff, including service providers/local guides (if applicable), who collectively have adequate knowledge of the nature of the activity and the environment involved.
All students are insured under the NTUC Income Group Personal Accident Insurance Plan for Students.
Emergency evacuation drills are conducted to familiarise students with real-time emergencies.
School staff are trained and certified in First-Aid, CPR and AED.
Traffic Management Plan
Please download Westwood Secondary School Traffic Management Plan here.
The school seeks to collaborate with community partners in training and disseminating messages on safety, security and emergency preparedness:
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in conducting fire evacuation drills for the school population and the Community Emergency Preparedness Programme (CEPP) to train school staff in basic First-Aid, CPR and firefighting skills.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) on SGSecure matters.
The Singapore Road Safety Council, Traffic Police, Land Transport Authority and Town Council on road safety matters.
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The 200% World Cup: England in Brazil, 1950
Posted by Edward | Jun 14, 2014 | Art, International, Latest | 0
Roy Hodgson's white and the wrong-sort-of-blue army kick off tonight to begin England's 2014 World Cup campaign. But, of course, it's not the first time that our brave, plucky, Three Lions on a shirt, lads have done so. England's first ever World Cup took place in Brazil back in the days that ITV were just a twinkling in a madman's eye. Our very own brave, plucky, lad Dotmund got all excited about this little piece of historical synchronicity and has produced this handy guide to whet your appetites.
You can follow Twohundredpercent on Twitter here. Dotmund also has a Twitter, which is here.
PreviousThe 200% World Cup: World Cup Breakfast, Day 2: The Rain Falls On Spain
NextThe 200% World Cup: World Cup Breakfast, Day 3 – The Morning After The Night Before
Ed Carter is a professional cartoonist, whose career started when he was voted Britain's Young Cartoonist Of The Year at the age of seventeen. He lives in Brighton, East Sussex and supports Brighton & Hove Albion, for all of our sins. He draws for money, and is available for commission work.
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All Destinations, United Kingdom
Bristol, I Love You
I went to university and fell in love; with a collection of buildings, graffiti, bars, cafes, a massive river and impressive bridge, and thousands of quirky people. Bristol you wonderful, unique, unforgettable place. I've fallen for you.
It is easy to understand why people feel so strongly about the South West's largest city; It's near impossible to think of another place where you can walk from an elegant area such as Clifton, to hippy Stokes Croft and its street art, to a postcard perfect harbourside in just half an hour.
Bristol has large green spaces (Clifton Downs, Eastville Park and Castle Park to name a few), and an urbanised centre. The city hosts amazing events like Love Saves the Day, Brisfest and Rave on Avon and an incredible range of live music (band with some guys you know from uni at Mr Wolfs? Sure. Boy Better Know at the O2 the next day? Yep, no problem).
Bristol has fantastic restaurants, and is the foodie's heaven, with any kind of cuisine and style of eating being catered for; whether you fancy five star gourmet dining or mouthwatering street food, you're sure to find it in the South West's biggest metropolis.
Bristol can be whatever you want it to be. During your university years you'll be constantly evolving and developing, and Bristol evolves with you.
If you want to put red lipstick and heels on and drink vodka at the Clifton triangle, you can. If you'd rather to go to the rave venue 'Motion' and skank until 6am to drum and bass, then that's fine. If you fancy sitting on a massive balcony overlooking the River Avon and taking in the view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge while enjoying a few West Country ciders, that's an option too.
And you know those days when you just have a massive urge to slide down a main street of a city on a giant waterslide? This was even possible in Bristol a few years ago.
And I haven't even started on the millions of hot air balloons that fill the sky every August; the massive singing reindeer at the German Christmas Market and the weird but wonderful bear pit adorned with graffiti about social reform. Anything goes in Bristol, and everything has its home somewhere in this unique city. If there's one place to make your voice heard – whatever the voice may be – it's Bristol.
Bristol loves to love. Whether that be in the form of charming street art, social campaigns, or just the friendly residents who smile at everyone walking past, you'll always find yourself completely welcomed in this city. The city is so full up with compassion and pride that there's no room for negativity.
Bristol is the UK's capital of local businesses and shops – Gloucester Road is known as 'The Last British High Street' – it's the longest row of independent shops in the country. Bristol has its own currency – the Bristol Pound (don't worry, you can still use the British Pound!) and it was the green capital of Europe in 2015. Bristol's constantly moving forward into the future, and it will more than happily take you with it!
That being said, Bristol holds onto its past fantastically. A historical city, the centre still retains its medieval street layout. Clifton village boasts fantastic Georgian decor, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge remains one of the South West's largest structures.
There's enough things to see and do in Bristol to last a lifetime, but it's so fantastically connected to the rest of the South West and London, meaning that it's easily reached and can be used as a base to explore the rest of the region. It's close to the famous city of Bath, it's right by the most stunning Somerset countryside which contains some lovely old towns and it is very near to the Cotswold hills. It's just over the bridge from Wales and less than a two hour train ride from London. Getting to Bristol is absolutely no problem; the issue is pulling yourself away!
Visit Bristol for a weekend, a week, a month, or uproot and move there like I did. Embrace the togetherness and liberalness of the charming city. Laugh at its quirky characteristics and marvel at the extraordinary talent of the graffiti artists and local singers. Learn about the charming history and get involved with the environmentally conscious citizens who are bringing Bristol forward into an eco-friendly future.
Despite my time in Bristol, for now at least, drawing to a close, the city will remain forever in my heart. I don't think I'll be able to stay away from this astounding enlightening and beautiful place for too long.
Disclaimer: only a handful of people who applied for the waterslide got to do it. But it did happen.
Have I persuaded you to relocate to Bristol yet? No? Better check out my top five things to see in Bristol, that should sway you!
If you liked this article, please share it or follow me on facebook!
amazing placesBristolcitiesgreat cities
One response to "Bristol, I Love You"
Lori Hil says:
Looks like a great place to live! I'm living abroad in Ecuador and we have a lot of street art too.


31B High Street
Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, KT12 1DG
A Vacant First & Second Floor Three Bedroom Flat
The property comprises a first and second floor three bedroom flat situated within a mid terrace building arranged over ground and three upper floors.
Leasehold. The property is held on a 125 year lease from 13th March 2009 (thus approximately 113 years unexpired).
The property is situated in the popular area of Walton-on-Thames close to local shops and amenities. Numerous green open spaces are within close proximity. Transport links are provided by Walton-on-Thames rail station.
Approximate GIA: 893 Sq Ft (83 Sq M)
Amended Guide Price: £155,000+
Viewing Schedule (No Booking Required)
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Flat B 59 Davies Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 5JT
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Enquire about 31B High Street, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, KT12 1DG


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Dear Congress, Thanks a Lot for the Sequestration
This past Sunday evening I arrived at Kansas City International Airport (that's "MCI" to you) on time for my flight back home to New York only to find that my flight was delayed. At first it was only delayed by 40 minutes, but then 40 minutes became an hour, an hour became two hours, and before too long I was seriously considering taking another flight out in the morning. Before I could get that far, they finally board us onto the plane. Everybody rushes in and takes their seats, as if that would make any difference in making us leave sooner. And, as you might have predicted, as soon as everybody is seated we just sit there. And sit there. And sit there. So there I was, sitting on the runway for about an hour. The pilots were in the cockpit of the plane. All the people were on board and seated with their tray tables and seat backs in their full and upright positions. Yet we were not going anywhere. Now, normally when this happens it is due to the fact that you are number 18 of 33 planes trying to take off at the same time. Not that day. I looked out the window and saw ZERO, I repeat, ZERO planes ahead of us on the runway. In fact, oddly enough, we seemed to be the only plane out on the runway at all. But we were not going anywhere.
Answer after the jump.
Per Washington Post:
After months of inside-the-Beltway drama, the impact of sequestration cutbacks moved to center stage America on Monday as the aviation system was slowed by the furlough of 1,500 air traffic controllers.
With about 10 percent of the controllers who direct 23,000 planes a day scheduled to be off daily until October, both industry and government officials forecast that the effect would snowball as the nation enters peak travel season.
Short on staff and besieged by brisk winds at the three big New York area airports, controllers fell behind by mid-morning Monday and never caught up. The Newark, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports reported delays of one to three hours.
Most flights from the major Washington area airports ran close to on time, but some headed to New York faced long delays on the ground.
When New York's three mega-airports fall behind schedule, that often has a ripple effect as far as the West Coast. By mid-afternoon Monday, flights into the US Airways hub in Charlotte were late in arriving; by evening, airports in Miami and Los Angeles reported lengthy delays because of controller shortages. Meanwhile, an ice storm at Denver's airport further gummed up the system.
As TV crews panned across anxious and angry passengers in New York terminals, the debate revived in Washington over whether the controller furloughs announced last week were necessary or a White House ploy to dramatize the effects of sequestration.
"Our aviation system should not be used as a pawn in budget debate," said Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association. "The livelihood of our economy is dependent on air commerce, and the financial strength of our airlines and the people they employ are at risk."
He predicted that delays would spread in the weeks ahead if the Federal Aviation Administration presses on with a plan to recoup $200 million of the $637 million it must cut to meet sequestration goals this fiscal year.
After the furlough plan was presented last week, House Republicans insisted that FAA cuts should be made elsewhere and the airlines went to court in an attempt to block them. The Obama administration brushed off suggestions that air travel had become "a political football," but crowds of delayed passengers undoubtedly made better television than announcements that federal office workers would have to take unpaid days off.
The FAA has estimated that a third of passengers will face delays during the furloughs, with up to 6,700 flights arriving late at more than a dozen major airports each day. On the worst travel day of 2012, when severe weather crippled the system, about 3,000 flights were delayed.
We often wonder how all of the BS in Congress can possibly affect our day to day lives. And, assuming that it doesn't or can't, we go on about our business completely unaware of what those 435 people in Congress are doing (or, as the case may be, not doing). Well folks, I'm here to tell you that my life has just been directly affected by Congress and I can't appreciate it. In this case I was on my way home, but what if I had been racing back to see a dying relative? Or what if I needed to get to a business deal on time? These kind of unnecessary delays are unacceptable and should not be tolerated by any of us. Yet somehow I don't see enough people getting pissed off enough to vote their conscience on this issue. Make no mistake about it, making things into a voting issue is the only way that we can influence Congress to get up off of their collective lazy asses and do anything other than focusing on their own reelection.
Thanks a lot, Congress.
Has this happened to you?
Do you have a flight to catch over the next 6 months?
Were you hoping to get there on time?
What if you flew back for a family or business event and missed the entire event due to this mess?
Can we get rid of the entire Congress and just start over?
Posted by The Janitor at 7:47 AM
Labels: Congress, Sequestration, The Janitor
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Parents Associations Concerned about Strikes by Schools Demand Minimum Maintenance
The confederation emphasizes that this is an "important period for learning and evaluation".
RUI MINDERICO/LUSA
The Confederation of Parents said on Tuesday that given the teachers' strikes and their duration, "the government must urgently introduce minimum services" to ensure students can stay at school safe and with food.
The National Confederation of Parents Associations (Confap) also expressed its concerns about the smooth running of schools and student assessment in connection with the teachers' strikes, not questioning the legality of the strikes, but questioning the forms chosen by the teachers, such as the first shift strike and others.
"We confirm that we do not question the legality of the strike, but we cannot but take care, and this is our main duty, with education and with the social and educational conditions of families. Any disruption to the normal functioning of schools has a greater impact on the most vulnerable families and students, and this type of strike further punishes these families and these students," Confap said in a note sent to Lusa.
Despite this understanding, the confederation questions "because this strike model is new" – a strike on the first day of school or any school day and indefinitely – the Ministry of Education should not take "measures within the meaning of assess the legality of this form of strike".
The confederation emphasizes that this is "an important period for learning and assessment" and that "young people will soon be taking exams on which their future depends."
"Everyone will understand that there is much more at stake than the present, it is the whole future of youth and us as a society, therefore require very thoughtful, assertive and bold decisions about what is happening in our public schools," he says, adding that "the Ministry of Education is required to ensure that all conditions for the exercise of the right to education are met, and the right to strike is in accordance with current rules." ".
It is time for CONFAP to rethink teaching and clearly invest in public schools as a critical pillar of society, which "calls for conscious negotiation between parties with the best interests of children and youth in mind."
The confederation claims that the society was "surprised an unprecedented model of intervention with unclear consequences in a regime of omissions and permanence in schools which cannot be controlled by families and students and which, if maintained, will create enormous hardship for everyone, namely the families of children and young people who attend compulsory schooling, jeopardizing the income that families are necessary for their existence and even their own employment relationships."
Given the context, it calls for "legislative work to ensure that any parent or guardian of students under the age of 12 is respectfully absent from work in the event of a forced closure of their student's school."
The Union of All Educational Workers (STOP) on December 9 began an indefinite strike, which should last at least until the end of the month, and will organize a march in Lisbon on Saturday.
Eight other entities, including the National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof), also called for a series of protests, including a county strike starting on Monday and a national demonstration on February 11.
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San Diego Zoo Global Celebrates 50 Years of Cocha Cashu
San Diego, California - For 50 years, the staff at Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Peru has been working to protect an irreplaceable ecosystem in the heart of Peru's Manu National Park, a landscape critical for sustaining global biodiversity and preventing mass extinction.
The 4.2 million-acre national park in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon encompasses the entire Manu River watershed from the Andes mountains to the lowland Amazonian rain forest. Considered to be one of the most pristine ecosystems on the planet, Cocha Cashu is recognized as a World Heritage Site and is protected as one of the most biodiverse lowland tropical forests in the world. The national park is home to more than 1,000 bird species, 1,300 butterfly species, 150 species of amphibians, 130 species of reptiles, 228 species of mammals and over 210 species of fish. The only human inhabitants of the region are members of the indigenous Machiguenga tribe and five other tribes.
"San Diego Zoo Global is honored to be entrusted by the Peruvian Service for Protected Natural Areas (SERNANP) to manage and carry forward the legacy of Cocha Cashu," stated Ron Swaisgood, Ph.D., Brown endowed director of Recovery Ecology at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, who serves as general scientific director of Cocha Cashu Biological Station. "This year, we welcome the local and international communities to join us in celebrating the past 50 years of invaluable tropical research and capacity building, and helping us to envision an even more successful next half century. In a world rapidly changing due to human impact, it is a unique opportunity to have a place like Cocha Cashu, where we can come and understand nature as it should be."
For over three decades, the field station was operated under the auspices of the Peruvian government by John Terborgh, professor of environmental science at Duke University, an eminent authority on tropical ecology. Today, Cocha Cashu is jointly managed by SERNANP and San Diego Zoo Global, with the shared goal of maintaining the station's legacy as a premier site for tropical research, while also expanding the station's mission to build conservation capacity in Peru, better integrate local communities and wider society, and address Manu Park management objectives and conservation priorities.
Throughout 2019, Cocha Cashu and San Diego Zoo Global will be celebrating the station's 50th anniversary at the local, national and international level with a series of events to recognize the achievements of the Cocha Cashu community while highlighting current activities, planning for the future and encouraging further research at the station.
Cocha Cashu offers unrivaled opportunities to study the workings of nature largely undisturbed by humans, providing critical insights into the biodiversity and processes of an intact rain forest with healthy populations of ecologically important or endangered species, such as spider monkeys, white-lipped peccaries, giant otters, tapirs and jaguars.
In the past five decades, Cocha Cashu has hosted more than 200 researchers; and since 2013, more than 60 students have come to train in tropical ecology. Several generations of Peruvian academics and conservationists have been educated along its trails and wetlands, sharing a unique life experience with leading researchers and their assistants.
A key mission of SERNANP and San Diego Zoo Global at Cocha Cashu is not only to conduct high-level scientific research, but also to serve as a model for research stations in engagement and integration with local people, the academic community, governmental institutions and the wider society.
For more information on the work being done at Cocha Cashu, visit cochacashu.sandiegozooglobal.org.
As an international nonprofit organization, San Diego Zoo Global works to fight extinction through conservation efforts for plants and animals worldwide. With a history of leadership in species recovery and animal care, San Diego Zoo Global works with partners in science-based field programs on six continents, and maintains sanctuaries and public education facilities in many places. Inspiring a passion for nature is critical to saving species, and San Diego Zoo Global's outreach efforts share the wonder of wildlife with millions of people every year. Current major conservation initiatives include fighting wildlife trafficking and the impacts of climate change on wildlife species; broad-spectrum species and habitat protection efforts in Kenya, in Peru and on islands worldwide; preventing extinction in our own backyard; and expanding efforts to bank critical genetic resources and apply them to the conservation of critically endangered species. To learn more, visit sandiegozooglobal.org