Living with diabetes: a group-based self-management support programme for T2DM patients in the early phases of illness and their partners, study protocol of a randomised controlled trial
Anne L van Puffelen1,
Mieke Rijken1,
Monique JWM Heijmans1,
Giel Nijpels2,
Guy EHM Rutten3 &
François G Schellevis1,2
The present article presents the protocol for a randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a group-based self-management support programme for recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients (one to three years post-diagnosis) and their partners. The course aims to support T2DM patients and their partners in successfully integrating diabetes care into their daily lives and hereby enhance self-management and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life. The content of the course is based on the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM). Furthermore, principles from the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and social support theories are integrated.
Methods/Design
We aim to recruit 160 recently diagnosed T2DM patients and their partners from general practices in six different regions in the Netherlands. Patients need to be diagnosed with T2DM for one to three years and have to experience some degree of diabetes-related difficulties, as measured with a three-item screener. Participating patients and their partners are randomly allocated to the intervention or control condition. Participants in the intervention condition receive three monthly group sessions and a booster session three months later. Participants in the control condition receive a single information meeting. Data will be collected at baseline (T0), directly after the programme (T1) and six months post-programme (T2), including: self-management, diabetes-specific health-related quality of life, illness perceptions, attitudes, social support and empowerment. A three-level multilevel model will be used to compare change-scores between the conditions (intervention/control) on each outcome.
Our study will be the first to determine whether a group-based support programme based on the CSM is effective in enhancing self-management and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life in recently diagnosed T2DM patients. The important role of patients' partners in effective diabetes care is also acknowledged in the study.
Netherlands National Trial Register (NTR) NTR3302.
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing to epidemic proportions. Worldwide, more than 300 million people are diagnosed with T2DM and this number is expected to increase with 50% over the next 20 years [1]. Although T2DM usually starts as a mild condition, its chronic and progressive nature, the necessity for considerable lifelong lifestyle changes and serious long-term complications can place a major burden on individuals and their families [2, 3], as well as health care systems [4].
Effective diabetes-management by patients has been proven to reduce the chances of serious adverse events [5] and, consequently, maintain quality of life [6, 7] and keep health care costs manageable [8]. However, this does require patients to adopt a complex, multifaceted behavioural regimen, comprising the management of symptoms, treatment and lifestyle changes, as well as dealing with the psychological and psychosocial consequences related to the illness. Moreover, these behaviours need to be embedded within existing lifestyles, goals and priorities. Not surprisingly, a fair proportion of T2DM patients perceives the daily management of diabetes to be challenging or even burdensome and experiences difficulties in adequately engaging in self-care activities [9, 10], which might consequently impact on quality of life [7].
Recognition of the comprehensiveness of diabetes management has led to the development of many self-management support programmes [11, 12]. However, few have taken the specific challenges that may arise during the early phases of living with T2DM into account. Directly from the onset, T2DM patients are required to make lifestyle changes and adhere to treatment recommendations, mostly in the absence of diabetes-related symptoms or complaints. Hence, patients' motivation to engage in self-management should therefore primarily result from their beliefs on the likelihood of adverse events occurring, as well as beliefs on personal control and effectiveness of treatment in order to prevent these serious undesirable events [13]. However, according to a review by Thoolen et al., [14], recently diagnosed patients tend to downplay the seriousness of their own condition. In addition, patients seem to be primarily concerned with the day-to-day hassles in diabetes management, rather than the possibility of serious complications in the long term. These attitudes and perceptions are likely to contribute to the finding that relatively few patients appear to be adequately engaged in the recommended (changes in) lifestyle behaviours within the first year after diagnosis [14].
In the past decades, patients' perceptions on illness and treatment were identified to be important precursors for health behaviour change [15]. According to the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM) [16, 17], illness perceptions act as a framework for the coping strategies chosen by patients to deal with the illness and are closely related to behavioural adaption, physical recovery and psychological well-being in various chronic illnesses [18]. Moreover, previous studies have shown that illness perceptions and, consequently, health related behaviours and outcomes can be successfully changed by short interventions based on CSM principles [19–21].
Accumulating evidence shows that not just the patients' illness perceptions, but also the perceptions of partners are of great importance for understanding how patients respond to a chronic illness [22]. Illness perceptions held by partners guide their coping responses to the patients' illness, including the way to give support to patients. Previous studies in T2DM have shown that social support can enhance as well as hinder self-management behaviours in patients, particularly dietary and exercise behaviours [22, 23]. A small number of studies even suggested that partners' illness perceptions can influence disease outcomes, with negative or incongruent perceptions being associated with worse physical, psychological and social functioning [24, 25]. Hence, even though patients themselves are primarily responsible for managing their illness, it seems important that partners are structurally involved in diabetes care.
Given the importance to intervene at an early stage in T2DM and the promising results of previous studies based on the CSM, we developed the 'Living with diabetes' course: a group-based self-management support programme specifically tailored to T2DM patients and their partners in the first years of living with diabetes. With this new course, we aim to support both patients and partners in successfully integrating diabetes (care) into their daily lives and, hereby, enhancing self-management and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life in T2DM patients. Psychological and social aspects, including perceptions and attitudes, empowerment and social support, are integrated in the course because of their known important role in behaviour change [26] (Figure 1). A more detailed description of the content and underlying theories of the course can be found elsewhere (van Puffelen et al., 2013 submitted).
Theoretical model of the programme.
Aims and hypotheses
The primary aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of the 'Living with diabetes' course on enhancing self-management behaviours and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life in T2DM patients (one to three years post- diagnosis), compared to an attention control condition.
It is hypothesised that participation of T2DM patients in the group-based self-management support programme will result in:
Enhanced self-management and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life directly after the programme and at six months post-programme, as compared to an attention control condition.
Furthermore, we hypothesise that participation in the group-based self-management support programme will result in patients:
Holding more adaptive illness perceptions and attitudes towards T2DM;
Experiencing more activating partner support;
Feeling more empowered to manage their condition
Directly after the programme and at six months post-programme, as compared to an attention control condition.
The effectiveness of the programme will be evaluated by a randomised controlled trial with two follow-up measurements: immediately after the programme (T1) and six months after T1 (T2) (Figure 2).
Flow of participants.
Study population
Patients will be recruited via general practitioners (GPs) who are willing to invite eligible patients to participate in the study. In the Netherlands, all inhabitants are registered in a general practice. Therefore, a representative sample can be drawn.
Being diagnosed with T2DM for one to three years, as recorded by their GP.
Not being able to speak, read and/or understand the Dutch language sufficiently according to their GP;
Having insufficient mental or intellectual capabilities to participate in the study, according to their GP;
Currently receiving treatment for severe psychological or psychiatric conditions, according to their GP;
Recently diagnosed with a severe or life-threatening comorbid condition (e.g. cancer, CVA);
Not experiencing any degree of diabetes-related difficulty or uncertainty, as assessed with a three-item screening questionnaire.
The study population will be recruited from participating general practices in different regions in the Netherlands (North, West, Southwest and center). Eligible patients are selected from the medical records of the participating general practices and receive a written invitation for participation via their GP. Patients fill in an informed consent form as well as a short screening questionnaire, developed to identify patients who experience at least some degree of difficulty or challenge regarding their T2DM self-management. The questionnaire includes two questions of the Appraisal of Diabetes Scale (ADS) [27] and one statement of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) [28], assessing diabetes-related uncertainty, coping with diabetes and perceived consequences of diabetes on life. Patients with a total sum score of zero, indicating that they do not experience any difficulties or challenges regarding their diabetes management, are excluded from the study (see Table 1).
Table 1 Screening questionnaire
Allocation to conditions
After obtaining the signed informed consent form, patients will be randomly allocated to the intervention or control condition. Randomisation will be conducted electronically by a researcher who is not involved in the study.
Participants allocated to the intervention group are invited to take part in the group-based self-management support programme, together with their partner. Patients who do not have a partner, are instructed to bring a close friend or relative instead. Each course group consists of six to ten patients, accompanied by their partner (or close friend/relative). The course consists of three two-hour monthly meetings and one follow-up meeting ('booster session') after three months. The group sessions are led by two trained diabetes nurses or practice nurses and are delivered in medical and community centers in the different regions.
The 'Living with diabetes' course is based on the Common-sense Model of Self-Regulation [16, 17], the Social Cognitive Theory [29, 30] and principles of social support theories [31–33]. Content of the course is derived from previous psychosocial interventions focusing on illness perceptions [19, 20, 34]. The emphasis of the course is on stimulating beneficial illness perceptions and challenging misconceptions of T2DM in patients and partners. Another important aspect of the course is the enhancement of activating partner support for patients, by exploring patients' needs for support and discussing supportive interactions with patients and partners. Goal setting and action plan development are used as techniques to improve patients' empowerment and elicit self-management behaviour change. All sessions are group-based, providing the opportunity for peer modeling, social reinforcement, motivation and emotional support.
Participants receive a handbook with (homework) assignments, and practical and theoretical information about the topics discussed during the sessions. In addition, basic information about diabetes and its treatment is provided in the handbook. For the diabetes or practice nurses who guide the course sessions, a detailed manual has been developed.
The course was pilot-tested on feasibility and acceptability in November and December 2011. Sixteen T2DM patients and eight partners from a general practice in the region of Utrecht participated in the pilot-study (attrition rate 21.6%). During the pilot, all course sessions were led by a health psychologist in order to evaluate whether the correct psychological models and techniques were used. During the first session, a practice nurse was also present to provide medical information on T2DM. Feasibility and acceptability of the course were explored by means of an evaluation form at the end of the course and by feedback of the participants during the course sessions. Based on the evaluation of the pilot, the manual was adapted and a screening questionnaire was developed for the RCT to ensure that only T2DM patients who experience some degree of difficulties or uncertainties will participate.
Prior to the course, the participating nurses receive a four-hour training, led by a health psychologist who was also involved in the development of the course (MH). During this training, the nurses receive information on the underlying theories on which the course is based. Furthermore, the nurses are instructed on how to use the workbook and manual of the course. Assignments of the course are explained in detail and tips and tricks on how to execute these assignments provided. Lastly, first experiences of the pilot and resulting important topics of interest are discussed.
Attention control condition
Participants in the attention control condition are invited to a single 1.5 – hour information meeting, together with their partner (or close friend/relative). During this meeting, patients and their partners receive medical information about diabetes (e.g. causes, complications, treatment) from a professor in general practice and diabetes care. The information meeting serves as an attention control condition to control for the attention paid to being diagnosed with T2DM when participating in this study. Hence, the information that patients and partners receive during the information meeting is provided according to the classical didactic method; i.e. providing information that is important from a medical point of view, but not tailored to the specific and more comprehensive needs of the patients.
Patients fill in a questionnaire at baseline (T0), immediately after the programme (T1) and six months post-programme (T2) to assess the effectiveness of the programme on the longer term. The primary outcome measures are self-management and diabetes-specific health-related quality of life. Secondary outcomes are illness perceptions, attitudes towards diabetes, partner support and empowerment.
Primary outcome measures
Self-management is measured by using the revised Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities measure (SDSCA) [35]. The revised SDSCA contains 11 items, measuring six separate domains: general diet (2 items), specific diet (2 items), exercise behaviours (2 items), glucose monitoring (2 items), foot care (2 items) and smoking (1 item). Ten items are rated on an eight -point Likert scale, measuring the number of days a certain self-care behaviour is performed during the last week (0–7 days). The 11th item measures smoking (yes/no) and the number of cigarettes smoked. Each of the domains is measured separately. The revised SDSCA shows an adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability and is sensitive to change. The measure has been validated against other measures of diet and exercise [35].
Diabetes-specific health-related quality of life is assessed by the Problem Areas in Diabetes scale (PAID) [36], measuring diabetes-related emotional distress. The PAID consists of 20 items on a five -point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not a problem) to 4 (a serious problem). Scores are transformed into a 0–100 scale for interpretation, with higher scores indicating greater diabetes-related emotional distress. The PAID has a strong concurrent and discriminant validity [37], has been proven to be responsive to change [38] and has been validated for Dutch T2DM patients [36, 37].
Secondary outcome measures
Cognitive and emotional illness perceptions are assessed with the IPQ-R [28]. The first section of the IPQ-R measures different symptoms experienced by patients and whether they believe these symptoms are caused by their diabetes (identity scale; 14 items). The second section of the IPQ-R consists of seven subscales, measuring 'time-line acute/chronic' (6 items); 'time-line cyclical' (4 items); 'consequences' (6 items); 'personal control' (6 items); 'treatment control' (5 items); 'coherence' (understanding of T2DM, 5 items) and 'emotional representation' (6 items). In the third section, patients' causal believes (18 items) are measured. The 'identity scale' is measured dichotomously (yes/no). All other items are measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The subscales of the IPQ-R have a good internal consistency and an acceptable test-retest stability [28].
Attitudes towards diabetes are measured with the Diabetes Attitude Scale (DAS-3) [39]. The DAS-3 consists of five subscales, measuring perceived seriousness (7 items); psychosocial impact (6 items); patient autonomy (8 items); value of tight control (7 items) and need for special training (5 items). The items are measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The DAS-3 is considered a reliable and valid general measure of diabetes-related attitudes across different groups of patients and health care professionals [39].
Patients' perceptions of partner support are assessed by using a questionnaire developed by Buunk, Sanderman, and Nieuwland [40], which measures three different dimensions of partner support; active engagement (5 items); protective buffering (8 items) and overprotection (6 items). The items are measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The three subscales have a moderate to good internal consistency [40].
Patient empowerment is assessed by the Dutch Diabetes Empowerment Scale (Dutch DES-20) [41]. The questionnaire consists of five subscales, assessing dissatisfaction and goal achievement (6 items), coping and motivation (4 items), obtaining support (3 items), overcoming barriers (4 items) and determining suitable methods (3 items) in a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The Dutch DES-20 was found to be a reliable and valid instrument [41].
Sample size
The sample size calculation is based on detecting a clinically relevant change on the PAID, as a result of the programme. Since there is no consensus on the minimal important difference (MID) on the PAID, we decided to set the MID at half a standard deviation (SD); a commonly used solution when scores have no direct interpretation and no clinical results exist to determine a relevant percentage [42]. In Dutch T2DM patients, the SD found on the PAID was 20, with a mean score of 22.5 points (scale 0–100) [36]. To establish a 10-point difference with the power set at 80% and the α at .05 (two-sided), 63 patients are needed in each condition (intervention/control). However, taking the clustering of patients within groups into account, an oversampling of 15% is needed to conduct multi-level analyses. When accounting for an additional drop-out of 10%, 2 × 80 patients will have to be recruited.
The study is a two-arm randomised controlled trial with repeated measures over time and continuous outcome variables. Descriptive statistics (mean values and frequencies) will be calculated to evaluate the scores on primary and secondary outcome measures on T0, T1 and T2 separately. The effectiveness of the programme will be analysed by a three-level multilevel model: groups, patients and measurements (T0, T1, and T2). This type of analysis allows us to both test the main effectiveness of the condition, its effectiveness over time, as well as the interaction effects of condition (intervention/control) × time. By including groups as a separate level in the analysis, possible effects of the different regions, course leaders and group climate are corrected for. Data will be analysed according to the intention-to-treat principle. All analyses will be performed using MLwiN.
Ethical approval
The protocol, information letters and informed consent form of the study were approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the VU University Medical Center Amsterdam.
This article describes the design of the 'Living with diabetes' study: a study testing the effectiveness of a group-based self-management support programme for people known to be diagnosed with T2DM for one to three years and their partners. The content of the course is based on principles of the CSM, SCT and social supportive theories and is specifically designed to build more adaptive (activating) illness perceptions and attitudes, increase empowerment, stimulate activating social support and, consequently, enhance self-management and diabetes specific health-related quality of life in recently diagnosed T2DM patients.
Previous research already emphasised the importance of the integration of patients' and partners' illness perceptions in self-management interventions, because of their ability to change and their close link to health behaviours and outcomes [15, 19–21]. With this study, we will contribute to the literature by providing insight into the effectiveness of a group-based method to build and alter illness perceptions in patients with chronic illness, rather than an individual programme. Furthermore, to our knowledge, we are the first to conduct such programme in T2DM patients and partners in the first years of living with T2DM.
A particular strength of the study is that the programme 'Living with diabetes' is well grounded in theory. Major psychological models on behaviour change, such as Leventhal's Common Sense Model [16, 17] and Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory [29, 30] provide the framework for the course. By incorporating social support theories and actively involving the patients' partners, we account for the influence of social support on self-management behaviours in patients. Group discussions provide patients with the opportunity to share experiences and learn from others through peer modelling and peer support [43]. Consequently, the course goes beyond the mere provision of information and skills training and starts explicitly from both patients' and partners' experiences, needs and concerns. In addition, this study specifically focusses on patient important outcomes rather than solely medical outcomes (e.g. HbA1c), comprising emotional, cognitive and behavioural outcomes.
The current study also poses a number of challenges and drawbacks. We foresee a few potential threats to reliability and generalisability of the study. First, a selection of participating patients in the study is expected, as a result of a selective non-response of patients of older age and patients from the non-western origin. Consequently, specific target groups might be missed and generalisability of the results of this study limited. Furthermore, a possible selection bias might also be found among the GPs in the study. Participating GPs will probably represent a group more open to research and innovation and may also be more motivated to improve diabetes care. Consequently, their patients might already receive various educational or support programmes which may negatively impact on participation willingness. In order to keep non-response and drop-out rates as low as possible, personalised invitation letters from GPs and reminders to initial non-responders will be sent. Furthermore, the course sessions and information meetings will be organised in easily accessible locations in the area of the participating patients and GPs. Finally, a practical challenge is also foreseen in the group-based format of the course. In spite of the fact that group-based sessions pose many advantages, they are more difficult to organise and cannot be completely adapted to individuals needs and preferences (e.g. time, location, topics discussed), which may result in increased (selective) drop-out. Furthermore, we emphasise the importance of creating and keeping a positive and stimulating group climate during the course sessions. Dominant and/or negative group members can negatively influence the group climate and interactions, and consequently, the effectiveness of the programme. Therefore, we will recruit diabetes nurses and practice nurses who already have experience in leading group-based courses and extra attention will be paid on how to deal with dominant group members during the training.
The results of this RCT will provide valuable information on the effectiveness and feasibility of group-based self-management support programmes, focusing on illness perceptions and social support. The course is well suited for implementation in a primary health care setting. The course is fully manualised and supported by a training to ensure the possibility of replication. Furthermore, the group-based setting of the course is less time and money consuming than individual support programmes. Hence, if proven effective, the course can be utilised by general practices and diabetes care groups as an addition to the individual patient education provided by health care professionals and already available patient education programmes in T2DM. First results of the study are expected in the spring of 2014.
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This study is funded by the Dutch Diabetes Research Foundation (no: 2009.70).
NIVEL, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, PO Box 1568, 3500, BN, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Anne L van Puffelen, Mieke Rijken, Monique JWM Heijmans & François G Schellevis
Department of General Practice & Elderly Care Medicine, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Giel Nijpels & François G Schellevis
Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Guy EHM Rutten
Anne L van Puffelen
Mieke Rijken
Monique JWM Heijmans
Giel Nijpels
François G Schellevis
Correspondence to Anne L van Puffelen.
AP wrote the manuscript. The study design and research proposal were developed by FS, MR, GR and GN. The course was developed by MH and AP. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
van Puffelen, A.L., Rijken, M., Heijmans, M.J. et al. Living with diabetes: a group-based self-management support programme for T2DM patients in the early phases of illness and their partners, study protocol of a randomised controlled trial. BMC Health Serv Res 14, 144 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-14-144
Randomised controlled trial
Illness perceptions
Health-related quality of life


Let Us Attend
December 22, 2013: Matthew 1:1-24, Read for Older Children
December 15, 2013 Length: 5:13
Let Us Attend: December 20, 2015, Matthew 1:1-25, Told for Younger Children
Let Us Attend: December 23, 2012: Matthew 1:1-25, Told for Younger Children
Let Us Attend: December 18, 2011: Matthew 1:1-25, Read for Older Children
Theotokos
genealogies (86)
gospel of matthew (1028)
joseph the betrothed (92)
sunday of the forefathers (34)
The book of the genealogy of Jesus. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram and Aram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born who is called Christ.
So all generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the
Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and Hs name shall be called Emmanuel (which means, God with us)." When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called His name Jesus.
What is a genealogy? How does the dictionary define it?
This Gospel reading lists Christ's genealogy. Did you recognize any of His ancestors? Which ones?
Why do you think St. Matthew recorded Christ's genealogy?
Who are some of your ancestors? How did they live? Are you following in their footsteps?
Your patron saint is one of your spiritual ancestors. How did he or she live? Are you following in his or her footsteps?


Pimlico Road, Belgravia – London Craft Week 2021 Preview
Based in the neighbourhood of Belgravia, Pimlico Road is a central London community for exceptional design and craftsmanship. For London Craft Week (4-10 October) the area will be hosting The Pimlico Road Series – a programme of talks, workshops and demonstrations that bring to life the skill and talent that goes into making exceptional interiors. See the highlights below, and drop in to the area to discover much more
Cox London
4-10 October, Monday-Friday 9.30am-6pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm. 194 Ebury Street, London SW1W 8UP
Cox London's north London workshop is a hub of rare skill, from metalwork and gilding to stonecarving and glassmaking. A taste of the process behind the products will be in the Ebury Street showroom with the showing of a short film made by Alun Callender that traces the making of The Voyager's Chair (pictured), whose dramatically twisting bronze frame and hand-stitched upholstery are typical of Cox London's art-led approach to design. This is accompanied by a series of soulful portraits of hands belonging to the company's makers and other staff, also by Callender.
Bonadea
4-10 October, Monday-Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 10am-4pm. 20 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8LJ
Luxury tableware and glassware brand Bonadea recently opened a sumptuous new showroom on Pimlico Road, where flamboyant, maximalist-leaning pieces from the likes of Christian Lacroix and Ginori 1725 can be found next to contemporary crystal by London-based jeweller and silversmith Shona Marsh. As well as daily workshops led by founder and creative director Gemma Martinez de Ana, the showroom is hosting a series of artisan demonstrations; Olivia Faire, whose work is pictured, will be showing off her marquetry skills on the afternoon of Wednesday 6 October.
S Chairs by Tom Dixon
7 October, 12pm-6pm. 48a Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8LP
It takes more than 100 steps to bring a Carl Hansen & Søn CH24 chair (more commonly known as the Wishbone) into existence. On 7 October, one of the company's skilled craftspeople from Denmark will be in the Pimlico Road showroom to demonstrate part of that process – the hand-weaving of the chair's seat in paper cord. Hans Wegner's chair was designed in 1950 and has been in production ever since, but Carl Hansen & Søn has shown a remarkable capacity to reinvent this stone-cold classic with various colours and finishes, and a chair in a nature-inspired muted blue hue will be on show.
4-8 October, 10am-6pm. 22–24 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8LJ
Ochre Wild is furniture, lighting and accessories brand Ochre's foray into flooring, and at London Craft Week its showroom will be dedicated to these new pieces and the skill that goes into making them. Channelling the same aesthetic of "discreet glamour" as the rest of its portfolio, the rugs are made entirely by hand, from the yarn-making and dying to the intricate weaving through to the finishing, and the vegetal dyes used result in some incredibly rich hues, including aqua, dark pink and turmeric yellow. Look out too for Ochre's new Drifter light, hand-carved in oak and inspired by a piece of driftwood.
Outside In
1-27 October, 6-7 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JU
In the wider neighbourhood, make a stop-off at 6-7 Motcomb Street, where Sarah Myerscough Gallery has a pop-up space away from its permanent riverside home in Barnes. The show here, entitled Outside In, is populated by designer-makers who all use organic, sustainable materials in their work, from timber to woven willow. Admire Marc Ricourt's vessels made from white painted beech (above left) or Jonathan Keep's otherworldly Mandelbulb urns, 3D-printed in clay (above right). An accompanying talks series sees three of the makers – Eleanor Lakelin, Nic Webb, and Max Bainbridge – discuss their relationship with the natural world.
LDF 2021
Super Boutique
Collect 2020
London Design Festival 2020 Preview
Åben Q&A


Giants 3, Diamondbacks 2
Giants 3, Diamondbacks 2: Buster Posey belted a two-run homer and Barry Zito pitched into the seventh inning as visiting San Francisco won its fourth straight game.
Zito (12-8) gave up one run over 6 2/3 innings for the Giants, who remained 7 1/2 games ahead of Los Angeles in the National League West after the Dodgers posted a 4-3 win over St. Louis late Saturday. Sergio Romo worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 11th save
Arizona fell 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis and Los Angeles in the race for the league's second wild-card spot despite a strong outing from Wade Miley (15-10), who allowed three runs over seven frames.
Justin Upton forged a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out homer before Posey answered in the fifth with a two-run shot to right field.
Posey went 3-for-3 for the Giants, who have won 12 of their last 14 road games and are 23-7 away from home since July 17. With Posey starting at first base, catcher Hector Sanchez threw out two runners attempting to steal.
Arizona, which dropped to 2-8 in its last 10 games at Chase Field, cut into the Giants' lead in the eighth on Paul Goldschmidt's two-out RBI single off Romo.
GAME NOTEBOOK: CF Angel Pagan led off the game with his 13th triple to set a new single-season San Francisco Giants record. … The Diamondbacks tied a franchise record by scoring four runs or less in their 12th straight home game. … San Francisco has won each of Zito's last eight starts.
Changes are coming to the Cubs' core. Nico Hoerner could lead the next wave — potentially from the leadoff spot.
Yu Darvish now wonders: Was he tipping pitches for the Dodgers against the Astros in the 2017 World Series — or were they cheating?
Chase Field
Angel Pagan


Sons of Anarchy Heads Six Feet Under, Taps Mathew St. Patrick for Arc
By Michael Ausiello / August 5 2014, 11:21 AM PDT
Another sign Sons of Anarchy's final season will be a deadly one: The show is adding a Six Feet Under alum to the cast!
Mathew St. Patrick, best known for his five-season run as Michael C. Hall's TV spouse on HBO's late, great mortuary drama, is joining SOA's seventh and final season in a recurring role, TVLine has learned exclusively.
RELATED Sons of Anarchy Prequel Series Update
He'll play Moses, the head of a security team who takes care of business on the street. He'll first appear in Episode 7.
St. Patrick (who was among the 25 actors we want back on TV now) joins a growing Season 7 guest cast that also includes Marilyn Manson, Courtney Love, Annabeth Gish and Lea Michele.
SOA returns Tuesday, Sept. 9 with a super-sized premiere. The action picks up 10 days after Tara's brutal murder and finds Jax in jail on a parole violation, reeling from the loss of his wife.
RELATED Sons of Anarchy Cast Previews Jax's 'Vengeance,' Gemma's Betrayal and an 'Exciting Romance' in Final Season
"He's obviously very sad and vulnerable and kind of broken, but there's a huge amount of vengeance and anger in his heart," Charlie Hunnam recently said of his alter ego. "The way all of that is processing, at least in the very beginning, is [starting] to have a numbing effect. He knows what he wants to do, and that's where all of his energy is going to go."
TAGS: FX, Sons of Anarchy
GET MORE: Casting News, Exclusive, Fall TV Preview
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Lady Gaga Pushed for 'House of Gucci' Sex Scene with Salma…
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Catholic Church Reels From Latest Child Sex Abuse Investigation
Published August 20, 2018 at 5:02 AM EDT
Pope Francis released a letter today addressing sexual abuse. It said the Catholic Church must, quote, "acknowledge our past sins and mistakes." The Vatican has been struggling to respond to the latest investigation into child abuse at the hands of priests. A grand jury in Pennsylvania last week released what is being called the most comprehensive investigation into sex abuse within the church. It detailed horrendous acts involving more than a thousand children abused over seven decades across six dioceses in Pennsylvania. Earlier this morning, I spoke with Father Thomas Reese. He's a Jesuit priest and a senior analyst with the Religion News Service, and I asked him if he thought Pope Francis and the church have been doing enough to support survivors.
THOMAS REESE: I think we can always do more to support survivors. I think it's very important for the bishops to listen to the survivors. That's one of the most important things they can do. Every survivor you talk to is angry, not just because of the abuse they experienced, but because of the denial they experienced when they tried to tell their story. And it's so important for bishops to set aside time to listen to the victims because this is one way we can help in their healing.
GREENE: Is the church doing that? Is the church finding forums or places where survivors can have those discussions?
REESE: Some bishops are. I think every bishop needs to do it. You know, the pope has actually begun doing that himself. You know, a year ago, I would've said that the pope, you know, only got a B in terms of how he was dealing with the sex abuse crisis. He was on board totally with the zero tolerance of abuse by priests. This is the law of the church now. Any priest involved in abuse can no longer act as a priest. He's going to be removed from the priesthood. But, you know, we were still kind of not dealing with the bishops who weren't implementing these rules and were involved in cover-ups. And the pope was sometimes defending these bishops because he didn't understand the situation. Well, he went through a big conversion earlier this year. He had been defending the bishops in Chile, and he got real angry when he found out that he was wrong, and he apologized. He admitted he was wrong and demanded they submit their resignations - all of the bishops of Chile submit their resignations to him. This sends a signal to every bishop in the world that if he doesn't do his job, he's going to hear from the pope.
GREENE: Well, a lot of people, Father Reese, think that it should go well beyond priests losing their jobs, well beyond priests hearing from the pope. I mean, many are looking for changes in the law to get rid of the statute of limitations to clear the way for civil lawsuits to be filed by survivors. You actually wrote recently that that might not be the right answer. Why is that?
REESE: Well, I think that the survivors of abuse, obviously, deserve justice, and they also deserve to be helped. But I'm not sure suing is the best route. You know, suing works fine for a profit-making corporation because you have owners that either cut corners, endanger the lives of their customers, the environment or their employees, and were making money on it. And they deserve to be punished and you can punish them financially.
The problem with nonprofits is nobody owns them. You're not punishing the bishop when you make a diocese pay millions of dollars. You're punishing the people in the pews who put their money in the collection basket. It's their money. You're also punishing the people who benefit from that money - you know, the parishes, the schools, poor people who are supported by charities. I think a better way would be something like we had with the 9/11 Commission where the bishops put forward, you know, a bundle of money and set up an independent board. And then victims can simply come in and tell their story, and that independent board can decide, you know, how to help these people and how much money each person should get.
GREENE: I guess a lot of people would hear that and say, sure, filing lawsuits is not perfect; a lot of money goes to lawyers, and maybe it prevents an institution like the Catholic Church from doing good things, but that it's the only way - that the threat of lawsuit is the only possible way to truly change and reform the behavior of a nonprofit, and without that, things just really won't change.
REESE: Well, yeah, I don't know the answer to that question. I think if we look, though, at the changes that have already occurred in the Catholic Church, we see that - you know, ever since 2002, the church law says any accusation against a priest has to be reported to the police. And in addition, the church has procedures now - if it's credible accusation, the priest has to be suspended while a complete investigation takes place. And if he's found - that the allegation is true, then he's removed from ministry. And I think if we also have procedures that punish bishops who don't implement these rules - remove them from office and, in fact, put them in jail, which we can do now - that's doing a lot in terms of changing the culture of this church, of this institution.
GREENE: I just think about, though, you know, your proposal for setting up some sort of 9/11-like commission, and I just wonder, has the church earned the trust of survivors at all...
REESE: Oh, I don't think...
GREENE: ...In any way that they - that they should be involved in the solution as opposed to going through the courts?
REESE: Absolutely not. For example, in Pennsylvania, I think the dioceses of Pennsylvania should come up with a bunch of money, give it to the state of Pennsylvania and ask the attorney general, the guy who did this grand jury report - ask him to set up a process to give out the money to the victims. No. Nobody in the church should be involved in distributing this money. The only thing we have to ask of the church is, how much money can it pony up?
GREENE: What do you tell people, as a priest, who come to you and ask you - what is happening here? - I mean, people who you feel like you serve.
REESE: Well, the first thing I say is, I am very angry. I mean, reading the grand jury report is disgusting. It's awful what happened to these children - should not have happened to one child, and the fact that it happened to a thousand children is just abominable. I think anger is a legitimate and proper response to what happened. And then I think we have to hold the church's feet to the fire and make sure it follows the law, it follows its own rules and procedures for dealing with abuse.
GREENE: Father Thomas Reese is a Jesuit priest. He writes about church affairs for the Religion News Service. We really appreciate your time, father. Thank you.
REESE: I wish I was talking about something better.
GREENE: We do, too.
(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL LANOIS' "FLAMETOP GREEN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


COVID-19 Updates | COVID Guidelines
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The Most Hon. Hubert A. Minnis, M.P. Prime Minister and Minister of Finance The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Remarks on The Official Opening of Monument Road Long Island
Press Room, Speeches /
OPM Communications /
It is a great pleasure to be with you on the occasion of the official opening of the Monument Road.
Monument Road serves as an access to the popular Columbus Monument landmark, which was erected to commemorate Christopher Columbus' landing on Long Island.
The new road is a part of the Government's efforts to promote heritage tourism for Bahamians and tourists.
The road also provides access to the government's navigational beacon/light house adjacent to the monument.
The old road was a narrow track road in very poor condition making travel difficult and uncomfortable.
After numerous requests from local residents and government officials for the improvement of this road, it made it to the list of priority projects for the Government as stated in the Minister's Budget Debate 2018/2019.
The project went out to tender in August 2018.
A contact was awarded to Bernard Knowles of Rowdy Boys Construction.
The contract was in the amount of one million one hundred and seventy four thousand, three hundred and fifty seven dollars and eighteen cents, vat inclusive, for the completion of the works.
The project included the construction of approximately two miles of a pea rock and sand seal asphalt road 24 feet wide to the monument site.
A 6 ft. wide concrete walkway and steps were constructed including, landings leading up to the monument.
Amenities include: a carpark, benches and soft landscaping.
The scope of works completed include:
 Site Clearance;
 Excavation of hill side and swales;
 Preparation of a 6 ft. lime rock road
base;
 Construction of concrete stairs, walkways and decks;
 Installation of wooden handrails with stainless steel cables;
 Installation of heavy duty galvanized steel benches and
 Fencing and landscaping.The completed Monument Road now provides a pleasant, modern, high class road to the monument site, which will be used by residents and tourists on a regular basis for many years to come.
Let me close by thanking all of those involved in this project here on Long Island.
I also thank the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works, the Hon. Desmond Bannister, who will be a key member of my economic team to help with the country's economic recovery during and after COVID-19.
I also want to thank your Member of Parliament Adrian Gibson, Chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, who has done an outstanding job in getting critical waterworks developed throughout the Family Islands.
He also been very hard at work for Long Island.
Adrian has delivered on a number of important projects for Long Island. He is very dedicated to you.
And I assure you, there is much more to come in the months and years ahead.
We are dedicated to the ongoing development of Long Island, including vital economic and investment projects to help in the development of your economy, especially after the setbacks caused by the pandemic.
It is now my great pleasure to declare the Monument Road open.
May God bless all who travel on this road.
And may God bless the wonderful people of Long Island and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Thank you and good afternoon/morning.
© Office of the Prime Minister 2021. All Rights Reserved.


You are here: Home1 / Blog2 / Stories3 / Jolene's First Cousin: Innovative SROs, one year later
Jolene's First Cousin: Innovative SROs, one year later
December 16, 2020 /in Stories/by Njeri Parker
ORIGINS of JOLENE'S FIRST COUSIN
Two years ago, JOIN was approached by Guerrilla Development with a bold idea: reimagine affordable housing in a way that supports residents through community. The single greatest obstacle JOIN faces in supporting sustainable transitions off the street is access to housing that is actually affordable for the income our folks are likely to have– not based on a percentage of median statistics, but what we know the reality of the financial situation for many individuals. With this opportunity, we would be able to control the rents to offer truly affordable housing, and put our values into the property management practices. Guerrilla Development built a crowdfunded mixed development named Jolene's First Cousin, which includes businesses, market-rate apartments, and eleven low-cost single room occupancy units (SROs) to help address Portland's homeless crisis.
JOIN's Landlord Recruitment and Retention (LRRP) Team was involved from the design stage of the process, providing input on furnishings, resident selection, and more. The building design intended to allow as many residents as possible to have space inside the building and enjoy the large common areas together. The downstairs is an open concept to build a sense of community. The LRRP team felt an immense amount of pride around JFC's opening, since the team shopped for and chose all of the furnishings (including kitchenware, decorations, etc.) and installed and moved everything in with limited volunteer support. In December 2019, the first residents moved into the building!
Residents have a 150 square foot private room and shared bathrooms, kitchen, and common areas. The rent also includes wi-fi, access to a shared computer station, an outdoor courtyard with bbq, and access to a community library with books, games, and DVDs for everyone's use. The rooms are rented fully furnished, including linens and the kitchen, and common areas are fully stocked. There are also several sets of washers and dryers free for resident's use. Each resident adheres to community guidelines and weekly chores to help keep the common spaces clean and a sense of community intact. LRRP drops off supplies each week, including cleaning products, paper products, and basic hygiene items (including COVID PPE).
JOIN values creativity in responding to challenges, and our work at Jolene's First Cousin is a prime example. We are grateful to Guerrilla Development for partnering with us on this innovative initiative and for the exceptional work of the LRRP team to realize this vision and stay committed to its success.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WITH JOIN VALUES
Taking on the role of a landlord was a new challenge for JOIN. The responsibilities of property management would fall to JOIN's Landlord Recruitment and Retention (LRRP) Team, bringing skills and experience in private market rental management as well as case management and social services. Kayleigh Thornton, LRRP Program Coordinator, shared some thoughts about how she and her team approach property management at Jolene's First Cousin (JFC):
"Determining who would move-in is an essential part of the success. We created a process to fairly assess each applicant; this included a review with our equity lens and a review with a panel of people who work at JOIN. JOIN performs no background checks to live in these units and requires no security deposits. Our team met with each applicant's case manager to understand the applicant and their housing needs. Our team also explained to each applicant that there are Community Guidelines that all residents must agree to. Besides JOIN-referred residents, we also partnered with Street Roots for access to 2 of the SRO's at JFC. These residents from Street Roots now have a JOIN retention worker.
"Property management for JFC was an extremely intentional process designed to provide resident-centered services that foster community and with the intention of helping residents to be successful in their housing. We created community guidelines and weekly chores with the intention of building an environment where folks felt a part of their community and could build relationships with each other and our team. We offer weekly community meetings where residents can voice their concerns. They all have access to our team's 24/7 hotline where they can contact us. If a resident violates a community guideline, we can mediate the concern directly with the resident(s) involved without necessarily having to resort to a formal notice, or even if a notice is served, have the ability to explain it fully with the resident and their caseworker. Besides these things, we drop off supplies weekly like paper products, cleaning supplies, and laundry soap. The units and common areas were fully furnished. The thought process behind this is if people have a living environment that is comfortable and functional, they will be excited to continue taking care of, including maintaining the space. If people don't have to worry about money for laundry soap or toilet paper, they can focus on other things they need to enrich their lives and happy people create happy communities!
"The community has come together rather organically around food sharing, meal cooking, daily cleaning, and supportive friendship. However, this is not always the case all the time. Residents call our 24-hour hotline to report concerns and issues that arise, both interpersonal and building-related. Our team responds within 24 hours and sooner depending on the issue; this protocol has helped maintain balance in the community. In addition to conflict mediation and community meetings, we offer other fun things like pizza parties and other events to build community and help the residents get to know us better. Since our team is a pretty frequent presence at the building, residents feel comfortable sharing their concerns with us, which helps to maintain open communication. It has been immensely rewarding to watch this group of strangers come together to share holiday meals, laugh and joke around the tv and enjoy the bbq in the courtyard."
LIVING AT JOLENE'S FIRST COUSIN
When Kim became homeless, she didn't know what to do. She slept in bus stops and did anything she could to get by. While visiting JOIN's Dayspace one day, she met Perlia, a JOIN Outreach Worker, who started helping her find a place to live. Perlia put her on the waitlist for JFC, and they took a tour and talked about the unique community-living aspects of the building.
Living on a fixed income, it was a challenge to find a place that she could afford. Based on the 2019 State of Housing report from PHB, there are no neighborhoods considered "affordable" to the thousands of Portland residents living on social security income. Jolene's First Cousin is uniquely positioned to provide an affordable option that doesn't rely on subsidies or vouchers. Kim moved into JFC in early 2020.
JFC offers a lot of benefits to people, but it's not without drawbacks and challenges. Kim likes looking out her window and loves her comfortable bed. The washing machine is free to use, and having access to a nice kitchen is a perk. Like most community living situations, the residents at JFC have conflicts over chores getting done. It's also been a challenge living in a community setting during the pandemic. While she's grateful for her own space and a roof over her head, the added anxiety about her community mates having diligent practices around pandemic safety is a frustration. "At the end of the day, we have to respect each other." JOIN has added twice-a-week disinfecting services to the building, as well as providing PPE for residents.
Kim said she's learned a lot about empathy and asking for help since moving into JFC. When she first moved in, she butted heads with her neighbor frequently– but he's since become one of her closest friends. Recently, this friend disappeared for a few days. "It just reminded me that I can't know what another person is going through, and I have to be empathetic to their situation." Throughout her time living at JFC, she was surprised to find herself more caring for others.
https://joinpdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/JFC_web-1.jpg 1365 2048 Njeri Parker http://joinpdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/web_logoArtboard-9.png Njeri Parker2020-12-16 08:42:142020-12-16 08:42:14Jolene's First Cousin: Innovative SROs, one year later
"When I needed help, JOIN was there" A message from Katrina Holland


Did you know? Located at the intersection of art and commerce, Academy of Art University's Graphic Design program integrates practice, theory, and inquiry, while refining and encouraging innovation, critical thinking, visual literacy and conceptual problem solving. Learn more.
Best Animation Programs in Louisiana
What makes an animation school program "the best" may be something different for students than the nation's top ranking agencies. For example, many students think a low cost, conveniently located school is the best school, while college ranking agencies say student selectivity and faculty resources are more important than cost or convenience. College ranking agencies use other common considerations when evaluating the best schools, such as the number (and variety) of program offerings, graduation and retention rates, financial resources, and peer assessment.
There are more than 70 accredited colleges and universities in the state of Louisiana. Many of these institutions scored high in the areas listed, so they made it onto many "best of" lists. Some of the best Louisiana schools even offer programs for aspiring animators and other digital artists. While many of the best Louisiana animation schools can be found in major cities such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge, others can also be found in small cities such as Hammond and Thibodaux. Just a few of the best animation schools in Louisiana include the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.
Take a look at the list below to review some of the best animation school programs in Louisiana and what they have to offer.
Best Animation School Programs – Major Louisiana Cities
Louisiana State University - Degrees Offered: B. F. A. Graphic Design, Studio Art with Concentration in Digital Art; M. F. A. Graphic Design
University of Louisiana at Lafayette - Degrees Offered: B. F. A. Visual Arts with Concentration in Animation and Computer Arts, Graphic Design or Media Art
University of Louisiana at Monroe - Degrees Offered: B. F. A. Art with Concentration in Graphic Design
University of New Orleans - Degrees Offered: B. A. Studio Art with Concentration in Digital Media; M. F. A. Studio Art
Best Animation School Programs – Other Louisiana Cities and Towns
Southeastern Louisiana University - Degrees Offered: B. A. Art with Concentration in New Media and Animation, Graphic Design
Northwestern State University of Louisiana - Degrees Offered: B. F. A. Fine Arts with Concentration in Graphic Communications
Louisiana Tech - Degrees Offered: B. F. A. Art with Concentration in Communication Design; M. F. A. Art with Concentration in Communication Design
Nicholls University - Degrees Offered: B. A. Art with Concentration in Graphic Design
List of Louisiana Schools with Graphic Design Degree Programs
Best Graphic Design Programs in Louisiana
Top Graphic Design Programs in Louisiana
Top Animation Programs in Louisiana
List of Articles Profiling Louisiana Schools with Animation, Design, and Gaming Programs
Louisiana Animation Careers: Employment & Salary Trends, Job Opportunities, & Colleges Offering Animation Programs in Louisiana
Programs Schools & Colleges


The father of the Hydrogen Bomb
By Shabbir | September 11, 2003
Oh yeah, everyone made a big deal out of it, but I frankly don't see the
point. Something far more important should be commemorated this week (and
never again): the death of Dr. Edward Teller.
Teller is credited as the father of the Hydrogen Bomb, but frankly, he
should be thought of as one of the fathers of the Nuclear Arms Race.
After Robert J. Oppenheimer and his brain trust successfully created the
atomic bomb, they were wracked with guilt. Although they had ended the
war, they experienced a first for scientists: the true guilt that they had
created something that could terminate the human race. While such moral
dilemnas existed for scientists before Oppenheimer, it was the Manhatten
project that made the debate real, instead of theoretical.
Once the Soviet Union had acquired their own atomic bomb, Oppenheimer
argued vociferously that the only moral course of action was to
immediately negotiate a treaty with the Soviets to end atomic bomb
Dr. Teller was not bothered by these reservations. He used his
connections with the Pentagon and the President to help stoke the fears
that fed the nuclear arms race. The bomb was built, and the nuclear arms
race began.
A final nail in the coffin, Teller eventually testified against
Oppenheimer in a witch-hunt that revoked his security clearance for
failure to support America's nuclear program and because of his refusal to
renounce his Communist friends. The witch-hunt was not reserved to
Oppenheimer, and US Senators were known to frequently ask scientists,
"Have you as a citizen the right to interpose your political judgments on the matter and thereby frustrate the contribution that you as a citizen, particularly equipped by Almighty God and the great genius that you have, have you the moral right, I wonder, to withhold?"
One of Oppenheimer's colleagues, Hans Bethe, answered,
"This, after all, is a free country… a country which prides itself on giving the right to the individual to decide his own actions. .. [The hydrogen bomb] will not do us any good and it will not win the war for us, nor the lack of it will not lose the war for us. If America is truly a free country, then it shouldn't be treason."
Bethe, a fallible human to the end, relented and worked on the hydrogen
bomb and subsequently condemned himself for this weakness, both in public and in private. As recently as 1995, he urged scientists to take a Hippocratic oath with the plea,
"I call on all scientists in all countries to cease and desist from work creating, developing, improving and manufacturing further nuclear weapons – and, for that matter, other weapons of potential mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons."


Galaxies are running out of gas
By Andrew WrightAugust 22nd, 2011
A CSIRO study has shown why the lights are going out in the Universe.
The Universe forms fewer stars than it used to, and a CSIRO study has now shown why – the galaxies are running out of gas.
Dr Robert Braun (CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science) and his colleagues used CSIRO's Mopra radio telescope near Coonabarabran, NSW, to study far-off galaxies and compare them with nearby ones.
Light (and radio waves) from the distant galaxies has taken time to travel to us, so we see the galaxies as they were between three and five billion years ago.
Galaxies at this stage of the Universe's life appear to contain considerably more molecular hydrogen gas than comparable galaxies in today's Universe, the research team found.
Stars form from clouds of molecular hydrogen. The less molecular hydrogen there is, the fewer stars will form.
The research team's paper is in press in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Astronomers have known for at least 15 years that the rate of star formation peaked when the Universe was only a few billion years old and has declined steeply ever since.
"Our result helps us understand why the lights are going out," Dr Braun said.
"Star formation has used up most of the available molecular hydrogen gas."
"The drop-off in both gas availability and star formation seems to have started around the time that Dark Energy took control of the Universe"
Dr Robert Braun, CSIRO
After stars form, they shed gas during various stages of their lives, or in dramatic events such as explosions (supernovae).
This returns some gas to space to contribute to further star formation.
"But most of the original gas—about 70%—remains locked up, having been turned into things such as white dwarfs, neutron stars and planets," Dr Braun said.
"So the molecular gas is used up over time. We find that the decline in the molecular gas is similar to the pattern of decline in star formation, although during the time interval that we have studied, it is declining even more rapidly."
Ultimately, the real problem is the rate at which galaxies are 'refueled' from outside.
Gas falls into galaxies from the space between galaxies, the intergalactic medium. Two-thirds of the gas in the universe is still found in the intergalactic medium and only one third has already been consumed by previous star formation in galaxies, astronomers think.
"The drop-off in both gas availability and star formation seems to have started around the time that Dark Energy took control of the Universe," Dr Braun said.
Up until that time, gravity dominated the Universe, so the gas was naturally pulled in to galaxies, but then the effect of Dark Energy took over and the Universe started expanding faster and faster.
This accelerating expansion will have made it increasingly difficult for galaxies to capture the additional gas they need to fuel future generations of star formation, Dr Braun speculates.
The galaxies used for the Mopra study were of a kind called ultra-luminous infra-red galaxies or ULIRGs, chosen because they are known to have large reservoirs of gas and because they are so bright that there was a complete census of them within the volume of the Universe that the team studied. They ranged in redshift from 0.2 to 0.5 (that is, they had a look-back time of three to five billion years).
Molecular hydrogen is difficult to detect directly, and this study (like many previous studies) used emission from carbon monoxide (CO) as a proxy for the molecular hydrogen. The astronomers observed the emission arising from the CO(1-0) transition: this study is significant because most other studies have had to rely on observing different transition lines for galaxies at different redshifts. This study, however, compared "apples with apples", using CO(1-0) for both the nearby and distant galaxies under study.
Images available at: Galaxies are running out of gas
Sir Malcolm Kenneth McIntosh [1945-2000]
Emission sources identified in Huon Study
Last updated: August 22nd, 2011


This article was published on May 23, 2013
HTC Desire 600 debuts with a quad-core processor, Sense 5 and dual BoomSound front-facing speakers
Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and (show all) Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and video games in particular. You can reach him on Twitter, circle him on Google+ and connect with him on LinkedIn.
HTC unveiled the Desire 600 today, the first mid-range smartphone to be equipped with dual BoomSound speakers and run its new Sense 5 Android skin, including its Flipboard-inspired BlinkFeed home screen.
The device offers a 4.5-inch super LCD2 display – no pixel resolution just yet – and runs on an unspecified 1.2 GHz quad-core processor.
Interestingly, there's an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera that appears to forgo the new 'UltraPixel' philosophy bestowed upon HTC's latest flagship Android smartphone, the HTC One. There's also a 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls and the like, as well as HTC's dedicated camera app for burst mode shooting and ZOE animations.
The original HTC Desire was a popular device and it therefore comes as no surprise to see the moniker carried on HTC's next range of low and mid-end Android smartphones. We've already seen the HTC Desire X and HTC Desire C fill this space, which made sense last year given the refreshed HTC One X, S and V naming system – however the Desire 600 seems to stand all on its own.
That's perhaps not surprising, given the relatively small room for maneuverability created by the refreshed HTC One branding. The Desire 600 is also notable because it supports two SIM cards, which suggests that the device is being targeted at emerging markets, or at least those with inconsistent network connectivity. It also uses HTCs "dual active" system, which means that the user can receive a call on one line, even if they're already using the other.
They're not as pronounced as the HTC One, but the Desire 600 is also equipped with dual front-facing speakers. These 'BoomSound' amplifiers were one of the stand-out features of the HTC One – we've never experienced sound quality like it on a smartphone – and should help to provide a clearer and more balanced listening experience.
HTC says its new mid-range smartphone runs on Android Jelly Bean, although the exact firmware version hasn't been disclosed. It will be available in either silver/red or black "in a number of markets" from early June. When we have more specific details, we'll be sure to let you know.
Related: HTC One review: An absolutely superb Android smartphone with software flaws
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Published May 23, 2013 - 12:07 pm UTC


Previous: Len Drayton (1905-1982) - Winegrower. Recorded 14 May 1979. Part 1/2.No more itemsLen Drayton
SummaryTAPE 83B Len Drayton
Recorded May 1979.
Charlie Drayton was the eldest of Joseph's family and the grandfather of the Weatherheads. People married within the limits of the area.
Attended Pokolbin school when he was 10 and that was when he got his first pushbike. There were two schools at Pokolbin - one on Fleming's property - it was shifted up to where it is now in 1908.
Sam Thompson's father married Len's Dad's sister. His father was a school teacher there. The National School, Nulkaba. Lawrence Kenny - ancestor of the saddler.
The Cessnock Inn - there was an early school near the Allandale Hospital near the graveyard. There was a church there too.
Len's wife was born on the boat coming out to Australia in 1909. Father-in-law worked at Aberdare Extended. His name was John Roach.
Sandy Thompson had a garage and John worked for him. Bill Harrogan.
Maurie Marshall - was a Deputy. John Marshall was a miner. Alec Marshall.
Father kept adding to the winery built by Joseph Drayton. "Bellevue". "Happy Valley" - owned by Wes Drayton, the brother.
Family settlement, 1933 - he said "you can divide it up amongst yourselves - it's what you've all been working for". Tom Miller.
William John Drayton (son) Lou was a good carpenter and not interested in wine.
Elizabeth Susan Drayton (daughter). Alan Cotham(son-in-law) the builder. Nancy West (daughter-in-law) married William. Frank West was managing Lindeman's for a while. Reg's father was George and Barry's father was Ernie. Steve Connelly.
Wes Drayton bought Happy Valley - it had a winery and a vineyard. Wes lived with his mother and never married. He bought a T Model Ford in 1921 and converted it into a utility.
Len's father and the Depression. Harry Drayton who drove a buggy delivering a demijohn of wine.
Mick Relf -one armed relation of Joan Schultz (Jack's wife). Bill Schultz - owned the sawmill at Bulahdelah
Wine growing during the Depression.
Westfall & Clarke, wine merchants bought their wine for 5/- a gallon - a high record in the area.
Albert Joass. Billy DeBeier.
In the 1940s wine got up to 2/6 a gallon. It got a better price in the 1960s. Australians were beer drinkers till the immigrants came over and changed the palate. The government kept putting the duty up on beer and probably increased the purchase of wine.
Alf Cobby married Ivy.
Interest in greyhound racing - supplemented their income.
Billy Dowling. Paddy Ryan
George White Brown. McCabe's. Location of George Brown cellars.
Buffier's winery, wine cellars
Martin Buffier, George Buffier went out to Abernethy. Won a prize in 1890 for his wines. Shedden. George Brown.
First worked pruning George Brown's grape vines. Len was born in 1905. Pokolbin wine festival in 1964. Bob Vernon.
Maurie O'Shea was a good wine maker. Locally he thinks Maurie was the best wine maker.
Draytons didn't start to bottle their wines until the 1950s. Ray Kidd is a great.
Modern wine-making techniques is good by Len's reckoning, just no more labour. The old log press pressure is 30 tonne weight.
End (Tape 83/Side B) Part 2 of 2. SubjectDrayton, Leonard Alfred, 1905-1982 Cessnock (N.S.W.) Pokolbin (N.S.W.) Schools -- New South Wales -- Pokolbin Aberdare Extended Colliery (N.S.W.) Wine and wine making PersonJack Delaney CreatorDrayton, Leonard Alfred, 1905-1982 Delaney, Jack, 1919-2010 CollectionVoices of the HunterPlaceCessnock, NSW Date Created14th May 1979 Location[1] Cessnock, NSW[2] Aberdare Extended Colliery, NSW [3] Pokolbin, NSW [4] Drayton Wines, NSW Identifier083B
083B_LenDrayton_ed.mp3
Delaney, Jack, 1919-2010, Len Drayton (1905-1982) - Winegrower. Recorded 14 May 1979. Part 2/2., [083B]. Living Histories, accessed 30/01/2023, https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/65409


Interview / Reviews
Movies and Fashion
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Morrissey unveils new music video
The Smiths	Morrissey
Morrissey unveils new video.
Morrissey has unveiled his new music video for "Kiss Me A Lot" track taken from his last studio album "World Peace Is None Of Your Business".
The video, which you can watch below, was directed by Sam Esty Rayner.
Listen to our The Importance of Being Morrissey Playlist.
For more information on Morrissey, you can visit his official fanzine, True To You.
Morrissey y planes de nuevo álbum de estudio?
Morrissey and new studio album?
Johnny Marr: "The Smiths were planning a disco album"
Morrissey presenta nuevo video oficial
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The beginnings of the cinema in England 1894–1901, volumes I–V (book review) - Publikationer
The beginnings of the cinema in England 1894–1901, volumes I–V (book review)
Gert Jan Harkema
Book review of John Barnes' book series The beginnings of the cinema in England 1894–1901, volumes I–V.
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 35, Nr 3.
/10.1080/01439685.2015.1059613
Early Cinema Media History
I am a doctoral student at the Department of Media Studies (Cinema Studies). In my research I try to describe what the earliest cinema audiences (from 1895 to 1900) were experiencing. Cinema as a new medium in the late-nineteenth century. My proje... Läs vidare
Jan Harkema, G. (2015). The beginnings of the cinema in England 1894–1901, volumes I–V (book review). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 35(3), pp. 525-526. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01439685.2015.1059613 [Accessed 21 Jan. 2022]. doi: /10.1080/01439685.2015.1059613.
Senast uppdaterad: 17 oktober 2016.
Film Bild Kunst
'Performed live and talking. No kinematograph.' Amateur performances of tableaux vivants and local film exhibition in Germany around 1900.
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500 million LinkedIn data is for sale, but it did not come from a leak
The recent massive Facebook data leak, which for a few days was installed as a theme that turned on the alerts of many Internet users, is not the only problem of this type that can be found on the web today.
Also, a database of users of users is available for sale on the Internet. LinkedIn, according to a recent report.
The information was released initially by the portal CyberNews, noting that based on a sample of two million, which presumably would constitute a part of the profiles for sale, they were able to verify that among the compromised information can be found the full names of LinkedIn members and their respective email addresses, phone numbers phone, genres, links to profiles on social networks, plus other personal data.
In the case of published email addresses, the report reported that only 780 thousand accounts are affected by this leak.
Sample of the data that CyberNews had access to
LinkedIn reacted, pointing out that the leak did not exist as such.
Through a release Officially released through its press center, Microsoft's social network for professionals noted that this data comes from many different sources and was not directly extracted from any of its databases.
In the official LinkedIn statement it is speculated that, given the nature of the information published, it could have been articulated from public sources of information, such as the same data displayed in the profiles.
In addition to explaining the case, the company also sought to provide reassurance, noting that any misuse of its users' data, such as its extraction and leakage, violates LinkedIn's terms of service. When someone tries to take member data and use it for purposes that LinkedIn and our members have not accepted, we work to stop them and hold them accountable.they commented in their statements.
The consequences began in Italy
Despite the clarification shared by LinkedIn, the first consequences of this episode have already been activated. In Italy, the privacy watchdog of that country began an investigation into this network of professional contacts, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Depending on the port to which this survey arrives, the agency could initiate legal action and request compensation, in accordance with what is allowed by the GDPR, a regulation that allows national authorities in Europe to impose fines on companies that commit these infractions, up to 4 % of your annual sales.
Outside of the particularities of each similar case, given the uncertainty that a situation of these characteristics may generate, it is advisable to take immediate action, as this opens the possibility of exposing yourself to scams, spam or brute force attacks to reset passwords.
An instant resource to clarify doubts is the portal Have i been pwned, which allows you to perform a review by simply pointing to your email. If you are affected, you will be notified of which data breaches you have been a part of. If you want to change your password, we have a guide that provides practical tips.
Tags:data, leak, LinkedIn, million, sale
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Trombini´s brief history
The economist Renato Trombini has been in charge of Trombini since 1194, but he has been working in the family companies since he was 12, when he started as an attendant in Casa Raimundo, a beverage and food store in Pilarzinho. Geraldo, his father, and the uncles Sinibaldo and Mirtillo were partners in this and other enterprises and, at that time (the end of the 40´s), six teenage cousins had already started learning the business. Therefore, the construction of the companies that made up Trombini, nowadays one of the largest corrugated cardboard boxes and multi-wall paper bags producers in Brazil, was an enormous, uninterrupted and common effort of the family. This is probably why Renato does not see his professional life in a way other than fully integrated with the family trajectory, first because of commerce, and then the company, which started in 1941 with his uncle Mirtilo Trombini.
However, the Trombini´s entrepreneurship started long before, when Cecília and Carlo Trombini, Geraldo, Sinibaldo and Martello's grandparents, arrived in Morretes, coming from Veneto, Italy, in 1877, and settled down in the Italian immigrants' colony founded there. They were fascinated by the idea of "fare l'America", which illuminated the fugitive crowds fleeing from the big Italian hunger at the end of the XIX century. But "making America" was not an easy task, it required entrepreneurship.
Having poor health and suffering from the humidity, the heat, the insects abundance and the material difficulties, the couple moved to Curitiba, where they succeeded in getting a small farm. But Cecília died precociously and Carlo went back to Morretes with his four children – Rosa, Olympio, Achiles and Paula. Later, after several attempts to provide for the family, he returned to Curitiba, where he sold firewood and lived with deprivations (including dramatic times of hunger), which were very similar to the one suffered in old Italy. He died a few years later, a victim of the sequels left by an accident.
Crushing stones
The son Olympio, father of Martello, Geraldo and Sinibaldo and grandfather of Renato, used to crush stones in Serra do Mar, leading Spanish immigrants coming from Argentina, who were specialists in the production of curbs and cobble stones. This is where the pavement on Rua XV, in Curitiba, came from. After that, he worked crushing stones in Araucária until 1914, when he went back to Morretes to work in stonework sites. Five years later he started dedicating himself to commerce. He was a fruit exporter to the capital, an owner of bar and manager of the Marumby movie-theater, in Morretes, and of the Paraíso movies, in Paranaguá. Thus the Trombini were arising, making America, standing up to walls.
Renato Trombini reports back to the beginning of the companies, an enterprise of the generation that followed the pioneers. In 1941, uncle Mirtillo quit the paper factory São Marcos, in Morretes, and founded a small commercial company in Curitiba along with his friend Albano Reis. Soon the brothers Sinibaldo and Geraldo, Renato's father, joined the company. Mirtillo Trombini & Cia was born, which in the beginning used to buy and classify used paper to resell to factories. Then, it started to purchase new paper to place in the Curitiba market.
Around 1945, Mirtillo and the brothers added another enterprise to the company: Casa Raimundo, in Pilarzinho. Soon they opened two other stores in the same neighborhood. At that time, the new generation entered the scene, their cousins – Lenomir and Luiz Sérgio, Vladimir and Ítalo, and Renato and Raul –, Martello's, Sinibaldo´s and Geraldo´s sons. They were teenagers, around 12-13 years of age, and were already working as attendants, delivery men, message boys. Some years later, this generation would be heading the companies' option for industry, articulating their teenager´s boldness to the vision and the wisdom of the elder. In fact, after selling the stores and creating a large wholesale and representation area for the three States of the South Region in 1962, the Trombinis made the first steps into the construction of an industrial group.
In the memory book "Marks from My Life" published in 2008, Mirtillo Trombini wrote:
"Our second generation (Geraldo´s, Sini´s and my sons) was unrestful, rolling the sleeves up in order to face any type of industrial business, preferably in the paper area in which we were specialized".
"We started with a small factory for paper bags to pack goods in the stores at that time", remembers Renato, who was already 23 years old. He and the cousins, young and entrepreneurs, were anxious to overcome the low rentable– however labor-consuming – activity of representations. In addition, at the beginning of the 60s, Paraná opened to industrialization.
"In 1967, we installed the first corrugated cardboard box industry in Curitiba", says Renato. Until 1974, the Trombinis assembled and bought several factories in Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, São Paulo and Minas, all for production of virgin and recycled paper used by the company itself for manufacturing multi-wall paper bags and corrugated cardboard boxes.
In 1990, the family decided to promote some adjustments in the companies´ management, making them more professional. Five years later, with renewed administration, The Trombinis decided to fuse the set of companies they had in only one corporate name, making them tight and selling some assets (factories and reforesting) to adapt to the new economic conditions in the country. At that time, Renato, who, in the past 33 years, had already been through all industries´ sectors, took over Trombini´s Executive Presidency. The cousins concentrated on the Administration Board, while two nephews became directors along with two more directors, who did not belong to the family.
Today, Trombini is the fourth company in the corrugated cardboard boxes sector in Brazil and the second in the area of multi-wall paper bags (adequate for packaging cement, fertilizers, seeds, and chemical products, among others). A performance guaranteed by industrial plants for Cellulose and Paper production in Curitiba (PR) and Fraiburgo (SC), two corrugated cardboard factories, one in Curitiba and another one in Farroupilha (RS), and a multi-wall paper bags plant in Curitiba. Above all, its production serves the national market (95%), concentrating on the South and South-East regions (85%).
Profit is not everything
"We have always had our company focusing on result. A company with no profit doesn´t make any sense", says Renato Trombini. And adds: "We seek the performance of administrative work aimed to the shareholder´s remuneration, and the well being and good remuneration of the employees. This is fundamental in a good management process. In addition to the salary program, we have another one for sharing the profit with the employees".
However, the profit might be essential, but it is not everything. "The businessman shall also aim the social vision", clarifies Renato. Thus, Trombini often participates in actions, such as donations (food and Christmas baskets, food and clothing) and support to kindergartens, schools, libraries, hospitals and health service departments and several community sport activities. The company also participates in works, such as the SENAI program for underaged learners and qualification of machine operators (213 of its collaborators have already participated in these training since 2002). Monthly, Trombini forms groups of employees for courses and trainings, in addition to offering them health plans, leisure and sport activities and canteen at subsided costs in the company. In the municipalities where Trombini has factories, the company joins the city halls – as well as SESI – in different social programs.
Renato insists in pointing out "the real commitment of the company with the environment". "Trombini", he explains, "has as an environmental strategy: the ongoing monitoring of the impacts generated by its industrial activities through permanent diagnoses". The Trombini Quality Program objective, Renato points out, "is to anticipate the possible impact, reducing its scope as much as possible". He says that, in the last years, the company invested more than US$ 8 million in anti-polluting equipment and systems and more than US$ 12 million in the productive process optimization, which resulted in the reduction of the environmental impacts of its activities.
And the Trombini´s "hanno fatto l'America", an interview with Renato Trombini, for the Fiep Magazine, carried out by the journalist Luis Manfredini.