Monthly Archives: October 2016

Sorting to Prioritize the Content Experience

The act of sorting seems so familiar you may think little about it.  We sort our possessions to organize them.  Some people even sort the sox in their drawer according to color or occasion.  We sort to organize things, and more fundamentally, to prioritize our content. When considered in relation to IT, sorting is the programmatic prioritization of content using a simple ordering procedure. Simple sorting routines can offer much value, even if more sophisticated techniques to prioritize content are available.

Most discussion of sorting focuses on its technical dimensions — the rules for sorting correctly.  Developers study various algorithms to optimize sorting.  Editors must follow detailed rules to correctly sort entries appearing in indexes.  Interaction designers focus on how to implement sorting options on user interfaces.  Sorting is also utilized in statistical operations, though the strict criteria applied in statistical analysis is different from how people will think about sorting content.

In contrast to its technical dimensions, the experiential dimensions of sorting receive less attention. Besides considering how to sort items, we must also consider why audiences want items sorted in different scenarios.  Every day, when we write lists, we make decisions that reflect our understanding of the purpose of sorting .  Do we present the list as unordered bullets, or do we number the list items?  If we number the items, what do the numbers represent?  All of our content faces such existential dilemmas — indicating to others how items are prioritized.

Interaction designers often assume that users will want to sort items appearing in a list.   Such an assumption confuses a want with a need.  In many cases users don’t want to interact to get specific views of content.  They may need different views, but don’t want unnecessary work to get those views.  Consider the below screenshot, from a website devoted to user interface design patterns. A spreadsheet paradigm is imposed on web content.  Audiences are given the option to sort content on any criteria, but have no guidance about which criteria are important.

A sorting UI pattern. Source:
A sorting UI pattern. Source:

This pattern is widely implemented. The user interface presents the illusion of control, but offers little to help audiences understand insights in the content. It presents unnecessary work for audiences, and provides an uncertain payoff.  Screens like this continue getting made because sorting functionality is ubiquitous and easy to implement. Adding it seems cost-free. The publisher never did the hard work of asking why the audience wanted the information sorted.  What value does a sort offer the audience?  How can computers provide such sorting without requiring the audiences to specify it manually?

Sorting tends to be discussed as being a widget and labeling issue, debating the options that are possible, and the user confusion that can result from having those options.  Instead of worrying about the clarity of the widgets and labels, a better approach is to make editorial decisions that remove that complexity, and focus on the value sorting can offer.

Sorting practices can be explored in terms of five goals they support:

  1. Sorting to Locate
  2. Sorting to Rank
  3. Sorting to Sequence
  4. Sorting to Sample
  5. Sorting to Profile and Evaluate

While these approaches differ in emphasis, they share a common goal of prioritizing content by making a judgment about what’s important to the audience. Users prefer sorted content because it reduces the amount of content they need to view and consider.  Sorting doesn’t remove content: it highlights certain content, allowing other content to be ignored.  Sorting should make using content easier for audiences, which is why that task needs to be delegated to computers whenever possible.

Prioritizing by Index Value: Sorting to Locate

Indexes are markers used to locate content.  With indexes, the chief role of sorting is “findability”.

Alphabetic sorting is the most widely used form of sorting.  Though clearly useful, alphabetic sorting’s value is sometimes presumed when it has none.  In many situations, alphabetic sorting merely provides a semblance of order without providing any true value beyond psychological comfort.  The chief value of alphabetic sorting arises when the user already knows about an item and expects to find it on the list.  It can help locate the item, and confirm its inclusion. Developers have use for reverse alphabetic sorting, but audiences rarely benefit from reverse alphabetic ordering.   Except in rare cases, it makes no sense to offer audiences a choice of sorting either in ascending or descending alphabetical order.

Another kind of locational sorting involves sorting items into nominal (named) categories.  For example, the fact checking website PoliFact identifies statements made by American politicians to see if they have “flipped” their previous position.  One can sort statements according to whether is a statement is: 1. Partially (half) flipped; 2. Fully “flopped”; or 3. Not flipped.  Such sorting helps audiences locate statements they might be interested in, to judge if a view is simply getting new attention, or whether it is a new position.

An item sorting according to category "Fully flopped". Source: PolitiFact
An item sorting according to category “Full Flop”. Source: PolitiFact

Prioritizing by Frequency: Sorting to Rank

Sorting is especially useful with quantitative values.  Sorting can rank items on the basis of numeric values associated with the item. Sorting on the quantity determines the ordinal ranking.

In contrast to alphabetic sorting, descending order (from high to low) is frequently useful for quantitative values. People are often looking for content relating to the highest rated item, or best performing one.

In addition to sorting by explicit quantitive values such as price, less obvious applications of rank-based sorting exist that utilize hidden or implicit information.  Behavioral values can summarize activity relating to the content, such as when articles are sorted by number of comments.  The most common form of behavioral values are consumption-related popularity values, These come in many forms, and  are widely used to sort content.  Examples included sorting by:

  • Best selling
  • Most viewed/played
  • Most recommended
  • Most downloaded
  • Most frequently bought together

Another use of quantitative sorts is to create “buckets” that rank content in summary form.  Buckets are derived data that are not explicitly visible in the content, where clustering (summarizing frequency) is performed in tandem with sorting.  Publishers create buckets covering ranges of values to summarize how frequently items appear.  Items are sorted into buckets defined by ranges (e.g., Number of items “below $100,” “$101 – 499,” “$500 and above”).  When applied to the sorting of content, these intervals don’t need to be equal in size.

In addition to ranking by a single criterion, publishers can provide different ranking perspectives that consider alternative criteria.  Alternative-criteria rankings can be complex, so care is needed to hide the complexity from audiences.  Imagine that content addresses five products: A, B, C, D, and E.  A consumer ratings website might sort-rank items according to different criteria:

  • Best picks for budget buyers: A, D
  • Best picks for power users: E , C
  • Best picks for novices: A, B

In some respects, this kind of sorting is similar to the sorting of columns in a spreadsheet.  In a spreadsheet, one can rank  alternative criteria by selecting different columns to reorder rows, to see how rankings change when various criteria are considered.  What’s different here is that editorial choices are being made instead of forcing the reader to decide what’s important to focus on.  Each category represents a theme rather than formal attribute.  For example, what’s best for power users might be a combination of the number of features a product offers, and the extent the performance of key features are above average.  That kind of score can be computed behind the scenes.  Once items are ranked, only the top two items are presented, to keep the focus on what’s best in each category.

An alternate-criteria sort, where items are ranked according to best overall and best value. Source: Consumer Reports, via

Another ranking pattern is the “Top N by category” pattern.  Many publishers will curate content according to how the content ranks within different categories.  A news site might present a list of top five articles in sports, in health, in politics and in business.  The curatorial decisions relate to what categories are most important in the larger body of content, how many items (N) to show, and on what basis (number of views, comments, etc.)

A rank sorting can be applied to any content that involves a scale.  While most often rankings are based on numeric scores, they can also be used with qualitative scales such as good, better, and best.  Sorts based on qualitative ranking are known as enumerations.

Prioritizing by Time: Sorting to Sequence

Much content has a time dimension, and can be compared to other content according to various time frames.  These comparisons are made through sequence-related sorting.

Chronological sorts use dates to sort content.  They can be valuable in either ascending (earlier to later) or descending (recent to older) order.  Ascending chronological order is useful when content items reference and build on each other.  For example, I find live blogged stories easier to follow when they are in chronological order, since many statements will depend on what was said in prior statements.  Many live blogs choose reverse chronological order, however.  The benefit of reverse chronological order is to highlight the newest information, which is assumed to be more important than older information.  Reverse chronological order works best when each item is independent of the others, so some live bloggers try to make their statements be understandable without referring to other content items.

An important way to sort content is by how stale or fresh it is.  Computer scientists refer to stale content as LRU or “Least Recently Used,” where LRU content is considered obsolete and is purged from the computer’s cache memory. The concept of freshness is captured by a term borrowed from accounting known as LIFO or “Last In, First Out”.  Content that is new or changed is generally more valuable than older content.  People look for new content, or content that’s been updated.

LIFO is useful as a way to sort behavioral data.  In many situations, the content someone most recently viewed will be the most likely content they will want to use again.  Imagine someone constantly checking some pages relating to the stock performance of different companies they own or are considering buying.  Because they routinely check these pages, the sorting would present these pages as a list ordered according to how recently they were viewed, with the most recently viewed at the top of the list.  LIFO behavioral sorting is dynamic, changing as audience interests do, so that new items get added immediately, fading interests soon disappear from the list.  It is more flexible, and less work, than having the audience create a custom list.

Sequences are a special kind of list where the order is predefined.  Content relating to a sequence should be automatically sorted.  Sequences can take various forms:

  • Procedural with antecedent dependencies, such as “Step 1, Step 2”
  • Time-defined, such as “Phase 1, Phase 2”
  • Life-cycle or life-stage based, e.g., “R&D stage, Trials stage, Approval stage, Marketing stage”

A big use of sequences is to position content in time, providing a context for the sorted content.  Three kinds of content sequences are:

  1. Before/After sequences
  2. Now/Next sequences
  3. Lower/Higher sequences

Before/After sequences position a topic within a spectrum of time.  When items are classified according to their stage, they can be compared.  Items at the same stage are similar, and one can locate content about events that preceded that stage, and identify content about other entities that are in a more advanced stage.  An example of such a sequence sorting would be articles about a class of new drugs, where different companies are in different stages of market introduction.

Now/Next sequences are similar to Before/After, but are more focused on content relating to a single person or entity, rather than a range of entities.  Content can be sorted according to what matches the current context, and list content that will be relevant to the subsequent stage.  An example of Now/Next sorting is content about repairing a product.

Lower/Higher sequences define time in terms of proficiency required.  The content is ranked according to the abilities of the reader.  Publishers frequently classify content according to the level of expertise needed to understand the content.  Content might be classified as Beginner, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, or Expert.   The sequence associated with those labels is generally easy to understand.  Alternatively, the publisher could rank the difficulty of the content according to a color code:

  • White belt (= Beginner)
  • Yellow belt (= Basic)
  • Blue belt (= Intermediate)
  • Purple belt (= Advanced)
  • Black belt (= Expert)

Such rankings can be useful provided the audience knows the level they are at.  They might graduate from one tier after viewing all content in that tier.  The content sorting might identify and show all Yellow belt content that the reader has not yet seen.

Prioritizing by Novelty: Sorting to Sample

While sorting is generally thought of as involving either ascending or descending order, publishers can also sort items in a statistically random order. This ensures that items presented are unique each time a page loads.

Random sort offered by a content management system. Source: Webflow
Random sort offered by a content management system. Source: Webflow

For audiences, random sorting provides novelty, offering something that may not have been encountered previously.  Random sorting and selection can make content viewing more interesting provided the item pool represents content of potential interest.

Random presentation of content can be used to discover if certain content receives greater than expected attention.  Publishers might discover through random promotion of content that audiences are interested in topics that previously did not receive much attention when prioritized by frequency of views.

Prioritizing by Relationships: Sorting to Profile and Evaluate

Sometimes audiences need to sort content to see the relationships between items.  One example would be to see what’s more general and what’s more specific.  For example, Wikipedia uses a hierarchy based on categories, subcategories, and pages.  The entry for a category will be broader in scope than an entry for a page that’s not a category.

For many topics, audiences understand which items are broader than others.  But for more specialized fields, automated sorting of topics from broader to narrower is useful.  Suppose someone encountered content relating to enzymes.  They see content on the following topics:

  • Acid preparations
  • Digestives
  • Betaine hydrochloride

The list has no order.  Unless the reader is a specialist, they would not know which topic is the most specific.  The sorting order from broader to narrower would be Digestives > Acid preparations > Betaine hydrochloride.  Hierarchies provide context for the content, indicating what is background and what is detail.

Websites typically present hierarchies to audiences as an input into a task to complete.  The website will require audiences to assess visual relationships in a menu, and select the narrower option in a manual process of “drilling down”.   Alternatively, publishers can incorporate such sorting into an automated presentation of content, where the content order is predetermined for the audience.  Two common patterns are to show broader topics followed by narrower examples, and to show a narrow example then present the broader topic it represents.  Instructional content often utilizes non-visible, programmatic hierarchies to guide presentation of content, to ensure comprehension, or to encourage the review of key concepts.

Nested sorts involve sorting on two or more criteria, such as sorting on a qualitative category and a numeric value together.  They are difficult for users to specify themselves, so are best offered pre-packaged.  Nested sorts are useful for dynamic content that will change frequently.  PolitiFact, the Pulitzer-Prize winning website, rates statements by politicians according to their veracity.  A nested sort allows the audience to see how many statements by a politician were associated with different categories of truthfulness:

  • True
  • Mostly True
  • Half-True
  • Mostly False
  • False
  • Pants on Fire!
Nested sort of statements made by Tim Kane. Source: PolitiFact
Nested sort of statements made by Tim Kane. Source: PolitiFact

Automated Editorial Sorting

Content designers and content engineers should consider how computers can order lists to deliver the greatest audience benefits.  This approach can be described as automated editorial sorting.  It is automated, in the sense that a computer algorithm performs the sort without requiring user interaction.  And it is editorial in the sense that prioritization delivered by the sort reflects a judgment concerning what information is most valuable to highlight.

Sorting should not be treated as generic functionality that can be applied indiscriminately to any kind of content.  Sorting  should provide context for audiences. To be valuable, sorting should surface the content that audiences consider to be their highest priority.  It is not enough to give audiences tools to dig out that information themselves.  Audiences expect publishers to anticipate what they need, and present content to them in a well ordered manner.

— Michael Andrews

I recently visited the Smithsonian’s American History Museum to see an exhibit on food in American culture.  I noticed a Tappan microwave oven in an exhibit case, the kind of microwave that was in use during my early childhood.  If I ever needed evidence that I’m getting older, it’s seeing something from my childhood in the Smithsonian’s collection.  My family didn’t own a Tappan microwave, but I recall a neighboring family did.  When it came to microwave technology, my family wasn’t what, in today’s parlance, would be called an early adopter.

We take microwaves for granted today, but in the early years of microwaves they were exotic.  They were radically different from conventional ovens, and expensive: originally over a thousand dollars.  Selling something so “disruptive” to families required making them seem enticing, simple, and idiot-proof.   The product needed to promise to be easy, and deliver on that promise.  We all want to feel competent, even when using a microwave oven.  We don’t want exploding liquids or gooey muck being our payback for committing to a new technology.

In addition to its historical cultural significance to the Smithsonian’s curators, this particular model was also notable for an unusual feature not normally seen on ovens of any kind.  At the base of the microwave was a drawer that contained recipe cards.  I started to wonder if the designers included the recipe card drawer as content marketing to get hesitant shoppers to buy the microwave, or as product content designed to make sure owners get full satisfaction from their decision.

Early microwave with recipe drawer at the base
Early microwave with recipe drawer at the base

Content marketing and product content are two widely used terms that are sometimes applied to similar circumstances.  Are they distinct ideas, do they overlap, or are they fundamentally the same thing?

Let’s consider another example that’s more current.  Last week I got a sample of shampoo to try out.  Unlike the normal shampoo I use from the same brand, this shampoo involved two parts.  That doesn’t sound too challenging: I just needed to figure out which part to use first.  As I’m about to step into the shower, I open the package and see instructions.  Fortunately they weren’t long, as I wasn’t wearing my eye glasses at this point.  I can see the instructions mention the phrase “apply vigorously”.  Every time I’ve ever read instructions for shampoo or any other soap they implore me to apply the stuff vigorously.  The instructions seemed to convey no information worth noting.  However, at the end of the instructions is a call-to-action telling me to go to a website to watch a video that provides more detailed information on how to use the product.  I suppose some people have waterproof tablets to watch videos in their showers these days, but I again am not an early adopter in this area.  A week later, I have half a container of Part Two left over, while Part One is finished.  I still have not watched the video.

Is the video for the shampoo content marketing encouraging me to try the product, or product content telling me how to use the product?

In the view of some people, trying to make a distinction between content marketing and product content is counterproductive.  They will recommend integrating the pre-sales and post-sales experiences.  Many people who develop instructional information for products argue that this content is increasingly important to customer purchase decisions.  I agree that many synergies are possible between content focused on pre-sales needs, and those focused on post-sales needs.  But I don’t believe we can yet declare that distinctions between pre- and post-sales content have disappeared.

Historically, there was a clear division between content to support marketing and content to support product use.  Marketing content made people want the product, while support content told people how to use the product.  The terms content marketing and product content have emerged over the past decade to address new priorities.  Products and services can involve a growing number of features that consumers expect will work together to solve their high level problems and make their lives more enjoyable.  Consumers expect proof for outcomes promised, and to understand differences between choices offered.  Content marketing focuses on promoting the value of using a product or service in the context of the customer’s life situation, instead of making vague promises or touting meaningless advantages as was traditional in marketing content.    Product content highlights choices and options available, instead of having a remedial focus as customer service content historically has.  Both content marketing and product content aim to be useful to customers, but they still have distinct roles.

Content marketing is still largely focused on pre-sales, or in encouraging repeat sales.  Content marketing collateral is generally distributed and accessed separately from the product or service it concerns.  Product content — any information relating to specific decisions customers must make relating to product features — will frequently occur after the purchase, or at least very near the time of purchase.   Often, product content is embedded in the product itself, rather than being accessed separately.  In the case of services, product content is often integrated in smartphone apps that let customers use the service, and choose options.

Two critical questions face corporations today:

  1. When is the content accessed?
  2. Where is it accessed?

When and where content is accessed has become more murky because sales is increasingly a process, rather than a discrete event.  In the past, the period before the sale, and after the sale, were distinct.  Today, sales is an ongoing process of evaluation.  Companies may sell platforms on which to sell additional products and services, such as when Amazon’s Kindle displays ads for book titles it promotes.  Customers need to configure products prior to purchase, and may reconfigure them after becoming a customer. Many digital products are sold as services that have a limited duration, and must be renewed.  Many products are sold on a trial basis, where customers can try before they commit to buying.  A growing range of content can be embedded in product user interfaces or service apps, but often companies need to rely on email and web channels to communicate, educate, and complete transactions.  The product is not always the ideal channel for the audience to consider the content.

These questions don’t have predefined answers.  They require thinking deeply about the ultimate purpose of the content.  Even if content can support multiple goals, helping existing customers use a service while encouraging them to expand their usage, it doesn’t follow that all these goals be given equal emphasis.  When the same content seems like it exists to serve several different purposes, it can confuse both audiences, and stakeholders in organizations.

Let’s return to the example of the video explaining the shampoo.  I initially wasn’t aware the video existed.  The content wasn’t in the right channel for me to access it when I became aware of it.  I wasn’t clear if it was promotional content, or truly instructional content.  I didn’t know if I needed to see it before using the product, while using the product, or perhaps after using the product.

The content’s purpose also impacts how organizations divide responsibility for the content.  Who was responsible for the video, marketing or customer service?  Sometimes it’s not obvious who should own the content, because organizations can’t dictate to customers what to do.  I routinely get a message from a cloud service that I’m approaching a storage limit, and can buy more storage.  But I may wish instead to learn how to reduce my usage of storage, rather than hear about how I can get more of it.  I’m annoyed that I seem to be hitting the limit, since I’m not aware I’m using the service that much.  This is a common situation, where companies look to up-sell at a moment when customers are starting to doubt the value of the service itself.  There’s a mismatch of views about the purpose of content needed.

When designing content, companies must always be clear about the customer’s purpose.  Even though good support content can increase customer loyalty, support content is not the same as marketing content.  Customers have different purposes when looking at marketing content and support content.  They want it at different times, and often through different channels.  Both content marketing and product content are becoming more user focused.  These content types are inter-related and should be coordinated.  Yet content marketing and product content still serve distinct roles, and it’s important to offer the right details at the right time in the right channel.  Be wary of those who repeat the slogan that all content is marketing content: they are likely to deliver the wrong content to audiences.

— Michael Andrews


Road trip: The Amalfi Coast & lower central Italy

Buongiorno! It's time for an epic adventure through one of the most beautiful countries in Europe: Italy! You'll experience ancient Rome, the stunning Amalfi Coast and plenty of idyllic villages and towns along the way.
Duration: Min. 2 weeks
Countries: Italy

This road trip will take you on a spectacular journey through the beautiful landscape of central Italy. Especially the Amalfi Coast will leave you speechless with it's spectacular scenery. Oh, and as you know, Italy has pretty damn good food too.

Getting there: The easiest way to start your road trip is to fly in to Rome. Rent a car in the airport and get ready for a stunning adventure going southwards.

Suggested Route:
Rome - Naples - Sorrento - Capri - Positano - Praiano - Amalfi - Ravello - Salerno - Bari - Termoli - Pescara - Rome

Even though the trip starts in Rome, you shouldn't be visiting the city before the end of the trip. You don't want to bring your car into Rome.

Spend the first day in Naples in search of the perfect pizza. If you need a coffeine rush, Napoli is famous for it's (strong!) coffee as well. Head towards Sorrento where we recommend that you stop for a hike up the legendary volcano Mt. Vesuvius. You should also visit the ancient city of Pompeii - a UNESCO heritage site that was buried in ashes during a massive volcano eruption from Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Make a stop in Sorrento - the homeland of the infamous Limoncello. The hills are packed with lemon trees that bright up the already spectacular scenery. A good tip is to spend a day or two in Sorrento, and take the ferry out to the island of Capri. From there, join an excursion to go see Grotta Azurra (the blue cave). The blue color is amazing.

The Amalfi Coast:
Sorrento marks the start of the Amalfi Coast, and along the beautiful scenery you'll find several idyllic coastal towns with an atmosphere you won't find many other places.

KILROY pro tip: Don't miss Positano, Praiano, Amalfi or Ravello along the Amalfi Coast. Those are some of the absolute highlights in this area. Positano has a cute city beach, but if you walk a short kilometer along the pathway from the city beach, you will arrive to a nicer and more secluded beach, away from all the hustle and bustle down by the town promenade. Also make sure to check out Villa Rufolo in Ravello which hosts concerts through the summer on a scene built out from the cliffs well above sea level.

The Amalfi Coast officially ends in Vietri Sul Mare and if you continue around 10 km east you'll find yourself in Salerno. A cozy little town that offers great seafood and historical buildings. Pay a visit to the Duomo and Castello di Arechi from which you get a great view over the bay.

After crossing the country you'll arrive in Bari situated on the coast facing the Adriatic Sea. Take a walk along the port of Bari, enjoy the beach, get lost in the old town (Citta Vecchia) or experience the sacred Basilica San Nicola.

Continue north to Termoli where you'll enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of this little town. Termoli has a nice beach and some quality restaurants. Don't ignore Isole Tremiti - two small incredibly beautiful islands only a short boat ride from Termoli.

The last stop before heading back to Rome is Pescara. Take a walk on the recently built Ponte del Mare - a large modern looking bridge hanging above the port of Pescara. Enjoy some nice seafood at one of many seaside restaurants and go for one last swim before big city life in Rome is on the menu.

Drive to the airport and drop off your car - you don't want to bring it into Rome! Hop on a bus or a train to the city center and explore the ancient landmarks of Italy's capital. Rome probably needs no further introduction, but the Colosseum and the Vatican are obvious highlights of the city though.

Total distance: 1092 km

Does this road trip sound tempting?
Contact us!


Speech & Language Concerns

It is common for my students to experience speech and language concerns in addition to stuttering. According to Kenneth J. Logan, Ph.D., it may be that families of children who have additional concerns are more likely to seek speech therapy. Dr. Logan reports that studies have discovered up to 63% of children identified as stuttering also evidence co-existing impairments of language and/or speech sound production. Even children who appear only to stutter may have other subtle difficulties. "Children who stutter also seem to take longer than nonstuttering individuals to plan syntactic information...there is growing evidence that children and adults who stutter have difficulty executing language-related tasks, particularly difficult or demanding ones, as efficiently as people who do not stutter." For more information, visit http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad7/papers/logan7.html to read Logan's article, When Children Who Stutter Present Co-occuring Speech-Language Disorders: Some Clinical Considerations.

Designing speech therapy activities becomes more complex when the SLP needs to keep in mind a student's articulation, phonology, or language concerns. Traditional stuttering therapy already requires that she create engaging activities that involve speech and language simple enough to increase fluency. When a child has additional concerns, Logan suggests that she has 3 choices:

1. treat both the stuttering and speech/language issues simultaneously

2. treat the stuttering and other issues in a cyclic fashion - treating only 1 issue for a set period of time, then switching to another issue for a set period of time, etc.

3. treat each speech/language concern in sequence - remediating one communication issue first before moving on to another

"Research has repeatedly shown that fluency, articulation, and language skills are interrelated. For instance, the syntactic complexity of a sentence affects how fluently children speak and how accurately they produce consonants. So, regardless of which intervention approach is selected, SLPs need to have a keen sense of how difficult a particular articulation, fluency, or language target is." Logan offers some advice, but allows for the SLP's discretion. The SLP may have a personal preference or collaborate with family and other professionals in this decision making process.

Literacy is one issue I've encountered repeatedly in my practice. I have included many literacy based activities in a casual way, from letter identification all the way up to analyzing narratives at the high school level. The American Speech Language Hearing Association produced a Position Statement in 2001 stating that SLPs "play a critical and direct role in the development of literacy for children and adolescents with communication disorders." Published Guidelines, Technical Report, and Knowledge and Skills documents describe the SLP's scope of practice in the area of literacy. The interested SLP can purchase an ASHA Professional Development course entitled Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists With Respect to Reading and Writing in Children and Adolescents (ASHA Self-Study 7421) for a detailed introduction to this area of practice.

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Pediatric ENT

Tongue-tie (Ankyloglossia)

What is Tongue-Tie?

There is a small band, called the frenulum, below the tonue that attaches your tongue to the floor of the mouth. If the frenulum is short or tight it prevents the tongue from moving well, the tongue may not be able to protrude past the lips, may have a heart shape when stuck out, may not be able to touch the roof of the mouth, may have difficulty moving side to side.

What problems does tongue tie cause?

In infants failure to move the tongue adequately can cause feeding difficulties, problems latching on, painful breastfeeding.  In older children and adults, tongue tie can cause speech problems, especially articulation of l, r, t, d, n, th, sh, and z sounds.  The tongue may able to compensate and there is no guarantee that infants with tongue tie will have speech difficulties later.

How is tongue tie treated?

Tongue-tie surgery is a simple procedure. For very young infants (less than six-weeks-old), it may be done in the physician’s office. General anesthesia may be recommended when surgery is performed on older children. Surgery entails dividing the band (frenulum).

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Monday, 8 June 2015

The spirit of rebellion feeds on the desire for independence from God

The spirit of rebellion who works through the doctrine of "rights" feeds on the fleshly desire to be independent from God. Independence from God is to disagree with God with anything He says or does.  It is what satan seduced Adam and Eve into doing - into redefining evil.

The doctrine of "rights" precisely works through this fleshly desire to be independent of God. It establishes a standard by which the acceptability of the welfare of humans is determined by what humans demand, not by God's righteous decrees.

The doctrine of "rights" is a product of the "enlightenment" era which was hostile against the ways of the true Church. It was a backlash against the Church's authority, which is ultimately a wicked rebellion against God. Hatred and rejection of the Church is hatred and rejection of God: He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me (Matthew 10:40).

The Church was seen by the "enlightenment" philosophers as backwards and bad for they were carnal and sought independence from God. This is precisely what the spirit of rebellion seeks to stir up the people to do. He did this through the doctrine of "rights".


Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Gender and Prestige Bias in Philosophy Job Hiring

1. Introduction: Of the various issues in the philosophy profession, it is widely agreed that the most serious issue concerns the job market and job hiring, and the problems facing those who fail to get an academic position, such as a research-only post-doctoral position or a tenure-track position. A post-doc means several years of pure research opportunity, with no teaching or administration obligations. A tenure-track position brings job security, along with some teaching responsibilities, but these are normally reduced for the initial period and only in one's specialized areas.

Those unable to obtain either a tenure-track position or a post-doc often end up in adjunct positions, with no job security, poor pay and exploitative teaching workloads: e.g., teaching four or five different courses each semester. Adjunct and temporary teaching positions are often for a few months or for a year, and therefore the person (and their family) may have to move from one location/town to another to find work. For many in this position---even some having a strong publication list---there is no escape and it can be career-ending. A few survive this route and are able to catch up with the lucky ones that got post-docs or tenure-track positions.

2. Data on philosophy job hiring: Data was collected a couple of years ago by Dr Carolyn Dicey Jennings, who placed the raw data in a number of spreadsheets. The dataset used for this blogpost used to be here and concerns philosophy job hiring in 2012 and 2013. This data now seems to have been moved and replaced by data pertaining to 2014 (this has not been examined).

3. Data Analysis:[*] The data examined relates to:
The publication patterns and prestige standing of their PhD granting department for the cohort of those hired during 2012 and 2013 into tenure-track and post-doc positions from no prior position (those with prior positions were filtered out).
This data reveals two statistical biases and an intriguing negative correlation:
  • Women hired had published less than men did, in fact about half as much.
  • Having a prestigious background---for example, a PhD granted by a high Leiter-ranked department---benefits jobseekers.
The data therefore suggests two statistical biases in philosophy job hiring: a gender bias towards women and a prestige bias against applicants from departments with lower prestige ranking. Below the data is summarized in the two main charts below. As mentioned, all the data refers to the cohort of those hired in the job hiring rounds of 2012 and 2013, from no prior position.

Some further analysis of the statistical significance of these difference is also given below.

4. Distributions of hired applicants with respect to number of publications: The first chart below shows the proportions of those hired against their number-of-publications, with two data series (one for women, one for men). The total sample sizes are as follows
Total sample size = 311.
Number of men = 211.
Number of women = 100.
These are not tiny samples, and are large enough to draw reasonably valid conclusions. Here is a brief summary:

The first main finding is that, by and large, men publish more than women do:
  • The average publication rate for women hired was about 0.8.
  • The median number of publications for a woman hired was 0.
  • The average publication rate for men hired was about 1.5.
  • The median number of publications for a man hired was 1.
The chart below shows the proportion of those hired as a function of their number of publications. The relevant data is this:

In particular, the column for "0 Publications" shows that a majority (54%) of women hired had no publications, as compared with 40% of men.

This is Chart 1:

For comparison, the publication data for the whole cohort hired in 2012 and 2013, without filtering for priors is as follows (N = 498 hired):

As can be seen, the mean is 1.86 publications per hired applicant. Naturally this is higher than the means observed for applicants hired from no prior positions.

5. Distributions of hired applicants with respect to number of top 15 publications: One can redo the calculations based on the highest ranking philosophy journals. In September 2011, The Brooks Blog reported the top 15 Philosophy journals, as follows: Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Review, Philosophy & Phenomenological Research, Nous, Mind, Ethics, Philosophical Studies, Synthese, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Analysis, Philosophical Quarterly, American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophers' Imprint, Monist, Canadian Journal of Philosophy.

The results for publication rates in the Top 15 journals are even more striking. Here is the data table:

6. Statistical Significance: Are these differences statically significant? We test the null hypothesis: “there is no gender/being-published association”. I.e., that the probability of being unpublished is independent of gender. The 2x2 contingency table is this:

We use a chi-squared test with Yates correction and (two-tailed) P value. There is one degree of freedom. The results are:

This means that we reject the null hypothesis at P = 0.0316. The association between being (un-)published and gender is statistically significant.

The reader may check this for themself at this website, and here is the online computation:

A similar calculation restricted to publications in the Top 15 journals yields even stronger conclusions. Here is the online calculation, which the reader can check for themself:

The null hypothesis ("no correlation") is rejected now with P-value around 0.001. In other words, if the null hypothesis is true, the probability of seeing this observed data is tiny: 0.1%.

7. Prestige Bands: Next we examined the effect of prestige on publication averages. The Leiter PGR 2014 rankings were used to assign prestige bands to 94 Philosophy departments, based on the PGR mean scores, which run from 0 up to 5.0. These were coded as "Leiter prestige bands" A to F follows:
A: 4.5-5.0
B: 4.0-4.4
C: 3.5-3.9
D: 3.0-3.4
E: 2.5-2.9
F: 2.0-2.4
G+U: 0.0-1.9
(The lowest band is G+U, meaning "G" + "unclassified". It is not clear what the data in this band reveals; it may be unreliable because so many lowly departments are unclassified and hires also do not get announced prominently.)

There are 22 departments in the high prestige bands A-C:

These bands A-C were aggregated and called "Alpha". The bands D-F were then aggregated and called "Beta". I.e., "Alpha" stands for departments with PGR means 3.5-5.0, and "Beta" stands for those with PGR means of 2.0-3.4. (As noted, data relating to the G+U band may be unreliable)

8. Prestige Groups and Publication Averages: One can compute the average number of publications for the bands listed (grouped by gender):

Excluding G+U band, both data series (men and women) show a negative correlation between prestige and average publication rate:
Pearson correlation for prestige vs publication average: r = -0.3 (men)
Pearson correlation for prestige vs publication average: r = -0.4 (women)
One can also compute the publication averages for the whole cohort for the seven bands. The results are:

The G+U band complicates this. Removing this band again shows a negative correlation (r = -0.2). However, including this band, shows a positive correlation (r = 0.2).

Finally, one can compute the publication averages for "Alphas" and "Betas". These figures are:
Alphas: 1.09
Betas: 1.55
Here again, publication rate and prestige are negatively correlated, with lower prestige applicants hired having published more than higher prestige applicants hired (but note the complicating G+U band).

9. Gender-Prestige Groups and Publication Averages: Combining the two prestige bands, "Alpha" and "Beta", with two gender groups, "Male" and "Female", one obtains four Gender-Prestige groups amongst those hired. For each Gender-Prestige group amongst those hired from no prior position, one can compute their average number of publications. The results are:
Beta-males: 1.7
Alpha-males: 1.3
Beta-females: 1.1
Alpha-females: 0.6
Below is Chart 2, along with the sample sizes:

This rather vividly indicates that prestige negatively correlates with average publication rate on being hired: less prestigious hires have published more (in both gender groups, "Alphas" publish less than "Betas").

10. Prestige/Gender Boosts: Finally, can we in some way quantify these biases? There is no simple statistical measure of the degree of prestige or gender "boost" involved in job hiring from no prior position, other than mere taking the ratio of the publication averages involved:
Prestige boost = (av. pub rate for betas)/(av. pub rate for alphas) = 1.55/1.09
Gender boost = (av. pub rate for men)/(av. pub rate for women) = 1.45/0.81
The results are:
Prestige boost = 1.4
Gender boost = 1.8
These "boosts" are rough indicators of the extent that one currently "gains" on the job market from either higher prestige or being female. So, the prestige boost of 1.4 indicates that, on average, a Beta prestige applicant needs to publish 40% more than an Alpha prestige applicant does, to reach the same position. Similarly, the gender boost of 1.8 indicates that, on average, a male applicant needs to publish 80% more than a female applicant does, to reach the same position.

  • Against lower prestige male applicants.
  • For high prestige female applicants.
As noted above, the correlation amongst those hired between being unpublished and gender is statistically significant.

12. Discussion: The first point to make is that the indicator of academic merit used here is based on an applicant's number of publications on being hired into their first academic post, from no prior position. One might perhaps try to argue that this is too crude an indicator, and that there are other factors relevant to merit, which may even outweigh a good publication record (transcript; reference letters; submitted work; research-talk; teaching experience). However, to try and argue that publication count is not a major indicator of academic merit is not a reasonable position to take.

The existence of prestige bias---hiring preference for higher prestige applicants---may in itself not necessarily reflect a non-meritocratic bias. It is prima facie plausible that higher prestige does correlate with merit, given that graduate selection/admissions is itself, or aims to be, meritocratic in structure. But how does prestige correlate with merit/ability? How does the prestige rank of one's PhD environment correlate with other crucial factors, such as having access to influential mentors, advisers and letter-writers, who can not only provide very high level research help and guidance, but also bring access to the relevant "network" of inter-linked people in the profession? Women from lower prestige departments have published at roughly double the rate (mean of 1.1) as women from high prestige ones (mean of 0.6). Are high prestige women really that much more gifted? The "prestige boost" given above for the whole cohort is 1.4.

The negative correlation of prestige and publication average is interesting. Perhaps high prestige graduate students are more complacent about finding a position, while lower prestige graduate students know they may have to work even harder, and publish, to catch up with those at more prestigious departments. This explanation is, however, highly speculative.

The existence of gender bias---hiring preference for women over men---is, however, not accounted for as a proxy for merit, unless one assumes that being a women correlates with higher ability. There are several other explanations for the pro-female gender bias in junior job hiring. First, perhaps women are given preferential treatment qua women. In other words, held to lower academic expectations than men are, much as there is sometimes "racism of low expectations". One might call this "White Knight" discrimination (though the discriminators are both male and female). Second, perhaps women are less inclined to submit work for publication for other contextual reasons (e.g., perhaps women are more risk-averse, or less confident). That said, the "gender boost" towards women, for the whole cohort, is higher than the "prestige boost".

Finally, it is worth pointing out that affirmative action in employment matters, in connection with a protected characteristic, is in any case illegal. Employers must hire on the basis of merit, and not gender. In the United States, such a practice would contravene Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1991). In the United Kingdom, it contravenes The Equality Act 2010.

[*: The statistics for those hired from prior positions was filtered out, using the data marked by Prof. Jennings as "1 = priors", indicating, it is assumed, those who had held a prior academic position. Some of the findings were previously published at a philosophy "metablog". Those were passed on in comments by a commenter at Prof. Brian Leiter's blog. As with almost any dataset, there is an occasional error. However, the data has been checked twice for errors, and the overall findings seem to be reasonably robust under corrections of known errors and small variations in the prestige rankings of the departments. If a reader notes that some data has been incorrectly transcribed from Prof. Jennings' 2012/2013 spreadsheet, they might mention this at Prof. Leiter's blog.]


Municipalities Need to Monitor & Respond to Changing Conditions

On days like today, I’m reminded of why the Pacific Northwest is a top tourist destination during the late spring and summer. Unlike 10 years ago, however, downtown Seattle remains lively through the evenings. This means more street traffic as well as a lot more foot traffic exists in many neighborhoods in and near the city’s core.

Street injuries arise when a municipality fails to monitor traffic/volume changes

Cities need to monitor changing conditions in traffic volume.

Increasing traffic volumes. A new mall near what used to be a subdued area of downtown. A new school with kids now crossing a busy street by the school. Municipalities need to monitor and respond to changing conditions, as what was once a safe street may have grown hazardous.

An unsafe condition develops when the lack of gaps in major street traffic creates frustration for turning vehicles or pedestrians attempting to cross the street, with people forced to use their bodies to challenge oncoming traffic to slow or stop.

Do cars turning left to get to the new mall need left-turn channelization and a left-turn green arrow?  Have there been left-turning collisions (failure to yield right of way) because there simply were inadequate gaps in traffic to safely turn within a reasonable waiting period? Is a pedestrian-actuated traffic signal needed to provide protected crossing for students?

Has a street become so busy that a pedestrian refuge island is needed halfway across?

Vehicle counts and collision data are just facts that governmental entities need to stay on top of, to identify needs for corrective measures.

Well-qualified transportation engineers are familiar not only with the tools available to state and local road departments for solutions, but they are also aware of applicable standards, warrants and requirements for the safe operation of streets and highways.  A violation of those standards, warrants and requirements, without a valid excuse, is evidence of negligence.

Why care about highway design?

Highway Design Injury Attorney Seattle/Hoquiam Keith Kessler at SKWC

"Highway Design Liability" - Keith L. Kessler (04/2010)


Where do I get VirusScan?

Downloading and installing McAfee VirusScan

Why are the version numbers different from what I expect?

BU distributes McAfee VirusScan Enterprise Edition, which is slightly different from VirusScan Home Edition. The version numbers are different too. The version we distribute is the most recent version of VirusScan Enterprise.

Mac users: The McAfee anti-virus product for Mac has traditionally been called Virex. Later, it was rechristened VirusScan for Mac.

How do I update VirusScan virus definitions?

Recommended: BU’s VirusScan is already pre-set to do an automatic update daily.

If you have any problems updating, go to the VirusScan Console under Tools->Edit AutoUpdate Repository. At BU we generally use the NAI (default) http and ftp repositories, so if you see any other listings from former schools or workplaces there, see if you can delete them. If you do make a change, reboot your machine. If the update problems continue, you will need to try an uninstall and reinstall as described below.

Alternative: If AutoUpdate is failing, manually download the definition updates.
This link is for the enterprise version of McAfee, which is the version distributed by BU.

(If you need updates for the home version, you must go to McAfee’s home user website)

How do I adjust the protection and blocking in VirusScan?

Adjusting the blocking in McAfee VirusScan

VirusScan is pre-configured to block certain types of programs; McAfee tries in this configuration to strike a good balance between safety and convenience. If you need to, you can adjust the programs that are blocked.

What if I have problems updating my version of VirusScan? (error messages about Frameworks, for example)

Note: if VirusScan has installed fine but you are having problems updating your virus definitions, please see the “Updating VirusScan” section above.

If you see any error messages when you try to install VirusScan, ensure other Anti-Virus products included other versions of McAfee are uninstalled.


The Banishing and Blessing Intensive Spells are detailed at

Bohemian Lightworker Doing the Admin in the Garden ♡

#MixedMediaArt #picsart edit #selfie #Selfieoftheday

Psychic Attack | Magickal Protection | Abuse & Manipulation | Karmic Reversal Spells | Narcissistic Personalities | Ego Projections & Negative Intentions

The most requested spells and rituals I do for people are Reversal spells. By a long way this type of working (either as a preliminary preparation for other work or as a solution specific working), is what people need help with when they know that spiritually or psychically something is off…even if they’re not sure what it is.

Psychic attacks using black magick are extremely rare. But you need to consider what magick really is before understanding how it can help in other kinds of abuse where natural means don’t necessarily provide some levels of security.

Magick is defined as the art of causing change to occur in accordance with the will. So every act of will (conscious or unconscious) is an act of magick.

When we focus on an intention we begin to take actions and prepare ourselves for a desired situation or outcome to manifest and the Universe backs us up. When our higher will is engaged in seemingly mundane activities, we are reinforcing our intention with action and changes can occur more quickly because we are literally aligning ourselves with our goal.

This isn’t to do with good or evil…it’s more to do with aligning our actions and emotions with our thoughts and intentions. Magick is the way I do it but it does take training and commitment to learn. So I provide magickal services for others as part of my work. The opposite state would be a state of resistance, restriction and disparity. Anyone in that state would be a negative influence on others. Whether by their projected intentions (ego centred consciousness always looks outside for blame or cause), cruel actions, verbal abusive, emotional abuse or physical abuse.

With the outward projection of the ego centred person’s intentions, they are not just capable of psychic attack (abuse on a spiritual level), but they don’t have the self awareness nor the impulse control to prevent it.

This type of psychic attack is extremely common and often the victim questions the reality of it or tries to reason it away by thinking maybe if they were more professional, less sensitive, more confident…(etc)…they would feel differently. It can feel like an act of personal defeat to admit that we are being affected by someone spiritually. It means acknowledging a level of violation we haven’t acknowledged before. It can make a person feel powerless, paranoid and defeated. All of the things that can leave us more vulnerable to this kind of abuse.

Sometimes lifestyle or self esteem issues can mean we become attractive to people who are narcissistic. Times of change or emotional turmoil (a bereavement, change in job or house move), can leave us more vulnerable to the proffered “shoulder to cry on” and also mean we’re in a mental state where apparent encouragement and reassurances are taken “to heart” in ways we might not usually.

Narcissists often display extremely intense acts of apparent kindness, love or attention that a vulnerable person may be drawn to. It’s a phenomenon called “love bombing” and it’s actually a method of manipulation and control. It keeps the victim assured any misgivings they have are rooted in their own issues…not able to pinpoint exactly what feels “off”.

Once an element of control is established, the narcissistic personality requires validation and attention and conformity of the “victim”. The transition can be so subtle that unless you’re looking for it, you don’t notice it.

It’s perhaps worse when the narcissistic personality shows up in a scenario where acknowledging the problem is even more difficult – a work colleague, a client, a family member for example. Narcissists are always parasitic in nature and we may feel it on a spiritual level (intuitively), even while we believe that all is well on other levels.

A narcissist will tend to claim to have the best or worst of everything…childhood, health, luck etc. Their “story” will be compelling. They will usually describe themselves as a victim in some way. Their story may seem too good to be true or too bad to be true. But they lie as easily as they tell the truth and they’re generally pretty plausible. At first.

So the abuse begins right off the bat…manipulation is abuse. So whether they use lies or half truths to convince you of their story (often tailored to the victim by getting allowing you to talk enough about yourself they can tell you exactly what you want to hear). This is second nature to them. They learn to fake empathy by emulating others so they tend to get worse in the sense of being more manipulative or controlling over time. But better at doing it discreetly and fooling others.

Living a lie isn’t a consequence of their actions…for them it’s the method of getting what they need. They may project confidence and self assurance, but they are desparately needy. Craving external validation which they will pursue by any means necessary. It’s not a problem to them. They don’t have a conflicted need to balance their selfishness to assuage their conscience. They are very much stuck emotionally in the area of ego development – they may hide it well but inside it’s all turmoil, drama and obsession. And they feel entitled to have whatever they want. They are often intelligent and have a charming way about them, but scratch the surface and there is a sense of entitlement that trumps everyone else. They don’t have friends so much as pawns.

They are only interested in your interest in them…and how much of that they can acquire. Feeding their ego is like an addiction and they may be addicts for similar reasons. That’s not unusual but it is usually something you find out later.

One good way to assess whether someome is potentially a narcissist, is by repeating their story as they provide it so they are compelled to repeat it. Some may feel more confident because you’re showing an interest. Then deliberately misunderstand something with a statement “but you said you weren’t interested in….” – questionning them usually gives a glimpse of their true nature and anything they can perceive as criticism they will perceive as criticism. It’s likely they will expose a chink in their armour if you do this.

Other ways to do it is to pretend a third party would be critical of them rather than you. And see how they react. Criticism is never well received. At the very least they will seem “strangely” defensive or dismissive. If they think you are on their side and a third party isn’t you may get an insight into their attitude to people who might criticise them. Whether it’s their lifestyle, their past, the colour of their socks…the criticism test is revealing!

Another exposition method is easier later (the more involved you are with them, the more of a minefield their intolerance becomes) offering deliberate compliments and seeing how they react. They may go into an elaborate self effacement speech. They may take on a glow at the “win”.

In fact…look out for their tendency to offer speeches. It’s a tendency to prevent you interrupting. Which belies a tendency to decide what you can say and when.

If you’re dating one…this tendency is one of the weird things you may or may notice. If they think you are about to speak your own mind (rather than theirs), they may react with a kiss. One that ends the conversation. Even if you get the vibe something is up, it’s hard to admit to yourself that a kiss might have been an action of control – to literally shut you up. That seems crazy. Because they are crazy. And unfortunately, not in a way that will change or can be helped by therapy.

The safest way to not be stung by a narcissist is to never get involved. Unfortunately they are drawn to similar traits and some people end up feeling they’re magnets for this type. Literally watch your body language – they will be. If you naturally are a quiet person with a naturally shy or understated demeanour, they may assess at first sight that you’re possibly introverted, passive and insecure. An “easy mark”.

Not all narcissists present all the same red flags. But because their consciousness is so ego centred, they have similarities. And without fail are a negative and destructive influence with a potential for abusive behaviour that’s guaranteed.

There are so many variables in any situation. Any relationship or connection. And the Karmic bond formed with people we mix with, that magick can’t just erase the symptoms; it’s a case of removing the connection to prevent the problem recurring. In long term relationships this may take time because the narcissist will harbour hope they can change your mind and is unlikely to take no for an answer.

So, reversal spells work from the inside out; magick is a process of “reweaving” that makes it less likely the problem will return. A narcissist is waging their own personal psychic war because they project their intentions so fluently (like a kind of psychic incontinence similar). But the reweaving on a psychic level creates an environment that means they will tend to stop considering you a prospect. If it takes a few reversals, it’s because over a period of time their intention may undermine yours. But magick can be greatly empowering in protecting you and preventing their projected need. Which may be to keep you in their life as an enemy if they can’t keep you in it as a friend. It’s most important if using magick to resolve this kind of attack, you don’t allow them a foothold in your actions (no matter how they try to achieve that), because responding to them increases their influence on you and would restrict a successful disconnection to prevent continued harm or disharmony to manifest as part of their “campaign”.

So if you find yourself a victim, don’t become disheartened! Whatever practical steps you take can be supported with magick. It gives you a choice and empowers you to deal with the situation.

So you can see, the idea that someone’s doing black magick and attacking you is nonsensical! Trying to use magick in this way would be against the natural current; it would be like making water flow up hill!

But psychic attack is a common problem. It doesn’t involve someone performing black magick rituals or sticking pins in a voodoo doll or anything so elaborate. It can deliberate but also sometimes unconscious. And the more ego centred the perpetrator is, the more important it is to disconnect fully.

A Karmic Reversal spell is a safe and effective way of preventing the hindering influence of another or others from causing you any harm or restriction on an energetic level. It works from the subject out and simply put it dissolves any negative karmic bonds – reverses negative intentions, speeding up the karma if necessary for full resolution or simply dissolving negative connections if that’s more effective.

It’s really a way to bring harmony to your situation instead of deflecting or ignoring it. In many senses you can consider this kind of magick a healing process; healing by dissolving negativd energetic connections and allowing you to move forward.

You can find more information on how magick works on my website

Magick to Invoke Options, Opportunity & Freedom | Clearing Stagnation | Removing Restriction | Eliminating Limbo

A combination ritual for a client inspired me to blog about the potential for a Tantric Shamanic Ritual Intensive.

All situations are unique, but this particular intensive would be a useful fit for a variety of options. With TS rituals they can be easily tailored for a perfect fit for the client too.

The Loki TS ritual is relatively new to Maya Magickal, and makes a great start to this intensive by removing blocks on all levels – even helping the client to move past blocks that are rooted in their own limited beliefs or hindering effects of their behaviour.

A blocked situation can feel insurmountable. You may that sense of limbo where you feel bound up. Or feel like all options are beyond you because of internal or external restrictions…fear of success can generate massive scale inertia in some people and magick can provide a catalyst to move beyond it.

This is also useful if you need to uncover the source of (for example), harassment, aggravation, deception or some other external influence that is creating a state of stagnation or limbo. The sense of being in the dark and waiting for something to happen can be debilitating and depressing.

The Loki working, followed by the Heimdall working and finished with the Odin working (which can be tailored for your particular circumstance) can be worked to expose the truth (internally or externally) and then resolve the situation by invoking “Justice by Right”.

The final focus being on achieving a sense justification which puts you back in the driving seat of your life with a greater awareness and renewed confidence.

The Loki ritual was originally created for the purpose of unravelling a stagnant situation.

Chaos is sometimes considered a negative state – but Chaos is a state where change is possible – inevitable in fact; stagnation is a negative state; it blocks change and it can persist and affect many areas of your life as your consciousness conforms more and more to the restrictive view.

So invoking an element of Chaos opens possibilities! It’s very effective. And as with all TS workings, the spell works from the inside out. So change from within and is manifested externally as life falls in with the new perspective. It means the positive effects are cumulative and built on a solid foundation. This is true of all the TS rituals I provide. They are extremely comprehensive.

Magick works in real time but because of the focus of this intensive, I recommend it worked on consecutive Saturdays as the Saturn influence is useful ♡

The Killing Moon Karmic Reversal 30 Day Ritual Intensive special offer is still open. I am accomodating as many people as is viable…I can take two more. So the option will be taken down tomorrow night. If I take too many people in a cycle the daily working for all of them could end up tying up hours of each day.

If I work a double KM cycle I do the daily working split into two or even 3, to keep my schedule flexible. The cycle begins on the 12th. But the special offer for both a single working or a triple, ends in 24 hours. Info about the KM and

If you’re not on the Mayastar & Maya Magickal mailing list but would like to be, please email me xx

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by Jessie Funchion, MS, RD, LDN

As of now, the research tells us that yes, the consumption of soy foods is associated with health benefits, including but not limited to:

·       reduced risk of breast cancer

·       risk of recurrence of breast cancer

·       decreased LDL, total cholesterol and triglycerides

·       reduced blood pressure

·       decreased risk of heart disease

According to the United Soybean Board, 81% of consumers view soy as healthy, which means about 19%, or 1 in 5 people view soy as unhealthy or neutral.

What’s in soy?

Soy is a higher-fat legume that contains about 27% carbohydrate, 33% protein and 40% fat. It is a complete protein and is easily digested.

Doesn’t soy contain phytoestrogens?

Soy contains both phytoestrogens and anti-phytoestrogens. What this means, is that soy contains a chemical structure that looks a lot like human estrogen. This fact has led people to fear that the consumption of soy can affect estrogen levels in humans, thus making them at higher risk for estrogen sensitive diseases like breast cancer. We now know that this is not true. These compounds sometimes act like estrogen in the body, but other times they exhibit effects that are opposite to estrogen.

From the American Institute for Cancer research Website:

Because soy contains estrogen-like compounds, there was fear that soy may raise risk of hormone-related cancers. Evidence shows this is not true.

A good comparison is the sterols in animal vs. plant foods. Cholesterol in animal foods is very chemically similar to phytosterols in plant foods, but as we all know, they exhibit very different effects in the body. Just because a molecule is similar, does not mean it will produce the same results in the body.

How much soy do I need to reap the health benefits?

Dr. Messina, recommends 2-4 servings per day or about 25g or soy protein a day, while the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends a moderate amount of soy per day, which is 1-2 servings. 1 serving = 1 cup soy milk, ½ cup edamame, or 1/3 cup tofu.

How about soy and thyroid health?

Soy can interfere with absorption of thyroid medication (as does calcium, iron, dairy, etc.), so the recommendation is to separate levothyroxine from soy by about 4 hours. Whether soy itself can interfere with thyroid function, or even contribute to hypothyroidism, is a hotly debated topic. Dr. Messina’s research purports that soy is not currently contraindicated in the hypothyroid patient, nor should it impact the thyroid health of healthy individuals. I would love to see any articles for or against soy and thyroid health!

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) website is a good resource to provide you with the latest research.

Practical ways to increase soy in diet:

·       Try unsweetened soy milk instead of cow’s milk or almond milk

·       Snack on edamame or add a handful to salads

·       Try tofu scramble instead of scrambled eggs

1)    To Soy or Not to Soy: Effects of Soybeans on Breast Cancer, Menopause and Heart Disease

2)    Top Five Soy Myths

Is soy healthy?

Category: Uncategorized


O Super (hu/wo-) man #3: Joey Holder, ‘Illumina’

DATA BANKS of bio-genetic, neural and mediation information about individuals are the true capital today, as the success of Facebook demonstrates at a very banal level.  Data Mining includes profiling practices that identify different types of characteristics and highlights them as special strategic targets for capital investments. (Braidotti, The Posthuman)

As Alexander R. Galloway and Eugene Thacker claim, the human Genome Project and the notion of a genetic code helps to understand “life” at a molecular level:

“Biomolecules were quickly understood to be informed matters, containing either directly or indirectly the information needed for carrying out cellular processes. In molecular biology and genetics, such processes are commonly referred to as “biological control.”

Illumina borrows the name from a company devoted to the development of genetic data mining technologies, in order to improve research in health treatments and cures.

O Super (hu/wo-) man is an exploration through the sphere of non-things: things that are not necessarily embodied. “Things that can not be held in the hand” *, such as information and data, experiences, movement, language and disembodied things in general. Data is now exploited as any other material, it is addressed as an actual physical material and turned into a valuable entity, even as a currency. Data is overloading hardware while burning energy in remote datacentres, it generates wealth through untiring correlations and targeting potential buyers or criminals through algorithmic analytics, while bringing a ridiculous pace to our lives and a new understanding of what survival means. Machines are bodies and bodies are machines and this human-machinic interaction keeps increasing, in order to help us understand and to grasp the world we live in and to shape our perception of it. Therefore, so much tracking, processing and building of new realities, while boundaries get more and more blurred, begs the question: what is progress after all? This project is about embodiment, disembodiment, language, abstraction, delusion and progress and the absurd and paradoxical relationship between culture, nature and technology.

This journey would be developed in four episodes, where artists Eloïse Bonneviot, Joey Holder, Janina Lange and Marija Bozinovska Jones will bring their own views in relation to those subjects. Their propositions will run one after the other and will at times overlap with each other in the space.

#1: Eloïse Bonneviot: 29th of April and 16th of May (preview and performance)
Eloïse Bonneviot will present a performative installation based upon her project ‘Thinking like a Mountain’, where she gathered information about accidents happening on mountains and turned this into a videogame. This next level of the project will consist in a performative embodiment of the immaterial side of Thinking like a mountain, a physical enactment of the information.

#2: Marija Bozinovska Jones: 2nd of May (one night event)
Within the frame of Bonneviot’s installation, Marija Bozinovska Jones will offer new non-self-centered ways of quantification and enhancement with superfoods.

#3: Joey Holder: 8th of May (exhibition preview)
Joey Holder will present an immersive ‘liquid environment’ based upon expeditions to the oceans in order to unlock its secrets and contribute to human knowledge and development, while making visible a hidden side of the world which is of great importance.

#4: Janina Lange: 19th of May (preview and performance)
Janina will track the movement of some performers with a kinect infra red motion capture camera while screening them through two channels. This information will be stored and edited in situ in the aftermath of the performance, upload the sorted elements to stock platforms and put in circulation, creating new digital entities living by their own.

–Project curated by Gabriela Acha with the support and collaboration of Green Ray.

*Vilem Flusser


Bass Transformational Leadership Theory Explained

Bernard Bass developed the transformational leadership theory in 1985 as a way to describe the psychological mechanisms that are used by leaders. His theory is an enhancement to the original transformational leadership theory that was first proposed by James Burns in 1978.

Bass made this contribution to the theory because he was interested in the level of influence that a leader could exert on their followers. Leaders have followers because there are specific qualities in the leader that create trust, such as honesty. When those qualities are found in high levels, then there is a direct association with the levels of loyalty that followers have for their leader.

A leader, therefore, transforms their followers by displaying their own leadership qualities. It goes beyond being a role model because the leader encourages changes at the individual level.

Bass found that these 4 elements were part of true transformational leadership.

1. Individual Consideration
The leader must place an emphasis on what a member of their group needs. Leaders then take on the specific role that is necessary to create motivation at the individual level to encourage productivity. That might mean serving as a mentor or a facilitator. It may require a leader to be a teacher. In some instances, it might even mean a transformational leader must give someone time and space to work independently.

2. Intellectual Stimulation.
Transformational leaders recognize boredom when then see it. To keep people challenged, it becomes necessary to ask people to contribute to the group. Learning often leads to independence, which challenges the prevailing order of things. A leader utilizing this element will often be seen as a teacher, but in reality, they are facilitating change at the individual level.

3. Inspirational Motivation.
A leader cannot inspire people to follow unless they are willing to provide a goal or a vision that can be reached. There must be a legitimate reason that encourages people to work hard at achieving a goal. People move forward naturally to better their own lives. It is a transformational leader that can encourage a group of people to move forward toward mutually beneficial success.

4. Idealized Influence.
A transformational leader can never exist within a comfort zone. They must keep striving to do better and be better. In an idealized situation, the leader will become a role model for everyone on their team. Pride, enthusiasm, and trust will be constantly enhanced so that the team can continue to be inspired.

To help leaders understand where they fall on the spectrum of transformational leadership, Bass created the MLQ, or multi-factor leadership questionnaire. This questionnaire looks at active and passive features of leadership to provide insights to those who complete it honestly.

Pros and Cons of the Transformational Leadership Theory

Using the Bass transformational leadership theory means having precise information about a personal leadership role. It is a chance for leaders to assess their specific qualities in a safe environment so they can begin to improve their ability to influence others.

Over time, that allows a leader to know how their audience can be transformed. In doing so, a positive impact is made on the life of the leader and the lives of their followers.

Individual results will always vary when testing is involved. The transformational leadership theory isn’t fact. It is an idea that can help people gain a deeper insight into themselves, but the results must be accurate to do so. Some leaders struggle with providing an honest answer on an evaluation such as this, which means skewed results will be produced.

A skewed result provides false information that could potentially harm the leader and the followers they are attempting to inspire.

It is also difficult to have any metrics when determining if a transformational leadership style is actually effective. To what degree should followers be transformed by a leader? Who would assess the transformational process? How long would this transformation last?

Can followers who are transformed by a leader maintain the positive benefits they gain if they were to switch leaders in the future?

The 5 Personality Traits Identified in Transformational Leaders

Anyone can become a transformational leader.

Bass, Burns, and others who have researched this subject have come to identify specific factors that increase the likelihood of certain individuals becoming a transformational leader. Each element may have a different level of emphasis on an individual level, but all 5 are typically present in leaders identified with this trait.

1. Extraverted. Transformational leaders build networks and relationships with great ease. They use components of their personality to engender trust in their followers to lead a team forward in support of an organization, agency, or team.

2. Neuroticism. A leader with transformational attributes experiences high levels of anxiety. They are the first to see themselves in a role that is anything but transformational. Many have low levels of self-esteem and may wish to have themselves excluded from any responsibilities that come with their position.

3. Openness. Transformational leaders use every resource available to them as a way to improve the standing of the team and themselves. That means these leaders are open to the wisdom and experience that other people can provide. This gives the leader a chance to see the “big picture” when everyone else is focused on the “small picture.”

4. Agreeable Nature. A transformational leader is concerned about the welfare of their followers. They tend to have an agreeable nature because that makes them more approachable. There may be elements of charisma within the leader’s personality as well.

5. Conscientiousness. Transformational leaders know where they want to go and are willing to work hard to get their team there. Although this attribute is often associated with transactional leadership, a transformational leader can inspire others by rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty with everyone else.

When these attributes come together in the right way, positive outcomes are more likely to occur. Transformational leaders typically see better positive outcomes when compared to other leadership styles as well. That is why leaders should focus on this leadership style whenever possible, even if it feels like it isn’t well-suited to them at times.

In the past, transformational leaders were found in politics, at work, and in the classroom. As we advance into the digital age, we’re finding that transformational leaders must also be highly organized leaders. They must balance high data loads, communication needs, and the company mission while still having the same empathy and concern for their followers.

A transformational leader provides an opportunity to make the world a better place. It occurs on the individual level quite frequently, but if you watch carefully, you’ll also see these leaders transforming the world into a better place.


Making your own meals is a challenge… really?

I started reading the Good website because someone at work suggested it… and I’ll admit, there is some great stuff that’s relevant to what I do…

And then there is stuff like the June Make Your Own Meals Challenge.

What. The. Fuck. ?!?!

So… seriously, I am baffled.

Really? There are people who need to be told that cooking for yourself is not only healthier and cheaper than eating out (or worse, eating out of a box) it’s also fun, empowering, and a great creative outlet?

How is it, in this day and age of digital foodies everywhere, there are young adults who need to be instructed to find their kitchen and use it for something other than microwaving cold pizza?

Which brings me back to thinking, “I really need to finish that learning to cook cookbook!”


'Largest no-reserve car auction' to be held in US

2015-06-26 11:39:15

Renowned British auction house Coys is bringing its 500 lot, first-ever US car show to Houston, Dallas

Coys, one of the pre-eminent British auction houses, is bringing its first auction to the US on September 19.

Over 500 automobiles, all from a single private collection, will appear in the sale at Houston, Dallas. And 200 of them will be for sale with 'no reserve' price whatsoever.

This will therefore be the largest no-reserve car auction in American history.

Automobiles going under the hammer will include a 1953 Jaguar XK 120 Drophead Coupe, a 1985 Lamborghini Jalpa, a 1958 Porsche 356 Coupe and a 1916 Packard Twin-Six Runabout, according to Coys press release.

European cars include a 1967 Mercedes Benz 280Sl Convertible, a 1985 Lamborghini Jalpa, a 1980 Maserati Kyalami coupe, and a 1958 Porsche 356 Coupe.

"For a number of years we have been exploring the possibility of opening up a USA operation to complement our international operations in Germany and Italy, which are fully developed," said Chris Routledge, Managing Director of Coys, in a statement.

"The consignment of such a substantial 'no reserve' collection of predominantly European historic cars gives us great impetus and energy and we look forward to further sales in the USA."

Coys are running the auction in conjunction with the Leake Auction Company.

Coys first US sale will be held on September 19 at the Houston Reliant Centre, Number 1 Reliant Park, Houston, Texas, 77054.

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EU funding

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, University of Winchester should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear University of Winchester,

Can you please supply, under the Freedom of Information Act, a breakdown of all EU funded projects that have occurred within the remit of Winchester University from 2000 to 2016, together with details of the overall cost of each project as well as the amount of EU funding each project received.

Can you further supply details of any projects that are being carried out, or are planned to take place, which are being funded by the EU or where an application has been made for funding, irrespective of whether the funds will be granted in view of the EU referendum. Could you provide me information of other bodies/institutions in the Winchester area that would hold this data?

Yours faithfully,

Susie Nicodemi

Looking for an EU Authority?


Yoga exercises. Secrets of Physical & Mental health

“Yoga” is a Sanskrit word that has two meanings described a ” unity ” and “discipline”. Yoga exercises build unity and discipline of body making concentration that turn out and reveal invisible forces of mind. It is an ancient art that began in the Indo-Pak subcontinent about six thousand years ago. People used to meditate in order to make their daily lives good and healthy. but over time, the system began to decline in yoga exercises due to changes in life.

Yoga help create a balance between the body, mind and soul and connect it with nature. It is somehow termed as meditation which bring mental and physical comfort to the body. Yoga and meditation practices were initially started in Indo-Pak subcontinent by Buddhist, followers of the Hindu religion and Jainism. There are several types of yoga including the

  1. Raja yoga
  2. The Jnana yoga
  3. Bhakthi yoga
  4. Karma yoga
  5. Hatha yoga

Every year on every 21st June “International Yoga Day” is celebrated to raise awareness globally.

Yoga is a science which is used for the betterment of mind and to live a happy life. Though, Initially it was started and practiced by Buddhist, Hindu and Jain followers, but it doesn’t belong to any particular religion. Its a human practice, used to discover their physical and minds secrets. People from all over the world had and are getting substantial health benefits from such practices.

Yoga is a very useful exercise. You can do it any time of the day you want. There is no restriction of age. People from any age, can do it easily to have a healthy life. Any person, whether a child, a young person or an old person, when performed yoga regularly, never prone to physical discomfort of any kind.
You don’t need to have a particular place for exercise. You can do it in any place such as living room, bedroom or any footpath or a park. You can also use open space on your floor or ceilings. Moreover,  yoga does not require any special clothing, shoes or any kit which is required for any other exercises or sports.

Children or college students can reduce the daily stress that they face during their study time. Today, boys and girls are particularly more engaged in the use of social media and electronic devices. Due to which they suffer too much stress and anxiety along with physical complications. It is important that students make normal yoga exercises as a habit in their daily lives. It will improve their physical and mental health which will have a positive impact on their academic activities too.

Yoga exercises are more useful for all old aged women and men. As these physical and mental exercises help them physically and also mentally to fight the feeling of being isolated. Moreover, They can also be saved from a variety of disorders, they suffer in the old age.

In addition, those who lack the patience or temper to bear or suffer from any psychological disorders, can be helped through yoga to eliminate and replace their negative thoughts with positive one.

YogaPracticing yoga has many benefits in improving our health, as it keeps us away from diseases like headache, fever, flu, asthma, etc., and helps in making us fit, flexible, and fresh for the whole day. Doing the twelve posture series called Surya Namaskar (Sun salutation), Pranayama (breathing exercise) and some joint movements can help overcome these diseases.

Yoga is the medicine for nearly every problem. As you practice it, it does not only help you to improve your physical body but also helps in maintaining your inner peace and relaxing your mind. Thus, there is nothing that yoga will not help. Moreover, it is not just a one day practice; it’s a lifelong commitment. The more you practice it, the more you are benefited. If you practice it daily you will enjoy a peaceful and healthy lifetime. In the present Yoga has just become a type of physical practice but it is lot more than that.

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