Why Church?

Why Church?

Throughout the Bible, it is evident that the church is established by Christ, loved by Christ and part of God’s plan for humanity. God is building His Church throughout the earth and each local church is a part of His work globally. We believe, according to the scripture, that God establishes His Kingdom on earth primarily through His Church, and that every believer should be involved in the local church. We gather as a church weekly because of God’s promise in Isaiah 43, “They that gather together before the Lord shall have their strength renewed.”

Three main reasons for being involved in a local church:

1. Jesus said that it is He who builds the church.

2. Jesus also refers to His church as His “bride” which shows the great love and affection He has for the church.

3. Jesus is also called the head of the church.

“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.” – Colossians 1:18 NLT


What does endocrine and nervous systems - Medical Terminology(Adaptive*)

The endocrine and nervous systems work together like interlocking super systems to control many intricate activities of the body. Together they monitor changes in the body and in the external environment, interpret these changes, and coordinate appropriate responses to reestablish and maintain a relative equilibrium in the internal environment of the body (homeostasis).

The endocrine system is made up of a network of ductless glands, which have a rich blood supply that enables the hormones they produce to enter the bloodstream. (See Figure Locations of major endocrine glands.) Hormone production occurs at one site, but their effects take place at various other sites in the body. The tissues or organs that respond to the effects of a hormone are called target tissues or target organs.

In contrast to the endocrine system, which slowly discharges hormones into the bloodstream, the nervous system is designed to act instantaneously by transmitting electrical impulses to specific body locations. The nervous system controls all critical body activities and reactions. It is one of the most complicated systems of the body. The nervous system coordinates voluntary (conscious) activities, such as walking, talking, and eating, and involuntary (unconscious) functions, such as reflexes to pain, body changes related to stress, and thought and emotional processes.

Locations of major endocrine glands.

Locations of major endocrine glands.

Medical Terminology(Adaptive*) Topics


 Ati Maier ::: Welcome
International Group Show

by the Guidecca Satellite

featuring the Space Rider

Opening: Saturday May 4.2019
Fondamenta San Biagio 796
30133 Giudecca VENEZIA

Group exhibition

The Case Histories/ Responsa

Pierogi Gallery, Saturday May 11, 2019

"Twin Stars"
September 2018:
Participating in Martin Wilner’s CASE HISTORIES with a daily message, the works will be exhibited in 2019.

Making History: The Case Histories began in 2012 as an evolutionary expansion of the scope of Martin Wilner's decade-long calendar-based work process. He began to invite a wide array of subjects for a monthlong correspondence based art process wherein daily messages were translated into his daily visual art practice. Subjects to date include filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, composer John Zorn, curator Isabelle Dervaux, architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the space scientists of the SETI Institue, and a wide array of visual artists and psychiatrists.

With his background in both the arts and psychoanalysis, this process allowed for the introduction of the basic principles of psychoanalytic theory directly into the work practice. The works document the situational relationship that develops over the course of each month. The results are a nontraditional form of portraiture. Much as an MRI image of the brain represents a sagittal slice of a brain in space, these works reflect a state of mind fixed in a discrete period of time.

the SPACERIDER rides again,
this time he follows the line of the former Wall through BERLIN

film shoot 15-22.12.2018

Preview Screenshots

BERLIN, Lindenstrasse 34
November 23.-December 15.,2018

A new "Ephemera" review is up now

Opening Friday, November 23., 6 - 9m

Jochen Hempel Gallery, Berlin, is proud to present “The Encounter,” a new multimedia exhibition of works by the artist Ati Maier. As has been her custom for over two decades now, the show features paintings by the artist on paper, still photographs, and a live-action video. Each element coheres around Maier's inimitable penchant for creating imaginary worlds.

The paintings, for instance, have a distinct design sensibility, particularly in their use of shapes which prompt known imagery from the farthest corners of the cosmos. The artist's rugged line-work is often suggestive of the lunar landscape as we know it from pictures of the various moon landings of the 1960s and '70s. Her swirling primary colors and clashing hard-edge angles are reminiscent of recent telescope photographs of galaxies being born of dark matter and gaseous constellations. Reminiscent; but not exact, as Maier's work is the product of a meditative action painting technique, not that of an illustrative practice. If the works capture the essential building blocks of the universe it is because Maier mimics the spontaneity and passion that lives in all things rather than current scientific images. For her the very fact that we each have a brain means we can travel across the cosmos.

One particular new painting from this show—that of an orb-shaped tapestry of interwoven colours set against a solid backdrop of warm orange titled “Bloodmoon 2018”—captures the sentiment perfectly in that nothing in the known natural universe looks quite like this (save for art). In that way, Maier has not so much captured a planet as herplanet, and her planet modulates, undulates, and pressurizes with the tension of shape and color which define its limited parameters. They must somehow work together, click into place, so as to fit into the space they are given in Maier's world.

In the works of the great mystics—the kabbalists and alchemists of the Middle Ages—the tree, or “Tree of Life,” is emblematic of psycho-magic (as filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky calls it). It represents all those unconscious voices in one's family and culture which call to us in dreams and contemplation to transform them from their current state into a golden state of being through our mystical powers. Maier's planetary and lunar forms work similarly in that they allow the outline of nature to suggest allegory and transformation. This has increasingly become the case since Maier began making live-action films beginning in 2013 with The Map Is Not the Territory (her first). It features the artist disguised as an interstellar traveller which she calls the “Space Rider.”

The Space Rider wears a white, orb-shaped helmet, like that of an Apollo-era spaceman or some alien character in a science fiction film; yet the likeness to popular culture and technology ends there. Maier's interest in the American space program is limited by the fact that the Space Rider's means of transportation is not the refrigerator-like spaceships of NASA, c. 1969, but rather the medieval emblem of European enchantment: the horse. Its head is also covered by an orb-shaped helmet which means the two of them—the humanoid and the animal—ride mostly without the use of sight. They must trust each other as they traverse known landscapes such as the Western hills of Wyoming, the cluttered, slogan-filled streets of New York City, and the barren flatlands of Indian territory in New Mexico. Several of these performances feature in the current exhibition—both in completed videos and in still images.

Unlike the paintings, the videos contain strong narrative references, the inevitable byproduct of linearity in filmmaking. Yet despite such grounding in contemporary media tropes there remains, as in the paintings, a spontaneous aspect which overrides any attempt to impart storyline or topicality on the films. The Space Rider and its horse plod ahead, encountering people and cultures of various types, yet as they do, something mysterious occurs. Our minds leave the horizontal plane of forwards and backwards, of differing identities, of good v. evil, and enter the realm of the vertical—of the place where we all share the same mysterious universe. And it is here that we cry out in one voice to fill us with something greater than the thing which divide us.

Brian Chidester


What is DevOps

DevOps is a set of techniques that allows to automate processes between development teams and IT professionals so they can build, test and make software releases quicker and in more reliable way. The concept of DevOps in based on building a culture of cooperation between teams that traditionally worked separately. Among its advantages - the increased level of trust, faster software releases, rapid elimination of critical problems and readiness for unscheduled work.

DevOps is a culture, direction, philosophy

This is a strong partnership between development and operational teams with an emphasis on restructuring the way of thinking, more productive cooperation and closer integration. Agile-methodology, continuous delivery, automation is united in DevOps to improve the efficiency of teams, accelerate the introduction of innovations and create additional benefits from cooperation for organizations and customers.

DevOps is not:

prescribed process

How it works?

This relatively new philosophy in IT sphere is based on continuity with 4 basic principles:

Continuous testing
and quality control

Continuous feedback
and optimization

To achieve DevOps basic goals automation is used. It is also very important to standardize the development environment. Improved workflows are achieved through more efficient change tracking, document management and an established error reporting process that provides developers the tools for environment monitoring and understanding IT infrastructure as more software-oriented. DevOps methodology helps to achieve business goals in record time, reduces risks and improves the product quality. The continuity principle is observed in all its aspects and at all development stages and eliminates lack of interaction between developers, IT professionals and quality control engineers.

Any company can benefit from DevOps!

Who needs DevOps methodology?

The standard answer to this question will be companies that need to release new versions of their product very often. This is due to the fact that DevOps methodology contributes to the software development and delivery continuous process.

Complexities arise when insufficient attention is paid not only to how the product should be developed but also to the form in which it should be provided to the customer. When there is no attention to details, DevOps can be a rescue.

Applying to DevOps principles can be a profitable solution for any project, but in case of complex projects their profitability and success often depend on right application of this methodology. The more components they have to integrate (for example, in case of large enterprises systems with many modules that must function as a single unit) the more benefits they can get using DevOps.

Startups also can find DevOps methodology profitable because it is better than others can help to reduce costs and accelerate a development of a quality product. This will help to enter the market at the right time.

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Bulgarian language explained

States:Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and among emigrant communities worldwide
Region:Southeastern Europe
Speakers:8[1] –9[2] [3] [4] [5] million
Fam4:South Slavic
Fam5:Eastern South Slavic
Dia1:Bulgarian dialects
Agency:Institute for the Bulgarian language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Институт за български език при Българската академия на науките (БАН))
Lingua:53-AAA-hb < 53-AAA-h
Mapcaption:The Bulgarian-speaking world:

Bulgarian, (Bulgarian: български bǎlgarski, in Bulgarian pronounced as /ˈbɤɫɡɐrski/) is an Indo-European language, a member of the Southern branch of the Slavic language family.

With the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union on 1 January 2007, Bulgarian became one of the official languages of the European Union.[6] [7]

See main article: article and History of Bulgarian. One can divide the development of the Bulgarian language into several periods.

Modern Bulgarian was based essentially on the Eastern dialects of the language, but its pronunciation is in many respects a compromise between East and West Bulgarian (see especially the phonetic sections below). Following the efforts of some figures of the National awakening of Bulgaria (most notably Neofit Rilski and Ivan Bogorov),[8] there had been many attempts to codify a standard Bulgarian language; however, there was much argument surrounding the choice of norms. Between 1835 and 1878 more than 25 proposals were put forward and "linguistic chaos" ensued.[9] Eventually the eastern dialects prevailed,[10] and in 1899 the Bulgarian Ministry of Education officially codified[9] a standard Bulgarian language based on the Drinov-Ivanchev orthography.[10]

See main article: article and Bulgarian dialects. The language is mainly split into two broad dialect areas, based on the different reflexes of the Common Slavic yat vowel (Ѣ). This split, which occurred at some point during the Middle Ages, led to the development of Bulgaria's:

The literary language norm, which is generally based on the Eastern dialects, also has the Eastern alternating reflex of yat. However, it has not incorporated the general Eastern umlaut of all synchronic or even historic "ya" sounds into "e" before front vowels – e.g. поляна (polyana) vs. полени (poleni) "meadow – meadows" or even жаба (zhaba) vs. жеби (zhebi) "frog – frogs", even though it co-occurs with the yat alternation in almost all Eastern dialects that have it (except a few dialects along the yat border, e.g. in the Pleven region).[12]

More examples of the yat umlaut in the literary language are:

This had implications for some grammatical constructions:

Shift from to Bulgarian is the only Slavic language whose literary standard does not naturally contain the iotated sound (or its palatalized variant, except in non-Slavic foreign-loaned words). The sound is common in all modern Slavic languages (e.g. Czech medvěd "bear", Polish pć "five", Serbo-Croatian jelen "deer", Ukrainian немає "there is not...", Macedonian пишување "writing", etc.), as well as some Western Bulgarian dialectal forms – e.g. ора̀н’е (standard Bulgarian: оране, "ploughing"),[13] however it is not represented in standard Bulgarian speech or writing. Even where occurs in other Slavic words, in Standard Bulgarian it is usually transcribed and pronounced as pure – e.g. Boris Yeltsin is "Eltsin" (Борис Елцин), Yekaterinburg is "Ekaterinburg" (Екатеринбург) and Sarajevo is "Saraevo" (Сараево), although - because the sound is contained in a stressed syllable at the beginning of the word - Jelena Janković is "Yelena" – Йелена Янкович.

Relationship to Macedonian

Until the period immediately following the Second World War, all Bulgarian and the majority of foreign linguists referred to the South Slavic dialect continuum spanning the area of modern Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia and parts of Northern Greece as a group of Bulgarian dialects.[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] In contrast, Serbian sources tended to label them "south Serbian" dialects.[20] [21] Some local naming conventions included bolgarski, bugarski and so forth.[22] The codifiers of the standard Bulgarian language, however, did not wish to make any allowances for a pluricentric "Bulgaro-Macedonian" compromise.[23] After 1944 the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia began a policy of making Macedonia into the connecting link for the establishment of a new Balkan Federative Republic and stimulating here a development of distinct Slav Macedonian consciousness.[24] With the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia as part of the Yugoslav federation, the new authorities also started measures that would overcome the pro-Bulgarian feeling among parts of its population and in 1945 a separate Macedonian language was codified.[25] After 1958, when the pressure from Moscow decreased, Sofia reverted to the view that the Macedonian language did not exist as a separate language. Nowadays, Bulgarian and Greek linguists as well as some linguists from other countries still consider Macedonian dialects as Bulgarian.[26] [27] Outside Bulgaria and Greece, Macedonian is generally considered an autonomous language within the South Slavic dialect continuum.[28] Sociolinguists agree that the question whether Macedonian is a dialect of Bulgarian or a language is a political one and cannot be resolved on a purely linguistic basis, because dialect continua do not allow for either/or judgments.[29] [30]

See main article: article and Bulgarian alphabet.

Several Cyrillic alphabets with 28 to 44 letters were used in the beginning and the middle of the 19th century during the efforts on the codification of Modern Bulgarian until an alphabet with 32 letters, proposed by Marin Drinov, gained prominence in the 1870s. The alphabet of Marin Drinov was used until the orthographic reform of 1945, when the letters Ѣ, ѣ (called ят 'yat' or двойно е/е-двойно 'double e'), and Ѫ, ѫ (called Голям юс 'big yus', голяма носовка 'big nasal sign', ъ кръстато 'crossed yer' or широко ъ 'long yer'), were removed from its alphabet, reducing the number of letters to 30.

See main article: article and Bulgarian phonology. Bulgarian possesses a phonology similar to that of the rest of the South Slavic languages, notably lacking Serbo-Croatian's phonemic vowel length and tones and alveo-palatal affricates. The eastern dialects exhibit palatalization of consonants before front vowels (pronounced as /ɛ/ and pronounced as /i/) and reduction of vowel phonemes in unstressed position (causing mergers of pronounced as /ɛ/ and pronounced as /i/, pronounced as /ɔ/ and pronounced as /u/, pronounced as /a/ and pronounced as /ɤ/) - both patterns have partial parallels in Russian and lead to a partly similar sound. The western dialects are like Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian in that they do not have allophonic palatalization and have only little vowel reduction.

Nominal morphology

Nominal inflection

There are three grammatical genders in Bulgarian: masculine, feminine and neuter. The gender of the noun can largely be inferred from its ending: nouns ending in a consonant ("zero ending") are generally masculine (for example, град 'city', син 'son', мъж 'man'; those ending in –а/–я (-a/-ya) (жена 'woman', дъщеря 'daughter', улица 'street') are normally feminine; and nouns ending in –е, –о are almost always neuter (дете 'child', езеро 'lake'), as are those rare words (usually loanwords) that end in –и, –у, and –ю (цунами 'tsunami', табу 'taboo', меню 'menu'). Perhaps the most significant exception from the above are the relatively numerous nouns that end in a consonant and yet are feminine: these comprise, firstly, a large group of nouns with zero ending expressing quality, degree or an abstraction, including all nouns ending on –ост/–ест -

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bulgarian.
  2. Web site: Bulgarian language. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. Columbia University Press.
  3. Web site: Rehm. Georg. Uszkoreit. Hans. The Bulgarian Language in the European Information Society. Springer Science+Business Media.
  4. Book: Strazny. Philipp. Encyclopedia of Linguistics: M-Z. 2005. Fitzroy Dearborn. 1579583911. 958. 1.
  5. Book: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica.
  6. Web site: Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006. Europa web portal. EUR-Lex. Official Journal of the European Union. 12 December 2006. 2 February 2007.
  7. Web site: Languages in Europe – Official EU Languages. EUROPA web portal. 12 October 2009. yes. https://web.archive.org/web/20090202112407/http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/languages-of-europe/doc135_en.htm. 2 February 2009. dmy.
  8. Michal Kopeček. Discourses of collective identity in Central and Southeast Europe (1770–1945): texts and commentaries, Volume 1 (Central European University Press, 2006), p. 248
  9. Glanville Price. Encyclopedia of the languages of Europe (Wiley-Blackwell, 2000), p.45
  11. Web site: Стойков, Стойко. 2002 (1962) Българска диалектология. Стр. 101. Promacedonia.org. 17 April 2010.
  12. Web site: Стойков, Стойко. 2002 (1962) Българска диалектология. Стр. 99. Promacedonia.org. 17 April 2010.
  13. http://www.promacedonia.org/jchorb/st/st_2_b_zap_0.htm Bulgarian Dialectology: Western Dialects
  15. Селищев, Афанасий. Избранные труды, Москва 1968.
  17. K. Sandfeld, Balkanfilologien (København, 1926, MCMXXVI).
  18. [Konstantin Josef Jireček]
  19. Stefan Verković, Описание быта македонских болгар; Топографическо-этнографический очерк Македонии (Петербург, 1889).
  21. Bernard Comrie. The Slavonic Languages, p.251 (Routledge, 1993).
  22. http://www.promacedonia.org/shklifovi/shklifovi_000_100.pdf Шклифов, Благой and Екатерина Шклифова, Български деалектни текстове от Егейска Македония, София 2003, с. 28–36
  23. Book: Clyne, Michael. Pluricentric Languages: The Codification of Macedonian. Walter de Gruyter. 1992. 3110128551. 440.
  24. Book: Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia, Volume 2. Cook. 0-8153-4058-3. 808.
  25. Book: Djokić, Dejan. Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918–1992. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. 2003. 122. 1-85065-663-0.
  26. http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=42 Language profile Macedonian
  27. Book: Poulton, Hugh. Who are the Macedonians?. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. 2000. 1-85065-534-0. 116.
  28. Trudgill. Peter. 1992. Ausbau sociolinguistics and the perception of language status in contemporary Europe. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 2. 2. 167–177. However, outside Greece, where the name of the language has been objected to (see Trudgill forthcoming), and Bulgaria, Macedonian's status as a language is generally accepted..
  29. Book: Chambers, Jack. Trudgill. Peter. Dialectology. 1998. Cambridge University Press. 2nd. 7. Similarly, Bulgarian politicians often argue that Macedonian is simply a dialect of Bulgarian – which is really a way of saying, of course, that they feel Macedonia ought to be part of Bulgaria. From a purely linguistic point of view, however, such arguments are not resolvable, since dialect continua admit of more-or-less but not either-or judgements..
  30. Book: Danforth, Loring M.. The Macedonian conflict: ethnic nationalism in a transnational world. Princeton University Press. 1997. 0691043566. 67. Sociolinguists agree that in such situations the decision as to whether a particular variety of speech constitutes a language or a dialect is always based on political, rather than linguistic criteria (Trudgill 1974:15). A language, in other words, can be defined "as a dialect with an army and a navy" (Nash 1989:6)..
  31. Web site: Leonard Orban. Cyrillic, the third official alphabet of the EU, was created by a truly multilingual European. europe.eu. 3 August 2014. 24 May 2007.


Monitoring & Evaluation: CBM

By now you must have gained a better understanding of community-based monitoring. It might appear confusing, but there is another type of monitoring that is also quite different from the first one. Yes, there is also monitoring of monitors, a kind of ‘meta – monitoring’ called monitoring and evaluation or M&E.

Monitoring and Evaluation is the collection, analysis and use of data to evaluate the effectiveness of programs. Monitoring and Evaluation are complementary, but different functions.

Monitoring  is the collection of information related to the progress of projects on a continual basis. In order to assess the progress of the objectives, we use indicators defined in the design phase of the program/project. Indicators can be qualitative or quantitative. Quantitative ones are easier to measure. For example, when CBM was established it was decided that 850 projects should be monitored over a 5-year period, 500 government officials would be trained, etc. It is easy to measure whether these objectives were achieved or not.

Evaluation is an objective assessment of the program in order to determine its effectiveness, impact and the sustainability of project interventions based on the project’s objectives. Basically, monitoring means visiting the project frequently, whereas evaluation is a less frequent or periodic practice. There are 2 types of evaluations:

Formative Evaluation is any evaluation undertaken before the end of the project. It is used to modify and improve the project, which can include revising or changing the methodology or objectives.

Summative Evaluation is performed at the end of the project and provides an overall summary of the achievements of the project. It is also referred to as an ex-post evaluation or impact assessment.

M&E helps to assess the program based on the program’s objectives, which also means that it informs managers and key stakeholders about the level of of progress made compared to what was planned at the beginning. It shows donors, stakeholders and partners that their funds were spent in an accountable and transparent manner. It also helps us be accountable and transparent to ourselves. It identifies successful strategies for implementing programs and projects in other contexts and countries. It is also useful for verifying and improving the program quality and management. M&E also includes modifying unsuccessful strategies. It is used to measure the effects and benefits of program and project interventions. Moreover, it helps the senior management to make decisions about the program in a timely manner.

M&E is important for CBM to determine whether its activities are proceeding according to standards and to determine if they are meeting the requirements of donors. It is also used to determine if  projects are monitored according to the guidelines; to assess whether the documentation required for CBM (like the number of times the project was monitored, the problems identified and addressed in the project, and completion reports) is completed. Lastly, it is used to simply verify whether the projects are monitored or not (checking the reports, the videos, etc.) and to measure the increased impact of CBM on the project. It is a way for us to check ourselves; It is a way to MONITOR THE MONITORS.

Every M&E is different and is specific to a program or project. Integrity Watch has its own internal, independent Monitoring & Evaluation unit. But often, organizations hire M&E specialists to independently monitor and evaluate their projects and programs. M&E should be never done by the same party who is implementing the project! As you might imagine, the project implementer would rather prefer to present his work in the best light possible. Therefore the implementer would not strongly highlight the challenges and the problems in the program.

One of the methods for doing M&E is spot checking, where in-depth information of a sample (of all the projects) is collected. For example, the Integrity Watch M&E unit often visits the province of Herat to evaluate the CBM program there:

2-QuoteOther methods include using a checklist which is a quick way to verify things, for example monitors use a Quality Control Checklist to determine the quality issues in a project. Another method is direct observation, which means that carefully watching and taking notes of how individuals work in a program, watching how trainings are conducted, how field visits are conducted, and how filing systems are arranged provides a lot of information for evaluating a program.

See for more information.

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Posts tagged with: Team

We are all stubborn.

What do you do now?  Who gives in?

Be careful with stubbornness.

Here’s where your roots should thrive…

Do you innovate or Discover? We all lead…What kind of leader are you?

If you have the perseverance to read this article, you will be able to identify which category of person you are. Do you have the mentality of innovation or discovery?

A flyover of the differences between the two are simply understood this way… In innovative ventures, there is the all important rule…and it is this…

That’s the code of the innovative organization. You follow the rules, restrictions, and systems, because we believe they’re up-to-date, effective, and correct, and that’s what makes us who we are.

In innovative ventures, obedience is its own reward, is required, and is prized.

Webster says that innovation is, “to make changes, or do something in a new way.” In Non-webster terms I would say it this way. Innovation is to take something old and make it useable in a new way. Innovation is reformation. Innovation is often the act of taking something that worked over there and adapting it, so it works over here in a better way than it worked over there.

Is this a bad thing? No. I’m not opposed to the product that innovation creates, I’m disturbed by what the innovation process does to the innovators.

To innovate something usually requires an attitude of, “needs improvement.” Such an attitude is not necessarily a bad thing. Great leaders have the ability to see what’s not working and make necessary changes. The tricky part is, an attitude of “that needs improvement” is usually preceded by an attitude of “I can do it better.”

It’s very difficult to be humble with an “I can do it better,” attitude, and the frustrating thing is, this naturally breeds arrogance.

There are some common errors that innovators make that create their own demise. The Wall Street Journal recently came up with a list of 5 commons mistakes of Innovators. I will give a brief description of the mistakes and if you want to read the full article you can go to this link and read the details.

The 5 common errors of Innovators…And I added a sixth.

1. You believe your own numbers and stats. You insist on “seeing the numbers” too soon and all you have to base your numbers on, is your current statistics, compared to your past.

2. The Success Trap. When a company gets success, it easily can focus on what they think is the thing that made them successful. This focus on “what got us here” causes a crowding out of other options, especially from new people that have joined you. This causes success fragility. In their book “In Search of Excellence,” by Peters and Waterman, the authors tell the fate of 43 companies recently leading the world that got caught in this trap. Today only 5 of those 43 companies even exist.

3. Believe they know the competition. The innovative company tends to make huge mistaken identity gaffs when it comes to identifying the competition. Ask the innovative CEO, “Who is your competition?” They will usually reply with the company that is most like them. The problem with this is that history proves that our greatest competitors usually come from a different angle. i.e. Shipping companies suffered from the steam engine, newspapers are in trouble because of the internet, watch companies suffer because of time being displayed on mobile phones.

4. Believe that because everybody had always done it this way, it is the best way of doing the next “new” thing. When America landed on the moon…Innovation built the rocket, the space suits, space food, etc. But innovation is not what Neil Armstrong used when he put his hand on the door hatch and opened the door to outer space to take his first step onto the moon’s surface. That was sheer discovery…no longer could innovation be used. Talk about a humbling moment.

5. Asking the customers for their opinion. The innovative company is really good at answering the questions that their non-customers never ask. The customers have already bought into the company. Why are we asking them what they want? It actually gets worse…Think about it, the company’s leadership team, that has innovated its idea from an old idea, is now sitting around the table making decisions based off of what has been done to try to keep going to next levels.

6. Stop taking real risks. Most innovative companies are led by people who ultimately are not risk takers. There is a difference between risk taking and calculated risk taking. Innovative Leaders are safe “risk” takers. They only take calculated risks with what they understand. The problem with this lies in the fact that if you are the company in the lead…which means nobody has gone before you on this journey…you can’t calculate what to do, because their has been nothing done before you to calculate. There is nothing to do but risk. Companies in the lead usually end up not being in the lead anymore, because the Leader ran out of ideas to innovate.

Innovation is good. Discovery is Great! Let’s break down discovery…
Webster says that Discovery is, “The act of finding or learning something for the first time.”

My heart beats faster, just after reading that definition. You’ve read the headlines…“Her research led to a number of important discoveries. Discovered a talented musician. Voyage of discovery. It was one of the most important discoveries in the history of _____________!”

Think of Lewis and Clark and their expedition of discovery. It required teamwork. It required admitting that they had no clue what they were going to really encounter. Discovery has a knack of showing all involved that they are not in control. Discovery forces all involved to admit this phrase; “I don’t know!” Therefore, discovery creates humility.

Here’s what is exciting to me about the key difference between innovation and discovery. I wrote earlier that Innovation breeds arrogance. What’s evident about discovery, is that it breeds humility.

An arrogant person thrust into an environment of discovery will be forced to become humble. Humility is born and bred in the middle of uncertainty and danger. Opening yourself or your organization to uncertainty and danger creates humility.

Discoverers have to rely on and trust each other. Which team would you rather work on? Innovation or Discovery? In his book, “Good to Great,” Jim Collins differentiates between Levels 1,2,3,4, & 5 leaders. Collins talks about how level 4 leaders and level 5 leaders can produce very similar results, but a key difference between a level 4 leader and a level 5 leader is humility or lack there of. Level 5 leaders always lead through humility. Level 5 leaders tend to lead companies with the reputation for being Discovery oriented. By the way, if you doubt you are a humble leader, then you are humble.

A good example of creating humility through discovery would be taking an innovative person, as described earlier, and put them in the front of a raft as everybody White Water Rafts down some grade 5 rapids. The typical innovative person will have their arrogance washed away (in this case maybe literally). This setting of discovery forces arrogance to morph into humility.

A quick comparison of Discovery and Innovation. Innovation focuses on the outcome and results. Discovery focuses on the cause and the behavior, while on the journey, no matter the end result.

When it comes to discovery, the most important things are not at the end of the Journey, its what develops and shapes along the journey that makes champions.

Discovery is all about the mentality of facilitating the progress and purpose of others. Discovery is fun along the way because of the thrilling unknown yet to be discovered, and it cannot be about you. It has to be about others, especially your teammates. This kind of work environment is thrilling.
The attitude of discovery has no silos among the team. Innovative environments create hierarchies and power pyramids and is led by bosses that control and measure according to a predetermined end result they will strive to achieve at all costs.

Discovery creates circles of people that honor and trust each other’s strengths. This silo-less discovery team, has a leader without a Boss mentality. The buck must stop somewhere, but the buck stops with the one who is the functional leader. A true leader is one who naturally facilitates the purpose and progress of all the others in the circle.

There is no “Boss Mentality” in the circle of discovery. Why? Because when you are out discovering and the “boss” finds himself in quicksand, the boss mode just got stuck. They are now the beggar, and now that they are helpless, depending on how they treated their “subordinates,” they might be left to die and it all be covered up as a tragic accident!

The Innovative Mentality is focused on the orgs final results and goals.

The Discovery Mentality isn’t focused on the organization as much as it focuses on the environment within the organization.

The Discovery Mentality is full of observation towers, not silos. It discovers from its own customer but is overloaded with interaction with the lives of others outside its own company…a team on discovery!

A company of discovery never polls its own, only interacts. You can’t poll something that is yet to be discovered and so the company of discovery is full of trial and error.

It has a culture of discovery and grace. How many times did Abe Lincoln fail? How many times did Albert Einstein fail? With unknowns around every corner, discovery keeps you and the team humble. It has a great sense of humor and often laughs at itself. It has a mentality of meshing and sharing with others. It has a trust in every individual in the company to utilize and expand on their own personal expertise and strengths. Team and Trust are a must in Discovery Companies. The company of discovery has an attitude of servant-hood and adventure and considers others better than self.
There is a fine line here. Its complex. Discovery companies will innovate because they didn’t have arrogance to breed from. Innovative companies rarely discover because they started with an attitude of arrogance.

My simple question is…which company do you want be a part of? Here’s what is awesome about companies of discovery. They never end. They continue to discover and adapt and discover into the future.

Companies of innovation sooner or later celebrate among themselves how they achieved their final result, they celebrate their first place status, because…they nailed their ultimate goal! Hip Hip Hooray….Hip Hip Hooray. Its at this Hip-Hip-Hooray staff meeting where they unknowingly signed the slow-death certificate. Innovative companies, in first place, have nothing left to innovate on, and these are the companies people talk about when they think back at what used to be amazing.

Innovation routes always have dead ends. Yep, I said it, always. Discovery routes may have cul-de-sacs, but cul-de-sacs and dead ends are very different, and it is measured out in arrogance or humility.

I by no means am an expert in this. I’m simply on a discovery journey.  I am thinking out loud.  I’d enjoy your comments and thoughts.  I’m still discovering what really works for me and its an adventure that is quite thrilling and very humbling.

During my Elders Meeting today…Renner Family Transitions…

March Madness! 7 Ways Basketball is like Life…

elite basketball

I love March Madness!  I love the game of basketball, but you’ll rarely see me taking the time to watch any games unless it’s my kid’s games or it’s officially March Madness!  March Madness is when the phrase “Game On!” truly incarnates into the 10 young men that step on the NCAA basketball floors all over the USA.  It is the time of year when the Elite players gather in 5’s and live out other vital phrases such as, “Give it your all!” — “No Regrets!” — “No Retreat!” — “Bring it!” — “No do-overs!” — “Go Big or Go Home!” — “Do or Die!”.

With that…it seems Basketball and life have a lot of parallels.  Here are 7.  I’m sure there are more.  If you have another one, write it in the comments section!

Here you go…7 things about March Madness Basketball that relate to real life…

1.  I play better relaxed.

In life, when I’m frustrated, I live horribly. When relaxed I focus on wise and pro-active choices. When frustrated I tend to argue and fight and that just rarely ends in productivity.

2.  The measure between in-bounds and out-of-bounds is the difference between ASSERTIVE and AGGRESSIVE.

Assertive actions are focused on what is necessary towards what you want. Aggression clouds my focus and causes fouls from a heavy hand. Assertive behavior leads to goals achieved. Aggressive behavior causes pain and harm.

3.  Practice does = Permanent.

Work hard and smart because we all know it will be worth it.  Find what works and repeat until it doesn’t work anymore.  Practice…a lot.

4.  Good Self Esteem = Good Performance.  Performance does NOT = Self Esteem.

5.  It’s a TEAM game.

You can’t win basketball or life on your own.  Many Christians mistake the passage of Philippians 4:13 as a passage that means you can do everything on your own.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me.”  Most people stop with that verse…but verse 14 says, “yet it was good of you to help me.”

There’s a lot of arguing going on about this in our culture from prominent people such as Barack Obama, Michael Jordan and others.  Somebody told Michael Jordan that there is no “I” in team…His reply was, “But there is in “Win.”  🙂  Makes me smile, but it’s just not true.  Some have discovered that there is actually an “i” found in the word “team.”  See pic below to figure it out yourself.

My spiritual gift of immaturity causes me to laugh and shake my head at that pictorial proof that there is on occasion “i” in team.

6.  You have to score to win.

Basketball is like life because it is vital to set goals and be assertive in pursuing them.  It is important to understand that great goal achievement in basketball is at between the 50% – 60% success rate.  And…basketball is like life in the fact…The tougher the shot/goal the more satisfaction there is in attempting it and scoring it! Man…some goals can just make the crowd go crazy!!

7.  You cannot hold on to your mistakes for long…

So…you gave the ball away.  You missed a crucial shot.  You tripped and looked silly in the moment.  LET IT GO!  The game of basketball and life is fast.  It moves on with or without you.  Dropping our heads to pout will only be another error.  The best players in the world miss 50% of their 2 pointers and nearly 70% of their 3 pointers.

Philippians 3:13 says, “But one thing I do…forget (let it go) the past and strain (assertive) to what lies ahead.”

Basketball and Life do have a lot of similarities.  There are others…I’ll leave it up to you to add them to the comments section if you’d like.  We could brainstorm many other parallels with basketball and life… Boundaries. Refs. Coaches. Racing the Clock. Strategic plays. Momentum. There’s always a crowd watching. Retaliators get called for the foul. Locker Room talk. Having the right shoes. Dunking! Having the right players on the team.  Making the Cut. Rest and Recovery. Shirts and Skins…etc. etc.

Let’s get our game on!

JCS Crest 2014

Room 1501 pic

by compartmentalizing Jesus’s bride.

Scott said,“It’s time to change the conversation.”

He also said, “Be terrible at looking backwards.”

So, as a very dear friend to me often says…


Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Essex County, Virginia

Essex County is a county located in the Middle Peninsula in the State of Virginia. As of 2000, the population is 9,989. Its county seat is Tappahannock6.

\nAccording to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 740 km² (286 mi²). 668 km² (258 mi²) of it is land and 73 km² (28 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.84% water.

\nAs of the
census2 of 2000, there are 9,989 people, 3,995 households, and 2,740 families residing in the county. The population density is 15/km² (39/mi²). There are 4,926 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (19/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 57.96% White, 39.04% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 3,995 households out of which 28.00% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.70% are married couples living together, 14.00% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% are non-families. 26.10% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.30% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.46 and the average family size is 2.95. In the county, the population is spread out with 22.90% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 89.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.20 males. The median income for a household in the county is $37,395, and the median income for a family is $43,588. Males have a median income of $29,736 versus $22,253 for females. The per capita income for the county is $17,994. 11.20% of the population and 7.70% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.80% are under the age of 18 and 11.80% are 65 or older.


When contemplating a profession as a health care provider, you will see that the medical school admission necessities are more then grades that you make in undergraduate classes. The medical program consists of 5 years for many who take the normal Hong Kong’s Advanced Level Examination ( HKALE ) for admission, or 6 years for many who take the brand new syllabus Hong Kong’s Diploma of Secondary School Education Examination ( HKDSE ). International college students who take examinations different the two mentioned will be assessed by the colleges to determine if they may take the 5-12 months program or the 6-year one.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has printed mandatory rules, obliging on all inpatient and outpatient teaching settings, laying down the guidelines for what medical college students in the United States might do, if they have not completed a clerkship or sub-internship.medical school

So, along with the above admission requirements, a student also has to give proof of his compassionate and caring nature, his curiosity in science and humanities, good communication abilities and motivational abilities, that are very a lot required in medical profession while dealing with the sufferers and other members of the staff.

In each day apply, nevertheless, there is no substantial distinction between what a Doctor of Medicine or a Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Surgery are allowed to do. When the degree is obtained, a report is created for that new doctor in the index of the National Ministry of Education (Ministerio Nacional de Educación) and the physician is given their corresponding medical practitioner’s ID, which is a quantity that identifies him and his educational achievements.medical school

Your probabilities of getting right into a medical school and getting a scholarship can be much greater with a green card, and so if you’re anticipating to get one, I recommend that you simply wait to apply after you do. Then, you would be handled as a US citizen, giving you choices to use pretty much anyplace (though regular in/out of state residency restrictions may apply).medical school


HHDS.14 - Computer Simulation in Healthcare

HHDS youtube cover - small.png

Chapter 14 Summary
Computer Simulation in Healthcare

Chapter Authors
Sean Carr - North Carolina State University
Stephen D. Roberts - North Carolina State University

Some Commentary

I will admit, I don’t entirely understand the details of how these models are created. It would be helpful to see some full examples to understand the inputs required, and possible outputs.

This book was published in 2010 - I’m sure the methods and application of computer simulation in healthcare has evolved significantly since publication.

1. Why simulation in healthcare?

Computer Simulation allows one to run experiments. This is helpful because “healthcare delivery systems have many random components and that these components interact in many complex ways”. In addition to randomness, simulation is difficult because healthcare includes “unknown variables”.

Unlike models in other industries where the model may include machines or widgets, healthcare involves models of people - both on the “customer” and “server” side. This is hard. Difficulty also arrises as healthcare worker may stand in and at times assist by doing another worker’s job adding to the complexity of the models.

Computer simulation in healthcare is not to be confused with Healthcare Simulation; that involves re-creating events the physical world for healthcare works to practice procedures and safety.

Use of Simulation in healthcare

Simulation has been used most often in the emergency department. Such as to model wait times, length of stay, staffing, and patient flow. Outside of the ER simulation is used for operational models such as schedules for patients, operations, and clinicians.

Outside of institutions, simulation is used to predict population health issues such as infectious disease patterns, hospital evacuation, and bioterrorism.

2. Creating Simulation Models

The chapter proposed five steps:

“1. the system definition

2. the development of the conceptual model

3. the creation of the simulation program

4. the creation of numerical results

5. the final recommendations”

A crucial part of the process is validation of the results. The final result from a simulation should approximate what expert stakeholders believe is reasonable. Close involvement of the model simulation builders and the subject matter experts is needed.

In order to do simulations one needs data; data is first used to build the simulation and then to do a validation process. Healthcare has lots of financial data, but there is a glut of system performance data. As discussed in prior chapters, collecting more healthcare system performance data is an important theme.

If one was to create a simulation for healthcare operations, the first part of using data is to look at its distribution. A ‘normal’ or symmetric distribution is often not used, but typically processes fall into a distribution with a longer tail to the right. Such a distribution more closely mirrors a ‘model of service processes’. The data in models of ‘arrival processes’ is often random and change over time making it harder to fit into a distribution.

Simulation packages exist, and have different models that can be used based on the needs.

3. Simulation Model Approaches

Monte Carlo Simulation

This simulation helps model processes with random interactions of random variables. The text suggests used for “single-period inventory problems, such as the number of transporters required in the hospital on a certain day, the number of surgical suites to be built in a new facility, or the number of spaces in the parking lot”.

Discrete-Event Simulation

Used for time sequential events. Can overlap with work of process mapping.

Object-Orientated Simulation

Models interaction and communication of multiple objects (eg. nurses, doctors) on each other.

Systems Dynamics Modeling

Models the interaction of multiple systems on each other - for instance how emergency room usage is affected by increasing or decreasing insured populations, uninsured populations, and the cost of treatment. Also used to model spread of disease.

Agent-Based Modeling

Models how people interact both independently, and also in group on social behavior such as “swarming, flocking”. Able to model emergency planning, or impact on screening policies for diabetic retinopathy.

The Silicon Valley Ponzi Scheme, expose by Chamath Palihapitiya

Electronic Medical Record Interface Panel Ideas

Electronic Medical Record Interface Panel Ideas


Bite Size Vegan

Most of us wander around this big blue ball (that's Earth) in search of kindred spirits. You know, like bosom buddies. The kind of bosom buddy that will  bounce around the kitchen with you while you make vegan muffins and sing made-up songs.  And as you get older, you start to realize that those people are so damn hard to find!

I remember walking on the beach with my mom, and she told me, "By the time you die, you will be able to count your true friends on one hand." (We get deep on those beach walks). But, at the time, I was 15. I thought all my friends were true friends, and we were going to be friends forever. Now that I am no longer 15 (thank god for that), I realize she was totally right. Those kindred spirits are so elusive. It is tough to find those who believe what you believe, and who you can be your true self around. No need for makeup, or censorship (make all the silly jokes you want), and that person knows exactly what to say when you are troubled.

The nice thing about veganism is that when you find other vegans, you know they are on your side. The label "vegan" means that at their core, they believe in compassion. That's why when vegans run into each other, they are instantly bonded! And since we are about 2.5 percent of the population, finding each other feels like finding treasure. (If you want to know more about vegan and vegetarian stats, visit here: )

Stumbling upon Bite Size Vegan was much like finding a kindred spirit. Emily's channel has brought me so much joy over the last week. But, more importantly, she has brought me validation. She is bringing her message of compassion to the world in such an authentic way, and her way really speaks to who I am!

Emily and her videos are nerdy, comedic, and incredibly educational. Most of her videos are scripted, and you can tell how much thought she puts into crafting her message and wording. Her lexicon melts my English major's heart :) It is rare to find intelligent wordsmiths on YouTube that are clear, funny, and poignant.

As a channel, Bite Size Vegan delves into a variety of vegan topics and controversies, which are informative for both the vegan and non-vegan community. She discusses topics like the history of veganism (an amazing video, by the way), vegan tattoos, medications, nutrition, and pet food. So, if you have a question about how to be vegan, Bite Size Vegan is your go-to channel.

These bite sized videos, aka "nuggets", are short and very digestible. You never find yourself thinking, "Okay, I got it. Move on." Her speeches flow from one topic to the next and each moment presents you with a new perspective or information.

To produce such valuable content, she does A LOT of research, thoughtful scripting, and careful editing to create these educational morsels.. By watching her videos, you only see a portion of the in-depth research she prepares for each topic. For each video nugget, you can find a plethora of additional resources and information on her website. This, perhaps, serves as the greatest testimony to her authority, because you can trust she knows her stuff! And if you don't, you can find exactly where she retrieved the facts from. It's like a works cited, but better!

Bite Size Vegan is honest, intelligent, and silly. Through her educational videos, and occasional vloget (vlog/nugget), you get to know someone who seems so incredible. Her message of compassion and change is a noble one, and it heartens me to see someone advocating in such a unique and personable way.

Emily and Obby (her sweet, adorable English Bulldog), are changing the world together for the better. And, in the process, creating a community where kindred spirits can gather. Her channel is providing a platform where it is okay for us to be ourselves (no make up, making silly jokes, etc). But, more importantly, Bite Size Vegan also professes that we should all spread the message of compassion as ourselves.

As the vegan population grows, more people will champion compassion and change. That is amazing. Thanks to Bite Size Vegan, and channels like it, the likelihood of finding more "bosom buddies" just got higher.


Mark A.M. Kramer
Publication year: 2007

Key words:

Hypermobility, ICTs, Mobility, Mobile learning, m-Learning, Nomadicity, Social shaping, Technological determinism, Theory

This paper examines the concept of mobility and reflects on how mobility of the individual is the key aspect of mobile learning, which enhances the individuals’ capacity to learn and acquire knowledge anytime, anywhere. Furthermore, this paper explores the field of mobile learning by investigating whether mobile learning is founded upon a technological deterministic or social-deterministic approach. We argue that mobile learning is a heterogeneously constructed experience, which is dominantly shaped by social forces, but is heavily influenced by technologically determined factors.


Cross-cultural Design and Development of Courses for Faculty

ID: 52988 Type: Full Paper: Practice Based
  1. Anne-Marie Armstrong and Arturo Ocampo, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH), Mexico

Wednesday, June 27 11:15-11:45 AM

Brenda Cecilia Padilla Rodríguez, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico

Working with counterparts in a bilingual context has many challenges and rewards. Designing and developing courses that are relevant and sustainable is a product of true cross-cultural cooperation and collaboration. This paper includes a descriptive outline of the research, design and development used to develop one course, Mobile Learning, as part of a professional development initiative for a Mexican university. The research, theories and methodologies that were considered in the design, development and assessment of the course for faculty preparation for English and IT certification included Transactional Distance, technological appropriation and the community of inquiry framework. For example, technological appropriation directly applies to the m-learning course as the power negotiation changes the relationship between the instructor and the learner. The instructor becomes a guide and mentor, a facilitator. Transactional Distance theory was used because it is not just a geographical or temporal distance between teachers and students and instruction can be changed to overcome distances. Thirdly, the Community of Inquiry framework describes three types of presences in the learning process: social, cognitive and teaching. The CoI was considered in the course development as well in the assessment of the effectiveness of the course. Additionally the course was meets UNESCO standards for using English in the classroom to enhance those skills.


Personal Development: Part 1

Change Matters

Our conscious mind likes checklists. Once a goal is set, it can use all the tools of reason to create a plan. And checking off that goal is a satisfying reward. We know that we’ve accomplished something!

For the subconscious, the checklist isn’t so sexy. It’s not concerned with “what do I do?” but with “how am I?” In the beginning, “how am I?” is basic: am I comfortable? Hungry? Sleepy? As we gain control over those needs, our concerns change. Am I loved? Excited? Smart? These “how am I?” questions don’t go away. When we eat, we know that we’re going to be hungry again. Even if we are smart at math, we may need to work on our grammar.

The conscious mind struggles with “How am I?” problems because conditions change. We finish eating the cherries (om nom nom!), leaving the brussels sprouts (yuck!). We finish fourth grade, and our fifth-grade teacher doesn’t teach math so well. And eventually we grow up and our parents expect us to take care of ourselves. When changes like this occur, our plans break down.

It’s left to the subconscious mind to make certain that we recognize and adapt to change. Motivations help us focus on changes that matter; behaviors are how we react to those changes. For example, our motivation to be indoors at night causes us to watch where the sun is in the sky. When it gets low, our behavior is to head back home.

In most animals, behaviors are driven by material change: weather, growth and injury to the body, and other creatures. For people, there is another powerful source of change: our minds. When we learn to manage our basic needs, our mind becomes the most important of all. Paradoxically, its greatest power is in imagining things that haven’t happened or that don’t yet exist.

So how is the subconscious going to deal with that, ensuring that “we are like we want to be” when we get to the unknown? Particularly when the “unknown” includes how our brain works? Well, the subconscious relies upon the conscious mind to monitor and predict our progress. When a behavior fails and we end up sleeping cold and hungry in the open, the “why it happened” goes from our conscious mind into our subconscious mind which works during sleep to adjust our motivations and behaviors.

It’s that ability that makes us different from machines, and leads us into the realm of spirit.

Basics, Specializations

War of the Psyche – 3 of 6

A Hypnotherapist’s View: Basic Behavior

Battle trauma creates an imbalance in the warrior’s mind. Fear dominates his or her expectations. Obviously battle is not a typical experience, and the imbalance is extreme.

But parents raise children with predispositions toward euphoria or fear. When the former is expected, the child becomes adventurous. When the latter is expected, the child is protective. Most children have experiences that balance those expectations – they may be adventurous in one context and protective in another.

Until the 1950s, many hypnotists believed that protective people could not be hypnotized. Unfortunately, it is the protective person that most often needs hypnotherapy. As his practice became dominated by such clients, Dr. John Kappas applied himself to cracking their hypnotic code.

In the course of that study, surprising behavioral differences were revealed. Most naturally, adventurers (called “physicals” by Kappas) attract attention and crave intimacy, while protectors (called “emotionals”)  dress conservatively and prefer time alone. Less obviously: adventurers tend to answer questions indirectly, taking the listener on a journey of experience. Protectors tend to be terse – in extreme cases answering only with “yes” and “no.” Paradoxically, adventurers interpret requests literally – they take words at their face value – while protectors anticipate the motivations behind the request and act accordingly.

As regards the psychic struggle of combat stress, the most important difference is that the adventurer invests heart in every relationship, while the protector invests mind. They both care – and in fact complement one another. Adventurers without a protector find themselves out on a limb; protectors without an adventurer find themselves isolated and bored.

Part 1 || Part 2 | Part 4

Why Hypnotherapy – 1 of 2

Hypnotherapy helps us change our behavior.

Why is that help necessary? It seems that when we realize that our behavior is hurting us, it should be easy to change our mind and act differently. But it’s not.

The reason is that during elementary and middle school our mind breaks into two parts: the conscious and subconscious. The subconscious is the part that controls our behavior. It’s our oldest and dearest friend, concerned only with our well-being and happiness. The challenge is that it prefers the experiences that we survive (even the frightening ones) and is anxious about the unknown. It resists the attempts of the conscious mind to create change. Because the subconscious is “seven times more powerful than you think,” it normally wins the battle.

Sometimes change is necessary, of course. To minimize danger, the subconscious considers change under the safest conditions: sleep. The body is inactive and the conscious mind disabled while the new behavior is imagined in dreams. If the dreams play out positively, the subconscious may try the new behavior in waking life. If that works out, the behavior often is accepted as a known and is available for future use.

A Comfy Client

In hypnotherapy, I facilitate a direct dialog between your conscious and subconscious minds. We begin the session by talking about your conscious behavior and discuss suggestions. After guiding you into hypnosis, I’ll offer your consciously accepted suggestions to your subconscious. Your conscious mind will monitor the dialog, and I’ll watch for signals in the body that tell whether the subconscious is comfortable with the suggestions.

In many cases, we also suggest that the subconscious release unwanted fears and motivations, through the venting dreams that we have just before waking up in the morning.

Between sessions, you go about your life and observe whether and how your behavior has changed. As you learn, new ideas and opportunities will come to mind. This is the where the next session starts, and the cycle continues until your goal is met.


Charting a course for astronaut safety as NASA launches to the Moon and to Mars

December 3, 2018 by Mara Johnson-Groh, NASA
This simulation of a July 14, 2000, coronal mass ejection shows the CME and subsequent solar energetic particles streaming out away from the Sun. The Sun’s magnetic field lines are shown in magenta and white. The flux of protons with energies greater than 50 MeV is shown in color. Credit: Predictive Science Inc./University of New Hampshire/NASA Goddard/Joy Ng

In the next decade, NASA aims to launch humankind toward the moon and on to Mars—a monumental step in crewed space travel. Such a journey is filled with challenges and perils, not unlike those faced by the first explorers to cross the ocean. However, instead of stormy seas, these explorers will set sail amid the hazards of the heliosphere—the magnetic environment emanating out from the sun and encompassing the solar system. The risks of travelling through this realm ultimately ride on how well we can understand the dynamics therein.

"In order to get to Mars, spacecraft and humans will be immersed in the and will have to contend with it," said Terry Onsager, program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "That environment can be a harsh one, but one we're ready for."

To safely navigate the heliosphere, NASA scientists and missions have been mapping the region for decades. Recent results, from near-Earth to far across the solar system, are helping us engineer a safe path for future explorers abroad.

Staying Safe En Route to Mars

As astronauts leave the protective magnetic bubble around Earth—the magnetosphere—they become exposed to damaging energetic particle radiation from the sun. Continually streaming out from the , these , as they are known, can reach levels that can damage electronics and harm living tissue in space.

Spacecraft are being designed with radiation-hardened equipment and safe areas for the astronauts to hide during solar storms—which can last hours to days. In addition to these protective securities, having a reliable warning system is paramount to astronaut safety.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory—SDO—has kept constant vigil on the sun for eight years. The images it takes in visible and ultraviolet light allow scientists to continually monitor surface conditions and understand what activity might be roiling just below, ready to emerge. Once an eruption is seen on the sun's surface, astronauts can typically be given about a half-hour advance warning before the incoming radiation reaches peak levels. While this provides astronauts with some time to take action, ultimately improvements in space weather forecasting are needed to provide more advanced warning.

Improving Space Weather Forecasting

Predicting space weather—the billowing solar wind and solar energetic it carries—is not unlike terrestrial weather forecasting. It starts with observing the sun—which SDO and other NASA heliophysics missions do around the clock. Data about the sun's activity is then fed into physics-based computer models that make statistical predictions about the probability of a solar eruption. This then allows scientists to give warning when such an event may occur.

"Forecasting space weather phenomena, whether at Earth or in deep space, is very, very complex," said Jingnan Guo, heliophysicist at the University of Kiel in Germany. "We have to consider scales from the sun-Earth distance—about 93 million miles, at which waves and erupted material propagate across space—to below a few meters, at which scale you see the turbulence and kinematics of the particles."

The Sept. 10, 2017, coronal mass ejection event — shown here by the largest red blast — was seen by multiple missions across the solar system, helping scientists understand how this type of potentially harmful radiation may impact future space explorers as they travel to the Moon and Mars. Credit: CCMC/NASA Goddard/Tom Bridgman

As of now, our understanding of the complex dynamics at play in the heliosphere is incomplete, making predictions difficult; the best models are still in the early stages of development. Scientists who model space weather depend on NASA's many heliophysics missions to improve their forecasts.

Last year, a strong solar energetic particle event was observed by multiple NASA missions. The results, which record the first particle event seen at ground level on both Mars and Earth, were recently published in the journal Space Weather. In this event, high-energy particles accelerated by an intensive shock driven by a coronal mass ejection—a violent blast on the solar surface that spews out gas and energetic particles—were first detected as they left the sun with SDO. The scientists used ground-based instruments and models to track how material moved through the heliosphere and to measure their intensity upon reaching Earth and Mars.

Such multi-point observations are essential in understanding how particles blasted off the sun travel through the solar system. This knowledge of how radiation spreads ultimately helps improve models—giving astronauts more advanced warning of potentially dangerous space weather events.

"Although this is the biggest solar energetic particle event we've observed on the surface of Mars, it would not have been hazardous for astronauts there," said Guo, who authored the paper. "However, much larger solar energetic particle events are possible and this event helps us understand what that might look like."

Scientists will continue to study space weather from Earth with ground-based instruments as well as NASA's heliophysics fleet of spacecraft, but future missions will provide new viewpoints.

"Ultimately, more data is needed and we're hoping to get some from Parker Solar Probe, since it's going so close to the sun, where these harmful particles are accelerated to high energies," Mays said. "We have assumptions of how this acceleration works that go into the models, but measurements from Parker would really help improve our theories."

Already, the Radiation Assessment Detector Instrument aboard the Curiosity Rover has been measuring high-energy radiation on the Martian surface—data that is helping scientists understand how much radiation humans will be exposed to when visiting the red planet. NASA and NOAA's joint Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Program has been measuring energetic particle measurements for current astronauts since the 1980s. Instruments to study particle radiation will also be aboard future flights and the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, the proposed outpost to orbit the moon.

These measurements will benefit more than just space weather forecasting. They will also help us understand things closer to home—like the moon.

New Insight at the moon

The moon has a tenuous atmosphere, called an exosphere, extending a few hundred miles above the surface. Sunlight ionizes a portion of this exosphere, producing an ionosphere roughly one million times weaker than Earth’s. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith

Returning to the moon will undoubtedly unlock new doors to understanding our nearest neighbor in space. After all, it wasn't until we first stepped foot on the moon that we were able to understand its origins. Today we are still discovering new things and NASA missions like the Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of moon's Interaction with the sun—ARTEMIS—are uncovering new insights into the moon's tenuous atmosphere.

The moon is, in fact, not airless. It has a thin atmospheric layer—the exosphere—composed mainly of hydrogen, helium, neon and argon, extends about a hundred miles above the surface. Mixed on the upper edge of the exosphere is a tenuous and ephemeral secondary layer—the ionosphere—created by sunlight energizing atoms in the exosphere.

"The ionosphere is a million times less dense than the ionosphere of Earth so it's really hard to directly measure those charged particles," said Jasper Halekas, ARTEMIS scientist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and lead author on a new study of the moon's ionosphere.

Using a new technique to analyze data from ARTEMIS, Halekas and his team were able to measure the ionosphere directly. They noted the ionosphere enlarged every full moon and became coupled with Earth's ionosphere—meaning charged particles are likely able to travel back and forth between the two bodies' ionospheres.

"The presence of the moon may actually affect Earth's magnetosphere," Halekas said. "It might actually perturb that local environment."

New missions to the moon would allow the study of the ionosphere and exosphere from the surface, giving us a better understanding of that coupling and how our atmosphere may be linked with the moon's.

The new results might also help us better understand how atmospheres are created and sustained on small bodies.

"The same technique could be applied to lots of other bodies in the solar system, which should have a tenuous atmosphere like the moon's," Halekas said. "This would include: moons around the outer planets, big bodies in the asteroid belt, things in the Kuiper belt, and even objects outside the solar system."

Setting Off with Confidence

It is hard to foretell the discoveries that will be made as humankind voyages to the moon and Mars, though certainly they will be innumerable. What is certain is the starring role heliophysics will play in helping us get there. Studying heliophysics and space weather are invaluable to protecting our astronauts and assets in space. And, undoubtedly, this journey across the will help us uncover new discoveries about the heliosphere we call home, making the roads of space safer for future generations of space explorers.

More information: Jingnan Guo et al. Modeling the Evolution and Propagation of 10 September 2017 CMEs and SEPs Arriving at Mars Constrained by Remote Sensing and In Situ Measurement, Space Weather (2018). DOI: 10.1029/2018SW001973

Provided by NASA


Indigestion Pressure Behind Breastbone

Aug 4, 2014. Nausea/vomiting. Waves of nausea, stomach ache, cramps, vomiting and/or diarrhea are often reported by women who are having a heart attack. the stomach flu. 8. Indigestion or stomach pain. Heart-related chest pain is often centered under the breastbone, perhaps a little to the left of center. This last.

Matthews sustained a "chip fracture" in his sternum during his first practice with the club. veteran Anquan Boldin and a slew of wideouts competing for playing time behind them. Matthews will have to learn the offense from the sideline.

They shot the lights out, hitting 63 percent of their shots, 46 percent from behind the arc, and 10 of 11 free throws. even that margin couldn’t save the team from.

Esophageal Cancer Symptoms, Survival Rate & Treatment – Read about esophageal cancer staging, causes, symptoms, treatment, life expectancy, survival rate, and prognosis. Learn about the relationship between Barrett’s.

Pain Behind Sternum. Pain behind the sternum (retrosternal pain) is often associated with cardiac conditions, however, the more common causes are related to acid.

Aug 7, 2017. There are several reasons behind chest pains on right side, some serious and others not as serious such as: pneumonia; a bruised or. With costochondritis, the pain will feel the same way as it would if you were pressing very hard on your sternum (the bone that runs down the middle of your ribcage).

Acid reflux? No matter what the cause, there’s a simple reason behind all your hacking. of drugs known as ACE inhibitors are commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure; they can cause cough in about 20% of patients. Other.

Long-term use of these drugs is associated with health risks such as stomach inflammation, stomach bleeding, ulcers, kidney problems, high blood pressure.

Gallstones — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, treatment for this sometimes painful digestive disorder.

Other symptoms to watch out for include a painful tummy or sternum, feeling full after eating small amounts of food, and a burning sensation when swallowing. Finding blood in your stool, persistent indigestion and feeling constantly out of.

Check Your Symptoms. Do you have heartburn? This is a feeling of burning, warmth, heat, or pain just behind your breastbone. It is sometimes called indigestion, acid reflux, or sour stomach. Yes. Heartburn. No. Heartburn. How old are you? 3 years or younger. 3 years or younger. 4 to 11 years. 4 to 11 years. 12 to 55 years.

Risk factors such as increasing high blood pressure during menopause. These.

Jul 10, 2014. Have you ever had a bad case of indigestion? Did you wonder whether it might be. Please tell your readers the signs of a heart attack can include unbearable “ stomach ache” high in the chest under the breast bone, aching jaws, and pain under the shoulder blade (back). It scares me that I was discharged.

Even for gamers who hit on winners, the pressure to retain position shifts to a conservative. he’s of the quality that eliminates doubt in the wake of his latest.

Most people mistakenly confuse chest pain to be because of acidity or acid reflux. of a heart attack are: Chest pain: A tightening of the heart, pressure or pain, which may or may not be severe. This is usually centred on the breastbone,

An anterior dislocation of this joint means that the collarbone has popped out in front of the sternum. A posterior dislocation means that the collarbone has gone behind the sternum. put back in place with gentle pressure on the.

Pain in the sternum area may present as upper or lower sternum pain or pain behind the sternum. is also due to heartburn caused by the pressure from the.

Feb 5, 2010. The most expensive digestive disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) inflicts with burning pain just under the breastbone on about 40% of American. “ The pain may be stabbing or radiating,” much like classic heart attack symptoms, “and reproduced by putting pressure on the sides of the ribs,

When this muscle is not working properly, you’ll experience heartburn. It usually feels like a burning pain that starts behind your breast bone, extending up into your throat. You may also have a bitter taste in your mouth. The burning.

The upper abdomen is a wide area spanning both flacks on the sides to the centre of the body, below the breast bone to the belly button. Is sudden; Is severe with a dull ache in the right upper abdomen; Spreads through the right side to the back under the right shoulder blade; Comes in waves or is continuous but with.

Sep 21, 2010. Discomfort behind the breastbone (sternum), usually towards the bottom of the chest wall. The result is pressure on the walls of the esophagus, which can lead to one or more of the symptoms listed above. I agree I have been in pain all day when leaning forward or putting any pressure on diaphragm.

Angina (angina pectoris – Latin for squeezing of the chest) is chest discomfort that occurs when there is a decreased blood oxygen supply to an area.

Aug 19, 2012. Left rib pain may also arise due to Costochondritis, which is caused by a viral infection of cartilages that attach the ribs to the breastbone or a severe impact of the rib cage area and shoulder. An individual affected by this disease has to strain and exert more pressure on the colon to push down the stool.

Indigestion — Comprehensive. You feel a mild to severe pain in the area between the bottom of your breastbone and your. Learn the science behind a happy.

May 1, 2017. While discomfort due to heart disease often manifests as a dull pain under the left breast that feels like uncomfortable pressure, it can also be a burning or. Can sometimes also feel like indigestion/heartburn. Women may also experience angina as a sharp chest pain under the left breast or breastbone.

Heartburn, a burning sensation under the breastbone, is a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux. In some cases, GERD may feel like a dull ache or pressure in the chest, or, if it’s severe, GERD can lead to crushing chest pain. A heart.

Neutralize Stomach Acid With Food. stomach muscles along with the acidic environment work much like a cement mixer and churn the food until it is nearly liquefied. Your dog’s stomach acid is. When it malfunctions, acid reflux — chronic heartburn — is the usual result. Likewise, the pyloric valve, the muscular ring between the stomach and small intestine, is

. from heart symptoms or simply heartburn. attack and heartburn, you may feel burning or pressure behind your sternum, (also known as the breastbone),

The pain is usually in waves of burning and stabbing pain and occurs on the area between the breastbone and the belly button. At first the pain may be light and.

Jan 12, 2018. It usually feels like a burning pain in the chest, beginning behind the breastbone and moving toward the neck and throat. symptom relief when they lose some weight, as it seems that the excess pounds, especially around the abdomen, put pressure on the digestive tract, negatively affecting its function.

You’ve been getting heartburn a few times a week, and popping over-the counter antacids with little relief. Should you be worried? "Anyone can have occasional heartburn from eating or drinking too much, or consuming foods that just don’t.

Upper central abdominal pain is pain that occurs just below the breast bone. This is the area at the top of the abdomen. Find out the causes, symptoms and treatments.

Dec 11, 2016. Heartburn, indigestion, stress, and body changes are the most common causes of chest pain during pregnancy. The pain can sometimes feel similar to heart attack symptoms, but it starts in the lower breastbone and moves upward. Gas can. Your expanding uterus can put pressure on your diaphragm.

This often causes a constant burning sensation behind the breastbone, which is commonly known as heartburn. Long-term or persistent heartburn should be evaluated by a doctor, as heartburn can imitate the symptoms of heart.

Stomach. If the pressure barrier is not enough to prevent regurgitation and acid backs up (reflux), peristaltic action of the esophagus serves as an additional defense mechanism, pushing the backed-up contents back down into the stomach. Patients may have the sensation that food is trapped behind the breastbone.

Man with indigestion Heartburn results when stomach acid flows back (refluxes) into the lower esophagus, causing pain or tissue damage. It's important to realize that heartburn, reflux and even GERD itself are. In many cases, the burning sensation typically begins behind the breastbone, and it may travel up to the throat.

The agreement between the owners of Dundalk FC and the American based consortium, Peak6 to buy the club was so long in gestation that many supporters had indigestion thinking. has to won which will place extra pressure on the.

NCCP is usually accompanied by a burning behind your breastbone and may not be. The symptoms of acid reflux, including chest pain and. high blood pressure;

It is important to get to know this part of you, by feeling how it inhabits your body, how it shows up in your belly, your sternum, as a constriction in your chest, or.

Heartburn can also be referred to as acid indigestion, pyrosis or a symptom of dyspepsia. It is caused by acid in the stomach. The main symptom of heartburn is a burning sensation that people experience in the upper area of their abdomen (epigastrium) or just behind the breastbone. Although it is called heartburn it is not.

Pressure behind breastbone – Pain on the rift side behind breastbone. More like pressure than pain. None on left at all. Something to be worried about? Doctor can.

A woman may feel pain or pressure below the breast bone and above the belly button, and think she’s having a gallbladder attack, or experiencing gas or.

There are 50 conditions associated with pain or discomfort (chest), pain or discomfort (chest (sternum)), pressure or heaviness (chest) and pressure or heaviness (chest (sternum)). The links below will provide you with more detailed information on these medical conditions from the WebMD Symptom Checker and help provide a better.


Oxford University Press

English Language Teaching Global Blog

We often encourage language learners to read for pleasure, read for comprehension, and read for vocabulary. But reading is also an excellent way to learn and practice grammar. It is important for teachers and learners to recognise that grammar is not a separate skill divided into discrete chunks (or textbook chapters!), but rather the resources which make meaning in a language. In other words, grammar is everywhere, and everything a learner does with the language is an opportunity to improve their grammar.

Here are some activities you can suggest to your students to help them discover the grammar of their reading beyond the classroom walls.

1. Read for meaning first and grammar next

We have limited attentional resources as we read, so it is natural to read first and foremost for meaning. However, language learners benefit from multiple readings of the same text. So, once they have understood the text and checked the meaning of any important new vocabulary, encourage your students to read all or part of the same text again and pay attention to the language use.

2. Start with verb tenses

One of the most interesting questions readers can ask is which tenses are used in the text. This will tell you a lot about the type of text you are reading. For example, we would expect to find a lot of present tenses in scientific texts because they describe facts and phenomena, but a sudden shift to the past tense might indicate a discussion of the history of an idea or a particular scientist. Meanwhile, historical texts unsurprisingly use mostly past tenses, but they may nonetheless contain present tense verbs to discuss the current significance of past events.

Also encourage your students to look for less frequent verb tenses; if there’s a present perfect progressive verb, why is it used? Could the writer have chosen a different tense?

3. Learn the grammar of new vocabulary

We want learners to notice new and useful vocabulary when they read, but the context of the text is an opportunity to learn more about the word than its meaning. When encountering a word, in particular a word that the student understands but doesn’t yet use, ask questions about its use in the sentence. For a noun, is it countable or uncountable? What verb goes with it? For a verb, is it transitive or intransitive? What prepositions go with it? What kinds of nouns are its subject? This approach will encourage learners to see words in collocations and phrases, which will expand both their receptive and productive vocabularies.

4. Play with the Grammar

Grammar is a system of choices, and for every choice a writer makes, there are others which could be made. These choices are worth exploring.

We can encourage learners to rewrite texts using alternative grammar patterns. For example:

  • If the writer repeats the same nouns a lot, could pronouns be used instead?
  • If there are many short sentences, how could they be combined?
  • If an advanced text uses a lot of reduced clauses, what would the full (finite) clause be?
  • If the text is academic, how could you rewrite it for a different audience, such as magazine readers?
  • If it’s written in a less formal register, what changes would you make for formal, academic writing?

The last example exercise benefits both reading comprehension and writing development. Readers of sophisticated and academic texts, such as those in Q: Skills for Success, may need to “unpack” long noun phrases and reduced relative clauses in order to understand the structure and ideas.

Meanwhile, when writing for academic purposes, students can draw on the techniques they see in their reading, such as nominalisation, demonstrative pronouns (this, those), and reductions.

5. Keep a Grammar (B)Log

In order to develop their grammar, students need to notice the language they are reading and internalize it, not just move on to the next page, show, or app. A great way to develop independent study skills is to have students keep a grammar log, journal, or blog to complement their extensive reading.

In my classes, I ask students to post an entry on the discussion board in our learning management system in which they write about an interesting phrase or sentence that they’ve read. They have to either explain the grammar or ask a question about it (I don’t allow them to focus only on word meanings: there are dictionaries for that!). I then encourage students to answer their peers’ questions before I provide an answer. Students might wonder why a verb has a third-person ending, why an uncountable noun has been unexpectedly used in the plural, what a new clause connector means, or what a pronoun refers to. This works at all proficiency levels! Most importantly, the grammar log helps students develop the habit of looking for new and interesting structures while reading, and the discussions allow for the kinds of negotiations over language that can promote acquisition.

These simple techniques can be used for homework or self-study to turn any reading activity into a grammar lesson! If you try these with your students, let me know in the comments how they worked.

Get a sneak peek at the exciting free resources being made available for Q: Skills for Success from August, including new Skills Videos and a new Extensive Reading program in which every unit has been matched with a free, downloadable chapter from Oxford Graded Readers.

Bringing Grammar to Life

Word grammar spelt in scrabble lettersBriony Beaven is an ELT consultant, teacher trainer, materials writer and teacher. She is a NILE Associate Teacher Trainer and teaches Classroom Language to trainee teachers at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich. She joins us to discuss bringing grammar to life in the EFL classroom, part of her Bringing Grammar to Life webinar.

The big problem with teaching grammar

The big problem with grammar, familiar to all English teachers, is that many ways of teaching grammar produce learners who KNOW ABOUT grammar; for example, they can tell you the rules for using the present perfect. But they often don’t KNOW HOW because when they speak or write these supposedly ‘known’ rules do not seem to be operating. In other words, the learners fail to make use of the rule they know so well in the language they actually produce. What can we do about this?

Approaches to grammar teaching

Three main ways of introducing new grammar are the deductive, the inductive and the guided discovery approaches. They all have their advantages and disadvantages and in the webinar we will consider how these might play out in your context.

In deductive grammar teaching the teacher explains or gives the rules for the target language items and then provides practice for the learners. In inductive grammar teaching the teacher provides some examples of the target language in a realistic context and lets the learners ‘notice’ the rules. The third approach, guided discovery, is a modified version of inductive teaching. In this approach the teacher provides some examples of the target language in context and supports the learners in ‘noticing’ the rules.

Support, scaffolding, mediation

To say that you are going to ‘support’ the learners is easy. To provide genuinely useful support needs a bit more thought. In the webinar we will consider the relationship of ‘support’ to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and the related concepts of ‘scaffolding’ and ‘mediation’.

In guided discovery grammar teaching we can support, for example, by ensuring that learners meet the new grammar item in a lively, engaging and lifelike context. We can also support them by questioning and monitoring while learners try to ‘notice’ the target rules. What kinds of questions are helpful to ensure learners internalise and can use grammar rules? Good concept questions and focused questions about timelines can work a kind of magic. Finally, in our efforts to support our learners, we need to take care that the rules are summarised by the teacher so that learners know if their suppositions were right or not. That is, we offer feedback, another key component of ‘support’.

Use of the learners’ first language

For a long time we neglected a wonderful resource in the teaching of grammar in a foreign language, namely the learners’ mother tongue.

In their L1 learners have learnt to think, to communicate, to speak and use their voice. They have acquired an intuitive understanding of grammar, become aware of some finer points of language and have acquired the skills of reading and writing. These days a number of experts suggest that if a class is monolingual we can beneficially make use of their first language. What do you think about this?

Learners can produce new grammar items only after plenty of practice. This practice needs to be engaging and lively, but also challenging and likely to lead to long-term learning. ‘Three times practice’ (Scrivener 2014) is one way to do this.

Well, all in all it seems we need to do more than ‘cover material’ if most of our learners are to ‘know how’ to use the grammar we teach them, not just ‘know about’ it. No one approach will succeed with all of the learners all of the time because different learners understand in different ways. We will need to make use of different approaches and techniques both for introducing new grammar and for practising it effectively.

In my webinar, I suggested engaging ways to help students learn ‘how’ to use grammar to communicate successfully.

Butzkamm, W. 2003. We only learn language once. The role of the mother tongue in FL classrooms: death of a dogma. Language Learning Journal, 28, 29-39.

Scrivener, J. 2014. Demand-high teaching. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 3(2), 47-58.

Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

Wood, D., Bruner, J. and Ross, G. 1976. The Role of Tutoring in Problem Solving. Journal of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 17, 89–100.

A way to make demonstrative determiners teachable

This, these, that and those

This/these + a summary noun

– applying the feature to disconnected or ‘untidy’ texts;

– inviting students to bring in for discussion their own examples;

So thank you, Sue, wherever you are!

Using Video and ICT to Present Grammar

Read David’s own blog at www.davidmearns.blogspot.com.

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Classic Tonkotsu Ramen
Classic Tonkotsu Ramen

Classic Tonkotsu Ramen

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About this Ramen
Japan’s most popular and classic flavor. This classic ramen soup stock is made with pork bone. We follow the classic recipe of pairing thin noodles with this creamy pork bone broth.

What's special
Properly pre-treated pork bone is boiled for over 10 hours to a rich and creamy consistency, eliminating the smell of pork. As the soup thickens, the delightful aroma of pork bone becomes more pronounced.

A salt-based sauce is paired with the soup to gently complement and enhance the pork bone broth flavor. The sauce is full of glutamic acid (a form of amino acid) and when paired with the pork bone broth (which is full of inosinic acid) they create a synergy and bring out an even stronger “umami” feel.

Same as the traditional Japanese style, we chose noodles that are more absorbent. The noodles are shaped slightly flat, allowing it to pick up more of the soup and give a punch of flavor in every bite.

・1 Noodle pouch
・1 Broth pouch
・Pork Chashu (Marinated braised pork)
・Red ginger
・Kikurage mushroom
・Nori (Seaweed)

*The actual product only includes the ingredients listed above. The dishes shown in the images may contain extra garnishing as serving suggestions.

Soy, Egg, Wheat, Fish