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Aim to lift all major restrictions on 9 August.
The whole of Scotland will move to Level 0 on 19 July if all necessary vaccination and harm reduction measures are met.
Current levels will remain in place for the next three weeks with a review taking place on 13 July although some changes, such as minor relaxations to rules on events such as weddings and funerals will come into place on 28 June.
During a statement to Parliament, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also confirmed that from 19 July physical distancing outdoors will be removed and physical distancing for indoor public areas will reduce to one metre if the data allows. Limits on outdoor gatherings will also be removed on this date given the reduced risk of outdoor transmission at this stage in the vaccination programme.
If the necessary conditions on vaccination and harm reduction continue to be met, all major remaining COVID restrictions will be lifted on 9 August.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:
“From 19 July, and then more substantially, from 9 August – assuming we are meeting our revised strategic aim of alleviating the harm of the virus – life should feel much less restricted for all of us.
“A very significant degree of normality will be restored – for individuals and for businesses. As I said earlier, these are indicative dates, but they allow us to plan ahead with more clarity. As always, we all have a part to play in keeping us on track.
“Up until now, the Scottish Government’s strategic intention has been to ‘suppress the virus to the lowest possible level and keep it there’. From now, our aim will be to ‘suppress the virus to a level consistent with alleviating its harms while we recover and rebuild for a better future’.
“This change reflects the fact that vaccination is reducing – we hope significantly – the harm that the virus causes.
“Physical distancing has been an important mitigation against the virus but it is also burdensome for individuals and costly for businesses. So as vaccinations bear more of the load of controlling the virus, we need to consider when and to what extent we can reduce the legal requirement for it.
“Ultimately we hope to remove the legal requirement for physical distancing – even though we may continue to advise people to think about safe distancing when interacting with people outside their close contact groups.”
From 28 June
- suppliers and others employed at a wedding will no longer count towards the cap on attendance
- A bride, groom and other designated persons accompanying them no longer require to wear face-coverings when walking down the aisle
- live entertainment will be permitted at weddings
- more than one household will be permitted to carry the coffin and/or take a cord at a funeral crematoriums and churches can relay funeral services to outside areas
From 19 July
- celebrations of life events such as christenings, bar mitzvahs and anniversaries will be permitted to take place under similar guidelines as weddings and funerals
- different households will be able to share a bedroom in tourist accommodation
Some measures are expected to continue beyond Level 0 including:
- good hand hygiene and surface cleaning
- continued promotion of good ventilation
- a requirement for face coverings in certain settings (e.g. public transport and retail)
- continued compliance with Test and Protect, including self-isolation when necessary
- an ongoing need for outbreak management capability, including active surveillance
- a greater degree of working from home than pre COVID-19 where this is possible and appropriate based on business and employee choice
The next review of restrictions will be on 13 July ahead of proposed changes commencing on 19 July.
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Ayush : IMCC (Amendment) Bill 2016
Ayush has proposed a draft note for the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2016. This is being done to overcome the difficulties faced in the functioning of Central Council of Indian Medicine. The proposed amendment is meant to streamline the overall functioning of the Central Council; the aim is to improve upon performance and effective implementation of government policies.
In 2005, Ayush came up with an Amendment Bill to the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970. Recommendations were examined and the Amendment Bill, 2005 passed; however, since time has elapsed since that review, the government body has decided to withdraw the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2005, and introduce it afresh as the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Section 33A, 33B and 37 have been inserted in the proposed bill by the Ayush Ministry, giving powers to the Central Council to issue directions. The Central Government has the authority to give instructions to the Central Council when it deems necessary. The government‘s decision on matters remaining final states Pharmabiz.
Under section 33B, the Central Government retains the power of dissolving the Central Council; however, reasonable time is to be given to the latter to explain its position.
Under the amended section 13 A, the Council can sanction approval for admission of students to a medical college, for any course of study or training including post graduate courses. However, it would have to look into the availability of financial resource and necessary facilities with respect to staff, equipment, accommodation, training and other facilities. This to ensure proper functioning of the medical college.
The section 3 amendment of the Principal Act includes nomination of 3 members each from:
- the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Science or Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine
or Central Council for Research in Siddha
- Department of the Government of India dealing with Ayush
- the National Institute of Ayurveda or the National Institute of Unani Medicine or the National Institute of Siddha
Overall there are 13 amendments made in the Principal Act for improvising the functioning of the Central Council.

domain: news


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Vasek Pospisil takes swipe at Nick Kyrgios over merger stance, saying he has ‘done zero due diligence’
ATP Player Council member Vasek Pospisil has taken a swipe at Nick Kyrgios over his opposition to a possible ATP-WTA merger, saying the Australian is “in no position to express an opinion” on the issue.
Roger Federer got the ball rolling in April when he took to Twitter to call for the men’s ATP Tour to merge with women’s WTA Tour.
Comment: Roger Federer calls for huge changes in tennis and he could lead the way
Most players on both the ATP and WTA Tours, former players, pundits and role players appeared to be in favour of the idea
Kyrgios, though, was one of the few players who was not keen on a merger, writing on Twitter: “Did anyone ask the majority of the ATP what they think about merging with the WTA and how it is good for us?”
He latter added: “We shouldn’t merge.”
Pospisil feels Kyrgios has “done zero due diligence” so should not comment on the issue.
“A lot of players, or people in general, express an opinion without having any information, just because they feel like they want to say something, so I think that might be the case with Nick,” he told TSN.
“To be honest he’s in no position to express an opinion when he just hears about this for the first time and has done zero due diligence.
“So there are some guys like that and I’ll have no problem telling him that to his face, but again it raises eyebrows, and there are a lot of valid questions that need to be asked and answered, which I have.”
Pospisil also praised world No 1 and ATP Council President Novak Djokovic for the work he has done in recent months as the Serb was at the forefront of talks to raise funds for lower-ranked players struggling during the enforced break.
“I’ve been really impressed with Novak, how much he cares for all the players,” the Canadian said.
“Even the lower-ranked guys. I don’t know if it is because of where he came from or how he grew up.
“I know that his family went through tough times when he was a kid, he really cares for all the players and the lower-ranked guys and so I give him so much respect and credit for trying to actually affect positive change.”
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Remorseful Miyu Kato makes winning return to action after French Open ball girl controversy
The Japanese player and her women’s doubles partner Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted after Kato hit a ball girl with a ball.
Sara Sorribes Tormo shoots down poor sportsmanship suggestions
Sara Sorribes Tormo has defended the protest she and Marie Bouzkova lodged.
Coco Gauff knows she needs to improve against Iga Swiatek at French Open
The Pole lost only four games in last year’s championship match meeting between the last eight foes.
Holger Rune benefits from slack officiating in narrow French Open win
There was controversy in Holger Rune’s victory over Francisco Cerundolo as umpire Kader Nounin missed a clear double bounce.
Coco Gauff gains French Open quarter-finals for a third year in succession
The American is looking to match last year’s run to the final.
Andy Murray sets out to demonstrate he still has grass courts chops
The two-time Wimbledon champion made a winning start to his campaign on the grass of Surbiton.
Casper Ruud grateful for the deep court at Phillipe Chatrier
Casper Ruud had to have watertight defence to overcome the big-serving Chilean
Andy Murray makes clinical start to grass court season with Surbiton Trophy first round win
Andy Murray eased to a 6-3 6-2 win over Hyeon Chung powered by a pinpoint first serve.
Disqualified doubles pair divide opinion in French Open ball girl drama
The incident has split opinion but some feel there is no debate.
Novak Djokovic explains why his daughter wanted to meet Neymar ‘badly’
“It was a pleasure and an honour to meet them,” Djokovic.


I’m a native New Jerseyan and longtime resident of the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, whose travels have included stays in North and South Carolina. I’m a 25+ year veteran of the broadcast radio industry, currently serving as Production/Creative Services Director for WDVD and WDRQ (NASH-FM) in Detroit. My radio resume includes tenures at WRIF/Detroit, WYAV/Myrtle Beach SC, WWBR/Detroit, WIQB/Ann Arbor MI, and WRNS/Greenville-New Bern NC. I enjoy spending time with my beautiful wife, kids and stepkids, cooking, music, movies and watching sports. I’ve spent many years conditioning myself to exclusively throw Nerf projectiles at the television during New York Jets football games.
The opinions expressed within the original posts within this blog are solely those of the author.


This article describes a rapid fringe detection technique for detecting fringes that appear transiently in Nasu observational data. It can quickly and accurately detect fringe waveforms that are not derived from steady sources in the drift-scan data according to constant numerical criteria. A fringe is considered to be a radio transient fringe if the signal-to-noise ratio of each data point is above a threshold for a specific period of time. Such fringes are searched for in the region unaffected by fringes due to steady sources in the observational data, which is determined by using the expectation data generated from an earlier survey catalog. Using the proposed technique, a computer can detect radio transient fringe using numerical criteria, thereby shortening the time required to discover transient signals. Therefore, by reducing the analysis time, we will be able to identify temporal flux variations in radio transients by follow-up observation immediately after detection.
|ジャーナル||Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific|
|出版ステータス||Published - 2013 5月|
ASJC Scopus subject areas


You can directly put the machine on it. The software is easy to use and can be directly read into jpg, bmp, svg, Gcode image file engraving. New metal holder for quick laser and other peripherals, up and down adjustment of laser focus. The new custom V aluminum matching rolling bearing X24 is better and more stable. Y-axis dual motor, using a new custom 1.3A 42 stepper motor.The laser power is adjustable to suit a variety of materials. Can engrave material :wood, plastic, paper, bamboo, horns, leather, sponge paper, etc. Non-engravable material :all metals, stones, ceramics, glass, reflective materials, transparent materials. Note :Due to the manual measurement, there might be some error. Package Included 1 x Engraving Machine. You need to assemble the product by yourself.
(distribute the adapter according to your country). The item "5500mw 65x50cm Laser Engraving Cutting Engraver CNC Carver DIY Printer z" is in sale since Wednesday, November 18, 2020. This item is in the category "Business, Office & Industrial\Printing & Graphic Arts\Sign-Making".
The seller is "mxqtech" and is located in Shenzhen. This item can be shipped worldwide.


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2Good2B is a gourmet food cafe that aims to prove that gluten-free, soy-free and corn-free foods don’t have to be bland, tasteless alternatives. They can be as tasty, if not more so, than the real thing. 2Good2B sells food that everyone wants, but food that those with intolerances and dietary requirements need.
What is today's top offer for 2Good2B?
Today’s top offer is ''. Find the offer, click on it and follow the link to the offer page at 2good2b.com.

domain: food


text:
Don't know your body type? Take our free Dosha quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Discover how Ayurveda can improve your digestive health and wellness.
A famous herb used primarily for respiratory conditions.
In this presentation you'll learn easy yet powerful techniques for calming your food allergies.
FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $99!
Offer may not be combied with other discounts

domain: medical


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10 Minute thai coconut soup
Dinner tonight, August 29, 2016
Dinner tonight, October 7, 2014
Ridiculous easy authentic tasting thai soup.
NOW WITH RECIPE DOWNLOAD
- 14 ounces coconut milk
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons lemongrass paste
- 2 tablespoons ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 4 ounces mushrooms - thinly sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili paste
- 1 lime - juiced
- fresh cilantro - to garnish
1) Into a large pot add: coconut milk, chicken stock, lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
2) Once boiling add mushrooms and reduce to a simmer. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
3) Add fish sauce, chili paste, and lime juice. Mix to combine.
4) Garnish with cilantro prior to serving.
Happy Planner Recipe Download


After receiving a B.A. in studio art, Patrick spent nearly a decade honing his craft – writing and directing his own short films while working in the industry on larger scale productions. One of his early shorts, HABERDASH, was picked up for distribution by Movieola, Canada’s short film channel, after screening at the Cannes Short Film Corner in 2008. Soon after, he began directing short documentaries for NPR’s nationally-syndicated program STATE OF THE RE:UNION, the first of several productive collaborations with Al Letson. His next directorial effort, the super 8mm short film VEER!, was one of seven shorts from the U.S. selected to hold its world premiere at the Gen Art Film Festival for Emerging Talent in NYC in 2009. In 2012, he completed his feature-length adaptation of VEER! with co-writer/lead Jesse Gay. The story of a down-and-out pro skateboarder, the film toured the festival circuit throughout 2013 winning Best Florida Film at the Sunscreen Film Festival and the Skate or Die Award at the Pollygrind Underground Film Festival in Las Vegas. VEER! was picked up for distribution in 2014 and will be available later this summer through iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Prime, Xbox, Playstation and others.
Currently, Patrick is an adjunct at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where he teaches film production.
Best Florida Film - Sunscreen Film Festival for VEER!
Skate or Die Award - Pollygrind Underground Film Festival for VEER!


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We talked about sales development with Chris Wang, the Co-founder & CEO (she/her) of Shimmer Care. This is a platform that takes care of mental health by offering ADHD coaching.
1. How would you describe your company in an elevator pitch?
Shimmer offers bite-sized ADHD coaching, 5-10x cheaper than alternatives. We open up access to those who actually need coaching the most.
2. What are you the best at?
We’re good at building in community. Our product was built alongside psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, ADHD coaches, and the ADHD community itself. We have had hundreds of interviews (and counting) and constant communication and feedback loops are built into our DNA.
3. What customer acquisition strategy did you use to find your first customers?
By talking to folks. By talking to and listening to those with ADHD (and coaches), when it came time to launch, we simply reached out to those we interviewed and said “hey, we created what you asked for. come check it out!”, then 2. We set up a simple waitlist and drove people through a mix of blogs, social (IG, tiktok) —all in service of providing value to potential customers.
4. What are your customers saying about your product?
Quote from a member today: “The thing that is different so far in this experience is being able to get things out of my mind and onto the floor for Alex and I to work on. That is something I have been missing and it’s very clear to me now. I have the will and want to try changes but have not had anyone who can understand what it’s like to struggle in this way and help me figure out what to try from a place of experience.” Can provide many more quotes, I have hundreds 🙂
5. What was the biggest challenge for you when finding product market fit?
PMF for us has been a journey. We started with support groups (for anxiety, depression, queer, asian, founders, etc.) led by facilitators, move to curriculum-based coaching groups (CBT-based for anxiety) to 1:1 listening model to now 1:1 bite-sized ADHD coaching. There’s a lot of factors I can expand on above, including target demographic, business model, care modality, how it’s delivered, etc. Happy to expand on any of the above 🙂
6. What are your proud achievements so far?
Over 3,000 hours of support delivered (before our ADHD model) and every single real human testimonial / life we’ve changed!
7. What is the next big thing in your industry?
Democratization of healthcare. Not everything needs to happen behind the walls of a hospital and not everything needs to be delivered by a doctor. Technology, new models of care, paraprofessionals, and more are showing us health is more than what we thought health is. Health (and especially mental health) is everywhere and everyone has responsibility. Social media? Media? All responsible.
8. Are you planning to expand into new markets? What are your plans for the next 6-12 months?
Yes! We are starting with our closer circles in tech hubs like LA, SF, NYC. But soon we’ll be all over the US providing affordable and personalized ADHD coaching. Our head ADHD coach is already based in Europe so that’s also on the horizon.
9. In your opinion, what is a startups’ biggest challenge when it comes to developing a new market expansion strategy?
Adapting to the consumer. Everything is about the consumer and consumers are different no matter where you go. Too many companies get this wrong by pushing their product down consumer’s throats. This isn’t the way. We exist to serve our members, and when our members ask for different things, we react. Perhaps it’s because I am a woman, or queer, or Asian / BIPOC, or neurodivergent, but it’s in my blood to build inclusively and for all.
10. If you could have one super power to boost your startup development, what would it be and why?
For me it’s always more horsepower behind behavioral psych 🙂 Working on consumer / preventative mental health means you work at the intersection of what people want and what people need. Being able to influence (in a healthy way) behaviors that will be better for folks’ lives is key.
If you want your story about sales development featured please get in touch with Marcia Osundwa here.

domain: psychology


Development Control Manager
Planning Application No: 14/00433/FULM
Dear Mr Harris,
We thank officers for suggesting that were invited to see a presentation and meet the team promoting the proposed development. That has been very helpful in understanding the proposals and how the scheme has evolved.
We strongly support the granting of planning permission for this project. The overall design, scale, height and relationship with the existing Grade 1 listed building is excellent. Not only is it designed to provide high quality accommodation for residents the project is well conceived to integrate with the existing historic accommodation and to facilitate links with further development in the future. The incorporation of the 'Passivhaus' standard into the new buildings is a very progressive move which is excellent in terms of sustainability and securing low cost heating and ventilation for residents. Adoption of this standard which reduces heating costs by up to 90% is good for sustainability and highly beneficial to residents. In the UK to the end of 2013 only 250 developments in all building sectors had been certified to Passive House standards so it is excellent to see adoption of this initiative here in Lichfield.
There are only two matters on which we have a reservation that the officers may wish to consider exploring with St John's Hospital representatives.
The first relates to the gable ends of the two new blocks as viewed from Birmingham Road. The current proposal is to finish the exterior of the top floor with copper cladding. We consider something in keeping with the high quality of the scheme and the importance of St John's Hospital could be more appropriate. With a suitable setting there could be an opportunity to include on a gable end a cross based on the design used by St John's Hospital. It could be a distinctive and dominant feature on public view unlike the most of the hidden environment of St John's.
The second issue is the brickwork. We agree that an interesting, suitably coloured and textured brick from the Charnwood range has been selected. The concern is how the brick bonding and mortar treatment will be executed with the non-standard brick size. Some clarification of that issue is worthy of detailed exploration in our view as a reserved matter.
It is highly commendable that the trustees of the charity as custodians of this historic jewel in the City are seeking to achieve a scheme which is vastly superior to nearby commercial developments that have been built recently and another new scheme that is currently being promoted.
We are sending a copy our comments to Chris Timothy the planning consultant for St John's Hospital.


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Challenges in Surveying Education and Some Technology-Based Solutions
MetadataShow full item record
Education in surveying covers a broad range of fundamental topics in mathematics, physics, engineering and law, combining theoretical concepts with practical experience . With the rapid changes taking place in technology and industry, surveying educators are facing many challenges, for instance, the need to satisfy industry requirements and the profession, more engage students in their learning, and increase student satisfaction, which would lead to improving their retention.
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
Jiwa, Moyez; Coker, A.; Bagley, J.; Freeman, J.; Coleman, M. (2004)Background: The validity of opinions expressed in questionnaire surveys diminishes with lower response rates. Recent research suggests that general practitioners (GPs) are more likely to respond to questionnaire surveys ...
An investigation of the current management of asthma in adolescents and children in Saudi Arabia, barriers to optimal care, and the influence of patient educationAl Thagfan, Sultan Saad (2012)The incidence of childhood asthma in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) ranges from 4% in some regions to 23% in others. Although international and national guidelines have been issued to improve the management of asthma, ...
Temporal change to self-rated health in the Swiss population from 1997 to 2012: the roles of age, gender, and educationVolken, T.; Wieber, F.; Ruesch, P.; Huber, M.; Crawford, Rebecca (2017)Â© 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health Objectives Our study aimed to describe the temporal changes in self-rated health status (SRH) from 1997 to 2012 in adults aged 25 to 84 residing in Switzerland, with a view to ...

domain: literature


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Fangirl podcasts and episodes
Winter Break Jealousy 2 years, 8 months ago
Turns out both are slightly jealous of one-another's winter break plans! Find out which band member Deb is has experienced ...
Squad-o Bots, Roll out! (Gaming Loot Boxes: Good or Bad?, Han Solo Loses it's Director, What is a Must Play Game?) SCS: 35 4 years, 3 months ago
The Super Co-op Squad talks In-Game Loot systems as micro transactions and whether its a fad or a trend and ...
28 Episodes Later (Hollywood Writers Strike Update, May Games & Movies, Are there too Many Games Each Year?) SCS: 28 4 years, 4 months ago
Johnnie, Joshua and Garrett discuss there thoughts on the Writers Guild Strike and what its outcome means for entertainment consumers. ...
Beat-a Pinata (May Games with Gold and PS Plus Games, MvC: Infinite Trailer, Injustice 2 Joker Reveal) SCS: 27 4 years, 4 months ago
Joshua and Garrett are both more than excited as both Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite and Injustice 2 have some big ...
SCS 14: Flash Point(less) (Microsoft's Next Gen Console, Injustice 2 Modes, The Last Jedi, The Billion Dollar Movie Club) 4 years, 7 months ago
The Super Co-op Squad talks about the latest news that Project Scorpio might actually be Microsoft's next console instead of ...
SCS 13: Mighty Morphin'! (Injustice Roster, 4 Fire Emblem Games, Best Selling Games of 2016, and the Logan Trailer) 4 years, 8 months ago
The Super Co-op Squad reviews the surprising list of the best selling games of 2016, breaks down the Injustice 2 ...
Nintendo Switch Reveal 4 years, 8 months ago
The Super Co-op Squad breaks down all the content released during the Nintendo Switch Full Reveal Keynote! Joshua leads the ...
SCS 12: Time to Get Messy! (Gears of War Gets Sued, Nintendo Switch Revealed and Batman Lets Seven People Die!) 4 years, 8 months ago
The Super Co-op Squad discusses the cancellation of Xbox's exclusive game Scalebound and what this means for developer Platinum Games, ...
Dorc Cast episode 24: DOrcs, Assemble! 6 years, 4 months ago
With the full cast back, we finally gush about the latest installment within the MCU! Avengers: Age Of Ultron!Join the ...
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domain: entertainment


text:
Pakistani police have arrested the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks which killed six Jews including a rabbi and his pregnant wife.
Hafiz Saeed is the founder of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) and has long been wanted for planning the four-day assault on the city, which left at least 174 people dead and more than 300 injured.
Ten highly-trained militants carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across the city in November 2008. Among the targets was a Jewish outreach centre based at Nariman House, which has since been renamed Chabad House.
Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg bought the five-storey building in 2006 and set up an educational centre, synagogue, drug prevention service and hostel. It mainly catered to Israeli travellers headed for Goa and Rajasthan.
The couple were among eight Israelis taken hostage during the attacks. After several hours of aborted negotiations, Indian commandos stormed the building in the early hours.
The couple were among six killed. Rivka had been six months pregnant. Their two-year son Moshe was saved by the couple’s Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who now lives in Israel, after being granted honourary citizenship.
Others killed included Bentzion Kruman from Israel, Leibish Teitelbaum from Brooklyn, Yoheved Orpaz from Israel and Norma Rabinovich from Mexico.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (L-e-T) is a powerful force in Pakistan. It runs hundreds of religious seminaries as well as schools, hospitals, publishers and even an ambulance service.
Defence analysts say its operations are so sophisticated that help from Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence services is almost inevitable. L-e-T is alleged to have attacked India’s parliament in 2001 and killed 40 Indian policemen in a raid earlier this year.
Commentators were suspicious of the timing of Saeed’s arrest, coming just days before Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was due to fly to Washington, D.C. The United States has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed’s arrest.
While life in Israel has returned to normal and hopes are high that Britain is set for a summer without restrictions thanks to vaccines, for billions around the world there is no such imminent light at the end of the tunnel. In the majority of countries around the globe, particularly the poorest, the vaccine rollout has barely kicked off.
That's why Jewish News, the leading source of news and opinion for the entire UK community, is throwing its full weight behind UNICEF’s VaccinAid campaign by using this platform usually reserved for encouraging donations towards our own journalism to instead urge our readers around the globe to perform the greatest mitzvah: saving a life.
We have never before done this for any charity fundraiser but it's hard to recall a campaign that affects so many people, and indeed an entire planet aching for a return to normality. Just like the Chief Rabbi and Rachel Riley, we hope to boost the mission to deliver two billion vaccines, 165 million treatments and 900 million test kits around the world by the end of this year.
Please donate as much as you can, in the spirit of the Talmudic sages: “to save one life is to save the world entire”


First Published in the Huffington Post
The election of Jeremy Corbyn has been seen as a swing to the left in the Labour party – as a majority of members and registered supporters put the nails in the coffin of the New Labour project. But it may have as much to do with a call for greater democracy – something that the British political establishment has long been deeply suspicious of.
Even in the supposedly democratic element of the British system – elections – there is a deeply held antipathy to giving Britons real and meaningful choice. We continue to use First Past the Post – an archaic system which is only used by Britain and former British colonies. Our system massively limits limits choice, ensuring that there are only ever two main parties. The absence of preferential voting causes small parties to lose out as voters are forced to vote negatively, to keep out the party they dislike the most. Unless a party is territorially concentrated, (like the SNP or Plaid Cymru) it is unlikely to win more than a handful of seats until it reaches around 30% of the national vote share. The lack of a multiparty system limits the ideas that are discussed – there is great pressure on the parties not to differ too much from the other, and to focus disagreement on relatively minor issues. The fact that the electoral system has remained in place, is a measure of how little emphasis Britain places on democracy. One of the most common arguments in favour of the status quo is that it ‘ensures strong government’. This is by its very nature an anti-democratic argument – a system that continually distorts the national vote is maintained because of its ability to uphold an meta-democratic ideal – that of strength and stability.
Given the lack of meaningful choice at (most) general elections, it might be presumed that the real democracy happens within those parties, in internal elections to choose the leader. But in fact, Party members choosing their leaders is a very recent innovation. Until 1965 the leader of the Conservative Party ’emerged’ – appointed by Party grandees. The party has only given members a vote since 1999, from a shortlist of 2 drawn up by MPs. Labour members have only had a vote since 1981, and until Ed Miliband’s reforms of 2014 they voted as part of a complex ‘electoral college’ in which the votes of Labour MP’s were worth far more than those of rank and file Trade Unionists and Party members. The 2015 Labour leadership was the first to feature One Member One Vote, allowing members a genuine choice between 4 divergent candidates. While the new rules required nominations from 15% of the Parliamentary Party (35 MPs) an intense grassroots campaign persuaded MPs to include Jeremy Corbyn, creating a genuine choice in what was arguably the first genuinely democratic election of a party leader in British political history.
Since winning, Corbyn has consulted members extensively, instituting the novelty of asking questions received from the public at Prime Minister’s Questions, and culminating in the approx. 70,000 emails received in response to party’s Syria consultation. The latter was mocked by opponents – who questioned how the leadership could possibly read so many emails. They were right – but the answer to that problem is not less member participation, but the building of a genuine system of internal online democracy so that members can vote regularly on a range of policy issue. This has been promised by Corbyn and Ben Soffa, Labour’s new Head of Digital organising, has confirmed that the digital infrastructure is currently being built in order to deliver this.
Such an approach is totally new to the UK – British political culture prefers to talk of ‘consultation’ rather than direct democracy, and mass votes on specific policies have only taken place a handful of times in British history, all since 1973. But interntationally the idea of political parties operating through internal democracy is not new – in fact it is becoming something of a trend. The poster child for this movement is Podemos, the Spanish anti-austerity party that emerged out of the 15-M ‘Indignados’ movement and received 20.65% of the vote in the recent Spanish election. It practices radical internal democracy, with online deliberations and voltes on all policy questions through an appand a sprawling set of Reddit pages known as ‘Plaza Podemos‘ as well as in-person ‘citizens assemblies’. Direct democracy is also a key feature of Italy’s 5 Star Movement, founded around the comedian Beppe Grillo in 2009. Proposals put forward by representative of the movement in parliament are those that prove most popular in online votes held on its website ‘Sistema Operativo‘. A similar approach is taken by Germany’s Pirate Party who use a system called ‘liquid feedback‘ which allows a wide range of members to edit and refine policy documents. Rival policy documents are then voted for to see which has most support. From 2002-2013 a local Swedish party Demoex elected councillors as delegates – they are strictly obliged to vote according to the result of a prior membership decision. The party is now a member of the national grouping ‘Active Democracy‘ – which aspires to implement such an approach across the whole of Sweden. The ideal software for mass participatory democracy has probably not yet been designed – it requires a mix of discussion forums, collaborative editing in order to co-write policy proposals, and multi option ballots, with most current systems offering one or two of those. Due to its ubiquitous nature many political groups organise through Facebook – but it only really offers a forum for discussion. An alternative platform, Loomio, which emerged out of the Occupy movement, allows a group to edit a proposal until it all are happy, but the designers’ belief in consensus decision making means that there are no multi-option ballots, making decision making rather laborious. The mass participation movement is still waiting for the free, user friendly digital technology that will allow direct democracy to truly flourish.
Ironically, the movement towards greater participation in Britain occurs as the government is doing everything in its power to erode democracy – rushing through individual voter registration against the advice of the independent electoral commission, leading to around 2 million falling off the electoral register – in addition to the 8 million already unregistered. The government will then redraw constituency boundaries based on the new register. As the people most likely to drop are the poorest and most transient, the inevitable result is reducing the number of constituencies likely to be won by the Labour party. This is a highly sophisticated gerrymandering operation. In the long term the only way to fight this is by involving millions of people who are currently unenthused by politics. Despite the monstering Jeremy Corbyn has received at the hands of the press, polling suggests that there are a great many issues on which the the Labour leadership is in tune with broad swathes of popular opinion: belief in higher (and better enforced) taxes on large corporations, renationalisation of the railways, abolishing tuition fees, instituting rent controls, abolishing the bedroom tax, jettisoning the marketisation of the NHS, returning schools to local control, opposing TTIP and more. But it will not be enough to take popular positions – rather it is the other way round, that policies drawn up and approved by millions of people in internal ballots are likely to be popular with the wider election. Given current Conservative hegemony there is little choice but to take a radical approach. It is only by giving away power that Labour can hope to return to government.


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Istanbul, July 24 () – The house sales in Turkey have increased by 19.1 percent to 110,657 units in June 2015, by comparison with the last year’s rates, according to the data released by Turkstat on Friday.
Turkstat reports disclosed that the mortgaged house sales have also increased to a volume of 40,503, with a rise of 26.5 percent over the same period.
The Turkstat report also reveals that house sales to foreigners in Turkey has increased by 32.5 and exceeded over the level of 2,256. In this regard, Istanbul was the first province of house sales with a volume of 718 sales in June 2015.
Antalya follows Istanbul with 610 sales, Aydın with 198 house sales, Bursa with 125 house sales, Yalova with 123 house sales and Sakarya with 92 house sales in the report of June 2015, according to the statistics. .

domain: economics


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Amid media stumbles, Facebook shows it’s human after all
Publishers can be forgiven for having a Rocky IV moment recently as Facebook has been on the defensive over livestreaming a murder and what appears to be a dud of a product with Instant Articles. The Russian is cut.
Facebook is kicking off its annual developer conference today at a time when it has never been stronger in media but is also showing clear signs of weakness. The weakness stems from not understanding media, even though media is Facebook’s business. Leave aside the tech company or media company debate. Advertising is how Facebook makes money. This is the context in which it operates — and like it or not, Facebook will be judged on those terms.
Jessica Lessin, the CEO of The Information, a year ago on the Digiday Podcast summed up media’s biggest misconception about Facebook: “What media gets wrong about Facebook is that Facebook doesn’t care about media.” Nowhere is that more glaring than the missteps Facebook took with Facebook Live and Instant Articles.
With Live, Mark Zuckerberg apparently wanted something “raw.” Well, he got that with a streamed murder this week. And media companies have found little success with Live. Facebook did take steps in paying publishers to create Live content. The problem: The incentives were such that it prioritized rushing out livestreams of fruit and nonsense rather than high quality. “Raw” might sound good in Silicon Valley’s “fuck it, ship it” mentality, but in media, raw is low quality and low value. That’s where Facebook Live is stuck, murders or no murders.
Next, Instant Articles is appearing in danger of losing its way. Publishers at our recent Digiday Publishing Summit complained that IA failed by a very simple standard: Publishers still can’t make enough money off visitors. That’s leading to publishers like The New York Times and Forbes pulling back or out entirely, as our Lucia Moses reported last week. The Verge followed up with a piece that delved into the problems of Facebook Instant Articles. The big flaw: Engineers and product managers only focused on solving page speed and didn’t think much about monetization. That should give media a lot of faith in their new overlords.
Bustle’s video play
I expressed some mild skepticism over Bustle CEO Bryan Goldberg’s purchase of millennial-focused listicle factory Elite Daily off Daily Mail. The sale price wasn’t disclosed, and Goldberg wasn’t saying, but it’s safe to say Elite Daily went for less than the $40-50 million Daily Mail paid for it just two years ago. Those were different days, when brands could pop up out of nowhere to amass large audiences through Facebook.
Goldberg, always pugnacious, was having none of it. “Name five media properties founded this decade that are more valuable or important than Elite Daily… go! (Hint: you won’t be able to do it.)”
Maybe. But Elite Daily is the classic Facebook publisher. According to comScore, last May the site had 32 million visitors. By this past March it was down to 11 million. Live by the algorithm, die by the algorithm.
Leaving aside Elite Daily’s brand value and audience struggles, one area of particular interest to Bustle: video. Elite Daily has built up a solid video capability, an area where Bustle lags behind competitors. After all, Hearst Media digital president Troy Young is talking about half its output being video soon. Bustle clearly needs video as display ads normalize at a low rate.
Coming soon: Digiday+
One of the best things of covering media in an age of change is also trying to live it. Our membership program — thank you! — is one of the ways we’re trying to change ourselves. We’re tracking closely the shift to loyalty. In figuring out our own business, we want to offer a membership program that builds off our strong brand in media and marketing. (Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith called us “one of my favorite brands” at our Digiday Publishing Summit, which made the entire team beam with pride.)
What became clear is we need to simplify how we present our membership program. Digiday Pulse, or just Pulse, was too ambiguous. We are changing to Digiday+ to make clear that membership means Digiday — and more. This makes our brand front and center. I admire what Bloomberg has done with a monolith brand. We’re moving into something of a hybrid model with our sub-brands in other verticals — Glossy for fashion and Tearsheet for finance — but the monolith approach is best for us in media. Expect to see the new branding next week. Let me know what you think.
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Starring: Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake M. Johnson
Directed by: Nicholas Jasenovec (debut)
Written by: Nicholas Jasenovec (debut) and Charlyne Yi (debut)
The onslaught of quirky romantic comedies continues this year with the well-intended but off-centered love story “Paper Heart.” Part mockumentary and part fictional narrative, the idea behind this essentially one-woman show is more attractive in a pure form than it is in a genre blend.
Nevertheless, at least director/co-writer Nicholas Jasenovec has Charlyne Yi in his corner. Charlyne is the saving grace of a picture that starts promising but loses its way once it realizes what kind of film it is becoming. In the more documentary-driven portions of “Paper Heart,” Charlyne goes on a personal quest to face her own uncertainties on love and the opposite sex.
With a camera crew and director in tow, Charlyne, who is best known as the giggly pot smoker in “Knocked Up,” travels across the U.S. to interview everyday people about love-related issues. During her journey, she aims to understand why she doesn’t believe in something most people hope to find at least once in their lives. From an interview with a biologist who tries to explain love in scientific terms to an impromptu chat with kids on a playground, Charlyne gets a few lighthearted and smile-worthy quotes from her subjects. Other interviews aren’t as well-planned, however. The idea to visit a fortune-teller lacks creativity while a trip to Paris proves to be an unnecessary indulgence.
Truthfully, Charlyne really is the only genuine part of this romantic crossbreed. A few scenes into “Paper Heart” – when it’s obvious how hard it will actually be to capture Charlyne falling in love – Jasenovec, who is actually portrayed in the film by actor Jake M. Johnson (TV’s “Derek and Simon: The Show”), calls out an audible. In this instance, the monkey wrench is actor Michael Cera (“Super Bad”). Like Charlyne, Cera plays himself, which, oddly enough, is the same character he plays in all his movies. For this role, however, Jasenovec (the real one not the fictional one) uses him as a pawn so that he can force his leading man and woman into a narrative that never completely develops.
While Michael Cera is usually as well-received as a surprise birthday party, he’s sort of a downer in “Paper Heart.” What we really want more of is Charlyne, a real-life stand-up comedian based out of L.A. A reality show centered on Charlyne would charm the pants off anyone. It’s too bad “Paper Heart”‘s flimsy script rains on her happy-go-lucky parade.


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Added Mar 26, 2011
Salt Lake City, ...
This is a technique I've done on a few different garments and even though I haven't yet perfected their art, I've still found them to be extraordinarily beautiful. I've picked up tips and tricks here and there from various sources on the best way to do these for the home seamstress, so my info is a mish mash of this and that. And much of it is based on what is available to us nowdays. For instance, finding true buttonhole gimp....I've looked high and low and have never been able to find any, so I've listed my best substitute.
You will need the following:
♥ buttonhole twist (you can buy beautiful silk threads here or another option is to use the pearlized cotton found by the embroidery threads, you can also use wool thread which is great for a "hairy" effect or even on sweaters!) Tip: buttonhole twist is different from other threads. You need a fat, tightly woven thread, so sadly regular thread and embroidery floss do not work. (believe me, I've tried, you'll cry because I did)
♥ buttonhole gimp (I use a strand of the buttonhole twist or for a sturdier option use button and craft thread)
♥ fray check
♥ small shears or a seam ripper for cutting buttonholes
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Check out this post all on menswear, and see how Meg was inspired to create her own men's shirts!
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domain: artistic


text: Prodromal assessment with the structured interview for prodromal syndromes and the scale of prodromal symptoms: Predictive validity, inter-rater reliability, and training to reliability. This is the stage when characteristic psychotic symptoms – such as hallucinations, delusions and very odd or disorganized speech or behaviours – emerge and are most noticeable. Prodromal assessment with the structured interview for prodromal syndromes and the scale of prodromal symptoms: predictive validity, interrater reliability, and training to reliability. Brief intermittent psychosis prodromal syndrome (BIPS). The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of PQ-B in a Chinese help-seeking outpatient … • Three measures are currently being used to deter-mine the diagnosis of the prodromal state and/or severity of putatively prodromal symptoms. It is usually very helpful to get additional information from family members or other significant support persons. Psychotic symptomatology included delusions and hallucinations within psychotic disorders. Joe Buckby (2005) Mapping the onset of psychosis: the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 39:11-12, 964-971 The CAARMS is a semistructured interview schedule designed for use by mental health professionals who are already able to assess and evaluate patients’ information. Global assessment of functioning: A modified scale, Psychosomatics, 36, 267-275. The word ‘prodrome’ is used to describe the earliest signs of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and also as a label for the period between the onset of those symptoms and the development of actual psychosis. In the prodrome to psychosis, ... (COGDIS), in the assessment of psychosis risk in help-seeking psychiatric patients; in a meta-analysis, COGDIS was shown to be as predictive of transition to psychosis as the Ultra High Risk (UHR) criteria up to 2 years after assessment, and significantly more predictive thereafter. 40 We examined internalizing symptoms using summations of current child- and parent-rated depression and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, an internalizing … Schizophrenia Bulletin, 29(4):703-715, 2003. International interest has grown over the past 15 years in the prognostic potential of early identification of and intervention in the prodromal and first episode phases of psychotic illness. They overlap with a broad range of mental health conditions and require a discriminating eye to identify as specifically belonging in the early-onset schizophrenia … The typical course of a psychotic episode can be thought of as having three phases: Prodrome Phase, Acute Phase, and Recovery Phase. Residual and prodromal symptoms as per DSM III R 1. The program typically has a team consisting of psychiatrists, nurses, family and group therapists, clinicians and occupational therapists. This phase can last from several months to a year or more. We assessed a consecutive patient sample of 3533 young adults who were help-seeking for nonpsychotic disorders at the secondary mental health services in The Hague with the PQ. A family medical history will be taken that includes a history of any mental disorders in the family and other medical conditions. Sexual trauma increases the risk of developing psychosis in an ultra high-risk "prodromal" population. American Psychiatric Association. • Three measures are currently being used to deter-mine the diagnosis of the prodromal state and/or Prodromal symptoms are similar to those experienced during an actual schizophrenic episode, although they usually appear in a more muted form. The dimensional quantification of prodromal symptom severity may be an important direction for future studies of the assessment of at-risk states. Several tools quantitatively assess and rate the severity of prodromal symptoms of psychosis, including Bonn scale for the assessment of basic symptoms (BSABS; Gross et al., 1987), the structured interview for prodromal symptoms (SIPS), the scale of prodromal symptoms (SOPS; McGlashan, 1996), the multidimensional assessment of psychotic prodrome (Yung and McGory, 1996), and the … Find out more about the studies: The Prodrome Assessment Research and Treatment (PART) is a research clinic based out of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco. The Structured Interview of Psychosis-risk Syndromes (SIPS) is a structured interview for diagnosing a clinical high risk (CHR) syndrome for psychosis and cases of first episode psychosis (McGlashan et al., 2010). Key Words: prodrome, schizophrenia, adolescence, early diagnosis, early intervention, psychosis Received and accepted September 2012. early detection and treatment of the prodromal phases of psychosis. Assessments include a history of the person’s life, including accomplishments and challenges, physical problems, development through life, and social and school functioning. The first phase is referred to as the prodrome (or prodromal) phase. carry out a risk assessment rather than to make a definitive diagnosis such as schizophrenia or bipolar mood disorder. Attenuated psychosis and the schizophrenia prodrome: current status of risk identification and psychosis prevention Practice points Several reliable and validated instruments exist to assess the presence or absence of psychosis risk states. All relevant scales were selected for the purpose of the review. Individuals who develop schizophrenia often suffer long standing deficits. The psychosis high-risk state — clinical features Definition and diagnosis. The CEDAR Clinic and Research Program is a center committed to advancing our understanding of and ability to help young people at risk for psychosis and their families. ... Assessment of adolescent psychosis. The Staglin Music Festival Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States (CAPPS) is a clinical research center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Behavior at UCLA. Included participants were judged to be at risk of developing psychosis on the basis on a clinical assessment identifying prodromal features. Schizophrenia , prodrome , clinical high risk , positive symptoms , psychosis , disorganization , predictive validity The prodromal phase of psychosis is the critical time period when individuals are showing signs that they are at risk for developing a psychotic illness. EPI services start with a thorough assessment to enable the team to develop an individualized treatment plan for each client. Learn more about our clinic >> Learn more about our research >> Psychotic episodes rarely occur out of the blue. Studies including participants with a formal diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (including first episode psychosis) were excluded. Our interdisciplinary team integrates innovative research, education, and specialized clinical care. Many of the symptoms get less intense or disappear, and people are generally better able to cope with daily life. Although these interviews can be intimidating initially, but they get easier as the relationship gets built. After treatment has begun, the team will monitor successes and challenges throughout the young person’s time in the program. Within a few weeks or months of starting treatment, most people begin to recover. Prodrome symptoms vary from person to person and some people may not experience any of the changes. Contri ... Hall, R. (1995). prodrome; CAARMS, comprehensive assessment of at-risk mental states; Y-PARQ, youth psychosis at risk questionnaire; PANSS, positive and negative syndrome scale; SOPS, scale of prodromal … Schizophr Bull. Signs and symptoms of the prodrome to schizophrenia can be assessed more fully using structured interviews. DID YOU KNOW Although a psychotic episode is viewed as occurring in three phases, not all people will experience clear symptoms of all three phases. However, active psychotic symptoms must be present for at least 1 month. The International classification of diseases (ICD)-10 (World Health Organization 1994) acknowledges a prodrome as part of the schizophrenic syndrome; prodromal symptoms are not included in its description of schizophrenia 15). Prodromal symptoms of schizophrenia are partially distinct from those experienced during fully developed versions of the disorder. A number of semistructured research tools are available for assessment of individuals with prodromal symptoms, or ARMS (16). A comment on this article appears in "Commentary: Progress, issues, and implications of prodromal research: an inside view." What assessment findings mark the prodromal stage of schizophrenia? That means we are required to get your permission before sharing any information you tell us or about your medical condition. Psychotic symptoms was the broadest term, encompassing a range of populations but most commonly involving hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and disorganization. ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Our interdisciplinary team integrates innovative research, education, and specialized clinical care. The Schizophrenia Test and Early Psychosis Indicator (STEPI, Version 2011.1) for Prodromal Syndromes and Psychosis is designed as a simple screening quiz to help identify symptoms of the schizophrenia prodrome before an individual becomes fully psychotic. The Diagnosis and Assessment of Individuals Prodromal for Schizophrenic Psychosis By Jean Addington, PhD FOCUS POINTS • Early intervention before the onset o af psychotic illness is an area for research and not practice. The dimensional quantification of prodromal symptom severity may be an important direction for future studies of the assessment of at-risk states. In order to bring about implementation of routine screening for psychosis risk, a brief version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ; Loewy et al., 2005) was developed and tested in a general help-seeking population. The psychosis high-risk state — clinical features Definition and diagnosis. The dimensional quantification of prodromal symptom severity may be an important direction for future studies of the assessment of at-risk states. Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ) and Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) have been used as a two-stage process for identifying subjects at clinical high risk (CHR) of psychosis. For example, the risk of developing psychosis associated with schizophrenia is 1% for the general population vs. 13% for the children of those with schizophrenia. Results: Six interviews and four screening instruments were found. © 2020 - BC Early Psychosis Intervention Program, General Tips for Coping After Someone Is Connected With Services. Borgmann-Winter K(1), Calkins ME, Kniele K, Gur RE. 29, No. Each person’s experience will differ. Some of the symptoms that emerged in the Acute Phase may linger in the Recovery Phase, but with appropriate treatments, the vast majority of people successfully recover from their first episode of psychosis. Services provided to the youth and their family includes: comprehensive intake evaluation, Family Focused-Therapy, psycho-education, communication enhancement, problem solving, and skill building. Prodromal psychotic symptoms referred to the prodrome of psychotic disorders. Assessment of the possible prodromal course and trajectory . Sometimes certain medical tests may need to be done to determine the cause of the psychosis or if there are other significant health problems. Awareness of the "red flags" that should result in a medical referral. The Davidson Conceptual Model of Prodromal Postpartum Psychosis Symptomology emerged from the data and is a visual representation of the known prodromal risk factors that can be used by practitioners to guide the assessment process. Clinicians who have familiarized themselves with these tools are better equipped to integrate the nuances of the nonspecific prodromal … It contains a severity rating scale (the Scale Of Psychosis-risk Symptoms, or SOPS), a well-anchored Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) (Hall, 1995), the DSM-IV schizotypal personality disorder checklist, a brief assessment of the family history of psychosis, and the Criteria Of Psychosis-risk Syndromes (COPS) and Presence Of Psychosis Scale (POPS) and DSM-5 Attenuated Psychosis … One or more interviews with members of the team – one of whom is usually a psychiatrist, helps to identify specific symptoms of psychosis as well as other symptoms such as depression and anxiety. unexplained difficulty at/skipping school or work. People who suffer from psychosis often have prodromal and acute phases to their illness. Specific vulnerabilities are also the focus of this assessment, such as ongoing significant stress, trauma, support systems (friends, family, school, church) and the use of street drugs and alcohol as these can act as triggers of relapse. If you are concerned about similar types of changes in yourself or someone else, it’s important to seek help. 4, 2003 gression of symptoms and functioning and is not a treat-ment trial. If you have this type of prodrome, you may have symptoms like APS, but they come and go. This should include a detailed mental state examination. Key Words: prodrome, schizophrenia, adolescence, early diagnosis, early intervention, psychosis Received and accepted September 2012. Most patients who convert to psychosis do so within the first 6 months of baseline assessment, indicating that the criteria are identifying patients in the late prodromal phase of the illness. Schizophrenia bulletin, 38(6), 1288-1296. II. Psychiatric causes of psychosis can be diagnosed once organic causes have been excluded. For example, the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes ,   and the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States (CAARMS)  are both valid and reliable methods for identifying individuals likely experiencing the prodrome to schizophrenia or related … Assessment of Psychosis. To compare high-risk traits and symptoms in two populations at risk for psychosis, i.e. Assessment of Prodromal Schizophrenia Schizophrenia Bulletin, Vol. The term prodrome in medicine is a retrospective concept, diagnosed only after the definitive symptoms and signs of a fully developed illness are manifested. Prodrome symptoms vary from person to person and some people may not experience any of the changes. Table 1. Psychosis affects between 1% and 3% of the population, and typically emerges between the ages of 15 and 30. However the team is required by law to inform authorities and share information with them if you tell us you are at risk or putting yourself, or someone else at risk, of serious harm or abuse (including emotional, physical or sexual abuse). Prodromal Stage. A careful psychiatric history is required to diagnose primary psychotic disorders. Just because somebody is experiencing all of these changes does not necessarily mean that they are likely to be in the prodrome phase of psychotic episode. 23. For purposes of clarity, the focus of the present In any case, the diagnostic boundaries of the various disorders are often unclear and there is considerable overlap between the different entities. It is not possible to predict from these symptoms if a person is going on to develop psychosis. This phase can last from several months to a year or more. Psychotic symptoms was the broadest term, encompassing a range of populations but most commonly involving hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and disorganization. The experiences are often very distressing for the person. A comment on this article appears in "Commentary: Chickens and eggs; carts and horses: an outsider's perspective on the study of the early stages and potential prevention of psychosis and schizophrenia. We assessed a consecutive patient sample of 3533 young adults who were help-seeking f … A consultant psychiatrist or a trained specialist with experience in at-risk mental states should carry out an assessment. The Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States (CAPPS) is an evidence-based treatment provided through Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LAC-DMH) Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) Program. The validity of the 16-item version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) to screen for ultra high risk of developing psychosis in the general help-seeking population. Types of changes in feelings, thoughts, perceptions and behaviours include: The changes that have been observed in the prodromal phase are very general and could be signs of many different things, including ordinary adolescent behaviour. If a person suspected to be in the prodromal phase of psychosis is not judged to be at high risk of harm, they should be referred without delay refer to the early intervention in psychosis service (if available) or a specialist mental health service. This section provides an overview of the assessment and interventions used in most EPI programs. This section provides an overview of the assessment and interventions used in most EPI programs. Schizophrenia Bulletin 29, 703 – 715. difficulty focusing or understanding what they are hearing, changes in perceptual experiences – visual experiences may become brighter or sounds louder. PSYCHOSIS-RISK SYNDROMES . Objective: To review assessment instruments used for detection of prodromal or at-risk mental states, and discuss their role in current research. The “prodromal” or pre-psychotic phase of schizophrenia is characterized by the progressive deterioration of functioning and emergence of subthreshold psychotic symptoms. DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia requires a 6-month period of disturbance that can include both a prodromal period of deterioration before the onset of psychotic symptoms and a residual phase. The early stage prior to a full-blown episode of psychosis is known as the prodromal stage. All relevant scales were selected for the purpose of the review. Although the symptoms described above are typical of the prodrome phase of psychosis, they may also be due to other causes. The “Warning Signs of Psychosis” section provides information on changes that are more characteristic of psychosis and suggest even greater concern and need for professional assessment. Schizophrenia … An estimated 80% of individuals affected by a psychotic disorder ... interviews for UHR criteria do not define a minimum age for the assessment of APS and BLIPS or guidelines as to … Instrument for the retrospective assessment of onset of schizophrenia 23) Bonn Scale for the assessment of basic symptoms 24) Structured Interview for Prodromal Symptoms (SIPS) 25) Scale for prodromal symptoms (SOPS) 26) Multidimensional assessment of psychotic prodrome 27) Comprehensive assessment of ARMS (CAARMS) 28) Most patients who convert to psychosis do so within the first 6 months of baseline assessment, indicating that the criteria are identifying patients in the late prodromal phase of the illness.


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The China Post
Date: December 10, 2016
By: The China Post news staff
The Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) Friday opened an exhibition in Taipei celebrating the
achievements of startups launched by indigenous people in their local communities.
The opening ceremony for the exhibition at Huashan Creative Park was presided over by CIP Minister Icyang Parod.
The exhibition featured 20 startups established with subsidies under a CIP program that offered up to NT$1 million in funding for each of the indigenous people’s projects.
CIP also offered their companies consulting assistance, helping them with commercial registrations at the very beginning. It then helped them improve their operations and explore business opportunities. [FULL STORY]


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Scott Grove is a dedicated artist and craftsman who uses a broad media mix, utilizing wood, glass and metal. Each project is an expression of his creative spirit. He uses traditional and unconventional techniques along with modern technology. His work reflects his respect for the traditional work ethic. Grove maintains a full-time studio in downtown Rochester, New York where he produces commissioned work, speculative furniture, as well as limited-edition pieces.
“My intention is to make functional art with the look of sophistication and a touch of whimsy.”


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Get to know the coon ass state of mind. Shrimp boats, marsh grass, oyster beds, and cool morning runs. The bulls are on parade.
Louisiana Bull Red rod and fly recommendations:
Custom 10 wt. 9 foot 4 piece fly rod - dublhawl build
Black bull red fly - coming soon
White bull red fly - coming soon

domain: hobby


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My name is Catalina, also known as Katerina.
I am a Romanian living in Netherlands and I became “friends” with this craft and all yarn related crafts, when I was feeling overwhelmed with so many changes in my life: having a child, moving to another country, being a stay-at-home mom.
I learned to crochet many years ago, back in my childhood from my mom. It got to a point where everyone used to joke and tell her that I had become a better crocheter than her. I rediscovered this beautiful craft 2 years ago and I am so happy I did.
Back in my childhood I always loved to design clothes and I used to recreate the ones that I wanted to buy, but couldn’t afford. Now I love to create clothes in crochet and love to share and to show others how to make them.
I design crochet pattern in association with Hobbii, which can be found for free on Hobbii.com, but I also design under my own label, ByKaterina Crochet
I started ByKaterina Crochet because I wanted to show everyone that with this “old fashion” craft you can make really beautiful and fashionable clothes.
Follow me here


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Top un-edited videos related to Cruise Vacations, Vancouver Hotels, and Man-o-war Cay Update, unedited version: drone view of Man O War cay from the low place.
Man-o-war Cay Update, unedited version: drone view of Man O War cay from the low place.
Island Hopping In The Bahamas
Stop off to unwind and enjoy the beach for a bit or keep going to check out more of the area. So start doing your research study and find out the finest method to begin a travel business.
unedited version: drone view of Man O War cay from the low place, Get most searched updated videos related to Man-o-war Cay Update.
Sport Fishing In Nassau Bahamas
They go as far south, as the northeast coast of South America, with Barbados and St. Or just hang out at the resort pool and relax. It is understood for its luxurious golf courses and boasts among the traveler targets, Freeport.
Household getaway getaways can be one of the best experiences in a household. Some of the very best memories (and snapshots) are created throughout family check outs to the beach, theme parks, or historical parks or museums just hanging out having fun.
Practically all House boats feature televisions and music systems and other such standard home entertainment devices. For a little bahamas Island additional they can even come geared up with DVD players and refrigerators and clean machines and other truly glamorous gizmos.
If stretches of remote, peaceful beaches bahamas travel are among your requirements, the beaches of Long Island make it one of the finest romantic islands I can potentially envision.
Perhaps you would take pleasure in last minute travel deals that will take you to Nassau, Bahamas. The Bahamas is the paradise nation that everyone loves to go to since the person can take pleasure in sandy beaches, glittery gambling establishments, resorts, culture, shady lanes, and more.
Take a seven-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas if you are interested in the Eastern Caribbean. Leaving from Miami, the ship travels to Philipsburg in St. Maarten, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Labadee, a personal Island boats rental in Haiti that is leased to the cruise line. The island is entirely occupied by travelers and those who exist to serve them. It is guarded by a private security force. The per-person rate for this seven-night trip starts around $600 per individual.
Get to know the residents. Bahamians are a gregarious and hardy bunch, well worth understanding. Since couple of things grow on sandy beaches, they live mainly on imports and food gathered from the sea. Not all of the regional meals are as tough to swallow as Conch, one of their delicacies.
Talk about beautiful, and off to my right, some dolphins began to swim along side the boat. How romantic it was, however damn, I was stuck with the Teacher, and no Mary Anne!
Strategy your trip throughout the off season to conserve. Peak season is December to April, and rates drop appropriately during other times. Hotel rates and airline tickets will be much less pricey if you prevent the busiest time. Luckily, the weather is not awfully various from summer season to winter and you can still delight in a charming time no matter when you get here.
Leros is a charming green island with breathtaking beaches and bays. This island is called the entrance to the Bahamas. His partner was leaning out the window waving her arms and attempting to flag us down.
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Danes can now get a haircut at a salon for the 1st time in a thirty day period, as the Nordic country will take the subsequent stage to step by step relax its coronavirus lockdown.
“We are nuts chaotic. I necessarily mean entirely booked for the future two months,” claims Phil Olander, operator of Phil’s Barber in central Copenhagen.
The go, declared on Friday, has activated a rush of appointments. Mr Olander suggests his scheduling procedure crashed mainly because it was flooded with enquiries.
An additional hairdresser explained to me she’s entirely booked for the subsequent three months and will work prolonged several hours to meet need.
Other enterprises including tattoo parlours, beauticians, dentists and opticians are now permitted to reopen. Driving lessons are also allowed. Each and every has new wellness suggestions to follow.
“We have to do a clean up-up among each customer,” suggests Mr Olander. “So that is sanitising each station, the resources, everything from the doorknob to the credit card reader. So it can be a good deal of additional work.”
The waiting spot has been rearranged to have far more area, and there are no for a longer time journals to browse.
“I just felt like I require a haircut and this is my area to occur,” says consumer Christian Rikhof.
He feels at ease about the restrictions staying lifted. “I consider they have it less than management and I have rely on in them.”
Most hair salons appeared completely ready for their 1st working day again. In my area neighbourhood, the 1st 10 salons I walked previous all experienced their doors open up. However, safeguards taken change by salon.
Ayse Akkaya, proprietor of Hair Kompagniet, wears a confront mask and visor when she functions.
After a thirty day period with no money, she is relieved to be open yet again. But she says not all shoppers are completely ready to arrive again. “Young people come. I have these [appointments]. Previous people are not coming.”
Denmark was one of the first European nations around the world to announce a lockdown and is now amongst the initially little by little calming it.
Past Wednesday the country’s youngest kids returned to key and nursery colleges.
Other restrictions continue being in place right until at minimum 10 Could. The borders are closed and gatherings are minimal to 10 folks.


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Meir Panim implements programs that serve Israel’s neediest populations with respect and dignity. Meir Panim also coordinated care packages for families in the South during the Gaza War.
Former president Jimmy Carter, who has garnered much criticism in recent years for his harsh words about Israel, will address the Democratic National Convention in prime time.
The Democratic National Convention Committee and Obama for America announced that Carter will speak Sept. 4 via video on the second day of the convention in Charlotte, N.C.
“President Carter is one of the greatest humanitarian leaders of our time and a champion of democracy around the globe,” said convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa, who also called the former president “a lifelong champion of human rights and investments in education and energy.”
He said that Carter “will provide unique insight” for economic recovery.
Abraham Foxman, national director of Anti-Defamation League, sharply criticized the invitation.
“I wish he wouldn’t [speak],” Foxman said. “I don’t think the convention should provide a platform for someone with such a biased obsession with Israel that borders on anti-Semitism.”
“I know it’s very difficult for any political party to deny a platform” to living former presidents, Foxman said, adding he hoped Carter’s speech would not be aired during any discussion about the Middle East or foreign policy.
David Harris, the president of the National Jewish Democratic Council, which in the past has been critical of Carter’s Middle East pronouncements, told JTA he was “confident” Carter would not speak about the region at the convention.
“Whether it’s Israel in particular or the Middle East in general, President Carter’s analysis has been consistently wrong, and harmful to the peace process to boot,” Harris said. “I’m confident that he won’t be speaking about Middle East policy at the Democratic Convention; today’s Democratic Party leaders – including one of the most pro-Israel presidents in U.S. history, President Obama – are best suited to that task.”
Republican Jewish Coalition director Matt Brooks said the decision showed how “out of touch” the Democrats had become. “Giving a platform to someone who has been openly hostile to Israel and equated the country to the South African apartheid regime is offensive,” Brooks said in an email.
Prime-time speakers at the convention include first lady Michelle Obama and keynote speaker San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who will also speak on Sept. 4 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Former president Bill Clinton and U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren will deliver their remarks on Sept. 5 at the arena. Both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will deliver their acceptance speeches on the final night of the convention, Sept. 6, at Bank of America Stadium.
Carter, in the statement from the convention organizers announcing his speaking tour, expressed his regrets at not being able to attend.
He said he and his wife Rosalynn “remain steadfast in our support for President Obama and the progress he will make in the next four years.”
Carter, who was president from 1977 to 1981, appeared but did not speak at the 2008 Democratic convention.
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At best, the Hareidim have been eating “Heter Mechira”. At worse, they’ve been eating vegetables grown in sewer water or pesticides from unknown and unsupervised Arabs fields.
Israelis protest at Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill train platform where an Arab terrorist ran over a group of commuters, killing a 3 month old baby. They are carrying signs, “Death to Terrorists”.
The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv has prohibited its personnel from riding the Jerusalem light rail train from French Hill to Pisgat Ze’ev, in northern Jerusalem, for 30 days because of the terrorist attack this week that killed a three-year-old American-Israeli. It was a typical U.S. Embassy reaction – every time there is a serious […]
Officials preach calm but are frantically trying tracing every step the doctor took in the city.
Former Presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney and former Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman will address the inaugural Israeli American Council (IAC) National Conference in Washington next month. The IAC’s stated mission is “to build an active and giving Israeli-American community throughout the United States in order to strengthen the State of Israel.” The number […]
Dozens of Arab rioters attacked Jewish owned buildings in Jerusalem’s Old City.
J Street U blames Jews buying homes in Jerusalem for triggering Hamas terrorist’s murderous rampage.
Boko Haram kidnapped an additional 20 Nigerian girls.
A healthcare worker has returned to the US from West Africa suffering with symptoms resulting in testing for the Ebola virus at NYC’s Bellevue Hospital.
Despite PM Netanyahu’s vow to “assert sovereignty” over all parts of Jerusalem, Arabs continue to carry out potentially lethal rock attacks.
Israel’s prime minister and the mayor of Jerusalem met today with security brass over the terror attack that wounded 8 and killed a 3-month-old baby.
For the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Boeing Aerospace and Defense has made a sale to Iran.
The effort to bring the Pattersons’ remains to Israel took three years and involved obtaining the approval of their grandson Alan, as well as the permission of a U.S. court.
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For a couple of years some of my friends and I have been sharing music. We’re supposed to review/rate what gets shared with us, and share those reviews with the group, but that doesn’t always happen.
Chicago – II (1970)
On the highlight end, I really like In the Country. It’s a sweet song that goes a little long, but that also allows for some nice variety within the track.
I’ve been a mild Chicago fan for a long time, but my wife’s family (mostly because of their dad) are big Chicago fans. So while I had a greatest hits album before, I’ve listened to all of their stuff a bit more in the last six or seven years, but still not a ton. When making breakfast on Saturday morning, their dad would apparently always turn on Chicago and use Wake Up Sunshine to summon them to breakfast. Even though he never did that when we’d visit (that I remember), I can’t help but think of him when I listen to Chicago, especially that and Colour My World. Although I didn’t love Anxiety’s Moment or Colour My World on first listen, they got better the second time around.
I know it’s been done before, but one of the covers/mash-ups of which I’m most proud in my musical career is 25 or 6 to 4 and Green Day’s Brain Stew. Now I can’t hear one without thinking of the other.
My favorite track was part of the Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon: Make Me Smile. Everything about it is great. So Much to Say, So Much to Give and To Be Free were also pretty alright.
The only lowlight for me was The Road. I can admire their unusual meter choice, but it felt disjointed. Or robotic, like they couldn’t make it feel natural. They did a similar thing (and did it better) in Fancy Colours.
It’s hard to tell, since it’s almost been a year, but I think I like this more than their debut record. 3/5
Here’s what my friends thought:
“This was a decent album. I think the first one you shared was better. As a whole it sounded good, but it got a little monotonous at times. Not enough to derail the album, but just enough for me to knock it from a 4 to a 3.” – Tim
Muse – The Resistance (2009)
We’ve done a little Muse before, and (like Rage Against the Machine) I feel like they can get a little political. But I only notice it if I’m paying attention to the lyrics, which deserve to be paid attention to unless you’re Sigur Rós and treat the vocals like another instrument, focusing less on the lyrics and more on the melodic line and tone of the voice.
I’ve never liked Undisclosed Desires. I don’t like the beat. I don’t like the strings. I don’t the remix-y production. The melody on the chorus is the best part.
Someone once said they felt United States of Eurasia was very Queen-esque. So it shouldn’t be surprising that Tim, the biggest fan of Queen I have ever met, decided to share this album (and this band again). Although to be honest, except for about six seconds of vocal harmony, I’m not sure I would have thought “Queen” without someone else suggesting it. I think the highlight of the song is the arabesque chorus section. It’s grown on me on subsequent listens. Unnatural Selection has some similar harmonies and it’s share of good moments, but I feel like it’s a little too bi-polar. Actually tri-polar. It ends pretty metal-y, which is sweet, but doesn’t fit the rest of the song, which has a hard time keeping it’s momentum. It and the next two tracks just kind of lost me, and I like them less on subsequent listens. Maybe I like them better mixed in with other stuff. The clarinet or whatever in I Belong to You was at least interesting, but didn’t quite fit. And neither did including Saint-Saëns’ piece in the middle. But I didn’t like the main feel of the rest of the song, either. Like Undisclosed Desires, I just didn’t really like anything about it.
Exogenesis: Symphony had some sweet musical ideas, but I’m not sure I liked his vocals on top of the Overture. I think they should have left it instrumental.
Again, it’s hard to tell without doing a side-by-side listen, but I think I like Black Holes and Revelations more than this. 3/5
From my friends:
“I remember seeing the music video for the opening track as my first introduction to Muse. I really like the clear vocals, the driving rock, and the cool synth sounds used throughout. I really enjoyed the whole listen. I thought United States had some serious Bohemian Rhapsody vibe in it and I liked the Chopin reference a lot. I was surprised how much of the album was quieter softer stuff but they still could pull out the stops and rock hard.
I honestly don’t know why I don’t LOVE this but Muse hasn’t really set in as a favorite. Perhaps I don’t connect with the lyrics or something. Anyway, I’ll be listening to more muse.” 4.1/5 – Spencer
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1972)
Next week, I’ll be out of town. So I’m sharing a double album this week, so if my friends don’t get around to finishing it, they’ll still have something from me next week (although there’s still a possibility I may share something next week, just not listen – because, Disney World and Harry Potter World).
This album is, to me, a genre defining album. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had a few studio albums under their belt when they decided to bring some old-time music legends together for a celebration of real Americana music. Most of these artists play country music, and a few of these songs are modern (which I would now define as post-USSR, but at the time this record came out I would say just post-WWII), but to me this is bluegrass and traditional American folk (not the anti-Vietnam war hippie stuff or post-O–Brother–Where–Art–Thou indie granola hipster stuff).
Growing up, for the 4th of July, we’d go to some 9th-cousin-or-something’s house in West Virginia or Georgia and sit on their porch and play what they called “hill music.” Great instrumental licks and often Southern gospel-inspired lyrics.
So enjoy. Here’s what my friends thought:
“Took me all week, but I got through it. I like bluegrass and folk stuff like this. I don’t fully understand why I like this and hate country western so bad, but thats how it is. Anyway, I enjoy it, but its not the type of thing I reach for very often. Its been a while so this was a nice changeup, but getting through 42 tracks did get a bit long. Orange blossom Special got me moving a bit, that was a highlight. A lot of it sat in the background as I was working, so I missed a lot, but it was nice background music. It didn’t strike me as the best ever folk music, but I don’t know what I would say is the best ever folk album. I guess I’m more a radio bluegrass/folk listener than an album listener.” 3.8/5 – Spencer
“I actually really like NGDB, but this album just doesn’t do it for me. I can see a musician, like Paul, really liking this, but for someone who just wants to enjoy the music, the behind the scenes became too much. This could be because it was a really long album, and for me commentary is better in doses when it comes to music. Then again, I bet a lot of people feel the same way listening to writers talk about writing, or the extras on DVDs, of which I enjoy both.
But my 2-star isn’t driven fully by my lack of interest in the behind the scenes tracks. It is also driven by the overall length, and lack of cohesive theme. The songs don’t seem to be arranged well in terms of tone and mood on the album, and while it is novel to do one take, sometimes it just felt like more polish would have benefited the song.
So yeah, two stars, which is surprising because I really like the band’s other music, or rather their own music.” 2/5 – Tim


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Happy Hours in Alexandria, VA
Since 1988, Alexandria has experienced unprecedented commercial development. Today the Old Town historic district is known for its array of museums, architecture, special events, fine restaurants and hotels, and other attractions that draw more than 1.5 m
Las Tapas : Las Tapas Alexandria Happy Hour
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Flamenco dancers on some nights
$3.00 Croquetas, Patatas Aioli & Patatas Bravas $3.50 Empanadillas, Quesadillas & Hummus
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM710 King Street • Alexandria, VA • (703) 836-4000

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Journal Issue: Children, Families, and Foster Care Volume 14 Number 1 Winter 2004
Even though federal laws have had a major influence on foster care and child welfare policy for more than 40 years, additional reforms are needed to ensure safe and stable families for children in care. This article describes the complex array of policies that shape federal foster care and observes:
- A number of federal policies addressing issues such as housing, health care, welfare, social security benefits, taxes, and foster care reimbursement to the states, form the federal foster care policy framework.
- The Adoption and Safe Families Act significantly altered federal foster care policy by instituting key changes such as defining when it is reasonable to pursue family reunification, expediting timelines for making permanency decisions, recognizing kinship care as a permanency option, and providing incentives to the state for increasing the number of adoptions.
- Courts play a key and often overlooked role in achieving safety and permanency for children in foster care. Efforts to improve court performance have focused on increasing the responsiveness and capacity of courts.
The article concludes with policy recommendations that are needed to improve the lives of children in foster care, such as increasing investments in children and families, redirecting funding incentives, addressing service gaps, and enhancing accountability.


North Carolina immigrants report language, discrimination as barriers to health care
North Carolina’s immigrant residents face challenges such as language barriers, complex eligibility rules and discriminatory treatment when interacting with government agencies and that’s leaving many people excluded from social assistance programs, according to a new study by the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute and UNC-Chapel Hill.
About one in 12 North Carolina residents are immigrants. In Mecklenburg County, that number rises to nearly one in six people.
Their experiences with the health care system and government agencies, like the Department of Health and Human Services, can vary widely depending on their background and their location.
Urban Institute senior fellow Hamutal Bernstein led a statewide assessment of how well immigrant residents can access safety net programs, like SNAP and Medicaid.
Nearly half of the state’s non-citizen immigrants lack health insurance, compared to about 9% of U.S.-born citizens. They are also insured at a lower rate than immigrant residents nationwide.
“We saw a real variation in resources across counties,” Bernstein said. They found program administration and policy interpretation varied by county.
The report notes that North Carolina is one of 10 states that operates programs like SNAP and Medicaid through a decentralized system. That means county governments, rather than statewide agencies, run the programs.
“If there are ways that there can be more sharing of knowledge, resources and information across counties — or if the state Health and Human Services agencies could facilitate collaboration across counties or sharing of resources across counties — that could be helpful,” Bernstein said.
Researchers interviewed 42 North Carolina stakeholders from divisions like DHHS. They also conducted focus groups in four counties with residents who spoke either Spanish, Swahili or Hmong. They found language access was a challenge for all three groups, but especially for non-Spanish-speaking immigrants.
“One of the things that we were struck by was speaking to stakeholders, including HHS agencies, but honestly, across the board, just not knowing what the language needs are beyond Spanish,” she said. “You cannot assume that if you provide it in Spanish you're covering the language access needs of the diverse immigrant population.”
In Mecklenburg County, for example, almost 40% of immigrant adults with limited English proficiency speak a language other than Spanish. The most spoken languages by North Carolina immigrants are Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Arabic.
Researchers conducted four focus groups with members of immigrant families. This included two sessions in Spanish, one in Swahili and one in Hmong.
More than half of immigrants in North Carolina speak Spanish, and about 40% of the state’s immigrant residents were born in Latin America. This is also a diverse group, with many people coming from families with mixed immigration statuses.
“Their major barriers in accessing safety net programs included concerns of past or changing immigration policies, documentation requirements, and lack of interpreters and Spanish-speaking staff at HHS offices,” the report says.
Bernstein noted that Spanish-speaking participants felt increased fear in counties where sheriffs have partnered with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Spanish speakers also commented on discrimination, which was a concern among all three language groups.
“They reported the need to set aside an entire day to visit the office, arrive early, and wait for several hours before being served,” the report says.
“Two participants connected the lack of Spanish-speaking staff to poor treatment and discrimination. Another said that she felt the color of her skin was a barrier to receiving good service at the office.”
The participants in this study group were all newly arrived refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They had lived in the United States between two months and four years. Bernstein explained that their situation varies from that of many other immigrant groups.
“Refugees are specifically provided assistance to enroll for safety net programs when they are resettled,” Bernstein explained. “They get assistance early on in their arrival, but they may drop off and face barriers to staying enrolled.”
They also experienced language access challenges.
“None had ever seen any written materials in Swahili at their county HHS agency. They reported receiving all correspondence from HHS in English and Spanish only, even when their HHS caseworkers knew they did not speak these languages,” the study says.
“They also reported a lack of use of professional interpretation services when calling the HHS office and confusion in finding and navigating government buildings because of the language barrier.”
Hmong families represent a more established immigrant group in North Carolina. Many fled Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War, and Hmong families in North Carolina often span three generations, the report notes.
Many of the focus group participants were second-generation Hmong who help their parents navigate the health system. Some were concerned about how living in multi-generational households could affect income eligibility requirements. Many had also taken on the role of interpreter.
“Participants reported a lack of translated materials in Hmong, saying that they provide interpretation for their parents when interacting with county HHS offices,” the study says. “The majority tried to assist their parents through the process by translating information and completing forms on their behalf. But they lacked full Hmong fluency and were concerned that they would inadvertently misinterpret information shared by their parents.”
The study found children in North Carolina with an immigrant parent were more likely to live in a low-income household. Statewide, more than a quarter of children from families with a low income had at least one immigrant parent. In Mecklenburg County, they make up almost half of that population.
Bernstein says that sends a message about the importance of investing in immigrant families: “If you want to help children and low-income families, you need to have the understanding that reaching immigrant families is important.”
The Urban Institute has released an interactive data tool that provides county-level data on North Carolina immigrant communities and health insurance rates.