I haven't seen the Other Boleyn Girl yet, but as an early modernist I suppose I'm obliged to at some point! I do think though that its interesting that its this aspect of Anne's story that we highlight in drama and in movies- the recent Henry VIII series on the BBC was similar. Anne Boleyn for those who don't know successfully managed the transition from being Henry's queen's lady in waiting to Henry's mistress to his wife and queen. But in a way that's the least interesting thing about her: Boleyn was an incredibly interesting woman in her own right, without thinking about her connection with Henry. She was a patron of the careers of many Protestants at Henry's court- and though we don't know how much influence she had on Henry's policy in the Reformation, there is a good case for saying that she was one of the drivers behind the Reformation. She was also an incredibly intelligent woman- Henry was attracted by her intelligence at first but then repulsed by the fact that she refused to bow to him all the time, by her temper and her sharpness. Her fall which flowed from her character and her enthusiasm for Protestantism in some ways is much more interesting than her rise- pretty women attract compliments and royal patrons all the time- but Anne wasn't just a pretty woman, she was an intelligent, skilful player of the court game, with an ideological coterie around her of radical protestants and a strong temper and sense of herself. I doubt we'll see that in the movie (except maybe as a negative and an adjunct to her charm)- and I do think its interesting that whenever you see this queen displayed on screen, her sexiness is emphasized at the expense of her intelligence. Partly that's because cinema likes a pretty body more than an interesting mind- but partly one suspects a residual sexism in the way that we approach Anne. We don't see the intelligent woman, as much as the sexy schemer.


Hyponatremia is a lack of sodium in your blood.
Hyponatremia occurs when the sodium levels in your blood are dangerously low. Symptoms include vomiting, headache, confusion, fatigue, appetite loss, seizures, coma, and others. Those who exercise intensely for extended periods of time are at a greater risk for hyponatremia, as the body loses salt through sweating. Drinking plain water is not enough to replenish sodium levels, and the salt to water ratio only gets worse. When levels are too low, excess water causes your cells to swell, which is especially dangerous for your brain.
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Peer Review the Asbestos Way
Hi. This is a slowly conglomerating monsterpost jumping off of some OMB peer review regulations that are apparently really trendy right now (ref: Chris Mooney, Calpundit). Why? Because they rule out peer review of government research by anyone who wants or has a research grant from the agency to be peer reviewed, narrowing the pool of potential peer reviewers to people who get their money from industry, more or less. And we can all guess what kind of high quality objective science comes out of industry when there’s regulatory capture on the line (yes, kids, tobacco is good for you!).
This is not so much an issue in hydrogeology. There are lots of little consulting firms (like the one I work for) that do business with an assortment of local governments, development companies and medium-sized private land owners, that could easily be called in to peer review the Forest Service or the EPA or whoever. But in that respect, it’s kind of a unique field – local governments don’t pay for cancer research.
The sticky part is as follows:
When selecting reviewers from the pool of qualified external experts, the agency sponsoring the review shall strive to appoint experts who, in addition to possessing the necessary scientific and technical expertise, are independent of the agency, do not possess real or perceived conflicts of interest, and are capable of approaching the subject matter in an open-minded and unbiased manner. Factors relevant to whether an individual satisfies these criteria include whether the individual:
- has any financial interests in the matter at issue
- has, in recent years, advocated a position on the specific matter at issue
- is currently receiving or seeking substantial funding from the agency through a contract or research grant (either directly or indirectly through another entity, such as a university); or
- has conducted multiple peer reviews for the same agency in recent years, or has conducted a peer review for the same agency on the same specific matter in recent years.
If it is necessary to select a reviewer who is or appears to be biased in order to obtain a panel with appropriate expertise, the agency shall ensure that another reviewer with a contrary bias is appointed to balance the panel.
So how worrisome is this? Certainly, there are many areas of research in which a person working in good faith to choose an unbiased review panel will be able to do so under these guidelines. And if we do not trust our Current Administration to work in good faith for the benefit of Science and Sundry, we are obviously Traitors. So, leaving aside the Most Improbable Probability of elected representatives of Democracy tampering with scientific expertise for political gain, we’ll move to a comparison of scientific standards in the executive and judicial branches of government.
(more to follow, there is laundry and frivolity to accomplish yet this evening)


|Photo credit: www.heatingoil.com|
What is the Keystone XL pipeline? A 1,700 mile TransCanada pipeline that would carry 900,000 barrels of oil each day from the tar sands in Canada through the U.S. to refineries in Texas. The pipeline would cut through six states, over seventy rivers and streams, aquifers, farms, and backyards, and disrupt native communities.
Extraction of the oil poisons the air and water, requires hundreds of millions of gallons of water each day, and requires deforestation of the boreal forest in Canada. The oil is bitumen, an especially dirty oil whose refinement results in 20% more carbon emissions than does conventional fuel.
The jobs the pipeline would create would be mostly temporary. The environmental, social, and public health costs of the pipeline over decades and centuries would outweigh any short-term job creation. This pipeline would only increase our dependence on fossil fuels for energy, at a time when our money would be better invested in safe, renewable sources of energy.
Much more after the jump...


The Open Source movement sets another fine example with this superb 2-axis laser cutting/engraving station. This is version 2.0 which has a more compact size measuring 12” x 20” x 4”. The DIY laser cutter/engraver has a manual vertical axis but you can opt-in for a digitally controlled one.
- Don’t miss: All of our CNC projects
The electronics as well as all moving metal parts have been designed keeping simplicity and strength in mind. The neat thing about this laser cutter and engraver is that it could give commercial CNC machines a run for their money. What’s really handy is that Open Source machine has a large community behind it. Head to the Buildlog.net blog and join the forum to view all drawings, schematics, build instructions, and source files that are available for free.


Taking data deluge in your stride is not a big deal especially when you are successful in finding a suitable analytics platform. However, you must not forget that there’s more to a platform than simply dealing with data deluge or applying data science for the benefit of your business. Furthermore, it is imperative for you to realize that the platform may not be meant for serving the same purpose for your business that it may have served for others. For instance, while some of your competitors may have used the platform increasing their cross-selling revenues, you may be more interested in increasing the site integrity.
Similarly, you and others may have different expectations as far as the analytics platform is concerned. While you may be looking forward to get a platform that can provide you with a considerable return on investment, others might be concerned about the speed of analytic processing. Therefore, it is not in your best interest to opt for a platform simply because others are recommending it or have managed to achieve the desired results with its help. However, it is also undeniable that a reliable platform will offer several results and many of these results are likely to match your expectations.
For instance, no matter what you are exactly looking for, you can at least expect a reliable platform to take complexity out of MapReduce analytics. Similarly, it wouldn’t be entirely wrong if you assume that the platform is going to benefit your business even if your analysts only have their way with SQL and are not keen on learning programming languages or new interfaces. However, you’ve to crosscheck whether or not your assumption will turn out to be right by determining if the platform makes use of an SQL-MapReduce framework. Meanwhile, it is also worth considering that others may not focus all their energies on integration.
However, you may adopt the platform only when you are sure that it will definitely integrate with the rest of your data infrastructure in a seamless manner. Of course, it is possible that despite seemingly integrating with the infrastructure, the platform is unable to harness the power of Map Reduce for whatever reason. So, others who are not paying heed to integration won’t get affected, whereas, you may have to look for another platform at the earliest. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that without finding everything about the platform, if you blindly adopt it, you may be far from leveraging it.


The Halifax Sexual Health Centre doesn’t have “an easy product” but a dedicated team works to build a healthier city.
John Britton starts his business day with inventory. In his case, that includes counting condoms, IUDs and other birth control. It’s a regular day at the Halifax Sexual Health Centre.
Formerly known as Planned Parenthood Metro Clinic, the HSHC is a highly specialized, non-profit clinic focusing on treatment, testing and counselling around sexual and reproductive health. “The clinic started in direct response to the decriminalization of abortion,” says Britton, HSHC’s executive director. Over time, the clinic began to focus on more than reproductive health. “It soon became very obvious that reproductive and sexual health went hand in hand,” he says.
From pregnancy options and counselling to STI testing, including the only anonymous HIV testing clinic east of Montreal, the HSHC has provided all manner of services to people in the Halifax area. The clinic saw 5,665 appointments in 2008, increasing to 7,294 in 2012 with an average of around 28 per day.
John Britton started as executive director at the HSHC last December, previously serving on its board of directors. Britton is interested in what he views as social justice issues and inequities, especially when it comes to access to healthcare. For a few months last year, the clinic operated without an executive director, so Britton left his day job working for a large health charity, resigned from the clinic’s board of directors and applied for the vacant position. “The job is perfectly aligned with my skills and it speaks to who I am and what I believe in,” he says.
Although it’s common for a non-profit to temporarily operate without an executive director, Britton’s new job was one of many changes at the HSHC, including a recent loss of funding and staffing restructures which eliminated the bookkeeper and community educator positions. Those roles would be the responsibility of its executive director. Britton says that the decisions to do so were made by the board of directors to ensure the longevity of the clinic. “There’s never any danger of this clinic closing its doors but financially it has been a tough few years for the HSHC,” he says.
On top of the newly added responsibilities, one of the biggest roles of any executive director at a non-profit is to help bring in revenue to the clinic. But getting people to open up their chequebooks can be a little trying at times.
“If you want to think about it in business terms, we don’t have an easy product,” says Britton. “We have a stigma attached to us because a lot of what we deal with are what people perceive to be lifestyle choices. You try asking for money to support emergency contraception, morning after pills, or anon HIV testing. It’s sticky. People don’t want to talk about it and there is a sense of ‘Oh, that’s them.’” But Britton is undeterred by such arguments. “It’s not just about sexual health, it’s about inequity, and that’s the point I am trying to make with people,” he says. “You’re supporting health equity and that’s what it boils down to.”
Britton goes on to explain that while people seem to know the HSHC exists, he’d like to see it having more of an impact in the community. “I’d love to have a billboard by the bridge,” he says. “I’d like people to think of us when they’re doing a bake sale at work, like people think of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, or the Canadian Cancer Society. I’d like to get on that radar.”
But instead of “shaking the tin” for finding revenue, Britton and his team at the HSHC have been looking at fundraising in a different manner. One of the ways they’ve done this is through the clinic’s youth committee—along with eager students from Dalhousie—by putting on the Sexy Dance Party at Pacifico. Britton acted as steward to the students, who gained valuable public relations and event management skills, while the event raised more than $7,000 dollars on a $300 budget and had more than 700 participants. “I am interested in fundraising where everybody benefits,” says Britton.
Leslie Shaw has been involved with the HSHC since its inception in 1971. Shaw says that she was “radicalized” as a teenager in the 1960s. “I remember an acquaintance of mine needed an abortion, and we looked everywhere,” she recalls. “I went to my dad who was a keen guy, and he went around riding in taxis, asking drivers where he should go to get someone an abortion. They directed him to a very well known Halifax madam named Ada MacCallum. But it was so clandestine, so scary and so expensive, and late by the time we got the information.”
Although abortions are no longer illegal in Nova Scotia, there’s still stigma around sex and sexuality, says Shaw. She wants to remove that and give people—especially those who are marginalized due to their circumstances in life—the capacity to be their own agents for change.
“I think we have more and more people who are marginal than we ever had before,” she says. “They’re not getting all the support that they need to survive as healthy people, sexually and otherwise.” Shaw also wants youth to have access to information and services as well. “There is a lot of sexual activity in younger ages now and we don’t say, ‘No, you can’t do that,’ but we do say, ‘How are you going to protect yourself so you have a healthier life?’”
More people are looking to protect and educate themselves. Chantal Caissie is one of them. In her mid-20s, Caissie moved to Halifax from Moncton in 2007 and accesses the HSHC for routine pap tests and STI testing. “A lot of the times women are made to feel ashamed of their sexuality, which in turn makes some women feel uncomfortable discussing sex and sexual health,” she says. “By having access to a welcoming space where you won’t be made to feel ashamed or guilty about your sexual history, I think it helps to remove that stigma and promotes overall better sexual health.”
Caissie had originally gone to the HSHC to talk about non-hormonal birth control, as she was unsure about her options. “The doctor I saw was really knowledgeable and helped me decide on a copper IUD,” she says. “She was incredibly reassuring and I’ve had it for about two years now and I’m really happy with it. I’m glad I had somewhere to go to talk about alternative birth control where I felt comfortable, especially with something I wasn’t very familiar with beforehand.”
“I’d like to see it be normal for people to get their sexual health in check,” says Britton. “As normal as it is to get their cholesterol tested. But that’s not just a medical shift but also a cultural shift that is required.” Britton and the team of doctors, nurses and volunteers at the HSHC are working hard to bring that shift about.
Britton argues that it’s the very stigma around sex and sexuality that keep STI rates steady, if not growing. “People get diagnosed with STIs,” he says. “People respond to it as if their life is over and that makes me sad because it’s part and parcel of sex and the age that we live in. Nobody wants them, but we can treat it. Other than abstinence, which isn’t possible for 99 per cent of the population, there is no other alternative, so…do what you need to do. If you pick up something along the way, understand how to treat it and how to be responsible to yourself and other people.”
“I think that’s what I would like to see,” says Britton, “that change in attitude.”


After a lifetime of deprivation diets, many of my clients kind of freak out when they see how much food I want them to eat. The book, The Fast Metabolism Diet, is a result of 20 years of clinical work, translating proven strategies from an office setting to a plan that can work for everyone. We’ve had feedback from plenty of you that the portion guidelines are confusing, so let’s talk about that.
It’s actually pretty simple: If your goal is to lose a larger amount of weight, you eat more food.
Your basic portion guidelines
- If you want to lose less than 20 pounds, follow the standard portions outlined in the book.
- If you want to lose more than 20 pounds, add 1/2 portion to that standard portion, so 1.5 portions.
- If you want to lose more than 40 pounds, eat 1.5 portions but double the veggies.
For those of you who want to lose more than 40 pounds, note that this is a change from the book. The book advises adding another 1/2 portion for every additional 20 pounds of weight you want to lose. But there’s no upper cap in the book. That would mean, for a 100-pound weight-loss goal, the book guides you to eat 3 cups of oatmeal along with three cups of fruit (for Phase 1 breakfast). The problem? That’s too much food for a normal stomach to process in one sitting.
This change comes as a result of feedback from hundreds (actually thousands) of you. Double and triple portions are just way too much food – and because you’re trying to eat all your required items, not enough veggies are making it into your menus. So here’s the new rule again:
- For a weight loss goal of more than 40 pounds, eat 1.5 portions of all the required meal and snack elements
- Go nuts with veggies. Pack ’em in. You should not ever feel hungry. Eat more vegetables than you’ve ever eaten before.
Other common portion questions
Q. What’s the minimum amount of veggies I should eat?
A. I keep saying veggies are unlimited, and they are! Eat lots! Veggies are essential for fat burning and healing your metabolism. At minimum, eat 2 cups of vegetables with meals that require a veggie, and one 1 cup with snacks.
Q. I’m hungry on Phase 1. Should I eat more?
A. You should not feel hungry, and if you do, eat more veggies, even between meals. Keep in mind your vegetables don’t have to be raw. Try a baked sweet potato, or steamed kale with garlic and lemon. Or the chilled radish salad that was in my newsletter a couple of weeks ago.
Q. I’m confused about healthy fats and proteins on Phase 3. Do I need both or just one or the other?
A. For meals, you need both. For snacks, focus on the healthy fat plus veggies. This blog post covers that topic: See “Fat, Protein: Why you need both”
Q. The app tells me I can have 4.5 tablespoons of oil in Phase 3. Really?
A. Yes, that would be the oil portion if you want to lose more than 20 pounds. Do you HAVE to pack in all 4.5 tablespoons? No. Keep in mind that is the full fat serving for an entire meal — if you use no other healthy fats at all. In reality, you can use 2 tablespoons for your veggie stir fry at dinner, and another 2 tablespoons in your salad dressing. Or maybe you’ll use 2 tablespoons for your stir fry, but toss in 1/8 cup of sesame seeds (1/4 cup of seeds would be the full portion). See? That amount of oil doesn’t seem so crazy now, does it?
You can and should use your best judgement and use the healthy fats you need for your cooking. And you can mix and match healthy fats appropriately: Use 1/2 portion of hummus plus 1/4 avocado. Or 1/8 cup of raw almonds plus 1/8 cup of olives. Be creative and mix it up! Bottom line: For the standard portion, use anywhere from 2 to 4 tablespoons of oil. For those doing 1.5 portions, aim for between 3 and 5 tablespoons.
Q. For fruits you say 1 cup or 1 piece. But what about small fruits like kiwi?
A. For fruits that are especially small, eat two. Imagine cutting that fruit up. Would it equal a cup? If not, add another piece (or half of a piece).
Q. What are the portion sizes for packaged breads and tortillas?
A. Even though the grain portion on Phase 3 is half that of Phase 1 (i.e. 1/2 cup wild rice compared to 1 cup on Phase 1), the standard portions for packaged items on Phase 1 and Phase 3 are the same. Otherwise, we’d get into a situation where the portion size was 3/8 of a tortilla. That’s just too weird. So for both Phase 1 and 3:
- 1 slice of phase-appropriate bread
- 1 8-inch phase-appropriate tortilla
- 1/2 of a phase-appropriate bagel


A new program in Kansas aims to improve conditions in prisons, but it’s not for inmates. The state Department of Corrections is one of many prison and jail systems around the country working to overcome “correctional fatigue” — the mental and physical stress that lead to corrections workers burning out.
From Orange Is The New Black to Shawshank Redemption to Cool Hand Luke, prison guards often have gotten a bad rap as some of the worst bullies featured on television and in the movies.
And that rankles John Bates.
“You never see any correctional officer heroes. All you ever see is the bosses, the Boss Hoggs,” Bates says.
Bates has spent more than a decade working as a correctional officer in one of Kansas’s major prisons; he asked that it not be identified.
On a recent afternoon off, he said he sees corrections as a way to keep the public safe and improve inmates’ lives. But it’s work that comes with nearly constant stress.
“There’s a great deal of distrust by the inmate population towards staff which sometimes ends up in violence, sometimes ends up with nothing more than obscenities. But it is quite difficult dealing with inmates on a daily basis.” Bates says.
Not just a job
Those challenges aren’t unique to Kansas.
“Everyone figures ‘Ah, it’s just a job.’ Well, it isn’t just a job to go to work every day having to wear a raincoat so you don’t get piss and vomit and excrement and semen and mucus thrown at you,” says Brian Dawe, executive director of the American
Correctional Officer Information Network, which advocates on behalf of some 400,000 publically employed corrections officers in the United States.
The Kansas Department of Corrections is hoping Dr. Caterina Spinaris can help turn things around for its staff, which includes more than 2,000 correctional officers.
Spinaris is a psychologist based in southern Colorado who coined the term “correctional fatigue” to describe the detrimental psychological effects of their work.
According to her research, 27 percent of corrections officers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. That’s comparable to rates seen in combat veterans.
Corrections work can trigger anxiety problems, substance abuse and depression, and the toxic work environment of a prison can foster paranoid thinking patterns.
“To be mistrusting, cynical. To find fault with things. To blame a lot. Seeing people as good or bad. All-or-nothing kind of thinking where people will say anybody who’s not like me is bad,” says Spinaris, describing the patterns of negative thinking that can result from correctional fatigue.
Correctional fatigue can spill over into physical health as well, causing high blood pressure and weight gain.
One study shows correctional officers have an average life span of just 59 years
Spinaris says correctional fatigue can also influence the treatment of inmates.
“It could end up in people being unprofessional, crossing boundary lines and being too harsh and punitive. And bad things can happen as a result of that as time goes on,” Spinaris says.
Bandage to treat an infection?
About two years ago, the National Institute of Corrections contracted with Spinaris and her company, Desert Waters Correctional Outreach, to work with jails and prison systems around the country. This fall, Spinaris and her team will come to Kansas to work with prison officials and assess how the state system works.
That’s all well and good, says Rebecca Proctor, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees. But she says much more needs to be done.
“Having a program to reduce stress without addressing the staffing and equipment programs is like putting a bandage and a topical cream on a sore that’s caused by a body-wide infection,” she says.
Proctor says that budget cuts have left facilities poorly maintained and wages low. The starting wage of about $13.50 an hour isn’t enough to attract good workers, and wage freezes in recent years have made it harder to retain the workers they have.
The twin problems of understaffing and overcrowding have forced officers to take on the duties of multiple employees as well as forced overtime.
“If you’re someone who’s working a maximum-security unit, your inmates know how long you’ve been on the job,” Proctor says. “They’re observant. They watch. They see you’re not getting relieved. They see that there’s not the same level of staffing that there needs to be.”
Understaffing and overcrowding
Proctor says the understaffing problem has left officers unprotected and vulnerable.
A rash of attacks against correctional officers over the summer sent shock waves through the system, according to John Bates.
“The officers on the inside, they’re not just concerned. They’re scared today,” he says.
Officials with the Kansas Department of Corrections insist understaffing is not a problem.
“Anytime we have a staffing vacancy, it’s because we’ve had a recent resignation, and just like with any business, it takes time to rehire for that position,” says Jeremy
Barclay, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Barclay points to an annual turnover rate of about 16 percent for staff and explains that prisons have a “staffing pattern plan” to make up for those frequent holes. The plan involves overtime, but Barclay says it’s voluntary.
And the violence, he says, is not a matter of understaffing but rather something that all officers inevitably face working with inmates.
“In terms of, do we have the right amount of staff in place? Yes. And do we have the right staff in the right positions? Yes, we do,” Barclay says.
That said, officials with the Kansas Department of Corrections are hopeful the program to treat correctional fatigue will yield positive results.
Dawe, of the American Correctional Officer Information Network, welcomes the program but says it’s just a start on improving things for a long-misunderstood profession.
“We’ve been around for how long? And this is just happening now?” Dawe exclaims. “How long has it been that the police have been dealing with PTSD and that’s been recognized? Decades, they’ve understood it and they’ve dealt with it. Yet because we’re behind the walls, and people don’t see us, they could care less. Fortunately, someone is doing something.”


All-Sky Soft X-Ray Background Data Sets at the HEASARC
The last mission to survey the sky in the soft X-ray band was ROSAT, which
conducted an all-sky survey from 1990 July 30 to 1991 January 25, and from
1991 August 3 to 13.
[eROSITA will be the primary
instrument on-board the Russian
"Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma" (SRG) satellite which will be launched from Baikonur
in 2016 and placed in an L2 orbit. It will perform the first imaging all-sky
survey in the medium energy X-ray range (0.3-10 keV) with an unprecedented
spectral and angular resolution.]
The HEASARC has the following data sets which contain measurements of the
X-ray background all-sky intensity and/or spectra obtained with different
experiments, listed in inverse chronological order (most recent first):
ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS)
These maps of the diffuse X-ray background in the
0.11 - 2.04 keV energy range ('ROSAT Survey Diffuse Background
Maps, Paper II', S. L. Snowden, R. Egger, M. J. Freyberg, D. McCammon, P. P.
Plucinsky, W. T. Sanders, J. H. M. M. Schmitt, J. Trümper, and W. Voges,
ApJ, Vol. 485 (1997), pp. 125-135) are used by the
HEASARC's X-Ray Background Tool (XRBT). This tool calculates for a
specified astronomical position and either a circle with a specified radius
or an annulus with specified inner and outer radii centered on this position
the average X-ray background count rate and statistical uncertainty in each
of the six standard bands of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey diffuse background maps
(R1, R2, R4, R5, R6, R7). In addition, the average count rates are given for
the combined 1/4 keV (R1 + R2), 3/4 keV (R4 + R5), and 1.5 keV (R6 + R7)
bands. (The count rates for the combined bands are simply the sum of the
count rates for each component band, and the uncertainty in the combined
band count rate is the square root of the sum of the squares of the
uncertainties of each component band). A full description of the use
of these maps is given in the XRBT help
Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS)
The DXS experiment was flown on the space shuttle Endeavour from January 13
through 19, 1993. DXS was developed by the University of Wisconsin and its PI
was Dr. Wilt Sanders. The HEASARC has,
the so-called DXS level 1 reduced data products stored in
this directory in the
form of gzipped FITS files.
The naming convention of the files is of the form "orbitNN_TYPE_SIDE.fits.gz",
where NN = 2-digit orbit number in the range 1 to 91, TYPE = 3 or 4 character
type of data file, out of the set:
sci - science X-ray event data
fast - engineering/housekeeping data (1 record per sec)
slow - more engineering/housekeeping data (1 record per 4 secs)
time - time records
spoc - spoc (shuttle payload of opportunity carrier) information
cmd - commands uploaded during this orbit
orb - orbit information
and SIDE = 1-character indicator of the DXS instrument that the data are
p - Port instrument
s - Starboard instrument
and the final .gz indicates that the file has been gzipped. These files can
be read using standard FITS readers such as fdump.
The HEASARC also has the DXS spectral products in
which were derived from a 2004 reprocessing
of the raw telemetry. These spectra are trivially different that
those presented in
Sanders et al. (2001, ApJ, 554, 694) because of minor bug
the processing software. See Sanders et al. (2001) for a detailed
discussion of the DXS spectra.
Morgenthaler (1998, PhD thesis) has detailed how the spectra and response
were derived. The original spectra, response and arf files supplied to the
HEASARC were modified in April 2009 in order to be compatible
with xspec12 and with the FITS standards for spectra, response and arf.
In brief, the clean* spectra represent spectra from different regions
along the galactic equator, as indicated by the GAL_LON bin in the
FITS headers (see also Sanders et al. figs. 8 and 10). The file
clean_Allsky_p.flat contains the summation of all of the sky spectra
and clean_HISM_p.flat contains the summation of the regions with the
lowest count rate (Crux, Pup, Aur). The file clean_back_p.flat
contains the spectrum of the instrument background and the dxsmodel*
files contain the instrument response matrix in standard OGIP form.
The total instrument count rate varied in time over the duration of
the flight, with the first half having a higher count rate than the
second half (see Sanders et al. fig. 9). The files prepended with
"1_" and "2_" contain the spectra from the first and second half of
the flight, respectively.
The SAS-3 low-energy detector
contains the all-sky image from the SAS-3 low-energy X-ray
detector in the C band (0.10-0.28 keV in FITS format. These data were
discussed in the paper by Marshall and Clark (1984, ApJ, 287, 633-652: see
the ADS abstract appended below). The file sas.fits contains the all-sky
intensity map in Galactic coordinates in an Aitoff projection centered
on the Galactic Center.
Title: SAS 3 survey of the soft X-ray background
Authors: Marshall, F. J.; Clark, G. W.
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 287, Dec. 15, 1984, p.
Abstract: The results of a survey of the soft X-ray sky in the C band (0.10 -
0.28 keV) are reported. The observations were carried out using two independent
flow proportional counters on board the SAS 3 X-ray satellite which had a
total angular resolution of 2.9 deg FWHM, and a total exposure of 22,000 cm^2
s sr. It is found that C band counting rates were generally inversely
correlated with the column density of the neutral hydrogen on all
angular scales down to the lowest angular resolution of the detectors. In the
region 90-180 degrees Galactic longitude and 0-90 degrees Galactic
latitude, the relation between C-band rates and the column densities of
neutral hydrogen was fitted with a residual rms deviation of less than 13%
by a two-component numerical model of the X-ray background. For the apparent
attenuation column density, a value of 2.7 x 10^20 per sq cm was obtained.
On the basis of a computer simulation of the SAS 3 data, it is shown that
the observed clumping of interstellar matter was consistent with the
magnitude of spatial fluctuations in the C-band map. When the background
rates were subtracted from the survey map, the subsequent map showed
foreground emission and absorption features with improved sensitivity and
clarity. A series of computer-generated maps incorporating the SAS 3 data
is given in an appendix.
The HEAO 1-A2 experiment
contains the spectra (and response matrices) of the X-ray
background obtained with the HEAO1 A2 experiment (Marshall et al., 1980, ApJ,
235, 4: see below) in mid-1977.
The spectra and responses are all in FITS formats:
hed11c.pha h111095c.rsp HED1 M1
hed12c.pha h121095c.rsp HED1 M2
hed31c.pha h31257c.rsp HED3 M1
hed32c.pha h321095c.rsp HED3 M2
med1c.pha m11n.rsp MED M1
med2c.pha m12n.rsp MED M2
Title: The diffuse X-ray background spectrum from 3 to 50 keV
Authors: Marshall, F. E.; Boldt, E. A.; Holt, S. S.; Miller, R. B.; Mushotzky,
R. F.; Rose, L. A.; Rothschild, R. E.; Serlemitsos, P. J.
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 235, Jan. 1, 1980, p. 4-10.
Abstract: The spectrum of the extragalactic diffuse X-ray background has been
measured with the GSFC Cosmic X-ray Experiment on HEAO 1 for regions of the sky
away from known point sources and more than 20 degrees from the galactic plane.
A total exposure of 80 m^2-s-sr is available at present. Free-free emission
from an optically thin plasma of 40 +/- 5 keV provides an excellent description
of the observed spectrum from 3 to 50 keV. This spectral shape is confirmed by
measurements from five separate layers of three independent detectors. With an
estimated absolute precision of about 10%, the intensity of the emission at
10 keV is 3.2 keV/keV/cm^2/s/sr, a value consistent with the average of
previously reported spectra. A uniform hot intergalactic medium of
approximately 36% of the closure density of the universe would produce such a
flux, although nonuniform models indicating less total matter are probably
led sub-directory contains the A2 LED C-band (0.25 keV) All-Sky map
of the soft X-ray diffuse background (Garmire et al. 1992, ApJ, 399, 694)
in FITS format.
Title: The soft X-ray diffuse background observed with the HEAO 1 low-energy
Authors: Garmire, G. P.; Nousek, J. A.; Apparao, K. M. V.; Burrows, D. N.;
Fink, R. L.; Kraft, R. P.
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 399, no. 2,
Abstract: Results of a study of the diffuse soft-X-ray background as observed
by the low-energy detectors of the A-2 experiment aboard the HEAO 1 satellite
are reported. The observed sky intensities are presented as maps of the diffuse
X-ray background sky in several energy bands covering the energy range 0.15-2.8
keV. It is found that the soft X-ray diffuse background (SXDB) between 1.5 and
2.8 keV, assuming a power law form with photon number index 1.4, has a
normalization constant of 10.5 +/- 1.0 photons/cm^2/s/sr/keV. Below 1.5 keV,
the spectrum of the SXDB exceeds the extrapolation of this power law. The
low-energy excess for the north ecliptic pole (NEP) can be fitted with
emission from a two-temperature equilibrium plasma model with the temperatures
given by log T1 = 6.16 and log T2 = 6.33. It is found that this model is able
to account for the spectrum below 1 keV, but fails to yield the observed
Galactic latitude variation.
The University of Wisconsin experiments flown on 10 sounding rockets in the
period from 1972 to 1980
A compendium of documentation and data from the
University of Wisconsin
experiments flown on 10 sounding rockets over the period from 1972 to 1980 is
available in the
HEASARC directory, we have the all-sky images created from these
All of the files are in FITS format. These data were discussed in the paper
by McCammon et al. (1983, ApJ, 269, 107-135: see the ADS abstract appended
below). The 52 files comprise 26 pairs of different visualizations of the
soft X-ray diffuse background, corresponding to different energy bands and
projections, the rat.fits files containing the intensity maps, and the
sig.fits files containing the uncertainty maps. The first part of the file
names codes the X-ray band to which it corresponds as follows:
Wisconsin Band Energy Range in keV
B 0.130 - 0.188
C 0.160 - 0.284
M1 0.440 - 0.930
M2 0.600 - 1.100
I 0.770 - 1.500
J 1.100 - 2.200
2-6 1.800 - 6.300
The second part of the file names codes the all-sky projection used as
follows (all maps are in Galactic coordinates):
0 Aitoff centered on Galactic Longitude = 0 degrees
180 Aitoff centered on Galactic Longitude = 180 degrees
npol Polar equal-area centered on North Galactic Pole
spol Polar equal-area centered on South Galactic Pole
Title: The soft X-ray diffuse background
Authors: McCammon, D.; Burrows, D. N.; Sanders, W. T.; Kraushaar, W. L.
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 269, June 1,
1983, p. 107-135.
Abstract: Maps of the diffuse X-ray background intensity covering essentially
the entire sky with approximately 7 degree spatial resolution are presented
for seven energy bands. The data were obtained on a series of ten sounding
rocket flights conducted over a seven-year period. The different nature of
the spatial distributions in different bands implies at least three distinct
origins for the diffuse X-rays, none of which is well-understood. At energies
of approximately 2000 eV, an isotropic and presumably extragalactic 500 and
1000 eV, an origin which is at least partially galactic seems called for.
At energies 284 eV, the observed intensity is anticorrelated with neutral
hydrogen column density, but we find it unlikely that this anticorrelation
is simply due to absorption of an extragalactic or halo source. Previously
announced in STAR as N83-20892.


CHICAGO — A few years ago, 4-year-old Danny was on the verge of being expelled from a Chicago preschool for violent behavior when a woman named Lauren Wiley was called in to help.
She met with the boy’s teacher, who thought he needed to be medicated for attention deficit disorder. But as Wiley listened, the teacher admitted she was angry at Danny, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. Her job was to keep her students safe, she said, and the boy’s aggression made her feel like a failure. Next, Wiley and the teacher met with Danny’s mom. As the teacher dropped her judgmental attitude, it came out that Danny had watched his father beat his mother and get taken away in handcuffs. No one had ever talked to the child about what he saw. He did not have ADD. He was reeling from trauma, and he needed his teacher to like him and want to help him, not to be rid of him. That began to happen when she heard his story.
Wiley is an early childhood mental health consultant. The job title often evokes an image of a baby on a couch talking to a therapist, but her work is about listening to adults so they can create an emotionally healthy environment for children. She trains teachers and others who work with young children to recognize the trauma that so often causes misbehavior. She supports them in confronting cultural biases and forging relationships with parents. She shows them how to recognize families’ strengths and promote mental wellness before problems develop. This is particularly significant since we know that “adverse childhood experiences” like violence and family dysfunction predict everything from academic failure to cancer to heart disease.
In 2005, Yale professor Walter Gilliam shocked the nation with the first research showing that preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of children in kindergarten through 12th grade. He showed that young African-American boys like Danny are most vulnerable to what he calls “the capital punishment of schools.”
Gilliam convened focus groups of teachers to find out why, in mixed-age classes, he was seeing 4-year-olds expelled at higher rates than 3-year-olds in the same rooms. The replies were consistent: The teachers perceived the 4-year-olds as more likely to hurt someone when they misbehave because they are physically bigger.
“That’s when it dawned on me that expulsion is not a child behavior. It’s an adult decision,” said Gilliam, who spoke on the topic at a Dec. 10 White House summit on early childhood education.
He realized that, for the problem to get better, teachers need help managing challenging behavior.
Gilliam has zeroed in on the consultation intervention as a particularly promising and cost-effective approach: In a Connecticut study, he found that it reduces preschool expulsions by half. It also has been shown to improve the emotional well-being of all children in the pivotal years before kindergarten and boost staff retention and job satisfaction in an industry with rampant turnover.
With that research base from preschools, consultation now is being tried in home visiting programs, domestic violence shelters, pediatrician’s offices — anywhere that serves young children. There are also early efforts to bring a similar service to older kids.
Under the nation’s newly reauthorized child care funding legislation, states must develop plans to reduce preschool expulsions, and consultation is now an allowable expense. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $4 million in December to expand the intervention’s reach. Head Start and Early Head Start programs already require it, and there are about a half-dozen state programs, as well as numerous regional ones. Still, the vast majority of early childhood settings do not have routine access to consultants, according to Georgetown professor Deborah Perry, who directed the National Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation.
I recently spent two days shadowing Lauren Wiley in Illinois, one of the places with a statewide program. She’s a petite 55-year-old who puts 500 to 700 miles a week on her silver Acura, a distance she says is only possible because her own two kids are grown. One of our stops was in Chicago’s violent North Lawndale neighborhood at an after-school program in an immaculately-kept old building with a “no firearms” sticker on the door. Wiley had made weekly visits there since early 2014 to address the mental health needs of students ages 7 to 11, older than her usual clientele.
She had been encouraging the program’s director and two teachers to focus on what the children can do, not what they can’t. This simple strategy led the staff to uncover one troubled 11-year-old’s love of verbal storytelling. By asking him to tell and then illustrate the story of his life — which includes frequent neighborhood shootings, a recent murder on his block and teasing for a minor facial deformity — he took an interest in writing his life story as well. As a result, he is reading for the first time, and mortifying accidents wetting his pants are far fewer. A handmade poster lists his coping strategies: “deep breaths,” “fan myself,” “take a time out,” “sit quietly by myself.”
On the day we visited, the teachers watched as Wiley had the eight children present decorate boxes to fill and empty with small bells based on acts of kindness and cruelty. She noticed a few coloring in red and then trying to erase it and perceived the imagery of a blood stain that won’t come out. She prodded a teacher to pull a little girl aside to talk.
Early childhood mental health consultation can look like this, with a consultant and teacher working together with children, modeling lessons for each other. Or it can just look like adults sitting around a table, as we saw at a day care, where a conversation about suspected parental drug use led Wiley to a bigger probe: Do all staff members believe the mothers they serve can be good parents? While no one wanted to admit bias, and Wiley never acts like she has all the answers, she had clearly unearthed a problem, and a fundamental one. Child care and preschool expulsions are virtually unheard of when the teacher and parent know and like each other.
Sometimes, consultants can offer relatively simple fixes. According to Georgetown’s Perry, teachers make the common mistake of giving directions while standing up; young children, particularly those with concentration difficulty, are more likely to listen to an adult at their eye level. Consultants watch how teachers navigate activity changes — think taking a dozen 3-year-olds to the bathroom — since those are the most common times for behavioral outbursts to occur. They suggest things like signing a clean-up song every day so kids will anticipate and understand routines.
More difficult are the situations requiring changes in adult attitudes and habits, and that’s where Wiley spends most of her time. She said it is common for home visitors to pick up and calm fussy babies, alienating mothers who don’t know how to soothe them or have traumatic memories tied to their own childhood cries. In an agency focused on mental wellness, she said, the home visitor might instead put an arm around the insecure mom holding her baby and tell her: “When I’m not here, I want you to remember that I’m with you. My arm is around you. You can do it.”
Related: The power of preschool done right
The consensus is that effective consultation must include supervisors, both to support staff on the front lines and so that when there is turnover, the work isn’t all lost. Wiley says she needs to be in a place at least a year, and preferably two, to shift an organization’s mindset. Results for individual children and classrooms can happen faster, but Wiley gets incensed when her peers address what she calls the “low-hanging fruit” — a child’s misbehavior — without training the staff what to do. She sees her role as creating a safe space for early childhood professionals to reflect and explore ideas. “The hardest part is sitting with your own discomfort sometimes while people figure it out for themselves,” she said.
Wiley is an independent contractor. Many of her assignments come from the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership, an agency the state created in 2003 in response to research showing that more than 20 percent of children have a diagnosable mental health condition, but only one in five of those are treated.
The partnership has received $200,000 a year in state money to provide early childhood mental health consultation free to any agency that requests it, as capacity allows, along with $270,000 in federal money to consult in home visitation programs. By conservative estimates, it reached 59 programs last fiscal year with the state funds and used the federal dollars to serve 139 home visitors and supervisors serving 1,490 families. A little money has gone a long way, and other organizations receive government funding for similar services. But with resources few and needs great, the work is not heavily promoted, and many who could benefit don’t know it exists.
Regina Le Flore, who owns a Montessori day care and preschool in the western Chicago suburb of Lyons, said she would love for her teachers to have more training in what to do when children develop significant behavior problems. That typically happens once or twice a year and usually results in their withdrawal, often with their parents acting defensive when the staff suggests the child needs counseling. (A consultant would recommend avoiding accusations that can make a parent feel like a failure.)
To take consultation to scale, those in the field agree there needs to be a model delineating what quality looks like and a bigger workforce with a rare combination of skills: experience as a mental health professional, knowledge of child development, cultural awareness, and an understanding of families and of trauma. But those things would come if there were steady government funding.
Wiley, an Illinois native who lives 60 miles south of Chicago in a small town called Bourbonnais, is one of the most seasoned consultants in the state, with more than a decade of experience. She says her greatest asset is curiosity, a trait she tries to get her clients to adopt in their interactions with families.
When Danny’s teacher dropped her assumption about what was wrong and listened receptively to his mother, the whole situation shifted. They worked together to find a classmate he could play with quietly, to let him change activities when he couldn’t focus and to help his mother say goodbye when she dropped him off each morning. Earlier, she would sneak away because she couldn’t handle watching him melt down.
And one moment at a time, supportive adult behavior paved the way for a child to remain in school.
A version of this story was published by The New York Times on Feb. 20, 2015.
Reproduction of this story is not permitted.


This potato dish comes from the state of Gujarat, located in the northwest corner of India. It’s a method used to take the humble boiled potato and elevate it to new levels. Easy to make and an ideal accompaniment to any Indian spread; even with your favourite piece of char-grilled meat.
Boil the potatoes until just cooked. Drain and cool for a few minutes and cut into quarters lengthways or 2cm cubes. Put potato, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric and chilli into a bowl and season with salt. Toss quickly to coat the potatoes in the spices. Set aside.
Heat a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil and then follow with the mustard and cumin seeds, fenugreek powder, methi and curry leaves and temper until the seeds start to pop. Add the potato and toss carefully to incorporate the spices well. Add the coconut, sesame seeds and chopped coriander.


The Crisis of Higher Education in the U.S.
The state of higher education in the United States is deplorable; it is extremely costly, but the investment has become decreasingly worthwhile. Students bear the burden of extraordinarily expensive education, which results in massive debt, and they are left with – especially now – mediocre results, to flounder in a job market that leaves much to be desired.
Even the left can see this problem, though their prescriptions for change are indubitably different. Indeed, “two-thirds of students who earn undergraduate degrees end up shouldering more than $25,000 in debt, and 1 in 10 owe more than $54,000, a 2012 Center for American Progress report found.” Furthermore, minorities are even more likely to need a loan of this kind “as need-based federal aid for low-income students has become insufficient to cover rising tuitions.”
Of course, the federal government is largely to blame for a couple of reasons.
First, as the Heritage Foundation’s Lindsey Burke and Stuart M. Butler explain, the accreditation process, “a feature of the traditional education system,” remains an obstacle to innovations that would decrease the costs of receiving an advanced degree. Second, there is a provision buried deep in Obamacare that “effectively nationalized the student loan industry by ending government subsidies to private lenders and putting the federal government in charge of originating and servicing federally backed student loans.”
The financial problem is twofold, affecting both students and taxpayers. If you’re a college graduate who had to take out loans, you know what we’re referring to: your debt. It’s probably hovering over your head, and if you’re the average college student, there are five digits after the dollar sign and before the decimal point. Indeed, the average debt of college graduates today is $23,000.
If you’re a taxpayer, the effect is less direct, but the truth is that you’re fitting the bill for a flawed higher education system. The total student loan debt in the United States now exceeds $1 trillion. Burke explains:
Part of the problem is a system where virtually anyone is eligible for a student loan, regardless of credit history or repayment potential. But unlike other loans, taxpayers are on the hook when students default or incur other losses.
Moreover, the cost of attending college has increased 439 percent since 1982. Yet, somehow, President Obama and his administration have insisted on ever increasing subsidies for higher education. To be clear, these subsidies have not decreased the cost of education.
Rather than continuing to sink more money into the flawed education system, Heritage has proposed real solutions. Burke suggests:
Shifting from debt-based to savings-based college financing, limiting access to federal student loans to four years of undergraduate work, and—with the proliferation of online learning—allowing the free market to work to reduce college costs are all policies that would provide needed relief to both students and taxpayers.
The federal government has proved to be incredibly ill-equipped to improve the state of higher education despite taking an ever growing amount of taxpayer money. For decades, the Department of Education — an “inefficient federal agency” through which taxpayer resources are filtered to no avail — has been like a gangrenous infection in our academic institutions.


Email Your Senator to Oppose the Shaheen-Portman Energy Efficiency Bill
Next week, the Senate is likely to consider the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2013 (S. 2262). Introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) 2% and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) 30% it claims to promote energy savings in industrial and commercial buildings. The bill provides taxpayer-funded federal incentives to make building and manufacturing processes more efficient, but these “incentives” would burden taxpayers and consumers alike while producing no tangible benefits. They are also duplicative of federal and state efforts.
This inappropriate intervention comes in the form of ‘voluntary’ federal mandates and taxpayer funded subsidies for energy efficiency updates in state government and tribal buildings. Specifically, Heritage notes, “The bill authorizes $200 million of taxpayer money to “incentivize and assist” states and tribal groups to meet allegedly voluntary building codes.”
As Heritage notes, only the free-market has been proven to decrease costs and increase efficiency in energy production. The federal government’s role in energy efficiency should be limited to providing information to consumers make well-informed decisions. This legislation allows the government to overstep its boundaries.
Use the POPVOX form below and tell your Senators that the Shaheen-Portman Energy Efficiency Bill is bad policy and should be opposed.


HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF RICHMOND.
THIS town was organized in 1796, under the act of January 27, 1789, and first called Pitstown, in honor of its
pioneer Captain Peter Pitts The name was changed to Honeoye, April 6, 1808, and to Richmond, April 11, 1815. A
part of Canadice was annexed April 30, 1836, and parts of Bristol and South Bristol in 1848; but the latter were
restored in 1852. The town consists of a nearly square portion of land lying near the foot of Honeoye Lake, and
a narrow strip extending along the east shore of that lake and its inlet to the south border of the county. This
strip was added to the town in consequence of its position, high ridges separating it from the business centers
of both Canadice and South Bristol.
Negotiations for the purchase of a large tract of land in the Genesee country were begun as early as the year 1787,
but not until Phelps and Gorham perfected their title were the arrangements completed. A party was sent into this
region to examine the lands, and subsequently the Dighton Company was formed, the agents of which purchased 46,080
acres, a part of which extended over the present town of Richmond, then known, however, as number 9 in range 5.
The title to the land was taken by Calvin Jacobs and John Smith, who, after its survey and allotment, conveyed
to the respective owners. This survey was made in 1789 by Capt. Peter Pitts and his son William; Deacon and George
Codding, father and son; and Calvin Jacobs and John Smith. Captain Pitts became the possessor of 3,000 acres of
land near the foot of Honeoye Lake, upon which the first improvement was made in 1790 by Gideon and William Pitts.
In December of the same year Captain Pitts and John Codding and their families became permanent settlers of the
town, occupying during the following winter the log house built by Captain Pitts's sons, Gideon and William. Later
on this primitive structure was replaced with a substantial framed dwelling, supposed by many to have been the
famed "Long House," in which the redoubtable pioneer entertained those distinguished traitors Louis Philippe
and Duke de Liancourt, their host and entertainer being Capt. Peter Pitts.
Referring further to the pioneer and early settlers of this town, there may be recalled the names of others equally
worthy of mention. In this connection there may be recalled Elisha Pratt, who lived with Captain Pitts; Eber Sibley,
Edward Hazen, Edward Taylor, Silas Whitney, John Pennell, Ebenezer Farrer, Jonathan Rhodes, the date of whose settlement
is not accurately preserved. In the center of the town the early residents were Noah Ashley, Joseph and Elias Gilbert,
David, William, Sanford and Heman Crooks, Philip Reed and his sons John F., Silas, Wheeler, William and Philip;
Whiting Marsh, John and Eleazer Freney, Deacon Harmon, Isaac Bishop, Rhoderick Steele, Cyrus Wells, Isaac and Alden
Adams, Daniel H. Goodsell, Orsamus Risden, and possibly others. In the northeast part of the town the early settlers
were Lemuel and Cyrus Chipman, Asa Dennison and Levi Blackmer, David Aiken, Thomas Wilson, Mr. Bentley, Wm. Baker,
Aaron and John Abbey, Seth Tubbs, David Crawford, Moses, Peter and Nathaniel Allen, James Garlinghouse, Joseph
Garlinghouse, Cyrus Wells, Sylvester Curtis, Mr. Boyd, Mr. Jenkins, Hugh Gregg, George Fox, Abram Wiley, Gideon
Gates, David Pierpont, Caidwell. Other settlers in the town were Joshua Phillips, Nathan Hicks, Elijah Wheeler,
Pierce Chamberlain, Asa Dennison, Levi Blackmer, Roswell Turner, Calvin Ward, Philip Reed, Colonel Lyman Hawes,
Geo. McClure, Amos and John Dixon, Oliver Lyon, Wm. Warner, Parley Brown, Parley Drury, Luther Stanley, Mr. Frisbie,
James McCrossen, Rufus Bullock, Caleb and Thomas Briggs, James Green, Stephen Frost, Gates Pemberton, Caleb Smith,
Nelson Skinner, John Norton, James Parker, Abijah Wright, Wm. Arnold, Amos Jones, Jesse Stephens, A. S. Bushnell,
Philip Short, Walter Stephens, Caleb Arnold, Abel Short, Artemas Briggs, John Beecher and Gilbert Kinyon.
The early settlers of that part of the town which extends south to the county line were Hugh Hamilton, George Gordon,
William Layne, David Knapp, John Parker, Edmund Downs, Wm. Judevine, Job Wood, Jacob Flanders, Colonel John Green,
the Skinner family, the Vinals, James Moore, Daniel Smith, Aaron J. Hunt, Andrew Bray, Jacob Bowers.
The persons above mentioned, many of whom were heads of families, were the pioneers and early settlers of Richmond,
but in naming them no effort has been made to fix date of settlement, place of residence in the town, or to recall
any events in connection with their family life, or services in the town. However, in another department of this
work will be found detailed mention of many of these pioneers and their descendants, many of whom have largely
contributed to the prosperity of the town. From the number of names mentioned it will be seen that the early settlement
of the town was quite rapid, although prior to i8oo the inhabitants were few and scattered. However, in 1796 it
was deemed advisable to complete the town organization, and a meeting thérefor was held on April 5, at which
time these officers were chosen; Supervisor, Lemuel Chipman; town clerk, Gideon Pitts; assessors, Philip Reed,
Wm. Pitts, Solomon Woodruff; constable and collector, Jonas Belknap; commissioners of highways, Solomon Woodruff,
Gideon Pitts, Elijah Parker; fence viewers, Stiles Parker; Roswell Turner; poundmaster, Edward Hazen; pathmasters,
Peter Pitts, Cyrus Chipman, Solomon Woodruff, Aaron Hunt, Roswell Turner; overseers of the poor, Peter Pitts, Philip
Reed; commissioners of schools, Philip Reed, Cyrus Chiprnan, Jonas Belknap.
In this connection we furnish the names of the supervisors of Richmond who have from time to time represented
the town in the county legislature as follows: Lemuel Chipman, 1786-1800, 1806, 1814, 1821; Philip Reed, 1801-4;
Gideon Pitts, 1805, 1807-1809, 1818-20; Noah Ashley, 1810, 1813, 1815; James Herendeen, 1811; Peter Allen, 1812;
Noah Ashley, 1812, to fill vacancy; Amos Mead, 1816-17; Issacher Frost, 1822-23, 1828; Nathaniel Allen, 1824, 1826;
John Dixon, 1825; Philip Short, 1827; Jonathan Mason, 1829; Hiram Pitts, 1830-34; Gilbert Wilson, 1835-38; Wm.
F. Reed, 1839-40; Hiram Ashley, 1841-43 ; Robert L. Rose, 1844-45; Zach. Longyor, 1846; David A. Pierpont, 1847-48,
1852, 1855; Thomas Barkley, 1849-50; Lyman Haws, 1851; David L. Hamilton, 1853-54; Zoroaster Paul, 1856; Wm. F.
Reed, 1857-58; Willard Doolittle, 1859-60; Evelyn Pierce, 186 r- 68; Spencer D. Short, 1868-72; Chas. E. Reed,
1873-76; Marion P. Worthy, 1887-80; Frederick L.'Ashley, 1881-82; John A. Reed, 1883-86; Edwin W. Gilbert, 1887-88;
David A. Pierpont, 1889-91; Charles E. Reed, 1892-93.
The Richmond contribution to the Ontario county troops who served in the War of 18 12-15, so far as can be ascertained,
comprised these militiamen: Peter Allen, who commanded a regiment; Captains Elijah Clark, Josiah Morehouse, Joel
S. Hart, Caleb Harrington; Salma Stanley, Abraham Dox, John Brown, John Bogart, James Bogart; Paymaster Nathaniel
Allen; Major James Henderson; Lieutenant Joshua Phillips, and Tilness Bently, Eli Crooks, Henry Hazen, Paul W.
Hazen, Thomas Bentley, Riley Crooks, Robert Crawfor, John Wheeler, Sylvester Wheeler, Benj. Leslie, Benj. Downing,
David Knapp, Richard Wright, Pitts Phillips, Wm. Lane, John Flanders, Samuel Bently, Lyman Canda, Vincent Conklin,
Darius French, Leonard Pemberton, Elijah Risden, Elijah Sibley, Cyrus Booth
The greatest number of inhabitants ever attained by the town was about the year 1840, there then being a population
of 1,927. Ten years before the number was 1,876. In 1850 it decreased to 1,852; in 1860 to 1,650; in 1870 to 1,622;
in 1880 it was increased to 1,772, and during the next ten years decreased to 1,511, as shown by the census reports.
The town of Richmond from its early settlement period has possessed a number of small villages, none of which has
attained to the character of a corporation The largest and most important of these hamlets is Honeoye, a pretty
little village located on the outlet of Honeoye Lake, about half a mile from the main body of the latter. The land
in this vicinity to the vast extent of 3,000 acres, was originally owned by pioneer Captain Pitts, though the proprietorship
of the village seems to have been credited to Artemas Briggs. The pioneer interests here were the tannery of Moses
Risden, succeeded by Danie] Phillips; Gideon Pitts, Mr. Way and Abner Mather were the first blacksmiths; Gideon
Pitts also built a saw-mill and grist-mill, the latter being on the site now occupied by the roller process mill
of John Quick. In 1815 R. Davids opened a tavern, who was followed in the same occupation by Samuel G. Crooks and
Smith Henry. In 1817 John Brown and Linus Giddings put in operation a fulling and cloth mill, which Joseph Blount
owned later on. Hiram Pitts and Joseph Savill built the first woolen factory, and in 1822 John Brown started in
trade. Erastus Hill, R. Waidron and Hawks & Whipple followed still later. Other, and perhaps later, merchants
and business men of the village were as follows: Isaac G. Hazen, dealer; M. M. Gregory, hardware; Lyman Pierce
and E. Pierce, ashery; Isaac Seward, tanner and shoemaker; Cornelius Hollenbeck, tanner; Oliver Adams, tanner and
shoemaker; Mr. Tubbs, cabinet maker; Artemas Briggs, Ephraim Turner, John Pennell, Gideon Pitts and Erastus Hill,
distillers. The present business interests of Honeoye village are the machine shops of Wm. Parks; the planing-mill
of Caleb Arnold; the shops of Thos. McKey, Geo. W. Patterson and Frank Hoagland; Baun's photograph gallery; W.
H. Bartlett's shoe and wagon shops; T. R. Reed's market; Mrs. Stout's hotel; Julian Tonset's and Geo. McBride's
harness shops, and the stores of Frank Watrous, Ira M. Deyo (also postmaster), Rowley Knapp, Edwin W. Gilbert,
M. A. Franklin, Litzendorf & Eldredge and Thomas & Plimpton.
The public properties at Honeoye are the school house and the Congregational and St. Mary's Roman Catholic churches.
The First Congregational Church at Honeoye was organized in November, 1854, by Rev. Cyrus Pitts, assisted by Rev.
Fisher, with less than ten original members, most of whom were formerly connected with the mother Congregational
Society of the town. The church was built in 1861, and stands at the corner of Main and North streets. The succession
of pastors is as follows: Revs. Cyrus Pitts, R. W. Payne, Milton Buttoft,. Isaac N. Ely and S. Mills Day, the latter
being the present pastor.
St. Mary's Catholic Church at Honeoye is of recent organization and is under the pastoral charge of Rev. J. W.
The First Methodist Protestant Church and Society was organized in 1832, and in the same year a church edifice
was built. In 1869 the building was destroyed by fire, an accident that so crippled the society that it soon afterward
passed out of existence.
Richmond Center is a small hamlet situated near the center of the town, the early occupants of which have been
mentioned in this chapter, but the place at this time has no business interests worthy of mention. It is the location,
however, of the original Congregational Church of the town, organized November 4. 1802, and including in its membership
a number of the prominent pioneer families of the vicinity. In 1804 the society purchased land of David Crooks
to be used as a burying ground and also a site for a meeting-house. About 1810 the Presbyterian form of government
was adopted, but in 1843 the society returned to Congregationalism. The large edifice was built in 1817-18, and
the parsonage in 1835. Among the early supplies and pastors of this church were Revs. Joseph Grover, Jacob Cram,
Abijah Warren, Samuel Fuller, Aaron C. Collins, Warren Day, Orange Lyman, H. B. Pierpont, Jacob Burbank, L. W.
Billington, Lyman Manly, Milton Buttoff. This society is not now in active existence.
Richmond Mills is a small village situate in the western part of the town, on the outlet of Hemlock Lake. This
was originally the locality of the settlement made by pioneer Asa Dennison, who came to the town in 1795, and for
whom the cross roads was given the name of Dennison's Corners. The pioneer built a tavern at the Corners, and in
connection with it fitted up a large ball-room. He kept public house here sixty years. The present business interests
here are the store of A. B. Hosford, who is also postmaster; A. W. Townsend's saw and stave mill, and Caleb Clow's
Allen's Hill is located in the northest part of the town in the locality in which Moses Allen and his sons, Peter
and Nathaniel, settled in 1796 and 1797. From this family the hamlet receives its name, although as a business
or manufacturing center the village has never gained any prominence. Here are located the Protestant Episcopal
and Metlodist Episcopal churches, the school of district No. 2, the store of Charles Simmons (who is also postmaster)
and the blacksmith shop of Noah T. Lambert.
The Protestant Episcopal Church (St. Paul's) was organized in the town in April, 1813; and during the next two
years an edifice was built. The parish organization has always been maintained though the church has experienced
many vicissitudes. Its membership is small and there is no resident or regular rector in the parish.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Richmond which is located at Allen's Hill was organized about sixty years ago,
and reorganized in January, 1859. The first church edifice was in the eastern part of the town, but after the reorganization
a larger and more suitable structurewas built at Allen's Hill, and was dedicated July 6, 1861. The present pastor
of this church is Rev. D. C. Nye..
The only church society which has had an active existence in Richmond was the Baptist, organized about 1808, and
which built a church house in 1832. The society was dissolved many years ago.
Referring briefly to the educational interests of Richmond, it may be stated that the town has ten school districts,
eleven frame schoolhouses, which are maintained at an annual expense of about $4,000. The total value of school
buildings and sites in the town is estimated at $i 1,825. The number of children of school age in the town in 1892


Set As Default Person
||, Yngvi-frey |
||Of Uppsala King of Sweden |
- From Norsk mythology
Freyr also spelled Frey, also called YNGVI, in Norse mythology, the ruler of peace and fertility, rain, and sunshine and the son of the sea god Njörd. Although originally one of the Vanir tribe, he was included with the Aesir. Gerd, daughter of the giant Gymir, was his wife. Worshiped especially in Sweden, he was also well-known in Norway and Iceland. His sister and female counterpart, Freyja, was goddess of love, fertility, battle, and death. The boar was sacred to both. Freyr and Freyja figure in many lays and stories of medieval Iceland.
Much more is told of Freyr, the son of Njörd. His name means "Lord" (compare Old English Frea), but Freyr had other names as well; he was called Yngvi or Yngvi-Freyr, and this name suggests that he was the eponymous father of the north Germans whom Tacitus calls Ingvæones (Ingævones). The Old English Runic Poem indicates that the god Ing was seen first among the eastern Danes; he departed eastward over a wave and his chariot went after him. It is remarkable how the chariot persists in the cult of the Vanir, Nerthus, Ing, and Freyr. A comparatively late source tells how the idol of Freyr was carried in a chariot to bring fertility to the crops in Sweden. In an early saga of Iceland, where crops were little cultivated, Freyr still appears as the guardian of the sacred wheatfield. Freyr's name often is found as the first element of a place-name, especially in eastern Sweden; the second element often means "wheatfield," or "meadow
The Eddic poem Skírnismál ("The Lay of Skírnir") relates the wooing of Freyr's bride, Gerd (Gerðr), a giant-maiden. This story has often been considered as a fertility myth. Gerdr (from garðr, "field") is held fast in the clutches of the frost-giants of winter. Thus, Freyr, as sun-god, would free her. However, this interpretation rests entirely on disputable etymologies. The narrative indicates that Freyr's bride belongs to the otherworld, and her wooing may rather symbolize the affinities of the fertility god with the chthonian powers, dominating the cycle of life and death. Several animals were sacred to Freyr, particularly the horse and, because of his great fertility, the boar.
The centre of Freyr's cult was Uppsala, and he was once said to be king of the Swedes. His reign was one of peace and plenty. While Freyr reigned in Sweden, a certain Frodi ruled the Danes, and the Danes attributed this age of prosperity to him. Frodi (Fróði) was also conveyed ceremoniously in a chariot, and some have seen him as no other than a doublet of Freyr. Freyr was said to be ancestor of the Ynglingar, the Swedish royal family. Such myths are connected with the concept of "divine kingship" in the Germanic world, but earlier views on "sacral royalty" are now being challenged.
107) FREYR PROPOSES TO GER?UR
One day Freyr was sitting in Hliðskjálf, and saw the giant-maiden Gerður
daughter of Gymir. She seemed to him the most beautiful of all maidens,
and he was filled with longing and sorrow, but dared not tell the other
gods, who worried about him. Of all the Giants Gymir was now the most
terrible, and a sworn enemy of Ásgarður, and therefore a bond of matrimony
between the Gods and Gymir would be a shameful thing indeed, and most
dangerous for all of creation. Nevertheless Freyr's passion became so
overwhelming that he felt that he would die unless Gerður become his.
He opened his heart to Svipdagur, and it came to pass that Svipdagur
went to Gerður in order to propose marriage on Freyr's behalf. He took
with him the ring Draupnir and eleven golden apples, but she would only
accept the proposal on three conditions: that her father Gymir receive
Völundur's sword; that Svipdagur and Freyja fetch her and accompany her
into Ásgarður; and that she become one of the Goddesses in Ásgarður.
108) THE SWORD OF REVENGE IN GYMIR'S POWER
The Gods accepted unwillingly, and thus forfeited the certain victory,
which the sword had ensured. The sword was a great gain for the giants,
even if they would never be able to use it without destroying themselves.
Gymir gave the sword into the keeping of his kinsman Eggþér, who buried
it deep below the earth in the Iron-Wood (Járnviður).
109) BATTLE IN THE HALL OF GYMIR
Svipdagur went to Gymir's hall along with Freyja. They planned to
betray the Giants. Þórr and Ullur rode secretly to the north, and
hid themselves near to Gymir's mountainous abode. Gymir told Svipdagur
that he planned to keep Freyja, and proposed that he himself marry
Gerður. Thus he would regain the sword of revenge, be able to fulfil
the blood vengeance which he had sworn, overthrow the God-powers and
himself become Lord of the Universe. Svipdagur pretended to accept
this, and now a double wedding was prepared. Just in time Þórr and
Ullur burst into the rocky hall. Svipdagur grabbed his weapons, and
Freyja fought valiantly by her husband's side. Gymir and all his clan
were slaughtered after a violent battle, and the Gods brought Gerður
Freyr (fray-er), Frey, Fro - (also Ingve-Frey) Vana-God, brother-consort of Freyja; son of Njord and Njord's sister. "The Lord", fertility and creativity God; "the Lover"; God of Yule. He is the god of wealth and peace and contentment. Blood was not allowed to be spilled through violence, nor where weapons or outlaws allowed on or in his holy places. He owns the boar, Gullinbursti, the ship, Skidbladnir, and a magic sword, that moves by itself through the air. Gerd, a Giantess, is his wife. Sensual love, fertility, growth, abundance, wealth, bravery, horses, boars, protector of ships and sailors, peace, joy happiness, rain, beauty, weather, guarantor of oaths, groves, sunshine, plant growth, sex. He ruled over the land of the light elves, Alfheim.
Frey, also known as Fro Ing, is Son to Niord and brother to Freya. Apparently, Frey?s mother is Niord?s sister. He is married to the giantess Gerd and they have a son named Fiolnir.
Frey is the god of kings, especially in Denmark and Sweden. Known, as the god of frith (fruitful peace) and of good weather, this ?God of the World? rides a boar named Gullenbursti. It was made out of an ingot of gold and boar skin.
He also has a boat called Skidhbladnir. It fits in his pocket and can grow to any size he needs it to be. Fro Ing gave up his horse, Blodhughofi, and his sword to his best friend Skinir. With this sword and steed he went to Muspellheim and convinced Gerd to marry Frey. His hall is Alfheim, world of the elves.
At Ragnarok, Frey will fight with a Stag?s horn and be killed by Surt, the fire giant.
||16 Sep 2000 |


Wind Energy: Hereford Wind Farm Phase One Sold; Transmission Line Expansion in Oklahoma and Kansas
EDF Renewable Energy agreed to buy the 200MW first phase of the Hereford Wind Project according to a recent ReNews article. The purchase includes an option on the 300MW second phase.
The 15,000 acre Hereford Wind Project is located southeast of Hereford, Texas in Deaf Smith County. It interconnects to Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) transmission lines, which move the energy generated in the Panhandle to areas with high electrical demands.
A piece in EcoSeed said EDF Renewable Energy is an United States subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, the renewable division of French electric company, Électricité de France. EDF Energies Nouvelles also closed a deal on a wind farm in Quebec.
NewsOK reported Clean Energy Partners is constructing a direct-current line from Guymon, Oklahoma to Memphis, Tennessee. Michael Skelly is the president of Clean Line Energy Partners. He said the Oklahoma Panhandle is, “one of the mother lodes of wind in this country.” Construction on the $2 billion dollar project could begin in 2015.
North American Wind Power reported Grain Belt Express Clean Line has proposed a direct-transmission line from the Spearville, Kansas substation in Ford County to the Kansas/Missouri border. The Kansas Corporation Commission is considering the proposed route. A series of meetings will be held to gather public comment. Grain Belt Express Clean Line LLC is an affiliate of Clean Line Energy Partners.


Is the Stigma and Bias against Online Degrees Illegal?
The Unfair Bias Against Online Degrees
Online degree holders perform as well as, or slightly better than, campus degree holders. Why does a persistent bias continue to exist? Let's explore some comments from those who decry online degrees. In response to an article on Ashford University, a former, self described "online teacher" (who taught a class on "medical terminology"...somewhere), smartchick posted:
Also, be wary of the resume impact. As someone who has hired many people over the years, and served on numerous hiring committees, I will tell you that there is a bias. Certain institutions, when appearing on a resume, route it to the trash can. The institutions most likely to land your resume in "File 13" are those perceived to be diploma mills, or rigorless online degree factories. -Smartchick
In a thread following a review of DeVry University, a traditional degree holder made this statement:
"My school is fully accredited by the AACSB and your degree will always be less respected than mine. I have met many big 4 alumni through Beta Alpha Psi an accounting honor society and not one has been a graduate of any online school!
Don't critique my grammar instead of my argument. That just shows you have lost.." -BAP
Let us analyze his statement. The most obvious intellectual, philosophical error made is that if someone commented on his grammar, it directly demonstrates having already lost the debate. This is an obvious non-sequitur. The next blunder he makes is his mention of no members of Beta Alpha Psi having an online degree. Is there any wonder that BAP, which requires as prerequisite to membership that a chapter (meaning a building) already exists at your school, would not have any members from online schools?
Not all degrees carry the same prestige. However, the nature of a man and his emotional maturity are much better predictors of success than the name on the degree he holds.
The above two quotes demonstrate a bias against online degrees. The first sat on a hiring review committee which routinely laughed and trashed applications simply because they had online degrees. (At least, that is the reason she gave, and perhaps believed.) The second is convinced (without citing any studies or sources) that an online degree will "never" be equal to his. So entrenched is his bias that, earlier in his post, he claimed that an earlier poster who claimed to be working for a Big 4 accounting company "is a liar". Note that DeVry accounting graduates pass the CPA exam on the first attempt better than 30% of the time, which beats the performance of many state schools. (42% to 51%, including second time test-takers, pass on any given exam administration. There is a statistical distribution, and some of these brick-and-mortar schools have well below 30% pass rates.)
The Reality of Online Degree Holders
In 2005, Vault released a survey of hiring managers' practices with reference to online degrees. 34% had seen applicants with online degrees. More than half of these, 20% of respondents, said they had hired an online degree holder. In 2005, 54% said they still prefer traditional degree holders over online degrees. However, one savvy hiring manager had this experience:
"The person was tested in all aspects of their field of study with respect to the position and won the position. Great hire it turned out to be!"
In 2009, another survey showed that only 40% continued to prefer traditional degrees over online degrees.
In 2011, the National Survey of Student Engagement (http://nsse.iub.edu), published results of an annual (self-reported) experience of students in higher education curricula. The NSSE site allows any visitor to generate a report from the data. A report comparing online degree holders vs traditional degree holders shows that online students worked much harder to satisfy instructors, wrote more and longer papers, and felt more confident in most areas. Almost every area showed numbers favoring the online degree holders. The generated report included responses from 355,340 students.
- Colorado Study finds “No Significant Difference” in Online Science Courses.
A 2012 Colorado study shows that online degree teachers give lower grades (counters bias); and online degree learners who took online science, including lab work, outperformed after they transferred to 4-year schools- in gpa and work load.
Why it May Be Illegal to Outright Reject Online Degrees
Besides the obvious fact that a selection committee reduces it's pool of potential hires simply because they do not like the name on the banner head of their degree, there may be a legal reason human resources managers should discontinue tossing out all of their online degree applications.
Unintentional discrimination, also called "disparate impact" occurs when a recruiting, hiring, or retention practice has the effect of disproportionately excluding a group based on a protected category. Protected categories are defined by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin."
Online degree holders are not a protected class, not directly. However, consider the following statistics from the 2009 Annual Report of the University of Phoenix. UOPX students are compared with the nationwide institutional average (NIA).
And, in the end, what was it that the white woman hiring manager really saw on those resumes that caused her derisive reaction? Was it the institution's name? Or, was it some other name? Perhaps she saw "Latisha" or "Garcia" to set her off. Of course, most people today would not dare say that. But, direct the bias at the same people in the name of their degree, and uninformed people might accept it.
Total Enrollment Distribution
University of Phoenix (%)
National Average (%)
Online Degree Holders are More Likely to be Minorities
Using the above table from the 2008 UOPX Academic Annual Report, we can see the basis of a Disparate Impact suit. Discriminating against UOPX degree holders means a hiring practice has a negative impact on the hiring of race, color and sex. The unseen applicant of the resume which says "University of Phoenix" at the bottom is 1.36 times as likely to be a minority, 1.18 times as likely to be a female, and 2.31 times as likely to be black.
HR Managers should consider the case of Griggs v. Duke Power Co. In recruiting for a coal handler position, Duke Power Co. stipulated that consideration for the position required a high school diploma and meeting the standard in performance on two aptitude tests. In that case, the court ruled that the requirements were discriminatory because the practice had a disparate impact on the hiring of blacks, who were less likely to have high school diplomas. Duke could not establish that the job required a high school degree.
Which professions can demonstrate that an on-campus degree is necessary and required for the work, and that an online degree is insufficient? I cannot think of one.
Firms allowing HR staff to laugh and trash online degree applicants may be subject to risk of losing suit to a protected group under Title VII.
And, there are 355 independent studies showing "No Significant Difference" in online degrees vs traditional degrees.
Do You Think an Online Degree in Psychology is Equal to a Campus Psychology Degree?
Would you consider an online degree equivalent to a traditional degree in hiring?See results without voting
More by this Author
What things best predict income success? You might be surprised! Take the poll first, read, then examine the voting results.
Lincoln Electric provides an interesting case for analysis of International Human Resource Management (IHRM). Discussed here: Stropki, expansion into China, compensation, and recommendations.
This is a collection of dreams and visions from seven different men, three women, and a 9-year-old girl. Each was shown that the 44th president is the last.


City Year as a Psychic Prison
What is a psychic prison?
According to Gareth Morgan, author of Images of Organization, "organizations are ultimately created and sustained by conscious and unconscious processes, with the notion that people actually become imprisoned in or confined by the images, ideas, thoughts, and actions to which these processes give rise. The metaphor encourages us to understand that while organizations may be socially constructed realities, these constructions are often attributed an existence and power of their own that allow them to exercise a measure of control over their creators" (p. 207).
City Year is an international non-profit organization comprised of people 17 to 24 years of age from different backgrounds who are determined to make a difference in the lives of children. Corps members commit to 10 months of service as tutors and role models to at-risk youth in order to help them stay in school. In addition to addressing the educational needs of students, corps members also organize service projects for the community. In their service, they develop life and leadership skills that they will use in their future endeavors.
I. Favored Ways of Thinking
While new corps members are selected each year, the management at each City Year site sees low turnover. This supports an established way of thinking that is similar to groupthink. The organization is managed under the established principles and beliefs espoused by the leadership, and while they encourage feedback from the new corps members, the leadership ultimately has the power to quash any ideas or movements that do not align with their values.
In general, community service is looked upon favorably by society. Because the corps members are primarily exposed to positive feedback from the community for the projects they organize, they may not recognize areas of inefficiency or ineffectiveness. For instance, at the close of a neighborhood tree planting, the corps members will feel good about their work in the community because they are encouraged by staff and by society to believe that their service will make a difference. A community will rarely question the details of a service project when it is being conducted for free. Societal support and positive reinforcement may impede the organization’s ability to judge whether or not the project was completed skillfully, using only the necessary supplies to preserve resources, or whether the project was the best use of the organization’s resources. Did the neighborhood need those trees to be planted? Would a different project have a greater impact on the community?
II. The Unconscious
While City Year generally operates with a realistic view of its role within the environment, it occasionally falls into some of the psychological defenses identified by Freud. For instance, the organization practices fixation in its strict, constant adherence to its policies and principles. Many are useful, encouraging members to serve as positive role models in the community; corps members are forbidden from cursing, jaywalking, and spitting on the sidewalk while in uniform. The uniform itself was viewed as a symbol of the unity between corps members, and if any piece of the uniform was out of place or missing (pants, shirt, boots, belt, nametag), the corps member would receive a warning.
In a combination of reaction formation and idealization, City Year takes negative or discouraging experiences and uses them to inspire its service and motivate the members. For instance, on the opening day of their youth weekend program, a group of nervous corps members were involved in a car crash where there were no injuries but the car was totaled. The corps members were rattled and contemplated canceling the opening day, but soon after decided to proceed with the events and were even more energized to meet with the students. City Year encourages a focus on the best in every situation, and the organization has a collection of more than 150 inspirational phrases that is entitled “Putting Idealism to Work,” whereas PITW #1 states, “Challenge cynicism – wherever you find it,” and PITW # 109 says, “Take what’s best – and leave the rest.”
In a world of abundant social problems and limited resources, non-profit organizations often find that they must fight to survive in a community. What are generally considered to be traditional male values – including dominance and aggression – are promoted as City Year’s leaders delve into the community to network and convince funders that they need grants and donations more than other organizations. Corps members must display strength and fortitude in addressing societal issues, and also demonstrate fatherly qualities in serving as mentors for youth. Corps members may even possess what Morgan referred to as “narcissistic self-admiration” in their pride for the service that they provide to those less fortunate than they may be.
City Year, like many non-profit organizations, is comprised of members who may be driven by a fear of death and determined to overcome it by creating a legacy through service; if their sacrifices and contributions to society are great enough, they will not be forgotten when they are gone. Also, many corps members have overcome difficult backgrounds and circumstances and chose to serve through their desire to give back to the community. Their service through City Year may represent their attempt to control their lives and play an active role in the world.
Corps members may also demonstrate fight-flight in establishing an organizational scapegoat to help them cope with challenging situations. For instance, they might focus on a difficult teacher or parent in order to release frustration with their service or the organization.
Excessive anxiety can be a downfall for organizations, as it can consume the organization and cause it to lose sight of its ultimate goals. For instance, groups of corps members would rotate responsibility for planning a service project around a certain theme (i.e. environment, drug and alcohol abuse). They would have to meet a deadline and secure the necessary in-kind donations for the project. In response to growing apprehension that the deadline would not be met and donations would not be acquired, the group members would plan a service project that would not meet their initial goals, instead using readily available resources to execute the project. The adjustment altered the meaning of the project to the community.
Another example involves the Heroes programs, which served middle- and high-school youth through extracurricular weekend mentoring programs. In response to pressure from funders, the programs were eliminated in 2009 with the goal of allowing more focus on school-based programming. However, this created a gap in service for the older age groups, as no other organizations provided services similar to the Heroes programs in the SouthBay. Youth and parents were alarmed and had to seek alternative opportunities.
When President Obama was elected in 2008, City Year as an organization breathed a sigh of relief, as he demonstrated strong support for AmeriCorps programs and encouraged the passage of the Serve America Act. City Year must be careful not to fall victim to dependency or pairing by instilling too much blind faith in their new leader, however, because President Obama does not hold absolute power over the nation and cannot solely solve the organization’s problems. While the President has proposed increased funding for AmeriCorps in his Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request to Congress, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, a bill that eliminates funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service and all its service programs.
For City Year, its office building was similar to a transitional object. The original office was located at San Pedro and Santa Clara and had been vandalized and covered with graffiti from time to time, each time perceived by corps members as a threat to their presence. The inside was plain and somewhat dirty, and many of the offices were dark without windows. Once the office location moved to another building near St. James Park, the spirit of service changed, for the building was newer, more open and welcoming, and allowed the corps members to better perform their service. Graffiti decreased in this more visible location.
To enhance the level and quality of service provided by the corps members (and also to contribute to their personal development), City Year’s staff would encourage the interaction of corps members of various personality types (ST, IT, SF, and IF) with different ways of perceiving and judging their environment. An ST corps member might be more inclined to discipline a student who violated a school or program rule, but working with SF or IT corps members might help open his or her eyes to special circumstances surrounding the situation that could demonstrate how a different reaction might be more suitable.
- Organizations as Psychic Prisons
- The Eight Metaphors of Organization
Gareth Morgans Images of Organization is a must-read for those who want to develop a deeper understanding of a lot of the stuff I talk about here. Though Ive cited the book lots of times, it is one of those
- City Year
City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. As tutors, mentors, and role models, these leaders make a difference in the lives of children, and transf
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